The sky above Vesla Fortress was no longer a suffocating shroud of gray...
For a radius of two kilometers, the air shimmered with the golden residue of the Void Discharge…
Below, the "Sea of Ink" had been cauterized, leaving behind a Golden earth due to high concentration of Light Element that was enough to scorch the [Black Calamity] if they stepped on it…
'This feels much better…'
I nodded as I saw that everywhere it was Golden and even the Clouds had become Golden temporarily…
That was, for the first time in twenty years, a resounding victory against the notorious [Black Calamity]...
For a moment, there was only the sound of the wind...
The absolute stillness was haunting; without the rhythmic squelching of the mud-born soldiers, the world felt unnaturally empty…
Then, the silence was shattered by a sound more powerful than any spell—a deafening, soul-shaking cheer that erupted from the throats of thousands of hollow men...
"THE LIGHT!!!
THE LIGHT IS REAL!!!"
"Look at the horizon!!!
The ink is melting!!!
It's the [Black Calamity] which is Melting this time!!!"
"Praise the Goddesses!!!
They haven't forgotten the ghosts of our World!!!"
"They sent a God...
No…
They sent a Hero!!!"
"Did you see him???!!!
He sat in the sky like a King!!!
The Hero...
The Hero has finally come to save us!!!"
"On a throne of gold!!!
He didn't even look at them...
He just mowed them down like grass!!!"
"We're alive!!!
For the first time in twenty years, the wall isn't screaming!!!"
Uwaaaahhh…
It's Embarrassing…
It's so fucking embarrassing…
I thought as a mini me in my mind was roaring in the air out of shame despite the increase of pride while my face remained Impassive…
Meanwhile, Clara stood on the battlements, her small hands clasped over her chest...
She looked up at Mu Zhong, who remained seated on his red-gold throne in the sky, his silhouette framed by the fading sparks of his map cannon...
In her young, untainted heart, a small, crystalline seed of Faith was born—not a faith in abstract deities, but a faith in the man who wore a hoodie and carried her like a treasure left in a dying world...
'I also detected her Faith unfortunately my body can still not accept the slightest of energies without sucking in several Planets…'
I sighed…
Although I didn't like the power of Faith due to its massive instability but it would still be interesting to have it as a secondary source of power or even to act as a pig to eat the tiger…
"He is so great...
He looks like he's holding the whole world on his shoulders, yet he's so gentle when he touches me…
Big Brother is...
He's a Miracle...'"
Clara whispered to herself, her blue pupils reflecting the golden glow of the sky, a soft blush returning to her cheeks...
Deep within the telepathic link, Alethia, Astrea, and Esmae shared a gentle, mournful smile…
They could feel the purity of her belief—a golden tether connecting the Saintess to their champion…
It was a rare, beautiful thing in a world defined by its lack of hope…
Below them, General Iriel stood amidst the clatter of dropped spears and the sobbing of veterans who had finally broken their stoic masks…
Her heart, which had been a frozen block of resentment and "survivor's guilt" for years, shook with a violent tremor…
She looked at the retreating black tide and then at the "Hillbilly Hero" in the sky…
For the first time, she contemplated the weight of her own arrogance…
Had she been so blinded by her sister's death that she had missed the very hand extended to save her???
Of course, Mu Zhong didn't know this but even if he knew, he wouldn't give a damn…
Iriel shook herself out of the stupor, her military training overriding her existential crisis…
"Get a grip, you lot!!!"
Iriel roared, her voice cracking but regaining its command...
"Shift C, to the walls!!! Shift A and B, fall back!!!
Change your weapons—clean the ash from your gears!!!
We have a window of respite, don't waste it on gawking!!!"
As the soldiers began to move with a newfound vigor, a logistics officer scrambled up the stairs, his face pale...
"General!!!
A report from the rear!!!
Our supply stores have hit the critical threshold...
We've decreased to 15% capacity...
The shipment from the capital was supposed to arrive today, but the scouts report the road is empty!!!
If we don't get grain and holy water by sunset, the mages won't be able to hold the inner circle!!!"
Iriel gritted her teeth...
She remembered the tremors she felt through the communication stones earlier today—something had happened in Valroy...
After all, they had to keep a regular contact with the Capital…
But because Mu Zhong did a lot so the Entire Capital was in absolute Chaos…
Of course the Priests quickly mobilized their power to calm the masses according to the Oracle of the Goddesses…
However, what was done was already done…
Back to Iriel's Monologue…
'Logic dictated that supplies should have arrived regardless; the blockage shouldn't have manifested this quickly...
Unless…
Unless someone had intentionally cut the lifeline…'
High above, Mu Zhong's ears twitched...
Of course, he could easily hear everything...
If he concentrated properly, he could even hear everyone's Heartbeat in this Fortress though it was a waste…
He frowned, the playful "Chuuni" Streak vanishing as his mind shifted back into its clinical, objective mode...
'Alethia, explain the logistics delay…'
He commanded mentally…
He just destroyed the capital and it shouldn't have been able to block the supply line immediately since there is still a total of 50 KM from there to here…
In Medieval times, it would still take more than 3 to 7 Days to travel so long despite having special Magical Horse breeds to pull the Long supply carts on an uneven road and that is also because the weather is good…
Bad weather takes even longer…
"The supplies were blocked," Alethia replied, her voice tinged with bitterness...
"Several high-ranking nobles, the ones you...
Swept into Trash...
Had been diverting the grain and holy water to their private bunkers for years...
They ordered the current shipment halted 4 days ago to cover their tracks...
Even in death, their greed chokes the living..."
Mu Zhong's frown deepened...
He didn't look back at the fortress...
He didn't even turn his head...
With a casual wave of his hand, several massive, metallic crates manifested from his inventory —remnants of his vast stores of military-grade supplies…
He tossed them backward over the battlements with the indifference of someone throwing away trash…
THUD…
THUD…
THUD…
Hundreds of Well-packed crates landed with a heavy impact in the courtyard...
[Compressed Military Biscuits]
Mu Zhong muttered, his voice amplified by mana...
"High-calorie, high-protein, High Health and Mana Regeneration...
Enough for the whole fortress for a month...
One biscuit can sustain a man for two days…
There are thousands of them in a single crate…
In a total of hundreds of crates…
And—"
A massive, shimmering tank of translucent blue liquid materialized next, slamming down with enough weight to make the ground tremble…
"High-Grade Holy Water…
99% purity…
I don't care how you distribute it, just make sure the people on the front aren't fighting with empty veins…
Use it for the mages and the wounded too..."
The soldiers stared in shock...
The priests rushed to the tank, their eyes widening as they identified the quality...
This wasn't the diluted, murky water they were used to; it was "Tears of the Goddess,"(Not the real tears but just a name due to high purity) a resource they had seen sparingly and never used but instead diluted it to prevent wasting...
Of course they will still dilute it due to their long term fighting instincts but Mu Zhong didn't care about this for now…
Clara's eyes turned into literal stars, her admiration for her "Big Brother" reaching a fever pitch that threatened to overflow into tears...
But I had no interest in enjoying this temporary gratitude and immediately entered Mission mode...
After all, he wasn't here to rule or anything…
He will leave soon anyway and will definitely solve the problems first and foremost rather than go to logger heads with the natives…
This was precisely the Reason he killed the Extras in the Capital…