Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Contradiction (2)
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"Damn it, another war already? How long has it been since we fought at the barrier..."
"No choice. Just guarding the barrier won't stop them from coming anyway. Didn't you hear? The Belzahard ants keep multiplying and getting stronger over time."
"I know that. But isn't it too much? War, recovery, then war again—it's like the same damn thing repeating over and over."
The low-ranking knights, now deployed to the barrier and even heading out on expeditions, grumbled as they packed their gear.
Seira, passing by the garrison right in front of the barrier, quietly listened to their complaints leaking out from the tents.
"Ahem."
The zone commander beside her cleared his throat awkwardly, glancing around.
There wasn't any specific order, but those grumbling low-ranking knights were definitely in for a scolding from their direct superiors tonight.
'They're not wrong. But it's an unavoidable reality from here on out. It has to be this way.'
Resuming her steps, Seira bit her lip but didn't deny the knights' words.
Everything happening now was a brutal survival struggle between the invading ants and the established forces.
It would continue as a fierce tug-of-war until one side was utterly exterminated or some new variable emerged.
In that process, the ants would keep producing new variants with Jin-hyuk's help and accelerate the evolution of their queens, the hive's brains.
'It only ends when they're wiped out. To survive, we have to kill them.'
But none of the existing forces, including the Carmion Kingdom where Seira served, planned to go down easily.
With the aid of the deities, they too were twisting and turning, growing stronger just as the ants were.
This endless competition for survival was fated to repeat until victory and defeat were clearly decided.
"We've arrived."
The place Seira reached was a conference hall built on one side of the garrison.
Though buildings were going up one by one, this stone structure—plausibly solid—was the first to be completed amid the still-prevalent tents and makeshift facilities.
Considering the status of those visiting today, even this facility could be called quite shabby.
After all, people had come from across the sea, all the way from the Empire.
'To think such a major decision was being made without my knowledge.'
The proposal from the Lukadia Empire to send reinforcements and strike the ants together had arrived while Seira was buried in work.
This plan, agreed upon by the Golden Mandate Society—which monopolized the kingdom's power—and the Empire's Prime Minister Shuber, naturally proceeded without regard for Seira's opinion, swiftly and without obstacles.
It was all thanks to the deities conspiring in the Divine Community.
As subordinates, they couldn't ignore the deities' 'divine oracles.'
In other words, even if Seira had known in advance, she couldn't have dared intervene or oppose it.
"Seira!"
"Lady Erianne..."
The moment Seira tried to enter the conference hall.
Someone recognized her and called out, stopping her. Turning her head, Seira was slightly flustered.
The other woman had closed the distance in an instant and grabbed her hand without hesitation.
Her vibrant pink bob hair swayed as she went by the name Erianne Lumière.
She was one of Goddess Henes's 'apostles' who had rescued Seira from near-death in the previous barrier battle, wielding her massive mace to obliterate ants in one swing and greatly contributing to the barrier's defense.
"Seira, coming here too? For that meeting, right?"
"Yes. Anyway, please let go of my hand. People are watching..."
"What's the big deal? Just us girls."
Erianne pulled the flustered Seira's hand closer, linking arms, and rested her head on her shoulder.
It was like they were childhood friends.
But despite their similar ages, Erianne from a high noble house in the capital and Seira from a minor northern lord's family had only met days ago.
'One of the church's five heroes... I can't push her away. What do I do?'
Seira couldn't shake off the overly clingy Erianne.
She was one of the church's new secret weapons, granted divine blessings by Goddess Henes—who recognized her innate talent—with substantial interference power, holding a higher status than even the core executives like the inquisitors.
Rumors swirled that Erianne might one day rise even higher than an apostle to become a saintess, making her a rising powerhouse in the church.
Seira had mentioned watchful eyes, but who would dare reproach Erianne now?
For Seira, she was an incredibly burdensome acquaintance.
"You're a noble figure endorsed by the Goddess herself. Getting tangled with someone like me could lead to ugly rumors."
"If anyone says that, I'll smash their pretty little heads with my fist myself. Who dares talk about us like that? I can handle it, but you're a core member of our church too. See?"
Though Seira spoke indirectly, Erianne grinned as if it didn't faze her and pointed to her own head with a finger.
"Fools call you a witch who disrupts tradition and order, but not me. I know your worth."
Erianne whispered into Seira's ear.
In the end, Seira couldn't peel her off until they entered the conference hall.
