Escorting the Saintess (1)

Clank, clank.

The combat engineers were hard at work repairing the barricades and patching up the ground.

"Just the repair costs alone... how much is this going to run me?"

And speaking of which — gods possessing people to fight for them.

Did anyone actually think that made sense?

I was grumbling away like that when a message popped up.

"Now that's what I call a hidden piece."

Buried nice and deep, where nobody would think to look.

The monkey's still asleep, so he won't have a clue. Good.

Anyway, the repair bill alone was running into the hundreds of thousands of coins. I'd been planning to use the coins from this last battle to brew a few more elixirs, but they were all gone now.

Still, since everything had been blown to pieces anyway, Pitasha had suggested rebuilding from scratch — so we gave the whole place a complete makeover.

On top of that, there were the mountain spiders we'd cleared out during the Spider Queen raid last time. Their carapaces were incredibly tough, which meant we could now produce millions of suits of armor made from them.

We were even building a dedicated factory for it.

Not that I intended to mass-produce much more — our resources had limits either way.

But whether they sensed that line of thinking or not, these bastards were without a doubt some nasty pieces of work.

"What is it?"

"And are you going to tell me where this 'safe zone' is?"

"Okay, fine. And the enemy?"

So now they're not even bothering to hide it, huh?

"Fine. Pitasha — have the engineers set up a factory for the spider carapace armor. I accept."

FWOOOOOOOM!

Unlike the last raid, this summoning yanked me through space in an instant, in a flash of blinding light.

And when I arrived, the place was complete chaos.

"KIEEEEK!"

"Oh, hell! It's not just spiders!"

Goblins came charging in from every direction.

"Machine Legion, summon. Raptors and Heavy Weapons Units."

*SHIIIING!* <Wheee!>

Right nearby, I could see figures who looked like holy knights at a glance.

They were guarding a white carriage, and around them, goblins mounted on spiders were circling, laughing as they hurled stones.

The sheer number of goblins and spiders was absolutely overwhelming.

At this scale, it was like a full-blown mountain spider swarm.

"Fight! Protect the Saintess!"

"This is a holy war! Cut down the enemy!"

The ones from the previous raid had been nothing but soldiers. These men were knights.

FWOOOM!

From their swords rose a sacred aura, white laced with gold, flickering faintly.

They were giving it everything they had.

"Ah! New monster group spotted on the left!"

"Damn it all!"

The moment one of the knights spotted me and shouted, the faces of the others darkened.

But that was all. They kept swinging their swords and maces, cutting down goblins without pause.

"Move out. Raptors."

<Chirp...!>

The Raptors shot forward like arrows, sprinted straight into the horde, and clamped their jaws around a goblin.

CRUNCH... crack-crack-crack!

One clean bite, and its neck snapped like a twig.

<Chirp.>

"KIEEEK!"

The moment the goblin chieftain saw it and pointed at the Raptors, the goblins swarmed toward us at once.

There were so many goblins packed around us that there was no room to summon combat troopers.

For now, Pitasha, Rune, and I were riding in the transport units — Pitasha and Rune transformed, just like back on Earth, into towering mechanical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knights.

"Heavy Weapons Units. Open fire."

RATATATATATATATATATATAT!

The four machine guns mounted on each of the dozens of Heavy Weapons Units roared to life, and within a single minute, every goblin in the vicinity had been riddled into Swiss cheese.

"Ki... kiek..?"

"What... what is that..."

Goblins and holy knights alike stood frozen, stunned.

The knights could keep their wits about them. The goblins, however, could not be allowed to.

CRACK!

CRACK!

DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA!

PEW... BOOOOOM!

Bullets and shells began raining down in torrents.

Where the goblins were swarming thickest, I lobbed a few grenades — and goblins went flying into the open air.

Clearing them out as I went, I made my way slowly toward the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠carriage.

Shing.

Thwack.

Thwack.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"No idea whether you're gods or transcendents, but somebody called, and I answered."

Murmur, murmur.

"You... answered a call?"

"Are you a hero?"

"Wait... no way! Could it be — one of those spoken of in the prophecy?"

"Ohh... I shall report this to the Saintess at once. Please wait just a moment."

"Take your time."

RATATATATATATATATATATA!

The goblins around us had thinned out considerably.

The spiders too.

"Summon. Summon. Summon."

I deployed combat troopers at regular intervals into the gaps.

Goblins were whatever, but the spiders' carapaces were worth harvesting, so I didn't bother pulling out the top-tier units for this.

Besides, these men were already gawking at what I'd shown them — no need to escalate further.

Going by the look of things, these incursions weren't going to be a one-time deal, after all.

In no time, the surrounding area was cleared, and we began moving alongside the carriage.

Naturally, it wasn't just the combat troopers — I'd already summoned masses of transport and gatherer units, which started prying the carapaces off and hauling everything away.

