Chapter 60
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 060
Chapter Title: Ghoul and Flesh Mass (5)
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"It's dangerous."
"Sir Bear is right."
As I approached the flesh golem's corpse, Bear and Conal flanked me, voicing their concerns.
I proceeded with them to my destination.
The stench of burnt flesh grew stronger the closer we got.
Enduring the smell, we finally reached the golem.
Sssrrk.
The flesh composing the flesh golem's body shriveled rapidly, losing its form and crumbling into dust.
And from within that cloud of dirt...
I spotted a single red gem.
It had been processed in the same manner as the one I'd obtained from the werewolf.
'This one's a bit larger.'
The red gem I'd acquired after defeating the werewolf had been about the size of my fist.
This one was slightly bigger.
By all rights, it should have contained an immense amount of mana, but disappointingly, it didn't.
'It's empty.'
Only a tiny trace of mana remained inside the red gem.
In other words, just an empty shell was left.
It seemed the man at the golem's core had used up the mana within to activate his magic.
'Still, better to keep it.'
I had Gilbert pick up the red gem.
It was a magic tool, after all.
Holding onto it meant it might come in handy someday.
Just like last time, when this gem had allowed me to create a body for Gilbert.
'At least we salvaged something.'
Gilbert retrieved the red gem.
As I watched him, Godfrey approached quietly and asked,
"Lord Heros, shall we continue the subjugation?"
"Yes, of course. There might still be stragglers. Though I wonder why you're asking me..."
Godfrey was the commander of this subjugation force.
He didn't need my input.
I eyed him with that question in mind, and he gave an awkward smile.
"I just thought you might need a rest. You've cast several powerful spells, after all."
"I'm fine."
I brushed off Godfrey's concern.
Truth be told, I was more worried about the injured knights from the fight with the flesh golem than my own stamina.
But voicing that might come across as dismissive of them.
I was unscathed, but you're not?
It could give off that vibe.
"Sir Bear, how are the injured knights doing?"
After finishing with Godfrey,
I called over Bear.
He'd checked on them and now answered my question.
"Thanks to the priests' quick actions, no one's lost their life."
"Good to hear."
They were knights, tough enough to withstand a blow from the flesh golem. Any commoner would have died on the spot.
After defeating the flesh golem, the subjugation resumed.
Godfrey led the group from the front.
He glanced back subtly.
Heros was walking with the burly trio.
A young-faced mage.
No one who hadn't witnessed the previous battle would believe that boy had taken down the golem single-handedly.
'We're all mages, so why the vast difference? The gap in skill is night and day.'
Godfrey knew the abilities of the mages under Count Chester's command well.
They were all exceptional.
One could bury enemies in the earth, another drown them by enveloping their faces in water, and the last could whip up a whirlwind to hurl designated targets sky-high.
Yet none matched Heros's power.
'The speed of casting, and the potency of the completed spells. Heros surpasses them utterly in both.'
The mages under Count Chester.
They needed time to prepare their magic.
Standing still, focusing intently.
But not Heros.
He cast spells on the move effortlessly.
And those spells packed far more punch than the techniques the count's mages relied on.
'Could I win against him?'
Godfrey was a knight.
Spotting a strong foe, he habitually gauged the difference between them.
After some thought,
he was certain.
He couldn't beat Heros.
'That spell summoning rock from underground makes closing in tough. If it restricts my movements or stops me cold? I'd eat a fireball.'
The two spells Heros had shown today.
Godfrey lacked confidence in overcoming them to reach him.
And that wasn't the only issue.
'He's surely mastered more spells beyond what he showed. Factoring that in, my chances against Heros are... exceedingly slim.'
Godfrey didn't know how many spells Heros could wield.
Just from two, he'd foreseen his own defeat. More varieties?
How could he possibly win?
'Not that I could even get close in the first place.'
Godfrey scanned Heros's surroundings.
The burly trio guarding him.
Breaking through them to reach Heros would be no easy feat.
They all looked like they could hold their own.
A top-tier mage with an all-knight escort.
A terrifying combination.
'If a mage like that joined the battlefield, we'd win any war.'
Godfrey turned his head, thinking that.
The terror of a mage.
Today, he'd felt it fully.
Though we'd resolved the major threat of the flesh golem, Eremus collaborators still lurked throughout the city.
When the golem-summoning spell activated, everyone had somehow resisted being drawn to it.
Anyway, the survivors among the collaborators.
Their reactions fell into three categories.
"Die!"
