## Chapter 237 – The Holy War Army
“Righteous ones! The end of the Holy War is finally at hand! The repeatedly defeated heretics are in retreat, and at last, only a single village remains!”
The time was early morning.
Sera, standing on the platform, shouted loudly.
As at the previous execution, all the troops were lined up in the plaza, listening to Sera’s speech with utterly serious faces.
That’s right.
They were finally advancing.
To Yertak, the last village occupied by those heretic bastards.
“It is there that the apostle of the evil god Ezath has made its nest!”
“Apostle!”
“An apostle of an evil god!”
Apostle.
Come to think of it, that one bastard was the cause of all this.
The one claiming to be an apostle of Ezath, who gathered bandits and invaded the village, was the root cause. There was no way to know why the madman did it, but that would end today.
“We will execute him and set twisted justice aright!”
—Waaaaaaah!!!
—Waaaaaaahhhhh!!!
—Execute! Execute!
The morale of the Holy War Army soared.
As Sera’s speech ended, the troops formed orderly marching ranks. The Holy Light Cross Society set off first, followed by the Brass Celestial Angels. Behind them were the soldiers and adventurers. Finally, the Salvation Paradise Society followed.
We just stuck with the adventurers this time.
Being at the front seemed a bit dangerous.
Because they were leaving some defensive forces behind, the procession was smaller than when they first arrived in this village. More than anything, almost all the civilians who had come along had left. Having seen the Six Towers, they probably didn’t want to go to a battlefield.
“Hey, Blackie… I’m fucking tired, can’t we just go back soon? What kind of wealth and glory is there to be had going all the way there? We’ve made a lot of money, let’s just go back.”
Wienia, walking beside me, complained.
If it had been Kim Katt until now, he would have turned around and left without a second thought.
But.
“I am the Saint Kim Katt.”
I am a saint.
“There he goes again with the nonsense.”
“A saint never turns a blind eye to the suffering masses. Only after saving them can I return, Wienia.”
“I’m going crazy, really. Ugh. That Blackie bastard doesn’t listen to me at all these days, really.”
“Just bear with me this once. I have to set the justice of this land aright.”
This was a kind of sense of duty.
Even though money is the primary goal, as an anti-war activist and saint, I have no choice but to go to end the war.
“Justice my ass. Ah, I’m never following something like this again. When we get back, you’re fucking dead, you hear me? Be prepared.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, give me a piggyback ride.”
“Can’t, because of the backpack.”
“So annoying. When we get back, you’re really dead, you hear? Be prepared.”
“I’m really sorry. I’ll do whatever you want when we get back.”
I apologized profusely, feeling sorry.
“…If you take that back, you’re dead.”
I don’t know what she’ll make me do, but I can do anything when we get back.
I’ll be resting for a while anyway.
“Katt is so excited, why don’t you cut him some slack this time?”
“Sis, really… Cut him some slack? That Blackie goes crazy the moment you cut him some slack. It’s only because I keep him in check that he’s even this manageable.”
“Yeah… that’s true, I guess. Still, why don’t we cut him some slack?”
“I can’t say anything to you.”
The march proceeded smoothly.
There was nothing that could be called a battle, and the weather was cool without even a drop of rain, so we were able to move without any problems. Everything was good except for the fact that I felt dazed from just walking continuously.
Come to think of it, the problem is when we go back.
The Holy War Army marched for three days.
There were no particular problems, but it was quite a difficult journey. Just marching and sleeping outside for three days was a very difficult thing.
Thinking that all this suffering was caused by the heretics, I was unable to make normal judgments due to the rage that surged up like crazy.
—Halt!
The place they arrived at was a large encampment where the lords’ subjugation force was stationed. According to the map, it was said to be quite close to Yertak, the village occupied by the heretics.
A considerable number of soldiers were stationed there, having pitched tents. It seemed they had arrived before the Holy War Army and were waiting.
