The Goddess's Blessing Returns
The Goddess is... truth itself... and muscles are... invincible...
"The Goddess's blessing has returned!!"
"Kuhhh...! Delicious! This is it, this is what I wanted! It's going down so smoothly today!"
"Oh, this feels great. Oh, I love this!"
"Kuaaah—! The potion's kick is insane, absolutely insane!"
Franz couldn't believe the scene unfolding before his eyes. The knights who had been withering away from muscle loss just moments ago had suddenly become vibrant again after being struck by lightning.
'What... what on earth is going on?'
It was a day with thunder, but this was strange no matter how he thought about it. How could lightning falling from the sky strike only the ridiculous helmets on their heads with such precision? It was as if the helmets were attracting the lightning...!
Their bodies began swelling up unrealistically once more.
"Again! Let's do this—!"
Without armor, charging toward the enemy lines with their bare bodies, they looked more like barbarian berserkers than knights.
Gulp—
Franz swallowed dryly as he watched them, drunk on omnipotence. He had once again failed to play a proper role in this battle. As always, he had stayed safely in the rear while the muscular knights turned the tide on their own.
Of course, as the lord of this territory, Franz was in the position of a king in chess—he couldn't recklessly step onto the battlefield. However—
His father, and his legendary knight brother Albert, had always swung their swords at the front lines to protect this land. But what about him now? A mere 2-Star knight. After his brother fell in battle, he had inherited the title of knight order commander, but in reality, the vice-commander had been doing all the work.
Even in this battle to reclaim his own land, he had done nothing but watch from the sidelines. The realization made him feel pathetic.
'If only... if only I had that power—!'
Just as Franz clenched his fists, consumed by envy and self-loathing—
Swish—
Something gleaming approached from the corner of his vision. Turning his head, he saw Braum standing beside him, holding out his helmet.
They exchanged a silent conversation with their eyes.
'...This is...'
'Indeed. A true believer must share even the most precious blessings with those who have yet to taste them!'
Braum's eyes conveyed exactly that. Yes—he was willingly offering his most sacred relic to recruit a new follower!
Franz hesitated no longer. He took the helmet and, without a second thought, charged into the heart of the battlefield where lightning rained down.
Zap—!
With a massive flash, his world turned pure white.
And then... he felt it. An overwhelming sense of omnipotence, as if every cell in his body was awakening.
Kuhhhhh—!
Now he understood. Why they went crazy at the mere sight of lightning. Why they had come to worship the Goddess so fanatically!
He had trained rigorously his entire life. All that blood and sweat had brought him to the rank of a 2-Star knight. Yet now, with a single bolt of lightning, an immense power that surpassed all those years surged through his body!
So this was the blessing of Lady Serian, granted only to those who passed the trial of courage...!! (Or not.)
This irresistible power! This thrilling dopamine rush! He was completely intoxicated.
Braum, watching from the hill, smiled with satisfaction. His eyes seemed to ask, 'How about it, young man? Pretty awesome, right?'
Franz, swept up in the torrent of power, shouted toward Braum with a swelling heart.
"Brother—! We are now brothers who serve the same Goddess!!!"
*
'Damn it...'
At that moment, Serian, surveying the battlefield from atop her Frost Griffin, could only despair. Those things dangling and swaying like fishing rods above the knights' heads. Those were lightning rods. Specially crafted helmets she had designed herself.
Originally, this had been part of her perfect retirement plan. She had been certain the rubber potion wouldn't withstand voltages above a certain level and would burn out. To make that "failure" even more certain and dramatic, she had prepared these lightning rod helmets.
'Since we don't have enough potions to go around, we should concentrate the lightning on a small elite unit wearing these helmets to maximize efficiency.'
With that plausible excuse, she had personally written the final kick toward failure into the proposal.
'Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I never would've made those lightning rods!'
She had fallen into her own trap.
Her gaze returned to the battlefield. Franz, who had received the blessing via the lightning rod, had become a completely different person.
"Come on—! All of you, come at me! I'll chew you all up and swallow you whole!"
He no longer stayed in the rear. Following the lead of his newly reborn body, he roared and charged straight into the enemy lines. Every swing of his sword tore through Astra soldiers' shields like paper, and blades that grazed his body bounced off without leaving a single scratch.
With his addition, the battlefield transformed into a scene of grand, cheerful slaughter.
Now the soldiers of Schmidt Territory no longer fought. Or rather, they no longer needed to.
"Man, I should've brought some popcorn!"
"Heh heh, I brought some because it looked like rain."
They simply watched in a daze as their lord and the naked reinforcements smashed the heads of the Astra soldiers.
***
"Kehahahaha—! Another successful battle!"
"Woo-hoo—! The Astra bastards look completely demoralized now!"
After the battle, in the temporary barracks of Schmidt Territory. The Black Hammer Knights were in the middle of a boisterous victory celebration.
Franz quietly sipped his drink amidst the noisy clamor.
'Brother—! We are now brothers who serve the same Goddess!'
'Come on—! All of you, come at me! I'll chew you all up and swallow you whole!'
The sight of himself rampaging after being struck by lightning, having lost all reason. Every time the memory surfaced, his face burned with embarrassment.
'...Ugh, Lady Serian must have seen everything earlier.'
Damn it. He should've just fought quietly. At the time, he had been overflowing with uncontrollable power and dopamine-fueled confidence. In short, he hadn't been in his right mind.
'...To show such disgrace in front of Lady Serian.'
Franz glanced sideways at Serian. The Black Hammer Knights were greedily devouring food and chattering, but she sat alone among them, maintaining her upright posture. With her characteristic expressionless face, Serian showed no sign of excitement despite the great victory, maintaining her composure.
