Night of the Soulless Heathens – 17



#17. The Aristocrat’s Byproduct 2

“These kids…..”

Tarki looked around just in case but there was no sign of anyone attacking.

Sword in hand he slowly walked around the sleeping mercenaries unrolling his blanket and soon found two sentries lying asleep on the rocks behind the campfire.

“Phew. You’ve been watching me for ten years.”

Tarki woke the sentries with his feet.

“omg?!”

“What are you guys going to do if you sleep here?”

“Ah… Your Majesty.”

“What about Confucius? Call me Sir. I’m still a trainee knight. Hmm?”

Tarki realized that there was something strange about the mercenaries’ condition. They were not sleeping but had been ambushed and knocked unconscious so they remembered the situation.

“Yes. That that….”

“It looks like we’ve been attacked.”

“Really? You weren’t dreaming at all?”

“I really do.”

“Where should we look?”

Tarki looked around with his men but there was no sign of anyone else. Azadin had already gathered everything he needed and left their camp.

“Huh? What is it? Loot!”

Tarki was horrified to see their chest of loot open.

*********

‘Judging by the reaction it doesn’t seem to be that guy’s. Then is he one of the mercenaries?’

Azadin was observing the mercenaries’ camp from a distance.

‘No matter how I look at it this wand… appears to belong to the Kurt clan.’

Although he cannot use magic he has received training in magic. The feeling and smell of the magical objects and the faint aura he can see tell him that they are objects created by the magic of the Kurts.

“The sudden appearance of the New King’s Book is also like that. Can’t you understand the Emperor’s voice?”

[None. It is up to humans to investigate. I was made of spirits.]

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“It’s completely useless.”

[Wouldn’t it be incredibly useful if it could just let you feel safe wherever you are without worrying about being on guard? And it also tells you the exact time? That would be very useful!]

“That’s true though.”

Azadin sighed.

The Emperor’s messenger may seem like a superman to ordinary people but he is still human after all. He is exhausted.

“I guess I’ll have to rest and ask those kids. I wish I could use magic too. I said I didn’t need a servant but now I have to rely on those guys.”

Azadin stepped back with regret. He wanted to check out the mercenaries a bit more but if there really was someone among them who used the magic of the Kurts they were definitely not to be trifled with.

‘There’s a chance of getting caught on this street. Hmm I have a feeling things are going to get complicated.’

*********

The next day Azadin rustled the blanket.

“Ah no matter how much I sleep I’m still sleepy. The teacher always said the same thing.”

I got up from my seat and looked around. Midiam and Ismail were still sleeping.

“What time is it?”

[It is 2:04 p.m.]

The Emperor’s voice told the time instead.

[At this stage of civilization just being able to tell me the exact time is of great use to me. I will always be grateful.]

“…Oh yes. Yes. Is that so. Yes yes.”

Azadin answered dryly and lay down again.

“Looking at the state of my body I can tell that I’m still very tired… but I can’t sleep. Can’t I help it?”

Azadin kicked Ismail and Midiam who were lying down.

“Get up children.”

“Ugh!”

“yes?”

Two boys and a girl stood up.

“You decided to get the bone wand appraised?”

“Oh yes. That’s right. Give it to me.”

“I’ll do it since it might be a cursed item.”

Ismail received the bone wand from Medium and began to breathe magic into it.

“What do you see?”

“I see green and black images.”

“Green and black magic? If it’s the King of Tooth there should be some red magic mixed in. Is it from another Kurt God?”

“Yes. Its function is… It’s made to find something specific. It has a limited amount of magical power so it’ll break down soon after use. It’s not a very strong item. It’s mass-produced… But whoever made this is incredibly skilled. They made it well without putting much effort into using cheap materials.”

“Hmm.”

Azadin clicked his tongue when he heard that.

“Well it’s made of bone and it’s said to be an item of the Kurt clan when it’s held by one of Kurt’s followers but it’s definitely confirmed. This is…..”

“yes?”

“No. I’ll take care of it.”

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Perhaps the ogre group that had this wand came in search of the copy of the New King’s Book that Azadin had.

However if you tell Medium and Ismail about the function of this wand they will want to try it and the wand will point to the nearest copy of the New King’s Book that is Azadin.

‘I don’t need to let these guys know that I have a copy of the Shinwangjinseo. Wait. Then if I have a copy of the Shinwangjinseo they’ll keep targeting me…’

The pursuers keep coming. So we have to hurry.

“I have to go to Salasma quickly.”

“Then shall we leave now?”

“No. Let’s go after we eat and finish tidying up.”

Although I’m busy I’ve already destroyed a scouting party of ogres and goblins and retrieved the bone wands that were among the mercenaries. There’s no reason to rush without eating.

Besides if there’s anyone among the mercenaries who knows how to use this bone wand… they’ll definitely do something about it now that the wand is gone.

‘If we keep our distance and chase after them we might be able to see something interesting.’

*********

“Are you kidding me you guys!”

