Chapter. 16. Saint and Perfection (15)
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There was chaos. It wasn’t an ordinary uproar, but an uproar on the level of mass murder of the commander.
“If you think about it, this isn’t usually a big problem? The troops gathered in Hetheln Castle right now are foreign troops from Teldrat and the Free Trade Alliance, and even Boreas Quilton Chiari Mercert…. 12? Aren’t these troops gathered from about 13 different territories? “Everyone is from a different country and has different nobles, but the nobles who would control them have disappeared!”
“Oh my, Centurion! Please lower your voice! There are a lot of technicians in the ward, so they hear everything! If this happens, all three of us will be caught!”
“But doesn’t Hedern’s sovereignty return to Roderick again? “For now, the commander of the Knights of Teldrat, who commands the largest army, will take on the position of temporary lord, but they say that soon the royal castle will send a nobleman from Roderick to act as the lord of the castle!”
“Is it because Roderick is a nobleman… and has a cause?”
“Hahaha! Lucky you, you know something! No matter how much it is an expeditionary force, troops from different affiliations are gathered together, and in a situation where one’s head is broken, who will come forward and receive nothing but insults for bringing a bowl of food into mourning? Except for our nobles from Rodrik, who are parties to the war! Roderick is the only one who has a reason to take up a new position in Hetheln, which ‘inevitably’ has ‘lost a noble to command’! So, in the name of the Allied Forces, the commander of this multinational army was suddenly decided to be a nobleman from Roderick! “Isn’t this like dodging an arrow by getting caught on a rock?”
“Oh my gosh, Centurion! Hey lucky one! Try stopping me too! “If you don’t want the life you barely survived to end with the dew at the execution ground!”
“Ha… Haha….”
And I was lying on a damp hospital bed in the Hetheln ward, listening to the chatter of this talkative duo of hundreds and tens of people.
The alibi is solid. There are two eyewitnesses who clearly saw the ‘big, red, ugly monster’. There is also a clear identity as a ‘wounded soldier’ who has a lot of time and is the most exposed to sacred power in the castle.
There is no reason to run outside. If you disappear for no reason, you will be chased by archers or Pathfinder heroes. Four days had already passed since the assassination that day, and while I was lying in my hospital bed watching the situation unfold, I had become quite friendly with Charles, the centurion, and Todd, the two cheerful soldiers who had come by.
“I’m a little anxious. From yesterday to today, Mute hasn’t even been seen with his nose removed, and it’s an assassination like this. “Don’t you think the mute bastards are doing something?”
Ah, this is because of me. I guess… the pillar of the poor? It seems that the blood fog generator also functions as a kind of radar. They seem to know that an offensive in quantity that does not include elites is tantamount to potion dumping. You see, the raids stopped as soon as I got here.
Of course, other people who don’t know the situation are ‘lucky.’ Or ‘Mute focuses its attack elsewhere.’ I’m just guessing, though.
“tod. Didn’t I tell you that junior soldiers like us don’t have to worry about such things? Just rest yesterday and rest today. Over the past four days, no one has died except for the twelve commanders and the wounded soldiers who could not survive! All you need to know is this one thing. And did I tell you? This friend is a fortune. Since our lucky friend came to Hetheln, only good things have happened! “If it’s proof, it’s proof!”
“…This guy is definitely not normal. “What did the wizard say at that time?”
“A person who has been guided by the flame. Would you like it? This is the magician’s talent that ‘Avaroth of the Spreading Fire’ himself spoke about! If you’re lucky enough to become a real wizard and get a special guard… you should never forget your lifesaver, right? This guy and I are suffering from common diseases right now, but we are said to have come from a knight’s squire. The driver I was serving passed away, so I became a kite with no strings attached. Please be kind to me! “I, too, should hold a shield on the castle wall like a wizard, instead of an infantryman fighting in that filth heap!”
The middle-aged Baek In-jang made a strong appeal, holding my bandaged hand with a friendly smile.
Why are they making such a fuss and why are they coming to the casualty ward during this precious break and talking about things outside the US Algojual to me, who I have no connection to?
That’s because when I returned to the ward in a huff after successfully assassinating someone, someone came to see me.
