My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness Chapter 99

#99

The Beginning of Change (3)

Heinrich St. Landgard.

Heinrich, who became the master of the Holy Sword and was ordained a paladin, was given the middle name ‘Saint’.

It was not just a title.

Because it was a name that only those who were directly chosen by the main deity, such as saints and saints of the church, had.

‘This is all thanks to the “Great Blessing: Knight of Light” he received at the investiture ceremony…’

There were many types of blessings, starting from things he did not have, such as increased rigid body jump.

Until now, Heinrich had felt the God’s interest directly, so it didn’t really hit him, but it was like some kind of reward received when certain conditions were met.

If you overcome your physical limitations through extreme training, you will receive the blessing of a ‘strong body.’

If you accept more than the limit of divine power through constant seeking, you will receive the blessing of ‘increase’.

In addition, if a certain standard is surpassed while practicing a technique using divine power or studying a sacred law, it becomes a blessing and is returned to the practitioner.

‘I haven’t really felt it yet.’

However, if you think about it, except for “Blessing: Leap,” all the other blessings were obtained when you did your best in the situation.

The standards may have been a little too generous, but it was not an unprecedented situation.

However, the ‘Great Blessing’ was different from the ‘Blessings’ I had received so far.

‘A blessing that comes solely from the Lord’s choice.’

Among the many believers of the main religious denomination, it was an event that occurred once in a generation.

For example, among those who have received the Great Blessing in modern times, the only living person is Saint Riesta.

It is said that there was a time in the past when no one came forward at all, so I could see how difficult it was to receive it.

‘Besides, being recognized by the Holy Sword does not necessarily mean you will receive a great blessing.’

There are about a dozen owners of the holy sword that have been passed down until now, but only two of them were saints.

A warrior from a thousand years ago who rose up with the holy sword and defeated the Immortal King as a saint from the beginning.

A former warrior who became a saint after holding the holy sword like Heinrich.

This means that the holy sword warriors who defeated the Immortal King in the previous generation were also saints chosen by the main god.

‘I guess that means the Lord is very concerned about matters related to the abyss. But something tickles me about being a saint.’

It seemed like Ju-Jin was trying to push him because he felt useful, but he couldn’t help but feel a little burdened.

That’s right…

“Oh! “There you are, a saint!”

“As expected, from the first time I came to the Great Hall, I thought it was something out of the ordinary. “I never thought I would be chosen by the Lord so quickly.”

“Obviously that growth rate was not normal. “I finally understand.”

This is because everyone who had been comfortable with him before began to treat him with awe.

Even paladins, archbishops, and even cardinals I had only met a few times.

‘Plus, the condition of the newly issued equipment is no joke.’

The pure white armor he is wearing, ‘Guardian of Glory’, was a luxury item among luxury goods created with great care by the best craftsmen of the Main Church in the past.

Rare metals, including mithril and orichalcon, are basically used.

The inner surface was filled with prayers engraved, so it was literally a ‘moving fortress’ surrounded by all kinds of high-ranking holy laws and even a sacred barrier.

‘The price is just as good.’

It was not a small castle on the border, but a strategic fortress with all kinds of magical treatments.

The price was so exorbitant that even the wealthy main church could only make one, and even paladins were using equipment of a lower level than this.

In fact, it was like a sacred object.

‘In the end, this is the final equipment. The best weapon, the Holy Sword, and the best armor, the Guard of Glory. There is no need to worry about fitting the equipment anymore.’

Henry, who had become a saint, was on his way out after meeting the Pope, who was currently resting and recuperating, with the saint.

He has a soft appearance, eyes so bright that it’s hard to believe he’s bedridden, and a powerful divine power filled with his body.

Hatianus II, who has led the main religious order until now, seemed to have made enough corrections on the outside, but…

‘I said there wasn’t much time left. Did you say that you can stay awake for about an hour a day?’

Although he was still holding on thanks to his enormous divine power, the candle of his life was about to go out.

The saint must also be well aware of that fact.

However, she did not show it and showed a cheerful appearance throughout, introducing Henry to the Pope.

She chatted excitedly until he fell asleep again, but her expression became gloomy when she completely left the residence, but she quickly changed her expression and put a soft smile on her lips again.

Although she was still young, she was a saint.

She knew very well that it was not good for her to show her negative emotions too much.

And isn’t this the world’s largest religious center?

For them, death was just another journey toward the Lord, not an eternal farewell.

As I was walking down the street having a light conversation with the saintess, who seemed to have completely calmed down, she suddenly changed the topic.

“Oh, by the way, now that Heinrich has become a saint, we can work on this together in more earnest! Ah, I’m so glad I have a comrade to share the burden with!”

…I think it’s been a very difficult time.

It is said that really important or troublesome issues are handled by working-level officials under the leadership of the cardinal, but now that the pope is unable to work, she is said to be the highest ranking person, so it seems that she was under a lot of implicit stress.

‘Because the Pope and the Saint are in similar positions…’

She may be seen as superior in a symbolic sense, but the status of someone who rose to the top of the clergy, the Pope, after countless years of proof, was by no means easy.

It was only natural that the inexperienced young saint was only a symbol of the religious order and the person who actually led them was the Pope.

‘The problem is that the Pope is currently absent.’

As the election of a new pope was possible only after the previous pope left for the bosom of God, those who remained had no choice but to do their best.

