2. Invasion>
Pareon looked down over the territory from the lord’s castle.
Several days had already passed since the great calamity in which the sky overturned and the earth split apart.
Fortunately, that tremendous torrent of energy had not been directed toward the territory, so there had been no major damage. The people were clearing away the thick layer of dust piled on the roofs and working to restore the estate.
After letting out a sigh of relief at the sight of the recovery below, Pareon turned his gaze toward the cliff behind the lord’s castle.
No—to be precise, toward the Kon-Tian Mountains that had once stood behind his territory.
“Phew……”
As the drifting dust from the shattered mountain range slowly began to settle, the scene came into view.
A vast, endless plain, utterly empty, with only traces of having been melted and fused left behind.
The Kon-Tian Mountains, which had certainly stood behind the territory, had vanished entirely, leaving only a mark as though the legendary Krona had bitten them away. No, even Krona would not have been able to devour that much in a single bite. It would probably have had to eat until its belly burst.
The Kon-Tian Mountains, which had once boasted a majestic ridgeline and protected the Rogadis region, now had one section of their foothills blown wide open, like a castle wall with its gate thrown open.
And Pareon let out a low groan as he gazed far into the distance, at a sight he could only see with Kranga’s help.
“Usharan, is it……”
Far away, through the mountains, the Usharan Kingdom was visible.
Pareon was worried about how this incident would change the state of the continent from now on.
Until now, Usharan and the Tian Kingdom had not shared a border, so there had been little chance for serious friction. The narrow Kuradan Gorge was extremely useful for transporting goods, but not very useful for invasion. That was also why the Kon Kingdom and the Tian Kingdom had formed an alliance. Kuradan Gorge was highly useful to allies, but held little meaning for hostile nations. It was better to join hands, strengthen themselves together, and stand against Taran and Usharan.
And that had not changed much even after Usharan devoured the Kon Kingdom. As long as the Kon-Tian Mountains blocked the way, the only place Usharan could expand was toward Taran, and the only place Tian could expand was toward Karan.
But now, things would change. This newly formed great plain, tens or hundreds of times wider than Kuradan Gorge, posed no obstacle whatsoever to invading the other side.
And whether Tian invaded, or Usharan came invading, the Rogadis region, sitting squarely at the entrance, would find itself in an extremely exhausting position.
The Rogadis region had encountered both opportunity and crisis at the same time.
The opportunity to devour the Usharan lands visible in the distance.
Or the crisis of being dragged into the abyss of war.
No matter which way things flowed, armed conflict—or at least confrontation—would be difficult to avoid. Though things would likely remain quiet for the time being because neither side had the leeway to pay attention to the other, that would not last long. The moment Tian gained some breathing room, or Usharan did, war would begin.
Pareon sighed at the changes to the continent brought about by one rescue operation.
☆ ☆ ☆
“It’s been a while, Mr. Sian. I hear you had quite the grand bout. You should have seen Mr. Kuradan’s face! Hahaha.”
No matter how difficult it was to find battles between superhumans, if something was done on this scale, there was no way they could fail to notice. To think he had blasted a passage all the way from Tian to Usharan. It was on a completely different level from the gorge Kuradan had pierced through.
Ragaophe looked at Sian in admiration.
“Well… one thing led to another, and it turned out that way.”
“Goodness… to think you killed the Hunter. Truly impressive. He was an extremely strong fellow.”
“Well, he was strong.”
The mere fact that he had lasted that long against Sian made him an incredible powerhouse. If Sian had met him when he was seventeen, he himself would have died without being able to do a thing.
Sian had not told Ragaophe the details. Only that the Hunter had been chasing Steel, and that he had blocked and killed him. Explaining all the details from the memories was far too bothersome, and talking about the dead would not change anything.
Ragaophe did not ask for the details either. The only thing that mattered to them was that the Hunter was dead.
What Ragaophe was more curious about was something else.
“How is Mr. Stantal?”
Ragaophe asked after Stantal. Sian found himself thinking that this organization really did take meticulous care when it came to the well-being of superhumans.
“She still hasn’t regained consciousness… but I think she’ll wake up soon.”
Perhaps due to the aftereffects of the sorcery, every function in her body had been reduced to an extreme degree, but if something like that were enough to kill her, she would not be called a superhuman. In fact, Steel’s metabolism had begun activating at a ferocious pace the moment she came outside.
“Goodness… we were quite worried as well. We never imagined that Miss Steel would have no descendants. We thought that even if she died, it would be enough to feed the Soul Transfer Jade to someone of the Taran royal family.”
Ragaophe stroked his chest in relief. Even an organization could not monitor every single movement of a superhuman. That would be no different from picking a fight. Besides, since Stantal IV was openly alive in the Taran royal family, they had assumed she had left descendants behind while she was still human. To think that was not the case.
They had nearly lost a valuable asset.
“Indeed. But… that restriction is more troublesome than I thought. Needing a descendant, I mean.”
Sian frowned as he spoke. The more he thought about it, the more unsettling the restriction felt. If it meant he could save his family, he would not hesitate, but it still weighed on his mind.
