Chapter 423: The Night Walkers (1)

Chapter 423: The Night Walkers (1)

Tochka.

A citadel located on a high plateau in the Rocks Mountains of the Northern Continent.

Its high, solid walls, deep moat, and towering cliffs surrounding it made it a natural fortress.

However.

This fortress, which was said to be able to fend off a hundred soldiers by one girl, was now a deserted, ownerless mountain.

No wonder, another name for Tochka, the strongest fortress, is , the 'Crying Castle'.

The name, which means "beheaded while crying" comes from an ancient story of a general in the Warring States Period who was defeated by the enemy army while sitting-in in the fortress here.

The young and talented general, trusting only in his own skills and military theories, waged a siege in this natural fortress, but the result was a disastrous defeat.

Fortress Tochka was a massive fortress with impregnable defenses, but it had only one drawback: it was located on a plateau filled with rocks in the dry climate of the northern highlands, and there was no water nearby for drinking.

Because of the general who suffered from hunger due to lack of water and opened the gate and escaped, the country eventually entered the path of destruction.

Therefore, the king had no choice but to behead his favorite general according to military law, and the nickname 'Crying Castle' was given because the king swung his sword with tears in his eyes.

The ominous legend of Crying Castle, a harsh environment where there is hardly any drinking water.

As a result, this magnificent and sturdy fortress has become an unremarkable place that is slowly being forgotten as the years go by.

... However.

There is a group of people who operate out of this abandoned fortress that no one takes notice of.

Night Walkers. They were 'those who walk the night'.

ungseong-ungseong-

The Tochka, which not long ago had been nothing more than a desolate highland fortress, was now bustling with people.

Additions and renovations are everywhere.

Pillars and watchtowers were being raised, and holes in the walls were being filled.

Countless goats pulled carts loaded with food and water.

Where the tents were pitched, refugees from all over the continent had gathered.

They had all followed the Night Walkers to this 'Ark'.

Famine, drought, wildfires, and monster outbreaks have displaced them from their original homes.

The sick are healed and the hungry are fed.

Not enough to fill them to overflowing, but enough so that they no longer had to watch their children clutch at their empty bellies.

The refugees who settled here all looked tired and exhausted, but there was a glimmer of hope in their eyes.

They had come from a place where they had left the unbelievers behind.

They had traveled a long way, risking ridicule, mockery, and scorn, to follow a gleam of faith, and the outcome was bright.

At least here, they were blessed by priests and rationed food and water.

It was a paradise compared to their old home, where they had to worry about food shortages, robberies, and monster attacks every day.

Meanwhile.

In the tents where the wounded and sick lay, dozens of priests bustled about.

One priest was tending to a refugee who had been crushed by a boulder while helping to repair the city walls.

She took a deep breath and muttered.

"Calm down, Lolita. This is just a simple recovery baptism, nothing to be afraid of, so don't tremble."

"Sister. My name is not Lolita."

"I know. Lolita is my name."

"...?"

When a young nun, who doesn't look like she has much experience, asks for God's help with trembling hands.

Swoosh-

A hand gently grasped her hand from behind.

"Our Lord Lun is willing to extend his hand to the lamb that groans in pain before his eyes."

'In times like these, we must be even more resolute in our support of his will.'

This must take precedence over helping him escape from his imprisonment in Nouvelle Vague.

Any hasty movements would only hinder Vikir, so they must complete the task at hand.

Then.

"Hey, Knight of the Night!"

Two more men appeared in the distance, beyond a cart full of drinking water.

It was Sancho and Piggy.

"Long time no see, boys!"

Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy hugged each other, celebrating their first reunion in months.

The Night Walkers had been traveling across the continent like this, sharing the story of the Ark with refugees and bringing them to Tochka.

'Only here will fire and water be spared, only here will true salvation be found.'

All of this was based on a message left behind by Night Hound.

Sancho, standing beside Tudor, looked back at the now bustling fortress of Tochka.

"This place has become quite crowded. When we first took up residence here, it seemed like it was haunted."

"Yeah. It's a good thing you guys have been so good about keeping up with us in this high, barren place."

Piggy nodded.

But neither Tudor, Sancho, nor Piggy, who had led the refugees to this place, had resolved the fundamental question.

"But why did Vikir tell us to gather people here?"

It was a mystery that even Dolores, the leader of the Night Walkers, had yet to solve.

But the situation was too urgent for Vikir to explain much.

Besides, Vikir, as everyone knew, never told a lie.

"There must be a reason, because I've never lost anything by listening to him."

"I know. There must be a reason why he insisted on gathering as many people as possible in such a desolate, remote fortress."

"Exactly, so let's push on, it's all we can do until we find a way to rescue Vikir!"

Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy once again look determined.

Dolores looked at them with trust in her eyes.

Just then.

"Hey, executives. I need you to assemble, we have a meeting to conduct."

In the distance, the curtains of the barracks were lifted and a figure stepped out.

"...!"

"...!"

"...!"

"...!"

Dolores, Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy turned their heads in unison.

It was the Wealth of the Night, the sponsor who financed the Night Walkers.

Also known to a very few as 'rich friend'.

A wealthy individual who had taken Tochka from a mere abandoned fortress on the outskirts to a fully fortified fortress, stockpiling enough food and water to feed and shelter a large number of refugees.

A supernova in the business world, where once funds are mobilized, the wealth is comparable to that of the tycoon Bourgeois.

And an advisor to the Colosseo Academy's investment club, the Oracle.

'Messinadnaro CindyWendy'.

No, she was now Countess Cindy Wendy of Baskerville, and she was looking down in this direction.

"...It's urgent."

With a rare look of seriousness.