284: Chapter 278 The Ban is Lifted, and the Great War Breaks Out

Neither the people of Lake living in the Royal Capital nor the various legions stationed outside the city had ever seen such a magnificent sight.

Looking from afar, a pillar of light in the Royal Capital shot straight from the earth into the clouds.

The pillar of light was milky white and bright, as if it wanted to dispel all the darkness in the world.

Everyone on the ground stared up blankly at the leaden clouds at the end of the pillar of light, as if expecting the gaze of a god to fall upon them.

A miracle, a miracle has descended.

They all whispered in their hearts at the same time.

...

Royal Palace.

The King, who had not stepped out of his bedroom for a long time, finally pushed open the bedroom door and stood in the open space before it, looking up.

"O God... how shocking..."

He gazed at the pillar of light with complex emotions in his eyes; after a long while, as if having made an important decision, he turned around and looked at Blova and Pestoya: "Has the Griffin Legion been deployed out of the city?"

"They are already lying in wait in the woods outside the city."

"Then go, the Ice and Snow Empire, it's time for it to return."

"Your will is the direction we advance." The two knelt on one knee in salute, then rose and walked quickly toward the palace gates.

Watching their figures disappear in the distance, the King withdrew his gaze and called over a personal Guard to ask, "Have you seen Servant?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Servant was not seen passing through the Inner Palace gates."

The King's fist slowly tightened.

Having lived in the Royal Palace for thousands of years, he had never seen Servant leave the palace.

On this special day, he suddenly disappeared to who knows where, which inevitably made one feel uneasy.

Fortunately, things did not develop as he had feared.

Servant's voice came from the bedroom behind: "Is Your Majesty looking for me?"

Turning back, the gloom in the King's eyes had been replaced by joy: "I thought you had abandoned me."

"I won't, I promised her."

The King had heard Servant mention "her" many times, but he wasn't sure who she was. Feeling it was unimportant, he didn't bother to think more about it.

He walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him: "My father instructed me that if the country is to be restored, the ceremony must be presided over by you personally."

By the bed, Servant, aged and decrepit, tucked his hands into his sleeves: "I will immediately pre—"

"Mr. Servant." The King interrupted him, the excitement suppressed for many years in his heart bursting out uncontrollably, "There is no need for grand scenes or tedious etiquette,"

"As long as there is that crown!"

It wasn't that the King respected his late father's instructions so much that this ordinary-looking old man had to crown him, but rather that the crown was in his hands.

Servant raised his eyelids, his dark eyes filled with a desolate silence, showing no sign of life.

"Yes, as long as you have that crown, you are the King of Ice and Snow."

Whispering a sentence in a voice only he could hear, he spread the five fingers of his right hand and raised it before his chest.

In the next second, an Ice and Snow-colored light lit up in his palm, and a crown emerged within the light.

It was not magnificent; if it had to be described, it was just a plain iron hoop. There were no brilliant gems for decoration, only a single snowflake used to indicate the front and back.

The King stepped forward lightly and slowly lowered his head, welcoming the moment his thousand-year wish finally came true.

Servant gazed at it, his wrinkled fingertips stroking the surface of the snowflake.

You are not a qualified king, I am not a qualified pope, we are both... sinners.

Inadvertently, Servant recalled the day she ascended the throne.

The young girl became the Lord of Ice and Snow as she wished, sitting upon the throne and vowing to lead the empire to prosperity.

"Whew..." He woke from his memories and looked at the King, who stood frozen with his head lowered, "Are you ready?"

"I am—"

Before he could finish, the King suddenly felt his head get a bit heavier; he looked up blankly, and Servant had already disappeared.

Subconsciously touching the top of his head, the cool touch reminded him that he was now the King of Ice and Snow.

"Hahaha..."

Hearty laughter echoed in the bedroom, and the King's gray, slightly curly short hair instantly turned jet black as if splashed with ink.

After a long while, he stopped laughing and walked out of the bedroom toward the palace exterior: "Gods Blessing will not be my end."

The Guards on both sides of the main road looked confusedly at the middle-aged black-haired man as he strode past them, only recognizing him as the King after quite a while.

Where is the King going? Does he not need us to follow?

They looked at each other and wanted to ask, but the King's figure had already walked out of the palace gates.

...

Zhang Mu couldn't care less about what Jarvis was doing right now.

Although no one told him exactly what was happening, the commotion of the light pillar and the Griffin Legion withdrawing from the Royal Capital already revealed a lot of information.

Rushing back to the hotel, as expected, the Guards on duty had also withdrawn.

Stepping quickly into the hall, all the city lords were gathered there with solemn expressions.

