Chapter 249

Chapter 249

The capital of the Holy See Kingdom, Istirenne.

In the headquarters of the Heresy Inquisition Department, located at the center of the Grand Cathedral, Cardinal Gracia Delleda and Tasha sat facing each other.

“I heard the news.”

Gracia did not bother telling Tasha exactly what news she was talking about.

The only news worth hearing in this situation would be that Glenn had defeated the Demon King on the northern front and taken down the mastermind, Kacerto Rienze.

“How do you feel as his vassal?”

“I don’t really know.

I only feel disappointed that I could not accompany him.”

Her emotionless eyes quietly stared into the cardinal's deep ocean-blue eyes.

“You are a loyal vassal to the point of making me jealous.

Well, considering his reputation among people, I suppose it is only natural.”

Cardinal Gracia snorted and crossed her legs in the opposite direction.

“Enough with the useless talk.

Shall we get to the main point?”

A clear light began to appear in the cardinal's eyes, which had been relaxed until then.

“In any case, thanks to your master’s excellent performance, the Demon King’s army has now lost most of its commanders, including the legion commanders.”

“The Demon King’s army has lost five legion commanders, including the Second Legion Commander, who was part of the leadership.

The rest have each suffered a defeat.”

Even as she spoke, she found it astonishing that all of this had been accomplished by a single person.

“My prediction is that they will give up on this war, withdraw their soldiers, return to the Land of Demons, firmly close their gates, and prepare for the next war.”

“On the other hand, the Holy See Kingdom has suffered some damage on the front lines, but the forces in the capital remain completely intact.”

The lords of the major territories were still waiting for orders within their domains.

Furthermore, Istirenne still had monstrous forces such as Cardinal Gracia and Commander Ignat waiting in reserve.

“On top of that, the assassin of the Red Stakes, who had been notorious throughout the country for a long time, has also been eliminated.

So there is nothing tying down our forces.”

“Because the situation is like this, many high-ranking nobles and priests in the Grand Cathedral are suggesting that we cross the border and invade the Land of Demons.”

“They must be people hungry for military achievements, trying to seize even the smallest opportunity.”

Cardinal Gracia let out a laugh.

Tasha raised her eyes.

“What do you think, Your Eminence?”

“Personally, I believe the public opinion is correct.

But if that were all there was to it, I would not have called you here.”

The cardinal, who had been laughing casually, looked at Tasha seriously again.

“After all, this is the current state of the Holy See Kingdom.

No matter how much those sitting in the rear demand a counterattack, if a single person does not want it, they cannot move.”

If they still had the strength, naturally, it would be right to cross the border into the Land of Demons and repay everything they had suffered.

However, if the man who had defeated the Demon King and the legion commanders one after another and had taken control of the entire war did not want it, all those opinions could easily be rejected.

Glenn had gained such enormous influence within the Holy See Kingdom and the Church that Gracia could not take those words as a joke.

That was why Gracia had invited Tasha, who was currently acting as his representative in the capital, and asked for her opinion.

“So what direction does your master, who has been drawing the flow of events until now, intend to lead this Holy See Kingdom in?”

Cardinal Gracia was not a fool.

She knew that placing herself and Commander Ignat in the capital at the beginning of the war was not simply for the purpose of dealing with the strongest assassin of the demons.

Even if the assassin was notorious, deploying such enormous forces merely to deal with an assassin infiltrating the capital made no sense.

After much consideration, Cardinal Gracia had guessed that the reason most of the nation's main forces had been stationed in the rear was so Glenn could monopolize the military achievements for himself.

At the time, she had thought, What kind of madman would make such a plan during a war where the difference in strength between the sides is this enormous?

But Glenn had actually thought of such madness, carried it out, and achieved it.

—Just how far ahead must he be able to see to come up with a plan like that?

Faced with talent and determination that seemed to approach divine power beyond simply being favored by God, Cardinal Gracia could only shake her head in amazement.

And with calm eyes, she quietly acknowledged the will of the Third Saint, who now held the fate of the country and the Church in his hands.

That was why she was more curious about one man's opinion than the opinions of the public.

So she asked the young female knight who had remained in the capital and repeatedly contacted her to convey his intentions.

“Actually, a letter from Young Master Glenn arrived at the Lamp Under the Lantern Estate early this morning.”

“Did he predict that I would call you here and ask about his intentions?”

“Not to that extent.

But he did say that the reaction in the capital would be obvious, so I should visit Your Eminence, Cardinal Gracia.”

“I was joking.

Though with that man, I suppose there is nothing he cannot predict……

So what did he say?”

“He wrote that we should leave the Land of Demons alone for the time being.”

Cardinal Gracia frowned for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh.

“Hehehe…… What an unpredictable man Glenn Wordsworth is.

So.

Did he write down the reason?”

“It was written like this in the letter.”

A deep light appeared in Tasha's previously emotionless eyes as she continued.

Cardinal Gracia, who had been listening in a relaxed posture, frowned again.

“He said that a great enemy will soon appear in various parts of the Holy See Kingdom, so we should prepare ourselves.”

Cardinal Gracia placed a hand against her forehead.

Under normal circumstances, she would have dismissed such words as nonsense.

But why did they sound so convincing and unsettling?

“Oh……”

Inside Glenn's private room at Ovenue Fortress.

Glenn twitched the corner of his mouth as he looked at the unexpected gain displayed in the system message before his eyes.

《Gray Ring》

《Rank》: Unmeasurable

《Proficiency》: 8/12

The proficiency of the Gray Ring, which normally increased very slowly, had risen once again not long after its previous increase.

This is the shortest interval I've ever had.

Glenn guessed that it might be because he had actively used his holy demonic power more than before.

