Chapter 494
I Have Something to Do for a Moment. (1)
The capital was engulfed in terror.
Now, even those who hadn’t committed any crimes were being dragged away by soldiers.
They were all used as sacrifices for Berhem.
At first, soldiers roamed around to accumulate achievements, but now, they had to capture people just to stay alive themselves.
It became common for neighbors to disappear overnight. No one knew when they might be taken next, so fear gripped everyone.
At some point, rumors began to spread among the people.
— "The king... has gone mad."
— "They say he's eating people."
— "What in the world is happening?"
Not long ago, the kingdom had won the war, and everyone had rejoiced. Thanks to Count Fenris, both the drought and the plague had been overcome.
Though the kingdom was in turmoil, people still clung to hope.
That was because Count Fenris and the Marquis of Branford had steadily resolved each crisis and led everyone forward.
But now, things have changed.
The Marquis of Branford had fallen from power, and the Northern Army had retreated.
The king had gone mad, rampaging wildly, while people were taken away and slaughtered without even knowing why.
— "The one who treated the king was a priest from the Salvation Church."
— "Then... what will happen to us?"
— "Even the priests of the Four Major Temples are powerless."
Ominous rumors spread ceaselessly.
There were also whispers that negotiations were underway with the ducal family. If that happened, wouldn't the Salvation Church, which created the Rift and killed so many, gain even more power?
Everyone wanted to escape the capital. But the surveillance was too strict.
People minimized their time outside as much as possible. If they didn’t want to be taken, they had to hide.
Naturally, economic activity ground to a halt, and the atmosphere in the capital grew eerily desolate.
When the number of captives dwindled, Berhem committed another atrocity.
— "How can there be beggars in this beautiful capital? Get rid of those vermin!"
With that command, the impoverished of the capital were forcibly rounded up.
To be honest, they weren’t really beggars anymore.
Thanks to continuous relief efforts, many had gradually become self-sufficient.
All of this was due to the overwhelming abundance of food supplied by Fenris.
Yet, simply because they lived in the slums, they were all dragged away.
And they all became sacrifices for Berhem.
— "Aaaagh!"
— "Please, spare us!"
— "We have committed no crimes!"
From the deep stone chambers of the royal palace, the screams of people rang out endlessly.
They were killed, their blood and life force sustaining Berhem’s health.
By now, Berhem no longer bothered to hide his deeds. He acted openly, and everyone lived in terror.
Even the nobles who had chosen to follow the king knew something was terribly wrong. But they feigned ignorance.
— "His Majesty suffered too much because of the Marquis of Branford."
— "Indeed, he must be allowed to vent his pent-up grievances."
— "Besides, he’s only taking criminals and beggars, isn’t he?"
At this point, it was impossible not to realize that the Salvation Church was involved.
But since they were already negotiating a ceasefire, they suppressed their concerns.
Truthfully, for them, things were better now than before.
Under the Marquis of Branford’s rule, they had lived as nobles in name only, unable to truly enjoy their status.
— "The Marquis of Branford lacked the awareness of a noble."
— "He even expected us to work. How absurd!"
— "I understand that there were overlapping disasters, but still, we lost far too much of our wealth."
Nobles were not meant to work.
They should sustain themselves solely through their status.
All the troublesome matters were for the lower classes to handle.
The Marquis of Branford had shattered that belief.
He had constantly forced nobles to take responsibility.
But the king was different.
He acknowledged that those born with noble blood were inherently superior.
Thus, the nobles had no choice but to turn a blind eye to the king’s madness.
They also feared the Salvation Church.
They had no desire to provoke them unnecessarily.
As long as they weren’t the ones suffering, they were content.
While Berhem desperately extended his life by slaughtering people, his anxieties grew.
— "Placus, we are running low on prisoners. We must proceed with the negotiations quickly."
— "I have already sent word. A date will be set soon."
— "Good, good. Now that the kingdom’s army is completely under my control, we can proceed with negotiations at any time."
By now, all the prisoners from across the land had been devoured.
Yet, Berhem’s body continued to deteriorate.
That was because he lacked a core capable of properly storing and circulating the life force.
No matter how much he absorbed, it dissipated like smoke.
To prevent this, he needed something called the Orb of Life, an artifact created by the Salvation Church.
He had agreed to exchange one of the royal family’s treasures for it.
Still, there was one thing left to confirm.
— "Chamberlain! Have all the commanders of the kingdom’s army been replaced? Only those loyal to me, correct?"
— "Yes, every commander has been changed, and the kingdom’s army is stationed near the capital, awaiting orders."
