Parniel turned her head to Maurice and asked, "Who are you?"
Maurice, seeing Parniel, who was far larger than himself, felt intimidated. No, to be precise, he was overwhelmed by the power that had sent a superhuman flying in a single strike.
"I… I am Marquis Maurice Macquarie, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army of Lutania."
Parniel's eyes widened slightly. The man's status was higher than she had anticipated.
Though a saintess was a being beyond worldly status, she still understood the importance of courtesy.
Parniel gave a slight nod and said, "This is not the kind of place where I should be meeting someone of your stature. Let's finish off that wretched one first, and then we can continue our conversation."
"Ah, very well."
Boom!
The fallen Bicontis suddenly leapt to his feet and roared, "Graaaah! Who the hell are you!"
He was already in a state of considerable exhaustion. Taking a strike that crushed both his arms had wreaked havoc on his insides, causing him to vomit blood.
Additionally, the holy power that had invaded his body forced him to expend much of his energy to expel it.
Hoooo…
The black energy he exuded wavered as it surrounded his wounds.
'Damn it, who is this woman? Did one of the four great churches send reinforcements?'
The priests who had been with the Royal Army had all been killed by the Delphine Army. Being less adept at combat, they hadn't even been able to flee properly.
But the woman now before him was vastly different from those priests. She was not just skilled—she was a living weapon.
'Her name is Parniel, she said? Could it be… Parniel!'
A chill ran down Bicontis's spine. A massive, powerful woman with that name and those features wasn't exactly common in the world.
"The Saintess of War!"
She was the saintess of the Moriana Church, who had been fighting them from the shadows for years.
In troubled times, saintesses and saints seemed to emerge from everywhere, their reputations often inflated by the whispers of the desperate masses.
But Parniel was not one of those dime-a-dozen figures. She was a genuine saintess recognized by all the orders.
"Kuhaha… So, the woman I was meant to kill has come right to me."
From the perspective of the Salvation Church, the Saintess of War was a troublesome foe. Backed by the power of her order, confronting her directly was no easy feat.
Moreover, the Saintess of War was protected by countless temple knights and priests, making assassination attempts nearly impossible.
But now, she was alone. Surely, others were pursuing her, but if she was killed before they arrived, it wouldn't matter.
"I hear you're strong because of your holy power. But even that won't be enough to defeat me."
Though Bicontis himself was exhausted and in dire straits, he couldn't let this opportunity slip by.
With her holy power, she was said to possess combat abilities nearing that of a high-level knight. Supported by other priests, she could even achieve the strength of a superhuman.
But alone, she could be killed here and now.
Boom!
Bicontis surged forward, black wings and claws forming from the black energy around him.
He was determined to use every ounce of his strength to kill Parniel.
'Kuhaha! I'm finally going to achieve something great!'
In an instant, Bicontis closed the distance to Parniel, a euphoric smile on his face.
Killing a saintess, the representative of the goddess herself, would surely secure him eternal life in paradise.
"Die!"
Boom!
His claw, infused with tremendous energy, slashed through the air toward Parniel.
Parniel twitched her lips and raised her arm. Her muscular arm radiated a dazzling white light.
"You fool! Do you think you can block this with your bare body!"
Bicontis was certain her arm would be severed. He had poured an immense amount of energy into this attack.
Boom!
"What?"
But his confident attack failed to cut through Parniel's arm. Instead, it felt as though he had struck an unyielding shield, and the impact rebounded against him.
Bicontis couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
'She blocked a superhuman's attack… with her bare body?'
It wasn't as though she was completely unscathed. A thin red line marked her arm—she had been grazed, albeit slightly.
"Just that?"
A stunned Bicontis raised his head. Hovering in the air, a mace larger than a human body blocked the sun.
"W-wait!"
Boom!
Crack!
The mace struck Bicontis square in the face, sending him flying once again. His face was grotesquely deformed, one eye burst, and his vision narrowed.
