Chapter 140

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Episode 140 (140/227)

Episode 140: The Turbulent Continent

The city of Amsterdam couldn’t hold out long against the two-pronged assault by the Church.

Most of the city was already engulfed in Sacred Flames, so it wasn’t even a matter of holding on anymore.

Even trying to flee the city was impossible, with all escape routes sealed off.

Members of the Binghai guild were either consumed by flames or captured by believers. And the fate of those captured was obvious.

Thwack!

The head of a kneeling sinner flew off dramatically.

Beside the executions, the ruins filled with nothing but ashes were lined with the hanging bodies of heretics.

Amsterdam had fallen completely under Church control.

This massive world event, which held great importance, had now successfully concluded.

All participating believers received substantial rewards.

Of course, these rewards were distributed according to individual contributions.

Those who played crucial roles, like Luuk and Me, received far greater rewards. And as for Apostle and Executor Ail… well, there’s no need to explain.

[Quest ‘Lu’ completed!]

[Huge amount of experience gained!]

[Goddess Favor +15.00% (Current 121.55%)]

[Church of Light Contribution +24,000]

[Faith Stat +30]

[Madness Stat +30]

‘This is incredible…’

Ail inwardly marveled.

For a massive-scale world event, the rewards were appropriately huge.

What stood out most was the enormous amount of experience gained from completing the quest.

Combined with the experience earned from battling Binghai, his level surged all the way to 147.

[‘Judge of Light, Lu’ smiles happily.]

The source of the quest, Lu, clearly showed satisfaction with the results.

This world event marked a major turning point.

With an entire city burned to the ground, there was no need to elaborate on the amount of influence gained.

Compared to other deities, they had advanced significantly further.

‘Is the war still far from concluding?’

Checking his personal screen, Ail lost himself in thought.

The war between Binghai, Hei Lang, and the other 12 top guilds continued fiercely.

Both sides maintained perfect balance, with no signs of the battle ending anytime soon.

Even though Binghai had lost the critical stronghold of Amsterdam, they couldn’t spare any attention to it due to this ongoing conflict.

On a larger scale, this was a war that could decide the very existence of the guilds, forcing them to commit all their resources.

‘Still, I’d prefer if Hei Lang wins.’

What Ail hoped for was Binghai’s defeat.

Given that they had lost such a large stronghold to the Church, restoring friendly relations would be impossible.

It would be better to ensure Binghai’s complete downfall to avoid future complications.

Caw! Caw!

At that moment, the sound of crows nearby caught Ail’s reflexive attention upward.

The creature slowly approaching him…

Judging by the small tube attached to its left ankle containing a message, it wasn’t here to feed on corpses.

The crow flying toward Ail extended its leg.

Chirp!

Taking out and unfolding the letter, he immediately recognized its origin from the seal alone.

It was a messenger bird sent from Esmaier’s Heretical Interrogation Office.

And the contents of the message were something he hadn’t anticipated at all.

“Already have the results?”

Unexpected news made Ail mutter to himself without realizing.

The message contained simple information.

It stated that the interrogation results for Daeche, who had been imprisoned and tortured in the Heretical Interrogation Office, had come out.

As the executor and one directly responsible for capturing him, Ail was the first to receive this information.

‘They said strong security magic was applied… yet they’ve already solved it? Truly impressive in their field.’

Daeche, a member of the Death Squad.

Though captured early on, he and other squad members had compulsory confidentiality magic placed on them.

Because of this, despite many forces attempting, no significant information had been extracted, leading to a stagnant situation.

However, this time the Heretical Interrogation Office managed to find a way to break the security magic first, combining it with tortures worse than death to extract a confession.

Immediately after the Twilight Meeting suppression, they began thorough investigations and achieved these results.

This was tremendous good news, and Ail hurried to check the rest of the letter.

‘So the prince was behind it, as expected.’

Just as predicted, the royal prince seeking the throne was heavily involved in all events related to the world quest.

To reverse the current disadvantageous situation and normalize forbidden magic, he gathered various forces dissatisfied with the existing order, including the Dark Elves.

Since internal changes within the royal family were difficult, he aimed to manipulate external forces to adjust the Great Council seats in his favor.

However, what the prince targeted next shocked even Ail.

‘The prince’s target is the Six Major Guilds…?’

For a moment, Ail doubted his own eyes.

According to the letter, the prince planned to completely overturn the Six Major Guilds that held numerous Great Council seats.

But the Six Major Guilds were a massive force even the royal family hesitated to touch.

Achieving this through normal means was absolutely impossible.

‘The purpose of the Command Stones is to absorb earth mana… causing pollution during the process, apparently.’

That’s why they used forbidden magic beyond common sense.

With the help of the Death Squad, the prince’s side prepared Command Stones, collecting vast amounts of dark mana from the continent’s earth.

