Postponement.
Evil God.
It’s a name that sounds like something very bad, but in reality, it’s nothing special.
To put it simply, when a deity is labeled as an evil deity by the mainstream deities of the current continent, they are naturally labeled as evil. All sorts of persecution would naturally follow.
The Church of Corruption was one such denomination that was labeled as worshipping an evil God. Of course, unlike the active cults, they were supposed to have been wiped out a long, long time ago.
Unlike the mainstream denominations, which cooperate with each other without any strings attached when it comes to antagonizing evil deities, the denominations that worshiped the gods labeled as evil did not cooperate much.
It was unclear whether the cults were labeled as evil because they had gone bad or because they were persecuted, but one thing was clear: few of them were sane.
I put on my best serious face and asked the lord.
“Isn’t the siege of the city too large a undertaking for a single worshipper of an evil god?”
The lord’s face grew even more grim.
“According to the priests who have sensed the divinity of the Evil God, at least four different sects are working together to lay siege to Kelton.”
The criteria for determining that the divinity the priests sensed belonged to an evil god was quite simple.
Demonic auras are akin to the gods’ blacklist, and when priests feel their divinity, they can’t help but feel a surging, natural aversion to them.
The problem is that these gods’ blacklists are never changed, even when the demon’s cult is completely destroyed, so even a long-defeated corruption god can still be felt by modern priests with a fierce disgust, and they can immediately recognize that it is a demonic energy.
By the way, something is really wrong with this. Do the cults that worship evil gods cooperate with each other?
“Cults worshipping evil gods coordinating with each other to lay siege to a city, this is definitely not normal. Do you have any idea what they want?”
The lord shook his head.
“I have no idea at all. Come to think of it, Kelton is just an ordinary town with nothing special to offer. Ha.”
The sigh he finally exhaled was filled with deep concern.
“To think that this happened just as I took over as lord of this place—. If my father were still alive, he would surely have made a breakthrough somehow—.”
At the lord’s lament, a reticent-looking middle-aged knight standing behind him whispered in the lord’s ear, “Moor. It was probably some sort of advice not to show weakness in front of his guests, because as soon as he heard the whisper, the lord put on his best face and began to speak again.
“Well, it’s winter, so there’s plenty of food stockpiled inside the city, and the morale of the soldiers isn’t too bad, so the situation isn’t that bad, but the problem is that we’ve been surrounded so suddenly that no one knows about Kelton’s isolation.”
Slowly, I realized what the lord was about to suggest.
He spoke apologetically.
“That’s why we need a small band of men to break through the monster siege and bring news of Kelton to the other cities.”
Yeah, I knew he was going to bring up that offer.
The lord was apologizing profusely, but it was only because I was a priest of the gods that he offered to risk his life for me, a stranger. The calculation behind the offer was that since priests would not spare their lives in matters involving evil gods, I would have no choice but to grant his request.
And since I was publicly proclaiming myself as a priest of the Goddess of Preservation, there was no way I could refuse. It was a total cop-out.
“Murder!!!
Amidst my mother’s wild cries for me to punch the bastard lord in the face and run away, I smirked and replied.
“The job. Let me help you.”
I accepted, and thought about it some more.
“Priest Marnak!”
The unexpected reaction came from Carmen, who was sitting next to me. He said to me in a serious voice.
“How can you accept so casually, and if you do, you should at least hear more about the operation and the support before you decide!”
It was a pleasant kind of reprimand, as his concern for me was evident in his every word. This is what it means to be a traveling companion.
But when I saw the lord’s complexion grow slightly uncomfortable at Carmen’s outburst, I quickly restrained her.
“I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do,” I said, “and if it involves a worshipper of an evil god, then as a priest, I’m supposed to step up and help.”
Even as she spoke, she shot out a telepathic message in her mind, hoping it would reach him.
I need you to be more aggressive, Carmen!
The greater the reward I can take from my lord, the better! Besides, I already had an idea of what I wanted to take.
Carmen spoke to the lord in a firm voice, as if she could hear my telepathy.
“I’ll be joining you on this mission.”
The lord wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke in a crawling voice.
“It is indeed honorable for a scion of Balthas to voluntarily participate in this kind of dangerous work, but—.”
The lord’s reluctance to allow Carmen to join the party was due to the fact that he was the son of Ensis Baltas, a black wolf, albeit a bastardized one. He feared the repercussions of sending the son of Ensis Baltas to his death.
“I’m quite capable of defending myself, my lord, so you needn’t worry too much.”
“But—.”
I leisurely listened to the conversation between the lord and Carmen. The lord had tried to dissuade Carmen several times, but she had already made up her mind to follow me into the operation.
The lord, Stren Plkor, let out a deep sigh.
“Hah, I see, since you are so stubborn in your intentions, it cannot be helped. I promise you my utmost support.”
Carmen bowed her head deeply in gratitude. I watched the scene, then slipped away. I had things to take care of.
“My lord, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
The lord answered me, his face even more somber than it had been when he’d spoken of the evil worshipper earlier.
“As you wish.”
“Do you think you could give me that object?”
I stretched out my finger and pointed to one of the ornaments. I pointed to a wide bowl, and the lord looked at it, puzzled, and asked me.
“That bowl?”
“Yes. I feel the favor of the goddess I worship in that bowl.”
It was a white-hot lie. Or, more accurately, a half-truth. The bowl was indeed enchanted, but the enchantment did not belong to the Goddess of Maintenance.
“Is that so? It’s just an ornament, anyway, so I’ll keep it for you, there. Take the bowl to the room where the priest is staying.”
As the lord instructed, the servants bowed slightly, then carefully took the bowl and disappeared.
I smiled reverently and turned to the lord.
“So when do you plan to begin the operation?”
“Apparently, the monsters are gathering more and more, so the sooner we start the operation, the better, so we’ll do it as soon as it gets dark today. We still have a bit of time, so why don’t you keep your eyes peeled?”
“We will.”
Carmen and I separated to our respective rooms, leaving the sullen lord behind. As I entered the room assigned to me, I saw a bowl on the table.
“Murder!
I nodded at my mother’s comment that she had packed something that was hard to find in the north.
“That’s right. I really didn’t think we’d be able to get things from the Seekers of the Flow here that are only available in the western desert.”
The god of the Flow Seekers was a deity whose powers were related to water, and so was the protection on this bowl.
The lord didn’t seem to have noticed the spell on the bowl, but even if he had, he couldn’t use it.
This is because an object that was enchanted could only be used by the priests of that deity, with exceptions such as myself.
A holy object, on the other hand, could be used by anyone, even if they didn’t worship that deity. Naturally, the process of making a ‘holy object’ was much more difficult than making a favored object, which is why each denomination took care to retrieve them.
“Let’s try it then.”
Carefully placing my hand on the bowl, I manifested a spell, and the spell-infused water gushed out from within the bowl. I loved this endless supply of water.
“Well, at least I won’t have to worry about washing my face after using ‘butcher’ in the future.”
“‘Murder!
I pulled out my frost steel sword and dipped the blade into the water. According to my mother, the water had a minor added benefit: soaking the weapon in it would allow a little bit of shine to seep into the blade for a while when you pulled it out, allowing you to cut through your foes better.
I took out the Butcher and set it aside on the table. I would soak the Butcher once the Froststeel Sword was sufficiently imbued with Gaho. I lay down on the bed and asked.
“Mother, do you have any ideas about what happened?”
“Murder?
I giggled, as if she couldn’t possibly know.
“Well, I suppose I should take the opportunity to find out a little more.”
There was only one thing I was worried about.
If this world was indeed in the game I was playing, there would be one.
The main quest.
I wondered if this was a warning sign that the cogs of the main quest were starting to turn. He’s right, I didn’t know anything about the content of the main quest.
I gently patted my mother’s hand, which had popped out of her pocket and rested playfully on my breastbone.
“Well, whatever, I guess we’ll just have to live life to the fullest, won’t we?”
“‘Murder…?
I smirked at my mother’s sudden question.
“Just saying.”
*** https://pindangscans.com
“Yay!”
Kelton’s door swung open and five horses leaped out, galloping across the snowy field.
The wind whipped harshly in my face. The horses didn’t like me, but when I mounted them and led them, they reluctantly followed my lead.
It wasn’t long after we hit the road that dozens of different cries began to follow us.
– Keeeeeeeeeeee!
– Kaaaahhhh!
– Grrrr!
“Keep running!”
Carmen shouted, and we slowly nodded our heads.
Of the five of us on this mission, three of us were priests, two of them Restorative priests who worshiped the goddess of healing and health, and both of them were enormous. The other was a reticent priest of the Church of Cultivation, who wore distinctive white armor.
As the monsters gradually drew closer, the Cultivationist priest drew his battle hammer from his back, swung it vigorously, and shouted.
“Libra of Retribution!!!”
With a flash of pure white light, the giant light hammer came crashing down. He heard the screams of the beasts behind him, but he didn’t have time to look back.
Two priests of the Restoration let go of their grip on the reins and began to pray at a rapid pace, and a white light permeated the galloping horses.
The horses, exhausted, kicked the ground roughly and galloped off at the same speed as before.
But as if to mock our efforts, the monsters began to converge on us at even greater speeds.
It was almost time. I turned to Carmen and shouted my rehearsed line.
“I’ll get their attention!”
Carmen shouted back.
“You’re full of shit, even a Marnak priest can’t take on that horde of monsters alone!”
“But at this rate, we’ll be overtaken!”
“I can catch up!”
The arrow that left his hand pierced the head of a beast that was about to dart off to the side of the road.
“You know better than anyone that we can’t outrun it this way, I’ll stay behind!”
“I’m sure we can do it if we all work together! Don’t do it, Priest Marnak!”
He smirked and looked at Carmen.
“Reinforcements, by all means bring them.”
Without further ado, I let go of my horse’s reins and leapt off.
” Priests Marnak!!!”
” Priest after priest of the Crunch of Correction and the Cult of Restoration ran past me, bowing their heads in homage to the sacrifice. Returning them with a light bow, I pulled out the ‘Butcher’ I had strapped to my back and chuckled.
“Wasn’t my line a little cool just now?”
“Murder!
I fired up the Butcher, hearing my mother’s praise for my acting skills.
Whyahhhhhhhhhhhh!
The harsh roar of the engine pierced the dark night, and as if in response, a mingled roar of all manner of monstrosities erupted from the darkness.
I raised the Butcher and walked out to greet the monsters.
Now it was time to find out for myself what was going on in the minds of the worshippers of this evil god.