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Chapter 300 - The Great Expedition (2)

However, Cann stared at the blazing sun over the river with a relaxed expression, and he even yawed, underestimating the sun created by the heretics.

He didn’t think that a mere imitation of the Sun could defeat him. However, no matter how Cann perceived the sun created by Valhald and Herarion, its tremendous heat scorched everything in its path.

Tzzz...

Smoke rose from the Protection Holy Code barrier that enveloped the expedition team. The horses within the barrier stuck their tongues out and were breathing heavily. The Union members were also feeling the effects of the intense heat.

But despite how unbearably hot it was, nobody complained. If anything, given how powerful Valhald and Herarion’s sun was, they were grateful that they were merely feeling discomfort and not burning alive.

Finally, steam rose all over the Havid River, which was bathed in the rays of the destructive sun.

“...!”

The steam rose slowly as though mist were forming, but then it started rising at a furious pace as though it were coming from a boiling kettle.

Everything was happening incredibly fast. It was only when the river was rapidly drying up that Cann realized the severity of the situation.

‘I wasn’t the target?’

Cann had been mistaken.

Valhald and Herarion hadn’t risen their suns above the Havid River with the intent to harm him. Rather, they had created that cataclysmic sun in order to quickly evaporate the whole river, which was almost as wide as a lake.

“Phahaha! You think I’ll just let that happen?”

As he belatedly realized the intention of the enemy, Cann quickly activated the divine power that coursed through him.

He was done being arrogant. He decided to go all-out from the beginning, not wanting to accidentally ruin Arthus’ mood.

Khooo!

The amount of divine power Cann possessed was equivalent to about six of Herabola’s rings.

Having activated his divine power, he made a pulling motion with his hands as if he were pulling up a rope from the river. This caused the calm waters of the river to swirl, and soon, a massive waterspout rose in the air.

However, it wasn’t merely a waterspout; in terms of magic, it resembled an Aqua Tornado.

As though he were a water spirit, Cann summoned dozens of those waterspouts, which continued to grow larger and larger. He wanted to extinguish the blazing sun that threatened to scorch everything in its path with the waterspouts of the Havid River.

But seeing this, Herarion’s lips curled into a smile.

“You’re too late.”

However, Cann didn’t hear Herarion as he was more concerned with extinguishing the sun in front of him.

The numerous thick waterspouts stretched out toward the sun like tentacles.

Tzzzz!

It was a battle between the sun and the river.

There was no explosion; instead, the impact between the two forces of Nature resulted in a tremendous amount of vapor.

“Wind.”

Whoosh!

Henry reached out and brushed away the vapor to one side, and he could still see the dozens of waterspouts rushing toward the sun.

The sun and the waterspouts seemed to be equal in strength, or at least that was what Cann thought. In fact, he was the only one under that impression.

“What an idiot,” said Henry.

“What...?”

This time, Cann clearly heard it. He glared at Henry with fierce eyes that resembled those of a beast.

Of course, Cann had started out as a human, but after evolving several times, he had become a full-blown Chimera. Thus, his glare could no longer be that of a human, but of a hellish beast.

In any case, Henry wasn’t intimidated by the eyes of a mere beast. He nonchalantly crossed his arms under Cann’s glare and gestured downward with his chin.

Cann shifted his gaze, and his expression contorted in horror.

“D-damn it!”

Cann couldn’t believe his eyes. He had thought that the Havid River could never dry up, and yet he could see the stony riverbed beneath the dwindling water.

“Impossible!” Cann shouted, although it sounded more like a scream of panic.

“I think you can stop now,” said Henry calmly.

“Alright.”

At Henry’s request, Valhald and Herarion nodded and swung their swords downward like a baton, drawing a straight line. Then the sun that had threatened to evaporate the Havid River and destroy the whole area slowly descended.

It was Valhald’s Sunset.

Tzzzz!

As the sun approached the river, it looked more and more like a sea of fire, or rather, like the fiery pits of hell.

The heat was so intense that the mud beneath the water was drying up to become like the sand of the Shahatra desert, even turning into solid clumps similar to rocks.

The sun also inflicted quite a bit of damage on the Protection Holy Code cast by the Saint and her Twelve Apostles.

With the Havid River completely dried up, there was no longer any need for a shield against the scorching sun.

“Please take care of the rest,” Henry commanded Valhald and Herarion.

Now that the river that was obstructing the transmission of mana was gone, Henry quickly cast Blink and disappeared from the drought in an instant.

“Great.”

With Henry and the rest of the expedition team gone, Valhald lowered the sun at an even faster rate.

