Chapter 361

In the direction straight north of the Cieron capital, there was Mount Eldos, a branch extending from the Unique Mountain Range. With that mountain as the standard, the Widro Duchy was situated on the left where the five kingdoms were located, and the Grimsvein Duchy was situated on the right bordering the East Sea.

The Grimsvein Duchy was Cieron’s finest iron ore and weapon production site. Dozens and hundreds of minerals were mined from the ridge of the Unique Mountain Range, and the abundant water volume of the East Sea was used to cool the heated iron. Naturally, many people with dexterous hands flocked to Grimsvein over the past few hundred years.

In the Cieron Empire, steel weapons were entirely made by artisans. Since their skills were passed down through an apprenticeship system, if the flame of one blast furnace went out, one skill was bound to disappear. Losing Grimsvein was no different from completely losing three hundred years of Cieron’s weapon history.

The reason Grimsvein collapsed so powerlessly is obvious.

Currently, Grimsvein had no leader.

Wendy, Vivian Grimsvein, the heirs who were to succeed Grimsvein, were hiding their identities and studying at the Cieron Academy. Since they just enrolled when I was a 3rd year, they should only be in their graduating year now.

Without a leader, the artisans of that land wouldn’t have been able to evacuate swiftly.

“…For some reason, they were dressed too well…. to be seen as mercenaries.”

“…”

“I suppose they were Knights. Those, the Jiangshis we saw…. while coming.”

Giselle’s voice scattered futilely in the spacious clearing.

Right, we came this far while dispatching several Jiangshis.

Most of the Jiangshis we faced at the very beginning were dressed as Owen mercenaries. They wrapped their bodies in light armor, had tanned complexions, and wore thick leather shoes. The corpse of the cigarette man rose exactly as he was when he died and chased us.

However, the ones we saw after a little time passed were different. They wore lighter clothing, and the torn parts of their corpses were meticulously sewn up. They held good swords and dragged around shoes with holes.

How far of a distance were they dragged that their shoes were completely worn out.

It was standard to recover the corpses of Knights who died in battle and return them to their families. Although recovering the corpses was done by the Knights’ hands, transporting them to their hometowns was done with the strength of laborers. It was clear that the corpses being transported like that were stolen through some method.

So we cut those into pieces and scattered them in the desert.

It was a miserable feeling. My mind sank for a long time from the distress.

The one who broke that silence was, as always, Hugh Benson.

“What are you going to send as a reply?”

“Since we’ve gotten much closer to the answer, I think it’s right to explain properly now.”

Ruben answered without wavering, in a neat tone.

“From now on, what we will do will have a huge impact on this continent for whatever reason. Even though there are still few who say they have seen a god at an Oasis, there is a meaningfully large number of believers who have returned after hearing oracles at the holy site of the Sun. Moving after revealing our destination would be better from a safety perspective as well.”

“How much should we disclose about the Jiangshis?”

“We should explain by borrowing the words the God of the Sun gave us. I don’t know if we can collect the dead wandering the Saturn Desert, but shouldn’t we at least erect a monument for the deceased in a nice spot. The sooner the better, since we need to receive testimonies from those whose corpses were stolen.”

While silently listening to the children’s conversation, Marianne grabbed my sleeve.

“Michael.”

“Yes?”

“In the past…. what did you do with the corpses of allies? Was there something like a magic circle to prevent them from rising as Jiangshis?”

“….”

“You don’t have to remember the exact formula. Even if you only know what effect occurred, or about how many mq of Mana was used, I’m trying to find out if there’s something similar here.”

My breath caught in my throat.

Meeting the multiple pairs of eyes looking at me, my insides ached greatly. The many names I thought I had forgotten, worn away by the long years, turned my insides upside down.

I barely managed to make a sound. I tried my best not to put emotion into the words I spat out. Very fortunately, I was able to speak perfectly fine. Without crying, without faltering. I just calmly reported the facts exactly as I remembered them.

“In the place I lived, we originally buried corpses in the ground and held funerals. Then, before a full day passed, wicked villains would dig up the tombs and snatch the corpses.”

Is there anything as foul as the stench of a corpse?

Even if I wanted to hide it, I couldn’t. When my martial nephew, whom I had firmly promised I would bury in a sunny spot later and hidden in a deep cave, stood before me holding the Azure Sky Sword while wearing hemp clothes, I didn’t hesitate and cut that child down. It was a time when there were still many crying children left behind my back.

“We also held funerals by floating them on water, but the corpses were still stolen.”

Hearing the words that if you bury a person in the ground they will rise again, many chose water burial. Saying they should at least wail once before sending them off, they floated the enshrouded corpses on wide rivers. After those crawled out onto the land with half-rotted bodies, no one did that.

After being unable to bury them in the ground or water, the dead were buried in our hearts.

“After they revived and rose again even when we cut off their heads and buried their heads and bodies separately…. we cut them into small pieces of over sixteen segments and buried them separately.”

