Chapter 414
It appeared that the bodies of the Barien Empire’s royal family, which had been hanging in the square, had been overrun with flies for an extended period. The swarm of flies briefly took flight when the townspeople approached to spit on the bodies, then settled back on them. They were the only ones that wanted to touch the emperor and his family’s flesh.
It was no wonder that most of the n.o.bles who had been a.s.sociated with the emperor had been purged. Gunshots could be heard from the direction of the imperial palace as the purge was still ongoing.
Yeon-Hee was standing in front of the gallows. To be exact, she was in front of the bulletin board, where the emperor and his followers’ evil deeds were listed for all pa.s.sersby to see. Photos that depicted horrifying scenes of people dying in underground dungeons and scenes of the emperor’s debauchery at his lavish parties were attached as well.
Yeon-Hee returned with a sneer as she looked at a poster on the back wall.
「 “The Liberation Army has arrived.”
― The Great Caliber, Emperor Slayer 」
It was Seong-Il, who was displayed stepping on the emperor’s back and stretching out his hand toward the people. The emperor was portrayed grotesquely as if he was in the process of decaying. Such posters filled with propaganda slogans could be found everywhere.
Yeon-Hee looked around, including the direction where the poor were lined up for the distribution of food, then sat down next to me, stretching. She enjoyed the warm sunlight on her face, as the climate in Elsland was cool, which she loved.
“What do you want to do? Look for more dead? We have already done it three times, though.”
She spoke after the city guards saluted us as they pa.s.sed by. She seemed to think that it wasn’t a wise approach, even before I nodded. Her tone of voice suggested that, and it was what we had worried about.
The information we could obtain through the priest who had received a direct appointment from the queen was extremely limited. The priest had little contact with the elves even after entering Elsland. Most of his time was spent with the Greenwood species who had accompanied him on the journey, and he hadn’t been free during the two days he had stayed at the palace.
In his memory, most of the court’s s.p.a.ces were blacked out and covered in mystery as he had never seen or heard most of them. Of course, there was not much time to face the queen, so the only memorable thing about her was her decadent gaze.
“Others would be the same.”
In the Greenwood Continent, elves and orcs were extremely rare. Most of the species there were only aware that other species existed in the same world, but most of them ended their lives without ever seeing one of them.
There was no reason for different kinds like elves and dwarves to enter the continent. Only aggressive and greedy creatures like the red-faced orc tribes would enter in search of Old One’s relics. Therefore, it would be a waste of time for us to search for an elf who had been close to the queen. In other words, we had to take a risk and set foot on Elsland…
“It’s an honor to see you again, Odin. I received a report that you have arrived. I hope I am not bothering you.”
The person speaking was Hera, Deborah Bellucci. She seemed to have heard about the story as she appeared wearing not only the artifacts of Dragorin, but also her Awakened items.
For a moment, I strongly sensed that she was conscious of Yeon-Hee, and her weight distribution was also biased towards one foot, allowing her to escape from dangerous creatures at any time.
Yeon-Hee also realized that, so she spoke with a slightly upset tone.
“I want to be friends with you, but I guess you don’t, Hera.”
Hera lowered her head and shook her hands as if to say that wasn’t true.
“What brought you here?” I asked.
She responded, “Have you heard of a guy named ‘Daniel Walker?”
Among many occupied territories, tyranny was common in economically insignificant small villages. Not only the Awakened but even mercenaries were also witnessed partic.i.p.ating in inhumane acts more than once.
However, that was only from the perspective of the mainland as such acts were acceptable in this place and the Stage of Advent. Despite the fact, it was undeniable that if it became known to the mainland, the a.s.sociation would be embarra.s.sed.
After all, the Awakened claimed to be the liberation army in the imperial capital because it was advantageous in the broader view, not because they actually wanted to be a liberation army.
The imperial city was different from other cities, with an entirely different atmosphere beyond the city walls. Just like other small villages, it was completely isolated from the outside world, with tyranny prevalent throughout.
Many seemed like they would scream in terror at the slightest touch were seen on the streets, and they appeared to be the privileged cla.s.s of the empire. They were born into aristocratic families, received a good education, and managed the entire empire under the emperor. Their faces proved how much they had been exposed to not only physical violence but also psychological abuse.
“It’s an honor to see you, the Great Odin.”
“It’s an honor to see you, the Great Odin.”
The Awakened stopped and bowed their heads to me at once. I was wearing the Dark Robe of Eos and Yeon-Hee was disguised as well, but they noticed us from the way Hera treated us. The n.o.bles of the empire also knelt in their place.
