Chapter 214
Chapter 214
Chapter 214
Opening of War (3)
'Now this place will regain its vitality once more.'
The ancient floating city of Lucretia, now fallen into ruin.
Unlike the other Seven Great Gods Cults, since the god existed right before their eyes, the Water God cult would undoubtedly flourish tremendously in the future.
'If we can trade maritime resources from this place without tariffs... it would be quite beneficial for Morian as well.'
Well, now that it came to this, unifying the Morian Empire into a great unified empire would be easy if he put his mind to it, but...
Rudian had no particular desire to do so.
After all, they had already signed a 150-year non-aggression treaty, so there was no need to unnecessarily provoke conflict.
Probably even after 150 years passed, Rudian and his companions would likely still be surviving somewhere, but the affairs of that time would be left to the people of that era.
'Still, bringing this level of benefit should be fine.'
Rudian casually mentioned trade matters to the Water God.
Perhaps because it was a trivial earthly matter, the Water God accepted half heartedly with an annoyed attitude.
Since their god had given consent, the subordinates below would have no choice but to comply when ordered.
It was when Rudian emerged from the water with a much lighter heart.
At the inn where Rudian and Rebecca had been staying (or trying to stay), Maria, Gray, and even Luciella had already appeared and taken their seats.
"...Rudian."
"Uh, yeah..."
Having committed a sin, Rudian quietly endured Maria's cold stare.
Maria spoke.
"You're like a king in chess. But when that king ventures onto the battlefield with only a single escort, how do you think the others feel?"
"...I have no excuse."
Even though Rebecca would probably be bishop-level, she apparently didn't measure up in Maria's eyes.
Looking around, Rebecca also seemed dejected, having received an earful, with her head hanging low.
Then Luciella, who had been quietly sitting beside them, slowly opened her mouth.
"Listen carefully, Rudian."
"...Yeah."
"In the current situation, compared to your safety, national affairs are not that important."
"...!"
"To put it extremely, even if the Morian Empire were to fall... your single life weighs more heavily."
Rudian suddenly raised his head in surprise.
Of course, even though Rudian himself thought that was true, he never dreamed that Luciella, who still retained her noble identity, would say such a thing.
"So please don't do reckless things alone."
Luciella grasped Rudian's hand with desperate eyes.
"...Uh, yeah."
Rudian nodded blankly.
This was the first time he had seen Luciella like this.
As Rudian and Luciella sat there holding hands with flushed faces...
"Good grief, what an eyesore."
The person who broke that atmosphere was none other than Gray.
"I'm also holding back my desire to hurry to Miss Silpea. And here you are, flirting with each other when we have important matters at hand!"
Gray, who had now taken on the appearance of a complete adult, had lost much of the narcissistic tendencies seen in the original work and...
"Good grief! I wonder what will become of this world's fate!"
...had somehow appeared as a complete old fogey.
"S-sorry."
Gray glared at Rudian and said.
"If you know that, then act properly. Do you know how much trouble I had trying to stop that beanpole from causing a ruckus?"
"Ah! Aaaaah!"
"She threw aside what she was doing and made a huge fuss saying 'I'm going to where Rudian is!' Just completely..."
"Aaaah! Aaaaaaaah!"
Luciella's screams easily drowned out Gray's calm voice.
After that, exchanges like "Gray, are you really going to be like this?" and "What, did I say something wrong?" continued.
Gently ignoring them, Maria approached Rudian.
"First... tell me what happened."
"Alright."
Rudian told his companions about what had happened in Lucretia, and how he had made a deal with the Water God to retrieve the Yellow World from the spirit realm.
Of course, naturally, he didn't mention his encounter with Abel.
Especially at the mention of retrieving the Yellow World, Maria's eyes lit up with admiration.
"Hmm... you certainly achieved results. That's so like you, Rudian."
"It's nothing special."
In truth, it was difficult to call it a complete success since he had received an even greater assignment beyond the praise he could accept.
It was when Rudian was scratching the back of his neck with an awkward smile.
-Master.
'What is it?'
At Adi's call, Rudian's expression stiffened slightly.
Adi's voice was not ordinary.
-Contact has come from Elysion. It seems you need to see this directly.
'Elli?'
-It appears to be a serious matter. I'll connect you immediately.
As soon as those words ended, a mental path with Elli was connected.
-This is Elli, Master. I have a report.
'Speak.'
-Just now, an enormous number of alien life forms were spotted at the outskirts of the star system.
'...What?'
-Their number is estimated to be about 40 million. However, they haven't entered the inner star system yet and are quietly waiting. Please advise on response measures.
Simultaneously, the scene that Elli had witnessed with her avatar was replayed in Rudian's mind.
'Whoa...!'
Rudian was speechless at the sight of the enormous number of alien legions filling outer space.
Massive beings transporting ground forces and flying entities escorting them were mainly positioned there.
A disgusting sight.
'This is insane.'
Even bugs gathering around a fluorescent light in hot summer would be less disgusting than that.
-But the important thing isn't the enemy's numbers. Look at this, Master.
Elli showed Rudian an expanded view of two specific points in the alien legion.
'...!'
The massive cephalopod forms existing at the center of the southern and northern legions.
Krakar and Ktuna.
