Chapter 197. 5,637 Regrets (3)
Since falling into this world, there have been two questions that have long remained unanswered.
Who is the Warrior?
And who is my character, 'Nameless Ash'?
Viscount Pewin's survival, Tribus' death, the Outer Gods and Sacred Relics, and so on.
Even amidst the numerous changes of World Scenario 4.0, those two questions remained in a corner of my mind like an untied knot.
If anything, it was the first question whose outline became a little clearer over time.
‘The Warrior is the creator of the Outer Gods' Sacred Relics.’
In a secret chamber in Wolfskrig, the emperor on his deathbed had said so, fidgeting with 'Ding-Dong.'
‘The Sacred Relics are a kind of key. They are a key to communicate with the Outer Gods, but also a key to access the power of the Warrior.’
After mobilizing all sorts of intelligence networks to investigate, I was able to reconfirm the emperor's claim.
Regardless of historical materials, myths, or legends, they all said that the one who created the Sacred Relics and scattered them across this land was the 'Warrior.'
Of course, that in itself was not enough to be considered proof.
Because there were no specific descriptions or eyewitness accounts, which are usually present in the parts of folklore that tell the truth.
Everything was shrouded in a veil.
The appearance of the Warrior.
The moment the Sacred Relics were created.
The connection with the Outer Gods, and so on.
However, the reason I could not ignore those absurd legends was because there was another piece of evidence that only Sacred Relic wielders could know.
‘The more Sacred Relics you collect, the stronger the power of the Warrior becomes, or you gain new powers.’
In the end, the information about the Warrior was narrowed down to the following three.
He created the Sacred Relics.
He has some connection with the Outer Gods, the source of the Sacred Relics.
And he is a being who has some sort of connection with my character, 'Nameless Ash.'
‘But it was impossible to find out what that 'sort of connection' was.’
This information gap led to the second question.
What kind of hero character is 'Nameless Ash'?
At first, I simply thought it was a hero who received a few new cheat-like traits as a special reward.
Not at all.
The special reward I received was not a simple cheat-like trait, but the 'power of the Warrior,' which could originally only be obtained through a Sacred Relic.
'Nameless Ash' could immediately use powerful abilities that would normally require collecting multiple Sacred Relics, just by meeting a few conditions.
‘Maybe that's why Kkumteuli and the other Sacred Relics naturally called me 'master'….’
Yes.
Kkumteuli and the other Sacred Relics did not have the same relationship with all 'Sacred Relic Guardians.'
In fact, he said that there were many Guardians with whom they couldn't even communicate at all.
He also mentioned that I was different from the previous 'masters.'
Time has passed, and the man before me is claiming to be a being who has branched off from my past, and at the same time, the 'Warrior' who created the Sacred Relics.
According to his words, the one who created the Outer Gods and the Sacred Relics is ultimately 'me from a multiverse timeline.'
The reason the Sacred Relics gave me special treatment is probably because they found a similarity between me and that man.
Whether it originated from the original 'me,' or the influence of the character 'Nameless Ash.'
“It's almost time. Do you have any last questions?”
‘Outer Gods, Sacred Relics, Nameless Ash. Why did you create them?’
“Ah, let me correct one thing. It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that I created 'Nameless Ash.' It would be more accurate to say that I spread the Outer Gods and Sacred Relics to other timelines and indirectly influenced the creation of such a hero's position.”
‘Anyway, I'm asking why you made them.’
“For the same reason as you now.”
He gave a bitter smile.
“Because I blew the chance to stop the world from ending with my own hands.”
It was a smile that seemed to self-deprecatingly recall an old memory.
“I regretted, watching my own world that had already been destroyed, and the countless worlds that would be destroyed in the future. Just as you are now regretting not being able to protect your people.”
The 'Warrior' let out a deep sigh.
At that moment, for some reason, I felt as if I had glimpsed the shadow of a cosmic being, larger than the God of War who was striking me with his palm.
