studiobondurri Chapter 181 : Chapter 181
Chapter 181 : Chapter 181
Translator: AkazaTL Pr/Ed: Sol IX
***
The war between the Iron Kingdom and the Machine Empire unfolded in a way no one had expected.
Everyone thought the Iron Kingdom would find a reasonable point of agreement after some negotiations, end the war, and then focus on diplomacy.
Logically, that was the correct move. The Iron Kingdom had the Six Free Cities—a goose that laid golden eggs. Even if they kept collecting those eggs at a steady pace, they could quickly rise as a great power again.
So people expected that even if the Iron Kingdom had to concede something to the Machine Empire, they would endure the immediate loss for the sake of the greater profits to come.
However, the Iron Kingdom did not retreat. After giving up all the worthless outskirts, they pushed the Machine Empire’s frontlines hard using their concentrated central forces.
The Machine Empire, which specialized in guerrilla warfare, could never win a direct confrontation.
Through long years of war, the Iron Kingdom’s Iron Legion had acquired ample anti-magic measures, and the Iron Legion was already one of the continent’s strongest ground armies in pure force-against-force battles.
The Machine Empire had not expected the Iron Kingdom to take this approach, so they attempted negotiations several times. They even requested a truce while giving up a good portion of what they had gained.
The Machine Empire was in no condition to sustain a long war. Public support for the masters of the Machine Empire fell day by day. Resources dried up, the economy began to collapse, and now a truce with the Iron Kingdom was desperately needed. But the Iron Kingdom refused every negotiation. Almost as if they were madly obsessed with the war.
Thus, a hellish dilemma unfolded for the Machine Empire. Would they submit to the Iron Kingdom, giving up a great many things? Or would they squeeze themselves to the absolute limit and launch a total war?
If they chose the latter, the Machine Empire’s chances of victory were extremely low.
The Iron Kingdom received abundant supplies through the Six Free Cities, and more importantly, unlike the Machine Empire—a nation where leaders were elected through voting—the Iron Kingdom was a monarchy ruled by a single sovereign. And the current Iron Monarch, Ian Cherville, possessed a very, very powerful royal authority.
Whether they chose total war or not, there would be no coup. Even if they won in ruins, the people would still cheer. The Iron Kingdom of Cherville was founded on the logic of strength in the first place.
But the Machine Empire was different. Most citizens were university graduates; even if they won, if the losses were too large, they would fiercely criticize the government. If total war was declared, rather than enlisting enthusiastically, citizens would protest against the war or seek asylum from the Sky Empire. And the Sky Empire would gladly accept them—after all, they could absorb the Machine Empire’s magi-engineering technology.
But choosing the former option was impossible. If the Machine Empire surrendered, the Iron Kingdom would dismantle everything and devour the entire nation. There would be no second chance.
The Iron Kingdom would rise as a great power of the Western Continent, and perhaps a Grand Iron Empire would be born, wiping out the name of the Machine Empire entirely, forcing all beneath them into submission.
Of course, it was not as though the masters truly cared about the fate of the nation. They were only worried because their own positions as masters would disappear and the authority and power they enjoyed would be gone.
Thus the masters chose the latter—total war.
The reason was simple: total war was long and grueling, and with an average age of seventy-two, the masters judged that the war would not end before they died. Meaning that the consequences were not theirs to deal with.
The next generation of masters… or the citizens of the Machine Empire… could handle it. From the masters’ point of view, it wasn’t bad. During total war, the citizens would struggle, but the masters would gain immense authority and power. With that, they could take everything obtainable and help their descendants flee.
On this continent, there were many countries where one could live happily as long as one had money…
Thus, innocent blood flowed across the Western Continent. Of course.
“Damn, for f—…”
The current me, Arhan, had no way of knowing such things.
“Aagh!”
Nor was I in any condition to care about them.
***
I was certain.
The trial that had come to me this time had to be a trial of enduring anger and enduring profanity.