At Viscount Domont’s words, Berhem smiled in satisfaction.
For the first time in a while, he felt at ease.
— "Good. That is a relief."
He had postponed the negotiations precisely for this reason. Only by firmly securing military power could the negotiations proceed smoothly.
He couldn’t afford to lose the royal treasure for nothing, so he had been meticulously preparing in his own way.
"Prepare the negotiations so that there are no issues. I shall personally verify the item."
Berhem had also inherited Placus' energy. Because of that, he was confident that he could properly assess whether the item was genuine.
"And as soon as the negotiations are over, I shall strike down the Northern Army for defying me!"
Berhem’s eyes flickered with madness once again.
* * *
The Northern Army was fully prepared to set out at any time. With nothing else to do, they were simply waiting for the moment to come.
Claude had entrusted everything to the administrators and was taking it easy. He had conveniently excused himself under the pretense of overseeing the army’s maintenance.
The only one who was relentlessly busy was Lowell, who managed intelligence in the capital.
With the preparations for deployment completed sooner than expected, Claude found himself with idle time. He called Alfoi over and spoke.
"How about a game of cards?"
"A card game?"
"Yeah. You needed some mental stimulation, didn’t you? Things are going to get even busier soon, so let’s enjoy ourselves while we still can."
"Sounds good. Just the two of us?"
"Hmm, it’s not as fun with just two people. Should we rope in one more?"
Claude cast a sly glance at Ereneth.
‘I need to extend that 30 years even further.’
He had to drag Ereneth into gambling somehow. If he turned her into a gambling addict and trapped her in debt, he could extend her contract period, ensuring his own survival 30 years down the line.
With that in mind, Claude began persuading her.
"Great Chieftain, would you like to play a game of cards? I can lend you a little money."
"……."
Ereneth looked at Claude with an expression filled with utter disdain.
Gambling? To a noble elven chieftain? In all her long years, she had never met a bastard like this.
"I refuse. Enjoy yourselves without me."
"Come on, just one round."
"I said no."
Despite her refusal, Claude clung to her persistently. He had to get her addicted to gambling no matter what.
"Great Chieftain, I don’t know how you’ll take this, but I’m not just recommending this for fun."
"……What are you getting at?"
"You’ve spent a long time living in the forest. That means you’re still somewhat unfamiliar with the human world. If you truly want to understand the intense emotions of humans, this kind of experience is essential."
At that, Ereneth let out a small scoff.
This fool had no idea what kind of life she had lived.
Intense human emotions? She had seen them plenty during the great wars of the past. Wars so immense that no one here could even imagine.
"How ridiculous. Do you think I have lived all these years without experiencing such things?"
"But surely you’ve never felt the emotions of the gambling table."
"……."
She had no need to experience such nonsense. She was considering giving Claude a firm scolding when an unexpected person chimed in.
"Great Chieftain, just try it once. It’s actually quite fun."
It was another elf, Ascon. But unlike Claude, Ascon had a different reason for persuading her.
"Elves scattered across the continent drink, gamble, and do all sorts of things. If you experience it too, you’ll better understand us, won’t you?"
In truth, Ascon, with his twisted personality, simply wanted to see Ereneth gamble and lose.
But Ereneth couldn’t entirely ignore his words. She had always felt guilty about the elves who had lived as slaves.
In the end, she let out a sigh and spoke.
"……I’ll experience it briefly."
Claude gave Ascon a knowing glance, silently thanking him. Ascon smirked and winked in response.
Thus, the gambling session began. The moment people heard that Ereneth was gambling, they flocked to watch.
Though the attention made her uncomfortable, Ereneth closed her eyes and steadied her mind.
‘Just this once.’
The game was a simple card game called ‘Stud.’ The objective was to match pairs of cards with images to determine the winner.
"Alright, let’s begin!"
Claude shuffled the cards and called out.
After a few practice rounds to teach Ereneth the rules, the real game began.
For the first few rounds, they traded wins and losses, going back and forth.
The problem arose elsewhere. Claude’s original plan had been to get Ereneth addicted to gambling. He even intentionally lost to her a few times.
But completely unaware of his grand scheme, Alfoi grew increasingly greedy, determined to win every hand.
‘This bastard, Alfoi….’
‘Claude, this time I’m going to crush you.’
Alfoi bore a deep grudge against Claude. Because of Claude, he had become a gambling addict and eventually a slave.
Since it wasn’t his main specialty, he hadn’t yet developed magic for cheating at card games. However, having gambled quite a bit, he knew how to pull off a few tricks.
