Chapter. 15. Can someone who has seen the end of the world plant an apple tree? (16)
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[It was too much.]
“Saladin. It’s a grand name for a slave. Isn’t that so, Jachin?”
[Are you listening? Even if it was too much, it was too much? I know I need to show some skills. But this… Is it strange to think it’s excessive?]
“Maybe not. It is said that this friend’s previous owner, a wizard, had been preparing to go to the desert for quite some time, so wouldn’t it be more reasonable to say that he raised this friend from the beginning with the intention of offering him to the guardian of the desert? If you look at it that way, the name Saladin is also very strategic. “It is a name that has been given to those who protect the ancient royal family from generation to generation.”
“indeed. “The wizard used his brain well.”
“Those boorish and self-indulgent people have been known since ancient times to be good at being mean-spirited.”
[If you knew how to use a weapon, please tell me. But where did you learn it? I’ve been researching all of your movements out of personal interest, but there was no information that you were good at handling an axe? He’s a man with a lot of secrets… I don’t hate him. Would you say the digging taste is special?]
‘Bitter. Just say one thing, just one thing. ‘I don’t even know what’s being said or who’s talking about it.’
The professor fiddled with the back of his newly-received leather belt, torn between rakshashas and shamans who spoke to him through magic on one side and in person on the other.
A type of belt worn over the shoulder used to hang something like a spear or crossbow on the back. The newly received ax was hanging on a hook on the back, and the more I scratched the side of the ax, which was scratched and distorted by fire marks, with my fingertips, it gave me a strange sense of satisfaction.
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.
.
.
To be honest, he didn’t intend to make his debut as a slave in such a flashy way.
‘I didn’t know it would end up like this. It’s been a while since I’ve been swinging… so I was a little too excited.’
During World 2, his method of using an ax was the same as that of a mercenary. No matter what you do, you can’t create an aura, and as the world progresses, the opponent gets stronger, so the only way to increase the power accordingly is to put your weight on the mass of the ax and hit it brutally.
Royal knights wearing full plate mail coated with all kinds of physical force reduction enchantments, and the Death Knights of the undead monarch who rose from their corpses and inherited the equipment intact. As a professor without an auror, the only way to deal with them was to hit them with a sneak attack after putting all his power into ignorance, and by the end of the world, it became difficult to tell whether he was a warrior or an assassin.
Anyway, because of the situation, I was used to a strange ax technique that involved running away when a single strike failed, rather than a proper ax technique that used the center of gravity and rotational force.
I swung it with the same feeling I had back then, using my current strength.
It’s a shame that I realized something was wrong right before the collision and barely covered it with aura, otherwise the ax would have split like the black scorpion’s head.
Thanks to this, the Blood Armor, which permeates the body and is in charge of mitigating shock, once again rebelled against the Aurors and was destroyed. With the sound of a ripe watermelon splitting, both of the professor’s arms exploded just below the elbows, just as he was holding the ax. The professor, who hastily picked up his arms and put them back together so that no one would see, pretended like nothing had happened and finished the third test –
this is how he received praise from the shamans. He received it and was on his way to the ceremony room.
“But Yachin. “I have a question…”
“Normally, I would have dismissed questions from you, a low-ranking person, but since I brought a warrior like this, I’ll give you a few words. Something?”
“As you know, isn’t this warrior slave an item that the wizard has already finished processing? The wizard said he would hand over authority directly to Kauladi, but there is no reason to implement the Great Law…” “
Tsk, tsk. That’s a question not worth answering. I said a few words earlier, but if it’s such a stupid question, let’s just say this is the end of it. Of course, I have to engrave the magic inscription. I can’t believe you, a sorcerer who deals with slaves, would say something like that. “Isn’t that strange?”
Eolaki-Rakshasha bows her head in response to the senior shaman’s questions. Yagin, who was looking down at the back of his head, responded by tapping his head with his finger.
“The slave warriors are like limbs to the one who will become our sun, representing his will. It’s unpleasant to process such a precious resource with shallow magic, but present it to Lord Kauladi without a single trace of magic? It is an absolute insult to our King, an insult to the beautiful and noble magic, and an insult to me, the person closest to him who dare not look up. Judging by its condition, it must be a very heavily used slave. A guy like that can stand by Kauladi’s side without even a trace of my brand. “It won’t happen if the desert sand dries up.”
