95 – Territory Exploration
Dawn with the lingering scent of the cold night air.
After obtaining all the information about the territory, I decided on the number one thing to do first.
That is, wiping out the devil religion.
Saving the people’s lives and establishing a new order are useless if there is a devil religion.
Once I eliminate them, which spread like cancer cells, this place will finally be able to function properly as my territory.
“He who wears a red mask.”
And to root out the Devil Cult, you have to eliminate its leader.
The person currently presumed to be the leader of the devil cult here is ‘the one wearing the red mask.’
In other words, he is the one who has been in charge of the ‘sacrifice ceremony’ for a month.
The fact that they even started offering sacrifices is proof that they have completely fallen into the devil religion and have progressed into demonization.
It must be found and removed.
“Did you say it was around here?”
I came to a location presumed to be a den of thieves.
This is because I heard information that this band of thieves uses strange powers.
You need to check if you are a member of a satanic religion.
“Hey, you there.”
At that time.
At that moment, three men carrying weapons approached me.
This means that I have come to the right place.
“Are you a nobleman? It looks like it’s quite expensive. “If you spit out everything you have, I will spare your life, so give it to me when I have good words for you.”
These guys threaten me with their long swords slung over their shoulders.
The fact that a commoner who can’t even handle mana threatens a noble means that there is definitely a reason to trust him.
I’m sure I wouldn’t just trust those crude weapons to install them, I guess…
‘You’ll know when you test it.’
You will understand when you stick with it.
What kind of insurance do these guys believe in?
So I played a typical and arrogant nobleman.
“You guys are out of your mind. Waste that cannot be thrown away. “A foolish lower-class person who has not even learned Mana, who dares threaten someone?”
“·····.”
Then their expressions began to turn grim.
The raw hatred for nobles was clearly visible.
From noble mtl dot com
“After all, all noble kids are like this. How many nobles, like you, were left without a grasp of the situation? “You will be one of them.”
Ugh – these guys are gritting their teeth and showing hostility towards me.
Soon, the body of the guy who appeared to be the leader began to swell colorfully.
The whites of the eyes turned black, and the color of the skin changed to light purple.
This is proof that it uses the power of the devil.
“You know that only nobles use special powers, right? Not anymore. “We, who you guys ignored, can also use special power.”
The guy said that and raised the corners of his mouth.
The appearance of a triumphant man who exudes only the magic power of a low-level devil.
However, that alone would be enough of a threat to lower-ranking nobles.
If you can emit that much magical energy, you will at least be an intermediate sword user.
“Would you like me to rip off one of your arms first?”
Eventually, the guy sneered at the corner of his mouth and ran towards me.
Fast movement that instantly narrows the distance of several meters.
-Gi-iiiiing!
However, a bracelet was already placed on my wrist.
The bracelet instantly turned into a gauntlet, and I counter-punched the guy who was running at me.
Jeok-! And the sound of bones cracking.
The body of the guy flying in the opposite direction at the same time.
The body of the guy who floated in the air for a moment was swept across the floor, raising sand dust.
My colleagues, embarrassed by the sight of their leader being knocked out in one go, stepped back and glared at me.
I couldn’t help but laugh at that dumbfounded appearance.
“How dare you use that dirty power in front of me? “You can’t just ignore it.”
The people of the territory were reduced to a group of thieves because they could not withstand the tyranny of the previous lord.
However, touching the power of the devil is unforgivable.
I said as I simultaneously took out my suit’s accessories from my inventory.
“Actually, I also use special powers. Have you heard of repulsor beam?”
Ki-eeeing!
The palm part of the gauntlet warmed up brightly.
I raised my right hand and aimed at the guys.
The guys’ eyes began to turn with fear.
***
Gregory, who lost consciousness briefly after being hit in the lower jaw by Ed, was able to regain consciousness.
As long as I had the magical power that gave me monster-like regenerative power and vitality, I could quickly recover from a blow of this magnitude.
Gregory bit his molars, vowing revenge, and then stood up.
-Shwaaa!
However, the target of revenge was not visible.
The area was suddenly filled with black vapor.
Gregory looked around for Ed.
To get revenge on a petty noble who was lucky enough to get hit by him.
“What the hell…”
However, my colleagues were in a strange condition.
He looks dazed and is slowly taking a step back.
Why did he look so scared?
Now that I think about it, I also heard a strange sound.
The sound of machines engaging in black steam.
And Ed’s shape appears as the black steam slowly clears.
“······.”
When Gregory saw that scene, he felt instinctive fear.
Red eye glow emanating from the black fog,
And the shape reminiscent of the devil is because it reminds us of ‘him’.
This is the leader whose entire body is dyed pitch black.
‘Oh, no… More than him…’
No, the person in front of me was something a little more high-dimensional.
I feel like I have evolved into a higher being than the leader.
Not even the leader had such smooth, jet-black skin.
More fundamentally, it was closer to the ‘God’ that the religious leader spoke of.
