The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 433

262. Night of the Crimson Moon

“Everyone, finish your training! Tonight… once the moon begins to rise, no one is allowed to leave their homes!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Understood!”

Troops were moving swiftly around the capital. The movements of each unit seemed disorganized, but those who understood strategy could see that they were moving in perfect order within a larger framework.

As befitting the name Free Army, soldiers from the North, South, and even the old Empire were gathered, so their command systems were completely different from what they had learned so far.

To integrate them, Anthem modified his own formation, Mujin (無陣) [a fluid, ever-changing battle formation], to create a new tactic.

“How is it?”

Anthem asked Dushala, who was shouting at the soldiers.

“Even I, who doesn’t know tactics, can see it’s excellent. It looks like soldiers are moving in dozens of directions, like water flowing through cracks in gravel, but they are actually rotating around a single point. But conversely, when they scatter, new points are created within each force. Like small whirlpools.”

She pointed to an empty spot and said,

“That position is probably for the Lord, but you’ve made it possible to operate the troops independently in the Lord’s absence.”

The advantage of Mujin was that it had a single center point, but its surroundings were ever-changing and without fixed form. But conversely, it was difficult to use without the intense center point, Khalil.

Anthem Howard returned to the capital and worked hard to reinforce Mujin.

Thus, he created a formation in which each unit served as a center point, with dozens of center points operating independently, and becoming even more powerful when combined into one.

He named it Toemujin (頹無陣) [a decentralized, multi-core version of Mujin].

“You don’t know tactics? You grasped the essence of the formation accurately with just one look.”

Anthem spoke with an expression of admiration for her insight. As a member of the Amyeon from the Eastern Country, she certainly had a better eye for formations than others.

“The Lord said that the night when the second disaster appears is called the Night of the Crimson Moon, and the third disaster is called the Night of the Scarlet Moon.”

“Will a red moon even rise?”

“It would be nice if it were such a romantic atmosphere, but he said the first is the day the whole world is covered in blood, and the second is the day the world is covered in corpses without a drop of blood left. It’s the same death, but the method is completely different.”

At Dushala’s words, Anthem swallowed dryly and stroked his neck.

“…Both are nights that can only be red. Either the earth sheds tears of blood, or tears of blood flow from the eyes of families.”

“…Now, it’s the day before that night arrives.”

“How did the Lord know?”

At Anthem’s question, she shrugged slightly and replied.

“I don’t know. Sometimes the Lord knows things we can’t imagine.”

She recalled when she first met Khalil, when he showed her the magic warship in Tatur’s secret location.

Khalil spoke as if he knew the location of the warship from the beginning, which no one else knew.

But she didn’t question it.

“What’s clear is that he’s creating a better future. That’s why he always fights alone. So, we should at least not hold him back.”

“That’s right.”

Anthem felt like he knew how she felt. He too had been saved by Khalil, who dramatically appeared at the moment the Duchy was collapsing.

“So, I’m sure we can overcome this one as well.”

“Nine more times, is it…”

He sighed softly, looking worried about whether he could endure the many disasters that remained.

“I don’t plan to do this nine times.”

“…!!!”

“…!!!”

The two were startled by the voice coming from behind and turned their heads.

“Lord!!”

“You’ve arrived!”

At Khalil’s appearance, the two hurriedly bowed their heads and greeted him.

“Wh, who…?”

Hawat, who was behind Khalil, scratched the back of his neck, unsure of how to introduce himself.

“Tosca.”

But Khalil lightly tapped the head of the giant Bone Dragon he was riding and said,

“Everyone knows, right? The Golden Dragon Tosca, once called the progenitor of dragons.”

“Pardon?!

“Wh, what does that mean…”

The two were shocked by Khalil’s words, unable to believe it, and Hawat, realizing that the question wasn’t directed at him, coughed awkwardly.

Clang…!

Khalil, instead of explaining, threw a large bag he was holding in front of the two.

The mouth of the bag, which had been tied, fell to the ground and opened, scattering holy relics with a pure white light inside.

