Rioshuko (5)
Chapter 185
Ray had made Baret speak.
Ray, still in shock, grabbed Baret’s head and asked again,
“What’s your connection with the Dark Wizard?”
“Ugh… I, I don’t know! You’re mistaken!!”
“Ah, this little one is poisonous.”
At this point, it was reasonable for Baret to babble on about knowing or not knowing things, but he continued to resist.
After pondering for a moment, Ray lifted his staff.
“Hey, do you know what this staff is called?”
“…”
“It’s the Staff of Truth.”
“Uuuugh…!!”
With rough hands, Ray shoved a rope into Baret’s mouth.
Already having endured this several times, Baret convulsed reflexively.
Ray wondered how much longer he would have to keep doing this, scratching his forehead as he spoke.
“Hey, Guild Master.”
“Uugh…!”
“If you just answer properly, I’ll let you go without killing you. It’d be inconvenient for me if I had to kill you.”
If Baret were to disappear, whether Ray killed him to silence him or not, everyone in Rioshuko would undoubtedly point their fingers at Ray as the culprit.
Thus, Ray smiled while saying that if Baret just spilled the information, they could get along amicably again, and moved the staff.
“Guild Master, you can still recover with some rest. A bit of holy power and you’ll be healed in no time. There won’t even be any aftereffects.”
“Ugh…! Ugh…!”
“But if you keep quiet, I might have no choice but to get rough.”
With the end of the staff, Ray tapped the nail-pierced knee of the hanging Baret and then moved the staff end between Baret’s groin.
“The next step will involve nailing here…”
The staff now aimed at Baret’s eyeballs as he hung upside down.
“Afterward, I’ll pierce here and fry them.”
“Uuuugh…!!”
“You don’t have many chances, so think carefully.”
Snap!
“Kkkkkuuuuuugh!!!!!”
After sending sufficient current through the iron spike embedded in Baret’s knee, Ray grinned widely.
The forced grin appeared terrifyingly through Baret’s blurred vision.
Bending his knees, Ray met Baret’s eyes exactly and removed the gag.
“Anything else you want to say?”
Baret hastily blurted out,
“Cough! Cough…! Count Girenhal…! Count Girenhal!”
“Count Girenhal?”
Count Girenhal was the noble who managed Rioshuko.
Rioshuko was a direct territory of the royal family, and Girenhal was an administrative official dispatched by the royal family.
Thus, the title of count held by Girenhal was more symbolic of his position than an actual noble rank.
Baret struggled to continue speaking,
“I really don’t know anything… I just followed Count Girenhal’s orders…”
“What did Girenhal order you to do?”
“To bring Olda and guide her into the forest…”
“As long as we quietly followed the guide, I thought I’d never see your face again.”
“Uugh…! Ugh…!!!”
After shoving the rope back into Baret’s mouth, Ray struck his jaw, making a cracking sound as Baret’s body slumped downward.
Ray irritably kicked Baret’s temple and opened the door.
Bang, who had been standing guard outside, slightly bowed his head and spoke.
“Is the interrogation over?”
“More or less.”
While Ray was interrogating, Bang wasn’t idle either.
Bang had also been ‘interrogating’ the mercenary Rasker whom they had met at Wypor’s Nest.
“How about your side?”
“The mercenary guy didn’t know much. He rambled a lot, but ultimately, all we got was that he did what the guild master told him to do.”
“Is that so?”
As Ray pondered whether to go torment Count Girenhal next,
A sound of someone climbing the stairs from the lower floor was heard.
Someone who had pushed past the surveillance team stationed as a lookout came through the soundproof barrier.
Bang moved his hand toward the hilt of his sword, but Ray stopped him.
Soon enough, Comet, the deputy director of the Alimo Kingdom branch of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, stomped down the corridor and stood in front of Ray.
“Surely, you didn’t kidnap the guild master?”
“…”
“Just what were you thinking when you did something like…!!!”
“Comet.”
Ray revealed a subtle aura while warning.
“If you don’t want to lose face in front of the kids, lower your voice.”
“…”
Ray narrowed the distance with Comet, who was exhaling heavily due to excitement.
“Did you know that high-ranking officials in Rioshuko were colluding with dark wizards?”
“No, that’s…!”
“Answer well.”
“Of course… I knew! I knew, these mercenaries knew, His Majesty the Emperor knows, everyone knows!”
“That’s nonsense.”
“…”
As Ray’s presence grew stronger, Comet stepped back, took a deep breath, and continued speaking.
“The Forbidden Forest is a region impossible to purify.”
Even if one tries to purify it, it soon becomes contaminated again by the powers of transcendent beings.
No one knew how much sacrifice would be required to hunt down and punish all the evil entities hiding in the Forbidden Forest.
Moreover, the Forbidden Forest was a treasure trove of valuable resources.