At that time, those who didn’t know what to do and stood awkwardly were neither Awakened nor mercenaries, but dispatched staff from civilian groups. Some of them bowed discreetly, but others did not.
“Lower your head immediately! Odin is on his way.”
Hera raised her voice, but one man still didn’t bow his head. He was used to this world where all kinds of violence were lurking, but he still didn’t follow the crowd. To him, this was just a works.p.a.ce, and it was definitely a protest, saying that he came from a democratic world where everyone was equal.
It was truly a stupid act. I didn’t know what kind of pride he had for being the only one not showing respect to me. In the end, he had no choice but to lower his head when the ferocious gazes of the Awakened converged on him.
However, it was too late. Hera gave a signal, and the man was dragged away by an Awakened nearby. No one from the same group of civilian mercenaries with the same logo in their uniform stood up for him. Instead, they seemed to be fed up with his foolishness.
“...I apologize. It is my fault. I will make sure to educate the employees better, so this never happens again.”
The stiff voice came from someone wearing the same logo as the one who was dragged away.
The owner of this castle, Seong-Il, had not yet returned. Or he could have secured his position here, then left for another battlefield without partic.i.p.ating in governing it. I heard he was cooperating with Iljoo, and I wondered if that was the Iljoo that I knew.
Soon after, Hera stopped walking.
“Here it is.”
It was the door where Daniel was waiting. There was no reason for him to come to me. Since there was not a single clue that I could guess what was going on with him without meeting him in person, I had stopped thinking too much about him.
As I walked into the room, Hera turned back the way we had come. Daniel was looking out the window, and he turned hastily toward me. He hesitated, then began with the elves’ greeting.
How does he even know the elves’ way of greeting?
“Nice to meet you, Odin.”
His explanation was lengthy. Although he appeared to be Daniel, what occupied his insides was the soul of an elf who called himself Aslan. Apparently, this guy was the one who had infiltrated the mainland, as Lunea had mentioned.
There was no doubt about his defection, even at first glance. In addition to consistently showing me a submissive att.i.tude, he was leaking the secrets of the Old One faction without any hesitation. He even expressed his intention to offer me the Soul Ring.
As expected, Yeon-hee nodded, which meant he pa.s.sed the lie detector.
“I wouldn’t have thought about defecting if I hadn’t transferred to this body,” he said.
Poor Daniel. I didn’t have a deep relations.h.i.+p with Daniel, but he had been in charge of a corner of the financial empire and had kept many secrets for the company. He had considerable achievements, so it was sad that he had faded away like that.
“Please be merciful and accept my loyalty, Odin. I will never betray you under your Majesty’s order.”
He took off the Soul Ring, a symbol of his defection, and placed it on the palm of his hand.
[Congratulations! You have acquired a subordinate.]
[Ta-da! ( ๑ ˃̶ ꇴ ˂̶)♪]
But, Lunea… This b.a.s.t.a.r.d was…
At that moment, my eyes widened. It was not because of the provocative message Lunea sent again, but it happened when I picked up the Soul Ring from his palm. All my attention was focused on the name of the ring that appeared in the item window.
***
“You were right, Kanonas. Aslan is living up to our expectations.”
The queen’s long legs as they stretched out toward Kanonas were as white as marble. When she lightly touched his back with the tip of her toes, Kanonas turned his head toward her with a charming smile on his face. It was the smile that the queen cherished.
“Yes, Your Majesty. It was a wise decision to choose Aslan instead of the indulgent Anikas and uncontrollable Anemos.”
Kanonas lit up the candle and returned to the queen.
“It’s all thanks to you. However…”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“How was Aslan able to infiltrate the Demon King’s dimension? Wasn’t that a task we had continually failed at? While I am truly pleased that Aslan has lived up to my expectations, it is still troubling.”
Kanonas replied, “He equipped a relic from the Order of our Lord Lacryma.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“It is called the Soul Ring.”
The queen’s face suddenly became ghastly pale. “What?”
Kanonas explained, “We couldn’t avoid giving it to him. Without the Soul Ring, it would have been impossible to infiltrate the Demon King’s territory. Please forget about it.”
“Why are you telling me this now… Why… Why?!”
For the first time, Kanonas saw the furious side of the queen, who had previously only ever smiled at him.
“What has gone wrong?” he asked.
“Kanonas, there is something you don’t know… Why did you do that without permission?! Why! Why did you touch that… Call Aslan right now! Immediately!”
“Please calm down, Your Majesty. Aslan is in the Demon King’s domain.”
However, the queen didn’t hear Kanonas’ answer.
“If that falls into the hands of the Demon King, then we won’t be able to handle it—!”