At that, Ragaophe smiled and said,
“Haha. You need not worry about that, Mr. Sian. I told you last time, didn’t I? It may be a substitute, but it could actually be even better.”
“Ah, you did.”
“The newly created Soul Transfer Jade will be applied through a slightly different method. We have compensated for various weaknesses. Heh heh. They were flaws we needed to improve quickly, considering the future. Mr. Sian, all you need to do is bring back the materials with peace of mind.”
Sian did not know exactly how it had been improved, but Ragaophe’s confident assurance made him feel somewhat more at ease.
“Ah, in any case, I suppose I should set out to get them soon. Back then, I didn’t hear the details……”
Now that Miss Steel had been rescued and his mind was lighter, Sian began asking about the materials for the Soul Transfer Jade. At the time, worry for Miss Steel had come first, so he had not listened in detail. He had only heard that he needed to meet a certain race and receive it from them.
But at Ragaophe’s following words, Sian let out a deep sigh.
“So… you’re saying that race lives deep within the Great Forest?”
“Yes, that’s right. Haha. To be honest, it is somewhat burdensome for us. One or two six-horned ones would be fine, but there is no telling what might happen on the way, and everyone is busy right now. But then you happened to come along, Mr. Sian, so I cannot tell you how fortunate that is. Well, you can simply make a light trip of it, as if going out for a stroll.”
“Mm……”
When Sian swallowed a groan, Ragaophe looked puzzled.
“Mr. Sian? Is something the matter? Surely you do not think it is dangerous……?”
“No, that’s not it……”
In the past, he had feared what lay beyond the Great Northern Wall, but not now. No matter which of the six-horned ones came at him, he could win. In fact, looking at the Great Forest through Necra’s memories, it might have been dangerous for his seventeen-year-old self, but not for him now.
What Sian was worried about was none other than Krona. The great monster with seven horns that ruled the Great Forest.
The question was what would happen if he caused a disturbance and Krona caught him.
Having read all of Necra’s memories—memories of how Necra had gone to provoke Krona and thoroughly ruined his life—Sian could not easily take that step.
Moreover, to find a race whose whereabouts he did not even know, he would have to scour the Great Forest from end to end, and he doubted that someone as powerful as Krona would see him off with, “Oh my! You are rummaging through my domain quite nicely. Please finish your business and be on your way.” If Krona judged him to be a threat to its young, he would definitely die.
Normally, he would not even be agonizing over this. If there was a chance of danger, Sian simply would not go.
But what was at stake on the other side was far too great. If he succeeded properly just this once, his mind would truly be at ease.
As Sian agonized, Ragaophe, realizing there must be some circumstance behind it, was staring blankly at the scene when a strange mechanical sound suddenly came from somewhere.
“Mm?”
Thinking it might be a sound from his own artifact, Sian looked toward his waist, but there was no change.
The sound was coming from Ragaophe’s waist.
“Ah, it is a message from Mr. Groin. Mr. Sian, please wait a moment.”
Ragaophe asked Sian’s leave, took a device from his waist, and fiddled with it. Then someone’s green face appeared.
It was probably the superhuman called Groin. Sian was curious about what they were saying, but eavesdropping seemed impolite, so he turned his attention away and began fiercely debating whether he should go deep into the Great Forest or not.
Ragaophe’s conversation did not last long. After ending the artifact’s image, Ragaophe approached Sian with a smile.
“Well now, Mr. Sian, it seems you are quite lucky.”
“Yes?”
As Sian looked puzzled by Ragaophe’s sudden words, Ragaophe opened his mouth.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Ha ha… hahahahaha……”
Narasha laughed hollowly as he looked at the report in his hand. And as Viscount Tallin watched King Narasha laughing as though half out of his mind, he wore a pitiful expression.
“Viscount Tallin… so… how many days ago was this?”
“I was informed it happened three days ago.”
“Then… that would be exactly one week after that boy Sian left, would it not?”
“…
Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Hahahaha… haauuugh……”
King Narasha laughed hollowly, but in the end, a bizarre groan began escaping his mouth.
The contents written in the report were not long.
—Usharan, former Kongtiang region connected>
“So… our Sian… that fellow casually smashed apart an entire mountain range and kindly widened our border for us, is that it?”
“…
Yes.”
“Haa……”
King Narasha wore a hollow expression, but then straightened his posture and gathered his wits. If he failed to make the correct judgment here, the nation would be shaken.
At present, Tian’s national power was growing at a frightening pace, but even so, five years was not a very long time.
The quality of the troops, their armaments, and the standard of living of the people had risen markedly, but what was lacking was the most important thing: the level and number of powerful martial forces. Gron-Pila was actively carrying out education, and it was producing results, but to use them properly, they still needed another five years.
If there had been no problem in the north, King Narasha would have rejoiced at this situation. A place had appeared where they could release their overflowing strength. He would have marched at once through the Rogadis region to trample the Usharan Kingdom.
The justification was good as well. They would be liberating their ally, the Kon Kingdom, from oppression. It was a beautiful justification, pleasing to hear and pleasing to see.
