Chapter 316
Chapter: 316
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 316
>Chapter Title: Change (1)
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Dim dawn light.
As autumn deepened, the increasingly barren wasteland was being traversed at high speed by four cargo wagons.
Rattle, rattle.
Despite the poor road conditions, the wagons maintained a stable ride without much shaking. It was clear they had simple shock-absorbing devices on the floors. Far too luxurious for mere cargo haulers.
On the pristine white coverings of the wagons—still fresh with paint not fully dried yet—the name of the merchant group gleamed clearly.
-Bertrand & Lee
The wagons were traveling an old trade route connecting former Ortona and Regina. Now, it was an abandoned path with hardly any passersby.
For a merchant group's cargo wagons to traverse such a deserted area without any escorts was extraordinarily unusual.
And sure enough. Beneath sparse bushes, a gang of bandits lay flat, waiting for the wagons to approach.
"It's real! A merchant wagon's actually comin' this way!"
"Indeed. Marquis Daesiano's intel was spot on."
"But really, boss, no backlash if we hit that?"
Their bearded leader reassured his ragtag, untrustworthy underlings.
"Don't worry. I hear it's a small outfit just starting out. Plus, what kind of legit merchant uses a backroad like this? They ain't haulin' honest goods."
"Ya think?"
"Damn right. Look there! Only four coachmen driving the wagons—no one else in sight. How secretive do you gotta be to roll like that?"
True enough. No matter how hard they strained their eyes, there were no signs of life around the wagons aside from the coachmen.
Especially the one driving the lead wagon—an old geezer on his last legs! Tension faded from the bandits' faces, replaced by growing hope.
"They couldn't complain even if we left 'em penniless. Enough frettin'—let's move!"
Led by the bearded leader charging out, the bandits swiftly dashed onto the road, blocking the wagons' path.
Neigh!
The old coachman yanked the reins in fright, and the horses whinnied pitifully as the bits bit hard.
Confirming the wagons had come to a full stop, the bearded man stepped forward arrogantly and bellowed.
"Old timer! Ditch the wagons and scram now! We'll spare your life!"
But in that instant, something astonishing unfolded before the bandits' eyes.
Rip! Pop!
The coverings tore violently, and massive crates burst out from each wagon.
"......!?"
Before they could react to the flying crates—
Clank! Clank! Thud!
The wagons twisted and merged together, transforming into the form of a colossal giant. A terrifying ice monster towering nearly ten meters high!
Rooooar!
The bandits gaped in horror at the beast's furious roar toward the sky.
"Eek?"
"W-What the hell is that?!"
But that wasn't the end.
Baaaa!
The "old man" had become a small goat, floating into the air and glaring sharply at the bandits.
Horizontally slit pupils, sharp horns jutting from its head, black demonic energy wafting from its body—it was unmistakably a lesser demon spawn.
"How many times is this nowwww! Why do you keep attacking 'Bertrand & Lee' wagons?! The coverings never stay intactttt!"
The goat was a lesser demon familiar.
Its master was the mid-tier demon Glumgos, currently posing as Wilhelm Schmidt, branch manager of a logistics relay station.
Under orders, the goat was returning from Barletta in northern Ortona, driving these refrigerated wagons loaded with precious salmon and other perishable luxury foods.
"Reforming after fusion is a huge painnnn! Making me go through this—you're all gonna regret itttt!"
"Ughhh..."
"Uhhh..."
The bandits groaned clumsily and backed away. The nightmare before them was simply unbelievable.
But they weren't the only ones shocked.
"Wh-What just came out of the wagons?!"
"A monster! It's a monster!"
"Eek! Demons!"
The three rear coachmen leaped from their wagons in terror. They clearly had no idea their boss was a demon—or what they were transporting.
The goat turned back with a deeply troubled expression.
"Oh no... gotta wipe the coachmen's memories again? Not the first time—how long do I have to keep this uppp?"
Meeting the goat's eerie eyes, the pale-faced coachmen desperately flung themselves toward the bandits who'd attacked them—the only refuge they could think of.
"Eek! R-Run!"
"We're dead! All gonna die!"
Thus, attackers and victims alike banded together in a frantic escape.
And clumsily lumbering after them, the ice monster!
Boom! Boom!
With each heavy step of the giant, the weak ground cratered, sending tremors through the area. The goat panicked and flew swiftly toward the ice monster.
"Stop! Enough—revert nowwww! Everything inside's gettin' jostledddd!"
Amid the chaos, thankfully, the monster didn't trample anyone.
It was set to auto-target enemies, but fused from two glacier trolls, its movements weren't as smooth as before.
Meanwhile, the little goat hurriedly found the controller its master had given it—the ice heart.
As it manipulated it—
Whirr—
Clank! Clank! Thud!
The massive ice monster disassembled into four crates amid a racket, then flew neatly back into the wagons as if nothing happened.
Whoosh—thud! Thud!
"......!?"
Silence fell in an instant.
