Typemoon [441-442] (Patreon)

Chapter 441: NFF Services

The daylight was brilliant, and that scorching sun became the backdrop for the Valkyries. Silent, dazzling auroras quietly spread, and unspoken divinity arrived here.

White robes as fine as silk swayed gently in the wind.

At the waist were golden wing-like decorations—perhaps they were real wings—and beneath the forked skirt were faintly visible black thigh-high boots, with snow-white skin appearing especially vivid under the sunlight.

Behind them was a wing of light resembling a rune, accentuating divine majesty.

The spear of light in hand was Gungnir, a degraded version of the great god's declaration, the god's spear that always hits its mark. The shield in hand was also a divine creation, no less than Gungnir.

Those standing in the sky were none other than the daughters of the great god Odin, the Valkyries!

Armored Valkyries, daughters of the great god.

Mass-produced by the supreme being of Norse mythology, the great god Odin.

They flew over numerous battlefields, selecting qualified souls from the war dead and guiding them to the great god's palace, the shining golden Valhalla.

To have them join the great god's army in slaying giants during the end of the Norse divine age—

Ragnarok.

The great god Odin created these numerous beings to counter Ragnarok; that was the Valkyries. They operated as some kind of automatic machinery.

Riding pegasi, they flew in the skies over battlefields, selecting souls from fallen heroes to take to Valhalla. But the encounter with the hero Sigurd, Brynhildr, who gained strong emotions and personality and fell, became a turning point, gradually reducing their numbers.

"The glorious Lady Valkyrie!"

A group of children cheered, saying: "Please take the adults away!"

"They followed all the gods' rules and raised us!"

"Even those who didn't raise us played with us until we were 14!"

"There are no bad people! So—"

"Please take them to Valhalla!"

The children's voices rose one after another, filled with genuine joy.

This was joyful, this was worth celebrating.

On this sunny day, it was the perfect time for the adults to head to Valhalla.

Ethereal divinity arrived silently. Though they did not descend to the ground, they still overlooked everything in Village 23 with a condescending gaze. Cherry lips parted slightly, and ethereal words rang out:

"Humans, you are now permitted to rejoice.

In accordance with the rules, the gates will open for you.

Once the gates open, there shall be no hesitation; only advance. However, offer your lives as sacrifices to the giants."

"In this way, your souls, untested in battle, will also—"

"Be invited to the hall of warriors.s, rejoice; humans, laugh.

This is the love bestowed by the one true god."

The demigod's declaration brushed over the young men and women about to embark on their return journey like a blessing, leaving them in grateful tears.

"..."

Witnessing all this, Alaric's expression remained calm, quickly understanding the situation.

In Norse mythology, Valkyries guided selected warrior souls to Valhalla, the Hall of the Slain. But here, in this Scandinavian Losbelt, humans were like pets raised by the one true god; there were no wars, and leaving the village meant certain death.

Without wars, there were no warriors, so dead souls wouldn't be taken by Valkyries.

If so, just become warriors.

The conditions for going to the Hall of the Slain hadn't changed; only the standard for warriors had been slightly altered.

Even if just slaughtered, even if offered as sacrifices, the dead could be seen as warriors who fought the giant species, thus being taken to Valhalla by the Valkyries.

"Good morning~"

The sudden greeting made Alaric's brow twitch. He turned slightly and saw Koyanskaya's evil, irrepressible smile.

Her exposed fangs gave Koyanskaya a touch of wild ferocity. 

"You're here, Koyanskaya."

Alaric smiled: "I thought you'd run off somewhere."

Koyanskaya: "You'd better yield now, you know, Sir Alaric, our current gap—"

"Is it that big?"

Alaric glanced calmly at where Koyanskaya's spirit core was, his eyes flashing like gems, smiling faintly: "How big could it be?"

"..."

Koyanskaya stepped back half a step, her smile undiminished but grinding her teeth in hatred.

