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Whose hand will the gods of war raise?
130 – Whose Hand Will the Gods of War Raise #4
“There, there, I see it! It’s Mount Valdes!”
So exhausted were we that we were able to arrive at the place where the cult’s mountain house was before the day was over, even before the sun set.
I thought there would be long ridges along the mountainside.
The Valdez Mountains were a single mountain rising out of a wide plain.
It is not a naturally formed mountain, but a rounded hill that looks like it was created intentionally for war.
Ta-da.
And there, wooden barriers and torches burning here and there create quite an atmosphere.
“Damn, there are so many dead kids swarming around. That area over there is pitch black as if it’s night.”
Who said that?
Indeed, just as the guy said, there were skeletons and dead people moving around the mountain and its surroundings, making noises here and there.
Guard.
Dalgrak.
It looks like the enemies we have to deal with are those skeletons. However, there aren’t as many of them as I had imagined. There are probably a few hundred at most.
I think we could each grab a club, run over there, and beat up one skeleton per person.
Of course, since they are merciless monsters, there are always variables when dealing with them.
For someone who should have been exhausted from running so hard just now, I felt a strange energy flowing through my body.
Is this the grace or some other power that the Count’s daughter, Enya, possesses?
Or maybe the real whirlwind tactics were effective – this is the kind of crazy thought that makes you wonder. War has a way of driving people crazy like this.
Bussss.
Then the wind blew and swept away the grass growing on the plain and our hair. It was a cool wind that cooled the sweat on our bodies.
Flutter, flutter-.
A brass flag bearer raising his flag high in the wind.
“atmosphere!”
At Enya’s loud shout, we lined up in front of the dead. We were standing in a line with the fearsome men, just a few hundred meters away.
“Dorgo. Death. It feels like it’s right before my eyes. Desert sand. Good luck…”
“… Shit, it’s scarier than I thought. I mean, we have to fight those guys. I don’t know if an arrow will penetrate their skull.”
Unlike our ranks, which were filled with excitement, fear and tension, the line of the dead standing in the distance was not even the slightest ripple of emotion.
Clink, click.
Krrrr… .
But even in the midst of this standoff, if there was one emotion that I felt, it was murderous intent.
Murderous intent, normally I would have thought it was a very sensitive expression, but now that I’ve actually felt this sensation of my skin being pricked, I can’t express it in any other way than murderous intent.
Anyway, the dead, full of thoughts of killing the living, are gathering together and moving as if they will attack us at any moment.
Even the strongest of hearts would feel goosebumps and fear run up their spines at the sight of that horrific sight.
The nearly one thousand soldiers were all trembling with mixed emotions.
My mind, too, became complicated with all sorts of distracting thoughts, and my heart felt as if it was being gently caressed by a cold hand, and all the blood drained from my body.
The slight pain in the lower abdomen may seem like a reaction from an organ that is hypersensitive to extreme tension.
But now I can’t say I went to the bathroom. So I temporarily pressed the Hegu point on my palm to control the energy in my intestines.
It could be a simple placebo effect, but the pain in my lower abdomen has subsided a little as my mind is focused on the pain in my palm.
Click, pop. Gulp, gulp, gulp.
I poured the elixir Luna had given me into my calmed stomach. Along with the sound effects of “diring-diring-,” a number indicating that my stamina had increased by 3 appeared.
My mind suddenly goes blank, whether it’s because the numbers are rising or because of the horrible throat hit that feels like licking the sand of the sea.
Sval, now it’s really starting.
“Archer-! Wizard-! Everyone, stand by-!”
As the sun sets and the sky begins to darken, a ray of light begins to strangely illuminate the ground through the clouds.
“Irya.”
Enya, the lance-bearing rider, slowly approached the dead along the path of light.
“Pluto’s cultist, no, Professor Anxious of the Tower! Accept this Enya Sardic duel with dignity!”
The battlefield was instantly shaken by that loud shout.
“It’s a diary. It seems Enya-sama is planning to fight alone.”
“That may be what you said, Young-ae, but then again, isn’t there no point in us coming all this way?”
“I can finish this quickly and go back.”
A fight.
I’ve also heard about the one-on-one duel.
Did it say that warriors and knights who valued honor would decide the outcome of a war through one-on-one duels without suffering large-scale casualties?
Of course, since it was my first time participating in a war, it was my first time seeing a one-on-one duel between commanders rather than a simple duel.
I watched the situation with a pounding heart, wondering what would happen next.
In the distance, the brass-armored knight holding a flag before a vast army of the dead begins to look quite formidable.
The atmosphere among the soldiers listed like that began to heighten with a strange feeling.
“Hey, what’s that? Look at the sky!”
“What the heck, what is that…?”
At someone’s words, we all looked up at the sky. Then, the dark clouds covering the mountain vegetables began to gather and distort in an eerie way.
There was something creepy about it, even though it was just a simple natural phenomenon.
