Xyrin Empire

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: The Unsteady Believer

Leidun City, Holy Light Grand Cathedral.

In a guest room that was simple yet exuded an air of majesty and brimmed with abundant Holy Light Power, the rulers of two nations were discussing preparations for war.

I sat comfortably in an armchair padded with thick cushions, and the warm Light Power around me did not enlighten me with any revelations of the Light God. Instead, it greatly stimulated my drowsiness. Had it not been for Sandora, who was also struggling to stay awake and kept pinching my leg from time to time, I would have probably fallen asleep by now—speaking of which, why did she have to pinch my leg whenever she felt sleepy?

On my other side, Qianqian, Sister Lin Xue, and Little Baobao were already sound asleep in a row…

Besides them, the only ones who still had plenty of energy were the dutiful Pandora, the frighteningly resistant to Light Power Alaya, and the eternally energetic Dingdang.

I must say, this scene was bizarre to witness.

Despite this, the people in front of me did not dare to show the slightest neglect due to the fact that nearly half of the people on our side were openly sleeping in the meeting.

The ones meeting with us this time were the Pope Melon of the Light God Sect, Emperor Agna of the Auduo Empire, and several individuals in Dragon Armor. Each of them sat upright with serious expressions, forming a stark contrast to our side, especially Melon. Not only was his expression grave, but his face was also filled with anxiety and shame. Every so often, he glanced at Alaya behind me with eyes full of reverence and panic. If I hadn’t known the details of the events, I might have mistaken him for an old pervert with ulterior motives.

From Alaya, I learned about the situation. When Melon suddenly found out that the Xyrin Apostles from the Otherworld were actually aid troops that the Light God had borrowed from a friend, it almost frightened the devout old man to death. If not for the sturdy constitution of a Holy Rank powerhouse, Melon might have become the first Pope to die from a heart attack. However, although his heart survived, his spirit took a severe blow. Thanks to Alaya’s timely intervention in stopping Melon from committing suicide as an apology, we would not have seen this stubborn but rather kind-hearted old man at today’s meeting.

“So you’re saying, based on the intelligence you’ve gathered, the Army of Demonized Creatures has split into two groups and will reach your borders in four days?”

I listened sleepily to the latest intelligence that Emperor Agna of Auduo had reported to me. In truth, we had already possessed this information. Bubbles had launched six micro satellites into outer space twenty-four hours earlier, and now we were clearly in control of all the monsters’ movements. Moreover, we could be one hundred percent certain that there were no Leader Level Abyss energy reactions among these two monster armies.

The strongest Abyss reaction had suddenly disappeared from Bubbles’s surveillance more than ten hours ago.

That meant the attacking monsters were actually split into three groups, the most threatening of which had somehow eluded our surveillance using some method. Despite the advanced reconnaissance satellites of the Xyrin Empire, as an enemy that had waged countless wars against the Empire, the Abyss Power was clearly not to be underestimated.

“Honestly, how many can you handle?”

Sandora looked Agna directly in the eyes and asked seriously, while releasing a hint of probing spirit pressure.

“Half,” Agna pondered briefly and then confidently answered, showing no self-reproach or disturbance due to his warriors’ inability to combat all the enemies or because of Sandora’s pressure. “We admit that the scale of this demonized creature incursion is unprecedented. Without your country’s assistance, it would be difficult for us to withstand.”

Agna openly acknowledged his predicament, something he would never do in front of envoys from other countries. But the individuals before him were no ordinary people. Agna was very aware that there was no need to hide anything from them.

“Very well, your strength has already exceeded our expectations,” Sandora praised without stinginess. “Then we’ll leave the enemy’s eastern army to you to contend with, and we’ll take on the enemy’s western army and that hidden main force!”

“What? You’re saying…” Agna exclaimed.

“The main force…” Sandora maintained an appropriate smile, as if what she had mentioned was a matter as trivial as a fly buzzing around, “The Abyss is always more difficult to deal with than you anticipate. They always bring unexpected troubles. There’s the strongest Abyss that has gone into hiding, along with the forces he personally leads—that’s the truly troublesome enemy.”

