At this thought, she couldn't help but clench the holy emblem in her hand and begin to pray silently.
'Mm!
The capital of the Sakartes Empire!
If we can take it down and offer the entire city to our master … '
This thought spread in Barbara's mind, expanding continuously.
This wasn't because she was too greedy, but because everything had been too smooth along the way.
While she'd only brought less than ten thousand soldiers from Hope Stronghold, many natives who'd been afflicted by disease cried out and begged to join them. There were even defections from the imperial army.
When she'd received news from some secret channels and confirmed the outcome of the divine war, even the nobles of the Sakartes Empire were shaken.
The result of this was that Barbara's army effortlessly pushed through, even reaching the vicinity of the enemy's capital without shedding a single drop of blood. In order to obtain enough 'holy water' and the blessings of the feathered serpent god, many natives and refugees took on the heavy, mundane tasks. There were a few rebellions, but they were suppressed by the servants who'd defected.
Knowing that Hope Stronghold was lacking in people, Barbara accepted the refugees and soldiers who'd asked to join without any reservations. In a short period of time, her army had expanded by five times.
She now had around fifty thousand natives, as well as other refugees.
Tiff had originally been worried about spies infiltrating their ranks, but it seemed that the natives had no such intentions. Instead, it was their huge numbers that put a huge pressure on the command system and logistics, causing a few troubles in a row.
The Sakartes Empire seemed to be doomed this time. They couldn't even deal with such a bloated army.
The successive victories naturally boosted Barbara's ambitions.
'As long as we take down Dole City, the capital will lose all its barriers …' Barbara calculated inwardly.
Babla calculated in her mind, and was stunned to see the city in the distance erupt into chaos.
Dense black flames and whistling sounds could be heard.
"Report!"
A knight dashed in, looking like he had some urgent military matter.
"Let him in!" Barbara waved her hand, and the guards who'd been blocking the knight immediately dispersed.
"Saintess, a few of the leaders in Dole City have joined forces to start a rebellion.
They've already occupied the entire city, and have agreed to give up their faith to welcome the feathered serpent god as long as we give them holy water as soon as possible.
The chaotic city hopes that we can send people to take over as soon as possible … "
"Let's advance!"
Barbara nodded and gave the order.
At first, this kind of scene excited her.
But after seeing more of it, he became numb to it.
Moreover, there was a faint sense of disappointment at losing the opportunity to render meritorious service.
However, she had more important things to do at this moment.
The takeover of the city went very smoothly. Under the threat of survival, there were very few cases of fake surrenders. Barbara simply followed her previous experience and sent a group of people to help put out the fire. She also met with the leaders and guaranteed that the holy water would be supplied.
The whole of Dole City was basically under her control.
The reason why it was considered basic was because of the existence of altars and priests.
This was the last resistance force in Dole City.
The battle between faiths was far more terrifying and intense than that in the secular world. Thus, Barbara led her people to the vicinity of the altar without stopping.
"Saintess, the altar here worships the two false gods, Wootz the Blazing Horse and Akaban the Founding Emperor.
While the priests who worshipped the Blazing Horse have lost all their power, the priests who serve Akaban still have the support of divine force. They've also gathered a small group of soldiers to defend this place … "
The leader who had sought refuge with them led the way in front, a fawning smile on his face. After seeking refuge, their totemic deity had immediately become a false god.
Even Leylin could not help but sigh at the reality of humans.
"I understand. I'll leave the rest to the church."
Barbara looked at the altar that seemed to have been built as a defensive structure, and her pretty brows furrowed slightly.
The betrayal of these leaders.
While she was a little disgusted, she had no choice but to accept them as an example.
With the sudden loss of two demigods, the priests of Dole City could no longer keep up with the needs of the plague. If they continued to stay, they would definitely die. They'd betrayed them for the sake of survival.
In Barbara's eyes, this was a very normal thing.
However, the enemy had left behind a group of resistance, which made things a little difficult.
"Send the warriors of the church over!"
After circling around the fortifications, Barbara finally realised that the enemy's elite forces were very strong. She sent out her elites as well.
