CH 73

Chapter 73

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : Attack On Church Of Arnelia, Part 1 — Perimeter

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「That’s a very quick response indeed.」

After killing two of the guards, Doom and his group raided the Arnelian Church grounds, where more than 50 well-equipped knights were waiting for them. It must have been less than 30 seconds since the earlier whistle, but the response was quick. This alone showed that Arnelia is a well-trained organization.

「（Looking at their equipment, they’re still temple knights, aren’t they? I guess, they’re common knights at best.）」

「What should we do, Doom?」

「Nhn? Well, maybe we should get a few more people together.」

「They’re plenty…」

「Well, the bigger the firework, the better.」

Doom answers Libido’s question with a goofy grin. In the meantime, more knights gather one after another, forming a line and readying their bows.

「Maybe it’s about time…」

「You brats stay there!」

A middle-aged man who seems to be a platoon leader shouts in a clear voice. Doom thinks, “I’ve stopped without being told,” but his mind is more on the path from here to the Palace of the Deep Green, where he thinks Miliazar is.

The city of Arnelia is the best city on the continent in terms of both physical and magical defense. First, a solid gate was built around the urban area, and then a dome-shaped boundary was constructed in the air. This is to prevent outside enemies from entering the Arnelia compound from the air. However, since there are no wards on the gate, there is no problem for travelers to enter from the front in a dignified manner. So, unbeknownst to Doom, Lifeless and Bloody Maria will be watching from outside the urban area to avoid touching the wards.

The same is true of the Church headquarters, but the outermost defenses are only a simple fence to mark the territory and a checkpoint to censor people passing through, considering the people who visit and come to the Church. About 500 meters further in, the area is now the living area of the knight order. From there, only those related to the Arnelian Church are allowed to enter, so censorship is strict, and the area is protected by walls, including an outer moat filled with holy water. Even if the gate appears to be open, fiends, evil spirits, and other evil creatures are blocked out.

Once inside the living area of the knight order, the site is quite large, with barracks where the knights live and even a training camp. Furthermore, there is another gate to the Palace of the Deep Green, the residence of Miliazar, which is nearly 1 km away. The gate guarding the Palace of the Deep Green was not that large, but the moat was even deeper and was built with the expectation that battles would rage, with holes for shooting bows and a platform for stone throwing machines.

Even though the Palace of the Deep Green, with a radius of about 500 meters, offers a beautiful view once inside, it is full of traps, mainly for intruders, except for a predetermined route. Only a few people, even those in the Elite Guards, are allowed to enter the innermost part of the Palace of the Deep Green. Even the Templar Knights had to undergo a physical check every time they went to work, and only the three archbishops and the Lazaar family, represented by Albert, were allowed to come and go as they pleased.

「（It’s built to be a battlefield inside the city. It looks more robust than I thought it would be. And the skill of this army! This is what I get at the very bottom of the line.

At the preliminary stage, the number of knights in Arnelia alone exceeds 10,000. It’s going to take a lot of work to get this many people into the middle of all this.）」

「Are you listening! Raise your hands and show your willingness to surrender! If you fail to obey the warning within 5 seconds, we will shoot you without mercy, even if you are a children!」

「（If we take it seriously, we’ll have our hands full just getting through the first gate if we’re not careful… Then, I should use a single point of entry and use a stall to get to the Palace of the Deep Green. Our goal is to go at it with Miliazar first, and it’s going to be hard to go for total annihilation.）」

「5, 4, 3…」

「（I’ll open the first gate… Can the second one be done by Insomnia? Well, in the end, it’s all about what comes out, isn’t it?）」

Doom’s conclusions were ultimately haphazard. There were many aspects that could not be understood without actually seeing them, and even if Doom did not know it this time, the aim of his so called Master included checking the state of readiness of the Arnelian religion and confirming its strength. Doom was given almost no knowledge in this sense, but if he were more experienced in combat, he would have done a little more research and preparation before hitting the ground running. Even as he ponders this, the platoon commander’s count is progressing.

「2, 1…」

「Hey, old man, aren’t you being too loud earlier?」

With a hum, Doom moved in front of the platoon leader and snapped his neck as usual. By the time the men turned to face Doom in surprise, all had been killed by the blade that had transformed Libido’s hand and Ossyria’s telekinesis.

「What the, indeed, ordinary soldiers don’t have holy blessings. My power can work as much as I want.」

「Boring…」

「You’re all weak.」

In an instant, the Doom and his women have bloodied more than 50 people. The guards at the gate, about 200 meters away, are watching the scene through far-sighted glasses.

「What the hell is that…?」

「What’s wrong? What’s happening out there?」

「No, the assailants looks like children… Incredibly, the first platoon to go was wiped out in an instant!」

「What did you say! Give it to me!」

The company commander checks with the far-sightedness glasses that the soldiers on the watch were looking at. Indeed, the first responders were no longer moving. From a distance, I could see the bodies, all of whom were bent in the wrong direction.

Doom, perhaps realizing that he was being watched, smiled and waved at them. The teasing gesture made the soldier, who had been watching from a distance, grit his teeth.

「Gununu… Who the hell is that kid!?」

「I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be better to just contact the Templar Knights inside?」

「That’s stupid, are you telling me that this gate will be breached? It would be a shame if we don’t stop them here, without the help of those inside!」

「Tch, commander…」

「We’re dealing with just a few people, no? And they are led by a small boy. Can’t you see that if we don’t stop this, the Templar Knights will call us incompetent!」

「Commander!」

「What!?」

「There’s magic coming at us!」

「What!」

The company commander could see it was probably about 100 meters away. A magic spell was about to be invoked that would draw a mark large enough to be clearly visible even from here.

【O household of the winds, who love darkness and dwell in the valley of death! Envy those who are alive, the household of death. Come and gather, negative cycle. Crime the earth, defile the wind, corrupt the flesh, and crush my enemies!】

《Dead Explosion》（TN : Death Windstorm）

The black wind that had gathered in large numbers in front of Doom is unleashed. Then a black wind surged forward and hit the first gate directly, swallowing the knights who were trying to block the way of the Doom’s group at the second gate.

With a loud bang, and all the soldiers at the gate screamed when they heard a shocking sound that seemed to echo from the depths of the earth.

「Uwaaaaahhh!!!」

It was such a shock that it was no wonder the company commander involuntarily screamed. Some of them were blown off the walls by the storm.

Fearful, the company commander opened his eyes and saw that the area where the gate had once stood was no longer even a castle wall. They blew the whole gate to the city walls. About 70 members of the second group, who were collateral damage, were also wiped out. Including the soldiers near the gates, about 100 lives were lost in a single blow. Doom glances at the stunned company commander, waves his hand in a flutter, and even makes room to go through the first gate.

But inwardly, he is not so sure.

「（We can’t use so many big magic shots. It also takes time to activate.）」

And so it was. But what awaited Doom just beyond the gate was…

「We won’t let you through from here!」

There were 200 fully equipped templar knights and 300 monk-soldiers, who were enthusiastic.