Meanwhile, the knights were once again proudly showing off their newly blessed muscles to each other. Once again, they were in a newborn-like naked state...! Or not. Serian, unable to bear it any longer, had ordered them to wear proper clothes at all times except during battle!
"Commander, Commander! The Goddess has finally blessed my lats! Would you like to see?"
One knight turned around to show off his massive back, but Braum merely sipped his drink and waved his hand dismissively.
"Enough—! You fool!"
It seemed he was still bitter about having given up his chance at lightning during this battle and missing out on muscle growth.
"Then, would Brother Bazes take a look?"
"Ooh—! Sure! I'll show you my glutes too—!"
Just as Bazes excitedly started pulling down his pants, Serian's cold gaze flew over and pierced him.
"If I have to see those vulgar bodies even once more, I believe I mentioned I would confiscate all remaining rubber potions."
"Kuh, I-I'm sorry!!!"
"Goddess, please, anything but that...!"
As the knights frantically buttoned up their clothes and begged, Franz could only sigh. Maybe it would've been better if he had stayed out of his mind like them.
Just then, Gideon, the vice-commander of the Black Hammer Knights, pointed at the map and spoke. He was the only one in this mad group who maintained normal reasoning.
"Once we recapture that final stronghold, we'll have reclaimed all the land taken by the Astra bastards."
At his words, Franz, who had been keeping his head down, spoke up.
"......Lady Goddess, ahem. I mean, Lady Serian. Actually, I have a small concern."
"What is it?"
"Isn't Lady Serian's holy water...... I mean, the rubber potion almost depleted? There's still some fighting left, and I'm worried we won't catch that mage."
At those words, the noisy barracks fell silent. The laughter vanished from their faces.
That's right! Even to the ever-cheerful Hammer Knights, this was indeed a serious problem!
No matter how powerful the potion's blessing was, that lightning mage was a disaster incarnate. If he decided to wage guerrilla warfare, appearing across the empire to cast magic and disappear—he would become a super-terrorist striking without warning!
"Is there any chance of additional supplies arriving?"
"No, that seems unlikely. We're having difficulty procuring materials at the moment."
The main ingredient of the potion was the flesh of the Mimic Slime in its mutated state—Chorong. To produce so many rubber potions, the creature had swallowed countless rubber balls and had its flesh taken from it repeatedly, leaving it in a stretched-thin state!
Therefore, until Chorong regained its plumpness, additional potion production would be impossible.
'Hehe...'
Serian slightly raised the corners of her mouth where no one could see. Everything was going according to her plan. Even on a merely cloudy day that didn't look like rain, she had forced the knights to drink the potions, claiming, 'We should prepare just in case.'
'With that mage's level, calling down lightning from a clear sky would be nothing.'
With that absurd reason, she had forced the excessive consumption of potions despite everyone's objections. So if they dragged things out like this until supplies ran out and then suffered a major defeat when the lightning mage appeared?
It would be the natural next step for the Emperor's dismissal beam to come flying at this incompetent commander, Serian Elhardt!
'Hehehehe, everything is going according to plan.'
"......"
Silence filled the barracks.
"It's all my fault. If only I hadn't let that mage escape!"
Gideon, the vice-commander who had led the pursuit party in the first chase, blamed himself in lamentation.
Just then, the youngest knight who had joined the pursuit chimed in tactlessly.
"That's not true! Didn't something seem off back then, Vice-Commander? I was sure I had caught up, but... Right, Lady Serian? The Goddess was right in front of him, wasn't she?"
Startled....!
Serian was greatly surprised by the youngest member's sharp observation! Had they seen that she deliberately let him go?
'If so, this is bad.'
Just as Serian tensed up, Gideon shouted angrily.
"You fool! Are you saying Lady Serian deliberately let him go?!"
"Exactly! Have you ever seen such a blasphemous fool?!"
"How dare you question the Goddess! Stick out your butt right now!"
"Eek! That's not what I meant...!"
The youngest knight was surrounded by his seniors and subjected to countless beatings, screaming in pain.
"You fool! Trying to fathom the Goddess's profound intentions with your shallow mind!"
"Blasphemy! This blasphemous fool!"
Thud, thud! Loving(?) knuckle punches and back smacks rained down.
"I'm sorry! I dared to doubt the Goddess's great achievements! I've committed a mortal sin, I'm sorry!"
Despite the youngest's desperate apologies, the seniors didn't stop their retaliation for the blasphemy. In the end, after countless righteous blows, he began muttering with unfocused eyes and a vacant expression.
"The Goddess is... truth itself... and muscles are... invincible... The Goddess is... truth itself... and muscles are... invincible... The Goddess is invincible—"
"That's enough, you idiots!"
Braum shouted heartily, putting a stop to the scene.
"Kahaha! Don't worry, everyone! I'll chase that bastard to the ends of the continent with my bare body and capture him for sure!"
It was at that moment.
"This is bad!!"
A soldier who had gone out on reconnaissance burst into the barracks.
"In the middle of the enemy camp...! The enemy nation's lightning mage!!! Is walking toward us!!"
"This is our chance!!"
Braum shot to his feet.
"How many holy waters do we have left?!"
"W-we have... about five bottles left!"
"I'll drink one! The rest go to Gideon and the squad leaders!"
Braum roared.
"I'm going to cut off that bastard's head right now! How many enemies are there?"
The soldier answered in a trembling voice.
"Well..."
"Don't stutter, speak clearly, you fool!"
"The mage... is alone."
"????"