“…”

Regret flickered across Marianne’s expression.

However, I needed an excuse for the actions I had taken. I continued speaking with a bitter mouth.

“…So they couldn’t be reused, even out of the hassle of sewing them.”

What I had taught these people until now was the last method.

How could one watch the corpses of their relatives being chopped into pieces with a sane mind. However, unable to let them suffer such disgrace at the hands of distant strangers, usually one of the deceased’s relatives stepped forward to help with the funeral that wasn’t a funeral. As punishment for living longer than others, I sent away many martial nephews like that.

Marianne, who had been antsy the entire time listening to the story, immediately bowed her waist and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Michael.”

“No, it’s fine. It is a matter you rightfully should be curious about.”

In the Cieron Empire too, when a person died, they were buried in the ground.

The funeral procedures and forms were slightly different from the Central Plains. In Cieron, every territory had a park for corpses.

Cieronians also put flowers inside the coffin containing the corpse, and decorated the spot where the coffin was buried by placing various ornate sculptures on top. They made paths between the sculptures and planted flowers. When they wanted to honor the deceased, they brought new flowers, placed them in front of the sculpture, and cried there.

Thinking of those who couldn’t use proper funeral methods, my windpipe tightened.

“The reason we couldn’t think of burning the corpses was due to a lack of wood from the long war and poverty at the time. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Seeing the funeral method used in Biban and Yulan as we came this time…. if there is spare capacity left, doing it that way is at least…”

“…You don’t have to think about that, Mika.”

Ruber abruptly cut off my words and grabbed my hand.

There were few times when Ruben’s hand was warmer than mine. The child spoke in a clear voice.

“It is a matter for Imperial Father to decide. Thank you for telling me., that is enough.”

“…Yes.”

Thus, the next day, from the very early dawn, we gathered in front of the audience chamber and waited for the door to open.

The time waiting to seek an audience with the God of the Sun felt exceedingly longer than before. Even though the time the sun rises is similar every day, it was because the entire group couldn’t easily fall asleep after hearing the story that the Empire was under attack.

As soon as the sun rose beyond the horizon that was straighter than the sea, the small Makrirs that had been waiting for the morning nearby with us swarmed in and opened the doors of the audience chamber for us.

The God of the Sun was sitting on the highest seat in the audience chamber. He was in the exact same appearance as before. The well-braided Makrir roots reached long down below the platform.

[Are you ready to leave now?]

“Yes, thank you for embracing us with warm light during this time.”

Ruber formally answered the god’s affectionate voice, and with a careful posture, kneeled on both knees on the red carpet and straightened his waist. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The remaining five standing half a step behind him, and even the mercenaries standing three steps behind, all knelt down.

This was to seek mercy and compassion.

Everyone knew that the God of the Sun’s power couldn’t reach the Cieron Empire right now. However, since an affectionate god was right in front of our eyes, we thought we should somehow try to borrow a part of that power. It was just the day before yesterday that the entire group benefited after John showed his reverence for the God of the Sun. Everyone looked up to him with all their heart and body.

The god’s gaze quietly swept over the tops of the group’s heads. He did not bother asking the reason we knelt. Ruben calmly opened his mouth and continued.

“However, a trial difficult to handle with our human strength has struck, so we dare to request your help.”

[….]

“Currently in the Cieron Empire…”

The Makrir’s left branch lifted. The God of the Sun waved his hand slightly to stop the child’s words.

Is it a god’s privilege to look as if they know without being told. The God of the Sun murmured soothingly in an affectionate tone, sounding as if he pitied us to the fullest.

[It is all the same matter.]

“….”

[A god’s source can move, but it cannot exist simultaneously. Go to the place I point out and scatter the Ninth’s source. Then you should be able to prevent the matter you are worrying about.]

“You mean.”

[Endless delusions will follow. However, I promise you. From now on, I will emit light for you during all days. So that the darkness of the past night fully clears.]

A soft wind raised the group up. Facing the children who stood up awkwardly, the god informed us in a calm tone about the path we had to go and the tasks we had to do. We listened calmly, asked various things, and heard various answers.

So the words we delivered to Ranunculus are as follows.

Our group received a special oracle at the holy site of the Sun.

The black mages presumed to be the culprits behind the monster mutant incident are estimated to be around thirty personnel.

The relevant black mages are using the corpses of Knights who died in battle to create monsters, so you must defend the remains of the Empire’s Knights at all costs.

11 people, including the 2nd Prince, are going to dispatch the black mages in the name of the God of the Sun. In the event it is impossible to cope with the current personnel, we plan to request reinforcements immediately, so prepare military forces at a location where they can move through the shortest route, namely the western part of Felix.

Upon success or failure of the mission, we will return to the holy site to reorganize. So send the next Ranunculus to the holy site of the Sun.

I felt sorry for Ranunculus, who had to set off on a long journey immediately without being able to rest much. I just deeply hoped from the bottom of my heart that the guy would have enough time to arrive at the Widro Duchy and be cherished.