The Goddess's Blessing and the Naked Muscle Knights
The clothes have no faith. "Hiyaaaaaaaah—!" One man roared like a beast as he charged forward. With a single punch from his fist, an Astra soldier clad in steel armor bent like a piece of taffy and flew through the air.
"Kwaaahahahaha!!" Another spun his body a full 360 degrees and unleashed a spinning kick. The impact crumpled the enemy's shield like a sheet of paper, sending it tumbling across the ground.
It was like watching overgrown children playing with toys—a completely one-sided trampling. An overwhelming scene of massacre!
"What the hell are those monsters?!"
"Their armor... it got crushed by a single punch!"
The Astra soldiers' faces instantly filled with terror. In the pouring rain, muscle-bound freaks who laughed heartily even after being struck by lightning were charging at them completely naked. The bizarre sight sent chills racing down the Astra troops' spines from the very depths of their bones. Their instincts screamed a warning.
—These things must not be fought.
"Uwaaah! Get away! Get away from me!"
"Uwaaaaaah! We have to run, now!"
"No! I can't lose my purity like this!"
"......"
Franz stared at the scene in a daze. No words would come out of his mouth. No matter how many times he looked, he simply could not comprehend the surreal sight unfolding right before his eyes.
Just moments ago, they had been on the brink of total annihilation. Thousands of Astra troops had surrounded the castle, and that infamous lightning mage had been mercilessly raining down bolts from above. The thunderbolts that split the sky had turned his last resort—the archers—into nothing but ash. He had truly believed it was all over.
But then—out of nowhere, these naked, muscle-packed madmen had appeared and were beating the elite Astra soldiers to a pulp with their bare hands. And doing so completely one-sidedly.
Franz blinked hard.
......Is this a dream?
No matter how many times he rubbed his eyes, the muscle-packed lunatics in front of him refused to disappear.
. . .
"The enemy is retreatingggg!!"
Bwooooooooo—!
Finally, the sound of a retreat horn echoed from the distant enemy lines. As if on cue, the demoralized Astra soldiers began to turn tail and flee.
"That's right! Go home and suck on your momma's tit some more, you bastards!"
"Woohyo—! The Astra guys are nothing special at all!"
"Tsk! You lot! My grandma could fight better than you!"
"Jehehehehe! This too is all thanks to Lady Serian's divine grace!"
Lady Serian's divine grace...?
Franz unconsciously glanced down at the glass bottle in his hand. It was the potion that Commander Braum had handed him just moments ago. The liquid inside had the color of cheese dissolved in water. The pale, cheese-colored fluid sloshed gently inside the bottle.
Don't tell me... it was really because of this?
A single glass bottle. Could this one unassuming liquid have overwhelmed that catastrophic lightning mage—one that hundreds of knights couldn't even handle?
"This is... the power... of the Empire's hero, Lord Elhardt...!"
This is not a mere potion. It is a divine trial and a sacred blessing bestowed upon those with true faith. Only those with the courage to face the enemy's strongest strike without evasion shall receive the true power of the Goddess.
— Serian Elhardt
***
Schmidt Castle, Hall of Glory.
"Jehehehehehe! Did you see that?! Those pathetic Astra bastards running away like a pack of stray dogs!"
"They were so scrawny they couldn't even take a single punch, right?"
"Commander! Commander, did you see it earlier?! I grabbed an Astra knight by the ankle and the guy flopped around like a fish out of water!"
"You idiot! That's because I knocked him down first!"
The Hall of Glory was, quite literally, a madhouse. Franz watched in a stupor as they devoured food and drink while loudly boasting about their heroic exploits.
Finally regaining his senses, Franz stepped forward.
"...My apologies for the late greeting. I am Franz, the Margrave of Schmidt."
"No need for thanks! His Highness the Second Prince gave the order himself, so of course we had to come!"
Braum laughed heartily and clapped him hard on the shoulder.
"No, truly. Thanks to you, we survived. If it weren't for your knight order, this territory might have already been reduced to ashes."
Franz bowed his head with genuine gratitude.
"Yes, yes! You're absolutely right! It would've been a disaster if we hadn't shown up! Hahaha!"
Braum nodded in satisfaction.
"Of course! Hey! Bring more drinks and meat over here!"
Franz shouted the order, then pulled a glass bottle from his pocket.
"...By the way, was it really possible to stop that mage with just this one potion?"
"Hahaha! Potion? This is a blessing bestowed by the Goddess herself!"
"...A blessing, you say?"
