Chapter 178 : Chapter 178
Chapter : 178
“Can you tell what they are? To me, they are unlike anything I have ever seen.”
Of course, I had a rough guess.
If you played [Pangea Universalise], you would occasionally see magical armaments said to belong to the Crusader Knight Order drifting about.
However.
‘It really does feel different—what is in the game and what is in reality.’
I had kept thinking that, but the difference between actual reality and the sensation of playing inside a game was vast.
Even if it was something you “knew,” you could not recognize it unless you looked closely.
“Hm. There are so many magical armaments wandering the world that I cannot say for certain, but….”
As he spoke, Magician Agpiel narrowed his eyes. The dazzling enemy commander, far off and radiating light, was not something one could easily look at with the naked eye.
Then he continued.
“As far as I know, the Crusader Knight Order once possessed a king’s armor said to have received a sacred blessing in ages past. Dwarves forged it from steel, making the armor itself into smooth plates. Then priests and mages gathered to consecrate it with a blessing of protection… I suspect that is what we are seeing. As for the rest, I cannot say.”
“Oh?”
I gasped, genuinely impressed.
If that was the case, was it not the famous [Armor of the Holy Land’s Guardian]?
A plate-armor style cuirass—only for the upper body, but still.
It was renowned for having pushed plate armor—previously dismissed for its miserable quality in this world—to the very peak of defensive power, proving that the countless dwarven masters who quenched and refined that steel had not done so in vain.
And it was further consecrated with a holy blessing? It was, in every sense, a terrifying piece of armor.
‘In the game, it was an over-technology item you absolutely wanted to obtain.’
My eyes gleamed.
To have such a treasure suddenly appear before me—this was like having an entire vine of watermelons roll right into my lap.
‘Heh-heh-heh… h-huh?’
Then a thought struck me, and I stiffened.
That [Armor of the Holy Land’s Guardian].
If I remembered correctly, it was plate armor—the toughest armor humanity had ever made, virtually invincible against cold steel.
And this was a fantasy world overflowing with magical mysteries.
Just in case, I asked Magician Agpiel carefully.
“That armor… how sturdy is it? Can we pierce it and actually land an attack? Just looking at it, it seems like most attacks will not even register.”
“Hmmm. According to the records, no matter how the infidel warriors attacked, it was never so much as scratched… though there is also a tale that it was pierced by the strike of a legendary giant warrior.”
“A giant?”
I blurted, startled.
A giant—one of those dreadful monsters you only heard about in legends.
‘Then does that mean it is beyond anything human strength can destroy?’
My brow furrowed.
If I misjudged, I might be the one who got hurt. Magician Agpiel looked at me as if I were ridiculous.
“You… do you truly not know how strong you are when you say that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Did you not crush an ogre to death with sheer strength?”
“…If someone hears that, they will misunderstand. Strictly speaking, I strangled it.”
“You won a contest of strength against the ogre before you strangled it! It is the same thing!”
“C-cough.”
It sounded so brutish that I cleared my throat in embarrassment.
“An ogre’s strength is comparable to that of a giant from legend. You defeated such a monster, so you can certainly strike it hard enough. And is not the power you possess itself a true divine miracle?”
-WHOOOOM
As if answering him, the moment Magician Agpiel finished speaking, the mystery inside my body surged.
As though it were insisting on its own presence.
“Th-that… does seem… to be true.”
Feeling vitality and fierce strength rising from deep within, I replied.
The mystery wrapping around my body felt as though it were whispering, telling me to smash the enemy before my eyes.
“Your Excellency!”
“Our faithful! Our honorable lord!”
Then the rear grew noisy.
The elf knights had charged forward on horseback.
“Send me! I will beat that honorless vermin of a human knight and drag him before Your Excellency at once!”
“What nonsense! I will go. You will not!”
“What? H-how dare you!”
“Will you fools be silent? Your paltry honor matters less than His Excellency’s noble honor being dragged through the mud!”