The ‘Grand Duke of Hell’ who will one day descend on this earth and rule all the worlds!
“Poetry, poetry, God!”
Gregory was confident.
This is the Duke of Hell that the religious leader spoke of!
Gregory got down on his knees and began to bow in obeisance to the Grand Duke of Hell.
“Oh, Prince of Hell! Have you finally descended to this earth? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time! Tear to death the hypocrites who are eating away at this land, and sprinkle their blood and flesh on us! Give us freedom so that our desires can come true!”
Gregory began reciting the scriptures he had heard in ‘ritual’.
The phrase says that one day the Prince of Hell will come down to this earth, destroy all empires and kingdoms, and give freedom.
-Jeobeok… Jeobeok…
Then, the Archduke began to walk forward.
Every time the Archduke’s appearance, hidden by steam, was revealed little by little, Gregory’s thoughts became closer to certainty.
A smooth and hard shell that cannot be considered human.
The eye glow is burning red like the sun.
A light like starlight shining brightly from the chest.
No monster or human could take this form.
This person certainly looked like the Duke of Hell.
In the midst of all this, the Grand Duke finally spoke his first words.
【You’re talking sh*t】
***
“Kkeuheueook…!”
The last guy who was beaten by me collapsed.
You dare bring the abominable Duke of Hell at me. If you weren’t my territory, I would have torn you to death.
‘Even if that’s not the case, I have to kill him in the first place.’
However, I saved them even though they had accepted the power of the devil.
This is because only a very small amount of magic can be taken into the body to turn back into a human.
More than anything, these guys are corrupted into thieves due to the tyranny of their former lord.
As he was originally a faithful worker of this land, there is still room for rehabilitation.
【From now on, answer faithfully to what I say.】
So, I had to move quickly.
Using the power of the devil to such an extent means that the influence of the devil’s religion has already grown uncontrollably.
The leadership of the Devil Cult must be punished before its influence spreads any further.
-Shhhhh…
So I activated the emitter mixed with hallucinogenic liquid.
The whole place was filled with purple vapor, and the guys’ expressions began to turn blank.
Soon, I asked the first question.
【Where is your hideout?】
***
“The captain is back!”
In a dense forest.
A man ran between wooden houses to announce breaking news.
It was news that the leader of the ‘Black Bandits’ would return here in 5 days.
“Captain? “So quickly?”
“The captain has arrived!”
So, every house opened its doors and began to welcome the news of the captain’s return.
The child, who had been in tears just now, was running around the field with a bright smile on his face as if it had never happened before.
“Captain!”
Soon.
A group led by a sturdy middle-aged man with white hair and a black beard entered the village.
All the villagers ran out of their houses to greet the black-bearded middle-aged man, and a child of about 7 grabbed the middle-aged man’s trousers and looked up at him and said,
“Captain! Did you bring a lot of food this time too? “Just my mom and I waited for the captain!”
A middle-aged man looking at his child with happy eyes.
Soon, he got down on one knee and made eye contact with the child.
He said while stroking the child’s head.
“Okay then! You will be very full, so look forward to it! Ha ha ha ha ha!”
The middle-aged man smiled brightly and gave a chin gesture to his subordinate.
Then his subordinate slammed a large backpack on the floor! I put it down, unpacked my backpack and showed it the contents.
It was filled with dried beef jerky and all kinds of grains.
“Waaa!!”
The child cheered with excitement.
The women smiled happily at the child, and the young men looked at the contents of the bundle with excited expressions.
Meanwhile, a woman approached her captain with an anxious expression and said,
“Hey…Captain. “Hey, why can’t I see Kevin?”
“······.”
The atmosphere calmed down in an instant at the woman’s words.
The captain put his hand on the woman’s shoulder without saying a word.
As soon as the woman saw the look in her captain’s eyes, she covered her mouth and swallowed her tears.
Finally, a man handed the woman her urn and she opened her mouth.
“Kevin… Died while fighting bravely against the nobles… Thanks to Kevin, we were all able to escape safely.”
The woman held her urn and sobbed.
Her lady friends clung to her and stroked her back.
The captain looked at them with sad eyes, then lost his emotions and gave orders with a stern expression.
“Supply food and daily necessities. Goods will be sorted by type in the warehouse and a ‘succession ceremony’ will be held. We need a warrior to fill Kevin’s vacancy. “Do you have any applicants?”
As the captain said that, he looked around at the young people in the village.
Some young men stepped back with a frightened expression, while others raised their hands with determined eyes.
Finally, the captain nodded his head and said.
“After one hour, applicants should come to the cave of consciousness. “One of you will become the new warrior.”
“”Yes!””
The captain nodded his head once and walked towards his quarters.
The villagers who saw him bowed their heads in respect.
In the meantime, his steps suddenly stopped.
He looked around as if looking for someone, then grabbed a young man nearby and asked.
“I can’t see Gregory. “Where is he?”