Chapter 60: Chapter 60
The God of Redemption possessed immense power, but was not omnipotent. The divine oracle could indeed indicate the direction of the Morning Star.
However, a full month had already passed since they first received the divine oracle. The direction indicated by the divine oracle had started off as a relatively clear pointer, but had become increasingly blurred over time.
By now, it had practically vanished altogether. Having paid such a massive price to travel from the Oz Empire to get here, Ioneel didn’t want to just give up on the mission.
And if they wanted to continue the mission, clashing with the local Lord was likely unavoidable. That was why he had used the deterrence of divine punishment to claim the Mind Scepter from Nasar.
Their team had suffered too many losses from the time they departed the Oz Empire up to now. The Mind Scepter could prevent casualties among their own ranks; first, they would use the Aberrant Beasts to wear the enemy down for a while, and then it would be time for them, the envoys of salvation, to take the stage.
In a certain sense, Nasar acting on his own initiative was actually the result of Ioneel’s deliberate indulgence.
Athanasi’s subsequent persuasion was also within Ioneel’s expectations. The only thing he hadn’t anticipated was that the Knights of the Sis Territory would be so familiar with Aberrant Beasts.
So much so that tactics that would have normally proven effective long ago in other places had run into obstacles here.
“May the God of Redemption bless us. I hope we can complete this mission smoothly.”
Ioneel focused his will onto the white gemstone at the top of the scepter in his hand. The next moment, he felt his vision brighten. With himself at the center, a large circular area with a radius covering nearly half the distance of the ruins was entirely within his perception.
However, Ioneel understood that this was merely an illusion. What he could perceive was limited solely to those living creatures that possessed a will, which were the targets the Mind Scepter could control.
Of course, he couldn’t control the Knights. That far exceeded the Mind Scepter’s capabilities. At present, what he could control was roughly limited to the Aberrant Beasts and some ordinary wild beasts within this area.
“Huh, that was fast!”
Another point of light representing an Aberrant Beast’s will vanished from his perception. Ioneel couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of urgency. He then locked onto two Aberrant Beasts slumbering within the ruins behind him.
Controlling, awakening, and driving them. After going through the entire sequence, he felt that this Mind Scepter wasn’t actually as easy to use as he had imagined.
“It’s a pity that those stubborn old fools in the church don’t know how to be flexible at all. Given the greatness of the revered God, how could He possibly not tolerate necessary flexibility?”
Whenever he thought of this, Ioneel gnashed his teeth in hatred. Back when he led a team of nearly a hundred men, if it weren’t for the doctrine dictating that they “must manifest the true path of salvation,” which forbade them from disguising their identities, they could have reduced their losses to an absolute minimum.
Of course, what he hated even more was actually the Kingdom of Helios, this nearly irredeemable kingdom of false gods. Almost all of the nearly a hundred men he led when he set out had perished in Helios.
“Why would the Morning Star appear in Helios, this kingdom of false gods?”
Ioneel didn’t dare to entertain the thought of the Morning Star appearing even further east, in the Land of Divine Punishment. Compared to that, Helios, this kingdom of false gods, was still somewhat easier to accept.
He simply couldn’t fathom that something the God of Redemption needed would be found in the Land of Divine Punishment!
…
He didn’t know how much time had passed before Ioneel suddenly stood up. “You’ve all rested enough, right? It’s time to set off!”
“Yes.”
Even though it was the dead of night, no one voiced a single complaint, because for the past month, this was exactly how they had been living. Aside from using the cover of night to evade the eyes of the people of Helios, the pace of their travel was also a crucial factor.
Traveling from the Oz Empire to the eastern borders of the Kingdom of Helios, if they had only traveled during the daytime, they would probably still only be halfway there right now!
“Bishop, did the divine oracle react again?” Athanasi inquired.
Seeing that the one asking was Athanasi, Ioneel silently nodded, then shook his head. “The divine oracle has vanished. The last direction it revealed before it disappeared was here, but the range practically encompasses the entirety of eastern Helios. We were still too slow!”
Upon hearing this answer, Athanasi’s expression turned somewhat subtle. Fortunately, he had no intention of provoking Ioneel at a time like this, so he asked instead:
“Then what should we do now?”
“Let’s find a way to redeem the nearby territory first. They are situated deep within the borders of this kingdom of false gods, and are less influenced by the false gods. There should be a few more people who can be saved,” Ioneel said with an indifferent expression.
“Are we not going to look for the Morning Star anymore?” Athanasi asked again.
At this, the other Knights also cast concerned gazes toward the Bishop. Ioneel maintained a composed expression and told everyone:
“Redeeming the nearby territory is part of the search for the Morning Star. We are short-handed right now. It’s time to replenish our ranks.”
Hearing these words, the Knights immediately grew eager to try. On their way here, they had already inquired through some believers who had converted to the God of Redemption. This Sis Territory was nothing more than the most remote, rural backwater of the kingdom of false gods.
Other than the first-generation Lord being a Grand Knight, subsequent Lords rarely ever even achieved the Senior Knight rank. If it weren’t for the fact that their current numbers were simply too small, they could have completely crushed them in a head-on confrontation.
And they wouldn’t have to rely on the power of Aberrant Beasts to wear the enemy down first, like they were doing now.
…
Just as they were speaking, two more Aberrant Beasts emerged from the ruins. They passed by Ioneel and the others, rapidly charging northward.
“Lord of Salvation above, how many Aberrant Beasts is that now? Could it be that there are multiple Senior Knights in this Sis Territory?” a Knight of the Salvation Cult remarked with a sigh.
Purely in terms of various physical attributes, Senior Knights weren’t necessarily much stronger than Intermediate Knights. But the reason Senior Knights were Senior Knights was because they possessed a terrifying intuition akin to prophecy.
Combined with Battle Formations, they were both the strongest spear and the strongest shield.
According to this Knight’s estimation, even without factoring in Bishop Ioneel, the seven of them remaining, which included two Senior Knights and five Intermediate Knights, wouldn’t be able to dispatch those Aberrant Beasts so quickly either.
This was their inherent disadvantage in numbers.
Looking at it from this perspective, their journey would likely struggle to redeem this territory.
But if they factored in Bishop Ioneel… thinking of this, that Knight subconsciously glanced at the Bishop, who hadn’t revealed the slightest hint of worry even in the dead of night, and his heart couldn’t help but feel a bit more at ease.
Under these circumstances, he had no room to let his imagination run wild about the Sis Territory having hidden cards beyond Knights.
“The Abandoner ruins where those Aberrant Beasts reside aren’t far from the Sis Territory. Perhaps they have encountered Aberrant Beasts before, or even actively challenged them. With accumulated experience, naturally, they’d be able to kill them swiftly,” Ioneel explained casually.
In the darkness, a Knight couldn’t help but scoff disdainfully. “Who in their right mind goes out of their way to challenge Aberrant Beasts! As expected of country bumpkins from an irredeemable kingdom!”
“Do not speak rashly. The Lord of Salvation hasn’t given up on the Kingdom of Helios, so what gives you the right to deem it an irredeemable kingdom on His behalf?”
“Yes, yes, yes, I misspoke.” That Knight hastily admitted his mistake.
A truly irredeemable kingdom would have long since become a Land of Divine Punishment. Since the Kingdom of Helios still existed, it meant that the great God of Redemption hadn’t given up on them yet.
After this minor interlude of the Bishop asserting his authority, the rest of the Knights kept their mouths shut. The group advanced silently toward the Sis Territory in the north.