Chapter 208: The Battle of the Kurona Plains (Part 1)

In the sanatorium, the followers of Sallya were reveling in a festival.

Outside the sanatorium, the winds of chaos began to sweep across the prosperous land.

As the winds of chaos grew wilder, the domain of filth started to emerge, and hordes of filth demons entered the material world under the dreadful will of the evil gods.

First came the hordes of filth spirits, these creatures with obese bodies and large mouths emitted an enchanting green light, looking like elves in the night. However, they were not adorable at all; their appearance signified the spread of poison gas and pathogens.

Then, large groups of chaos warriors entered the battlefield, summoned by the call of the evil gods. Hundreds of filth chaos warriors, wielding rusty and ragged weapons, their green armors full of corrosion holes, presented a horrifying sight. Their bodies, just like their weapons and armor, were diseased and bloated, with all sorts of tumors and lumps. Their round bellies were torn open, exposing thick fat and intestines.

Following the chaos warriors were hordes of chaos demons, most of them fat and rotting. The chaos army gradually entered the battlefield, with some already nearing the sanatorium.

"What is that?" The appearance of the large groups of chaos demons and chaos warriors caught the attention of nearby serfs, who watched the terrifying army in a daze.

"Help... Save me!"

"God, the apocalypse is upon us!"

"My lady, save me!"

The serfs fled in all directions, running for their lives in endless panic. Those who were slow were instantly slain. Wherever the rotting legion passed, all fields turned to mud, all crops to sludge, and all living beings were enveloped by disease. Black flies surrounded this green army as it marched through the dark plains.

The numbers of the chaos army continued to grow, and when their numbers surpassed three hundred, the first chosen warrior of filth appeared.

(To clarify, not a chosen champion, ha.)

This was a humanoid creature over two meters tall, with an incredibly obese figure and a foul stench. A circular helmet covered its huge head from front to back, with only a few small holes in front of the helmet, presumably for seeing. This creature resembled a spike-filled orb, covered in various hooks and iron bars. Their skin under the armor dissolved upon contact, forced to bind themselves with ropes and heavy plate armor to prevent their organs from spilling out.

They had long lost the sensation of pain. In their mouths, the evil god was a kind, fat grandfather, encompassing all with benevolence, guiding them like a loving father to his children.

Thus, as beloved children, the chosen warriors were willing to fight tirelessly for their kind father.

Behind this chosen warrior, more chosen warriors appeared, their armor leaking murky fluids.

Inside the sanatorium, the archbishop of the Church of Mercy turned pale upon hearing the reports from the fleeing serfs. The middle-aged woman murmured, "I should have known, I should have seen this coming."

"Why did the sanatorium, after developing a cure for malaria, immediately catch fire and burn to the ground? I should have realized." The body of the Church of Mercy's archbishop shook. She realized she should have seen this coming.

The fire was not an accident, but because the evil gods would not allow the existence of the cure!

She should have known, but the entire Church of Mercy was completely immersed in the joy of this epoch-making discovery and the treatment of stubborn diseases. She and the church's priests had not thought through this issue carefully!

The guards beside her quickly came to support her: "Archbishop, what should we do now?"

"Evacuate. Move the wounded and the patients of the sanatorium out. Jon, send someone to the Kurona Palace to report and request His Majesty Richard to send troops for assistance. Raymond, take this to the Holy Grail Cathedral and request Her Grace Morgiana to lead the Holy Grail Knights to our aid!" the archbishop immediately ordered. She took out two silver badges, each with a white dove in the center.

This was the holy emblem of the Goddess of Mercy, Sallya.

"Yes!" Immediately, temple guards mounted horses and left.

"And, immediately take that scroll... What?" The archbishop picked up the decaying scroll.

The text and images on the paper had disappeared.

"Archbishop, it's okay, we've memorized the formula. Let's go, archbishop! Otherwise, we'll be surrounded!" a temple guard said urgently.

"Go, retreat, retreat, protect the patients, retreat!" The archbishop made the decision to retreat. She reluctantly looked at the sanatorium outside the city, which the Church of Mercy had built with much effort.

The Church of Mercy was not a particularly wealthy church because they always spent a lot of effort helping the poor and the sick. However, the sheer number of the needy made this task increasingly difficult. The best physicians were often controlled by powerful churches like the Church of Justice or the Holy Maiden's Convent or served in courts. The Church of Mercy could often only treat some simple symptoms, with their physicians always working under conditions of overwork and scarce resources.

However, the church always received generous donations and support from many great nobles, who did not want epidemics to ravage their subjects. Noblewomen liked to express their kindness this way, and in return, they could dress up and socialize in the Church of Mercy. On their birthdays, priests of Sallya would appear to bless them.

Thus, the Church of Mercy might be one of the most universally loved and revered churches in the old world, beloved by both commoners and nobles.

"Retreat! Retreat!" The temple guards, numbering dozens, including many temple knights, along with nearby militias rushing to the scene, quickly organized an army of over two hundred people, with many more militia groups joining.

In the distance, the filth army advanced, crushing everything in its path, marking a path of rot on the prosperous plains of Kurona. Fortunately, like their master, filth, this army moved much slower than a normal chaos army. They took heavy steps, leaving muddy pits in their wake as they approached the sanatorium.

Because the army had to protect the wounded, they hadn't gone far when the filth army finally closed in.

"Fire the arrows!" the temple guards shouted, and the serf archers took out their short bows and launched a volley of arrows toward the filth army.

"Ah! Ow! Save me, master!" Many fragile filth spirits were hit, screaming as they floated erratically in the air before bursting into blood mists, leaving behind green gas and a stench.