Agna’s and Melon’s faces turned quite unsightly in an instant. The already serious situation had now gotten even worse—much worse than adding insult to injury. The “strongest Abyss” that Sandora was referring to was known to them. Facing the Source of Demons, with the most powerful Demon Power that corrupted the world, even the most steadfast Holy Knights would become Heartless within minutes. The historical records of every successful extermination of a Source of Demons came with a chilling list of casualties. And more often, even the nations that committed all their resources to resistance were still destroyed by the enemy.

“Please forgive my boldness,” Agna carefully chose his words. Though he was also a monarch, he was the leader of mere mortals, while the beings before him were equal to gods in strength, and this warranted his careful deliberation with every word spoken. “I do not doubt the accuracy of your information or the might of Xyrin Warriors. But the strength of the enemy is beyond our prior expectations…”

“Are you trying to say whether the few of us can handle them or not?”

Sandora directly spoke the words that Agna found difficult to utter.

“Although it’s very impolite to do so,” the middle-aged man in splendid attire, who I had been treating as background filler, spoke up, “I still think it’s better for us to understand each other’s strengths, after all, we’re about to jointly confront a very powerful enemy.”

“William Prime Minister!” The Melon Pope, who had not spoken until now, suddenly turned his gaze towards the middle-aged man, his tone carrying an unmistakable severity, “The Xyrin Apostle is a great being equal to the gods. Has your faith wavered?”

Facing Melon’s accusation, William Prime Minister did not back down, “My faith in the Light God has never wavered, but the Xyrin Apostle is still a mortal after all. I acknowledge their strength and am grateful for their selfless assistance, but we must clearly recognize one thing: they are not gods—even though their connection with the gods are extremely close. Therefore, I believe that a necessary display of strength is necessary.”

“Top floor.” I nodded in agreement, somewhat dazedly.

Naturally, Agna and Melon would not understand what “top floor” meant, so they took it as some kind of Otherworldly dialect. However, they did understand my nod. Considering that William Prime Minister’s words were not wrong, Agna also nodded and said, “William, your advice is indeed sensible.”

“My sincerest apologies, Divine Messenger,” Melon said with an embarrassed and uneasy face.

“We are not as severe as you imagine,” Alaya said gently, and took the opportunity to educate them, “You should also learn to be more tolerant and friendly—even towards heretics.”

“Yes, your teachings are etched in my heart,” Melon said sincerely, “We’ll no longer blindly and arrogantly reject the outside world.”

Looking at an old man with a full white beard showing such an expression to a girl who didn’t look more than eighteen, I was truly speechless…

In the end, Agna and I agreed to show our strengths and ways of combat on a plain outside of the city at noon the day after tomorrow, to facilitate cooperation in future battles—although Sandora and I always believed that we really didn’t need to cooperate with the Otherworldly People. It wasn’t that we looked down on their strength, but because the gap in the means of combat was so large, we feared that without the enemy lifting a finger, we would likely end up blasting each other to pieces first.

After dinner, everyone gathered in my room. @@novelbin@@

Although the teachings of the Light God Sect included a precept against excessive luxury, the room arranged for us by Agna, being in the royal palace after all, was quite luxurious. This huge bedroom, filled with expensive decorations, made me think of the term “luxury goods museum.”

I was now sitting on the spacious bed, with Alaya lying next to me, draping one of her huge wings over my knees, comfortably allowing me to groom her feathers, as meek as a kitten.

If Melon saw this scene, he would surely faint from agitation, wouldn’t he?

Ever since I combed her feathers out of curiosity the day before last, Angel Sister had completely fallen in love with this massage service…

Of course, Qianqian once again became extremely jealous, but perhaps due to Sandora’s relentless training, she actually gave tacit approval to Alaya’s behavior, which secretly delighted me… ahem…

Lin Xue curiously examined various Xyrin Devices that Little Baobao had produced, muttering, “I don’t believe William wasn’t instigated by Agna—otherwise, how could he dare to speak such bold words in front of Alaya!”

Sandora nodded, adding, “Melon’s attitude is genuine, but Agna and William Prime Minister are somewhat intriguing. Although they are outwardly very respectful, they seem to have serious doubts about us—it’s not incomprehensible, given their positions. They cannot be as naive as Melon. With more concerns, their faith cannot remain pure; a true Emperor can never be a devout follower, as gods have little sway over them.”

“Then let’s silence them with our strength; I’d also like to see how powerful this Holy Light Power really is—uh, Alaya, I think I pulled out another feather…”