Save the simulator and make Sarkaz great again!

"If our halo is merely a product of lies..."

She murmured to herself.

"Then what is the law? What is our faith?"

small tavern

The tavern owner, Karl, wiped the glasses. The tavern was packed with Sarkaz, whose aura seemed particularly dim in the dim light.

"Did you hear that?"

A Sakota lowered his voice.

"The Papal Court has begun arresting those Sarkaz whose auras are fluctuating abnormally; this time, even the Royal Cavalry serving the Pope has been alerted."

"But even the Pope has come out to clarify, surely no Sakota would actually believe this, hahaha..."

"..."

Karl remained silent, able to sense the emotions of every Sarkaz in the tavern through the empathy conveyed by his aura.

The sweet hope of the past has vanished, replaced by bitterness and even profound despair.

A young Sakota girl suddenly burst into tears because she felt the halo above her head being impacted by various emotions, and its flickering light gradually became unstable.

"I don't want to fall from grace...I don't want to become a demon!"

Seeing the girl's shimmering aura, the surrounding Sakortas immediately wanted to avoid her at all costs.

Because once they get close, the unstable emotions that connect with their empathy can have a significant impact on them as well.

Just then, the tavern door was suddenly pushed open, and a gust of cold wind rushed in. Several cavalrymen dressed in pristine white armor walked in, instantly filling the tavern with a chilling atmosphere. They scanned everyone in the tavern.

"According to the order from the Papal Court, we need to conduct an aura detection on the Sakortas present."

The leader of the cavalry spoke coldly, holding a device that flashed red light in his hand.

……

The white tiles of the Papal Palace gleamed solemnly in the twilight, and the shadows of the seven cardinals were elongated, like thorns crawling on the ground.

Pope Ivangelist XI struck the ground with his scepter, causing a thin crack to appear in the inlaid cannon emblem.

After Shen Lin's speech spread, the Sarkaz fall from heaven incident completely erupted in Laterano.

Appropriate words are better than a sharp sword.

As a religious country, there is nothing more terrifying or serious than the collapse of faith.

In order to control the birth of fallen angels, they had to control those who doubted the faith.

They are no longer Sakotas, because Sakotas are incapable of questioning their own faith.

The secret of the Sakota Aura will only be known to each new pope.

Ivangelista never expected that the Sarkaz would know about this long-forgotten part of history.

No matter what happens, the truth must never be made public!

"lie!"

The cardinal of the Seventh Chamber spoke with a voice as cold as the chains of a courtroom. This chamber was responsible for Lateran's foreign affairs and national security, and he was furious at this diplomatic provocation.

"The Sarkaz's filthy delusions have dared to defile the rich land of Laterano; they even dare to distort the truth about the Fallen!"

"They used some unknown means to bring down our Sakortas and then use that to attack our faith, but our faith will not waver because of it, because it is precisely proof of those devils' fear of us!"

"Those who defect to the demon race are heretics!"

"Anyone who questions the law is a heretic!"

For fanatics, a war that touches their beliefs is a war to the death.

"The Letanian side stated that they would not directly participate in this dispute, but would help Lateran put pressure on Kazdel."

"There has been no response from Victoria yet..."

As soon as the cardinal in charge of diplomacy finished speaking, the bishop in charge of national security merely gave a cold snort.

Why should we need their support?

"Although Lateran has always presented a mild image on the international stage, this is no reason for us to be insulted without cause!!"

Although Lateran is a small country, it can be described as a nation where everyone is a soldier.

In the face of large-scale war, every one of their armed citizens is capable of fighting.

Their weapons can easily pierce through flesh and blood and shatter steel walls, their power no less than that of any spell mastered by an Originium Arts artist.

With a military force of over six million people, Laterano is enough to make any nation in Terra fearful, which is why it was able to secure its position in the core of Terra.

Those not included in Terra's inner circle are not necessarily not powerful nations, but those within the inner circle are definitely powerful nations.

"The battle report from Syracuse has already come out. The Sarkaz people took advantage of their high-speed warships and their Originium Arts to quickly land and occupy the undefended city."

"Aside from the fact that we need to be wary of their Originium Arts that allow them to move around quickly, their combat style is still the primitive traditional charge and assault."

"Those filthy Sarkaz are like worms in a quagmire. Even if they wear the hull of a high-speed warship, they are still despicable creatures who only know how to gnaw at city walls with their teeth!"

"As for those high-speed warships, they have nowhere to hide under the scanning of our sophisticated electronic equipment. If they dare to approach the Holy City, they will be instantly reduced to ashes by our firepower."

"Do they really think they can fight the Holy City with stolen technology? When our firepower locks onto their ridiculous high-speed ships, those demon bastards won't even have time for their final prayers!"

“In the past, we have always adhered to our principle of not provoking them, but we never expected that they would dare to take advantage of us.”

Upon hearing this, all the bishops exchanged glances and then nodded to each other. Although the bishop's remarks were a bit radical, his core theory was sound.

The nations of Terra are well aware of what Kazdel is, and if it were rich enough, it certainly wouldn't be left to these Sarkaz.

It is said that they didn't even have toilets a few years ago, and there were no water pipes for tap water. They had to carry wooden buckets to faraway places to collect water in the most primitive way.

Moreover, the incidence of Oripathy among them remains high, and almost every Sarkaz person suffers from illness and environmental torment in that environment.

They only acquired a few high-speed warships from Letania by some chance and conquered the weak Syracuse, yet they dare to be so arrogant and overconfident.

Then Laterano will become the first obstacle they encounter!

“They openly and illegally arrested Sakota and slandered our faith. They have absolutely no respect for Lateran.”

“Pope, what are you still hesitating about? Our Sakotas are in danger of losing their faith every single second.”