But that was only if they had the leeway. Tian was currently concentrating its forces to block the north. Until the Great Northern Wall was completed, there were no troops to spare. Moreover, the attacks from the north were growing increasingly fierce, so despite the Great Northern Wall expanding, there was no easy way to pull troops away.
If Usharan, in this situation, decided to act insane and cross over, things would become extremely troublesome. Of course, Usharan was also focused on Taran and did not have that much leeway, but no one knew how the affairs of the world might unfold. Wasn’t the very fact that they were concentrating troops in the Kongtiang region a sign that they were keeping Tian in check while also intending to invade if they saw an opening?
King Narasha organized his increasingly complicated thoughts and looked at Viscount Tallin.
“Very well… if the north is stabilizing somewhat, have troops pulled from there and concentrated on that side. First, send every spare Gaira to support the Rogadis region and tell them to strengthen their defenses.”
“Er… the thing is……”
“What is it?”
Seeing that Viscount Tallin’s expression was grave, Narasha asked in puzzlement.
“They say an anomaly has occurred in the north as well. It would be best to view the details through the imaging device.”
“…….”
King Narasha’s expression hardened fearfully as he watched the scene on the video device Viscount Talin had brought.
☆ ☆ ☆
Kal-Tian, the guardian warrior protecting the north, frowned when he heard the sudden noise rising from below. No matter how good his hearing was as a Master, if he could hear it this clearly, it had to be quite a loud commotion.
To make such a ruckus during a time when security should be strict—would that not make the civilians uneasy?
Thinking that the soldiers must have grown lax in discipline after Harijan had not invaded for some time, Kal-Tian decided to head toward the source of the disturbance. If he gave them a sharp dressing-down, they would likely quiet down in the future.
Having made up his mind, Kal-Tian strode down the inner fortress stairs and headed toward the walls. Before long, he arrived at the ramparts with a stern expression and asked the soldiers standing guard there,
“What is the meaning of this commotion?”
The soldiers, their faces stiff, looked far beyond the walls and answered.
“An unidentified group has appeared.”
“Hmm?”
Access by the territory’s residents had been strictly controlled, so the only things that should appear beyond the walls were those Harijan creatures.
But from the soldiers’ words, it did not seem to be that, so Kal-Tian sharpened his eyesight and looked outside the walls.
And Kal-Tian, too, was able to see what the soldiers meant by an unidentified group.
“...What in the world is that?”
Beyond the walls Kal-Tian was looking at, something that should not be visible here was visible.
‘...An army?’
He did not know whether he should call it an army, but in Kal-Tian’s mind, there was no other word for something like that.
An unrefined formation.
Weapons with no uniformity.
Faces full of despair and attitudes devoid of strength.
A mob lacking everything anyone would recognize as the traits of an army.
And yet, if the definition of an army was something that drove its enemy into fear and crushed them down with violence, then anyone would call those countless figures an army.
There was a strange sense of alienness emanating from them for some unknowable reason, and based on that, an odd fear was forming among the soldiers.
Kal-Tian, who had been staring outside gravely, realized what sense of alienness he had felt from that army.
“Not all of them are human...”
Looking closely, the army was not made up only of humans. There were even races mixed in that he had never seen before. He had never even heard of such an army.
Feeling his expression rapidly harden, Kal-Tian gave orders to the soldiers around him.
“Hurry and load the Gaira! Hold your positions! Record this footage and send it to the capital immediately, and request support from Sword Duke Kirain and His Majesty the King!”
For some reason, the ones standing outside right now were frozen in place like stone statues. But that was not because they were docile.
Far in the distance, behind the strange army, new forces were joining them one after another. And once those forces gathered past a certain number... they would charge at once.
They had to finish preparations before those creatures rushed in.
Feeling his impatience mounting on its own, Kal-Tian ran off to command each unit.
☆ ☆ ☆
“So... this is the scene recorded and sent from the
King Narasha’s expression hardened as he looked at the bizarre army standing in ranks.
Crotia Fortress, which had guarded the front line in every battle against Harijan until now, was the fortress King Narasha had taken the greatest care to defend.
North of Tian, there were many cities that had grown on the foundation of the abundant minerals from the Sky Mountains. Since they did not border any other nation, there had been no danger of war, allowing them to devote their funds entirely to growth and internal development. As a result, most of them were cities with large populations.
That was why it would be a great catastrophe if Harijan broke through. The loss of life would not be on the scale of ten or twenty thousand. Especially when one considered Harijan’s tremendous reproductive ability, it would be dangerous if they broke through even once.
Crotia Fortress had been built and expanded for that very reason.
Located not far from the Great Northern Wall, Crotia Fortress had originally been built to protect the northern territories in preparation for a possible invasion by the Kingdom of Karan, but ever since the Harijans began crossing the Sky Mountains and invading five years ago, it had fully served its role as a barrier.
Because it was close to the Great Forest, stronger and more numerous Harijans always came swarming in, and so King Narasha had spared no expense in stationing the latest weapons and Masters there. After all, the other nations had no余 capacity to touch him.
