Chapter 5: Chaos Among Demons
Green, who was meditating alone in his room, could sense his companion’s displeasure from the footsteps coming from afar. When the door was pushed open, the mixture of murderous intent and magical energy that hit him confirmed his judgment—it seemed his companion was up to something again. It was just unclear whose misfortune it would be this time. His companion almost always brought trouble with every journey, yet it was precisely this that earned him the notorious title of “Killer Knight” among the knights, as well as deep hatred from those dark practitioners.
“What’s wrong? Did you find any valuable clues again?” Green glanced at him briefly before picking up the smooth water cup and taking a sip. Water was the best remedy for washing away dust—simple yet indispensable. Green adhered to asceticism; only by controlling his inner desires could he truly master himself and progress further on the path of supreme light.
“Green, it seems we really came to the right place this time. The Caucasus is indeed unusual. All sorts of strange creatures have appeared lately. I encountered two ostentatious members of a secret cult earlier. After a brief encounter, I realized they were quite formidable. I let them escape, but I’m sure they haven’t left Ugru yet.” Jep’s eyes shone brightly, revealing his boundless energy and enthusiasm.
“Oh? A secret cult? They’ve already reached this place?!” Green was shocked too. Then he thought: If even the Secret Cult dares to infiltrate a core region like Rosenberg, the Caucasus, which is a newly developed area with over a hundred thousand immigrants and still seeing an increase, is an opportunity the Secret Cult surely wouldn’t miss. Moreover, the new lord here has an unknown background. If the Secret Cult allied with him, not only would their mission be indefinitely delayed, but the Caucasus might even become a foothold for them to invade Nicomedia and the entire Northern Alliance. After pondering for a while, Green stroked the hilt of his sword beside him and asked, “What are your thoughts?”
“Stop the enemy in its tracks. I think we can explain the situation to that lord and ask him to conduct a thorough search of Ugru right away to prevent the members of the Great Secret Cult from slipping through, or at the very least drive them out of this land. On the other hand, I believe it’s necessary to report the situation here to the regiment commander and even the archbishop. If we allow the Great Secret Cult to spread freely here, this land will likely change in nature before long, and we won’t be able to complete the tasks assigned to us. But our forces are currently too weak to handle the complex situation here.” Although Jep was extremely confident, he wasn’t someone who didn’t know when to back down; he never underestimated his enemies. “Green, we visited the lord together last time, along with those two friends of his. I also sensed something odd about them—those two were clearly suppressing their powers on purpose. Although my spiritual senses couldn’t detect anything unusual about them, if they were just ordinary mages, why would they try to suppress or hide their abilities when they needed to help us? It’s just that we didn’t get the chance to interact further and learn more valuable information.”
“Then, Jep, do you think there’s something wrong with this lord?” Green didn’t answer his question but instead asked him back.
After hesitating for a moment, Jep was also unsure. “Logically, there shouldn’t be any problem. When I shook his hand, I activated my spiritual detection skills. Even if he intended to hide something, it should have been impossible for him to evade my detection. Yet I found nothing. Although he possesses considerable magical power, I can determine that it’s elemental magic, especially fire element magic, which is quite strong. But I really didn’t detect any trace of dark energy. In fact, this feeling makes me doubt whether he’s really that pure. My intuition tells me it shouldn’t be the case.”
“Intuition? But intuition can’t be used as a basis. We can’t rely on it as evidence when reporting to the commander and the archbishop. My feelings are the same as yours—my spirit eye yields nothing, just as silent as a stone sinking into the sea. But intuition isn’t like that. If it were someone else, maybe we could take special measures, but not him. His status doesn’t allow us to take reckless risks, and he’s a magician himself. Moreover, the two guys by his side aren’t easy opponents. I’m afraid the commander and the archbishop will find it just as difficult to make a decision after hearing our report.” With a slight sigh, a trace of melancholy appeared on Green’s usually calm face. “As for your request to ask them to help investigate the Great Secret Sect, I think it’s unfeasible. Right now, we can’t even confirm this lord’s identity. Making such a request rashly would only alert them, which would be foolish.”
“So what do you mean…?” Jep held his companion in high regard. Green’s wisdom was among the fewest in the entire knight order. It was precisely because of his composure and wisdom that Commander Kent had entrusted him with such a tricky task.
“First, we should report the current situation here to the commander and the archbishop. From any perspective, our Light Church shouldn’t give up on this place. I believe higher authorities will make proper arrangements. As for our own task, I don’t think this lord will stay quiet. With so many demons at play, I’m curious to see what else he’ll do!” A resolute expression appeared on Green’s firm face, standing out clearly against the warm sunlight.
While the two Light Church knights were pondering Komer’s behavior, Komer was indeed extremely busy. Lebri’s summoning letter proved very effective—at least three magicians and two dark knights had arrived in the Caucasus within just a month. Although these cultivators hid well, Komer’s unusually keen perception allowed him to easily detect the dark essence hidden within them. Despite various concealment spells, his inner insight saw through everything. In fact, this suited Komer’s plans even better. If two Light Church mages or priests had shown up, it would have put him in a difficult position.
