Chapter 38. White Banner Order (1)
"Wait. The White Banner Order and the Church of the Morning Star are working together?"
Lee Jukheon frowned.
"The White Banner Order refuses to compromise with Pandemonium's demons in any way."
"So why would they join hands with a church that helped Baphomet?"
"You're misunderstanding something."
Joo Minha answered calmly.
"The Church of the Morning Star has never officially joined forces with demons."
"What?"
"They can simply claim that helping Baphomet was the independent action of a single priest."
"Really?"
"Besides, the church itself is not friendly with Pandemonium."
Joo Minha continued.
"If they were friendly with Pandemonium, they wouldn't have helped Baphomet after he betrayed Pandemonium."
"I guess that makes sense..."
"Joo Minha."
Kang Yujin slowly spoke from beside Lee Jukheon.
"There's still something unnatural about this."
"What do you mean?"
"From what I've seen, the White Banner Order behaves almost like a religious group."
They seemed to view themselves as something similar to medieval crusaders.
They were completely obsessed with the idea that they had to reclaim land stolen by the otherworldly beings of Pandemonium.
Because of that belief, they acted extremely self-righteous.
"That's why it feels strange that they'd work together with the Church of the Morning Star, which is basically another group of fanatics."
Seok Taejun nodded.
"True."
"They're two completely different religious groups."
Kang Yujin continued.
"I don't think an alliance like that would form simply because the Black Dragon Society is dangerous."
"So you believe there's another reason?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea what it could be?"
"Not really."
Kang Yujin answered calmly.
"I don't know what the reason is, but it definitely won't be good for us."
The S-rank Constellation "Priest King" was openly acting with hostility.
He had mobilized the White Banner Order and ordered them to attack the Black Dragon Society together with the Church of the Morning Star.
That was all the information the Count had given me.
It wasn't very detailed.
But it was extremely important.
"Unknown, what do we do?"
After I called Number 49 and shared the Count's information with him, his face turned pale.
"An S-rank Constellation is openly picking a fight with us."
He gulped.
"Isn't this dangerous?"
"Dangerous?"
"Of course it's dangerous!"
Number 49 shouted.
"We're talking about an S-rank Constellation!"
"I'm an S-rank Constellation too."
"Come on. You're a newbie Constellation with only four Contractors. That's completely different. You need to compare things properly... Ow!"
"You've been getting more disrespectful lately."
"But I'm not wrong!"
Number 49 clutched his side where I had poked him.
"The S-rank Constellation 'Priest King' is a huge figure!"
He looked serious.
"At least in terms of influence, he's above even the 'King of Avengers.'"
"He's that big?"
"First of all, he has a huge number of Contractors."
Number 49 continued.
"And he's especially influential in Europe and Central Asia."
"His influence in Korea is relatively weak, but he's still not someone we can ignore."
Number 49 made a huge fuss, but I already knew most of that information from my previous life.
Back then, I had gathered every piece of information I could find in order to overcome the limitations of being contracted to a D-rank Constellation.
I had already researched this S-rank Constellation.
The Priest King... His True Name was Prester John.
Prester John.
He was a legendary Christian ruler best known through stories usually called the "Legend of Prester John."
Around the twelfth century, stories began spreading about a powerful Christian nation somewhere in the East.
There were rumors that a devout king named Prester John had built a huge Christian kingdom and was defeating Islamic forces.
Europeans fighting Islamic powers during the Crusades found great hope in those stories.
Many nations tried to contact Prester John's Christian kingdom.
Even during the Age of Exploration, people continued searching for it.
Of course, in the Material Realm, the legend of Prester John was nothing more than fiction.
But in the Fantasy Realm, Prester John had truly existed.
Just as Europeans in the Material Realm believed, he had built a massive Christian nation and crushed Islamic forces.
He had become famous as a great conqueror.
If I remember correctly, in the Fantasy Realm he built an empire stretching from Central Asia to East Africa.
In that world, he was essentially a historic ruler comparable to Alexander or Genghis Khan.
It was only natural that someone like that had become an S-rank Constellation.
And unlike the Count, he's the type who actively gathers Contractors and expands his faction.
He was certainly dangerous.
He was on a completely different level from Circe, whom we had fought before.
If Prester John seriously decided to oppose me and crush Kang Yujin's group...
He would become a major obstacle.
But strangely enough...
I wasn't particularly nervous.
"Don't worry too much."
"What?"
"As you said, that Constellation mainly operates in Europe and Central Asia."
I crossed my arms.
"He can't suddenly gather all his Contractors from those regions and send them into Korea's central-western region."
"Well... that's true."
"That means he's forced to use the White Banner Order, which is already under his influence."
"And because that still isn't enough, he requested reinforcements from the Church of the Morning Star."
Prester John was an S-rank Constellation.
If he gave them his full support, their strength would increase dramatically.
But Ma Taesu's Black Dragon Society wouldn't simply stand still either.
We were not clearly disadvantaged.
"The real problem is..."
I narrowed my eyes.
"He'll probably put forward someone to oppose Kang Yujin."
"Someone to oppose him?"
"He'll want his Contractor to defeat Kang Yujin in a one-on-one battle."
Prester John was different from Circe.
He had his honor to think about.
If possible, he would probably prefer to defeat Kang Yujin in a fair one-on-one fight.
"Ah, then..."
"Exactly."
I nodded.
"Kang Yujin will probably have to face Sama Yun, the leader of the White Banner Order."
Sama Yun.
An elite Contractor chosen by the S-rank Constellation "Priest King."
He had founded the White Banner Order while calling for the destruction of Pandemonium.
Prester John would use Sama Yun to bring down Kang Yujin.
"Leader."
At the voice from the driver's seat, Sama Yun opened his eyes.
"We'll reach the destination soon."
"All right."
After answering briefly, Sama Yun opened his mouth wide and yawned.
"For some reason, riding in a car always makes me sleepy."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've been like that since I was a kid."
Sama Yun was currently riding in a German midsize car.
It had been imported ten years ago, but because it had been maintained well, it still ran.
Still, replacement parts were difficult to obtain.
If it broke down one more time, repairing it might become impossible.
"We have enough fuel, right?"
"Yes. Even after finishing the mission, we'll have plenty left to return to headquarters."
"Don't put tiny amounts of fuel in the car just because gasoline is hard to find."
Sama Yun frowned.
"If we stop in the middle of the road, it'll be a pain. Insurance companies don't send emergency services anymore."
"If something happens, we'll push the car from behind."
"Forget it."
Sama Yun laughed loudly.
"It would be faster if I just carried the whole thing."
Soon, they reached their destination.