He had even prepared means of communication and transportation so that Sword Duke Kirain, who guarded the nearby Karan border, could rush over at any time.
That was why King Narasha had always been confident. Other places might fall, but this place, Crotia, would not be breached.
But the moment he saw the footage, King Narasha knew.
‘I cannot be certain...’
The bigger problem was that he could not grasp their identity at all.
In truth, he was not even sure if those things mixed in there were human. They looked human, but the desires a human ought to possess could not be seen in them. Their faces were filled with nothing but despair.
‘No, can one even wage war with such creatures in the first place?’
An army without morale. He had never heard of such a thing.
This was the part that confused King Narasha the most. The easiest army in the world to deal with was an army without morale. With just a light tap, it would collapse on its own. No matter how numerous they were, no matter how strong each individual was, an army with no morale and filled only with despair was like a lump of ants gathered together.
And yet Gran-Bander’s sixth sense was clearly telling him that those creatures were exceedingly dangerous.
And King Narasha knew which to trust between the reason he had believed in all his life and the sixth sense he possessed as a warrior.
A warrior’s sixth sense stood above reason. The higher one’s realm, the more true that became. Whenever Narasha considered his own sixth sense, he always had the same thought. If even he, a Gran-Bander, was like this, then perhaps someone at the level of a superhuman might not need to think at all...
Narasha made his decision.
“Issue a compulsory conscription order! Draw troops from each noble house! And of the armed corps stationed at the Taran border, move all except Dragona to Crotia Fortress, and send Sword Duke Kirain from the Karan border to support them as quickly as possible!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The warriors below were startled as they heard the command of His Majesty King Narasha.
They, too, were watching the recorded footage, but they had not considered it so grave. They were seasoned warriors who had spent their entire lives fighting and experiencing war.
That was why they were confident they could deal with an army sunk in despair like that any number of times.
But His Majesty seemed to have made a different judgment. And until now, His Majesty’s judgments had almost never been wrong.
On top of that, a compulsory conscription order! Such an order had not even been invoked when they crossed Taran’s border. In Tian, where the autonomy of each noble house was respected, this was an exceptional decision. This meant... the present situation was truly grave enough to threaten Tian’s very survival.
They strongly felt that this incident would not end easily.
That made the warriors gathered in the great hall tense.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Miss Steel, when will you wake up? Good grief...”
Sian looked at Miss Steel lying before him with a sorrowful expression. Her body already seemed to have fully recovered, but for some reason she was not moving.
Seeing Miss Steel, who had always worn a bold expression and acted without hesitation, lying on a bed like this made his heart ache.
Since it was difficult to help a superhuman through outside assistance, all Sian could do was watch over her.
Looking at Steel, Sian recalled the conversation he had had with Ragaophe a few days earlier.
‘This is fortunate for you, Mr. Sian, truly. I have no idea what sudden whim seized those fellows. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have needed to ask you, Mr. Sian... We all have matters to attend to right now and are out as well. May I ask this of you?’
‘I shall do so.’
‘Haha. I’ll be in your care. We are also in the final stage of our current project... so we’re terribly short-handed. By the way, you said you would move once Miss Steel wakes up?’
‘Yes. Even so, I feel I should at least see her wake before I move.’
‘How devoted you are. Hehe. Well... that may actually be better in terms of timing. We haven’t finished preparations yet either... and they probably haven’t arrived yet.’
As he recalled the conversation, Sian looked at Miss Steel before him. Then, in the midst of it, a good idea occurred to him.
‘I should make Miss Steel a present with the time I have left.’
Thinking so, Sian activated the Nitsumatan hanging around Miss Steel’s neck and took out the Chromatan.
He had returned the fragment that Ragaophe’s organization had picked up, but the Crona-Phone, split in two, was still stored inside the Nitsumatan.
After weighing the two pieces, Sian realized that their weights were different.
‘This one is a little heavier...’
Sian snapped off a piece from the heavier fragment, placed it against the other side, and pressed down firmly. Then, as though clay were sticking together, the piece he had broken off pressed into the other fragment and fused with it.
After weighing both sides and feeling satisfied that they had become similar, Sian began kneading the Crona-Phone fragments, and then recalled a pair of gauntlets he had once seen while passing by a workshop.
To be precise, the design of
Those gauntlets, which were selling to great acclaim for 3,500 talents, were highly praised by female warriors not only for their durability, but also for their elegant design and the fact that blood would not stick to them even if one struck someone with them.
Recalling that memory, Sian began shaping the Crona-Phone in his hands. The fragments, weighing thousands of tons, transformed into metal plates with an elegant sheen wherever Sian’s hands passed.
Metal stretched so smoothly and finely that it was hard to believe it was being shaped by human hands.
By the time Sian finished kneading, the half-severed sword fragments had disappeared, leaving behind only a pair of gauntlets for both hands with an elegant design.
The amount seemed a little insufficient, so he made them slightly thinner than the commercially sold gauntlets’ design, but given what the metal was, there would likely be no problem.
After looking at the completed gauntlets with satisfaction, Sian activated the Nitsumatan and placed them inside. If Miss Steel saw them, she would surely be pleased.