Tarki was furious. The mercenaries were pretending not to care that expensive silver candlesticks and silver dishes had disappeared from the loot.

“Where did you hide it to collect it later! You guys! And even after doing that….”

“no!”

“We were really attacked. Look at this.”

The mercenaries who had been on guard duty last night showed their necks complaining of their grievances. There were clear handprints carved into their necks. However Tarki ignored the handprints.

“You claim that there is a thief who has not even seen you with wounds that are not even amputated and can easily be forged! If what you say is true then you are saying that a thief in a group of armed mercenaries did not stab you the sentries with a poisoned dagger but rather grabbed you by the hand and knocked you unconscious?”

“No that’s….”

“Yes that’s right.”

At that moment the leader of the mercenaries clicked his tongue.

“Besides the arrowheads and grains were also lost.”

“grain?”

“Yes. Also… one of my belongings went missing and no matter how I look at it it doesn’t look like the work of a typical thief.”

Tarki was not a fool. It doesn’t matter whether what the mercenary captain says is true or not.

The problem is the captain’s feelings. If this guy thinks he’s been insulted the mercenaries will immediately turn their backs on Tarki.

‘I guess I’ll have to end it here.’

I don’t know who stole the loot but if we pressure the mercenaries any further they might rebel.

“Tch I see. Well let’s just say we were attacked. As punishment I’ll cut the pay of the guards. Do you think that’ll do?”

“yes.”

“yes.”

The mercenaries whose salaries were cut had a look of discontent on their faces but their opponents were illegitimate children of powerful nobles so it was impossible to show affection towards them.

“hmm.”

However the mercenary captain who was not affected by the pay cut was not pleased.

“For now it would be good to punish our subordinates for their failure to keep watch. The problem is the item I lost.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Hahaha. I can’t say it.”

The mercenary captain burst into laughter.

“Really? It’s nothing special I guess.”

“That’s not it. Perhaps… the one who stole it is going to a nearby village… Could you possibly commandeer that village under the command of Lord Tarki?”

“What? Wait isn’t the village near here the post station we saw on our way here? A place with a post station is inconvenient.”

Things like farmers’ farms or pioneer villages can be easily looted as they can be wiped off the map at any time.

However villages with border gates or post stations could not be easily plundered as such key locations were marked on the king’s map and were strictly controlled by the lord.

The Eastern Gateway Village that they had plundered the day before yesterday was called the Gateway Village and actually had a gateway but it was not engraved on the King’s Map.

Because it was not a border gate but a gate on a road leading to the wasteland it was a village that did not exist on the king’s map and so it was freely plundered.

“It doesn’t matter. Even if Sir Tarki doesn’t agree we will still plunder at his command.”

“Huh? What? What do you mean?”

Tarki looked at the mercenary captain who was speaking strangely and looked puzzled.

But at that time.

-Phuk!

The mercenary captain pulled out his dagger and stabbed Tarkhi in the lower abdomen.

“Huh?!”

“Huh? Captain!”

The mercenaries were also shocked by the sudden rebellion. Why would they suddenly stab their employer in the stomach?

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry. This is… a dagger I received as a gift from a witch.”

“uh.”

Tarki was surprised. He clearly felt a tingling sensation in his stomach… but there was no blood or wounds.

No the dagger that was stuck in his stomach suddenly transformed into a strange spider…

-Kakakaka!

I was sucked hurriedly into his stomach.

“Eek!?”

“Have you seen it?”

“spider!”

“As you can see.”

The mercenary captain glared at Sir Tarki with a smile.

“It’s harmless now right?”

“Hey you. What are you doing….”

Tarki drew his sword in indignation.

Even though he was an illegitimate child Tarki was the illegitimate child of a noble family with enough wealth to hire such a large mercenary group.

He had been faithfully trained in swordsmanship since childhood and his skills were such that even seasoned mercenaries could not ignore him. However the fight never came to fruition.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you just stayed quiet?”

The mercenary captain whistled.

“Huh?!”

Suddenly a tearing pain surged through Tarki’s lower abdomen and he slumped forward. The sword fell from his hand and rolled on the ground.

“Okay calm down first.”

“This is…..”

Cold sweat was running down Tarki’s face. He had been fine when he was stabbed by the dagger but now he was in so much pain that he was sweating and his face was pale.

“The spider that got inside your stomach just bit your flesh.”

“what?”

“If you don’t listen to me a spider will lay eggs in your stomach. Oh that one… I’ve seen the body of a person who died from this before and it was horrible. Even I had to drink a lot to forget about it before I could sleep.”

“What are you talking about when you stabbed me? No before that what is this? What kind of magic is it? If it’s magic related to spiders is it the magic of the Kurt clan?”

“I don’t know much about it I just got it from a witch passing by.”

“Dog dog!”

“Oh be careful what you say.”

The mercenary captain whistled again.

“Kwaaaaak!”

Tarki rolled on the ground trembling.