The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 748

Episode 748: That’s amazing, that’s amazing. (2)

Divine power is an unfair power.

No one knows exactly how to obtain it or how to train it to become stronger.

Most priests suddenly ‘awaken’ to divine power one day and naturally become priests.

Those with deep faith sometimes realize divine power, but conversely, there were cases where even those with no faith at all were imbued with divine power.

That’s why divine power was called ‘God’s blessing’, but on the other hand, it was considered a mysterious power whose identity was unknown.

The temples packaged it as doctrine and emphasized ‘true faith’, but that was also just speculation.

It was common for people to live faithfully their entire lives without increasing their divine power at all, and almost all those with strong power were just born with the talent.

There were rare cases where divine power was gradually increased through religious life and good deeds, but those were only a small minority.

However, one thing was clear.

Once divine power was obtained, it never disappeared.

Even priests who were excommunicated or who fell into heresy never lost their divine power.

That’s why it was unprecedented for someone like Lionel to completely lose their divine power.

That was why Iraniel was surprised. Even she, who had lived for many years, had never heard of it.

“Are you saying that the divine power is really gone?”

Lionel nodded with tears in his eyes.

“Yes… The divine power is gone. No matter how much I pray and draw strength, I can’t feel it.”

Lionel felt like he was going crazy. He couldn’t believe that the divine power he had taken for granted was gone.

However, he had a vague idea.

‘It must be because of that low-level priest!’

When Deneb unleashed an enormous amount of divine power, Lionel also looked at the light, overcome with ecstasy.

But at that moment, he felt the divine power disappear. No, to be exact, it felt like he was being sucked into Deneb’s body.

After that, Lionel’s divine power was emptied. He could no longer feel the divine power.

“Uh-huh-huh-huh…. Chieftain! Have I been abandoned by God? What have I done! I was just fighting to help the elves and healing you!”

Iraniel let out a faint sigh at Lionel’s scream.

“Uh-huh….”

The person in front of him seemed stubborn, but he wasn’t evil by nature. In fact, he risked his life to fight against the darkness for the elves.

There was no reason for someone like that to be abandoned by God.

No, the very concept of losing divine powers when abandoned by God doesn’t make sense in the first place. If that were possible, the priests who committed countless evil deeds would have lost their divine powers first.

Even Iraniel, who had lived for many years, couldn’t explain such a situation.

“Well… Let’s rest for a bit and look into it carefully. It might have something to do with the priest who just collapsed.”

“Keu-hu-hu-hu….”

Lionel shed tears. It was so sad to think that he had been abandoned by God. It was even sadder because he didn’t know why he had been abandoned.

As Iraniel was looking at Lionel with pity, a group of troops came running in a hurry.

“Are you okay, huh?”

It was an army sent by the mayor of the trading city after receiving a call from the Yulien mercenary group. There were only 500 soldiers.

No matter how urgent the situation was, the mayor could not mobilize the entire city’s army. His only authority was to manage the city’s security.

Still, the mayor could not ignore it, so he quickly relayed the news to the lord and formed a reconnaissance team to confirm the facts.

They were too few to be of any help in the fight, but Iraniel did not criticize them. She knew well the complex command system of humans and its limitations.

Iraniel said to the commander of the army,

“I appreciate your help. However, the battle is over, so there is no need to worry anymore.”

“Oh, oh. Thank goodness. We were too late…”

“It’s okay. Just the mind is enough. However, we need to contact the kingdom as soon as possible. The Salvation Church has begun to move.”

The commander swallowed hard upon hearing those words.

I knew that the orcs and warlocks had invaded. But the Salvation Church had come too.

If that was true, then this was not a simple attack, but a sign of malice that threatened the entire continent.

And the noble elven chieftain would not lie.

The commander saluted and said,

“I will convey the chieftain’s words quickly.”

The city’s troops returned. The soldiers hurriedly walked, having heard the conversation between the commander and Iraniel. Their expressions also looked anxious.

Soon, the battlefield was cleared.

There was no room to immediately deal with the countless corpses of the orcs that were strewn about, so they ended up taking care of the wounded.

They would eventually become fertilizer for the forest.

However, Deneb did not regain consciousness for several days after that.

The elves stayed by her side, quietly waiting for her to wake up.

Time passed and after a full fortnight,

Deneb finally opened her eyes.

The elves who had been guarding her side ran straight to tell her the news. People hurriedly gathered around Deneb.

Giselle, who was the first to arrive, smiled at her.

“Hey, saint. You’re finally awake. How are you feeling?”

