Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 194

[Vol. 5] Chapter 194: What Is a Follower, What Is Faith

And now, ?Dawn?must endure the first wave of this deadly poison’s backlash.

Even though she expected it and was prepared, when it actually happened, the girl, usually so indifferent, couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless and annoyed.

“That’s enough.”

An exceptionally cold voice, sharp enough to make one’s skin break into a shiver, suddenly interrupted Miss White Fox just as she was about to speak.

It was the gentle woman, Bright Light Saintess, a symbol of pure, untarnished light, who spoke these words.

Slightly surprised, White Fox turned her head. Through the corner of her eyes, she could see that Yuna Summerfield, without even glancing at her, had a glint of coldness in her light blue eyes. So sharp that it could almost be called murderous intent.

“Rudolph, let me make this clear. I never want to hear such words again. You better understand that the presence of the Goddess, Her grace, and Her blessings are honors, but they will never become duties or obligations. We praise Her, we pray to Her, all because of Her greatness. Not because we face difficulties and seek to trade favors for help.”

“I ask you, what do you take faith for?”

A third wave of silence swept over the crowd.

Even Violet was speechless. It seemed that even the senior bishops and holy knights who had worked with Yuna for a long time had never seen the Bright Light Saintess display such behavior.

Without a doubt, this was anger, an emotion only devout believer show when facing extreme blasphemy.

Almost immediately, the archbishop who had just tried to seek help from Miss White Fox, Rudolph Lombard, broke out in a cold sweat. Under the unrestrained pressure and questioning from the Saintess, he trembled so violently that he could hardly remain standing.

“I… I…”

In fact, Yuna wasn’t wrong. According to the Goddess’s teachings, followers are only allowed to pray and seek Her gaze. They have no right to demand that the Goddess do anything for them.

Rather, it can be said that besides the long-established and commonly accepted blessing of faith-based magic, the miracles and divine powers exhibited by the “Goddess of Light” over the past year or two have far surpassed the total of the previous thousand years.

In fact, entities like Dawn, the angels, and even that holy white dragon, though they have not received direct acknowledgment, are very likely to be considered as beings favored by the Goddess.

The archbishop named Rudolph indeed misspoke. Regardless of what he or many others actually thought in their hearts, whether the mysterious Miss White Fox truly had any connection to the Goddess, merely speaking such words was enough for someone with ill intentions to latch onto and charge him with “great disrespect and blasphemy against the God.”

Realizing this, many church members who were prepared to continue the conversation quickly fell silent, fearing they might become the next target of the Saintess’ wrath.

Just as the atmosphere became inexplicably tense, with almost no one daring to approach the furrowed brow of the furious Saintess, the Holy Knight Clatius, who had previously been angrily rebuking other colleagues, unexpectedly spoke up to offer advice.

“Ahem, Archbishop Rudolph is simply worried and misspoke. Your Highness, with the battle about to commence, it would be better for us to focus on what truly needs our attention, don’t you think?”

“Sigh…”

It’s unclear whether the Holy Knight’s persuasion had any effect or if it was simply because Miss White Fox had gently tugged at her skirt beneath the table, but the Saintess took a deep breath. Her beautiful eyes slightly closed, and when she opened them again, the previously unusual cold pressure had dissipated into nothingness.

“Fine, the situation is special. I’ll let you off this time… Rudolph Lombard, you no longer need to participate in the upcoming meetings and battles. Stay in the Holy Capital and do what you’re supposed to do.”

“Ah? This…”

It was evident that Rudolph, the four-winged archbishop associated with the family Violet was concerned about, seemed eager to say something.

After all, according to common sense, although the Saintess held a revered status, she was merely a leader of one of the three armies. Even if she was nominally the commander, she did not have the authority to directly replace high-ranking commanders and personnel from the Eastern Capital without at least informing the Pope.

After all, the situation was slightly different from the one where “military orders are disregarded when troops are away,” as the army had not yet left the Holy Capital.

However, after witnessing that scene just now, especially after feeling the Saintess’s almost undisguised anger and killing intent, no one dared to say anything more or continue to confront her in this situation.

Moreover, this matter was ultimately due to Rudolph’s own slip of the tongue, so it could be considered significant or small matter.

In the end, this archbishop, clearly affiliated with the Holy Court’s powers, chose to retreat temporarily.

“Yes, then I take my leave…”

Once Rudolph departed, under the strong intimidation of the Saintess, no one else dared to direct their attention to Miss White Fox, and they could only obediently discuss strategies for responding to the demon offensive.

Ultimately, under the unified leadership of the Bright Light Saintess and Edwina, the military meeting decided not to delay any further and to send troops to the Fulan province immediately, doing everything possible to counter the demonic forces’ continued incursion to the west.

At any cost.

The specific combat strategies were fervently discussed, and various orders were quickly issued and relayed to the armies and the Holy City, coordinating resources and mobilizing troops…

The massive entity known as the Holy Empire, after three long centuries, was once again fully engaged and serious.

The situation was urgent. After the military meeting, over 100,000 troops were mobilized, gathering at the outskirts of the Holy Capital, consisting of the Western Expeditionary Army, the Holy City’s ?Scales of Judgment? Holy Knight Order, and elite Knight Templar units from other eastern regions. They began to pack up and march eastward.

It seemed that the Redemption Saintess also received an urgent message, and would accelerate their journey and slightly adjust their route, bypassing the Holy Capital and instead meeting with the responding troops outside the Fulan province in a few days to ultimately support the main battlefield.

This was already the most reasonable adjustment the Holy Empire could make under such urgent circumstances.

Although this sudden change disrupted Violet’s plans for the near future to some extent, causing her to put many arrangements on hold, such as visiting the Holy Court over the next couple of days and trying to meet the renowned Holy Emperor August, along with other intentions. It was fortunate that these didn’t have much impact.

She intended to bring along several companions, including Eudora, to the east. As for the Lightborn Tribe scholar named Ayla Light, whom Violet had encountered by chance at the Holy Academy, she had already made arrangements last night for her to perform well, so there shouldn’t be any issues.

Regarding the vampire’s Blood clan, from Violet’s observations over the past few days, the two princes and a duke who were indeed lurking in the city seemed to have no intention of causing trouble. At most, they would occasionally sneak out to quietly feed, which wouldn’t create much disturbance or casualties.

Other vampire members didn’t seem to have contacted them, and she didn’t know what was going on there.

Unfortunately, being far from the Holy Capital meant that she would also need to recall her soul embodiment, as she could no longer continue observing for a while.

The strange Spirit Puppet Tribe girl who had once fought with the vampire named Avrilia Constantius also seemed to show no signs of appearing these days.

As for the demons, there was even less to discuss.

From this perspective, the Holy City currently seemed relatively stable. Other matters could wait until the war over there concluded or at least reached a temporary pause before she returned to deal with them.

Oh, right, she also needed to notify the Spirit Veil Merchant Guild here and Edwina to ensure they pay attention to arranging care for Ayla.

…This war came faster than she had imagined.