Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Almond Duchy (1)
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This is a dream.
Staring at the sunset dyeing the sky, Demian was certain.
His dulled senses, the unpleasant floating sensation—various pieces of evidence told him this was a dream.
"You're late."
He turned toward the familiar voice. Beneath the crimson sky stood a man.
A black suit impeccably pressed. Hair slicked back with pomade. An expensive cane gripped in his hand.
He looked like a noble who had just slipped out of a social gathering.
"I've taken care of the Apricot Knight Order."
The man stepped aside. The knights' corpses came into view.
The knights were torn apart all over their bodies. Limbs had been flung far away, and their torsos burst open, spilling entrails.
"They weren't much after all. Hard to believe they're one of the Empire's premier knight orders."
The man raised his cane, pointing somewhere. A woman lay dead there, weapons impaled all over her body.
"Even their captain was pathetic. I was wary since she was master class, but she didn't hold a candle to my death knights."
Strong pride colored the man's voice.
"Why would He entrust such a simple task to you? Why did He ignore me when I stepped up?"
Gasdal turned to Demian. His pale skin and gaunt cheeks made it seem like a venomous snake was glaring.
"I just can't figure it out. Why does He trust you more than me? Why does He favor you over me?"
The man struck the ground with his cane. Black smoke blanketed the floor, and from within, skeletons clad in armor and weapons crawled out.
"If I crush you right here, He'll recognize me, won't He? See that I'm far superior to the likes of you."
Gasdal tapped the ground once more with his cane.
The skeleton legion charged at Demian, blue glows emanating from their eye sockets.
* * *
Just before that, Demian opened his eyes. At first, he didn't realize he had woken from the dream.
He blinked repeatedly, taking in his surroundings one by one.
First, the interior of a spacious carriage with a roof came into view. The carriage jolted along.
Inside were Demian and many others huddled and seated. Everyone carried a weapon.
'Right. We were heading to the Almond Duchy.'
Only then did Demian recall where he was going now.
He had made various excuses to his family and set off for the Almond Duchy.
'It was obvious the trip to the Almond Duchy would take long, so we decided to travel by carriage.'
The Almond Duchy bordered the Macadamia Kingdom.
Originally, the Almond Count family belonged to the Macadamia Kingdom.
But after producing a master, they gained extensive rights from the Macadamia Kingdom and declared independence as a duchy.
The Apple Kingdom was quite far from the Macadamia Kingdom, so riding with traveling merchants' carriages was more convenient than going by horse.
Everyone in this carriage was heading from the Apple Kingdom to the Almond Duchy.
"Urgh..."
Demian stretched.
He had dreamed something trivial, but he had slept deeply, so his body felt refreshed.
If he had brought a horse, he wouldn't have arrived this comfortably.
'Of all things, why did Gasdal show up in my dream?'
The dream Demian had just seen was an actual event from the past.
Gasdal constantly envied Demian, who received Archlich Dorgo's favor, and picked fights with him.
The Apricot Knight Order incident was when it exploded.
Gasdal had insisted on handling the Apricot Knight Order first, but Dorgo assigned it to Demian.
Harboring a grudge, Gasdal overtook Demian, annihilated the Apricot Knight Order, and attacked him.
'He was a fool who couldn't grasp his place... but a dangerous one.'
Grand wizards or grand black mages were considered equivalent to master class.
But that equivalence was only in the sense that they had transcended humanity. In terms of combat power, masters were far superior.
Not all grand wizards were weaker than masters, though.
Some, through relentless research, acquired combat prowess equal to—or surpassing—masters.
Gasdal was one such.
During the War of Ruin, Gasdal's power was immense, beyond what ordinary masters could handle.
He had smashed the Apricot Knight Order—one of the Empire's representative orders—head-on.
'There's no benefit in letting him live. I have to kill him this time.'
Of course, he was still growing, so he hadn't acquired that power yet.
But it was obvious he would someday.
It was only natural to eliminate anyone who could benefit Dorgo in advance.
That was why Demian intended to kill Gasdal this time.
As Demian resolved himself inwardly.
"Slept well?"
The man sitting beside him grinned. A few front teeth were missing, giving him a precarious look.
"Yes, I slept deeply for once."
Since it was a stranger, Demian gave a vague reply.
"You looked peaceful sleeping. So, young friend, you're here to explore the ruins in the Almond Duchy too?"
