Chapter 182

Chapter 182 - Banishment (1)

'I wonder if King's Field's recovery has become known by now?'

While spies were roaming around everywhere, an army of this size conducted a subjugation operation. The news must have sufficiently spread.

Over the monastery occupied by monsters, the nobles' reactions were divided into two.

"Excellency. Subjugating monsters is an excellent virtue, but we must target the Kruger family first. Now, when they must be flustered by a sudden two-front war, is the opportunity."

Those who felt it was enough to just show their loyalty to Eugene during this mobilization order mostly wanted to ignore it.

"Is that something to say to His Excellency? It's a monastery of all places! Even if it's abandoned, do you intend to just watch monsters defile that sacred place?"

Those with strong faith or those lacking a foundation who wanted success hoped for subjugation.

And Eugene raised the hand of the latter. It wasn't exactly only because of a sense of justice.

"Lord. Monsters are thoroughly practical folks. They do not offer sacrifices for authority or solidarity like humans."

It was because of Cassandra's advice.

"If it's a priest who is called crazy even by Orcs, they must be doing some very suspicious acts?"

"I suspect they already have. For an Orc group, the leader is determined solely by strength. To lead a scale of that size, their charisma or martial prowess wouldn't be ordinary. Nevertheless, if they were murdered by the priest, it means they are wielding a very powerful mystery."

Eugene adjusted the Wendigo cloak draped over his shoulders. The heretic magician he defeated 2 years ago came to mind.

"Are things like this common?"

"No way. The techniques of Orcs are strictly limited to things related to combat. Their knowledge and wisdom are extremely base."

Unlike the path of a warrior where ignorant combat-focused training is possible, the path of a magician requiring highly advanced education and research is bound to be inadequate.

In a word, it implies the Orc priest who occupied the monastery is a born genius. Whether they were born with a body well-suited to receive divine descent, or extremely sensitive to mysteries.

"We have to eliminate it right away."

"A magician leading monsters having discarded compassion and conscience. There is no existence as dangerous as that."

The arrived monastery looked closer to a fortress than a religious facility. This is a characteristic commonly seen in monasteries located in the suburbs.

Like Sicily, Britannia is also land developed by driving out the rule of monsters. In the early days, it was everyday life for even farmers or fishermen to cluster together and carry weapons around.

When it was absolutely unmanageable, they held sit-ins at strongholds advantageous for defense. In such situations, they naturally sought God, and becoming both a fortress and a religious facility like that is the origin of the monasteries in this world.

"The scale is much larger than I thought."

"King's Field is one of the very first settlements in Britannia. It's an area where many people flocked to, matching that."

Baron Lester said. He is a robust lord who has been trained through countless battles on the northern border.

- I will focus on mediating the disputes between the former Cornwall nobles and the other southern nobles.

Baron Foster yielded the seat next to Eugene to the border lords, who were outstanding in both strength and combat experience, and stepped back.

"Isn't the eastern black soil region better in terms of fertility? They left that place and developed here first?"

"During the settlement period, the east was a demonic realm as much as its land was good. Because most of it is plains, but it was a period before stirrups were even developed, so cavalry couldn't easily exert their strength."

Being a world swarming with monsters, the restrictions on humanity's territorial prosperity were immense.

Great plains good for farming only entered humanity's sphere of influence in earnest after stirrups, iron tools, and knights appeared.

"Since such secluded monasteries are good to use as temporary strongholds, bandit groups often take them over."

"We want to just demolish them entirely, but travelers or merchant groups use them quite beneficially. There is also the priests fiercely opposing it."

The other barons of the border added a word each. These are also the ones Viscount Winchester placed as exceptions from the mobilization.

Although they are powerful fighting forces, if the border lords leave their positions, the route from the center to the south becomes completely empty. If by any chance a surprise attack from the Kruger family came in, the south would be a defenseless empty house.

However, Eugene had a method to mobilize even them safely.

- Baron Lester. According to this map, wouldn't it be fine if we just block this place? It's a structure where the road splits from here and spreads to the various territories of the south, you see.

