Ch.1092Simple Cleanup

Priest’s lives are as tough as cockroaches.

…That sounds like something a demon might say, but honestly, there couldn’t be a more appropriate comparison.

Even the lowest-ranking priests could use healing miracles, so unless they suffered instant death or had most of their internal organs blown away, they rarely died.

Even if they collapsed from severe injuries that rendered them unable to fight, as long as they remained conscious, they could heal themselves and survive the crisis.

And even if they did lose consciousness, they could still survive with the help of other priests nearby.

Apparently, bodies steeped in holy power received miracles better than ordinary people? The same miracle was said to be about one and a half times more effective on them.

“427 wounded, all life-saving measures completed! 52 personnel require long-term care, no additional casualties!”

“Is that so? Well done. Thank you for your hard work.”

“For the goddess herself to offer words of praise…! This is the honor of my lifetime!”

That’s why most of the Holy Corps, who retreated promptly after my descent onto the battlefield, were able to survive.

Even the severely wounded who had already been evacuated mostly made it through the crisis.

Since the priests here weren’t at the level of a saint, complete recovery would take quite some time, but the fact that recovery was possible at all was already miraculous.

In the normal world, half of them would have died on field hospital beds with no hope of treatment, and about half of the remainder would have suffered permanent disabilities.

All hail the miracle of healing, I suppose.

—-

“Goddess…! How can we possibly thank you for the grace of saving our lives…?”

“Rather than me, you should thank Perlien. If Perlien hadn’t fought desperately, burning through his own body, you would have been annihilated before I even arrived.”

“Oh…such gracious words…! Thank you, thank you…!”

“…No, I’m saying thank me less and thank Perlien more…?”

After the Void creatures fled in unison, I somehow managed to calm down the priests who were trembling with emotion and began to sort out the situation.

I had those who still had some strength left gather the wounded abandoned on the battlefield, summoned healing priests to take charge of their treatment, and even prepared food for the exhausted.

Honestly, I just gave the orders while the priests did all the actual work.

Originally, I had planned to help directly, but they were so overwhelmed by the idea that they nearly passed out trying to stop me.

Well, I suppose I would have felt the same way.

From a priest’s perspective, if a god personally offered to prepare and serve a meal, would food even go down your throat past all that awe and pressure?

Giving that kind of unnecessary burden was actually worse than not helping at all—it was just getting in the way.

So inevitably, instead of actively helping them, I had to focus on what I do best.

What was that, you ask?

Well, I suppose you could call it map updating work…?

【 Sky Slash 】

A horizontal sword strike, like drawing a line on the ground with a stick. The force of spatial severance erupted with a roar, tearing apart the earth beyond the blade.

– KWADDDDDDDDK!

Destruction accompanied by earthquake and thunder.

A deep, wide, and jagged scar was carved into the earth that had been covered with half-melted monster corpses.

“Good heavens, a ravine… a ravine has formed!”

“This is the power of a god…!”

The priests who had been watching from a distance, wondering what I was trying to do, let out exclamations of amazement.

Well, they couldn’t help but be amazed. With just one swing of my sword, I had created a massive ravine in the desert. Even I had to admit this was literally divine power.

– Kurrrrrrrr….

The rocky cliff trembled with aftershocks, pouring sand and stones like a waterfall.

The fragments of rock that tumbled down splashed into the black river at the bottom of the ravine.

I was worried that magma might spurt out, but fortunately, it seemed I had succeeded in controlling the depth this time.

Judging by the black color of the underground water flowing at the bottom of the ravine, it appeared to be thoroughly contaminated with dark mana, but…

Well, the priests would take care of purifying it. That was beyond my domain. Creating the ravine was the extent of my job.

“Use this line I’ve drawn as a boundary. It won’t stop winged creatures, but those that crawl on the ground won’t easily cross over.”

That was the purpose of the ravine.

