50 – Overwhelming Power (2)
Now, the trembling of the earth had ceased and the dust had settled.
But.
Moans of the injured could be heard constantly from all around.
Disaster.
In those two short words, an indescribable horror filled the devastated fields.
They knew it was caused by magic.
But had there ever been such magic?
I had only heard stories about a distant land, but now that I was actually seeing it, it felt as if the sense of reality had been erased in an instant.
Just how many people had died?
How many people had been rendered helpless?
“Will you pledge your loyalty to me now?”
To Barbados, who had suddenly dropped to his knees.
The voice of the man who had caused all this calamity reached his ears.
“……”
He looked as if he had been in a completely different space, with a neat appearance.
This man, who had suddenly appeared and used unknown sorcery to slaughter countless soldiers and cause such a catastrophe.
Just who was this silver-haired man?
“……”
One thing was certain.
He was the enemy of their tribe.
If he were to be spared.
From now on, their tribe would never again set foot on the land that was now called the Empire’s territory, their homeland.
He was a man who had to be killed at all costs.
The man in front of him was such an existence.
But he was also a terrifying man, who could bring about another disaster at any time and in any way.
“I will dedicate my life to you.”
That was why he pledged his loyalty.
To make him let his guard down and launch a surprise attack.
But suddenly, I felt a strange gaze, and when I looked, something resembling a rooster rapidly pecked its head above the man’s head, glaring at me.
“What is that…? A demon…?”
The reflection of the moon made it look like ice, and at the same time, it looked like glass.
Of course, that wasn’t important now.
Suddenly, the fact that the man’s green sword had disappeared was the only thing that mattered.
If there was a moment that could be called an opportunity, it was now the only one.
Barbadun picked up the fallen axe from the ground and swung it as it was.
Swish!
It cleanly cut through the darkness of the night.
It was a very short moment when sweat rolled down his cheeks.
“I won’t be able to avoid it.”
That was the distance, and that was the speed.
The sharp, silver axe blade longed for a straight line.
“I did it!”
I definitely thought that…
But instead of a straight line, it stopped in a semi-straight line.
Pop!
“Crack!”
As if mocking the axe blade that had suddenly stopped in midair, the sharp, green sword flew towards me in the shortest distance and pierced my forehead.
“Wha- what is this…?”
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In that moment, Barbados believed he had died.
But it felt as if he was dreaming, or seeing an illusion.
Suddenly, his vision changed and he saw the transparent rooster again.
Like the clear water beneath the snow-covered mountain, it was transparent and there seemed to be nothing like snow, yet the sharp senses of a savage were loudly shouting. Clearly, their eyes met.
Strange.
“Just a moment ago, my forehead was definitely pierced…”
But he was still alive. Still, without even picking up the fallen axe.
“What the hell is this…!”
It felt like time had turned back.
Or perhaps he had caught a glimpse of the future for a moment.
Yet, because it was an experience he had never encountered before in his life, in the end, only strong denial of reality remained, crushing all other possibilities.
“I-I must have been mistaken!”
Barbados once again grabbed the axe and swung it at the man’s ankle.
“Ahh…!”
But this time, the axe blade, which had been flying well, seemed to be stuck in something invisible and stopped in midair, as if it couldn’t move.
Upon closer inspection.
Countless taut threads from empty space were tightly wrapped around the axe handle.
“W-what is this…?”
Snap! “Crack!”
Once again, Barbados was pierced in the forehead by a silver-haired man.
When he regained his senses, he found himself still facing the rooster.
Barbados’s face was now stained with terror.
An illusion as if he had returned to the past.
Could he really experience such a thing twice?
“……”
Unknowingly, he was still unable to believe it and was afraid to the point of swallowing dry saliva.
Barbados couldn’t just give up on this disastrous man.
Pop! “Kuhak!”
Pop! “Ah, no!”
Pop! “Kreuk!”
***
Whether it was foolishness, having faith, or both.
How many more times must he repeat this absurdity?
Aitas, the spirit of time, was a creature that would drain mana every time time was reversed.
“Should I just kill him?”
Perhaps because he had died in various ways more than twenty times already.
Just by saying that once, Barbados trembled as if he were a person who had gone out without clothes in the midst of freezing cold.
“I, I will sacrifice my life for you…….”
Even as he said those words, he was still subtly reaching for the axe.
It seems like it won’t work.
Pop! “Crack!”
In the end, the barbarian king, Barbarudan, met his final death, spewing blood from his forehead.
Honestly, I had thought it would be useful to control the barbarians and prevent future disasters.
But if I couldn’t even acknowledge such an overwhelming power difference, who knows what kind of accident would occur in the future.
So I thought it would be best to tidy up neatly.
Bang!
Soon after, the magma pool that had been quietly flowing down behind me shot a fireball into the sky.
Bapabang!
Successive bursts of three light clusters exploded in the high black night sky.
According to the agreement with Matapju, the three flames were a signal of the annihilation of the barbarians.
Hwawak!
I swiftly flew onto Aquila, which came flying at incredible speed, and set off to find Astia.
Pababababang! Kwakwakwakwang!
From behind, a powerful bombardment started, burning everything that survived.
It didn’t seem like anyone would survive.
Even if they did, the barbarians would never cross the empire’s borders again.
***
Upon arriving where Astia was, each of the six barbarians had their own two rivers with them, along with horses.
