Chapter 188: The Truth of Heian-kyo
After handling matters concerning Abaruba, Noah had Altera bring Attila to him.
Ever since Altera captured Attila, Noah had left her untouched due to the surrender documents and diplomatic delegation affairs, never addressing her case.
But now that the diplomatic delegation matters were settled, Noah turned his attention to Attila.
"Attila, I didn't mispronounce your name, did I?"
Upon seeing Attila, Noah spoke these words, and Attila nodded slightly.
Noah hadn't mispronounced it—in fact, she felt it was rather nice that Noah remembered her name, as the Romans often preferred to call her Altera—a name she disliked.
She also disliked others addressing her that way.
"If I didn't mispronounce it, that's good... Since the name is correct, let's get down to business."
"Kuro brought you to our side many days ago. You were once the great king of the Huns. Although the affairs of the City of the Huns essentially have nothing to do with your people, in the eyes of the populace, you are associated with the City of the Huns. Some even believe you were the mastermind behind its creation."
"Additionally, you alone pushed the Roman border back several times, to the point where your infamy spread from Rome all the way to Britain."
Hearing Noah's words, Attila remained silent, simply watching him.
She had never paid attention to these matters before.
But it seemed she had indeed done such things.
So, was Noah now planning to purge her based on these crimes?
At this thought, Attila realized she felt somewhat nervous.
Part of this nervousness was directed at Altera, and another part seemed aimed at the being before her named Noah... Although Attila didn't know why, her instinctive resistance indicated she did not wish to be purged.
But she also didn't know what to say at this moment.
As for resistance—not to mention Altera was right beside her—even this Noah before her gave her a feeling that resistance was absolutely out of the question... This caused Attila to lower her head slightly, falling even more silent than before.
However, what she didn't expect was that Noah suddenly shifted the direction of the conversation.
"But I don't intend to kill you."
"Now that Kuro... that is, Altera, has awakened, with her assistance, you could live for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Under such circumstances, I sentence you to serve as a pioneer of the land, campaigning for five hundred years—for me and for the people. Is that acceptable?"
Hmm?
When Attila heard that Noah did not intend to purge her, she clearly felt the pressure on her lessen.
But upon hearing Noah mention campaigning for five hundred years, she asked:
"Campaigning... does that mean you want me to destroy?"
Seeing Attila like this, Noah smiled.
"Not exactly. The distinction here is quite complex—I will arrange some personnel to accompany you and often send Kuro or White to assist you. Under such circumstances, what constitutes campaigning and what constitutes destruction will be for you to discern."
"As for my requirement for you—well, it's similar to my requirement for her. I asked her to try seeing herself as Altera, rather than just a weapon.
"And for you, my requirement is—at least distinguish between destruction, conquest, and rule."
Hearing Noah say this, Attila frowned and pondered for a long while before nodding to him.
"I remember..."
Unlike Altera, who always gave off a mature impression, Attila always seemed like a child deliberately putting on a stern face and sulking.
So her words were never many.
After completing this simple exchange, she went to the border of Rome as arranged by Noah.
As for Noah, after resolving both matters here at once, he made some additional arrangements before continuing his experiments with the Third Magic, which he had only recently completed.
Noah's side was now settled.
Attila had gone to the border, and the notifications had been issued.
But it wasn't just Noah who had nothing to do—Abaruba was also idle.
After returning to his own territory with the diplomatic delegation, he found himself even more at leisure than Noah.
If there was one thing that bothered him, it was that shortly after his return, Noah sent someone over.
Kay led the Enforcement Knights through these small nations and tribes, arresting those with clear evidence of crimes in one sweep and carrying out public executions.
Then Noah had Kay implement several new systems here, relying on the power of the Enforcement Knights to enforce them directly.
The small tribes didn't mind; in fact, they thought Noah's new systems were quite good.
At least they were fed, clothed warmly, and even provided with employment opportunities, allowing them to earn money while building their homeland.
Noah even boosted the economy around these small tribes.
But the higher-ups of the small nations were uncomfortable.
For the kings, suddenly having many people above them was distressing.
For the officials, Noah's heavy-handed approach to dealing with the nobility directly crushed a significant portion of them. Even those whose crimes weren't punishable by death had their titles stripped.
Although compensation was given for stripped titles, it still left them feeling uneasy.
That was their situation.
For Abaruba, the most uncomfortable part was having the Enforcement Knights stationed here.
So much so that he couldn't even visit the distant island where they were cultivating their hope.