"The orcs have decided to handle those turning the plains into a wasteland instead of joining us directly."
"No helping it. That nomadic hive has already recovered most of its forces."
The Empire's delegates and the Golden Mandate Society, aiming to turn the Carmion Kingdom into a Holy Kingdom, fiercely debated strategies to counterattack the ants.
Seira sat at the far end, quietly listening to the meeting.
The orc bastards look like they can't come at all. They're stuck dealing with another ant hive across the river—if they pull troops, those ants swarm right over.
Just say it straight—it's dog-eat-dog. If the orcs vanish, the Empire's north gets threatened, that's why, you chickenshit.
And at the same time, the Divine Community buzzed with lively chatter among the deities.
The deities' conversation was far more blunt than the subordinates' polite, formal exchanges.
Kindly put, it lacked pretense; harshly, it bordered on vulgar.
'The main feed must be from that unknown conference room with the Empire's envoys and church folks. Better than being in the dark, though.'
Jin-hyuk, eavesdropping on it, now realized the other deities were joining hands once more to attack him and was observing the developments.
'The key is the golems, huh?'
One piece of info was about the combat golems that the Empire's reinforcements trusted most.
"Behold. These newly refined golems are the essence of Lukadia's advanced magical civilization, still evolving even now."
The Empire's envoy demonstrated the golems for the church members.
They looked vastly different from the ones previously supplied for building the barrier.
Though made from rolling stones and earth, these combat-modified versions had far stronger forms and abilities.
"Ooh..."
"They're fast. And armed!"
Under the mages' commands, the golems swung fists, stomped feet, and wielded massive log weapons with somewhat refined fingers.
The golems' weaknesses—slow movement and massive mana drain—had been greatly improved.
Many reasons golems had vanished from Edelion's battlefields were now addressed.
'The Empire's magic and tech advanced this fast? If they'd invaded our homeland with these centuries ago, could we have stopped them?'
Even Seira the mage could tell at a glance how advanced it was.
In terms of speed and achievements, it resembled the forced disclosure and rapid refinement of magic school manuals.
"What's so great about that? Looks like I could take 'em."
Erianne was yawning beside her, though.
Of course, this advanced tech wasn't purely from Empire mages' hands.
Like the church's holy knights and priests led by Erianne, it was the result of intervention from deities far superior in magic.
"We'll lead with these golems to seize a site for a new stronghold. Then, centering on it, we'll gradually reclaim the monsters' territory."
Count Luon, the Empire's representative, declared confidently.
The new coalition army's goal was to establish a new base beyond the barrier, on the lost lands.
If successful, it would disperse the ants' assaults focused on the barrier and create a bridgehead for sustained Empire reinforcements.
"How do I warn them about this?"
Jin-hyuk pondered in front of the breeding ground, having learned the new golems' specs thanks to the deity 'Judger of the Blue Eclipse'—based in the Empire—boasting about them in the community.
What he could give the ants now was just primal signals via Asmodra.
He could alert or direct their attention, but not convey specific threat details yet.
[New variants finally awaken. Asmodra expects these, invested with unprecedented resources, to reign as objects of terror upon the enemy.]
Of course, he'd already helped the ants.
Asmodra had preyed on massive foreign armored beasts, engrafting their abilities into the hive, birthing new variants that now tore from their cocoons with overwhelming bulk.
"Whoa."
Jin-hyuk, watching the screen, exclaimed involuntarily.
They barely resembled ants anymore.
Enveloped in heavy plate armor over colossal bodies, with massive stag beetle-like horns or rhinoceros beetle jaws inside huge headgear—these giant monsters could carry dozens of worker ants on their frames.
They'd boldly forsaken wings that should be under the carapace.
All power invested to become land dominators.
Thickened legs supported the immense weight, sprouting huge, razor-sharp spines that could impale on swing.
No wonder their nests were built outdoors separately.
'They'll just bulldoze everything.'
Jin-hyuk chuckled dryly; the golem specs boasted in the community moments ago seemed lackluster.
In truth, these resource-bloated variants—heavy armored ants and sawblade ants—had transcended biological limits, hard even for golems to stop.
[Asmodra seeks to exterminate the insolent new enemy horde invading their territory in reverse.]
The mobilizing Empire forces and golems made perfect test subjects for the freshly born variants.
The ant horde, entering combat readiness again, awakened and mobilized numerous troops hardened in dormancy to confront the approaching foes.
< Episode 52 - Contradiction (2) > End