Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: I Am a God (3)
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“Rotate!”
“Move it! We can’t let the divine power falter!”
As Gleb watched with a dumbfounded expression, the line of priests behind him rushed forward, pouring out their divine power.
Two things hindered Kratos most in his endless battle.
The first was stamina. Fortunately, this was somewhat offset by the stats he’d earned during this wave. He had gained so much that he genuinely wanted to thank the Empire.
His stamina had already reached 65, giving him an advantage in prolonged combat.
The second was demonic energy. While spiritual power was its natural enemy, it was another matter entirely when he was wounded and the demonic energy directly struck the injury. Moreover, his spiritual power wasn't infinite, so he had to manage his energy carefully.
Efficiently. More efficiently.
His fighting style was solidifying as he slaughtered countless monsters. The state of selflessness he now frequently entered made it possible.
It was also why the entire force of Rzhev looked to me with such desperation.
After all, I was faster and killed more monsters by smashing their heads than the hundreds of soldiers on the walls did with arrows and magic.
Though a barrage of attacks, including magic and arrows, still rained down from the walls, everyone's eyes were naturally drawn to Kratos.
They simply couldn't look away from his battle.
“What are you all doing?! Snap out of it!”
Krain Rzhev's roar thundered across the wall.
“Are you going to leave the defense of Rzhev, our home, to an outsider! Does that not wound your pride?! Are we not the people of Rzhev! The last bastion against the Demonic Realm!”
Krain Rzhev's rebuke changed the soldiers' morale. Their grips on their weapons tightened, and the weary light in their eyes rekindled with a sharp glint.
The lord was right. Though abandoned by the Empire, they were the soldiers of Rzhev, famous for their tenacity.
They couldn't leave the defense of Rzhev solely to an outsider.
“Unleash your attacks!”
Rzhev began its counterattack.
***
“Hmm.”
Having reached a mountain ridge near Rzhev, Adson Defector, leader of Umber Team 0, let out a low hum as he observed the significantly reduced number of monsters.
Rzhev was holding back the monsters far better than imagined.
Moreover, that mercenary at the forefront, with a rope tied around his waist and covered in blood, slaughtering monsters—he was an enemy, but one couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
“This isn't as good as I thought.”
The situation was worse than the reports he'd received on his way here. Then again, perhaps fear of death had led them to downplay the true state of affairs.
But that wasn't his concern. He just had to carry out his mission.
The ten subordinates behind him were in the same position. The priority was to achieve the objective. By any means necessary.
“What's the status on the remaining monsters?”
“They've left the Demonic Realm. The antenna at the first checkpoint was destroyed, so it's taking a little longer.”
An antenna in the Demonic Realm doesn't just break. Someone must have destroyed it. Someone who entered the Demonic Realm. Yes, it must be the one who destroyed the breeding grounds.
Ludwig Brandt's first order was to lead the monsters inland. The second was to throw the Rzhev territory into chaos.
The top priority is to unleash the monsters on the mainland.
“The luring device?”
“We have it.”
“We'll divert the follow-up monsters coming from the Demonic Realm around Rzhev and toward the mainland.”
“Understood.”
Taking a detour might be rough, but it's the surest way to achieve our goal. It would be even better if some of the monsters here get swept up and move with them.
“What about a way to infiltrate Rzhev?”
“It doesn't look easy. They're on high alert. It would be difficult to disguise ourselves as another profession at a time like this.”
Then we focus on the top priority: unleashing the monsters on the mainland.
“We're moving out.”
Rzhev can be dealt with later.
***
Leaving the night battle to the soldiers of Rzhev, Kratos returned to his quarters, only for Gleb to follow him in as if he had been waiting.
“You said His Holiness sent you personally.”
“That is correct.”
“Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.”
The Pope sending Gleb, his closest aide, meant he considered this place extremely important. Besides, the composition and number of the reinforcements were unusual.
“He wants to strike at the Demonic Realm.”
Gleb's eyes widened in admiration at Kratos, who had grasped the Pope's intentions from that single statement.
He felt he now understood why the Pope so often mentioned Prometheus and Kratos.
His judgment, both back in the Holy Kingdom and here in Rzhev, was extraordinary.
That must be why His Holiness had instructed him to value Kratos's situational judgment and opinions on the matters unfolding here.
However, he intended to judge that for himself over time.
Gleb hadn't yet formed a clear assessment of the man named Kratos.
No matter what His Holiness ordered, the Holy Kingdom was not such a rigid organization.
The judgment was his to make. He was the leader of this Holy Kingdom expeditionary force. The lives of countless priests and paladins rested on his shoulders.
If a poor decision led them to an early return to God, there would be no greater sorrow.
“Well, I did tell the Lord of Rzhev as much. That we'd break through the monster wave, wreak havoc in the Demonic Realm, and stick a knife in the Empire's back.”
“You have quite a sharp mind.”
“It's average.”
Truly average. Apologies, but Kratos didn't consider himself a genius. He was just someone with a very, very special memory.
Besides, he was practically an expert at remembering, recalling, and piecing together necessary information. He'd spent his entire past life doing just that.
“Do you have a plan, then?”
Ah, it seems this fellow doesn't get it yet.
