As the boy Renzo spoke, Linde listened intently. At the same time, the Undead S&M was recording everything to transmit as key plot information.
"Before the Circle of Magic was established, the Mad Overlord emerged from the Primal Flame," Renzo said, cradling the flickering blood-red flame in his hands. "It was the god that the noble lord instructed me to serve."
He seemed to want to explain more clearly, but it was a difficult task.
"Who was this noble lord?" Linde asked, curious.
"I was very young at the time," Renzo said, retracting his hands. "I only remember Goliath, a bloodline noble... possessing great power."
"Before the shattering of the Circle of Magic, every noble with a family name possessed their own power," Linde said, not minding sharing this secret, which wasn't much of a secret at all. Only the Undead would likely be ignorant of it.
S&M was surprised, but also found it logical.
If nobles didn't possess superior strength and special abilities, how could they suppress the people beneath them?
If a brilliant genius wanted their offspring to be powerful, they would ultimately have to join the nobility through marriage, because only a family name and bloodline could pass on that inheritance.
And after the Circle of Magic shattered, new nobles had risen, hadn't they?
Every era had its own "nobility" that emerged to meet the needs of the time. The only difference was perhaps who was chosen, but for most people, it didn't really make a difference.
"Continue," Linde said, stroking the hilt of his broken sword, pondering whether to trust Renzo.
The other's attitude was humble enough. His etiquette was clumsy, but it was clear that he had received court training. Most importantly, Renzo controlled that flame.
If Renzo had intervened during the battle earlier, Linde would have still won, but the victory would have been much harder-fought.
Renzo kept his hands pressed against his thighs, remaining in a kneeling position. "We followed the noble lord's orders, traveling throughout the world. We joined the Mad Overlord's church. We sacrificed ourselves, we dedicated ourselves. After years of infiltration, only I remained. But I never once heard the Mad Overlord's whispers. The others just kept sacrificing, and sacrificing."
"And then?" Linde glanced at Renzo, his gaze lingering on the scar on his forehead. The burn scar made his already unattractive face even uglier.
He couldn't help but frown.
"The Circle of Magic shattered," Renzo said. "Then, I heard the Mad Overlord's voice."
The series of events sounded dangerous; at the very least, it must have been a riot.
The village area was indeed very remote. There were no roads, no merchants, no resources for survival. Further ahead was the mist. Linde probably wouldn't have ventured this way for decades, yet who would have imagined that a group of Mad Sages was hidden here?
"...I have been waiting for a noble from Goliath."
Linde couldn't know how much Renzo had endured or experienced. It must have been incredibly difficult.
"I can take you back to Goliath," Linde said. "Until then, if you have nowhere else to go, you can work for me."
He acknowledged that he was a noble but didn't nod and admit to scheming with the Mad Secrets.
Having a Grand Knight-level subordinate was tempting, but when he considered the risk of exposure, the benefits seemed less important.
What's more, with the Undead at his side, a boss-level subordinate didn't seem like much.
"I will serve you faithfully!" Renzo accepted this outcome. Being able to reconnect with a noble of Goliath again already filled him with gratitude. He had been too young at the time to remember anything else, just clumsily followed the etiquette he remembered to appear before a noble lord. Even Goliath itself, for him, was just an obsession of deceased elders.
Complete the noble's mission, return to Goliath.
As for which noble, the noble before him was just as good. As long as it was a noble, it was fine. As long as he had a goal, he could act.
Renzo would stay behind to guard the Mad Sage village, and he would handle the remaining Mad Sages.
The villagers, having lost their minds, wouldn't listen to orders just because of the Mad Flame. Probably even if the Mad Overlord stood here, it would be the same.
Renzo had no objections to this.
"Sir, aren't we taking him back with us?"
S&M hurried to catch up with Linde, to him, Renzo was clearly an important plot NPC, why not take him back?
"Food is paramount," Linde explained.
"I understand!"
What do you understand? What Linde meant was that someone who loves setting things on fire and is very likely mentally unstable shouldn't be brought home.
...
Star Dragon Outpost.
The Undead, carrying stones, lumbered forward.
Upon reaching the designated area...
"Thump!" The huge rock crashed onto the ground.
A small mountain had already piled up in front.
More and more Undead were arriving to build the house, and construction had entered the high-speed era.
A cantilever crane, made from two upright dead trees, stood next to the stone house being built, supported by three other logs.
Pulley, rope.
Below, the Undead were pulling.
The stone transport, which usually required countless slaves toiling to their deaths, had become remarkably easy.
