I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

321 - The Fall of the Empire 1

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: Posted in discord

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The city of harpies, which we had returned to in just one day, was now in such a state that it was embarrassing to call it a city.

"Ugh, sh*t! Don't touch the gas!"

"Those flying bitches are even throwing things, damn it!"

"You f*cking b*tch, is that an ore or a patterned rock? Can't you see straight?"

Hundreds of mercenaries were rampaging like madmen on the debris of collapsed buildings.

"Shiiit! You said you'd block it!"

"Shut up and move your feet, the real ones are blocking it―!"

The Rebecca Mercenaries, one of the best in the kingdom in terms of both size and strength. An elite unit that reached the upper ranks, with mid-tier mercenaries blinded by the sight of gold coins numbering in the hundreds.

Even if they weren't part of the same group, wasn't it a mercenary's specialty to increase their numbers through contracts?

Among the flying spears of the harpies, hundreds of low-tier mercenaries screamed they were dying but still diligently pocketed the jewels. Mid-tier mercenaries, somehow dodging a couple of flying spears, were dismantling anything that looked expensive, numbering in the hundreds.

Unlucky ones were dropping dead from the flying spears, but no one cared.

They were throwing their lives away to earn money, it was their free will.

"Wow, it's more chaotic than last time."

"Maybe it's because there are no stone dwarves to repair the city."

"Well, you can't rebuild those sturdy metal walls with harpy wings."

"Ugh, even if harpies wear clothes, it's good that they still maintain their R-rated appearance."

-Humans don't turn into mana stones, so it quickly becomes a gore fest

-Seeing it like this, it's really brutal... Maybe because I'm immersed in the low-tier mercenary life

-The low-tier ones die without a sound, and the mid-tier ones roll on the ground to avoid it. The high-tier mobs are really strong.

-Why are they taking rocks? Looks like they're grabbing anything they can in this chaos, lol

They were holding large warhammers suitable for demolition rather than combat. Since they couldn't handle aura, they couldn't have created this ruin, so most of the collapsed buildings were the result of the disaster caused by me and some nameless adventurer raiders last time.

There were no stone dwarves to rebuild the collapsed buildings, and the city's commander was an incompetent fool who only knew how to adorn himself.

In such a situation, within a day, hundreds of humans swarmed out from the underground, how horrifying must it be? To the empire's harpies, who consider ground walkers inferior, wouldn't humans look like some kind of monstrous flesh-eating ants?

Not flesh-eating ants... house-eating ants? Giant ants that steal buildings and property, that sounds a bit scary.

"Where should we go now?"

"If there's a temple, there should be some religious facilities, right?"

"I've seen something like that."

Katie, starting the conversation as she watched the chaos of harpies flying busily and mercenaries running for their lives.

She mentioned there might be hints like a temple in the city, which was just a casual remark, but it turned out to be true. Well, it's an empire ruled by a harpy with delusions of grandeur, claiming to be an empress and Goddess.

It makes sense there would be religious facilities in every city since loyalty is synonymous with faith.

Whether it's a hint or not, it's confirmed that such a place exists. While I was wrecking the city and inhaling noxious gas, and Han Se-ah was digging underground for valuables, the other three seemed to have diligently explored the city.

"This way!"

"What about the harpies?"

"Put on your robes and hide your weapons, don't hold anything in your hands. They seem to target those fighting or stealing first."

As Grace, with her keen insight, suggested, we pulled our robes over our heads and ran through the debris. The harpies flying urgently overhead ignored us.

Of course, since it was the Harpy Empire, it was a world with a class system. If there were suspicious humans evacuating from a place where slaves or ordinary citizens lived, and humans stealing the property of nobles, the thieves had to be caught first and the nobles appeased.

Even humans would first protect the nobles' property. Why would it be different for the imperialistic harpies who only learned the worst practices?

"It’s noisy, but it feels peaceful."

"Other than the flying debris, it doesn’t seem dangerous."

Thanks to Grace's senses, we could weave through alleys without receiving direct attacks, making it easier to navigate the city. Command-level harpy soldiers, who used throwing spears as their main weapon, were being handled by high-ranking mercenaries, making our passage surprisingly comfortable.