"Graaaaaah!"
As holy power invaded his body, intense pain engulfed him. The black energy within him struggled to expel it, but the holy power refused to dissipate.
This time, far more holy power had entered his body than before.
"Y-you wretched… you wretched woman…"
Clutching his mangled face, Bicontis howled in agony. The opposing forces of holy power brought him excruciating pain.
He couldn't accept it. How could someone as powerful as he be beaten like this?
Even though his body was weakened and exhausted, the humiliation was unbearable.
"I'll kill you!"
Bicontis soared high into the air, spreading his wings wide. Drawing upon every last ounce of his strength, black energy began to surge and writhe.
After days of battle, his energy was nearly depleted. Using this technique would drain him completely.
For a while, he wouldn't even be able to move. But he was willing to pay that price if it meant killing the saintess and Maurice here.
Hoooooo…
His remaining eye turned a deep purple as an overwhelming aura radiated from his body, distorting the space around him.
He didn't have enough energy left to use this technique. So, he borrowed from his life force.
That was how badly he wanted to kill those before him.
Swoosh!
Thousands of strands of black energy erupted from Bicontis's body, shooting in all directions.
"Haha… try to stop this if you can!"
The saintess might survive. But everyone around her would perish.
Parniel muttered as she observed the scene.
"The cursed light, the wail of the abyss."
This was what people called the technique used by the Salvation Church's priests in ancient wars.
Gazing at the black energy filling the sky, Parniel opened her mouth.
"Behold, I shall shield this land with grace. By the holy will, the wicked touch shall vanish into darkness, and faith shall endure forever."
Whoosh!
A radiant light spread from her body.
Like an enormous shield, it expanded outward, creating a vast, luminous space.
The people around her widened their eyes at the miraculous power.
The streams of darkness collided with the light-filled space.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The black energy struck the luminous space without pause, unleashing such force that the ground shook and thunderous roars echoed incessantly.
Though the attack lasted only a brief moment, it felt like an eternity to those watching. Bicontis's final attack was both terrifying and awe-inspiring.
Yet, the luminous space held firm, wavering but never breaking.
"W-what… is this…"
Bicontis stared in disbelief. He had used every ounce of his power, even draining his life force. This was an attack that no high-level knight could block.
And yet, the saintess had held it off alone.
He had underestimated her because she traveled with a group, thinking her a weakling who relied on holy power and needed protection.
But she wasn't. The saintess herself was a monster.
"Tch."
Parniel spat out the blood pooling in her mouth.
The attack from the high-ranking priest, unleashed with all his might, had indeed been fierce. It had shaken her enough to cough up blood.
But that was it. It wasn't enough to seriously harm her.
Thud!
Parniel gripped her massive mace tightly and stepped forward. Every muscle in her body rippled with power.
"Ugh… ugh…"
Having exhausted all his strength, Bicontis had already descended to the ground. He no longer had the energy to maintain his wings or claws.
Having drained his life force, he was now weaker than an ordinary knight.
"D-damn it!"
He turned to flee, but Parniel wouldn't let him go.
In an instant, she closed the distance and swung her mace at Bicontis's back.
Boom!
"Graaaaah!"
Bicontis crumpled to the ground as his spine shattered. Yet, true to his nature as a priest of the Salvation Church, he didn't die immediately.
With a look of disgust, Parniel raised her mace high.
"Your corruption ends here. The holy light shall consume you."
Drawing a cross in the air with her free hand, Parniel brought the mace down mercilessly.
Boom!
"Argh!"
The massive mace struck Bicontis's back again, leaving him flat against the ground.
But Parniel didn't stop.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As though crushing a cockroach, she continued to strike with her mace.
Only after Bicontis's body was reduced to a pulverized, jerky-like state did she finally stop.
"Hah… Goddess, today I've sent one more to you."
"…"
Maurice and the remaining soldiers, who had been watching, were speechless.
Even considering Bicontis's weakened state, the way she utterly crushed a superhuman was beyond belief.
