Chapter 103 – 103 – Rebirth and Trials
The people of Linden were not pleased with the grand siege.
By leaving behind the duke’s castle, which was fine, and collecting too much tax to build a new one? Accurate.
While you’re busy farming, you keep having to get called in for repairs? That too is something I can’t help but be dissatisfied with.
But the biggest reason may be that the idiot Archduke Barbo Lindborg lives there.
Since the time of the previous duke, his asshole behavior has been famous. When he drank alcohol, he became blind and assaulted his vassals as if they were going to kill him. He also burned down an intact farmhouse, saying he would create a new hunting ground. When his pocket money was cut off as punishment for such atrocities, he went so far as to print a huge amount of counterfeit currency with his mischievous friends.
It is wrong to harm subjects or peasants, but messing with money is no different from playing with fire. The Armatam Empire, the key country for gold currency, did not tend to accept even a few pennies as a favor when it discovered systematic counterfeiting. Barbo almost came to be regarded as the man who officially challenged imperial hegemony.
The reason Barbo saved his life was thanks to the previous duke who cared for his only son. He hastily threw his son Barbo into a monastery and prayed for his hands and feet to wear out. Before the Imperial Finance Bureau sends a special task force composed of Hero aspirants to Barbo and his gang.
Linden’s people whispered that they probably shouldn’t have turned around so cheaply. His father met an unexpected death on his way back from the empire, and thanks to that, Barbo returned from the monastery early, having become absorbed in pseudo-philosophy.
Mithras is superior to other gods. Because I, the blood of a warrior, said so.
The warrior is great and infallible. Because a superior Mithraic leader said so.
A dizzying circular argument. The moment he says something strange, a knife will fly and put his life in jeopardy.
Barbo’s claim that he had become a new person thanks to the grace of Mithra failed to convince anyone. Actually, not much has changed.
He assaulted his vassals as if they were going to kill them for daring to break Mithra’s teachings and wander around at night, and burned down intact farmhouses saying he would build a new church. Then, when the country’s money ran out, he began collecting huge amounts of taxes.
‘If he teases you, ask your dad’ changed to ‘Ask Mitra.’ People began to glance at Taeyang, who did not respond, and ask questions to themselves. ‘So when are you going to take that kid away?’
People’s sentiment was ultimately shattered when they heard that the army had not even been sent in despite the emergence of witchcraft in the countryside. There were even rumors going around that he had a priestess named Christensen with him, and that he was trying to take over the entire country by involving Mithraic fundamentalists in politics.
The people of Linden eventually began to pray to their respective gods, whether it was Mithra or something else. Please let that guy named Barbo live a private life. I just hope the great siege falls on his head and dents his head.
When word spread that this really happened, people were happy as if they had received a gift. But that joy did not last long. About an hour apart, news followed that it was a giant demon cave that had destroyed the Great Siege Castle.
The complicated prospect is that thousands of monsters will be created in the center of Linden, and will soon spread out and run around the country like a herd of rabbits.
The Duke family, which was trying to control the panicked duchy, decided not to waste any effort in finding the missing Archduke. Instead, he followed the Dragon Lord’s advice and quickly selected a new archduke.
The nephew, who was Barbo’s adjutant, began his first order as duke with an order of introduction. He said, ‘We will evacuate people to foreign countries until the situation is resolved.’ It may not be an easy decision, but it will save countless lives.
Thus Barbo lost his post. He even had to watch the dragon burn the ruins of the Grand Duke’s castle. I also witnessed a long procession of people abandoning their country, packing up their bags, and leaving.
The lonely night air whispers. Now there’s nothing left for him.
“There will be heavenly punishment, you traitors!”
So Barbo Lindborg poured curses at the backs of their heads. In a countryside far from the capital, at the top of a demon ziggurat that had been neutralized by the activities of the Special Monster Extermination and Removal Party.
“Who gave permission to leave? Who arbitrarily serves a new master while the master is still alive? With the honor of the noble Hero lineage at stake, one day, I will definitely…”
“Don’t walk.”