It soon took the shape of a giant black skull the size of the sky.
Enya von Sardich, the brave warrior of Minerva.
Soon a thunderous noise rumbled through the sky, bursting out of the skeleton’s mouth.
At that moment, the horses the knights were riding began to back away violently, and the legs of the soldiers, including me, began to shake violently.
Someone said.
“…Ma, it’s magic. There’s a magician in the cult’s mountain home…!”
“I didn’t hear that there was a wizard… I thought all I had to do was step on a few skeletons!”
“Fuck, there’s a wizard! There’s a wizard! Eek!!”
I had heard from Hippolyta earlier that the sorcerer Anxious was in the mountain lair of the cultists you see there.
However, the soldiers who were unaware of this seemed greatly confused and afraid of the presence of a wizard among their enemies.
In this world, powerful magicians are treated like tactical weapons, so it’s only natural.
If you think about getting hit by ice and fireballs flying from places you can’t even see, it seems like there’s no such thing as a perfect missile. Of course, that would be scary for a wizard.
Ah, the fear spreading across the battlefield. I’ve gathered a lot of them, but-. At best, they’re a ragtag bunch with no training. Enya-sama, I think that’s why you’re proposing a one-on-one duel.
“Anxious! Surrender and a one-on-one fight! You have only two choices!”
In this cold age, a duel? Our Lady is also quite naive. The romantic era in which heroes lived must have been just like this. But, okay. I will accept the duel.
Ding, ding, ding. Ding, ding.
Soon, an ominous drum sound began to spread from the mountain. The sound of skeletons rattling was loud, and what emerged from the crowd of the dead was a huge, tall monster.
It’s probably twice my size. What on earth did you eat to grow that big?
Just as Achilles has Hector and Theseus has Asterius, even in an age of declining heroes, there must be an adversary.
Clank, clank.
The iron chains and iron balls attached to his arms and legs dragged through the dirt and sand. His half-naked body and his solid muscles looked firm beneath his gray skin.
The last of the fallen Titans, Kaliah. This guy would be a worthy rival to Youngae.
“Anxious, why don’t you step forward yourself!”
Miss, where in the world do you think there would be a wizard who would step forward and die?
“What a shameless, sociable idea! The giant’s horse is no match for my opponent, but this is not worthy of being called that! Andrea!”
At Yeong-ae’s shout, someone appeared in front of us, parting the crowd of soldiers in the line we were standing in.
It is about the same size as me. However, its entire body is covered in iron plates and it carries a large, long sword on its shoulder, so its belly looks large.
“Is that Andrea, the author, who was born a commoner and became a knight?”
“Indeed, he’s quite a big guy. He looks very skilled too.”
“But still, he’s smaller than that guy who’s a descendant of a Titan.”
“Sval, I’m so nervous. I need to go to the bathroom.”
Under various reactions, the armored knight Andrea and the giant Kallahia faced each other.
Gooooooo-.
Just looking at them standing face to face created a kind of tension, so we all had no choice but to keep our mouths shut and watch the scene.
Tadah.
The first to move was the knight Andrea. He pulled out a longsword that was as long as his torso, then quickly kicked his leg and hid between the giant’s legs.
Then he quickly cuts off the giant’s Achilles tendon and shins before he can react. It’s a clean, simple, yet very effective move.
Geeeeeee-!
The giant’s reaction of screaming like thunder seemed to explain how well this attack had worked. The giant bowed his head and waist in pain.
The knight who had climbed onto that body raised his greatsword high.
“Farewell, fallen god!”
Andrea cut off the head with a loud scream. With that, the huge body and head fell to the ground, spewing blood and convulsing.
and-!
People cheered, their spirits lifted by the overwhelming victory. I was also happy. Can I go home now?
Indeed, the knights of the count are all as strong as monsters.
A skull-shaped cloud was heard clicking its tongue.
Clouds can talk while clicking their tongues. No matter how much I watch it, I still can’t figure out how it works. The magic is really powerful.
However, Youngae shouts confidently as if she is not afraid even when faced with such a skull cloud.
“You have won this honorable duel, Anxious, so surrender and surrender! The reason we are not charging right now is to protect your honor as a professor at the Magic Tower!”
Honor. Thank you very much. I guess I still have some of that left.
“But if you don’t surrender, I’ll just tie you up like a prisoner and drag you out! I’ll give you one minute to spare!”
Oh, how merciful. But the blood that was just sprinkled on the ground was just for entertainment. Hey, Young-ae, have you ever heard of the term “spiritual ecstasy”?
“Gangshin…?”
It is a story that a great god temporarily borrows a body and descends to a compatible human. It was only a theory, but Anxious found out that the probability of descendants becoming a god increases with the same bloodline.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden, Anxious!”
You will see it for yourself. Now, all of you, please witness it. And bow down to the power of the underworld! The night of the beginning. The best son she ever gave birth to…! The ascension of Moros, the incarnation of death!
