Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1265: The Authority

The time seemed to have frozen as Kahn’s mind was filled with a new notification by the system.

He only thought that once he completed the customary ritual, he would be done and then move on with his next plans. But out of nowhere, he suddenly awoke a new power.

[The Host has unlocked the following powers that come with the Authority of the Cult Leader :

The Judge of Devotion :

Allows the host to temporarily seal the powers of any followers of the cult of darkborne and stop their access to mana as well as world energy.

This ability can be used in case the host is attacked by the followers of the cult or wishes to punish or imprison a particular follower.

The Angel’s Blood Rage :

During war, the Host can also buff the selective members of the Doom Templars as rage consumes their bodies and their blood gets heated, turning them frenzied killing machine for 5 Hours.

However, this ability puts a great strain on the devotees’ bodies, and they would need 10 days just to recover, regardless of their rank or abilities.

Hymn of the Death God:

When chanted together by at least 90% of the troops altogether during an active battle, their battle awareness, such as alertness and agility are increased by 3 times, and strength as well as mana capacity is increased by twice.

And the more enemies are killed over time, the longer the effects of the hymn last.

The effect will stop only under 2 conditions.

One, all enemies are dead. Two, at least 80% of the troops are wiped out by the enemy forces.

The Eye of the Judgement.

Cult Leader can see how much faith one has in both the cult and the leader himself.

The higher the loyalty, the more controllable those people become. But their impression will drop with failures such as going against the customs of the cult or suffering consecutive losses during war.

Success will breed respect, while failure will sprout disappointment.

Important Note : The host must be physically present in 10 kilometer range to activate all these abilities on the soldiers.] reported the system.

[Wow! So there is a certain benefit. The perks of being the cult leader also come with advantages to control both my own warriors and grant them strength during battle.

It’s like a whole army of mages and druids giving buffs to the soldiers fighting at the front.] thought Kahn as a pleasant smile appeared on his face.

The audience throughout the empire who witnessed that smile mistook it as if Kahn was incredibly happy to become the Cult Leader of the Darkborne.

“Yay! The Cult Leader is overjoyed!”

People celebrated his smile as acceptance and joy in their own way.

Meanwhile, Kahn was thinking about how best to use the Authority he had just been given.

Clearly, every single one of them had its distinct purpose if one looked at its description.

The Judge of Devotion was clearly akin to how many cult leaders in fantasy or martial arts story settings controlled their followers through the unknown force that allowed them to maintain their dominance over the entire force.

It could also be used to protect the cult leader in case there was a coup d’état or someone joined hands with the enemy force to assassinate the cult leader.

[I guess the God of Darkness granted this authority to make sure that the Hero/Heroine of Darkness isn’t just some mere pawn of the Cult or even the Imperial Family.

With the entire cult bending its will against me, I will have a definite way of completing my mission instead of being dependent on the will of the churches or the imperials, like all the other Heroes have to do.

The Angel’s Blood Rage also had a great advantage. But it came with its own demerits.

Although it greatly increased the firepower of his doom templars, it was supposed to be a hidden ace.

And it can’t be used indefinitely or without consequences, as the entire army wouldn’t be able to function properly.

And even there, only a particular group of warriors should undergo the use of Authority, and the remaining should help them move and protect as the former group recovers.

If used strategically, it could turn the tide of battle when the enemies are overwhelmingly strong or have far greater numbers. But if used hastily or without proper information about enemy forces, it could lead to the slaughter of the entire legion.

All the Doom Templars will lose a sense of self and become mindless killing machines with no fear of enemies or survival instinct for their own lives.

There was a problem with that… Because they wouldn’t stop even if their arms were cut off and wouldn’t be able to control themselves. So retreat was not an option, and they couldn’t be suddenly retrieved to get their fatal wounds treated.

They would be treated as a suicide squad that stops until either complete victory or the annihilation of their own squad.

Then there was the Hymn of the Death God.

It was the best for large-scale battles because of the overall buffs and no restrictions. However, it would be useful only when the enemy forces are on the same level, such as ranks or numbers.

It could even help to stand against a great number of enemy troops and at least survive the battle.

Kahn decides that once the Great War starts, he will use these abilities with great care and only when necessarya the last resort.

And lastly, the Eye of Judgement was basically a loyalty system that decided people’s response to Kahn’s leadership. It was no different than the usual novel or video game trope where you raise an NPC’s loyalty to get extra perks, missions, or achieve some kind of special advantage.

Kahn had no idea if it would turn into a useful card, but for now, it could at least serve as a warning bell in case he was going the wrong way as the cult leader.

******************

After the ritual concluded, the broadcast stopped, and Kahn entered the throne room kept for the Cult Leader.

He was accompanied by the High Priestess, the Divine Cadre, his own entourage, and all the Chapter Masters.

It was a black throne made of skulls and bones, and a dark red aura exuded from it as three massive skull heads protruded from the top of it.

And as soon as he sat on the throne, all the members of the cult shouted with a vehement voice…

“Blood for the God of Darkness! Skulls for the Cult Leader!”