Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Upheaval (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rex, the first son of Count Maier, led his troops out to fulfill the mission assigned to him.
The force given to him was a single company, including his escort knights.
He had heard there were only about thirty bandits, but as this was his first battle, Rex's heart was filled with anxiety.
A battle where lives would be won and lost right before his eyes.
He had accepted Count Maier's proposal, wanting to earn merit, but he couldn't help the anxiety welling up inside him.
When they finally reached a position where the ruined watchtowers were visible, Rex looked at Evan beside him and asked.
"S-Sir Evan."
"What is it?"
"There's no chance we'll fail to subjugate them, right?"
Evan was a powerful asset assigned to him by the Order.
Rex looked at him with an anxious gaze, but Evan's expression remained nonchalant.
Instead, he seemed to be searching for something, constantly glancing around.
As he scanned the area, seemingly confirming something, Evan spoke while looking at a nearby tower.
"If the fortress were intact, it wouldn't have been easy to capture it with a force this size."
"Then"
"But there's no need to worry."
At Evan's words, color returned to Rex's face.
He looked confident to anyone watching.
Perhaps if a problem arose, Evan would step in and wipe out the bandits himself.
As Rex watched Evan with such expectations,
Evan suddenly stopped in his tracks and said,
"Because we won't be fighting any bandits anyway."
"Sir Evan, what did you just"
"Astrape."
Ignoring Rex's questioning gaze, Evan raised his gauntleted hand.
Crackle. Sizzle.
With a thunderous crackle that split the air, a blue flash began to gather in Evan's hand.
The lightning in his hand intertwined, growing in size.
The ever-growing blue current finally took the shape of a massive spear.
Holding the spear, Evan turned around.
"The operation will now commence."
"Yes?"
"Step back if you don't want to get caught in it."
After his warning, Evan pushed the bewildered Rex aside.
Immediately after, Evan hurled the spear of lightning at the company following them.
The spear left Evan's hand, tearing through the air as it flew toward the company.
BOOOOOM!
The spear of lightning exploded upon impact with the soldiers.
With a heavy roar, a portion of the company that had been following Evan collapsed.
The screams of the soldiers hit by Evan's surprise attack echoed from all directions.
"Kuh-heok!"
"Ugh, ugh"
Crackle.
Blue sparks danced across the ground where the electrocuted soldiers had fallen.
Every single soldier struck by Evan's lightning was incapacitated.
It all happened in an instant, a situation no one could have anticipated.
Faced with the sudden attack from their own vanguard, the bewildered captain shouted at Rex.
"Young Lord! What is the meaning of this!"
"I, I"
But Rex, who was asked the question, was just as bewildered as the captain.
He had no memory of being informed by Evan that he would attack the company.
The soldiers who hadn't been hit began to distance themselves from Evan, raising their weapons.
Seeing Rex's predicament, Evan stepped forward in his place.
He then addressed the captain, who was glaring resentfully at Rex.
"Don't feel too wronged. Young Lord Rex didn't know about this operation either."
"An operation that not even the Young Lord knew about? What are you talking about!"
"It means that none of the soldiers participating in this operation will be returning alive."
"!"
A cold death sentence had been passed on the entire company, including its captain.
Simultaneously, hidden enemies began to pour out from all directions.
They were all dressed in uniform attire, weapons in hand.
Seeing the members of the Order who had surrounded them in an instant, Rex finally understood the situation.
The ones surrounding Rex and his soldiers were all members of the Order.
The very reason Evan had obediently joined the subjugation force was to eliminate the soldiers.
"Sir Evan? Why are you doing this?"
"To dispose of them and disguise the members of the Order as soldiers."
"B-But still is it really necessary to kill them"
"We'll run out of time if we don't hurry. Do you want your head to be taken by your brother, the new Count?"
Evan snapped at Rex and raised his gauntlet.
Crackle.
With a crack of thunder, the blue current appeared once more.
The same spear of lightning that had just blown the soldiers away materialized in Evan's hand again.
The waiting members of the Order also began to move, following Evan's lead.
Each of them held a sharp weapon, closing in on the soldiers.
The captain, now surrounded by the members of the Order, let out a pained groan.
"Young Lord Rex! At this rate, the company will be annihilated!"
"Captain"
"Please make a decision, quickly! Soldiers, hold the enemy back!"
The captain urged Rex to decide while simultaneously gathering the soldiers in the tight space to form a defensive formation.
However, the majority of his soldiers had already been taken out by the previous attack.
With nearly thirty percent of his forces incapacitated, it was difficult to even maintain a numerical advantage.
Gulp.
As the situation grew more dire, the captain swallowed hard.
Even now, the armed members of the Order were advancing on the company.
"Astrape."
"Young Lord Rex! Please don't abandon us!"
"It's too late. Blame yourselves for choosing the wrong master."
Before long, the spear of lightning in Evan's hand was fully formed.
Crackle!
The soldiers cringed in fear at the sight of the spear, which roared and threw off sparks.
It was the same attack that had paralyzed thirty percent of their forces in a single blow.
If they moved forward, a massive spear of lightning awaited them.
If they retreated, the armed members of the Order awaited them.
They could neither advance nor retreat.
Caught in a dilemma, the captain agonized for a moment before he was finally forced to make a decision.