- That is true. But how would we block this wide place? Moreover, there are forests on both sides here and it's difficult to get water nearby. The wind even blows strongly all the time, so it's cold even in summer.

- If we move a castle here, it seems it would be sufficiently blocked.

- ...Oh!

Eugene actually put it into action. In a space that had been wide open since history began, a giant structure was brought in.

- Now you guys can also respond to the mobilization, right?

Eugene's cloak, looking back with the Moving Castle as the background, fluttered fiercely. It was already a place with strong winds, but crashing into the castle and getting funneled to the sides, it became an even fiercer gale.

- Excellency! Pardon my presumption, but can't you just keep that castle here?

- Because guarding this damned highway, we haven't even been able to go to the banquets of other nobles!

The lords gathered at Eugene's call chuckled hollowly in marvel. All of them led their armies and answered the mobilization.

* * *

The monastery showed no particular reaction even while the army surrounded it. There are no sentries either, and only tranquility exudes.

"Th-Thank goodness."

"Thank goodness my ass. That's more dangerous."

Although new recruits rejoiced thinking the monsters had fled, experienced soldiers maintained stiff faces.

Monsters lurking in a specific building do not hold siege defense battles using walls and doors as shields like humans.

Like ants digging tunnels, they hid everywhere inside the building and forced indoor combat. That was a dangerous task in itself.

For the commander, even if there are sacrifices, it doesn't matter since capturing it is possible as long as they have superiority in troops. However, the soldiers who would fight on the frontlines did not want themselves to belong to those scapegoats.

"I will enter through the main gate."

Therefore, when Eugene declared he would personally lead the knights and take the vanguard, everyone cheered.

"Excellency. This place is but a preliminary skirmish. Wouldn't it be better for you to put the soldiers at the front?"

"I am worried your precious body might be harmed by cowardly attacks in the dark."

Eugene praised the vassals' concerns but did not change his mind.

When attacking a place like this, utilizing the effect of a surprise attack is important. Poking with foot soldiers and giving them preparation time is not a good choice. They must strike in one blow with knights possessing the best armor, courage, and swordsmanship.

"I'll lend out silver swords, so everyone take one."

Most importantly, there was a high possibility that evil mysteries were intertwined. Having Eugene holding the Last Autumn leading the attack was best to cope with unexpected situations.

'To think there are this many silver weapons. He is truly fitting of someone who made his name subjugating monsters.'

'Even if ghosts appear, I will cut them down!'

The knights of the south received the silver-plated swords distributed by the Dark Elf quartermaster with perfectly round wide eyes.

Because the way a wealthy great lord showed off their wealth was throwing extravagant banquets, not bestowing customized supplies on the battlefield like this.

"Say, do you perhaps not have maces?"

"We do. Sir Knight. Do you want one purely for striking? Or one with a spike on the back of the head?"

"Give me the one with the spike!"

"We also have military picks, so please tell me if you want one."

"Here! Here!"

They even satisfied all sorts of different weapon categories. The knights liked this unfamiliar experience.

Looking back and forth between Eugene's back figure glaring at the monastery from the vanguard, and the silver weapons respectively held in their hands.

If it were this young monarch, it felt like countermeasures would be prepared for any disaster or bewildering situation.

"I will take charge of being the Lord's guide."

Cassandra, having changed into rogue attire instead of the armor she normally wears, stretched. The tightly clinging leather clothes unavoidably accentuated Cassandra's voluptuous figure.

"Was this the belly part of a Lamia's skin?"

"Fufu. It's lacking in defense power to use in an all-out war, but it's the best for maintaining mobility, weight, and sharp senses."

Because it was the belly skin of a snake's torso, it was smooth without patterns, bringing a full-body tights to mind.

"..."

At the sex appeal ahead of its era, the hot-blooded knights averted their eyes.

The female body of the fairy race sculpted by harsh training. That was more beautiful than any woman's body the knights had ever seen. Because they are knights who revere physical strength more than anyone else, they were even more drawn to that figure.

Various tools for pathfinding and dismantling traps, including various throwing weapons, hung all over Cassandra's body.

