The Sanguinarch
The crimson flames gradually turned a cyan-green.
[SAM: Complete Combustion]
Xia Yu looked down at the silent Sarkaz army marching in the distance, then landed atop a towering sculpture.
Theresia watched that figure flying high above, and then the familiar sculpture.
She remembered what it was.
And she remembered the epitaph below it.
'Here lies the Demon King, Elijah.'
'Beneath the mountains of piled corpses.'
'In the distant future, no one will know that a King once fell here.'
'He was so mediocre, so ordinary.'
Sarkaz never remember failures.
In this war that changed the destiny of the Sarkaz, people would only remember the names of the six brilliant heroes.
She still remembered that crown.
Under the witness of death—
Under the witness of all souls—
The twins raised the crown together.
The crown chose the twins simultaneously.
Upon the ruins, the souls—whether real or not—had chosen two kinds of hope at the same time.
Over the years, she had been suffocated by the increasingly dire situation of the Sarkaz. In fact, many times, Theresia didn't want to smile and talk about topics that could decide the lives of dozens, hundreds, or even more people with just a few words.
She had also thought that if she could, she would rather just crush everything with her Arts and not make any compromises.
But it was just a thought. Even the Demon King did not possess such overwhelming power.
"Do you remember what we said when the crown first chose us?" Theresia stepped forward, looking at Theresis.
"Of course I remember," Theresis drifted into memory.
Back then, he had looked at that supreme crown and said, '...You should be the one to wear this crown, Theresia.'
'Why?'
Theresis: 'The Demon King is nothing more than the wishful thinking of a poor soul when history chooses silence.'
'Yes... changing the fate of the Sarkaz shouldn't require the help of a predetermined external force.'
Theresia also looked at the crown back then. 'But in this era of despair, it will bring back a glimmer of hope for our compatriots.'
'I am not suited to be the person who brings hope.'
Theresis's self-positioning was very clear. 'My sword will carve the path forward. And you will be the one to guide our direction.'
His Younger Sister did not hesitate. 'I understand.'
'The war has just ended. This time, how long must we shoulder this burden?'
'Until we find a home to settle in again, before the suffering of the Black Crown swallows us...'
Theresia murmured, 'Until everyone can sleep peacefully under the same sky.'
'You just mentioned "guiding the direction." Do you remember our adventure back then?'
'You held the sword, carrying me on your back...'
Theresis picked up the thread. 'And you guided me to hack a path home through the thickets, Theresia...'
'Allow me to crown you with my own hands.'
'Alright,' Theresia's smile was brilliant. 'Theresis... I will swear to all Sarkaz...'
'We are forever equal.'
"We are forever equal," Theresis looked at his Younger Sister beside him. "That oath..."
"I have been trying," Theresia looked at the cyan-green meteor in the sky. "But... it's really too exhausting. I can't see the end of it."
Nor could she see hope.
Of course, that was in the past.
"I've actually always felt guilty," Theresis sighed. "Wearing the crown... means responsibility, a mission, or rather... a shackle."
"In the middle of the night, I've wondered if it was too cruel to let you bear all this."
Did I fail in my duty as an elder brother?
"You're finally willing to say it," Theresia gave a mischievous smile. "I thought you were going to bury these thoughts forever."
"But, Brother, that was a decision we made together. Besides, we're doing quite well now, aren't we?"
Objectively speaking, the Sarkaz living during Theresia's reign fared much better than in other periods.
A population of over ten million—all added during these years of recuperation. If this were ancient China, she'd be rated with something like the "Rule of Wen and Jing" after her betrayal.
"But how did we end up parting ways?"
Hearing this, Theresis smiled helplessly. "Even after being the Demon King for so many years, sometimes, you... are still the same as before."
Theresia smiled softly, beginning to recall the past. "When we were still young, I often pricked my finger while weaving, staining the robes meant for customers. Do you remember?"
Theresis allowed a rare smile. "I remember..."
