Badge in Azure

Chapter 1234: Price of Darkness (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The shock stopped Saleen’s laugh from being sent out of the Magical Element Tower. The pope’s Seal of Divine Power was nullified by the ball of lightning, but the godly item was sturdy enough to not cause Theisio to suffer any recoil.

Saleen was relieved that he had not used Puppet Constellation. While the equipment would not have been damaged by the shock, the 500,000 puppets would have been reduced to dust. It would have taken a very, very long time for them to be restored.

If the Puppet Constellation suffered such damage, it would be only able to help Saleen cast earth elemental magic and would lose its ability to attack through sheer numbers.

Blood seeped out from the cracks in the Heaven Knights’ armor, and none was able to get up.

Theisio stopped being angry. Saleen did not do it on purpose; it was coincidental.

The earthquake Saleen caused had been coincidental, as was the last flood he caused. The energy shock caused moments ago was also coincidental. Saleen did not know how things would turn out, but the coincidental disasters dealt devastating blows to the Holy See every time.

The 10,000 Heaven Knights were equal to a million-soldier army. Theisio did not fret over the dead troops. So long as there were still adherents, it would be easy to raise an even greater army.

The Heaven Knights, on the other hand, were painstakingly nurtured by the Holy See and all of them were unquestionably loyal. Their combat was just as unquestionable, and the value of just a single warhorse of theirs was startling.

What surprised Theisio was the level 13 divine spell stored in the Seal of Divine Power, Divine Wrath, was nullified by a single spell cast by Saleen.

Divine Wrath was capable of phasing through obstacles to attack its target, which meant that the spell behaved like a ball of lightning, enabling it to phase through the Magical Element Tower.

It was specifically prepared to deal with Saleen from the lessons Theisio learned in his last scuffle with the mage.

However, while Divine Wrath was only a level 13 divine spell, it was excruciatingly difficult to store. The two level 12 oracles failed over 100 times, before being able to store a single worthy Divine Wrath in the Seal of Divine Power.

The success rate was unnervingly low for the level 12 oracles.

What kind of spell did Saleen cast?

“Lord Pope, it’s best that we call it a day,” said a lanky young man with a pale face beside Theisio. The young man apparently had little respect for the pope, judging from his tone and words.

“Great head inquisitor, are you saying that we should just let this blasphemous infidel throw his weight around?”

“Lord Pope, didn’t you just send the two oracles to destroy his kingdom?” The great head inquisitor looked very young after switching bodies using the Divine Tablet spell, and his level had been raised to 11.

However, his level seemed to be negligible before Theisio.

The energy emanating from the Bramble Crown that Theisio wore was not weaker than a level 11 professional.

“Do you have any idea what kind of secrets are buried here?” Theisio’s face was tremendously cold. He wanted to get rid of the great head inquisitor, but he had the backing of Black Dungeon.

The head warden was the truly fearsome figure. Theisio shuddered just thinking about them. He did not know if a person who had been in charge of the Black Dungeon could be considered a human.

The demon that their god mentioned was perhaps the head warden.”

“How else would anyone know what’s buried down there? It’s not like you Pivotal Council people are willing to tell us,” the great head inquisitor voiced his displeasure. If the great head inquisitor feared Theisio just because the pope had gathered all three godly items, then he would not be the great head inquisitor.”

“It’s a cemetery of an ancient giant. The giant had some connection with the emperor of the First Dynasty.”

“A level 18 giant?”

“Level 18,” Theisio finally told the truth. Blood rushed to the great head inquisitor’s pale face.

“You’ve kept secrets long enough, Theisio,” the great head inquisitor smiled. He knew more or less what was down there, but as long as the pope kept his mouth shut, the great head inquisitor would not be able to mobilize more men for him.

The Black Dungeon was too powerful for the great head inquisitor. It was fortunate that the head warden did not care about power and only care about the ones by his side.

It was because of that that the great head inquisitor was able to maintain the Tribunal. Otherwise, the Black Dungeon would have splintered and become a fourth force in the Holy See.

The great head inquisitor did not dare to think of ways to change it. He knew that even if he advanced, he would not be able to fight the head warden. Death was preferable to getting on the head warden’s bad side.

“Saleen’s flying magic tower blocked an entrance. If we entered through the other entrance, he might have tailed us and caught us in a pincer attack,” Theisio explained.

“So we need to take the magic tower out first?” The great head inquisitor was still flushed, making him look like a carrot.

