"Hoooo..."
A burly man, who looked like he could easily lift 2M, moved his body slowly in ti with his slow exhalation.
If one didn't look closely, it would be hard to even tell if the man was moving, his movents were so slow.
But thick beads of sweat were streaming down his body.
Focusing on the form of the sword rather than its speed by moving slowly was a common training thod, if you could call it that.
Because of that, if one just heard about it, they might have snorted at the fact that he was sweating like it was raining from just that much training.
However, that was a thought one could have because they didn't know in what state he was doing this training.
Whoooosh-
With heavy weights wrapped around his entire body like armor, he slowly swung a solid steel club that looked like a handle attached to a sandbag, held in both hands.
It was a high-intensity training that an ordinary person couldn't even think of doing, to the point that anyone watching from the side would doubt their own eyes.
However, for him, who had a physique far beyond ordinary, filled with muscles like hard rock, this was just a part of his daily routine.
Whoooosh-
As he was training his greatsword skills, his muscles, which looked thicker than steel sinews, wriggled.
Creak-
The door of the training hall opened, and a man in ocher armor entered.
Clank-
The man in armor, upon entering, bent one knee and lowered his head, showing respect to the man who was training, and said.
"Lord Earth Sword, I apologize for interrupting your training."
"Don't mind it. I was thinking of finishing up soon anyway."
The man, who held the title of 'Sword of the Earth', signifying the strongest of the Earth faction, one of the three pillars supporting the Church, replied thus and slung the huge club he had been swinging until a mont ago over his shoulder.
"So, what is it? Is there sothing to report?"
"Yes, sir. The Church's intelligence departnt has requested confirmation on whether you will be moving tomorrow."
"From the intelligence departnt?"
"Yes, it seems that since the incident of killing a lord and all the knights under him is the first of its kind, the high nobles have been continuously protesting to the intelligence departnt."
Saying that, the man lowered his bowed head slightly further, as if apologizing for not being able to handle the matter at his own level.
Seeing the man's appearance, the Earth Sword nodded once as if to say it was fine.
"Relay this to the intelligence departnt. There will be no more delays, and we will move tomorrow, so there is no need to worry."
"Understood."
Hearing the man's answer, the Earth Sword turned his body and slowly began to remove the weights that were attached to his body.
Thud- Thud- Thud-
Every ti a weight fell, the floor of the knight commander's exclusive training hall, which was protected using a special alloy and magic, rumbled loudly.
'Each one is about 100kg...'
The knight, who had gauged the weight of the weights the Earth Sword was wearing through the vibrations transmitted through his bent knee and the sound transmitted through his ears, swallowed his saliva without realizing it.
Because the blood of a divine beast that commands the earth flows in the mbers of the Behemoth family, their bodies are on a different level from the ordinary from the mont they are born.
However, the man's body boasted a performance that was beyond standards, to the point that even the mbers of the Behemoth family would be shocked.
"Have the knight order I ntioned before ready to be dispatched tomorrow morning."
"Understood. I will relay the ssage to have them ard and ready to move at any ti."
Clank-
The man who had said that stood up and was about to leave the room.
It was at that mont.
"Is there sothing you are curious about?"
The Earth Sword, who had removed all the weights, asked, looking at the man.
"There might be a battle tomorrow, so there might not be ti. If you have sothing you are curious about, I will listen now."
"...Understood."
The knight, who had been pondering for a mont, lowered his head as if he had made up his mind and said.
"Then, if you'll excuse , may I ask a little?"
"Ask."
At the Earth Sword's permission, the knight opened his mouth.
"I have heard what the guys did in the remote region. But if it's just that, it would be enough for us to move on our own, so I am curious as to why you, Lord Earth Sword, are moving."
The position of Earth Sword was the highest position a paladin of the Earth faction could attain.
Therefore, most of those who sat in the position of the Sword of the Earth spent their ti in the Church as the final line of defense, protecting the Saintess of the Earth, handling various other tasks, and pouring their ti into their own training.
But this ti, upon hearing the news that a lord and the knight order under him had been completely annihilated by an unidentified Dragonkin, the Sword of the Earth declared that he would move himself.
Of course, the murder of a noble is a major incident that warrants the Church's movent.
But naturally, it was not a serious enough matter for him, the Earth Sword, to move.
The question the man had for the Earth Sword was not his alone, but a question that all the knights of the Earth faction currently had.
Therefore, in reality, this question was also a kind of request to provide information to settle the knights' morale, which was wavering due to the sudden situation.
Knowing that, the Earth Sword also carefully chose his words before speaking.
"I am stepping forward only to prepare for a 'what if' situation. If the identity of the noble's murderer is not the one I am thinking of, I will not step forward until the end, so there is no need to be tense."
"...Is it an enemy strong enough to require you, Lord Earth Sword, to move?"
"I am going to confirm that."
At the Earth Sword's words, the knight's eyes wavered slightly.
Kwaaang-!
At that, the Earth Sword strongly struck his own chest with his fist, which was the size of a cauldron lid.
"Do not worry. If a 'what if' situation occurs, I am going to step forward."
"Understood."
At the Earth Sword's words, the knight nodded.
'Since Lord Earth Sword is moving with us, there is no reason to be tense. I should tell the guys this.'
With that thought, the knight pondered for a mont and then opened his mouth once more.
"And there is one more thing I would like to ask."
"What is it?"
This was a question that ca not to resolve the knights' morale, but from his own pure curiosity.
"It is a question about the noble's murderer, but I understand that we could have chased them on that day, so why did you wait until they t with the vagrants who were nearby?"
