Ch.160160. The Fall of the Rom Empire

Let’s turn back time for a moment.

Around the time when the Holy City was under attack due to the birth of the God of Pleasure, and simultaneously being isolated by someone of unknown identity.

“Haa-hyaa!!!”

“Kill! Plunder! Burn!!”

“Ohhh… this arm tastes good.”

Naturally, not just the Holy City but the entire Empire was being attacked by various evil gods.

Of course, most of the evil gods participating in the invasion were minor deities ranging from low to lowest tier, with forces limited to at most a thousand followers, but…

The forces of these minor evil gods weren’t particularly strong in themselves; rather, it was their apostles who proved their worth.

These apostles, mostly mid-tier with some low-tier among them, were granted unlimited miracle usage and infinite magical power.

In other words, even if they just cast a few area spells from the rear while applying buffs, their influence on the battlefield was terrifying…

Moreover, most evil gods chose not to engage in direct confrontation, but instead incited internal rebellions through secret societies and cults they had previously established.

As a result, the soldiers of the Roman Empire and the minor gods of the Pantheon were increasingly thrown into chaos by sudden ambushes.

On most battlefields, the armies of evil gods were pushing back the forces of the Pantheon and the Empire.

In countless cases, parts or even majorities of legions were already corrupted by evil god cults, and in extreme cases, governors became followers of evil gods and kindly offered up their cities.

Thus, the Pantheon and the Empire had to face both external and internal enemies simultaneously, and to make matters worse, some of the Seven Great Evil Gods had joined the fray.

Those who were backstabbed by multiple evil gods who isolated the Holy City with barriers had no choice but to abandon the Holy City and turn their attention elsewhere.

They withdrew the forces and apostles they were about to deploy and instead dispatched them to other cities.

In the western Empire, famous as a breadbasket due to its vast and fertile plains, the endless plague-waves of Marus Area, the God of Plague, swept through.

This western region had the highest population in the entire Empire due to its abundant grain production from ideal farming conditions.

Because of this, like ancient Chinese armies, it maintained military forces consisting of enormous numbers of conscripted light infantry and elite heavy cavalry…

This was, quite literally, like exposing one’s belly to Marus Area, the God of Plague.

Most invaders attacking the northwestern Roman Empire typically fall victim to the overwhelming numbers of conscripted light infantry and the shock power of heavy cavalry.

But… could one of the core components of this defense system—the conscripted light infantry—possibly withstand the terrible plagues?

Most infantry became plague-zombies after being infected by the zombie-plague spread by the rat beastmen priests of the Plague God, joining the plague army.

Their proud heavy cavalry was caught by the mindless heaviness of the plague soldiers, optimized as cushions, and consumed one by one.

Although these plagues were surprisingly vulnerable to holy power, some plagues, for whatever reason, were actually amplified when struck by holy power.

As a result, the ambitiously gathered forces were mostly swallowed by the plague’s maw, allowing the plague army to expand its power instantly.

By launching concentrated “plague” jars with catapults made by rat beastmen to conquer fortresses, and forcibly corrupting those infected with the plague to join their army…

In terms of quantity, there was no doubt that Marus Area had corrupted the most mortals in this invasion.

The central Empire, with land suitable for growing rye if not abundant, and countless mineral-rich mountain ranges.

These cities, which supplied most of the minerals used in the Empire, were under attack by the crow armies of the Raven God, the King in Black, the Lord of Black Wings…

The Evil God of Despair, Fanima, along with the corrupted legions and crow legions assigned under his command.

The crow army consisted of Fanima’s followers and loyal servants, Raven and Crow beastmen.

Their greatest advantage was that they were composed entirely of beings who could fly, which, combined with the rugged terrain of this mountainous region…

“Caw! Caw!! Caaaw!!”

The crow army led by the Evil God of Despair quickly blockaded this region and began to slowly starve the cities located mainly in rugged terrain.

Mining cities, built primarily in rugged terrain for easy extraction of abundant minerals, naturally relied on food supplies from outside.

So Fanima acted simply.

He conquered the ordinary agricultural cities in the lowlands through direct warfare, and blocked the paths to fortress-like mines to starve them out.

Thanks to this, the army of despair was among those who most easily captured imperial cities.

The eastern Empire. This region, with a rather cool climate, had surprisingly fertile soil except for the great plains and their vicinity.

Open-pit iron mines could be found without much difficulty throughout the area, and the vast pastures were excellent for raising livestock.

Looking at the conditions, it seemed like a perfect place to live, and indeed it was, but in return, these cities were mostly on the frontlines…

Against those who attacked the Empire from the west and north—orcs from the great plains, beastmen from the west, and barbarians from the north.

The food produced became military rations, livestock were used for transport, abundant resources became weapons, and people joined the army.

Literally a wartime economy itself, now restructured into an abnormal and heterogeneous form that would wither and die without war…

Naturally, it was a terrain that any evil god would hesitate to invade.

Except for one—the Evil God of Misfortune, [ ].

The army of the Evil God of Misfortune had no form.

At most, the Nameless Legion was the only force they directly operated, and the other members of their army had no material form.

They were identified with the concept of misfortune itself.

When misfortune befell a mortal in the material world, it meant that the army led by the Evil God of Misfortune had launched an attack on that mortal.

Their attacks had no effect on the material realm, but instead diminished the target’s luck in a spiritual and causal manner.

And the results of these attacks were uncertain and somewhat unstable.

Some might just have a bad day or suffer minor inconveniences like being hit by bird droppings.

Ranged weapons would strangely and artificially miss continuously, or the opponent might be in unusually good condition with no openings, but…

In the worst case, one might unluckily die from being hit by a friendly catapult. After launching such attacks across the western Empire…

The western region had fallen at some point.

Starting with minor internal conflicts that escalated into civil war, enemies invaded, remnants of the Orc Empire plundered food stores, and evil gods incited rebellions within cities.

For those with nothing to lose, misfortune might not matter much, but for those with too much to lose, misfortune was the worst curse.

Thus, the Nameless Legion could easily clean up and take control of the weakened west, brought down by calamities caused by their own causality.

It was the beginning of an age of chaos.

※ ※ ※

The chaos triggered by the evil gods shattered the worldview of the imperial people.

The supposedly invincible empire collapsed pathetically from within, and the gods, believed to be absolute and transcendent, disappeared one by one.

As life became harsh due to the rampaging evil gods who triggered this situation, most ordinary people caught in the middle of this mess were anxious.

Their homes had collapsed, and the gods they relied on for spiritual stability were disappearing.

For people who believed they would cease to exist if not guided by the gods after death, the current situation, where they could die at any moment, was pure panic.

And in such situations, ordinary people desire one thing:

A solid pillar, someone to place absolute trust in—to have faith in—a god who could be worshipped without problems in the current situation.

So people confessed their faith to various gods, trying to survive this chaotic era.

“God of Vengeance!!”

“Red, King in Red!!”

“Bloody Wolf!!”

“Bleeding God of Vengeance!!”

Most ordinary people, specifically those with some knowledge of the gods and interest in current affairs, chose to worship the Bleeding God of Vengeance.

Marduk, a strict but merciful god.

In this era where the concept of good gods had not yet properly emerged, the faith shown by Marduk was truly revolutionary.

Over 400,000 people had already been baptized and officially joined the order, with “at least” 1 million offering small prayers or hoping to be baptized as prospective believers.

In other words, he was the last hope of this era.