Charging with death-defying resolve, or
"Uwaaaah!"
Fleeing in terror, or
"Please, spare me!"
Begging for mercy and surrendering.
Those charging to their deaths were impaled on soldiers' spears.
Those fleeing in panic were caught by faster knights and slain.
And those begging for their lives...
We took prisoner.
We could extract info through interrogation.
"I'll take the prisoners."
Once the subjugation ended,
Godfrey said he'd handle the surrendered Eremus collaborators.
Probably planning to interrogate them in the dungeon beneath Chester Castle.
"What will you do now, Lord Heros?"
Godfrey's question to me.
Meaning, would I return to the castle with him?
I shook my head.
I still had business to attend to.
"I'll patrol the city a bit more. Can't rule out anything I missed."
"Understood. Thank you for today."
Hearing my reply,
Godfrey bowed politely and turned away.
Leading his troops, he departed.
"Alright, let's call it a day for us too."
I dismissed the able-bodied men who'd followed me.
Watching their retreating backs, I thought,
Finally, the moment had arrived.
'Now, time to hunt for grimoires.'
The reason we could subjugate the Eremus collaborators.
My mana detection ability.
It let me distinguish commoners from collaborators.
So while searching the city, I'd constantly scanned for mana signatures. And in the process, I'd found them.
No less than six grimoires.
'The ones the count's mages had.'
The six grimoires were divided two each across three abandoned houses.
And those houses had all belonged to mages under Count Chester.
Confirmed when I asked Godfrey.
Putting it together...
All three mages had hidden grimoires in their residences without exception.
My hunch had been spot on.
Of course they wouldn't leave their grimoires behind.
'If it were me, I never would've left the castle.'
Why the mages died.
They'd left the castle.
Though their choice wasn't incomprehensible.
The castle wasn't exactly prime living quarters.
Cold, damp, dark, cramped, smelly, noisy, overrun with rats and bugs...
Aside from easy defense against external attacks, it had few merits.
Mages could protect themselves, so they'd stayed outside, trusting their skills—and gotten killed.
'I'll put your legacies to good use, seniors.'
I visited the first house first.
True to an abandoned home, the door was smashed.
The interior was a wreck.
Not bad for me.
Searching ruins looked less suspicious than rummaging through an occupied home.
If anyone questioned it later, I'd claim I was hunting Eremus collaborators.
"There."
Inside, I pointed to the wooden floor.
Gilbert caught on and ripped up a plank with brute force.
Beneath lay two grimoires.
"Got two already."
Pocketing the grimoires, I left the house.
Then headed to the second.
This one was ruins too.
Blackened bloodstains on the floor suggested it'd been abandoned since the owner's death.
"Inside the wall this time."
Not the floor— the wall.
Where mana emanated.
I punched it lightly; it echoed hollowly.
Unlike solid spots, it was empty inside.
I had Gilbert smash it open, revealing a cavity with two grimoires.
Four now.
"How can you pinpoint grimoires without even looking?"
Bear, who'd watched the whole thing beside me, asked with genuine curiosity.
"Mages can detect mana. You and Sir Conal can focus your senses to pick up presences from afar, right? It's like that."
Knights grow sharper in all physical aspects with higher rank.
Senses included.
So Bear and Conal could hear faint sounds I missed.
"Ah, got it."
Bear nodded in understanding.
With his question answered, I led the group out again.
The third house awaited.
"Looks like the mage put up a fierce fight."
The third house.
Far worse off than the first two.
Scarce an intact spot.
Must've been a ghoul raid at night, and the mage resisted hard.
I silently prayed for his soul, then moved to claim the grimoires.
"Ceiling this time."
Floor, wall, now ceiling.
They'd really gone all out hiding them.
Crack.
Gilbert pried off a ceiling panel.
His height let him reach without a ladder.
In the revealed space,
he pulled out two books shortly after.
Grimoires, naturally.
"All set. Let's head back."
Six grimoires secured.
Only Bear and Conal had seen me collect them.
Low chance of anyone calling me out.
If the count complained?
I'd say I searched mana sources.
The house I'd used to lure the ghouls.
Back there, I laid out the six grimoires on the floor.
Time to inspect them closely.
If any could be read right away?
Obviously, I'd read it immediately.
'Let's see.'
The six grimoires.
Their names: Tidy, Blunt Night Strike, Land Turtle, Flying Squirrel, Beauty, Green Thumb.
One familiar name among them.
'You first.'
Beauty Grimoire.
I checked its voice first.