Felix stopped reacting to everything and let go of Sylvester’s collar.

“What? Are you drunk? Do you have a fever?”

Sylvester’s expression didn’t change, however. Instead, he continued to look at Felix with creased brows. Today he had decided not to leave any stones unturned to ensure Felix was on his side.

“You think an all-almighty organisation like the Church of Solis won’t have its own dark secrets? We’re merely the compromise that this world has to deal with. People accept us because they know that without us, all the nobles we’ve punished until now would be roaming free, doing whatever they want. Murdering, raping, pillaging, and all sorts of sins.

“We are the check and balance to the power of nobles. That does not mean we are pure as virgins. The faith sometimes does things it feels will benefit the church. This time, they were wrong, and Saint Seer went rogue. The Holy Father has apologised to me, but the damage was already done. We’re tools, Felix–Expensive tools, but tools nonetheless.”

“Then… Fuck! How much of our lives were natural, and how much of it was manipulated?” Felix asked frustratingly. One of the many questions one asks when one realises they are not a chess player but a pawn.

Sylvester shrugged. “Who knows? Actually, we were forced into the Sanctum Inspector job, so in a way, we have been manipulated from the start.”

There was silence after that as Felix tried to remember his entire life and wondered what was true and what was false. All the suffering they went through, was it real or manufactured? All the joys they faced, what about that?

Thud!

Felix sat down again and held his head. “Fuck! This gave me a headache.”

“I told you, Felix. This burden isn’t easy to carry. Knowing the people you work for can backstab you at any moment. It can break your mind. But again, life is a mystery. One moment, everything’s great, and another moment all your happiness becomes history.”

Felix breathed heavily and looked left and right.

Then he shouted at the top of his lungs. “Aaaaaaa! Why are we so cursed?! Why couldn’t we just be normal?”

Sylvester chuckled and rowed the boat to go faster. “Trust me. I’ve asked that question many times. Even Augustus complained in his last moments. It’s a breath of fresh air to even think, ‘what if I wasn’t here?’ Perhaps, I’d have been adopted by King Highland.”

Felix’s shoulders fell. “Argh, if I wasn’t special, I think my father would have killed me while I was a baby. So I guess I’m living the bloody dream right now. But!”

Bam!

Felix suddenly punched Sylvester right in the face. “Damn you! Why didn’t you tell me all this before? You call me a brother and act like my illicit lover.”

“…”

“That’s not a very good analogy,” Sylvester muttered while rowing. “But I keep secrets to protect you because sometimes just knowing some things can attract certain unwanted attention.”

Felix scoffed, took one oar from Sylvester, and rowed the boat with him. “It’s useless. Believe it or not, we’re stuck together. I may one day get married and have a family, but I will forever be a Holy Knight, as I have no interest in returning home and becoming a Count or something.”

Sylvester smelled some sadness and reckoned Felix felt chained by the oath. “Don’t worry, if and when I become the Pope, I will change the rules. You can do whatever you want after that.”

“What about you? I know you will become the Pope one day, but what about your contentment?”

Sylvester chuckled as he dismissed Felix’s words. “You think as a Pope I can ever live a happy life? Perhaps, I can have some peace, but I’m sure plenty of people will try to dethrone me.”

“Then I’m not leaving your side, ever!” Felix proclaimed proudly. “I will be the Sword of Solis and help you while you sit on the holy throne. But… I also realised something grave recently, Max.”

“What?”

Felix took a long breath and tiredly looked up at the clear sky, his face full of seriousness. “As I came close to death this time, I realised that… I need to find a hot, busty, tall blonde wife because I don’t want to die a virgin.”

“…”

Sylvester rubbed his face while groaning. “I should’ve left you…”

…

The journey back to the Duke’s keep was full of talks. Sylvester and Felix got comfortable telling each other about themselves. Sylvester shared some of the church’s secrets, and Felix revealed his life story and why he hates his father to the extreme.

For the duration of the whole day, they found their brotherly bond grow. Sylvester was careful, though. He was no man to be swept away in the heat of feelings. So his mouth was always sealed tight and never leaked any unwanted information.

By the end of the day, they arrived at the small port of the Iceing Duchy’s castle. The watchtowers had already seen them, so a few notable people had come to greet them.

“Felix!”

Gabriel was the first to jump forward and hug Felix, as his regret was too immense. “Forgive me, Felix. Because of me, you were caught and suffered.”

Felix smiled and hugged him back. “I have no regrets, Gab. If I had not done that, you’d have died immediately. Now, we all get to live. If anything, thank Sylvester for coming for me and saving me.”

Sylvester didn’t waste a moment and spoke with the Duchess as the real mess was yet to be untangled. “They took the bait, and now it’s up to us how we utilise it. Start the evacuation process. Have the other armies arrived? Any word from the Holy Land?”

