The Savior
“After the war began, all the nobles of the orthodox faction liberated their slaves. The problem lies with the noble faction.”
The speaker was Joachim, a baron of the orthodox faction. He ruled over a barony in the borderlands not far from the Tiram territory, a place likewise regarded as peaceful.
“Where exactly is the market?” Bagan asked.
Having finished his business in the Tiram territory, Bagan had informed Gruon of his intent to act independently. Gruon, respecting Bagan’s judgment, had granted permission, leading him to Joachim’s domain, the nearest territory. Of course, he had another purpose beyond the slave market, but revealing it publicly would surely cause chaos. Since he had learned in the Urvurt territory that the Sog Kingdom was connected to Demonia, Bagan intended to gather information on that front.
Upon arriving in Joachim’s domain and using Sally’s power to examine their sins, he found nothing suspicious and had come straight to meet the lord.
“It’s a little farther west, in Melbourne and Armian. Those two territories are the highest-ranking among the noble faction, so they’ve been managing it.”
Bagan had heard of Melbourne and Armian before. They were also the territories he currently suspected the most.
“Understood. I’m in a hurry, so I won’t stay here, but just in case, it would be wise to prepare your forces.”
Bagan had no intention of remaining in Joachim’s domain. As he said, he was pressed for time. There were still many noble territories he had yet to visit. Aside from a few famous major cities, most were not well known, so there were countless unfamiliar names, but if it was Demonia, they would prefer such places. Especially considering what had happened in Urvurt.
‘There’s the special circumstance of obtaining Hwanju, but there’s no harm in being suspicious.’
Thus, Bagan planned to stop by every territory along the route to the capital, Daberns. Among them were Armian and Melbourne, which would be deeply troubled by the ongoing war. The decision had already been made for the First Prince to personally deal with those two territories, so by the time Bagan arrived, the slaves might already have been liberated without issue.
But what Bagan was looking for was not limited to that.
‘In the worst case, the nobles of the noble faction themselves might be involved.’
Bagan had been suspicious of the nobles from the beginning. With that thought, he left Joachim’s domain behind.
“I know your reputation vaguely. Please take care of yourself.”
Though Baron Joachim had been warm toward Bagan, claiming to be an orthodox noble, Bagan paid him no attention. The flustered baron simply accepted it and, as Bagan had suggested, began reviewing the troop deployment map.
Leaving Joachim’s castle, Bagan headed straight outside the territory. The next destination was Nurn, a noble-faction barony.
If asked whether it was acceptable to freely roam noble-faction territories, the answer was yes. Not all noble-faction nobles were the same. Unlike the orthodox faction, where power was evenly distributed, the noble faction was thoroughly individualistic. In other words, the gap between nobles only widened; it could never narrow.
That was why, when the war had first been proposed, the targets had been the great nobles. As a result, the weaker noble-faction territories had been completely ignored. Bagan had no interest in weak noble-faction nobles who supplied precious troops to the great nobles yet gained nothing in return. He only needed to liberate the slaves and find any connection to Demonia.
‘Shall we go?’
Whoosh!
With that thought, Bagan combined Fly with the Acceleration (C) trait and shot forward, stirring the air where he had stood. The time it took Bagan to reach the next territory was less than thirty minutes. It was only natural, given that he flew faster than riding a wyvern.
Without even properly passing through the territory’s gates, Bagan surveyed it from the sky.
“Sally, do you see anything?”
(No, nothing here either. The territory itself is the same, and its lord has no major sins either.)
What Sally saw was not everything, but it was usually accurate. Therefore, without much enthusiasm, he began doing what needed to be done.
“Then let’s just liberate the slaves and leave right away.”
“Yes, Lord Bagan.”
Since Arien was in charge of liberating the slaves, she answered and immediately created her clones. Most slaves were kept in underground prisons or hard-to-find places, so Arien’s clones were a great help. They headed straight for the lord’s castle. Only nobles could own slaves, and they would surely be inside the castle.
