Chapter 233
Chapter 233
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 233
Chapter Title: Crusade Army
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The rain stopped the next day.
The sun, hidden away in thick clouds for days, finally emerged, scattering fragments of sunlight that brightly illuminated the world.
Beneath that unbelievably blue sky, all sorts of metal gleamed.
—UOOOOOH!!!
—WAAAAAH!!!!!!!
—GRRRROOOARRR!!!!
The village was swept up in pure madness.
The gathered crusaders were all itching to march on the heretics' occupied lands. The forces from the three churches barely exceeded one company in size, but from what I could see, that alone looked like enough to conquer hell itself.
"What an utterly moving sight... I can't contain my joy. This must be what they mean by an irresistible impulse."
Elise clasped her hands together, gazing at the crusaders lined up in the square with eyes full of emotion. Her voice brimmed with ecstasy.
"Yeah, it is pretty impressive."
"The day we've longed for has finally arrived. Soon, we'll witness the realization of justice."
"Right, with this lineup, those Ezatsu bastards and their ilk are gonna get fucked six ways from Sunday—no, I mean, they're all gonna get smashed to pieces."
"Exactly. There's no future left for them but a pathetic end, turned into fertilizer."
You too with the fertilizer talk?
I deeply regretted letting my mouth run like that.
I might have unwittingly sparked an otherworldly agricultural revolution with my overpowered modern knowledge. If heretic corpses held power surpassing chemical fertilizers, that is.
"W-well, fertilizer's good. Plant crops there, and even those crops will suck up the heretics' corpses to grow. No punishment could be more fitting."
"Crops... sucking up corpses...? Oh, ohhh...! I never even thought of that! Now it feels even more just!"
"...Super justice crops, huh."
"It's positively holy farming!"
...This could go on forever.
Better cut it off before the mental damage piles up.
Anyway, it was a pretty awesome sight.
—The crusaders stood in formation.
The holy knights of the Brass Celestial Society had every inch of their armor plated in brass. That was their signature look. They wore helmets adorned with angel wing motifs, exuding an aura like brass angels blessed by the goddess of balance, Verde, had descended to earth.
They radiated unyielding strength.
The gleaming brass knights felt like true religious guardians.
The Salvation Paradise Society's holy knights were straight out of the textbook. I loved how they edged their pure white armor with blue—it created such a sacred vibe. They were probably the most classic type of holy knights.
They embodied common sense.
Without a single rough edge, they all looked like genuine servants of the divine.
But the Radiant Cross Society was on a whole different level from the standard vibe.
"Those guys look fucking terrifying. Claudy, I'm scared."
"Me too. Super scary."
Winia, shocked by the crusaders' appearance, clung to my waist. Claudy observed them quietly before speaking up.
"Our Katt kinda fits that style, if you think about it."
"Me? That style?"
"Yeah. Back in the arena, when you were hyped as some hero, it felt like that."
Their fashion had already surpassed Brutal Angel Kim Katt.
Even with my modern sensibilities, I couldn't keep up with their style. I'd already decided to bow out gracefully with maximum respect.
"Don't be ridiculous, Claudy. Even if it was me, I wasn't that extreme."
"No, you were. It's fine, though. You looked cool back then."
"Cool? Heh, heh heh... really?"
"Yeah. Katt's always cool."
"You're always beautiful too."
"Hee hee hee..."
"Heh heh heh..."
I'm cool.
And Claudy's beautiful at the same time.
Winia, frowning at our giggling, jabbed my waist.
"Arena? What's that about?"
"Oh, I worked at one a while back."
"Clady did arena work?"
"I was pretty popular as a gladiator."
"No fucking way, I can't believe it."
Winia doesn't know the story.
Telling her would just get me chewed out, so I'll skip it for now.
Anyway, the Radiant Cross Society crusaders looked like they'd crawled straight out of hell—just seeing them was enough to feel an ominous chill.
They barely covered their bodies, substituting armor with jagged spikes and repulsive iron plates. No uniformity, total chaos in gear, weapons picked willy-nilly to their tastes.
Yet no one doubted they were the most dangerous.
Seeing them drool through helmet slits, panting raggedly at Sera's inexplicable violent sermon, made them feel truly perilous.
"For the crusade!"
"For glory!"
They bellowed their religious chants, drawing weapons.
A provisional commander stood at the square's center, explaining something. From what I overheard, the village guards would stay behind, and the rest would join the crusade.
This was shaping up to be a massive procession.
Tag along, and I'd probably score some sweet loot.
"Ended up selling all the heads here after all."
No immediate return to Isvant, so I cashed in all the heretic heads for bounties. A bit of a shame, but following the crusaders could net bigger bucks.
"That's a lot of them. Like a desert caravan."
"Desert caravan? They travel in packs that big?"
"Yeah. Crossing the desert's super dangerous, so they move in groups this size."