This was the power of one of the continent's Seven Great Powers, though they couldn't have known it yet.
The astonishment wasn't limited to them.
"Who… who is that?"
The pursuing soldiers, who had arrived by now, dared not come closer, watching from afar.
Their faces were filled with terror. Their strongest weapon, their superhuman, had been beaten to death. It was only natural.
Parniel, wearing a haughty expression, raised her head and said, "I do not wish to shed any more blood today. Withdraw."
Even though these men had allied with the Salvation Church, she still sought to avoid killing them. She believed that beating them into submission would lead to repentance.
Though, in truth, she only wanted to kill the priests of the Salvation Church.
That didn't mean she would show mercy.
"If you advance, I will send you all to the Goddess right here and now."
"Ugh… ugh…"
The commander of the pursuing force was at a loss. He needed to capture Maurice, but the situation had clearly turned against him.
Terrified of Parniel, he had no choice but to retreat with his forces.
As the situation calmed, Parniel approached Maurice.
"My apologies for the delayed introduction due to the urgency of the situation. I am Parniel, a servant of the Goddess of War."
"Ah, uh… th-thank you. I-I will make sure to repay this debt once I return."
"There's no need. Fighting the Salvation Church is my mission."
"R-really? That is certainly good to hear."
Maurice mumbled awkwardly. He didn't know how to handle someone who had appeared so suddenly and whose identity was unclear.
However, seeing her kill the Salvation Church's priest, it was clear she was their enemy.
"Wh-where have you come from?"
"I hail from the Theocracy of Peinos."
The Theocracy of Peinos governed itself differently than other kingdoms. It housed the central headquarters of the four major religious orders, each led by a Patriarch. These Patriarchs took turns governing the nation.
While its military strength wasn't formidable, its religious power was immense, enough to deter any kingdom from provoking it.
Maurice was taken aback and asked, "The Theocracy is quite far from here. How did you end up coming to the Kingdom of Lutania?"
"I came because I wanted to."
"H-huh?"
Parniel tilted her head for a moment, pondering how to explain, then continued.
"I heard that the Kingdom of Lutania is engaged in the fiercest battles against the Salvation Church. When I heard that, I felt a strong desire to come and fight here. Perhaps it was the guidance of the Goddess."
"Ah… I see…"
Priests lived by faith and divine guidance. As long as it was claimed to be the will of their deity, it was accepted without question. Logic or reasoning was unnecessary, and counter arguments were futile.
Maurice, being fond of such things himself, quickly understood.
"Haha, the fortune-telling hag said I'd meet a noble benefactor, and it seems that benefactor is you…"
Before he could finish speaking, Hubert poked Maurice sharply in the side.
Parniel's expression had grown cold. Mentioning a fraudulent fortune-teller in front of a priest of the four major religious orders was practically an invitation to a fight.
Feeling an immediate threat to his life, Maurice cleared his throat.
"Ahem, ahem. It was a joke, just a joke."
"It was a tasteless joke. I almost had to subject you for heresy."
"Y-yes…"
While the kingdom's priests had turned a blind eye due to Maurice's authority, Parniel had both the power and the qualifications to ignore such authority entirely.
Embarrassed, Maurice coughed a few more times before speaking again.
"If you don't have a place to stay, please join us. Since we're fighting the same enemy, it would be best to combine our strength."
"Thank you. Then I shall stay with you for the time being."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. If anything, we're the ones indebted to you."
Maurice smiled warmly as he composed himself. The war had become grueling due to the Salvation Church's high-ranking priests.
Now, with the help of someone of superhuman caliber, he couldn't help but feel optimistic.
"Alright, let's move out."
"Wait a moment. I have companions."
"Companions?"
Maurice looked puzzled as he waited. From the direction Parniel had come, a group of people was running toward them.
Dressed in priestly robes and gleaming white armor, about a hundred individuals approached. These were Parniel's attendant priests and temple knights.