"Back then, you were a frustrated apprentice not yet allowed to wear a real sword, always dreaming of one day becoming a soldier of Kazdel," Theresia said with a long gaze. "At that time, I didn't understand why we had to endure a life of hiding everywhere."
"Finally, one day, the Royal Court appreciated my craftsmanship, and I was able to meet Elijah. At that time, I plucked up the courage to ask the Demon King."
"Where is our future?"
Theresia smiled helplessly at this point. "He didn't answer; he just chased me out."
"At that time, I always thought he was a faint-hearted and incompetent, but somewhat kind King."
"It wasn't until the day we tiredly led the troops back to the ruins of our hometown that I understood. The answer I sought was nowhere else but here..."
"In Kazdel."
In the meaning represented by that name.
After all, among all the Sarkaz tribes, this was the only consensus that could be highly unified.
"Before today, I always thought Kazdel would only flourish again through the departure of one of us."
Theresis sighed. "But the one destined to fail was you. I didn't expect Kal'tsit to have such capabilities."
He looked at the cyan meteor facing the army, his face full of helplessness.
Theresia's eyes curved. "I have many people supporting me too."
"But the majority of oppressed and bullied Sarkaz chose resistance and violence," Theresis spoke. "Whether the remaining people are willing or not, they will sooner or later be swept up in this tide."
"For a full meal, a starving Sarkaz will dare to do anything. Do you think you can convince those with empty stomachs purely through force?"
"But our generation must do something. I don't want this hatred to be passed from my hands to the next generation to continue the cycle."
Theresia smiled. "Even if the future isn't changed by me, the hope of lighting the spark needs to be passed on by us."
Theresis wiped the dust off his sword. "...I also need to be responsible for those who follow me."
"The roar responding to war doesn't just come from Kazdel. This land no longer has a place for us. All I can do is give them a push."
He was going to fight alongside his warriors.
"There will be food," Theresia suddenly spoke at that moment. "At least, I've already gotten a lot."
"Related to them too?" Theresis looked up at the sky.
"Kal'tsit dug up a big treasure for me," Theresia waved her hand at him expectantly. "Go on then. Remember not to resist too hard. If there are too many people with broken arms and legs, we'll be very troubled on our end."
The current Babel base was practically destitute. Even if they could provide enough food for all Sarkaz to eat for a year, she didn't have that many warehouses to store it.
She couldn't just leave it out in the open, could she?
Babel right now desperately needed labor.
Theresis sighed helplessly at his Younger Sister's schadenfreude, then walked toward the center of the battlefield.
The mercenaries who had followed him out of the Scar Mall also fell in behind him.
Passing the sculpture where Xia Yu was perched, the two merely glanced at each other, ignoring one another afterward.
The hard fight was next.
At least for the Sarkaz, that was the case.
Just then, a cloud of blood flew rapidly toward them. Theresis originally wanted to warn the Sanguinarch, but thinking of his traits, perhaps he was the Royal Court Lord most capable of countering the mercenary calling herself Firefly.
After all, the opponent had been using physical attacks, and the range hadn't been that large.
Even if the Sanguinarch couldn't win, he wouldn't be instakilled.
So Theresis watched in silence as the blood cloud flew toward Firefly.
Well, there was absolutely no intention of using the opportunity for a personal vendetta, even though the Sanguinarch was the most restless and troublesome of the Royal Court Lords.
On Xia Yu's side, watching the blood cloud flying toward her, she was silent for two seconds, then recalled those bugs in the game stages.
'I hate bugs, especially soft, squirming ones.'
The Sanguinarch was also a vampire.
Disgusting!
So she unhesitatingly stowed her twin swords and summoned the Judgment of Shamash.
"Shamash..." She gripped the greatsword with both hands and began to charge her power.
The Sanguinarch looked at the armored person on the sculpture, his excitement beyond words.
He wasn't a peaceful person by nature; he loved slaughter most. And since he heard Theresis had suffered a setback, shouldn't he be the first to come and mock him?
