Chapter 155: To Use Something Grand in Such a Tiny Way, What a Laughable Talent
"Ah... When I first learned that the team sent to intercept and kill you had failed, I actually anticipated this day. It just seems the situation is now more complicated than I imagined."
Quintus had originally intended to surrender, but upon seeing Lucius and Noah together—and noticing that this usually foolish monkey now showed no trace of idiocy on his face, instead appearing clear-eyed and efficient in action—Quintus began to piece together many things in his mind.
"..."
"Though I don't know how you managed to contact her without any of us knowing, it seems we all underestimated you, this emperor recognized by the gods—not only did the interception team fail, but it appears you had long since reached an agreement with our Sword Emperor."
However.
"You can indeed easily deal with us now, but what comes after? Will you share Rome with each other?"
Quintus was still attempting a final struggle, but before Noah could even respond, the Incarnation of Lucius, created and controlled by Mary's Illusion Magic, stepped forward.
"There is no need for that... Quintus, you have always known, haven't you? I never intended to be the emperor of Rome—I have always respected the judgment of the gods, and the facts have proven that Noah is indeed a far superior emperor to me."
"No... I should say I never should have become emperor. If not for my years on the throne, if Noah had become emperor from the start, then our Rome would surely have been great once more."
"But fortunately, it is not too late now... As long as we eradicate parasites like you who suck the blood of the people, and as long as I, this useless emperor who silently allowed your exploitation and was powerless to stop it, willingly step down, then we will not have completely defied the will of the gods—perhaps the gods foresaw all of this long ago."
Hearing Lucius speak this way, the Roman soldiers around them tightened their grips on their weapons.
They wanted to say something at this moment, but after hearing their own Sword Emperor speak like this, even they could not utter a single word of rebuttal...
After all, their emperor seemed to have already made his resolve.
A resolve to pull Rome back on the right path and to bear the responsibility for these crimes alongside the guilty ministers!
Faced with such resolve, they... could say nothing.
Even Quintus was the same.
Seeing Lucius as he was now, he also recalled the Lucius who had once seemed like a fool... Just this alone made it easy for him to imagine how long Lucius had endured and what kind of resolve he must have carried to endure for so long.
Thus, though he tried several times to speak, the words stuck in his throat and refused to come out, eventually dissolving into a long sigh.
He fell silent, no longer mentioning surrender, and simply closed his eyes, appearing ready to accept death.
In contrast, the other senators and officials still failed to grasp the situation. After Quintus had been silent for a while and Noah raised his hand, signaling for action to be taken, they began to plead directly to Noah for mercy.
But Noah naturally paid no heed to their pleas for mercy.
Because long before coming here, Noah had already given them a chance.
Among the evidence of crimes he had gathered, if there was anyone who hadn't committed such acts, or whose offenses were lighter, Noah might have temporarily spared them, but... aside from Manaka Sajyou, there wasn't a single one!
Especially during the turbulent period in Rome before Manaka Sajyou's arrival.
Among this group, there were quite a few who, in Noah's eyes, didn't even deserve to be called human!
Of course.
Noah wouldn't kill them outright at this moment.
Instead, he ordered them to be captured.
Direct execution would be too lenient.
These scoundrels, Noah intended to publicly execute them later!
And not only that—he would broadcast it to all the people in the territories under his management and bring them to his own lands for a public execution!
He wanted the people in their territories to witness it, and he wanted all the people within Noah's domain to see it!
Noah's stance was resolute.
When it came to dealing with nobles, he had always been thorough!
However, it was at this moment that the noble holding the Holy Lance opened his eyes.
Although he had long believed, upon learning that Noah intended to return, that Britain couldn't possibly be better than the current state of Rome, after witnessing Noah's attitude and seeing his fellow nobles shift from pleading to cursing.
His resolve grew even firmer.
He also abandoned any lingering hope.
So now, he raised the already activated Holy Spear high, and the radiance of the war god Mars illuminated the surrounding ground!
The first to change under this pressure was the sky.