They were seething, as if they had been personally insulted. And it made sense—they were the elf knights who had followed me from the very first southern heretic subjugation.
They were the ones who had seen with their own eyes every “miracle”: slaying the ogre, purifying the cursed river, subjugating the undead, and even killing the servants of an evil god.
So they could not accept the rebel commander calling me a “false guardian.”
If someone like me was a false guardian, then who in the world could claim to be loved by God?
“Give the order!”
“We will restore Your Excellency’s honor with our deaths!”
The elf knights were more earnest and fervent than ever.
As for me, I was utterly indifferent.
‘These ones will not do.’
It was not that I doubted the elf knights’ skill.
It was simply that the commander possessed armaments steeped in various mysteries.
So it seemed better for me to fight personally, with Magician Agpiel’s support.
Besides—look.
-WHOOOOM
The blessing granted by the Goddess of Life, wrapping around me, continued to ripple as though agreeing.
“That is enough. I will deal with that man myself.”
“A-are you saying you do not trust us?”
“It is because we are weak! Come to think of it, we cannot even follow at Your Excellency’s heels! We…”
“Aaaah! To be warriors who are of no help to our lord! Useless!”
-SMACK SMACK!
Those mad battle fanatics began blaming themselves and actually started hitting themselves.
‘No, are these people insane?’
Horrified, I hurriedly stopped them.
“What are you talking about? It is because I value you.”
“Yes?”
“I know well your splendid deeds of arms. But every sword has its scabbard. This duel is mine, not yours. You must sweep away the rebels, must you not? Who would sweep them up better than you? Me? I would not even dare.”
“Th-that is so?”
The elf knights tilted their heads slightly.
Before they could think too carefully, I cut off their thoughts at once.
“Yes, exactly! Elf knights are the true masters of war, are they not?”
“Ooooo!”
“Right! There is no one who wages war as well as we do! Hahaha!”
Only then did the elf knights perk their drooping ears and laugh with delight. I let out a relieved breath. Beside me, Magician Agpiel wore a stunned expression, as if he could not believe such a silver-tongued noble existed.
“C-cough. Magician Agpiel, could you assist me a little?”
“…If you are going out for a dangerous duel, of course I have to help.”
Avoiding Magician Agpiel’s scorching stare—those flounder-like eyes fixed on me—I turned my body. It was time to deal with that insolent rebel leader.
“Filthy usurper, Margrave of Bellua! Are you frightened? Come out!”
-WOOOO!
-Hahaha! Cowardly Margrave, come out!
-Come out!
Look at him—he was still riling up his rebels and mocking me with all his might.
He was using his head well: raising morale, and if I accepted the duel, capturing me.
He was not entirely foolish.
“Fine. Then shall we go and see?”
“Be careful. I have placed a mystery of protection on you, but it is not my specialty, so it may not have much effect.”
“Well, if things go wrong, I will run immediately, so do not worry, Magician Agpiel.”
“Then that is reassuring. I thought you might refuse to run out of honor.”
“As if.”
I chuckled and shrugged. I had achieved far too much to indulge in that childish noble game.
And if I was ever going to return to my original world, I had to value this one life above all.
“M-my lord! Your Excellency! Your Excellency!”
At that moment, Magician Azuela came running from afar in a hurry.
“?”
“Hah, hah… good grief. Why am I this out of breath just from running?”
Standing before me, Azuela panted heavily, trying to catch her breath.
“What is it, Azuela? This does not seem like the moment for me to entertain a request from you….”
I looked at her with an uneasy expression. Was she truly this oblivious to timing? No matter how scatterbrained she was, I was about to go out for a duel.
But it turned out I had underestimated her.
“……?!”
Azuela stared at me, looking genuinely shocked.
“I am not some crazy woman. What are you talking about, Your Excellency?”
“……? You are not?”
“Of course I am not!”