"Kugh All forces! Charge forward!"
The moment the captain's voice, ordering all soldiers to charge, rang out,
Evan threw the spear he was holding at the company's soldiers.
A blue beam of light cut through the air and landed in the center of the gathered soldiers.
KRA-KA-KOOOM!
A blinding flash erupted, and a storm of lightning swept over the soldiers.
"So she finally arrived."
Friday evening had come around again.
I lay on my bed, staring at the smartphone screen in my hand.
The game screen showed Yutenia with Estacia.
Yutenia, having sought out Estacia, had finally and safely delivered the letter of appointment to the new bishop.
Of course, in the process, I also had to witness how much Estacia had changed.
I let out a dry laugh as I looked at Estacia, who was decked out in all sorts of accessories.
"If she just had sunglasses on, she'd look very familiar."
A gold necklace, a gold bracelet. And even a small gold hair ornament.
The excessive jewelry she wore looked awkward.
It seemed she had simply put on everything she owned that was expensive.
At a glance, her attire was reminiscent of the nouveau riche.
If she were wearing sunglasses, she wouldn't look out of place on any social media feed.
This was the wealth Estacia had accumulated by exploiting the members of the Order every day.
"Hmm This makes me want to play a little prank."
Unlike the other members of the Order, Estacia was living a life of leisure and luxury.
Food and jewels were delivered to her even if she just sat around doing nothing.
Of course, Estacia had played a huge role in gathering the followers, so I had no intention of completely denying her contributions.
However, watching her grow so conceited for some reason, I felt the urge to play a prank slowly creeping up on me.
After watching Estacia for a moment, I tapped the icon above Yutenia's head and began to type a message.
"I should give Estacia a job to do."
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I busily moved my fingers, composing a message and sending it to Yutenia.
After receiving the message, Yutenia looked up at the sky for a moment.
Was it because of the message's content, delivered and translated by the 'God Translator'?
She seemed to be contemplating the sudden message she had received.
After pondering for a long while as she gazed at the sky, she seemed to have made a decision and approached Estacia.
She then began to carry out the command she had received in the message.
- "Estacia."
- "Yes."
- "A message has come down from the Great One."
Hearing Yutenia's words, Estacia tilted her head.
Since she wasn't an Apostle, she couldn't receive messages directly from me.
Hearing a message for the first time, Estacia asked Yutenia,
- "A message?"
- "Yes. There is something the Great One wishes to convey through me."
- "What is it about?"
Seeing Estacia's reaction, the corners of my mouth slowly curled upward.
From my perspective, knowing the content of the conversation, it was a situation that naturally brought a smile to my face.
The story Yutenia was about to tell was the highlight.
I watched the screen intently, anticipating Estacia's reaction.
With a serious face, Yutenia began to relay my message to Estacia.
- "He says that from today, you, Estacia, must go around the building every day and supervise the followers to see if they are working properly."
- "Me?"
- "Yes. He conveyed that you, Estacia, must do it personally."
Upon hearing Yutenia's words, Estacia's face grew serious.
Clink.
One of the gold bracelets on Estacia's arm slipped off and clattered to the floor.
Was the shock of receiving a direct order from him that great?
Estacia looked at Yutenia with a dark expression and asked,
- "What happens if I don't do it?"
- "He warned that if you fail to carry out your duty properly, lightning will strike the strawberry bushes nearby."
- "!"
- "Of course, I trust that you, Estacia, a faithful angel, will diligently carry out your mission."
Guh.
I suppressed a burst of laughter and watched the screen.
Was it because she was deceived by Estacia's angelic appearance?
The oblivious Yutenia showed infinite trust in Estacia.
But contrary to her thoughts, Estacia was a good-for-nothing creature.
She exploited the surrounding characters daily, hoarding countless fruits and jewels.
Moreover, she herself did no work at all, spending her days lazing around in a cave.
To think she trusted such a being simply because she was an angel.
It was a moment that showed just how the characters perceived angels.
"Diligently carry out her mission, my foot."
It would be a relief if she didn't just pretend to do it before holing herself up in her room.
Of course, my purpose was only to tease Estacia, so I had given her a reasonably easy command.
I was more excited to see Estacia's reaction than to see her actually work hard.
Hearing my command, Estacia began to sweat profusely.
- "Ugh"
- "I should be on my way now."
- "W-Wait"
- "I also wanted to talk more with you, Estacia, but the Great One has assigned me another mission, so I have no choice."
- "No Estacia doesn't do things like work"
Without Yutenia, communication with me wouldn't work properly.
Estacia tried her best to stop Yutenia, but having finished her task, Yutenia coolly brushed her off.
This was because she needed to check the Holy Relic: Compass of Etalia that she had received before arriving.
Now that she had completed the mission of appointing a new bishop, it was time to leave for the next one.
Yutenia smiled at the flustered Estacia and bid her farewell.
- "It's a mission nearby, so I'll be back here as soon as it's finished."
- ""
- "See you next time, Estacia."
And with that, their conversation ended.
Having completed her mission, Yutenia immediately left in her carriage.
And Estacia, left all alone, stared blankly at the empty space where Yutenia had been.
Estacia stood there in a state of shock until the sun set.
Naturally, I watched Estacia with a pleased expression.
The more I watched her, the more entertaining she was.