Dracotitán

At only fifteen years old, a young holy warrior who had broken through to the Silver rank was caught off guard and ambushed by the Cardinal using a binding spell. Filled with anger, he could only glare resentfully at the kindly old man before being expertly carried away by a temple guard.

"Heh, young man, now is not the time for you to follow the path of the holy warrior," laughed the holy warrior who had burned his remaining life to return to his prime. "Let's talk again in a hundred years."

"I need to leave the city now and head to the Kingdom of Bavaria!" After seeing the young holy warrior taken away for imprisonment, the humanoid luminous holy warrior turned to the Cardinal.

"Sir, please come this way!" A clergyman approached the holy warrior. "Other holy warriors with the same purpose have come here. You will go together to enter the Kingdom of Bavaria."

"I knew I wouldn't be alone."

...Muria and Kaslana stood to the side, silently observing everything. No clergyman came to attend to them, even though some were aware of their identities—they were there to welcome the arrival of heroes.

The Cardinal, along with the high priests in the temple, awaited the arrival of the holy warriors to bless them with divine magic and blessings—a kind of long-lasting buff, not just mere inspiring words.

Now, those who appeared here were holy warriors prepared to abandon everything for their beliefs, as the entire transport system of all good deity churches was opened to them without charge.

...As time slowly passed, Muria stood there for a long time, with Kaslana accompanying him. Every few minutes, one or two holy warriors would teleport in.

Muria did not see groups of holy warriors arriving. The cost of entering the Kingdom of Bavaria was too great. Not only did it mean the loss of life, but their souls would also be doomed to corruption. Even the most virtuous holy warriors were not all willing to bear such consequences.

Holy warriors, in pursuit of goodness and the eradication of evil, do not fear death. In fact, from the moment they become holy warriors, they are prepared to die in battle.

However, knowing that they will die and their souls and bodies will be desecrated and corrupted, few holy warriors can still maintain their convictions.

Thus, the most common scenario is that only one or two holy warriors from a city are willing to come, and sometimes none at all.

Yet, even so, the holy warriors who teleported to the Dawn Temple at Patrick Fortress were incessant. The world is vast, and even if only one in a hundred thousand chooses to become a holy warrior, and only one in ten of those is willing to sacrifice everything, they can still form a team through the advanced transport system.

The holy warriors who teleported to the Dawn Temple were of all ages: handsome young men, spirited youths, seasoned middle-aged men, and elderly people past their prime.

The Cardinal at Patrick Fortress had different approaches for holy warriors of different ages.

For young holy warriors who had just picked up their swords and armor and rushed to fight evil, the Cardinal, in the guise of a kindly old man, would unexpectedly cast a binding spell on them.

Then, he had the clergy carry them away for confinement, as they were seeds of the future that should not be allowed to die before they had the chance to grow and reach their potential.

It's worth mentioning that the number of young holy warriors who teleported here was significant, comprising a large proportion of those wanting to support the Kingdom of Bavaria.

For the younger holy warriors, the Cardinal would encourage them, then bind and knock them unconscious for imprisonment.

For the middle-aged and elderly holy warriors, the Cardinal would repeatedly inquire about their choices and refrain from further interference after confirming their decisions. Someone had to make sacrifices to show the evil forces the bravery of humanity.

There was also a type of holy warrior whom the Cardinal did not question about their choice but instead offered his respects. These were warriors who had used potions or secret techniques to burn their lives, cutting off all paths of retreat, coming with the conviction of certain death.

"Another group of holy warriors is about to be assembled and ready to depart. Do you want to go see them?" While Muria was watching the Cardinal knocking out a young holy warrior who was immune to his binding spell, Kaslana's voice came to his ear.

"Let's go!" Muria replied without hesitation.

...Many magnificent and large temples of the good gods stood in the land of Aeloria, where lawful good deities dominated, and the churches and beliefs of evil gods were suppressed.

At that moment, in the central square of the temple district, nearly three hundred holy warriors, glowing with divine magic under the sunlight, quietly waited on their unicorn mounts for the order to depart.

After leaving the Dawn Temple with Kaslana, Muria arrived here and saw this scene.

The central square connected to every temple. Under Muria's respectful gaze, holy warriors enveloped in divine magic came out of the various temples and joined the central squad.

However, before joining the squad, soldiers would stop these holy warriors to assign them a unicorn mount and inquire if they needed to change weapons.

"They are from the Kingdom of Obu!" Muria raised an eyebrow, recognizing the armor style and emblem on those preparing mounts, weapons, and supplies for the holy warriors. He was all too familiar with them, having been targeted by similarly adorned people with a magic cannon not long ago.

"The word 'hero' is too heavy a burden, not everyone can or wants to bear it," Kaslana said, looking at Muria. "Nevertheless, that doesn't stop them from admiring heroes and doing what they can for them."

"I know," Muria nodded, his impression of the Kingdom of Obu, which was preparing to share in the spoils of Bavaria, slightly improving after seeing this scene.

Putting oneself in others' shoes, one can somewhat understand the choices of the countries surrounding Bavaria. Helping Bavaria could result in becoming involved and suffering the same fate.

Because the consequences are too heavy for them to bear, they can only choose to coldly observe, watching the fall of the Kingdom of Bavaria.

"Humans are a very complex species; they are seldom purely good or evil. Even those who are evil sometimes make admirable choices."

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