Chapter 123 – The Candidate

*Thud. Thud. Thud.*  

The deserter soldiers sent flying in all directions quickly crashed to the ground.  

Broken and shattered bodies littered the scene.  

Screams echoed from everywhere.  

The knights, soldiers, and even the viscount watched Zahina with shocked eyes.  

Ye-rim and Hoffman were equally surprised.  

Hoffman whistled while drawing his sword as he watched people flying beside her.  

“Whew, impressive. So this is her true ability.”  

Creating a massive whirlwind from still air and sending only chosen people flying—it was even more astonishing than expected.  

Now he clearly understood why Zahina had moved with the hero’s group.  

With abilities at this level, she had no reason to envy even the most renowned archmages.  

Seeing Hoffman walk to the opposite side, I approached the deserters who had landed near me.  

“Please… spare me…”  

As I approached a deserter who seemed lucky to only have broken legs, he threw away his sword and begged.  

But it was futile.  

“You know well I can’t do that.”  

His face fell at my words.  

“True. Damn, if only this one job had gone well, we wouldn’t have left empty-handed.”  

I swung my sword while listening to his words.  

His head flew off, and the deserter went silent.  

The groans around us also quieted.  

I silently walked to another fallen soldier.  

After taking several lives like that, I no longer needed to act.  

Once I started, the viscount’s knights and soldiers began moving.  

Though it was necessary work, it was dirty business, so I was satisfied to no longer need my sword.  

I wiped my sword on a corpse’s clothes and then returned it to the viscount’s knight.  

“Used it well. Good sword. What’s your name? I’ll buy you a drink if we meet again.”  

When I handed over the sword, he received it at attention and introduced himself loudly:  

“Knight Adalbert, serving Viscount Ralph!”  

Though he had ignored me until just now, his attitude was now perfectly formal.  

It seemed he was surprised by my unexpected skill.  

The viscount’s attitude had similarly sharpened.  

His previously condescending gaze was gone, replaced by a very friendly look.  

Feeling the changed gazes, I spoke to Ye-rim:  

“Spread some holy power around. Though I cut their heads off, it’s not perfect.”  

Ye-rim, who had watched us beheading deserters with shocked eyes, snapped to attention at my words.  

“Ah, right. This is a place where they can become undead if we’re not careful.”  

Having stayed in safe places until recently, it was natural for her to be shocked by our actions.  

We had cut all their heads off regardless of injuries—to her, we must have seemed like barbarians.  

But we had no choice.  

This place was near the Demon King’s dungeon, his castle—the land of death.  

Though death energy had decreased since the Demon King vanished, much still remained.  

Becoming undead after death was natural, and even serious injuries or weakness could lead to becoming zombies.  

We couldn’t leave injured people in such a land.  

Yet we couldn’t treat and take the deserters with us either.  

Deserters faced summary execution anyway.  

Understanding the situation, Ye-rim began spreading holy power.  

Watching her made me somewhat apologetic.  

Though she didn’t know, even if this wasn’t the Demon King’s land, these men couldn’t be spared.  

Until now, whether deserters, farmers, or attacking bandits, I had never let any live.  

This world was like that, and I was a knight, a violent man living in such a world.  

Perhaps everyone living here would seem barbaric compared to that other world.  

As she spread her hands, holy power covered the surroundings.  

When holy power’s unique peaceful feeling spread, the soldiers and knights watched Ye-rim with surprised eyes, and the viscount quickly crossed himself.  

“My apologies. I didn’t realize you were a priest.”  

Then the viscount apologized to Ye-rim. Though I thought him just a greedy noble, it seemed he was more pious than expected.  

Next, the viscount looked at Hoffman.  

“Then perhaps this soldier also has something special…”  

“I’m just a common mountain soldier.”  

Hoffman shook his head at the viscount’s question.  

“…I see. Still, now I understand why you were chosen to escort the envoy.”  

After hesitating briefly at Hoffman’s answer, the viscount looked around at us and spoke:  

“There was much talk about assigning you as escorts rather than knights and soldiers. But it was simply due to your ability. That’s reassuring—we can reach the capital without worry.”  

Either way, David was an envoy from a great nation of another world.  

It was natural for people to question why we were escorting such an envoy.  

Still, having demonstrated our abilities, it seemed the viscount wouldn’t treat us carelessly anymore.  

After cleaning up the surroundings, we departed again.  

While cleaning up, Hoffman and the soldiers searched the dead deserters’ bodies for valuables.  

I took one of the remaining intact swords used by the knights.  

Though the blade was quite worn from lack of maintenance, it should last until reaching the capital.  

