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Last Embryo Volume 3 Chapter 5 Part 1

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

Underwood, the City of Water, under the Great Tree and its Waterfall.

In Underwood, one of the stages for the Sun Authority War. A Cait Sith land governor, Porol Gundark, had come to oversee the maintenance of the Spirit Train. Today, as always, the Spirit Train’s steam whistle reverberated throughout the City of Water.

The townscape that had been destroyed by the 『Bull of Heaven』 was splendidly repaired and the scenery had regained its former beauty. The riverside covered with red bricks was full of people who came to watch the departure of the Giant Spirit Train, 『Sun Thousand』. Porol, together with his sister Sharol, had been running back and forth, greeting all the important guests who were boarding the train.

「Haah……I’m beat. How many greetings are left?」

「One more and we are done for today. Arriving tomorrow will be: Fire Dragon 「Salamandra」, Saurian Demon King 「Great Sage who Devastates the Seas」, Roc Demon King 「Great Sage who Leaves Heaven in Disarray」…and The King of Livelihood 「Shuten Douji」.」

「That’s one amazing list. The Eastern side is rather loaded with VIP’s, huh?」

「Indeed. It’s no wonder it seems like that, especially now when the Onihime Alliance had been divided and absorbed by 「Shuten Douji」 and 「Great Sage who Leaves Heaven in Disarray」. There’s even 「Sanat Kumāra」, who is participating as an individual, and the group most likely to win, Sun King Alliance 『Avatara』 .」

「So how about the West?」

「First would be 「Queen Halloween」… or so I’d like to say, but it might be a bit problematic for her, don’t you think? Since the 「Book of Invasions」 is missing, it seems that she can’t summon the Celtic Pantheon’s strongest fighters. And the Norse Pantheon is pretty much ruined, leaving only 『Argo』 of the Greek Pantheon that can be called a Victory Candidate. That Community is something else, I tell you.」

「Ooh, they are really famous, even I know about them…!!! That Demigod Heracles and the poet Orpheus belong to that Community, right? It feels nostalgic to hear those names again!」

Sharol’s eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands together. In particular, the Demigod Heracles was a Divine Spirit with a direct relation to the War for the Sun’s Authority. Cancer and Leo were the basis of Heracles’ legend, 「Ten Labors」, and although both of these Sun Authorities were supposed to be owned by Heracles, the current owner of the Leo Authority was Sakamaki Izayoi.

「Yup, that’s right. Incidentally, Orpheus is also a hero of the Dystopia War. It’s been about seven years since he last appeared on the stage of the Gift Games.」

Porol answered, while turning over the guests of honor list.

The Sun Authority participants were divided into three groups: Hosts who managed and controlled the Gift Games, Players who competed in said Gift Games, and Sponsors who supported the Players. 『Six Scars』, the Community these two were in, was in charge of the Spirit Train that would transport everyone to the stage grounds. To be entrusted with the transportation of Players and the most famed of the Gods of War, it was both a great honor and the heaviest of responsibilities. The little boss had a strained face, but his cat ears twitched in a somewhat excited manner.

「Most of the names that have been revealed are acting as Hosts and Sponsors, but there are many Communities whose Players are hiding their identities. Someone of them might very well turn out to be a dark horse of this competition.」

「Oh? The pre-final gambling dens seems to be overflowing with speculation as well. Who is your favorite?」

「Favorite for what? The finals? Or the Exhibition Matches?」

「Either of them! The exhibition matches will be full of big shots, unlike what you’d expect from a normal skirmish! Especially now, I heard that someone from that famous 『Twelve Devas』 will be participating too, so a lot of guests are coming a long way to watch!」

「…Ah, that’s right. Indeed, that person is also taking part as part of the security to pay the loan.」

Porol scratched his head with a complex expression.

The 『Twelve Devas』 that brought together the gods of the Heavenly Army, as its name suggested, was the most prominent group that protected the world’s order. In the end, it was hard for him to say whether it was really a smart move to treat people like them as attraction sources. Nevertheless, there was also a part of him that wanted to witness the battle of those who were feared as the strongest war gods. As someone born in the world of Little Garden, he desired to challenge the true Gift Games at least once. And those Gift Games were trials made by none other than such War Gods, a Divine Spirit that usually only acted as the ones giving trials, who had now descended into the world and took an existing shape. Even that alone was no less than a miracle, but he also had an opportunity to witness them in action. Putting the morals aside for a bit, there were no other problems.