Regardless, having the skill's duration increased and its cooldown reduced was definitely beneficial.

12 minutes of duration with a 4-hour cooldown?

On top of that, if he added Wild Favor and Mirror of the Beginning, the total duration would be 48 minutes.

“Nice.”

There were four more stages left before he mastered the skill.

If things continued according to the pattern so far, the cooldown would continue decreasing by one hour during those four remaining stages.

Once he reached the mastery stage, he would be able to use the Gray Ring without a cooldown.

I didn't even get Lunatic, so I thought there wouldn't be any reward.

Compared to the reward from Lunatic, this was a small thing.

But the fact that the proficiency of the Gray Ring had increased was enough to make him smile.

Glenn immediately left his private room, ate a light meal, and finished warming up his body.

Then he sent a crow to Istirenne.

It was to keep track of the capital's movements according to his future plans.

“Will it take about five days to arrive?”

It was not a short amount of time.

However, it would probably take a similar amount of time for yesterday's events to spread all the way to the capital.

Besides, Tasha and Hockney are there, so there shouldn't be any problems handling things.

Being able to control things internally with just one letter was an enormous advantage.

Afterward, Glenn called his party members and the necessary people into the conference room.

It suddenly occurred to him that there were quite a lot of them.

His older sister Tris, who always looked at him with warm eyes.

Romina, who quietly did anything for him.

Penelope, who displayed infinite loyalty.

And Saint Ridenhall and Saintess Luceria, who, despite their distorted feelings, admired him and wanted to follow his example.

There are quite a lot.

And if he included the allies who were not present, such as Rowen, Tasha, and the god Mirmias, the number would be enormous.

It was strange to think that his allies had grown so much from when there had only been Tris and Romina.

Looking at his party, which had become so lively and crowded, Glenn let out a small laugh.

They began the meeting by welcoming Ridenhall, who had returned after a long absence.

“I’m also happy to see you again.”

Fortunately, Ridenhall had successfully completed Glenn's mission.

He had confronted Golams Hemisphere, the commander of the Demon King's Army's Seventh Legion, at Elchisco on the southern front.

“He resisted more fiercely than I expected, so I had some trouble.”

Thanks to the information Rowen had given him about Golams's habits before he left, along with the desperate efforts of the soldiers at Elchisco, he had been able to win.

“While I was returning, I learned that a battle had broken out and hurried to join.

That was when I arrived.”

He was referring to the time when the Skeleton Champion had entered the battle between Glenn and Kacerto Rienze, who had fused with the otherworldly flower.

“I was really grateful back then.

If you hadn't come, I would have died together with that bastard.”

“Haha……

No.

Even if you had died, there was the Saintess's miracle, wasn't there?”

Ridenhall laughed awkwardly as if he felt embarrassed.

Glenn suddenly leaned forward.

“No.

I’m seriously grateful.

If you hadn't been there, I would've completely lost it.”

Perhaps it was because he still remembered how horrible it had been when he died and was resurrected during his battle with Vanum.

Unless absolutely necessary, Glenn never wanted to experience death again.

“Ahahaha……”

Luceria scratched her cheek with an awkward smile, perhaps remembering Glenn's expression at the time.

Beside her, Romina folded her arms and gave Ridenhall a sharp look.

“By the way, I didn't expect you to come back alive.

I was wondering what I would do if the Seventh Legion Commander killed you and I had to go there myself.”

“……Ha.

Romina, you truly haven't changed at all.”

Glenn clicked his tongue as he watched Ridenhall and Romina compete with each other while standing on opposite sides of him.

Still, there was warm affection in both of their eyes as they looked at each other.

When the atmosphere had relaxed after some pointless conversation, Glenn brought everyone's attention back to the serious matter.

The reason he had gathered all his party members was, of course, to discuss their future plans.

“You all know that the war situation has tilted beyond the point of recovery.”

Everyone in the conference room quietly nodded at Glenn's words.

Six of the eight legion commanders who served as the pillars of the Demon King's army were dead, while two had defected.

There was no reason left to doubt the situation.

Furthermore, even if the Demon King tried to do something on his own, he had recently been defeated by Glenn and had a glorious record of running away.

“He'll probably enter secluded training until he decides that his strength has surpassed mine.”

He would probably go somewhere in the Land of Demons, a place Nox had designated for him, and train himself to control his power.

“Then shouldn't we go find him?

If it's you, Elder Glenn, you must even know where he is hiding.”

“That’s a sharp observation, Penelope.

I know exactly where he'll hide and train his strength.

But I can't go.”

There were several reasons.

First of all, with Glenn's current strength, he could not defeat Demon King Lupellos.

If every party member attacked together, they might be able to win.

But with Nox backing him, there were simply too many variables.

“And more importantly, I don't have the time or manpower to move in that direction.

I'll be quite busy.”

“You don't have the time, Brother?

Now that the Demon King's army has retreated, isn't this the time when we have more freedom than ever?”

Of course, they could think that.

Glenn had not yet told them about the final enemy.

“Unfortunately, no.

We don't have that freedom.

Another enemy will appear soon, one that isn't the Demon King's army.

It may already be moving.”

It sounded like something completely unrelated.

But a serious light filled Glenn's eyes.

Glenn had already encountered an orc who was an incarnation of Wena.

“Another enemy……

I've never heard of such a thing, no matter what records I search through, Brother.”

Luceria's pupils trembled.

Except for Romina, who had heard a brief explanation early the previous dawn, everyone looked confused.

“They exist.

People who look down at the world from above with arrogant eyes while putting on all kinds of airs.”

Glenn gave a cold smile.

“From now on, we're going to prepare to take those bastards down one by one.”