Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 138

138. The Sixth Executor (5)

The sound of shouts echoed across the battlefield.

Large-scale attack magic rained down relentlessly, met by defensive magic on the opposing side.

Believers swarmed, climbing ladders to scale the walls.

The siege tower, which had been belching smoke and rocks from its catapult, was shattered.

Debris crashed down.

Aeil barely managed to leap away, avoiding being crushed.

“Phew, almost became a pancake.”

He was on the wall, fully engaged in the battle.

It was his first time experiencing a battlefield of this scale, but he remained calm.

Surviving the chaotic scene where countless players clashed, he efficiently cut down enemies.

[An Heretic has been eliminated!]

Thwack!

Aeil instantly slashed down an enemy charging toward him.

Those who opposed the Order’s expedition were branded as heretics, and each kill granted him a stat bonus.

As expected, large-scale PVP [Player vs Player combat] like this was a prime opportunity for an Inquisitor to boost stats and contribution.

Since it was a dangerous battlefield where death lurked at every turn, the experience points gained were also substantial.

Kieeeek!

A massive summoned creature materialized amidst the battlefield, where arrows rained down.

A high-level necromancer from the Ice Sea even used auxiliary scrolls to summon a high-ranking monster.

However, the creature, immediately labeled a heretic, became the target of the surrounding believers, and priests simultaneously bombarded it with divine magic.

Aeil delivered the final blow, leaping high into the air.

Kwaaaang!

The large monster, struck head-on by a single flash of light, was engulfed in white sacred fire and plummeted to its death below the wall.

Due to the inherent disadvantage, necromancers were virtually helpless against the Order of Light.

‘But the situation isn’t good.’

Aeil frowned as he assessed the overall war situation.

He had successfully breached the wall on his side, but most areas hadn’t even managed to do that yet.

Moreover, the sturdy walls, reinforced with double and triple layers of defenses, made it even more difficult to break through.

Ppoooo!

The sound of a retreat horn blared.

It seemed the overall situation, not just here, was unfavorable.

As soon as the signal was given, the believers retreated to regroup, and Aeil quickly disengaged from the battlefield.

If they had fought on open ground, the Order, with its superior numbers, would have had a significant advantage, but the situation changed because the enemies had firmly locked the city gates and adopted a defensive posture.

A siege was never easy.

They had brought siege weapons crafted by specialized players in preparation for the battle, but there was a limit to what could be produced quickly.

High-level defensive towers, formidable walls, and an unexpectedly large defensive force.

As expected of a crucial stronghold like a city, the defenses were thorough.

‘I need to come up with something…’

Aeil pondered, searching for a solution to overcome the stalemate.

If they continued to pound away like this, they might eventually break through, but considering the aftermath, he wanted to occupy the city with minimal damage.

‘That’s right, why didn’t I think of that?’

Aeil slapped his knee as a sudden thought struck him.

The races of the underground world, the Eltriss.

With their help, they could solve their current problems much more easily.

Of course, Aeil wouldn’t directly involve them in the battle.

As an executor of the Order, the head of the branch’s interrogation office, and the savior of Eltriss, they would readily assist him.

However, with the eyes of all players focused on the war in the south.

If the underground races, who had never been discovered before, were to help even slightly in the fight, their existence would inevitably be revealed, no matter how hard they tried to conceal it.

Those who gathered information wouldn’t miss such a detail.

That’s why he couldn’t directly involve them in the fighting.

‘It would be a waste to reveal the new area of Eltriss already with this incident.’

It was only logical that when it came to exclusive information, it was best to postpone its disclosure as long as possible.

‘But that’s not all I can do.’

Aeil immediately contacted the party members who were still hunting in Eltriss.

It was faster to communicate through the messenger system than to send a carrier pigeon.

Aeil, after asking a few residents of Eltriss to relay his message, immediately went to find Luke and May, who were in the middle of a meeting.

“Executor?”

“I’ve found a way to break through the city’s defenses.”

“Re-really?”

“Yes, because of that, I’ll be away for a while. In the meantime, Luke, please select elites from among the Inquisitors gathered for this expedition.”

“How many should I gather?”

“For the advance team, about forty should be enough.”

“Understood. Ah, and a proposal for negotiation has just arrived from the lord of Amstel.”

Luke handed him a document and continued.

“I don’t know if they genuinely believe in the possibility of negotiation, but either way, it seems they’re trying to buy as much time as possible. If the war between the 12 strong guilds ends with the Ice Sea’s victory, protecting Amstel will be impossible.”

