Episode 178
Episode 178
“Coran, are you outside?”
“What’s going on?”
A man called Coran sticks his head outside the tent and asks.
“It’s cold, so please bring me some warmed sheep’s milk.”
“… … “I will bring five generous pockets.”
Coran looked at Jeron and the wandering people’s representatives and spoke.
“I would appreciate it if you could do that.”
As Coran nods and disappears, the wandering representative asks Jeron.
“Do you have any further questions or needs?”
He was a little excited, perhaps because he received a large sum of 10 gold. Jeron, who had no special needs or questions, replied that it was okay and returned with a bag containing his sheep’s milk.
Upon returning, Erdin asks.
“What do those people say?”
“It is said that in the area of Gedrin County where the plague has spread, a thick fog forms every night, and an unidentified group of people wanders around in the fog. and… … “I heard that the kingdom’s army is moving around the county of Gedrin, preventing anyone from approaching, so I think we need to be careful.”
“what… … There is nothing good about causing friction with the kingdom’s army. However, there is a thick fog and an unidentified group is wandering around… … “Is it real?”
Jeron shrugged his shoulders at Erdin, who tilted his head.
You will find out if it is real or not when you check it.
I thought that fact itself was insignificant.
However, I was curious about the identity of the unidentified group.
“The fact that they are roaming around a plague-ridden area as if it were their own home means that they are actually the masterminds who spread the plague.”
If it had been an investigation team dispatched by the Kingdom of Kumbeh, the news would have been widely spread to calm the confusion. However, rather than dispatching an investigation team, the royal family of the Kingdom of Coombe was conducting management and control measures to reduce damage caused by the spread of the plague.
“If we could just know their location, it would be possible to finish it quickly.”
“that’s right. But since it is an earldom, it won’t be easy.”
It was like looking for a needle in a sandy beach. With a group of only five people, it seemed almost unreasonable to hope that this case could be solved easily.
“Why don’t we start by looking for the village where the first outbreak occurred?”
“You should do that.”
“Then I’ll get ready to move.”
Mayen summoned her familiar-horse.
Jeron and his party rode horses until the morning dew began to form.
* * *
A week has passed since the plague began to spread in the County of Gedrin.
The place turned into a land of death and was covered with purple fog every night.
The Coombe Kingdom army, watching from afar, trembled in fear.
“Ugh. “They won’t suddenly attack us like that, right?”
“By the way, don’t talk like that.”
“Are you crazy because you want to die?”
As one soldier muttered, the other soldiers bit him viciously.
It wasn’t just because he said something ominous.
This is because not long ago, mercenaries who had not heard of the plague approached the County of Gedrin, and they, along with the soldiers who went to stop them, were covered in the fog and witnessed a terrible death before their eyes.
The purple fog engulfed them, sticky and dark like a swamp. Slowly, from head to toe, like a snake swallowing its prey.
Soon, the skin turned purple, like the color of fog, and was covered with black tentacles.
They couldn’t even retrieve the body and had to return.
But when they came back the next morning, their bodies were gone.
No one knew what happened.
Eventually, that night, a wizard belonging to the royal family arrived.
The wizards could not even figure out what the fog was, let alone the identity of the plague.
That is why the soldiers reacted sensitively.
Time passed and morning came.
The soldiers took shifts.
“When are you coming from the Magic Tower?”
“They said they accepted the request for cooperation, so they’ll be here soon.”
Half-locked in fear, I looked at the place covered in purple fog as the sun set. Eventually, a new night came.
Soldiers were more alert at night than during the day. This is because the rumors about an unidentified group wandering in the fog were true.
They weren’t the ones who spread the rumor. I couldn’t go to another city or town in the first place.
Although the soldiers were preventing them from approaching the County of Gedrin as much as possible, it was impossible to control the entire county. This is because the county territory was too large. There were also many people who happened to pass nearby or watched from afar out of curiosity after hearing rumors of a plague.
The rumor spread from those people.
As night came, a purple fog covered the sky.
Inside, a black shadow moved around making the sound of footsteps.
Jeez. Jeez.
“gulp!”
The soldiers swallowed nervously. It was fortunate that that black shadow did not come out of the fog. But I couldn’t completely relax. It would be a big problem if it suddenly came out and attacked. With a walking plague attacking them, they are as good as dead.
Sigh.
A black shadow is looking this way.
The soldiers felt their heads stand on end. At the same time, a cold chill ran down my spine. The eyes of the black shadow were not visible. But I knew our eyes had met.
‘Shit!’
A curse lingered in my throat. I wanted to vomit it out, but I couldn’t. It was because I was afraid that they might hear my voice and attack me.
I wait for time to pass quickly. I hope the sun rises soon. I don’t have the confidence to make eye contact with those creepy guys for a long time.
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“… … Goes.”
“… … !”
Someone’s voice was heard. He was a junior soldier who was on watch guard with him. When I turned my head in surprise, I saw a black shadow slowly heading somewhere, just like he said.