This immense earth mana was intended to awaken ancient sleeping spirits and gain control over their consciousnesses.

Whether this was actually possible aside, it was quite astonishing.

After eliminating the Six Major Guilds supporting the princess, he planned to replace them with user guilds allied with the prince in this world quest.

This would completely flip the Great Council situation currently leaning toward the princess by 180 degrees.

‘No wonder they went to such lengths to conceal their objectives… plotting all this. What an incredible piece of information I’ve obtained.’

A smile formed on Ail’s lips.

This enormous quest could potentially overturn the current Warlord landscape dominated by the Six Major Guilds.

Ail had obtained the key clue to control this massive quest.

Realizing this, he briefly considered how to use this information.

‘Well, there’s really nothing to worry about right now.’

There was no need to overthink such a simple issue.

Ail was already aligned with the princess’s side.

At the end of the quest awaited the massive reward of “the kingdom’s first officially recognized church,” making any other considerations unnecessary.

Besides, even with the Six Major Guilds dominating, the world maintained a certain order through fierce competition among themselves.

If they were suddenly all destroyed, Warlord would descend into chaos similar to before established powers emerged.

In such a situation, individual users like Ail would suffer the most.

Territory-hungry guilds would stop at nothing to strengthen themselves, placing much more pressure on both the church and Ail himself.

‘Not to mention, even if I kept quiet… the Six Major Guilds wouldn’t go down easily anyway.’

Even if the Six Major Guilds hadn’t shown interest in the world quest until now,

they might already suspect something was amiss and be investigating.

‘Best to establish debts beforehand then.’

Warlord’s large guilds, who understand the importance of transactions, never forget debts.

Ail first contacted the Nightmere side through a separate direct channel.

Then he drafted letters to the remaining Six Major Guilds, informing them of the facts.

Now that Ail’s name was widely known, even the prestigious Six Major Guilds wouldn’t ignore his words.

While they might not fully trust his claims, once they investigated, it was only a matter of time before the situation shifted with the Six Major Guilds stepping in.

With their true intentions exposed, the prince’s side was practically finished.

‘The Death Squad, which sided with the prince, will also collapse rapidly… meaning I need to deal with that too.’

Ail recalled the items stored in his warehouse.

It was time to sell the accumulated thorium ingots.

According to Daeche’s confession, high-mana-conductivity thorium ingots were crucial materials for creating Command Stones.

Once their plot was thwarted, demand would decrease and prices would plummet.

This was the best time to cash out for maximum profit.

“Still busy scheming, I see.”

An unexpected female voice from behind.

Having moved to a secluded corner of the ruins for conversation, Ail turned around to see a beautiful woman with long blonde hair standing there.

“Y-Your Holiness?”

Ail immediately recognized her.

This time, Lu appeared directly without possessing another’s body.

She looked exactly as she did when they first met at the start of the game, standing right before him now.

“Is it alright for you to appear like this?”

“I haven’t fully descended with my complete power, so don’t worry.”

Lu casually replied.

She had descended through an arbitrary avatar, maintaining form with far less influence compared to a full descent.

Still, this form consumed much more influence than possessing a believer.

“This world event was handled exceptionally well. However, I cannot remain in this form for long, so we should proceed with our business.”

“Our business…?”

“I must honor my promise to my faithful apostle.”

Smiling, Lu approached Ail step by step.

Until then unaware of what was happening, she grabbed one of Ail’s cheeks and slightly bent him down.

Matching eye levels…

Her soft lips gently touched his forehead.

“T-This is…”

Ail’s face turned red as he froze in place.

Soon, a single message appeared before him.

[Bright Goddess’s Blessing envelops your body.]

[Temporary +5 Luck Boost!]

“What is this…?”

The sudden luck bonus confused Ail.

Watching his stunned reaction, Lu added:

“You seem relaxed. From what I know, it won’t last long.”

“Ahh!”

Boosts increasing luck were commonly short-lived.

Realizing this belatedly, Ail quickly pulled out a skill book from his inventory.

The highest-grade golden skill book obtained in Eltris.

He had been waiting for even a minor opportunity to use it since it felt wasteful otherwise, but with a +5 luck boost active, he needed to open it immediately.

Whoosh!

Brilliant light burst forth from the activated skill book.

[Devotee’s Zeal (Legendary)]

-Heresy Inquisitor exclusive skill.

-A seeker who has attained true faith reaches a new level of enlightenment.

-All types of divine magic learned by the player are influenced by basic stats other than mana.

“Huh… Legendary?”

Ail blankly stared at the screen.

The skill name shining brilliantly in gold.

Before him appeared Warlord’s highest-tier passive skill of Legendary rank.

“Hmm, not bad.”

Lu shrugged lightly.