Someday Will I Be The Greatest Alchemist?

Chapter 208: Monster Country

The purification of the Earth Pulse began from west of the continent because of the Spirit Tree, the entity that is restoring the power of the World Tree which originally tended to that role. And while the miasma in the continent is weakening, there is only one place with a different aspect.

The Divine Empire Sydnia, in a continent where the Genesis Faith is prevalent, is the sole country that believes in the Light God Faith as their state religion.

That place is a nation where the Pope is at the top of the power structure, a state with doctrines on human supremacy where non-human races are all slaves, a country where it is righteous to eliminate other races and religions.

However, the Holy Knights of the Templar Order[1]were exuding miasmaー something impossible for people to haveー from their bodies.

Their eyes, hollow and insane.

Mixed in with those knights were two black haired and black eyed youths.

Akira Jinguji and Yamato Taiga. Two former high schoolers from Japan that were summoned as heroes. They had grown arrogant from being given too much power in this world, willingly murdering people. Amassing miasma within themselves, they lost their minds, and with the dark guild’s Demonicine, they’ve been reduced to mere killing machines numb to pain.

Regarding Akira Jinguji, he had become unable to use the Light Attribute Magic which a hero should have had the aptitude for. Changing an acquired attribute is fundamentally impossible, but such a thing was happening within Akira Jinguji.

Already beyond salvation, the only way to stop them is through death.

Pope Warvaal and Imperial Princess Elizabeth were also seized with miasma, incapable of making normal decisions. In particular, the person greatly altered was Imperial Princess Elizabeth. She was no longer a Human. Having fused with the Evil Spirit, Elizabeth was no longer revered as the Princess Elizabeth, but as the living god within the Divine Empire Sydnia.

The current state of the continent was unacceptable to the Divine Empire Sydnia.

A land overflowing with miasma[2] (Sydnia perceives miasma as holy energy and conversely perceives sacred energy[3]as miasma) was formed in the western edge of the continent, and the three kingdoms Valkyra, Yggurle, and Lomaria were tainted by it.

The purification of the land contaminated by miasma was now a crusade to the Divine Empire Sydnia.

「Elizabeth, no, Goddess Anat. The age of the holy war is close. The Templar Order and the Kamui Unit are doing well.」

「Fufu, Father, no, Pope Warvaal. Due to the drug we procured from that dark guild, our army have become soldiers that do not fear death. In comparison to the armies of the Trination, we may not win with numbers, but there is no cause for worry. Our army can suppress normal soldiers.」

「Hoh, how promising.」

「Furthermore, the monsters we will encounter during the march to the savage lands will become our support.」

「W-what? Even monsters would obey?」

Warvaal did not realize that if they were to be followed by countless monsters, it’s not in the realm of Tamer, but rather as a ruling class of monsters. They’ve already lost the ability to think deeply.

「If we hasten the reservation of food, it will take one month to march to the savage lands. Rush the procurement of the supplies!」

Pope Warvaal instructed his subordinates. The infantry does not travel by carriage or horseback but mainly through marches, and to traverse from the center of the continent to the western edge where the Sanctuary is, it would take one month no matter how much the march is rushed. The Divine Empire Sydnia was in dire straits with the procurement of the materials necessary for their cause, but Warvaal and Elizabeth showed no signs of worry.

If munitions were being procured at a large scale, it would naturally be heard by the neighboring countries. It isn’t known what Triaria Kingdom, a nation Sydnia is friendly with, thinks of this, but Valkyra Kingdom and Lomaria Kingdom were quick to obtain information and promptly held an extraordinary trination conference as they were convinced that its aim was the Sanctuary.

The meeting discussions began from the status of the procurement of materials to inferring the size of the army, and the formation of the three nations’ united garrison.

「Urgently, we must expand our garrison and increase the number of personnel.」

「Let us dispatch the mage division as well and erect encampments.」

「We would like to place archers from Yggurle Kingdom in watchtowers that would be built at uniform spacing.」

The civil and military officials of the Trination deliberated over the procurement of their respective supplies and deployment of personnel.

According to the reports from the intelligence division, the route of the invasion will pass through the savage lands is certain, so of course, it is very probable that the town that the Trination built, Valor, will sustain damage. As such, it’s only natural that the Trination would seriously prepare to intercept.

Valkyra Kingdom, Lomaria Kingdom, and Yggurle Kingdom’s Trination alliance also intended to take this opportunity to thoroughly weaken the Divine Empire Sydnia’s power.

The shadows of a great war was about to engulf the continent.

***

Footnotes:

1. The previous name given by the author for the order is 教団騎士団 which I then tled as Holy Knight Order, the name used now is 神殿騎士団 so I might permanently change it to Templar Order / Templars.

2. Typo: raw-邪気 correct-瘴気.

3. I’ve been kind of alternating the translation of 聖気 between holy and sacred energy, with holy being used more in Sydnia, and sacred in Sanctuary, since it’s easier to distinguish which area/country the energy pertains to. But in a sense, they mean the same thing.