Walking monsters wouldn’t be able to jump across this ravine without considerable leaping power, and those that burrow through the ground would fall when the path was cut off in the middle.

What if they dig deeper than the ravine I created and cross over?

Well, let them try if they can. If they dig just ten meters deeper, they’ll come face to face with magma.

It’s not perfect, but this should serve as a temporary barrier.

Even with just this, we can significantly reduce the number of attacking monsters and slow their advance.

“Set up a defense line based on this ravine and hold out until reinforcements arrive. That should be possible, right?”

“Yes! We will defend this place with all our might! With our lives!”

…No, don’t stake your lives on it.

I really can’t say anything. How does “try to hold out using the ravine” translate to “die defending the ravine”?

This is why dealing with people full of religious fervor is exhausting. They tend to throw away their lives too easily in the name of faith.

“If it seems impossible, retreat. With your current numbers, the time you can buy by fighting to the death won’t amount to much anyway.”

Although we were able to save all the wounded, a considerable number had already died fighting desperately before I arrived.

With the remaining forces, even if they fought to the death until complete annihilation, they could only buy a few hours at most.

A timeframe that would have no impact on the overall battle situation. In other words, it would just be meaningless death.

“Forget about martyrdom or whatever—don’t rush to die. Choose survival if possible. As long as you’re alive, there will be plenty of opportunities to make up for it.”

Rather than that, it would be much better to retreat cleanly and then rejoin the reinforcements marching toward this location to fight again.

The priests were deeply moved, saying I was even more noble and merciful than they had heard, but for me, it was just obvious advice.

If those who could become stronger in the future died in meaningless time-buying efforts, it would be a massive long-term loss.

Just look at Perlien—he seemed to have gained a new power as a reward for his desperate struggle and defeating several Void creatures. What if he had died?

A Paladin with the bloodline of the Great’s Twelve Knights, the Oath Sword, ancestral protection, and two powers granted by Saulite—with just a little more strength, he could become a talent on par with the Four Dragons.

It would be a waste for such powerful potential to disappear before reaching its prime and making a proper contribution.

Not just Perlien, but high-ranking paladins too could reach a realm equal to heroes who have broken through their limits if they continue to refine themselves.

To avoid ending up like the Empire, which suffers from a hero shortage after losing many masters in civil war, these valuable talents should minimize losses even when fighting.

Even ordinary paladins could someday rise to become high-ranking paladins, and even common soldiers had the potential to become paladins.

In other words, all people are valuable potential talents, so the best outcome is for everyone to survive, whoever they may be.

So from my perspective, being praised as noble was rather embarrassing.

The reason I advised them not to die if possible wasn’t because I cherish and love all humans as they mistakenly believe.

It was a cold, rational conclusion that even those who are currently no better than ordinary people with spears could somehow level up and become stronger if they just don’t die.

That’s why I advise them not to die, and why I protect them when they might die—so they can become stronger and someday be of help to me.

Additionally, if lots of people die, it ultimately ends up helping Feyrus.

‘So this kind of praise is really burdensome. I’m not really doing this out of a sense of justice or love for humanity, so being misunderstood as noble makes me feel guilty…’

[Hmm…? But isn’t that, in fact, noble? What nonsense are you talking about?]

Hersella chided me in a tone mixed with perplexity and reproach, as if telling me not to say incomprehensible things. She even went so far as to insist that it was indeed a noble act.

She must have completely ignored my explanation.

I’m saying it’s not because of a sense of justice or love for humanity, but for the calculated reason that I want them to survive, grow stronger, and be of help to me!

Even if they’re just ordinary soldiers now, they might become heroes in 5 or 10 years, so I’m trying to protect all of them until then.

How is that noble in any way?

It’s similar to making an early investment in a small company showing growth potential for future profit.

The scope of investment has just expanded to include all people, but from motivation to outcome, it’s far from nobility. Is that so hard to understand?

Maybe it’s a cultural difference, but she was a woman I just couldn’t communicate with.