Chapter 233

Chapter 233

The Holy Army was shattered. Utterly, with the appearance of the Seven Dragon Lords.

After the shroud of Lamerics was lifted, everyone, except for a few suffering from the aftereffects, quickly began to tidy up. The war with the demons had only been four years ago, and everyone in this era had become so accustomed to facing demons and monstrous beasts that it was almost second nature.

“Ha, what a mess....”

Diego chuckled softly as he looked down at the military camp. Soldiers were dismantling their tents and gathering their gear.

Now the crusade was over. What remained was....

“How will we handle this?”

A colossal backlash. All the allied nations that had participated in the crusade danced to the tune of the Seven Dragon Lords, and some countries had even committed serious war crimes willingly.

If they had been mere puppets from the beginning, perhaps it could be understood....

“Hang the pope’s... the corpse of that degenerate on a pole. Until our return.”

At his command, the pope’s corpse was hung on the military standard. How many had marched to their deaths at the command of that old man?

He grimaced as he splashed cold water on his face.

“I must achieve merit....”

Military achievements were necessary. He had dutifully trampled the territories of Albina and Elros under the will of the Seven Dragon Lords, so the diplomatic standing of Bellacria would undoubtedly shrink to extreme levels.

The only advantage they had was that they contained the Papal Enclave. But if the Papal Enclave was a puppet of the Seven Dragon Lords, this was no different from a parasite inside a lion’s heart.

It needed to be eradicated quickly. He had to prove his innocence faster than anyone else.

His gaze fell on a man.

A pale-faced man, sweating profusely, unconscious in a woman’s embrace.

He soon looked around the man and chuckled emptily.

“Is that the hero of this age? Truly, a monster.”

They had forged a path through the butchered corpses. They had plowed through the legion, paving the way with blood and flesh, and it was evident that they had directly attacked the Seven Dragon Lords.

The soldiers were retching as they struggled to gather the bodies. Most of the evidence had been erased, but it was hard to believe that such a tragedy had unfolded with just two people.

A monster. Yes, to catch a monster, another monster must step forward.

This must have been the reason why the saint had so easily slipped away after the council.

Truly, who could stand against that man?

The crusaders of Bellacria turned their forces towards their homeland, Equitania officially declared the crusade over, and Albina and Elros disbanded their military camps and ratified a peace treaty.

In just a moment of battle, a conflict that had lasted for months came to a close. Now, only one thing remains.

Revenge.

It was a reckoning against the darkness that had toyed with human civilization.

A week later, the allied forces deployed on the borders of the Papal Enclave, Ovidis.

“Are you in pain? Are you okay? Just lie down a little more!”

“It’s fine.”

Shoving the fussing Isabelle away, Ivan got up. He could definitely feel that his condition had dropped. But now, it was only natural; Ivan was a sensible person.

With the sacred power gone, the medical standards of this world were stuck in a pre-modern state. Unless it was a special medication made through alchemy, their methods of treatment were generally like this.

They would attempt to extract teeth, claiming it was because one had teeth.

Or try to perform an enema with water burned from treated wood, claiming it would expel bad energies from the body. (Sadly, this is still attempted in 21st century Earth.)

People of this era executed various dubious acts that were somewhere between shamanism and folk remedies under the pretense of treatment. Perhaps the reason the plague did not break out was that there was no central Asia.

Anyway, at this moment, Ivan was the most knowledgeable person about medicine in this world. He was going to perform a simple check after handing over his nursing duties to Isabelle.

The toxins had been neutralized and eliminated. This was why he had taken the antagonists simultaneously. The toxicity far exceeded the liver’s threshold, and while the organs were utterly shattered in the process of detoxification, at least it had happened.

During the time he was unconscious, his body temperature rose, and his metabolic rate plummeted. The mobility of his muscles had dropped drastically from usual.

“You’re still sweating quite a bit. You haven’t eaten anything for a while, have you?”

“Nutritional....”

“If you keep talking nonsense, you’re going to die for real. You need to eat something good for your health!”

Isabelle was bustling around, trying to get Ivan to lie back down. Avoiding her, he looked around the room.

They were in a tent. The military standard of Bellacria was visible through the open flap. The last instruction given had been to push the army towards the Papal Enclave, and since Bellacria was the country that housed the Papal Enclave, that made sense.

After assessing the situation, he moved his fingers. There was no issue with his movements. He stood up and spoke.

“I’m going to the command center.”

“Rest a little longer! It’s not like we’re—”

“There’s nothing we can do.”

The officer staring at Ivan, swallowing hard, spoke cautiously. The officers at the command center sat with downcast expressions.