Aurora came up to him and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sylvester. I have overseen everything. Let’s go to the castle and discuss everything there. The army commanders have gathered there already.”

He agreed and followed them behind. As he looked at the town, he noticed that the people had already started to pack all their belongings on various carriages. Sylvester ensured people didn’t suffer too much because of the urgent evacuation. Be they poor or rich, the Duchy’s army helped all.

‘As long as I time everything right, this incident might just become one of the most important events in the future history.’ Sylvester talked to himself.

They all moved into the castle and entered the Duchess’ office. It was a huge room with lots of decoration, though now it had been changed, and there was only a giant, rectangular table in the middle without any seats. On the table was a massive map of the entire North-Eastern region of Sol Continent.

Thud!

As soon as Sylvester entered, a few men, wearing neat and mighty shining silver and golden armour, saluted him. They wore golden capes on the backs with Church insignia on them embroidered. They were the Holy Army’s leaders that were stationed in the Duchy of Iceling, numbering ten thousand or slightly more.

“May the Holy Light Enlighten us, General. I am Holy Marshal Elijah Markson, a Wizard-Knight of rank Golden Knight and Master Wizard. These two men are my subordinate commanders, Holy Commander Wilson and Holy Commander Jackmund,” a wrinkled old man, white short-haired and bearded, tall as six foot and muscular, spoke with Sylvester. He wore beautiful, polished golden armour and looked as majestic as a man of his rank should.

But Sylvester felt somewhat weird being called a General by the man. Although there was no official rank called General in the Holy army, and in theory, his rank would have been of a Grand Marshal if it was official. However, if it were Inquisitor Army, it would have made sense as Inquisitor General was a rank in it.

“Thank you for arriving here quickly, Lord Marshal. The battle about to ensue here will define the future of this whole region for centuries to come. So let’s work together and win.” Sylvester shook hands with all three of them.

“Of course.” Holy Marshal Elijah smiled proudly. “It’s an honour to fight alongside you, Lord Bard. The legend of the battle of three fingers against the Duke Daemon has spread far and wide. None of us has any doubt in your ability as a General. My commanders and I will obey your command. Just give us the instructions.”

Sylvester kept everything formal and looked at other new faces. “I reckon you are the commanders of the Headless Order?” .𝙘𝒐𝒎

A man with somewhat similar features to Felix saluted. “Aye, Lord Bard. I am Theodore Sandwall, General of the fifth regiment. Along with me are the Generals of the second, third, seventh, eighth and ninth regiments. The rest could not come as they were stationed too far away. It would have taken us until the end of the month, but thankfully, the Duchy’s army had cleared the snow for us.”

Sylvester was shocked. Surpassing his expectations that they’d only arrive at the end of the first month of the new year, they came on time. “How many troops do you have in total?”

“There are fifty thousand of us in total, Lord Bard. We shall obey your command as long as we’re not asked to jump into death’s jaws willingly.” Theodore Sandwall reported.

Sylvester nodded and faced another man, who wore a mighty green armour and looked old, yet oozing with power. “I presume you are the commander of Gracia’s army?”

“I am the first Guardian of Gracia, Grand Wizard, Prince Gideon Gracia. I have come with forty thousand soldiers. We shall attack the heathens in the morning.”

Sylvester knew this was going to happen, so he was prepared. “The Duchess has handed me her army, the Headless Order follows me, the Holy Army and the small army of Sandwall County also follows me. Seventy-one thousand troops follow me, your highness. It’s better you don’t make any unilateral decisions because that would ruin my planning. And if I fail, you will have to answer to the Pope himself. I’m sure the Gracia Kingdom does not wish to ruin its name any further.”

Prince Gideon scowled. “Then what is your plan?”

Sylvester pointed to the map. “My main goal is to ensure that there are the least number of casualties among the believers of Solis. So our best option is to make the mountain tribes fight each other and the Emperor Lich of the undead.

“However, I have found a way to stop Emperor Lich, so all you have to do is focus on the Barbarians. Our goal is to kill the two heads of the Borzol faction, Fralan and Zelfim. One is a Diamond Knight, and the other a Platinum. Thankfully, with the three Grand Wizards, and many Arch Wizards, we can do it.”

Duchess voiced her worry. “What about this town?”

With a heavy heart, Sylvester put a cross mark on the town on the map. “When the Borzol faction moves in, all their soldiers will be out to fight the undead and us. During that time, only the non-fighting age people will be left.”

Everyone gulped their saliva as they thought about it.

Sir Dolorem even finished Sylvester’s words. “Kill all heathens except any under the age of seven?”

Sylvester affirmed. “Yes, all above the age of seven must die. Borzol faction is beyond saving, not even worth enslaving. Any questions?”

“What about the Storst faction?” Duchess asked.

“Oh, I have a plan.”

________________________

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