Chapter 23

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"

The Roman soldiers on all the warships let out war cries as if to show their might.

Then Novia continued, saying:

"My name is Novia, and I am here by divine command to eradicate the heretics who misuse His name, the mad beasts. Thus, I bring this one-time salvation to this hell, and I shall bear all blame—"

"Doro Bar Kochba, grave sinner, your true name is Antichrist, the root of God's enemy. Baal, I declare again in the Lord's name, Jerusalem is beyond redemption, and the Jews outside Jerusalem must be expelled. But before that, you must cleanse your own sins. Come before me and acknowledge that the Savior, Christ Jesus, is the true Messiah. Only then, when the Lord's mercy is shown again, may you depart."

The spear in Novia's right hand gathered a dark blue light and aimed directly at the coastline not far away.

The Dragon of Albion, full magic power.

"Lord, please have mercy on this soul."

Gathering the Aether that permeated the atmosphere, the dragon's roar shot forward in a straight line, but this was no miracle of salvation by a saint that parted the seas.

It was the storm of annihilation, the signal for war.

The sudden pillar of light, as if to burn the sky and earth, caused the Jews stationed on the coastline of Judea Province to cry out in grief. A vortex of fear swept across the entire coastline, like a tsunami approaching land. It started silently, then evolved into a surging wave that engulfed everything.

The rebel army was in no position to use their prepared magic armaments to stop the Roman warships from landing. Moreover, the ships were equipped with boarding bridges fitted with giant iron spikes at the bow, ballistae at the four corners of the deck, and tall forecastles with shields and battlements for archery suppression.

After that, in the eyes of these people, the man in unusual white clothing was like a warrior from the Age of Gods of legend.

In mere seconds, he killed hundreds of people, a man who charged like cutting through formations, as if combat itself was overwhelming for him.

The Jewish rebels, having snapped out of their panic, quickly stabilized. After all, there were a full three hundred thousand of them, four times the number of Romans opposite them. Their focus was on Novia, who was participating as a commander.

"Kill him! He's from that detestable Christianity!"

"Scoundrel!"

"The Messiah has already descended upon the world, our future is bright!"

"With just these few, charge with everyone. Kill them!"

Facing an endless sea of enemies, Novia merely smiled.

"The time has come to settle your transgressions."

A simple declaration of fact, accompanied by a certain heavy weight.

A horrific slaughter ensued. Novia, wielding the dark blue long spear, swiftly killed his enemies. The word "invincible" wasn't enough to describe his combat prowess as he swung that weapon.

Remember this, you can use a bit more intimidation, I'll lend it to you.

The Dragon of Albion's voice echoed in Novia's mind. Then, enemies within several kilometers fell to their knees, their heads bowed to the earth.

As if kneeling before the silver-haired youth, the Jewish rebels collapsed en masse.

Novia pulled out his blood-soaked spear and, ignoring the strangeness of the situation, swung it forcefully.

The enemy closest to him was decapitated by a single strike, their head flying off and falling into the sea of Jews.

"All units, listen up. Leave no one alive."

039: Killing One is a Sin

Every inch of the coastline of Judea Province was soaked in blood.

Later, for a long time, this event was discussed throughout the Roman Empire.

That magic power, like the sun at high noon, the wrath of God that humans could not defy, coupled with the judgment of the Empire's great army.

Merciless, yet full of compassion—

Only to utterly annihilate the foolish Jews who defied the Empire and God.

In the past, if forty thousand people disappeared at once, listeners would likely feel at least some sadness. But given the brutal massacre that had just occurred in Judea Province, most people in the Roman Empire didn't say much.

They only said in unison:

"They marched out to fight the Jews, to deal with these madmen without mercy. There is no need for hesitation or pity."

Jerusalem.

"They're all dead? A bunch of useless idiots, can't even beat those dirty Romans. Let them die then. Besides, it's been so long, not even the lowest-level dead have appeared... This shouldn't be happening."

In the First Temple, a magic workshop established by the Sorcerer King Solomon in days past, Doro, known as the "Reincarnated Messiah," listened to his subordinate's report of the frontline's crushing defeat with an indifferent attitude.

"So many people are dead, and those damned corpse monsters didn't take the opportunity to stir up trouble. It's strange, I went to such lengths to establish a good foundation for them."

What Doro didn't know was that as soon as Novia had ordered Emperor Claudius to surround Judea Province, he had also contacted Kouhaku, the Twenty-Seventh Progenitor, requesting that he absolutely prevent any Dead Apostles from entering the blood-soaked Judea Province, even forbidding fellow Progenitors.

"By the way, what did the Burial Agency say? I told them to behead Novia, what was their reply."

