Chapter 228: ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? (2)

Chapter 228: Undead plague (2)

When the noble faction bishops in the church rose to power being pampered in comfort with immense support from their families, the miracle faction bishops rose after showing miracles in the most remote and dangerous places.

Miracles like quelling plagues and overcoming droughts were not even worth boasting about among the miracle faction bishops.

And those who showed such miracles over and over again, to the point where it was unbelievable, were given the title of saint.

What those saints left behind were relics. No matter how trivial the item, it surely contained immense divinity.

“It was a bit much to have relics and not use them.”

“Yes! I thought so too.”

The old monk’s courage seemed to swell as Johan affirmed him, nodding his head repeatedly. The trembling of his wrinkled, bent hands stopped.

“A few years ago I went to the Pelheim Castle temple for confession, and the priest there thought highly of me and showed me the relics. He made me swear to secrecy, but. . .”

Relics were so precious that those who had them did not easily speak of it. More powerful and authoritative people could have coveted them.

The old monk knew that, which is why he kept his mouth shut, but with the undead plague raging and no news forthcoming, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

He asked a servant at the monastery to contact Pelheim Castle, but only got the reply that the temple priest was ill and unavailable.

“Thank you for trusting me and telling me.”

“Yo. . . Your Excellency is the true sword of faith. I really wanted to tell you.”

When someone bundled with such pure, ardent faith spoke like that, even Johan’s steely conscience was slightly wounded. Johan grimaced inwardly and said,

“I swear I will do my best to resolve this.”

“Your Excellency. But. . .”

“You don’t want me to tell Angoldolph?”

“Yes.”

“I’m perceptive enough to know that much. Don’t worry.”

The monk was afraid that the Elf King would covet those relics and take them back to the kingdom. Just thinking about the Empire’s relics being transferred to the kingdom made his chest feel torn apart.

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“It is shameful that the castellan of Pelheim was hiding the relic.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Hmm. . . maybe because he didn’t want the power of the relic to disappear?”

Iselia thought about it before giving a plausible answer. It made sense. If the power of the relic disappeared after using it once, what would they do?

Also, even if the power of the relic didn’t disappear, it would inevitably attract attention if the relic became famous.

“That’s likely.”

“Then what are you thinking of doing?”

“What do you think we should do, Iselia?”

Johan casually asked, resting his chin on Iselia’s shoulder. Iselia didn’t push Johan away and thought about it before answering:

“Shouldn’t we meet the castellan, hold a sword to him, and demand that he take out the relic? With your reputation and the Elf King’s authority, the castellan wouldn’t be able to refuse.”

“I didn’t think of that, but it might work.”

The reason Johan hadn’t thought of it was that he was too honest. He didn’t have much to gain. Johan was thinking about how to make a deal with the castellan separately.

If he dealt with the undead around without the help of the relic, and then pressed the castellan about the relic, the castellan of Pelheim would be in considerable trouble.

Some feudal lords of the central region were subtly declaring neutrality. This could be an opportunity to persuade them.

“It doesn’t seem like there would be any problem subjugating the undead without the help of the relic. Have you seen the Elf King and his knights charge?”

“I’ve seen the elf knights.”

“Seeing their might once is better than hearing about it.”

When she was young, Iselia had seen the Elf King charge with his knights. Extraordinary might was contained in that fierce charge.

‘Is there some kind of magic?’

It wouldn’t be strange for someone like the Elf King to have several magics. Having crossed swords with Cardirian’s son, Johan had learned anew how annoying the power of magic could be.

“They will charge even if I stop them, so I will be able to see it.”

Johan lifted his chin from Iselia’s nape and kissed her neck. In the past, Iselia would freeze up like a stone, but now she didn’t get particularly surprised. She turned her head and overlapped her lips with his.

Johan smiled as he lifted his head. Iselia asked in confusion:

Like how a wandering knight makes a promise of reward from the local feudal lord before fighting monsters, nobles leading armies were no different. They did not fight without any compensation.

Even if the undead hordes grew out of control and pushed west, that was a problem for later. She would not fight without rewards.

Ulrike had carried out three subjugations, dealing with hundreds of ghouls in each. And every time, she had received compensation from the local feudal lords.

But the castellan of Pelheim, with some audacity, instead of promising compensation, had made vague pleas for her to subdue the undead.

When he kept beating around the bush despite her sending him two angry letters demanding he come in person, this time he merely sent an excuse that he was ill.

The castellan of Pelheim seemed to think Ulrike would subdue the undead out of reputation or pride, but she had no intention of doing so whatsoever.

Even if the vicinity turned into a hellhole because of the undead, Ulrike had no plans to fight without proper compensation.

“One week. I’ll wait one more week for an answer, then we move out.”

“Yes!”

The knights gave a unanimous reply despite having some objections. Ulrike’s charisma did not allow for dissent.

“Ulrike-nim! Reinforcements have arrived from the west!”

“What?”

Ulrike asked back in an irritated tone. The knights were perplexed by her response.

Shouldn’t more warriors against the undead be a good thing?

At first thought, it seemed having more troops to fight the undead could only be welcome. But politically, there were downsides.

If the vicinity was subjugated too quickly, excuses to stay would need to be invented. With other nobles around, actions required more tact. Additionally, many commanders do not necessarily work well together.

Those she could not communicate with or control would only be more annoying.

‘I hope they didn’t come with similar intentions as me.’

“So who are they?”

“Yes. His Majesty Angoldolph and Count Yeats have arrived leading knights. They are passing through the oak trail beneath the western hill.”

“. . . . . .”

Hearing the unexpected names, Ulrike’s granite-like face shook ever so slightly.

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“I swear by the name of Ipaël River, that forest is no different than the land of the dead!”

All those who walked with magic could feel the aura of death permeating from deep within the vast forest. It seemed the undead had made their nest there.

“Didn’t you say Ulrike-gong was here? Why didn’t she subdue them?”

Jyanina asked, seeming not to understand.

“It was difficult to subdue them so she waited. . . No, that can’t be. Someone of Ulrike-gong’s caliber wouldn’t avoid subduing them.”

“Was the castellan in a bad mood?”

Stephen sneered. Hearing that, Johan made an expression as if it were plausible.

“That seems likely.”

“. . .What? Really?”

“If you don’t get anything for subduing undead this size, the math doesn’t work out. They may be balancing the scales as we speak.”

“As expected of Ulrike. . .”

“Stephen. I’ll protect you if you’re within my sight, but if you don’t want to get stabbed in the back and die when no one’s around, it would be best to watch what you say from now on.”

“. . .I only meant to say you are wise, Sir.”

“Good. Well done.”

A knight bearing a banner came running this way, and a knight with a banner went running that way. After they declared their family names and identities and confirmation was completed, Johan and the Elf King rode their horses forward.

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”

“The honor is mine as well, Ulrike-gong.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Excellency.”

“It brings me boundless joy to see you again after so long looking so well, Ulrike-gong.”

The Elf King addressed Ulrike more distantly than he did Johan. His attitude gave the impression he had no particular desire to become friendly with her.

Ulrike also did not seem too fond of the Elf King. Her posture was flawless with no openings, but Johan somehow knew.

‘It’s only natural they would look down on each other.’