“Miss Steel, please wake up soon. Shouldn’t you and I hurry up and go out to have fun together?”
Muttering words that would have made King Narasha faint in shock if he had heard them, Sian looked out the window.
Once Miss Steel woke, he would move next.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Bring more shells! Shells!”
“All men, gather in Area K-11! We have to carry food!”
“All women, gather at the assembly hall! We must repair cloth!”
Crotian Fortress, which guarded the north of Tian, was in an uproar.
The troops conscripted from each noble house were arriving one after another, and the fortress was forcibly securing even civilian districts to provide lodgings for them.
Among the civilians, men with good stamina were also forcibly conscripted to participate in various forms of labor such as repairing the walls and carrying shells, while the women were assigned to the work of preparing food for the soldiers. Fortunately, the Kingdom of Tian was currently in its most prosperous era, so there were sufficient food reserves within the fortress, and there was no risk of morale falling because of a lack of food.
Even if it was being enforced by the royal family, such compulsory imposition of duties should have been enough to draw complaints from everyone. Yet, as though possessed by something, everyone was frantically following the orders of their superiors and carrying out the work assigned to them.
They had no choice. If this place was breached, they were all as good as dead. Only if they each lent a hand would the chances of stopping that grotesque army outside rise even a little.
If it had been a human army instead, this fear would have been less. But the strange sight produced by the army outside planted terror in everyone staying inside the inner fortress.
Even though troops were arriving one after another like this, the unease in people’s hearts only continued to grow.
Because... the number of those creatures outside was increasing even faster.
The fear of the soldiers directly watching the numbers outside swell was even greater than that of the people in the inner fortress.
“Damn it... What the hell are those things?”
Looking at the creatures staring gloomily toward the inner fortress, Krol, who was guarding the wall, spat out a curse.
It would have been better if they were Harijan bastards. At least with those, you could tell what they were thinking at a glance.
Appetite. Destructive impulse. Survival instinct.
But the ones visible across from them were different. One could not see the desires that should fundamentally exist in living creatures. Gestures that looked utterly exhausted, and expressions filled with despair. They were beings that could in no way be called an army.
Still, Croll feared them. The commander was likely the same. If that were not the case, the brave army of Tian would not have been reduced to merely defending the fortress like this. ‘Please don’t move… please….’ But the heavens betrayed Croll’s will.
The ones standing still twitched in unison. Normally, twitching would look comical, but the sight of thousands—tens of thousands—twitching simultaneously created a spectacle that was bizarre yet eerie.
And the sight of those who had been vacantly staring into the empty air turning their gazes toward the fortress walls at once was terrifying enough.
But compared to the actions that followed, those things were nothing.
Those who had been staring at the walls began charging toward the fortress with expressions filled with despair, yet with a glimmer of hope mixed within.
“Uwaaack! It’s an attack!”
Croll let out a scream without realizing it and rang the alarm bell, and soon the Gaira installed on the walls breathed fire toward those who had entered its range, heralding the start of battle.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Your Majesty! They have moved!”
“What? Already?”
King Narasha, who had been personally gathering troops and marching up, let out a short groan. He had first assembled the nearby noble house forces and sent them ahead, while he himself was advancing after gathering the capital’s elite troops, including the kingdom’s 1st and 2nd Royal Knight Divisions.
But perhaps his response had been too slow; the enemy had already begun their attack. ‘No. If it is Crotia… they will hold.’ “Bring me the recording at once!”
Recording the battlefield was the most fundamental of fundamentals in war. Soon, King Narasha was able to observe the battlefield of Crotia Fortress through a visual artifact.
King Narasha watched the recording with intense focus, and his expression grew harder by the moment.
By the time King Narasha’s face had turned to one of stunned horror, the commander beside him forgot his place before the King and let out a groan.
“Good heavens….”
But King Narasha did not rebuke him. He would have done the same.
The battlefield visible beyond the recording device was hell itself.
Witnessing that cruel spectacle, Narasha clenched his teeth and soon shouted in a loud voice.
“All forces! Advance at greater speed! There is no time!”
‘At this rate… they will all be dead before we arrive. Sword Duke Kirain, please hold on.’ King Narasha sincerely prayed that Sword Duke Kirain, who was defending that place, would hold out.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Kuaaaack!”
Repel, a proud soldier of Tian and a 2nd-class soldier defending Crotia, wanted to cover his ears at the sorrowful scream of his dying comrade beside him.
But he couldn’t do that. If he did such a thing without swinging his sword, his ears might be at ease, but his own mouth would end up uttering the same screams as the comrade beside him.
Repel swung his sword at the opponent charging at him.
Thunk!
Perhaps his arduous training had not been in vain, for his blade lodged precisely into the enemy’s left arm. But Repel did not let his guard down and ducked his body. The comrade beside him had let his guard down after landing a blow and paid the price for it. That friend had even taken a slash to the neck, yet the opponent kept charging forward. This was not a situation where he could relax just because he had struck an arm.