For the first time in a long while, I had to suppress the string of curses rising up my throat. A heavenly paradise famous as a sightseeing destination—the Southern Continent—and yet I alone was suffering like this?
I looked back at my master, who flickered behind me and snickered. If possible, I truly wanted to punch him just once. Just once, please…
「Why are you so heated, young descendant?」
“Why wouldn’t I be heated, looking like this—!”
Why was I so angry? To explain that, I had to go back a little.
‘You’ll need to be careful, my lord.’
Using the power of the Golden Star, I confirmed the location of the sword I needed. It didn’t tell me by whispering a location or showing a vision—it simply implanted itself naturally into my mind.
Of course, because the restrictions of the ‘Golden Star’ had begun, I could not speak the location aloud. I couldn’t even write it indirectly on paper. The restriction of the Golden Star was:
“Reach your desired object using only your own power without receiving help from others.”
Naturally, a bunch of petty restrictions were also attached.
‘Please leave Gaia’s sword to me. Take this instead.’
‘A cheap sword, huh.’
‘…But you can’t use anything else right now, my lord.’
‘…….’
Gaia’s sword.
The Sky Armor gifted to me by Zeppelin Gold, the enchanted dagger, the splendid equipment that would have made me stronger—all had to be left behind in the harbor city Visente.
Because of that damn restriction. Why, why would the authority of the gold-loving Gold family prevent me from using good equipment? I could not understand it. Why did I have to set out carrying a cheap iron sword like the kind I used back in the Sword Beginner days…?
‘Shall I at least assign you a trustworthy mercenary?’
‘No. You know I can’t.’
‘Yes, I know. I only said it out of courtesy. Haha.’
‘…….’
‘D-Don’t look at me like that, please.’
I could not bring companions either. I hadn’t felt it when hearing it from Zeppelin Gold, but once I personally bore the restriction of the Golden Star, I felt it overwhelmingly.
The moment I departed with a companion, the restrictions of the Golden Star would intensify. It was already painful—there was no way I would allow it to get worse. I would rather travel alone.
Zeppelin Gold, of course, knew that. Seeing him still snarking despite knowing it, I wanted to send him back to the Land of Swords for another round of spiritual education.
It seemed my master’s mental discipline had been more lenient than I thought. But unless Zeppelin Gold betrayed me or lied, there was no way to fix his attitude. Damn it all.
‘Anyway, stay safe, my lord. When you return, I’ll help you experience the full Zeppelin Tour Course—so thrilling even the Emperor of the Sky Empire would have to step back. The Zeppelin Imperial Course.’
A luxury joke that would surely make any Sky Empire citizen challenge him to a duel on the spot. With that terrifying joke befitting one of the Five Great Houses, I left the familiar harbor city of Visente and headed toward the western part of the Southern Continent.
I had only one guide: the power of the ‘Golden Star’ engraved on my wrist.
A brilliant needle resembling a compass hand—it pointed toward the location of the sword I needed. The needle told me only the direction, and thanks to that, after leaving Visente, I almost ran into Crusaders four times.
‘So that’s what it looks like when their numbers decrease…’
According to Zeppelin Gold, the Order of the Cross was currently in chaos. Because of that, the number of Crusaders spread across the Southern Continent had supposedly decreased greatly, and their operational range had narrowed. But judging by what I saw, that was doubtful. The Crusaders were numerous—swarming like locusts.
“Just go away, please.”
I hid behind a rock and peeked at the Crusaders. Normally, I could cut all of them down in a single sweep. But not now. To be precise—I couldn’t. And why?
‘Damn it.’
Because the ‘Golden Star’ had taken something from me in exchange for showing the sword’s location.
「Tsk tsk, to think a Karavan would sneak around like a rat.」
“…Please stop poking me. Master, you knew, didn’t you? That I’d end up like this as the price of the Golden Star. You must have known. I knew something was wrong the moment you grinned like that, saying I could get both a harsh trial and a sword.”
