Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 5] Chapter 199

[Vol. 5] Chapter 199: Clash of Ideals

Turning the corner, under the shade of trees near the main road, Violet saw Yuna and Edwina in a heated argument. Aside from their holy robes and knight armor, both were surrounded by faint golden protective barriers.

As Violet arrived, she saw Edwina retreat from the argument, her expression filled with frustration, biting her lip as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. In contrast, the Saintess maintained her usual calm and gentle demeanor, though her face showed less warmth than usual, replaced with a touch of solemnity.

“What are you discussing?”

In what couldn’t be called a mere “discussion,” Violet signaled to the emissary beside her, who tactfully nodded and left. Only then did she approach the two figures, inserting herself into the conversation.

“Miss Dawn…”

“Ah, Miss Dawn has arrived. My apologies for showing you such a scene.”

“Not at all. So, what’s the situation now?”

The knight remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. It was Yuna, more composed and insightful than the knight, who maintained her dignified Saintess demeanor and sighed softly.

“Even if I don’t explain it, with your abilities, I imagine you sensed it on your way here, Miss Dawn.”

Yuna got straight to the point.

“It’s the plague of the ?Defilement?.”

The Saintess raised her hand and pointed to a nearby area where around a few hundred ragged refugees were being surrounded and detained by Holy Knights in an open space. Beside them, a large pit, spanning over a hundred square meters, was being swiftly dug by powerful individuals.

On another part of the open land, remnants of ashes from a recent fire could still be seen, though it wasn’t entirely clear what had happened. However, it was obvious that the crying and digging sounds Violet had heard earlier originated from this scene.

It didn’t take much effort for Violet to piece together the situation.

From the military briefing two days ago, there had been clear mention of the fall of the Angel City and the role that the cooperation of the three Demon Lords, along with the spread of the ?Defilement? plague, had played in it.

As the name suggests, the ?Defilement? plague is a contagious disease, similar to a spreading epidemic. It originates from the Demon Lord of ?Defilement?, Pleg, and his followers, who all carry varying degrees of this infectious disease.

It can be transmitted to other living beings they come into contact with, turning them into secondary carriers of the infection.

If these refugees had escaped from the Angel City, it was very likely they had become carriers and victims of this plague.

Although Violet didn’t know much about the Demon Lord of ?Defilement?, who was one of the less prominent Demon Lords with little detailed records, she was familiar with the concept of plagues.

Given the scene before her, Edwina’s strong reaction, and the subtle but telling movements of the priests who averted their eyes in discomfort, it was already clear what was about to happen.

“You’re planning to bury these plague-infected refugees alive, aren’t you?”

Even as Violet voiced this question—or accusation—the unwavering determination on Yuna’s face did not falter. She simply nodded in response.

“This is the only way. Although the ?Defilement? plague is a singularity and merely a basic characteristic, it possesses extremely strong infectious and latent capabilities. Even with faith-based magic, we can currently only temporarily isolate it, but there are absolutely no means or medications available to treat those who have already been infected.”

Yuna pointed to the patch of ashes on the nearby ground.

“Moreover, once a patient contaminated by the ?Defilement? plague dies, regardless of whether they are in the incubation period, the plague within their body will erupt explosively. There won’t even be enough time for cremation. Based on the continuous research by the Holy Academy over the past few centuries, deep burial and isolation are about the only low-cost methods to naturally eliminate the plague.”

“After all, while the ?Defilement? plague is terrifying, it cannot be transmitted through non-living matter or small non-intelligent creatures. The strength of this spreading ability seems to be measured by the amount of ?Void? energy within the host.”

“Um, so it acts on the soul as a plague…”

Talking to herself, Violet did not immediately respond to the inquisitive glance from a certain Holy Knight. Instead, she looked again at the refugees nearby, who were wailing and pleading for help while the Holy Knights turned their heads away, ignoring them, and posed another question.

“By the way, did you just discover this situation? If the ?Defilement? plague indeed spread from the Angel City, these people must have already scattered everywhere like petals in the wind, right?”

Understanding the implication of Miss White Fox’s words, Yuna nodded again and pondered for a moment.

“This is indeed a serious and grave issue. I suspect the demons are likely trying to use this method to quickly dismantle our combat strength, especially by creating panic among the populace, thus achieving victory through warfare.”

“But actually, a few days ago, when we departed from the Angel City and I heard the intelligence about the emergence of the ?Defilement?, I already considered the possibility of such a situation occurring. I issued a war ban in advance, strictly requiring the surrounding provinces and the major cities in the Fulan Province that had not yet been affected by the war to temporarily close their entry points and resolutely not allow even one outsider into the city.

“With the city and border sealed off, apart from the main battlefield with the demons, the entire Fulan Province and its periphery have formed a huge encirclement, confining all potentially infected beings inside, minimizing the losses to the greatest extent possible.

“Her Highness Yuna, since you anticipated this long ago, why didn’t you inform us in advance? Perhaps we could have contacted the ?Hall of Theology?…”

The Bright Light Saintess slightly turned away, glancing at the Holy Knight girl whose face seemed to show signs of anger and frustration, and then shook her head helplessly.

“The ?Hall of Theology?? If they could find a solution to the ?Defilement?, then three hundred years ago during that war, our country wouldn’t have had to bear the death toll of over ten million people due to the mere accidental appearance of a few ?Defilement? minions leading to a plague pandemic.”

“Moreover, let’s not forget that I already issued a strict order prohibiting any military personnel from having private contact with the refugees. Given that, a clever person should have been able to infer a lot from this, right?”

“After all, we are merely mortals, not all-powerful deities. The things we can do in the face of disaster are ultimately quite limited, and the ?Defilement? plague is equivalent to a natural disaster for this world.”

Listening to this, a certain white fox girl nodded in agreement.

Although Yuna’s actions were somewhat arbitrary and ruthless, from a rational perspective, they were indeed the most correct choice from her point of view.

According to the texts, beings contaminated by the ?Defilement? would lead to two possible outcomes.

The first is that, over time, the plague would continue to spread, ultimately resulting in death or being discovered by the Church, which would then give them a “treatment” similar to what is happening now. In either case, death is inevitable.

However, there is another, more “selfish” possibility.

Some scholars, risking their lives to conduct close-range investigations, have shown that the ?Defilement? plague is, in essence, a law, a special power system. What the living beings of this world fear as a toxic plague is merely a means for the ?Defilement? to spread corruption and expand their faith.

Perhaps in the eyes of that god-like existence, the plague is not seen as a harm but rather as a kind of blessing and opportunity.

In fact, the plague can theoretically grant mortals terrifying powers that far exceed their original limits.

Although the probability, or rather, the proportion of qualified individuals is less than one in a thousand, if certain specific conditions are met, the individual contaminated by the plague may transform into…

“Ugh! Ugh ugh ugh ahhhhhh!!!”

As the white fox girl pondered this, her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden scream that pierced through the continuous sound of weeping. The scream felt strikingly out of place, as if it were signaling the arrival of something ominous.