“Finally, a chance to catch my breath, damn it.”
Actually, it was just beginning, but I felt quite relieved just to have arrived at the destination. Now, all I had to do was rest and go when the advance trumpet sounded, right?
“Blackie, I’m really fucking tired. I really need to kill that Blackie.”
“Please, just bear with me this once. I really didn’t know it would be like this.”
“What do you mean you didn’t know, you fucking Blackie bastard.”
Anyway, I took a spot on the side and sat down, spreading out my cloak. Except for a slight stiffness in my neck, there was nothing seriously wrong with my physical condition. I was in good enough shape to carry out a battle.
Is it because my mana pool has increased a bit?
The mana that had permeated my muscles and bones dramatically increased my stamina. The increased mana was only a tiny amount, but my mana control ability was already at its limit.
I still felt overflowing with strength.
“Ugh, just walking around makes my body feel sluggish. They said there are a lot of guys blessed by Ezath? I’m looking forward to it. I was a little disappointed that I only killed morons last time.”
“You were disappointed?”
“Because they were guys I could kill easily.”
It was an unbelievable statement coming from a woman who had literally ground dozens of heretics into a meat grinder.
“A little lacking.”
It seemed she was suffering from the urge to cut down a strong guy… How scary a woman is this? But I like that part too.
As I sat there, eating and taking a short nap,
—Pooooooo!!
A horn sounded. I didn’t know exactly, but it probably meant they were starting something. At the same time as the trumpet sounded, the commander of the soldiers who had been moving with us until now clapped his hands and shouted loudly!
“From now on, we will encircle the village! So, soldiers, follow along appropriately!”
—Clatter, clatter.
—Creak, creak.
Whether the commanders had made some kind of strategic agreement among themselves, they all began to move busily. The village was not yet in sight, but as that person said, it seemed they were planning to encircle and advance from the beginning.
If they say so, I have to do it.
I followed the long line of soldiers.
Soldiers moving in a row and paladins moving in a different direction. It felt like almost a small regiment’s worth of troops were moving in perfect order.
And so, I headed towards the destination.
“…Blackie, isn’t that a little dangerous?”
After walking for a while again.
A village surrounded by a wooden fence began to appear in the distance.
But the atmosphere was unusual. Black smoke. That is, not smoke from a fire or a fire, but literally black energy was rising from the village.
“What the fuck is that?”
That wasn’t all.
Compared to the sunny weather, only the sky above the village was dark. As if there was a black hole only there.
The gathered black energies were creating black clouds!
What the hell is that!
Could it be that they are activating some kind of large-scale evil sorcery or something! The soldiers who had arrived under the darkened sky were in an uproar. Somehow, the temperature also felt lower. There was even an ominous feeling.
“K, Klaudee! I’m so scared!”
Terrified, I grabbed Klaudee’s hand.
“Katt, are you scared?”
“So scared!”
“Hehe, really? Well, it is a bit unusual. To have such… strange energy gathered like that.”
Strange energy.
Klaudee also felt something was wrong.
She stroked my face with her finger and added.
“I wonder what’s going on inside?”
What… is going on?
Ominous thoughts, like the tentacles of an octopus, began to cling to my body. O… Ooh…!! Ooooo!!!!!! No!! A feeling of falling into the abyss of the bottomless pit!
The inner demon was about to come again!
“Heok!”
I exerted superhuman mental strength to hold onto the shaking village.
There’s no need to go crazy again here.
“…Terrible things. That’s what’s going on. I don’t know exactly, but.”
“There’s no need to be too afraid, Katt. Just like you’ve always done. You’ll do well this time too, right?”
Klaudee grabbed my face with a benevolent smile.
That’s right.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Because I am the Saint Kim Katt.
Anyway, it was an overwhelming formation with nearly a thousand troops surrounding a single village. In the first place, wooden fences were meaningless in front of the paladins.
