Chapter 416: Holy Land Lua (3)
Feltren’s plans for rebellion were far from sudden.
The Red Chalice Club had long extended its crimson hand across the world. Naturally, their greatest efforts were focused on infiltrating the Gerthonia Empire, ruled by the Codex of Light.
Through threats, bribes, and seductions, the Club worked tirelessly to worm its way into the Empire’s fabric. Many of those they manipulated didn’t even realize they were serving the Red Chalice.
Only those like Feltren, who had sworn direct allegiance and received their powers, knew the truth.
Feltren’s rivals within the Imperial Order vanished mysteriously, their secrets or scandals conveniently exposed. With the Club’s covert backing, Feltren rose to the position of Commander of the Imperial Knights—a masterpiece of the Red Chalice Club’s machinations.
Until Emperor Waltzemer’s downfall, everything had been going according to plan.
Feltren cast a glance at his Imperial Knights, suppressing a pang of regret.
“If not for that disaster, Gerthonia could have fallen into the Dancer’s hands.”
The Emperor’s march on Lichtheim wasn’t solely his decision.
Agents bought by the Red Chalice Club had fanned the flames of his pride, Feltren had fed him distorted intelligence about the Codex of Light, and Church factions had been bribed into weakening internal resistance.
Feltren and the Blood Dukes backing him had been certain of Waltzemer’s victory.
A win would have shattered the Codex of Light’s influence and fractured the Empire, likely halting the Dawn Army’s campaign.
But the appearance of the Lighthouse Keeper and Waltzemer’s deposition had unraveled everything.
Even as chaos erupted, Feltren quickly recalibrated.
His opportunistic nature allowed him to sense the shifting tide as the Church regained dominance.
Acting swiftly, he assassinated Duke Dietrich Brant and captured Emperor Waltzemer. He left the Emperor alive because his deposition, not execution, had symbolic significance.
Feltren saw this as an opportunity.
With the Emperor alive, discord would persist in Gerthonia, weakening the Codex of Light. Thus, he resolved to protect Waltzemer.
The Red Chalice’s goal wasn’t to kill its enemies but to consume or enslave them.
This decision proved correct.
By handing over Dietrich Brant and detaining Waltzemer, Feltren secured his position within the Imperial Order. The Emperor’s eventual escape only sowed more chaos in Gerthonia, fulfilling the Club’s broader aims. Despite their ultimate failure, the Blood Dukes praised Feltren’s adaptability.
But this campaign exhausted him.
Once angels became involved, all assumptions and plans were upended.
Feltren preferred to deal with greedy, self-serving humans—his kind of battlefield.
Then his thoughts drifted to a particular human, and he shook his head.
“No, the Holy Grail Knight… He’s completely unpredictable.”
In Feltren’s view, someone like Isaac Issacrea was an opponent best avoided. Even as he devised his rebellion, he considered recruiting Isaac, but the knight had already annihilated the Lord of the Graveyard and pressed toward Holy Land Lua.
Feltren reluctantly acknowledged that the Dawn Army’s success thus far was largely thanks to the Holy Grail Knight.
Isaac’s actions had split the Immortal Order’s front lines, destroyed two Archangels, and left Ushak’s defenses in ruins, enabling the Dawn Army to march unimpeded toward Holy Land Lua.
“Extraordinary… Absolutely extraordinary. But…”
Feltren’s conviction hardened. He couldn’t allow the Dawn Army to succeed.
The descent of the Millennium Kingdom had to be prevented at all costs.
Although the famed Skewer Legion of Wallachia hadn’t joined the fight, Feltren believed himself more than capable of compensating for their absence.
Sometimes, a single drop of poison or the thrust of a dagger was enough to thwart an emperor’s conquest.
And Isaac… Isaac was the wildcard Feltren trusted to disrupt everything.
***
The Burning Maiden stood watching Holy Land Lua.
Before her lay the sacred ground where the Codex of Light was born, a land stolen centuries ago and now obscured behind thick, profane walls. Her mission was to tear down that dome and bathe the sacred soil in sunlight once more.
But she didn’t order an immediate assault.
It was still pre-dawn, a time when their strength would be at its weakest. Moreover, she needed to wait for straggling forces to catch up before unleashing the full might of the Dawn Army.
Though known for recklessly driving her forces forward, even the Burning Maiden recognized the need for patience now.
No mistakes could be afforded at this critical moment.
“The Holy Grail Knight… He’s not here.”
She didn’t doubt the Dawn Army’s victory.
The presence of the Immortal Emperor, hidden relics, or even vile miracles within Holy Land Lua were irrelevant. Victory for the Codex of Light was inevitable.
Even in her mortal life, she had stood before the Lighthouse Keeper and accused him of doubt. Her faith had never wavered.
Yet Isaac Issacrea unsettled her.
She knew the Lighthouse Keeper included the Holy Grail Knight in his grand designs and understood the logic. But emotionally, she couldn’t reconcile the presence of such a heretic as a key figure in their campaign.
His audacity, his proximity to Holy Land Lua, his very existence—it all felt wrong.
The Burning Maiden chalked it up to her own zeal for rooting out heresy, a trait the Lighthouse Keeper had tolerated.
Yet, despite her suspicions, Isaac had already vanquished the Lord of the Graveyard, an achievement even she hadn’t anticipated.
Her reverence for the Lighthouse Keeper deepened, but so did her mistrust of Isaac.
It fell to her, as the Inquisitor, to fill in the gaps and ensure no heretic undermined their cause.
She had driven the Dawn Army relentlessly to reach Holy Land Lua ahead of Isaac.
Finally, as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, the unholy sights surrounding Holy Land Lua were revealed.
The Burning Maiden shuddered, and the soldiers who had spent the night wide-eyed shared her horror.