"...Lord Narubareck said this is an internal Church dispute, so they do not plan to intervene..."

"Heh, they won't even obey the command of the true Messiah? It seems there are still too many heretics in this world. It was out of necessity that God had me reincarnate."

Doro gave a cold laugh, and after a while, he asked his subordinate again:

"Jerusalem, how many people are there now."

"Due to the Romans' merciless slaughter, many people are constantly heading to the Saint Domain. Currently, there are about 1.2 million, nearing the limit."

Since Novia's battle that wiped out the Jewish rebels on the coastline, he had divided his forces into three routes, attacking from the surroundings, and finally converging on Jerusalem for the decisive battle.

"Enough, you can take some for firewood." Doro sat on the main hall, waving his hand, "Within a day, find out who has not killed Romans or other races. Demand that they all cut off a finger to swear their resolve, and gather the old, weak, sick, and disabled in the Temple. These are the commands of the supreme Messiah."

"Yes, Supreme Messiah, we will spare no effort to complete everything you say. Under your leadership, we will eventually eliminate all inferior beings except ourselves!"

After a moment, Doro rose expressionlessly from his seat. After walking through the passages beneath the Temple, he arrived at an exceptionally spacious area—

Jerusalem, this sacred land that had existed since the Age of Gods, was shrouded in several layers of barriers, a sacred domain supported by vast magical power, an invisible protection capable of deceiving the forces of nature... Why was it once breached by the trash like the Romans?

Leading to the humiliation of his noble, chosen people?

It was by no means that those dirty Romans were too strong, but rather that they lacked the leadership of the true Messiah like himself, which is what Doro believed.

The Age of Gods had passed. Could the magic of all Jewish Mages no longer fully deploy the defense of the entire holy city?

What a joke, isn't human life the best magic?

What's more, Doro, who occupied Jerusalem, discovered the corpse of the Sorcerer King. This was undoubtedly the best 'firewood', but he also discovered, within it, what looked like sludge, a slowly forming, unknown collection of twisted magical power.

Although the Mages accompanying him did not understand the true nature of this sludge, they still advised him to eliminate the 'sludge' as much as possible.

However, Doro was very interested in it, saying:

"I am the Messiah, even the Sorcerer King, if he were alive, would have to obey me!"

A few Mages opposed him, so Doro killed them all, along with their families.

Subsequently, the twisted collection of magical power transferred to Bazdiloh. Not only that, but he even used the magic of human lives and the remains of the Sorcerer King as feed, gradually increasing his own strength.

"Only thirty thousand people? That's barely enough. To let the Messiah's glory descend, since they are all believers loyal to God, they should be utilized effectively."

Night had fallen, and the abyss opened its maw in waiting.

The thirty thousand people Doro had ordered to be found were in the depths of Jerusalem, in a place not illuminated by light—a genuine garden of darkness.

Doro smiled with delight, casting a peaceful gaze upon the countless people, as if admiring cherished treasures, as if caressing beloved pets.

"Everyone, soon you will achieve brilliant value."

"In such a great cause as taking revenge on inferior beings, this is but an insignificant matter. There are still too few people."

"But because of all you have done, which is necessary for the arrival of the heavenly kingdom on earth, I, the Messiah, am immensely grateful to you."

As the man spoke, the thirty thousand people, who had been incited into extreme madness by him before entering, began to slaughter each other. In the darkness of their killings, their faces bore piety, and then one by one, they died.

"Rejoice and cheer, for even ordinary people like yourselves can be of some use to the supreme Messiah."

Then, twisted magic seeped from Doro's body, and he uttered a slightly distorted voice.

"How dare you call me the Antichrist, the enemy of the Lord, hahahahaha..."

"I am the Anointed One, Novia, the unforgivable heretic. The moment you arrive in Jerusalem, I, the Messiah, will make you experience a punishment more painful than that of Jesus, who betrayed us!"

040: Have I long since gone mad?

Southern Judea Province.

Under the attack of one-third of the Roman legions led by Nero, Doro Bar Kochba's area of control continued to shrink. Facing absolute, overwhelming power, even the fearless Jews who believed in the Messiah's advent were helpless.

Village after village was razed, and castles were captured, but the resistance encountered by the Roman legions only intensified.

For example, now, Nero, who was approaching Jerusalem, had finally completely destroyed another castle. The moonlight had fully spread, casting faint outlines on the dark, lightless ground.

The girl strode directly over the collapsed city gate and the shattered ramparts, the sound of rolling stones and rubble echoing in the empty buildings and streets.

