My Celestial Ascension-Chapter 733: Preparation For The War

After the audience with the Pope, Conrad escorted the Heroes back to the Imperial Palace of the Holy Light Empire and spent a couple of hours training Kael and Zane, correcting their movements and techniques.

They were not yet ready for the intense training he had planned for them. To inherit his techniques—each one difficult to memorize and perform—they needed a strong body and a sharper mind.

Both of them required considerable physical strength, especially to properly utilize his movement and sword techniques.

Even Arthur, who had trained under Conrad for years, had struggled to fully master them—and unfortunately, he had met an unexpected end.

Afterward, Conrad returned to the Holy Church to further discuss the unavoidable war against the Lionheart Empire, a war sparked by the death of Archbishop Gregor and Holy Son Arthur.

Upon his arrival, a Holy Knight led him into a grand meeting room where all the important officials and influential members of the Holy Church had already gathered.

A heavy silence loomed over the room, the atmosphere thick with shock and grief. None of them had expected the Lionheart Family to dare kill the Holy Son.

"You've returned, Commander Conrad. Take a seat," the Bishop said, his tone serious and his face grave.

He harbored disappointment toward the Heroes, believing they had failed to protect two of the Church's most important figures.

Inwardly, he considered Conrad's efforts to train them a waste of time and energy. However, he dared not voice these thoughts aloud, lest he offend powerful figures within the Holy Church and endanger his own position.

After all, the Heroes were believed to have been chosen by the Goddess herself. To doubt them was to question the Goddess's judgment—a blasphemy none would dare commit.

"Yes, the Heroes are very weak at the moment. If they remain as they are, we will lose all hope of victory against the Demons," Conrad said bluntly as he sat down.

He continued, "Furthermore, I've heard that many of our men were killed by the Elves on the Beast Continent."

"Indeed. You heard correctly," the Bishop nodded gravely, his heart seething with rage.

Taking a deep breath, he went on, "The elves we captured were sold off at the markets, but many of them managed to commit suicide by jumping from cliffs during transport. Since then, the demand for elves has increased significantly within the Empire."

He clenched his fists under the table and continued, "Many nobles have been pressuring us to acquire more elves to meet these demands. Yet, we currently have not a single elf in stock. All of them have been sold at extremely high prices, earning us a massive amount of wealth, but now we are unable to procure more."

"If the supply doesn't meet the demand quickly enough, our business will be lost. After observing the situation, I personally dispatched a group of Holy Knights to capture as many elves as possible," the Bishop said. He sighed deeply before continuing, "However, the Royal Knights of the Elven Kingdom ambushed our Holy Knights and completely wiped them out. Not a single one returned alive. It's a shame."

"How many did we lose? Was the number truly that great?" the Pope asked, raising his brows as he watched the Bishop carefully, a serious look on his face.

"Two thousand. We lost two thousand Holy Knights," the Bishop immediately responded, feeling the weight of the Pope's intense gaze.

"Two thousand of our men, completely annihilated by the elves... This is a devastating blow to our reputation and strength," Conrad said through gritted teeth, clenching his fists tightly before slamming the table hard, drawing everyone's attention.

With a furious look, he continued, "War is already upon us, and we've lost two thousand men. What a disgrace! At this rate, we won't even have enough forces to overthrow the tyranny of the Lionheart Empire."

"Furthermore, we have already lost Archbishop Gregor and Arthur. We can't afford to lose more Holy Knights elsewhere. We must focus all our strength on preparing for the upcoming war," Conrad added firmly.

"I agree with Commander Conrad! His reasoning is absolutely correct. We should prioritize the war over enslaving the elves!" someone from among the Holy Church officials exclaimed. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"I also believe it's in our best interest to focus on the war for now. We cannot allow Archbishop Gregor's and Arthur's deaths to be in vain. More importantly, they deserve justice," the Pope declared in a heavy voice, silencing everyone who still harbored different opinions.

"Aside from that, we must now prepare for the farewell. I've already instructed the Holy Knights to gather everything needed for the funeral of Archbishop Gregor and Holy Son Arthur. We should not keep them waiting any longer." After saying this, the Pope rose from his seat, prompting everyone else to stand respectfully.

A somber atmosphere settled over them, as they prepared to say their final goodbyes to Archbishop Gregor and Holy Son Arthur.

—

Daniel stood at the training grounds of the Imperial Capital City, where the Imperial Magic Knights regularly trained. Many Magic Knights were currently practicing alongside him.

