I Became The Pope, Now What?
chapter-172

"Uwaaaaa...!" It was Chonky, just vomiting the mud back out like a tap was opened.

Sylvester hurried to him and patted his back. "You okay, bud? What's happening?"

"I release all the mud out and keep the gold!" Chonky replied and continued.

'He can do that? This is brilliant. If he can separate materials inside his bottomless belly, I can probably use this ability in the future as well...to stea... tax the people.'

Woosh!

But he had a bloodling to play with for now. Its attacks had weakened by now and didn't scare Sylvester as he could easily dodge them. But he wanted to lure this creature to attack the crusaders and kill a few so he could appear as a hero and save them.

But first, he picked some mud and poured it over his clothes and face to appear as if he was struggling to fight this thing. Then, he picked Chonky and rushed to exit the mist and reach the shores again.

However, the bloodling kept attacking him from the steam, only to fail to reach him every time. It was also getting weaker slowly as the water it had was limited and, with time, was only decreasing.

"Get ready to attack!" He roared as soon as he appeared in the crowds.

Lady Aurora looked at him with a strange expression when she saw he was not injured at all. But she still came to him to check. "Did you find its weakness?"

"Yes, and we have already exploited it. It thrives on water, and we have taken it. The more we fight it, the weaker it will get. But you should stay out of this, Lady Aurora. Let them fight because if you moved, it'd be just a one-shot kill." He explained with some half facts. "They need to fight it and learn how to deal with bloodlings. After all, this whole Crusade is about Bloodlings."

She nodded and stepped back to stand at the back of the crowd that was aiming at the steamy mist. They awaited Sylvester's command. But, it never came, as there was no physical creature.

"Prepare to strike! You need to harm that steam itself. Remember, all you see in front of you is a part of the Bloodling's body." He roared but never told them what attack to use. He just told them to fight it.

And, as he expected, some of the Wizards were likely dropped on their heads as a baby.

"Attack at will!"

With his command, most wizards started to attack the bloodling with fire attacks. But, a minority were those who attacked with water. This was, in return, not just healing the creatures but also negating the effects of the fire attacks.

'Go on, dig your own graves deeper.'

Sylvester was also sending a few weak fire spells. But he needed the Bloodling to use its tentacles to drag a few of the crusaders with it, not just one but a few of them. For this, he had to wait and let the dumb wizards use their water to strengthen it.

"Lord Bard, won't it be better to fight it with fire?" Bishop Lazark asked him as he appeared behind him. The man used a few rune-based magic spells as his fire element was not too strong, and his undead were useless in this case.

'Ugh!'

Sylvester had to agree or his little scheme would become too obvious. "You're right! Please go and tell the wizards using water to stop."

Boom!

"Save yourself!" Sylvester shouted as the tentacles finally started to fall on them like whips.

Bam!

It fell on one crusader and killed him on the spot as it caved his helmet with ease and crushed his skull. The other crusaders were horrified by this, and a stampede developed among them, all trying to move back. But, they all fell on each other, and the whole situation turned into a mess. More than a thousand crusaders were now immobile, slowly getting back up.

This was the perfect opportunity for the bloodling to come and claim as many lives as it wanted. However, it was also Sylvester's time to shine, and he knew spectacle was necessary to win over the hearts of these men, clergy or nobles.

He jumped to where he expected the Bloodling to attack and held his spear in hand. Then, he started chanting a hymn, creating a halo behind his head. With his spear, golden armour, hair and halo, he appeared like a God of War in the eyes of all.

Boom!

Sylvester spun the spear in his hands faster than one could see, soon cutting one tentacle of the bloodling.

"Stand, children of Solis, for the fight remains.

Move, keep focus, and let our might reign.

Pick your arms, your swords and shields.

Or prepare for the castigation of anyone who yields."

Sylvester kept fighting the coming strikes from the mighty bloodling. He defied it with ease with his heated spear and made the creature scream in fear.

Woosh!

The first crusader rose up and threw a ball of fire at the steamy mist. They didn't know where it was, but after hearing Sylvester, they wished to fight--they simply couldn't resist.

Boom!

Then the other crusaders slowly rose and formed a giant wall behind Sylvester.

To fight, they all stood, ready to crush the Bloodling with their combined might.

"Only use fire spells!" Sylvester boomed. There were not a lot of wizards, but even the Knights could use special knightly abilities to throw burning knives and slashes from the backlines.

A bombardment ensued. The Bloodling had likely never thought this would happen, if it could even think. It screamed in pain and tried to move back, away from the fiery rain.

But Sylvester was not done yet. He wanted the creature to hurt the Crusaders more. So he lowered his magical intensity and let the bloodling recuperate. It soon took the bait and launched a do-or-die attack.