The twin gods of the aliens had appeared at the outskirts of the star system.
Rudian clicked his tongue and gave instructions to Elli.
'Wait for now. They seem unable to enter due to being blocked by Berus' barrier... We still have a few days, so we need to devise countermeasures.'
-Understood.
After cutting the connection with Elli, Rudian informed his companions of this fact.
Naturally, the expressions of the companions who received this information were quite grim.
"But... something seems a bit strange?"
Gray tilted his head after hearing Rudian's report.
"The fact that they're already attacking and waiting means they're essentially revealing their invasion route and positioning. No matter what, isn't this too blatant? Do they think we're that easy?"
"That certainly makes sense."
Maria also agreed with Gray's words, frowning.
Luciella stated her opinion.
"But with those numbers, they might not feel the need to devise strategies. They've already sent scouts to our side before, and if they've finished assessing our capabilities, such a response wouldn't be strange..."
"......"
That also made sense, so the other two nodded their heads.
But Rudian, who had heard something about this, thought there was another truth.
'...It feels like they're just throwing it out there and saying "let's see you handle this."'
According to Krakar's words, this war was being waged while respecting Garganta's will.
They had said they had no particular reason to actively participate themselves.
'Their target is only Berus...'
Rudian was caught in serious conflict.
The proposal those beings had made was now tormenting Rudian.
It wasn't that he particularly coveted the position of an alien god.
Just one thing, the single statement that Krakar had said to Rudian with certainty.
-Berus is your enemy.
He had indeed intended to overturn the heavens, but he hadn't planned to develop into an adversary of Berus.
But recently, one thing had emerged that held Rudian back.
Namely, Abel's existence.
If Abel's appearance before Rudian was someone's scheme, the culprit was limited to just two.
The Creator God, or Berus.
The former was an opponent that Rudian couldn't do anything about.
The latter had a similar status, but he could still resist.
'No, let's not think about this now.'
Even if Berus was the source of all troubles, it didn't matter.
The aliens were equally untrustworthy beings.
Everyone's eyes turned to Rudian.
"Let's finish up earthly matters first and head to the lunar base now. We need to prepare for real combat."
NOD!
His companions nodded their heads.
***
Going to the lunar base wasn't particularly difficult.
There was no need for space travel, as it was simple using the spatial movement gate that Elli had created.
'How fascinating.'
When the sky's color instantly turned to pitch-black ink, rather than feeling gloomy, it actually felt quite calm.
"Hahaha, it's an honor to meet you, Lord Rudian."
When Rudian and his companions, along with those who had been on the surface, all arrived at the base, the forces waiting here welcomed the group.
"Cherubim Siniel, this is the first time seeing you like this."
"I've heard much about you from Lord Gabriel. Please treat me well."
"Where are the gods of the Pantheon?"
"Over there..."
The dozen or so lesser gods sent by Ruura, the goddess of love.
Fortunately, they were beings without the typical arrogance of gods.
Whether Ruura had given them firm instructions before sending them, they actually came out so humbly that Rudian was taken aback.
If they had acted high and mighty, it would have been quite troublesome.
Elli approached Rudian.
"Master, deployment has been completed as scheduled."
"......"
The dragons and angel legions, along with Elli's avatars, which could be called our main forces, were armed and positioned to face the enemies.
"What are the odds of victory?"
"Thanks to them openly revealing themselves and waiting, we were able to quickly complete the analysis with the main program's help. Assuming a frontal collision with the premise that the two gods don't intervene, the odds of victory are about 78%."
It was natural, since they had been sitting still as if showing off.
But this analysis didn't mean much.
"Then the problem is Krakar and Ktuna."
"Yes, analyzing their capabilities is meaningless. They possess near-infinite power, so there are too many variables."
If those two couldn't be handled, the war would be a certain defeat.
That's what it meant to face gods of the same dimension rather than a different dimension.
Then Elli conveyed her thoughts in divine language.
-Actually, just before Master arrived, we received contact from Ktuna.
'...What did they say?'
-They said to seriously reconsider the proposal they made before. They said they would give greater rewards than before.
Rudian chuckled and waved his hand.
"Tell them to go eat shit."
"Yes, I'll convey that exactly."
Elli would certainly convey Rudian's words exactly as spoken.
What reaction would the lofty alien gods show when they heard "go eat shit"?
It was when Rudian was about to begin inspection.
-Hey.
'...Gabriel?'
As Elli disappeared, this time Archangel Gabriel sent a divine message with a somewhat urgent tone.
-This isn't something to tell you when you're facing war, but there's something to relay.
'What?'
-Lord Berus has appeared in the heavens.
"...?"
According to Krakar's words, hadn't Berus been unable to leave the Creator God's temple for a while?
-That's not the problem. For some reason, Lord Berus appeared accompanied by a human.
'A human?'
-The problem is that this human is someone never seen in the lower realm, and... seems to give off a similar feeling to you.
That was why Gabriel had bothered to contact Rudian before the battle.
'Similar feeling to me?'
Instantly, Rudian felt a creepy sense of foreboding pressing down on his chest.
-That human, his name is Abel. He was the one carrying Lord Medaiel's divine artifact.
"......"
Rudian's expression hardened.