Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 219

Pure white painted plate armor.

A radiant light emanating from her entire body.

And an appearance that exudes a mystical aura as the crowning touch.

Abelson Mariette looked like an angel descended from heaven.

“His Majesty the King saves us!” “Look at that sacred light…” “His Majesty will protect us!”

People stared at Abelson as if they were possessed.

The unique, comforting, yet noble energy of divine power created an indescribable atmosphere.

Thanks to this, the gloomy atmosphere of the city was instantly turned upside down.

Everything was going according to plan, but for some reason, Abelson smiled wryly.

‘It’s a pity that I have to put so much effort into such a performance… but this is also necessary.’

To be honest, this was mostly for show.

The armor she wore didn’t offer much practical protection in battle.

The sacred light was just a visual manifestation of her divine power, a display.

In effect, it was a waste of energy with no real combat effect.

However, the benefits gained from this kind of performance were greater than expected.

It calmed the anxiety in the hearts of the citizens and helped the city regain stability.

It boosted the morale of the soldiers going to war.

At the same time, all of these things ultimately led to the expansion of Abelson’s authority and influence.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Long live His Majesty the King!”

“Long live! Long live!”

Thus, Abelson and the kingdom’s elite guard left the capital amidst the cheers of the people.

***

Abelson and the army soon encountered a horde of undead.

This was because Sarah Dunphy had moved the undead army closer to the capital.

It was a strategy to reduce the fatigue of the soldiers’ march.

The soldiers, unaware of this, were taken aback by the enemy’s unexpectedly rapid appearance.

“For the Mariette Kingdom!”

Abelson once again emitted a sacred light.

She spurred her horse and rode to the front, and the soldiers followed her with hearty shouts.

“Charge!”

“Waaaaaah!”

Soon after, the undead and the kingdom’s elite clashed.

Grrr!

Kieee!

The undead, by their very existence, instilled fear in humans.

No matter how elite the kingdom’s soldiers were, they could not be completely free from the fear that lurked within them.

Nevertheless, the soldiers fought the enemy to the best of their ability.

Because this was a situation where they could never back down.

If they lost this battle, the undead would reach the capital.

Then the capital would be doomed.

Along with their families and acquaintances in the capital.

That realization gave strength to the soldiers’ bodies.

“Die!”

“You filthy undead bastards!”

After a fierce battle began, the soldiers gradually noticed something strange.

“Is this… too easy?”

“Kahaha! These boneheads are so weak!”

When they first encountered the undead, they were intimidated by their hideous appearance and sheer numbers.

But once they engaged, they realized the undead were not much of a threat.

This was because Sarah Dunphy had only raised the lowest-level undead in the first place.

The soldiers, unaware of this, began to think.

“The paladins of the Deusis Order [a religious military order] aren’t such a big deal either, are they?” “I was intimidated by the Gatrein Empire, but aren’t they actually weak?”

*The Deusis Order and Gatrein are weak.*

Since they had defeated such an easy enemy as the undead, they naturally couldn’t help but think so.

The soldiers’ morale was further boosted, and the speed of defeating the enemy increased.

“Advance! Don’t leave a single undead standing!”

“Waaaaaah!”

The kingdom’s army pushed back the undead at an incredible speed.

In the first place, the difference in numbers was not that great.

Moreover, they had an overwhelming qualitative advantage, so the undead were no match.

“We won! We won!”

“Waaaaaah!”

Less than an hour had passed.

All the undead had fallen and returned to the soil.

The kingdom’s damage was almost negligible.

The soldiers’ morale soared to the sky with the overwhelming victory.

Naturally, loyalty to Abelson Mariette, who commanded this battle, also rose.

“Long live His Majesty the King!”

“Long live! Long live!”

Amidst the pouring cheers, Abelson smiled brightly.

‘We won this time.’

She thought of Pope Orban IV.

The Pope had long tried to control the Mariette Kingdom.

In addition, he had treated Abelson, who was nominated as the next Saintess, like his own puppet.

Until now, she had no choice but to be manipulated by him, but now it was different.

‘The world has changed. Because a real savior has appeared.’

Choi Hyun-seok had appeared.

The long-stagnant situation on the continent began to move quickly.

Now, the fate of the continent rested on one of two possibilities.

Either the Holy Gatrein Empire completely swallows the continent, or Gatrein disintegrates and a new order takes hold.

‘The result… only God knows.’

Of course, Abelson had no doubt that it would be the latter.

***

“Lord Pidenzio, I heard you had a difficult time.” “I am deeply sorry, Your Holiness.”

Cardinal Pidenzio Piola, who had escaped from Scolbon, had a private audience with Pope Orban IV.

“The great work was about to succeed… but suddenly a large-scale undead army appeared, so I couldn’t help it.”

Pidenzio was genuinely upset.

The plan to absorb the Mariette Kingdom was proceeding smoothly.