The only traces of the commotion were the tattered coverings and deep depressions in the ground from the immense weight.
But the terrified people didn't stop fleeing.
"D-Demons!"
"Glacier trolls!"
"Lord have mercyyy!"
Baaa...
Watching them, the goat sighed dejectedly.
"Gotta tell master when I get backkk. Way better to just hire proper escorts, righttt?"
The disheartened demon lightly leaped to block the fleeing people's path.
"Eek!?"
"Well, that'd mean more folks to clean up after—might be even more hassleee..."
The goat's horizontally slit eyes fixed on the fear-stricken people.
Followed by a piercing voice shaking their minds.
[Now, everyone, look into my eyes. You're all feelin' happpyyy...]
"......!?"
As the eyes of the bandits and coachmen grew glazed upon facing the goat, a bright sun rose as usual over the distant wasteland.
* * *
"Your Highness, your focus is exceptional today! What happened yesterday?"
Early morning training grounds.
Masain, overseeing Sungjin's practice, asked in surprise. Sungjin was immersing himself in the morning session with unprecedented concentration.
Why wouldn't he be? The headache of the Pangea Chronicle was resolved for now, and the lesson happened to be the 8 Forms, 10 Stances of the Banahas Sword Arts.
The end of the frustrating aura-weaving was in sight. From here on, even Sungjin could confidently call himself a proper swordsman.
"Huu..."
Finishing practice satisfactorily, Sungjin wiped his sweat and asked.
"So, Sir Masain. What's after 8 Forms, 10 Stances? Time for me to learn the old swordsmanship?"
The old swordsmanship was the precursor to the Imperial Knights' standard swordsmanship. But even with his limited experience, Sungjin guessed the aura-weaving methods differed significantly. Might be good to try it out for experience.
Masain pondered briefly before shaking his head.
"The old swordsmanship was already perfectly systematized by the genius swordsman Banahas. The Imperial Knights' standard and Banahas Sword Arts are complete swordsmanship in themselves."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I never delved deeply into the old style myself. Especially for someone like Your Highness who focuses so intently on one thing, it's far more efficient to master a single path to the end."
Informal Sword Master Logan agreed.
"In my view, the Imperial Knights' standard has mysteries that don't fall short of the old style. If you've time for another sword art, better to learn Henessis Sword Arts with me."
"...You really never give up."
Hey, Logan.
I get it, so stop slyly peddling Ortana's swordsmanship.
"Anyway, what's got you here first thing in the morning?"
Sungjin asked as they headed to the Pearl Palace. Normally, this guy should be swamped with knights' duties by now.
"Heading to the monster suppression unit today anyway. Thought I'd check on you while at it."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You've been extra tired every morning lately. Cissle's been worried."
With that, a hand infused with white holy power touched Sungjin's shoulder.
'No more all-nighters gaming. Pretty much wrapped things up in Pangea Chronicle.'
Sungjin considered declining but changed his mind. Though Cissle was mentioned, he read faint worry on Logan's face too.
Plus, while not as potent as his father's, Logan's holy power was refreshingly effective. His fatigued muscles from intense morning practice recovered swiftly.
"Speaking of, you've been so busy you couldn't even make time for the monster unit? What do they have the saint's knights doing for a prince normally?"
But Logan's reply was unexpected.
"Strictly speaking, it was an extension of monster unit duties. I personally oversaw the seizure and search of the Millow Merchant Group."
"Oversaw? You yourself?"
"Yeah. Especially when the inquisitors rounded up employees and laborers—I had to supervise on-site, checking each for demonic aura."
Logan replied casually, then kindly elaborated for the still-clueless Sungjin.
"As you know, Guildmaster Giacomo Millow's accused of being a demon contractor. So what happens to the rest of the merchant group?"
"......!"
Oh, right—he hadn't thought of that.
He'd only considered Earth's justice systems, assuming demon worshippers would be weeded out in investigations. So he'd focused solely on seized assets and monopolies.
'But of course.'
Delcross was a theocracy. A place with extreme reactions to demons. Anyone linked to Millow Merchant Group would be dragged to the heresy tribunal en masse, tortured until they confessed—true or not. That's why Logan stepped up.
Not just because he's the empire's 2nd Prince. Rumors swirled he was the youngest Sword Master, and he was a famed holy knight who'd led the Lilium detachment to protect the faithful.
With Logan personally vouching for innocence, who'd dare accuse the blameless of demon worship?
'But still...'
Sungjin couldn't shake the feeling Logan had overexerted.
Giacomo Millow's crimes spanned the continent, and quick-footed employees had already fled fearing involvement.
Patrolling those arrests flawlessly—was that even feasible with ordinary effort?
'Even if they're the capital's faithful, to him, they're enemy nationals...'
Was this guy just exceptionally moral, or a total pushover with no thoughts?
Sungjin's mind grew complicated as he stared blankly at Logan, who noticed the odd gaze and turned quizzically.
"...What?"
Eh, nothing.
Just briefly worried how much more of a sucker you could get.