After leaving the battlefield, Zahina moved her mana again.  

*Rumble.*  

The ground shook slightly, and the scattered corpses sank into the earth.  

Now only normal plains remained behind us as we crossed the hill.  

Fortunately, no one else blocked our path after that.  

After spending a night in the fields, crossing vast plains, and crossing a small river with stone bridges, we reached a walled city.  

This was Norkaf, the gateway city.  

A border city of the first country the Demon King destroyed.  

This city was the first to fall when the Demon King marched onto the continent.  

Neither sturdy high walls nor elite border guards could stop the elite skeleton soldiers made from an entire nation’s people.  

The skeletons pierced arrow storms, climbed walls, and devoured this gateway city.  

The city’s people died or became zombies, and soldiers became skeleton warriors who destroyed their own country after killing them.  

Even now, with the Demon King gone, traces remained clearly in this city.  

Smoke and the smell of burning corpses still wafted from around the city.  

The smoke and stench of burning zombies.  

Perhaps because the Demon King wasn’t truly defeated, the city’s inspection was extremely strict. Thanks to the Demon King’s army sweeping through, only allied forces and merchants dealing with them entered this city.  

Still, the knights and soldiers guarding the gate inspected everyone passing through.  

Yet thanks to coming with the viscount, we didn’t need to show orders.  

The viscount worked some magic, and the knights didn’t even search the carriage.  

With mention of an envoy and the exchange of some papers, the carriage passed through.  

Well, since the items in the carriage weren’t exactly legitimate, he must have prepared ways to avoid inspection.  

For now, we accepted the favor.  

Though the viscount’s actions were close to smuggling and improper, there was no reason to expose it.  

The viscount was a noble.  

Moreover, from yesterday’s words, he was connected to a marquis, so clearly anything I said would just be buried.  

Though my previous life wasn’t purely clean either, such things were natural in this world.  

The city interior was worse than it looked from outside.  

Burned houses and ruined streets.  

Only soldiers, merchants, beggars, and prostitutes passed by.  

Though it had lost value as a city and position as a gateway, we had to come to this city, and allied forces had to defend it.  

The reason was simple.  

The large building in the city center and the magic circle inside.  

A spatial transfer magic circle.  

Our means of transport to the imperial capital.  

The carriage stopped in front of the building, and the viscount who got out wrinkled his nose.  

“Let’s hurry. I hate even smelling this city.”  

I felt the same.  

Even after reaching the city center, the smell of burning corpses lingered.  

It seemed the whole city was steeped in the stench of burning corpses.  

When the carriage stopped, someone walked out from inside the large doors that could fit carriages.  

Seeing the staff in hand, it was a mage—specifically, an orthodox mage.  

“Got the message? The envoy and company heading to Charmania. Here’s the allied forces commander’s orders.”  

The mage and viscount seemed to know each other.  

The viscount handed the mage a thick envelope that seemed to contain more than just orders.  

The mage received the envelope and made a troubled expression.  

“Bad timing. Others are departing first, so you’ll need to wait a bit.”  

The viscount frowned at the mage’s words.  

“Wait? Are there people more important than an envoy to Charmania? Is the allied forces commander visiting?”  

The viscount had reason to be angry.  

Looking inside the open doors, no one was on the huge magic circle in the building’s center.  

Making us wait wasn’t because others arrived first.  

Yet still making us wait—was someone truly important coming?  

“My apologies. I have no choice. Ah, here they come.”  

In the distance, from the opposite direction we came, people were approaching. Simultaneously, tremendous holy power was felt.  

The holy power flowed from the approaching people.  

The approaching group was several priests.  

The priests approached under soldier escort.  

“Priests and clergy? Since when do mages favor priests over nobles? Even prioritizing them over the allied forces commander’s orders.”  

Though the viscount frowned while speaking and watching the approaching priests, I seemed to understand why we were delayed.  

Among the priests was a youth—no, a young man who seemed barely an adult.  

Though he emanated holy power like the accompanying priests, even more so, he wasn’t a priest.  

Wearing armor with a sword at his waist, he looked like a knight.  

A young knight using holy power.  

“Heard he’s the newly found hero candidate. With the main temple and imperial family pressuring, they had to send him first.”  

A hero candidate.  

The hero said to appear when a new Demon King emerges or the previous hero dies.  

It seemed the temples moved immediately upon hearing of the hero’s death.  

I watched the young man passing before us.  

Seeing the tense, fresh hero candidate made me somewhat worried.  

“Is this okay? Wonder if we should keep holding out here.”  

Hoffman’s quietly whispered words matched my feelings.