The knight asked why they had left an enemy they could have chased imdiately unattended for two weeks.
Letting go of an enemy that needed to be caught was sothing he couldn't understand with his common sense.
"Is it perhaps because you are wary of the Resistance guys?"
"It is not because of those small fries."
At the knight's words, the Earth Sword clicked his tongue softly and said.
"It is just because I had to move while being wary of the investigation of data through the intelligence departnt and the guys who are much more botherso than them."
It was closer to a kind of complaint that the Earth Sword was making to himself rather than sothing he was saying to him.
"My words now must have been difficult to understand, so I will put it a little differently. To put it simply..."
Swoosh-
"The reason we have not moved until now is that we were just waiting for the dog that entered the pen to herd the sheep inside into one place. You could say it was to take care of things while we were at it."
Having said that, the Earth Sword turned his back as if there was nothing more to say, and at that, the man bowed his head slightly one last ti and left the training hall.
"A dog and sheep..."
He did not perfectly understand the Earth Sword's words.
But he could roughly understand.
"Are you saying you intend to take care of the noble's murderer and the vermin who dared not to obey the Church's will all at once with this opportunity..."
If he thought of it that way, he could roughly understand.
The reason they had let the noble's murderer go for a week was to find the village of the unbelievers, and the reason they had spent another week in that state was to draw out their carelessness.
The knight, whose thoughts had reached that point, naturally had a fierce smile appear on his lips.
The sheep that had been grazing were herded into one place by the influence of the dog.
But now it was the turn of the wolf pack to move.
To devour the plump sheep and the dog that had fulfilled its role.
"I should probably maintain my sword today."
The man wished for tomorrow morning to co quickly.
And was it because the man's wish had co true?
Ti passed quickly, and the sun that announced tomorrow rose.
The five knight orders gathered in front of the Church stood quietly in formation.
Clank- Clank- Clank-
And as they were standing in the training hall like that, the fully ard Earth Sword slowly walked out and stood before them.
"Location?"
"We all rember."
"Good."
At the knight commanders' answers, the Earth Sword nodded and, looking at the mages who were preparing, said.
"Let's move."
"Understood."
At the Earth Sword's words, the mages activated the teleportation magic circle they had prepared in advance.
The light of the magic circle enveloped the Earth Sword and the knight orders respectively.
The Earth Sword, looking at the light that enveloped him and his subordinates, thought quietly.
That he hoped Gaia's hero would be at the place he was going to this ti.
◎ ◎ ◎
-Is this the tree?
Tafra, who had been on high alert at the sudden teleportation reaction, was agitated when soone spoke to her through the tree.
Kwaaang-!
"Tafra unni! What do you an, a teleportation reaction from the domain's side?"
"What's the situation? Is there anything changed or peculiar?"
However, thanks to her two younger siblings who had co in at a good ti, she was able to regain her composure.
"I'll explain the situation simply. I felt a teleportation reaction simultaneously from the five domains that were around us."
"Does that an..."
"Yes, it ans a guest has co from the Church. But that's not all."
Tafra placed a crystal ball on the small tree in front of her and lightly waved her hand.
Psssss-
Then, the tree moved as if it were alive and enveloped the crystal ball, and the crystal ball, enveloped by the tree, soon emitted light and showed a video.
-Ah, is it being transmitted?
In the video, a man in armor was speaking to them through the tree they had secretly planted, with the help of soone who appeared to be a mage.
"These guys are talking to us in real ti."
At Patra's words, the two's complexions hardened.
"Fortunately, it seems only the tree planted for teleportation detection was caught."
"That's good news, at least."
With those words, the three fell silent and watched the scene unfolding in the video.
-Yes, it is being transmitted. Although conversation is impossible, we have confird that you can hear our words, so you can believe it.
At the knight's words, the man who appeared to be a mage behind him answered.
-Hmm, well, good.
At those words, the man who appeared to be a knight nodded.
"Judging by the color of the armor, they're from the Earth faction."
-I am Noah, the commander of the 7th Paladin Order of the Earth faction.
As if in response to Bodra's words, the man in the video said.
-The reason I am speaking like this is to recomnd your surrender.
Twitch-
The three, who had been tense, quietly twitched their eyebrows at Noah's unexpected words, showing their displeasure.
-First, you are now completely surrounded by five paladin orders, including mine.
At Noah's words, Tafra quietly confird the information that had co in through the other four trees and then quietly nodded at the two.
-It seems you have sohow managed to hold out against the knights of each domain until now, but you must know that you are no match for us.
It was true.
Even a neighborhood kid knew that the difference in military power between the local knights and the Church's paladins was like heaven and earth.
-On top of that, we have in our hands detailed information about your forces, as well as information about the place you are using as your base.
There was no question as to how they had found out their location.
They had been able to hide it from the surrounding domains by using their power, but if the Church's personnel had stepped in, it was natural that they would find out.
-I declare. You have no chance of winning. In other words, this recomndation of surrender is our final act of rcy. Therefore, I recomnd your surrender once again. If you surrender, I promise that only the minimum punishnt will be given.
Noah said that and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
-According to the report, it seems there are also unard personnel. I trust you will not let them get caught up in the fight. Since all three of you are said to possess the blood of nobles, even if it's less than half.
Twitch-
At the blatant sneer, all three of them quietly shone their eyes and glared at the man in the video.
-I will give you ten days. It would be best to make a decision during that ti.
Having said that, Noah swung his sword, and with that sight, the video disappeared.
Noah had swung his sword and cut down the tree.
(End of Chapter)
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