Ch.229Towards the Sky. Peledias (8)

“Become an offering of 30 gold coins!!!!”

As I shouted those words to draw the trolls’ aggro, a barrage of grenades, flames, arrows, and magic began raining down upon our heads.

The trolls who had discovered us and were charging with thunderous steps collapsed pathetically to the ground, caught off guard by the unexpected attack. Meanwhile, Raisha and I plunged our aura-infused blades into the trolls’ hearts as we carved our way into the center of the enemy forces.

KUOOOOO!

“GUOOOOO!!!”

Flames from the flamethrower split the troll horde into pieces, and merciless grenades and magic spells flew toward the scattered trolls.

Arrows flew at the trolls trying to flank us, so Raisha and I had no need to worry about anything but what lay ahead.

KUWUNG!

“Ha!”

I blocked a troll trying to crush me with a boulder, then swung my sword to cut through both the rock and the troll’s right arm.

The azure aura blade, colored like ocean waves, could cut through anything. The trolls desperately tried to regenerate their flesh and bones, but our movements to carve out their hearts were faster.

A body harder than armor despite wearing none, combined with a holy sword blessed by the gods that could cut through anything—what was there to fear?

I suppressed a laugh as I recalled how just a year ago, I had struggled to kill a single ogre and ended up severely wounded.

I’ve grown stronger now. Stronger than yesterday, stronger than a year ago. I’ve obtained the most brilliant glory among those who march toward death.

“Consider it an honor to fall to my blade! You wretched and pitiful creatures! I am the Apostle of the Sun and the Blade of Heaven!”

“Glory to my master! May Maria protect us!”

Power flows through our battle cries that shake the earth. The troll horde, reduced by half in an instant, now had fear in their eyes, while my wife and I, covered in their hot red blood, laughed in the ecstasy of slaughter.

Eventually, the youngest and weakest of the monsters, the child trolls, began to flee.

They threw away their laboriously carved wooden clubs and moved according to the fundamental principle inscribed in all living beings—the desire to survive.

But they could not escape.

Spiraling missiles of magical energy, grenades that severed their ankles, flames that burned their skin, and finally, arrows that pierced their hearts and brains found them.

“UOOOOOOO!!!”

Seeing their children die before their eyes, the parent trolls went berserk and charged at us.

And they died like animals being slaughtered.

Like livestock being butchered, their bones and flesh were diced into pieces and scattered across the ground, while their nerves and muscles twitched and died waiting for signals from brains that would never respond.

“Die with joy! The radiance of the sun shall burn you all!”

“Long live the Sun!”

I swung Ignatus, and the mark that operated by burning my life force was strengthened and amplified, creating an intense radiance like a small sun exploding.

KWAAAA!

Dazzling, brilliant, and proportionally powerful, Ignatus erupted. The trolls’ bodies burned black, dying in flames before they could even attempt to use their vaunted regenerative abilities.

“Praise the great Sun! We all shall walk in Saburo’s light and Maria’s darkness…!”

Offering a prayer to the Sun, I gazed at the completely destroyed troll horde.

Monsters walk the earth not because the Sun is incompetent, but because they are insignificant beings not worth burning with His power.

The souls of humans who die at the hands of such insignificant creatures will be gathered by the Sun, and cultivating and training oneself to eliminate these creatures is also the Sun’s will—isn’t all of this part of the Sun’s grand design?

With these thoughts, I cleaned the blood from my Purifier’s blade with an expression of ecstasy.

It had been a very long time since I’d been able to stain my blade with blood.

How glorious is battle and war carried out in the name of the Sun?

*

“Keuuu! The taste of victory makes alcohol even sweeter!”

Lucia, a drinker through and through, said with a flushed face, but tonight she had earned the right to say such things.

After a very long time, we had enjoyed an adventure.

Looking up at the night sky, watching the drifting clouds, we filled our hungry stomachs with eggs and meat roasted over the campfire, bread and salad, while drinking and reminiscing.

What awaited us now was a heroic return, the Sky Warden that was waiting for us while healing its old wounds, and the 10,000 soldiers waiting for me.

“It was a glorious battle. Arrows and magic, bombs and flames, and swords and spears all working together to vanquish monsters—that too is an honorable deed. Isn’t that right, Sage?”

“You speak true, Knight of the Sun. Honestly, I was worried that our skills might have dulled from all our comfortable adventuring… but it seems those concerns were unfounded.”

“Uwahaha! Now there’s no one in our party who can’t handle aura! Even that dwarf who just shoots bombs and flames like a little girl knows how to use aura, so we can take down pretty much any enemy now!”

Lucia said, flapping her arms drunkenly.

She’s right. If our party exerted our full strength, we could easily destroy an entire city.

But those “pretty much any” enemies were scattered all across the 13 continents where we lived, so there was always the possibility of death if we let our guard down.

It was precisely because we had let ourselves relax on New Year’s Day and got blindsided that we set out on this adventure.

Of course, we didn’t have to worry about repair costs, but we couldn’t spend our spare time just lazing around either.

And occasionally, we needed an excuse to set aside the formalities and pretenses of nobility.

Even I, born of humble origins, couldn’t claim to have fully internalized noble etiquette yet, so relieving stress in such casual settings was certainly a positive thing.

“We’ll reach Peredias tomorrow. By then, the Sky Warden should be ready to launch again, and we can resume training the soldiers.”

“And then we’ll head to Harpoon Bay. We’ve now completed half of our pilgrimage across the Meridia continent… time really flies…”

“Our boss may be a pain in the ass, but he’s good at what he does. Despite his personality being bad enough to smash an elf’s pretty face and whip his wife 3,000 times, he still manages to lead a private army and an airship quite impressively!”

“They say drunken words are honest words. I never thought I’d hear praise from your mouth.”

“Hehehe! Who pays for my drinks? I can provide this much service!”

“Your slurring shows how drunk you are.”

We laughed and chatted until the campfire turned to ashes.

These were days of realizing that adventures in the sky could never replace adventures on the ground.

*

Four days after we departed from Peredias, we returned.

[Brigade Commander. You’re back.]

[Ah! You’ve arrived? The Sky Warden’s repairs are complete, and all soldiers are on board.]

[The officers?]

[The officers are still in the city, but they’ll come quickly if summoned. Should I gather them?]

[Yes. We’ll be leaving this city soon. Check if there’s anything we’re forgetting or any unsettled contracts, then contact me.]

[Understood, my lord.]

The remote conversation through the implant ended.

All that remained was to organize what was left, load what we had newly gathered onto the Sky Warden, and head to Harpoon Bay.

It was time to bid farewell to Peredias.

We had seen good things and experienced bad things, but in the grand scheme, wasn’t it all part of the Sun’s design?

We led our horses back to the newly refurbished Sky Warden.

The freshly painted appearance was unfamiliar, but seeing the large letters spelling “Sky Warden” was reassuring.

[Lord Victor and his party members have boarded. Company commanders, platoon leaders, and non-commissioned officers should explain the appearance and characteristics of the distinguished guests to the new recruits once more.]

-Everyone assemble! We’re departing soon! Roll call in the barracks!-

I watched the busy military chaplains for a moment before making my way to the captain’s quarters.

Someday, they too will abandon their worship of the Four and come to believe in humanity’s true master and god, Nariakira Saburo.

As I spread more divinity and once again propagate the gospel of the Sun in this world, this is the sacred mission of a Knight of the Sun who has awakened to receive divine revelation.

Even if I must shoulder this task alone, I will praise the name of the Sun until my last breath.

Blessings shall be upon those who believe and follow the Sun, and curses upon those who deny Him.