“Oh, benefactor! Thank you!”
And in front of a woman holding her son in her arms, a man was crying and bowing to Astia.
Then, when Astia saw me getting off the Aquila and said something while pointing at me with her finger, the man suddenly started running towards me.
***
It was the time when the distant bell rang.
Leaning against the railing of the ship returning to the capital, I looked at the Matapju kneeling next to the helmsman.
Just like when I came, I was being scolded by Duke Felios while getting hit on the head.
Ardor.
He was quite a capable man.
I couldn’t help the vibrations that shook the ground.
But he took care of everything, even removing the dust and effectively blocking the flashes and thunder-like explosions caused by the exploding meteors, preventing any potential problems.
He was a man I could trust without a doubt.
Then, I…
Before leaving the village of Lavrione, I looked at the golden bracelet given to me by the man named Lechter.
How could this be here?
I recognized it at a glance.
This bracelet I put on my left wrist as soon as I received it was no ordinary bracelet.
It was the Ego Shield used by the protagonist in the original work.
It was one of the treasures among treasures called Portis Ballum.
Lechter had pleaded for a long time, mentioning the name of the dwarf craftsman who was his ancestor, as a reward for saving his family, asking me to accept it.
There was no reason for me not to take it, so I casually accepted it.
Click.
I reached out my finger towards the white jewel embedded in the center of the thin bracelet.
As I infused mana into it,
Snap! Crack! Snap! Snap! Snap!
With an urgent metallic sound, a golden gauntlet suddenly appeared on my left hand.
“How dare you, foolish human who woke me up. If you cannot withstand the trial of Fortisbalum, your soul will be absorbed by me!”
The voice that came from the gauntlet was strangely beautiful, like that of a woman.
I looked up in surprise.
A trial, huh?
It was something I had never read about in novels before.
New content always excited my heart, but now was not the time to think about such things.
I gathered mana once again.
“Hey, hey you!”
“Hey, listen to the end!”
“Oh no! Give me, give me the mana!”
The voices, which were getting smaller and smaller, eventually became too faint to hear.
The flying ship had already arrived above the palace in the sky.
I stood on the opposite side and looked at Elaine, who had been glancing at me from here.
Her face was slightly reddened under the clearly illuminated light, as if it were daytime.
Right next to her, Astia was poking Elaine’s cheek with her finger.
“Ah, Astia, please stop now…”
“Just hold on for a moment, Elaine. I can’t resist because you’re so soft.”
In the meantime, the two had become quite close.
“…”
Honestly, I was still in doubt.
The engagement with Elaine.
Is it really okay like this?
But as I am now, Elaine’s existence was absolutely necessary.
Having obtained the power and strength of Wiblia, it didn’t mean that I would become the strongest.
Just dealing with the subordinates of Service alone wouldn’t be easy,
And if those with evil intentions gathered, I could still be in danger at any time.
Moreover, considering the countless disasters that would befall the empire in the future, I still needed Elaine.
And there was nothing better than having her by my side than an engagement.
Looking at Elaine again, our eyes met, and she quickly averted her gaze in surprise.
***
Near the capital.
Service stationed around 2,000 cavalry near the capital gate.
The rest of the soldiers will arrive tomorrow.
That means roughly 20,000 troops will be gathered right in front of the imperial capital.
On the way back, there was enough food supply. The soldiers were excited to go home and didn’t cause any more trouble. No one was killed, and all urgent issues were resolved. However, Serbis’s face, as he looked at the brightening dawn, was filled with exhaustion. Of course, it wasn’t just because he couldn’t sleep due to the earthquake that happened last night. It was because he couldn’t get any sleep, having failed to resolve the concerns that were close to his hopes. “What if we attack the capital as soon as the remaining soldiers join us?” The Emperor’s negligence, disregarding the increasingly precarious situation of the empire. What if he used it as an excuse to overthrow the throne? It would be less legitimate than inheriting the throne after the Emperor’s death, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea. Of course, there would be unpleasant epithets like a tyrant or an usurper, but the temptation to become the Emperor immediately without any further ado was too attractive. After all, this empire was almost entirely controlled by his step-grandfather and mother. No matter what mistakes he made, it was a situation that everyone would have to accept in the end. However, when he thought about the imminent invasion of the barbarians, he hesitated to rashly commit such an act. He knew very well that there were many people who would plot behind his back while flattering him in front. The nobles were such people. They had endless greed like him and were willing to easily sacrifice even their lives to rise higher. It was nothing to secretly gnaw at his back for their own benefit when asked about the number of casualties. He could easily anticipate that all sorts of troublesome things would continue to happen throughout the empire.
‘……’
Moreover, what is this ominous feeling that keeps coming up ever since the failed attempt to kill Prince Eos?
‘Me, to that mere trash?’
But I cannot deny it.
What was ingrained in my heart was undoubtedly a sense of caution.
After all, wasn’t he just a weak prince who could be killed anytime if I only had the intention?
Yet, it was unbearably uncomfortable to feel such unpleasant emotions towards someone like him.
In the end, after a brief contemplation, Cervis decided to simply follow his mother’s orders.
After leaving it to his subordinate, he alone headed towards the palace, deep in thought.
After sweeping away the barbarians.
To personally kill the emperor and pin the blame on the prince.
Then, there would be no problem at all.