Chapter 129
There was only half a day left until they arrived at Baron Dubuer’s territory located within Count Rebrecca’s estate. Joshua was lying comfortably on a wagon’s roof, even though it was rattling while moving.
‘I told Akshuller to be careful, but I can’t let my guard down either,’?Joshua murmured while staring up ahead with a determined look.
Joshua had two goals in the Tripia Region. Firstly, he wanted to find traces of the connections he had made before. Lastly, he wanted to find the special Lich, which was likely related to his foe in one way or another.
‘Akshuller accurately guessed the existence of an Archlich, but that lich isn’t at that level.’
Archlich…
Archliches were undead monsters made from the corpses of Class 7 Mages or higher. Different from other undead, liches possessed intelligence, so they were difficult to deal with. In addition, a Lich’s strength greatly varied depending on their class when they were still alive.
‘Those who have dedicated their whole life in pursuit of magic will even sell their soul to become a Lich so that they could continue their pursuit of magic even after their end. Naturally, they will sell souls to a demon and establish a contract with them.’
Upon going through that process, the individual in question would naturally become either a lich or an archlich. There existed another realm aside from the Human Realm called the Demon Realm. The Demon Realm was a realm comparable in size to the Human Realm, where the Igrant Continent was located.
To match its magnitude, the Demon Realm had tens of thousands of demons, excluding demonic creatures. Even the most powerful beings, such as dragons, weren’t sure if they could defeat appropriately powerful demons in a match.
Of course, demons that could match dragons were by no means common. The top 100 strongest demons were referred to as high-ranked demons, while low-ranked demons were mostly imps and mares. Demons were incredibly strong as well, and even the weakest demons could go toe to toe with powerful humans.
The so-called contract to become a lich involved the mage sacrificing their soul to borrow a demon’s might. The contract involved borrowing the demon’s strength until the end, so a Lich could wield the power of the demon to a certain degree.
A lich’s power could vary according to the strength of the demon they made a contract with as well as the specifics of their contract.
Since they were completely pushed out of the competition in the demon realm, opportunities for contracts by the mid-level demons are found in the human realm. But there was some sort of exception.
One could easily find a way to establish a contract with average—mid-ranked demos in the Human Realm, but it wasn’t that one could only find mid-level demons. One could also establish a contract with one of the strongest demons, and the lich Joshua was thinking about was one of the exceptions. They were one of the exceptions in the sense that they managed to make a deal with one of the strongest demons—a demon with its own unique ability.
Therefore, they became a type of lich with unfathomable power.
‘Lich Heinz—the mastermind of the Massacre of the East, a bloody event that is about to occur. Heinz is Asmodeus’ contractor, a high-ranked demon, specifically, the 32nd-strongest demon in the Demon Realm.’
Heinz was the first person on the continent to establish a contract with a demon within the top 100. As far as Joshua could remember, the Massacre of the East that claimed the lives of thousands in his past life was about to happen, and it all started at Baron Dubuer’s territory.
‘All I know is that Asmodeus’ unique ability is to bestow upon an attribute. This is a thought that came to me after my regression, but if what I think is true…’
Joshua closed his eyes and pondered. He could still remember how Kaiser secretly went after a mysterious grey crystal ball in the ruins of the 7th-strongest demon in the Demon Realm, Amon.
The crystal ball was a vessel that could possibly combine the two conflicting energies in Joshua’s body, which were divine power and demonic power.
If he had that crystal ball…
Joshua gnashed his teeth as he recalled the people he had seen before he died. Among them, he could certainly remember an old man in a long black robe accompanied by three men and a woman.
‘It’s definitely one of their trump cards, and I have to deal with it because Kaiser’s left-hand man is a black mage who can use it well.’?
As far as Joshua could remember, Heinz suddenly disappeared from the continent after the Massacre of the East. Back then, Joshua dispatched formidable men throughout the continent as well as the holy knights of the Holy Empire Hubalt all just to locate Heinz.
However, Heinz was never seen again.
‘That old man is the most mysterious out of all of my enemies. I will definitely recognize him instantly once I see him.’
Every individual had their own distinct energy.
If Heinz and that guy had a particular bond, their respective energies had to be a bit similar. As such, there was no way Joshua would mistake him for someone else.
“Dark Priest Berber.” Joshua muttered with bright eyes.
Joshua’s death was orchestrated by four men and a woman.
The current Imperial Chief Mage of the Avalon Empire, Evergrant con Aswald…
War God Draxia bel Grace. His blood was nobler than anyone else, but he was nothing more than a traitor in the eyes of the Swallow Empire—his homeland.
