Journey to the North - 2
“Young master! No matter how you look at it, isn't this just too weird?!”
“Hey, Rena. Cut the weird talk and just carry him already.”
Maribel grabbed the legs while Kizen took the head, hauling the man's corpse away.
They pulled it from the luggage compartment and tossed it outside, where it landed atop the growing pile of bodies.
The corpses stacked up high, soon forming a veritable tower.
I poured oil evenly over the tower and set it ablaze.
Flames roared up in an instant.
“Phew! Finally done.”
Clap clap!
I dusted off my hands and admired the spectacular pillar of fire.
The fuel? Oily human corpses.
It might look like some ritual sacrifice to a dark god, with countless humans slaughtered and burned as offerings—but nothing could be further from the truth.
These were the bandits who'd been run down by our carriage, every last one of them coming at us with murder in their eyes.
“Master Hines, if it's not too rude, may I ask why you went to the trouble of gathering and burning the bodies? It would've been easier to leave them for the beasts.”
“If beasts get a taste for human flesh, they'll start preying on villagers. I don't want innocent people becoming their next meal.”
That was the same reason I fed Garum livestock meat while raising him.
I felt zero regret over killing bandits, but I didn't want unrelated folks suffering because of me.
“Plus, they could rise as undead or get snatched up by some black mage. I can't stand the thought of those bastards thriving.”
“My thinking was too shallow.”
Either way spelled trouble, so piling them up and torching them all at once was the cleanest solution.
No loose ends to worry about now.
“But isn't the bandit situation weirdly excessive? I've never heard rumors about this area being dangerous……”
“Must be a recent bandit surge.”
“If they were swarming in packs, that'd make sense—but they're coming at us one by one! That's what's odd!”
“Beats me. No clue there either.”
On the road north, bandits popped up with unusual frequency. Some dedicated player had even crunched the numbers on encounter rates and posted an analysis.
A ton of users, myself included, demanded the devs patch it.
But the developers never fixed it or even explained if it was a bug.
Players speculated it hid some secret and went hunting for clues—but it was all wasted time.
The northern road bandits remained one of the enduring mysteries of the Aslan Chronicles.
“The bandits who kept showing up seemed a bit off mentally too.”
“They acted like they had some intelligence, but their chatter was all one-sided. Like they were just following a script from a manual.”
“Brainwashing via black magic?”
“Nope. No sinister auras at all.”
An elf's senses for detecting evil energies outdid even high priests.
If Rena said no, black magic was off the table.
Despite their suspicious behavior, it reminded us they weren't attacking of their own volition.
From midway on, I'd started having fun plowing through them with the carriage—no guilt needed, peace of mind achieved.
“Our trail's a mess, but let's move on for now. We've got Lunaria and Ludmilan Village to focus on—bandits are a headache we don't need.”
“Wise call. Ludmilan Village isn't far now, so I'll take the reins after this.”
“Thanks.”
I wanted more roadkill action, but better to keep my identity under wraps.
I settled quietly into the passenger compartment. Coco flopped onto my lap, while Garum curled around my legs and sprawled out.
The two doggos pressed in tight, pinning me in place—but it was fine.
The fluffy sensation killed any urge to get up.
“Bandits have stopped showing up now that we're near the village.”
“Ludmilan probably has a militia. No room for bandits to run wild.”
“Does that mean we get beds tonight?”
“Yep.”
“Yay!”
We'd finally reached our first stop: Ludmilan Village.
About three days from becoming a target of the Nidhog cult.
Home to one of the main heroines, Lara—and the starting point where the protagonist rises as the cult's nemesis.
Unburned Ludmilan Village. That's a first.
In the game, Ludmilan only appeared fully incinerated due to main story constraints.
Even cheesing past the plot to visit early, it was always in flames.
Pre-incident Ludmilan was impossible to see, no matter the trick.
Maybe that's why a bustling, lively village like this felt so hard to imagine.
As I stroked Coco's chin, lost in thought, a militia guard from the village entrance approached.
“Excuse me! What brings you here?”
“We're heading north for a major deal with the Bastard Trading Company.”
