Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Ruler of the Desert
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"I am the ruler of the desert."
Pendail was the second-in-command of the Kaf Bandit Gang, and the Red Desert lay firmly within his grasp. Though he served Kaf as the leader and ranked second, he truly believed he was the greatest in the desert.
The boss, Kaf, feared the desert and rarely ventured deep into it, sticking to plundering villages on the outskirts. He occasionally entered the sands to boost his prestige, but he only targeted easy paths. Those convenient routes were well-traveled by merchants, yielding high profits. Kaf mistook that for proof of his superior skill.
"I'm different from Kaf. I know no fear, I'm smarter, and I don't pawn off the hard work on my men. If I become the leader, our gang will grow even bigger. We'll rename it from the Kaf Bandit Gang to the Red Desert Bandit Gang. Then I'll unite every bandit crew in the desert."
Pendail had visited the heretic temple more than thirty times.
At first, he searched for treasures overlooked by tomb raiders. Later, he used it to escape the scorching desert sun or as a meeting spot with other bandit groups. He knew its layout well and was certain there were no secret entrances.
Yet just moments ago, "that guy" had opened a dead-end wall like a door and slipped inside.
"You all saw the wall split open like a door, right?"
Pendail ran his fingers over the spot where the wall had parted. The stones fit so tightly that not even a thin blade could slip between them.
"Yes, it was like sorcery."
One of his subordinates muttered from behind.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Even Pendail thought it was magic. But if it really was, he had to frame it this way to keep his men from panicking. They already feared such powers.
'It's all because of Yoll. That bastard slaughters people in broad daylight with sorcery-like power right in front of everyone, and I'm left cleaning up the mess.'
Pendail pointed at two subordinates and gave orders.
"You two. Go report to Boss Kaf."
"What should we say?"
"Well..."
Pendail trailed off.
'No. This might be a golden opportunity.'
Pendail recalled the monster rat that had visited their camp the day before.
Yoll issued commands in various ways—appearing in person, sending ordinary letters, or using beasts like yesterday. His men feared Yoll so much that even a rat the size of a fist had sent them into a frenzy.
'A priest will enter the Red Desert. Kill him. Sever his head and bring it to St. Santarimo Monastery.'
The rat collapsed after delivering the message, rotting away like a corpse dead for months.
The beasts Yoll used always varied, dying in the same manner once their task was done.
By chance, Boss Kaf was away on a "woman-hunting" trip. So Pendail hadn't bothered reporting to him and had led his men out alone.
'Come to think of it, this is the first time Yoll has directly targeted a single person.'
Pendail smelled money.
"No need to report to the boss yet."
He rescinded the order.
The two men who had started to dash off turned back.
'He used sorcery to open the wall. Yoll played it down, but he's actually a big deal.'
Yoll's orders always had to be carried out at no cost. In exchange for handling such tasks for free, the Kaf Bandit Gang was spared attacks from the demons of the Red Desert.
Indeed, they had never been assaulted by monsters. Once, a subordinate had been grabbed by a terrifying beast hiding under the sand, but it released him upon hearing the Kaf Bandit Gang's name.
Pendail had always been curious about Yoll's true nature.
Simply put, since he commanded demons, was he a demon himself? But if he was a real demon, that posed a problem. Killing could be absolved later through confession, but serving a demon could not.
At least, that's how Pendail saw it.
'I can't spend the rest of my life under Boss Kaf. Besides, taking jobs from demons isn't right. I need to break free someday. If I can't oust Kaf and form the Red Desert Bandit Gang, maybe I can make one big score and flee somewhere else entirely?'
Pendail left his men in place while he pondered deeply.
Yoll had only ordered the death of a priest passing through the desert; Pendail had chosen the heretic temple as the spot. He had his reasons.
First, even the Kaf Bandit Gang, familiar with the desert, couldn't catch one person traversing this vast expanse. No need to scour the entire desert.
Second, if Yoll knew the priest was passing a specific village, he would have named it. Since he hadn't, even Yoll didn't know the target's route.
Third, the only good spot to shelter from the sun in the Red Desert was Alvito Valley, and among those, the best hideout was the heretic temple.
Truth be told, the first three reasons were afterthoughts to justify it. The moment Pendail heard "priest," the heretic temple sprang to mind—and it had panned out perfectly!
'This could be the chance. Think about it. He entered the temple through a secret passage no one's ever seen. That's what Yoll was after.'
Many believed treasures lay beneath the temple. Despite its rundown appearance, folks assumed hidden passages existed somewhere.
Pendail immediately thought of the Holy Grail. He'd never set foot in a church, believed in no faith, knew nothing of the Holy Land Recovery War or why the Grail was so valuable. He only knew the rumors among thieves—that it was studded with jewels worth generational wealth.
'He'll come out with the temple's treasure. I'll snatch it and flee to the Luna Duchy with just these men. Criminals can hide there freely. Promise them ten times the pay, and they'll follow. Kill them off one by one later.'
Pendail was already mapping out his next steps in his head.
'Or cross the Mediterranean to the east. Convert to their religion, and they'll take me in. Wait, why bother with that hassle? What about fleeing to the Dark Forest in the north? They say no human can enter, but after surviving the Red Desert, the forest would be paradise. Hide for five years, then emerge. Easier to dispose of the men there too.'
Pendail finally decided and rallied his men.
"Why bother the boss with such a trivial matter? We'll handle it ourselves. Grab him the moment he exits that door. Don't kill him."
'...Killing him might mean missing the value of whatever treasure he brings out!'
Pendail kept that thought to himself.
'Again! Something weird is happening.'
Yoll retraced his steps since entering the Red Desert.
Postrum Village was as desolate and quiet as ever. The old horse trader's wife recovering her sight had become major gossip, proof that nothing ever happened here.
