Chapter 201: The Priest Spy
An Orc with red skin was sitting on a platform. The red skin, given as a blessing by the Angry One, was resistant to heat and burns, making it useful in this current war.
In the army of the Angry One, it was common to see red-skinned Orcs carrying oil on their backs and using flamethrowers. Their infamous tactic was to rush into the enemy trenches and set everything on fire. Most of them were descendants of the red-skinned Orcs that the Angry One, Hegemonia, had used as their main force when they first entered the second continent. And among those red-skinned Orcs, the most famous warrior was the Angry One's second apostle, Ankarde, known as the one who wore blood.
Ankarde said, "It’s unfortunate, Alma, that things turned out this way."
Alma Alloy, the fifth apostle of the Angry One, stood in front of Ankarde and nodded.
"If you wish to punish me, go ahead."
"Hpmh, if the Angry One hasn't done so, who am I to?"
While sharpening the blade of their favorite giant ax with a whetstone, Ankarde continued, "Things are getting complicated."
"Yes."
"A rebellion?"
Alma corrected, "They call it a revolution."
"A revolution, huh."
"At least that's what they say."
Ankarde shook their head as if they couldn't understand.
"This is ridiculous. If you're defeated, shouldn't you accept it?"
"Even if it was their ancestors who lost and not them?"
"Yes."
Ankarde showed their teeth and growled.
"I don't care if you disagree. In my opinion, if you're defeated, you remain defeated. Acceptance isn't just a matter of honor. If they never accept it and keep charging, what will become of the world's order?"
"It would be chaotic."
"Exactly." Ankarde elaborated their thoughts with hand gestures, "If the lowly covet the places of the noble and ultimately take them, in the end, they just occupy the noble's position. Someone else will take their place and be in the low class. It's all the same. Nothing changes."
"..."
"What if this fight goes on forever? If the lowly constantly battle to take the place of the noble? This chaotic fight will consume everything that keeps the noble in their noble places. Forests will burn, and rivers will dry up. If the lowly are too busy fighting to farm, where will food come from, and if they're too caught up in strategizing to defeat the noble and don't work in factories, who will make clothes and goods?"
Alma sighed. "In the perspective of the Union Kingdom, you're right. But we all live a mortal life."
"So are you saying you agree with those lowly beings?"
"Maybe. Their anger is justified."
"So you're siding with those tailless beings?"
Alma squinted. "Not exactly."
The Pantheon’s attack began at the Rubeil slave labor camp. Up until then, what had clearly been a card of the Angry One suddenly ended up in the hands of Night Sky, resulting in a critical blow. But both the Angry One and Alma believed it wouldn’t be the end of things.
'They're just as unprepared as we are.'
It was true that the Pantheon had been preparing against the Fake God Strategy. However, the strategy of the Pantheon wasn't about delivering one massive blow, but a series of smaller, more flexible strategies.
According to the Angry One, this was one of the Pantheon's weaknesses.
Alma recalled the Angry One's words.
"Here's the thing, Alma. The Pantheon consists of many gods, and Night Sky, the leader, cannot ignore them all. Each of them holds autonomy. Even if Night Sky reviews every strategy, he can't directly verify them all. Meaning, not every strategy is perfect."
Therefore, Alma's target was clear.
'Break the systematic connection between the strategies.'
At first, Alma couldn’t fully understand the Angry One's words, but not anymore. When they unveiled the card of revolution as a counter to the Fake God Strategy, she thought things could get dangerous. But that wasn’t the case. The revolution preparation hadn’t been perfect.
'Of course. The raid on the Rubeil slave labor camp was also an unexpected outcome of Night Sky’s plan. Though it turned in Night Sky’s favor, a single division of regular forces could easily deal with the slaves of that mere slave labor camp. So in desperation to make the most of the gains from the slave labor camp, they had to reveal their card of an unprepared revolution.'
The current state of the Union Kingdom was indeed serious. Within the hierarchy of the Union Kingdom, divided among the Full Tailed, Tailless, and the Half Tailed in between, the species in the Tailless class began shouting for a revolution and took action. In the smaller territories where the central power didn’t reach, serfs revolted and killed their lords, and in major cities that had big factories, the workers went on strike and began to quit.
'But this is just a fraction.'
The Union Kingdom was divided into several kingdoms, and each had their own unique political situation and context, which made it hard for one school of ideology to spread entirely.
'Surely, the Pantheon would've wanted to play this card when they were perfectly prepared. That would maximize its effect. But they're not there yet.'
Of course, they had no choice but to hand over the Rubeil slave labor camp, just as the Pantheon had intended. The battle of the great first apostles ended in a tie, but when the Angry One saw the situation of a revolution happening, they decided that a further fight would be meaningless in the grand scheme of things and told their first apostle Salkait to return, which allowed the slaves in the Rubeil labor camp to survive.
‘There are no immediate forces to deploy either…’
However, Alma did not consider the loss of a single slave labor camp to be significant.
