Volume 8 - CH 17

Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax

「Marching On Hiruku」

Princess Lily was the first person to greet me when Dylan and I returned to the Nozan Kingdom.

She and her two escorts went bug-eyed and raised joyous shouts when I informed them of what happened in Delfuento.

“Amazing! In such a short amount of time! As expected of Arc-dono!”

For some reason princess Lily proudly puffed out her chest as she spoke. Being praised for cutting loose was nice every once in a while.

After informing her that I’d be going to Salma next and seeing Dylan off, I used 【Transfer Gate】to travel to the forts on the Branier side of the Uriu river.

The landscape had already been irreversibly changed since I was last here.

Countless pieces of broken armor and weaponry were scattered throughout the new landscape, and the undead were all but exterminated.

A strange rock formation, which seemed to have risen from the earth itself, sat in a nearby field.

An intense battle had taken place here…… it was a scene worthy of being called a battlefield.

The most noticeable change was the Uiru river: A massive crater had been blasted into the middle of the river and the water was now flowing into the recently made hole.

“This…… this should be expected, shouldn’t it?”

The water showed no sign of stopping, and I could already make out a small lake forming at the bottom of the crater.

There was only one person here that could produce such a drastic change in topography.

Ferufivisurotte…… based on the sheer size of the crater, she had power equivalent to or greater than the attack I unleashed with the【Steadfast Seraphim of Judgement: Guardian Uriel】.

The fact that her strength rivaled that of the four archangels was a testament to the absurdity of Ferufivisurotte’s existence.

A closer inspection revealed that her attack hadn’t just wiped out the undead, part of the forts’ outer walls had also collapsed and of the bridge that had once spanned the river only the stone foundations remained.

The culprit…… No, Ponta caught sight of the dragon king slowly flying around in her human form and called out to her, leading to Ferufivisurotte leading in front of me.

“Kyun! Kyun!”

“Aya, Arc-hon. If you’re showing your face here, does that mean things are wrapped up on your end?”

Her long violet hair fluttered in the wind as she spoke in a unique tone, so I slightly lowered my head and answered her.

“Ferufivisurotte-dono. Things went smoothly on our end, I want to review everything back in Nozan and discuss our next course of action. Do you know where I can find Margrave Branier, Elder Fangas, or Prince Sect?”

After giving her my brief explanation, I asked her about the representatives’ whereabouts.

Her gaze traveled to the closest of the two forts.

“Fargas and the margrave are handling post-battle affairs in that fort. Sect boy got injured and is resting in the other one.”

She smiled as she spoke.

Based on the placement of the scattered armor sets, the battle here wasn’t a one-shot farce like what had occurred in Delfuento.

A moderate number of injured people must’ve cropped up.

The fact that the commander of Rhoden’s forces had been injured in battle would have a significant impact on our strategies.

“I’ll visit Sect first and then work on healing the others afterward.”

Once Sect was back on his feet,  a liberal use 【Major Heal】on the seriously injured should cut our losses for this excursion.

Since healing everyone would be a hands-on task, it’d take some time to complete.

“I’ll inform the others of your arrival Arc-hon.”

She made that unilateral decision before flying off towards the fort.

The thought of using a dragon king as a messenger was a bit much, but let’s just accept her good will.

◆◇◆◇◆◆◇◆◇◆

Though was impossible to see the full scope of Sect’s injuries, it was clear that some of his ribs were broken.

He was completely healed after I used 【Major Heal】on him.

The prince’s eyes bulged when he saw my healing magic, he even struck his own body a few times to see if he was healed. I felt like I was seeing another side of Sect, but he stopped once he realized his subordinates were still in the room.

After that farce, I went about healing a few dozens of his subordinates. By the time I was finished, Fargas and Branier had come to greet me.

“Arc-dono, Ferufivisurotte-sama told use we could find you here. It seems that you’ve managed to liberate Delfuento’s capital, that’s wonderful news.”

Branier entered the room with that statement.

“You’re heading back to Nozan to report on the war effort, right? Are Ariane and the others safe?”

Fargas was shouldering a massive war hammer as he entered the room and immediately asked about his granddaughter’s well-being.

What would happen if I told them I eradicated the enemy with a single blow? …… I imagine it’d send a shiver down their spine, so I decided to keep that detail to myself.

“Ariane-dono, Chiome-dono, and the others are clearing out the undead and searching for survivors in Rione.”

Fargas stared at me for a moment before nodding his head and continuing the conversation.

“Give us a moment to speak with our subordinates and Wendelin, and I can accompany you back to Nozan, Arc-dono…”

Prince Sect had a troubled expression on his face when Fargas said that.

“Please wait, Fargas-dono. As Rhoden’s representative or shouldn’t I attend the meeting?”

The prince’s usual tone and gentle smile had returned. Fargas raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with him before agreeing with the proposal.

“Well. I don’t see a problem with that. Arc-dono, if you would…”

“Understood.”

Although I’d healed his wounds he would need rest to fully recover, the look on the prince’s face made it clear that trying to talk him out of the trip would be a waste of time.

◆◇◆◇◆◆◇◆◇◆

A short time later, we were back in Soulia.