‘Is it here? Is there a place where there are soldiers who survived after being hit by my flames?’
‘Yes yes wizard! Me and a soldier named Todd moved here!’
‘…Are you sure? ‘He wasn’t just burned to the point of burning his arms or legs, but his whole body was burned to the point of melting, and yet he was still alive?’
‘It’s definitely true. The skin melted enough to stop the bleeding from the severed leg.’
‘Hmm… I understand. Go now. I’ll check it myself.’
A voice came looking for me not long after I re-infiltrated after completing the assassination. A powerful mana energy coming towards me. At first I thought, ‘Shiba got caught!’ That was all I could think of.
That was not the reason why the 5th rank fire mage named Avaros came to see me. The wizard who approached me, who was lying as if dead, removed the bandages from my body without permission and nodded in satisfaction as he looked at my hideously distorted skin.
‘…What a talent.’
‘At this level, the heat would have scorched all the way to the bone. Nevertheless, the fact that he survived probably means that he has talent. An overwhelming talent that cannot be compared to those of today who will reach for a higher fire.’
‘fuse. When he arrived at the ward, did he receive any kind of divine treatment?’
‘If it was that burn patient… I ended up with standard burn first aid. There was no bleeding and strangely enough, there was no blood infection.’
‘It has to be that way. Dead skin from burns covered the entire body, so people thought the living blood clots were corpses and did not approach them. Cases like this were often found among flame wizards active on the battlefield.’
‘This person is the one who was loved by fire. Unlike today’s magicians, who are grown as beautifully as bonsai and spoon-fed enlightenment in a heat that will not kill them, they must have had a purer fire as they burned with the flame of I, Avaros, in the gap between life and death. He proved his talent by surviving. ‘Tell them to come find me as soon as they come to their senses.’
‘I can’t even move with this body yet…’
‘That condition is the best. Since my flame lit it up, it would be right for you to be accepted as my disciple. The downside is that it has a somewhat fishy smell, but you can get rid of the faint odor by boiling it in a fire pit.’
Since he is said to be the only flame magician active in Hetheln, he seems to have mistakenly thought that the flame that made me like this was his magic. Thanks to the fact that he was a water magician thanks to his auras and mana, he was not discovered, but at the time, he thought he had really been assassinated and even considered running away after turning all the witnesses to blood clots. He was literally on the verge of putting his fist into the fire mage’s jaw.
Anyway, the wizard Avaros said all he had to say and left. The two ‘life savers’ who were eavesdropping on this from outside the ward shouted, ‘…Wizards! A new wizard with no attendants or dedicated guards yet!’ They come running at me like crazy, saying the same thing – and in order to make a mark on me, they tell me about news from outside and provide care to me in an unreasonable way. Because wizard guards have a higher chance of survival than regular soldiers.
‘Hetheln’s troops are definitely of better quality than Kingsland’s. They are accustomed to extreme situations, have a strong mentality, and above all, have a strong will to survive. These guys can really survive if they’re lucky.’
Just by looking at the two soldiers who brought me to Hetheln, Charles and Todd, I could feel the overall atmosphere of Hetheln to some extent. A veteran and skilled soldier who has been trained since the beginning of the war. If Mute had a lot of elites, ordinary soldiers like this would not have been able to survive no matter how skilled they were, but Mute’s elite died while chasing me and were driven to the desert to die, so a lot of them were wasted in one way or another. Thanks to this, the front line was mainly dominated by mass offensives and rare breakthroughs by elite mutes, providing an environment in which experienced veteran soldiers could be created.
‘Kingsland was moving like a zombie because the king’s viceroy’s morale was low. It may change in the future, but it will still be somewhat different from the Western Front troops who barely survived from the beginning of the war. There were many civilian recruits who had just enlisted to protect the country. It’s inevitable that proper soldiers are different from our troops who have gone through hardships.’
The quality of the troops is good, and the Hetheln Command, which was moving around in a hurry, will be unified with one newly appointed nobleman, Roderick, and the command system will become cleaner.
‘If there are many boatmen, the boat will go to the mountain. Even the Allied commanders were boatmen who had no intention of rowing.’
