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overlord_ Welcome the Birth of the King_chapter_0332_part_02
Chapter 426
chapter 332 part 2
"Are the losses this heavy?" a sorrowful voice asked.
It was the voice of the Holy Princess, Calca.
Her delicate yet heroic, beautiful face was tinged with pallor and unconcealable pain.
The Holy Knight Order and the Cleric Corps were the Sacred Kingdom's strongest elites, yet now, not even half of them had survived.
"They went in with the resolve to die, Your Highness Calca."
A trace of exhaustion was visible on Kelart's brow. Her false smile and hidden cunning vanished at this moment as she comforted Holy Princess Calca.
Although she knew Raise Dead magic, the paladins and clerics, aside from a small number who were turned into undead, had mostly died under the Alliance Leader's Pale Fire attack, their corpses severely damaged.
They were beyond the requirements for resurrection magic.
"Their merits will be forever recorded in the history of the Holy Knight Order and the Cleric Corps."
Kelart's gentle, comforting tone disappeared, her voice becoming calm. "Their families and children will receive double the compensation and preferential treatment as before."
As these words were spoken, it made Kelart seem extremely cold, as if she no longer cared about the deceased members of the knight and cleric corps.
In reality, this was how a person in a high position should act!
It was right to grieve the deaths of subordinates, as it was a loss to the country's power, but to be immersed in this "grief" to the point where it affects one's emotions and judgment is a mistake.
"Sigh."
"I have already arranged for people to monitor the movements in the south. Not long ago, I had to deal with many southern nobles over the matter of trading grain with the hills."
Holy Princess Calca sighed softly, her long, bright golden hair falling on either side of her face. She looked at the travel-worn Kelart before her.
"Now that the Holy Knight Order and Cleric Corps have suffered such heavy losses, those nobles will inevitably make some moves."
"Kelart, for you to rush back alone, did something happen?"
Being too kind was indeed a flaw for a "king," but Holy Princess Calca did not lack a king's intuition and talent.
Currently, the remnants of the Holy Knight Order and Cleric Corps, along with Remedios, were still in Kalinxia.
"That bunch of damn fools."
Kelart grew angry just thinking about the southern nobles trading grain with the demi-humans of the hills.
"The Abelion Hills are currently suffering from an extremely severe drought, worse than what our previous information suggested. Water and grain are desperately scarce. If not for the grain supplied by the southern nobles..."
"...after experiencing this undead calamity, coupled with the lack of food and water, that group of demi-humans would have been all but extinct, with only a few stragglers left."
"I originally intended to use the National Treasure to wipe out that group of demi-humans..."
Kelart looked troubled. She respectfully took out the Crown of the Holy King from her robes and carefully placed it in front of Holy Princess Calca.
After witnessing the power of this National Treasure-class magic item, Kelart was terrified of losing it or letting it suffer even the slightest damage.
Now that she had returned it to Her Highness, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
"I gave you this National Treasure item to deal with the undead."
Hearing Kelart's mutterings, Holy Princess Calca's expression turned stern, and she grew a little angry. "You acted on your own authority again."
"If I could have used this opportunity to eliminate the demi-humans..."
"...the safety of the country and its people that Your Highness seeks would be guaranteed forever, and the enormous military expenditure on the fortress castles would disappear."
Kelart lowered her head and replied in a calm voice:
"Unfortunately, I failed to obtain the specific location of the demi-human settlements."
"Although I anticipated this outcome from the beginning, which is why I prioritized eliminating the demi-humans' elite forces..."
"Did something unexpected happen?" Holy Princess Calca was indeed angry, but she also understood that Kelart was doing it for the sake of the Sacred Kingdom.
Kelart reported the entire process in detail, as some matters required a decision from Her Highness.
Holy Princess Calca was calm at first, but she became more and more astonished, her kingly composure vanishing completely in that moment.
She felt as if she were listening to a tale from the Heroic Sagas.
—Slane Theocracy.
Divine Capital, Great Holy Temple.
The Cardinal Conference was the Theocracy's smallest, most private, high-level meeting, typically held only once every six months or so.
The last time it was convened was only about a week ago.
The six Cardinals had once again gathered in this sacred, clean, dust-free temple conference room.
This meeting was naturally about the events that had transpired in the hills. The dispatched Sunlight Scripture unit had not yet returned.
The six Cardinals already held the most detailed information on the hill region, a credit, naturally, to Stargazer Far-Sight.
The air was utterly silent.
