King Zayn’s instincts screamed at him, telling him to run away from this creature, no matter what.
“I’ve decided,” said the demon, its voice still grating to the ears. “You shall give birth to the first nest.”
The demon’s tentacles whizzed toward King Zayn at a frightening speed. He managed to block three of them with his cutlass, but the fourth one pierced through his defenses and struck his stomach.
Mad Eye and the rest of the warriors who saw this were horrified. They disengaged from battle and ran toward Zayn.
“Your Majesty!”
“King Zayn!”
The demon with silver-black tentacles looked at the warriors running in its direction. It exclaimed in delight, “A king! What a wonderful find! I see, I see”—it nodded its head several times—“No wonder you’re quite strong for a mere human.”
Blood dripped down Zayn’s lips. For some strange reason, he lost control over his body the moment the tentacle hit him. He couldn’t move a muscle. He couldn’t even speak.
“Be honored, King of humans,” said the demon. “For you will give birth to a high-ranking nest. With this, you shall forever live and serve the parasitic demon tribe!”
Using its tentacle, the demon transferred a fist-sized egg into Zayn’s body.
It was excruciating.
Zayn could feel the egg quickly expanding inside his body, its core pulsating within him. The egg sucked in the blood and mana of Zayn, and using it as nutrients, massively grew in size.
Mad Eye and the warriors halted in their tracks, seeing their king’s body bloat and become a grotesque-looking monster. A monster with a hundred eyes, several dozen tentacles, and a large serrated mouth.
Plagas, the parasitic demon who’d transformed the King of Pirate’s body into a monster, cackled in glee. It seemed that he was right. Indeed, the body of that human was suitable to be the host of a high-ranking parasitic nest.
Truly, a great find!
Although Plagas was the weakest among the leaders of the alliance, he’d been assigned with reconnaissance in this realm, after the Demon Lord Barkuvara woke up. The parasitic demons could breathe and swim underwater, moreover, they could also move on land. They were the most suitable demons for this task.
Furthermore, since the Lord of the Sky Demons died by Agreas’ hands, Plagas had also been given authority over their tribe temporarily.
It was an exhilarating feeling. Right now, in the Human Realm, Plagas held absolute might.
“Now, my beloved nest!” Plagas spread his arms wide. He declared, “Heed my orders! Plant your seeds into the bodies of these humans! Today, we shall welcome more members to our parasitic demon tribe!”
The high-ranking nest screeched. Despite its large body, it moved toward Mad Eye and the warriors at a frightening speed. It shot out its tentacles and pierced the warriors’ bodies.
“M-My King!” shouted Mad Eye, his face drained of all color. Although Zayn had turned into a monster, his right-hand man still did not dare raise his sword against him. “Please come to your senses!”
Mad Eye had sworn loyalty to the king. Even if he died, he’d vowed to never harm him.
A tentacle from the high-ranking nest shot out and struck Mad Eye in the chest, implanting an egg into his body. Mad Eye froze as numerous veins bulged in his neck; his eyes turned crimson. Like a rabid beast, he opened his mouth and roared.
All of the warriors struck by the high-ranking nest were turned into hosts of parasitic demons.
“Excellent! Excellent!” squeaked Plagas.
Watching the so-called king massacre his own people was an amusing sight.
“Now, let’s take care of those annoying pests,” said Plagas.
He signaled the sky demons to launch an all-out attack on the Grand Pierson Pirate Fleet. Under Plagas’ command, tens of thousands of sky demons swooped down from the sky.
The crewmembers repeatedly fired their spells using their ships’ lightning rods.
The high-ranking nest also joined the fray. It jumped into the sea, and using its tentacles, started destroying the ships of the pirate fleet.
VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 14
The moment Lark returned to Blackstone Town, he ordered his servants to post an announcement on the notice board at the Central Plaza. Now that the school had been opened for couple of months, a significant number of residents could read what it was about. Making announcements like this would become easier and more convenient later on, once the literacy rate of Blackstone Town rose several fold.
Mikael Garios, the knight tasked to observe the development of Blackstone Town and its Lord, read the words written on the notice board.
‘The Lord is asking us to stay indoors tomorrow, before noon?’
The declaration of the Lord of Blackstone Town was quite peculiar. According to him, all residents of Blackstone Town were mandated to stay inside their homes for a couple of hours tomorrow morning, at least two hours before noon arrived.
“A massive wall will rise tomorrow and enclose a portion of this region,” Mikael read it out loud.
‘Interesting.’
Although this would have been preposterous had other people declared it, it sounded feasible upon knowing that it came from the Lord of Blackstone Town. Mikael knew that the second son of Duke Drakus was an extremely powerful magician. Although he had yet to gauge the full extent of the young man’s power, Mikael was certain that he was at least on par with a royal court magician. He was the man who’d defeated the Master of Wizzert, after all.
Now that he’d thought of it, it was quite amusing that Lark Marcus managed to stay unaffected for this long. Under normal circumstances, someone as talented as him would have been one of the strongest contenders for the throne.
“If only the other nobles knew.” Mikael chuckled.
They would probably flock to him like hyenas.
