Chapter 485. The Conclusion of Healer Ayanokouji (Part 2)
「Rolling smoke and fire swept across the world.」
「The Kingdom's civil war could no longer be concealed; more than half of its territory was engulfed in the flames of conflict.」
「The Kingdom possessed a world-class King and six top-tier experts—the Three Heroes and the Three Braves. However, the King was so harassed by Ayanokouji Kiyotaka that he could do nothing but hold the Royal Capital. If he left, the Kingdom's reputation and majesty would be swept away, vanishing entirely.」
「Of the Three Braves, the Magic Hero Flare had been killed, and the Blade Hero Blade had been captured. Of the Three Heroes, the Sword Saint Kureha had defected, and Eagle Eye had been slain.」
「Only two of the original six remained. On Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's side, experts of the same caliber, such as Kureha and Eve Reese, held the line, creating a stalemate.」
「Consequently, ordinary soldiers were rarely "mowed down" by high-level entities, keeping morale impressively high.」
「For most, morale was high; for some, it wasn't just high—it was zombie-like. They feared neither death nor pain, leading every charge. They could hold war councils for three days and three nights without eating or drinking, remaining in a state of hyper-excitability.」
「This was the group of die-hard loyalists led by the Ultimate Four—loyalists who, if ordered by Ayanokouji Kiyotaka to commit suicide, would slit their own throats without a moment's hesitation.」
「Leading this faction, the snowball rolled larger and larger. Any territory they conquered would, within a week, see its residents surrender their hearts, becoming slaves under the jurisdiction of the Earth Emperor with complete sincerity.」
「"They held great sabers, hacking from the east of the city to the west, drenched in blood without so much as blinking. They screamed for their Emperor at the top of their lungs—who wouldn't be scared out of their wits?"」
「"However, after the Kingdom's army retreated, I realized what true superficiality meant. Lord Ultimate Four and his men aren't scary; they are practically angels!"」
「"The Kingdom's tax was seventy percent; the Emperor's faction only takes fifty. If we keep an altar for the Emperor in our homes, it can even drop to forty—where else can you find such a deal? It's like a meat pie falling from the sky!"」
「...The above was the general sentiment of the local residents.」
「Of course, they didn't tie themselves to the Emperor's side that easily. After all, what if the Emperor's faction eventually lost?」
「They would side with whoever won.」
「They planned to wait until the Emperor's faction had completely triumphed and the Kingdom was eradicated before officially defecting, thus avoiding any risks.」
「...Or so they said, but they couldn't withstand the constant stream of victory reports from the Emperor's forces. Today they "took such-and-such city," tomorrow they "beheaded such-and-such Kingdom General."」
「Blinded by these results, the "fence-sitters" finally couldn't sit still. Wanting to share in the glory of the founding era, they sent their sons to join the Emperor's army.」
「These people were lucky. For those fence-sitters who did not clearly declare their loyalty before the Kingdom's fall, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had already decided: once he settled the Kingdom, he would launch a massive massacre against them.」
「To manifest the absolute majesty of the Earth Emperor.」
「...While the war was ongoing, one of Ayanokouji's loyalists discovered a secret in a lake near Keyaru's hometown.」
「A spirit lived in that lake, capable of granting human wishes.」
「The loyalist did not use the wish for himself but reported it directly. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka rewarded him, allowing the man to receive a garment previously worn (but unwashed) by the Earth Emperor, before setting off for the lake.」
「"Humanity's ancient ancestors once had a covenant with us spirits. Human, what is it you desire?"」
「The spirit was beautiful, but only averagely so—not quite at Eve Reese's level. However, she carried herself with divinity and was very generous.」
「Yet, the Earth Emperor did not need gifts; he took what he wanted... provided, of course, he could win the fight.」
「Before Ayanokouji arrived personally, he had sent Kureha and Eve to beat the spirit into submission, but both of them had been cleanly defeated.」
「The spirit's combat power was slightly higher than the King's.」
「She also had an excellent personality, as she didn't strike a killing blow against Kureha or Eve... But what if she had? It wouldn't have mattered much.」
「The last of the Three Heroes had already been ambushed and killed by Ayanokouji. If Kureha and Eve had died, he might have even felt it added a bit of "interesting difficulty" to the game.」
「Since a frontal assault failed, he said: "I want you."」
「After her initial shock, the spirit did not refuse. She became Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's sixth concubine, receiving his favor.」
「Conquered by Ayanokouji's 'Tyrannosaurus,' the spirit finally lost her indifferent, divine expression... Ayanokouji then asked her: To what extent could she grant a wish?」
「"Can you make it so that if I am blown into space, I remain unharmed? Can I kick myself back from the moon? Can I be resurrected with full health the moment I die? Can the power of a serious sword swing be enough to instantly level half a country? And if I go all out, can I destroy a continent—or even a planet?"」
「The spirit fell silent, looking at him with a bizarre gaze that clearly said, 'What kind of pipe dream are you having?'」
「In this world, where the peak experts could only destroy a city with their ultimate move, he actually wanted to jump to a level where he could destroy continents? It could only be described as whimsical.」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka didn't say another word. He directly "overwhelmed" the spirit, riding the one who dared to look at him like that until she turned into a pile of soft mush.」
「The pleading spirit could only say: "To satisfy such a request, only the Philosopher's Stone in the entire world could do it. Perhaps the Philosopher's Stone could turn you into that."」
「The Philosopher's Stone was meant to be used to move worlds; it could not be taken for other purposes.」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was forced to give up on the idea of becoming a second Reinhard.」
-
-
-
"Oh-ho, I see, I see! It seems if I went over there, I'd be one of the top five strongest experts in the whole world!"
In the Sacred Vollachia Empire, Madelyn Eschart, one of the Nine Divine Generals, was beaming with joy. She was an expert who could level a city with a single breath of dragon fire. Actually, that level of strength was quite formidable.
It's just that, in this world teeming with monsters, she didn't amount to much... Reinhard, Puck, the White Whale and Great Rabbit, the Three Heroes, the Four Great Spirits, the Archbishops, and the Witches.
Even if she excluded those like Roswaal, Emilia, Priscilla, the Blue Lightning, the Sword Devil, the previous Sword Saint, the Eight-Armed Kurgan, and Garfiel—people whose vitality and defense were average enough to be won over by a lucky ambush.
There were still at least twenty entities she couldn't kill even with a one-sided surprise attack.
If she couldn't kill them with a sneak attack, what hope was there in a frontal clash?
It felt incredibly stifling.
"Mhm mhm! It's not that I'm too weak at all; it's that this world is too abnormal! So many strange and powerful freaks. Hmph hmph, turns out I'm a top-tier expert after all!"
The "Flying Dragon General" held her head high with pride, hands on her hips, feeling quite impressive.
"I~ am~ super~ strong~!"
Read ahead (160 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting