Chapter 236 – Crusaders

Due to the miraculous performance of Saint Kim Katt, the village regained justice. I don’t feel like I’ve done something insane, so I feel like I do, but I think it’s okay because everyone likes it.

I also helped dismantle the six towers.

Wouldn’t it be possible to throw it out in the yard where it was praised as a saint? Trembling at the wickedness of the pagans, he recovered the remains of what must have been villagers.

Severed pieces of bone and limbs.
Heads with silent eyes closed.

Each piece was very light, but it only felt too heavy. Human suffering. Sadness. And the weight of life… Human nature.

“…Massacre.”

Terrible war.

Compared to people who believe in normal religions, who are extremely good, those who worship evil spirits are so cruel.

By offering humans as sacrifices or offering the suffering of innocents to the gods, powerful powers are obtained relatively easily. If you are a righteous religious person, you have no choice but to struggle to prevent this trend.

Because humans are evil by nature, if the brakes are not applied, they will explode into madness to the ends of the universe. Earth, which went through witch hunts and world wars, was like that, and the other world I saw seemed to have a strong possibility.

So it must be blocked.

Now that we’ve become saints, let’s do our best.

As a follower of fusion Confucianism who reveres propriety, I will never forgive heretics who fall into this evil path.

The jjigae execution was clearly nothing more than a brutal atrocity stemming from madness. But it’s just a contribution. It was simply that he had paid the right price for his depravity.

It was cruel, but it had to be.

ㅡSmoothly.

Having concluded that as a macho, I felt mana welling up in my heart. Flame. No, like lava, the gushing mana, heating up the internal organs, climbed up the spine and penetrated deeply into the brain.

…Breaked the wall.

Straight thoughts.

Do not compromise, do what you believe is justice.

“…Is this it?”

As it is, the murderous herbivore of the Real Estate Act. Then, while correcting the balance of the body by performing the real-time walking method, he pulled out a sword and performed the real-life sword method.

ㅡPapapapat!

What I do next is the actual sword dance, which is a compilation of my close combat techniques. The fiercely-swinged sword tore through the air with a most efficient trajectory, and in doing so, split the walls and hesitations in my heart.

ㅡWheek!

To me, sword dance is not just about wielding a sword. Throw punches to respond at that time, and even cast ground techniques while driving kicks.

And while receiving the enemy’s attack with the armor, stab the sword through the optimal path.

ㅡ Wedges!

“Controls the urges…”

—Cheer.

I can feel the rising mana stabilizing.

Operates the amplified mana and spreads it throughout the body. An alien sensation that felt clearer and colder than before wrapped around my body.

The mana tank, which used to be a dick, is filled with a new one.

“Haha…”

Very subtle but sure.
Very little, but extremely clear.

Mana increased slightly.

“I have gained an inner realization.”

Streams of sweat trickled down.
Madness and sadness.

And I felt that my heart, which had been gripped by pain, was clearing up.

“I make no excuses or compromises when it comes to killing my enemies.”

I looked up at the clear sky.

The tragedy of World War II and the Korean War should not be repeated. It means that the tragedy of the Jews who died in Auschwitz and the black people who died in the sugar cane fields should not be repeated.

No need for KKK.

Imperialism is also unnecessary.

There is no need for fascism, there is no need for war.

“I am Saint Kim Katt.”

The journey of this Crusade gave me a great realization.

That alone would be a great harvest.

I saw the remains of the massacred villagers being cremated, and the tears of the women weeping over them… Tragedy. Tragedy like this must not be repeated…!

All of Ezatsu’s followers must be destroyed!

I made up my mind.

“Saints.”
“…Elise.”

Elise, who returned with an expressionless face as usual, called me.
As she gave a rough answer, she leaned against the wall and sat down, and Elise came and sat next to me.

“The Judgment is over. All tattooed cultists have met a terrible and miserable end, just as they did.”
“I can tell just by smelling it, hey.”
“It doesn’t smell very good.”

Come to think of it, it’s almost evening time.

After being silent for a moment, Elise spoke.

“But even if the heretics are judged, the evil will not disappear and the dead will not come back to life.”

That’s right.

“To prevent this from happening again, it is necessary to annihilate the cultists. Look at the village women crying over there. Such pain. And such sorrow should not exist in this world.”

Firm determination.

“The people who lost their families, their children, and suffered terribly… We, the Church of the Light and Star, will serve until the day Paradise descends to prevent innocent people from suffering.”

The crusaders and paladins who went mad and executed the heretics, but they were essentially good, kind-hearted and just people.

That is why they serve to stabilize the world.

Elise sometimes shows a violent and ferocious aspect, but that’s only when dealing with pagans and monsters.

That there should be no sadness in the world. She seemed perfectly right and just when she said there should be no pain.

As I always say, Elise and the Society of the Light and Star Cross are serving to drive out the wicked from the world and bring paradise to earth.

Although the behavior and appearance are a bit extreme.

The mindset is real.

“…You’re right, Elise. Tragedy like this shouldn’t happen again.”
“Would you like to go with me?”
“Sure.”

He made a lot of money by searching the corpses of the bandits that Cloudy slaughtered. At this point, even if he ended his journey and returned to Istvant, it was a huge benefit.

But I was determined to exterminate the heretics.

“I knew you would. As expected, the saints are righteous. That’s why… Yes. The family must have been harmonious.”
“…I see. Am I right after all?”
“That’s right.”
Hehe…”
“Go in soon.”

The day goes down.

A day of nothing but madness had come to an end. The execution has been completed, and those who are suspicious of the enemy are interrogated by the Paladins through the due process.

You guys will do well

Most of the town’s buildings are empty, so the crusaders and soldiers. And the adventurers went into the building they liked and rested. Winia and Cloudy had chosen a room from the beginning and had been resting in it.

I trudged back there too.

“It came out.”
“You are a saint.”
“Finally recognized me as a saint.”
“Damn it.”

When I went back, Winia and Cloudy were doing settlements in comfortable clothes, laying out the trinkets and cash they had captured on the table.

The fact that they were really piled up made Cloudy feel powerless.

“Come here, my saint.”
“Yes, yes.”

Winia made fun of me, but Cloudy seemed genuinely pleased. He said as he appraised the ring Cloudy had captured.

“You’ll earn more than you think?”
“That’s right. If this is enough, I won’t be worried for the time being.”
“Whoops, right?”

Good night. Let me help you settle the bill too.

I took off my armor and put it in one corner of the room. This room, too, would be the home of a massacred victim. Used to be occupied by cultists, now it’s ours… I get a strange feeling.

“Oh, the smell of blood. Bastard, go wash up. The bathroom over there is open.”

The bandits also had to stay in the village, so it seemed that the water supply facilities were not touched at all. In the half-normalized villages, stalls were also opened, and so on. Almost military-level personnel were stationed there, so the necessary facilities were cleaned and repaired.

I also took off my clothes, took a change of underwear and a towel, and went to the bathroom. It wasn’t too far away, and there were quite a few users.

Could it be that he was trying to wash away the sins that happened today with water? The bath is a paladin as well as a crusader. And it was full of soldiers and adventurers.

— Murmur.

When I entered, the people who were pouring water on their bodies were agitated.

“A saint… A saint.”
“The dark-haired saint.”
“The saint has arrived.”

I smiled and waved my arms.

“It’s a righteous evening. Thank you for your hard work today.”
“Oh, oh…!”

The atmosphere suddenly became sober.

I found a seat and sat down, pouring cold water from the pipe into a gourd and pouring it over my body. The smell of blood pervaded his body. This is because he participated in the dismantling of the six towers.

I could smell the corpse too.

I took my time and thoroughly cleaned it here and there. Slowly with cold water. As if to wash away my uncomfortable mind, I quietly poured water over my head.

***

Crusaders began rebuilding the town.

The adventurers and mercenaries took a break, but the Paladins, who were burning with a sense of justice, and the baron’s soldiers, who were home to this area, were willing to put their energy into straightening the fence or clearing the village.

It was probably because there was nothing to do while stationed in the village until the next journey anyway. Village women also participated in labor to rebuild their villages.

It’s reconstruction

All the men in the village died, and it is unknown if it can be rebuilt. Well, I wonder if the baron will do something about it once the war is over.

“Saints, this is good news.”
“Hmm? What is it?”

I was also helping out lightly to move my body a bit.
While I was shoveling with my top covered, Elise came over and said,

“The news is that the combined forces of the lords of Isvant and the lords of Krasheim are retaking the villages occupied by the heretics one after another.”
“Oh! Really?”
“Yes. That’s what I heard.”
“Good.”

It seems that the punitive force that was advancing in the other direction was also smoothly destroying the cultists. After sending messengers for the past few days, I never thought I would hear good news like this.

It’s a very good thing.

“Then how much is left?”
“It is said that there is only one village left that was occupied first.”

The first village that was taken away.

“Hana…”

Was the name of the village Yertag?
I think that’s what Copson was talking about.

“I don’t know the exact schedule, but it seems that they are planning to attack from multiple directions at the same time to coincide with the start date of the attack.”
“You mean a pincer attack?”
“That’s it.”
“Then I’ll eat something for nothing.”

If the Crusaders attacked with a pincer during the subjugation, it felt as if they would be able to defeat the bandits as well as the devil’s army. The power that the paladins and crusaders showed was truly transcendent.

Who would have known that a wooden fence could be smashed with a can? At least I was thinking of something like a siege, so it was something I could not have imagined.

Well, of course, since it’s a different world, of course it would be possible… I think I just thought of it as common sense on Earth when I heard the word war for a moment.

“I heard that most of the pagans there are blessed by the evil spirits and have quite strong arms.
“Ah, so are there really pagans who have received Ezatsu’s blessing?”
“I think so. That must be the base.”
“Hmm…”

I thought of Xerdas, who died a miserable death.

He must have been a fairly strong man who received Ezatsu’s blessing, but he was left behind by the Crusaders. Still, it would be quite dangerous if they were driven in groups.

If such people were gathered in groups, it would be understandable that Baron Dodens was defeated in the first place. And instead of distributing their forces, they probably sent only the janitors and the ones to command them to occupy the surrounding villages.

“They say that Baron Dodens, who has collected his troops, will also attack, so the odds will rise dramatically.”
“Then are the three lords and the crusaders attacking in pincers?”
“Yes. The end of the temple appears to be in sight.”

In any case, it is said that this is the home of the pagan bandits who worship Ezatsu. All you have to do is destroy that place and return to Isvan.

“Saints, I will help too.”

I picked up the shovel Elise had put up.

It’s funny.

When it comes to shoveling, I am unmatched.
All the work has already been done.

“No, I’m almost finished with this one. And I’m going to go in soon. They say we’re going to fight soon, so I’ll have to save up.
“It’s not very difficult. And it’s something I can’t do if it’s not now.”
“No, no, you have to do it while resting. Now, let’s go back. Resting now is the only thing I can do now.”
“…All right.”

In that way, while participating in the reconstruction of the village, she saved up her stamina until the day she was to advance again.