Chapter 387
EP.387
Allied Command Barracks.
To put it simply, the atmosphere inside the command barracks is dark and subdued, like the funeral of my parents who suddenly passed away in an accident when they were in the prime of their working age.
As expected, the Archduke of Warsaw, commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces, barely escaped death, but his health was so bad that it would not be surprising if he just died without knowing when he would fall into a coma again.
In order to somehow capture the castle, they appointed the Archbishop to capture Peter Jaeger and the others imprisoned in Bastion Castle and declare them heretics, thus elevating this war to a sacred battle to suppress heresy.
Even today, we were unable to capture Bastion Castle.
In this subdued atmosphere, Captain Greenwich slammed the desk and spoke.
“Aaaahhh Peter Yeager! Peter Yeager, you filthy bastard who would have homosexual relations with Satan! And Lieutenant Colonel Landel, the son of a bitch, followed that crazy guy and learned the same thing, selling his soul to Satan! “How on earth could something so terrible happen?”
Normally, when someone was angry like this, I would have sympathized with their anger and cursed Peter Yeager or Lieutenant Colonel Randel, whose name was just revealed.
None of them responded to the words of Captain Greenwich, who had been serving as second-in-command under the Archduke and had now temporarily assumed overall command.
This is because it was expected that if the commander caught you by saying a word incorrectly, you would be subjected to all kinds of ridicule and personal attacks even if you were not at fault.
In addition, because the Archduke has no energy right now, he is unable to sympathize with or stop Captain Greenwich, who is angry on his behalf.
After cursing Lieutenant Colonel Randell and Peter Yeager for 30 minutes, Captain Greenwich quenched his thirsty throat with a gulp of cold water and spoke in a suddenly calm voice.
“I’m sorry for showing you such a disgrace. “The situation we are in is so desperate that we have shown this disheveled appearance.”
“No, Captain, everyone can sympathize with your anger. Above all, didn’t His Excellency the Archbishop of Warsaw reveal that Peter Jaeger sold his soul to the devil to survive? So isn’t the captain’s anger a just accusation born of sacred faith?”
In this world where the Deus religion is believed, it is natural to think that any heretic, from the emperor to a commoner, should be struck down and killed.
Peter Yeager and Bastion Castle are cities that are already violating the taboo of ‘devil worship’, so if you think about it according to this logic, it is normal for anyone who serves Deus to want to kill them as soon as possible when they see them.
But the important thing is that no one here, including the Archbishop, believes that Peter Yeager sold his soul to the devil.
So, although the atmosphere became tense for a moment because of the tactless person who mentioned that Peter Yeager had sold his soul to the devil, no one came forward to blame him.
On the surface, Peter Yeager should be the world’s deadliest bastard who has already sold his soul to the devil.
“First of all, how about condemning Lieutenant Colonel Randel, who sold his soul to the devil, as an agent of the devil, and then burning him at the stake in front of all the Allied Forces? “If the Archbishop condemns him as a heretic and purifies him by burning him at the stake, the soldiers will inflame their hostility toward the Reich Empire.”
Normally, it would be right to bury the body of an officer like Lieutenant Colonel Landel who fought honorably to the end, even if he was an enemy soldier, with respect.
The current Allied Forces had no such conscience or composure, so no one opposed such an inhumane proposal.
“great. “Let’s just burn it brightly and purify the traces of heresy.”
“The reason Colonel Landel was able to fight to the end even though his body was so horribly damaged was because he was a heretic. “A man cannot fight like that without selling his soul to a pagan god.”
“We must purify his body with holy fire and let everyone know that his soul has fallen into hell!”
But no matter what they say, Deus, the god of this world, has already sent the soul of Randel, who devoted himself to his country, to a place reserved for the most honorable people in heaven.
Rather, the hottest and cruelest place in hell has been prepared for those who are immersed in creating heresy, but the world of the dead is unknown to the living.
They focused solely on solving the problem at hand.
“By the way, according to the rumors brought in by spies, Peter Yeager, that pagan bastard is considering surrendering. “What do you all think?”
No one answered that question.
However, the Archduke answered while taking a deep breath.
“Hey, that damn gagging Peter Jaeger must be killed. What kind of freezing surrender do you mean? “You can never accept it.”
“Your Highness Peter Yeager himself would know that he would have to sacrifice his own head to save the soldiers in the castle.”
The Grand Duke of Warsaw spat out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth and spoke with difficulty.