“Hey, old man,” said a familiar voice.
Mikael turned around and was greeted by the grinning face of a short, muscular man. Based on what Mikael had heard, this man had the blood of dwarves flowing through his veins.
“Arturo.”
“So, you remember.” Arturo was pleased. “I haven’t seen you in the mines for quite some time now. Heard you quit?”
“Ah, that’s right. I’ve managed to land a job at the lord’s mansion recently.”
Arturo snorted. “The mine’s too difficult for someone like you, eh? You need strength to break open those rocks. As expected of a former serf. It’s understandable that you chose to work in the stables of the mansion instead, cutting grass and cleaning horse feces.”
Arturo laughed after spouting the last part of his statement. He was clearly enjoying this encounter.
“I work as a coachman though?” said Mikael. He was unfazed, despite Arturo’s derisive remark.
“Coachman, gardener, or whatever. Bah! They’re the same! Don’t you think the salary of the servants in the mansion is quite… lacking?”
“It’s definitely less than a skilled miner, yes,” said Mikael. “But it’s a stable and honorable job. Moreover, there’s no quota required.”
Arturo clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“You’ll remain a poor man your whole life with that mindset, I’m telling you. This is the problem with serfs!” preached Arturo. “They don’t recognize opportunity when they see one. How stupid!” He noticed the announcement pinned on the notice board. “And what’s this?”
Arturo leaned forward and stroked his short beard. Although he’d been attending classes at the recently opened school, he was still having a hard time deciphering what was written.
“Ah, that,” said Mikael. “It’s an announcement from the lord, telling all residents to stay indoors tomorrow morning, before noon. According to it, a massive wall will rise up in this region and enclose Blackstone Town.”
“I-I know. I could read that much.” Arturo coughed to hide his embarrassment. “But a wall? Is the lord taking us for a
fool?”
No matter how Arturo thought of it, it seemed impossible for a wall to suddenly shoot out of the ground and enclose the entirety of Blackstone Town.
Arturo spat on the ground. He looked at Mikael from head to foot, his eyes lingering longer on the cheap tunic, and said, “I’m going to buy several ecaruits for my kid. They’re quite expensive, but my daughter really likes them. See you around, old man.”
“Of course.” Mikael smiled.
Although most of the miners held contempt against Arturo, Mikael knew that the short guy wasn’t necessarily a bad person. He’d heard before that Arturo went out of his way during the freezing winter to buy medicine for his sick daughter. And when he found out that the Central Market had ran out of medicine, he even went as far as pleading with the herbalist for help.
Before he retired from the military academy, Mikael had seen his fair share of corrupted nobles and high-ranking government officials. Arturo’s snide and disparaging words were nothing, compared to those evil bastards.
While watching Arturo disappear into the crowd in the Central Plaza, Mikael noticed a familiar face among the crowd. Although she was wearing a hooded cloak to conceal her face, Mikael was certain that she was the princess.
Princess Esmeralda, the youngest daughter of His Majesty, King Alvis.
“What is she doing here, all alone?” he mumbled.
Seeing that she wasn’t accompanied by any of her knights, Mikael decided to follow her around.
Soon, she arrived at the Training Hall. Over a hundred soldiers were already there, repeatedly training their basic movements of the spear.
“It’s the princess.”
“It’s the fourth day, isn’t it?”
“I thought she’d quit after what happened yesterday.”
The soldiers mumbled and murmured to each other the moment the princess pulled down her hood and revealed her face. No matter how they looked at it, she wasn’t suitable to hold the sword, never mind a spear.
“Sir Anandra!” said the princess. “Please let me use the Training Hall again this time!”
Mikael was surprised to see what was happening. Currently, the youngest princess of the kingdom was bowing to the man with golden hair, asking for permission to use the Training Hall to hone her skills.
“I’ve told you before. I’m no longer the commander of the soldiers of this town,” said Anandra, his brow creased as he looked the princess in the eye. It seemed that he did not mind even if he was speaking to a royal. “I’m just an instructor now.”
The princess’ face visibly brightened upon hearing this, glad that she was not turned down outright. She turned to the dark-skinned man standing next to Anandra. “Then, Commander Qarat!”
Commander Qarat scratched his head. He whispered to Anandra, “Sir, what should I say? Is this really okay? What if the lord finds out that the princess—”
“He already knows,” said Anandra. “I always make sure to report everything to my lord, no matter how trivial it may seem. It may seem insignificant to me, but to my lord, it might be a different matter entirely.”
While speaking, Anandra’s gaze moved toward where Mikael was located.
Had the disciple of Lark Marcus noticed him?
Commander Qarat nodded. “I agree. The lord is indeed wise. If he already knows that the princess is coming here every day, then…”
“Just let her come. The lord said that she did not have any talent in magic. But with the sword…” said Anandra in a low voice. “She’s already better than most of the soldiers here. She could probably beat you in a fight, Commander.”
Commander Qarat was struck speechless for a moment. If Anandra, the genius who could utilize all types of weapons to their utmost potential, was praising her to this extent, then she was probably extremely talented.
