128 times
Whose hand will the gods of war raise?
128 – Whose Hand Will the Gods of War Raise #2
“It’s quiet.”
“That’s right. Even in the Temple of Mars, it’s a place that not just anyone can enter.”
There is a back to the Temple of Mars. The back is a brown tent pitched like a field office, and there are swords stuck here and there.
It was my first time here, so I was wondering where the heck this was.
“This is a sword tomb for the fallen warriors of Mars. The swords embedded there are memorial tablets for the fallen warriors.”
My doubts were somewhat resolved because Hippolyte had explained where this place was. It seemed to be a place like the graveyard of the warriors.
However, rather than the eerie feeling of a grave, the candles and wreaths placed here and there give it a reverent feel, like a memorial area.
“Come inside here. I’ve roughly finished preparing things.”
Hippolyta walked into the tent in her uncomfortable-looking shoes.
I glanced at the swords stuck here and there again, then followed her into the tent.
The inside of that thick tent was an unremarkable sight, one that could be seen anywhere.
The dim light of a lantern hanging from a fairly high ceiling, a makeshift bed, and even a sword and armor placed on a shelf in one corner.
Looking at the red armor with long strips of cloth hanging from it, it looks like the armor that Hippolyte used. Could this barracks be Hippolyte’s office? It’s also interesting that there’s a large mirror there.
“Ahem, this is the first time I’ve invited someone else here. You can consider it an honor.”
I thought it was just an ordinary tent scene, but when I realized that I was alone with the glossy-skinned Hippolyta, my face felt hot and I couldn’t calm down.
Sling.
Hippolyte pulled out the sword that was lying in the corner, looked at it from all sides as if checking the condition of the blade, and then said.
“The priests of Mars bless those who go to war. It’s a tradition that has been around for a very long time. Its background goes back to ancient times that are not even recorded in history.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Hippolyte started telling some boring story, but I was too busy staring at the dress with its plunging back. It was amazing how her muscles stood out so healthily without an ounce of fat.
“And if we go back to the original, the blessings of the priests of very old times were extremely primitive and… primitive. However, the protective effect was that good.”
Slung, tak.
Hippolyta put her sword back into its scabbard.
She came towards me, nodding, nodding, and pushed my shoulder, making me sit on the makeshift bed behind her.
“… Yes, the old kings, before going to the battlefield, took pure priestesses and applied their blood. And, what I’m going to do now… . It’s, you could say it’s similar to that. I’m a virgin. And I’m also a priest.”
Hippolyta climbing onto my thigh.
Her hot body heats my body in an instant, past my pants.
What immediately touched my face was her extraordinary breasts. The unexpected warmth and touch made my lower body swell up quickly and become like a spear piercing the sky.
“Uh, uh, Lady Hippolyte…?”
“Shh, be quiet. Even though I don’t have any experience, I know the method. However, if you break my concentration, the protection might go wrong.”
Hippolyte’s breath, which was right in front of my nose, had a very sweet corner.
Not only that, her slightly spicy yet tangy scent is so strong that it feels like it’s going to fry my head as a man.
Hippolyte’s face was slightly taller than mine. So she naturally looked down at me as she called out to me.
“Hotsan.”
But I was caught in this warm and soft trap and had no time to answer.
What on earth is going on? At first glance, it seems like that’s the situation. Why is Hippolyte here? Does she like me?
No, if you touch it carelessly, you might get in big trouble – these kinds of reckless accidents are proliferating one after another.
It was that very moment.
“Hassan, is it because of your past record that you want to participate in the war?”
“What is your criminal record?”
“… Once you become a Silver Tier adventurer, you gain the right to do many things. For example, you can read the kingdom’s official documents. And, if you are a special Samaritan, you will usually leave at least one record somewhere.”
Hippolyte paused for a moment. Then she grabbed my wrists and lifted them up, examining them closely with her narrow eyes.
“There is no branding. However, the records of the past remain in indelible letters. Do you know about the arena of Deathros, Hassan?”
“that is….”
Hippolyte’s words made memories buried deep inside my mind seem to rise like smoke from a fire.
I’m talking about a basement where chains and broken fingernails and such are strewn about the floor.
“I see, you wanted to keep it a secret. If that’s the case, I won’t say anything else. This creates a secret between you and me.”
“Is it a secret?”
“According to Mercury, the path of fate opens up when we keep each other’s secrets. You knew my secret too. Now it’s a tie. I can’t live with a loss.”
As she said that, Hippolyte stroked my chest with the palm of her hand.
“Then you must not open your mouth now, Hassan. I will now give you my protection in earnest.”
