Debuff Master-Chapter 904

The Chairwoman of the Continent Religious Council, Saintess Janette, ordered, “Bring the communication device at once.”

“Yes, Saintess!”

The priests in charge of communications rushed to bring the necessary equipment and quickly set up the crystal sphere.

A minute later, a connection to the Temple of the Sea God in Marine City was established, and the image of the High Priest of the Church of Neptune appeared.

“High Priest! What is the situation over there?!” Saintess Janette asked, her voice filled with urgency.

And with good reason—the High Priest looked utterly bedraggled.

— At the moment, Marine City has been completely conquered by the Fallen Angels.

“Ah...”

— Our Holy Knights and Crusaders fought with all their might, but their numbers were simply far too great. We had no choice but to retreat underground, taking our sacred relic with us.

Just as the High Priest finished speaking—

‘Huh? A sacred relic again?’

Siegfried turned to a Martial God’s priest and asked, “Erm... I’ve heard of it before, but what exactly is a sacred relic?”

“They are holy artifacts each religious order possesses, passed down through generations.”

“Hmm?”

“For example, Gaia’s Chalice belongs to the Goddess of Earth, and the Spear of Victory, which our order has been safeguarding for many years.”

After hearing this, Siegfried suddenly realized that the Church of Neptune’s sacred relic was probably related to Neptune’s Blood.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Saintess Janette and the High Priest continued.

“I am relieved that you are safe.”

— What good is it if I am safe? The sanctuary has been destroyed, countless devotees were murdered, and our crusaders have perished in battle. Only a few remain alive...

“High Priest...”

— What meaning is there to remain alive? Why has Neptune forsaken us...?

If any proof of how dire the situation was needed, then it was for a religious leader to blame his own god in such a manner the high priest was doing.

The Temple of the Sea God, which was the pride and glory of the mighty Church of Neptune, was razed to the ground.

“You must stay strong. We can rebuild things later,” Saintess Janette encouraged him.

— But as things stand, forget about rebuilding! Even our very lives are in jeopardy right now. Also, I must survive first if I will restore our order later...

“Is escape impossible?”

— I am afraid it is impossible. We will be captured and killed by the Fallen Angels the moment we leave this secret room.

“Have you tried using warp gates or teleportation scrolls?”

— We tried, but it was futile. It is of no use.

“I see...”

— I am afraid the Fallen Angels have completely sealed the city.

“That sounds truly dire.”

— We must escape from Marine City if we are to have any chance of surviving...

The High Priest’s words trailed off, his despair clearly written all over his face.

He wanted nothing more than to die for failing to protect the sanctuary of his order, but he had to stay alive to rebuild it.

“We will send a rescue team. You must not lose hope, High Priest,” Saintess Janette said.

— But if the rescue team gets wiped out...

It was then.

Siegfried stepped forward and said, “I will go.”

***

“Your Majesty will?” Saintess Janette asked, sounding surprised.

“Yes, I will. It will be better for me to go rather than for each religious order to send their paladins and holy knights,” Siegfried replied.

“And why is that?”

“Once the rescue operation begins, the casualties will be significant even if it succeeds.”

“That is true...”

“Losing paladins and holy knights in these times would be a devastating blow.”

“I will not deny that, but...”

“But it is a different story if me and my guild members go.”

“Huh...?”

“I can already wield Divine Power, and my guild members have also become paladins of the Church of Heroes, which grants them access to the same power.”

“Ah!” Saintess Janette exclaimed.

Now that she thought about it, Siegfried's words made perfect sense.

The Church of Heroes had been growing at an astonishing rate recently. It was still in the early stages of becoming a major religious order, as it still lacked a structured hierarchy, but it was, without a doubt, popular among the people.

Why?

It was all because whenever someone prayed to them, the paladins—Adventurers—of the Church of Heroes would often appear out of nowhere to resolve their grievances.

In other words, the Church of Heroes boasted a response time to prayers that was far faster and direct compared to other religious orders.

The number of believers of the Church of Heroes skyrocketed in recent times after their distinct advantage of resolving the grievances of their followers far faster than any other religious order spread through word of mouth.

“We would be extremely grateful if Your Majesty is going to take the lead,” Saintess Janette said.

“As you are probably aware, most of our paladins are Adventurers. Even if some die during the operation, it will not cause a significant loss for us. I believe that makes us perfect for such a dangerous mission,” Siegfried replied.

“I agree.”

“But...” Siegfried added. Then, he paused for a second before continuing, “I do not mind working for free, but I would appreciate it if my paladins were given some form of compensation for their efforts.”

He was quite transparent when it came to matters like these, as he had a principle to uphold.

It was up to him whether he wanted to work for free or not, but he could not possibly expect his comrades to do the same just because he said so.

“It does not have to be much. As long as it’s a reasonable sum that satisfies them, I will personally lead my paladins to go to Marine City and commence the rescue operation.”

“Please, do not worry about money. We have plenty to ensure they will be handsomely compensated.”

“Hahaha...”

Siegfried could not help but laugh weakly after seeing Saintess Janette flaunt her swag money.

However, she was merely speaking the truth.

The religious orders were rich. No, not just rich; they were insanely filthy rich.

