Overpowered Sword Chapter 36

Level up with swords (36)

‘〈Swallowing the city〉… !’

Leon was astonished by those absurd words.

It was an unbelievable scale.

The Free City of Blaine is more than four times the size of most small and medium-sized fiefdoms, and its population is more than ten times greater. Are you saying that there is even an external method that can destroy it with one blow?

A grand ritual that sacrifices the lives of thousands of people and annihilates tens of thousands of others. It’s a human sacrifice that gives me chills just hearing about it.

[Because it is something that inevitably attracts attention, it will fail 99 times out of 100, but the problem is that even if it succeeds just once, it will be a disaster.]

‘Have you ever been successful?’

[Because it was there, it must have been recorded. Because of its nature, it is impossible to know what happens unless it is activated. Most of the Holy Church’s countermeasures against foreign laws were created after the incident occurred.]

Leon, who was reflecting on El Cid’s words, immediately asked again.

‘Then what is the countermeasure to ‘Swallowing the City’? ‘It’s not like we have to face it without any countermeasures.’

[hmm.]

Then El Cid moaned briefly.

It wasn’t a good sign. As always, I expected the kind of response that would give me the answer without much hesitation.

Leon’s face suddenly hardened.

If there was no way to stop ‘Devouring the City’, the best option was to evacuate all of Blaine’s residents. There would be astronomical damage to property, but it was better than everyone dying.

[That’s not good. This area appears to be a processing site for sacrificial offerings to be used as bait for <Swallowing the City>, but the production volume is small for that. The security system is also very lax.]

‘It means that all the necessary amount has been collected.’

[Yes, in terms of progress, it is over 90%. Perhaps it is a situation that only leaves the consciousness to proceed. If an attempt to evacuate residents is discovered, foreign laws will be activated immediately.]

No matter how well the evacuation is carried out, Blaine’s population of 10,000, or less than half, will be activated before the city is evacuated.

If that happened, it was no different from failure.

[Let’s go with the regular method.]

‘What?’

Leon listened with pleasure to those words.

[Gather all the power of this city and attack District 25. The external method also requires a large-scale ritual around the time of <Devouring the City>, so it can be solved by destroying everything before that.]

‘Is this an all-out war for the entire city? .’

[In the end, foreign magistrates are a minority. If there were 500 mercenaries, it wouldn’t be possible to withstand if the entire guild and territory army were the opponent.]

From then on, it was real.

El Cid, who had dealt with ‘evil’ several times, knew. Those who are cornered will stick their heads in their shells like turtles and try to make one last move.

The most frightening thing about the external law is its defensive ability.

Because it is an ability based on the laws of another dimension, it halves all powers other than holy power. To attack a foreign magician who was concentrating on defense, a cardinal-level holy magic was needed.

[But you have me, the holy sword.]

Holy sword El Cid.

Because it is a sacred relic of the goddess who represents the laws of this world, the blade fundamentally denies the external law itself. It was possible to cut down with a single sword even the barrier that the foreign magicians risked their lives on.

All-out war is just the basics to drain their power. The real goal was to rush in with a small elite force right after that and defeat the guys who were busy forming a barrier. Unless you know the existence of the holy sword, it is a checkmate with no way to escape.

‘… That might be the best way.’

Leon, who had reviewed El Cid’s strategy a few times, acknowledged it.

If <Devouring the City> is truly on the verge of activation, it is already too late to call in reinforcements through the church or guild. Unless they were stupid, they would know that their true identity was discovered through this attack.

It was necessary to take a gamble here too.

“Brother.”

At that time, Cesare looked around the room and spoke.

“I guess I’ll have to get out quickly. “It looks like they noticed a break-in here.”

“All right. then.”

When Leon saw the disgusting writhing lumps of flesh, Cesare also smiled bitterly.

What is the meaning of being alive in this form?

Cesare put a few items in his pocket as evidence and hung up the chain with a sad face. Even if left alone, it was destined to be used as a sacrifice, so it was planned to find rest more quickly.

Kugugugugugugung… !

The room collapsed after being hit by an iron ball a few times.

The writhing lumps of flesh were also buried in the silt, and the two immediately started running toward the hole they came from.

Unusual signs were getting closer. These are probably the real forces of ‘evil’ on the ground or in District 25. The level was different from the guys who were standing guard here.

Cesare and Leon, who had even used up the Holy Law, could not overcome them.

“Let’s hurry!”

“yes!”

The two hurriedly jumped into the hole and quickly passed through the underground passage, collapsing the cave as soon as they could get out.

And then he runs without a break and leaves District 23.

I continued running until I got out of the slums, as well as District 23. The ‘evil’ also seemed to be burdened by places with many witnesses, so I felt like it was following me for a moment, but then it quickly moved away. I guess they followed me without even knowing what the situation was.

Leon read that sign and stopped running.

“Whew, it looks like you’ve given up?”

“okay. “The presence is getting further and further away.”

Cesare nodded and looked back.

“I touched a beehive when I was young, and it feels the same way. “At that time, I jumped into the pond.”

Unlike the light content, the voice was heavy.

“It’s a bit dangerous this time. There is no pond to jump into, and it is full of things that cannot be compared to bees. “I even had a feeling that even if I contacted the church, it would be a few beats late.”

“… … .”

“Brother Leon, what do you think?”

Cesare looked at Leon first.

Although the child was not yet 20 years old, the bishop’s eyes were serious. Maybe he got some sense of it while fighting back to back.

Anyway, he really wanted to hear Leon’s opinion.

‘Okay, let’s get on the wave.’

In order to implement El Cid’s strategy, a corresponding voice was needed. I was planning on showing the Holy Sword if I had to, but I wanted to avoid getting caught by other people if possible, even if only Cesare didn’t know about it.

