After taking the body of the High Templar, the Halfling went to the next location. There, he saw one of the Saints who had decided to join the Divine Army of Light in attacking them.
Unlike the High Templar who was nothing more than a charred body, the Saint from the Reika Kingdom only suffered serious injuries. Because of this, Gaap would have no trouble subduing him, and the Saint also knew this as well.
"P-Please, have mercy on me," the Saint from the Reika Kingdom pleaded. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have been blinded by their offer."
"Sure," Gaap replied. "Antero, eat him for now."
The head of the Golem of Destruction materialized above Gaap's body as it let out a devilish chuckle.
"Noooooo! Don't! I beg you! I'll do anything! Don't eat meeeeeeeeeeee!"
As if enjoying the Saint's despair, Antero laughed one more time before gobbling the helpless man, who had no means to defend himself.
Although Gaap had ordered Antero to eat the Saint, it was more like imprisoning him inside the Golem's body.
Saints weren't simple to deal with, and if Gaap were to underestimate them, they might manage to escape, or worse, launch a sneak attack on him.
Since that was the case, he decided that letting Antero keep them inside his body was the most optimal choice.
Unlike the Divine Army of Light, he didn't have much hatred for these people. Also, using them as hostages and asking their respective Kingdoms for ransom was also a good thing.
A Kingdom or Empire without a Saint is like an army without weapons. If their neighboring Kingdoms were to find out that their rival had lost its teeth, they would not hesitate to mount an attack in order to gain more lands and expand their domain.
Such was the reality in the Central Continent of Elysium.
Only the strong would survive, and the weak would be killed or forced to become their underlings.
Gaap knew that he had more to gain by keeping these Saints alive. Although killing them was also an option, his Master had forbidden him from killing needlessly before she drew her last breath.
Since then, Gaap had refrained from wantonly killing people and only focused on his revenge against the Divine Army of Light.
'I can also force them into a contract of servitude,' Gaap thought. 'Letting them spread rumors about the Divine Army of Light will help tarnish that blasphemous organization as well. Saints are very useful for these kinds of tasks.'
Saints were very influential people, and their words carried a lot of weight. If they were to say bad things about the Divine Army of Light, the people would think of this as truth, weakening the Divine Army's influence.
When he arrived at his next destination, he found one of the Saints belonging to the Divine Army of Light.
However, unlike the High Templar and the Saint from the Reika Kingdom, this Saint was in better condition, and he immediately used his teleportation crystal in order to escape as soon as he saw Gaap.
Gaap continued to visit the red blinking dots on the map and found the other Saints that belonged to the Reika Kingdom, Jumon Dynasty, and Spada Empire.
Just like what he did with his first captive, he ordered Antero to eat them as well.
Of course, Gaap also got lucky and found a Saint from the Divine Army of Light that was terribly weakened from the injuries he received.
Before this Saint could even use his teleportation Crystal, a black knight, who was one of Gaaps Named Creatures, took the initiative to cut off the Saint's hand, rendering him unable to escape.
"Just kill me, Fiend!" the Saint from the Divine Army shouted. "I will eagerly wait for you in Hell!"
"Fool," Gaap replied with a devilish smile on his face. "Who said that I will give you a swift death? I'll torture you until you beg me to die. Antero, eat him as well. But make sure to separate him from the others.
Antero's giant head once again appeared and laughed at the foolish Saint who thought that Gaap would give him a swift, and painless death.
After capturing one of his enemies, Gaap checked his map again and frowned.
Several blinking red dots were grouped together and were headed to the last remaining red dot on the map.
"It seems that they managed to regroup faster than I expected," Gaap muttered. "It must be because of that Oracle."
Gaap was then faced with a hard decision. He could go and attack the Saints while they were injured, or he could retreat and return to the floating island.
The Halfling pondered a bit, and after careful consideration, he decided to retreat for the time being.
Right now, he was only an Apostle.
Even with Antero's protection, one mistake will be the end of him.
Also, using Antero to fight would decrease the lifespan that Lux had gifted him during his breakthrough in the Necromancer's Ancestral Lands.
'Taking a gamble now isn't worth it,' Gaap thought before looking at the West one last time. 'Your day of reckoning will come.'
Since Gaap was a member of Heaven's Gate, he used the Guild's Teleportation ability to return to the floating island, which had already traveled several miles away from the battlefield.
Although he felt that it was a waste, he already did his best and managed to capture two Saints from the Divine Army of Light.
The Halfling knew that his enemies were feeling very bitter about their defeat, and that was enough to make him have a good night's sleep when evening came.
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"Are there no other survivors?" one of the Saints of the Divine Army asked the Oracle, who had changed into a new set of clothes and tended to her wounds.
"No," the Oracle replied. "There should have been two more, but I lost my connection with them a while ago. It's likely true to say that our enemies managed to capture, or worse, kill them if they hadn't already died from their injuries."
The Saints quieted down after hearing the Oracle's explanation. They then glanced at each other, before shifting their gaze to the beautiful woman, who had painstakingly gathered them together.
If it weren't for her and the Elixirs in her possession, the chances of them being captured by the enemy were high.
"What now?" another Saint of the Divine Army asked. "Are we still going to continue our mission?"
This was the question that everyone was thinking of right now, and the only one that could give them an answer was the Oracle of the Divine Army.
"No," the Oracle said with a bitter face. "Continuing the mission in our current state is just plain suicide. All of us should return to our Headquarters and recover properly. The others like the High King of Lunaria might have also returned there as well."
All the Saints sighed internally due to the relief they felt when the Oracle declared that they would stop pursuing the Half-Elf.
After experiencing what he was capable of doing firsthand, a seed of fear had planted itself in their hearts.
Although this was a very ironic thing, considering that their target was a mere Ranker, it didn't change the fact that they had lost to that same youngster, and even lost all of their life-saving artifacts after one attack from him.
"Let's go," the Oracle ordered as she took out the teleportation crystal from her storage ring. "I will personally discuss with the Sovereign and explain the reason for our loss."
All the Saints nodded and also took out their teleportation crystals that would send them back to their Headquarters.
The last one to leave was the Oracle of the Divine Army. But before she used her teleportation crystal, she looked to the East, where the floating island was currently headed at.
"The next time we meet, I promise I will no longer underestimate you," the Oracle vowed. "Enjoy your victory while you still can, Heretic. You won't be rejoicing for too long."
Without another word, the Oracle used her teleportation crystal, transforming her into particles of light.
This defeat against the Half-Elf was something she took personally, and because of this, she vowed to devise more concrete plans in the future in order to prevent the Heretic from having the last laugh.
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