We were making slow progress when the Saintess finally stepped down from the carriage.

And of course, she arrived radiating an overwhelmingly holy aura.

"Wow, would you look at that holy-power pouch."

"...I beg your pardon?"

BONK!

"Ow...!"

Thank god Pitasha was behind me, or that could have been a disaster. My thanks go to Rune, who smacked the back of my head and snapped me back to my senses.

In any case, the flustered young saintess approached me.

"Um... hello? My name is Raman...! Yes, Raman. Might I ask your name?"

"Kim Hyunwoo."

"Ahh! What an exotic name. It's certain, then — you must be the one from the prophecy."

"And what exactly does this prophecy say?"

"It goes: 'Those bearing unfamiliar names and wielding mighty power shall appear, and they shall deliver you.'"

Made sense.

Names like Rune or Pitasha would be common in a place like this.

So the god of this place called All-One Planet had apparently sent down a prophecy to invite us.

Which meant... was this god the one running that system thing? Or had they just hired outside help, like posting a part-time job listing?

Well, none of that really mattered at the moment.

"Where are we, exactly? And please tell me the current situation here — about this All-One Planet."

"Ah! Of course!"

According to Saintess Raman, an evil god had appeared here out of nowhere one day.

The existing gods naturally rose up in opposition, and a holy war began — but the evil god proved so powerful that in the end, a third of the planet was lost.

The lands corrupted by the evil god had turned blood-red, and with the holy war now dragging into its hundredth year, the people had been worn down to the bone.

"I see. So you're fleeing from them, then?"

"I'm... sorry? No. We're heading for the front lines."

Their destination was the very front line, where battle raged hottest.

The reason it was safer there than here was simple: several Sword Masters were stationed at the front.

But one of those Sword Masters had been gravely wounded, and the Saintess was rushing there to heal him.

"Is it really all right to risk the Saintess like this?"

"Haha... I'm only a rookie saintess, you know. Even if I die, they'll appoint a new one right away."

"How long did the previous Saintess last...?"

"Hmm... about a year and two months, I believe, before she passed. From ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overwork... haha..."

Her voice was mournful.

It was true — being worked to death within a year of taking the post would wear anyone down.

But I couldn't afford to worry about that. South Korea and Earth weren't exactly in normal circumstances themselves.

I was in the middle of gathering intel along those lines when a holy knight cried out.

"Th-they're here! Orcs!"

"Orcs?"

"KUPA! HARUHARU!"

I looked out — and there they were, thousands of orcs mounted on spiders.

The one standing at the vanguard was a 6th-Order, same as the one I'd seen before.

"Rune."

"Yes."

Her voice was deep and warped through the armor's modulation.

"Ahh! It's a 6th-Order orc! No, you mustn't!"

Rune charged out, ignoring the saintess's screams.

And then Rune's emotions flowed into me.

She's looking forward to this, isn't she.

Shff—

SHAAAAAAA...

One strike.

A single swing of the sword sent the heads of hundreds of surrounding orcs flying.

Heads spinning through the air, spraying blood — and as Rune charged past that grisly rain, her silhouette vanished in an instant.

She reappeared directly in front of a 5th-Order orc.

"!"

THUD.

Rune's thrust punched clean through the 5th-Order's heart.

VMMMMMMMM.

The orcs began activating their tattoos.

Paying them no mind whatsoever, Rune started the slaughter anew.

"Impossible... the orcs — a race that fights to the death without fear —"

Tremble, tremble, tremble.

"— are trembling?"

The orcs, their fighting spirit utterly shattered, collapsed where they stood.

Trickle...

Before anything could even fall from their trousers, the orcs' bodies toppled over.

THUNK!

"Ghk... gurgle... ugh..."

The last orc had its throat pierced clean through, and it clutched at its neck as it crumpled.

And then the final one — the 6th-Order.

Shff—

"Just as I thought. Weaker than Pakuta's descendant... was he on the verge of reaching 7th Order, I wonder?"

SHAAAAAAA...

"What... what is this..."

"A monster..."

"I'd like to receive your instruction. Would you take on a disciple?"

"Idiot. He'd send you straight back to the barracks."

"Well, I mean — he did appear without so much as a sound."

"That knight... whose master is that person..."

They stared at me, unblinking.

My strength was by no means weak.

After all, it was the strength of my Machine Legion.

In any case, Rune returned from sweeping up the orcs and activated one of her armor's functions — automatic cleaning.

In an instant, the armor was spotless.

The knights were flabbergasted.

"Are you... a demon-blade swordsman?"

"...Truly remarkable."

Leaving the knight to his muttering, I spoke.

"Good work."

"Thank you, Master."

Plop.

She settled back onto the transport unit, and since the interior was no longer visible, the knights finally tore their eyes away.

"Ugh..."

I had a feeling I was in for a very long, very exhausting day.