Chapter 842: Trade Offer
In just a few moments, Raizen raised his hand. The surrounding air suddenly became warm, and it pressed against their hearts.
Soon, there was a light...
It was faint but undeniable that bloomed across the chamber.
Without a doubt, it was the holy power that they heard about! The people couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed as the blessing started...
"You seek refuge... You seek strength... You seek survival... Through faith, you will receive it." Raizen said as he began.
One by one, he placed his hand upon their foreheads.
Soon, symbols of faint gold shimmered briefly on their skin before fading...
The light differs from each person, and it was something Raizen could not easily control unless he put a lot of effort.
For those who were able to become priests, there were only humble lights that covered them...
But a handful, those with sturdier hearts and steadier wills, received more. Their marks flared brighter...
They were bishops.
Soon, they all felt the power that entered their bodies... None could understand how this small boy wielded such impossible power.
However, now that they had the power to wield Holy Arts, they could finally feel the tremendous difference in their power.
They couldn’t help but kneel or even bow down in front of the Archbishop!
Rayven lowered his hand as exhaustion could be seen across his face. However, he stood firm.
"It is done..." he said softly.
"Now... There’s a mission for you all." Raizen said as he informed them of Natalie’s plan to send them to various shelters to create Holy Barriers.
The twelve priests and six bishops now stood before him. Their eyes were filled with reverence as they knew that their life had changed after being blessed by the young Archbishop.
"It is not enough to be blessed. You must learn how to wield what has been given to you. Without discipline, holy power is wasted."
He raised his hand again... Then, a faint golden light spread around his small body... The bishops instinctively stepped forward, drawn to the radiance he had created.
"You six Bishops... Your gift is different. You can anchor the holy barrier on your own. Focus on your holy energy, then extend the blessing outward, wrapping it around your body as a shield. Once you can do that, you will be able to extend it to walls, gates, or even entire structures."
The bishops nodded and knelt in a circle around him.
They knew the existence of Spirit Energy, so the concept of Holy Energy didn’t surprise them a lot...
Just like that, Raizen guided them, showing them how to use their newfound ability.
One by one, rays of faint gold light surrounded them.
Their barriers flickered at first. It looked unstable and translucent, but with Raizen’s correction, they steadied...
In less than an hour, solid shields of radiant light steadily protected the bodies of priests and bishops. However, he wasn’t done just yet.
The priests’ holy barrier was not effective on structures and was only for themselves.
Raizen still had to teach them something else to be more helpful...
"You twelve must stand together if you want to create a barrier that could cover a large area... Alone, your shield will be weak. But together, your holy energy can create something that would surprise even the bishops..."
The priests felt excited as they followed whatever he said. He then asked them to hold their hands together in order to channel holy energy a lot easier...
Raizen walked among them, gently correcting their posture and urging them to focus. "Do not fight for dominance. Yield your light to the group. Just cooperate and follow the flow of the energy..."
Slowly, the chamber brightened as their lights merged.
At first, it was uneven... Gaps were forming in the barrier as individual wills clashed... But Raizen raised his hand, channeling a steady stream of holy power into their circle.
The gaps closed.
"Remember this feeling..." He said.
The priests gasped as they felt their power magnify, their combined barrier created a dome that was definitely capable of protecting a larger area...
"Yes... Do this together, you are stronger than you can imagine..."
The priests and bishops looked at one another as they all knew that with this, their lives had completely changed for the better.
They were no longer scavengers, no longer refugees. They were defenders of shelters, bearers of holy energy!
"Thank you, Archbishop!"
Raizen smiled as his body trembled faintly from the exertion, but he ignored it...
After a few moments, he opened his Chat and typed a short message to Natalie.
[ Raizen: The twelve priests and six bishops are ready. You can send them away. ]
Moments later, the faint rumble of engines echoed through the underground halls.
Several armored cars rolled to a stop outside the chamber’s heavy gates...
The priests and bishops gathered their few belongings and new uniforms prepared for them beforehand...
Then, the escorts saluted Raizen before leading the newly ordained defenders toward the waiting vehicles.
As the armored cars left, Raizen had already returned to his safe space...
He knew that he didn’t have to worry about these men and women... They had survived on the continent as Scavengers before, even without any special abilities.
Now that they had gained some power, they would definitely have no issues here.
***
In the meantime, as bishops were already being sent to the allied shelters of the New Haven Clan, Shane had also received an offer regarding the presence of Bishops.
Shane was looking at his Chat Feature and looked at Natalie’s messages.
[ Natalie: I’ll make this brief. You’ve seen what we’ve announced in the chat for sure... But I want to extend something more exclusive to you, since we’re friends. ]
[ Natalie: I can send thirty Bishops to help fortify your shelters with Holy Barriers. They’re trained and coordinated. Their presence will make a difference. They can also help with the healing and other stuff. You can borrow them for 20 days. ]
[ Natalie: In exchange, I’ll need additional Z-Virus Stabilizers and Super Soldier Serums. You have stockpiles, and I need mine replenished. ]
Shane thought for a moment as he considered her requests...
To be honest, he doesn’t really need additional help. Natalie might even need it more. He wasn’t even getting the Bishops and just hiring them temporarily.
However, he felt that accepting the offer would be the best method to help Natalie in her situation.
He didn’t want her to fall now that she had established the Survivor Pact...
"Thirty Bishops, huh..."
He considered that their Holy Barriers layered over his own defenses would make Silver Mine Camp nearly untouchable during the Red Night.
It was probably the place that needed more help. He also didn’t want something to happen to Diana, so he might as well send them to her...
The price wasn’t unreasonable either, especially since his production runs had left him with more Stabilizers and Serums than he strictly needed.
Shane then contacted Anna to ask her about their spares to help their allies.
Thankfully, Anna confirmed that they had enough to supply others.
Without any more hesitation, Shane felt satisfied as he replied to Natalie.
[ Shane: That’s a fair trade. Send them to Silver Mine Camp. I’ll prepare the Stabilizers and Serums you need. ]
[ Shane: Thirty Bishops in action will be worth it. Let me know when they depart. ]
[ Natalie: Agreed. Thank you, Shane. They’ll be escorted and in place before the Red Night begins. Thank you for this cooperation. ]
The exchange ended smoothly. But before Shane could relax, his inbox lit up again.
There were various people asking for help.
[ Raymond: Hello boss lord Shane, can you spare three of those Sentinel Mk-IV Turrets? I’ll pay in Item Upgrade Crystals or with 5 Legendary Equipment. They were only Cloaks and Gloves. ]
[ Shane: No. We don’t have a spare of those. ]
[ Sylvia: I’ve seen the turrets in your Fortress. Beautiful machines. Lend me six for the Red Night, I’ll return them after. I’ll add 2,000 Zombie cores as collateral for each of them. ]
[ Shane: I don’t rent turrets. ]
[ Ben: Alright, let’s be real. What’s your price for a Mk-IV Turret? I’ll trade an entire Weapons Cache. Explosives, rifles, and even a working RPG. Our shelter is also in Sector 20. Can you help us? ]
More and more messages came, and Shane didn’t want to reply anymore. It seemed that someone leaked about his turret and thought that it could be rented since he had a lot of those.
They probably knew that they had the blueprint to make it.
Anyway, it was almost amusing. One request after another, as if his turrets were toys for lending. Then came the absurd ones.
[ Gregor: I’ll cut straight to it. Five thousand Zombie Cores for one Warden Unit. If I buy 10 of them, please give me a discount. ]
Shane nearly choked on his drink. Did this fool think Warden Units were trinkets?
[ Shane: Absolutely not. ]
He just had the urge to reply to that as he shook his head.