526

Episode 526: Finally moving. (1)

"Hey, you're alive?"

A gang leader made it to the capital alive. Considering that the city of Austin is quite far from the capital, it was truly fortunate.

Crank scratched his head and laughed again.

"Yes, yes. Somehow… … ."

His back was soaked with cold sweat, because Claude and he had a bad relationship.

Crank tried to frame Claude for fraud and cut off his wrists, and also kept watch over how he was doing.

The person who had been treated like that by himself had now returned as a huge figure. If Claude had just lifted one finger, he would have been dead.

'No! How did I survive until now! I can't die because it's so unfair!'

Indeed, Claude said with a bitter smile.

"Do you know what the first thing we do in an occupied territory is?"

"Oh, I know."

The stabilization work did not end with simply distributing food. Jiselle placed particular importance on security.

That's why, whenever they conquered a new territory, they didn't start by destroying all the criminal organizations.

It had already begun in the Kingdom of Ceylon. Anyone who was even slightly wicked was arrested.

He would receive new reports from people and gather information from the kingdom, and those who were proven to be particularly vicious would be executed immediately.

Crank was able to avoid the executioner's blade because he had lost his power and was hiding. However, when Claude, who knew his past, appeared, he was left with no choice but to retreat.

"Please, save me!"

He fell flat on his face. Crank knew very well that the king and the nobles had been annihilated by Claude.

Claude was known as a narrow-minded person even in the old academy. He will not leave alone the grudge he has accumulated in the past.

Indeed, Claude showed off his pettiness to his heart's content.

"No. Don't look at me. I was actually hurt a lot back then."

"Eww! Please save me!"

"No. Our policy is 'Let's create a livable place without crime.'"

"I washed my hands now!"

"He's committed many sins before. Hey, catch him."

The soldiers immediately grabbed Crank. As he was being dragged away, he suddenly remembered something and shouted loudly.

"Anna! I know where Anna went!"

"what?"

Claude turned his head. He knew the whereabouts of Anna, whom he had searched for so many times but could not find!

"Are you sure that's true? If you're lying, you'll die twice."

"Yes, yes! Please save me!"

"Where did you go?"

Crank, who was about to attempt a deal, quickly gave up on the idea.

If you mess with this petty guy carelessly, you'll end up in bigger trouble later. It's better to just follow him.

He spoke honestly as he knew.

"I left for the kingdom of Byron."

"What? Is that true?"

"Oh, that's probably true. I saw it briefly when the evacuation procession split up. It's true."

"Hmm… … ."

Claude looked at Crank with a suspicious look. He wasn't naive enough to take a criminal's word for it.

But Crank looked genuinely resentful.

"It's true. I'm not deluding myself or lying."

"Explain in detail."

"So that's… … ."

Cracks burst and refugees streamed in from all directions. It was not unusual for refugees from different places to meet by chance.

On the other hand, there were groups whose opinions differed and their destinations changed.

The group Anna was in decided to leave for the neighboring kingdom, while the group Crank was in came up to the capital, believing that it would be better to stay where they were.

Claude nodded after hearing the explanation.

"Yeah, that could be possible."

He also knew that there were refugees who had left for other kingdoms. If Anna was not in the Kingdom of Ceylon, he also considered the possibility that she might have gone to another kingdom.

Even if it's just a hypothesis, isn't it better than thinking of him as dead?

Crank said, rubbing his hands.

"Now that you have risen to a very high position, you will be able to find it again soon. Now that you have avenged your enemy, you can even get married… … ."

Phew!

Claude said, hitting the back of Crank's head.

"That's not it. I'm just looking for you because I'm worried about you, Master's daughter."

You may be happy to say that you have taken revenge, but that doesn't take away the fact that your mistake caused your master's death.

Anna and I had already decided to go our separate ways. If the world hadn't become so chaotic, we would have just broken up and forgotten about each other.

But as the world became more and more filled with monsters and socializing, I wanted to make sure she was still alive and well.

He just wanted to help Anna because he felt guilty about his past. Claude truly thought so.

Crank nodded again, rubbing his hands together.

"Yes, yes. I know very well that Your Majesty the Governor is a merciful and generous man. Well… … But I have told you my last whereabouts. Will you spare my life?"