Seeing Zhang Mu enter, their expressions relaxed: "City Lord Aiji, you're back."

Guessing what they were worried about, Zhang Mu laughed and said, "Are you afraid?"

The city lords were all stunned for a moment, then burst into bouts of laughter.

Afraid of what? Death?

We fear everything, except that.

If we were really afraid, would we still be Professionals? Wouldn't it be better to stay in a city and spend a safe, peaceful life?

It's still that same saying.

They are despicable bad guys, but who says bad guys are necessarily cowardly?

Who wants to be a villain without courage?

Zhang Mu clapped his hands to interrupt everyone: "You've seen that thing too. I estimate the ban will be lifted soon. We act according to plan."

"City Lord Aiji." Danielson stepped out of the crowd, "Do we need to withdraw from the Royal Capital? After all, this is their home ground, and we aren't sure yet if the Blood Sacrifice Array will affect our strength."

"Don't worry about the Blood Sacrifice Array; just leave the destruction work to me."

Hearing his certain tone, everyone nodded and said no more, all taking out their staffs and longswords, waiting for the great war to arrive.

Zhang Mu arranged them properly and immediately led Mihe to a secluded place to open a light gate, letting out the First Army Soldiers.

Over a thousand Soldiers quickly formed a phalanx, with Domit and seven Soldiers carrying sniper rifles at the very front.

"Take this." Zhang Mu took seven crystals from his Storage Pouch at his waist and gave one to each of the seven Soldiers, "Keep the crystal safe. As long as it glows, you will be in a state of invisibility."

Domit watched the Soldiers solemnly take the crystals and put them in their pockets, then hurriedly asked, "Marshal, where's mine?"

"What do you want one for?"

"I'm their captain."

"You are also the Legion Commander of the First Army." Zhang Mu took out a Potter portrait badge and pinned it to his right chest, "Commanding the Soldiers is your task."

Looking down at his chest, he stood up straight: "Understood!"

He then turned to face the Soldier phalanx: "First Company, set up the command center! Second Company, Guard the perimeter! The rest of you, stand by on the spot. Move out!"

The Second Company, having received the order, immediately scattered to occupy the main intersections nearby, while Soldiers carrying heavy firepower climbed onto the roofs of taller stone houses to set up a firepower network.

Because the townspeople had all been drawn to the church by the pillar of light, the Soldiers completed their orders very smoothly.

Seeing them begin to act, Zhang Mu walked toward the church, gesturing for the seven Special Operations Squad Soldiers to follow.

"Marshal." Just as he took two steps, Mihe called out to him from behind.

"What is it?" He instinctively turned back, and an open palm was stretched out before his eyes, with a transparent crystal lying in the palm.

"Isn't this..."

"Yes, when I sent them out of the city and was preparing to return, Leah asked me to give it to you."

Picking up the crystal with two fingers, Zhang Mu scrutinized it but saw nothing unusual.

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing." Mihe shook his head.

Zhang Mu led the seven Soldiers away, putting the crystal into his inventory while thinking about asking Leah why she gave the item to him again once this was over.

At this time, if he were to call up his panel to check the skill bar, he would find that the "0%" after True Word Spell had quietly jumped to "1%".

...

Rose Inn.

The Young Pope, who spent his time every day chatting with the First Army Soldiers for amusement, had been stuck in his room all day out of boredom ever since Zhang Mu took everyone away a few days ago.

Today, he was still lying in bed, sleeping and waking fitfully.

When he woke up, he couldn't help but feel bitter, complaining about when this unlucky job would ever be resolved.

It was one thing to be displaced, but he was even being threatened and could only stay in the room, unable even to go out for a stroll.

Suddenly, messy footsteps came from outside the room, accompanied by excited shouts of "a miracle has descended."

Doubtingly, he climbed out of bed and pushed open the window; the moment he saw the pillar of light, an ethereal tone that seemed to come from the heavens echoed in his mind.

The Young Pope felt that he couldn't hear what the owner of the voice was saying at all, yet his mind understood what he had to do.

"So it's her; I thought it was the City Lord."

"Then why was I afraid of him? If I had known, I would have gone out to play!"

After cursing in annoyance, he immediately went to the first-floor counter to find the landlady to check out, but she wasn't there, likely having run off to the church as well.

"The Royal Capital will soon become ruins, and the inn landlady probably won't survive. My deposit..."

The Young Pope was extremely pained, debating in his heart whether to go to the church to find her for the money before leaving the city.

But the tone in his mind became louder and louder; if he dawdled any longer, he feared he might go one step ahead of the Royal Capital.

Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and resolutely turned to head straight for the city gate.

"If I had known being a Pope was this tiring, I wouldn't have done it for anything!"

