Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: City of the Abandoned
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“It's visible over there.”
Ban spotted the distant Vulcan Territory.
Rasety confirmed it as well and instructed John, the vice leader of the merchant group visible beyond the carriage window, to take a short break.
Afterward, she turned to Ban.
“Do you think they'll cooperate willingly?”
“We took their hero Capo and the Steel Knight Order from them, so it won't be easy.”
“What if we return empty-handed without achieving anything?”
“Even if we can't get the count's cooperation, I have to make the technicians follow me.”
“What makes you so confident? Don't tell me you're relying solely on that?”
Rasety glanced at the cloth-wrapped shield beside Ban's seat.
No matter how obsessed Count Daemor was with crafting, this concerned the fate of his territory.
He wouldn't prioritize personal feelings in his decision.
Yet Ban kept trying to resolve everything by exploiting Count Daemor's tendencies.
This approach wouldn't yield good results.
Was there a reason Arthur had insisted she go along as well?
On the surface, he'd emphasized bolstering the merchant group's capabilities to support Ban, but she suspected it was really his expectation of her long-honed negotiation skills from leading the group.
That meant her role was crucial, even if Ban was leading this delegation.
Arthur assigning the task to Ban instead of her could stem from trust in him, but there might be hidden meanings she didn't know.
It weighed heavily on her.
Watching Ban brimming with confidence only frustrated her more.
As Rasety sighed, Jonathan approached the carriage.
“We don't know what unexpected situations might arise once we enter Vulcan Territory, so I ask that you follow my instructions without question.”
Ban nodded heavily.
“Then we'll depart in ten minutes.”
Jonathan returned to his position and issued orders to the knights.
The knights sprang into action, forming a protective formation around the delegation.
Moments later, Ban and Rasety entered Vulcan Territory under the strict vigilance of the Assault Squad.
The news was immediately reported to Count Daemor.
He had been crafting something in the forge but jumped up and rushed toward the walls.
Ascending the ramparts, he spotted the distant group.
The knight order, numbering around a hundred, all rode the fearsome monster known as Britanniker, and the carriage they protected bore a flag fluttering vigorously: red background emblazoned with a golden dragon.
The Julius Kingdom flag!
“Why are they here?!”
Count Daemor's face hardened.
‘Are they finally retaliating for the support from Count Yarve?’
It made no sense.
“Milord, please give your orders.”
Diver, who had taken over as captain of the Steel Knight Order after Capo, wore a resolute expression steeled for death.
Count Daemor had lost the unparalleled hero Capo Mars, and the newly reformed Steel Knight Order fell far short of its former strength.
Ordering them to confront the enemy would be tantamount to sending them to die.
The flags on the knights' guarded carriage—one the kingdom flag, the other signaling a delegation—indicated war was not the goal.
He decided to focus entirely on resolving the crisis peacefully.
Count Daemor looked at Diver.
“Put all forces on wartime alert immediately. But fighting them is a last resort.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Prepare to receive them.”
Moments later.
Ban's delegation arrived before Vulcan Castle.
The gates stood wide open, and amid fully armed soldiers, a man in black armor stepped forward.
Sturdy build, confident stride.
Spiky hair like a hedgehog, face tanned to bronze.
It was Count Daemor.
He bellowed loudly.
“What business does the Julius Kingdom's knight order have here?!”
Thud.
Ban and Rasety descended from the carriage.
The knights blocking the front parted like the Red Sea.
The two approached Count Daemor and stood before him.
Ban politely placed a hand over his chest and bowed.
“It is an honor to meet you, Count Daemor.”
Rasety followed, lightly lifting her skirt hem in a courteous curtsy.
“Rasety, leader of the Ventarr Merchant Group, greets Count Daemor.”
“Hmm…….”
Count Daemor's face stiffened slightly.
He had expected a noble befitting a kingdom delegation.
But seeing the two before him shattered that illusion.
It also revealed how lightly Arthur Julius viewed him.
Though defeated in war, sending such people to the head of a count family ignited his fury.
Suppressing his anger, Count Daemor asked.
“What brings you all the way here?”
“It is His Majesty's decree.”
Ban handed a scroll to Count Daemor.
Count Daemor unrolled it and slowly read the contents.
After finishing, he stared fixedly at Ban.
“Is what is written here true?”
“It is His Majesty's will.”
“Hmm.”
Count Daemor glanced at the kingdom knights ahead before turning away.
“Follow me.”
***
At that moment.
On the opposite side of the empire, Millerph and the Devil Squad entered a certain region.
Dark scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Even in broad daylight, an eerie gloom hung heavy, and the occasional wildlife visible was emaciated to bare bones.
Entering the village, there were no children's voices like those common in Grada Territory.
The streets were filled with people sporting hollow eyes, gaunt bodies, and faces consumed by despair.
Just seeing them made his chest tighten.
Dark furrowed his brow slightly.
“I see why it's called the City of the Abandoned.”
“Sellom wasn't always like this.”
Millerph replied calmly.
It had once bustled like any other territory's village.
But those expelled from the Magic Tower began gathering here one by one.
As numbers grew, they formed a group called the Hermits' Gathering.
They shared their magical knowledge and tomes, striving for unfulfilled dreams, but without proper support or knowledge, their magic experiments led to countless deaths.