There were also extraordinary Professionals amongst the natives. The classic ones were the Forest Hunters and Amazon Warriors. They'd even caused some trouble for Isabel before.
At this time, most of the people guarding the altar were of this profession.
However, after establishing the Giant Serpent Church, Leylin had also begun to build up the armed forces of the church.
At this moment, a group of able-bodied native warriors with terrifying demonic tattoos appeared in front of Barbara.
"Saintess!
The warriors of God are at your command! "
"Very good!
Warriors of the Lord!
Use your anger to expel the final filth of the false god! "
Barbara stood at the front and gave the order to attack.
Almost at the instant the mobilization order was issued, these native warriors underwent a huge transformation. They all roared, their muscles bulging, and in an instant, they became small giants.
Divine spells lit up on their bodies, bringing with them the unique radiance of the Winged Serpent God.
Under the illumination of this radiance, the tattoos on the natives seemed to become more animated, their eyes shooting out evil rays.
Some of the unique abilities of the demons were also added to the native warriors.
"My Lord!
Kill! "
These native warriors with devil tattoos rushed forward without hesitation, immediately causing a tsunami of attacks around the altar.
"The number of the Lord's warriors has increased …"
Barbara had a gratified look on her face as she and the other priests blessed the warriors with divine spells.
For a church, priests and armed forces were very important. Tyr, for example, had specialized in the path of a paladin.
Leylin had combined Debanks Island with his own reality, and with the A.I. Chip's simulations, he'd created a new profession for his church — devil hunters.
As the name suggested, those who advanced in this path would gain a keen perception of devils, as well as the unique tracking abilities of a hunter.
By activating the devil runes on their bodies, they could even obtain a portion of the bloodline abilities of a devil.
This was a combination of a bloodline holder and a warrior. While it was indeed powerful, it had a flaw. It had a high requirement on the willpower of the person in question.
On top of that, the pain of branding the devil runes was extremely terrifying.
Fortunately, Leylin had many subordinates. Slowly sifting through the 300,000 natives, finding a few thousand devil hunters wasn't a problem.
Leylin had also specially set up a backup plan for this profession.
If one could capture a real demon and seal it in one's body, the hunter would obtain most of the demon's abilities!
They could even advance in rank!
Only a hunter with a devil sealed in their body could be considered a true devil hunter.
For some reason, Leylin wasn't a blood feud with the devils, but rather a mortal enemy.
He'd developed this profession in preparation for the other devils on the continent. Apart from the worshippers of gluttony, everything else related to devils would be dealt a fatal blow by the devil hunters.
This would weaken the Nine Hells of Baator.
On top of that, devoting himself to fighting devils was considered 'political correctness' among the gods of the continent, and no one could say anything about it.
Barbara naturally didn't know what Leylin was thinking. She was still sighing at the astonishing battle prowess of the devil hunters.
Those who retreated to the shrine and altar were undoubtedly diehard worshippers of the false god. There was no need to differentiate between them, and she could just kill them.
Once the interior of the altar was cleared, Barbara solemnly stepped into the main hall. The green floor was already dyed red with blood, but even she didn't feel that there was anything wrong with it.
For these natives, plundering everything from the defeated, even their lives, was a matter of course.
At the centre of the altar, there was an obsidian statue of a warrior driving a chariot. However, the steed in front of the chariot had long since exploded.
* Buzz!
Buzz! * As if sensing that it had been blasphemed, a terrifying pressure emanated from the statue of the founding emperor, Akaban.
"Hmph!
False god! "
Barbara glanced at the former emperor in disdain, clutching the holy emblem in her hand.
"My lord, the winged serpent god, Kukulkan!
Please bestow me strength! "
A divine light unique to Leylin blossomed from the holy radiance. With a flash of white light, the immense pressure from before disappeared, and a few cracks appeared on the statue.
"Destroy the statue!
Everything else that is related to him must be 'purified'! "
Barbara's expression was solemn as she gave the order.
Soon, many statues, holy emblems, rituals, books, and even the murals on the walls were pried off and slowly burned to ashes.
(To be continued.)