Night fell.
The gates of the Holy City rumbled open.
Knights in imposing armor sat astride iron-armored warhorses, weapons in hand, and marched out in perfect formation.
The accompanying Divine Spellcasters and Spellcasters rode in carriages, protected in the middle of the column by the knights.
After decades, the Holy Church's iron cavalry had gathered once more.
At the command of the gods, they would travel far to the Southern Empire and deal with whatever might happen there.
The sight shook the entire world.
Every faction was trying to find out what had happened.
But the Church had no time to explain. All they could say was—
The gods had ordered the Holy Army to reach the Southern Empire as quickly as possible!
The Pope set out ahead with the Cardinals and more than a hundred of the Church's most elite warriors.
They spent a fortune in resources to teleport directly to the Southern Empire, arriving outside that remote town.
At the gods' command, the ruler of the Southern Empire had immediately sealed off the town.
Everything had been left as it was, awaiting the Holy Church's investigators.
The merchants who had just left town were taken into custody.
Even the child who had escaped disaster by tending sheep on the mountain was now under guard.
"Your Holiness, did I handle things properly?"
the monarch asked.
He looked somewhat nervous.
As a monarch, he was indeed a shrewd and capable ruler. A little reflection was enough to let him guess at certain things.
—This was the first time in decades that the gods had taken an interest in worldly affairs.
Moreover, when the Church had established its intelligence network, rumors had spread about the reason.
It was said the gods had ordered intelligence agencies to be established around the world