The Villain Bought the Heroine - The Villain Bought the Heroine chapter 98
Chapter 98
“Eat… I will definitely chew and eat… Now, I can no longer be satisfied with just souls. Me, the Archbishop, fleeing from mere humans…! Helion, turn your body into jerky and chew it thoroughly…!”
Ami, riding on the Altif of deep crimson color, muttered in anger.
The Altif he was riding on was a ‘peculiar’ that was designed in the form of a muscular horse, able to run smoothly even on rough terrain.
The peculiar caught Ami’s attention as they rode towards Turejel.
After setting aside his anger for a moment and looking ahead, the figure of Durtmund began to appear.
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A large-eyed bishop approached Ami and spoke. His complexion did not look good, as if he was in pain.
“Ami, are you really okay with advancing like this?”
“What are you talking about right now?”
The large-eyed bishop swallowed his saliva.
It wasn’t easy to speak up knowing how proud the Archbishops, including Ami, were.
However, considering the current situation, it was clear that there were better options, so he reluctantly spoke up.
“…We have a lot of information about Durtmund that we received from the hero Crain. When is the most vulnerable time, and even who is in charge of their formations.”
Of course, with Crain’s misdeeds exposed, reinforcements would have been made, and the formations would have completely changed. But this was omitted.
His first goal was to regroup.
It would be better than attacking now, even if they were to be reinforced later.
Ami was urged to follow his lead.
He affirmed this with determination.
“Frankly, now is not a good time.”
“Not a good time? Time… Time is not good…?”
Ami, muttering to himself, asked, “Why?”
The bishop was surprised. Ami’s eyes were so cruel and cloudy, it was difficult to see them as looking at kin.
The disoriented Sagittarius stopped its activities and looked at him.
The bishop sensed a clear intent to kill from him.
The feeling comes.
If I slip up, I might die here before the war even starts.
Overcoming that fear, he speaks.
“H… Hailion… Hailion is in Dürtemund right now.”
Silence.
Ami didn’t respond, just gazed at him quietly.
The bishop couldn’t bear the weight, lowering his head. It’s better to die suddenly than to die knowing it’s coming.
Let’s wait for the moment of judgment.
“You’re right. The Hailion from 15 years ago and the current Hailion should be seen as completely different people, strengthened to that extent.”
“Ami…”
When he raised his head to look at Ami again, he could see that he had accepted his advice.
His once fiery eyes now calm.
Understanding the situation, he continues with precise analysis.
“If Hailion’s group weren’t here, it would be a piece of cake to sweep through Dürtemund with our current forces. I know that too. But…”
Ami asks.
“When will that be?”
How long must pass before this disgrace can be repaid?
When Hailion receives a different mission and escapes from Dürtemund?
Or when he becomes too old and feeble to invade?
Ami’s eyes weren’t calm from stable peace, but from the instability before the storm.
“So I should just wait hopelessly for that time to come, groveling like a defeated dog from afar? Because the master is too terrifying with a club?”
“Oh, Ami… Please calm down…!”
“Groifen. You seem afraid of Hailion, but I’m not, are you?”
In the trembling eyes of the one-eyed bishop, Groifen, Ami’s reflection appears.
Ami’s appearance was not just simple attire. He was dressed in splendid armor like a general heading to battle, looking strong and resolute.
Covered from head to toe as if hiding his fair skin, Ami wore even a helmet. The great scythe he carried had become a part of his body, attached to his tail.
This was his true form after the “Liberation of Authority.”
For centuries, Ami had slaughtered countless warriors and caused chaos. Each time he took this form, the scent of blood permeated the air, a reminder of those years.
“You seem to have forgotten. I am the Archbishop of the Goddess. An archbishop…! Warriors? Even those in the top 10 rankings have fallen to me. Their sweet souls still trapped within me!”
Those touched by Ami’s power cannot die.
Their bodies may perish, but their souls are bound to him for eternity.
Hailion’s left arm was in a similar state.
“And I, pretending not to notice that the prey I had kept hidden had grown stronger, and instead aiming for someone else…? Ha, hahahahaha! Groifen. You’re truly insane, aren’t you?!”
“I-I apologize. My statement was made to honor your magnificent presence, but it seemed to convey doubt… Cough!”
Ami thrust the fierce aura of his scythe attached to his tail into Groifen’s neck. Groifen’s head stiffens.
“You were quite powerful among the bishops, weren’t you?”
Ami’s torn pupils scrutinize Groifen.
Groifen, a muscular figure with enhanced physique from Altif’s abundant magic, smashes opponents with his reinforced body.
Among the bishops, whose skills vary greatly, Groifen is above average. Among the bishops Ami travels with, he is the strongest individual.
No matter how rude and annoying, it would be a waste to just kill him.
How should I make use of this child?
…Ah.
A long smile formed on Ami’s lips.
Smiling with her eyes, yet not at all gentle.
“Recently, there’s a brat that Haelion likes.”
Ami thought of someone.
He was a man who recently gained fame among the followers of the Goddess as a prospective warrior, the one who had slit the throat of his sister, Jagan.
Resisting the power of the High Priest, Veledd, or something like that, seemed like nonsense, but the smell of Jagan lingering around him was bothersome.
“I will be facing Haelion in this upcoming war.”
Ami’s sole goal was just that.
In reality, Durtmund was just a side issue.
“You, kill the brat named Shugenharz Troa Bargan, who is Haelion’s disciple. It won’t be difficult to find him with Jagan’s scent lingering around. “
When he visited the graveyard to hunt Frickanrisk last time, he had seen him in passing, but didn’t interfere.
His neglect towards Haelion had found a place in his heart and now it was coming in handy.