At the same time, I felt a sense of crisis that if it weren't for the delicate consideration of that being, I would have gone mad and my soul would have been annihilated on the spot, regardless of [Lord's Unyielding Mind].
And I also vaguely knew that the emotion contained in that consideration was sadness.
“Yes. Because I regretted it.”
The smile disappeared from his lips.
Thus, the once-giant cosmic being became a mere human for a short while.
That appearance was exactly the same as the one I had faced in the mirror in the old days, when my tears had dried up even though I wanted to cry.
***
Unfortunately, I couldn't immediately hear what 'regret' he was talking about.
“As I said, this blank space we're talking in is not long. We'll talk about the details next time. Until then, struggle with all your might one more time. It would be even better if you could come back after winning, if possible.”
Snap!
He snapped his fingers and covered my eyes.
I was back again.
To the room like a vast outer space.
The third chance.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of applause is heard.
<I welcome you.>
He greets me.
<The fight is already over.>
We fought.
And were defeated.
<Your life has already run its course.>
There were two mistakes.
First, the Lumer Legion was far stronger than the Vampire Archduchy.
Unlike the previous time, I did not have the undead army of the Vampire Archduchy join the main force.
Instead, in the body of Tribus, I led the undead army out of the ambush site and counter-attacked the bewildered Lumer Legion.
However, perhaps because the original is the original, even for the undead.
The Vampire Archduchy was helplessly pushed back.
Even though there were two level 10 necromancers on the Archduchy's side, the qualitative difference in the undead troops themselves was severe.
<Unexpected. I thought you had the disposition to obediently accept victory or defeat.>
The second cause of defeat was that the firepower of the Church army was not as strong as I thought.
In fact, the priest's miracles themselves are a skill group focused on buffs and healing rather than attack.
In terms of potential, it's because Alina Pewin, who is no different from a saint, and the 'Bishop' Castro of the Imperial Secret Knight Order are exceptions.
Holy aura is an attack skill, but it is fundamentally dependent on swordsmanship, so it tends to be lacking in range.
As a result, although the attacks of the Church army were fatal to the monsters, it was difficult to pour out explosive firepower over a wide area like fire-based spells.
<Well, if that's the case, I will personally relieve your suffering.>
The God of War brings down his palm.
[[The Warrior's Regret] is deployed.]
Time stops, and he appears.
“You seem to have improved from last time. Shall we talk about it one by one again? Or do you have any questions?”
‘How many times can I go back?’
“I'm looking at the possibilities of the timeline, not turning back time. Well, anyway, you're curious about how many chances you have, right?”
The Warrior, with his arms crossed, tapped his arm with his fingers and answered.
“Do you remember the number of times you've pressed 'new game' so far? That is, how many new world saves you've created?”
‘How can I remember that.’
“5,637. If you include the time you pressed the start button before falling into this world, it's the 5,638th.”
‘…….’
“It is also the number of worlds whose destruction I have watched, and whose irreversible old decisions I have regretted.”
Watching, watching the destruction.
It's full of words I don't understand yet.
Still, I got the information I needed.
There are about 5,000 chances.
5,000 coins.
Snap!
He snapped his fingers, and I was back again.
<I welcome you.>
The fourth coin.
I changed the entire evacuation strategy.
I brought out the fleet of aerial battleships mass-produced by the dwarves from the beginning.
For the purpose of using them for evacuating citizens instead of deploying them in battle.
As a result of fighting two field battles outside the city walls, I realized that the well-being of the families inside the city had a greater impact on the soldiers' morale than I thought.
‘M-my Lord! Wasn't that a decisive weapon to be saved until the very, very end!’
‘William, just know this one thing.’
‘Yes?’
‘Anything you save will turn to shit.’
It's true.
In the first place, the fleet of aerial battleships that were used as 'decisive weapons' in the previous three battles didn't even play a significant role.