“There is no doubt about that.” Theisio nodded. He did not tell anyone that he had thrown Saleen into a divine kingdom, and the mage came back alive and kicking right before them.

“So it’s up to me?”

“You’re the great head inquisitor. It’s your job to deal with these infidels.”

“Right, and it’s your responsibility to give us orders, pope!” The great head inquisitor said as if he was reciting a poem.

“Oh, please. If you kill Saleen, the magic tower will be yours. I think that none of the treasures you’ll find in the cemetery will be comparable to that tower.”

“You’re correct, but if I run into any danger...”

“I shall provide backup.” The pope raised the God Grace Staff.

“Well then, please bestow me with an Eternal Blessing to start.” The great head inquisitor smirked sheepishly. The pope’s face froze, but he raised the staff and chanted the words.

Eternal Blessing was a divine spell with no regard of level, and it had to be bestowed by gods. There were three Eternal Blessings stored in the God Grace Staff, which the pope relied on for protection.

Every pope was given three from their god. Theisio hesitated at the great head inquisitor’s request for one, but he granted their wish.

Saleen was powerful. If he did not back the great head inquisitor, he might actually die by Saleen’s hands.

Holy light emanated from Theisio and slowly seeped into the great head inquisitor’s body. A shadow in the great head inquisitor’s heart gradually dissipated, seemingly avoiding the holy power.

The light seeped into the great head inquisitor’s body like mercury.

The great head inquisitor’s thin lips smiled at Theisio. “Thank you. I’m off to kill Saleen. That flying magic tower shall be mine.”

Theisio’s smile looked uglier than a crying face. The great head inquisitor cast a secret trick of the Tribunal, not only taking Eternal Blessing, but also a huge amount of divine power and life force.

The skill was called the Price of Darkness.

The Tribunal hovered between light and darkness and possessed immense power, but they were dark powers, and there was a price for using them. The base skill of the Tribunal was the Price of Darkness, which every single holy master of the Tribunal needed to learn.

If they did not learn Price of Darkness, they would fall after joining the Tribunal, cast away by their god for good.

The great head inquisitor used a level 11 Price of Darkness, which meant he had gauged Saleen’s hazard level. A considerable portion of Theisio’s life force was sucked away, and worse still, he had to keep quiet about it.

It seemed that he had to pay a hefty price to kill Saleen.

The great head inquisitor did not say anything. He knew that Saleen was very hard to kill. He was only showing Theisio that the Tribunal would not take unnecessary risks.

Theisio needed to pay just like he did. It was only fair.

The great head inquisitor dispelled the skill, but he did not know that the shadow in his heart had formed again. The Eternal Blessing was severely diluted and no longer looked like it was bestowed by gods. It seemed to be cast by a low level priest.

“Lend me a golden knight.” The great head inquisitor did not call for his own people, asking Theisio’s instead.

Theisio nodded, and a knight clad in purple armor stepped forward, following the great head inquisitor.

“From here on out, he belongs to the Tribunal, which means he’s one of yours.” Theisio hardly felt anything. Golden knights were not golden grand swordmasters. It was only a name. The golden knight that he had sent to the great head inquisitor’s side was level ten.

“I’ll be off then.” The great head inquisitor pointed at the water, and a white portal appeared. The dark green seawater parted around it.

The great head inquisitor leapt from the boat and the golden knight clad in purple armor followed suit. Holy light lit up under his purple combat boots with every step, and he was unnervingly quick.

Saleen was naturally able to see what was going on above. He could hear the conversation between the great head inquisitor and Pope Theisio. Saleen turned to the people around him. “Let’s hear this and tell me what you think about them.”

Jola and the others shook their heads. They only heard about the infighting in the Holy See from other sources. With the conversation replaying right before them, everyone was aghast at how fragmented the Holy See was, but the Holy See was greedy enough to want to unite the mainland.

“Nicholas, what’s Eternal Blessing?”

“My liege, it’s...a power bestowed by the gods. Every pope acquires three from the God Grace Staff even if they are incapable of contacting god. It was the reason why everyone wanted to become pope.”

Saleen was unfazed. It was hardly a lofty goal to want to become pope, as even the water type elemental spirit wanted to become a god, instead of a god’s spokesperson.

Theisio and the others chose to believe in their god, so their prospects were destined to be limited, making them pale in comparison to Fycro. Fycro intended to create his own divine kingdom and be free of god’s control.

From Saleen’s perspective, Fycro was powerful among the people from the Holy See that he knew. Van Gogh was one of those people as well. The two would definitely not be bound by the gods. Their faith was fallen at the very core.