Barbo flinched at the cold voice, swallowing the words he had spat. But he soon felt a lump of betrayal rising in his throat.
Gunther Waldenhardt seemed uninterested in Barbo’s anger. He just smiled and glared at the demon cave at the site of the great siege.
As the white flames spewed out by the rod struck the huge ziggurat, a flash of light shone in Gunter’s eyes and made them shine.
“I never thought you would pay such deep attention. If only I had been able to take my daughter’s body hostage as originally planned, things would have been easier. I tried to make things easier, but I ended up going in circles.”
“Yes?”
“Originally, I was trying to trap Thena Everlight with that Magu. I thought that a blue-gold hero would do whatever it takes to come forward. But if he spews fire like that, no hero will be able to enter.”
Gunter chatted happily. Barbo was not happy at all.
“But if you keep firing like that for a few days and nights, a dragon like Ragnaroka will need to replenish its strength for at least the next few months. Even if it means wasting firepower that should be used to protect the dragon, it looks like it won’t play to my beat. .”
“What are you saying?”
“This generation’s young Lord has a bolder side than the previous generation’s old man. What should we do? Should we kill a few dragons living outside the nest and make them regret their intervention?”
Barbo did not ask what the identity of the man who dared call the Dragon Queen young was. He didn’t even think about the dangers of someone casually saying he was going to slay a dragon.
It wasn’t because I didn’t have enough intelligence to catch such a thing, but because I was so angry that I couldn’t hear anything properly.
“Is it fun? Does it make you laugh?”
“Hmm?”
“Damn it, look at me! It was all done by you. You say that teaching order to the people requires sacrifice? That when the work is done, everyone will be grateful for my presence? So, the tears flowing out of sadness “Didn’t I just endure it and give up my country and people?”
In front of the spiritual leader who taught him hero supremacy, Barbo casually told a blatant lie.
The reason they did not send the people of this region not only an army but also gold to hire a party was not because of any special cause. It was just a ploy to solidify the reign of terror and suppress discontent.
I did not bother to bring up the memories of him boasting to the farmers who kept their heads down, ‘Be prepared’ and ‘The canes will come soon.’ As I imagined the country turning upside down because of that incident, I even forgot about laughing openly in front of others.
Barbo stabbed Gunter’s solar plexus with his finger.
It was as if with each stab, the responsibility for failure was taken away and passed on to Gunther.
“But what did I receive in return? The wonderful castle I built with my own money was destroyed! My kingdom treated me like a corpse and replaced me with a nephew! If you have the blood of a warrior, don’t hesitate to claim your rights? It’s the right thing to do in the world. “You want to be the master? But this is what happens!”
Gunther Waldenhardt had a shocked expression. Barbo, thinking he had been stabbed, screamed louder.
“What about that hillbilly, Lorenzo Salamanca, who dared to owe me the Dragon Lord’s debt? He was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry representing the 144 comunes! How dare you do something that if you don’t pay, the dragons might fly over the skies of the principality and show force. “You did it without even asking me! How dare you steal my rust-eating spot by flattering me! I’ll kill you!”
“···If the demon cave under our feet had done its job properly, it wouldn’t have ended up like it is now. I’m sure no one would have called you a bastard.”
Gunther let out a shallow sigh and held Barbo’s shoulder. Barbo tried to swat it away.
However, the vicar’s forearms were too heavy for Barbo to lift.
“But when I heard that ‘things’ were coming to this demon cave, I couldn’t bear it any longer, so I changed my plan. I originally had no intention of visiting this place. Thanks to that, I lost the opportunity to collect many souls. You and I are ultimately responsible for my failure. Am.”
An incredibly large finger came towards Barbo’s face as if stroking a child.
“So now this is not about punishing failure.”
“Now, wait a minute-“
“If you had truly read the scriptures faithfully, you would have noticed.”
A hand slowly wrapped around his tattooed neck. Gunther looked down with disgust and pity in his narrowed eyes.