As expected, the bastard before him charged at Repel without caring at all that a sword was stuck in his left arm. No, it seemed he had allowed his arm to be struck in the first place just to close the distance between them. ‘Crazy… does he not feel pain?’
At first, Repel thought the bastard couldn’t feel pain. But looking at his expression, that didn’t seem to be the case. Indeed, groan-like screams continued to flow from the charging enemy’s mouth.
“Kuu… hurts… it hurts….”
But contrary to his despairing expression and the mouth uttering screams, the enemy’s sword strikes were savage beyond compare.
“You son of a bitch! Just die, die!”
Repel fell back while screaming like a shriek, and in that instant, he doubted his own ears.
“I… want to too….”
‘Huh?’ At the unexpected words from the opponent’s mouth, Repel faltered. But that was a huge mistake.
Crunch!
“Kuaaaack!”
The bastard sent his sword flying, plunging it into Repel’s heart, and Repel collapsed with his eyes wide open at his absurd death.
Though he should have worn an expression filled with joy at having won, the one who had struck Repel down looked nothing like that. Instead, he was dyed in an even deeper despair.
The freak who had been staring at the fallen Repel with a sad expression soon gazed fixedly at his own arm. As the excitement of battle faded, pain gradually washed over him.
“Uugh….”
The man staggered about with an expression of immense agony, but as the pain in his arm grew severe, unable to endure it any longer, he looked at Repel lying dead before him with eyes wide open.
Soon, he buried his face in Repel before him and began to devour Repel ravenously.
The man devoured Repel without hesitation, to the point where his initial hesitation seemed meaningless, and accordingly, the wound on his arm gradually began to heal.
Once the wound on his arm had completely disappeared and the pain subsided, only then did the man stop his act of devouring. He looked around and then charged at the enemy once more with an expression plunged back into despair.
Such scenes were unfolding all around Crotia Fortress.
And naturally, an army that did not die even under artillery fire or sword strikes continued to literally devour Tian’s army and drive them back.
Grand Vandeerin Sword Duke Kirain had fought like a madman, but astonishingly, there were countless Masters within the bizarre army. Moreover, since those Masters did not die or show fear as they charged, even Sword Duke Kirain was inevitably driven into a defensive position.
Tian fought desperately but ultimately could not withstand the charging enemies. They gathered around the high-ranking officers, took the remaining forces, and retreated with blood and tears.
Thus, the first battle between Tian and this bizarre army ended with the overwhelming victory of the bizarre army.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Sword Duke Kirain, are you unharmed?”
The army of King Narasha, which had rushed over in haste, received the army of Sword Duke Kirain, which had retreated in tatters.
“Your Majesty, you have come. I am ashamed.”
“Do not speak such words. I watched all of the battlefield recordings. Had it not been for Sword Duke Kirain… we would not have been able to save even this much.”
But the soldiers who had survived seemed fit only to be a burden; deploying them in battle was impossible. Expressions completely frozen in fear. Some soldiers even continued muttering nonsense while staring at the ground.
Including such men in the army would only lower morale. Moreover, there were not many of them, so Narasha detached some soldiers to assist them and sent them to the rear where the priests were stationed. They were priests of the God of War, so while their healing might be somewhat lacking, it was better than nothing.
After roughly settling the remnants, Narasha spoke to Sword Duke Kirain with a stiff expression.
“What in the world happened? I saw through the recording device, but….”
“It is exactly as you saw.”
And Kirain began explaining the characteristics of the army he had seen. After all, seeing from afar and fighting directly were bound to feel different.
The characteristics that Sword Duke Kirain listed one by one were as follows.
They are no different from ordinary humans. They too are injured by swords, slowed by curses, and affected by sorcery exactly as intended.
But they do not die. Even if their heads are severed, they wriggle about. Though their wounds do not regenerate at an incredible speed, if they consume enough corpses scattered nearby, they return to their original state. In the case of a severed arm, if it is placed back in its original position, it reattaches before long.
The most effective method of disposal is crushing the head. If that happens, they cannot consume anything, so regeneration is impossible, nor can they reattach their heads. But since they continue to move while alive, it is even better to sever their limbs as well.
Sorcery is also good. Unlike swords, it has a wide destructive range, so even if they do not die, it can easily render them incapacitated.
They do not fear death. No, rather, they charged continuously like madmen desperate to die. It was all the more bizarre because their despairing expressions did not match their actions at all.
Having heard of this bizarre army, King Narasha’s expression grew extremely hard.
An army that does not die and does not fear death.
“They are like the Army of the Dead from legend….”
Long ago, even before humans had formed nations, there was an invincible army said to have crawled up from hell time and again no matter how many times they were killed. The army Kirain spoke of possessed those characteristics exactly.
King Narasha’s expression hardened. But by the time he arrived at Crotia the next day, his expression had no choice but to harden even further.
“Good heavens….”
“Sword Duke Kirain, what is it?”
When Sword Duke Kirain let out a groan while looking at Crotia Fortress visible in the distance, King Narasha asked with a puzzled expression.
He too looked at the distant fortress, but he could not tell what was so different from yesterday.
“…Their numbers have increased.”
