Knights & Magic - Volume 8 - Chapter 118.1

Chapter 118 Part 1

#118 Where is the answer?

Editors: Silver B. & Sweepberry

　The clans of Astragali, the race of giants, have gathered to form the clan alliance Exarchitus de Baryisgenos. The sound of footsteps shaking the forest echoed like distant thunder.

“… The Allied Forces of the Clan have moved?”

It wasn’t long before the Rubel clan, the Genos de Rubel, knew about it.

 They themselves are in the process of moving west to conquer the clans. Eventually the encounter was inevitable, and they were just a little better off.

　The ‘False King of the Fifth Eye,’ the leader of the Rubel clan, pondered over the report that had been brought to him.

 “Until a moment ago, there was not even a hint that the Question would be answered, but now the allied armies of the clans have formed, and are even already on the move. Why, did you think you could see us moving?”

　He closed three of his eyes and sank into thought.

 The clans he knew did not think in terms of the big picture. His eyesight was poor and he could not see what was happening at a distance. It had never happened before that the tribes had moved ahead of the Rubel clan.

“They must have been trembling when Caeruleus closed his eyes. Who enlightened them to the Question?”

In the first place, the clans were supposed to be cowards who closed their eyes for fear of the existence of the filthy beast, Kretvastia.

　The most annoying of them all, the Caeruleus clan, had just been destroyed the other day. It’s hard to believe that after seeing one clan, albeit a small one, fall, that another will soon appear.

“I believe that the Allied Forces of the various clans are on their way here.”

“If so, our task remains the same. It’s just that we’re not just sweeping small clans anymore.”

“This is the second time of the True Eye Rebellion. We no longer need to overlook them, we just need to crush them!”

　The giants of the Rubel clan were all excited and showing their will to fight. They were originally moving to fight, so in that sense, there was no change in their plans.

　As he looked at his compatriots, the false king continued to think.

“The only reason to form a coalition of clans was once lost. The only reason to open your eyes again is that you have seen … our movement. After all, the clans and others are just an instant gathering and so there were leaks. But we are one clan, which eyes should be distracted?”

　For the giants, clan ties are absolute, and it is extremely unlikely that information would leak out from within. In the first place, there are no giants who would benefit from harming their own clan.

　But in fact, their movements had been detected. If that was the case, the list of suspects would naturally narrow down.

“Eyes without us… No way, small demons?”

The false king looked up at the sky with five steely eyes. The sky, cut off by the trees, was clear and calm. There was no sign of the filthy beast. Even though it had already been some time since he left the Hundred Metropolitans, he is convinced that something is wrong.

The filthy beast still does not move. What are you doing, Maga, the Mage? No, it could also be the work of the small demons… True Invisible Ones.

　The five eyes of the false king – a sign of the highest power of the giant race – reflect the shadow of something evil. The situation was taking a completely different form from the True Eye’s disturbance.

　It was certain that the filthy beast would not be a force to be reckoned with in this Question. But what does it matter, the false king smiled grimly.

“I will not stop my steps, even if my eyes cannot see beyond them. Even if there are no filthy beasts, we are the Rubel clan. We are the ones who should rule the giant race! The Question must be answered by my hand!”

　Now that they knew that the Allied Forces of the various clans were on the move, the Rubel clan could not afford to back down. It was unforgivable in their face.

　The false king made a decision and led his clan to continue moving forward.

　The sound of his footsteps echoing through the forest soon became audible to both sides. Both sides already understood. The clash was imminent. The curtain rises on a battle that will shake the forest where the giants live.

　The Allied Forces of the various clans advance.

　In the sky above them, the airship fleet led by the Silver Phoenix Knights was slightly ahead of them. The speed of the levitate ships in the sky and the giants walking on the ground were originally different.

　They were moving forward as slowly as they could so as not to lose sight of the multicolored markers moving through the earth.

“Spectacular, I should say.”

　Ernesti muttered, looking out the window at the scene below.

　The giants were walking in the green of the forest. Each clan had its own distinctive color scheme, which made the ground look very colorful.

“Hmm. It’s quite an interesting sight.”

“The large army reminded me of Ksheperka. The colors are more flamboyant than then, though.”

　In comparison to the Silhouette Knight, which is basically a unified model for each country or knightly order, the clans of the giant race are many in number. The ground was like a brightly colored cloth being tossed about.

　As they were enjoying the scenery, an urgent shout suddenly came from the transmission tube.

“Reconnaissance cavalry, we have a luminous signal!”

　Immediately, the bridge was filled with tension. As they waited for the report, details from the surveillance arrived.

“… My… enemy has been spotted! Many giants… on the ground!”

“I’ve got eyes on them! Ahead!”

　Ahead of the airship, there was a huge army that seemed to fill the entire ground.

　Unlike the coalition of the various clans, the markings coming up from various places are the same. In other words, they were one and the same clan.

“The largest clan of the giant Astragali… the Rubel clan. No one else comes from this direction.”

　Overhearing Ernesti’s murmur, Dietrich laughed in amusement.

“You’re right, they were already closing in on us. But looking around, it seems that there are no magical beasts. What do we do?”

“If there are no filthy beasts, then we’ll have to think a bit about our movements. I’m going to head over to the little mage, Parl for a bit.”

　Ernesti ducked down as he said this.

“All right. We’ll keep the fleet on alert and on standby.”

　Ernesti quickly ran through the hold and jumped into the magpie’s cockpit.

　The magpie was dropped from the back of the Izumo’s hold, and as the rainbow-colored circle unfolded, it proceeded towards the ground.

“The Rubel clan is closing in! They were definitely on the move.”

　The three-eyed hero of the Caeruleus clan roared. He grabbed his weapon and stood up, unable to stand still.

“It’s a good thing, then! It’s time for the clans to unleash the true Question!”

“Please calm down. There are things that need to be resolved before we can ask them.”

　Ernesti calmed him down and the little mage nodded.

“Master Magister is right. If the Rubel clan is here, what about the filthy beast? It doesn’t seem to be visible in the sky.”

“We haven’t seen it in our reconnaissance either. I wonder if they are hiding them very cleverly, or if the hard work of the small demons has paid off.”

　The hero sat back down for a moment. He was still holding his weapon, and you could see that he was straining.

“There is no filthy beast, then the righteous Question must now be asked by us, the giant race. This means that the Hundred-Eyed Argos wishes to settle the Question!”

His gaze moved and caught Ernesti’s. The three eyes of the brave man were elated and heated.

“… hero of the small demons.”

“I know. Let’s keep an eye on the sky and follow from behind.”

The giants want a settlement between the giants. Even Ernesti had no intention of letting the involved Silver Phoenix Knights take the brunt either.

　He returned to the ship with the magpie to discuss the Knights’ movements.