He intended to use those to clean out Claude’s money.
As the game went on, the tension between the two grew more intense. The spectators, caught up in the atmosphere, watched with bated breath.
It was Alfoi’s turn to shuffle the cards. Slowly, he shuffled while focusing his mind.
‘Cold. A dagger pierces my chest. But don’t worry. The hand is quicker than the eye.’
He decided this was the perfect moment to use his technique.
‘One from the bottom for Claude, one from the bottom for the Great Chieftain, and one for me.’
His hands moved deftly once more.
‘Another from the bottom for Claude, and now, the last one for the Great Chieftain.’
Just as Alfoi was handing a card to Ereneth, Claude suddenly sprang up, grabbing Alfoi’s arm with a growl.
“Stop right there! Are you bottom dealing?”
“What?”
“You pulled my card and the Great Chieftain’s card from the bottom, didn’t you? Do I look like an idiot to you?”
Alfoi clenched his teeth and scowled.
“Got any proof?”
“Proof? Oh, I’ve got proof.”
Claude smirked and continued.
“You would’ve given me a Soldier card. That’s a really low card.”
Claude flipped over his card, revealing that it was indeed a Soldier.
“And this one you were about to give to the Great Chieftain isn’t this a Slave card?”
Claude forcibly snatched the card from Alfoi’s hand and held it up high.
“Everyone, look! He was about to give the Great Chieftain a Slave card to take the entire pot for himself. Am I wrong?”
The card Claude held was, in fact, a Slave. Alfoi ground his teeth, his face contorted in anger.
“Quit making up stories, you crazy bastard.”
Ereneth still had one more card. Ascon, who had been watching from the side, suddenly shouted.
“Great Chieftain, check your card! Is it a King by any chance?”
The King was the best card, but when paired with a Slave, it became the worst possible combination.
Claude had the second-lowest card, the Soldier. Normally, this would have meant Alfoi would win the game.
Ascon rushed in to flip over the card, but Claude shouted.
“Don’t touch the card! Unless you want to lose a hand!”
Ascon hesitated, and Claude turned to Elena.
“Miss, get the axe ready.”
“Do we really have to go this far?”
Elena asked while holding the Doombringer. The crowd tensed. If that thing struck, a hand would be lost in an instant.
At that moment, Alfoi spoke in an icy voice.
“Wait. Do we really need to shed blood over this?”
“Didn’t anyone teach you that cheating leads to bloodshed?”
Alfoi’s eyes sharpened.
“Fine. I bet my hand and all my money that this card isn’t a King. If you’re scared, you can back off.”
“Hah, this bastard is full of shit.”
“Damn, even the great Claude won’t shut up for once? Oh, right, you always talked too much. You nervous?”
“Nervous? Hah! Fine. I bet all my money and my hand on this. Miss, if it’s a King, cut it off immediately.”
“Ugh, fine.”
Claude and Alfoi each had one hand tied. Elena raised the axe high.
Claude placed his hand over the card and smirked.
“Ready? Shall we flip it? Now, let’s check… Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da-da-da~.”
As the crowd held their breath in focus, Claude hummed and flipped the card over.
“It’s a King.”
Ascon muttered. In that instant, Alfoi thrust his hand toward Claude.
“Energy Bolt!”
Pow!
“Argh!”
The Energy Bolt exploded in Claude’s face. Alfoi swiftly cut the rope binding his arm and bolted out of the room.
“Arrrgh! Wendy! Catch that bastard! Cut off his damn hand!”
Claude screamed in pain, clutching his face. Piote rushed over, radiating divine power to heal him.
Wendy shook her head, while Kaor and the knights clutched their stomachs, laughing. Vanessa rubbed her forehead, and Belinda scoffed.
Parniel chuckled to herself, clearly entertained.
Truthfully, the skilled individuals in the room had all noticed Alfoi’s sleight of hand from the beginning.
“……”
Ereneth, watching the chaos unfold with an expressionless face, finally stood up.
Why did she keep getting involved with these fools? She thought it was time to put some distance between them.
As the commotion settled, Ghislain entered with Gillian and spoke.
“What’s this? Looks like you were all having fun. Well, it’s time to move.”
At those words, everyone’s expression turned serious. The time to fight had come again. And this time, it was against their supposed allies the Kingdom’s army.
But Ghislain’s next words were utterly absurd.
“I told you before, right? I need to head to the capital alone first. There’s something I need to take care of.”
The expressions of the people around him twisted in disbelief. He was about to cause trouble again.