The Alimo Kingdom was reaping enormous profits thanks to monster byproducts and various resources obtained from the Forbidden Forest.
Various magic towers across the continent were also lobbying for a steady supply of monster corpses.
“The fact that devil worshippers frequently hide in the Forbidden Forest is… something everyone knows. It’s impossible not to know.”
However, there was no effort being made to capture them.
The cost of conducting operations in the Forbidden Forest was too high, and the potential gains were minimal.
Rather…
“The high-ranking officials involved in the interests of the Forbidden Forest often engage in transactions with devil worshippers inside the forest.”
To gain more profit.
“The fact that transactions with devil worshippers occur is an open secret. Naturally, the empire knows as well.”
“You’re insane.”
Even as Ray said this, he easily understood the situation.
Dark wizards hiding in the Forbidden Forest who never come out didn’t seem threatening on the surface.
Since there hadn’t been a “major problem” for hundreds of years, complacency spread, and with the entanglement of massive interests, it reached the point where they were collaborating with dark wizards.
“What exactly does this ‘transaction’ mean?”
“Dark wizards skillfully handle monsters. If they artificially increase the population of specific high-value monsters and drive them into pre-designated areas, the traders can easily capture the monsters and make huge profits. There are many other ways as well.”
“What do dark wizards receive in return?”
“They probably receive necessary supplies. They’d have to pay a hefty price, but aside from this route, it wouldn’t be easy for them to obtain the supplies they need…”
Comet frowned as he trailed off.
The core power factions of the Alimo Kingdom, along with numerous magic towers, were indirectly connected to the devil worshippers in the Forbidden Forest.
Of course, neither the kingdom’s power factions nor the magic towers worshipped demons.
“However, they wouldn’t like their interests infringed upon. They would hate even more for their secrets to be exposed. They’d likely go berserk! They’ll move to kill you!!”
An excited Comet raised his voice again.
“What do you expect to accomplish by beating up one guild master here? Who’s next after the guild master? Girenhal? That guy is just a puppet! Why don’t you raid the palace instead?”
Comet pointed at the direction of the Forbidden Forest and shouted.
“If you wanted to investigate that place, you should’ve sent an army instead of coming alone! Are you planning to wage war against the kingdom by yourself?! Please stop doing things you can’t handle…!!”
Ray reached out and grabbed Comet by the neck.
Carrying the struggling Comet, Ray opened the adjacent door and threw him inside.
Comet rolled on the floor and gasped for air, only to freeze in surprise.
The room was filled with an unbearable stench.
Looking around, grotesquely deformed monster corpses lay scattered, defying any simple description.
Ray gathered all the intelligence agents guarding the corridor into the room.
The spies who peeked inside couldn’t hide their shock.
Ray approached Comet and knelt down.
“Listen carefully, Comet.”
“…”
“My guide was blown apart like a bomb because of the bugs planted by the dark wizard. In the Forbidden Forest, dozens of those monsters attacked us, and the dark wizard handling two upper-level dark spirits planned to use us as test subjects.”
“…”
“That inexperienced dark wizard brat was captured to be interrogated, but his head exploded. Do you understand what this means?”
“…”
“It means there’s a powerful leader deep within the forest who controls the lifelines of their subordinates.”
Even if there were quite a few dark wizards, it wouldn’t be much of a problem if they were fragmented.
However, if they were unified under someone’s control, the danger would increase exponentially.
“If four of these monsters you’re seeing now exceed the limit, even an Expert Knight would find it hard to fight alone. How many more of these monsters are hidden in that forest? Hundreds? Thousands? And how many devil worshippers are lurking?”
“…”
Ray took a step back and warned.
“The malice of the world is beginning to descend.”
“…”
“If the malice inside that forest starts moving, the kingdom you’re lying comfortably in will collapse entirely.”
Unthinkable.
In the overwhelming stench, Comet couldn’t be certain anymore.
“…So, what do you plan to do?”
“It’s hard to modify monsters like this in the middle of an empty forest. There’s a large base of the devil worshippers inside. We need to find that base. Even if we can’t destroy it, we must confirm what they’re doing.”
“How do you plan to find the base…?”
“We’ll have to beat up every noble until someone useful comes along. Any better ideas? Speak up.”
“…”
Silent Comet glanced at the monster corpses again, tightly closed his eyes, and sighed.
Ray’s suggestion had some merit. However, beating up nobles to find the base wasn’t wise.
Even though they traded materials with the kingdom’s authorities, the dark wizards wouldn’t expose their base to outsiders.
Even if they captured someone to extract information, Ray mentioned that the captured dark wizard’s head had exploded immediately.
Still, there were those who might possess information that could help estimate the location of the dark wizards’ base…
“Hmm… The Silver Cross Knight Order is heading here. Actually, I was going to tell you to leave right away…”
“Who is this Silver Cross Knight Order?”