“Ah… ahem. I apologize.”
Embarrassment made me cough without thinking. Azuela sighed and went on.
“I heard you were going into battle, so I ran here. I have been working with mystery quite a lot lately….”
“Oh? You have?”
“Beyond the mystery of healing, my desire to mend people awakened the mystery of protection as well. It will block two lethal attacks, Your Excellency.”
As she spoke, Azuela extended a finger toward me.
-WHOOOOM
Her finger trembled so violently that anyone could tell a mystery had been invoked.
Then—
-THUD!
“Kgh!”
The elf knights, startled, struck Azuela’s throat with the edge of a hand and leapt in front of me.
“Wicked witch!”
“Protect His Excellency! The witch is trying some trickery!”
-SHIIING!
“?!?!”
Unfortunately for Azuela, these were the very elf knights who had accompanied us when we fought the ogre.
They vividly remembered the wicked(?) monster-control art Azuela had displayed in the past.
So the instant her mystery surged, they stopped her and drew their swords, ready to kill her.
“Kgh—! Cough! P-please! Your Excellency! It is a misunderstanding!”
Clutching her throat, Azuela wept snot and tears as she begged.
If she did not shout like this, it felt as though the elf knights would cut off her head at any moment.
“Stop! Stop! What are you doing? Azuela is not an enemy.”
“Ah, is that so? She is a witch with evil roots, so we thought she was trying something…”
“Enough! Azuela has served in my domain for over two years now—how can you say such a thing? Apologize.”
“Cough. My apologies, witch. In the future, do not point your finger and summon mystery so carelessly.”
Only then did the elf knights sheathe their swords and offer an arrogant apology.
‘Damn it! These idiots with muscles for brains!’
Azuela’s blood was boiling, of course.
Seeing her, I spoke quickly to comfort her.
“The elf knights’ tempers have always been like this. I truly am sorry, Azuela.”
“I-it is fine… cough. It is fine, Your Excellency.”
“No. I will scold them properly, and next time I will provide even greater funding to your laboratory.”
“Y-Your Excellency.”
As expected, I was decisive when it came to compensation. Azuela felt her anger from moments ago drain away in an instant.
Of course, that was only until she heard what came next.
“So you truly awakened a new mystery? That is remarkable. Is it not, Magician Agpiel?”
“Mm. Indeed. You were in your research tent for so long that I wondered, but to think you truly did it. Well, Azuela is a magician too, is she not?”
“That is true. I had forgotten.”
“…….”
Her anger surged again.
‘These bastards!’
Somehow, ever since meeting me, Magician Azuela felt she had been cursing more and more.
---
-Waaaaaah!
-There will be blessings!
-Curse the usurper! Bless the true Performer of Miracles!
Sir Bodouin, commander of the peasant army, felt laughter bubbling up on its own.
When the Crusader Knight Order collapsed, his vision had gone dark. But had God chosen him?
To think the treasure of the Crusader Knight Order—said to be precious and hidden—would appear before him.
‘I am the one truly chosen by God!’
Behind him, he now led an army of more than twenty thousand (even if they were crude peasant soldiers with no training). Before him, clothed in sacred and powerful armaments, he toppled knights.
Was this not the heroic journey of a man destined to become a king of legend?
Since God had granted him holy treasure, Bodouin—he—would surely walk a broad, shining road from here on.
With that, Bodouin was more confident than ever.
‘Heh-heh. At last, you have come out, Margrave of Bellua!’
So when his provocation worked and the Margrave of Bellua charged out, Bodouin had not a single worry.
He thought only that he would seize that false man’s fame today.
But then….
-Kyaaaaaah!
-Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk!
The distance between them closed.
-BWOOOOONG!
And at last, with a chilling, air-rending sound, the moment they exchanged blows—
-KRACK! CRUNCH!
-BANG-!
Bodouin’s ambitious dream vanished in an instant.
“…….”
“…….”