Chapter 108: The Road to the Empire (Part 2)
Well, thinking about it, it does make sense.
They must have taken a direct route here on a war chariot, while I, despite flying at first, got sidetracked with so many things along the way. Traveling with the Sword Demon means it’s going to be a leisurely stroll compared to the rush of Rect trying to race back…
Heh.
Barry…
Looks like he actually took a bit of my advice.
With that thought in mind, I felt a bit more at ease.
In fact, the villagers didn’t know Barry was here. There were so many knights around that only Rect came forward to greet them. Grandma Claire probably trusts him, given that she had already been assigned a temporary shelter here. Old folks like her aren’t really eager to scamper about. After finally settling down, why would she want to leave easily?
Fortunately, there’s also Ryan.
Before I left, I said something to that big boy, and evidently, he remembered. Rect, being Viki’s guy, gained a bit of trust from Ryan when he revealed his identity. Later, Rect took him out of town, as the villagers said. I bet he had a chat with Barry outside the town, then returned to talk with Grandma, and the next day, they decided to set off.
As for where they were going, neither Ryan nor Grandma Claire said, and the villagers who stayed behind didn’t know either. But I suspect they’re headed to Ethanbel…
If there’s a chance to visit the royal city again, perhaps we could reunite.
Let’s hope…
Anyway, upon learning this, I had no reason to linger here and delay my journey any longer. We decided to depart again on the third day, heading north all the way to the northernmost part of Silgaya, and then cross the border into the Valen Empire.
Regarding the war situation in the Valen Empire, during these days, every time I arrived at a new place, I’ve been keeping the Sword Demon alert and also inquiring around.
As for the chaotic southern region, information there is more restricted than a treasure chest under lock and key. I thought reaching the relatively peaceful northern region would improve information flow. Maybe I’d hear something that would prepare me for what’s to come; anything would be better than diving headfirst into the battlefield clueless.
However, it turns out the information here is indeed flowing freely, but lacking a credible source like a real news outlet, the so-called “information” is mostly just gossip passed around like hot potatoes.
Every night at taverns, you couldn’t escape overhearing drunken folks rambling about this and that. Each place, each person had a wildly different story; some say the church stopped everything, that Shanter Castle is out of power and war is impossible now, while others claimed Chielis City has been surrounded for two months with everyone inside starving, and the royal family is bound to surrender next month! There were even whispers that Duke Skarlick was killed by some dark plot recently. It was a circus of claims, and everyone spoke like they’d been there firsthand, but most are just local folks whose insights are about as reliable as a broken compass. At first, I’d unconsciously ponder their tales, but soon after, I just dismissed it as nonsense.
No way to trust anyone.
In the end, the most reliable info came from Rect back in Alectine City. He mentioned that because of the church’s meddling, the Shanter Army was intercepted by the Fourth Knights Order at Baihao City, which was the temporary capital for Chielis. That location is crucial; if lost, forget about besieging the city—the City Guard would quickly regroup and mount a counterattack.
But that news is already over two months old…
Two months.
If something major was going to happen, it would have happened already.
What a hassle…
We need to step up our pace.
So on the third day at the crack of dawn, the Sword Demon and I set out on time. Not wanting to waste more time, we asked the villagers for help and outright bought a war chariot. The Sword Demon drove while I sat in the back, and after stocking up on enough provisions and water in town, we left without any intentions of stopping along the way.
Yet, the night before we left, I had to do a little something.
After all, Rect had previously mentioned there were secret actions happening in Woodward Forest since that “Catastrophe of the Demons” two years ago, things the church doesn’t want anyone to know. The “flowers” from Silent Fortress were likely transported from there.
So under the cover of night, I discreetly flew over while the Sword Demon was fast asleep.
I found what I assumed was the Second Knights Order’s base camp, or at least it should be considered as such. Outside the lush green forest, under the moonlight, there were rows and rows of white tents, interspersed with countless torches, creating a pretty grand sight. They had watchtowers built during the Heretic Wars, but now it seemed their purpose was hardly limited to just keeping enemies out.
Even during these peaceful nights, those knights remained vigilant, with strict defenses to prevent anyone from wandering into the forest.
But as I flew overhead, nobody noticed me.
Inside the deep forest was a whole different scene.
Once a vast sea of trees, the center of the forest was coated in endless dark brown magma rocks. The jagged rocks looked like they belonged in a monster movie, and nothing could grow there anymore—only the edge of the forest still had some standing trees, while everything else was charred and barren wasteland.
But in that place, I spotted the clergy.
There were quite a few of them gathered here.
They had even built a base on the magma rocks, and despite it being late, people still busied themselves under the lamps, scurrying about. Most were clad in clerical robes, with a few in plain clothes, but those in armor? Clearly knights.
Not far from the base, I discovered a vast expanse of flowers.
Bright red—the countless flowers thrived on the desolate land, spread over nearly a thousand square meters, with the source seemingly centered in a massive pit. I remembered this spot, the place where I exploded that terrifying deity.
It was a sea of flames back then, and now, flowers have sprung up.
I can’t quite understand why flowers would grow here.
But the aura of the Power of Sin was very, very strong here; I could detect that easily.
I had a vague idea of what secret experiments the church was conducting, but the principles behind them still eluded me. But honestly, I figured I didn’t need to understand their workings—I could tell the church was using these things for harm, and that was enough for me.
