Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The mercenary crop from the central province escorted the Red Caltrop Chamber of Commerce all the way through the Bull Mountain Range to the Church of Light. Along the way, besides a handful of robbers and hooligans, Lynn’s crew did not encounter any danger. Although Lynn was young, he was a Holy Knight, so after revealing his identity and power to any passersby, no one dared to touch them at all.
They rented a boat and crossed the Nami River, then traveled all the way to the Kingdom of Mara, where Lynn’s Stormy Mercenary and the Red Caltrop Chamber of Commerce were stationed in a remote town. It was a typical agricultural town, which meant that it was very peaceful.
There was a water mill in the town that belonged to the church. Farmers could use it as long as they paid a nominal fee. The streets of the town were very smooth, although they looked like they had been built many years ago.
Because the town was near Nami River, the soil here was fertile. There was also abundant forest lands nearby. Between hunting in the forest and planting in the rich soil, it was enough for the townspeople to support themselves.
Moreover, the town was under the governance of the royal Monar family, whose tax rates were much lower than those of the other aristocratic families. So, the townspeople’s lives were good.
“Do you think the townspeople here are a little strange?” After a tour of the town, Lynn returned to the house he where he stayed.
The Red Caltrop Chamber of Commerce was a small business group that had only around twenty people in it. In addition to Lynn’s mercenary team, there were about thirty people, all of whom were crowded into two adjacent houses.
Douri thought for a moment. “Strange? Not really. They were very enthusiastic though, especially the hot women. They must have fallen for me!”
Lynn frowned and said, “Everyone here has the same smile. Seriously though, when we entered the village, those guys looked at us strangely. I mean, we are are half-orcs, while they are human. You know, this is not the central province, but the Kingdom of Mara. Here, we’re different from humans!”
“Well, maybe the people here are more open-minded!” Douri thought Lynn was being overly cautious.
“Even so, I still think that we should be more careful at night!” Lynn warned.
That night, the mist slowly crept in from the outskirts of the town, gradually engulfing the whole town. When the mist slowly approached the houses where Lynn and the others were stationed, several night watchmen who had been standing guard outside were swallowed up by the mist. They immediately disappeared amid a strange chewing sound.
Lynn, who had already been vigilant, was alarmed at the call of the night watchman outside, so he rushed out to alert all of the people. Only then did he realize that the whole village had been covered by this strange mist.
However, this mist was aversive to fire and heat, so it dared not approach the house. Realizing this, Lynn and the others lit torches all over the house, causing the fog to completely disperse. They each then grabbed a torch and rushed out, only to find that countless monsters were waiting for them outside!
These were the kind of monsters that had human forms, but had no faces. They constantly emitted cold air, and their skin was like a layer of frost. This made them eerily resemble walking corpses.
Hundreds of people in the town had all turned into these very same monsters! Along the town’s slate streets, these faceless monsters besieged Lynn and the others.
The priest of the church in the village, who was in charge of the church, had even become one of these horrible monsters too! Those who were rushing out of the courtyard saw his new monster form, which was nearly four meters tall and had huge wings. His new monster form had no legs, so it was squirming through the mud on its belly!
Lynn’s face suddenly turned pale, “This must be the devil’s kin!”
Douri trembled. “D*mn it! What madman is offering sacrifices to the devil in the Abyss World?”
It was not the first time that the central province had seen the power of the devil. Stories about the devil had been circulated long ago, but written records of him had only appeared in recent decades.
Legend had it that there was a book of devil species that had been compiled by the Devil King of the Abyss World. This book was full of evil and filthy power. Even if one just saw the pictures in it, they would be devoured by that evil force, then dragged into the Abyss World!
The pictures and real names of the devil species from this book enabled people to summon the devils and make sacrifices to them. Many people made sacrifices in order to gain evil power, to satisfy their own wishes, to expel diseases, to revive their relatives or to live forever.
But, these things did not come without strings. Everyone who sacrificed to them would eventually be assimilated by their power and become devil kin themselves!
This had caused utter chaos to break out in the Alen Continent. However, most of them were immediately suppressed by the Church of Light or the Faith of the Sun while they were still in the early stages.
Lynn found it hard to imagine that there was such an evil town within the Kingdom of Mara, much less that the people here had became the servants of the devil! Lynn and the others held torches as they fought with the monsters, trying to break out of the siege and escape from the town that had been thoroughly infiltrated with evil.
These faceless monsters, however, could not be killed! Even if they were cut into two pieces or their heads were smashed with hammers, their bodies would always slowly came together before completely regenerating. It was as if, as long as they were enshrouded in the mist, they were immortal!
The mist covered the entire sky, even blocking out the moonlight. Lynn and the others set fires and lit torches everywhere they went, causing intense blazes to reach into the sky. But, the mist had already covered every corner of the town, making it impossible for them to escape until daybreak.
Hundreds of faceless monsters continued to besiege them. The monsters’ huge arms easily destroyed houses, while those townspeople who couldn’t escape were pressed into meat pies instantly. As long as one was touched by the monsters’ acid saliva, their flesh would immediately become eroded, leaving only their bones left behind.
If things kept going at this rate, the monsters might kill them all before dawn! Lynn was using divine incantations to contend with them, yet he was falling into despair.
As this was Lynn’s first mercenary team and his first mission, his many life dreams had not yet come true. Knowing that he might die here this day, he felt very regretful.
“Goddess! I pray to you with my most pious belief. I call out your name! Please redeem us! No evil can escape judgment, and no evil can harm the world!” As Lynn prayed over and over, Lynn’s belief became stronger, breaking through his usual limits.
He instantly mastered a level one divine incantation, which he had failed to do before. Moreover, it was the strongest level one divine incantation!
He then aimed his sword at the devil kin and penetrated its body. Flames and a great light immediately rose up around it, then tore it apart.
After seeing the death of the evil kin, other faceless monsters started crazily attacking, but at the same time, the mist dispersed. Due to this stroke of luck, the Stormy Mercenary finally broke out of the siege, then immediately fled the town. All of them were wounded and exhausted.
The next day, the priests of the Church of Light arrived with a large number of knights. They surrounded the whole town and eliminated the remaining monsters, but still were unable to find the one who had plotted this fatal attack.
Lynn, on the other hand, escorted the Red Caltrop Chamber of Commerce to their destination, where they received a generous commission. After spending a few days in Babus, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Mara, Lynn was ready to return to Urabell, but before leaving, the team spent a night in the legendary Lake Tír na nÓg, which completely changed Lynn’s fate.