‘In the end, you are saying that you will write your name on the slave that your subordinate will bring and give it to you.’
The rest is bullshit that you don’t need to listen to. The first part is that they cannot be trusted because they are ultimately slaves processed by outsiders, so they do it one more time in their own way.
It was an expected process. It was one of the parts that made me the most anxious while refining the plan with Rakshasha in advance.
Even though it may take three or four days, in the end, warriors who are capable of slaying that huge black scorpion alone will claim to be the hands and feet of Kauladi with just one stroke of this magic imprint. Even though I’m confident in my mental ability, I don’t know how things will turn out for people, so why would I blindly entrust my mind to these guys? Even though I was already a data soul player left in my body, I was brainwashed and trained to become corrupted here, so even when I went outside later, I said, ‘Long live Kauladi! badlands! I will dedicate a new desert to Kauladi!’ What would you do if you went on a rampage with a Type 3 mutant body?
When I voiced my concerns, the Rakshasa smiled and comforted me.
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‘Are you okay? I’m not well-versed in brainwashing and imprinting, but I do know at least how it works, right? Unlike magic, witchcraft is done in a way that is a little more familiar to you and easier to recover from, right?
‘Then I’m a little relieved. Specifically, how familiar is it?’
‘Hmm~ Open the skull and cast the [Assassin’s Gaze] spell over the entire brain to find the least used memory area – then cut it open and extract it. Add new memories to overwrite the existing memories and marinate them in drugs with [Red Gill Bugs]. They put it together and sew it up?’
‘….relief?’
‘It’s a powerful spell that involves surgical procedures that make it impossible to perform with a normal spell… but wouldn’t it be okay for you? I remember you in Tobrunn as someone who could barely do anything, just fiddling with his hair…?’
‘I have to get out of here. This is crazy!’
‘Hehehe. Don’t worry too much? I will watch from the side and take full care of you, right? Mmm~ Your hidden flesh. Dana, no matter how much that woman flies and crawls, you’ve never seen her private parts like this, right?’
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Thanks to this, the vague feeling of anxiety turned into a fear that made me shudder.
‘Ugh! Of course, Rakshasha is definitely not an ordinary person. He explains the plan with eyes full of anticipation, saying that the human brain is the secret inside…’
However, as the Rakshasha explained, there was no doubt that this method of relying on surgical procedures was advantageous to me.
There was a time when a spirit arrow from Idrasil hit me directly on the head at the blue line. In the experience of becoming human minced meat, my head didn’t escape all that. Other than that, I’ve had quite a bit of damage to my head, but seeing as it’s been fine so far, I don’t think surgery would be a big problem.
And Rakshasha may have said this simply because of my regenerative ability, but there is also Hyde in my head who has a hobby of organizing thoughts and memories and hanging them here and there. He will take care of the memories that the shamans illegally downloaded before they even affect me. In the end, there isn’t much risk.
But that’s it.
Squeak, crack.
Druk Druk Druk Druk!
“hmm? Yachin. This slave warrior named Saladin has weak bones, isn’t he? “Your skull is so weak that the saw almost went inside?”
“Nuaat. Shut up. If spit gets into your head, it’s a pain to deal with. “Where… are there any leftover parts?”
“What’s strange about this is that there’s almost nothing left uncharacteristic of a warrior. Where… what about here?”
Snip, snip, snip!
“Hmm… It’s a small amount, but you can do it a little delicately. Nuat, you take care of the open side of the head. “I will do the manipulation and bring it back.”
“yep. Anyway, the more I look at this guy, the more interesting he becomes. I’ve seen the brains of many warriors, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. Hmm… let’s see. Here then-”
He chuckled. Guluk-kul-kuk-kul-
‘Ugh! Argh! Ahh! Ahh! ‘Aaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!’
Put aside all the nonsense about no pain due to anesthesia or no problems with recovery. They give me the command to ‘stay still’ and make me breathe strange anesthetic smoke, and then they saw my head in front of me, open the cap, and rub the contents in front of me while my eyes were still open. It’s so scary!
Because freshness is important, the procedure took less than 5 minutes, but the professor cried out for his mother, whom he had buried deep in his heart, dozens of times.
I truly realized that fear can come separately from a sense of crisis.
Around the time I felt like my head was being sutured with something like thread.
Unlike the professor, who was completely exhausted, Hyde was talking to him in a lively voice as if nothing had happened.
[Their skills are really good, aren’t they? I thought it would be an uproar like when I got hit with an arrow and got a hole in my head, so I took down all my memories and organized them, but I barely even shook. You must be an expert. You’re really good at it.]
‘Ugh… you crazy idiot… How can I express this at the level of – this house is good at it -…’
[In the first place, our bodies aren’t much affected by the external form, right? Like having a piece of your brain cut off or having your fingers cut off, that’s it. Let’s see…. Now this. Roughly from here to here. These are the memories that were crammed in from over there.]
The amount of memories that Hyde gave me was greater than I thought, and it wasn’t the kind of brainwashing I had imagined. Could it be something… a memory worth looking at?
To summarize –
a desert warrior born hundreds of years ago. At the dying king’s request, he fled with his last descendant in his arms and died. Memories go through repeated reincarnations, wandering as warriors and shamans in search of traces of their descendants, and finally, after hundreds of years, the lord’s successor is our great Kauladi~ After hundreds of years of wandering, he gave up his life for a lowly soldier. It was a story about finding the king’s successor again and protecting it this time.
It’s a cliché, but seeing it as such a vivid memory, there are parts of it that really tug at my heartstrings.
[As I see, this memory continues to squirm and eat other memories, filling in the empty parts in between. For example, the part that was simply expressed as a transcription has suddenly been changed to the name of the subject of the procedure. The memories of the slave warrior’s real son and wife are inserted into the part that is only described as family, connecting it with the original memories.] ‘
Certainly… If that’s the case, then I understand what the shaman named Eolaki said. Since the original memories are intact in the inserted memories, it would seem that the warriors were not subject to any restrictions other than the oath of loyalty.’
Even when his family questions his sudden loyalty, he smiles bitterly and says, ‘It’s because of a very old promise that you don’t know about.’ Saying these words, I will return to my master with mesmerizing eyes.
A level that is natural and easily accepted by those who do not know the process.
….But in the end, brainwashing does not change, and processing the essence of existence and manipulating it to one’s will also does not change. Considering the consequences that would follow… I couldn’t understand the reason for using this method.
‘No matter how natural it is, if you just process people like this, won’t the Aurors just disperse? It’s like overwriting existence from the essence of existence. Then there’s no point in collecting great warriors, right?’
Of course, after hearing various stories, it is said that desert warriors use strange methods other than Aurors, and they choose a weapon that will remain with them for the rest of their lives, pouring all of their soul into it, and fighting while sharing the weapon and each other.
Even so, unless combat is an ignorant process that only uses the body, it is bound to be affected by changes in the brain. The instinctive process of reading an opponent’s movements and finding a momentary gap are all engraved in the body and mind through experience. People cannot be replaced one by one like a machine. Especially if it’s the brain.
[Isn’t it possible to take such losses into account for the sake of advanced power that never betrays?]
‘Taking it into account is not the problem. I’m going in at a loss like this, but the opponent is using traditional, loyal warriors? This means that the gap in combat power widens from the beginning, but if you come out of the desert where battles are constantly taking place and an opponent who is equal to or slightly inferior to you comes to fill the gap, then of course this method of losing money will naturally disappear. Assassination is an unpredictable risk, while defeat in battle leads to certain death.’
In the end, it means that the way the local tribes near Kauladina preferred these slave warriors was very abnormal.
‘There’s something. Making the abnormal into normal. Even considering the loss of combat power, there is an advantage to using the slave class.’
And we will probably find out when the truth is presented to Kauladi and we face other slave warriors.
Although it was difficult, I experienced it firsthand as an insider, and was bombarded with information that I would not have known even if I had spent dozens of days fooling around on the outside. Sam, who was ignorant of the cultural and environmental situation in the desert, was the only way to get to the center of the incident.
Squeak! Squeak!
“Come Nuark, pull the scalp tighter. As I am a slave who will present the truth to Kauladi, I must hide the surgical scars as much as possible. Healing ointment… I don’t think you need it, do you? Was [Gecko’s Grudge] a warrior suited to his constitution more than I thought?”
“How about engraving some more marks on your body?”
“Hmm… if Kauladi decides on a purpose, we will add more. The more I look at it, the more it looks like a good warrior slave… It’s big so there’s a lot of room for the engraving. “If you do well, you can get up to seventeen if you select fifteen that have good compatibility.”
“Seventeen… Even the real Saladin during his kingdom couldn’t have engraved that many engravings!”
“It’s as if good luck rolled in naturally as I was about to embark on a great mission. There is no doubt that the desert chose the great Kauladhi as its owner. That power, that mysterious power…..”
‘….mysterious power?’
The professor, who had been fascinated by the conversation between the shamans, was able to return to the reality he had temporarily forgotten through his thoughts.
The shamans had his skull tightly woven with wire and applied ointment over it to cover his skin, praising it for its extraordinary regenerative power.
strength. It’s power….
‘There are always wars between local gods in the desert, but this war is different from previous wars as the Rakshasha and the Moon Shadow are considered a threat to the safety of the [Heart of the Desert] they serve. I guess. Moonshadow is a large-scale information group. ‘Based on a clear analysis, we believe that this war of conquest will end in defeat for Kauladi, and we plan to entrust ourselves to another Toho.’
As soon as one doubt began to take root, other doubts began to grow. When I think about it, I notice one more strange thing.
‘atmosphere. The atmosphere is a bit… I can’t explain it?’
The city we are in. ‘Third Step’ Oasis atmosphere. The village had a rather shabby atmosphere due to the conscription and the preparation of war materials, but the shadow of war did not seem that big as we entered. According to the analysis of Moon Shadow, who has become an expert in calculating victory and defeat by moving around from faction to faction like a bat, Kauladi is planning an unreasonable war, and there must be someone who is expressing anxiety about it somehow.
Don’t the shamans and warriors look quite peaceful?
There is a bit of tension, but not enough to warrant taking risks. If you think of it as a battlefield, what would a tank unit look like right before it tramples a group of deserters?
‘…Hyde. ‘Would you like to show me all the things I found strange?’
[I already left it out separately. Now here.]
Hyde rummaged around on the sofa he was rolling on and threw out a few blurry chunks of memory.
– According to Moon Shadow’s analysis, Kauladi’s war of conquest is considered unreasonable. So the Moon Shadow wanted to move their lord to receive the protection of another Toho, but contrary to the Moon Shadow’s analysis, the people here believed that victory was natural. With a story about Kauladi’s ‘power’.
– The structure of the slave warriors that eats away at the loss of combat power. To use such great power collected from all over the desert in such a crude way. In a competitive structure, the loss model, which should have been abandoned long ago, has become the mainstay. Strange.
– The legend of the sun that fell into the desert and the sunken moon. If the sun and moon fall, it means that the world has already been destroyed through Armageddon, and it will not end up as a boiling desert. An environmental taboo born with the legend of an ancient god.
– The mute is strange. These guys just give off a smell and show no traces of activity or any special entities. Even though I gave him a lot of time, he didn’t show any traces anywhere in the three kingdoms of Empire Roderick, so the only place I could do anything was the desert. The moon shadows scattered throughout the desert to monitor the situation did not detect any particular trends. What are they doing?
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The power of Kauladi. Slave Warriors. Legend. Mute. The Great Desert… It’s suspicious. It’s very suspicious…
The clues scattered randomly are slowly revealing an outline, but it feels like something big is missing and can’t be put together.
Kauladi gained strength and became convinced that he was destined to become the king of the desert, so he waged a war to become king.
Mute’s forces. Their remaining strength was not revealed either in the Empire or on the Roderick Front. strength.
A strange taboo that spreads throughout the Great Desert. A power inherited from the traces of the ancient gods.
strength. Connection to power.
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“Saladin Saladin!”
The professor’s consciousness, which had been wandering between the puzzles in his thoughts as if he could not find anything, was pulled back to reality by the shaman’s single word.
“this. Was there some mistake in Dafa? Saladin looks a bit dazed.”
“Yaqin, I have not given the order to move yet.”
“hmm? Oh no. Saladin. You can move now. Now that we are ready, let’s go see Kauladi, the one who will be your true master.”
‘…I thought something would come out if I guessed a little more. ‘I’ll have to think about it when I have time.’
The professor clicked his tongue in disappointment and got up from the operating table following the shaman’s orders. I couldn’t figure out exactly what the center of the heterogeneous things was, but I did confirm that they were all connected.
Now, in a situation as hazy as a desert sandstorm, the professor found some comfort in going to meet Kauladi, a person who could be considered a reference point.
“Eolaki, you too have had a hard time. Since the slave did not resist until the end of the procedure, the slave’s innocence has been proven, and your duty as a guarantor has ended. “Now you can go back to your tent and rest.”
Yagin washes his hands in a bowl of water brought by another nearby slave and gives a command to the disguised Rakshasa.
The Rakshasha, who had been paying close attention to his words, cautiously stepped forward.
“…Yakin. As you know, since he is not an ordinary warrior slave, even a small person can be given the honor of seeing Lord Kauladi’s face-”
-Taaaaaaah!
“…I can’t believe you want so much compensation for just one slave. I guess I treated you too comfortably. I’ll give you just one look at the ball. “If you are a slave shaman, just focus on your role as a slave shaman: bringing in slaves.”
…nod.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be a line that couldn’t be crossed.
The way he lowered his head in a hurry made it seem like there was a problem with the skin on his face that had just been beaten.
[professor. I think that’s it for me. If I tried to follow you further, would I arouse their suspicion?]
….Tick, tsk, tsk.
I roughly expressed my agreement by waving my finger at the Rakshasha’s voice.
At least up to this point, everything went smoothly as planned. In the future, if all goes according to plan, if Wanghyeol escapes safely and receives support from the Earth Wizards of the desert along with the favor of Toho, the second-in-command of the desert – the primary goal in the desert will be achieved.
The primary goal is anyway.
‘….if. I don’t even want to think about it. If the situation in the desert is going to the worst scenario I could think of.’
Situations as disparate as thorns in one’s mouth, and the keyword ‘strength’ that connected them together.
The strange thing that occurred in the desert is Mute. If Kauladi gained control of the strange power of the desert through the Mute, and that was the source of confidence for Kauladi and his minions…
‘It means that Mute and the greatest power in the desert may have joined hands.’
Since he’s a guy who even engages in political manipulation, we can’t rule out the possibility of him thinking about forming an alliance with humans.
…I feel sorry for Rakshasha. If such circumstances were discovered when actually confronting Kauladi, the siblings called the ‘Heart of the Desert’ royal blood, who were subject to protection, could have been pushed down from the priority list.
‘…It could set a terrible precedent. If the two cooperated, Kauladi should be killed here so that this incident does not remain at least a success story.’
Head-on collision in a hostage situation. It is the most dangerous action that disregards the lives of hostages.
The professor followed behind the shamans and carefully stroked the heavy ax strapped to his back.
When it comes to sneak attacks, an ax with a longer reach is more advantageous than a fist.
Because it was something I was used to using in that way.
“….It’s here. Slave Saladin. “When you see him, place your limbs on the floor and bow your head.”
The shaman’s command was given at the end of the cool sandstone corridor. As the professor nodded, feeling the weight of the axe, the slaves with their mouths sewn shut pulled open the large, ornate door.
“O our Lord Kaulaadi, lord of all the sands of the desert, who will drive out the false sun and false moon and restore the light of the past! Receive the worship of a lowly servant!!!”
In a hall where the walls and floor were made of sandstone, but overhead was made of flowing sand. Facing their king, the shamans immediately threw themselves on the ground and showed all their reverence.
“Lift up your head, my servant. And you are my warrior who will become my new strength.”
Contrary to my imagination, which brought to mind the image of a tyrant as he looked like the crew of a desert ship, Toho controls the twelve steps of a giant. Kauladi, who does not hesitate to call himself the king of the desert….
Clap –
“In a desert where there is not even a single path. I praise your fate for finding your master without wandering. Saladin.”
Except for the large scar that covered nearly half of his face, he was a languid, noble-looking young man whose white clothes and golden jewelry matched his body very well.
Even if you look at it objectively, it is a beautiful face that is strangely eye-catching.
‘Fucking expert!’
The moment the professor saw that, he frowned without realizing it.
Three types of people in GG that you should always be wary of.
A person sitting alone in a dangerous area.
An old man in shabby clothes.
Pretty, handsome, everything.
In this place where faith becomes reality, the strong gradually show off their ‘heroic’ appearance by spreading word of mouth according to their strength and achievements.
If you can even feel the halo from quite far away…
‘…I guess I should think about the possibility that my head won’t be split open even if I get hit by this.’
I didn’t think it was a very good start.
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