The first time, they sank with the city before they were even brought out.
In the other two battles, the tide had already turned too much by the time the fleet could be active.
A decisive weapon is, after all, a role that provides a starting point for a reversal in a 'moderately losing' state.
It's not something that can miraculously turn around a battle where you are being helplessly pushed back.
The problem was also that the other side also had so-called 'air forces.'
‘By the way, William, how long would it take to equip the aerial battleships with air-to-air armament?’
‘Yes? Air-to-air… are you perhaps talking about facing other aerial battleships?’
‘Well, something like that. You can think of it as an aerial battleship that can freely change its form, wields wind, rain clouds, and lightning, and even has a self-regeneration ability.’
‘Yes??’
Wind Master.
One of the three great heroes of the Eastern Empire also turned into a monster.
That thing, which had become a huge cloud-like monster made of flesh, bones, mucus, and membranes, easily tore apart the entire fleet.
It was also partly because our aerial battleships were designed with almost no air-to-air armament.
No matter how ahead of his time Duke Meister was, he probably didn't expect a fleet battle to take place in the sky.
‘Proper armament would take at least a day. And that's with the dwarves and the entire corps of engineers working on it.’
‘I see. Understood.’
I memorized '24 hours for combat modification' in my head.
As planned, the fleet of aerial battleships was deployed for evacuating citizens.
Since the bomb bay was so large, it was very efficient for transport missions if people were carried instead of bombs.
We succeeded in evacuating 80% of the citizens before the city collapsed.
As a result, we were able to prevent the soldiers' morale from breaking when the city collapsed.
Of course, the result itself did not change.
<Unexpected. I thought you had the disposition to obediently accept victory or defeat.>
Well, you can't be full on the first spoonful.
Still, we fought a little better than before.
<…Still, it was quite fun.>
[[The Warrior's Regret] is deployed.]
<I welcome you.>
The fifth coin.
This time, I made a change in the southern battle.
Facing the Lumer Legion with vampires is a no-win situation in terms of compatibility.
That's the result of trying twice.
So I moved the undead army to the outskirts.
‘Clockwise around the city… you mean?’
‘Yes. Go around in a big circle and come down from the north. Strike the enemy's right flank.’
Thus, the undead unit took on the role of a detached force that would intervene in the middle of the battle and scatter the enemy formation.
In their place, the ones who faced the Lumer Legion were a coalition of the Church army led by Ash, the Black Magic Tower, and some imperial troops.
‘[Devouring Purgatory]!’
‘[Earth Flow Reversal]! [Earth Flow Reversal]!’
The earth mages of the Black Magic Tower pour out spells to overturn the tunnels where the Lumer Legion is hiding.
‘Disgusting things! Receive the judgment of light!’
‘By Luark-!’
While the light of miracles weakens the legionnaires, the paladins charge with their holy aura at the forefront.
For the first time, we successfully repelled the Lumer Legion.
However, of course, the overall war situation actually got worse.
Since the Church army's strength, which was the only one that could inflict effective damage on the monsters, was gone, the main force was annihilated at a faster rate.
It doesn't matter.
There are still many chances.
<I welcome you.>
<The fight is already over.>
[[The Warrior's Regret] is deployed.]
<Ah, is that it. The same ability as that troublesome emperor fellow….>
<…Heh. In just those few months?>
[[The Warrior's Regret] is deployed.]
<I welcome you.>
<Unexpected. I thought you had the disposition to obediently accept victory or defeat….>
<I welcome you.>
The 10th coin.
For the first time, I saw significant progress.
[[Wan Hua Gui Yi Jing] is deployed.]
[Ella Siollus deploys [Flame Spirit].]
‘Kiiiiiiik-!’
With the joint attack with the witch of mad fire, Ella Siollus, we repelled the monster of the Curse Spirit Grandmaster, Hwayoung.
<…How?>
As a bonus, an unseen pattern was added to the God of War's lines.