Slurp-.
As soon as Cloud Skull finished speaking, the world went dark.
The setting sun began to take on a black haze as if it were ink, and soon the world itself became dark and it seemed as if night had fallen.
To put it in one word, it is the phenomenon of an unexpected eclipse.
“And, the light of light… .”
“The sun god has hidden his head. What on earth is going on?”
The religious people of this world seem to have interpreted this strange eclipse scene according to the authority of the gods.
The sunlight was distorted. Even I thought it was a very strange phenomenon.
“You’re calling me out on your own, Anxious. I was in the middle of something important.”
At that very moment, a sinister man’s voice was heard, as if it were coldly stroking the back of my neck.
“Look, look at that! The corpse, the corpse is moving!”
Who could have shouted? When I lowered my head that had been raised to the sky at those words, I saw the corpses of giants that had been convulsing with their necks cut off, entangled once again.
『… But a contract is a contract. Rules must be followed.』
The giant raised his head and spoke, caressing his own neck.
“Then let’s finish this quickly and go back. You all are sentenced to death. Now, all of you, cut in half and die.”
Srrrrrr, hwaaak.
At that moment, something like a lukewarm wind blew between us. We were not moving at all, feeling like we should not move even a little bit.
Choaaaak-!
I saw the body of the giant knight Andrea, who had been standing far away, cut in two and fell down, spurting blood. What the hell is this? Magic?
『With a weak spirit, only about one person can be defeated. It would be faster to use hands than power.』
Crunch, crunch.
The giant soon fell down in front of him and touched the body of the dead knight. After pulling out long bones from his body, he wove together iron plates to create the shape of a giant scythe.
“Okay, this should be enough against mortals.”
Phew!
“Huh, huh, oh, the goddess of war and honor…!”
At the horrific sight, the horses begin to gallop, and soon Enya, the young woman holding the flag, falls off her horse and begins to tremble on the ground.
“Give me, Enya, the courage to fight against the power of death. The boldness to cross the dark valley of death…”
『Oh, you didn’t lose your mind even though you were right in front of me. You’re quite a strong mortal. Yes, pray as much as you want. However, no one can stop the power of death. That’s the rule. Now, who’s your next opponent?』
A terrible silence settled over the plains that had been shaking chaotically just moments ago. Not even a breath was heard, not even a breath of wind blew.
A silence that makes it seem as if even time has stopped.
We all, submerged in that heavy sea, must have had the same thought.
I just hope it’s not me who has to deal with that weird monster.
“No one. Then I’ll point out Death Grip.”
The giant with the scythe opened his palm towards us and swung it. At that very moment, something truly amazing happened.
“Whoa, what, what the hell! P, P-P-!”
My body started to move towards him as if it was drawn by a magnet! I was so shocked that I thought I was going to pee my pants!
『What, you? I chose the guy next to you instead of you. Well, well, it doesn’t really matter who it is. There is no set order to death.』
Jooooooow.
“Ugh!”
I tried to resist this strange attraction by pushing hard on the ground, but I was helpless. I was thrown down like a giant being thrown in front of me!
『It’s no use resisting. Rather, look at this-. What a strange karma this guy has. What’s that on his face? He’s done all sorts of colorful pranks, like a child’s drawing.』
Kwaaak.
A giant grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up. His empty purple eyes looked into mine. Damn, this must be how a little mouse feels when it’s caught in a cat’s hand.
When I feel like my long life is ending like this, I can’t even curse anymore.
The eyes that were looking at me opened wide.
『Wait, are you… No, no, I heard that the youngest is definitely a little… A little girl. With pink hair… .』
Swish.
The grip that was holding me loosened a little, allowing me to breathe.
『Ahem, huh, are you by any chance a woman…? No, that can’t be. By any chance, are you by any chance a man with a woman’s heart…? No, is that even possible…?』
I thought I would be squeezed to death right away. The giant who had caught me seemed to be very flustered and kept mumbling to himself. What on earth was going on? But I didn’t have a moment to wonder.
『… Anyway, this is a big deal. I’m going to hear something from Mom.』
And then suddenly the world tilted upside down and tossed around. That was why the giant who had been holding me by the collar collapsed and rolled on the floor as if in great pain.
Thud, bang.
『W-what kind of powerful fist is this! How dare you, a lowly mortal, ugh, ugh!』
The giant began to tremble and fly around on its own. I couldn’t understand, Shiva, what the hell was going on! Shiva, what is this all of a sudden!
Mr. Moros! What the heck is going on…!
『Ugh, I can’t handle this! What kind of warrior is this! You’re too strong!』
“Look at that! That weird black hair is overwhelming that giant!”
[Work Review]
It’s too strong-!!!!
This is Michuri diving in the deep sea…
I’m holding my breath…
I will try my best to bake rice cakes…. It’s coming out…!!!