Yulien, Kyle, and the other mercenaries all spoke to Deneb happily.

“Deneb, are you feeling better now?”

“Wow, you were really great.”

“Osval, you’re a man! I’ll follow you, my ‘saint’ sister, to the end!”

When everyone unanimously praised her, Deneb waved her hands in embarrassment.

“S-saint? What are you talking about? I’m not that kind of person.”

Lionel, who had been cowering in the corner, also flared up.

“You’re a saint without even receiving the church’s recognition! Who the hell calls you a saint! You’ll be severely punished!”

All the mercenaries laughed at Lionel’s words. Giselle smirked and said,

“You. Don’t have any divine powers.”

“…….”

“If you don’t, then be quiet.”

“…….”

Lionel had nothing to say and crouched in the corner again. He felt so wronged that he almost cried again.

Soon Iraniel and the elven elders arrived.

The elven elders were still looking at Giselle with disgust.

They suspected that she was a warlock, even though she had helped them.

However, Iraniel didn’t seem to care about Giselle at all. She smiled affectionately and said to Deneve,

“Are you awake? We were able to win thanks to you.”

“Oh, no. I wasn’t much help…”

“You don’t have to be humble. Everyone here saw the miracle you created.”

Everyone agreed with Iraniel. But Deneve was just embarrassed and couldn’t say anything.

As the compliments were about to end, Lionel approached Deneve urgently and asked,

“What happened to my divine power?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You took my divine power!”

“How can I take it?”

Deneve asked with wide eyes. She couldn’t understand what Lionel was saying.

Lionel said several times that his divine power was stolen, but Deneve just made a puzzled expression.

“Ugh… I’m done for….”

In the end, Lionel slumped his shoulders and slumped back into the corner. No matter how much he thought about it, there seemed to be no way to get his divine power back.

Giselle laughed quietly at that sight.

‘So that’s why I didn’t use my divine power in my dreams.’

What Giselle had found odd was Lionel’s divine power. In his dreams, Lionel fought without using his divine power.

In addition, the Ladran royal family of the Kingdom of Rutania had a mana training method that had been passed down from generation to generation. If Lionel had continued to use divine power, there would have been no way he would have left behind a mana training method.

‘I should help him when he’s a little tired.’

Lionel would definitely know the mana training method. He was from a noble family and a knight.

He just didn’t use it after gaining divine power, but if he trained the mana training method again, he would quickly become stronger.

Now that Deneve had awakened, there was no reason to delay the conversation any longer. Iraniel looked at Giselle and asked.

“Warlock, are you the representative of the group?”

“The representative is my friend Yulien here, but I’m in charge of external activities for now.”

“Why?”

“The captain is very shy.”

Iraniel looked at him and Yulien nodded his head vigorously. He still didn’t have the confidence to step up and negotiate on important matters.

Iraniel nodded. For her, it didn’t really matter who was the representative.

“Okay, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of all elves. If you hadn’t helped us, we would have fallen for the Salvation Church’s tricks.”

“I’m so glad

we could be of help.” “We were of great help. Elves are not an ungrateful race. I would like to repay you.” “

There are a few things we need, though…”

Giselle trailed off and smiled faintly. Iraniel smiled and nodded as well.

“I don’t know how to use words like humans. Did you come here because you needed our guardian stone?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why?” “

The Pope requested it, but I also had my own thoughts.”

“What is that?”

Giselle looked at Deneb and continued.

“As you can see, that friend has great potential. That’s why I was more curious to see if the Holy Stone might have some kind of positive effect on him.”

“Hmm…”

Iraniel agreed. The Denebran priest certainly had unfathomable potential.

Iraniel closed his eyes and thought for a moment. ‘The Guardian Stone is said to determine the rise and fall of a race.’

Of course, Iraniel did not believe that

popular belief was true. He simply thought that it meant that each race had treasured it as an important treasure.

The elves did not know how to use the Guardian Stone. They simply treasured it and kept it for a long time.

‘What is the Pope thinking?’

It is said that there were many attempts to use the Guardian Stone. The plan was to use the power of the goddess contained within it.

However, not a single attempt was successful. No one was able to properly draw out the power of the Guardian Stone.

‘There is a legend that the representatives of each race who have received the recognition of the Source can use the power of the Guardian Stone. The Dragon Lord said he knew the method… … .’

That too was just a legend. The Dragon Lords of the past did not tell the method even after going through several wars.

If there really was a method, they would have pretended not to know. Therefore, the guardian stone was just a treasure that was kept carefully.