This poisoned the village atmosphere, drawing not just Magic Tower outcasts but empire-wide lost souls.
The population exploded, and word spread instantly.
Thus, people dubbed it the City of the Abandoned and shunned it.
Emperor Ruan initially tried everything to aid it, but it was like pouring water into a broken jar.
He eventually gave up.
After that, it became utterly forsaken.
Yet unlike Ruan, some refused to abandon it.
They supported it quietly in their own ways.
Thanks to them, minimal law endured, and basic human decency persisted.
That allowed the weakest—the children—to survive.
Dark, surveying the area, asked.
“Shall we procure the herbs first?”
“I suppose so.”
Millerph headed to the village square.
A small market had formed there, drawing the most people.
Yet no vitality stirred.
As Millerph and the Devil Squad entered, every gaze in the square locked onto them.
The arrival of outsiders was shocking enough, but they rode massive monsters.
Everyone stared at the Britannikers.
Millerph stopped before an alley wide enough for one horse in the square's center.
He dismounted his white steed and said to Dark.
“Wait here while I go in.”
“I'll come with you.”
Dark dismounted his Britanniker and signaled Kasan.
Kasan nodded and gave hand signals to the Devil Squad.
They dispersed, forming a vigilant perimeter against surprises.
Dark followed Millerph into the alley.
At its end hung a decrepit door precariously on its frame.
A slight breeze might dislodge it.
As Millerph gestured sideways at the door, it opened silently.
‘A barrier!’
Dark, witnessing from behind, paled.
His instincts detected magic barriers enveloping the unassuming door and surroundings.
As Millerph and Dark entered, a hunchbacked man with green hair greeted them with a bright smile.
“Welcome, Millerph.”
“Have you been well?”
“Of course. With the empire at war, I worried about you. Seeing you safe brings great joy.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
“No need— you've helped us so much. But who is this with you?”
The man eyed Dark warily.
Millerph smiled warmly, signaling no worry.
“My comrade.”
“It's the first time you've brought a comrade here.”
“He has business here, so we came together.”
“Business……?”
The man tilted his head.
Millerph had visited Sellom yearly for years, offering aid, but bringing knights for other business was new……
His eyes flashed as realization dawned.
“You don't mean to meet them, do you?”
“Indeed. I have matters to discuss with them.”
“Will they even see an outsider? Even you, Millerph, might struggle. Mages outside Sellom are objects of their hatred.”
“I have to try.”
Millerph smiled warmly, gazing at the ceiling.
Herbs piled on strings dangled there.
Surveying them, he asked.
“Do you have Parsat and Hitra?”
“Of course. But preparing them takes half a day.”
“Prepare them. I'll meet them and return.”
Millerph exited the herb shop and headed out of the alley.
Mounting his white horse, he eyed the hill ahead and told Dark.
“Let's move.”
***
On a rocky outcrop of the hill, two men using their arms like legs peered below.
One fixed a predatory gleam on his prey.
He smirked sinisterly.
“A guest approaches. Inform the Lord.”
The other stretched his neck skyward like a wolf and howled.
“Awooooooo—.”
The heavy sound echoed through the mountains.
Soon after.
Millerph and the Devil Squad crested the hill.
Millerph spoke in a gentle voice.
“The Heir of the World Tree has words for you.”
His voice amplified like through a megaphone, resounding deep into the mountains.
After a moment.
A man in leather robes appeared on the rock.
His hood drawn deep, his face shadowed in darkness.
“What brings you here?”
“I've come to consult with the Lord. Allow me to meet him.”
The man glanced at the Devil Squad accompanying Millerph.
They rode horse-like monsters.
“Is what they're riding called Britanniker?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me what the Julius Kingdom's king wishes to convey to the Lord. I'll pass it on.”
“Allow me to deliver His Majesty's words personally.”
“No.”
The man refused flatly.
Millerph had anticipated it but asked anyway, accepting gracefully.
“His Majesty wishes to stand with you. Will you not come with me to the Julius Kingdom and build a new world?”
“……!”
It was utterly unexpected.
He hadn't even planned to relay ordinary words to the Lord, intending dismissal.
Millerph's annual aid to Sellom warranted some courtesy in return.
But this was beyond his authority.
“I don't know your intentions, but I'll report to the Lord. Wait here.”
As the man turned,
A figure in white beast-hide robes clutching a staff appeared beside him.
The man bowed deeply in respect.
“Lord.”
The white-robed one flung back his hood, revealing his face.
Seeing him, Millerph's eyes wavered in shock.
But he quickly composed himself and bowed politely.
“The Heir of the World Tree greets you.”
The middle-aged man dubbed Lord had half his hair gone, a skeletal face with hollow, eyeless sockets.
His ears withered, his mouth half-melted and sagging.
Like an undead?
His grotesqueness made direct gaze difficult.
A monster wearing human skin.
Yet knowing it stemmed from side effects stirred pity.
The middle-aged man's lips parted heavily.
“I always intended to meet you once. Heir of the World Tree, answer my question as representative of the Magic Tower.”
“……!”
Mana vibrations pulsed from all directions.
As Millerph and the Devil Squad's eyes flashed, robed figures emerged from the forest.
“Our sworn enemies…….”
“We hate them.”
“Revenge…….”
Thick killing intent emanated from the hundreds.