The people gathered in the war room were in high spirits and Lille, who was now credited as the originator of the cross-racial alliance, practically beamed in her seat.

“Rione has been liberated in such a short amount of time!?”

King Asparuf nearly fell over when he heard my report.

“Well, our strategy was more efficient than anticipated……”

Dylan struggled to articulate his reply to the King’s outburst.

Although his gaze wondered in my direction, he didn’t dare to look directly at me, instead opting to focus on the map spread out on the table.

The elder wryly smiled, but his eyes remained locked to the table.

Margrave Branier spoke up next.

After offering Dylan and Fargas a deep bow, he went on to give his report.

“The invading forces were annihilated at the territory’s border, and for the time being, Hiruku’s invasion has been halted. Ferufivisurotte-sama’s power is beyond comprehension……”

A  storm of emotions ran across the margrave’s face as he patted down his receding gray hair.

I could understand that emotional storm.

How powerless must a person feel in the presence of being that could casually turn a river into a vast lake?

There were many irrational existences in this world that humans would call monsters, but she was a degree beyond even them…… a being within the realm of gods and devils.

If Ariane were here, I’m pretty sure she would say “Couldn’t the same be said about you?”, or something along those lines…… Yes, as a heavenly knight, I had strength comparable to Ferufivisurotte’s might, but I needed to borrow the power of a celestial (angel) to reach that level.

While my swordsmanship and magic have improved thanks to training and a deeper understanding of my abilities, the power of the heavenly knight skills were a completely different  matter.

In fact, the sensation of merging with the seraph was getting stronger.

Perhaps it as something only I could comprehend.

“──then there shouldn’t be an issue with advancing on Hiruku with the use of transfer magic, our assault will be centered on the Holy City, Arthus.

I emerged from the torrent of my own thoughts to find Dylan pointing out our next targets on the map…… a target that triggered a surprised gasp from the humans.

“Please wait, Dylan-dono. Since the beginning, we’ve been prepared to march on the Theocracy, but to attack the holy city without capturing any other cities is…”

Asparuf was the first to speak.

Their worries were obvious…… when you invaded a neighboring country, you had to capture the cities and strongholds to secure a supply route and ensure that your forces weren’t surrounded and annihilated.

However, that was only an issue for conventional armies.

“Asparuf-dono, your concerns are reasonable, but this is different from the average human military operations. We’ll be using transfer magic to launch a decisive strike on the holy city. There would be no need for a supply route, and even if the enemy tried to use a pincer attack we wouldn’t need to retreat. We can immediately return here. Our goal is to kill the current pope, that is all.”

Dylan said so as he marked the capital, the pope’s seat of power, on the map.

King Asparuf, margrave Branier, and Prince Sect silently looked at the black piece sitting on the table.

The raised groaning was because of the strategy itself.

Their fear of the elves’ frightening mobility, which allowed them to carry out operations and withdraw before human armies could react, was reflected in their eyes.

It was the equivalent surrounding the enemy king on the first turn in shogi.

Moreover, if the humans managed to capture a pawn, an invincible dragon king was waiting in the wings…… there was no way to win for them. What would you do in the face of such terror?

The prince managed to look away from the map and speak.

“Calling it a short, decisive battle isn’t the best way to describe it. Won’t Ferufivisurotte-dono and Williahsfim-done be participating?”

Prince Sect smiled in his usual manner when Dylan nodded in response to the question.

“Then, it should be fine, right? A short expedition is better for the soldiers and us.”

Asparuf reluctantly agreed with the prince’s statement, but the margrave pointed at the map…… he was focused on Larissa, the capital of Salma.

“I have no objections to attacking the holy city, but I ask for your help in reclaiming Larissa. According to Arc-dono’s report, the undead still occupy the city. In light of recent events, I would like to save as many people as possible.”

As a citizen of Salma, his request was to be expected.

Delfuento’s capital was in the midst of being liberated, but the aftermath of the Uriu river battle made it impossible to reach Larissa from the margrave’s territory on foot.

However, since I’ve already drawn the location, I could take our forces the moment the decision to go was made.

It was better to reclaiming Salma’s capital now rather than later.

Dylan contemplated the request before offering the margrave a small nod.

“Expelling undead from the city will be a difficult task. Let’s send half of the elves and Blade Clan members in Delfuento to Larissa. We’ll have two days to prepare and allow the soldiers and warriors a day to rest.”

The elven warriors and the members of the Blade Heart Clan would be able to seek out the undead once they were moved to Salma.

Given the size of the capital city, it would take the purely human forces a month at best get the job done.

Dylan looked around to gauge everyone’s opinion on the matter.

“Margrave Branier shall spearhead the Larissa operations, with the troops stationed at the fortresses acting as the majority of his forces. It will be convenient for a representative of each nation to accompany him.”

When he saw that there were no objections, he scheduled the operation on the same day as the assault on the holy city.

Afterward, everybody left the chamber to begin preparations.

Three days later, on the day of the decisive battler, I glanced up at the clear blue sky and smiled.

The sky’s blue hue was the same as usual, there was no sign of the massive battle that was to come, nor of the misery infected upon the distant royal capitals.

It was the same sky that was always there.