Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad-Chapter 246

The continent stirred once again.

In the middle of the city, inside a temple no less, a Cardinal was assassinated.

This was a different matter entirely from a soldier or noble being killed.

If human lives had weight, a Cardinal’s weight would undoubtedly be heavy enough to burden an entire nation.

For such a Cardinal to die, this was no ordinary matter.

Every nation on the continent watched Gatren.

How would Gatren handle this situation?

No one could have predicted.

That Cardinal Maurizio’s death was only the beginning.

“Kuheurk…!”

“What do you want? I’ll give you anyth… Kuk-!”

“P-please spare me!”

Within a week, three more Cardinals died.

When a month had passed, most Cardinals outside the Holy Empire of Gatren had died violent deaths.

The number alone exceeded twenty.

“What is Gatren doing? Are they just watching the Cardinals die!?”

“… Honestly, I hope it continues like this. With the Cardinals gone, the city has become peaceful.”

“You there! Watch your mouth! You’ll be taken away by fanatics and disappear without a trace!”

“Let them kill! Honestly, how much have those bastards made our lives miserable!?”

The standing of the Holy Empire of Gatren and the Deusis faith plummeted.

Even those who had been too afraid to speak up due to the power of the massive empire and the continent’s largest religion gradually began to raise their voices.

Though everyone kept quiet about it, people weren’t fools.

How hypocritical the Deusis faith was.

How much they had been sucking the lifeblood of people behind the scenes.

Those who knew knew it all.

The reality is that no one has dared touch for decades or centuries, out of fear alone.

The veil covering the uncomfortable truth was being lifted.

The behind-the-scenes machinations of various kingdoms and the Drason Empire, who seized this opportunity, also contributed greatly to this.

“Those bastards will probably return to the empire soon.”

Pope Orban IV burst into a hearty laugh.

Just one month.

In just a month, the empire was staggering.

The empire he had devoted his entire life to building.

Was shaking because they couldn’t catch just two dogs.

It was beyond absurd; he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is everyone sleeping? If you have mouths, speak up.”

At the Pope’s words, all the Cardinals bowed their heads deeply.

What could they say now?

Gatren hadn’t been idle all this time.

They had already done everything they could.

They had strengthened the defenses of cities where Cardinals were present, of course.

Sometimes they even set traps to wait for the enemy.

They had employed every strategy their minds could devise.

And they had failed.

“This was a fight we could never win from the start…”

In truth, failure was inevitable.

The enemy was two individuals with overwhelming power.

They wandered the continent, violating the empire at will.

In contrast, the empire had too much to protect.

What if they concentrated their forces to defend one city?

Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-a would simply go to another city.

Even for an empire, it was impossible to defend every city at maximum capacity.

Whether there were traps or whatever preparations were made.

The enemies had overflowing time, leisure, and options.

It was always the Gatren Empire that was urgent and desperate.

“The enemy’s level is too high.”

“That’s right. The situation is different from when Park Hyun-a was rampaging alone in the past.”

The Cardinals cautiously threw in their comments one by one.

They weren’t incompetent.

This was a situation beyond their control.

That was the opinion they were expressing.

And their words were true.

It was completely different from when Park Hyun-a, who was just entering legend status, was rampaging alone.

Park Hyun-a has become twice as strong since then.

And there is also Choi Hyun-seok who possessed similar power.

It wasn’t something that could be stopped even if they tried.

“So… Because the battlefield is disadvantageous to us, and the enemy is too strong, we cannot win. Is this what you all want to say?”

Pope Orban IV asked in a calm voice.

Several Cardinals nodded.

“Such… Incompetent fools…”

The Pope muttered through gritted teeth as if spitting out the words.

The Cardinals looked at the Pope in shock, all nearly having heart attacks.

“Incompetent… Incompetent… Worse than dogs, these bastards…!”

The Pope’s face was grotesquely distorted.

The Pope had never removed his smiling mask in any situation.

Had shattered the mask he had worn for decades.

His wrinkled and viciously crumpled face could have been believed to be that of a demon.

“Incompetent…! I can’t stand how incompetent you are…!”

The Cardinals didn’t know how to handle this situation.

They just kept their heads bowed, carefully watching the Pope’s mood while being mindful of even their breathing.

The conference room is filled only with the Pope’s rough breathing.

“Sigh…”

How much time had passed like this?

After a deep sigh, the Pope’s calm voice was heard.

“Everyone, raise your heads.”

The Cardinals cautiously looked at the Pope.

He was wearing his usual gentle smile.

“I apologize. I showed an unseemly display.”

“N-no, Your Holiness!”

“Please punish us for our incompetence!”

“Not understanding Your Holiness’s feelings! It’s all our fault!”

The Cardinals spoke with desperate voices.

That chilling face was still vivid in their minds.

When the Pope’s eyes had rolled back, it really seemed like he might kill all the Cardinals present.

However, the Pope shook his head as if everything was truly fine.

“It’s because my spiritual training is still lacking. You are correct. How could this situation be your fault?”

The Pope looked at the Cardinals with his usual benevolent smile.

“However, we cannot remain idle just because the situation is difficult. I will give you all the power to protect yourselves.”

“When you say power, what kind…?”

“I will bestow Grace.”

At the mention of bestowing Grace, the Cardinals stirred.

None of those present had received Grace before.

In fact, only about ten Cardinals had received the Pope’s Grace.

They were all the Pope’s favorites and were actively working within the empire.

“Your Holiness. Didn’t you say before that those who could receive Grace were limited?”

“Actually, I said that because bestowing Grace is very taxing and difficult. To transmit God’s power, I must pour out all my strength.”