Once outside the city, he didn't wander aimlessly but followed "His guidance," raising his hand to slice a spatial rift in the void before him and diving straight in.

His landing point was the interior of a speeding carriage.

Three people were sitting in the carriage: a man, a woman, and a Little Cat Girl.

Very strangely, the man and woman seemed not to see the Pope who had suddenly appeared beside them, preoccupied with their own tasks—the man was looking at documents, and the woman was deep in thought with her head lowered.

Only the Little Cat Girl seemed to sense something, slowly turning her head to look at the Pope sitting on the bench: "Who are you?"

"Your Servant."

"Servant?" Leah was a bit lost, seemingly confused by the concept of a Servant.

Unable to come up with a result after a long time, she flicked her cat ears: "Are you looking for me?"

"Yes, your Servant has come to welcome you."

"Where to?"

"The Holy Mountain."

"Not going."

Leah's reply was exceptionally crisp, while the Young Pope's face was filled with astonishment.

That's not what He said?

Seeing her turn her face to the other side, the Young Pope became troubled: "If you don't go to the Holy Mountain, I can't go back either."

Leah turned the back of her head toward him, ignoring him.

He sighed deeply and said again, "God will be unhappy that you gave him the crystal."

"I wanted to."

Taking a deep breath, the Young Pope felt a deep sense of frustration in his heart.

Follow first, then... we'll see later.

Having made his decision, he went to the roof of the carriage and sat cross-legged, gazing at that pillar of light hundreds of miles away.

God, what on earth are you doing?

...

Royal Capital Church.

Only Jarvis remained in the empty main hall, along with more than twenty robes and armors scattered on the floor behind him.

"O God— O God—"

Jarvis raised his hands high, not minding the soreness in his arms at all, gazing up at the faceless statue of god while praying devoutly.

In fact, he didn't understand what he was praying for, nor did he know what "O God" meant.

He was merely following instinct, letting his body move on its own.

Time seemed to lose its function at this moment as Jarvis chanted over and over again.

It felt like a day had passed, yet also like ten years.

Finally, that mysterious existence came.

"Hahaha..." Jarvis laughed frantically, his head tilting back to the limit in violation of human joint common sense, almost parallel to the ground.

He looked at the crystal glass dome, his gaze seemingly passing through it to look at the sky.

"O God!"

The roar was like an overture of welcome, and the god responded to the movement in the sky.

The townspeople and Professionals gathered outside the church all looked up together.

The thick clouds seemed to be pushed aside by a giant hand, revealing not azure blue, but a deep, pitch black.

What is that?

Everyone simultaneously asked themselves in doubt.

The answer was soon revealed.

Countless small milky-white light beams pierced through the darkness, and a tiptoeing foot stepped out, followed by the other.

The foot was formed of light, and the thigh after it was as well.

Until it appeared entirely before their eyes—a human-shaped outline condensed by light.

It had no features or hair, and its flat chest seemed to prove His male identity, yet no one dared to be certain.

Because the moment they saw "Him," they knew clearly that He was God.

God looked down at the earth from the sky, raised his arm, and extended the index finger of his lightly clenched fist, pointing toward the Royal Capital.

God seemed to speak; no sound was heard by the ears, yet a realization emerged in everyone's hearts.

The ban is no more.

...

A certain street in the Royal Capital.

Blova and Pestoya looked up, gazing at the luminous figure in the sky.

"This is God?" the former asked in a curious tone, "Why don't I have the urge to kneel and welcome Him?"

Pestoya rolled her eyes in a rare gesture: "Have you seen a god?"

He shook his head.

"Then how do you know God enjoys mortals kneeling to welcome Him?"

"Hmm..." Blova pinched his chin and thought for a while, then suddenly smiled, "You see, don't people in high positions like others to kneel?"

"And for humans, kneeling is a way to express respect."

"Therefore we are human, and it is God."

Strangely, the two did not show much reverence for God, their words as casual as if they were chatting about the old man next door.

Blova pressed his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist: "Has our King already arrived?"

They turned their heads together, looking toward the high sky in the center of the Royal Capital.

There, a looming Magic Tower stood.

The tower body was entirely ice blue; it seemed to lack energy, appearing in a semi-transparent, illusory state, as if it would break with a single poke.

Perhaps someone was replenishing its energy, as its texture was slowly but very steadily improving.

Usually, it would be a strange sight that would draw the whole city's attention, but at this moment, all eyes were stolen by God, and not a single person noticed it.

"It's time to open it."

"Yeah."

As the words fell, the two soared into the sky.

At the same time, a blood-red light rose from the ground, suddenly enveloping the Royal Capital.