“What?”
“To be precise… those who were alive are now inside that army.”
“What….”
Setting aside the fact that they do not die, people who had been perfectly alive just days ago were now joining the army?
He did not know what supernatural ability or sorcery the opponent had used to create such an army, but there was such a thing as common sense. If one could save people from death, there should be severe limitations. Yet they had stuffed thousands into their army at once?
He examined them closely to see if they had been taken prisoner, but it did not seem so. If they were prisoners, they would not be made to hold swords and mixed in among the army. This meant that those they had been trying to tear apart and devour just days ago had now been made usable for combat. He did not know by what means.
Just as King Narasha’s face hardened, a communications soldier in charge of the long-distance communication artifact came rushing over in haste.
“Your Majesty! A communication has come in.”
“What is it?”
“They say not only Crotia Fortress… but all northern cities are under attack!”
“…!”
“Furthermore… they say the Taran Kingdom and the Great Northern Wall are also under attack.”
“Heh heh heh….”
Hearing the reported news, King Narasha’s expression hardened.
Tian’s northern fortress, not only Crotia but all northern cities, were under attack by the Army of the Dead that had crossed the Heavenly Mountain Range. It seemed some places were being attacked by armies of even greater scale than here.
And to think the Taran Kingdom and the Great Northern Wall as well. The Great Northern Wall was inherently sturdy in its defenses, so it would hold out somehow, but Taran would have no preparations at all. They would likely suffer tremendous damage.
At this point, it was not merely Tian’s problem. It was the continent’s problem. If it were merely a mighty army, he would feel somewhat relieved. Even if the opponent was mighty, if they clashed endlessly, that force would be worn down.
But with an army that did not die and swelled its numbers every time it fought, the story was entirely different. The more they fought, the more that force would continue to grow.
“This is maddening… First, request support from the Grand Magic Council. And… we will retreat for now.”
“Understood!”
Originally, Narasha’s plan had been to observe the enemy’s movements from here, gather forces from other regions, and wipe them out in one blow. That army’s movements did not seem very fast, so if he merely kept them in check from afar until sufficient firepower was gathered, it would be possible to tear off their limbs one by one.
But if they were being attacked from all directions like this, the story changed entirely. If those creatures entered a territory that could not be protected, disaster would strike that very instant. He did not know to what extent that bizarre army could grow, but if there was no limit, it would be catastrophic. If even commoners became like that, not dying and not fearing death, they would become a terrifying army.
There were huge territories with populations reaching hundreds of thousands; if such a place fell entirely to the enemy… Tian would be finished that very day.
Unable to neglect the defense of each region, yet unable to avoid gathering for an attack in this bizarre situation, King Narasha clenched his teeth.
“Search through all materials immediately! Investigate everything about those bizarre creatures!”
First, they had to understand their opponent. The attack would come after that.
☆ ☆ ☆
The entire continent was in chaos.
A bizarre army was pressing upon the continent from the entire north, including the Heavenly Mountain Range.
Although the countries directly sharing a border were the three nations of Taran, Tian, and Karan, the other countries also heard news of the army and recognized the severity.
The situation was completely different from the Harijan. The Harijan could ultimately be stopped unless they were six-horned. A kingdom’s full strength was not something to be trifled with by mere Harijan that could not even band together. Moreover, Tian was a mighty power among mighty powers. The reason other countries had merely watched from behind until now was precisely that. Because they knew it would not be breached. And the occasionally appearing six-horned ones were killed by the Guardian of the Great Northern Wall, Geuroin.
But if it was an army that continued to multiply its numbers like that, the story was entirely different. If they failed to respond properly in the initial stages, by the time they were pushed down to the southern kingdoms like Usharan or Brosyan, the numbers would be beyond counting.
Those creatures were not even six-horned, so Geuroin would not step in either. Geuroin did not remain at the Great Northern Wall burning with a sense of duty to protect humanity. It simply stayed there because there was plenty of prey. Geuroin had no interest whatsoever in existences below its own level.
Therefore, while Taran, Tian, and the Great Northern Wall blocked the north and bought time, the countries in the rear held fierce meetings and organized support troops.
Other countries had wanted to use this opportunity to weaken the national power of Taran and Tian and seize benefits, but seeing the speed at which those creatures were pushing in, they were daunted and could not muster the nerve to do so.
In less than three days, most of the northern fortresses had fallen. They had evacuated the domain’s people at the fastest possible speed, but there were those who could not evacuate in time. And all such people became members of that bizarre army.
In less than a week since the creatures were discovered, the army’s numbers had nearly doubled. Even though they had burned them to death as traitors for it. People who even saw Masters being dragged away were appalled.
Realizing that it was no longer time to dawdle, the countries hurriedly gathered troops and prepared to send support to the north.
And the King of Narasha, who was controlling this entire situation, clasped his head in his hands.
What the King of Narasha was agonizing over was nothing else.
There was only one thing he was agonizing over.
“Yes, after all… an eye for an eye.”
The King of Narasha steeled his heart. He could hesitate no longer.