The hand that was caressing my chest like that narrows its brows as it stops at Luna’s bite mark that is particularly clear on her leather jacket.
And then a brief moment of silence came.
“… No, this is why I feel nothing but defeat. I don’t like it.”
Hippolyte, who had stopped talking at that, quickly got up from my lap. Then she walked to a distance and slowly began to take off her shoes and dress.
Although she was greatly embarrassed by the sudden action and the sight of her back, she soon picked up the underwear and armor that were lying in the corner and put them on her body.
Crunch. Crunch.
“I don’t think you need my protection. Too much attention can tear apart a rat that is being pulled apart.”
“… So, is it all over? Is there no protection or anything?”
“Yes. But at least I’ll make it so you won’t die from flying arrows. Follow me outside.”
And then it was Hippolyte who drew her sword with a slurp.
“Why, why are you picking that?”
“Isn’t this side better because it’s more like me?”
* * *
When I returned to the cabin where Luna was, she seemed to be sticking her head out the window and watching me come.
As soon as I appeared in the distance, Luna hid her head as if she was startled, then opened the door on the first floor and ran out.
“Hassan, uh, how’s it going? Did you receive protection?”
“Gaho, I told you not to give it to me.”
“Oh, really!? Then what the hell have you been doing there until now?”
Luna looked around my body. The guy frowned at the sight of my torn leather clothes and my small organs.
“Did you ever fight a tiger?”
“It seems similar. Sval, I thought I was going to die.”
Under the pretext of building up courage against flying arrows and swords, he trained by looking at the fists and sword tips that Hippolyta swung.
Every time I closed my eyes, I got hit once, so I don’t know how many times I had to get hit in an hour. Damn, this is training in such an ignorant way. What a fucking ignorant world.
However, Luna seemed strangely pleased with the fact that I had been beaten by Hippolyte.
“This is strange… The protection of the warrior god is definitely effective. Hassan, then I will cast a spell to ward off evil! Hey, take off your clothes quickly!”
After saying that, Luna quickly ran into the workshop on the first floor.
A loud noise like “bang bang bang” spread throughout the cabin for a while, and then Luna came up carrying a brush and something that looked like a wooden barrel with a rather unpleasant smell.
“Come to think of it, there is something I can do for Hassan before he goes to war!”
Slowly, slowly.
Inside the wooden barrel, there were some pretty creepy looking bugs that looked like gnats wriggling around in the red paint.
Luna crushed it with a small mortar, something like a pestle.
Crunch, crunch.
The sticky contents start to mix with the red ingredients. Luna picks it up with her bristled brush and holds it out towards me.
“What, what are you trying to do?”
“Battlefield ritual! All Ideophean men cast a spell to ward off evil and go to battle!”
I wonder if it feels like the warriors of the tribe are wearing war paint? Honestly, I wonder what the meaning is.
Kwuk.
Looking at Luna’s tightly shut lips and tense eyes, I reluctantly had to allow myself to be painted on her body.
“You should apply it like this the day before the battle and let it dry well. And, you should spend the night praying!”
“They say we’re leaving tomorrow and we have to stay up all night?”
“With a pious heart! You must dance too!”
* * *
The west gate of Sodomora, which was usually used as a place to form parties.
As the dawn sun rose, there were more people bustling about than usual.
They were a ragtag group of people, some carrying swords and clubs, some carrying long spears and farm implements, and some carrying pot lids as shields.
Even though it was a city with a lot of idiots, this was the first time I realized there were this many idiots. Did they all hide and come out because war broke out?
I wonder if reserve force training is like this. Of course, this is not training, it’s a fucking real situation.
“War? I’ve never even held a weapon.”
“Somehow things will work out. Still, we’re lucky to be meeting at the West Gate. We’ll be assigned to Young-ae’s unit.”
The west gate was like a noisy market with people gathered in small groups of three or five whispering and chatting among themselves.
I looked around to see if I could spot any familiar faces, but I couldn’t find a single one I recognized, so I just stood there blankly.
Am I the only one drafted? Or is the organization different?
“Hassan, you have to be careful. If you feel like you’re in real danger, just lie down among the corpses and pretend to be dead!”
Luna stood next to me like that, constantly giving me her own advice and counsel. She looked refreshed despite not having slept a wink the previous day.
However, I just felt tired and dizzy, so I kept yawning.
My heart is pounding as if I’m on drugs because of the tension and drowsiness mixed together, and my eyes are spinning because of the loud noises.
I never thought I’d have to dance and sing in a strange dialect until the sun rose at dawn.
I thought I knew why the male warriors who left Ideophe never returned from the battlefield.
