Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 147

The River Tyrant (3)

“You’re aiming for the head of the diocese… are you really going to go in there?”

Loden asked, startled.

It was because of Aile’s statement just now.

“I have no choice if I want to turn the situation around.”

The head of Bahamut’s diocese.

Within the Water Church, which has a different structure from the Church of Light, it was an important position equivalent to an executive.

Of course, several were included in this expedition, which even mobilized NPCs [Non-Player Characters], and they were moving while commanding the believers.

But in the thick of the battle, it was hard to find them.

‘They’re probably still summoning creatures from the rear.’

Just as the Church of Light has inquisitors, the exclusive classes of the Water Church, including the heads of the dioceses, were classes with strengths in summoning.

Of course, as one of the specialized classes of the seven churches, they also had excellent combat power.

However, since the heads of the dioceses also served as commanders, they were in charge of continuously summoning creatures from the rear and deploying them to the battlefield.

The high-level summons that those around the head of the diocese summoned with rituals were a huge headache for those on the receiving end.

That’s why Aile was thinking of striking them.

Not jumping directly into the front lines, but infiltrating the rear where Bahamut’s forces were stationed and eliminating them.

It was obvious that it would be dangerous to enter the heart of the enemy camp.

But Loden wasn’t surprised about that.

“You were really thinking of stopping this event? I thought you were just going to interfere to some extent and then pull out……”

Coming here together to face Bahamut was already agreed upon.

But he never thought that he would sincerely try to stop the world event itself.

Loden thought that the goal was to weaken the Water Church as much as possible and delay the point at which the stronghold would be captured.

The rewards that could be obtained by being active in such a large-scale PVP [Player versus Player] were considerable, so even if they deviated from the appropriate level, they could still make enough profit, so it wasn’t a losing game.

“I’m also surprised by this choice.”

Alisa chimed in from the side.

Anyone could see that it was difficult to reverse the current difference in power.

Moreover, not only the difference in power, but also the surrounding circumstances did not help the defending guild.

It would be a different story if the Blood Alliance guild located right next door helped, but they would never miss such a good opportunity to destroy a rival guild even if they stayed still.

“Uh… weren’t you here to stop our attack?”

In the meantime, Ria only looked back and forth between the party members with a bewildered face.

She, who was still not good at understanding the situation, seemed to have come thinking that this event could be stopped sufficiently.

“I’m in a position where I’m involved with the church. I have circumstances, so I have to somehow prevent Blackburn from collapsing. I have to take some risks.”

“But, just defeating the heads of the dioceses won’t drastically change the situation.”

Alisa said.

It was entirely correct without being wrong.

It was a headache to keep sending high-level summons, but even if they stopped that, it wouldn’t be a masterstroke that would reverse the tide of the battle itself.

It would definitely help, but the scale of the fight was so large that there was a limit to what that level of help could do.

“That’s… I have something else in mind.”

It was also to prevent summoning, but the real reason Aile was trying to catch the heads of the dioceses was to extract information from them.

‘There’s something suspicious.’

He couldn’t be sure right away, but there was something he wanted to confirm by catching the heads of the dioceses.

Information that could turn the tide of the battle if things went well.

Loden, unable to contain his curiosity, shouted.

“Ah, I’m curious, just tell us too!”

“Don’t be impatient. I’m sure you have something in mind.”

Alisa smiled and calmed him down.

A strange smile appeared on her lips due to the trust she had in him and the expectation that he would show something else.

“Haha… I’ll tell you when I’m sure. Then I’ll move first. I’d like to ask the others to take care of the most urgent Fallen Citadel.”

“Hmm? Aren’t we going together?”

“In this kind of infiltration, having a lot of people is just a hindrance.”

Alisa said, explaining to Ria’s question.

Since they were going into the middle of the enemy camp, which was full of Bahamut’s fanatics, it was better to have as few people as possible.

If they went around in a crowd, saying they were helping, they would be easily discovered.

“Then… I’ll be back soon.”

* * *

In a dense forest full of thick plants.

Aile, who jumped out of the bushes, stabbed a believer who was on patrol in the neck.

Thud!

The believer, who couldn’t even make a sound, fell to the ground.

There wasn’t a single witness, and Aile dragged his body and hid it in the bushes.

‘It’s a shame to just pass by, but I can’t attract attention in a noisy way.’

Aile moved on without regret.

While infiltrating the enemy camp and keeping a low profile, he was able to encounter numerous Bahamut believers.

As expected, there were a considerable number of believers in the rear as well.

‘It’s already a struggle just to stop the attack, but if there’s this scale in the rear as well… Blackburn Guild alone can never hold out.’

It became clearer by finding and witnessing it in a deeper place.

The fact that defense is absolutely impossible with Blackburn’s power alone.

‘If things don’t go as planned… unless the Church of Light intervenes, I won’t be able to stop it.’