“The discipline of the religion strictly prohibits daring to engrave God’s words on one’s body.”
Sobbing, pleading, and crunching sounds.
Christensen, who was climbing the ziggurat stairs on the outer wall of the Magul, flinched when he saw Barbo’s silhouette being thrown into the distance.
“And you are not even a hero. You bring up the honor of a hero when you are a ‘tinker’ with light inherited blood.”
The shadow of a person flies up the night sky with little light and blocks the starlight. It was terrifying because it was unrealistic.
The fact that Gunter Waldenhardt’s true identity is the Demon King is also unrealistic and terrible. It was also unrealistic and horrifying that his twins were scattered around the world, hundreds of them, with their faces obscured or mangled, each plotting different plots.
The object Christensen was carrying was also unrealistic and terrifying. Christensen, who had reached the top, trembled and tried to control his fear. And he slowly lowered his head towards the back of Gunther’s head.
“I found it. Although it was difficult to resolve-“
“Good job. Put it down.”
Christensen trembled and threw a man’s weight of meat from his back.
It’s not that I was nervous because I wasn’t a porter. The pile of flesh, which had been forcibly transported by being wrapped in a tarp and net as it kept slipping and flowing, fell soggy and wriggled, spilling blood on the stone floor of the ziggurat. Christensen couldn’t even figure out how that scary, creepy thing stayed together.
And he didn’t know why he wasn’t dead yet.
“···Well, well, well···.”
“Why are you doing that?”
“Bah, bah, Excellency Waldenhardt, yo, yo, forgive me…”
“Don’t apologize. Are you afraid that you disowned me in front of everyone? Are you afraid that you tried to tell the church about what I did? Should I be angry with you?”
“Sin, sin, sorry…”
“It’s not that I don’t know what you mean. You probably thought it would be more useful to me to pretend to switch to their side rather than being imprisoned or executed together with them. You are truly a loyal and clever servant.”
Christensen had no plans to do so. It was just that my notions had become hardened as I lived as a devoted follower of Mithras, so the word excommunication felt as scary as the word death.
“Isn’t that right?”
But the moment Gunther turned around expressionlessly, Kris Tansen could only nod her head eagerly.
Gunther nodded her head in satisfaction and turned around. Christensen looked at his right hand and was confused. Gunther was holding a strange bluish-green sphere.
Gunther lowered his head towards his piece of meat. He then slowly lowered the luminous sphere in his hand onto the piece of meat.
“That’s it. The blood you’re born with cannot be changed, but what you lack can be filled with faithfulness.”
“Okay, thank you-“
“The loss of a life can also be replaced with a life. Isn’t that right, Adamantone?”
Christensen blinked. And he tried to think rationally.
However, no matter how Gunther’s eyes looked, he was directed at the crushed piece of meat. Christian Stansen, who thought it was some kind of monster, felt a chill go down his spine little by little.
As soon as the turquoise-colored sphere came in contact with the piece of meat, it began to make a faint sound of wind escaping. This time Christensen fell to the ground in fear. It was clearly Barbo Lindborg’s scream.
As if it had heard the sphere’s scream, the piece of meat twitched and suddenly rose up. And he slowly began to suck the sphere into his body.
“Ordeals are an opportunity for a warrior to grow. I believe you will learn a lot.”
Gunter smiled happily.
“Rise, Adamantone. There is much life to harvest.”
————
“How far do I have to walk?”
“Very much. First of all, I said we were definitely far away, right?”
Although the Tigris warned us early on, the journey is much more difficult than we thought.
I heard the saying about crossing mountains and crossing water. But he didn’t say anything about having to break through a desert sandstorm.
“Jeegiraaaaal-! I didn’t know it was this far away! It’s not the distance, it’s like you’re blinding!”
“Eye! I got sand in my eye! Please wipe my eye!”
“Wear your goggles properly, you idiot!”
“Ignore what Nidroga says! There’s still not enough water! I probably used more than 2L just to wipe my eyes today!”
“How can this be so cruel…!”