Dark Priest Berber, whose actual identity was still a secret to everyone aside from Kaiser…
‘The other two, along with Berber, will emerge next to Kaiser in the near future. I will eliminate those individuals—I will eliminate the constituents of your great power, and naturally, I will save you for last, Kaiser ben Britten.’
After reaffirming his resolve, Joshua's eyes seemed as dazzling as the stars in the night sky.
***
The priests of Hermes had a lot of freedom. It was the freedom to go to any Hermes Temple, wherever they might be in the world. Obviously, there were limits on entry to official enemy territory or irreligious regions, but the freedom the priests enjoyed was powerful in itself.
After all, it meant that a priest with a particularly malicious disposition or with unknown motives could perform espionage on the territory of other nations as long as there was a Hermes Temple there.
Of course, doing something like that wasn’t easy.
A nation would always keep a hawk’s eye on every priest of Hermes visiting their nation. If the nation discovered that a particular priest was performing espionage activities, the priest in question would be vilified by the entire continent. In other words, they would become a public enemy.
The disciple of Knight of God Chrysler jean Sebastian, as well as the representative of the Hubalt Empire in the upcoming Reinhardt Masters’ Battle, Christian, managed to entire the territory of the Avalon Empire without much trouble due to his priesthood.
After a long day of trekking, he eventually arrived at his destination.
“What…?”
Aside from the borders where troops were normally stationed, the first settlement beyond the border should have civilians. As such, Christian couldn’t believe that the Tripia Region, the territory of Avalon closest to Hubalt, looked more like a ruin rather than a human settlement.
“I have heard of the rumors, but why is it like this?” Christian muttered as he swept his gaze across the desolate place. He couldn’t see even a single ant.
The border towns of most nations would always be developed. After all, a border town could also serve as a hub for international trade as well as a gateway since one had to go through a border town if one wanted to enter a nation.
Tak. Tak. Tak.
Christian turned around after hearing footsteps from behind.
“Those coats of arms…!”
The footsteps belonged to five men dressed in robes. Three of them wore blue robes, while the other two wore brown robes. Judging from the color of their robes and the coat of arms emblazoned on their chests, they definitely didn’t belong to the same group.
“...” Christian frowned momentarily as he examined the men’s coat of arms. The heraldic design of the coat of arms emblazoned on the blue-robed men’s chest depicted a wide-brimmed mage's hat, while the brown-robed men’s coat of arms depicted a towering white ivory tower.
Those coats of arms meant that they were affiliated with…
‘Why are the imperial mages of the Avalon Empire and the Magic Tower's mages traveling together?’?Christian's suspicion deepened as he continued to contemplate. ‘As far as I know, both sides should have no reason to make contact with each other…’
‘The only explanation I can think of is that the Imperial Chief Mage of Avalon and the high-class mage Evergrant might be an ex-member of the Magic Tower…’
Christian got even more confused when he suddenly realized that Avalon—renowned to the world as the Empire of Knights—actually dispatched mages rather than knights to do some kind of activity in a far-flung land.
A middle-aged man in a blue robe, who seemed to be the leader of the robed men, took in Christian’s outfit for a moment before asking, “Are you a citizen of the Hubalt Empire?”
“May God reward those who seek the truth…” Christian replied with a blessing.
“...”
In response, the blue-robed middle-aged man lowered his head slightly before saying, “Excuse me, but this is a restricted area, and where are you going?”
Christian shook his head and smiled as he replied, “I am but a poor messenger of Hermes’ will. Where else should I go aside to those crying out for help?”
“...” The robed men remained silent.
At that, Christian explained, “I have heard some rumors that traces of a remarkable creature has been recently discovered here.”
Hearing that, the blue-robed middle-aged man shook his head with a resolute look and said, “A false rumor has deceived you, and you have wasted your valuable time.”
“What do you—”
“The rumor started because of an unpleasant dispute between the nobles of our empire. You do not have to worry about it.”
“...” Christian became silent at that. It was all because he noticed that the blue-robed middle-aged man had directly drawn the line.
However, the explanation didn’t really make sense because if what happened here were merely a war between noble families, the settlement here wouldn’t have been subjected to such devastation.
After all, it was illegal for nobles to slaughter civilians in the name of conquering land for themselves. After all, the nation needed civilians to earn money through the income tax the civilians had to pay to their nation.
‘There’s something… fishy.’
Christian's eyes shone.
“From here, go a bit further south, and you’ll soon find a diversion road. Take that road, and you will eventually reach the Hermes Temple. I wish you a safe and fine journey…”
Christian seemed confused at the stern order disguised behind a polite blessing, but he still bowed his head slightly and said, “I appreciate it. Thank you.”
Unbeknownst to the mages, Christian was wearing an icy look as he walked away and eventually disappeared from their line of sight. The mages also soon disappeared from the place as they rushed toward somewhere.
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