「Oh? Smiling at your distant ancestor?」
“Ah, I forgot. I hadn’t suffered recently, so I let my guard down. Son of a b—”
「Stop at ‘son of a b’.”」
Strength.
「Please stop talking so much. Why do you talk so much? Oh look—your voice drew the Crusaders. Run. Run like your tail’s on fire.」
“Fuck!”
My strength had been restricted. To be exact.
「Tsk tsk, I wonder which side of the family gave you such a foul mouth.」
My physical body had returned to the time before I met my master and first grasped the sword.
Meaning—
「Learn some manners, boy, manners.」
“Please, please shut your mouth.”
—back to the bottom of the bottom.
***
Western Southern Continent.
More precisely, the land called the ‘Perry region’ was treated the same way as the ‘Verdí region’ in the Iron Kingdom—meaning it was considered a backwater among backwaters.
Unlike the vast grasslands typical of the Southern Continent, this region had a desert. Because of that, unlike the developed tourist areas elsewhere, the Perry region was practically a wild land. Humans were rarely seen, and most of those rare few were Crusaders armed with steel maces.
Me fighting a Crusader right now? Impossible. In this body, I could never fight a Crusader. I would have to risk my life even fighting a desert scorpion or a camel. That was how terrible my body was before consuming the sword. No—calling me a beast back then would be generous.
“Haa…!”
Pathetic stamina.
I was once again reminded of how trashy my body had been before I trained in swordsmanship.
The scorching sunlight, the sinking desert sand, the blinding sandstorm—these alone were threats to me.
My Wings, my Path, even my Mana Heart had all been sealed. The strong physique I gained from 「Wild Instinct」 and the extra physical specs from my contract with the dragon Aion—all vanished. Returning to my beginnings, I was painfully experiencing just how much of a walking piece of garbage my past self had been.
「Now you finally appreciate the greatness of the master who raised such garbage as you?」
Damn it. I didn’t want to admit it, but I kind of did.
“I admit it. Master, you admit it too, don’t you?”
「Admit what?」
“You are… truly… a bitch of a person.”
「Hmm. I shall acknowledge that somewhat.」
I had forgotten—after becoming a Sword Runner, I hadn’t suffered much from my master. Liam always enjoyed giving me massive pain. Throwing me off cliffs, shouting that we were heading to the Arena only to say there were no medals back in his day, telling me to climb a mountain only to send me into an orc sacred ground…
‘A body that must risk its life even fighting beasts… At least I remember how to swing a sword. The techniques remain in my head. But… I need at least some strength to use them.’
Mary the Sewing Gypsy’s 「Needle」. Fetel’s sword wrestling. The Fang of the Assassin of the Free City.
Those sword styles, I could reproduce in a crude form. But 「Wild Instinct」, which required brute strength, and 「Gale」 or 「The Light」, which required Sword Runner-level physique, were out of the question. What about Karavan Steel? The moment I swung it, my body would shatter. I would writhe on the ground in agony, and my master would certainly say, ‘Tsk tsk, dull-witted boy,’ while clicking his tongue. Even if it killed me, I wouldn’t allow that. Never.
‘Will it work? Even if this land is called a land of peace…’
But I couldn’t just complain forever. I had to use whatever I had. To survive. To overcome this trial and grow stronger.
‘Though at this rate, the environment itself will kill me…’
This scorching desert was a deadly threat.
Damn it—I had climbed up to the Azure Heaven of the Sky Mountains, and yet here I was struggling in an ordinary desert. Rage bubbled inside me, but punching the sand wouldn’t help.
My master’s flamboyant ridicule would follow. So I swallowed my anger, and just then, beyond the horizon, a mirage-like city appeared. Looking down, the compass needle of the Golden Star pointed directly at it. No reason to hesitate. I dragged my dried, shriveled body toward the city.
A city built in the heart of the desert.
The oasis of western Perry.
The City of Stars. To Antoine.