Franz asked with a look of utter confusion. The item in his hand was one of the potions that had been supplied alongside the knight order.
Braum emptied his wine cup in one gulp and slammed it down on the table with a loud thud. His eyes gleamed. They were the burning eyes of a fanatic. Franz nearly took an involuntary step backward.
"Exactly! This isn't some trivial thing that just relieves fatigue or heals wounds quickly! This is... a kind of trial!"
"A trial?"
"The Goddess has given us a trial. She commanded us not to dodge the enemy's strongest blow—that deadly lightning—but to take it head-on with our entire bodies!"
As Braum's voice grew louder, the knights who had been laughing and eating fell silent.
"Only those with the courage and faith to overcome that trial are qualified to receive her true blessing! The moment the lightning pierces the body, this holy water transforms the power of destruction into the power of life and reforges us like steel!"
Franz was rendered speechless by the absurd claim. It was true that when he first saw Serian descending from the sky, he had briefly wondered if a goddess had truly descended... but even so, these people seemed a bit off. They appeared to be completely and collectively possessed.
Braum's booming voice echoed throughout the entire hall.
"Did you see it?! The sight of our knight order after being struck by lightning! Not a single wound, and our bodies even stronger and more robust than before!"
At his words, the Black Hammer Knights sitting nearby all began flexing and showing off their muscles at once.
"Look at this! My biceps!"
"My pectorals are harder than steel!"
"That's right! In the name of the Goddess, we have been reborn within the lightning! What else could this be but proof of the blessing the Goddess has bestowed upon us!! Jehehehehehe!"
"This power is the grace the Goddess has granted us!"
As if by prior agreement, they had all stripped off their clothes and were completely naked. Their muscles, glistening with rainwater and sweat, writhed grotesquely in the flickering torchlight of the hall.
The old knight Garen standing beside Franz asked in disbelief.
"...But why are you all naked?"
Braum answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Because if we wore clothes, they'd all burn off!"
According to him, while a body that had consumed the potion could withstand lightning strikes, ordinary clothing could not endure the immense voltage and would instantly turn to ash.
"If it's truly a blessing from the Goddess... then why do clothes burn?"
At Garen's perfectly reasonable question, Braum looked at him with a strange expression.
—This guy must be a bit slow.
His eyes seemed to say exactly that.
"Haha! You're asking something so obvious! Clothes have no faith, do they?! How could mere clothes possibly have faith?!"
"And when we tried wearing only armor that wouldn't burn, our glorious muscles suddenly swelled up so much that it didn't fit anymore!"
That was it! Armor didn't fit, clothes burned away—so the most efficient choice was simply to fight naked from the start.
"Kwaahaha! Think about it the other way! Why should we wear armor in the first place?"
Braum thrust out his massive biceps proudly as he shouted.
"Look at us! Not a single scratch! Those bastards got scared just looking at our glorious muscles and ran away as fast as they could! This is the ultimate armor, and the greatest psychological warfare to crush the enemy's morale!"
At that dizzying answer, Franz and his retainers were left utterly speechless.
Were these people even sane?
A knight was supposed to be a noble warrior who devoted his life to honor and swordsmanship. One who pierced the enemy's openings with lifelong training, protected his comrades and homeland with a sturdy shield, and never lost his honor even in the face of death. That was the path of knighthood Franz had learned and lived by his entire life.
But what were these people? Running around naked, roaring like beasts, beating down enemies, and showing off their muscles. No matter how you looked at it, they were no different from barbarians.
Were these truly the Black Hammer Knights, said to be the successors of the Iron Wall Knights?
Franz suddenly felt a wave of unease.
Knock knock knock!
"Big brother! It's Matilda. May I come in now?"
A clear, delicate voice came from outside the meeting room door. Franz shot up from his seat.
"N-no! You can't come in right now!"
"Why not?! I heard everything! The heroes who saved us are here! I absolutely must thank them in person!"
At those words, Braum smiled with satisfaction and flexed his massive biceps.
"Hehehe! It's time to show off our muscles."
Absolutely not. Anything but that!
It was right then.
Bang!
The meeting room door burst open once more with a violent crash.
"I told you not to come in! Close your eyes... hurry!"
However—the person standing there was not his little sister.
It was one of the Schmidt knights who had been sent out on reconnaissance, rushing in panting and out of breath.
"My lord! They've returned!"
"Who has?!"
"Lady Serian and the Black Hammer Knights' pursuit team that went after the mage... have just returned through the castle gates!"