Anyone who saw a "Soul Eater," a type of legendary undead, being slain with a single sword strike would find it incredible.
It would be a problem if they weren't shocked!
Even for a member of the Black Scripture, dealing with a Soul Eater one-on-one was no easy task.
Let alone an "instakill"!
This term was one of the strange words that originated from the gods of the past, words that were difficult to decipher or understand.
Although the specific meaning of some was incomprehensible, others could be translated.
"What is the deal with this adventurer squad, Free Will?"
"Do we not have any more specific information?" Ian, the Cardinal of Light, was the first to break the silence.
"According to information from the Adventurer's Guild, this squad hasn't been registered for long."
Benise, the Cardinal of Fire, still wore her Benevolent Mother's smile on her round cheeks as she spoke softly:
"The leader's name is 'Tang.' He has a great reputation in the Kingdom and the Empire and is known as the 'Genius Alchemist'."
"A bounty has also been issued by the Empire's Emperor, specifically related to the demi-human Warrior King, Gagaran, from this incident."
"He seems to be a rather high-profile adventurer. His more detailed identity has not yet been investigated, but this style of conduct suggests he isn't the type of person we imagined."
Sinedine, the Cardinal of Water, pressed his earth-toned hands on the tabletop, a wise look in his withered eyes. "The problem right now isn't this leader, but the girl named Enri!"
"No matter how you look at it, she is somewhat abnormal!"
"That's right."
Voices of agreement rose one after another.
"There's no specific information about this girl named Enri at the Adventurer's Guild. She needs to be investigated."
Benise, the Cardinal of Fire, put away the smile on her face.
"If you count the time, it's been 200 years."
"Are you suggesting?"
"Perhaps it's that time again."
"Preya? An NPC?"
The atmosphere in the great hall became somewhat solemn and tense.
"In any case, we need to investigate this immediately. And we need to make contact as soon as possible regarding that Leader Tang's special method of fusing angels!"
"I have a premonition that this ability will have a huge impact on the Theocracy!"
"Then—dispatch the Water Destruction Scripture to the Re-Estize Kingdom to investigate the girl, Enri."
"Dispatch the Wind Flower Scripture to the Sacred Kingdom to invite the Free Will squad."
"Before Free Will arrives in the Theocracy, we must find out the specific details about that girl, Enri."
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
"...!"
(end of chapter)
"Are the losses this heavy?" a sorrowful voice asked.
It was the voice of the Holy Princess, Calca.
Her delicate yet heroic, beautiful face was tinged with pallor and unconcealable pain.
The Holy Knight Order and the Cleric Corps were the Sacred Kingdom's strongest elites, yet now, not even half of them had survived.
"They went in with the resolve to die, Your Highness Calca."
A trace of exhaustion was visible on Kelart's brow. Her false smile and hidden cunning vanished at this moment as she comforted Holy Princess Calca.
Although she knew Raise Dead magic, the paladins and clerics, aside from a small number who were turned into undead, had mostly died under the Alliance Leader's Pale Fire attack, their corpses severely damaged.
They were beyond the requirements for resurrection magic.
"Their merits will be forever recorded in the history of the Holy Knight Order and the Cleric Corps."
Kelart's gentle, comforting tone disappeared, her voice becoming calm. "Their families and children will receive double the compensation and preferential treatment as before."
As these words were spoken, it made Kelart seem extremely cold, as if she no longer cared about the deceased members of the knight and cleric corps.
In reality, this was how a person in a high position should act!
It was right to grieve the deaths of subordinates, as it was a loss to the country's power, but to be immersed in this "grief" to the point where it affects one's emotions and judgment is a mistake.
"Sigh."
"I have already arranged for people to monitor the movements in the south. Not long ago, I had to deal with many southern nobles over the matter of trading grain with the hills."
Holy Princess Calca sighed softly, her long, bright golden hair falling on either side of her face. She looked at the travel-worn Kelart before her.
"Now that the Holy Knight Order and Cleric Corps have suffered such heavy losses, those nobles will inevitably make some moves."
"Kelart, for you to rush back alone, did something happen?"
Being too kind was indeed a flaw for a "king," but Holy Princess Calca did not lack a king's intuition and talent.
Currently, the remnants of the Holy Knight Order and Cleric Corps, along with Remedios, were still in Kalinxia.
"That bunch of damn fools."
Kelart grew angry just thinking about the southern nobles trading grain with the demi-humans of the hills.
"The Abelion Hills are currently suffering from an extremely severe drought, worse than what our previous information suggested. Water and grain are desperately scarce. If not for the grain supplied by the southern nobles..."