Some were sparring against each other to test their strength and skills, while others followed strict training regimens—running to build stamina and carrying heavy weights to increase their strength.

Daniel sparred with a senior Magic Knight, an experienced swordsman. He had been training relentlessly to become stronger, determined to protect the empire without relying on anyone else.

The war was closing in, and if he didn't become strong enough to defend the empire against the Holy Church, the citizens would lose their lives and freedom, becoming slaves to the Holy Church.

Everyone was working tirelessly to grow stronger and defeat the Holy Church, which served as inspiration for him to push himself as well. Thus, he trained hard alongside the Imperial Knights.

As for Emperor Philip, he was busy dealing with the endless paperwork piling up on his desk. It was an irritating task, but he had no other choice; with the war approaching, many people were relocating to the capital city.

Furthermore, he had also arranged a formal meeting with the kingdoms under the Lionheart Empire's protection, to be held at the Imperial Palace. After all, they too would be affected by the coming war.

The kings from the surrounding kingdoms were already on their way to the Imperial Capital City and were expected to arrive at any moment.

This meeting held significant importance, as it would forge an alliance to take down the Holy Church, benefiting everyone involved.

Aside from that, the Nightshade Empire had sent a personal letter expressing interest in joining the war alongside the Lionheart Empire.

This could be a tremendous advantage for the empire, as gaining another empire's strength would greatly bolster their chances against the Holy Church. Crown Prince Kian Nightshade was still in the Imperial Capital City and was on his way to the palace.

"This has turned out quite well for us. With the support of the Nightshade Empire, defeating the Holy Church is now within reach," Emperor Philip mumbled under his breath as he read the letter sent by the Emperor of the Nightshade Empire.

With this alliance, the kingdoms under the Lionheart Empire's protection would not hesitate to lend their support. They would be eager to join the battle, knowing it could lead to completely overthrowing the Holy Church's reign.

"I need to finish this work quickly before the guests arrive for the important meeting."

Emperor Philip began signing the documents one after another. Though he was weary of the task, he refused to let exhaustion slow him down.

A short while later, Empress Selena entered his office and offered her help in sorting the documents into order. He quickly accepted, grateful for anything that would ease the workload.

"Are these the last documents you need to sign?" Empress Selena asked with a gentle smile as she watched her husband working so diligently from a distance.

"Indeed. Once these are done, I'll take a bath and prepare for the meeting," Emperor Philip replied with a heavy sigh, exhaustion creeping into his voice from the long hours of work.

"I see... This war will be the most gruesome in history. No one has ever dared to wage war against the Holy Church before," Empress Selena sighed heavily, thinking about the upcoming conflict and how many lives would be lost.

Many families were destined to lose loved ones in this war — someone would lose a father, someone a son, someone a husband.

Just imagining the countless lives that would be taken made Empress Selena feel a lump form in her throat, a sense of dread washing over her entire body. She could almost hear the cries of mothers, wives, sisters, and fathers mourning their loved ones.

'Why does the Holy Church have to force us into a war where homes will be destroyed? Why did the Holy Church stop caring about people's lives? When did they become so hypocritical?' Empress Selena pondered, questioning silently.

Unfortunately, she had no answers to those questions — and she knew no one else did either, not even the Holy Church itself.

—

Anna Grace, Emma, Miss Zara, Little Zoe, and Leah went to the market to buy fresh groceries and pick some fruits for the trip, as well as to purchase rare spices — the kind that only the wealthy could afford.

Ordinary spices were affordable for everyone, but Yuan and his wives didn't care about the cost; they simply wanted their food to taste delicious. As long as the food tasted good, they were willing to spend as much money as necessary.

And if by any chance they ever needed more funds, they could easily sell some of the rare monster meat from their spatial rings and earn a fortune in an instant.

As they walked through the busy market, browsing the stalls for groceries, they attracted a lot of attention. Young and old alike couldn't help but turn their heads to look at them.

While Anna Grace and the others were busy shopping, Yuan, Valeria, Xi Meili, and Fang Xiaoyan explored the city streets, searching for delicious treats around the Imperial Capital.

Many street vendors were open, offering a wide variety of aromatic and mouth-watering dishes, and they visited each one, tasting everything they could find.

Whenever they stopped at a vendor to sample food, people would gather around out of curiosity — but the moment they noticed Valeria among them, they would scatter immediately as if their lives were in danger.

After sampling all the food they could, Yuan and his group decided to head toward the market to find Anna Grace and the others and help them with the shopping.