From that perspective, this question was a good excuse.

“I think… … .”

Looking at it objectively, Leon’s story was very sloppy.

This was because he filled in the gaps with speculation to hide information he should not have known. In particular, the information regarding ‘Swallowing the City’ was top-secret information that would only remain in the records room at the church headquarters. It was obvious that they would try to find out the source.

The method to neutralize the barrier was also in the same context.

Excluding the keyword ‘Holy Sword’, all that was left was the excuse that ‘Solar Aura’ was more effective than imagined in foreign law.

“Umm… .”

But from Cesare’s perspective, it was different.

“There are some unclear aspects, but it might be worth a try. “There is no other way worth trying.”

“Well, is that so?”

“yes.”

Leon looked shocked at those words.

Although he said it himself, it was so unreliable that a proper strategist would have immediately snorted if he had heard it.

But Cesare also had his own reasons.

“Even within the Holy Order, ‘Sun Auror’ is famous as the ability to be recruited first. “It’s so rare that I’ve never seen it before except you, but now I think I know why.”

Cesare watched him from time to time in District 23.

It wasn’t because I was suspicious. Because I was aware of the difference in capabilities, I was ready to help immediately when the situation became dangerous.

But Leon fought much better than expected.

It tears through shields that cannot be easily cut even with a tangible aura with a single sword, and even nullifies external magic that hits the body. It was not a level that could be accomplished with pure skill. One-sided s*xual relationship. In Cesare’s eyes, the only reason was ‘the Aura of the Sun’.

“It has been decided. Move the guild and its army to suffocate them, induce them to lock themselves in, and then infiltrate and destroy them with a small number of elites. “Then there are two prerequisites.”

“Moving the guild and army, and forming a small elite team to infiltrate… is it.”

Both are important, but the former is simple. It would be enough if Cesare spoke from the church’s perspective.

The real challenge was the latter.

“Unless someone uses Holy Law like me or has ‘Solar Aura’ like you, there are few people who can face the Outer Law head-on. According to the guild’s classification, it should be about A rank.”

“A rank… .”

Leon groaned involuntarily.

The minimum requirement for B rank is to categorize an Auror, and A rank refers to a strong person who overwhelmingly exceeds the B rank. Although Blaine is a fairly large city, A-rank adventurers and mercenaries were rare.

If they are absent due to receiving a long-term contract, there is no way to fill their vacancy.

“ah!”

It was then.

Leon opened his mouth as a flash of thought occurred to him.

“Bishop, can we take a few people from the slums?”

“Are you talking about the slums?”

Cesare looked dumbfounded, but Leon was serious.

“Even in the slums, there is one, maybe two, strong people who are ranked A. 〈Fang〉 and 〈Guardian〉 should be enough power. “They also planned to become admirals, so there is no excuse.”

“Hmm, I don’t know about their power, but can I trust them?”

“If the bishop says something, you can believe it.”

Cesare looked puzzled for a moment, then tilted his head, but soon understood what he meant and smiled.

“Is this really conscription?”

“yes. It gives us the opportunity to do good things in the name of the church. “If you show me just one Seongcheolswae seal, it will turn over.”

If the people involved had heard, they would have pulled out their swords and said, “You will die, and I will kill myself,” but that did not happen.

Leon and Cesare looked at each other and grinned.

To the slum leaders who had already committed many sins, the Holy Church was like a thunderbolt. Even a strong man like Khan would have been put on the list of heretics, so he had no choice but to follow even if he threatened him with empty words.

It was by no means retaliation for causing a nosebleed.

[What’s wrong with it?]

El Cid, who read what he was thinking, grumbled, but Leon didn’t even listen and just put it back in his sheath.

There was a lot of work to do starting tomorrow.

* * *

The very next day, Adventurer’s Guild.

It was around morning, when the adventurers who had gathered since dawn had left and leisure time had begun. When the receptionists read the newspaper, chat about trivial gossip, and eat sandwiches or salads for breakfast.

Leon and Cesare walked into the space.

If it had been just Leon, there would have been no reason to be so surprised, but Cesare’s identity and attire were an issue.

Clap, clap, clap.

Every time you take a step, a metallic sound echoes.

Full-Plate Armor.

The silver-white full-body armor swayed gracefully, but there were only a few people who admired its style and functionality. Rather, more people paid attention to the emblem engraved on the breastplate.

The emblem of a chain surrounding the sun and moon.

That was the symbol of the Seongcheolsae Knight.

“The Holy Iron Chain Knights! “Why did you come to Blaine?!”

“Warlock? Or maybe… .”

“Stop making unnecessary guesses. “You will find out soon.”

The receptionists, who do not even move an eyebrow at the slightest commotion, mutter. The reputation of the Seongcheolsaegi Knight was so high, and because of his unique methods, he was known as a notorious figure.

Only Rize greeted them with an expression that said they had come.

“… “You’re here, Leon.”

It couldn’t have been because of ‘Suppression of Living Armor in Abandoned Houses’. Because there was only one purpose for which the Seongcheolsaegi Knight moved.

Destroying the enemies of the goddess.

Their mission was to judge sins that could not be judged by human law with force bearing the name of God.

“Rize, I came today on business, not a request.”

When Leon, who was so upset, looked sideways, Cesare took a step forward and opened his mouth.

Unlike usual, the voice was heavy and subdued.

The voice of the Seongcheolsaegi Knight that everyone imagines it to be.

“Bishop of the Holy Order, Cesare. “In the name of sacred iron and chain, I request full cooperation from the guild.”

The battle to subdue evil has come to an end.