Ch.119119. Winds of Plague (1)

“About what you mentioned earlier, is there really room for such an interpretation?”

“Yes. The Archbishop said the same thing.”

“Sigh…”

“If you don’t trust me, would you like to hear from another priest?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s not that I don’t trust you, priest… I apologize.”

It wasn’t at all that she didn’t believe him. Her sigh was for the same reason.

Priests spend most of their lives in prayer and studying theology.

In doing so, they prove their faith and cultivate holy power instead of magical power.

This sacred power has such tremendous influence that it can heal the injured and even resurrect those on the brink of death.

But that’s only when holy power is used for healing. The divinity granted to these priests is not for healing arts but for reading divine language.

Those who devote their entire lives to reading divine language in temples couldn’t possibly misread or make mistakes.

“Hmm… I didn’t know what it meant, but judging by the Countess’s reaction, it must be quite serious.”

“…It’s not just serious.”

Dahlia, who had received the information in the carriage, chimed in from the side, supporting her sister’s reaction.

The priest let out a heavy sigh, saying, “To think even the Marchioness would say such a thing…”

“Let’s go. It would be better for you to see it with your own eyes.”

The two sisters silently followed the priest. Past the prayer room, deep inside to the chamber of divine revelation.

Eventually, their footsteps ceased, and as the final door opened, the three arrived at the chamber of divine revelation.

The formation of the clock face and hands.

The mysterious divine revelations bestowed by the northern and southern constellations came into view.

“The clock… is this the divine revelation you mentioned earlier?”

“No. It can’t be this one.”

“Huh?”

“I helped decode this one myself. So I know.”

“As Countess Beryl said, the revelation of this clock has not yet been interpreted. Please look over there.”

Looking where the priest pointed, another formation was visible beyond the clock formation.

“You can view it from left to right. As I mentioned earlier, these two symbols represent plague. The one right next to it is a young soldier facing the plague with a shield.”

The sentence about a shield facing an abstract entity like plague doesn’t make sense on its own. It clearly has an implied meaning.

“A young soldier with a shield facing the plague… That fits perfectly if the young soldier represents those currently in battle.”

“Indeed. It’s like it’s describing the ongoing Schütt Extermination Campaign.”

The priest nodded in agreement that they understood correctly.

The imperial soldiers fighting against the Scourge, presumed to be the cause of the Lemtert plague.

The image matched the current situation perfectly, targeting both the plague and those who took up shields to protect the empire.

“However, three more images were added here today. This is what I wanted to show you both.”

“Is this… the young soldier with the shield from before?”

The young soldier, who was thought to represent the soldiers, appeared again. But unlike before, his shield was broken, and the man was in despair.

“Ominously, if this soldier represents the empire, it means we are on the path to defeat.”

“But that’s not actually the case, is it?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the Schütt Extermination Campaign has already reported one victory despite much worse conditions. The campaign is still proceeding smoothly.”

“Hmm…”

It felt suspicious even on the surface.

Enough to understand why they had rushed here after hearing that a great crisis might be looming over the empire.

For now, the three concluded that since the Schütt Extermination Campaign was progressing successfully, this crisis had been averted.

“And this magic formation is the last one. I’m not sure if it’s related to the previous two, but I wanted to show this to you as well.”

“…!”

“Sister, this is…”

“Yes. This isn’t a magic formation. It was very wise of you to call just the two of us, Priest.”

Although it was called a magic formation, everyone in the temple, including the Archbishop, and even magic professors from the Academy had been consulted about this image, but they all shook their heads.

However, the two sisters’ reactions were quite different. The priest could finally ask about this magic formation.

“What exactly is this magic formation?”

Though they hadn’t rushed here because of this, if the priest had mentioned this first, the two sisters might have come running immediately.

After hesitating, Denise was the first to speak.

“How much do you know about the types of magical power, Priest?”

“Pardon…?”

Denise’s question unexpectedly began with the types of magical power that people possess.

***

Bang-!

The sound of fireworks is heard from the rear. The entire Tembris team confirms three fireworks exploding in succession.

“Three of them, we need to finish this quickly.”

Those fireworks, like signal flares, meant they should retreat due to monster attacks if they hadn’t achieved their objective, and return within the time limit.

And the number too. Three in succession meant they had to rejoin the main force within 30 minutes.

“I think 30 minutes is plenty. What do you all think?”

As Goden asks this while pushing back the approaching Scourge, someone corrects him.

“Say it properly. You should ask if we can deal with that and rejoin the main force within 30 minutes.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?!”

Clang-!

He deflects a much larger front leg with wall-like firmness.

Unlike the pitiful size of the Scourge they had seen so far, a much more massive enemy stands before their eyes.

The plague’s Shanbereshu, which had been designated as a named monster early on and was suspected to be the mother of the Scourge.

Since the Scourge spread their offspring through self-destruction and caused plague by eating away at their hosts’ magical power, they had expected a formidable battle when they first encountered it.

However, despite their concerns, the mother turned out to be less threatening than anticipated.

“Senia, are you sure about that?”

“Why ask twice, Aris? I wouldn’t lie here.”