This situation continued until the public executions ended, and Noah recalled Kay and the Enforcement Knights. Only then did Abaruba and the leaders of other factions gather again.
While the public was discussing the executions, they secretly sailed toward the hidden island they had found in the north.
Then...
They checked the nautical charts repeatedly, confirmed the location many times, and finally discovered—
"The island is gone!?"
Their hope, along with the hidden island they had discovered here, seemed to have evaporated from the sea, completely vanished!
Many kings of the small nations stared at this scene in utter bewilderment.
In contrast, the chieftains of the smaller tribes, who had generally accepted Noah's policies more readily, felt a pang of sorrow upon seeing the island vanish but also breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Abaruba, witnessing this scene, vaguely recalled something...
It was that so-called thunderclap he had suddenly heard when signing the contract with Noah!
Noah's demeanor at that time resurfaced in his mind once more.
And now... he couldn't help but connect everything before him to Noah!
If all of this was truly his doing...
"Then is he a god!?"
Abaruba knelt solemnly, producing the contract he had signed with Noah. Although he had told Noah earlier that he understood the weight of this contract, it was only now that he truly felt its heaviness!
He finally grasped why Noah had said this paper was more than just a piece of paper!
Because behind this paper stood Noah's guarantee!
"Such power, such wisdom, such arrangements... Alas, we have lost, utterly and completely, with no chance left! Noah is simply beyond our ability to contend with!"
As he spoke these words, under the puzzled gazes of the others, Abaruba shared his conjecture.
After hearing Abaruba's words, the others fell silent.
The tribal chieftains simply followed Abaruba's lead, deciding not to resist Noah any further.
Among the rulers of the smaller states, some were utterly terrified, while others, though unwilling to give up, looked around and realized—what use was it if a few refused to surrender?
Thus, this gathering, originally convened to boost morale, seek hope, and look toward the future, ended in discord.
Some felt relieved, while others were distressed.
Only Abaruba remained there alone, gazing at the empty sea and sighing repeatedly.
It was at this moment that a voice came from behind him.
"Even though the attack ended long ago, such an immense amount of Magical Energy still lingers over this sea..."
Hearing the voice, Abaruba instantly grew alert and turned to look in its direction.
He then saw a female warrior with long black hair, clad in strangely styled armor and adorned with various weapons, step to the bow of the ship.
"You said the attack here was launched by someone named Noah. Where exactly is he located?"
Hearing her speak, Abaruba found her manner of speech odd.
Her accent was strange, and her words were even stranger!
Was there anyone in this world who didn't know Noah?
Frowning, he remained on guard and spoke directly.
"Noah... His Majesty Noah is naturally in Rome City. Who are you? Are you mocking me?"
He was prepared to take action.
But to his surprise, upon hearing his answer, she performed a peculiar bow toward him.
"Thank you for the information, sir. Farewell for now."
With just that one sentence, and before he could say anything more, he found the other party had vanished completely!
Abaruba searched all over the ship but couldn't find the other person anywhere. In the end, he had no choice but to accept that the other party seemed to have jumped ship using some method unknown to him and escaped...
After all that effort, only to reach such a conclusion, Abaruba felt that today had been filled with too many events, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted. So, with a sigh, he ordered his subordinates to quickly steer the ship back!
Their hopes were dashed, and their hearts were no longer united. So next... he too would have to return and reconsider his attitude toward His Majesty Noah!
That was Abaruba's situation. As for the strange woman who had earlier left his ship, she had already reached land by now and was heading toward the location of Rome City.
"I had thought that after Great Qin disappeared, there would be no one left in this world to turn to for help. But who would have guessed that such a powerful existence still remained in the west…"
Abaruba and his crew were ordinary people. From their position, they could only see that the original island was gone.
But she was different.
From that very spot, she could sense just what kind of monster the being who launched that attack was!
If she were still in her own era, discovering such a creature would likely have made her either wary or kept her at a distance.
Thinking of this, she sighed.
"After that strange Distortion occurred, it seems many things were twisted along with it—though I never found fighting particularly interesting, I also never imagined that one day, I, Minamoto-no-Raikou, would join forces with those insect-like demon women."
"But there's no helping it."
"Whether it's returning to my original era or breaking the cage built by those monsters, my strength is far from enough."
Sighing to herself, Minamoto-no-Raikou then sped toward Rome City at an incredible pace.
She intended to meet this Noah in person.
If he truly was that powerful, then no matter what, she wanted to secure his aid!