Alma said to Ankarde, "By the command of the Angry One, measures to stop the revolution have already been put into place."
"Is that so?"
Alma nodded. "Though it’s called a revolution, the forces are all divided. Aside from a handful, they're like bugs drawn to light. They might seem like powerful waves, but internally, they’re too busy fighting amongst themselves."
"I see."
"We can't ignore them. The revolution could pose a significant threat, but for the moment, it's not that serious. We're prepared. Now, the priority is...the war."
In Alma's view, the Angry One had the upper hand in the ongoing war against the Pantheon. The Angry One was after all a god of war. The only reason the Empire held against the Union Kingdom was because of the nation's underlying strength.
'This revolution is just another one of the Empire's minor tricks. There's no need to be alarmed.'
Ankarde laughed. "I see. So it’s eventually up to me, right?"
"Please."
Ankarde raised their massive ax onto their shoulder. "Alright…it’s time to get moving."
***
Sarcho was a Bugbear. Bugbears, much like how Humans and Elves were perceived as distant relatives, were seen as distant relatives of Orcs. Resembling Orcs with their fierce appearances with massive jaws and uneven teeth, they had thick fur covering all parts of their bodies outside of their faces, giving them an advantage in cold climates.
Players often judged them as a better starting choice than Orcs in colder areas; they were an average species without any special qualities.
In the Union Kingdom, species like Orcs were regarded as Half Tailed, and despite them not being considered Full Tailed, the fact that the second apostle, Ankarde, was an Orc made their social standing relatively good. As a result, Bugbears, a Half Tailed species that was closer to the Full Tailed noble class, encountered no significant barriers when moving up to influential societal roles, such as soldiers, merchants, or priests.
In fact, Sarcho was a priest. However, Sarcho recently faced a problem. In this world where war never ended, Sarcho had a goal of living a peaceful life, but the night before, Sarcho was summoned by the high priest of Shubanel, the small city where they lived.
The high priest, who was a Renard, sat Sarcho down and said, "Yesterday, a divine revelation came down to temples worldwide. Have you heard?"
"...No, I haven't heard."
"Then have you heard about the rumors spreading across the continent that the Tailless are revolting?"
"I believe I've seen that in the newspaper."
"...There are some rebels in our city, Shubanel, as well."
"Really?"
The high priest said quietly, "In our city, there are those who belong to the so-called revolutionary faction."
"Shouldn't we arrest them immediately? What are the guards doing?"
The high priest slightly waved their hand.
"That's the divine revelation from Alma. Apparently these revolutionaries wait until they have sufficient numbers to turn the city upside down, but if we try to arrest them before, we won't be able to capture them all, and they will escape."
"Then what...?"
"So we need someone to go undercover to join them and find all of them."
Even for Sarcho, who was known to be somewhat dull, it was clear what that meant. It meant for them to become a spy.
Struggling to find words to decline immediately, Sarcho said, "Well, High Priest..."
"Sarcho."
"Y…yes."
The high priest continued, "Alma Alloy said that such a task should be entrusted to faithful and trustworthy individuals. And that it should be a Tailless, or at least a Half Tailed. That's why neither the guards, the military, or Fang are involved. Alma has left this work to us priests."
"...I see."
"You are the only suitable candidate in our temple, Sarcho."
From then on, Sarcho tried to find a way to get out of this situation, but there was no changing the high priest's mind.
'How did things come to this?'
After losing their father to war, Sarcho grew up with their siblings under the care of their mother, who had to earn money in a factory alone. Seeing their older siblings struggle, Sarcho decided to become a priest, as they always received favorable treatment. But if Sarcho didn't follow the high priest's order, their position as a priest could be on the line.
'Well, life can't always be smooth sailing.'
Even while thinking this, Sarcho heavily sighed.
"Here you were, Priest."
A Nix man approached Sarcho.
"Oh, you must be..."
"Yes, I am Garil. Thank you for agreeing to help."
First, Sarcho got into contact with a Fang agent to confirm who the known revolutionaries in Shubanel were. Then Sarcho reached out to the revolutionaries, expressing their desire to assist the effort in any way possible. And as if they didn’t suspect they had been caught by the Fang agents, the revolutionaries agreed to meet with Sarcho.
'To think a priest would become a spy, how ridiculous.'
But according to the high priest, it was likely that this revolutionary faction had been reached by the empire's influence, and therefore, if a priest of the Angry One approached them, they would likely lower their guard, thinking the priest had converted. At least for now, that seemed to be the right assumption.
"Follow me, this way,"
As Garil led Sarcho down a back alley, Sarco followed, tense.
'They wouldn’t know who I really am, would they?’
Garil grabbed the handle of the basement door in the alleyway and said, "It’s here. Every revolutionary in the city has gathered after hearing you were coming."
Garil opened the door. There was a staircase leading down, and Garil gestured to Sarcho to go down.
'Please let nothing go wrong.'
Following the creaky wooden stairs, Sarcho went down into the basement. When Sarcho got to the bottom, surprise was the only possible reaction.
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