Ch.341Hall of Mercy. Isabella Hospital (1)

Year of Extinction 1203, Month 17, Day 2.

With the new year approaching, snowflakes had accumulated softly on the upper armor of the Sky Warden, as if announcing the arrival of winter.

-Notice. As of this moment, we have crossed the continental shelf of the Terius Continent (the extended portion of the continent with depths between 35m and 240m). We have now entered the territorial waters of the Terius Continent.-

-All medical officers and medics are to report to the administrative office to receive pamphlets regarding endemic diseases of the Terius Continent.-

And finally, as of today, the Sky Warden had arrived at the Terius Continent, and soon announcements flowed from the situation room.

The soldiers looked out the windows upon hearing this, while the medics and medical officers rushed to the administrative office to receive pamphlets about the continent’s endemic diseases before returning to the medical bay.

-He was born on the first continent and has now come to this eighth continent! Praise the great footsteps of our master! Glorify the footprints our lord leaves behind! You are the most radiant beings who follow the Master of Fervor!-

After the priests finished their habitual worship and ideological education, the voice tube closed again.

“So we’ve finally arrived. The Terius Continent.”

Viktor smiled faintly as he gazed at the distant shape of the continent.

This was now the eighth continent, but for him, who had gained small yet profound insights, there was nothing to fear anymore.

His direction for governance had been established, and concerns about losing his humanity were now a thing of the past.

All that remained was to complete his pilgrimage and gain recognition from the people of the 13 continents that he had the right to establish a dynasty.

It was somewhat arrogant, but who could stand against him now? Even if half the world pointed their guns and swords at him, he was now the one and only being with the power to subdue them and unify the world.

Only someone with such justified arrogance could sit in the sacred position of humanity’s ruler. Wasn’t the absence of opposition a sign that the world’s people were ready to accept him as their implicit leader?

Even if that wasn’t the case, it didn’t matter.

It would soon be so.

*

Time passed, and on the 9th day of the 17th month of 1203, the Army of the Sun finally arrived at Isabella Hospital.

“It’s dazzling.”

Viktor muttered, gazing at the massive white structure that filled the entire plain.

“Dazzling? You?”

“Of course not. It was just a figure of speech.”

When Simon snickered in disbelief, Viktor quickly played it off.

Naturally, as the Master of Fervor, he wasn’t literally dazzled by the sight—it was merely a metaphorical expression.

Even when he was just a knight, he could stare directly at the artificial sun with his eyes wide open. It was impossible for him to be dazzled by a mere sight like this.

“Uh… what’s this? Radar malfunction?”

“Try turning it off and on again.”

“I’ve already rebooted it once. But why are the results like this? This is forest-level density.”

Like a mountain covered in eternal snow, thousands of buildings clustered together, and an enormous number of drones filled the sky above them. When the Sky Warden’s radar first detected the swarm of drones, they mistook them for a plague of locusts.

The items suspended below, above, or in front of the drones were diverse.

Clothes for patients. Food and medications. Various chemicals and waste materials were being transported and properly processed not by human hands, but by machines.

“Now it’s completely black?”

“Just how many drones are there?”

There were so many that the radar couldn’t capture them individually, displaying them not as a collection of dots but as a solid surface.

What if those drones were loaded with bombs and explosives and sent charging at the Sky Warden? Viktor swallowed hard, then expressed relief that these machines were moving for the purpose of saving lives, not taking them.

“Such massive buildings. That such an enormous hospital can be maintained. Truly a marvel of civilization. Or should I say, a triumph of humanity?”

Remarkably, this place was operated by volunteers. People who received no money or compensation, silently dedicating themselves to their fellow humans—wasn’t this the ultimate expression of altruism and dedication?

Viktor silently gazed at the ground below. Apart from the drones frantically flying about, Isabella Hospital had two pathways—one for entering and one for exiting.

The atmosphere of these two paths differed greatly. Those entering were severe casualties, perhaps victims of biochemical weapons, with skin peeled off and bones exposed—people who looked so terrible that it wouldn’t be strange if they died at any moment.

The procession of those who couldn’t survive transport and died midway, but whose injuries were so severe that no one noticed they had died, being silently carried on trucks and carts to the hospital, created an eerie and terrible atmosphere like souls being led to the afterlife by the grim reaper.

In contrast, the exit path overflowed with hope.

Skin that had been festering and peeled was regenerated, bearing mottled scars as medals; crushed and broken bones were reconnected after thousands of steel pins were inserted; and damaged organs were replaced with artificially cultured ones made specifically for them. Those who had gained new life walked out with expressions of rebirth.

Unlike those above who seemed helpless and headed for slaughter, these people were walking endlessly toward somewhere, leading their own bodies with their own will.

“A beautiful sight.”

Viktor said this while observing the stark contrast between those being carried in and those walking out.

When he ascended to the throne, this hospital would someday become a graveyard for machines.

It had to be, and it must be. Because he would establish an empire to end such tragedies.

“Prepare for landing and descent.”

“Yes, sir!”

“And make sure the medics and medical officers descend to learn their techniques. It will be useful someday.”

“Understood!”

Already blessed by the sun, the Army of the Sun boasted complete invulnerability to heat, light, and biological or biochemical weapons.

This was because the sun was both the master of humanity and the master of the world, and everything under the sun was essentially a creation of Nariakira Saburo, or Viktor Walker. Therefore, nothing produced in the world could harm them unless it was an artificial product made by humans.

For example, their immunity to biological and chemical weapons was because these weren’t created from nothing but were mixtures of bacteria, pathogens, or various materials that already existed in nature—mere crude copies of what already existed in the world rather than humanity’s original creations.

For this reason, they were immune to biochemical warfare, which most armies managed with extreme care, and for the same reason, they were immune to heat stroke, sunstroke, and even hypothermia. How could one feel cold when blessed by the sun itself?

“But my lord, aren’t we already invulnerable to biochemical warfare?”

“Legion Commander, they are my soldiers now, but they cannot live as my soldiers forever. Someday they must return to being ordinary civilians, and when that happens, won’t the knowledge learned now certainly be useful? As you know, chemical burns like these, or multiple organ failure due to immune system collapse, are extremely difficult to treat, and related knowledge is hard to find. If we learn this knowledge, we might be able to save our allies in future wars, and furthermore, innocent civilians as well.”

“Ah… I apologize, my lord. My thinking was limited.”

“It’s fine. Isn’t harboring doubts and asking questions a human privilege? Those who endlessly question the present and develop are human, while those who are satisfied with their situation and seek to maintain the status quo are no different from livestock—the dregs of humanity. Remember this: change always triumphs over stagnation.”

“I will engrave it in my bones and heart.”

Viktor said this while enjoying the sensation of gradually descending.

He would become the founder of an empire, but he did not think his empire would be eternal and immortal.

The Nariakiran Empire had lasted for about 300,000 years by conservative estimates, or 350,000 years if counting the Era of the Solar Eclipse. Wouldn’t lasting about a million years be considered a long existence?