Chapter 55
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 055
Chapter Title: Kingdom Alliance
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The crow of a rooster at dawn woke Woojin from his sleep. It was a familiar yet unfamiliar sound.
'They’re raising chickens now?'
Raising livestock in a pioneer city was no easy task. The Demonic Realm’s environment instilled unease in the animals, causing them to drop dead one after another no matter how much care was put into them.
However, the recent purification of the rift cores in the area had dissipated the murky energy. Thanks to that, it seemed they could now raise livestock without issue.
The moment Woojin tried to roll over and catch the rest of his sleep, the rooster crowed again.
'...Looks like that’s not happening.'
Woojin opened his eyes and sat up in bed. He’d returned from his trip yesterday and had planned to sleep until noon like a king... but this damn rooster had ruined that.
He stepped out into the street and headed toward the source.
'That way.'
His destination wasn’t far—a small restaurant with an attached chicken coop. The owner was sweeping around the shop with a broom, preparing to open.
Woojin called out to him.
“You open now?”
“Yes, of course!”
Woojin turned to look at the coop. Right on cue, a large rooster crowed obliviously.
“Roast that one for me.”
With his menu choice made...
He sat at a table inside and waited a bit. Soon, three chicken dishes were placed before him: stir-fried chicken innards, grilled chicken over an open flame, and a hearty stew with wheat bread. It looked like they’d thriftily turned a single bird into multiple courses.
'This place is a gem.'
He’d found a spot worth becoming a regular at. After a satisfying meal, Woojin stepped outside and strolled leisurely like a man with all the time in the world.
His next stop was already decided.
'Time to visit Elder Bow.'
The old man didn’t sleep much at dawn, so he was probably at the training grounds meditating. Woojin headed there to check his guess.
And he was met with an unexpected sight.
'...What are those guys doing here?'
Bow stood with his hands behind his back. Before his eyes, wolves were sprinting busily. It was such an odd pairing that Woojin approached with curiosity.
“What’s going on here?”
“With you gone, the wolves got lazy. I’m just putting them through their paces.”
Bow replied matter-of-factly. Looking closer at the wolves after hearing that, Woojin noticed the large sandbags tied to their ankles.
The wolves were training.
It was a thought Woojin had never considered. Impressed inwardly, he watched them go.
“They’re actually following your training regimen.”
“They have no choice. I punish any that ignore me or slack off sneakily.”
Bow said that and nodded toward the corner.
A red wolf was shoved into the corner, pulling a cart like a sled dog. It was loaded with heavy sandbags, forcing Rex to strain every muscle with each step.
“Kiiing...”
Rex looked his way with a pitiful whine, eyes pleading for help.
Woojin chuckled at the sight.
'You picked the wrong mark, buddy.'
Woojin usually let Rex’s shortcuts slide without a second thought. So it made sense the wolf’s bad habits would show during training... but Bow was the type who tolerated no such thing.
The ascetic monk had laid down harsh discipline on the cunning wolf. The others, having witnessed it, were drilling with perfect discipline.
“Any results from the training?”
“It’s recent, so hard to say.”
“Then keep them at it for a while. They don’t have anything better to do anyway.”
At Woojin’s words, the wolves’ faces fell in despair. They’d apparently hoped he’d talk Bow out of it.
But no such luck.
'They need to earn their keep.'
Riding a leopard made the wolves feel redundant.
Even all of them together couldn’t match a leopard. Rex might hold out a bit, but the other three would be shredded in one hit.
If they lacked skill, they had to make up for it with stamina. Better to build it now while there was time. Woojin couldn’t babysit them forever.
As he watched the wolves train, he explained his reason for visiting Bow.
“I’d like you to take a look with your Insightful Eye.”
“Something from your trip?”
“Yeah. Things got weird, and I’m not sure how to handle it.”
Woojin recounted everything: the banquet, Duke Edwin, the witch... Bow, who had been listening quietly, suddenly cut in.
“Hold on—Edwin and Conrad are in bed together?”
“That’s what the evidence suggests.”
“Unbelievable. What scheme is that bastard Conrad cooking up now?”
Bow fell into thought. It was extremely rare for a high-ranking priest to flaunt a personal friendship with a noble.
“Anything else you know? We need to gauge the situation.”
“That info’s locked in the witch’s head.”
“Let’s check it out right away.”
Bow immediately halted the wolves’ training. He seemed urgent. Woojin followed him to the mansion.
Cindy opened the door readily.
“You’re early?”
“Things came up suddenly. Where’s Rachel?”
“In the living room.”
Cindy led them in. The witch was dozing on the sofa. Sensing visitors, Rachel wiped drool from her mouth and sat up.
Bow’s expression turned peculiar at the sight.
“...You picked up quite the oddity.”
“What do you see?”
