Night of the Soulless Heathens – 100



#100. Nightcrawler 2

“Count Lantarik has been fascinated by the prophecy of Jupiter since his youth. Because the light of the royal flower is actually fading.”

“What is that!”

Although his status as a paladin was in jeopardy his faith in Jibek had not changed. However he could not help but feel angry when an old man made an irreverent remark right in front of him.

Are you mocking yourself as a knight?

Normally he would have been executed immediately for blaspheming the king’s church. However in his current position he was in no position to punish others as a knight. Above all he could instinctively tell that this old man was telling the truth.

‘At least that’s what I believe. Besides the old man says that Count Lantaric also believes in the prophecy.’

The anger in Brand’s voice was too great to be dismissed as the mere ravings of a delusional old man.

“Why on earth does Count Lantaric believe that dire prophecy?”

“If you were a paladin wouldn’t you know? According to the old records all paladins of the King’s Church used healing magic. But now only the new kings who have taken the throne can cast miracles by shedding their own blood. And that’s not all. The light of the King’s Fire is truly fading.”

“….”

“Count Lantarik Garnahair knew that. He was a high-ranking noble who could know that. This is not just Count Lantarik’s problem. The royal family and the high-ranking priests and high-ranking paladins of the King’s Church all know this. The light of the King’s Flower the source of the King’s Church is weakening and the blood of the Yaegas Gods is running thin. This is an undeniable fact.”

Zibek thought it was excessive for Brand to dare to discuss the high-ranking officials of the King’s Church in front of him. But then he thought of Lord Jecht who was dabbling in black magic and suddenly he had such a question.

‘Perhaps Lord Jecht also knows this fact and that is why he is dabbling in black magic? Is it to obtain some power other than the light of the King’s Flower?’

Although he had such suspicions Jibek shook his head.

“That can’t be true.”

“Hmm. You are a great knight.”

It was difficult to understand whether Brand’s words were mocking or sincere.

“Many of the great nobles including Count Lantarik who were looking forward to the twilight of the Yaegas Tribe tried to make the blood of the Yaegas Tribe pure again by either using black magic or attempting inbreeding among themselves. Count Lantarik did both.”

“Inbreeding… you mean?”

Azadin clicked his tongue. Inbreeding refers to the inbreeding of species with precious bloodlines to revive their old traits.

Isn’t that what people close to the Yaegasu clan did?

“Yes. There are countless children’s remains in the Count’s basement. They were killed and buried in secret after failing at inbreeding.”

“Well as a knight of the church this is an unbearable insult. Do you have any evidence to prove it?”

“There was. I had already gathered such evidence and was fleeing from Count Lantaric’s lands. However I was caught by Donair a spy set up by the Count and ended up having them taken away.”

“So you’re saying there aren’t any right now?”

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“But Lantarik has a spare notebook.”

“Are you saying we should go look for it?”

“Everything is fine but would you please be quiet warm-blooded animals?”

Shati grumbled as she examined Azadin’s wounds. The broken ribs were wrapped tightly in bandages and only slightly inflamed but the real wound was the one where he had been stabbed by the Black Steel Sword.

When the bandage was removed pus and blood were still oozing from the wound.

“Oh my god. With a body like this…”

Zibek was astonished at the fact that Azadin was able to walk around and even fight with such severe injuries.

“Tch.”

Shati soaked a cloth in poison and wiped Azadin’s wound then pricked her finger to draw blood and applied it in a circular motion around the wound.

“Cobra Queen Devislyn grant strength to a lowly servant.”

As she prays to Devislyn the goddess of the Nagas the green magic power begins to work causing Azadin’s wounds to quickly scab over.

“Oh.”

“Awesome.”

Everyone who was watching was amazed.

“Everyone else is like that so it feels strange.”

Azadin who was lying down with the wound on his chest exposed smiled bitterly.

“You know I healed you to this extent before but you fought and the scab came off again. You’re not going to heal me again? Regeneration magic doesn’t get more effective if you keep casting it. It just makes the healing time faster but it’s the same as adding damage.”

When Shati said that Medium laughed.

“Why are you talking as if you have any choice when it comes to prisoners? If you tell me to do something I’ll do it.”

“I’m a prisoner?”

“Then what? Are you a guest not a prisoner?”

“Why is this warm-blooded animal picking on me? Are you feeling inferior because you’re uglier than me?”

“What!?”

As Medium and Shati began to argue Brand said:

“White magic healing is restoration. It erases the traces of the wound itself but green magic healing is regeneration. It’s magic that reduces the time needed for a wound to heal. Oh am I explaining magic to wizards?”

Brand said so and chuckled.

“This is proof that the white magic is weakening. Originally the magic used by the knights of the King’s Church was much more powerful than the magic of the Kurt tribe.”

“Why does this warm-blooded animal pick a fight with both the paladin and me? How dare you disparage the magic of the Cobra Queen who draws on the magic power of others to heal you?”