“It’s convenient that they need time when I need it too. May, please draw their attention a little so they don’t notice anything strange. Can I ask you to do that?”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

May nodded and gave a light smile.

Her confident attitude suggested that she could handle it with ease.

* * *

The vassal sent by the lord approached for negotiations.

He went to the negotiation site that had been set up between the base and the city, accompanied by several escort knights.

The Ice Sea guild members who had gathered on the walls were also observing the scene.

“Ugh, those crazy bastards.”

At the negotiation site where the vassal was headed, hundreds of Order’s Inquisitors were lined up in orderly rows.

They stood motionless, holding battle axes and spears.

They all maintained expressionless faces, as if they were identical copies.

If other players who didn’t know the situation saw them, they would assume they were NPCs [Non-player characters].

“Are you the representative of the Order?”

The vassal, with a bulging belly, spoke first.

May, facing him, frowned unpleasantly.

“For a heretic to request a conversation… I should execute you immediately, but I will not kill an envoy who has come to deliver a message.”

“Hmph!”

The vassal snorted.

Despite his lazy appearance, he had been assisting the lord for many years and was not easily intimidated.

“What does the Order of Light want? State your demands. You must have come here because you want something.”

“We have only come to purify the contaminated city because the lord of Amstel has been in league with demons.”

“If you’ve agreed to negotiate, tell me the real reason, not that ridiculous pretense! You know that if this war continues, you will also suffer heavy losses, right?”

The vassal shouted, dismissing the absurd claim.

Even if they were fanatics, they wouldn’t have brought an army solely based on the belief that the lord of Amstel was in league with demons.

There must be other ulterior motives.

Of course, that was just a misguided assumption by the vassal, who didn’t fully understand the Order of Light.

“Good, then abandon the city and leave now.”

“Wh-what?”

The vassal momentarily doubted his hearing.

Her demand was too outrageous.

But May continued as if she was doing him a favor.

“Our mission is to purify the city with sacred fire. The Goddess has shown her last mercy. I will give you a chance to leave the city. However, you must leave behind the head of your lord, who has committed a grave sin.”

“These bastards…!”

The enraged vassal glared at May.

Her impossible demands were seen as a joke, a sign of contempt.

“If you don’t leave and try to resist, you will only face death.”

“Shut up! A fanatic group like you can’t dare to set foot in this Amstel!”

“A fanatic?”

Swish!

May drew her sword.

Startled, the escort knights reached for their waists.

However, she had no intention of attacking with the drawn sword.

“You’re right.”

“What…?”

May took a step forward towards the vassal and shouted loudly at the Inquisitors standing on both sides.

“I ask you! What do we serve!”

“We serve the punisher of all evil, the incarnation of justice, the master of all light!”

“Then I ask! Who are we!”

“We are the flame of Rue and the hammer of punishment!”

“What is this…!”

The vassal’s face was filled with terror at the voices of the Inquisitors echoing all around.

Not only that.

Even the knights, veterans of countless battlefields, were frozen in place, unable to move, overwhelmed by the madness that had engulfed the surroundings.

“The sinful group that insults the doctrine says! That faith in God is madness, and that judgment against sinners is slaughter! Do you hear their whispers? Do you see the temptation of the abyss wriggling beneath the floor? Do you feel the demon’s hand pulling at your legs?”

She continued.

“No, we, blinded by the light, cannot see ahead. We close our ears and eyes and simply walk in the direction the light points. What we follow is the belief engraved in our hearts, and the code and hammer held in both hands.”

She continued.

“We are the agents of the Goddess. We are the executioners who slay demons in the pit of sin, and the punishers who punish sinners at the end of the world! I ask you once again! Who are we!”

“Our true mission, Inquisitors who judge heretics!”

“Yes, it is the time of judgment!”

Thud!

The Inquisitors who had been lined up simultaneously slammed their spears and axes on the ground.

Then, fierce white flames blazed at the sharp edges of the weapons.

“We are the shield and light of the weak! The sword and madness against the rulers! The unjust will all crumble beneath the sacred flame!”

Swoosh!

Her sword, filled with a chilling cold, pointed at the vassal’s neck.

His face had already turned pale and bloodless.

“Go back, you old pig. We will burn everything along with your fortress built on injustice, so repent while shouting the name of the Goddess in the flames of purification. That is the last mercy we can give.”