Damn, he's a sword saint, a sword saint with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

Even with his spirit origin output limited, his skills wouldn't decline, and his mystic eyes could kill even her once.

Very open-minded, Koyanskaya didn't dwell on the topic and changed the subject, smiling: "Sir Alaric, you're watching the ceremony here, but Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others might intervene. So what are you planning to do?"

"They'll definitely stop this."

Alaric waved his hand: "It was like that in the Holy City; they can't just watch people die. As a Servant, my answer is only one."

"We are grateful, envoys. Allow us to offer thanks for the blessings from the gods and you."

"We're setting off. Come, please open the gates, open them for us."

The young men and women said this with joyful hearts.

"—Then let it open.

Your lives end here!"

At the moment the divine envoy made the declaration, a silent sword light flashed by. In the horrified gazes of Gerda and the other villagers, boundless blood sprayed.

The high-flying head lost its original luster, rapidly disintegrating into spiritrons in midair.

This sword was pinnacle, not mere killing karma, but a divine sword that severed karmic bonds!

In the instant of killing, it also severed the connection between the Valkyrie units! Even the so-called soul link was cut!

"Run."

Grabbing Koyanskaya, Alaric shouted to Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash: "The other Valkyries will come soon!"

The Valkyries had a hive network connection; if one had an issue, the others would get the message quickly.

But Alaric had killed that connection too, buying time to retreat.

Mash, reacting quickly, grabbed Fujimaru Ritsuka beside her. Looking at Gerda, she saw the girl step back slightly.

"..."

Mash could only take Fujimaru Ritsuka and follow Alaric's footsteps, rushing out of Village 23's boundaries toward the distant Ice Forest.

Shortly after Alaric and the others left, a shocking number of Valkyries descended, scanning the area before asking: "Humans, do you know the whereabouts of our sister?"

…

Meanwhile.

Alaric, who had rushed into the Ice Forest, waited for Mash to catch up with Fujimaru Ritsuka before releasing Koyanskaya, then said: "Koyanskaya, let's make a deal."

"Oh? Sir Alaric, you haven't paid for the last deal yet."

Koyanskaya spread her hands: "This makes it hard—"

"I'll use the Chaldea Shadow Border as collateral."

Alaric didn't waste words: "Plus one of your tails; that should be enough, right?"

"Welcome!"

Koyanskaya beamed: "What would Sir Alaric like to buy?"

Chapter 442: Big Client

Koyanskaya was someone who rose to prominence in 2018, becoming the CEO and top-performing agent of the world-renowned private military company NFF Services in just one month.

With free-spirited wildness as her motto, she was a seductive beauty who toyed with humans enchantingly.

Though she viewed all human behavior as filthy, she didn't hate it for being filthy.

Instead, she found the filth interesting and treated it as entertainment, games, and business.

Due to her personality like this, she pursued enjoyment in everything, so her attacks on humans became roundabout.

Setting aside her twisted tastes, Koyanskaya's business skills were astonishingly high to Alaric—perhaps she was a god of commerce?

If Alaric had to pick his favorite trading partner, Koyanskaya even ranked above Da Vinci.

Though both overcharged, Da Vinci was more approachable and comprehensive, but Koyanskaya could produce the quirky goods Alaric preferred.

Whew—

Alaric, puffing on a pipe like Holmes', looked relaxed, crossing his legs on a white plastic chair manifested from mana, leisurely saying: "Koyanskaya, I want to buy two things in total."

"What is Sir Alaric doing?"

Seeing Alaric's inexplicable behavior, Fujimaru Ritsuka, standing behind, whispered curiously to Mash: "Why doesn't he just say it?"

After saying he wanted to trade with Koyanskaya, Alaric unhurriedly manifested two chairs and a pipe, leaving Fujimaru Ritsuka puzzled.

"Maybe for the atmosphere?"

Mash was a bit unsure; after all, she didn't understand Alaric's intent either.