But he wanted to avoid the Church of Light intervening as much as possible.

If it turned into a battle between churches, considerable damage was inevitable.

In particular, the longer the fight lasted and the more power was consumed, the better it would be for the other churches that were watching.

Of course, if they only looked at each other and did nothing, Bahamut would end up taking the lead without any interference.

If he didn’t want things to get complicated, he had to end it on his own.

‘I need to find the head of the diocese quickly.’

Aile, who hastened his steps, continued to roam the forest, mainly around rivers and springs.

A location that would be helpful for the summoning ritual they were performing.

Without thinking deeply, they would have settled in a place with plenty of water.

And under the waterfall he encountered while running busily.

He finally witnessed the head of the diocese performing the summoning ritual.

Perhaps for the sake of concentration, there were no guards around, and Aile immediately threw a throwing dagger.

Clang!

The head of the diocese, who noticed, swung his staff and deflected the dagger.

He didn’t do any damage, but the summoning ritual he was performing was completely canceled just now and returned to nothing.

“It was almost over… did you think you could defeat me by sending just one person!”

He shouted and slammed his staff down.

Then, the water of the waterfall surged from behind.

Whoosh!

The rising mass of water was gathered together and soon took on the complete form of a giant.

The summoned water spirit’s fist headed for Aile.

Thwack!

The ground was overturned by a single punch, scattering fragments.

Aile, who quickly dodged, instantly estimated the guy’s specs.

A fairly strong summon.

‘But I can do it!’

The water spirit that appeared now was not summoned through a long ritual, but was just a guy that appeared through a skill.

It was not a boss-level summon that had been sent to the battlefield.

Whoosh!

A white holy fire bloomed from Aile’s sword.

The head of the diocese recognized his identity at once when he saw him.

“You, were you an inquisitor of Ru! Why are you interfering with us!”

“There’s only one reason why an inquisitor would move.”

Aile raised his sword towards the head of the diocese.

“Because you’re a heretic.”

[Designated as a Heretic!]

Buzz!

The mark of heresy created by the heresy designation appeared above the heads of the head of the diocese and the spirit.

Aile immediately kicked off and narrowed the distance.

Even though he didn’t use a dash skill, he was able to approach in an instant due to the effect of the ‘Ruthless Chaser’ passive.

The water spirit, who moved quickly, stretched out his arm to stop Aile.

But Aile went behind the guy in an instant through reverse gravity.

Thwack!

The descending flash of light penetrated the spirit.

The sword strike left a long scar on his back, and flames engulfed him.

But when he checked the spirit’s health, he didn’t do as much damage as he had expected.

‘As expected… is it because of the attribute?’

The holy fire that had been engulfing the water spirit had already weakened considerably.

It didn’t seem to be doing proper damage as much as its original power.

Whoosh!

At that time, a huge wave that quickly stretched out from the side swept Aile away, and he was knocked away for a long time by the impact.

It was a powerful attack magic that the head of the diocese had fired in the meantime.

‘Wave Master’, the exclusive job of the Water Church.

The Wave Master’s unique wide range of water attribute magic and summoning magic had a very unique composition even within the Warlord.

Flash!

The head of the diocese started casting again.

It was to cast the next attack magic.

Then, Aile swung his sword to check the spell and spewed out a shower of fire, and a powerful holy fire stretched out to swallow him.

But the head of the diocese didn’t move.

Chiiiik!

The shower of fire was easily blocked by the spirit’s arm that blocked the front.

Clearly, the holy fire was a sacred flame containing Ru’s blessing.

It doesn’t go out easily like ordinary fire even if you pour water on it.

But the waves that the opponent was manipulating were not ordinary water either.

Whoa!

His magic, which had finished casting without any interference, spewed out a huge amount of water.

A huge wave stretched out enough to fill the front, and Aile barely rolled his body and dodged.

“This……!”

“Give up! Flames cannot overcome waves!”

The head of the diocese shouted triumphantly.

The wave imbued with Bahamut’s blessing could not be pushed back by other flames, and he was already sure of victory.

But a ridiculous smile hung on Aile’s lips.

“I’m sorry, but… I’m from the Church of Light, not the Church of Fire.”

Thwack!

He slammed the sword he was holding upside down on the floor with all his might.

A dazzling light created above the sky.

Unique grade divine magic, ‘Punishment’.

Whoa!

The huge sword of punishment created by gathering light was slammed down.

The spirit, pierced by the sword of light without even having time to avoid it, lost its form and disappeared in an instant.

Vast damage that could not be withstood.

It was an attack skill based on the highest ‘Faith’ among Aile’s stats.

It was also the only unique-grade attack skill he had.

“Why does… an inquisitor have this much divine magic……?”

The head of the diocese stepped back in disbelief at the unbelievable sight.

They knew that they used divine magic as a supplementary means.

But what was happening now was beyond his common sense.

“Well… I somehow became a jack-of-all-trades.”