What is an offensive priest?

Chapter 49 The Victims!

This fierce battle, which lasted for half a day, finally came to a complete end with the total defeat of the Supreme God's army.

Beneath the walls of Blackstone Town, the scene was one of utter devastation.

The trench was piled high with the swollen, stinking corpses of goblins and gnolls, layer upon layer, almost filling the deep ditch.

Scattered across the scorched earth were the tattered plate armor and broken weapons of the gray dwarf warriors, and the massive bodies of several minotaurs lay like collapsed stone statues in pools of blood.

On the battlefield, sporadic flames still burned, devouring severed limbs and broken wood, making crackling sounds.

The air was thick with a nauseating stench of blood, mixed with the smells of burning, sulfur, and the sweet, cloying scent of decaying corpses, as if even the wind itself had been tinged with a dark red.

The villagers stood frozen in place until the army of the Supreme God completely disappeared from sight.

They only then came to their senses as if waking from a dream.

"You won...?"

A young farmer, his face smeared with blood, muttered to himself, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The blood-soaked iron weapon in his hand was thrown to the ground, and the long-suppressed cheer, accompanied by an uncontrollable sob, swept across the entire battlefield like a flood bursting its banks.

"We held on!"

The group embraced and wept, tears streaming down their faces, enjoying the joy of surviving a calamity.

When the Great Druid Loth saw the army of the Supreme Gods retreating, the owl-bear it had transformed into raised its head toward Richard.

Then he led the druids of the Greenwoods and the beasts of the Wailing Mountains back into the forest.

But it's under the wall.

The atmosphere, however, was completely different.

Dozens of young guards silently gathered in a circle.

They bowed their heads, clenched their fists, their faces showing no joy of victory, only a heavy, suffocating grief.

Chief of Staff Weiss, this steadfast and unwavering veteran, lay dying in a pool of dark red blood.

His worn-out leather armor was deeply dented, its surface covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and several key parts of the armor were completely shattered, revealing his bloodied and mangled chest.

Blood kept gushing from the corner of his mouth, staining the ground beneath him a dark red.

"What the hell are you all crying about?!"

Chief of Staff Weiss's voice was broken and hoarse, like a broken bellows.

But the severity of the punishment remained undiminished.

"You're crying after winning a battle? You're a disgrace to me!"

He coughed violently, each cough spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of internal organs.

Sister Sharon held the Sun emblem tightly in her hand, continuously chanting healing prayers.

But the effect was minimal.

Ordinary healing techniques can only temporarily delay the passing of life, but cannot reverse the arrival of death.

The young guards had red eyes and trembling voices.

They looked at this veteran, who was always known for his strictness. He often berated them harshly during training and would punish them by making them run laps until they were exhausted when they made mistakes.

But they would also quietly hand them medicine when they were injured, and always stand in front of them when danger came.

He was the one who founded and trained the Blackrock Town Guard, and these young guards already regarded him as a father.

"Commander, it's all my fault!"

"You wouldn't be injured if you hadn't saved me!"

A young guard named Tom knelt beside Weiss, his face streaked with tears of self-reproach and despair.

His voice choked with emotion, and he could no longer speak.

Just a while ago.

Chief Warwick shielded the young guard from the goblin's sneak attack, his mace slamming into the armor and nearly flattening the veteran's chest.

Paladin Crow's face was also filled with profound respect.

After spending time together, he had become familiar with this stern-faced veteran who always shouldered his responsibilities.

And now, this resolute warrior is about to fall on the land he has guarded his entire life...

Richard slowly walked over.

His footsteps were light, yet they were clearly audible to everyone.

His golden pupils calmly swept over Chief of Staff Weiss's injuries.

Then, he silently knelt down beside Weiss.

Sister Sharon looked up at Richard, a hint of helpless sorrow flashing in her morning-blue eyes, and gently shook her head.

"cough--"

Chief of Staff Weiss turned his head with difficulty, his cloudy eyes looking at Richard, and he forced a smug smile onto his lips.

"Pastor Richard...how is it...?"

"My men... these bastards..."

He paused, coughing up blood with each word he spoke.

"Didn't I embarrass you...?"

Even as his life was drawing to a close, Chief of Staff Weiss still wore a proud smile, genuinely proud of these young people.

"Stop talking..."

"You'll be alright."

Richard crouched down beside him, his voice trembling slightly as he faced his trusted partner.

He extended his right hand, and a divine light, even more radiant than Sharon's, shone from his palm.

But Chief of Staff Weiss's vitality, like sand slipping through his fingers, was still rapidly fading away.

"Don't... waste your energy..."

Chief of Staff Weiss raised his hand with difficulty and grasped Richard's trembling wrist.

"I know my own body..."

A relieved smile appeared on his face, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

"My life in this world..."

"Having fought goblin beasts, guarded the border... and raised a bunch of good kids..."

"In the end... they even helped defend Blackrock Town..."

"It was worth it..."

His cloudy eyes gazed intently at Richard, as if looking at a close friend despite the age difference.

"You..."

Chief of Staff Weiss's voice grew softer and softer, yet every word struck Richard's heart with clarity.

"After I left."

"Don't shoulder everything yourself..."

"Blackrock Town needs Pastor Richard..."

"But Richard, he can't spend his whole life... stuck in this... remote little town..."

He paused, his eyes filled with a final plea.

"You haven't experienced the prosperity of the City of a Thousand Sails yet..."

"I haven't yet witnessed the magic of Waterdeep..."

"not yet……"

Chief of Staff Weiss's breath suddenly became weak.

"Your future is still a long way off..."

"Don't let this place... hold you back..."

"..."

The last few words were spoken as softly as a sigh.

The hand that had been gripping Richard's wrist slowly slid down, hanging limply in the pool of blood.

Chief of Staff Weiss's cloudy eyes closed at some point, a relieved smile still lingering at the corners of his mouth.

This is a weathered veteran who never had a wife or children, always lived alone, and dedicated his entire life to Blackstone Town.

He died just before dusk.

He died on the land he had protected his entire life.

Died at the moment of victory...

"Commander-in-Chief—!"

Tom's heart-wrenching cries shattered the silence of dusk.

The young guards knelt down at the same time, and tears that had been suppressed for so long burst forth like a dam breaking!

They wept, but dared not make a loud sound, as if afraid of disturbing the old soldier's final rest.

And not far away.

Several young corpses were still lying there.

Some of them were only seventeen or eighteen years old, their faces still showing traces of childishness. They were only children in their families, and their parents were waiting for them to come home for dinner.

Some had only recently started a family and still carried amulets embroidered by their wives in their pockets...

But now.

They can never go back.

They gave their lives to practice their beliefs!

This land was irrigated with blood, and peace was bought with death!

The setting sun slowly sank behind the western mountains.

The last crimson rays of sunlight fell upon this land soaked in blood.

Richard slowly stood up.

He bowed his head, his golden pupils reflecting the peaceful face of Chief Executive Weiss.

After a long silence, he said softly.

"Put Chief of Staff Weiss..."

Richard's voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible.

"Take him and the children he brought with him back to Blackrock Town."

Their families are still waiting for them to come home...

After making his final arrangements.

Richard turned and slowly walked towards Blackrock Town.

The setting sun cast a long shadow of him, stretching out alone across the pool of blood and scorched earth.

The war is over!

But those who are alive...

We must keep going!