"Derick, are you sure you have the authority for this?"
"What are you saying? Are you accusing me of overstepping my authority now?"
"No, but it seems like this should be handed directly to the regional head. Besides, on the way here, I saw some suspicious guys."
"Suspicious guys?"
"One of Count Kazel's illegitimate sons. He's the guy who's been leading a mercenary band and looting the gateway village. And there are Kurt cultists among his mercenaries."
"So, you're saying you came here to hide from those guys because you're scared?"
"It's not that, but eventually, they'll attack us."
"Ha, so what if they do? Even though I'm all messed up after losing to your little sister, I'm a former herald. And the comrades you see here are more than capable of dealing with some random mercenaries."
"Sure, but wouldn't it be a bad look if rumors spread that the Korasar Peddlers' Guild is too good at fighting?"
Azadin shrugged his shoulders.
"That's not the point. We can protect the copy of the Book of the Divine King just fine, so hand it over now! If you don't want to waste this rare chance of obtaining one page."
"No, I don't feel like handing it over just yet. I'll discuss it with the regional head later."
"You bastard… Are you trying to provoke me? You don't have the ability to protect that Book of the Divine King! For the past three months, you haven't done a single thing worthy of a herald, you've just been fooling around!"
Derick was enraged at Azadin.
"That's not true. I've been rescuing people here and there."
"You fool! Who asked you to do that? You should be crushing rival guilds and assassinating those who oppose us! Set fire to their warehouses to control the prices of the goods we distribute!"
"...."
It was clear that Derick and Azadin had vastly different ideas of what being a herald meant.
"With this much of a difference in opinion, I don't even know where to begin. Forget it. In any case, I won't hand over the page of the Book of the Divine King to you."
"You insolent fool. Aren't you two years my junior? How dare you defy a senior's orders?"
Derick, who had already been forced into early retirement after losing to Arael, could never see Azadin—Arael's kin—in a good light.
And now, with Azadin being this annoying on top of everything….
But just as their argument heated up and the atmosphere turned hostile, a sudden commotion erupted outside.
***
The post village was governed by Sir Jeran, a knight receiving a salary from Count Salasma.
Originally the child of a nearby baronial family, he was now 25 years old—an age of prime vigor. However, his father showed no signs of dying anytime soon, and his father's second wife had given birth to a child who was now 15 years old, leaving Jeran increasingly anxious.
Although he was still the official heir, he worried that his father, swayed by the pillow talk of his second wife, might send him off to join the king's church and pass on the estate to his younger sibling.
To ease these worries, all he could do was hoard wealth, hoard more, and then hoard even more wealth.
Thus, as he guarded the gateway of the post village, he accepted bribes from passing merchants and travelers. If they bribed him, he would discreetly waive or reduce customs duties and simplify the passage procedures.
Then, just as the sun was setting, a young knight leading a group of mercenaries entered the village.
It was Tarkiev, one of Count Kazel's illegitimate sons, along with his mercenary band.
"What's this? An armed force? Too many of you. Since it's sunset, why don't you stay at the inn outside or camp in the open tonight, and come back tomorrow?"
Jeran spoke firmly. He wasn't wrong—this was standard procedure.
But most travelers, when faced with this kind of treatment, would naturally offer a bribe. As expected, Tarkiev discreetly slipped a bribe to Sir Jeran.
"Come now, please accept this."
"Hmph. Sir Tarkiev, this is difficult. You're a knight, too."
Not to mention, he was the illegitimate son of Jeran's current employer, the count.
"If we're not careful, both of us could end up being sent off to the king's church, wouldn't you agree? We're in the same boat, so please accept it."
"Well, in that case."
Jeran accepted the bribe and allowed Tarkiev's group to enter through the gate. But the moment they entered—
Slash!
Suddenly, blood sprayed across the road.
"Huh?"
Jeran looked on in confusion as he saw the guards stationed by the gate collapse, spraying blood everywhere.
Before his eyes stood a mercenary captain wielding dual swords.
Shockingly, the captain had taken down a guard with each swing of his swords.
"Wha—?"
A stunned Jeran fumbled to draw his sword, but the mercenary captain was already rushing at him, slamming Jeran's helmet with his blade.
Thunk!
The impact on his helmet made his vision flash. As the dull pain and numbness spread through his body, Jeran, being a trained knight, gripped the guard of his longsword at his waist and used the pommel to strike the mercenary captain.
The mercenary captain staggered back and aimed his blade at Jeran's chin.
"Damn you!"
Jeran managed to dodge the attack and drew his sword, but by then, the mercenaries had already swarmed inside and were attacking the guards.
On top of that—
Thud!
Tarkiev swung his longsword and struck Jeran behind the knee, targeting the vulnerable area where the armor bent. Jeran felt a sharp pain shoot through his leg.
'My ligaments….'