As Herarion and Valhald’s sun crashed into the Havid River, Cann was consumed by a blinding light, the kind of which he had never seen before.

***

After the destructive sun had finally set, Henry and the expedition team returned to Valhald and Herarion.

The Sages who returned looked around in disbelief and said, “Uhm... It looks like we’re going to have to redraw the map.”

“It’s not just the map. The Havid River was sustaining the ecosystem of this land, and now that it’s gone, this place will quickly waste away.”

“...This place already looks dead to me.”

Just like the Sages observed, the Havid River had been completely erased. There was only a crater in its place, as though a meteorite had fallen on it.

Valhald and Herarion were waiting for the expedition team in the center of the crater.

“How did it go?” Henry asked Herarion.

“Exactly like you see,” replied Herarion as he pointed around with a smile.

Henry smiled back and said, “What a fitting ending for that arrogant bastard.”

“Haha, he indeed was arrogant, but... I think your strategy was brilliant, Commander.”

“No, all I did was simply recall your abilities and ask for a favor. What happened here is purely the result of your accomplishments over the past month, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you, but without Sir Valhald, it would’ve been impossible for me to dry up this huge river all by myself.”

“You’re right. This outcome is all the more impressive because it’s the result of your teamwork.”

Henry praised Herarion for reaching the state of a martial god after a month of blood, sweat, and tears. Having become a martial god, his divine power had also increased dramatically.

As a result of honing his martial arts through arduous training, Herarion had also gained more divine power, although still not as much as Herabola. Ultimately, it was his tremendous amount of divine power that had allowed him to crush Cann.

Herarion then looked around and said, “Anyway... As the Sages have said, this has become a hellish landscape. Even at first glance, I can tell the Havid River played a big role in the ecosystem.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. No matter how big it was, it was just a river, so I can restore the entire body of water whenever I want if I set my mind to it.”

“R-really...?”

Creating a river out of nothing—Henry casually blurted out what sounded like a fantasy. A myriad of thoughts flashed through Herarion’s head, but he quickly shook his head.

Seeing this, Henry smiled and said, “Your Majesty, your face says it all.”

“Ah, how embarrassing.”

“No worries. I’m sure I would’ve thought the same if I were in your position. On this note, when all of this is done and dusted, I’ll create a great river in Shahatra just like this Havid River.”

“R-really?!”

“Of course. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

Herarion’s face brightened instantly at the unexpected offer.

“We’ll restore this part of the land once we’re done with everything. Then, shall we resume our journey?” said Henry.

As much as Henry valued the lives of those left at Monsieur, and everyone else unknowingly taken hostage by Arthus, he also valued all other forms of life, including this river. He didn’t want Arthus to claim any more life, whether it was people or Nature itself.

‘Death is the only thing I can give you, Arthus.’

Henry had made that promise to Herarion with a smile, but the promise also honed his blade of revenge even further. The thought of Arthus watching his every move filled him with a deep sense of disgust.

The expedition team set out again.

***

“This is driving me nuts...”

There was a watchtower near the back gate of the Caliburn Fortress.

The back gate didn’t lead into the Demonic Beast Forest, so everyone who entered or left the fortress, such as military merchants and the special soldiers of the fortress, used this gate.

Up in the watchtower, Iselan touched his forehead and sighed deeply.

- Khaaaa!

- Kheee!

From the back gate to the walls that surrounded the entire fortress, the zombie-like blind believers were gathering one by one, quickly forming a massive crowd.

At first, the troops of the Caliburn Fortress tried using holy water, silver weapons, and other holy items, but they proved ineffective because these people weren’t actually undead. Deep down, they were still human.

‘Just what are you guys?!’

Iselan had been fighting the demonic beasts within the fortress ever since they had re-established the supply line, so he had no idea what was happening in the outside world. All he knew was that the Eurasian Empire had fallen because of Henry.

Thus, the sudden emergence of a horde of zombies at the back gate was more than enough to make him panic.

“C-Commander, what should we do now?” asked one of the officers in a shaky voice.

However, there was no point in asking Iselan for instructions because he himself was clueless about the situation.

Iselan frowned and wiped his face, which had been sweating so much that he looked like he was washing his face. His head was also throbbing.

The situation was getting worse by the minute.

The demonic beasts had been running rampant ever since rumors that the empire had fallen started circulating and signs that a new Demon King would rise had appeared.

‘Henry... Just what the hell is going on out there?!’

To make matters worse, while Iselan was facing the worst crisis of his life, Ronan, his trusted lieutenant, was gone with Henry to help him in his cause.