The deaths of the filth spirits did not deter the chaos warriors. Under the command of the filth chosen warriors, they advanced slowly. The serf archers' arrows had no effect on them; the arrows, lacking strength and precision, might pierce the chaos warriors' rotting skin and swollen pustules but that was all.

Filth loved each of its followers, who had been deprived of the sensation of pain by their master. They would not feel pain anymore. Amidst endless rebirth and rot, the filth army approached.

By now, the filth army had swelled to over two thousand, while the Church of Mercy had gathered hundreds of militia.

"Focus, form up, prepare to meet the enemy!" the temple guards bellowed.

The serfs raised their long spears, trembling with fear, chanting the names of the Lady of the Lake or the Goddess of Mercy, Sallya. The knights had not arrived yet; they had to face the chaos army on their own.

Many serfs were enveloped in utter fear, the deformed giant chaos warriors, and the filth chosen warriors, imposing and tormenting their hearts.

The tips of their long spears trembled wildly.

Approaching, the first chaos warrior, ignoring the long spears, charged into the serf infantry's formation. Despite being pierced by several long spears, they seemed not to feel pain under the evil god's blessing. The powerful chaos warrior disregarded the long spears twisting inside him, his great axe falling, instantly killing the spearman in front.

Then, he grabbed a desperate serf, smashing his helmet-covered head with force.

Brain matter splattered; the serf's head was smashed in half.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!" The nearby serf spearmen, witnessing this horrifying scene, lost their morale. Almost all of them were shaken, and this chaos warrior attracted the attention of all nearby serfs. Under the command of the temple guards, about a dozen serfs simultaneously thrust their long spears at this chaos warrior.

"Pfft!" The long spears encountered no resistance, smoothly piercing through and turning the chaos warrior into a porcupine.

The chaos warrior finally fell to the ground after multiple fatal attacks, having killed five or six serfs before being pierced through the neck and killed.

The infantry had no energy left to cheer for their victory because more chaos warriors charged into their ranks. The filth chosen warriors entered the fray, their axes decapitating three people with a single swing.

The infantry broke.

"Save me! My lady, save me!"

"I don't want to die."

"My lady, have mercy on me."

"Lady Sallya, please grant me courage!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

In just a minute, the serf infantry had collapsed, almost all of them screaming and running in fear, their faces filled with extreme terror, trying to escape from the crowd on all fours. They had completely lost their will to fight.

The collapse of one front line led to the collapse of the entire battlefield. Despite the temple guards' valiant efforts, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the filth army.

At this moment, the wounded, fleeing soldiers, and patients in the rear were exposed to the filth army.

A cruel slaughter began, with a large number of wounded, fleeing soldiers, and patients scattered across the plains, desperately calling out the names of the Lady of the Lake, their deities, and the Holy Grail Knights they knew of, but never receiving any response. The chaos warriors used rusty swords and great axes to slowly tear them apart, and chaos demons sprayed large amounts of acid, corroding many wounded and patients into pools of blood.

The despair of mortals was transmitted to the mysterious subspace, making the winds of magic even more violent.

The realm of decay finally connected completely with the material world.

A large mass of green material was thrown into the real world by filth.

This thing, appearing like a four-meter-tall fat man, was entirely green, with an extremely obese and rotting body. Its face, no longer recognizable as such, had a gaping mouth and two round eyes, with the flesh of its chin covering its neck. Its huge, ruptured belly landed on the ground before its stubby legs, with greasy intestines hanging out. Two sharp horns hung with many rotting heads, and the creature wielded a giant sword, bisecting two resisting temple knights with a single swing.

The Church of Mercy's archbishop looked back and gasped, "Is this... the Great Unclean One? A great demon of chaos!"

"It's a great demon!" a temple knight shouted in despair.

"We're doomed! Everything will be utterly destroyed by the great demon!"

"Lady, save us!"

Despair spread across the plains, all humans frantically running, trying to escape from this place, from evil.

"Run! Quick, retreat!" The Church of Mercy had no choice but to flee like dogs, the distant sanatorium already engulfed in smoke, many precious medicines and books turned to ashes. The Church of Mercy's archbishop knew they couldn't look back now; otherwise, they would all perish together. Their only option was to flee, the farther the better, to ensure the formula for the cure would survive and benefit the masses.

"Chase them, destroy, the formula!" The filth great demon spoke, opening its gaping mouth, revealing a two-meter-long tongue covered in countless pustules and maggots. At the tip of the tongue was a demon's face, also with a mouth full of sharp teeth.

It was called the Pus Master, a great demon under filth's command. Today, it would bring destruction and rot to the kingdom of knights, returning victory and souls to the subspace.

Under the deterrence of the great demon, the filth army regrouped. The chaos warriors and chaos demons reluctantly gave up continuing their massacre of mortals. They formed a loose and disorderly column, preparing to march towards Kurona.

"Tu-woo~ Tu-woo~"

As the chaos army was still assembling, a loud horn sounded in the distance across the plains. This sound, like a lion's roar, dispelled evil in the dark night sky, bringing light.

"Tu-woo~ Tu-woo~"

"Here they come~ weak, frail, mortals." The Pus Master spat out a stream of acid, dissolving a chaos warrior in front of it into sludge. It opened its mouth wide, staring angrily into the distance.

At the edge of the plains, the sound of dense horse hooves rang out.

Shiny armor, raised flags, forests of lances, various crests, and dazzling light. On one side of the horizon, light dispelled darkness, bringing hope to the hearts of the collapsing humanity.

The knights had arrived.

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