Chapter 329: Team Kiel 4, Banquet (1)
The fight on the border between Carvaluna and Carvalonea continued even after the day was over.
There did not seem to be an end to the Pagan Worshippers that appeared one after another from across the river.
Carvaluna and Carvalonea were rather small countries.
They were both parts of what once was a medium sized country, so both were much smaller now.
But even a small country like that housed many millions of people.
There was a likelihood that a large portion of those people had been turned to Pagan Worshippers.
Kurena continued slaughtering them as they approached her, using the light from bonfires and her own instincts to guide her.
Eventually their numbers started to wane.
Merus' Insect A summons, Queen Bees, and Beelings had succeeded in forming a line of defense.
The areas surrounding the two smaller fortifications had been cleaned of Pagan Worshippers by Merus, and the Rank A monsters that tried crossing the river were slowly turning against themselves thanks to the Insect A's Minion Stingers.
"O-over here please, masters Kurena and Kiel."
Merus was still busy setting up a formation to defend the fortifications throughout the night, but Kurena and Kiel had finished clearing the Pagan Worshippers around the main fortification and were led inside by the soldiers.
<em class="chakra-text css-0">Gurrrr~
"I'm hungry."
They had reached the border at around noon, so the last time they had eaten was early in the morning.
Kurena had jumped off the Bird B summon to fight right away, not taking anything with her.
Kiel was carrying everything, so now Kurena asked him to give her some of the leftovers of the Horned Rabbit they ate the night before.
Kurena's efficiency dropped dramatically when she got hungry, so Allen always scheduled their meals to align with her stomach.
But if Dogora complained of being hungry, Allen would always tell him to bear with it for longer.
Because of that, Kurena had never really gotten this hungry since she entered the Academy.
"I'm sure we'll eat something soon. I'd assume they'll give us food at least, though they might even make a banquet."
Kiel was also exhausted after fighting for so long.
He answered being sure that they would at least feed them considering how much they helped.
"Ohh!"
Kurena held her stomach and continued walking forward, looking at the soldiers ahead full of expectation.
While her exchange with Kiel had been in a low voice, the soldiers heard her and twitched a little.
Many of them had been on the wall witnessing Kurena fight valiantly, resembling a warring demon or god.
They had been unable to even put a scratch on the A Rank monsters that towered nearly ten meters high, yet she easily cut them in two.
Her blade glided through them like cutting bread or a fruit.
They were taken to the one room inside the fortification.
Commander Muhan and nine other higher level soldiers awaited them there.
"T-thank you for coming, please come in."
Kiel stopped for a moment, looking around and admiring how spacious that room was, before being beckoned to go further inside.
Even Muhan's group looked nervous as they guided the two around the room.
They were grateful that they had rescued the fortification.
But both Kurena and Kiel possessed power that surpassed human knowledge.
Kurena trotted after Muhan's group happily, her sword dangling on her back.
Because it hung diagonally, the black Adamantite blade poked out at her side.
There was still blood clinging to it, which looked pitch black under the light of torches.
Ideally the soldiers wanted to offer to carry Kurena and Kiel's equipment for them, but they felt so much pressure from the two that made them stay back.
Some in the group would look at Muhan, their eyes saying "you do it."
Kurena thanked her own stomach for growling.
The other high ranking soldiers hurried to go somewhere.
"Actually our men are also waiting to celebrate this occasion, can I let them in as well?"
Kurena's eyes sparkled as she watched the soldiers leave the room, and Muhan asked if they could eat with them as well.
At the same time, more soldiers came, eagerly carrying tables and plates into the room.
They were clearly preparing for some sort of banquet.
Muhan's first action had been to thank Kurena and Kiel, but everyone there had already been planning a banquet.
"Sure, I don't mind eating together with you."
"Of course! We can all eat now!!"
It made sense, Kiel thought, they were going to celebrate successfully warding off the attack regardless of Kurena's hungry stomach.
But at least they were officially invited to join now.
As the tables were set, the two were invited to sit on the seats of honor.
After that the soldiers who had fought the most were finally let into the room.
"Oh, you were right. That's a Sword Saint. Her sword is huge too. D-do you think she'll talk to me?"
"Are you stupid!"
"I wonder if I could challenge her, or at least have a training match."
"Shut up already! I'll kick you out if you don't stop!!"
There were quite a few soldiers that had muscles for brains.
One in particular was obsessed with the idea of challenging Kurena to a duel, trying to insist on it to his superior.
If the duel happened and he managed to land a blow on her, he would become a legend amongst his peers.
Coupled with the successful defense of the fortification, he seemed to be in a good mood.
But the superior had seen Kurena's [Supreme Sword] Skill countless times that day, so he desperately held him back.
Seeing Kurena tirelessly swing her sword, they had mistaken her for a Sword Saint.
Sword Kings were seldom born, and the existence of a Sword Emperor was considered a miracle even amongst heroes.
Kiel recognized a few of them who had moved exceptionally well.
His method of fighting was always to analyze the movements of others, so every so often someone would leave a strong impression on him.
Muhan sat across from them, and made a brief victory speech.
It could have been longer, but he noticed Kurena salivating like a dog told to sit and wait in front of a hunk of meat.
Next he introduced Kurena and Kiel, and the banquet began.
A lot of things had happened, some better than others, but Kurena was thankful to her stomach's rumbling that things ended this way.
The initial frightful look on Muhan was also gone now.
No one could remain afraid after seeing Kurena stuffing her cheeks with roasted meat like her life depended on it.
"Either way, thank you, seriously. The army wasn't going to make it on time, so we thought we were goners for sure."
Muhan was still for a moment after saying that, remembering his experience being grabbed by the giant monkey monster.
He could not speak, recalling that.
"The army? So you really were just a small group here?"
The fortification could easily house ten thousand soldiers.
Maybe twice that if they pushed it a bit, but from what Kiel saw while flying around, there were only a few thousand soldiers.
"Yeah, the entire army is scheduled to gather here in two days, so you coming here really feels like a miracle."
The conversation slowly became about Carvaluna.
"To be honest, it's no coincidence we got here."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Well, we're actually following a streak of light high in the sky. There's something we'd like to verify with you as well."
Kiel began to explain exactly what had happened there, and how to respond to it.