It had been a full fifteen days since he had been unconscious. During that time, the Bellacrian forces besieging Ovidis had attempted to march five times—

“We’ve lost five divisions.”

The officer said bitterly.

“As soon as they entered a certain range from Ovidis, those forces immediately lost their sanity. That area is nothing less than the Demon Realm. Do you want to see?”

Ivan followed the officer’s lead to the observation post beyond the command center. From the hills overlooking the approach to Ovidis, Ivan could see the force deploying across the plains.

In the distance, soldiers appeared to be painting on the fields, marking out ever-expanding lines like rings in a tree.

It felt like looking at tree rings. Increasingly wider circles surrounding the white outer fortress of Ovidis.

“When we first arrived, that was the boundary we drew. It was a safe zone up to 2 km from the outer fortress. That boundary is widening day by day.”

“So it’s a king’s retreat.”

“Yes, you could indeed consider it the king’s retreat of the Seven Dragon Lords. Inside that.”

The afternoon sun shone brightly under a cloudless sky. The summer sunlight was scorching the plains.

Beyond the boundary.

Inside that, the colors fragmented as if a prism were shone upon them. The colorless natural light warped as it crossed the boundary, scattering into all kinds of hues.

Upon reaching the outer fortress of Ovidis, only black shadows could be seen. The sun could not penetrate that place.

“A little, yes.”

Of you dying.

Isabelle swallowed her last word and lowered her head. As Ivan’s hand brushed over her hair, he gently stroked Isabelle’s head.

“They may need a hero.”

“...What?”

“Stay. Prepare for the future.”

“What about you, Uncle?”

“I must do what I have to.”

When Ivan withdrew his hand, Isabelle gazed at him with a stiffened expression.

“That’s even scarier.”

It’s frightening to survive alone and witness your coffin.

At Isabelle’s words, Ivan chuckled softly.

“Maximilian raised his daughter well.”

And then—

The two gathered their gear, refusing military support. Now that the king’s retreat was completed, increasing their numbers would only bolster the enemy forces.

The best way to deal with the bastards was a single point strike. Yes, a strategy involving a small but elite force.

Just like the Hero Party.

Having gathered all supplies, Ivan and Isabelle directed their horses toward the borders of Ovidis. The two walked silently, gazing solemnly at Ovidis.

Ahead of them lay a world where all colors faded.

A trap that the entity known as a god had prepared, most insidious.

As Isabelle swallowed hard and looked at Ivan, about to speak—

Rumble...

The ground trembled.

“An earthquake?!”

The soldiers scattered in all directions. The earth shook, trees fell, and rivers burst apart.

Both the vast plains upon which Ovidis stood and the massive mountain ranges surrounding it like a crown.

From the peaks of the distant mountains, startled birds simultaneously took flight. Beasts went wild, and frightened horses bolted from the camp.

Rumble...!!

The mountains cried out.

The mountains and plains wailed. Soldiers fleeing stumbled, and the tents of the military camp collapsed. The sounds of destruction echoed from warehouses filled with military equipment and war supplies.

The tower leaned, and the guard clinging to it screamed.

Rumble...!!

Ivan tumbled off his horse and turned to his feet. Even after executing a somersault, he could not move for quite a while. An earthquake enveloped the entirety of the Ovidis plains.

He scanned the hills. Looking down at the plains again, he shifted his gaze back.

He spied the mountains far away shaking the ground, causing landslides.

“Ah, Uncle!!”

Isabelle, who had fallen off her horse, screamed and clung to the ground.

“What in the world is happening?! What is it?!”

Even under Isabelle’s cries, Ivan continued to gaze at the distant mountain peaks.

“The Earthmover.”

“Wh-what?”

The last relic from the Great War that had been destroyed, leaving only this one behind.

Gaarz...!!

At first, the echo could be heard.

Gaarz!!!

Next came the vibrations shaking the ground.

Gaarz!!!!

Soil collapsed, and the mountains crumbled.

The last artifact of the ancestors, who could never be restored again. Proof of a great lineage in its own right.

As the landslide occurred, it burst forth from the mountainside.

Amidst that roaring sound, the cries of those bearing weapons echoed like a war trumpet, enveloping the land.

Gaarz, an garia—!!!

The king below the mountains, his descendants had arrived upon this land.

The mountains surrounding Ovidis, like a crown, began to break through every peak.

Beyond every mountain, every field, every river before their eyes. With the tremor of the earth.

...

-We’ll fire the artillery. Open fire.

If the approach is underground, the Dwarves can provide the most powerful route for advance, supplies, and transport in this civilized world.

-Hooh.

Elizaveta smiled joyfully as she pondered those words.

EP34. Universal Council (5)

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