The leader of the group shouted loudly as he neared.
"Saintess! Why did you recklessly move alone into danger!"
Maurice's eyes widened at the words.
"Saintess? She's really a saintess?"
Parniel nodded casually.
"Yes, I am the saintess chosen by the Goddess of War."
"…"
She didn't fit the typical image of a saintess, but considering she was chosen by the Goddess of War, it somehow seemed fitting.
Regardless, a saintess was someone who must be treated with the utmost respect, even more so than a superhuman. The title carried immense weight.
Maurice bowed deeply once again. With her status confirmed as a saintess, even the notion of fighting alongside her seemed presumptuous.
"Once again, I thank you for choosing to aid the Kingdom of Lutania."
"It's no trouble. This too is the guidance of the Goddess."
Parniel gave a slight nod in return. Such treatment was something she was accustomed to.
With the saintess now in their ranks, Maurice and the remnants of his forces withdrew with renewed dignity.
***
"Bicontis is dead?"
"Yes."
"Hah…"
Count Fogren sighed in disbelief upon receiving the report from the pursuing forces.
Though he had been exhausted from days of fighting, Bicontis was still a superhuman. And yet, he had been killed while chasing down remnants, by someone who appeared out of nowhere.
"Who was it?"
"We don't know. She was just a very large woman, seemingly a battle priest based on her Moriana Religious Order robes."
"A battle priest killed a superhuman? What order in this kingdom has such a priest?"
Count Fogren shouted in frustration. If such a priest existed, word would have spread long ago, and the duchy's intelligence network would have caught wind of it.
The Salvation Church had no reason to widely publicize the existence of the Saintess of War, who was their adversary. As such, Fogren had no information on her.
Despite his growing anger, he had no way to understand the situation.
What frustrated him even more was the fact that they had lost the Kingdom's Commander-in-Chief right before their eyes.
"Hoo…"
Exhaling deeply, Fogren summoned his strategists and spoke.
"Rest for two days, then march on the capital. After breaking through one or two more of the lords' armies, there won't be any forces left to stop us."
"Two days is too short. The soldiers are heavily fatigued."
The battle to capture this location had been grueling. Two days of rest would be far from sufficient for recovery.
But Fogren shook his head at their concerns.
"Some allied forces have yet to arrive. If they do, things will only get harder for us. We've lost the Arbiter, so it's better to move quickly and crush the remaining forces."
It seemed the opposing side had gained one superhuman-level individual, but Fogren didn't consider it a significant problem.
The remaining forces on the other side were few. Even if the lords in the area mustered their troops in haste, they wouldn't number more than 10,000.
Despite losing half his forces, Fogren still had 30,000 elite soldiers, as well as intact mage units.
With such strength, dealing with one superhuman wouldn't be a challenge.
"The Northern Army will be pushed back by the Second Corps. Even if they win, they won't be able to move fast enough to stop us."
Fogren declared confidently, and his strategists nodded in agreement.
But there was one fact they remained unaware of.
As they rested and reorganized, a raven circled above them, watching.
— Master, it seems the army is about to move.
When they finally began to move again, Ghislain received the news just as he set out.
Hearing the report through Dark, Ghislain unfolded a map while mounted.
"Fortunately, we'll be able to intercept them in time."
Even an army of 30,000 could only move so quickly, especially after days of exhausting battles with insufficient recovery.
By contrast, the Fenris Mobile Army boasted the kingdom's best mobility. They lacked neither morale nor stamina.
Estimating both sides' speed, Ghislain placed his hand on a point on the map.
"We'll intercept them here."
It seemed the duchy still underestimated the mobility of the Fenris Army, focusing only on Ghislain's status as a superhuman.
Perhaps they thought the Northern Army's massive forces would all move at once. Or perhaps they assumed the Northern Army had been wiped out in Ghislain's absence.
"That's your limit."
Ghislain smirked coldly.
This time, he would show them exactly what kind of being he is.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]