You can just think of them as charging in while surrounded, without any obstacles.
The paladins at the front will take care of almost everything, and we just have to pick up the crumbs from behind.
“…Huh?”
But something was strange.
Examining the wooden fence, I was seized by a strange sensation.
There was no one on the wooden fence.
There wasn’t a single guard or archer, not even one. No. Not just on the wooden fence. Somehow, the village seemed empty, and there was no sign of any enemy.
If the bastards knew we were coming, they would have naturally prepared defenses.
But they didn’t even put up a single guard?
No matter how free-spirited and self-centered the bandits are, this didn’t seem right. Could it be that they abandoned the village and ran away? If so, the subjugation force would naturally know…
—Pooooooo!!
The trumpet sound erased my thoughts.
“Let’s go, Katt. Wienia. You have to keep a close eye on Katt so he doesn’t do anything weird, okay?”
“I’m going crazy, really. Is Katt a child? No, he is a child.”
“Thank you for your concern. But Saint Kim Katt is practically invincible.”
Saint Kim Katt never falls.
“I’m going crazy. Sis, what should I do?”
“Hmm… what should we do?”
“Damn it. These guys.”
The front line advanced first, and we, who were in the back, took a step after the attack was executed. —Waaaaaaah!!! A powerful shout erupted from the front. No, the sound just echoed throughout the area.
—Dududududu!
Advance and advance again. When the paladins at the very front reached the wooden fence, —Ururung! A roar was heard.
It had begun.
The paladins’ wooden fence breaking.
—Ujiggeun!
The huge wooden fences broke and fell like reeds. And so, the walls disappeared. It was truly superhuman power. Those thick and high, wooden walls were smashed to pieces.
Because they were destroying the wooden fences from all directions, the village soon became shabby, like a crab with its shell peeled off. It was thought that they would soon be able to eat the seasoned crab inside.
—Advance!
The troops entered through the gaps in the half-destroyed wooden fence.
Our turn came, and we entered the village… But.
—…
The paladins were stopped at the entrance of the village. The soldiers who saw it also stopped, and the adventurers and mercenaries who had been moving haphazardly also stopped.
“W, what? Why did you stop?”
No one opened their mouths.
Roughly looking, there was nothing inside the village.
No one there?
What is it? Did all the bandits run away after all?
So they stopped because they were disappointed?
“Katt. Open your ears and concentrate on the sound.”
“Sound?”
I listened carefully as Klaudee said.
Then…
—…Thump.
—…Thump.
I heard something like a falling sound.
“Evil energy!”
At the same time, a paladin shouted fiercely. And!
—Thump!
Something huge began to run from inside the village!
“Heok!!!”
“What is that!!!”
“Kyaaaaaaak!!!!!”
It was a person who had swollen up and become a giant, no, a monster!
Not like the muscular macho giants I saw last time! Uncoordinated black monsters in the form of humans shedding their humanity and being reborn as monsters!
Demons!
Those monsters were running wildly!
“U, uaaaaaa!!! What is thataaaa!!!”
The adventurers fell into chaos and screamed!
But the soldiers shouted, and the paladins burst into radiance!
“O Divine!”
As a brilliant light flashed, —Paaang! The paladins kicked off the ground.
Warriors of light charging towards the monsters!
The monster certainly looked terrifying, but if there were paladins, they would be able to win! I shouted loudly, “Don’t be afraid! The heavenly gods are with us! Aizermart forever! Verde forever! Sertoga forever!” I let out the Saint’s cry!
—Uaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
—Aaaaaaaak!!!
—Uooooooo!!
At the same time, the troops who had charged their morale shouted!
—Thump!
The paladins clashed with the monsters!
Even in the midst of this, I couldn’t understand.
“Where the fuck did the heretics go and what the fuck are these monster bastards coming out of, you goddamn motherfuckers!!!!!!”
These conscienceless Ezath bastards!
This proves that they have no parents!!!!!
