Chapter 99: I Have Come to Express My Gratitude (Patreon)

At the very moment the people in the capital of the Millis Holy Kingdom were utterly unable to fathom why the sun was falling…

Far away, in West Port on the continent of Millis, thousands of meters up in the sky!!!

Rudeus and the others, along with the West Port administrator and several dozen guards, stood quietly watching a mushroom cloud rise in the distance!!!

Even from this far away, they could see countless bolts of lightning and flame tangled within that slowly climbing mushroom cloud!!!

Beside the one great cloud, hundreds of smaller ones were rising too. It was like a divine sword thrust straight into the heavens, stabbing a huge hole through the whole sky!!!!

The earth trembled without pause!!!

The sky trembled without pause!!!!

The sky had been a boundless, beautiful azure. Now, in the middle of that azure, an irregular, circular void of darkness had appeared!!!

Seen from afar, it looked as though the heavens were about to collapse!!!

Then came the violent shockwave.

After its long rush across the distance, it reached the group amid their awe and terror. By then it was no longer so fierce.

Even so, the blast still struck like a storm, and Rudeus's wind barrier rippled under it.

Every cloud in the sky had been blown away and scattered!!!

Looking up, the sky was like a mirror lake of matchless beauty. But at the center of that mirror lay a hole, a vast darkness with no end in sight!!!

Just looking at it filled people with fear!!!!

Faced with such a sight, Eris and Ghislaine turned to look at Rudeus, without even meaning to.

Joy, excitement and astonishment filled their eyes.

Dragon God Orsted turned to look at Rudeus.

Shock, terror and joy filled his eyes.

Nanahoshi Shizuka turned to look at Rudeus.

Her eyes brimmed with delight and exhilaration!!!

After all, she was a person of the new century. She had heard all her life how terrifying a nuclear explosion was, but had never truly seen one.

Now that she finally had, it felt as if a wish she had held for more than ten years had been fulfilled.

And that the man she had chosen to follow possessed such power… of course she was overjoyed!!!

Only the West Port administrator and the several dozen guards felt differently.

At first they had thought the fireworks show was just a simple fireworks show.

But now, at this very moment!!!

Only now did they understand what Rudeus had meant by a "fireworks show."

An explosion that terrifying… had Rudeus actually attacked the capital of the Millis Holy Kingdom?!

But that couldn't be right!!!

Hadn't he only said they were going to watch some fireworks?!

Yet the force of that explosion, and the area it reached!!!

Even from this far away, they could feel the overwhelming shockwave. If it had struck the capital of the Millis Holy Kingdom, how hopeless it must have been!!!

The West Port administrator, trembling harder and harder, hurriedly turned to Rudeus and dropped to his knees.

"Honored Lord Rudeus, please forgive my rudeness earlier."

"I beg you, do not bring your wrath down on the capital of the Millis Holy Kingdom!!"

"It was all my poor hospitality that displeased you."

"Execute me if you must, but please don't, please don't…"

Before the administrator could finish, Rudeus raised a hand. Wind magic hauled the man back onto his feet.

Rudeus reached out and gently patted the man's clothes, smoothing the wrinkles at his collar.

"Don't be so frightened," he said with a smile. "I really did come to express my thanks.

And you needn't worry. That was nothing more than a fireworks show.

Maybe the scale was a bit large…

But if it weren't, how could I properly express my gratitude to the Millis Holy Kingdom?

Maybe the power was a little impressive…

But if it weren't, wouldn't it look like a child's game?

For the exalted, sacred Millis Holy Kingdom, that would be absolute blasphemy, absolute disrespect!!!!

So, wouldn't you agree?"

Hearing Rudeus's question, the administrator trembled even harder. The words were perfectly polite, yet that only made it worse.

He wanted to kneel again, but when he saw Rudeus's expression suddenly change, he hurriedly locked his legs straight and stayed standing.

Seeing this, Rudeus smiled like a teacher pleased with a promising pupil.

"That's right. I don't like kneeling.

It's disrespectful to the person, and disrespectful to oneself.

We're all fellow humans of one kind, and we all share common ancestors!!

Besides, I only wanted to show a little of…

my respect and gratitude toward the Millis Holy Kingdom."

His body wound tight, shivering from head to toe, the administrator answered with utmost sincerity.

"Yes, honored Lord Rudeus, I understand!!!"

Satisfied, Rudeus glanced at the mushroom clouds slowly dispersing in the distance.

Smiling, he set everyone gently back down on the ground.

He pointed ahead and said, "Let's go. Would you be so kind as to take us somewhere we can rest?"

"Yes, yes, of course! No problem at all!!!"

He froze for a moment, then the administrator, now all fawning deference, hurried forward and led Rudeus and the others toward a place to rest.

He had originally meant to find a decent inn.

But after what had just happened…

An inn?!

Was he joking?!

Could an ordinary inn possibly do for a great personage like this?!

Only the very best would do, the very best arrangements!!!

And the very best arrangements were, without a doubt, his own home!!!

So he sent word ahead to have everything made ready.

Then the administrator led Rudeus straight toward his own residence.

As the great figures gradually moved off, the townspeople and adventurers who had been driven away finally began to reappear on the streets.

They gazed from afar at Rudeus and his party. Many had been glaring with hostility before.

But after being baptized by that shockwave, anyone who ran in these circles understood a few things.

The hostile stares slowly turned into stares of fear.