Chapter 27: Oracle?

Holy Nation, Holy Hall.

The Cardinals stood silently before the towering Holy Hall, awaiting the Pope’s appearance.

This was the third time this year that His Holiness had entered the Holy Hall.

This ancient hall was originally prepared exclusively for the Saintess; its purpose was to communicate with the Holy Lord and receive the Oracle.

But ever since the Saintess fled, the duty of listening to the Oracle in the Holy Hall had fallen to the Pope.

After a long wait, the great doors opened, and the Pope’s aged figure appeared in the doorway.

“Your Holiness, how did it go?”

The Cardinals stepped forward with concern.

“The Holy Lord has granted me an Oracle,” the Pope replied.

“He warned us that the demon tribes now run rampant. We must not waste our strength on a runaway. The traitor who has become the Demon Lord will soon launch an attack against us. All nations must quickly dispatch reinforcements to resist the possible invasion of the demon tribes.”

The Pope looked weary, as if communicating with the Holy Lord took a tremendous toll on him.

Hearing such an Oracle, the Cardinals grew tense.

“But, Your Holiness, with the continuous losses suffered by the Holy War Alliance over the years, many nations can barely sustain themselves. Several of our dioceses cannot spare many troops…”

“I am well aware of this,” the Pope said, taking a sip from the water handed to him by a guarding Paladin before continuing.

“I have already made preparations to continue drafting soldiers from the Vesi Empire.”

“…But the Emperor of the Vesi Empire has never had good relations with us.”

As a major power among the church states, the Vesi Empire possessed strong military and economic strength.

However, Emperor Lyut II, upon ascending the throne, immediately began curtailing the power of the local nobility and established a bureaucratic system.

Now, as a centralized emperor, he held solid capital and, after seizing imperial power, turned his gaze to the final obstacle of imperial centralization—the church’s authority.

Over the years, this emperor had been in a power struggle with the church, and relations were far from good.

Even though the emperor came annually to the Holy Nation to meet warmly with the Pope, the underlying tensions remained unchanged.

Expecting the current Vesi Empire to obey the church’s orders to send troops was impossible—the church initially tried to compel the Vesi Empire to join the Holy War Alliance for humanity’s survival, but Lyut II never accepted the Pope’s invitation personally.

Instead, citing the empire’s own circumstances, the emperor sent troops nominally to support the Holy War Alliance, but the imperial army did not answer to the church’s command nor was part of the church’s battle formation, thus refusing the church’s military authority.

“They will agree,” the Pope whispered.

“His Majesty the Emperor’s dictatorship has riled many nobles. I believe that, in due time, we should intervene to halt such extreme actions.”

“We understand your meaning,” the Cardinals nodded, clearly aware that someone like Lyut II was no longer suitable for the Vesi Empire.

“I will issue an excommunication against the current Emperor Lyut II tomorrow. Once the dioceses receive the edict of excommunication, they must immediately prepare for its enforcement and ensure the order is carried out precisely. Furthermore, pull a regiment of Paladins from the frontline to guard against any irrevocable moves the emperor might make.”

“May the Merciful Lord protect us.”

The Cardinals received their orders and began preparations at once.

For the church, excommunication was not a punishment wielded lightly.

In the Holy Nation, being excommunicated meant complete social death—even kings and emperors were not exempt.

In fact, the church rarely enforced excommunication outright.

Most excommunications were issued first, then revoked if the accused showed sincere repentance, easing the sentence.

To directly excommunicate an emperor was unprecedented in church history.

Watching the Cardinals depart, the Pope stroked his graying beard.

“Your Holiness, did you truly receive an Oracle?”

The Paladin Commander standing nearby asked.

Although his face was hidden beneath full armor, his tone betrayed some doubt toward the Pope’s words.

The Oracle could only be heard by the Saintess—that had always been church doctrine.

Indeed, throughout the entire Holy Lord Church, communication with the Holy Lord had always been through the Saintess.

The Saintess had just fled not long ago—how could the Pope himself now hear the Oracle?

“Of course not. Only the Saintess can hear the Oracle. Today, I prayed to the Holy Lord for a long time but did not hear even a single word.”

There was a hint of loneliness in the Pope’s voice.

“Then what was the Oracle you just told the Cardinals…?”

“Cole, does it truly matter what the Oracle says for us?”

The Pope smiled calmly as he sat down.

“The Saintess was devout enough to receive the Holy Lord’s favor, but we all know that faith and devotion alone did not create the grand and prosperous church we have today.”

“Whether the Oracle exists or not no longer matters, Cole. Once we succeed, even if the Oracle was fabricated, people will have no choice but to believe it. Moreover, after our success, disbelief will be impossible.”

“For our church, our authority rests on our interpretation of the Holy Lord’s will. The doctrines the faithful believe are compiled and explained by the church. That alone is sufficient. When the Saintess was here, she could suppress us with the Oracle she heard, but now, what the Holy Lord says and instructs is decided by us.”

“So, Cole, we have never needed to listen to the Oracle.”

The Pope finished with a smile.

Cole remained silent.

The sound of his breathing inside his armor was slightly hurried.

“Forgive me, Your Holiness, I… I understand. But isn’t this…”

“I know what you want to say—you want to say this goes against the Holy Lord’s teachings. That’s natural. But we can no longer afford such enormous losses. We must at least stabilize the internal situation… These days, assign more men to guard the front lines. After pulling the Paladins away, some areas will be weakly defended. Do it quickly during the night; if we wait until tomorrow, it will be difficult.”

“…Understood.”