Chapter 64
“L-Lies… That can’t be…!”
Julius’s face turned stark white.
Looking at that despairing face, I felt quite pleased.
“Puhaha.”
How dare a mere spy of the Holy Imperial Church try to ambush me?
I was a little startled by the sudden flash, but that was it.
Even in games, it’s an unwritten rule to immediately pop an emote and mock your opponent when their all-out attack fails.
‘Yeah~ I’m perfectly fine, right? Your god is a total scrub, right?’
I couldn’t say it out loud, but I provoked him with that intent.
At times like this, the obnoxious tone of [Exalted Dignity] is actually quite useful.
“Hehe. That might have been a little cool just now, right?”
I might have looked like a final boss Vampire from an anime.
I couldn’t help but feel a little smug.
Just then, the atmosphere among the Knight Order, who had confirmed I was perfectly fine, instantly reversed.
“You bastard!!”
“How dare you do such a thing to the Distinguished One!”
The knights, who had been wavering just moments ago, drew their swords in unison and radiated killing intent toward Julius.
Their anger had reached its peak at the realization that the comrade they had shared their joys and sorrows with was actually an enemy spy.
“A lackey of the Holy Imperial Church dares to deceive us?! And you people still call yourselves those who serve God’s Will!”
The Knight Commander shouted, trembling with rage.
The other knights also agreed, veins popping on their necks.
“Yeah! Even if the Distinguished One is a real Vampire, it’s a hundred times better than the atrocities you Holy Imperial Church bastards have committed against Arden!”
“Do not insult the one who came to save us, you disgusting hypocrite!”
Hearing the knights' fierce reactions, I was inwardly startled.
‘What the! The Holy Imperial Church guys' image is really at rock bottom, huh.’
Even so, they were the Holy Imperial Church in name only, yet people were actually protecting me, a Vampire, instead.
But thinking about it, I found it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
Looking at my Retainer Sera, didn’t she unjustly lose her parents at the hands of those high-and-mighty Holy Knights of the Holy Imperial Church?
It seemed they hadn’t committed such tyranny just once or twice.
They seemed to have earned quite a lot of resentment from the people of this World as well.
In the end, Julius, his mentality completely shattered, was dragged away by the hands of the furious knights.
* * *
After the commotion was settled
I returned to the Lord’s Manor and sat facing the Lord.
“Explain more about the Holy Imperial Church.”
At my question, the Lord let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“It is true that the Holy Imperial Church exerts a mighty influence across the entire Continent. However, our Arden Domain has been at odds with it for a long time.”
In the first place, the Arden Family served the legendary Vampire.
They were fundamentally incompatible, like oil and water, with the Holy Imperial Church, which treated Vampires as evil beings.
As a result, there was almost no one within the Territory who believed in the doctrines of the Holy Imperial Church, and from the Holy Imperial Church’s perspective, it had been watching vigilantly for an opportunity to somehow take over the Arden Domain, which was a thorn in its side.
“Eventually, those bastards incited the greedy Lord of a neighboring Territory, ultimately starting a war.”
The Lord’s voice trembled slightly.
“Since the Distinguished One can see right through my inner thoughts… I shall brave the shame and speak honestly. In truth, until recently, I nearly crumbled in the face of the war.”
He bowed his head deeply, as if he were a sinner.
“Just to preserve the lives of the people of my Territory… I even harbored thoughts of abandoning the Family’s long-standing loyalty and bowing my head to those hypocrites to make peace. I was truly weak and foolish.”
The Lord’s confession was sincere.
The agony of the Lord, who had been willing to break even his own convictions to save the people of his Territory, was fully conveyed.
“However, just as I was wavering, the Distinguished One truly did not forget the promise and descended to save us…! Now, there is not a single inch of doubt in my heart!”
“Oh…”
Hearing those words, I felt inexplicably moved.
I wasn’t the Vampire from the prophecy that the Lord had been waiting for.
At least for now, while progressing through the quest inside this Tower of Trials, I strongly felt that I needed to properly play the role of the Savior the Lord had so faithfully waited for.
Meanwhile,
Julius, locked in the prison, was a truly terrible fanatic.
No matter how much the knights interrogated and threatened him, he kept his mouth shut tight and remained consistently silent.
But to me, it didn’t matter at all whether he opened his mouth or not.
Just by turning on [Appraisal Eye] and looking into his status window, I saw everything he was thinking pop up line by line in text.