"...after experiencing this undead calamity, coupled with the lack of food and water, that group of demi-humans would have been all but extinct, with only a few stragglers left."
"I originally intended to use the National Treasure to wipe out that group of demi-humans..."
Kelart looked troubled. She respectfully took out the Crown of the Holy King from her robes and carefully placed it in front of Holy Princess Calca.
After witnessing the power of this National Treasure-class magic item, Kelart was terrified of losing it or letting it suffer even the slightest damage.
Now that she had returned it to Her Highness, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
"I gave you this National Treasure item to deal with the undead."
Hearing Kelart's mutterings, Holy Princess Calca's expression turned stern, and she grew a little angry. "You acted on your own authority again."
"If I could have used this opportunity to eliminate the demi-humans..."
"...the safety of the country and its people that Your Highness seeks would be guaranteed forever, and the enormous military expenditure on the fortress castles would disappear."
Kelart lowered her head and replied in a calm voice:
"Unfortunately, I failed to obtain the specific location of the demi-human settlements."
"Although I anticipated this outcome from the beginning, which is why I prioritized eliminating the demi-humans' elite forces..."
"Did something unexpected happen?" Holy Princess Calca was indeed angry, but she also understood that Kelart was doing it for the sake of the Sacred Kingdom.
Kelart reported the entire process in detail, as some matters required a decision from Her Highness.
Holy Princess Calca was calm at first, but she became more and more astonished, her kingly composure vanishing completely in that moment.
She felt as if she were listening to a tale from the Heroic Sagas.
—Slane Theocracy.
Divine Capital, Great Holy Temple.
The Cardinal Conference was the Theocracy's smallest, most private, high-level meeting, typically held only once every six months or so.
The last time it was convened was only about a week ago.
The six Cardinals had once again gathered in this sacred, clean, dust-free temple conference room.
This meeting was naturally about the events that had transpired in the hills. The dispatched Sunlight Scripture unit had not yet returned.
The six Cardinals already held the most detailed information on the hill region, a credit, naturally, to Stargazer Far-Sight.
The air was utterly silent.
Anyone who saw a "Soul Eater," a type of legendary undead, being slain with a single sword strike would find it incredible.
It would be a problem if they weren't shocked!
Even for a member of the Black Scripture, dealing with a Soul Eater one-on-one was no easy task.
Let alone an "instakill"!
This term was one of the strange words that originated from the gods of the past, words that were difficult to decipher or understand.
Although the specific meaning of some was incomprehensible, others could be translated.
"What is the deal with this adventurer squad, Free Will?"
"Do we not have any more specific information?" Ian, the Cardinal of Light, was the first to break the silence.
"According to information from the Adventurer's Guild, this squad hasn't been registered for long."
Benise, the Cardinal of Fire, still wore her Benevolent Mother's smile on her round cheeks as she spoke softly:
"The leader's name is 'Tang.' He has a great reputation in the Kingdom and the Empire and is known as the 'Genius Alchemist'."
"A bounty has also been issued by the Empire's Emperor, specifically related to the demi-human Warrior King, Gagaran, from this incident."
"He seems to be a rather high-profile adventurer. His more detailed identity has not yet been investigated, but this style of conduct suggests he isn't the type of person we imagined."
Sinedine, the Cardinal of Water, pressed his earth-toned hands on the tabletop, a wise look in his withered eyes. "The problem right now isn't this leader, but the girl named Enri!"
"No matter how you look at it, she is somewhat abnormal!"
"That's right."
Voices of agreement rose one after another.
"There's no specific information about this girl named Enri at the Adventurer's Guild. She needs to be investigated."
Benise, the Cardinal of Fire, put away the smile on her face.
"If you count the time, it's been 200 years."
"Are you suggesting?"
"Perhaps it's that time again."
"Preya? An NPC?"
The atmosphere in the great hall became somewhat solemn and tense.
"In any case, we need to investigate this immediately. And we need to make contact as soon as possible regarding that Leader Tang's special method of fusing angels!"
"I have a premonition that this ability will have a huge impact on the Theocracy!"
"Then—dispatch the Water Destruction Scripture to the Re-Estize Kingdom to investigate the girl, Enri."
"Dispatch the Wind Flower Scripture to the Sacred Kingdom to invite the Free Will squad."
"Before Free Will arrives in the Theocracy, we must find out the specific details about that girl, Enri."
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
"...!"
(end of chapter)