“Just making sure. I didn’t expect the magical circuit to have a completely different structure. Thanks to that, we’re taking it down so easily!”

After examining the Shanbereshu’s internal structure with magical sight, Senia said that despite its size, its internal structure was different from the Scourge.

It was focused solely on producing offspring and couldn’t self-destruct like the Scourge.

So what did this mean?

“Then let’s blow it up with a bang!”

BOOM!!

-SCREECH!!!!

“Whew, now that’s a satisfying explosion.”

“I’ll freeze the left leg again. Aris, please stop attacking for now!”

“Did you hear that? Goden, cover from the right.”

“Okay. Just trust me! I’ll push them all back!”

It meant they could use magic freely. As long as there were no Scourge offspring.

Naturally, the mother is dying under the enemy’s all-out attack. Would the offspring just stand by and watch? Of course not.

But Tembris had prepared for this as well.

“Michelle, Erika. How long can you hold?”

“Five minutes. I’d like it to be over by then. Erika seems quite tired.”

“It’s not that bad, I can go for about 10 minutes.”

“Either way, it won’t take that long, right?”

“Then we should finish quickly. I’ll join the attack instead of parrying!”

“I’ll finish it next. Give me some room.”

A wall of blue flames that burns away magical power and a wall of holy power different from magic created a perimeter to attack the Shanbereshu.

With each member having a clearly defined role, before long, the massive body collapses to the ground, bearing marks of human attacks all over.

Thud.

It took exactly 5 minutes from their first encounter until its last breath.

“Extermination complete! Everyone return quickly!”

Having dealt with the mother of the Scourge, the urgent task now is to spread the news.

To prevent humans from becoming hosts to the monsters.

At the same time, the Tembris team wasn’t the only unit that received the signal from the main force.

“Oh, fireworks? That’s a signal, right?”

“Yes. It’s a signal for us. Seems like they want us to regroup.”

The signal also reached the Academy students positioned at the rear to prevent the main force from having to handle attacks from both sides.

Now, all that remained was for the remaining personnel to gather together.

“But how did Junon know to break through toward the main force first?”

“I don’t know either. Don’t ask me.”

“Isn’t he pushing himself too hard…”

“Just tell him to take it easy. Hey! Junon! Don’t overdo it, come with us!”

There’s no answer.

He silently continues doing his job, clearing a path by dealing with the Scourge alone.

***

“Hmm…”

The adjutant checks the time since sending the fireworks.

Professor Muniher had ordered that if they didn’t return within 30 minutes, he should lead a partial unit to rescue them.

But that wasn’t necessary.

“Oh, there they come! It’s Tembris!”

They returned unharmed. They even brought the Shanbereshu’s tail as evidence of their successful extermination.

They completed their mission so successfully that it seemed foolish to have doubted their ability to deal with a named monster.

“Tembris team, all members returning after Shanbereshu extermination.”

“That’s a relief. I was about to rush out if you were five minutes later.”

“Haha, our team isn’t that weak.”

“Anyway, good job. Thanks to your handling of the Shanbereshu, the Scourge’s numbers have visibly decreased. You must be tired, go to the barracks and rest.”

“Um… rather than resting right away, I have something to do. Where is the Commander?”

“If you mean Count Zelbarten…”

Come to think of it, the Commander had left this task to his adjutant and gone elsewhere.

“He’s waiting at the rear to watch the rear units regroup.”

Goden bowed his head and hurried off to find Muniher.

Meanwhile, the third-year students who had greatly lightened the main force’s burden from the rear also arrived.

Everyone looks surprised, as no one except the adjutant had been informed.

They were all drenched in Scourge fluid but weren’t badly injured.

The only issue was their number.

“It seems an entire squad is missing. What happened?”

“…There were deserters. Damn them.”

“What, during battle?”

“Yes! We almost died because those bastards got us surrounded!”

The students were denouncing their former comrades as if they were mortal enemies.

“I understand. That’s enough. Don’t you all need to rest too?”

Promising that punishment for battlefield desertion would be dealt with severely, he provided them time and space to rest.

In truth, having this many survivors was praiseworthy in itself. It was likely due to one person.

But…

‘Why such a gloomy face, Junon?’

The face of Junon, who could be called the hidden hero of this extermination campaign, didn’t look bright at all.

His steps back to the barracks didn’t seem light either. It was the silhouette of someone carrying an immense burden.

“What could have happened to make him not rejoice after such a victory?”

Tap, tap.

Pitter-patter.

“Oh my, it’s raining. Rain in this heat, tsk. If we had been delayed any longer, we would have faced an even greater ordeal. At this rate, he deserves to be named not a hidden hero but a recognized meritorious subject.”

But why was that? Muniher muttered.

And soon after, a team arrived.

“Huff, huff. Commander!”

“Hmm? What brings you here instead of resting?”

“It’s, well, about the Lemtert plague! That…!”

As Goden struggled to organize his thoughts, Senia cut in from beside him.

“The Scourge spread their offspring hidden in bodily fluids through self-destruction, and these offspring use magical beings as hosts, eating away at their magical power. We must prepare!”

“What?!”

The rain intensifies.

A downpour in the stifling heat.