A large grapple could precisely grip each stone, and with the wooden cantilever crane, transport them to the second story.
"I reckon, after we finish building the houses here, I can go straight back and get a job on a construction site!"
"Hey, hold your horses on filling in the stones! We still need to pour cement!"
A group of people bustled about.
The construction speed far exceeded the expectations of the NPCs at Star Dragon Outpost. Before this, who would have thought that several houses could be built in a single day?
Not only was it fast, but the construction was also aesthetically pleasing.
They'd probably top it off before the afternoon was out.
"No topping off yet! You have to wait for the first floor's cement to dry completely before you top it off."
"This is a magical world! What are you talking about physics for?"
"Holy crap! Who the heck just walked into the cement barefoot? There are two footprints and a face left behind! You think this is the Hollywood Walk of Fame?"
It was a noisy scene.
A rare moment of leisure.
Papermaking, house building, equipment repair, patrolling, even food processing and cooking – everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
The Undead were trying to rapidly accelerate the tech tree using their own methods, and the progress seemed promising.
The NPCs at Star Dragon Outpost suddenly realized they didn't seem to need to do anything anymore.
"Is this what the Lord meant before?" Old Pete said, guarding his ladle. He didn't need the Undead to help him cook; food was of the utmost importance.
"Um, Old Pete, sir," a cute-looking girl walked over. "Is there anything I can help with?"
Old Pete recognized her. Her name was something like "Romantic Rice Bucket". The Lord had taken her out for food last time.
But he thought this girl was dangerous. She was always swallowing when she spoke, and her gaze never left his soup pot.
"Not at the moment!" Old Pete said, shaking his head. Then he added, "Really, there's nothing!"
She wasn't the first Undead to come asking for a task. These people seemed to have endless energy, eager to work, and never complained.
That morning, there had even been a frenzy of snatching for work. Not only did they not want payment, but they were also willing to pay to work. If the Lord hadn't intervened, who knows how things would have turned out.
Romantic Rice Bucket: "Can I help you chop firewood?"
Old Pete pointed towards the gate: "Those Undead have already chopped enough firewood to last until summer. I have to build a small shed to store it all, so it doesn't get soaked when it rains."
Romantic Rice Bucket's eyes lit up: "Then I'll help you build the shed!"
Old Pete pointed again: "They've already built a shed big enough to store firewood for next autumn."
Romantic Rice Bucket: "Then I'll help you chop firewood to have enough for the autumn after that!"
Old Pete: "..."
Seeing that wasn't working, Romantic Rice Bucket looked at the bubbling soup pot: "How about I help you taste the flavor?"
"You really want to find something to do?"
"Yes, yes!" Romantic Rice Bucket nodded vigorously.
"Here's a batch of Fire Tongue Grass. I want you to grind it into powder within two days." Old Pete remembered the seasoning Linde had bought back last time. But he had been too busy, and Linde had forgotten about it after handing it over.
Old Pete was afraid of being spiced to death, and with too much to do already, he had never gotten around to it.
"Fire Tongue Grass? What's it for?"
"Ground into powder, it can be used as seasoning," Old Pete said. "But be careful, don't come into contact with too much, or you'll be spiced to death."
"Spiced to death? Figuratively?" Romantic Rice Bucket looked at the Fire Tongue Grass, feeling a craving coming on.
"It's actually death."
When Linde returned to Star Dragon Outpost, it was already evening, and torches were lit.
Looking at the several buildings that had sprung up in a single day, Linde felt like he had walked into the wrong place.
"Ah! Another one spiced to death!"
Linde was confused: "What's going on?"
"It seems to be something over by Old Pete's place," the gate guard said. "A group of Undead suddenly wanted to help Old Pete grind Fire Tongue Grass powder, and they wouldn't listen to reason. Three have already been spiced to death."
Linde: "..."
They really never disappoint, do they?
He walked towards where the Undead were gathered, and overheard them loudly conspiring.
"Fire Tongue Grass powder is so useful! I swear, it's a ranged attack weapon!"
"Where can we buy it? The Lord will definitely sell it, right?"
Faced with the Undead all turning to look at him, Linde cleared his throat.
This is for eating, not... Wait a second!
At this stage, although there were Undead who loved farming, they only made up a measly 1/60 of the total population. So, stirring up the Undead's interest in farming was also important.
"The yield of Fire Tongue Grass is too low," Linde said. "But I can sell Fire Tongue Grass seeds... So, Undead..."
"Do you need them?"