However, the guest skilled in mechanisms that Lebrí had been waiting for never arrived. Under Komer’s strict order to avoid damaging any facilities in the castle, Lebrí could only make do by staying with his friends inside the castle, hoping to encounter that ghostly creature that had appeared once before. But it seemed this spiritually adept creature also sensed that these guests from all directions were not easy to deal with. Whether by day or night, no matter what methods Lebrí tried, the creature never appeared, leaving him deeply disappointed. Although he couldn’t decipher the complex mechanisms in the castle, Lebrí still found things worth exploring— the ancient magic circle in the center of the Archangel Square became an object of intense study for many magic practitioners.
It must be said that among Lebrí’s friends, there were indeed some truly talented individuals. At least in Lebrí’s eyes, the magic runes and spells that appeared as ancient scripts were quickly identified by his friends as belonging to a language—Pompeian script—that had long been lost to human history.
Legend has it that Pompeii was a city-state with a highly developed magic culture thousands of years ago. Though just a city-state, Pompeii itself was extremely prosperous and famous across the continent for its magic academy. Unfortunately, no one expected a sudden volcanic eruption accompanied by severe earthquakes to erase this once-thriving city, burying it beneath the vast Vot plains. After the upheaval, the Vot Mountains replaced the plains, and these sprawling mountain ranges once served as a haven for adventurers. But over time, no one was able to locate Pompeii’s ruins in the Vot Mountains. Instead, a group of dwarves built their own city there, only for another earthquake to destroy their carefully constructed city. From then on, the Vot Mountains became synonymous with desolation and isolation.
Although Pompeii vanished from the continent, the Pompeian script, which once held an important place in magic history, was not completely lost. In fact, many ancient magic traditions still use this obscure script. Of course, as time goes by, its usage will become increasingly rare until it ultimately disappears— a script no longer used by living people will inevitably fade into historical oblivion.
The breakthrough in the ancient starry magic array was a treasure to Rebrí and his fellow magicians. Their fervor for magic led them to devote all their efforts to understanding and deciphering this massive magic transmission array. However, cracking the secrets of such an ancient magic transmission array wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight, which only further fueled the enthusiasm of these somewhat obsessive fanatics. The Archangel Square almost became the only place they thought about day and night.
Originally, Komer had hoped that Rebrí’s friends, if they were inclined to teach others, might select some malleable individuals among the immigrants to train as apprentices or magi who could serve him. But after seeing these madmen devote themselves wholeheartedly to studying the ancient magic array, Komer gave up on this idea. Instead, Rebrí’s two other Dark Knights became his new favorites.
After effortlessly knocking out several of the ambitious half-orc warriors, Sorenberg and another expressionless Dark Knight, Vladkov, immediately became Komer’s favored guests. Training a group of highly skilled half-orc fighters became Komer’s main goal for these two Dark Knights to work for him. In exchange, Komer would unconditionally provide guidance on how to advance their level of Dark Qi.
At first, the two Dark Knights didn’t believe that a magician like Komer could understand the mysteries of Qi, which were considered secret knowledge among warriors. But after Komer casually pointed out a few key terms, their attitudes changed instantly. Though Komer, possessing the memories of the legendary warrior Kenifer III, couldn’t apply those skills in actual combat, his knowledge, insight, and experience far surpassed those of the two Dark Knights who had just entered the realm of martial arts. His timely guidance often allowed them to avoid many detours and leap straight to a new level. It was like a traveler struggling along a narrow path suddenly being told there was a shorter route straight to their destination—a joy and relief that ordinary people could never comprehend. Of course, to receive such guidance regularly, helping Komer train the half-orc fighters naturally became the most important task for the two Dark Knights.
The conquest of Fort Damalsk indeed raised Komer’s prestige to new heights, especially when he saw that the lord’s friends all chose to live in the castle and remained safe. This mixture of awe and admiration became even more evident. The integration of new immigrants and natives proceeded smoothly, particularly after reaching a compromise with the pirates of the Abyssal Sea, allowing the Caucasus to enter a period of stable development. Komer also became more adept at handling daily affairs.
Although the pirates were brutal, they seemed more reliable in keeping their word than many hypocritical nobles—at least that’s what Komer thought. Even though he hadn’t given them a specific deadline, the pirates still adhered to the agreed terms, constantly changing the locations from which they brought in food from various regions. This pleased Komer greatly, but it also made him feel an even greater burden on his shoulders. If he couldn’t satisfy those pirates later on, they might quickly turn from partners into fierce enemies. However, Komer wasn’t willing to let it come to that.
With a secure food supply, Komer felt much more at ease. At least he no longer had to worry about the blockade from the north. As the garrison at Fortress Bruce grew larger and inspections of goods entering and leaving the Caucasus became stricter—especially with half of all food prohibited from entering—the measures clearly targeted him. Since there was only one route out of the Caucasus at the moment, and although the pirates in the east had formed an alliance with him through a deal, they would never tolerate him building a city or port right under their noses until his Magic Mirror and Magic Cannons were developed.
Thinking of this, Komer’s enthusiasm gradually faded. With over a hundred thousand people and such a vast territory, if he kept focusing solely on the northern route, he would likely remain under someone else’s control. Unless he had the strength to break through this blockade, he would have to find another way out.