All of its dozens of tentacles aimed towards the shore, but not at Sylvester and instead the crusaders.

Woosh!

"Arrr... Help!"

"Save me!"

"No!"

Like plucking fruits from a tree, the Bloodling picked away crusaders left and right, sometimes even throwing them into the air so high that wherever they'd fall, death was their destiny.

But Sylvester kept calm and chanted while finally increasing his magical intensity. The fire from his palm started to get bigger and brighter. At the same time, he launched a few Whirling Fire spells, creating three tornadoes of fire circling around and destroying the steamy mist.

"Aim your weapons! Don't fall back! Don't accept defeat!

To end this creature, it's no longer an impossible feat.

I promise! Victory is in sight! And it shall be sweet!"

"Help!"

One more crusader was being pulled away by the tentacle. But this time, Sylvester was quick and threw his spear right at the sky blue tentacle and cut it apart.

"Release all you have!" He roared and jumped forward onto the empty riverbed where now only a sea of mist remained.

The crusaders' hearts were pumped, and seeing him jump, they felt scared for their Lord Bard. But, to their shock, Sylvester didn't fall and appeared to be standing on a bright white tile made of light.

"Aa! No!"

This time, Sylvester leapt towards the crusader while avoiding the tentacle strikes. He caught on to the man with one hand and cut the tentacle with light from the other.

"Keep fighting! I stand here as a bridge between your glory and death! And today--we shall have glory!" Sylvester roared and prepared to end this sham since he had already felt an overwhelming smell of tulips--the highest form of worship was all around him. So strong that even the smell of death from the bloodling was fading, but that was also due to it weakening.

The fiery tornadoes whirled around and ate all the steam away. Finally, the view was becoming clear, and all saw the Bloodling in its proper form--hideous and gigantic. But it was also nightmarish.

"My light shines brighter than your shadow.

Accept my wrath and fall into the abyss below!

I promise--pain is all you shall know!"

Sylvester kept his palm on his chest, facing forward towards the vile creature in the clear. The halo shined bright, and his hymns were ready to end the land's plight.

Boom!

Then, with one loud explosive roar, it shook the ground--light overtook all that was around.

"Let the light hold you in arms, for this is the dawn.

Die, filth! For the Wrath of Heaven falls upon!"

The Crusaders all basked in the warmth of the snowy land and felt as if holding them was Solis' hand. For some, it was the beginning of an end. For others, it was the start of an eternal trend--To keep praying to the Lord through the Bard's hymns.

Boom!

The mighty beam of light touched the Bloodling, creating a strong hole in its blob-like body. Sylvester was strong, and the Bloodling was too weak without its water.

The ground started uprooting as if made of glass. The beam of light spread destruction too fast. Sylvester knew he was overdoing it, and he didn't stop.

Once he felt the lingering scent of death had vanished, he slowly faded the beam of light, and the Wrath of the Heavens stopped. There was no steam left, and everything was clear.

But what they all saw was enough to let their jaws fall. On the spot Sylvester's light hit, a giant lake appeared as wide as a hundred metres and going as deep as fifty. The scale of destruction and the effect of one attack was mind-numbing to some, as they all imagined what it would take to harness such power.

Thud!

Thud!

Sylvester looked below as he stood still at the tile of light in the air. Then, one by one, the crusaders fell to their knees and clasped their hands to pray to him.

'My god! This intensity of worship!' Sylvester would have cursed if they didn't have good mental fortitude. He felt like drooling. 'This worship... I think some of them are taking me as Solis incarnate or something.'

Sylvester was happier than ever and even thanked the Bloodling for being relatively weak. 'I cannot let this go to waste. I need to keep these men alongside me for a while longer.'

He slowly stepped towards them and landed at the front. He kept a solemn look and spoke. "Men of light, I say this with pure delight--we have won. But I'm afraid the cost has been grave too, as a few of our brethren have lost their lives. So ensure we find their bodies and give them a befitting farewell before we open the dams."

"As you command, Lord Bard!" They all roared in unison.

'This is brilliant!" Sylvester felt pumped hearing a thousand men obey his command so thunderously.

"Now go and prepare the pyre for the fallen. Yes, even those two misguided commanders of yours. They may have lost their way, but I'm sure the light had not left their hearts." He ordered, instantly making himself not just appear mighty and fearful but also generous.

In an instant, they all hurried away to work, excited and happy, apparent by the scent.

But then Bishop Lazark came up to him when nobody was around. He, too, was oozing with the scent of excitement and worship. "Lord Bard, about the offer you made... I have made my mind."

[A/N: Don't forget to unload your heavy load of stones and GT on me!]

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APE TOGETHER STRONG!