“I’ll just describe the vibe. It’s a new one for me, so details are tough.”
Bow waved his hand as he spoke. Rachel’s eyes followed his fingers—each pupil moving independently, as always.
“This woman’s got two personalities clashing and mixing chaotically right now. Black leopard and witch. They must’ve fought over control of the body... but for some reason, both gave up on life.”
“What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. They chose mental suicide. First time I’ve seen this.”
The moment the witch used her transformation spell, her personality split into leopard and witch.
As the two vied for dominance, Woojin’s lightning bolt struck. The agony was so immense that both personalities abandoned the body and chose self-destruction.
The shattered remnants fused into something new—not witch, not leopard, but a half-baked in-between.
“She’s so unstable that torture’s out. Too much pain, and the personality might shatter again.”
“So what do we do?”
Woojin voiced his concern, but Bow replied nonchalantly.
“The Church Alliance isn’t run by fools. Conrad acted openly, so they’ve likely finished their background check by now.”
Conrad the archbishop and Duke Edwin hosting a banquet together? It screamed irregularity, so the Church Alliance would investigate thoroughly.
Or Conrad might’ve reported it preemptively.
“Conrad’s a coward at heart. He wouldn’t act in secret. An Alliance envoy will come explain soon enough.”
Just wait, and the Church Alliance would share intel. No need to interrogate the faulty witch.
Woojin asked his final question.
“What about the witch herself?”
There were safeguards, but killing her outright seemed simplest. Bow answered without hesitation.
“Keep her alive. It’ll pay off.”
...An unexpected response.
“I figured you’d say kill her. Why the change?”
“Something tells me she’ll be useful someday. Rare descendant of an ancient lineage... You won’t regret sparing her.”
His Insightful Eye had scanned her. Woojin shelved any thought of killing Rachel. The witch wasn’t trustworthy, but Bow’s judgment was.
The old monk’s insight never failed.
Proof came six days later. As predicted, a Church Alliance envoy arrived at the Third Pioneer City.
“Read this.”
Bow was blind and couldn’t. He handed over the freshly arrived letter.
Woojin took it, broke the wax seal with the Church Alliance emblem, and skimmed the contents.
...It bore surprising news.
“The second expedition’s starting soon.”
Bow doubted his ears.
“Resuming already? Impossible... They’re not ready.”
The timing was off.
The first expedition’s cleanup wasn’t done, and the new barrier wasn’t built. How could they launch now?
The letter had the answer.
“Not the Church Alliance army—an expedition force of Duke Edwin’s personal troops.”
The Church Alliance led expeditions to reclaim humanity’s old lands. Duke Edwin resented that inwardly.
The reason was simple.
The pioneer cities sat on what was once his ancestors’ domain: the Kingdom of Leventor.
Historically, the land was Edwin’s. But claiming ownership outright was audacious.
Clearing the Demonic Realm and building cities was purely the Church Alliance’s achievement. Trying to muscle in would incur the pope’s wrath.
So Edwin aimed bigger.
“He’s launching his own force to reclaim the lost kingdom’s old capital. Plans to claim ownership after occupying it.”
Rebuilding a fallen kingdom sounded noble, but one glaring issue remained.
“How’s he purifying the rift cores?”
Without Church Alliance help, reclamation was impossible. It took hordes of holy knights and priests.
Thus, Edwin invoked three justifications to request support.
First: Leventor Duchy had donated massively to the Alliance. They owed him aid for his grand undertaking.
Second: The five kingdoms and Church Alliance were military allies. Kingdoms sent troops to halt the Demonic Realm’s advance before; now it was the Alliance’s turn for reconstruction.
Third: Success benefited all. The reclaimed land as a forward base would ease future Demonic Realm conquests.
...The Church Alliance wasn’t thrilled. Bow shared their view.
“Once troops start defecting like this, it never ends. Set one precedent, and nobles will scramble for their share...”
“It’s already begun.”
Edwin had allied with like-minded nobles to pressure the Alliance.
“They’re calling it the Kingdom Alliance.”
“...Things are escalating.”
Sensing the flow, Bow inferred the letter’s rest without reading.
“Is that why he’s cozy with Conrad?”
“Yes. Conrad’s advising them. With an archbishop and nobles backing him, plus plausible justifications, it’s hard to refuse.”
Edwin’s ambitions were taking shape. The banquet was the opening salvo.
“When we should be uniting, they’re just grabbing their own bowls...”
Bow sighed repeatedly, displeased.
“...What do you think of this?”
Woojin organized his thoughts before answering.
“Doesn’t look like it’ll end well.”
“Why’s that?”
“The duke and archbishop are underestimating the Demonic Realm. They act like they’re just picking up deposited gold...”
He’d never seen types like this succeed.
'...They’re doomed.'