This time, the Kon-
-tian Mountain Range that had been erased—the King of Narasha could not bring himself to play the card called Sian. Though he intuitively felt that this situation was a great crisis, the trouble that child Sian might cause could be even greater than that.
It was not that he did not trust that child Sian’s character. No, rather, compared to guys who only relied on their strength and threw their weight around, his personality was unbelievably good. He did not hesitate to wield his strength, but he did not use that strength to oppress others first. Just that alone would earn him a reputation of being nearly like a civil official among violent military officers.
But the King of Narasha feared that even more. To think he could do that much without even harboring malice!
Until now, that child had directly smashed two mountain ranges and indirectly destroyed four cities. Especially, his most recent deed was something that would take dozens or hundreds of years even if the entire nation mobilized.
The fact that he had committed such things without any malice, as if playing around, terrified the King of Narasha.
That was why until now, he had thoroughly protected Count Lian and Count Roman. Because he could not even begin to imagine what would happen if that child harbored malice.
But now was no longer the time to hesitate. At this rate, everyone would die. And he no longer had the confidence to watch soldiers suffer.
‘Yes… there is no guarantee that child will definitely cause an accident, is there?’
Recalling Renolrba, the sole survivor, the King of Narasha tried his best to draw a hopeful future. Then he contacted the Roman household.
But the answer that came back was completely unexpected.
“What? He disappeared?”
“Yes… after waking up yesterday, he greeted us and disappeared.”
“And you do not know where he went?”
“Yes… they say he went somewhere with the woman who was with him.”
“Ah…….”
The King of Narasha suddenly began to feel tremendously uneasy, but recalling the current situation, he tried his best to console himself.
‘Yes… it cannot get any worse. Let us pin our hopes on that child.’
The King of Narasha continued to recall Renolrba and made an effort to envision a hopeful future.
☆ ☆ ☆
The Great Plains located above Count Seline’s territory.
Two figures could be seen crossing such plains at tremendous speed.
The two figures were running northward at tremendous speed, sometimes flying, sometimes running.
It was Sian, whom the King of Narasha had worried about so much. And running alongside him was Steel.
“It has been a while, little brother Sian. Hoohooh.”
“…So you were awake all along… You have quite the terrible hobby.”
Sian looked at Steel with an embarrassed expression. Steel ran beside him, grinning from ear to ear as if something was terribly amusing.
“Well, I mean. It was so amusing to see my little brother so restless.”
“…Since when have you been awake?”
“Since coming out of that frozen prison? I was conscious the whole time. I just did not move because I wanted to focus on the recovery process.”
“…….”
Hearing that she had watched everything from beginning to end, Sian wanted to die.
“But after recovering, what you were doing was so amusing that I stayed lying down a bit longer. Hahaha. ‘Huhu, I am sure Lady Steel will like it.’”
“…….”
“‘Please wake up soon, Lady Steel.’”
Watching Lady Steel recite verbatim the words he had muttered beside her sickbed, Sian wanted to smash his own mouth that had uttered such things two days ago to Steel, who had been awake.
Lady Steel laughed as she looked at Sian, whose face had turned red.
“See, you should not neglect a lady so much.”
“…….”
“But still, thank you, little brother Sian. I will accept your gift well. I like it very much.”
Steel, who had teased him to her heart’s content as if she had plenty saved up, wore a refreshed expression as if to say she would stop here for today, and expressed her gratitude.
Sian let out a sigh of relief that Steel’s teasing had stopped and replied.
“I am glad you like it.”
“Huhu. I was very worried about injuring my hands, but with this, there is no need to worry.”
Watching Lady Steel clang and knock together the gloves on her hands as if pleased with them, Sian began to worry that he might have done something unnecessary.
Even before, if he took a hit from Lady Steel, he would end up seeing the boatman of the Yodan River, but if hit while she was wearing those, he would be employed as the boatman of the Yodan River that very day.
As if seeing Sian’s expression, Steel looked at Sian even while running and said with a smile.
“Huhu. Do not worry, little brother. Do I look like someone who would use violence on just anyone?”
“Well… you are not someone like that.”
He could not say that she looked like someone who would use violence indiscriminately, even if not on just anyone, so Sian vaguely glossed over it and leaped forward.
While running diligently, Steel suddenly became curious and asked.
“But where are we going now? Is this not too hectic for a reunion after so long?”
“Ah… there is something I need to obtain. I think we will have to share our reunion later. By the way, Lady Steel could have stayed lying down a bit longer…….”
Seeing that Steel had awoken, Sian had planned to go get the substitute that Ragaope had mentioned. But Lady Steel insisted on coming along, and as a result, the two of them were crossing the plains together.
At Sian’s words, Steel said with a laugh.
“Huhu. Because if I follow my little brother, something interesting is bound to happen.”
“…….”
“You are really the first person I have met who is more than me, little brother. I will look forward to this time too.”
“That will absolutely never happen. To someone as gentle as me, what could…….”
But Sian too lacked confidence even as he said it himself. Therefore, he stopped trying to argue further and focused on running forward, and Steel watched such Sian with an amused expression and ran alongside him.