Horsemanship or close quarters combat is not her specialty, but she was more outstanding than anyone else in such special operation missions.

"Cassandra. Here..."

Cassandra heartily gulped down the potion handed by a tribal witch. Then she adjusted her breathing keeping her eyes closed for a moment.

"Haaaa."

Eugene felt Cassandra's warm breath turning cold in real-time. Presently, her pupils that opened their eyes had changed to be like a reptile's. She already had a cool impression, but right now she was nothing short of an Ice Queen.

"Reagent with what effect?"

"It allows one to see what cannot be seen, and see what can be seen even better."

Cassandra swept over Eugene from his chest to his lower body and formed a meaningful smile.

"Can I see that effect too?"

"A pity, but it's impossible. This is a mystery only women, moreover witches brimming with Yin energy, can use."

"If I use it, the two disparate energies would clash or one side would be swallowed up."

Eugene realized that what Cassandra was talking about was related to Yin and Yang. Even if the worlds were different, digging into academic aspects often revealed unexpected convergences like this.

"As expected, fitting for someone who inherited a splendid bloodline. You understand immediately."

Cassandra smiled, pleased while also being surprised.

The fact that Eugene is the son of a witch evoked great favor among the witches. Part of it was that conversations flowed well, and also because they felt a sense of homogeneity living under the same fate.

"Rex. I entrust the command to you while I am absent."

"Leave it to me. I will tighten things closely and prepare for unexpected situations."

Rex is an outstanding archer and commander, but he was left behind because he was not trained as a knight.

"Are you leaving behind that terrifying axe?"

"Because it's too big to use indoors. There would be a lot of interference swinging it what with pillars and junk."

"If it's you, Sir Knight, you could just slash splitting all the obstacles though."

"If I did that, the knights with me would also be split together."

"Aha!"

Although Eugene responded to a joke with a joke, Rex seemed to have sincerely accepted it.

"It is a good choice. Since there is nothing quite like an etherium sword for cutting down evil existences. Please, I pray you return safely to my embrace."

Valda, who rode Might instead, prayed for Eugene.

She was sufficient to substitute for authority in Eugene's absence. Merely existing at the center of the army like an idol is an existence that raises the morale of soldiers.

A short distance away, tribal witches were casting shamanic protections on the departing knights.

"I-Is this okay?"

"Since His Excellency recommends it, what can we do?"

The witches tied amber necklaces containing bees around the knights' necks. And they carved marks containing protective spells onto the knights' cheeks. That appearance looked like seeing primitive tribe warriors ahead of a war.

Although Britannia is friendly towards the fairy race, witches are repulsive. It might be different if it's just conversing, but casting shamanic spells like this on nobles. If priests saw this, they would throw a fit.

"Since he's someone who has executed demonic beasts and monsters countlessly, he must have his own wisdom. Would His Excellency recommend something harmful to us?"

"That is true."

The honor Eugene had accumulated worked positively at times like this. With his name mentioned, the knights docilely accepted it.

Naturally, the close aides who originally followed Eugene, including the tribal knights, accepted it comfortably.

"It tickles, Homi."

As a fluffy tail wrapped around the neck of a witch who finished the work, expressing gratitude, joyful laughter rang out.

Homi armed herself with a heavy crossbow after a long time. Because it receives fewer spatial restrictions in indoor combat. It also has the advantage of being able to immediately fire at a sudden ambush while moving in a loaded state.

- I made loading easier with modified bolt carrier groups, and reduced weight using hydra bone fragments for the frame.

Because Dwarf artisan Walker laid his hands on it, its performance increased even further. The things filling Homi's waist were all silver-plated bolts.

"Standing side by side, you two match well."

With Homi carrying a heavy crossbow on her shoulder and Cassandra standing with her hands on her waist standing side by side, it was like a picture. Furthermore, because both had tall statures and trained bodies.

The difference being that Cassandra dyed the lamia belly skin dark for stealth, while combatant Homi left it purely white. It formed an excellent harmony with the Snow Leopard beastman's hair and tail.

"If push comes to shove, we will burst outside, so keep ready to shoot at any time."

"Leave it to us."

