Somebody Stop the Pope – 277



Episode 277

3.

The next morning.

“The juniors are so dispirited!”

“It’s just a warm-up exercise. It’s just a warm-up exercise but is this all everyone can do?”

“The seniors were greatly disappointed in the juniors!”

“Kkaaaaaaah!”

From early in the morning screams began to echo through the Holy Land.

Sweet break?

A warm welcome?

That kind of thing ended yesterday.

“There have been reports of monsters appearing around the city.”

“30km to the east. A colony of trolls has been discovered! We need to subdue them to secure the bridgehead!”

I never expected that a holy place would be built here but once it was built I had to do my best to ensure its safety.

There were many threatening elements around the city as the Baekmyeong Church and the Chinese government had been cleaning it up so poorly.

From hordes of dangerous monsters to various villains.

According to incoming information drug dealing and human trafficking were taking place as if it were a normal part of the city’s black market.

In short it will be five minutes before the mess.

Thanks to that the ones who got busy were the soldiers of our church.

“Stabilize the beachhead until the main force of the Republic of Korea arrives.”

“There are only two things you need to survive in war. One is absolute faith in Limen-sama! The other is absolute strength! Train yourself without rest!”

There was no need for an adaptation period for the expedition members who came from Eden.

They were behaving very naturally as if they had originally lived on Earth.

Of course some of the expedition members exclaimed in admiration as they looked at the tall buildings of Earth.

I stood on the steps of the temple and looked at the holy place that was constantly turning.

And then Rehanis the vice-captain of the 3rd Knights and the commander of this expedition bowed his head and reported to me.

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“I have completed all the formations as instructed by His Holiness the Pope. I have divided them into 40 groups of 25 each and the trainees on Earth have also been distributed according to that number.”

“Thank you for your hard work Reese.”

“…Your Majesty even so it is currently on display and my name is….”

“Do you not like being called Reese? It’s a nickname that I really love.”

“…Call me whatever you want.”

Rehanis Lawler aka Reese.

This guy is the one who has been with me since the beginning when I was first kidnapped to Eden.

He is 24 years old this year.

He was originally a commoner orphan boy who lost his parents but he caught the eye of the religious order and became a knight.

I think you were 16 when you were ordained as a knight?

To put it simply he is a former child soldier.

Eden was a world where survival was prioritized over ethical issues such as the lives of children.

Even children had to take up arms to survive.

First of all Reese was very cute when he was young but as an adult he became a very handsome man.

It was visible from the beginning.

When I was little I was really pretty.

“I heard that you Reese have been serving as the temporary commander of the Knights since Luna came here?”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

“You’re all grown up you’re all grown up.”

“You are too kind.”

I nodded in satisfaction patting Reese on the back.

Reese coughs a few times and turns his head slightly as if embarrassed by my compliment.

He may seem like a shy young man on the outside but… I know his true colors.

No everyone knows this guy’s true identity.

There is only one meaning to rising to the position of Vice-Captain of the Knights Templar at such a young age.

That he has the power to match.

I think Reese’s nickname was ‘Male Luna’?

This guy resembled Luna a lot from his fighting style to his personality.

That’s probably it.

“Did you talk to Luna?”

“…The Commander of the Knights keeps avoiding me saying he’s busy. He’s getting annoyed and telling me not to bother him.”

“Wow you’re really cool too.”

It must be because this guy admires Luna.

It wasn’t love obviously but it was a level of ‘longing’ that was close to true obsession.

Luna’s fighting style is not something that can be easily imitated but this crazy guy succeeded in imitating it simply because he wanted to be like her.

In other words there is no doubt about his talent.

I looked at the guy for a long time with a pitiful expression. Then I let out a small breath and said.

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“Thanks for coming Reese.”

“I would go through a thousand hells if it could help Your Majesty.”

“…I’ll try to save as many of them as possible and send them back.”

What could be more lonely than dying in a foreign land?

But Reese shook his head firmly in response to my words.

“It is Your Holiness who saved our lives. We have gathered here to use the lives You saved for Your Holiness. So there is no need to feel burdened.”

Reese smiled brightly.

“Reese.”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

“I told you not to smile like that in front of me. I told you that if a handsome guy keeps smiling he’ll have bad luck.”

“…I will correct it.”

“okay.”

Still I’ve lived really well for the past ten years.

The things I did to return to Earth were salvation to some.

Those moments accumulated to produce the result we have today.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t proud of those who crossed dimensions to help me.

That’s why I wanted to save more people and send them back to Eden.

At times like this I have to be very alert.

“I think it’s time for Baekmyeonggyo to make a big move.”

Baekmyeonggyo’s movement will soon create huge waves.

The question is where that wave starts… I hope it moves within the range I expect.

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

It was a day when I felt uneasy as if something was going to happen.

4.

As expected this time it was Baek Myeong-gyo’s turn.

The number of Baek Myeong-gyo is placed in the worst case scenario we assumed.

“The Middle East war is changing. The cult of the Old Gods is advancing across Afghanistan and into China! It looks like they are planning to unite their forces!”

“A large force of troops including Chinese government troops is being deployed beyond the Yellow River.”

The power that Baek Myeong-gyo had hidden was enough to handle a double-sided front.

I don’t know when they created so many fanatics but the number of believers in Baekmyeonggyo was beyond imagination.

The number of divine players who use divine power is difficult to accurately calculate.

That wasn’t all.

From monsters brought from other dimensions by the ancient gods to the ‘faceless ones’ that were confirmed during the last battle with Pluto.

Enormous forces began to appear throughout mainland China.

News also came that Li Shimin’s forces which were planning to attack northern China from southern China were also blocked by fierce resistance.

There was a reason for the quick retreat towards Yeosu.