“Bring me his head. I will crush it in front of Haelion.”
Haelion, who cared for his disciple, was implying the importance of the boy’s existence.
Having seen the death of his disciple, Haelion would either have a fit or show his full power.
Ami wanted to hunt down Haelion, pouring all her strength into it. She believed it was the way to repay the disgrace.
*Kwahak!*
Ami’s tail struck the heart of Groiphene.
Shortly after, the tail was pulled out, and the torn wound quickly healed.
Ami used her power to impose a time limit on him.
“I don’t have time for this, Groiphene.”
Ami wouldn’t stop the war.
Groiphene’s words only fueled his fighting spirit.
“Hurry.”
***
A crowd that shakes the ground.
A red wave is approaching.
Altif’s forces, who are about to break through the walls, are in full force.
It’s the first time seeing such a number in person.
Compared to the war that followed, it might be relatively small in scale, but it shows how Ami has been struggling to survive in the village.
It could be seen as Crane’s move.
“Oh, are they dividing the fronts.”
Unintentionally, I let out a sound.
Approximately 3,500 priest-level mindless bodies move as if watching a well-trained army.
In an instant, they divide into three fronts.
There’s a difference in marching speed.
The frontmost front has 1,500.
The two rear camps have 1,000 troops each.
They have separate assault units and follow-up units. It’s a strategy where the rear forces seize the opportunity while the front forces engage in combat.
There are five unique beings, each over 20 meters tall, assigned to the follow-up units, while the front forces have ten.
There’s no need for a battering ram to break down the gates.
With them, they could even break down a wall, not just a gate.
It’s fascinating to see them not recklessly charging but unfolding tactics in their own way.
“Well, if a proper invasion is the goal, they wouldn’t even consider a siege at this time.”
If it were me, I would have cut off supply routes and laid siege even if it turned into a prolonged battle. Also, activities within the city… well, that’s just a passing thought.
The army’s current objective isn’t to take Duertermund, and it seems like they’ve forgotten their normally sound judgment, which isn’t their forte anyway. Maintaining formation is probably the best they can do.
As I ponder these thoughts,
Haileon approaches.
Pin, who was beside me, almost reflexively nods his head.
Despite the impending war, he seems unfazed.
“Bargan and Pin, the students, don’t have to participate in this war. Are you both okay with that?”
Looking at Haileon’s expression, it’s impressive. He’s talking as if he’s concerned when he’s not really.
“Haileon, you mentioned this before when you saw me. You have a strange habit of pretending not to know even when you do.”
“Are you referring to when I proposed mentoring?”
“You’re not so different from me, Haileon.”
Upon hearing this, Haileon smiled faintly.
With a slight laugh under his breath, he said, “‘hahahaha,’ verbally as well.
“Your smile still seems forced.”
“Again this time? I thought I did it quite naturally.”
And as a moment of silence fell over the conversation,
Haileon turned his gaze to the approaching red banners.
It’s almost like he’s looking at a calm sea. So serene it’s almost delusional.
He asks, “Do you think Bargan sees victory for us in this war?”
To say he lacks confidence would be inaccurate.
He seems genuinely curious about my judgment.
“How can a mere student like me read the course of a brutal battlefield? But if I dare to predict…”
I meet Haileon’s gaze as he turns back to me.
“The victory is certain.”
“You say it so confidently? Our opponents are a powerful Archbishop and their army, though.”
Well, that’s true.
But I’ve already read the plot once.
“I trust Bargan and his team.”
As I blatantly spit out insincere words, Haileon chuckled, suppressing a laugh with a shrug. That was a genuine chuckle.
Although it may have seemed insincere, the content was sincere.
“I never expected to hear such words from Bargan.”
Instead of continuing, he left a word of thanks and departed.
“However, the words of the fortune-teller are more reassuring than any other words.”
“No, the notion of appearing is strange.”
He leaped from the city wall.
Ahead of the valiant warriors guarding Dourtemund.
He flew towards dozens of warriors and began casting spells.
It seems like all mana flows around him at his command. If mana were the wind, he would be the eye of a storm.
He chanted a prayer in the midst of it all.
This prayer had nothing to do with the feast, solely focused on the lives that would be restored ahead.
“Fin, how many enemies do you see approaching from the front?”
Without saying a word, I asked Fin, who was staring at the battlefield with a dazed look alongside Helion.
Only then did Fin snap out of it, narrowing his eyes to assess the numbers.
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“There are four bishop-class… and around 1,500 priest-class, including the special unit.”
“No, you’re mistaken.”
“What? Even if the exact numbers may differ, isn’t the approximate count correct?”
I laughed as I gazed at the massive army.
Though one couldn’t see my expression directly, perhaps I held an innocence akin to a child who had just read a fairy tale.
“The enemy’s vanguard consists of merely four.”
As the words ended, Helion’s spell was complete.
It marked the decisive beginning of Helion being hailed as a hero. A large-scale ritual that saved Dourtemund’s warriors.
Helion’s ‘first unique ritual.’
⎯A large hole opened up in the sky.
Through it, the light of glory cascaded down like a waterfall, illuminating the world. The warmth that embraced all things in the world elevated the righteous and sanctified the dark with holy light.
Even those without faith involuntarily bowed their heads, as if compelled to praise that wondrous and awe-inspiring mystery.
It was fortunate that the war didn’t commence at night.
All creatures in this world would have been taken aback by the sudden daylight.
The glorious light descending from the sky struck the advancing enemies on the front lines.
Amidst the praises, only a handful of enemies remained.
Four.
The 1,500 priest-class Altefes vanished from sight in the world.
It was a splendid opening moment for the war.
&Gold&