"So what exactly does Sir Alaric need?"

Koyanskaya's lips curved up, her exposed fangs showing wildness, her slightly narrowed eyes like a beast ready to pounce.

"First, I need the locations of leyline nodes, within the range of—"

Alaric held up one finger, paused slightly, then turned to Mash: "Mash, give me the map."

"Oh, okay."

Seeming to understand what Alaric wanted to trade for, Mash immediately handed over the map she had used for terrain reference.

Alaric took the map, scanned it briefly, and drew a large circle around the lake area: "Within this range, high-quality leyline nodes."

Over the past few days, plus last night's confident digging, Alaric found searching for leyline nodes extremely luck-dependent and difficult.

If he continued the previous method, he didn't know when he'd find one.

But luckily, Koyanskaya had arrived.

The moment he saw her, Alaric had an idea.

Koyanskaya had transferred from the Russian domain directly to this Scandinavian Losbelt, and had been here for a while, so she must have intelligence on the Scandinavian Losbelt.

It was like a godsend for Chaldea now, greatly aiding the creation of True Humans.

As for Alaric's so-called collateral of the Chaldea Shadow Border and one of Koyanskaya's tails—

They could be haggled. The Shadow Border itself couldn't be handed over; it was just a verbal agreement, and Koyanskaya knew that.

What she cared about was the tail trade. If someone else proposed it, she'd laugh it off or even kill them for exposing her secret.

But Alaric was different.

Koyanskaya could even acknowledge him as kin, and after the battle in the Russian domain, she was more convinced of his talents.

If Alaric made a promise, Koyanskaya didn't doubt he could do it; she only wondered if he'd renege.

"Looks like Sir Alaric is thinking for Chaldea."

Koyanskaya chuckled while examining the map: "But your offer is too high. Though I love raising prices, too big a gap doesn't meet business standards; it's malicious competition."

After all, it concerned herself; Koyanskaya didn't want to admit one of her tails was worth so little.

Wouldn't that mean she was cheap?

"Then the excess can be for future trades; I'll tell you when I think of something."

Alaric remained composed, clearly having thought of this. One tail's value obviously wasn't comparable to some leyline nodes; if Koyanskaya agreed like that, it'd demean her.

"Since Sir Alaric says so, I can only comply~"

Koyanskaya smiled, took out a pen, thought briefly, and circled several nodes on the map, leisurely saying: "These nodes are top-quality, oh. Given your price, consider this one transaction."

"Then I have to thank you."

Alaric glanced briefly at the leyline node positions Koyanskaya had circled on the map, cross-referencing his previous paths, and soon got the result.

Not a single one matched.

Pure bad luck.

Bad luck aside, that was the past; now he just needed to pass the info to Da Vinci and the others.

Alaric didn't have time to verify the nodes' authenticity, but he trusted Koyanskaya's merchant integrity.

"Then let's move to the second trade."

Alaric handed the map to Mash, signaling her to upload the info to the Shadow Border, then continued: "Second, I want all the intelligence you have on the Scandinavian Losbelt. You have it, right?"

If it was Koyanskaya, she couldn't not know the Lostbelt's info.

"Naturally, but intelligence like this, my price is a bit higher~~"

Koyanskaya winked, smiling: "What part of the intelligence does Sir Alaric want now?"

"Who does the one true god refer to?"

Alaric puffed on the pipe, asking: "The one true god ruling those Valkyries—is it the great god Odin or some other divinity?"

Alaric had heard the name of the gods more than once from villagers like Gerda, and learned of the one true god from the Valkyrie's declaration.

The one true god was naturally a singular existing deity, suggesting only one divine pillar in the current Scandinavian Losbelt, but its true identity was unknown.

But it could be confirmed that being able to use Valkyries as envoys likely had deep ties to the great god Odin.

The divinity of the Scandinavian Losbelt, possibly the Lostbelt King—who was it?