Yoll asked the villagers about outsiders passing through, but most ignored him. The only useless tidbit was a strikingly beautiful woman on a large horse.
What Yoll found odd was the situation before reaching Postrum.
On the way, he encountered a bloodied Rom guardsman returning. He said a priest had slipped away, so he and four comrades had pursued, only to run afoul of bandits. He didn't know which priest.
At the scene, the guardsman's words proved true. The notorious local bandits and Rom guards lay dead in the exact numbers mentioned.
Amusingly, the carriage driver caught in the crossfire was Cisco, a deliveryman hauling goods to Postrum. He occasionally ferried travelers for a fee—and if they were rich, he'd kill them without hesitation, steal their shoes, and bury the bodies. For lone women, he'd satisfy his lust first, then do the same.
Cisco had gotten away with it for years, miraculously unscathed.
Yoll caught him in the act, burying a body.
Yoll watched amusedly, egging him on to continue. Cisco, as if given permission, redoubled his efforts with glee.
'His years of luck shielding him finally ran out. And over something unrelated to his own crimes.'
The bandits were equally unlucky—just petty cart thieves who stumbled into Rom's proper army.
It was entertaining, but none of Yoll's business. Yet it felt connected somehow. Like an itch he couldn't pinpoint, scratching at nothing.
Yoll left Postrum and raced across the desert. At a specific spot, he dismounted and commanded the ground.
"Come out."
Yoll divided the Red Desert into zones to prevent demons from fighting over territory.
Two dwelled in this zone—nameless lesser demons he nicknamed "Bigfoot" and "Big Hand." They hated the names but had to answer his call.
"Bigfoot! Big Hand! Come out now!"
Yoll bellowed threateningly. No response. Instead, the vibration of hooves reached him first.
Red Desert bandits. Spotting Yoll, they charged and skillfully encircled him to prevent escape.
'The ones I called don't show, but randos do.'
Yoll gripped his reins and waited.
One dismounted and thrust a sword at Yoll.
"Don't move."
Yoll eyed their gear and muttered to himself.
"Not the Kaf Bandit Gang. Tough luck."
The man overheard and replied.
"Yeah, tough luck for you. Smart not to resist. Hand over everything, and you might live..."
Yoll drew a dagger and plunged it into the man's chest. He snatched his sword and hurled it at the nearest bandit's face. Both crumpled, red blood spilling onto the sand.
Yoll yanked the sword from the fallen bandit's face and addressed the ten or so others.
"I meant tough luck for you lot. Who's your leader?"
They should have realized their mistake and backed off, but these fools pressed on.
"The first one you killed was our leader. Revenge for the boss!"
Several charged.
Yoll swung his dagger a few times, slitting their throats. The remaining five fled.
Yoll whistled. From the sand beneath the men, fifty paces out, a big-mouthed monster erupted, swallowing them horse and all. Too big a mouthful, it spat out the horse and kept the rider. But the horse was already dead.
"Come here, Sand Toad."
Another fake name he'd given it.
The frog-mouthed monster sank and rose in the sand like water, hopping over bouncily.
"You called? You called?"
The Sand Toad said twice.
"Devour the rest over there too."
Yoll pointed to the corpses of the bandits he'd slain.
"I'm full already. So full. Just ate five. Five of them."
The Sand Toad whined.
"Then swallow them and spit them out in the sand. Just hide the bodies."
"Ah, that works. Works fine. But aren't we not supposed to eat Red Desert bandits? I think so."
"Only exclude the Kaf Bandit Gang. You're dim, so don't eat any you think might be bandits. Unless I order it, like now—devour them regardless."
"Got it. Got it."
The Sand Toad swallowed corpses, dove into the sand, spat them out, and cleaned the area spotless.
"Any idea where Big Hand and Bigfoot went?"
Yoll kicked the sand a few times and asked.
"No idea, no idea. I never leave my zone as ordered. You called me here this time. Called me."
The Sand Toad answered faithfully.
"Go inside and check. Bring out any corpses."
"Yes, yes."
The Sand Toad vanished into the sand again.
'I need to think differently. What I thought would be easy is getting complicated.'
Yoll first thought of Cardinal Lorenzo.
'I don't want him looking down on me for failing this.'
The Sand Toad resurfaced.
"Neither's there, not there."
"The burrow?"
"Collapsed, collapsed."
A collapsed burrow meant more than absence.
Yoll had given Big Hand the magic sustaining the burrow. Its collapse meant Big Hand was dead. Hard to imagine Bigfoot surviving that.
'I thought those two could wipe out three Rom legions. What killed them?'
Yoll recalled Jade's incident in Bompei three years ago.
'Rumors said that girl was a demon. I didn't believe it, but if true? Does he have power to slay demons? Outis went silent too...'
Two days prior, Yoll had preemptively ordered the Kaf Bandit Gang via a messenger to kill Jade—just in case. Now he had to rely on their competence.
"What orders did I give you all?"
Yoll asked the Sand Toad.
"Yes. Capture the man Jade if found, if found."
"Follow the new order."
"Yes, yes."
Yoll sent the message not just to the Sand Toad but to all Red Desert demons. He wasn't originally a high enough being to rule the entire desert. But one day, he could.
'...I entrust this place to you. From now on, you shall be the ruler of the Red Desert, and after all is done, its ruler still...'
He simply closed his eyes, envisioned the desert's demons, and commanded. No need for the elaborate ritual used with the Kaf Bandit Gang.
"Withdraw the order to capture Jade on sight."
Yoll issued the same command he'd given the Kaf Bandit Gang.
"He may have a weapon that annihilates demons. Kill him the instant he's spotted, before he can use it."