"Why didn't you just come to me and tell me?"

Claude had been searching the kingdom for days, trying to find Anna. Even if he had seen her, those who did not know who she was would not have been able to report her properly.

But any crank who knew her could do it.

Then Crank opened his eyes wide and said.

"If I showed up, you would kill me immediately or at least send me to forced labor. You were trying to do that even now. That's why I avoided you as much as possible."

"This kid… … knows too much about me."

"Hehe, but we used to gamble together in Austin City and stuff."

"Okay, I'll spare your life if you tell me where you are."

"Oh my! Thank you! Long live the Governor! Long live!"

Crank fell to the floor with a happy expression. Then Claude put his arm around his shoulder and said.

"Enlist."

"yes?"

"You are enlisting in the Seiron Reconstruction Army. Understood?"

"… … ."

"If you don't like it, die."

As the days passed, Claude began to resemble Giselle more and more.

"I will enlist… …."

Crank accepted with tears in his eyes. It was better than being captured and killed.

Claude looked lost in thought as he watched the crank leave with its head bowed.

"The Kingdom of Byron… … That's good."

The next place Giselle went to rescue after Seiron was the Kingdom of Byron. Claude was also planning to go there soon.

It would be harder to find Anna in the Kingdom of Byron. It was larger than the Kingdom of Ceylon, and even had the Salvation Church.

Anna may have died there, or she may have moved to another country.

Still, Claude would continue to search for Anna until he knew for sure where she was.

* * *

The Kingdom of Byron was already more than half consumed by the Salvation Church and the Cracks.

The fact that the weak Kingdom of Byron was only half eaten up was due to the civil war in the Kingdom of Rutania.

It was only when some of the priests in the Kingdom of Byron withdrew and moved to the Rutania side that they were able to hold out.

Another reason was that the rift was not under control. The nobles who joined hands with the Salvation Church and rebelled also had to avoid the rift's territory.

"Damn it! It's different than when I was preparing! I clearly said I could control it!"

bang!

In the Kingdom of Byron, Marquis Brodes, the leader of the rebels, slammed his desk and swallowed his anger.

It was a dizzying situation. They had no choice but to avoid the path because they would be exhausted if they fought against the crack area. In the meantime, the royal army established a strong defensive line.

They also had to stop the crack from expanding, but unlike them who could just block it, this side had to move around the crack and attack the kingdom's forces, which was a problem.

That wasn't the only reason it was frustrating.

"When on earth are you going to send the superhumans back?"

The rebels were currently held back by the royal army, which was fiercely resisting.

Originally, the rebels' forces were slightly inferior to the royal forces. However, with the help of the Salvation Church's superhumans, they were able to advance at a rapid pace.

Then, a civil war broke out in Rutania, and most of the superhumans from the Kingdom of Byron were drafted. With the superhumans gone, it became difficult to advance any further.

"Call me back again! Send me at least one person!"

While I was urging my staff members, I heard some shocking news.

"Oh, all the priests are gone!"

"what?"

"All the priests of the Salvation Church are nowhere to be seen! They seem to have run away!"

"This, this… … ."

The Marquis of Brodes' face turned pale.

Even if they weren't superhumans, the ordinary priests of the Salvation Church were of great help. They took on the role of magicians and were also in charge of contacting the Salvation Church.

They disappeared in one day. In this state, I had to deal with the cracks and the kingdom army at the same time.

"These kids all ran away because they were at a disadvantage!"

The Marquis of Brodes felt betrayed. He had been enticing me for so long with the promise of taking over the kingdom, and now he was running away at such a crucial time!

But then came more shocking news.

"They say the civil war in Rutania has ended! They say the Duke of Delphine and the Salvation Church have been defeated!"

"The Duke of Fenris has set out with an army of 100,000 men!"

"The Duke of Fenris's advance party of 20,000 men is currently being pushed back! We must find a way out quickly!"

Marquis Brodes trembled. There are no superhumans, and the priests have all fled, and yet a hundred thousand troops are rushing here?

Even if we added up all the troops on the front lines, they only had about 100,000 men. There wasn't a single superhuman.

Even now, we are barely fighting on equal terms with the royal army, so if the enemy's forces increase by 100,000, we will not be able to win.