Outside the monastery, ballistas installed by the Hammer Brotherhood are aimed.

It is to lure them outside to deal with them in case there are monsters at a level difficult for Eugene and the knights to handle.

Sreureung.

As Eugene drew the Last Autumn, the brilliantly shining silver blade reflected the sunlight. In front of the dream of everyone who holds a sword, the knights sent gazes of envy and admiration.

"Now, it's the time for purification."

However, those gazes soon changed to fighting spirit. Heavily armored knights followed one after another behind Eugene, who took the lead and headed for the monastery's main gate.

Small-scale mercenary groups commissioned by villages or adventurer parties searching for treasure searching abandoned places is a common occurrence.

However, an elite force composed of knights setting out for a search like today was exceptional. The mercenaries did not doubt that any enemy blocking that path ahead would be cut down.

* * *

Click.

Cassandra, who dismantled a cleverly hidden bear trap, quietly pointed to a corner.

An angel statue, which typically exists in monasteries, was there. Holy wings sprouted on the back of a woman covering her face with both hands as if crying.

"Destroy it."

"Th-that is blasphemy."

"Look properly. Isn't that figure too obscene to be in this holy place?"

"Now that you mention it..."

Other stone statues wore ancient clothing, but the angel statue Cassandra pointed at didn't wear a single thread. The tip of the seemingly bursting breast was barely hidden by an elbow.

"I can see it with my eyes. The desire for human flesh swirling beneath that stone hide."

The one who moved first was Homi.

Ping!

A silver bolt cleaving through the darkness hit the center of the stone statue's chest.

"■■■ ■■!"

A bizarre scream that could not be expressed in human language burrowed into the knights' ears.

The silver of the bolt lodged in the stone statue's chest reacted with the evil existence and evaporated violently.

"Monster!"

When the Gargoyle whose true identity was revealed lowered its hands, the fiercely contorted face of a wicked woman was exposed.

The wings thought to be an angel's had transformed into demon's wings at some point, and hook-like nails sprouted on its fingers.

But having allowed a hit to its vitals from Homi's heavy crossbow while in a disguised state, it could not use its strength.

"Kiiiiit-! Kiit-!"

The Gargoyle pulled out the bolt, but the plated silver had already entirely dispersed. The liquefied silver started to run amok circulating through its evil body.

"Ke-huk-!"

The Gargoyle that poured out a pile of ectoplasm through its mouth had its neck severed by Eugene's sword strike.

"I thought all Gargoyles had the appearance of demons, but it's not necessarily like that."

"For an existence of another world to be active in this world for a long time, it needs a medium. Using inorganic matter like this happens quite often."

Eugene thought of the demons that were filling the Moving Castle. Those guys strictly possessed physical bodies.

Eugene flipped over the corpse of the Gargoyle whose neck was cut and fell with his foot.

"I guess they don't really prefer bodies like this?"

"In order to taste the blood and flesh of humans, it would be troublesome with an uninteresting body like this. A Gargoyle is the type that embraces the victim and slowly sucks their life force."

"Anyway, it isn't an ordinary Orc den. Everyone stay alert."

At the same time the knights nodded, Homi sent a hand signal. The sound of footsteps approaching aiming for intruders from the darkness is heard. Their numbers were not small.

"Grrr-."

Those were armed Orcs. As expected, they weren't the large-built subspecies Uruk-hai types, but ordinary Orcs a bit bigger than goblins.

However, unlike guys capable of commanding human language, their intellect seemed to have completely evaporated.

"Be careful. You shouldn't think of them as ordinary Orcs. Consider them as more evil entities wearing the masks of Orcs."

"Understood!"

They are knights who had already gained realizations through the Gargoyle. They sheathed their silver weapons, lifted their iron weapons, and took combat postures.

"Goddess Banas. Please grant grace to the great knights who make your name known to the world."

When Cassandra finished her prayer, the lantern she held illuminated the surroundings brightly.

Inside the lantern, there was the shape of a woman composed of light. Eugene thought that silhouette looked exactly like the Goddess Banas statue inside the Moving Castle.