In addition, isn’t the current Pope the adoptive father on the family register who adopted her despite his old age?

The desire to somehow fill the void left by her father may also be one of the reasons why the saint devoted herself to her work by even reducing her sleep.

“Now that I think about it, I have something to discuss. “You heard about the Immortal King’s movements this time, right?”

After becoming a saint, work was handed over, and people were attached to him to deliver external news and assist with work.

And I was able to hear the latest news through them.

“It is said that they are showing a full-fledged movement that is different from before. “You opened the abyss, summoned the undead to the continent, and this time it was an overt provocation…”

It was a story about the recent actions of Hans, the Immortal King.

In addition, the church’s competent intelligence team analyzed in detail why he behaved like that and relayed it to Heinrich.

The situation of sending a signal to the undead to gather them and take care of them was captured.

‘Of course, I didn’t think I could hide it forever.’

It was natural that everyone’s attention was focused on the advertisement, as it was advertised to the extent that it could be seen not only in the Church and the Magic Tower, but also in many territories.

Other forces are probably having a hectic time right now, trying their best to obtain more detailed information.

It wasn’t very good news for Hans, though.

“I don’t know what he’s thinking all of a sudden… I can’t just let the Immortal King go to such lengths and start gathering his troops again. “This is your chance to deal with him before he gathers more troops!”

The saintess spoke impassionedly, her golden eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

That was something Hans had already fully expected.

Replying to the signal sent by Hans carried the risk of being discovered by others who were determined to detect it.

‘That’s why we’re deliberately dividing the area to work… but there are cases where the undead are subdued before we can unite and retrieve them.’

That was still happening in real time.

The locations where the undead appeared were so varied and numerous that they did not only appear in deserted places.

If it is near a religious temple or a magic tower, a city with powerful people, or a territory with strong military power, the moment the location is discovered, it is over.

Unless there were immortal army executives, it was inevitable that they would be destroyed individually.

“ah! And a continental summit is scheduled to be held again soon. “If things have gotten this far, they won’t be able to sit idle any longer, so they should try to come up with a proper plan this time!”

The saint’s eyes lit up and she made a firm determination.

Then he turned to Heinrich and added a word.

“Together!”

…I guess I’ve really been under a lot of pressure related to work.

***

In fact, although the church had warned several times about the Immortal King, there were limits to the response of other countries on the Aeon Continent.

The current situation is very different from what happened before.

The fight against the previous Immortal Kings basically consisted of an all-out war in the form of a war.

Because the energy of the abyss in their hearts was so strong, the fact that the church was able to somehow figure out their location played a big role.

Of course, past immortal kings reached the extreme level of black magic, so they were able to avoid the attention of the church for a while.

No matter what you do to distract people’s attention for a moment, there is a limit to what you can do, and in the end, your location will be discovered.

Therefore, they had no choice but to raise a huge immortal army to protect themselves and fight an all-out war with the continent.

I said so.

This time, the resurrected Immortal King’s actions were completely different.

No matter what tricks he used, he thoroughly hid his location and worked behind the scenes to throw the continent into chaos.

Additionally, due to its unpredictable mobility, it was impossible to collect information and determine its whereabouts.

That was the reason why other powers could not make any special moves right away.

What can you do when you don’t even know where the enemy you’re supposed to be fighting is or what he’s doing?

The only thing that could be done was to protect key figures and strategic points, while strengthening security and reorganizing the military in preparation for future troubles.

However, there is no immediate enemy in sight, and only uncertain preparations will continue for several months.

As the situation unfolded, hyenas began to show their heads one by one, trying to take advantage of the chaos rather than prepare for the future.

From the military’s embezzlement of military supplies and military supply corruption at the bottom to the secret collusion of the political circles at the top.

Small discords arising from all walks of life gathered together and contributed to creating the current chaotic political situation.

It was only now that the problem had grown that I was hastily trying to resolve it again.

Even before the situation could be resolved, a bigger change was coming.

A group of people passing through a forest path infested with monsters.

As it was a dangerous area, the number of mercenaries surrounding them and guarding the surroundings was large.

At that time, a mercenary guarding the top spoke quietly to the man next to him.

“Hey Mike. Is it really okay? “I heard there are undead wandering around everywhere these days.”

“Then what? “But you can’t take a break from work forever, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

“And unless you’re extremely unlucky, you won’t run into them. “With numbers like this, it might be worth a try.”

As the merchants were well aware of the current situation, several merchants heading in the same direction joined forces and hired a larger number of mercenaries than usual.

So they confidently traversed the dangerous forest path and in the end did not encounter a single undead.

However….

“Ugh! “What are these guys!”

“be careful! Absolutely ordinary guys… Wow!”

A swarm of monsters, including countless monsters, attacked the upper group.

“Kruk—!”

“Keeeeek!”

There were many different types of monsters that attacked, such as goblins, orcs, and gremlins, but they all had common characteristics.

Eyes with a subtle red glow.

Saliva dripping from the corner of the mouth.

Viciously bulging muscles.

The recklessness of rushing at someone without caring even if

their limbs are cut off… and the murderous intent to kill the opponent until the moment they completely stop breathing, even if their throat is cut or their heart is pierced.

“Why do guys from different races join forces…Keuuk!”

“There is no end to these guys…!”

They were trampling on humans mercilessly.

This also started happening all over the continent—.

The effects of ‘madness’ were slowly but surely revealing themselves.