Chapter 176: Holy War 1

Chatters who enjoy organizing things posted a summary of the situation on the forum.

It seems I’m not the only one feeling that this quest got tangled up because of me.

Among the highly upvoted organization posts with continuously updating comments, the last one caught my eye.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter since the holy war was part of the storyline, right?

Had I stubbornly tried to solve everything alone, we might have completely missed the holy war major event.

But, looking at the outcome, declaring the holy war much earlier seems like an advantage.

Originally, the temple would have intervened after assessing the damage between the 34th and 36th floors.

If the quest got tangled with golems before, this time it was tangled with vines.

“Hey, what do you mean by holy war?”

“It’s serious! A monstrous creature appeared in the tower, specifically targeting and killing priests.”

From a gamer’s perspective, that’s roughly the gist, and NPCs outside the guild were buzzing.

Not just adventurers and mages, but even the nearby merchants were startled.

After all, this world is one where a Goddess truly exists.

Although she doesn’t reveal herself openly, she has proven her existence through divine energy, oracles, and revelations.

In such a world, the significance of a ‘holy war’ is far heavier than one might think.

The city’s residents were also confused, as no incident had ever occurred in the city.

They were unaware of the events unfolding inside the tower.

However, one thing was certain: the temple was in complete turmoil.

“Look, the temple knights…”

“Are they coming from outside the city too?”

As soon as the news reached them, the temple declared a holy war without any hesitation.

We had just come out of the tower a little after lunch, and the holy war was declared before evening – the speed of this felt unnaturally fast.

It seemed as if there was no internal discussion within the temple, as though someone of high rank had impulsively pushed for it.

Perhaps it was that saintly figure who had spoken to us.

Maybe that’s why priests, nuns, and temple knights were flooding into the city from the outskirts.

Invoking the call of ‘holy war,’ they were calling back all personnel outside.

Everyone from nuns who had been on healing missions in remote villages to knights scouring the mountains for bandit suppression was summoned back.

Even while sitting at the guild’s table, the commotion outside was so loud that we could hear everything.

There were rumors of a group in shining white armor entering the city, and that the guards at a checkpoint simply let a group of nuns pass without question.

“What do we do when a holy war is declared?”

“We should probably join the temple knights and deal with that giant tree.”

“We’ll need to wait for Irene to return before we go ahead, right?”

It was almost frightening how quickly they returned to the city within such a short time.

From late lunch to early evening, the temple’s forces openly gathered in the city.

Amidst this chaos, we waited.

Irene had not returned to the guild even after the holy war was declared.

Perhaps the temple would involve us in the holy war through some form of request.

Since we hadn’t used up much on the 35th floor, there wasn’t much to prepare, so our party sat leisurely at a table.

Han Se-ah’s inventory had a bit of food consumed, but not so much that we needed to restock.

“Everyone, you’re here.”

“Irene!”

In this quiet wait, Irene returned to the guild.

Welcomed by the fervent chatting of weary viewers.

From late lunch until early evening, spanning roughly three hours, Han Se-ah’s viewers waited for Irene without even a brief pause in the stream.

Their patience in enduring the wait in silence was driven by a simple reason: the excitement and buzz generated by the mere mention of a ‘holy war’.

People clad in brilliant white priest and nun robes march toward the tower’s gate in a disciplined formation, resembling soldiers.

Considering that the robes Irene and others usually wear to the temple are a dull gray, these strikingly majestic white garments are a sight to behold.

A large symbol of the Goddess Faith, hoisted high on a long silver staff, is held up by a nun dressed head-to-toe in white.

Beside her, priests in white clerical robes, ornately decorated with golden threads, carry bibles in one hand and small staves in the other, chanting a prayer in unison, like a military hymn.

“Oh, Goddess.”

“May grace be with us…”

The citizens watching this grand spectacle instinctively bow their heads, filled with fear and respect for a group with seemingly superhuman abilities, different from knights and adventurers.

“This is incredibly overwhelming…”

“Even when our family went on major inspections, it was never like this.”

Due to this, the shoulders of our party, following the temple knights up the tower, tensely shrank.

While the viewers were half-mad with excitement, declaring a holy war, even bringing unrelated speeches like Hitler’s into the mix, that fervor had nothing to do with the in-game NPCs.

Under the intense gaze of the citizens, both Grace from a rural village and Katie, a noble lady, felt equally intimidated.

Only upon entering the gate and moving to the 30th floor did they relax and breathe a sigh of relief.

“So, Irene? What are we supposed to do with the temple? Are we to guide them to that giant tree?”

“For now…? I haven’t heard the exact details, just a request to join them…”

Upon entering the gate, what awaited them wasn’t the daunting gaze of onlookers, but people busily constructing a forward base.

It seemed they weren’t planning to rely solely on the temple’s priests and nuns, as they had managed to cram in cooperating individuals within that short time.

The temple used its connections to bring in stonemasons and carpenters, who started a massive construction project using materials that arrived before the temple.

Without any intention of stopping at a safe zone, the 30th floor’s open space in the cave is being rapidly transformed.

“Where should we go… Should we head to the 34th floor in advance?”

“You are here, Sir Roland!”

As I pondered what to do amidst this chaos, a voice echoed in my ears.

The camera, which had been scanning the chaotic construction site, swiftly returned to hover near my shoulder.

Addressing me was a temple knight with a voice I hadn’t heard before.

Amid the hustle and bustle of building materials being ferried and workers shouting, this knight had impressively found me amidst the dense crowd constructing not just a makeshift camp but a full-fledged base.

“Sir Roland, Sister Irene, and the other sisters accompanying you. Would you honor us by accepting our invitation?”

“Of course.”

I nodded without hesitation at the polite invitation of the temple knight.

There was no reason to refuse in this situation, and since we returned to the tower with the temple forces, it seemed like Han Se-ah’s quest window had been updated.

Just like the speculative post I saw on the forum earlier, it wasn’t a tangled situation but rather a clean skip over several steps.

If senior adventurers showed their prowess against the orcs on the 20th floor, then the temple, under the banner of a holy war, is expected to demonstrate their might against the tree on the 35th floor.

Such expectations filled the viewers’ chat with anticipation.

“Please proceed inside.”

“Thank you for guiding us, brother.”

“It’s my duty, sister. May the Goddess’s grace bless your path.”

While glancing at the chat, I followed the temple knight, only to see a mini temple-like structure, already standing majestically.

A miniature temple built of stone, not wood, inside the tower – isn’t that a bit out of place?