Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz) - Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 200)

Chapter 164: Faith in the New God

Such blasphemous cries came from a portly man in a red robe atop the tower—none other than Cardinal Archbishop Josiah Carey.

Josiah's jowls quivered as he shouted with fervent passion:

"My kin, my saints, hear me! Before the might of a god, we are but ants. Who can stand against divine power? Who? Who? The Pope? He cannot! The Six Scriptures? They cannot either!

"Only a god can challenge a god. Defy the divine will, and only ruin awaits. The Six Great Gods have returned to the divine realm, never to descend again. They are the past. EMBRACE THE NEW GOD!"

His words were met with a hail of crossbow bolts and a massive fireball launched by a distant mage.

Under the storm of arrows, several monks guarding the tower's edge fell, yet they died with smiles on their faces. It seemed Josiah had already gathered a loyal following.

Josiah conjured an egg-shaped shield of light, protecting himself and most of the tower's structure. As a cardinal archbishop, his magical prowess was far from weak—neither arrows nor spells could touch him.

Below, from behind a wall of adamantine tower shields, an officer's voice roared with venom:

"You're a cardinal archbishop, yet your faith in the Six Great Gods is worth less than a pigeon's! How dare you compare the Six Great Gods, protectors of humanity, to that fiend Ainz Ooal Gown? You make my stomach churn!"

Josiah, still clad in his red robe, gazed calmly at the army below and said:

"It was precisely after becoming cardinal archbishop, after delving into the secret scriptures, that I began to doubt the Six Great Gods.

"My dear compatriot, as a soldier, have you never wondered why the army's priests pray to the Six Great Gods and get no response whatsoever?"

"Yet the elven druids, Baharuth's clerics, even the dim-witted orc priests—they can all borrow power from false gods?

"And most crucially, after poring over the secret tomes hidden in the deepest vaults of the Theocracy, I uncovered a truth: Ainz Ooal Gown descended to this world from the divine realm. He hails from the same world as the Six Great Gods! HE IS THE NEW GOD!"

Another torrent of arrows rained down, most clattering uselessly against the light shield, unable to pierce its defense.

"I know you can't comprehend, that you even dare to resist the new god," Josiah bellowed. "But for the Theocracy's sake, I'm willing to be the one who carves a path through the thorns!

"I infiltrated the capital's secret temple, built underground for forty years, and mapped out the altar's location and entry routes. I've sent it all to the Sorcerer Kingdom! By handing over the Slane Theocracy's secrets, I've secured a glimmer of hope for our people!"

"You traitorous scum! You sold out our nation's secrets! That's treason! Blasphemy!"

The officer unsheathed his sword, glaring up at Josiah atop the tower and shouting with fury. He didn't know what this underground altar or temple was, but Josiah's vile expression said it all.

"I've told the Sorcerer Kingdom everything I know. Give up. I know there are Six Scriptures agents among the army besieging me. All your schemes are laid bare—you've got no trump cards left!

"Now, the only way to save our nation is to open your hearts to the Sorcerer Kingdom's god and show submission. For instance, reveal the underground altar's purpose to Ainz Ooal Gown, offer the Six Great Gods' artifacts to the Sorcerer Kingdom..."

Far from the tower, atop a bell tower, several Black Scripture warriors gritted their teeth, their eyes blazing with fury as they glared toward Josiah.

"We can't let this bastard keep spewing nonsense!" Alphonse, lean and wiry, appeared beside the Black Scripture warriors in a flash. "Once we break Josiah's defensive shield, we strike. That traitor blaspheming the Six Great Gods dies today!"