“What is… that?”
A soldier murmured in disbelief, rubbing his eyes.
Around the massive dome of Holy Land Lua, countless monsters were piled like mountains.
They came in all shapes and sizes, their grotesque forms lacking any consistency. Limbs of unknown purpose flailed as they clawed and hammered at the walls of the sacred dome.
For some of the soldiers in the Dawn Army, it was their first time seeing creatures from the Outer Boundary. The twisted, unnatural shapes triggered primal revulsion, nausea, and a sense of creeping madness.
Some speculated that the Immortal Order had summoned these horrors to defend Holy Land Lua.
But that theory faltered—these monsters were clearly attacking the dome.
Confusion rippled through the ranks. Were they meant to fight alongside these creatures against the Immortal Order, or side with the Order to defend the holy ground?
The Burning Maiden cracked her fiery whip, cutting through their doubts with her command.
[Monsters unfit for this world are desecrating our sacred land! Warriors of the Dawn Army, burn them to ash and reclaim what is rightfully ours!]
And just like that, the decision was made: the monsters were nothing more than thieves.
As the Burning Maiden’s blazing tree of fire grew brighter, the soldiers’ thoughts simplified, replaced with boiling rage.
Kill them! Crush them! These monsters were nothing but looters trying to steal what belonged to them.
Every injustice, every pain, every suffering these soldiers had endured—these abominations dared to take the prize owed to them in recompense!
The Burning Maiden knew the fervor had reached its peak but refrained from ordering the charge just yet. She had prepared meticulously for this moment.
[Throw the prisoners into the flames!]
“No! Stop, you bastards!”
Several captured orcs were dragged toward a massive brazier in the center of the Dawn Army’s formation. The brazier, shaped like a gaping maw, was ablaze with roaring flames. The Holy Knights, without hesitation, hurled the orcs into its fiery jaws.
The brazier snapped shut like a mouth, and an explosion of searing light radiated from it.
The holy relic known as the Teeth of Saint Aila consumed heretics, granting the surrounding soldiers a surge of vitality and energy. It was as if they had been feasting and resting for days.
Renewed with strength and rage, the soldiers shouted:
“The holy land is within reach! The gates of heaven are opening!”
Satisfied, the Burning Maiden gave her final command, her voice low but commanding.
[Go.]
***
“Oooooohhh!”
With a roar, the soldiers charged toward the monsters, unleashing their pent-up frustration and fury.
The grotesque shapes of the Outer Boundary’s creatures might have struck terror in other circumstances, but the soldiers’ rage left no room for fear.
Finally, some of the creatures turned their attention toward the oncoming Dawn Army.
One massive abomination swung its tentacles, slicing through twenty soldiers in a single sweep. The upper halves of their bodies were scooped up and shoved into the creature’s gaping maw, while their lower halves stumbled briefly before collapsing.
“Aaaaargh!”
But even such horrifying sights couldn’t penetrate the soldiers’ frenzy. They trampled over their comrades’ remains, their spears piercing the creature’s hide.
Ordinary weapons might have glanced off the monster’s flesh, but the spears, blessed by the Burning Maiden’s sacred fire, drove through its body with ease.
Soon, the tide of soldiers engulfed the abomination, their numbers overwhelming it.
The monsters, without commanders or cohesion, were more focused on Holy Land Lua than the soldiers attacking them. They reacted violently, but their disorganized nature left them vulnerable to the relentless onslaught.
However, the monsters’ counterattacks were devastating enough to keep the battle evenly matched.
The Dawn Army wasn’t limited to spears.
“Baptize them with fire!”
Priests began hurling sacred relics—vessels inscribed with prayers that exploded into azure flames upon impact. These fires burned away the creatures clinging to the dome, forcing them to writhe and scream before falling to the ground.
“Clear the way with the lighthouses!”
Three lighthouses activated simultaneously, their radiant beams scorching the monsters and carving a path for the advancing soldiers.
[A… rle, ■gi… ve it to me! I… w■ll give yo…u… nothing! Hando…■ it…!]
Suddenly, an enormous creature resembling a two-headed octopus emerged from the dome’s walls. Its bulbous form swayed, and its tentacles crushed entire squads of soldiers with a single swipe.
The lighthouses seared its flesh, and sacred fire scorched its limbs, yet the monster only grew more frenzied. One of its flaming arms struck a group of soldiers, setting them ablaze as they screamed.
[Stand aside.]
From the heavens came a blinding light and a searing heat.
The Sword of May had arrived.
The soldiers erupted into cheers as the Archangel descended, wreathed in radiant flames. With a single swing, she severed several of the creature’s limbs, her blazing swords cleaving through its massive form.
Though the monster resisted fiercely, it faltered and ultimately plummeted from the dome, crashing to the ground with a deafening thud.
At last, the entirety of Holy Land Lua’s dome was visible, glistening ominously in the growing light of dawn.
[I shall take the lead!]
The Burning Maiden gathered the blazing branches of her fiery tree, coalescing them into a single towering pillar of fire.
With a deafening roar, she hurled the inferno at the dome.
BOOOOOOM!
The battlefield trembled as the inferno struck. Waves of heat washed over the soldiers, and the dome’s inscriptions and relics glowed brilliantly in response. The sacred walls began to crack and buckle under the combined assault.
But the Sword of May noticed something odd.
Neither the Immortal Emperor nor any visible defensive forces from the Immortal Order had yet appeared.
Then, from one of the melting sections of the dome, a strange, pulsating movement began.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, throwing molten debris and shockwaves across the battlefield. Soldiers screamed as the blast swept them away.
The clash of the intense heat generated by the Burning Maiden’s fire and the icy cold surging from within the dome had created a catastrophic reaction.
[What vile, stinking flesh dares to invade sacred ground?]