“These are holy objects from the Order [a religious organization]. Call Calypsen right now and have him melt them down to make what I instruct. What needs to be made is written here.”

Khalil took out a small piece of parchment from his pocket and gave it to Dushala along with the bag.

“Pardon? Did you say the Order?”

Anthem asked back with a surprised expression at Khalil’s words.

“Of course. In a situation where the world is about to end, the Order must help too. Right? Soon, the battle priests of the Order will come here. We will use their power to stop the second disaster.”

“That’s…”

Dushala and Anthem looked at each other, trying to ask Khalil something. The question was whether the power of priests who worship God would be useful in a fight against God.

“Divine power is effective against corruption. Ironically, corruption wasn’t created by God. It’s just that God spread corruption on the continent.”

“Certainly… Yula told us to purify the corruption.”

“The problem is that they don’t care about what happens to humans and only want to eradicate corruption.”

“You shouldn’t look at God through human eyes. You have to try to understand what He does from a dimensional perspective, not just looking at one dimension.”

“Th, that’s not me.”

As people turned their heads in the direction of the voice, Hawat frantically waved his arms at the attention focused on him.

“Nice to meet you. We’ve met before, right? I’m Yurin Huugar.”

Dushala frowned slightly as she watched Yurin, who was peeking out from behind the giant and greeting them with a playful expression.

“God’s perspective? Even if it has a great cause, you’re telling me to understand useless words while sitting still and dying?”

“Ants are just living in their homes, but humans suddenly wage war over their heads. And they get trampled to death. But humans don’t think about the death of ants, do they? I was just trying to explain the difference in perspective.”

Yurin Huugar tapped the iron ball hanging on his back with his finger.

“I’ll catch the corruption. With the power of God. That’s what Yula wants.”

“So, you’re just going to follow God’s words and die? That’s a very priestly statement. According to your words, humans are like ants to God.”

“Surely not.”

Yurin smirked.

“Even ants wouldn’t want to be trampled to death. I’m here to fight because I don’t want to die either.”

“Then what if Yula tells you to die? What will you do then? Will you still follow God’s words?”

“I’ll kill God.”

He shrugged and replied.

“I told you, I don’t want to die. God would forgive me for trying to beat up the guy who’s trying to kill me before I die. Even if it’s God. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s crazy, but I like it.”

Dushala nodded, slightly lowering the corners of her mouth, as if she was unexpectedly satisfied with his brazen answer.

“Is there any doubt?”

“That guy became a priest to fight. You can trust him. He’ll be crazier than anyone else on the battlefield.”

“And this is Hawat. Anthem, he’ll be deployed to the battlefield starting with this disaster. Make him an armor that fits him. The weapon made with the blueprint you gave Calypsen is also his, but it will take time to make, so give him a weapon for now.”

“An armor that fits him… I don’t know if there will be one, but I’ll check the warehouse first.”

“Not the warehouse.”

“Pardon?”

“Contact Wingel Hart. Modify the armor used by the small golems of the golem unit to fit him.”

“Understood.”

Anthem replied with a look of realization at Khalil’s words.

“Is he one of the Ten of Godslaying for this time? I heard you were going to bring one more person.”

“The other one is being treated. He’ll join us soon, so don’t worry.”

“Understood.”

“All the personnel are gathered. I’m not going to just sit back and be attacked. Just blocking the disasters that attack us won’t solve anything.”

“That’s right. No matter how strong the shield is, you can’t defeat the enemy without attacking.”

“We’ll attack Pharell at the same time as the third disaster ends. You know what that means, right?”

At his words, the two nodded.

“We must stop this disaster.”

“Also, we must not just block it, but win with minimal damage.”

“Good.”

The two looked at the tower in the distance with tense eyes at Khalil’s words.

“Call everyone. From now on, we will devise a plan to stop the second disaster.”

* * *

“You’ve arrived.”

“A strategy the day before the disaster starts… Aren’t you too late for a fight that will determine the fate of humanity?”

“Looks like you missed me.”