「Exhibition matches are where Players and Hosts gather, so no one can really tell who would win. Though I think it would turn out to be an interesting Game.」

「You are right about that. So in the end, who is your favorite?」

「Well, our esteemed allied Community 『No Name』 are my absolute favorites. After all, only the participants of 『Avatara』 can rival Master Izayoi in power.」

Porol said proudly, twitching his cat ears. 『No Name』, was the popular name that the community where Sakamaki Izayoi belonged to was called. It was a rising Community that had overcome countless trials on its way, and was in charge of the eastern side of Little Garden that was divided into four directions. Rumors were going around that they would likely be the winners of this Sun Authority War too, and there were also many War Gods who had gathered in their support. But Sharol dropped down her nekomimi and asked in doubt.

「『No Names』 is it… No, wouldn’t that be a bit too hard for them?」

「Why is that? And it’s natural to cheer for your allied Community.」

「You have a point. But Master Izayoi hadn’t come back since he left for the Outer World, so I think that would be pushing it, don’t you think so too? And there are even talks about Lady Leticia and Lord Croix having gone missing on top of it. Besides, did you check the lineup of 『Avatara』?」

Porol responded to Sharol’s question with a bitter face.

「…I did. They had some amazing members there.」

「That’s what I mean! What the heck is up with that super overpowered battle squad! On top of being full of Heroes and Divine Spirits, there wasn’t a single name on the list I didn’t know! Their average battle power is on a divine level… are they planning to destroy the world a few times over or something!?」

Such overly unreasonable difference in war power made her snap in rage. That was just how powerful the Community she spoke of – Sun Kings Alliance 『Avatara』 was. Just like with the 『Twelve Devas』 who were deemed as the strongest, they were also a mixed group of gods consisting of world-famed Heroes and Divine Spirits. Or perhaps it was better to call them a group of kings.

They had gathered together from the Indo-European sphere, and not only spread through Europe, they even enrolled a member of the Giants from the Northernmost parts of it. After all, 『Avatara』 was made in order to welcome the 「Savior of the Future」, and it even had the founder of Buddhism among its members.

Their fighting power was by no means normal. If all their members gathered at once, they could even pose a threat to this Little Garden of gods. In addition to that, the rumors had that they even had the cooperation of famous Demon Lords and heroes, the likes of Bull Demon King and Shen Gongbao. When even the Demon Lords and Divine Spirits from the Chinese side backed them up as Hosts, the lower Communities there were bound to follow along too. They were truly an invincible force. They firmly sat on the seat of the most probable Victory Candidates.

「I wonder just how far 『No Name』 can go when they are lacking their main fighting force. Maybe they’ll even have an unexpected loss in the very first match.」

「As if. That won’t ever happen. Did you forget, Sharol? That there’s another humanity’s biggest problem child, aside from Master Izayoi in 『No Name』?」

Saying so, he tapped on the Players list with his index finger and gazed up towards a certain flag. It seems that they had arrived at their destination while they were caught up in the conversation. Having arrived before the wagon where their final guest of honor was waiting, Sharol ended up holding her breath. Hoisted there was a red flag, gilded at the edges. Its banner depicting a girl standing atop the hill of hope, belonged to one of the Communities that were nowadays deemed as heroes in the Little Garden.

And among them, who didn’t yield to the adversity of being 「Nameless」 and fought countless battles to arrive in the present day filled with glory, there was a girl who had a power rivalling the Heroes of the Sun despite not having her name recorded in history.

「Ahh… There was indeed another one, huh. There might certainly be a chance if elder sister Kasukabe makes an appearance. I’m more mweorried about our supplies! We might run nyaout of food!」

「You have a point there. I’ll appoint a veteran gatekeeper to the Spirit Train’s food warehouse, just in case. If Calico Cat persuades her, even Elder Sis Kasukabe shouldn’t attack it… or at least I hope so.」

The two exchanged worried nods.