Ch.240The Cradle of Black Stone. Long Legs (2)

BANG! KWAAANG!

KUOOOOO!

The violent 460mm main guns began to spit fire one after another.

The ships maneuvering to sink the Sky Warden were instantly blown to pieces, their gas cells bursting into flames. Soon, the other vessels were forced into evasive maneuvers to avoid the barrage of anti-ship missiles and CIWS fire, unable to mount an attack against the Sky Warden.

[Disperse! Spread out! Find the blind spots of their guns and flank them!]

“What a pitiful sight.”

I sneered at the Long Legs air force as they fled in disarray.

Those abominable creatures! They shall pay dearly for failing to recognize the Apostle of the Sun and showing disrespect to their true master!

“Load the nuclear shells! We shall purify this abominable nation!”

“Yes, sir! All batteries! Load nuclear shells!”

-Confirmed! Beginning nuclear shell loading!-

Following my command, nuclear shells—defined as “weapons of mass destruction” by most human civilizations—began loading into the chambers.

[Sky Warden! This is your last chance! Cease hostilities or we will shoot to kill!]

“It is you who squandered your last chance! You dared to insult the Apostle under the Sun’s gaze! Your destruction is inevitable, and your end is imminent! Meekly accept the holy purification by nuclear flash!”

[Nuclear flash…? No…! No…! Stop! I said stop!]

“HAH!!!! Fire all shells!!!”

[No….]

Even the right to scream was a luxury for these heretics.

Their final death throes were cut off with the communication, and I smiled as I watched the nuclear mushroom cloud bloom nearby.

Cities built like woodpeckers carving nests in trees were instantly swept away by the nuclear heat and pressure. Civilian aircraft without combat capabilities began fleeing to the sky and ground to escape the nuclear heat wave.

“What a glorious sight! Soon the world will know that the Sun’s radiance has returned!”

Like snowflakes melting in sunlight, like twilight giving way to dawn, like flower buds blooming in sunshine.

“What are you all doing? Are there not still members of this country remaining?! Kill them all, burn everything, purify everything! Divine extermination! This nation that dared deny the Sun no longer deserves to exist! It is our sacred calling to eliminate all the corrupted seeds in this city!”

As I shouted in frenzy, soldiers filled with ecstasy began loading nuclear shells while letting out wild cries.

O Sun, bear witness! This is judgment carried out in Your name!

“Behold their demise! Are we not the blessed chosen people who follow the Apostle of the Sun?”

“Long live Lord Victor! Long live the Sun! We fight in the name of Nariakira Saburo!”

Ah… what faithful resonance!

The soldiers are chanting the Sun’s name of their own accord, offering their faith to Him! It is because they have tempered their souls in the flames as they watched sinners burn in nuclear fire. This is the sacred mission I bear as the Sun’s Apostle—those who deny the Sun shall always burn in the Sun’s flames!

[All remaining ships, coordinate with the flagship for a full-scale attack! In the name of Net, we shall pass judgment on that devil who burned our homeland! To the Blood God, we offer the blood of our fallen compatriots! To the Love God, the pleasure of righteous vengeance! To the Wisdom God, our strategy! To the Prosperity God, the reconstruction of our homeland from the ruins!]

“My lord. The remaining Long Legs warships have begun firing.”

At those words, my brow furrowed.

Devil? How dare they… Those who call me—the one called to be an Apostle for humanity’s rightful master—a devil are the true devils!

“Annihilate them all! We shall burn their corpses as offerings to the Sun!”

“Understood!”

-Battle stations! The remnants are charging! Our lord desires their deaths, and we shall deliver!-

Once again, the Sky Warden roared with its main guns, bombarding the approaching ships. From the missile launchers, 40 missiles were fired simultaneously, sinking destroyers and patrol ships trying to exploit blind spots.

[Damn it! Our attacks aren’t working!]

[We’ve lost 28% of our remaining forces!]

[Retreat! That ship is a monster! It’s possessed by an evil god!]

But while they could damage the Sky Warden, they couldn’t sink it.

Of course not.

This ship is the Sun’s vessel, modified and improved by me, the Sun’s Apostle, to possess dignity befitting His holy war—the only ark in this world to have witnessed the Sun’s radiance.

How could such a sacred vessel be destroyed by mere mortal attacks? Not a chance in hell.

I smiled in the captain’s quarters as I watched the helpless remnant ships falling from the sky.

Just two people.

One whose skull was cracked for being disrespectful to me, and one heretic who uttered the blasphemy that the Sun was already dead.

Because of just those two people, a city-state where millions lived has completely met its end.

The cities suspended in the sky were thoroughly destroyed by nuclear flames, napalm smoke, high-explosive pressure waves, and cluster bomb fragments, soon becoming a complete dead zone of silence.

All that could be heard was the sound of high-altitude wind and the crackling of intertwined ashes as they died down.

“At last, the city of sin has been cleansed. Is this not a beautiful sight? Their souls will be purified in the heavens and return to earth, so my soldiers should feel no guilt.”

“There are none who do. We are the Sun’s soldiers, and you are the Sun’s Apostle. To deny your existence is to deny our reason for being. Long Legs was a nation that deserved destruction.”

“Your words put my heart at ease. Raise the Sky Warden high, to the place closest to the Sun. We shall look down upon the battlefield of our small holy war while enjoying meat and drink.”

“It shall be done.”

I nodded with satisfaction.

It’s not as if we’re doing anything unreasonable.

In this world, faith is a serious matter, and it wasn’t uncommon for entire nations to face destruction for incurring wrath by uttering blasphemies like “your god is dead” to someone who had ascended to the Apostle’s seat.

Even the Crusader, Apostle of Karil, routinely erased several cities infested with drugs without batting an eye under the pretext of eternal holy war against evil—killing a mere few hundred thousand wasn’t such a big deal.

And above all… the soldiers’ attitude pleased me immensely.

Just a day ago, I wondered if they truly held faith in the Sun, but today I was certain they were indeed an army of radiance, armed with loyalty to me and faith in the Sun.

*

“Religion is a serious matter even for the private soldiers serving an Apostle. Why do you think the soldiers follow you? The fact that they chose to serve under the Sun’s Apostle when they could have followed the Four Gods means they had at least a spark of faith. This incident has ignited that small spark into a flame.”

Amidst the feast of various meats and drinks in the dining hall, Simon politely sipped his wine and explained to me about the soldiers’ loyalty.

Indeed, that’s why they fought so zealously.

For those who fight for faith, removing faith is like extracting the brain and heart from a human.

“By the way, this situation has become quite difficult.”

“True. Originally, I planned to replenish supplies and personnel here. Now we’ll have to go to another city.”

Simon nodded. Our supplies were running low, and the Sky Warden, having fought a fierce battle, needed more ammunition.

“Though it’s been destroyed, the scenery here isn’t bad… After enjoying the view, we’ll head to a coastal city to requisition Centrum’s armored weapons, supplies, and personnel. It’s time we left this Meridia continent.”

“Yes… I can hardly believe we’re already heading to our fourth continent…”

“Don’t worry too much. I still remember when you were being crushed to death by that yeti.”

“Hehe… Come to think of it, that’s true.”

Cheers!

Simon and I clinked glasses and toasted to each other’s well-being.

The elves had returned to their drunken mode, and the dwarves still hadn’t recovered from the shock of the 460mm naval guns’ explosions, so only we couple and Simon remained in our right minds.

And after the banquet, I had to endure another round of nagging from my wife, who was sulking because she thought I liked the bearded old man more than her.