When Iraniel seemed to be worried, the elders spoke carefully.

“The guardian stone is an important relic.”

“The humans helped us, which is something to be thankful for, but we cannot lend the guardian stone.”

“It won’t change anything even if the Pope takes it. It’s already been proven that gathering them in one place is useless.”

“Rather, humans will fight each other again to take possession of the guardian stone.”

The holy stone itself is a relic that symbolizes a great deal. Just having it can claim to be chosen by the gods.

Long ago, there were many humans who coveted the holy stone for that reason. The elders were worried about such confusion.

Iraniel, who had been worried for a moment, opened his mouth.

“Come. I have a few more questions, but I will reward you first.”

“Chief!”

“Stop, I’m going to place my hopes on these kids.”

“Huh…….”

The elders looked incomprehensible at Iraniel’s decision.

The divine power that Deneb had briefly displayed was amazing, but divine power alone cannot win a war.

Moreover, even if we gave it to them, the Pope would probably take it away anyway. However, since Iraniel had decided, they had no choice but to follow.

Iraniel led Giselle and her party to the center of the forest.

Among the numerous trees, one tree stood out.

In terms of size, it was only slightly larger than the other old trees. However, the energy that the tree gave off was not ordinary.

The huge trunk stretched straight like a tower of wisdom that had endured for many years. The wood grain was soft and seemed to have a gentle glow.

The leaves were dark blue, but whenever they received sunlight, they overlapped with a light golden light, swaying like ripples.

When the wind blew, the leaves trembled like a soft bell, enveloping the entire forest. Even the air around it was clear and calm, unlike other spaces.

It wasn’t just a simple plant. It contained something that purified the hearts of those who saw it.

As if it had been there since the beginning of this land, the World Tree had naturally taken root there.

Iraniel looked at the World Tree and quietly opened her mouth.

“This tree is the World Tree we have protected for a long time. It may not be large in size, but what’s important is… its roots.”

As she said, this tree was the center of harmony that connected all elves and a sanctuary of life.

The mercenaries who saw the World Tree opened their mouths involuntarily, lost in their own minds.

“Wow, wow… is this the World Tree I’ve only heard of?”

“The World Tree isn’t just any big tree.”

“Shouldn’t we bow down to it too?”

Jiselle also looked up at the World Tree and held her breath.

The World Tree gave off a different sensation than ordinary trees.

It was more like a quiet spirit that had protected this land for a long time.

‘… … ‘This is the World Tree.’

He muttered unconsciously and stretched out his hand. Although he did not touch the World Tree, he felt a strange sensation that the being was quietly looking at his existence.

Resonance, or perhaps a sense of communication. The life and memories that the World Tree held, and the flow of countless years, briefly seeped into his consciousness.

‘I see.’

Only then did Giselle realize. Why the elves had been able to track him so easily.

‘This forest itself was part of the World Tree.’

The trees that he could see, the wind that passed by, and the smell of the soil were all touched by the breath of the World Tree.

The elf who communicated with the World Tree read its breath and chased after him.

Giselle took a step back, catching her breath. This tree was the elf itself, the heart of the forest, and the center that adjusted the balance of this land.

The corners of his mouth slowly rose. His face was filled with awe and excitement.

‘Wow, how great.’

There were still many things in this world that he didn’t know.

Was this a reward for saving the elves?

Just looking at the World Tree, Giselle felt her consciousness expanding.

Her vision became clearer, her mind became calmer, and her senses seemed to be more strongly synchronized with the world.

‘I see a wider flow.’

The other side of the world that she had been missing, the invisible order of harmony and balance.

Now Giselle once again contained all of that in her consciousness.

Giselle slowly inhaled.

The scent of the old world hidden in the clear, transparent air resonated deep within her.

Iraniel, who had waited for a moment while Giselle gained enlightenment, caught her eye. She was the only one who noticed the small change that Jiselle had just experienced.

“Wow. To have glimpsed the essence of the world once again in such a short time.”

“I was lucky. The World Tree seemed to be fond of me.”

“That must be the World Tree’s way of paying me back.”

Iraniel smiled. There was no need to give her any more advice. The other person knew his own shortcomings and was handling his imbalanced power well.

Of course, he still didn’t know why he had touched something like black magic.

Iraniel reached out to the World Tree. At that moment, a brilliant green light emitted from her hand.

“I will give you what you want first.”

Paaaaah!

The light immediately resonated with the World Tree.

A subtle vibration occurred in the giant trunk, and the center slowly began to split apart.

Soon, a jewel with a soft green light slowly revealed itself from within.