He must have lost his strength before the war even started, so he must have just collapsed and died somewhere, damn it…
But Luna’s sincerity was so great that I couldn’t refuse her. If I didn’t, I felt like Luna would go crazy before I did.
Actually, Luna was a little crazy last night.
Multifaceted, multifaceted.
At that moment, people began to murmur loudly. The sound of horse hooves could be heard from somewhere, and then horsemen in yellow armor appeared, cutting through the procession.
He is wearing brass armor that shines so brightly that it is dazzling. He is even riding a horse. You can tell at a glance that he is a high-ranking person.
“It’s Youngae.”
“It’s Enya-sama. It really looks like Enya-sama wants to join us!”
“and-!”
People began to raise their hands high and cheer as they saw the brass riders.
The expressions of the people who had been frowning as if they were about to die just a moment ago brightened, and I was quite bewildered, wondering if I was seeing some kind of magic.
Multifaceted.
The horses that had been circling around us for a while finally climbed up onto a platform and stopped.
The standard-bearer, holding high his flag-draped lance, shouted loudly from beneath his red peacock-feathered helmet that completely concealed his face.
“I hate socialites!”
At those words, the riders nearby also banged their flagpoles on the ground and shouted.
“Socialism kills!”
“and!”
What the heck.
I was quite bewildered by this situation. Luna also couldn’t figure it out, so she just blinked and looked around.
“Let’s kill the cultists!”
“Socialism is my enemy!”
The atmosphere around me began to heat up, as if I was in the middle of some kind of fanatic festival. Is this what they call being intoxicated?
However, standing in the middle of it all, I feel awkward and embarrassed, like a non-believer invited to an enthusiastic summer Bible school.
As I was standing there dazed, someone tapped me on the side with their elbow.
“What are you doing! Hurry up and pretend to cheer!”
“yes?”
“Young-ae is known to be very strict with the morale of her soldiers. If you don’t respond with a louder voice, I’ll be like this all day!”
What the heck.
So Luna and I also raised both our hands high in the air and screamed loudly in the crowd.
“… I, I’m going to kill the cult…!”
“Socialism is my enemy!”
and-!
As these strange shouts spread for several seconds, the flag that had been held high slowly began to lower, and the heated atmosphere cooled down, turning the atmosphere dark.
Now, what on earth is going to happen? I watch with tense eyes.
The woman said that she had a peacock feather as a decoration on the top of her helmet. Looking closely, the shape of the helmet was just like an owl.
“Gentlemen, I am Enya Sardich, the eldest daughter of the Count of Hawkins. I am Minerva’s great warrior, the protector of Sodomora, and your sister.”
Groan, groan.
It seemed like the woman was saying something, but the stage was so far away from me and I couldn’t hear anything because of the crowd talking.
Luna asks, tapping my side.
“Hassan, what is Youngae saying?”
“I don’t know either.”
In a world without microphones, if you want to speak in front of this many people, it would be difficult for them to understand unless you have a fairly loud voice.
At that very moment, people started clapping, so Luna and I also clapped loudly.
What the hell is this?
A hastily formed army.
A hastily put together command structure.
So, rather than listening to Yeong-ae’s words that I couldn’t hear, I decided to focus on feeling Luna’s warmth standing next to me a little more.
“Luna, I’ll be back soon, so just wait.”
“Uh, uh.”
Luna looked up at my face, and tears soon filled her sparkling emerald eyes. But soon, she shook her head violently.
“I heard that it is bad luck to see someone off crying before going to war.”
“I see.”
“Hassan, should I come with you?”
“No, how do you know what’s going to happen there? Just stay here in the city, in the cabin. Just wait with Kkung-kung.”
“Then, you must use the talisman and elixir I gave you well!”
To be honest, I wasn’t thick-skinned enough to care about Luna in a war zone where I didn’t know what would happen.
Rather than adding another thing to worry about, I think it would be better to put Luna in a safe place.
“I will dispatch the adjutants as soon as I finish organizing them!”
At that moment, Youngae’s scream was clearly heard, and Luna and I looked at each other among the people who were clapping and cheering exaggeratedly.
“. .”
At that moment, Luna smiled and said something to me.
It was hard to hear because it was buried in the noise of people.
I was really curious about what he said.
I decided to come back safely and ask about it.
“Let’s go!”
Anyway, I am Hassan, a foreign mercenary.
Join the war.
[Work Review]
What you’re looking forward to is, before the cups of war cool down, I’ll come back quickly and show you something… something… Hehe… Michuri, I’m holding my breath again…!!
Dive deep down into the water over there…!!!