Shati was also annoyed with Brand. Azadin who had finished his treatment got dressed and took care of the situation.

“Okay calm down. So that’s why Count Lantaric dabbled in black magic since his youth? From Count Lantaric’s perspective he can see the Yaegas tribe’s power weakening right before his eyes just as Jupiter prophesied.”

“So Count Lantarik was trying various means and in the meantime he….”

“The Emperor’s Mint?”

“To be exact it is something even greater than that. The Emperor’s Treasure Chest.”

“Wow.”

Azadin whistled absentmindedly.

“It makes more sense when you call it a treasure trove.”

“It requires a physical key. And a clue to find it. But I’m not in my right mind right now so I can’t completely trust the memories that remain in my head. That’s why I want to go back to Lantaric and retrieve the materials I’ve hidden away.”

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“Hmm.”

Azadin listened to Brand’s words and became lost in thought.

“Let’s eat and rest first and then we can cross the river. There are some abandoned houses nearby. We can collect the door panels and other things to make a raft or a floating bridge.”

*********

Azadin’s party set up camp near the Kora River.

“They feed beans to horses and goats but there aren’t enough for people to eat.”

Azadin generously gave the food he had been carrying to the refugees so they didn’t have enough food to eat themselves.

“Do you want to catch a fish?”

“Me?”

Ismail sighed as he looked at Azadin who was asking him for a favor.

“Okay please. I need to get some more rest. I feel bad for being a guest.”

Although he pretended to be fine in front of others Azadin was also very injured and tired.

“All right.”

“I will help too.”

Jibek joined in.

“I don’t need it.”

“No actually fishing is my specialty.”

Jibek said so and took out a special fishing hook from his luggage.

“When I go back to my parents’ house I have a fishing rod that I made myself but it’s too bad I can’t use it.”

So it’s not that I’m interested in food it’s that I’m interested in fishing itself.

“I see you like fishing?”

“It’s not that I like fishing it’s that fishing likes me.”

‘This is serious.’

After hearing Zibek’s words Ismail realized that he was serious about fishing.

“Then you will be disappointed when you see what I do.”

Ismail said so and tied a string to the arrow and let it fly towards the water.

-puck!

A large fish was caught on an arrow.

“….”

While Zibek was panicking after finally taking out the fishhook Ismail shot another arrow and caught another fish. Zibek was visibly disappointed because he caught fish as soon as he shot.

“Well this isn’t fishing.”

“Right?”

Ismail pulled the line and retrieved the fish that had been skewered by the arrows. As he did so a patrol consisting of one cavalryman and four infantrymen was seen approaching from Count Lantarik’s bridgehead garrison.

“What’s going on?”

“Should we avoid it?”

“No if I avoid it they’ll think it’s strange so just do what you were doing. I’m a knight of the King’s Church so why should I hide and be ashamed?”

Zibek and Ismail were on high alert for any possible consequences…

“Get out of the way!”

“Get out of here if you don’t want to die!”

They were the ones who shouted first but the distance between them wasn’t closing at all.

“No even if you say Vicky…”

What do you mean if they come running fast you have to get out of the way or not? Everyone is already exhausted and even the horse the knight is riding is foaming at the mouth. Even if you tell them to get out of the way they are crawling slowly.

Even though Ismail pretended to step aside just in case it took a long time for the patrol to reach Ismail and Zibek.

Looking at the armor it looks like something serious has happened as there is damage and blood here and there.

“Gasp… gasp….”

“Damn it. Didn’t I say Vicky?”

“No I got out of the way. A whole swarm of flies already passed us ahead of you.”

As Ismail began to grumble Zibek interrupted him and stepped in to help sort things out.

“I am a knight of the King’s Church Zibek. What is it?”

“Seo Paladin?”

“Thank goodness!”

The soldiers and knights breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh the undead have invaded the garrison. We must notify Count Lantaric immediately.”

“Are you talking about the undead?”

“that is….”

“The people in this neighborhood have become undead. The Count was right! All the people here were cultists!”

“Social? Calm down and speak calmly.”

Count Lantarik’s forces crossed the River Kora and captured a waterside village with a dock to secure a bridgehead massacring its inhabitants.

The Count’s goal is to gain an advantageous position in the territorial dispute. To that end the Count’s army with the Count’s permission slaughtered the Salasma natives to their heart’s content committing murder looting and arson. But last night the dead bodies suddenly began to rise.

“I executed them because they were cultists. I swear I didn’t intend to massacre them.”

Although Count Lantaric’s knight said so it only proved how lightly the oath was kept.

‘They didn’t kill him because he was a cultist they killed him to plunder.’

Jibek thought so but as a paladin he could not ignore the words of someone who was spouting off oaths without any basis.

“They didn’t kill him because he was a cultist they killed him to loot.”

Ismail blurted out the truth because his position was different from that of Zibek.