Even low-ranking harpy soldiers, steeped in their superiority complex, seemed to hate the idea of landing in the dusty alleys below.

Sometimes, stone fragments or building debris would fly up due to fights between mid-tier mercenaries and low-ranking soldiers, but all of us had reached high-tier levels. Even the delicate and fragile Irene, considering her HP stats, would be dozens of times stronger than a regular farmer.

From the sky came the sound of harpy wings and shouts, while from the ground arose the groans and screams of mercenaries. Moving through this chaos without weapons, we saw a tall building come into view.

It was somewhat different from the tall, luxurious building where the harpy commander had been. Instead of being tall, it was broad and lacked the ornate decorations one might expect.

It seemed the exterior was built simply as a religious facility… probably the work of stone dwarves.

Because it didn’t glitter, it drew less attention despite its large size. As we rampaged through the city, we mainly destroyed tall, glittering structures, so this building’s exterior remained intact.

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Raei Translations

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It felt like a scene from a movie.

"Wow... the stone dwarves' craftsmanship is just amazing."

As Han Se-ah murmured, the beautiful building, which served as both a temple and a gathering place, stood tall amidst the ruins.

High-ranking mercenaries, dragging out battles and buying time, enraged command-level harpies who recklessly hurled their spears. Mid-tier mercenaries smashed anything valuable in the city, low-tier mercenaries grabbed anything profitable and fled, with soldier harpies in pursuit.

Unarmed harpy citizens screamed in sharp voices, and unlucky mercenaries left their last words in the dusty air as they died.

Amidst this chaos, the large religious building maintained its beauty, untouched. It was like a scene from a movie or a line from a folklore passed down by word of mouth.

"There doesn’t seem to be any guards, let's go in."

We opened the door and found the interior unscathed. It felt like a roofless cathedral, or a massive exhibition hall where a mosaic made of stained glass should have been.

Our steps naturally slowed as we took in the vast, grand, and solemn place. Especially Irene, who seemed deeply moved, started looking around with her small mouth agape.

Even though it was built to worship the harpy empress, the stone dwarves had built it. Despite being enslaved, their craftsmanship prioritized artistry, creating a place that felt both unadorned and striking, exuding a contradictory antique elegance.

Having lived on Earth and in the kingdom, I felt it was more beautiful than any museum, cathedral, or noble mansion I'd ever visited. How much more would Irene, a saint candidate, feel?

"If the temple's layout is similar, this would be the hall for visitors. So, probably this way…."

"Did you hear that? Let’s follow Irene’s suggestion."

-Expert knowledge from someone in the same field, lol

-Feels weird to see Irene lead instead

-What game puts the healer in the front line

-The architecture is so beautiful; I want to use this for my project

-The professor watches the stream and fails you right away, lol

The camera panned over the harpy temple like a documentary stream. The viewers, perhaps moved by the lens’s capture, made comments one after another.

Following Irene's lead, we passed through the wide hall and headed to a space filled with columns. These columns didn’t seem to support the ceiling but rather served as seats for high-ranking harpies.

This must be an important space used for worshiping the harpy empress.

"It’s supposed to be around here…."

"It does resemble the temple my father took me to."

However, it wasn’t exactly the same, and Irene's steps gradually slowed and stopped. Since it was a temple for harpies, there were many tall columns, making it inconvenient to explore from the ground.

I felt like smashing these vision-obstructing columns, but doing so might destroy clues or attract nearby harpy soldiers.

The tall stone columns didn’t attract mercenaries for plundering, which pushed them out of the harpy soldiers' interest. But if loud crashing sounds came from inside, someone would definitely come to check.

While thinking this, Grace suddenly wiped her palms on her thighs and leapt up. She discarded her robe and began climbing the columns. I couldn’t help but look up and watch.

"Got it! Can everyone climb up?"

I was momentarily captivated by her slim legs that weren’t fully covered by her leather armor. Beyond the open ceiling, I saw the cloudy sky and tall walls. Grace, smiling brightly from atop a column, waved us to join her.

Did they stash all their religious symbols at the very top of the temple?