Arien’s clones quickly scattered to search likely locations for slaves. The Nurn barony, already short on troops to defend the territory due to the war, had no choice but to be searched helplessly.
Perhaps unable to simply watch the situation unfold, a family emerged from the castle.
“Who are you to barge in like this and cause such a ruckus!”
“Are you Baron Nurn?”
Bagan naturally assumed the man was Baron Nurn. His appearance, along with the woman and child beside him, made it clear he was the lord.
“I only came to clean up because I smelled the stench of filthy nobles. Just watch for now and go back inside.”
Bagan had no intention of killing him.
“What exactly do you mean by cleaning up! This is so sudden that I don’t even know what to say!”
As Baron Nurn spoke, Arien’s clones emerged with the slaves in tow.
“Hmm, it looks a bit cleaner now. Is that all?”
“Yes, Lord Bagan. As expected of a barony, there weren’t many. They also seem to have treated them better than I thought. There are no patients requiring treatment.”
“Got it. I’ll teleport them right away.”
With that, Arien’s clones gathered the liberated slaves in one place. They removed the uncomfortable collars and gave Arien’s special medicine to the malnourished children.
Once everything was properly prepared, Bagan formed a magic circle.
“Mass Teleport.”
A portal suddenly appeared in midair, startling many people. The slaves were terrified by the sudden situation. Bagan approached them.
“Don’t worry. You’re all free now. Once you cross the portal, you’ll be taken to a safe place where you can live the life you want.”
Hearing Bagan’s words, they nodded. Even if they didn’t fully understand, the promise of freedom from now on resonated deeply in their hearts. Some even shed tears.
Thus, all the slaves crossed the portal.
“Th-the slaves!”
Baron Nurn finally reacted, albeit belatedly.
“What is the meaning of this! I don’t know who or what you are, but I cannot overlook this crime!”
Even as he said this, he tightly held his wife and child’s hands while his legs trembled. He had realized Bagan’s extraordinary magical prowess and was frightened.
Bagan spoke as if the man wasn’t even worth dealing with.
“Well, if you have people to protect behind you, then leave quietly.”
He had wanted to leave an unforgettable scar for daring to speak of crimes, but since the man showed strong signs of protecting his family, he simply let him go. Mostly because it was too bothersome.
Baron Nurn could only open and close his mouth, unable to say anything to Bagan as he turned and walked away. In a situation where an absolute powerhouse had shown mercy, gratitude would have been more appropriate. Leaving the dumbfounded baron behind, Bagan flew toward the next territory.
Whoosh!
‘Where to next?’
Arien followed after him. She had analyzed and formed a body optimized for flight and was keeping up with Bagan. Even so, Bagan was adjusting his speed for her. Though he could move much faster, he matched his pace to Arien’s limits.
While flying, Sally spoke.
(Bagan, sins.)
Her tone was calm, but Bagan was so surprised that he stopped midair.
“Where? How big?”
Though he asked many questions, Sally calmly investigated before replying.
(It’s on the way. Close to the capital, and there are two beings similar to the Leviathan we saw in the dungeon.)
“Two? Got it. We’ll have to skip the remaining territories. Keep telling me until the location is confirmed.”
It was an extremely sudden situation, but if demons similar to Leviathan had appeared in reality, it would be disastrous. Especially if they were near the capital Daberns, it could not be ignored. Many people crucial to the war effort were gathered there.
‘Vidion will be there too.’
Bagan couldn’t even imagine that the demons had appeared to capture the Seven Great Hero Vidion.
“We’re heading to Daberns right now!”
“Yes, Lord Bagan.”
As Bagan began moving again, Arien followed. But with the increased speed, the distance between them grew, and eventually Bagan had to assist her with magic.
“I’m sorry.”
Arien apologized, but Bagan paid it no mind. There was nothing for her to apologize for.
“It’s fine. You can ask for help anytime.”