"Thanks to the faith and offerings of the believers, and the power the Moving Castle provides, she can now send an avatar to this world. Just about this much is the limit for now, though."

The knights felt a somewhat warm touch from the light driving away the darkness. It was reminiscent of a mother's embrace shared before heading to the battlefield.

It was the first time the knights directly experienced God's miracle in battle. The knights filled with courage and emotion became a lump of violence and swept over the Orcs.

Stab!

"Gguweeeek-!"

An Orc whose abdomen was pierced by a knight's sword shrieked wildly and rampaged even more. It was not struggling filled with pain but a pure unleashing of slaughtering instinct.

"These guys! It seems they're under a shamanic spell!"

"Like the evil breeds you are!"

When an Orc whose arm was cut off rushed at him unperturbed, the knight thrust his sword as it was and pierced its neck. The Orc's movement stopped for an instant, but ferocity still dwelled in its glaring eyes.

"How dare?!"

Rather, it advanced as it was and bit randomly in the air with its sharp teeth. As its ugly lips approached even the sword's hilt, the knight drew a dagger with his other hand.

Slash!

As the dagger held in reverse grip popped the Orc's two eyeballs and passed by, its resistance rapidly weakened. Even if one does not know pain and fear, if vision is cut off, one is bound to fall into confusion.

Taking that opening, cutting its neck, the Orc's corpse slowly tilted to the side.

The other knights also grasped the situation and proficiently responded. They are knights, not mere mercenaries.

Humanity's vanguard born and trained solely for slaughter. If they were to panic in front of mere immortal-ish monsters, the name of knights would cry.

Smack!

The brief opening until the Orc regained its senses from the body slam of a knight wearing iron armor.

The knight trust the sword gripped tightly in both hands like a flash. The Orc, having its heart pierced accurately, spewed blood foam and slumped weakly.

The one showing the greatest activity here was naturally Eugene. He didn't particularly aim only for vitals. He swung his sword randomly, seeking to cut even one more guy in that time.

The magic on the Orcs cut by the etherium sword shattered in a single breath, and reason returned to eyes that had been full of madness. And reason is accompanied by pain.

"It hurts! Ahh-hurts!"

The Orcs screamed while grabbing severed limbs or deeply slashed torsos, then offered their lives to nearby knights.

In the darkness, the cold gaze of the snow leopard aimed at the Orcs.

Crunch!

An Orc whose eyes were pierced by the spikes attached to the combat gauntlet died instantly.

Homi maneuvered three-dimensionally, riding pillars, walls, shelves, and other indoor structures like running on flat ground.

A knight, who had dispatched one Orc and was fighting a second, took a defensive stance at a presence felt from the ceiling.

Hwiiiit-!

Immediately recognizing from the ringing whistle sound that it wasn't an enemy.

Homi, creating a hammer by clasping her two gauntlet-clad hands together, dropped from the ceiling. She smashed down onto the Orc's head just like that.

Crack!

With a caved-in skull, the Orc collapsed powerlessly.

Homi lifted that corpse and threw it at three Orcs pincering a single knight. As two collapsed from the sudden impact, the remaining Orc instantly had its neck blown away.

Homi flew up again like a bird. Stepping on a nearby knight's shoulder to leap even higher, she kicked an Orc's temple in mid-air.

Kwang!

The Orc, unable to react to the sudden attack from the sky, suffered a concussion and collapsed. From the recoil, Homi spun like a top and landed softly.

"Beautiful."

Despite being used as a stepping stone, the knight was not displeased at all. He merely admired the fantastic destructive power and nimble movements.

- Excellency! Could you perhaps accept my son as a squire? It would be an honor remaining in our family.

- I'm sorry, but there's no vacancy. I need to graduate the kids that are here first.

- I-It wasn't a maid but a squire?

The vassals had been curious why a knight as amazing as Eugene kept an unable-to-speak woman as a squire. But now everyone was convinced.

A silver wave unaffected by gravity crisscrosses the combat scene.

Smack!

Every time, without fail, the corpses of Orcs who lost their souls fell over. Formations or whatnot had no meaning in the face of boulder-like impacts dropping from above.