There were not many people left in the village; many had already died. There were rarely people on the streets of the town. There were many crop fields surrounding the village, but all of them had turned red.
Some young people seemed to be burying the dead ones, some were putting the dead bodies on fire in the hope that the infection would not spread any further. Some people were leaving the village out of desperation.
Thorne tried to find the source of the problem himself, but he could not. The only thing that the villagers knew was that red bees were most likely the source of the problem. But Axel knew that it wasn't the case. The demonic plant affected everything in a certain way by releasing special substances into the ground. It was the opposite of what people thought to be true; it was the bees that turned reddish after eating those crops that absorbed the nutrients released by the demonic plant.
Thorne also stated that, after a specific range, the crops did not seem to be affected. This piece of information was in line with what he knew. After discussing the problem for a while and eating the porridge, they went to sleep.
The next day, Axel went inside the village to see everything with his own eyes.
Countless fields of crops appeared in his vision. Thorne and Garrik were accompanying him.
Slowly, he went deeper into the habitat areas. He could hear children crying and men crying. Women crying. Teenagers crying while holding dead bodies. His expression could not help but change.
As if a halo of constant death covered the entire area. He could not help but feel bad for them.
They were all crying and cursing; some were begging anyone to come and help.
A little girl came up to him. She said to him in an angry voice,
"You're an outsider, aren't you?"
Axel did not respond; his figure was cloaked, and he continued to listen to what she had to say.
"You outsiders come and simply watch as if you are watching a rehearsal. If you don't want to help us, then why come? Go away and let us rot here, since none of you will help."
Her voice became louder and louder, and soon everyone's attention fell on the trio. The more she spoke, the more the people resonated with her voice; they slowly started to give voice to their own complaints. A part of him wanted to get angry. If the guards only released a bit of their pressure, everyone's mouths would stop. Some of them were so weak that they might even die from that slight show of power.
The little girl continued, "Just because we were not born rich, does that mean our lives are meaningless, does that mean those who died, were those who have died, making their lives meaningless?"
"You lofty nobles only search for benefits even amid our boundless misery," stated one of the old women who seemed to be on the verge of death. Her voice was low and weak, yet those words reached his ears as if they were whispered into his ears.
"One day, there will be one of us; someone will one day rise from one of us. Who shall bring light to the world and destroy all the pests that spread darkness and leech from it." The little girl said as she left.
Everyone else continued to curse the trio; his two guards also wore unsightly expressions. It wasn't hard for him to understand the reason behind it. They were also commoners who worked their way out of poverty and became first-phase seekers. Something that spoke volumes about their determination in a society where only noble heritage makes one a true ruler, and commoners with potential are heavily suppressed.
Axel ignored the villagers and continued inspecting the entire area. It wasn't until it was almost evening that Axel found some traces. He was standing next to the mountain in the western section of the village. Another quality of the demonic plant is that the nutrient it spreads tries to affect the plants farthest away the most.
This results in the crops nearest to it being less affected until the plant evolves again. The trio returned to their tents and began cooking. Both guards apologized to him many times, vehemently, on behalf of the villagers. They were afraid that they're young master would just order the 2 of them to kill all the villagers, and they would have no choice but to do just that if he did order them to do so.
But Axel obviously wouldn't do that as he reassured the two guards. Since he came with the pretense of helping them anyway, he was incapable of doing so. Maybe one day, if he grew strong enough, he wouldn't care at that time. Yet, some of the villagers' words did hit his mind. Their words were valid after all; he didn't care about their lives. He was only there for his benefit.
After a while, Axel erased all those thoughts. He was going to get the plant tonight anyway; everything would be over then. After having dinner, all three went to sleep. After approximately 2-3 hours had passed, Axel opened his eyes and brought out a round, artifact-like object from his pocket, something that would completely mask his presence.
But masking his presence wasn't enough; the guards were on alert since they were on a mission, and they would instantly notice it. He brought out another capsule from his pocket and opened it,
It was a special liquid that spread through the air, and anyone below the 2nd phase who inhales it falls into a deep sleep. Of course, Axel already ate the antidote, so for a specific period, he's immune to that sleeper gas.
After about 5 minutes, he activated the cloaking artifact, which completely erased his presence. Even a 2nd phase won't be able to sense him. His father could have secretly sent someone behind to keep an eye on him from the shadows, or the Duskers could have sent assassins to kill him, so double precaution was necessary.
He went out and looked around carefully, seeing no one there, and the two guards sleeping peacefully, he went on his way towards that mountain. At night, rarely are any villagers seen outside, so it simply made things easier for him. He was running towards that mountain at a moderate speed.
After an unknown amount of time, he reached the foot of the mountain. Axel promptly started climbing the mountain. The hill itself wasn't too large, but it was hard to find. He continued searching, but there were no traces of it even after 2 hours. He began to harbor some doubts about whether this really was the right mountain where the plant was supposed to be.
But after starting to search the opposite side of the mountain, he could finally see traces of strange vegetation up ahead. Thankfully, three bright moons hung high in the sky, illuminating the surroundings and letting him see everything clearly. This was also one of the reasons why he came here at this particular time; he couldn't put the guards to sleep during the day.
After walking forward for a few more minutes, he saw something he did not expect. A man dressed in mercenary garb, holding a sharp sword, crouched to inspect a plant; it was the very demonic plant Axel was searching for. The plant was glowing red; it was almost pulsating slightly like a beating heart. The mercenary man was looking at it with apparent desire, as if ready to devour it, but what truly caught Axel's eye was that the mercenary man's entire eye seemed blood-red; the look on his face was akin to that of a beast.
Axel's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't help but curse internally,
'Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, Damn it, that bastard actually reached this place before me. It was Ivor, the one who was supposed to get the plant in the first place. The commoner with a demon bloodline who eventually became someone who would fight for the good of the common people.'
'This bastard is just a year older than me, but this guy has been working as a mercenary since the age of 12. I'm absolutely no match for him. Think, think, think, damn it. Just what can I do? If only I had come here yesterday.' Axel continued to curse his shitty luck internally.
His mind was a mess; this was a scenario he had absolutely not expected. So, he was lost for a moment. He eventually thought that it might be best to snatch the plant since his presence was still absent. If not for that, Ivor would have noticed him long ago. This guy was an experienced battle maniac who had faced life-or-death situations countless times.
He slowly took a few steps forward, and just as he was about to cut the plant with his sword, he ran away with it. His artifact stopped working, and he was standing right in front of Ivor with a sly smile on his face.