The original sky, shrouded in darkness, now revealed a crimson Mars—a sight that shouldn't be so clearly visible to ordinary people—appearing in the sky as if the heavens had been torn open by a bloody hole!
Seeing this enormous bloody hole, the Roman soldiers immediately knelt on the ground.
At the same time, the people in Rome who witnessed this celestial phenomenon also knelt down.
The war god Mars.
In Rome, there was likely no one unfamiliar with this deity!
He was the father of Rome's first emperor and one of Rome's original three chief gods.
During the agricultural period, he was the god of fertility and vegetation, the protector of livestock, farmland, and farmers.
During the expansion period, he symbolized war, becoming the god of war.
In the period of stability, he was the god of territory and sovereignty.
This Mars was the embodiment of the war god Mars!
Thus, facing such a celestial phenomenon, they all showed profound reverence.
Seeing this, the noble holding the Holy Spear laughed heartily.
But before he could say anything, the Holy Spear in his hand shot directly toward the bloody Mars in the sky!
The Holy Spear slipped from his grasp, nearly causing him to stumble. Yet, even in his disheveled state, he continued to laugh mockingly at Noah.
"What King Arthur, what Romulus—perish! This is the Divine Radiance of the war god Mars, the true trump card of our Rome!"
Hearing his words, the senators and officials who had just been sitting on the ground weeping and cursing immediately stood up. Changing their demeanor entirely, they now stood united with the noble who had unleashed the Holy Spear, acting as if victory was already assured.
...
Meanwhile, on Noah's side, the Roman soldiers who had been present earlier were now kneeling on the ground, too afraid to rise, while the Enforcement Knights and Scáthach stood ready for battle.
Even Lucius, who was practically fearless, stood frozen in place like a battlefield saint, staring blankly at the sky above, lost in thought.
The Holy Spear soared into the deep sky, vanishing without a trace.
What followed in its place was a strike from the Vault of Heaven, descending directly along the ominous trail of Mars!
The Holy Spear was more like a guide, a coordinate, a bullet.
The true attack seemed to come from the Vault of Heaven itself!
Watching the Divine Radiance descending from the heavens, the nobles laughed even more gleefully.
The soldiers and the people witnessing this scene grew even more terrified.
The soldiers feared the wrath of the war god Mars.
As the light descended, the people seemed able to see the situation clearly—they saw the nobles laughing heartily, and beneath the Divine Radiance, they saw the soldiers and their emperor.
They could not understand what was happening—why the despicable nobles were laughing, and why their emperor was being judged by the war god?
But...
Contrary to the nobles' expectations, as the crimson Divine Radiance fell, Noah did not even bother to look up. Instead, he simply raised his hand toward the sky.
Then, the Holy Spear that had just flown from the noble's hand into the Vault of Heaven descended along with the Divine Radiance, landing directly in Noah's grasp!
Unlike when it was in the noble's hand, the moment the Holy Spear touched Noah's palm, its resonant cry echoed throughout Rome!
The Divine Radiance spread outward, its power lifting the soldiers and the people to their feet. In contrast, the nobles who had been so smug moments earlier were forced to their knees, some with their legs crushed under the pressure. Yet, beneath this radiance, they could not even scream, nor were they allowed to faint!
Witnessing this scene, the nobles were dumbfounded, and the noble from the Custodian faction stared in utter disbelief.
"This can't be... It's impossible!"
He cried out in complete despair.
Noah, holding the Holy Spear, looked down at him with detached calm.
"Using a weapon that belongs to me against me—is this your final struggle? ...Hah, to reduce something so grand to such insignificance—what a laughable talent."
After saying this, Noah swung the Holy Spear in his hand and addressed the stunned soldiers who were watching the scene.
"Take action. Arrest them all. Keep them for public execution!"
These soldiers, who belonged to Rome, looked at Noah—holding the Holy Spear, bathed in Divine Radiance, resembling the war god Mars himself or the first emperor revered as the son of Mars—and instinctively responded to his command.
"Yes!"