"Let's declare war on those devils!"

When Ivangelista XI wanted to say something more, he sensed the unanimous opinion of the seven cardinals before him and knew that it would be pointless to offer any further comment.

Without further hesitation, his face changed from its usual kind expression, and his solemn voice echoed throughout the entire papal hall.

“Our faith is facing an unprecedented challenge. Blasphemers are trying to corrupt our souls and shake our beliefs with lies and filth.”

"Today, we will purify those heretics who defile the sacred! This will be a battle to defend our faith!"

"The sacred fire of Lateran will burn away all filth and lies!"

King Ivangelista XI raised his scepter high, his voice seemingly piercing the heavens.

"In the name of our Lord, in the glory of Lateran—the Holy War begins now!"

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Realizing Ambition with Steel!

Victoria

People gathered in front of newsstands, vying to buy the latest war reports; the news of Lateran's declaration of war against Kazdel had become a hot topic among them.

The newspaper's headline read: "Monsters from Kazdel are wreaking havoc on Terra."

"The front lines in Ursus are still advancing, but I didn't expect the demons and the Sarkaz in the rear to explode as well."

"How dare this small country of Kazdel provoke Lateran? Although Lateran ranks relatively low in the core circle, it is not a small country that can be trifled with."

"Didn't those demon bastards just take over Syracuse a while ago? How come they're at war again so soon?"

"Could it be that the demon lord really thinks he's the reincarnation of the Shah and is planning to fight his way from east to west?"

"Not losing is considered a victory! If we can hold out for a month, that's a win!"

The streets were soon filled with the cheerful laughter of Victorians.

In a secluded place, a duke hosted a banquet and secretly invited several other dukes.

Inside the council hall, most of the dukes of Victoria had gathered, with the Iron Duke, known as the "Death Knell of the Empire," seated at the center of the round table.

Although his hair and beard were all white, his imposing presence, even without anger, still instilled fear in people.

The elegant Duke of Cactus looked around and suddenly chuckled softly.

"If word gets out that so many dukes have gathered in private, His Majesty will likely have a hard time dealing with it."

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Duke Cavendish's eyes, and he shook his head with a smile.

"It was just a battle that started strong but ended weakly. The two countries, which couldn't even independently develop high-speed warships, had no reference value for their battles."

"Your Majesty is busy with countless affairs of state. There is no need to trouble him with such trivial matters. With Your Majesty's wisdom, I believe he will understand."

All the dukes looked at each other, trying to guess what the other was thinking.

"Latran has requested assistance from us. What are your thoughts on this?"

"There are no weaklings among the nations of the core circle. Laterano has the most sophisticated gun manufacturing production line in all of Terra, and every Sarkaz is comparable to a well-trained soldier."

"I can't think of any other adjectives to describe Kazdel except for poverty, backwardness, plague and death."

"Do you think Laterano needs our help? Or... do you think the flesh and blood of those Sarkaz can withstand those gun-carved bullets?"

"All I can do is pray for them and hope they can have a dignified death."

As the Duke of Cavendish finished speaking, no other duke offered an opinion, seemingly acknowledging the statement.

The land of Kazdel was not of great strategic significance to Victoria, even with the addition of several cities in Syracuse.

There are also differences between mobile cities. The economic development or industrial development of any city in Victoria far surpasses that of Syracuse, which is barely self-sufficient...

It's just a chicken rib; it's tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away.

"If...the Lateran side fails, do you think those demon bastards are capable of defending that land?"

The Duke of Stafford, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, and his words exploded in the ears of every duke like a depth charge.

Every duke's gaze sharpened, even the Iron Duke, who had remained silent, tightened his clasped fingers.

While the land in Kazdel was of no value to them, the land and property in Lateran were treasures to Victoria.

Victoria had long coveted Lateran's advanced technology, but given the powerful enemies surrounding them and the uneven distribution of internal interests, they could not act rashly.

Now a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has presented itself to them.

Victoria inherited the glory of the high-speed warships of Gaul. Although Victoria's research on high-speed warships is now more advanced than that of Gaul in the past, they have encountered a difficult problem in terms of technology.

However, Laterano repeatedly refused their technical exchanges, preventing them from making breakthroughs in their advanced electronic and Originium component technologies.

Although Victoria possesses a fleet of high-speed warships, most of them are far from meeting the requirements in terms of scanning and guidance capabilities.

If Victoria could acquire Laterano's sophisticated Originium electronics industry, and even its gun manufacturing production line, then Victoria would experience another technological explosion!

At that time, Victoria's glory will shine upon the entire land, and even the brutes of Ursus will have to bow their heads before them.

None of the dukes believed Lateran's claims about the demonic threat; as people who had climbed to high positions, they all knew that political stance did not represent the facts.

All the dukes exchanged glances; their interests were completely aligned on this matter, and their opinions were unified after a brief exchange.

"We should refrain from making any rash moves for now. The war between Laterano and Kazdel will drain the strength of both sides."

"We just need to wait for their battle to become stalemate, and then wait for the right opportunity."

"At that time, we will appear before them like gods, and those desperate demons will naturally bow their heads."

Most nations were pessimistic about Kazdel's capabilities, believing that they would be successful if they could hold off most of the mobile cities against Lateran's attacks.

Although they didn't have high expectations for the demons' combat strength, they hoped that the demons could demonstrate some of Lateran's strengths in this war.

……

Shen Lin stood in the center of the parliament hall, his gaze slowly sweeping over each of the Sarkaz royal court representatives present.

The map in his mind already indicated that Lateran's forces were rapidly assembling and slowly advancing towards Kazdel.

Lateran is a nation built on religion and law, and its military strength relies more on its unique religious and legal system than on traditional military equipment.