The Traitor

"Troublesome..."

Locke let out a sigh.

Why hadn't His Majesty Ceres launched a grand recruitment drive and begun a campaign against the Temple of Light after Bolton advanced to the Saint-level?

Wasn't it because he believed Bolton lacked the strength to survive against those two Saint-level Experts?

If war were started for no reason only to end in another defeat, the Frost Snow Empire's people would certainly begin to waver in their faith in the Overgod, greatly reducing the Power of Faith Ceres collected.

However, the rule that anyone who reached the Saint-level could freely choose whether to become the commander of an army and wage war against the Temple of Light had been set by Ceres himself. He could not make Bolton abandon his intentions for that reason.

Thus, Ceres had Bolton personally select new members for the Fifth Legion to delay matters, waiting to see whether any new Saint-level Experts would emerge during that time.

After the Tsunami Legion was successfully formed, Ceres had no reason left to stop Bolton. With the thought of giving it a try, he used his Spiritual Sense to search the Frost Snow Empire for newly emerged Saint-level Experts.

Locke had simply been dragged into it.

Of course, this was not necessarily a bad thing for Locke.

If Ceres had found him another twenty years later, he would have faced expulsion from the Vakanda Plane.

According to His Majesty Ceres's thinking, with Bolton and himself present, even if they could not win, they should at least have been able to remain locked in a stalemate with the Temple of Light's two Saint-level Experts.

But now, having killed Bolton meant that he would have to face the Temple of Light's two Saint-level Experts alone.

The reason His Majesty Ceres had not said anything yet was because, after the Fifth Legion had been formed, word of the campaign against the Temple of Light had already been spread. The campaign had to proceed.

If he won, His Majesty Ceres would gain a massive wave of Power of Faith from the people, and Locke would receive a reward from His Majesty Ceres as well.

But if Locke lost...

Shaking his head, Locke threw the thought of "I might lose" out of his mind.

Before the battle had even begun, he was already thinking of defeat. That was not the mindset a strong person should possess.

That day, the Tsunami Legion set out in grand formation from the Imperial Capital of the Frost Snow Empire. The people stood on both sides of the streets, waving Frost Snow banners to see the Tsunami Legion off.

As the commander of the Tsunami Legion, this was also Locke's first official appearance before the public.

Forty-eight-year-old Locke still looked like a handsome young man, yet none of the people who saw him thought that he was younger than them.

After all, everyone knew that in the Frost Snow Empire, only Saint-level Experts could serve as legion commanders.

And Saint-level Experts possessed boundless lifespans. One simply could not judge a Saint-level Expert's age from their outward appearance.

What could be seen from their appearance was only the age at which they had broken through.

A Level Nine Expert could live up to five hundred years. Anyone under three hundred and fifty was considered "young."

From three hundred and fifty to four hundred and thirty was considered "middle-aged."

Only those above four hundred and thirty were considered "elderly."

Judging from Locke's appearance, they could only determine that he had broken through to the Saint-level before reaching three hundred and fifty.

As for his exact age, perhaps only a God-level Expert could glean a little from the aura of his life force.

The Temple of Light could not possibly remain unaware of the Frost Snow Empire's movements.

Or rather, whether the Temple of Light was attacking the Frost Snow Empire or the Frost Snow Empire was launching a campaign against the Temple of Light, neither side's upper ranks had any intention of concealing it.

The Power of Faith came from the recognition and fervor within the people's hearts.

The Pope of the Temple of Light and the emperor of the Frost Snow Empire both served their respective Overgods.

After years of research, they had naturally discovered that starting wars was the best means of gathering the Power of Faith.

Therefore, whenever peace on the Wakanda Continent lasted too long and the collection of Power of Faith entered a stagnant period, both sides would tacitly start another war, using war to spur the people into producing more Power of Faith.

Naturally, they could not reveal such a fact to the common people below.

As it happened, a Saint-level Expert was born in the Vakanda Plane almost every few decades.

The Pope of the Temple of Light and the emperor of the Frost Snow Empire handed the role of war initiator over to these newly advanced Saint-level Experts.

In order to gain greater benefits, or more cultivation guidance and resources, the newly advanced Saint-level Experts were also more than willing to start wars.

It could be said that every war was a carnival for the Vakanda Plane's two God-level Experts.

After learning of the Frost Snow Empire's movements, the Temple of Light naturally made its own preparations.

More than a hundred thousand knights, led by two Saint-level High Priests, gathered at the border between the two factions and began setting up defenses.

When Locke led the Tsunami Legion through Bidia Territory and entered the battlefield between the two factions, the Temple of Light had already erected a city wall.

The cold wind howled.

The hundred-thousand-strong legion stood in neat square formations behind Locke.

From high above, the densely packed spears looked like thorns covering the ground.

Locke slowly rose into the air, hovering two hundred meters above the center of the battlefield.

At the sight, the knights atop the Temple of Light's wall could not help taking several steps back.

This was a Saint-level Expert!

A single sneeze from him could destroy them along with the city wall beneath their feet.

Before such a towering existence, no one could keep fear from rising in their hearts.

But soon, a Saint-level Expert in white robes flew up from the Temple of Light's section of the wall and stopped opposite Locke.

"Heretics of the Frost Snow Empire, have you learned nothing from your lesson?"

"More than twenty years ago, we defeated heretics like you. Have you come to die again?"

"Come to die?"

Locke shook his head. "High Priest, do you really think that, after the battle twenty years ago, we would launch another campaign against traitors like you without sufficient confidence?"

"You should thank His Majesty Ceres and your Pope for the treaty they made."

"For the first three years after the war begins, Saint-level Experts are forbidden from taking action."

"That gives you two despicable traitors three more years to live."

"Enjoy these final three years of your lives."

"I will not show you any mercy."

Locke's words made the Temple of Light's High Priest blow his beard and glare in fury. He wished he could strike at once and kill Locke.

But just as Locke had said, would the Frost Snow Empire truly start another war without a certain degree of confidence?

Moreover, in a sense, Locke was not wrong.

Within the Temple of Light, aside from the Pope, all of its other higher-ups were traitors.

They had all been traitors who, under the Pope's instigation, betrayed the Frost Snow Empire and defected to the Temple of Light.