The mercenary captain thrust his dual swords through the gap in Jeran's helmet, killing him instantly.
"Hey! This is way too extreme!"
Tarkiev was horrified. He had only intended to capture Jeran, not kill him. But while he was incapacitating Jeran, the mercenary captain had taken it upon himself to kill the knight.
This was a large village. To openly attack the gate and kill its knight guardian like this? Were they insane?
If news of this ruthless act spread, they would become an enemy to everyone, facing attacks from all sides. This wasn't a noble land dispute or an honorable duel—this was outright murder.
"Well done, young master. Your skills are impressive."
"Are you out of your mind? This way, I'll be branded a traitor too!"
"Don't worry. This is the only way to ensure we gain enough loot. I guarantee we'll obtain a massive fortune."
The mercenary captain gave a sly grin.
Nearby, they could see a campsite where caravans were stationed.
"Merchants, huh? We could prioritize raiding them…."
What he truly wanted was control over the gate. Since he had lost the magical wand that could locate the Book of the Divine King, he needed to fully secure this gate first.
"Let's take over the post station and gain control. No need to raid the merchants yet and risk a battle with their guards. Controlling the village is more important."
"We don't have enough manpower! We only took one gate by surprise, but there are three gates!"
"Don't worry. We have more than enough forces."
The mercenary captain spread his hands, revealing a small black spot wriggling on his palm.
"What's that?"
"A spider."
Tiny spiders wriggled and clustered together on his palm. He blew gently, sending them crawling toward his men.
"Huh?"
"Eek!"
"Stay away from me!"
The mercenaries panicked and tried to dodge, but the spiders the mercenary captain had released danced in the air and landed on their bodies.
"What?"
"Th-this thread is connected?"
At that moment, the mercenaries realized that the threads were coming from their own bodies.
But that wasn't all.
"Huh?"
"When?"
They noticed tiny spiders, the size of millet grains, crawling out from under their armpits, groins, and other areas of their bodies.
These weren't the spiders that the mercenary captain had just released. There were far more of them, and they had already been inside their bodies.
"You can't get rid of them. They've been living off your blood and flesh for a long time."
"Ugh."
"Ahh!?"
"Save me!"
The mercenaries frantically tried to shake off the spiders emerging from their bodies, but the spiders kept coming out from their body hair.
They hadn't even realized that the spiders, which had been buried under their skin, were now surfacing.
When the spiders released by the mercenary captain touched the cluster of spiders, the entire mass began to emit a faint green glow, as if the captain's spiders had ignited a spark.
The spiders crawling on the mercenaries' bodies all glowed green before burrowing back into their bodies.
"Ah!?"
"It doesn't hurt?"
"I told you. They've been feeding on your blood and flesh for a long time. Those spiders are now a part of you. And now, with this…."
The mercenary captain spoke as he kicked the corpse of a guard lying on the ground.
Kicking a corpse off the ground and lifting it into the air was something no ordinary human could do—especially a guard wearing armor, which alone would be heavy.
Yet, he easily kicked the corpse as if it were a small leather ball, sending it flying to head height.
With a flash of his dual swords, the corpse was sliced into pieces.
It was a display of monstrous strength.
"Now, you can do this too."
"Huh…."
"I feel so much power."
The mercenaries were astonished to feel a surge of incredible strength in their own bodies.
"See?"
"Yes."
"But…"
"Are you planning to resist? That's fine by me."
When the mercenary captain whistled, all the mercenaries suddenly writhed in agony as an intense pain surged through their bodies.
"Ahh!?"
"It hurts!"
"Save us!"
"Now you understand?"
The mercenary captain stopped whistling, and the pain in their bodies vanished as if it had never been there.
"Your lives are in my hands. Now, go and take control of the post station. Split into groups and secure the gates…."
The mercenary captain divided the mercenaries, instructing them to attack the gates and the post station.
Tarkiev clicked his tongue as he watched.
"So, you're a Kurt cultist after all."
"Ah, how clever of you to realize that now."
"Ugh."
"Let's cooperate, shall we? You don't want to be dragged off to the king's church, right? Let's make a decent profit, get some revenge on that count who abandoned you, and I'll secure a copy of the Book of the Divine King. It's a win-win situation, don't you think? After all…."
The mercenary captain whistled again, and Tarkiev doubled over as the pain returned to his stomach.
"Ahh!"
"It's not like you have a choice. Not all members of the Kurt Divine Clan are unreasonable. In fact, they're more flexible than the king's church."
"You bastard!"
Tarkiev seethed with rage, but with the spiders now burrowed inside him, he had no other options.
***
"Good grief. It's chaos."
Azadin climbed a ladder onto the top of a wagon and surveyed the surroundings.
"The eastern gate has fallen. It's those bastards."
Just as Azadin had predicted, the mercenary band, led by Kurt cultists, had truly begun their assault on the post village.