Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: The Heavenly Lord of the Green Turbans 1
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Though it was a loathsome monster, ever since creating the Corpse Abomination, the group's travel speed had increased dramatically.
The Corpse Abomination, pulling the wagon they'd salvaged from a farmhouse, never slowed down no matter how much luggage or how many people were loaded onto it.
Azadin's party had arrived at the Earldom of Kimalhaji, the first checkpoint after crossing the border into Brtuma.
Perhaps because Brtuma was a land of water and mud, the outer walls of the Earldom of Kimalhaji were entirely made of packed earth.
The inner walls, protecting the important areas, were built of stone, while the outer ones were earthen ramparts. Such ramparts were easily damaged by rain and wind, requiring constant maintenance.
Even now, they could see workers shoveling earth into wooden frames and then having elephants trample it down to pack it solid for repairing the walls.
"Oh. Elephants... Amazing? First time seeing them. I've seen pictures, but in real life, they're really huge."
Azadin, who had never seen an elephant before in his life, stared wide-eyed.
The elephants weren't the only surprise. Shockingly, a considerable number of Green Turban followers had already gathered in the Earldom of Kimalhaji.
They looked more like locals than refugees. They were diligently working on fortifying the earthen ramparts.
"This Earldom of Kimalhaji is the holy site of the Green Turbans."
Jiswa explained.
"A holy site?"
"Yes. It is said that our Heavenly Lord was struck by lightning here and attained enlightenment of the Pure Sky's truth."
"Then is the Heavenly Lord here? If possible, it would be great to gain his aid in saving Brtuma."
"Regrettably, after that, the Heavenly Lord left Kimalhaji and has been on pilgrimage throughout Brtuma, spreading the Pure Sky's truth. He is currently in Brtuuma, the capital of the Kingdom of Brtuma."
"I see. Still, there seem to be a lot of Green Turbans here. I'm worried they might go berserk."
It was then, as Azadin looked around.
Someone called out to Azadin's party—or more precisely, to Jiswa.
"Oh, brother Jiswa. How did the proselytizing go in Korasar?"
When he turned to see who it was, a dark-skinned Brtuman who had been repairing the walls was riding an elephant, smirking down at Jiswa. He was using the cudgel, the symbol of a Green Turban priest, like a massager to thump his own back.
Jiswa answered uncomfortably.
"Brother Komsal. Actually, there was an incident."
"An incident?"
"We were spreading the Way of the Pure Sky in the Adiloph fief when suddenly the people went berserk and turned into Nether's kin. Many died, and we judged further proselytizing impossible, so we returned."
"The people went berserk and became Nether's kin?"
"Yes. Has nothing like that happened here? It seemed like the medicine we gave to those suffering from malaria or fevers was the problem...."
"So how many Korasar bastards did you kill?"
"What?"
"If you killed a good number, that's a fine achievement."
Shockingly, this Green Turban priest was more interested in how much damage they'd inflicted than the fact that the followers had gone berserk.
Jiswa was taken aback by his attitude, as if he'd known they would rampage.
"Wait! What do you mean by—"
But at that moment, Azadin placed a hand on Jiswa's shoulder.
"Brother Jiswa. Introduce me."
"Ah... Yes."
"Hmm? Who's this guy?"
"This is Brother Adan, who has become a Green Turban priest in my stead."
"What? In your stead? What are you talking about?"
"I deemed myself lacking in virtue to bear the heavy responsibility of Green Turban priest, but fortunately, Brother Adan, who is virtuous and strong in chivalry, graciously took on the priest's role in my place."
"As you can see."
Azadin picked up the cudgel, symbol of a Green Turban priest, and thumped his own shoulder like a massage.
"No way!"
Komsal was aghast that Jiswa had arbitrarily handed the priest position to some stranger.
From that reaction, it seemed Azadin wasn't the only one surprised by Jiswa's sudden action. But since he'd already taken on the role of Green Turban priest, he decided to push forward.
"Well then, now that you've heard the explanation, shall we talk? Brother Komsal? I can call you brother, right? I'm Green Turban, you're Green Turban—we're all brothers, aren't we?"
"......"
"And conveniently, we've brought Green Turban brothers, along with refugees wandering in search of work and food. Arrange jobs for them."
"Jobs?"
"You're building earthen ramparts right now, aren't you? Looks like you can provide plenty of work for people."
"Ah, well, that..."
"And I've got some leftover elixir here—care for a swig?"
Azadin pulled out a vial of medicine.
"Urk?!"
Komsal flinched at the sight of the vial Azadin offered, reacting as if it were poison. Azadin was convinced.
"Looks like you've tampered with the elixir?"
But as Azadin pressed Komsal, the laborers building the ramparts approached with shovels and hammers in hand.
"Priest Komsal!"
"Who are these guys?"
"As you can see, they're Green Turban brothers!"
When Azadin raised the cudgel, they recognized it and looked puzzled.
"Priest Komsal?"
"Th-they're fakes! The corrupt Jiswa sold the priest position to some random guy! Arrest them!"