Crusaders, village soldiers, adventurers, mercenaries—put it together, and you've got battalion strength. An insane number.
Holy knights were basically all superhumans, equivalent to a modern tank company.
Supply wagons would tag along, plus villagers looking to earn coin by working the march. Armies on the move always need hands.
The group kept swelling.
Even village youths bought swords and joined up. Old folks grabbed farm tools to personally redeem the bandits who'd trashed their homes.
Aunties... grannies... hopping on for odd jobs and pay. It felt like war was a full-blown business.
And so, the advance was set for tomorrow.
The town buzzed with departure prep.
We started gearing up for a long march with the crusaders too—buying supplies, planning routes, that sort of thing. Added premium for camping gear since we'd be roughing it.
Then crashed hard.
The next morning, the crusaders finally marched out to purge the heretics.
What a spectacle.
Countless armors reflected the sunlight, gleaming brilliantly—as if proving they were the gods' army. Two days without rain had dried the ground, no hindrance to the march.
The true crusade departure.
"Holy one, it seems they're marching straight to the heretic-occupied village."
Elise relayed the intel she'd gathered.
About five villages occupied now. They'd hit the nearest one first, rescue locals, smash heretics.
Baron Todens had routed, but these guys wouldn't lose.
With lordly punitive forces advancing from other directions besides church crusaders, victory seemed certain.
"How long to get there, though?"
"At this pace, day after tomorrow. Ugh, do we really have to walk the whole way? That's insane."
Winia griped, eyeing the map.
Two nights outdoors—not surprising she was pissed. Bizarre how it was all foot infantry except wagons.
Pilgrimage rules, they said. Gotta walk.
True crusaders.
First day, we just trudged along.
My mana-boosted body felt no pain. Winia managed stamina with spells, no fatigue; Claudy was untouchable.
Sunset, army halted.
Found a decent campsite, pitched simple tents, lit fires. We used our kit for a cramped little tent—three of us squeezed in uncomfortably.
"Clady, scoot over. Fucking tight in here."
"Then Claudy'd be uncomfortable. This is perfect space division."
"I'm fine. Wanna snuggle more?"
And so, day two.
Radiant Cross Society up front, so we naturally stuck nearby—Elise was there. Regrettably, she'd left the party.
What can you do when HQ calls.
Elise joined the church group.
Still, sticking close let us get the scoop from her.
"Tomorrow we arrive, huh."
"Yes. My heart's pounding... Only complaint is we can't go faster."
"Yeah, gotta save that village ASAP..."
We were mid-chat when...
The front ranks halted abruptly.
"Hm? What? They stopped suddenly?"
Sensing the unrest, we drew weapons, scanning around. Heretic army contact already?
Elise gripped her mace, eyes sharpening.
—UOOOOOH!!!!!
—KRAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
—This can't be happening!!!!
Incredible rage-roars exploded from the vanguard. Enemies at last! Nearby crusaders snapped into combat formation; we fell back a bit to position.
"Alert! Alert! Battle stations!"
A crusader bellowed rearward.
The call rippled back, transforming the column into battle array in seconds. Super-trained holy knights. The ragtag rear wasn't so slick, but knights and crusaders hit perfect readiness in moments.
"..."
No signs of combat, though.
"What's going on?"
"W-what is it? Elise, any idea?"
"No clue. Feels like a fight broke out..."
Meanwhile, unearthly howls kept erupting ahead.
What the hell?
Some barefoot crusader step on Lego?
"Let's check it out."
At Winia's word, our group peeled off, creeping forward cautiously.
—What we saw...
"N-no way! What the hell is this! This can't happen! Not this!"
I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Th-this is...!"
"Hmph, bad taste. Evil creativity, I guess."
"Can't unsee that shit. Fuck, seriously? Insane?"
It was a grotesque structure made of human corpses.
An utterly wicked obelisk, flaunting "our territory starts here." Skeleton frames from bones, piled severed limbs and heads like hellish decor—a tower of flesh!
—GRRRROOOARRR!!!
—UAAAAAHHHH!!!!
—Gods! Gods!!
Crusaders wailed, slamming heads into the dirt.
Then clawed ears, stuck out tongues, howling madly.
...Yeah.
Bandits massacred a village, got bored, built this from bodies. The column stopped when vanguard crusaders spotted it and snapped.
I felt head-exploding rage too!
Such cruelty...!
Just like that interrogated bandit's words—hell on earth in occupied villages! Cannibalism, playing with corpses!
"Ugh, uwaa, uwaaaaa...!!!! This!!! This is impossible!!!!!! How could this be real!!!!"
I bellowed at the meat tower too. Blatant intimidation: come here, prepare to die like this!
"GRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
"UAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Gods! Gods!!!"
But it backfired.
Crusaders plunged into total madness.
No one could handle the fury of musclebound panty crusaders swinging claws like monkeys, jumping around, then pounding chests like gorillas.