Chapter 323
Just what kind of attack was Top Transformed Buddha?
Every single fist was the size of a small mountain, and a full-force strike from just one of them carried greater destructive power than Shikoutazer’s maximum-output bombardment.
And Kiriya had unleashed hundreds—nearly a thousand—of those punches.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!
The enormous wooden fists crashed into the earth like stars falling from the heavens.
The kinetic force behind each impact was enough to obliterate virtually anything in its path.
Imperial soldiers, exquisitely forged weapons, Imperial Arms users capable of slaughtering armies by themselves, and even the mountain range that had stood there since ancient times—
all of it vanished beneath that overwhelming barrage.
"AAAAAAAH—!"
Violent earthquakes rapidly spread throughout the mountains for hundreds of kilometers.
Entire peaks collapsed in succession, throwing so much dust into the sky that even beneath the morning sun, the world became as dark as eternal night.
The Imperial Capital, only a few dozen kilometers away, fared little better.
The earth shook beneath it.
Buildings swayed, cracked, and collapsed.
For those living inside the city, it felt as though the end of the world had arrived.
The people of the Imperial Capital lay flat against the ground, nearly drowning in terror.
All they could do was pray desperately to every god they knew, hoping that somehow this cursed, disaster-filled night would finally come to an end.
Eventually—the earthquakes stopped.
People cautiously raised their heads, trembling as they celebrated having survived yet another catastrophe.
Then they looked toward the mountain range east of the Imperial Capital.
And froze.
There was nothing there.
"The mountains... are gone?"
Countless mouths fell open.
It felt as though their minds had been struck by a hammer hundreds of times, leaving nothing but emptiness behind.
"Look! What’s that?!"
No one knew who shouted first.
More and more people turned their eyes toward the eastern outskirts of the city.
There, a colossal figure stood beneath the rising sun.
Hundreds of meters tall.
Majestic as a mountain.
Bathed in the golden light of dawn.
It looked like a Buddha or immortal deity descending into the mortal world.
As for why the mountains had disappeared...everyone already had their answer.
"Kami-sama!"
Someone shouted.
One after another, the citizens began bowing toward the enormous wooden Buddha, their hearts filled with genuine reverence.
...
East of the Imperial Capital, beneath the colossal Buddha—the original mountain range no longer existed.
Kiriya had literally hammered it out of existence.
In its place was an enormous crater at least a dozen square kilometers across, its depths impossible to estimate at a glance.
At the bottom of the crater, vast quantities of spring water were already pouring upward.
Underground waterways had found a new outlet, steadily filling the depression and beginning to form a lake.
"This is... unbelievable."
Esdeath stared at the completely transformed landscape for a long time, unable to pull her eyes away.
Akame and Kurome were even worse.
The two little girls looked as though their eyes might pop out of their sockets.
Their bodies were icy cold and trembling uncontrollably as they stared at Kiriya like he was some legendary Demon God brought to life.
They had clearly been traumatized.
"This... this must be a dream."
Honest suddenly started laughing.
"Yes. That’s it. I’m dreaming."
His eyes were bloodshot and foam had begun gathering at the corners of his mouth.
"Once I wake up, everything will still be exactly as it was."
Ryuu took one look at the obese man’s condition and hurriedly cast Noah Heal on him, afraid he might suddenly convulse himself to death.
Not because she pitied him.
Kiriya had specifically said Honest would still be useful.
Allowing the bastard to die quickly and painlessly would be far too merciful.
"What do we do next?" Jeanne asked.
"It’s not about what we do next."
Kiriya sat down cross-legged, gradually calming his heavy breathing after the massive chakra expenditure.
"It’s about what they do."
Ryuu’s eyes shifted slightly.
"You mean..."
"Isn’t it obvious?"
Esdeath’s lips curled into a knowing smile.
"The Emperor—the supreme ruler of this country—is gone."
"The die-hard military forces that maintained the Imperial Family’s rule were just wiped out too."
She looked toward the distant Imperial Capital.
"This country is now facing a once-in-a-thousand-years upheaval."
"Anyone who wants a place in whatever comes next will have to deal with Kiriya first."
Her smile deepened.
"Anyone who wants to change the current system, anyone who wants power... before they make a move, they’ll have to ask themselves one question."
"What does he want?"
Esdeath folded her arms confidently.
"Just wait. Someone will come."
Some people might choose to flee, of course.
But those would ultimately be minor figures without real ambition.
Anyone who genuinely wanted to accomplish something would never let an opportunity like this pass.
"Well, damn."
Kiriya looked genuinely surprised.
"I didn’t know you understood this kind of thing, Esdeath."
"Heh."
Esdeath smirked.
"I don’t understand politics."
"But I understand how weak people think."
Her tone was completely certain.
"If they don’t have someone with a big enough fist backing them, they don’t have the courage to do anything."
"Good point."
Kiriya nodded approvingly.
"Then let’s rest for a while, have a proper meal, and see who arrives first."
With that, he took out a summoning scroll and began pulling out cooking ingredients.
...
Imperial Capital.
After working throughout the night, Najenda had gathered scattered Imperial troops and surviving members of the Capital Guard, managing to restore at least a basic level of order throughout the city.
Naturally, she had seen the enormous Buddha outside the Capital.
After thinking about it for only a short while, she understood what Kiriya intended.
Najenda gave several instructions to her trusted subordinates, then prepared to leave the city and meet him personally.
"Boss, have you really thought this through?"
Lubbock and the others still looked uneasy.
"Yes."
Najenda answered calmly.
"If we intend to rebuild this country, that man’s will is something we cannot ignore."
"If we gain his support, we can end the coming conflict as quickly as possible."
Her gaze softened slightly.
"And the faster this ends, the less the civilians will suffer."
"But... you’re going alone?"
Lubbock still looked worried.
"Would bringing one more person or ten more people make any difference?"
Najenda gave a faint smile.
"In front of that man, numbers mean nothing."
"If anything, taking an entire force with me might only irritate him."
She glanced toward the streets.
"Everyone else is more useful here maintaining order."
"Fine."
Lubbock shrugged.
"But at least let me come along as your guard. If some blind idiot decides to cause trouble on the way, I can deal with them."
"That’s reasonable."
Najenda nodded.
And so the two of them headed toward the eastern outskirts of the Imperial Capital.
They had barely passed through the city gate when they encountered another group of soldiers.
At the front were two people Najenda knew well—
General Liver and Bulat.
"Huh?"
Najenda looked genuinely surprised.
"You’re still alive?"
Liver’s expression immediately darkened.
"What, General Najenda? Were you hoping I’d be dead?"
"Of course not!"
Najenda gave an awkward laugh.
"I’m just surprised you didn’t take part in that little contest back there."
"We wanted to."
Before Liver could answer, Bulat explained with a wry smile.
"Several different units blocked us."
"They were annoyingly clever about it too. They refused to fight us directly."
"If we attacked, they retreated. If we pulled back, they followed."
"They kept us tied up so thoroughly that we never had a chance to join the main pursuit."
Bulat paused.
"Considering the outcome... I suppose that wasn’t such a bad thing."
Najenda gave Liver an amused look.
Liver stared back for a moment before finally laughing helplessly.
"Yeah."
"Thanks to those bastards, we accidentally survived."
"So now you’re planning to do something useful?"
Najenda asked with a grin.
"Yes."
Liver nodded.
"I’ve been impulsive before. I’ve made foolish decisions too."
His expression became more serious.
"Now I’d like to do whatever I can to help."
"Then come with us."
With that, the two groups merged together and headed toward the towering wooden Buddha.