Khalil chuckled at Aidan’s nagging.

“I’m sure Anthem has already instructed you on all the basic preparations. I should check how well you’ve carried out my instructions.”

“Of course. The placement of Snakel and Amyeon is already complete. Only I am left in the capital. To fight with the Lord.”

At Aidan’s words, Khalil nodded and scanned the surroundings. The people summoned by his order were standing with expressions full of tension.

“The rest of the main knights have all been deployed to strategic locations with their troops. Those who remain in the capital are only the people you mentioned.”

Including Aidan, Suan Hazar, Israfil, Serica Loren, Kay Rothschild, and even Hawat.

“As you know, you are one of the Ten of Godslaying that I have chosen. The reason why I sent the others to the Thousand-Year Ice Cave for training is because they are the force that must stop the disasters while we attack Pharell, and at the same time, you are those who are sufficient as a force right now.”

Gulp-

At his words, Hawat swallowed hard with a very nervous face.

“Of course, you will be anxious. Some of you are new to the battlefield, and some of you are not used to fighting. But you must stop the second disaster with me. I left you behind because I believe you are capable of doing so.”

Rustle…!!

Khalil unfolded the map.

Then, he pointed to the waterway flowing through the center of the capital. His finger slowly moved south along the waterway, and at the end was the Four-Nine River.

“Everyone here knows the Four-Nine River that runs through the continent. This disaster starts from this river.”

He said in a low voice.

“They appear from the river and spread throughout the continent along the river. Their numbers will exceed thousands, tens of thousands, and their bodies contain toxins, so the land where their corpses fall is contaminated.”

“Tens of thousands… Can we really stop such a huge number of enemies? No, I’m sorry. How should we stop them?”

Israfil covered his mouth with his hand, having asked a negative question, and asked Khalil again. This was because even a small amount of anxiety before the battle could have an uncontrollable impact.

But unlike his worries, none of the people inside were uneasy about his mistake.

“Please tell us the plan.”

“We must face the entire continent with a small number of people. Cutting off the main force of Hekt centered on the Four-Nine River must be carried out as a top priority. From now on, you will command the troops in the places I mention, and you will fight independently on the battlefield while moving the troops according to Israfil’s instructions.”

“Is this why we practiced Toemujin?”

“That’s right. But the only regret is… that Miliana and Serga are not here. Has he still not answered?”

At Khalil’s question, Anthem nodded.

“He’ll come.”

It was then.

“Who’s saying I’m late? I didn’t think it made sense to discuss the battlefield without Digon, did you?”

“…Miliana?”

Khalil smiled wryly at the appearance of the woman who appeared as the door to the hall opened. Her appearance was terrible. She was covered in wounds, and red scales were growing on her wrists and ankles as if she had bands around them.

“It’s new every time I see you. You’re becoming less and less human, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. But I have dragon magic and elf blood, so don’t worry, I won’t get older than you. Maybe in a few more years, Khalil will look like he fits with me. And these scales are proof of my strength, so I deliberately made them visible, okay?”

“…”

Dushala frowned slightly at Miliana’s answer, and Aidan grinned as he watched her.

“What do you mean Serga is coming?”

“Everyone knows that the one who stands at the pinnacle of magic is a dragon. And now, who is standing above the dragons?”

Miliana said, raising one corner of her mouth.

“It’s me now.”

Khalil smiled wryly as if he couldn’t help it at her appearance, which seemed arrogant.

“I thought you would need him, so as soon as the training was over, I sent dragons to Serga. I’ll drag him by the collar.”

Unlike Khalil, who simply laughed it off, people were shocked by her words. It meant that she had finished training the dragons and returned in that short amount of time.

“Worthy of the Dragon Empress.”

Khalil looked out the window with a satisfied face.

“The east is dawning. Deril Harian.”

“Yes.”

“Record tonight. People of later generations will remember today as the Night of the Crimson Moon. It will be a terrible night when the whole world is stained with blood.”

Swish-

“Let’s stain the continent with blood.”

He slowly drew his sword.

“With their blood.”