Especially in a case like this, it was something she couldn’t help. The difference between someone with traits like him and her was inevitable.
In the end, with Bagan’s magic, Arien’s speed matched his, and the two flew toward the capital at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
***
Paul and Chukran repeatedly drove the soldiers controlled by the library into buildings and lured them away to protect the struggling adventurers.
“There’s no end to them. Chwik!”
Chukran wiped the sweat from running with an irritated expression. Paul felt the same. Though confident in his stamina, the constant tension without rest was giving him a headache. His ragged breathing was an added burden, and the other orcs were exhausted as well.
But the most concerning matter was Orkun.
“Orkun, how much time do we have left?”
Orkun was the orc who had become a light in the pitch-black darkness through shamanic arts. Now he had a problem.
“I’m out of arc wolf byproducts. Chwik! I can’t carry around large byproducts. Chwik!”
He had no more byproducts suitable for shamanic arts. Without them, he would no longer be able to use powerful flame shamanic arts to light the way or pull soldiers threatening the adventurers’ defensive line.
“How much time is left?”
“Five minutes! Chwik!”
“Then this will be our last lure. After that, we’ll have to hold out somewhere.”
“Chwik! Since we have few people, we need to find a narrow, dead-end alley!”
With time running out, they resolved to hold their ground. Though sorry for the soldiers they had been luring, they locked them in a shabby stable, secured the door, and searched for a narrow alley.
“This won’t do. They could come from above too.”
“Chwik! I agree. Let’s try another alley!”
The alley they finally found was a dead end, but the wall behind them wasn’t high enough to prevent others from climbing over. They didn’t know how many days they would have to hold out, but it wasn’t the right choice if they wanted to prepare for the worst. In the end, they decided to look for another alley.
Then—
Fwoosh!
The flame from Orkun’s shamanic art went out. In an instant, visibility dropped to less than five meters.
“Damn it. Everyone, press your backs against the wall as much as possible. But don’t push too hard or you might fall over, so lean lightly.”
Paul calmly retraced the path they had taken earlier and entered the alley he had seen before. While the soldiers were still approaching slowly—
Crackle!
Paul used a flint to start a fire. Fortunately, he carried camping supplies, so he quickly got it going.
Whoosh!
The small flame wasn’t as bright as shamanic arts, but it illuminated enough space for one human and several orcs to stand. In the dim light, the soldiers slowly approached.
“Obey! Obey!”
The soldiers continued repeating the same words.
“There’s only one way to stop them. Block their attacks and push them back.”
Because the alley was narrow, not many soldiers could attack at once, but with more coming from behind, there was a limit to how long they could hold. Even so, Paul and the orcs of Howling Rock struggled desperately to survive.
At that moment—
Boing! Boing!
Slimes could be seen bouncing up from the ground. In the faint firelight, the movement that shouldn’t exist stood out. Then, between Paul and the orcs, a doll-like figure formed. It was a slime that had transformed.
“I’ve come to rescue you. Based on my analysis of their intelligence, they don’t appear capable of complex actions. Everyone, climb onto the rooftops of the buildings.”
It was one of Arien’s clones. The same clones had also reached the adventurers who had been struggling and relayed the same instructions.
Meanwhile, beside Vidion, who had been fighting alone, stood Bagan.
“Light Orb.”
Suddenly the sky brightened, pouring down a blinding amount of light.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah, so it was you.”
Vidion’s body was already in tatters. The scales that had once gleamed with golden majesty were covered in blood, and his radiant wings were so torn that even flapping them seemed difficult. Seeing this, Bagan frowned and looked at the demons radiating a sinister aura.
Vidion’s Dragon Blood released as if his tension had finally eased. His body was equally battered.
“Can you hold on a bit longer?”
“If I collapse from something like this, the reputation of the Seven Great Heroes would be tarnished.”
“Then just endure a little more.”
Vidion nodded with a serious expression. Bagan then looked at the demons and spoke.
“Found you.”