While our main force was clearing the occupied area a massive defensive line was created.

And the biggest problem was the rear-end disruption that followed.

“A gigantic unmeasurable gate has been created near Sendai Japan. The existence of monsters and ‘faceless ones’ has been confirmed. Fanatics believed to be followers of the Baekmyeonggyo sect are also quickly joining the group.”

“Sendai City?”

“It seems like they’re targeting the temple.”

The Rimen Shrine in Sendai City has not experienced any major crises since the Chinese Civil War.

The Rimen Shrine in Sendai City was located at the rear so facilities for producing our sect’s sacred relics were gathered there.

A significant amount of the sacred points earned so far were invested in temples most of which were built in Sendai City.

Currently Limen and Terra are running around trying to suppress the dimensional interference of the ancient gods as much as possible.

In other words it was difficult to expect help from those two for the time being.

“…when did we ever get help.”

It’s not good to depend on them.

If Limen and Terra were not directly involved it also meant that the situation was urgent.

What he meant was that we had to figure out how to handle this on our own.

I sat on the chair in the temporary headquarters set up in the Holy Land and asked the information officer.

“How many enemies appeared in Sendai City?”

“The number currently counted is over 3000. It is said that the monsters are multiplying at an incredible rate.”

“Three thousand…”

If there were only trainees from the 1st to 3rd classes the damage would have been significant.

Because of the situation the rear defenses were a bit lacking but the Baek Myeong-gyo guys were digging in there as if it was natural.

These guys know a thing or two about war.

Block the front firmly and disrupt the enemy’s rear to cut off their supply.

This is one of the formulas for winning the Mercury War.

But it’s not like we didn’t expect this situation.

“The Japanese government is deploying troops that were on standby in advance.”

“Does this mean Japan will join the war?”

“It has been confirmed that an official statement is being prepared at the Prime Minister’s Office.”

“Tsk.”

The invasion of one’s own territory is one of the justifications for going to war.

No matter how much the Baekmyeonggyo’s goal is the Rimen sect’s holy land the fact that they invaded Japanese territory does not change.

“It seems that Ryu Jin-young will be going into a subjugation operation with the awakened person as the commander.”

I listened to the intelligence officer’s rapidly progressing reports and did some math.

The gate itself can be subdued without Irregulars.

But what if an ancient god like Pluto or a similar enemy appears at that gate?

It was clear that Sendai City along with our religious order’s shrine would once again be reduced to ashes.

So our choice was already decided.

“I will lead the sect’s troops.”

We cannot afford to let the enormous strategic advantage of a passage between the Holy Lands go to waste.

If you combine the expedition force from Eden and our existing religious sect forces there are approximately 2500 people.

Invest in one go and make a decision in one go.

There was no need to overthink it.

As I always say simple is best.

I made a quick decision and immediately gave orders to Leo.

“Prepare the troops. Use the passage between the Holy Lands to head to Sendai City.”

“Understood Your Majesty.”

As long as Aiden and Raphael remain here there’s no way this front will be pushed back easily.

Sendai Holy Ground is the perfect battlefield for our troops who came over from Eden to make their debut.

“Phew.”

The moment to truly demonstrate the power of our church is imminent.

5.

30 minutes after that.

Rimen Shrine in Sendai City Japan.

We traveled directly from Shenyang to Sendai City via the Holy Land Passage.

“I have been waiting to hear from you Pope Kim Si-woo.”

The Japanese Ryu Jin-young Awakener Jin-young who arrived before us greeted me with a slightly nervous expression.

Since it is an official setting it seems they use honorifics.

I smiled as I shook hands briefly with Jinyoung.

“How have you been? I thought I’d see you at the wedding but here we are.”

I shook hands with him and glanced at the sky in the distance.

The sky tinged purple glowed ominously due to the gate’s magic.

“We have also completed preparations for the subjugation. Would you like to give separate operational instructions?”

“How is the evacuation of civilians progressing?”

“The evacuation to the shelters already built around the Holy Land has been completed. We were able to complete it quickly thanks to the frequent evacuation drills that we have conducted in preparation for such situations.”

I heard that in Japan the Rimen sect’s shrines are classified as core facilities.

It’s a satisfying job.

At least when fighting in this area there seemed to be no need to be conscious of civilian casualties.

“We will take care of it so that no damage occurs to Sendai City.”

“In the worst case scenario we were instructed to abandon part of the city and focus on defending the temple.”

“I can’t stand to see the city I saved being destroyed because of me. Don’t worry.”

It’s a place that has a lot of connections with me in one way or another.

It is the first temple our church built overseas and it also opened new horizons in the relationship between Korea and Japan.

Anyway it is a place with a lot of symbolic meaning.

There was a reason why Baek Myeong-gyo targeted this place first.

“By any chance the scale of the troops mobilized by the Limen Sect is….”

The moment Jinyoung hyung tried to ask me about the military strength of our church.

Step by step.

Within the temple knights and warrior priests began to walk out.

They lined up in an orderly manner in the open space in front of the temple.

“…Was the Limen Church originally this large in number?”

“The Japanese side only needs to provide backup for this suppression operation. We’ll take care of the rest. Excuse me for a moment.”

After asking for Jinyoung’s understanding I slowly walked forward.

The knights and priests’ eyes are focused on me.

They all knelt on their left knees and waited for my instructions and I shouted at them.

“The enemies of the wicked sect are approaching to trample upon the Holy Land. Therefore I as the Pope of the Limen sect command you.”

[I proclaim the temple.]

[The combat power of all Limen Sect members in the area is greatly enhanced.]

A battle to protect the Holy Land.

If this isn’t a temple then what is?

“Go and sweep them all away.”

Our Pope please stop this