The Golden Experience Point [Part 1]

Chapter 83: "The City of La Colline"

It had been eight days since they had departed from the capital. Now, they could finally see La Colline in the distance. They left the campsite at sunrise, very early in the day.

Nine days ago, the notice suddenly came to form an expedition force, and those who normally would be too young as well as those who had already finished their service were forcefully conscripted. Where they were going to be dispatched was a mystery; all anyone knew was that the kingdom's officials determined that those in active service wouldn't be sufficient.

What exactly were these soldiers being tasked to fight?

As far as the majority of the kingdom's citizens knew, there had never been a war on this continent. The troops had simply been gathered together and supplied with arms with no idea of where they were going or what they would be facing.

It made no sense.

Without knowing where they were going, they couldn't plan a march. That also meant they couldn't prepare a supply train, not that the kingdom had provided any means of transportation or supplies. After being rushed to finish preparing without really knowing what was going on, once they were finally ready to leave the capital, a knight from the royal guard tasked with the direct protection of the royal family finally got in touch with the commander, an individual who outranked even a centurion, that this force wasn't going on an expedition but a subjugation, and also informed him what their target was.

A threat to humanity.

There was nearly no information about this catastrophe. It was apparently spreading its evil influence in the Great Liebe Forest next to the city of Erfahren.

This information came from the patriarch of the Holy Church of Hiers, so it was reliable. Speaking of the church, apparently the bishops had received an oracle from God. Even among them, though, the patriarch was given more detailed information, and with regards to this expedition, he was the only one who had been told where the catastrophe could be found.

When they had learned all of this, the commander and the other officers fell into despair. A catastrophe was not something that humans could defeat. They were akin to natural disasters; even the angels from the sky castle that would appear suddenly every so often were powerful enough that even ten men may not be able to prevail against one. The actual catastrophic being was purported to be the archangel who led the angels, but there had never been any witness accounts to his existence in history. Rumors abounded that any who met him ended up dead, without exception.

This army was tasked with vanquishing such a catastrophe. No matter how many soldiers they had, they could never accomplish something like that. The leaders of the kingdom should have known this. So then why was this plan approved?

Then the knight from the royal guard disclosed another thing to the commander and the officers. This catastrophe had only come into being very recently, so it should be nowhere near as mature as the catastrophes found on other continents. Therefore, if they attacked it now, they might be able to defeat it.

"'Might'... That's not very convincing..."

"I know, I completely understand. But, we also can't just ignore it. This catastrophe was born in our kingdom's lands, after all. It's as if the sky castle suddenly landed in the corner of the courtyard. If you think about how we might have to live with the threat of the catastrophe hovering over our heads every day, versus betting on a possibility, we must attempt to kill it."

"Sir royal knight, I understand. I really do, but..."

"Commander, the subjugation army has already been formed and is about to depart. The die has already been cast. The present situation came about from the influence of an ungodly number of nobles. Even if you run away and try not to fight..."