“P, P, Peter Yeager and his gang are all bastards who must be exterminated in that castle. Otherwise, if even one survives and joins the imperial army, the morale of the imperial soldiers will rise like crazy from then on.”
“What the Grand Duke said is correct. However, while His Majesty and His Excellency the Archbishop were directly leading the army after declaring the suppression of sacred heresy, the Archduke was injured. The morale of the soldiers is very low now. So…”
The Archduke spoke in a much more relaxed voice after once again spitting out quite a bit of the blood in his mouth onto a dry towel.
“It will take another month at the earliest for enemy reinforcements to arrive at Bastion Castle. However, if we push our exhausted soldiers too hard now, the fall of the castle will actually be delayed. Okay, after resting for a few days and storing up strength… we will immediately send the soldiers back in and fight with all our might. “I will cut off Peter Yeager’s head.”
“This is a wise decision. Then, I think you will accept Peter Yeager’s surrender…”
“If he really surrenders, the solution will be resolved by cutting off the head of the surrendered Yeager immediately and then condemning everyone in the castle as heretics. By the way, Archbishop. “Has Deus responded to anything?”
The archbishop hesitated for a moment at those words.
“… What do you mean by response?”
“Didn’t you tell me today? They say they are heretics. Then, Deus must have given the archbishop a signal on how to subdue them.”
The Archduke’s remarks were clearly intended to manipulate Deus as he pleased, so the generals were shocked the moment they heard that bullshit.
However, if a million troops were mobilized but failed to subdue Peter Yeager, dealing with the aftermath was a bigger problem.
Everyone kept quiet and did not make any objections.
‘If you go to a Deus priest later and confess this matter, you will be able to avoid going to hell. But if I were to lose here, not only I but probably my family would be destroyed.’
The archbishop was momentarily agonized over whether to keep his conscience as a priest of the Church of Deus or to compromise to maintain his power within the Grand Duchy of Warsaw… but judging by
Peter Jaeger’s terrifying power, he must have sold his soul to the devil. ‘There is no doubt about it.’
Since he had sold his conscience countless times to get ahead and reached the position of archbishop, he decided to sell his conscience again this time.
“All I have to do is pray to Deus for three days and repent for our lack of faith. When we heard the rumor that Peter Yeager was about to surrender, wasn’t Deus trying to give us time to repent? In addition, His Highness, the Archduke, please do your best to ensure that soldiers who have concerns or fears can receive the sacrament of confession and receive forgiveness for their sins.”
The Archduke and other commanders were also convinced that their combat power would definitely increase if they let the soldiers rest for three days and relieve their emotional wounds by having them receive confessions through priests.
Therefore, everyone here expressed their strong approval with enthusiastic applause.
“The soldiers are exhausted from the long war, so if they rid themselves of their fears through the Sacrament of Confession and get enough rest, their combat power will increase significantly.”
“Isn’t there still over a month left before reinforcements arrive to assist Peter Yeager? “If we rest for three days starting tomorrow and recover our stamina, our troops will definitely achieve victory.”
“And won’t 400,000 additional troops to support us arrive in about a month? “Right now, our troops must have three days of sufficient rest and time to repent.”
In this way, they made a decision that no human being should make, selling their souls to buy victory.
The next day, the priests, including the archbishop, received the sacrament of confession from the soldiers and officers to relieve their hearts. Afterwards, the archbishop personally went out and burned Randel’s body in front of everyone.
As if it were a witch trial, Randel and the dead of the Reich Empire, as well as Peter Jaeger and the remaining people of the Imperial Army, were all condemned, accusing them of having sold their souls to the devil, and all of the Allied forces accompanying them cheered loudly.
“Yes, of course Peter Jaeger and the Reich Reich sold their souls to the devil! Deus will definitely give us victory and judge them with justice!”
“Long live Deus! Long live Deus! Judge Peter Yeager!”
“Please bring justice to Peter Yeager and his henchmen!”
If Deus had heard it himself, it would have been astounding and stuffy.
And of course this news reached Peter Jaeger’s ears, and instead of getting angry when he heard it, he opened the Bible, found this verse, and read it in a low voice.
“That day will come like a thief. You condemned and insulted Lieutenant Colonel Landel and those who fought honorably here to protect themselves and their families, calling them devils and insulting them. The day when you will pay for your crimes will soon come…” A word
from the author (author review)
Your comments and likes are of great help to writers.
See next episode