“Whoa.”
He breathed a sigh of relief when the black shadow was no longer visible in the fog. His successor was also half-fazed, massaging the area around his eyes.
“Shit!”
“Isn’t this going to go crazy?”
“I know yeah! Every night with guys like that… … !”
The senior soldier grumbled angrily, but quickly closed his mouth as a black shadow appeared again in the fog.
But something strange was discovered. The black shadow behaves differently than usual.
Usually, it wanders around in the fog, glances at the soldiers, and then disappears. He didn’t do anything else. But now a strange change has occurred in his face.
A black shadow wriggled its face as if making an expression.
It was a smile.
It was not a cheerful smile.
It wasn’t even the smile he would make while looking at his beloved lover.
It was a sweet smile after discovering delicious food.
Something thin and long stretched out from what appeared to be the mouth.
Lick the area that is presumed to be the mouth.
‘Shit! ‘I’m getting an appetite!’
The senior soldier barely managed to hold on to his legs as he wanted to run away.
The junior soldier was already sitting down and urinating.
The moment the black shadow moved what was presumed to be its mouth as if grinning, the next worker appeared.
“hey. rotation… … what? what’s the matter?”
“… … !”
After realizing that the condition of the two soldiers was not normal, the workers rushed over. The black shadow disappeared in an instant in the fog.
“Wake!”
“I lived, I lived… … !”
The senior soldier muttered as if crying.
* * *
A few days later, Jeron and his party heard a rumor that the Land of the Dead, contaminated by plague, had spread beyond the County of Gedrin to the surrounding area.
“How much further can we go?”
“three days. … … No, considering the speed at which the plague spreads, I think it will arrive in two days at the latest.”
Jeanne opened the map, checked the location, and said.
Two days is a short distance.
If you travel by yourself, it only takes a few hours.
‘Would it be better to go first?’
Jeron immediately shook his head. If the enemy has simply invaded and you have to fight back, that’s okay. But this was a special case. You must move calmly. It was already getting late at that time.
“Let’s prepare for camping.”
As we were pitching the tent, a small bird flew in from afar.
The moment Jeron looked up and frowned, Jeanne spoke.
“are you okay. “I sent you a letter from home.”
“You sent it from home?”
When I raised my eyesight, I discovered that the bird had a small barrel attached to its ankle.
‘carrier pigeon?’
To be precise, the small bird appeared to be a bird of prey.
It was correct to call him Jeon Seo-eung.
Jeanne took out a small whistle from her pocket and blew it.
Beep-.
Jeon Seo-eung glided down following the sound of the whistle. As she neared the ground, she flapped her wings and twirled around Jeanne, landing on top of her as she stretched out her arms. She took out her letter from the container hanging on Jeon Seo-eung’s ankle. As she read through it, she noticed something that made her shiver.
“… … “The barbarians have crossed the border.”
“Wasn’t each country in the Northern Continent sending out troops to defend their border areas?”
“That’s true…” … “It says that the barbarians are using strange magic to confuse the soldiers and quickly destroy the defenses.”
“… … !”
Jeron opened his eyes wide.
An outbreak of plague and an attack by barbarians.
The timing was perfect.
I had a conversation some time ago about whether the purpose of the plague was to reduce the number of troops to defend against barbarian invasions. It was just a simple guess with no basis, but the letter that has just arrived has solidified it into a belief that is close to certainty.
“I think the situation is very serious.”
Jeanne said that and bit her lip slightly.
* * *
Compared to other continents, national wars rarely occur in the Northern Continent. It’s not that we don’t aim for hegemony. This is because there was a force more dangerous than the neighboring enemy country.
They were barbarians living in a barbaric land.
The barbarian invasions began hundreds of years ago.
Sometimes small, sometimes big.
From time to time, attempts were made to cross the snowy mountain that was the border between the Northern Continent and the Savage Land.
Convinced that their power was by no means weak, the entire Northern Continent put off the struggle for hegemony for a second time and was wary of the barbarians.
“It is a fact that is not known on other continents, but… … “About 100 years ago, tens of thousands of barbarians crossed the snowy mountain.”
The barbarians, who used bizarre magic never before seen on the continent, showed off their power by overthrowing the northernmost nation of the North Continent in just a few days.
If their goal was simply to show off their power, they would have succeeded brilliantly, but their real goal was to take part of the northern continent as their own territory.
In that sense, the mission failed. This is because it was the starting point for all countries in the Northern Continent to become wary of the power of the barbarians.
“All the countries of the Northern Continent joined forces to drive out the barbarians. And then an official agreement was signed on the North Continent. Even if there is a national war going on, if there is a barbarian invasion, we will stop the war immediately.”
This means that the power of the barbarians is that strong.
“You could say that the people who spread the plague were in collusion with the barbarians.”
“It’s been a long time, so there’s a good chance.”
Jeanne paused for a moment, looked at Geron, and spoke again.
fantasy,