At Komsal's shout, they gathered with shovels and wooden mallets.
At that sight, the Green Turbans in Azadin's party stood up.
And then...
"No, I don't wanna get up. Just standing up is making my muscles ache."
Everyone was startled when Scott stood.
Though disguised as a human, his orcish, well-developed muscles were faithfully reflected in the transformation magic, making Scott look like a massive, heavily muscled brute.
"...Gods above."
"What kind of muscles..."
"Looks like an orc."
Everyone cowered at Scott's appearance.
Moreover, when they heard that Azadin had come asking for jobs for the refugees and Green Turbans and ended up in this mess, the Green Turbans all rallied to Azadin's side.
"Are you insane, provoking our priest?"
"Our priest, he slices monsters like falling leaves."
"Don't piss off the priest for nothing, or you'll end up dead. Wanna see a bloodbath here?"
"You'd better do as our priest says."
"Give us jobs!"
Those who had seen Azadin's abilities firsthand were full of vigor, demanding work.
Komsal and his Green Turbans didn't dare challenge their momentum.
'What the hell are these guys, so full of themselves?'
'Is that guy really that amazing? They talk like we'll all die if he gets mad.'
As Komsal and Azadin's group caused a commotion among themselves, an elephant approached.
"What's going on, Komsal?"
"Ah. Miss!"
Atop the elephant was a young Brtuman woman accompanied by maids.
"...Miss Gimela."
"Who's that?"
"The Heavenly Lord's daughter."
"Oh."
Gimela, the cult leader's daughter, was a beauty with black curly hair and confident green eyes. Those green eyes scanned Azadin up and down.
"You look like a newcomer. A priest?"
"It's against the rules! Jiswa foolishly handed over the priest position on his own, undermining the Heavenly Lord's authority."
"Well, the rules don't say anything about not passing on the priest position."
"B-but."
"And even if that priest is questionable, the others are wearing green turbans, so aren't they our brothers? They want jobs, right?"
"Yes."
Gimela smiled at Azadin's reply.
"Good. There's plenty of work here anyway. We need to reinforce the ramparts quickly and stockpile arrows."
"Is it because ogres are attacking from the north?"
"Oh, you know about that."
"We encountered some ogres on the way."
"Did you?"
Gimela showed interest in Azadin's words.
Komsal trembled anxiously seeing Gimela take an interest in Azadin.
"Ah, Miss."
"Enough, Komsal. Give these people jobs and food as payment. Problem solved, right?"
"...Yes."
"Then disperse."
Gimela, the Heavenly Lord's daughter, dissolved the situation while glancing at Scott.
"And you there—the new priest, Jiswa, and your group. Come see me later. I want to hear your story."
"...Huh?"
Gimela's gaze lingered on Scott's muscular body. It was unmistakably a look of interest.
"Ah, this is such a pain."
Scott shrugged at Gimela's gaze on him.
"Being handsome is a hassle."
*********
Thanks to Gimela's mediation, the refugees and Green Turbans Azadin had brought were able to find work here.
The Earldom of Kimalhaji was emptying its coffers to reinforce the castle and prepare weapons against the ogres coming from the north. As a place prosperous from trade to begin with, it wasn't stingy with spending.
"Looks like they'll defend well here?"
Shati evaluated the Earldom of Kimalhaji's defensive preparations.
Then Azadin called to Shati.
"Hey, Shati."
"What?"
"Can you tell me the way to the Naga Empire?"
The Naga Empire lay within the Brtuma jungle, and the path there was known only to the nagas. It was common knowledge that powerful magic, venomous insects, and layered defensive formations blocked the way.
Yet Azadin was asking Shati for the path to the Naga Empire.
"Are you crazy? Even I can't tell you that. I don't even know it myself."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah. I'm from the lower class—I grew up outside the Naga Empire, in the colonies."
"Then is there no way to report to your superiors? If things continue like this, the Naga Empire will be manipulated by the Herald Clan again."
"They wouldn't just get manipulated. The Heralds must have given them something tangible. Probably a copy of the Divine King Formations."
"You think they handed over a copy of the Divine King Formations to pull in the Naga Empire?"
"Otherwise, after getting burned once in Korasar, why would they fall for it again?"
"Hmm."
Azadin was painfully aware of the power a copy of the Divine King Formations held.
It was the light of King's Transformation itself—a treasure beyond imagination.
Even though its interpretation was incomplete, handing such an incredible treasure to the nagas, enemies of humanity...
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Herald Clan had sinned against humanity.
"Did they give the Divine King Formations to the ogres too?"
"The nagas probably pulled in the ogres. Since we're the leading race in the Kurt Pantheon."
Among those who worshipped the Kurt gods, the nagas had the strongest organization and economic power.
Promising them even a small profit made it easy for them, the dominant force among Kurt believers, to bring in the ogres.
"It would be good if I could meet that Nagara and persuade him. If the nagas get used again this time, I might have to kill too many of them myself."
"Ha...."
Shati clicked her tongue at Azadin's arrogant words.
Azadin was worried that too many nagas might die.