So he didn't slow down at all. Even seeing Theresis on the ground, he didn't stop to say hello.
While flying, he also began charging his Arts.
'Hmph, let me see who dares to run wild in Kazdel like this! Theresis is a General of the Sarkaz Military Commission after all!'
Though they were usually at odds behind the scenes, their interests were aligned now; he was still standing on Theresis's side.
"Blood..." The Sanguinarch's Arts had just finished charging when he saw the flames on the armored person's greatsword becoming more and more surging.
"Shamash—Unleashed!!!"
In an instant, boundless flames enveloped the entire sky. Under that sea of fire, the blood cloud that was the Sanguinarch's avatar collapsed upon contact, directly evaporated into nothingness!
"What?!" Theresis was completely stunned.
What did he just see? The Sanguinarch was charging his Arts while aggressively pouncing on the enemy, only to be wiped out by a single strike?
Looking at that sea of fire, Theresis gritted his teeth. How was he supposed to fight this?
Coincidentally, the Forager King, who was overseeing the army in the distance, immediately ordered the march to stop upon seeing this.
"This is the reckless warrior who only knows how to fight like Theresis that you mentioned?!" The Shapeshifter Collective swallowed hard. "Quisatustar, are you serious?"
Actually, its curiosity was no smaller than the Sanguinarch's. After seeing him pounce, it had also been ready to make a move...
But since these flames could instantly evaporate the Sanguinarch's blood cloud, they could similarly target it!
It was nearly killed by that unreliable intelligence!
In their view, under such a powerful offensive, the Sanguinarch would be lucky to survive even if he lost a layer of skin.
He was likely already heavily injured and couldn't be counted on for the upcoming battle.
And just as they expected, the Sanguinarch didn't die.
Xia Yu had deliberately raised the angle of the attack, allowing the blood clouds at the very bottom to escape.
No choice; she had promised Theresia to keep people alive.
Plop.
the remaining blood cloud struggled to coalesce into a figure, falling heavily from the sky.
It was the Sanguinarch.
But... was this guy always this tiny? Xia Yu looked at the Sanguinarch, who was at most 1.6 meters tall. Could it be because she had burned off too much of his blood cloud?
Actually, under normal circumstances, the Sanguinarch might not have been beaten so pathetically. It was mainly because the opponent's ability was too deceptive. In a situation where he was caught off guard, having Shamash Unleashed shoved in his face without any preparation meant he suffered a huge loss.
Looking at the mini Sanguinarch on the ground, Xia Yu sighed, then kicked him back toward Theresia's side.
"I hate bugs, and I hate people who play with bugs even more," Xia Yu looked toward Theresia. "He's already out!~"
"Uh, bugs?" Theresia couldn't help but blink. "What does it have to do with bugs... Oh~~~"
Actually, she didn't like those kinds of bugs much either.
"Alright, in that case," Xia Yu turned back to look at the massive, dark army. "It's my turn!"
At this moment, the Forager King, Nachzehrer, was hesitating.
The main issue was that the attack that nearly killed the Sanguinarch just now was way too over the top for an army to handle!
That's what he had thought at first. According to the intelligence he initially received, that armored person and the General were the same type.
He didn't expect the opponent to have such a move. In this situation, if he really let the army engage... heaven knows how many more times the opponent could launch such an attack.
The lives of Military Commission soldiers were also lives.
But if the army advanced now and the opponent just picked them off one by one, what then?
Even if they could win, what about after winning?
How many pointless sacrifices would be made?
The Forager King knew they had hit a wall; this person's compatibility with him was simply too poor.
As a so-called god of war, you must have soldiers under you, right?
The opponent could truly make you have none in an instant.
"This is just terrible," the Shapeshifter Collective sighed. "The high-end combat power even went and threw one away... and the army is useless now..."
"Eh, isn't that Theresis?"
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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Shilling time!
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