He was convinced that it would have been 100% successful if the undead had not suddenly appeared.

‘This was an act of God.’

It was completely unexpected for the undead to appear there.

They were so powerful that they wiped out the Empire’s elite forces.

“They were not ordinary undead! Two cardinals who received Your Holiness’s grace, two thousand elite imperial paladins, and one thousand high priests put forth their best efforts….”

“Not a single one survived.”

“Yes…”

Pidenzio swallowed hard.

‘I did my part.’

Pidenzio thought it was fortunate that he had saved his own life.

What could he have done against such a powerful undead army?

He should be praised just for surviving.

“Do you happen to know this?” “Know what…?” “Abelson Mariette personally led the army and defeated the undead army.”

“Yes… ?”

“It is even said to be a great victory. There was almost no damage to the troops. They say they overwhelmingly defeated the undead.”

As the Pope continued to speak, Pidenzio’s face contorted.

He couldn’t accept the situation, even though he was hearing it himself.

“Abelson Mariette… you mean she led the army and defeated the undead? And she won overwhelmingly…?”

At that moment, the Pope’s eyes turned cold.

“I hate repeating myself.”

“I’m sorry!”

Pidenzio, realizing his mistake, quickly bowed his head.

However, his head was still full of questions.

‘How on earth…?’

It was something that even Gatrein’s elite could not do.

It meant that it was not something that could be done by a small kingdom.

Pidenzio was confused, but his worries did not last long.

The Pope made a new proposal.

“I have no intention of blaming you for this. Isn’t this no different from an act of God?”

Pidenzio cautiously bowed his head and did not answer.

The Pope continued.

“So I want to give you a new opportunity.” “What do you mean by opportunity…?”

“It is an opportunity to receive grace.”

Pidenzio’s eyes widened at the word “grace.”

“Is that really true!?”

“Of course.”

“But before, you said I couldn’t receive grace…”

Pope Orban shook his head with a benevolent smile.

“At that time, there was a lack of faith. Now that I see it, you are fully qualified to receive grace. In fact, you showed great ability in the Mariette Kingdom, didn’t you?”

Pidenzio nodded as if possessed.

Yes, he did his best and was about to create the best results.

He had only failed due to an act of God.

‘No, even in such a worst-case scenario, I saved the priests and paladins of Scolbon. Isn’t this the best display of ability!’

In reality, he had only brought out the people dispatched to Scolbon to save his own life.

But he had already rationalized it in his head.

“Let’s start right now.”

When the Pope signaled, people wearing pure white robes entered.

“Follow them. You will be given a trial to receive grace.” “What kind of trial…?” “It is to test your qualifications for grace. You can do it, so don’t worry.” “It’s an honor, Your Holiness!”

Pidenzio bowed his head several times and left the room.

Pope Orban put his hand on his forehead with a tired face.

“He’s still a cardinal. He has a lot of divine power, so he’ll be quite useful if he’s modified.” “He was judged to be unfit last time, so is it okay? He may go crazy or become an idiot as a side effect.”

A question was heard from the empty air.

The Pope nodded naturally as if it were a familiar occurrence.

“It’s even better. It’s better to use such a stupid person without having to use his head.”

“I understand.”

“By the way…”

At that moment, the Pope’s voice lowered.

“You can’t find out anything related to this case?” “No. No one survived the battle, and even the recorder who was dispatched with them was killed.”

No traces of the battle remained.

Frankly, it was impossible.

The number of casualties alone was over three thousand.

In addition, there were the corpses of the undead.

How difficult would it be to erase all these traces cleanly?

Even the remnants of magic power did not remain, so they do not even know what kind of magic was used.

It was truly a situation where nothing could be known.

“There are not many places on the continent that can clean up a battlefield to this level.”

But that’s why the suspects are narrowed down.

There are not many organizations that can handle the aftermath to this excellent degree.

“Do you think Drasen moved?” “I can’t be sure, but I think there’s a possibility.” “Hoo, I understand. Keep investigating.”

The Pope sighed and continued.

“There will be no problems with things in other places besides the Mariette Kingdom, right?” “Everything is going smoothly.” “Then I’ll see you again when Lord Pidenzio’s treatment is finished.”

“Yes.”

With those words, the Pope closed his eyes.

Even if he didn’t give detailed orders, the rest would proceed on their own.

However, there was one thing that bothered him.

‘Sarah Dunphy… She is definitely involved here too.’

The identity of Sarah Dunphy, which he learned from the last investigation.

The first king of the Ballington Kingdom.

It was clear that she, resurrected as an undead, had raised the undead army.

‘Circumstantially, Sarah Dunphy is with the Mariette Kingdom.’

There was no definite evidence.

However, the Pope was almost certain.

‘Even if I try to get rid of her, I can’t find her because she’s hiding and wrapping her body tightly…’