HBWnovel Chapter 201: Holy Blood Order (1)
Chapter 201: Holy Blood Order (1)
Chapter 201: Holy Blood Order (1)
“Finding the location of dwarves isn’t actually that big of a problem,” Camilla said in a calm voice as she watched the dwarven children gathered together, eating their meal. “Do you happen to know of the existence of the earth god, Horn?”
“Oh, the god that the dwarves supposedly worship?”
"So you do know. Most people wouldn’t... But then again, you’re not an ordinary player. Anyway, this will be easy to explain since you’re already aware. Even if it's just a game, you worship a god too, so you know what a god needs most."
"Followers."
Camilla nodded at Kai’s answer. "Right. Followers. Without those who believe in them, a god would eventually be forgotten. In that sense, Horn is a blessed god."
"Because he has followers who resolutely believe in him?"
"Yes. The dwarf tribe as a whole reveres Horn. Of course, not all walk the path of priesthood, but occasionally, there are dwarves who don’t want to take up a hammer. Their path is the path of the priesthood."
"Dwarf priests, huh. Are there any among those children?"
"Fortunately for us." Camilla pointed to a girl crouched in a small corner between the buildings. "But you know, finding their location doesn’t mean the problem is solved."
"You said there were elite members of the Church of Muldine... and from other intel, there’s also an army of monsters."
"Even monsters...? That’s news to me. But in my opinion, they shouldn’t pose much of a threat to you."
"Of course."
Kai flashed a confident smile, but Camilla shook her head.
"The one you truly need to be cautious of is the man of darkness."
"The man of darkness?"
"The dwarves built the new Ingart on Snowy Mountains over two hundred years ago. Do you really think Sineras, the Death Dragon, suddenly discovered Ingart by itself after all that time?"
"Was it a helper from the Church of Muldine?"
"That I can’t be sure of. But the important thing is that the man commanded Sineras without difficulty, and Sineras didn’t defy his orders."
"Are you certain about that?"
"I saw it clearly with my own eyes, so yes."
The Death Dragon Sineras was a powerful entity within the world of MID Online.
It was merely a hatchling, though, which just makes it weaker compared to adult dragons.
A Death Dragon was a powerful entity, with few NPCs able to match its strength. However, there was someone who could command such a creature without issue.
"What was their name? If he was an enemy, his name should have appeared above his head."
At Kai’s question, Camilla shook her head with a confused expression. "Yes, that would be normal... but there wasn’t. Even as he cast binding spells on the dwarves, only a question mark appeared above his head."
"A question mark...?" Kai furrowed his brow, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
If there’s an overwhelming difference in level or stats, a question mark can appear.
Kai himself had experienced this only once while playing the game.
The Dark Wizard Zirukan.
In a way, Zirukan was someone who had changed his life. Regardless of how it happened, it was thanks to him that Kai could change classes to Solaric Cleric.
However, Zirukan has no connection to the Church of Muldine.
They were both shady and wicked. However, Zirukan was part of the Demon King’s army, working toward the Demon King’s resurrection, while the Church of Muldine was a cult that worshiped an evil god.
Could there be a chance they would join forces?
Kai left open the possibility of that slim chance.
The Church of Muldine is so cunning that it would even encourage dragons if it could bring chaos to the world.
Thus, Kai wondered if a Demon King would be any different. The Demon King’s army was one of the forces that could bring the most chaos to this world of the NPCs.
"The possibility isn’t entirely out of the question.”
There came a moment for each person when something called intuition arrived. Even with a trivial, seemingly meaningless clue, they could deduce something close to the truth. Kai thought this was one of those moments now.
Unfortunately, my ominous hunches often turn out to be accurate.
If his ominous assumption was correct, then there was really no way out.
My affinity with the Church of Muldine is, no, do they even have anything that could be called affinity toward me?
As if proving that a basement was beneath the floor, his relationship with the Church of Muldine had already plunged past zero into the negative.
An enemy’s enemy might be a friend, but if it’s an ally's enemy...
It was needless to say they would also see them as an enemy!
“Sydney.”
“Oh, that’s a pretty name.”
“Do you say things like that to any woman?”
“Wouldn’t it be polite to ask if there are any women around first? Besides, you’re a child, not a woman.”
Looking at Kai’s lonesome expression with pity, Sydney then murmured as she hugged her knees, “Ahjusshi, do you have a lot of friends?”
“Why do you ask about friends?”
“Apparently, the bad guys who attacked our kingdom have a lot of friends. It would be impossible for you to deal with them by yourself.”
“While I may not have many friends... don’t worry too much.”
Kai gave a soft smile at Sydney’s concern, then turned his head to look at the children with gloomy expressions.
All those kids over there are at the age where they should be running around and playing...
Perhaps because of the situation, the children didn’t smile easily other than when Camilla returned.
It’s the duty of adults to bring smiles back to children’s faces.
And right now, he was the only adult who could do that.
Having made up his mind, Kai rose to his feet without hesitation.
Sydney glanced up slightly and asked, “Ahjusshi, where are you going?”
“To have a good fight with some bad guys.”
“But you said you didn’t have friends.”
“Haha, wouldn’t things work out somehow?”
As Kai ruffled Sydney’s hair and began to leave, Shimizu, who had been quietly following him, said,
—Kai, always remember where your roots began, wherever and whenever.
“My roots?” Kai tilted his head and asked back, “Are you referring to the main church of the Church of Solaris? But that place was controlled by the Church of Muldine until recently. It’s a bit hard to trust...”
—Shouldn’t it be even more trustworthy now precisely because of that past?
“What does that mean?”
—The Solarian Church’s main church has been completely reformed under the current High Priest Albert.
“I suppose that’s true...”
It had been some time since the Solarian Church had been turned upside down.
Come to think of it, I wonder if it’s complete by now.
High Priest Albert had created a new military group, the Holy Blood Order, solely for Kai. He didn’t know how capable they were, but right now, he was in a situation where he would take any help he could get, even from a cat.
Of course, if he went to Beoruk, the king of Rashion, he would likely receive support from the Ironblood Knights, however...
If I receive something, I also need to give something in return.
If he saved the dwarves, he intended to accept them as new residents of Libertia. If that happened, Beoruk probably wouldn’t feel very good about that because he would have provided support, but nothing would be left for him.
But if it’s the Solarian Church, I could easily smooth over any issues through my status.
Besides, he felt uneasy about continually exposing the mermaids and elves to danger.
If it’s the Holy Blood Order, it would probably include members from the Pray guild, meaning a high proportion of players. Their skills would be reliable, wouldn’t they?
Taking Shimizu’s advice into account, Kai confidently nodded.
Watching him, she gave a soft smile.
—Have you made your decision?
"Yes. Let’s go check it out."
Regardless of whether it was possible or not, facing the army of monsters, the elite forces of the Church of Muldine, and the mysterious man of darkness all alone would be excessive arrogance.
If I could take them down without worrying about anything, I would even resort to guerrilla warfare to fight them...
But they were holding hundreds of dwarves as hostages. From Kai's perspective, this meant he needed to protect their safety while completely eliminating the enemies! In short, what Kai needed right now were reliable comrades on the battlefield—or perhaps, subordinates.
“Shadow Shift.”
Kai instantly vanished on the spot.
1. Ahjussi is usually used to address an older man, usually middle-aged. ☜