So, I wanted to set them ablaze, but it hit me that the power of infernal fire wouldn’t work on these things—not to mention the Frost Order couldn’t handle them either. The only way to erase them would be through Dead Smoke. I really didn’t want to go that route—who knows if there would be complications? I had already faced such a choice at Silent Fortress once, I didn’t expect to go through it again…
But I understood I had no choice.
I couldn’t just turn a blind eye.
I didn’t even think about landing, though I dimly sensed someone below. Of course, since I was flying so high, I couldn’t see clearly whether there were actually any people. My guess is, there probably were—just not in the sea of flowers, which would have been pretty dangerous. Even the church seemed hesitant to wade in, and those moving little black dots were all drifting far away from the flowers. I could clearly see the watchtower from up here.
I initially thought about conjuring a massive ball of Dead Smoke in mid-air, but that would instantly give away my position. I had to be as subtle as possible—though it’s practically impossible to be completely stealthy. A vast field of flowers disappearing would definitely raise alarms; the church personnel would catch on quickly. At least I wanted to prevent them from knowing that the disappearance was related to Abyssal powers.
Doing that, of course, wasn’t easy.
But for me right now, it wasn’t hard at all. The chaotic power within me had grown immensely—almost solid—and I commanded it with the precision of a fifth limb. Using the cover of night, swallowing the entire sea of flowers quietly just required a little thought and wouldn’t take ten minutes.
As thousands of tiny smoke serpents slithered back inside me, I pivoted and flew away from the skies above, leaving the flower field still intact below me, appearing perfectly normal. In reality, however, all of the roots had been kissed by the serpents of Dead Smoke, and soon, they’d turn to ashes without leaving a trace—neither Dead Smoke nor the Power of Sin would remain. By the time the church folk finally caught on, I’d already be long gone.
No one would know who did it.
They’d likely scratch their heads wondering about the sudden disappearance of the flower field for a long time.
Anyways, after that, the Sword Demon and I quickly left that place.
Next up was the journey.
We didn’t stop at any town along the way. Having enough supplies for now, we galloped towards the land known as “Valen,” and after about ten days of travel, I could feel the air getting cooler. I knew I was getting close to home.
However, heading in this direction meant nearing the church’s stronghold—Holy City Abedoria.
Gradually, we encountered knights everywhere, a mix of knights and clerics; even once, we ran into a bishop on his way somewhere, who commanded his men to halt our war chariot for questioning. Thankfully, we were prepared, disguising ourselves as commoners visiting the empire. Here, we didn’t wear masks but merely hooded cloaks to cover our faces, with the Sword Demon pretending to be a meek and quiet young maid, while I was the grief-stricken “young lady” whose looks had been ruined by an unfortunate accident.
That was a close call…
If it weren’t for the bishop being so gentlemanly and letting his guard down after hearing about my ruined appearance, he might have insisted on me removing my hood. He likely thought two small girls posed no threat, giving us a few safety tips before letting us go—had he not done that, we might have been in deep trouble.
But the same disguise didn’t work so well once we reached the border.
The checkpoints into the Valen Empire seemed stricter than ever, as when we got to this side, we found a large camp of soldiers stationed…
Not sure if they came from my dad’s side or the king’s—though the odds favor the king’s side, considering how this portion belongs more to the southern grounds of Chielis City.
Plus, pairing that with how the clerics we encountered earlier were acting, even a bishop’s entourage couldn’t help but worry about passersby like us; you could sense just how tense the situation in the Valen Empire was even before we arrived…
The Sword Demon and I discussed our options and decided to abandon the war chariot outside the border. We’d wait until nightfall to fly over the border stealthily, becoming merry little stowaways.
Dealing with the checkpoints would be a hassle we both wanted to avoid.
So, come nighttime, we initiated our operation. With our skills, sneaking across was ridiculously easy—the guards’ alertness couldn’t even compare to the Second Knights Order. There was absolutely no way they’d notice two hidden Pope Knights.
And just like that, we crossed the border. Beyond it lay snow-capped mountains. Though the area was sparsely populated, it didn’t take long to find a village along the mountain paths. Here, we didn’t see any church members, so the Sword Demon and I donned our masks again—mine was a fox mask, while hers resembled a monkey, although not quite; it looked like some bizarre, comical creature.
Yet, with those on, we wouldn’t look ridiculous when we turned fierce.
Once we reached a village, we bought some meat from a hunter and learned about a local bully who loved pushing people around, forcing many to pay “village taxes”—naturally, he was the wealthiest man in the village.
The other villagers lived in misery, but he had thugs and flunkies to back him up, making rebellion difficult. A few who did stand up to him reportedly ended up dead. The villagers were heartbroken, yet helpless in the face of this scoundrel, especially since in these remote areas, no one really looked after them.
However, this land would soon belong to my father, I was certain of it. So, I sent the Sword Demon to teach him a lesson, resulting in a broken leg and a scared bully who wet himself. That ridiculous mask of his would likely haunt him forever.
We scattered his thugs and, while leading the villagers to “pillage” the bully’s home, we surprisingly discovered he had a war chariot! I never expected to find one in such a place, so without hesitation, we bought it—of course, the money went to those who had long suffered under his tyranny.
Having driven the bully out of the village, we didn’t linger and set off once more.
At the border of the Valen Empire, aside from small incidents like dealing with the bully, everything felt calm and peaceful.
Earlier, there hadn’t been any snowfall, making our journey a tad easier. But crossing from Silgaya into the southern parts of the Valen Empire, most areas likely remained under royal control, so we needed to tread carefully. Until we got the whole situation sorted, we had to avoid conflicts and not burden my father with more troubles.
And our next destination was Baihao City.