A short while earlier, the Jewish garrison of the castle, seeing no hope of escape, had fallen into complete religious madness, convinced that they were "destined to die by God's will."

When the Roman army broke through the city gate, they witnessed a hellish scene: the Jewish resistance fighters had burned all the buildings, and all the defenders, regardless of gender or age, committed mass suicide.

And due to their religious tenets, Judaism prohibits suicide. Thus, they drew lots to help each other die: husbands killed their wives, and wives stabbed their husbands. Children killed the elderly; I stab you, and before you die, you stab me... The last person committed suicide by poison.

This was also normal, as by this time, the Jewish rebels and the Roman legions were locked in a fight to the death. The Roman army, after breaking through the city, would retaliate against everyone. Conversely, the Jews showed no mercy to Romans or Roman prisoners of war; some claimed, "The nostrils of their horses were drowned in blood."

"My lord, another cave dug by the Jews has been discovered underground. Should we use magic to burn everything inside?"

"Yes, have the accompanying Mages cleanse it with magic. It doesn't matter if there's anyone inside or not, or what kind of place it is."

Despite the caves that had been troubling her speed all along, even though they likely contained luxuries, including glassware, vanity mirrors in leather cases, wooden jewelry boxes, and incense burners, the golden-haired girl coldly issued the order.

"Burn everything. Leave nothing behind."

However, the other two armies were doing the same. But before long, Nero's contingent would gather with the other two armies in Jerusalem for the final decisive battle of this campaign.

Speaking of which, Nero felt that at some point, something seemed to be emerging from the direction of Jerusalem, something that piqued her interest immensely, yet gave her an indescribable feeling.

Since the Judean rebellion began, the population of the entire eastern Mediterranean coast had been almost completely displaced. Entire villages of Greeks, Jewish settlements, and Roman colonies had vanished from the map. Countless skeletons, death clusters of adults and children piled together, a complete breakdown and destruction of ethics and common sense, merciless violence, the decomposed matter being blood, flesh, and bone, all constituted the same substance.

According to the Mages accompanying Nero's contingent, in the southern campaign led by Nero, two hundred thousand Jews were killed, and forty-six fortress towns and five hundred sixty-eight villages were razed to the ground.

The golden-haired girl trod a path soaked in blood. To this day, her slaughter had not wavered in the slightest.

A slight distortion at the corner of her lips, which was a smile.

It was a smile of unquestionable trust, yet filled with a morbid expression.

This was because before the Roman army was divided into three, her teacher of many years, the supreme commander of this operation, had said to her—

"Nero, you will bring peace, tranquility, joy, and happiness to all the people of the empire. I believe you have gained that courage."

Novia did not use coercive language, as if persuading a young child.

"Because you are Nero, I say this to you. Go forth and trample all heretics you see. This is for your own sake, Nero."

He smiled again.

In that moment, beside the teacher she revered, the golden-haired girl felt a surge of emotions as she listened to him speak—pride, reverence, joy, and a flicker of memory.

This was before the rebellion was quelled. Her mother, sensing extreme danger from her daughter's excessive closeness to Novia, had made a desperate confession—

The reason you have been experiencing headaches is because you have been ingesting poison since childhood. It was she before, and now it is Novia.

In that instant, the girl's thoughts were rational, her feelings calm.

Her heart accepted everything truthfully, clear as a still water surface, without a ripple, without confusion, without anger, and without discontent.

It was simply at the level of 'So that's how it is.'

...No, wait. Why? Could it be that I am inherently abnormal? Or...

Have I long since gone mad?

It was only now that the girl belatedly realized she had actually been swapped out long ago. The unease she felt on the day she was abandoned as a child had also been swapped out along with it.

Therefore, Nero's shining eyes gazed steadily at her mother, Agrippina:

"That's truly wonderful. I must be so important to him that he could only keep me this way. Honestly, you could have just said so. I thought Mother was talking about something incredibly serious. But I'll wait for the day he tells me himself. Or perhaps he'll tell me when he's about to kill me? Hehe, I'm just kidding. How could I possibly do something like that?"

The smile, like a rose glistening with 'morning dew,' swaying gracefully in the gentle breeze, remained on the girl's face. Her smile was unwavering.

"Mmmph, as expected, I share the same blood as you, Mother. I am, without a doubt, a lunatic."

The golden-haired girl said this cheerfully and openly. She had already gone mad.

Even though her outward demeanor remained lively, deep within her heart, she clearly understood that a surging flame burned with a rampant fervor—a fire that incinerated everything, a desire that offered everything, craved everything, and burned everything.

It was for this very reason that, facing Novia's words, which sounded like he was reasoning with a child, Nero smiled and replied: