My villains episode 189
interlude. Foreign Warriors
‘Southern Shore’ is a province located on the eastern coast of the kingdom. It is considered a very wealthy territory thanks to the thriving trade with the East and various fisheries.
In the Southern Shore, the area facing the sea was called ‘Court Sutang’. Cote Su Tang means ‘warm coast’ in the old language of the region.
True to its name, Cote Xu Tang was cozy even in the middle of October and autumn. Thanks to this, the group of 10 people traveling along the highway were dressed lightly.
A boy in his late teens with green eyes and black hair grumbled among the group of travelers of various social backgrounds and backgrounds.
“I can’t breathe because of the smell.”
He opened the hem of his cloak to cover his nose, and for a moment he undid it in annoyance.
“Besides, it is unnecessarily hot and the wind is sticky. It’s a really dog-like place.”
The boy’s sister, Shiren, who was walking beside him smiled bitterly.
“Don’t grumble Ethan and try to enjoy the trip. When will we come back to this region again?”
“It’s only a day or two to have fun, you’ve already been walking for the third day.”
“It will be only three days. They say they will arrive at Radenki this evening, so cheer up a little.”
Ethan still had a dissatisfied face despite Shiren’s words.
“So, if you had taken the boat as I said, you would have arrived in Jinje. What kind of trouble is this because your sister is stubborn?”
“Don’t you remember what Lord Ariad said? You said to be careful because pirates are rampant nearby.”
“Does that make sense that you can’t get on the boat because you’re afraid of those pirates?”
At those words, Druid Zanavas, who was following the brother and sister, laughed.
“Those pirates? very confident Compared to the trolls and the Anupad army, pirates are ridiculous, right?”
“…I never said anything like that.”
“Aha yeah?”
Ethan pursed his lips, and Zana Vas reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. Ethan frowned and waved his arms.
The wizard brother and sister of the Lao family and the young druid left Longville with Phoenix and their party.
Thanks to Phoenix’s introduction, the journey to the Southern Shore was very safe and swift, thanks to which he was able to travel with the knights of Ulkar.
It was three days ago at the fork in the road that divided the north and east that Siren and his party parted from the knights of Ulkar.
Langbolt, Ariad, and the cavalrymen following the two knights headed for ‘Overlock’, the capital of the Southern Shore. Siren’s journey continued east, in the direction of the port city of ‘Radenki’.
On the other hand, Shiren said that she was concerned about the pirates, but honestly, she wasn’t worried.
Their party was walking on a highway where many people came and went, and there were five mercenaries in the group that somehow intervened.
Besides, Siren himself and his younger brother Ethan had become quite familiar with combat thanks to their experience in Longville, and Zanabas was a man who could protect at least one of his own.
So I figured that my life would not be in danger just because of the janitors.
That thought was broken right after facing the pirates blocking the road.
“It’s an ambush!”
“be careful!”
Along with the shouts of the mercenaries, a group of pirates appeared on the roadside.
“Sha (kill)-!”
“Ba nur6n men jiilhu6 (leave the bitches alive)!”
At first glance, the pirates seemed more than dozens.
Shiren couldn’t help but be surprised at the strange language he had never heard of, the bizarre appearance, the shabby clothes, and the large sword.
“Why are those guys here-”
“The pirates of the East! Run away!”
With that scream-like cry, the group of travelers dispersed at once.
Merchants from Leadburn ran right back, but were captured by pirates who appeared before they knew it. The mercenaries who tried to escape over the hill on the left were caught and horribly killed before climbing halfway up the slope.
“Siren Ethan this way!”
Zanavas led the party toward the sea.
Running away to the sea to avoid pirates seemed like a foolish act. However, thanks to the rough rocks unique to the East Coast, the party was able to repel the pirates’ pursuit, albeit for a while.
“Stige opp (stand up)!”
Shiren threw a clay doll and cast a spell, and the golem stuffed with shells and barnacles rose to its feet.
While the golem blocked the pirates, the group ran frantically. All of the rocks that looked random were soaked with water, so Siren and Ethan tripped over and over again, falling into a bad mood.
Even after running away, the group stopped breathing for a while.
“Heo-eok whoo-”
“…… Huh, that’s right.”
Zanavas sighed at the scenery unfolding before him.
Is it because the raging waves have been patting their backs for countless years? The huge boulder the party stood on clearly showed off the layered layers of flesh.
Standing on top of the coastal cliff, Siren and the others looked down at the blue sea without getting anywhere.
“Nubian (over there)!”
“Baowei tamen (surround them)!” Bald Zhang Han shouted, and the pirates surrounded Shi Ren and the others. The number of pirates who quietly gathered had increased to about 670 people.
Zanavas blocked the two wizards with a dagger, and Siren and Ethan immediately began casting spells.
Seeing the wizards cast spells, the pirates rushed at them like deukdals. no i was going to
A
heavy metal sound that resonated at an exquisite moment grabbed the pirates’ ankles. The pirates, as well as Siren’s party, turned their gaze toward the noisy presence.
Knock-down.
A figure appeared behind the pirates. The pirates frowned as they looked back at the figure, who did not know when they had approached.
In-young gave off a strange presence.
He was wearing a drab cloak, and at first glance it seemed that he was wearing hard armor. Because the hood was pressed down deeply, all that could be seen through the cloak were a pair of sword handles protruding, and a pair of steel armored shin guards.
‘…It’s really big.’
Edan looked at the figure holding the rune fragments in both hands.
The greatest man the boy had ever seen in his life was Wu Tequai the ‘red bear’, and the second was Phoenix the ‘bloody swordsman’.
In-young, who appeared behind the pirates, was tall enough to be compared to Phoenix among them, and had broad shoulders.
chuck.
In-young stopped walking. There was no movement. But Ethan could sense that he was scanning his surroundings.
Amidst the pirates, who walked away from In-young wearing a cape, Han Jang, a bald man, opened his mouth with his face stained red. However, right before he could say anything, In-young spoke first.
“Ae dirldi (Hey Druid).”
Druid Zanavas widened his eyes in surprise.
This is because the human figure who appeared out of nowhere spoke a completely unexpected language and the voice was that of a woman…
“Ban nghero (Can’t you hear me)?”
Zanavas swallowed dry saliva and opened his mouth at the voice that sounded a bit irritated.
“…Who are you?”
“oh. After all, you speak the language of the meadow.”
Dozens of pirates surrounded her, but her voice was calm.
“It’s worth chasing the smell.”
“Did you say smell?”
“What happened? I have a few questions for you.”
At the woman’s carefree words, Zanavas glanced around and asked again.
“… in this situation?”
“Why is this situation?”
Zanavas swallowed absurdity inside, and Bald Jang-Han, unable to bear it, shouted.
“Sha (kill)-!”
At his command, pirates from the east raised their weapons and attacked In-young.
“Ac.”
The tall woman clicked her tongue in annoyance. Then, he drew two longswords from his waist and held them in both hands.
A pair of long longswords resembled each other like twins. The other was only the color of one blade.
Pirates attacked the woman holding a pair of black and white swords, and
a storm of steel raged.
pretending to be dumb
The woman came right in front of them, but Siren and the others couldn’t even move.
Zanavas moved only his eyes and traced the red footprints left by the woman. Half of the pirates, who were over 70, were torn to pieces in just four or five breaths. The other half fled in all directions like worms. The woman did not pursue them.
“Hey Druid.”
Her twin swords resembled each other more than before. It’s because the color of the blade is the same red.
“…yes yes.” “You smell familiar.” The hood that covered the woman’s face was pulled back in the aftermath of the brief battle.
Thanks to this, reddish-brown hair that stretched like a mane, a forehead with an X-shaped scar, slanting eyebrows and sharp eyes were clearly visible.
Overall, she was a woman with a rough and ferocious aura.
“The smell of family.”
“…Family?”
“okay.”
The woman who had been sniffing added a smile.
“It’s my brother-in-law’s smell. Are you sure.”
Zanavas, who had been standing there blankly for a while, had a bright smile on his face.
“It must be that brother-in-law.”
“Caramek.”
“Ute— yes?”
“Akanku Karamek.”
“You mean Karamek?”
Zanavas’ face turned white. The woman who stared at him smiled.
“Are you dead too?”
“……that.”
“It seemed so. He often comes out in his dreams and drags me on.”
The smile gradually deepened. It was a smile as if the lips were being pulled back to reveal fangs.
“who is this? The one that killed Karamek.”
Seeing the woman’s beast-like gaze, Za Navas clenched his trembling jaw.
Around the time when a wizard brother and sister and a young druid met an unknown warrior.
A special meeting was taking place some distance to the northeast from there.
‘Mid Isle’ was the name of a rocky island located in the eastern part of the kingdom of Milanol and a castle there. It was also the place where the Marquis Alphard, called the guardian of the East, made a nest.
Mid-Isle, a huge castle and fortress made by connecting four islands, had a reputation for being impregnable. True to its reputation, breaking through the magnificent star-shaped walls and watchtowers imbued with spells was not difficult, it was close to impossible.
A strange visitor arrived at such a Mid-Isle.
The visitor was a stout man wearing a hat made of woven reeds.
He was dressed in a baggy brown suit and had a red linen draped over his broad shoulders. It was worn, but very neatly dressed.
jingle.
The man with an exotic atmosphere made a clear metal sound whenever he took a step. It was because the nine rings on the long bronze staff collided with each other and cried.
jingle.
A clear sound similar to the sound of bells flowed to the deepest part of Mid-Isle.
The heavily armed guards only glanced at the strangely dressed stranger for a moment, then looked straight ahead. It was because their superior, the guard, was acting as a guide in front of the stranger.
The man, wearing a hat, followed the guard
and arrived at a large and luxurious drawing room. He looked around the drawing room, where no one could feel the presence of people.
“Come. I was waiting for you.”
Hearing the sudden voice, the man’s gaze turned to the chair in the parlor. A white-haired handsome man was sitting there.
“Come over here and have a seat.”
The man called Seonsa stared at the gray-haired handsome man and then moved on. Then, sitting opposite the handsome man, he opened his mouth.
Amitabha. You speak Chinese very fluently.”
“There are many children from the East among the concubines. Thanks to that.”
The handsome man was making sounds from his mouth, but he didn’t move his lips or wiggle his chest. He didn’t even blink. The handsome man was not a person, but an elaborate wax figure.
The foreign man was silent for a moment, then spoke to the wax figure.
“Having a conversation with a doll is a strange experience as soon as you cross the sea.”
“Forgive me for the rudeness. After my father was killed, the elders of the family were very rude.”
It was very grotesque to see a beautiful wax figure chattering without moving.
“If you don’t put on a crude puppet show like this, you won’t even be able to talk to outsiders. I’m going crazy because I’m frustrated too.”
Even though he had kept his mouth shut for a while, the foreign man lowered his head slightly.
“I’m sorry about your father. How heartbroken you are.” “Ah, thank you. But honoring the deceased before introducing yourself is a very peculiar etiquette.”
“Uh ha 丁 that.
The foreign man let out a drool. Then, leaning the Seonjang on the table decorated with mother-of-pearl, he took off his hat and placed it on his lap.
Farani’s shaved head, thick features with six seals stamped on his forehead, and a rough beard.
A middle-aged monk put his palms together with calluses at each joint.
“It is called Iljin (一眞). I am beyond happy to see His Excellency, the renowned Marquis of Asen.”
Marquis Asen, the ruler of the Crescent Moon Islands and the ruler of the East Sea with five admirals, and a powerful witch magician, answered the monks’ joining hands in short words.
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
The conversation between the two was cut short by the appearance of an old attendant. The attendant set down the tea cups one by one in front of the wax figure and the monk from the East, then left the drawing room.
Iljin sniffed the scent rising from the teacup and twitched his eyebrows.
“…Yaonan’s tea.”
“I don’t know how it is in the East, but here it’s an expensive item worth a gold coin for a sip.”
“It is the same that is precious in Hyeguk (Telguk).”
“is it?”
“yes.”
Iljin lifted the teacup, took a sip, and closed her eyes. By the time he opened his eyes again, his face was mildly relaxed.
Iljin wanted to enjoy the tea leisurely, but the Marquis was not very patient.
“I asked the king of Hyeguk for help, but I didn’t expect that a monk of the Jemu sect would come.”
“…The Empress Dowager came personally and asked for a hand.”
“Hmm is that so?”
A wax figure’s voice resounded in the spacious, splendid, but empty and desolate drawing room.
“By the way. No matter how much the queen asked for it herself, did you mean that the Jinjabae Hangryeol and the high priest, who was once the head of the law, traveled two miles away? Are you alone?”
“…Amitabha. You seem to have very good ears.”
Iljin smiled and put down the teacup.
“But being a high priest doesn’t make sense. I am just a dervish monk.”
The Marquis, looking at Iljin through the eyes of a wax figure, snorted inwardly.
Even as the Marquis of Asen, who was interested in the East, he had never seen a captain with nine rings. It was absurd that a monk with such a noble object was a mere dervish monk.
The Marquis, who was examining the monk sitting across from him with suspicious eyes, spoke out through the wax figure.
“…actually we’re in a pretty frustrating situation.”
“What if you say it’s a frustrating situation?”
“My father’s assassin. There are few clues.”
A sigh escaped the wax figure’s mouth.
“It’s already been five months since the tragic death, but all I’ve found is a black mask washed up on the nearby shore. I only have a feeling that the Assassin of the Martial Arts Association committed this, but there is no evidence.”
w O uh” —
“Right now, I think even assassins have turned to dust at my father’s hands. Did it sink while trying to escape by swimming in the sea?”
The Marquis clicked his tongue in regret.
“In my heart, I want to sway the army right away and trample on Yun-guk… but I can’t just start a war with my heart. Although the Martial Arts members often cling to the royal family of Yoonguk, they cannot be called servants.”
At the words of the Marquis, Iljin let out a sigh.
“I never expected that there would be someone in the Western Continent who knew the situation of the five countries so well. You are amazing.”
The pure admiration that did not feel any flattery made the marquis feel very good.
“Hmm, as the lord of the frontier, this is the basics. Anyway, you should stay in Mid-Isle and investigate the mischief-” “
…Your Excellency Marquis?”
“Wait a minute.”
The voice from the wax figure suddenly cut off.
For a while, Iljin assumed that something must have happened to the Marquis, and held up the teacup with a relaxed hand.
How long do you want to savor the scent of tea like that? The wax figure made a noise again.
“This is exquisite timing.”
“…
“I just got a letter.”
When Iljin put down the teacup, the Marquis continued.
“I heard that right after my father was killed, he gave a job to fairly reputable bounty hunters called ‘Black Wolves’.”
“What if you say work?”
“Since it seems to have been committed by an assassin of the Martial Arts Society, it was a request to investigate this mischief in detail. He asked me to catch an assassin if possible.”
A rustling sound came from the wax figure’s mouth. It seemed that the Marquis of Assen was fiddling with something like paper.
“Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations, but it seems to have paid off.”
As Iljin’s eyes sharpened, the Marquis continued with a slightly excited voice.
“I met a woman from the East who runs without warning, handles a dagger well, and moves lightly so that she can fly through the air.”
“It’s a phantom god.”
“The Phantom Menace?”
Iljin quietly narrowed his brows.
“…The Mugeomhoe takes the children who have been weeded out and puts them through harsh training.”
What else is ‘cultivation’?”
“It’s Yoonguk’s bad custom. It is to abandon a newborn child from a poor farming family to a mountain or forest. It mainly affects girls who are not very helpful in farming.”
“Hoo.”
“People in Yoonguk call it ‘returning to God’. That is why the Martial Arts Association calls the elite assassins they have raised as phantoms.”
“That sounds like an interesting story.”
The Marquis muttered something interesting, but soon lowered his voice.
“A story is a story, and I must avenge my father.”
“Where was that bounty hunter seeing the illusionist?”
“It’s a small baron in the far center. She and her party left before October.”
“Do you have a party?”
“exactly. That party is the problem…
The Marquis hesitated for a while before continuing.
“Among them, there is a knight whose reputation has risen recently. According to the fortune tellers, he is equal to or better than Sir Callio Ra, the best knight in the kingdom.”
“Who is that?”
“Phoenix. He is a knight appointed by Prince Ulkar, and he has about ten nicknames.”
“Phoenix.”
“In addition, there is a ‘red bear’ and a ‘fire witch’ next to him. With an assassin from the Martial Arts Association included, it must be a terribly dangerous party.”
The Marquis said in a tired tone, but Iljin did not respond. He put on the hat he had put on his lap and got up from his chair, leaning on the captain.
“Attach a guide, please.”
“Wait a little. Recently, the surrounding situation has been suspicious, so it takes time to gather troops.”
“I don’t need troops.” His eyes twinkled under the tattered hat.
“All you need is a guide.”
The wax figure was silent for a moment, then spoke with a hint of laughter.
“Not so. I will give you a strong word.”
“Amitabha Buddha. Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Iljin put his palms together deeply and turned around without regret.
The precious tea from a foreign country went cold in front of the remaining wax figures.