Commander Qarat sighed. For a moment, he missed the days when he was still just the Captain of Blackstone Soldiers.
“Princess, it’s alright for you to use the Training Hall,” said Commander Qarat. “I guess?”
Princess Esmeralda smiled, taking away the breath of several soldiers. They stopped stabbing the air with their spears upon seeing it.
“Thank you, Commander!”
Qarat laughed awkwardly. “But please don’t overdo it, okay? I thought I was going to die when you broke your arm yesterday.”
The princess raised her right arm. “It’s possible for everyone to use lesser healing magic as long as they’re inside the Training Hall. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine!”
Commander Qarat rubbed his forehead. “I’ll trust you, Princess.”
From a distance, Mikael watched as the princess entered the Training Hall. He hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. He already knew the youngest daughter of His Majesty was incredibly talented with the sword, to the point that she could be hailed as a genius. But unfortunately, the princess held no interest with the blade. What she wanted was to learn magic. The ability to cast even the most basic of spells.
Mikael wondered what caused the stubborn princess to willingly train with the sword on her own. Everyone who’d stayed in this town long enough knew that the humanoids the soldiers were using as sparring partners in the Training Hall were incredibly strong.
Even soldiers with mediocre talent were able to become stronger after sparring with those humanoids every day.
Mikael wondered how much the princess would grow if she continued training like this every day.
***
A day quickly passed by. All of the residents of Blackstone Town, including those who’d been working in the fields, stayed inside their houses with the help of the police. There were also several people who chose to stay at the Central Plaza in hopes of witnessing the walls rise from the ground.
Mikael looked at the sky. The scorching sun was unobstructed by the clouds.
“It’s almost time,” said Mikael.
The town’s bell clanged.
As though on cue, the ground rumbled several seconds later.
Mikael’s eyes widened as he felt a colossal amount of mana being gathered underground and in the sky. He realized that two incredibly powerfully spells were being concurrently activated.
The mana. It’s coming from the direction of the lord’s mansion.
“H-Hey, what’s happening?”
“This is why we should have stayed inside our homes! I heard they placed some defensive talismans on them to prevent them from collapsing!”
“What? You’re the one who insisted on coming here!”
“Hold on tight!”
The daredevils in the Central Plaza, who chose to watch the event unfold with their very eyes, panicked the moment the ground rumbled and the clouds completely dispersed in the sky.
“Damn, the lord should have specified something like this was going to happen today!”
“Why are you blaming the lord? He told us to stay inside our homes, but you still chose to come here to the Central Plaza! This woman!”
“Stop bickering and look over there!”
The buzz in the Central Plaza died at once. Everyone was mesmerized upon seeing a massive stone wall rise from the ground. It was probably around sixty meters in height—they were not sure. What was certain was that this wall was probably the largest in the kingdom. It towered over the walls of even the other major cities. Furthermore, its width was large enough for ten people to pass through side by side.
Judging the wall’s distance from the Central Plaza, its diameter was probably thrice that of the current size of Blackstone Town. Even if they were to expand the town further, it should still be possible for them to build structures inside this fortress.
And the massive wall was just the start.
Soon, a translucent bubble slowly expanded from the direction of the lord’s mansion. It continued growing in size, stopping just right outside the wall.
It was a truly surreal sight. Had they not seen it with their own eyes, the residents of Blackstone Town would neve
r have believed that these walls were built overnight.
“My King,” breathed Mikael, enthralled by what he saw. “If only you could see this sight.”
VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 15
Several hours after the massive wall rose from the ground, Mikael received a summon from the lord’s mansion.
He’d been working as a coachman for the lord for several months now, but this was the first time he’d received a summons from the Lord of Blackstone Town. Moreover, it happened right after the walls and barrier were erected.
Mikael thanked the servant who delivered the message, changed into clean clothes, and went to the mansion to meet the noble.
“The young master is expecting you,” said the butler. “This way please.”
Mikael was ushered to the lord’s office on the second floor of the mansion.
The butler knocked on the door. “Young Master, the coachman is here.”
A youthful voice replied, “Enter.”
Mikael entered the lord’s office. The young man sitting at the table looked up, his hand holding a quill. A mountain of documents was stacked on top of the table, and some sheets had been strewn on the floor. It seemed that after casting the spells which built the colossal wall, the Lord of Blackstone Town hadn’t bothered to rest and proceeded with his tasks concerning the territory’s management.
A work ethic that shamed most seasoned government officials. Truly, this young man was a worthy candidate for the throne.
“Welcome,” greeted Lark.
Mikael bowed his head and said, “I heard you called for me, My Lord?”
“Yes. I have a request for you.”
“A request?”
Lark nodded. When he saw that the old butler was about to silently excuse himself out of the room, he said, “Gaston, please stay. I believe it’s about time you learn everything. You deserve that much, at the very least.”
The butler was puzzled by the young noble, but he bowed his head regardless. “As you wish, Young Master.”
Lark placed down his quill, pointed a finger at the papers strewn on the floor, and cast a spell. The pieces of paper flew and landed perfectly on top of the stacked documents.
Revelation Page 13