Even in his previous life, people flocked to the Almond Duchy at this time. Ruins had been discovered.
Existing ruins had all been fully explored and opened to the public, yielding nothing.
But the Almond Duchy's ruins were different. Newly found, they still held many artifacts.
"Yes. I heard you could strike it rich at the ruins."
At Demian's words, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up.
"You know your stuff. What a place those ruins are. Even ancient toys fetch high prices."
The middle-aged man explained excitedly.
"Find an ancient book or artifact, and you could get rich. If you stumble on a relic sword... your life changes forever."
Demian let the middle-aged man's words go in one ear and out the other.
Demian's goal wasn't to explore the ruins for artifacts.
It was solely to find Gasdal.
In his previous life, Gasdal had greatly bolstered his army in the Almond Duchy.
He killed and absorbed mercenaries and explorers who came to raid the ruins, and finally massacred the duchy's soldiers and knights, turning them into his legion.
'Gasdal's definitely hiding inside the ruins.'
The ruins interior was the only place where Gasdal could build his power most comfortably and safely.
"So, young friend, what's your name?"
Demian pondered briefly at the middle-aged man's question.
He couldn't use the name Demian in the Almond Duchy.
Revealing his identity might alert Gasdal, making him hard to track.
And if a major incident occurred while tracking Gasdal, using his real name could lead to headaches.
He had the Holy Knight certificate, but that was a last resort.
"I'm Victor."
"Victor... Common, but a good name."
"And you, sir?"
"I'm Tievo."
As the two conversed.
The man sitting opposite slammed his fist on the carriage floor.
"You two. Did we rent this out? Can't you shut up?"
Tievo quickly shut his mouth at the man's words. Fear was evident.
"And what? Find a relic sword and change your life? Nonsense. How dangerous are those ruins? Think a scrawny guy like you can explore?"
The man mocked Tievo as he spoke.
'Well, he's not wrong.'
Demian inwardly agreed with the man.
The ruins were far from safe. They overflowed with traps and combat golems.
Without substantial power, one couldn't even set foot there.
"Why not turn back quietly instead of adding to the bodies we have to clear?"
"H-Have you said your piece?!"
Tievo shouted indignantly. The two men beside the thug placed hands on their weapons.
Faced with their murderous glares, Tievo could only bow his head quietly.
"What a coward."
The man sneered at Tievo's actions.
"And you next to him. Victor, was it?"
Next, the man turned his mockery to Demian.
"You don't look much different. At your age, if you don't wanna die young, stay away from the ruins."
His two companions burst into laughter at his words.
Demian ignored the man. Instead, he pondered something else.
He could tolerate insults to others, but not to himself.
As he assessed the carriage interior's layout and the people around to smash all three at once.
The moving carriage came to an abrupt stop.
"Everyone out. We'll camp here."
The coachman called to those in the back.
* * *
The people in the carriage poured out. The thug and his two companions did too.
Because of that, Demian missed his chance for payback. He got off, planning for later.
Looking around, people were disembarking from other carriages too.
"As I said before, we're just giving you rides. Handle your own meals."
The coachman left those words and headed to the merchants.
The carriage passengers gathered in clusters, discussing.
"Since we'll travel together for days, how about setting meal duty rotations?"
Everyone nodded at Tievo's suggestion.
'What a hassle.'
Demian didn't welcome it.
He had already packed various foods in his subspace for the long trip.
No need for annoying meal duties.
"Duty? Think we're doing that crap?"
Then, the three who had picked on Demian spoke angrily.
"S-So you three will handle your own meals?"
When Tievo mustered courage to ask, the thug smirked and drew the demonic sword from his back.
Aura gathered on the demonic sword's surface. He swung it, and the ground split long.
"Wondering how we'll eat? Simple."
The thug looked around as he spoke. Tievo and the other travelers averted their eyes.
"Don't wanna end up like this? Bring your own. Got it?"
The thug sheathed his demonic sword and started to leave with his companions.
Tap tap.
A clear yet oddly grating sound stopped the three.
The thug turned toward it. Demian was tapping his palm with a hexagonal club.
Seeing that, the thug scowled.
"Cut that out. It's annoying as hell..."
"Almost a hassle, but perfect."
Demian smiled brightly.
"I'll rehabilitate you into honest, cooperative folks."