Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 420 (Part 2):

“It seems the Temple has no intention of making excuses anymore.”

Sian, who had been gathering intelligence in Helmut’s stead, shrugged.

“I hear the main Temple has restricted access to outsiders. Recall orders have been issued to High priests stationed abroad, and inside, armored Holy Knights are patrolling with menacing glares.”

Alea nodded.

“They’re preparing for war. I knew they wouldn’t back down.”

Hadn’t they relentlessly pursued Heike, the Temple’s public enemy, for so long?

Though she partly acknowledged her own faults and chose not to seek revenge, if Heike had set her mind to it, the Temple would have felt threatened.

War. Helmut savored the word.

A battle of such scale would undoubtedly be a novel experience. Anticipation stirred within him.

If the opponent was the Temple—a colossal, deeply resented adversary—the war held even greater significance.

No, perhaps he had been waiting for the moment to turn his blade against them.

They were the ones who, like absolute arbiters, had so easily decided his fate as a newborn.

And they were the ones who had caused his second betrayal.

Margret and Michael had each faced their consequences. So, too, must the Temple bear its reckoning.

Helmut was now ready to shatter that absolute authority.

“The rumors are already widespread. They’re amassing supplies. Likely within a day or two, they’ll march.”

Sian spoke cautiously, and Alea pointed out, “They can’t reach Renosa without passing through the Empire.”

Crossing the Empire’s territory without the Emperor’s permission would be an act of invasion. The Empire, eagerly awaiting a chance to strip the Temple of its immunity, would not tolerate it.

The Temple would have to face the Empire’s wrath first.

“There’s a magical way, isn’t there? They’ll use it.”

The Temple was an exceptionally powerful organization, boasting both mages wielding sacred magic and swordsmen.

Priests, in essence, were sacred mages, so it made sense they’d resolve this with magic.

Alea, a mage herself, realized it instantly.

“They’re going to open a gate?”

“Exactly. It’ll consume an immense amount of holy power, but cornered as they are, it’s not beyond the Temple. It’s a chance to flaunt their might, isn’t it? *We can send an army regardless of distance.* Something like that.”

Not just large-scale teleportation, but opening a gate that transcends distance entirely.

Their army would step directly onto Renosa’s soil.

Before the Empire could intervene, they’d march on Latona and end it all—that was likely their plan.

“Any evidence?”

“According to the Mage Association, among the supplies the Temple’s gathered are items suitable for opening a gate. They were the ones who speculated it first.”

Naturally, the Mage Association was at odds with the Temple.

They’d been instrumental in monitoring the Temple’s movements in Renosa.

Alea frowned.

“It’s hard to stop them from opening a gate. We don’t even know where it’ll appear.”

Latona’s royal castle was fortified with magic to repel external invasions, so it wouldn’t be nearby.

But shielding all of Renosa with magic was impossible, even for an archmage.

The Temple would tear through flimsy barriers like paper and open their Gate.

“We’ll know as soon as the gate opens.”

In the end, the battlefield would be Renosa. They might receive little aid from other nations.

Even if reinforcements were sent once the Temple’s army entered Renosa, it would take time.

The Black Wing Knights and Latona’s forces alone couldn’t hold back the Temple’s elite.

That was, of course, excluding Helmut’s group.

[So, I get to fight now, right?]

Elaga stretched out his legs, baring his claws. The gleaming white talons were impressively sharp.

Helmut replied, “If you plan to fight in your cat form?”

If a house-sized white leopard appeared, radiating demonic energy and attacking the Temple, onlookers would struggle to discern friend from foe.

Though a High Priest in Basor had once controlled a demonic beast, it was something they’d prefer to keep buried.

Controlling demonic beasts was seen as the work of dark mages.

Moreover, revealing that Renosa possessed such a beast would spark wariness in other nations.

Elaga was a trump card, to be kept hidden until the final moment. Hopefully, that moment would never come.

‘I don’t want to use him, either.’

Helmut had a faint sense of conscience.

Elaga’s presence was reassuring, but he hadn’t brought him from the Forest of Roots to wield him as a weapon.

Being treated as a pet human or a child in need of Elaga’s help was something Helmut wanted no more of.

If he had to deploy Elaga, he didn’t even want to imagine how much the beast would gloat and scold him.

[This form is more than enough to handle frail humans.]

Elaga declared confidently.

Helmut pictured a cat, fit for lounging on a noble’s luxurious sofa, leaping about the battlefield and scratching Holy Knights’ faces.

It would certainly be a bizarre sight, enough to distract those fighting.

Shaking off the mental fog, Helmut stated firmly, “I’m enough on my own.”

“Yeah, you’re right. You’re enough on your own.”

Alea nodded, somewhat agreeably.

“So, you don’t need me either?”

“…Right.”

Though he thought it better for Alea to stay safe, Helmut felt a subtle sting of betrayal as he answered.

Alea, wearing a meaningful smile, turned to Elaga.

“Then it’s settled. Elaga, you and I have work to do.”

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