Marquis Brodes said urgently.

"Gather all your troops and block the path! They should avoid the rift area, so just block that area! In the meantime, contact the Salvation Church in the other kingdom again… … ."

"Oh, it's no use."

Marquis Brodes frowned at his aide's words.

"What? It's no use! What do you mean?"

"P, Duke of Fenris… … ."

"What about the Duke of Fenris!"

"They just pushed through the cracks and came here. They say there was almost no damage."

"… … ."

Marquis Brodes felt dizzy. Could that be possible? Could the human army be that strong?

If there is such an army, why has humanity been suffering from divisions until now?

There was only one answer: they were an army that had surpassed human standards.

"Oh, there's a reason the Kingdom of Rutania was the first to be settled."

As far as Marquis Brodes knew, all the high priests of the neighboring kingdoms had flocked to the Kingdom of Rutania.

But aren't you saying that you have won against them and are now supporting other kingdoms?

"Come on, let's run away! Get ready! We have to run away!"

Marquis Brodes made an excellent decision. The problem was that he tried to take everything with him while running away.

If I had only taken my close associates with me, I would have been able to escape safely. After all, I could have joined wherever the Salvation Church was located.

But he started to move with his army and food. He wanted to exert his power in other kingdoms as well.

"There will be plenty of time."

He had expected that to happen, given the distance. He had not anticipated the speed of the Fenris Mobile Force at all.

Doo doo doo doo doo doo!

Until they were followed by 20,000 cavalry.

"What the heck is that! Does that make sense?"

The Marquis of Brodes felt haunted. Before the messenger could arrive, the Fenris Mobile Force appeared first.

Kwaaaaang!

"Eww!"

There was no declaration of war, no dialogue, nothing. They just ran over and pushed me away.

I tried to resist somehow, but it was no use. The difference in fighting power was too great.

Marquis Brodes was distraught as he watched his army being annihilated.

People in the world call the Salvation Church the devil.

But that would be a statement made without seeing the Duke of Fenris' army.

This army was truly the devil's army.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The one in the lead blew away the soldiers with his red eyes shining. No one could stop him.

The ones next to him were the same. They were just approaching, cutting down the soldiers as if they were cutting straw.

Marquis Brodes wet his pants without realizing it, because the demon was already in front of him with a ferocious grin.

"Phe, are you the Duke of Fenris?"

"Yes."

"Ha, surrender… … ."

"No need."

Scratch!

After speaking briefly, Giselle decapitated Marquis Brodes.

The Byron Kingdom's rebellion was thus over. There were still a few remnants left, but Claude was leading his army and following behind to clear them out.

The role of Giselle and the 20,000 Mobile Force was to attack important areas first.

She thought she would win easily, and she actually did, but Jiselle tilted her head in doubt.

'The priests are not visible.'

Except for the first couple of times I set foot in the Kingdom of Byron, I haven't seen any priests of the Church of Salvation since then. They've all run away.

It was natural that the high priests in the neighboring kingdoms would not be seen, as they would have all participated in the Rutanian civil war.

But it was certainly strange that even the common priests were not visible.

'It looks like they're gathering strength too.'

It was clear that they were gathering somewhere to avoid being defeated individually.

When those cockroach-like creatures gather together, they become a formidable force. So the other kingdoms had to quickly join in.

It may be a bit tedious, but the Northern Army of Rutania had no choice but to move more busily.

As Giselle clicked her tongue and prepared for the next battle, good news arrived.

"The civil war in the Turian Kingdom has ended! We have received word from you that you would like to join the Allied Forces!"

It was the second kingdom after Rutania to end a civil war.

Everyone who heard the news opened their eyes wide in surprise.

Turian was a place that had been struggling to stop the mad monsters even before the rift opened and the Salvation Cult rose up. Wasn't that why it couldn't join the Allied Forces?

It was an unbelievable achievement to have already ended a civil war in such a kingdom.

But Jiselman wasn't surprised by the news. He knew that there was one of the seven great powers of the continent in the Turian Kingdom.

Jiselle smiled happily.

'He finally moved.'

A man who was called the best swordsman on the continent in his previous life.

I was filled with anticipation that I would see him again soon.