The Allied Force’s biggest problem was that Roderick was in too much of a hurry. Many commanders were created because they received reinforcements from all types of reinforcements, from nation-level reinforcements to territory-level reinforcements.
From a large volunteer army of 10,000 people to a small number of 50 private soldiers for the territory, 20 miscellaneous soldiers brought by someone who doesn’t know whether it is a city-state or a tribe, so-and-so’s troops from somewhere, so-and-so’s guards, etc…. As they take everything without any hesitation, the troop pool is very large. It has become a mess.
If it had been the Empire that received such heavy reinforcements, the situation would have been different. Since the Empire has the combined power of all of them, they take off all the various armors and helmets they wear, and say, ‘You are an imperial soldier from now on!’ He would have been dressed in a full set of imperial uniform armor and used it as he pleased.
However, it was Roderick, not the Empire, who accepted the dumping of baseless reinforcements, and Roderick, who had already lost more than half of the country at that time, was not in a position to lead them properly due to the poor quality and number of troops.
The warring parties who were supposed to lead the situation had their right to speak out thanks to their insufficient forces, and the volunteer forces that lost their focus thanks to this became the Allied Forces and decided on the direction of the war through commanders’ meetings. This was the situation on the Western Front so far.
Resolution? Yes. They say that because there are many boatmen, the boats go to the mountains. Then, wouldn’t it be enough to relieve the boatmen until the ship can go its own way again?
Coincidentally, the commanders in Hetheln are the commanders of the right wing, spread out wide and useless, as they are stranded here due to Mutt blocking the path to the right if you look at the left wing of the western front towards Kingsland.
It’s shameful that they took advantage of someone else’s war, but these guys are making a fool of themselves by sending their troops to the eastern part of Roderick, which is far away from the most intense battlefield, the Western Front and the central Kingsland. There must have been a deal. When the war is over, not only the Gil-Daran front but also the entire northern part of Roderick, which is currently occupied by Mut, will be sold, so the commanders of the remaining side in this dangerous battlefield must recognize their rights. The commanders located on the quiet and safe useless right wing were satisfied with a small piece of land.
Still, those who remain on the edge of the Western Front have the will to ‘fight, win, and be punished’, but those who have spread their feet to the East are a group of idiots who just want to eat and eat the crumbs. It would be useless to persuade them, so it would be better to just kill them all.
‘And just as you can light a bonfire by burning even non-recyclable waste, there is an effect produced by killing these creatures.’
The basic goal is to get rid of the useless commander and take advantage of the confusion to take command of Rodrik. In addition, the corpses of nobles submerged in pools of blood provide an additional effect.
For example, like those two priests whispering in the corner of the ward right now.
“Ah, Priest Berdel. “Did your visit to the castle go well?”
“…It was a disaster. I couldn’t feel the evil spirit’s blood or evil spirit… Isn’t the fact that all the headless bodies were placed in their proper places and the severed necks neatly displayed like that are a warning to us from the evil spirit’s descendants? The head neatly arranged on the floor, away from the corpses sitting on the commander’s seat…”
“Shh! Lower your voice. “Patients will feel anxious when they hear this.”
“Umm Ratura. sorry. “You’re agitated…”
“So what are the clues about the pleural effusion?”
“There are only two knights who were captured by the Holy Knights. “Brother, you must have heard of the ‘Red Mute’, right?”
“Ahh Ratura El-Samia. Forgive me for hearing your accursed name. Could it be… that?”
“…The appearance seems to match the recorded sightings. In the past, there was a history of breaking in without anyone knowing and collapsing the magic tower. “It looks like he has started working again.”
“Unbelievable. Following ‘White Death’, ‘Red Mute’ is here on the Western Front…” “
….The headquarters ordered each commander to stay in a safe place with an elite escort, and the headquarters of each church also instructed priests to become paladins. It is said that he was ordered to act together with. “The fact that two enemy assassins have started rampaging seems to mean that they will try to break through the front line that has been solidified by a supply offensive through assassination.”
The two priests each made the sign of the cross and began moving to where the paladins assigned to them were. Well, okay. The rumors are going well.