The Pope let out a small sigh as if already feeling exhausted.

“But we are all in a difficult situation. If this old body can save you all by sacrificing itself… I suppose I must.”

The Cardinals’ faces brightened.

In truth, they had all been trembling in fear.

When would their turn come?

Without their immense holy power, they were all just old men with no strength to protect themselves.

But with Grace, it would be different.

Transcending human limitations.

Instantly gaining a legendary body.

If everyone had such overwhelming power, they would be safe from the enemy’s threats.

“Your Holiness… Your well-being is most important to us. Isn’t this too much strain…”

“Yes, please reconsider…”

Some Cardinals spoke with desperate expressions.

Unlike the majority of Cardinals, their expressions were dark.

“If something happens to Your Holiness, who will be responsible for our empire’s future?”

On the surface, they appeared to be genuinely worried about the Pope, but the reality was different.

They were the ones who knew to some extent what Grace really was.

What kind of person the Pope really was.

That the Pope’s Grace was essentially a death sentence.

“There are no exceptions. You and I, we are all subjects of the empire. It is only natural to dedicate ourselves to the empire.”

“As expected of Your Holiness!”

“We are moved to tears!”

The situation had already become irreversible.

Refusing to receive Grace now would only make the atmosphere strange.

“Grace is a grueling trial. It takes a long time. Everyone, please keep your bodies pure and pray until your turn comes.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

All the Cardinals left the conference room.

From now on, they would wait in their assigned spaces until their turn came.

In the empty conference room, the Pope rubbed his face.

“There are some suspicious ones. Watch them so they don’t do anything foolish.”

“Yes.”

A response from thin air.

It was hunting dog Commander Kuan O’Brien.

Through various incidents, the hunting dogs had become relatively weaker in power and authority.

Therefore, they were working in the shadows like before, handling the Pope’s dirty work.

“And contact the Emperor of Drason.”

“Drason, you say?”

Kuan O’Brien reflexively questioned.

He couldn’t help it because contacting the Emperor of the Drason Empire?

Either his ears were wrong or the Pope’s head was wrong.

It had to be one of the two.

“Yes. Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-a. We need to seek Drason’s cooperation to catch them.”

“If I may be bold… Drason is probably supporting them under the surface.”

“I know that.”

The Pope said calmly.

At this point, Kuan O’Brien wondered if the Pope had really gone mad, but he continued his questions calmly.

“Will they accept our request for cooperation?”

“We’ll have to make them accept it.”

The Pope continued with a smile. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“The empire’s dedication.”

“That’s…”

“Drason probably doesn’t know the true nature yet. Leak the information. What we possess.”

***

As usual, arriving at an unnamed hideout, Choi Hyun-seok immediately collapsed on the dirt ground.

“I can’t do it! I won’t do it!”

“Why are you making a fuss.”

“Even slaves in the past weren’t worked this hard! I’m human too!”

“Am I not human?”

“That’s why you’re about to die too, older sister.”

“… I am a bit tired.”

Park Hyun-a, uncharacteristically, slumped against a rock.

It was proof of how difficult their last battle had been.

“It’s been so long since I’ve struggled this much… Let’s take it easy from now on. It’s only going to get harder.”

“Maybe…”

A month of Cardinal hunting.

It wasn’t too difficult at first, but the difficulty increased day by day.

The enemy’s defenses became more thorough.

They almost died after falling into traps.

“Still, we somehow managed to wipe out all the ones outside the empire.”

“Now we’re going back into the Gatren Empire?”

“We have to.”

“We’re screwed…”

It was this hard just hunting Cardinals outside of Gatren.

How difficult would it be to deal with Cardinals protected inside Gatren?

Just thinking about it made him sick.

“Hey. But you leveled up a lot during this month.”

“You leveled up too, older sister.”

“I told you I don’t get as strong as you do when I level up.”

“Ah, right.”

While hunting Cardinals, Choi Hyun-seok gained massive levels.

At some point, the hero quests started repeating non-stop.

“I gained about 10 levels for each Cardinal we caught. Not bad.”

“This usually doesn’t happen, it’s like they’re deliberately pushing you forward.”

“Well, I am a legendary hero, so it makes sense they’d support me.”

Thanks to this, Choi Hyun-seok’s level approached 1,500.

Level 1,496.

Just one more hero quest to clear and he could surpass 1,500.

“Let’s rest for now though. My levels rose too quickly so I need time to adjust… And I’m mentally exhausted.”

“Yeah. Let’s rest for exactly one week.”

“An excellent decision.”

He didn’t want to do anything right now.

He was determined to lie down and not move for at least two days.

Just as he made that resolution.

Suddenly the communication crystal rang.

Woong…!

“What? Why a call now?”

Checking the crystal, it was Orlaben Grimier from the Drason Empire.

Choi Hyun-seok squinted at the communication crystal.

He had a feeling that answering this would lead to troublesome matters.

“Sigh, what a bother. I want to rest…”

“Just answer it quickly. The ringing is annoying.”

“Tch.”

Choi Hyun-seok answered and talked with Orlaben Grimier.

Meanwhile, Park Hyun-a kept her eyes closed.

‘I’m getting sleepy…’

An overwhelming drowsiness washed over her.

Just as her consciousness was fading and she was about to fall asleep.

“Older sister.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s voice came through.

“Shit… I was just about to fall asleep…”

Park Hyun-a got up from the rock with a deathly expression.

“Why did you wake me? If it’s nothing important, you’re dead.”

“The Emperor of the Drason Empire wants to meet us.”

“Huh?”

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