Not all of them were loaded, but any religious order of a certain size tended to be absurdly rich.

Why?

It was all because they had been receiving donations from their believers. Of all business ventures, religious organizations probably had one of the highest—if not the highest return on investment compared to the amount invested.

Their revenue far exceeded their upkeep costs, which meant that their profit margins were ridiculously high.

But that was not all...

Most of the major religious orders had been around for a very long time, so they invested the wealth they amassed over long periods of time into various ventures, and this resulted in them owning various profitable assets.

“I will go and form the rescue team.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Think nothing of it,” Siegfried said with a nod.

Then, he turned to the communication device and called out, “High Priest.”

— Yes, Your Majesty?

“Is it possible to locate Neptune’s Blood?”

— Pardon? Why would Your Majesty be seeking our god’s blood...? freewёbnoνel-com

“Well, you see...” Siegfried proceeded to explain the reason.

— Ah, I see. There is a legend that a certain sacred relic in our possession contains a gem imbued with his blood.

“Would it be possible for me to borrow that relic?”

— How could I possibly refuse? This is a matter of saving the world, so Your Majesty may use it as you see fit.

“Thank you. And hold on just a little longer. I’ll be there soon to rescue you.”

— Yes, Your Majesty.

“How much longer do you think you can hold out?”

— As long as we do not get caught, we should be able to endure for at least a week.

“Understood. I will set out immediately.”

As soon as the discussion regarding the rescue operation concluded, Siegfried wasted no time and set off to form the rescue party.

***

Siegfried stepped into the warp gate in the Continent Religious Council’s headquarters and arrived at the outskirts of Marine City. From there, he summoned his guild members using the Head Crusher Guild’s ring.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

One by one, the Head Crusher Guild members warped in from all over the continent.

At around two thousand five hundred, their numbers were staggering.

It seemed like aside from those offline, nearly everyone online responded to his call.

This was to be expected, as the guild members would have dropped everything and rushed over at Siegfried’s call, even if he summoned them without any incentives to do so.

This time, however, the Continent Religious Council had promised an astronomical sum as a reward, which naturally made the guild members abandon whatever they were doing and scramble over the moment they were contacted.

“Thank you all for coming. You’ve probably already heard about the compensation, so I’ll skip over that. Now, as for our mission today...” Siegfried expressed his gratitude first before giving them a quick brief of their mission.

Once he was done, he added, “I know it’s late and you’re all tired. But every second counts, so we’re moving out immediately, so please get ready.”

With that, he began strategizing with them.

The plan was quite straightforward.

Siegfried and an elite unit would infiltrate Marine City while the Head Crusher Guild would engage the Fallen Angels in battle.

“Okay, let’s move out.”

Without wasting another second, Siegfried led his guild into action.

***

Meanwhile, a brutal massacre was still occurring inside Marine City.

After seizing control of the city, the Fallen Angels rounded up the people following the Church of Neptune. Those unfortunate enough to be captured were subjected to unspeakable torture before meeting their horrible demise.

“A-Ack! Aaaack!”

“Just kill me! Kill me already!”

“Aaaaack!”

“Kyaaah!”

The main square of Marine City was filled with the agonized screams of the people, and its ground was dyed red from those tortured to their deaths.

“How delightful.”

A mid-ranking angel by the name of Andariel smiled in satisfaction while watching over the carnage. He was the commander leading the Fallen Angels in the assault on Marine City.

“Yes, very good...”

His eyes gleamed with pleasure while watching the victims being burned alive on a stake.

“These pathetic vermin. Those who betrayed our Father and had fallen into corruption deserve nothing less than death,” Andariel growled under his breath.

Then, he addressed the other angels, “My brothers and sisters! Not a single one of these heretics will be spared! Remember our sacred mission! We will exterminate all who worship these false gods, and we will not stop until every last one of these fools is purged from the face of this world!

The Fallen Angels responded in unison, their voices filled with fervor.

“Well said, brother!”

“We shall cleanse this city completely!”

“Those who worship false gods deserve only death!”

“Death to the heretics!”

Having already succumbed to corruption, these angels had no hesitation at all while slaughtering those they deemed to be heretics.

To them, these people were nothing more than insects that needed to be exterminated.

“Not a single one of those who led others in worshipping their false gods should be spared. My brothers and sisters! Spread out and hunt them down! We must show these wretched humans what fate awaits those who dare to follow the false gods!”

At Andariel’s command, the Fallen Angels spread throughout Marine City and searched for the Church of Neptune’s clergy.

They were sending a message. They intended to make an example of those who dared to worship any other god other than the Creator himself.

“Andariel!”

Just then, one of the angels rushed toward him, shouting urgently.

“The heretics are attacking us!”

“What?” Andariel doubted his ears.

“A group of them is invading from the eastern harbor!”

“How dare they! Who dares to interfere with divine judgment?! My brothers and sisters! Slaughter those wretched heretics going against the will of the heavens!” Andariel roared, and divine power carried his words throughout Marine City.

“Slay the heretics!”

“Destroy all who worship false gods!”

The Fallen Angels scattered throughout Marine City responded to Andariel’s call by instantly taking flight. They flew at terrifying speeds and flocked toward the eastern harbor.

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