Benefits gained by killing unnecessary commanders. It was the ‘fear’ that basically followed the means of assassination.
It reminds us that the commander’s position is not an opportunity to watch a ritual or eat rice cakes, but is located at the cutting edge of a war where the enemy’s highest-ranking mute is trying to kill.
Nobles are a group of people who always put their own interests first. The moment they feel a chill on the back of their necks, their activities begin to shrink and their right to speak is weakened.
‘The Allied Forces will probably be in dire straits for some time. If you only hear rumors, Red Mute is known as a name better than Edeor when it comes to infiltration and terrorism. As it is difficult to block with normal troops, the friendly forces stop extending their thin wings further and curl up like turtles in order to complete that damned siege.’
They use fear to stop the progress of that shitty operation.
‘If I am immune to Mute’s blood, I can break through the enemy’s chamber maid line. While your allies are crouching, raise your major with Roderick’s regular army. The target is the eastern garrison of surplus troops who have lost their heads and are far away.’
While the allies retreated, Roderick rose to prominence in the king’s name, reclaimed the territory, and regained his voice as the center of the war.
‘And then allow Siod IV to lead the operation once Imperial reinforcements arrive. When a massive infantry force capable of countering the opponent’s endless supplies arrives-‘
Only then will a proper war be able to be fought.
I feel sorry for Siod IV Erwin, but of course I will use him. Even if he has the will and skills, he is an 11-year-old boy who has just ascended to the throne, and it is impossible to control him in the war and diplomacy arena where all kinds of city-states and countries are intertwined.
However… the boy king was very impressed by the conversation with me. It would be easy to get him to lead the commander’s meeting. If the Gwangmyeong Church provides support, they will almost certainly be able to take the lead.
‘I will put pressure on the Allied commanders and increase Rodrik’s right to speak, ultimately making this war the one I lead. This is the basic condition for the final battle with Mute.’
As I was lying in my hospital bed quietly gathering my thoughts, I heard a sound of laughter in my head. It’s Hyde.
[Assassination of the allied commander and manipulating the king from behind, and yet being praised as a saint by the people. No matter how you look at it, isn’t it the leader of evil?]
‘Hmm… right? It’s almost a cliché villain, right? People were killed with a plan and purpose, so it was a special murder and the people they killed were displayed in a stylish way, so the bodies were damaged or abandoned. ‘He is a very vicious criminal.’
Whatever the reason, he cut off the heads of fifteen people as a joke. How can cutting a person into pieces with your bare hands not be a bad thing?
‘….What should I do? It’s necessary. ‘I have to do it.’
[Kill less and save more people… Isn’t this what you really hate? Calculating with the number of people.]
‘That’s true, but when I looked at it from the perspective of a person in a high position… I felt that there were some situations that required a decision.’
If you think of it that way as a punishment for trash, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s not. Still, the fact that ‘the lives of 12 commanders’ were offered as an exchange condition to ‘restore Rodrik’s right to speak’ did not change.
‘I heard it’s an educational game. ‘It’s bittersweet.’
[What did that old man Gedreuts say?]
I nodded inwardly to Hyde’s question. From afar, ‘That’s such a bad bastard!’ The circumstances of those who did it. I feel like I understand the convenience of why people in positions like the president of the Dome are addicted to alcohol.
‘….I made a certain amount of sacrifice to save ~! – I have no choice but to try not to use it as an excuse so I don’t get used to what I say.’
[Probably, other commanders had the same determination as you before they became people who looked at people like toy soldiers.]
‘Oh, I’m different.’
[different? Where are you going?]
Rustle!
Seeing as it was starting to get noisy outside, it seemed like it was time to leave. As he stood up from the hospital bed, he looked at the crutches that the white man had wisely obtained, and said with a grin.
‘You’re a completer, you’re a completer. A superhuman who has been pointed out by humanity’s greatest scientist and the greatest artificial intelligence in human history, saying, “That’s you!” What would be different? Whatever it is.’
[….It’s different in the sense that it wants to be different.]
Amid the commotion outside, the vibrating sound of the magic engine began to be heard.
I had a good rest after spending a few days observing the situation in Hethel. Now it was time to go back to doing what a saint should do.
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