“A plan? I didn't have one. But now that the Holy Kingdom has sent reinforcements, I do.”
That they themselves were the plan.
The place we're going to strike is the Demonic Realm. The Demonic Realm. A place not just anyone can enter, where ordinary soldiers can't even set foot. Perhaps the members of Squad 3 who are with me could, but…
“Ah? Ah! Ahahahaha—”
Gleb, seemingly understanding the meaning belatedly, burst into loud laughter.
“Indeed, so that was His Holiness's intention in sending me. With so many reinforcements.”
It had seemed strange. For him to be sent on a mission like this when the situation within the Holy Kingdom was still in turmoil.
And to be ordered to move as quickly as possible with such a large expeditionary force. But for Kratos to figure it out in an instant… just what was he?
“How are things within the Holy Kingdom?”
“A mess. The Council of Elders has been disbanded. There was some resistance, but well, those folks should be grateful their sins were settled with mere disbandment.”
Of course, the Council of Elders couldn't have known that bastard Emperor would proclaim himself a god. But what does that matter now? The result is what it is.
“We are preparing for war. There hasn't been much of a reaction from the Empire since then, but all of our temples in the Empire have begun to withdraw. Even the common people who wish to emigrate with them. Some have decided to go to the Holy Kingdom, but…”
“The Holy Kingdom can't accommodate all the refugees. The journey itself is also a problem. So you intend to use this place as a base. Or the Ashar Desert.”
At this point, it seemed right to just accept his foresight as a given.
“That is correct.”
“That seems like a matter you should discuss with the Lord of Rzhev, not me.”
Kratos was a mercenary, after all. He had no desire to get involved in politics. If he wanted to dive into the political arena, he would have become a knight, not joined a mercenary corps.
“We've already finished our discussion. Of course, resolving this mess comes first.”
“Of course. That's what's important right now. We should be able to advance soon. Into the Demonic Realm. Before long.”
For over four days since the wave began, from Adma to Rzhev, he had fought without rest.
He had wiped out over seventy percent of the monsters.
It was almost time.
Clang— Clang— Clang—!
While discussing future plans with Gleb, a bell suddenly began to ring urgently from atop the wall.
At the urgent sound, Kratos vaulted out the window and onto the wall.
“What's wrong?”
“The monsters are behaving strangely.”
Sharpening his vision, he looked down from the wall and saw that some of the monsters, which had been madly charging the wall, had changed direction and started running elsewhere.
The rest had stopped, milling about in confusion.
“Light—!”
A mage cast a light spell, making the monsters' actions clearer.
“No way.”
While everyone was watching the monsters, Kratos quickly scanned the direction they were moving and deployed his spiritual power.
Wasn't this the same strange behavior they showed when those Raelian Church bastards used their powers?
And on the small mountain ridge between Adma and Rzhev.
He felt a very faint life signature. Multiple people. At least three.
“Over there—!”
Kratos pointed toward the life signatures, leaped straight off the wall, and sprinted in that direction.
“Kratos—!”
“Shine a light! Fire it up over there!”
There was no reason for people to be in a place like this.
Then it had to be the Empire's men. Judging by the monsters' reaction, they were clearly up to some other dirty trick.
He circulated his spiritual power and ran toward the presence he felt, but the distance between them didn't close easily.
All sorts of hindrances followed. They threw hidden weapons and even used smoke bombs that concealed their presence as they fled.
“Dammit!”
My speed is certainly not slow. But seeing as they're faster, they must be professionals at this sort of thing.
“Who are they? The military? Central Intelligence?”
The men didn't even look back; they just ran. Their direction was the dense forest that stretched out on either side of Rzhev.
This forest, mutated by demonic energy, did not easily permit human passage, but they moved through the trees with familiarity, growing more distant.
“Damn.”
In the end, he lost them. It wasn't easy to give chase at full power after fighting for four straight days.
“Strange behavior from the monsters. Men who seemed to be dispatched from the Empire.”
At the end of this thought, Kratos let out a smirk.
“Those bastards are getting desperate. Real desperate.”
It seems the four days of fighting through the nights weren't in vain. The Empire's men were desperate enough to think of bypassing Rzhev and unleashing the monsters on the continent.
But they made a mistake. They should have just poured more resources into trying to conquer Rzhev.
Sorry, but I don't give a damn about monsters crossing over to the continent.
Thanks to them drawing the monsters away, the path to the Demonic Realm was now open.
It doesn't matter how many guards they post in the Demonic Realm. I'll destroy them all. Anything that gets in my way.
***
“Now's our chance! Go out and wipe them out!”
Kratos had gone after that problem, so it would surely be handled one way or another.
Now, while the monsters were still disoriented, was their chance. A chance to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Krain Rzhev drew his sword from its sheath, stood at the very front, and unleashed his sword energy.
“Open the gates!”
Following behind him were dozens of knights, hundreds of reinforcements from the Holy Kingdom, and thousands of soldiers and mercenaries.
Krain Rzhev sent a wave of sword energy toward the monsters in front of the gate.
A head soared into the sky, spewing blood.
With Krain Rzhev's strike as the signal, all the soldiers poured out, venting their frustrations as they brandished their weapons at the monsters.
“Chaaarge—!”
The time had finally come to put an end to this damn monster wave.