“One of the seven knight orders of the kingdom. Though it’s the weakest among them…”
“Do you know why they’re coming here?”
“Because of the empire.”
“The empire?”
“That… During the imperial succession battle, there was information about a demon appearing…”
“It’s true. Eridanus targeted the Warp Gate.”
Surprised, Comet questioned.
“Is it true that the demon who caused the downfall of two nations 600 years ago has reappeared?”
“Yes, it’s true.”
After Eridanus’s appearance, the empire informed all countries about the emergence of demons and warned about the unrest caused by ‘evil.’
Given the sensitivity of the matter, the high-ranking officials of each country controlled the information within appropriate limits.
Although Comet knew about the emergence of the demon, he regarded the unconfirmed information about its identity being ‘Eridanus’ as mere rumors.
Upon receiving confirmation of its truth, Comet swept his hands down his face.
“Oh my goodness…”
“…”
“…And, due to that incident, the empire is strongly pressuring all countries to be cautious about devil worshippers and demons.”
“So the kingdom sent the Silver Cross Knight Order to the Forbidden Forest?”
“For show. Originally, they didn’t intend to send any knight order at all. But…”
“But?”
“If it’s not just for show, the knight order might have something that could help estimate the base of the devil worshipper gang. After all, one knight order alone can’t search the entire vast forest.”
“So we should contact them.”
“…Are you really sane? After causing such chaos in Rioshuko, you’re planning to contact them?”
Comet couldn’t help but utter harsh words.
There was no way the Silver Cross Knight Order would welcome Ray warmly.
Ray smirked.
“If talking doesn’t work, I’ll have to do it my way.”
“You’re just picking crazy ideas. What confidence do you have? Do you think the kingdom’s military power is so laughable? Even if you manage to fool around with one knight order and escape, what will you do next?!”
“Ahh, Comet. I won’t repeat myself, so listen carefully.”
The cold tone of Ray’s voice resonated in Comet’s ear.
For some reason, Comet felt chills and backed away on his heels.
Ray helped the struggling Comet up from the dirty floor and smiled gently.
“There’s that demon guy who stirred up trouble in the empire, right?”
“…”
“I’m the one who tore him apart.”
*
The Silver Cross Knight Order was heading towards Rioshuko under the morning sunlight.
Leonie, the young vice-captain serving as deputy commander of the Silver Cross Knight Order, thought to herself:
“Ah, damn.”
This mission she had been assigned to was utterly lacking in substance, bound to incur others’ hatred, and dangerously perilous.
Naturally, no one wanted to take it on.
If they had stayed put, there would have been no need for the Silver Cross Knight Order to move at all.
However, Giland, the respected captain of the Silver Cross Knight Order whom Leonie admired greatly, personally volunteered to take on this mission.
Leonie felt a lump in her throat.
“Captain, we’re not really going into the Forbidden Forest, right? We’ll just casually patrol the outskirts and call it a day, right? Right?”
“Our mission is to explore the depths.”
“Aaaah!! Captain!! Are you truly desperate to die?! Then die alone!!”
Giland responded with utmost seriousness.
“Are you refusing to follow orders? Disobeying orders is a serious crime.”
“Damn!! Would you rather cut off my head?! Huh?!”
The usual conversation between the captain and deputy captain made the knights want to laugh lightly, but their stiffened lips wouldn’t move.
This mission was extremely dangerous, and the support was inadequate.
Due to the lobbying and hint-dropping by the magic towers, the Silver Cross Knight Order failed to secure skilled mages.
In fact, they almost went without any mages, but Leonie bribed some mage mercenaries and brought a few along.
Though these mercenaries lacked significant skill, it was unavoidable.
Additionally, the church, impressed by Giland’s integrity and high morale, dispatched two paladins, though they weren’t particularly exceptional either.
Given their current strength, venturing into the depths of the Forbidden Forest would result in near-annihilation.
Everyone was lost in thought, groaning quietly, when a group of people riding horses approached from ahead.
A flamboyantly adorned nobleman shouted amidst his guards.
“Is this the Silver Cross Knight Order?”
“That’s correct. And who might you be?”
“Ah, thank heavens. I am Count Girenhal. Thank you for coming all this way.”
“Hello. Thank you for greeting us, but…”
You’ve come too far. Moreover, it’s still early.
Confused, Giland questioned, and Girenhal quickly replied,
“I have a favor to ask. Some reckless bandits have been wreaking havoc in Rioshuko, and their skills are formidable, making it difficult to subdue them. I humbly request the assistance of the Silver Cross Knight Order.”
Upon hearing the news that Ray’s party had returned alive from the Forbidden Forest, Girenhal hurried here with earnest requests.