“If you're just passing through, take the right path……”
“We're planning to stay in the village for about three days before leaving.”
“Ah, got it. Mind if we inspect the carriage for hazardous goods?”
“Go ahead.”
The gate militia started a thorough check of the carriage.
They even peeked into my compartment, so I'd worried they might recognize me.
Tsk!
But the militiaman just clicked his tongue at the sight of me surrounded by beauties like Maribel and Rena.
No sign he'd clocked who I was.
With blatant jealousy, he slammed the carriage door and left.
“No prohibited items found. You're clear to enter.”
Once we reached our destination, we headed straight for an inn.
After booking rooms and unpacking, Ludmilan's scenery unfolded beyond the window.
A quiet, peaceful village.
Soon to be reduced to ashes in three days—it was almost heartbreaking.
“Alright, before the Nidhog cult shows up……”
“We'll gather intel in the village.”
“Gotta scope out the info first, right?”
“I'll collect as much as I can!”
“Info gathering!”
“……”
My suggestion of sightseeing went in one ear and out the other.
True to their assassin roots, they all chimed in unison about intel.
Even Coco.
I nodded reluctantly, and they scattered to gather information.
Left in the room: me, the black wolf, and ketchup young master.
My guard detail? Garum.
Everyone had seen him go toe-to-toe with Kizen without backing down, so they trusted him and left.
“Shall we head out?”
“Kyawung!”
Garum wagged his tail furiously in approval.
I fitted a collar around his neck—the kind with a “My dog doesn't bite” sign.
One collar wasn't enough to reassure folks given his monstrous look, so we stuck to circling the inn.
Altesia folks had warmed to Garum's appearance, but strangers here? No way.
“Tell me if you spot anyone suspicious, got it?”
“Kyareuk!”
Garum let out a creepy howl, like leave it to me.
Slipping out the back door when no one was around, I strolled leisurely with my companion wolf while the others worked.
Sure, I could hear the grumbles of lucky bastard—but what can you do? This was the rogue young master's daily life.
As I meandered through the backyard like time meant nothing, Garum dropped flat to the ground, sniffing intently.
“Kyark!”
“What is it?”
Having found something, Garum bolted ahead, urging me to follow.
He practically dragged me from the backyard to the outskirts of Ludmilan.
In an abandoned graveyard, the wolf suddenly started digging with his front paws.
“Wh-what the hell?! If you're hungry, we'll go back to the room for some tasty meat—just stop!”
I panicked at my pet wolf's grave-robbing, trying desperately to intervene, but it was no use.
Eventually, a skeleton emerged.
Garum pawed the skull back gently.
And plucked a tattered paper wedged between its teeth with his mouth.
“Kyarrung!”
He dropped the paper onto my palm, as if saying read this.
Then he covered the hole back up with the dirt he'd dug.
He'd only unearthed it to show me the note.
“What the heck is this?”
Unfolding the paper revealed diary-like entries.
Written in blood, judging by the red ink and uneven letters.
Still perfectly legible.
I've discovered the secret hidden in this village. But I got caught in the process and now I'm facing death.
If anyone finds this record, and if you're an outsider who's read this—leave this village immediately!
The villagers are a cult of fanatics worshiping some evil god called Narald that isn't even in any scriptures! They sacrifice all outsiders as offerings—flee as far as you can! I'm done for, so I pray for your misfortune from the afterlife……
I couldn't tear my eyes from the note for a good while.
A sudden memory flashed as I read it.
The ending where the protagonist defeats the Nidhog cult and marries main heroine Lara.
Unlike other heroines, Lara's ending was inexplicably labeled Bad Ending.
Most players shrugged it off as the devs simping again, but Lara stans raged, demanding a fix.
But even that went unpatched by the developers……
Maybe it was all intentional.
Why hide a Rune Fragment in such a backwater village?
Why burn Ludmilan to the ground when the Nidhog cult risked global exposure?
Why so many bandits preying on travelers northbound?
The puzzle pieces of questions swirling in my head started clicking together.
“It was cult vs. cult all along!”
Shock at the twist was short-lived—my eyes lit up.
A brilliant plan had hit me: wipe out both shitty cults in one go.