Translator: CinderTL
---
Gabella, Imperial Capital.
Today marks the day the Gabellan army sets out on another campaign.
The troops assembled in the central square of the city to be reviewed by Emperor Antonio Griffin, then marched in orderly formation through the central avenue, exiting the capital via the southern gate, heading to the empire's western frontier.
The war between Gabella and the Church of the Light has already erupted.
After years of military campaigns, Antonio Griffin has firmly secured his power as an emperor.
However, another power structure exists within the nation—the Gabellan Church, a branch of the Church of the Light within the empire. Like creeping vines, its influence extends into every aspect of society.
If Antonio Griffin were content with merely holding secular power, he might tolerate the church's dominion over the spiritual lives of the Gabellan people, even cooperating with it as previous emperors had done.
But his other identity prevents him from allowing the church's rule to continue—he is a wizard, and moreover, the leader of the secretive wizard organization, the Arcane Order.
The Church of the Light has always harbored extreme hostility toward wizards. Should Antonio's true identity be discovered, the consequences would be unpredictable.
Conversely, most spellcasters, oppressed by the church, also hold extreme hostility toward it, and Antonio is no exception.
Moreover, to address the prophecy of the Great Destroyer's arrival, the human world must unite around a core. While the Church of the Light holds long-standing authority and is the natural leader of the human world, spellcasters are unwilling to cede the role of savior to what they see as a corrupt and tyrannical institution.
Whether for the future of humanity or to allow his fellow spellcasters to walk openly in the sunlight, Antonio has come to see the church as the greatest obstacle on his path and seizes every opportunity to weaken or even destroy it.
Thus, while the church was mired in the religious wars of the Horns Bay—a situation partly orchestrated by the Arcane Order—Antonio moved against the domestic church.
The imperial guard raided the church's headquarters in the capital, citing the Gabellan Church's deep involvement with Prince Felix and its significant role in his rebellion.
As the church was searched, numerous scandals were uncovered. As a long-standing organization wielding immense power, the Gabellan Church was no innocent entity. Many of its members were corrupt to varying degrees. The imperial government compiled a dossier of the church's misdeeds and made it public, sparking widespread outrage across the empire. Trust in the church collapsed overnight.
Seizing this opportunity, Emperor Antonio Griffin ordered that the church's personnel authority be transferred to the imperial government. He appointed a new archbishop loyal to him and dispatched officials across the empire to investigate the church's subordinate organizations. Many morally compromised clergy were arrested, and young, clean-slated clergy who swore loyalty to the empire were appointed to fill the vacancies.
Antonio did not wish to destroy the Gabellan Church—at least not yet. No matter how much he despised the organization, as the nation's ruler, he could not afford the chaos that would result from a collapse of public faith.
He decided to first bring it under his control, then gradually reduce its influence. Whether it would be eradicated or turned into a useful tool in the future would depend on its remaining utility.
The Gabellan Church, with its long history and numerous followers, could not be outright rejected without causing turmoil and driving devout believers into the arms of a new enemy.
That new enemy was the Church of the Light, the power behind the former Gabellan Church.
Furious at Antonio's rebellious actions, the Church of the Light first sent envoys to Gabella to reason with the emperor. However, the envoys were humiliated and expelled.
The emperor had made his stance clear: he stood firmly opposed to the Church of the Light.
At that time, though the Church of the Light was deeply entrenched in the Horn Bay, losing Gabella—a major power and a strategic hub connecting the eastern and western parts of the continent—was ten times more serious than losing the Horn Bay.
Thus, after a final futile effort, the Church of the Light swiftly abandoned the Horn Bay and marshaled all its forces to press against the Gabellan Empire.
Unlike the geographically inconvenient Horn Bay, the territories controlled by the Church of the Light and Gabella were well-connected, allowing the church to deploy a far larger army than it had in the Horn Bay wars.
A formidable force of 200,000 soldiers marched into the empire, joined by many third-party nations sending troops to support the campaign.
Gabella faced a grave crisis.
But as a nation with a strong militaristic tradition, the Church of the Light's aggression quickly ignited the Gabellan people's fury. Since the empire's founding, they had been the ones waging wars, not the ones being invaded.
Numerous nobles petitioned Emperor Antonio Griffin, eager to earn glory on the battlefield.
In this context, Antonio Griffin formally declared war on the Church of the Light and ordered the formation of an army to defend the nation's territory.
Kevin, a member of the Scholars' Tower, stood among the crowd, straining to see the distant scene as he and his companions attended the send-off ceremony.
The morning mist had yet to dissipate, but a golden glow had already appeared at the end of the street—the Gabellan knights' armor gleaming in the morning sun.
As the first column of cavalry turned the corner, he heard gasps ripple through the crowd.
What a magnificent sight! The silver-armored knights formed four columns, their horses stepping in unison, iron hooves striking the cobblestones with a dull thud.
In the morning light, the empire's emblems on their chests reflected dazzling rays, their crimson capes fluttering in the wind. Their lances stood like a forest, the colorful flags at their tips swaying gently with the horses' movements, resembling a sea of flickering flames.
The people lining the streets spontaneously knelt. Kevin heard muffled sobs behind him; an elderly woman trembled as she made the sign of prayer in front of her chest.
Many tossed freshly baked bread toward the knights, a Gabellan tradition when sending off troops. The golden loaves traced graceful arcs through the air, caught deftly by the knights, who nodded in acknowledgment.
In the middle of the procession, a massive banner slowly advanced. The imperial flag unfurled in the morning breeze, its embroidered eagle lifelike.
The standard-bearer was a young knight, his visor raised to reveal a sharply defined face. His commanding gaze swept the crowd, eliciting cheers wherever it landed.
Behind the banner, the heavy cavalry's iron hooves caused the ground to tremble slightly. Their armor was far thicker than that of the light cavalry, with even the horses clad in chainmail. These steel behemoths wielded halberds, their eyes beneath the visors cold and resolute. The street fell into a brief silence, broken only by the clinking of armor.
At the rear of the procession came the supply wagons, their wheels creaking over the cobblestones. Food, weapons, tents—all the necessities for the campaign were neatly stacked on the carts. The craftsmen accompanying the army walked beside the wagons, their leather aprons still stained with grease from last night's work.
As the final wagon turned the corner, the sun had risen to the top of the clock tower. Kevin stood still, gazing in the direction the army had gone. He suddenly thought of Alvey, the esteemed scholar who had been missing for so long. His mentor, Aldridge, had said Alvey was traveling.
What a pity Alvey missed such an important occasion.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (FF) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c876. [+1]
🔑Early Access at $5.
✍Translated (6) Series, (3K+) Chapters, (4.2M+) Words.
💥Flat 30% Discount on All Tiers Available Till 26th July, Use Code 3KCHAPTERS to Avail.