[Status: Anxious after failing to inform the Bishop at the designated time via a Secret Letter that a Vampire had appeared within the Territory]
I inwardly swept a hand over my chest in relief.
“Wow. If this information had leaked, it really would have been a disaster.”
What if the fact that I was a Vampire had been relayed outside?
The Holy Imperial Church bastards would have undoubtedly brought a whole bunch of much stronger allies and created variables.
Cutting him off before that happened was a godsend.
With my help, we were able to send fake information to the Enemy Army Faction, with the contents stating that there were no variables and the Arden Domain was terrified.
Now, the only thing left was the impending war.
* * *
During the short time left before the war began, the Retainers took the elite knights of Arden and conducted pinpoint lessons tailored to their respective combat styles.
Of course, they couldn’t teach humans things like the Vampire-specific Blood Art or the Blood Fiend Sword Art that Sera had learned.
But my Retainers were already powerhouses who had reached the level of masters just with their basic physical abilities and Combat Sense.
There was no way they wouldn’t be of help.
“Your posture is terrible. You’re putting too much strength into the hand holding the sword.”
Katarina took charge of the heavily armored knights who would stand on the front lines.
Her training was ruthless and strict.
“Again. If you swing your sword that sluggishly again, I’ll break your legs myself before you can even strike the enemy’s neck.”
“Huff, huff…! U-Understood!”
It was the most grueling training, but the skills of the knights receiving guidance from an overwhelming expert skyrocketed noticeably.
“Unnecessary movements mean immediate death.”
Si-Yeon taught the relatively lightly armored knights.
“Keep your eyes on the opponent’s neck, and take the shortest path with your sword. Like this… stab, and pull back.”
“Ooh…!”
Her calm yet flawless, practical advice was enough to raise the knights' survival rate.
“No, no! I told you that’s not how you do it!”
On the other hand, Riri took charge of the wild fighters who relied on their senses.
“When the enemy approaches like this and this, you stomp your foot with a Bang, and then hit them with a Whack!”
“…Excuse me? A Bang and a Whack?”
“Yeah, yeah! Right now, you guys are going Thump and Pow! It needs to be Bang and Whack!”
It created a bizarre scene where both the teacher and the students were tilting their heads at each other.
Miraculously, there were knights whose skills improved as they instinctively mimicked Riri’s movements.
And finally, Sera.
“U-Um…! That defensive posture just now was a little…”
Sera personally taught her former comrades from the Knight Order she had been a part of.
“I apologize if this sounds offensive…! B-But… if you fight like that, you’ll definitely die! Please raise the angle just a little more!”
“U-Understood…”
It was a brutal training session where she timidly fidgeted, yet ruthlessly drove home every factual point out of fear that her comrades might get hurt.
Around the time they finished their diligent preparations,
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Along with the ominous sound of drums shaking the Earth, the enemy’s Large Army finally revealed itself beyond the Arden Castle Wall.
Heavily armored infantry and cavalry surged forward, their numbers seemingly endless.
And fluttering among them were the red cross flags of the Holy Imperial Church.
“Wow… seeing it in person, I realize there are even more of them.”
As I looked down from atop the Castle Wall, the difference in Military strength was far more severe than I had thought.
“Listen, you foolish people of Arden!”
The booming voice of the enemy general shook the Battlefield.
“God is with us! The great Bishop of the Holy Imperial Church has also personally come here to bless our victory!”
The general raised his voice even higher.
“With your meager forces, you will never be able to stop this Large Army! If you open the Castle Gate and surrender even now, we will spare your lives, but if you refuse to yield to the end, we will have no choice but to burn everything inside the castle to the ground!”
“Waaaaah!!!”
With their overwhelming numbers and the general’s momentum, the morale of the Enemy Army was soaring high enough to pierce the sky.
On the other hand, even when viewed from above, our forces were clearly a bit frozen and tense.
“Hmm…”
I looked down at the enemy soldiers marching forward, kicking up dust.
“Definitely. The difference in numbers is way too severe.”
This is too unreasonable.
If this were a game, it’d be a trash game with terrible balance.
No matter how much we had strengthened the Arden knights, it was still woefully insufficient.
Then what should I do?
The answer was already decided.
“Katarina.”
“Yes, Liege Lord.”
I handed my parasol over to Katarina, who was standing beside me.
Katarina politely accepted it and shaded me from the Sunlight above my head.
I opened my Inventory.
[Divine Relic: Death Scythe]
In my hand, a Giant Scythe forged as black as pitch revealed itself.
The broken balance.
Time to… normalize it, right?