Chapter 494
Chapter 494: Just a Little Task at Hand (1)
The capital was engulfed in terror.
Now, even the innocent were being seized by soldiers.
They were all offered as sacrifices for Berhem.
At first, the soldiers roamed around to build their achievements, but now they had to capture people just to survive.
It was common for someone from the neighboring house to disappear overnight. Everyone trembled in fear, not knowing when they themselves might be taken.
At some point, rumors began to circulate among the people.
“The king… has gone mad.”
“They say he’s eating people.”
“What on earth is happening?”
Just a short while ago, everyone was celebrating victory in war. Thanks to Count Penris, they had overcome the drought and the plague.
The kingdom was chaotic, yet the people were filled with hope.
Count Penris and Marquis Branford had led everyone, each solving one problem at a time.
But now it was different.
Marquis Branford had fallen from grace, and the Northern Army had retreated.
The king was rampaging, and people were being seized and dying without understanding why.
“They say the one who treated the king is a Priest of Salvation Society.”
“What will happen to us?”
“The priests from the four major sects aren’t able to do anything either.”
The ominous rumors spread ceaselessly.
There were also whispers about negotiating with the Duke Faction. Wouldn’t that lead to the rise of the Salvation Society, who had caused rifts and killed people?
Everyone wanted to escape the capital. But the surveillance was too tight for that.
People limited their outings as much as possible. If they didn’t want to be caught, they had to hide.
Naturally, economic activities came to a standstill, and the atmosphere in the capital grew overwhelmingly desolate.
As the number of captives dwindled, Berhem once again committed his madness.
“Is it reasonable that there are poor people in this beautiful capital? Clear all the pests out!”
By that order, the impoverished in the capital were forcibly rounded up.
To be honest, they were no longer even the poor. Through constant relief efforts, they were gradually becoming self-sufficient.
It was all thanks to the abundant food from Penris.
But now, simply living in the poor district meant they would be dragged away.
And they all became sacrifices for Berhem.
“Graaah!”
“Please save us!”
“We are innocent!”
In the deep stony chambers of the royal castle, screams of people echoed incessantly. They were being killed, and Berhem maintained his health with their blood and life force.
Berhem didn’t hide it anymore; he blatantly carried out such acts. Everyone trembled in fear.
The nobles who had chosen to follow the king were aware something was wrong, but pretended not to.
“Your Majesty has been suffering far too much because of Marquis Branford.”
“Indeed, he should vent some of that frustration.”
“After all, it’s only prisoners and the poor that you’re capturing, right?”
At this point, they could no longer deny the intervention of the Salvation Society. But since they had already decided to negotiate for an armistice, they suppressed their concerns.
To be honest, it was better for them now than before. They hadn’t been able to live a noble life while being mindful of Marquis Branford.
“Marquis Branford had no awareness of being a noble.”
“How can he ask us to work? Is that even reasonable?”
“Even if disasters have compounded, we’ve lost far too much of our wealth.”
Nobles do not work. They should live solely on their status. The burdensome tasks are for the lower class.
Marquis Branford had shattered that perception. He constantly pressured the nobles to take responsibility.
Yet the king was different from Marquis Branford. He acknowledged that nobles with blue blood were more noble than anyone else.
Therefore, the nobles had no choice but to pretend not to notice the king’s madness.
The Salvation Society was frightening. They didn’t want to stick their necks out and become targets. As long as they themselves didn’t suffer, that was enough.
As Berhem worked hard to maintain his lifespan by killing people, his worries grew.
“Placus, we’re running low on prisoners. We need to proceed with negotiations.”
“I’ve already sent word. A date will be set soon.”
“Alright, alright. The Kingdom Army is under my control now, so we can proceed with negotiations soon.”
The prisoners dragged from various places had all been consumed. Yet Berhem’s body was collapsing more and more.
This was because he didn’t have a core to properly store and circulate that life force.
Therefore, even if he kept absorbing life force, it would dissipate like smoke.
To prevent this, he needed a thing called the “Life Orb” created by the Salvation Society. Only by absorbing that could he maintain his life force.
Berhem had decided to exchange royal treasures for it.
Still, he had something to confirm.
“Chamberlain! All the commanders of the Kingdom Army have indeed been replaced, haven’t they? Those loyal to me?”
“Yes, all commanders have been replaced, and the Kingdom Army is on standby near the capital.”
At Marquis Domont’s words, Berhem smiled. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Good, that’s a relief.”
The reason he delayed the negotiations was precisely for this. Only with solid military power in hand could negotiations proceed smoothly.
He couldn’t afford to lose the royal treasures unnecessarily, so he had been meticulously preparing.
“Prepare the negotiations so that there are no problems. I will personally check the items.”
Berhem also received a surge of confidence from Placus. He was certain he could verify whether the items were legitimate.
“And once the negotiations are over, I shall strike the Northern Army who defied me!”
Berhem’s eyes glimmered with madness once more.
*
The Northern Army was prepared to depart at any time. With no tasks to perform, they were simply waiting for the right moment.
Claude had handed over everything to the administrators and was taking a break. He had slipped away under the pretense of organizing the Northern Army.
Only Lowell, overseeing intelligence in the capital, was extremely busy.
Bored because preparations had finished faster than expected, Claude called Alfoy over.
“How about a card game?”
“A card game?”
“Yeah. You needed some brain stimulation. We should enjoy it a little while we can, since it’s going to get busier ahead.”
“Sounds good. Are we just going to play the two of us?”
“Hmm, it might be boring with just the two. Should we lure in one more person?”
Claude looked at Ereness with a sneaky glint in his eye.
“I need to extend that contract by at least 30 years.”
He had to get Ereness involved in the gambling table somehow. By making her a gambling addict, he could extend the contract due to gambling debts, ensuring he could survive until the 30-year mark.
So, Claude persuaded her.
“Great Chief, would you like to play a card game? I can lend you some money.”
“…….”
Ereness looked at Claude with incredible disdain.
To ask the noble Elf Great Chief to gamble? Truly, he was the first person she had seen in all her years to be so ridiculous.
“No thanks. You all have fun.”
“Don’t be like that. Just play with us once.”
“I said no.”
Despite Ereness’s refusal, Claude persistently clung on. He had to make her fall into gambling.
“Great Chief, I’m not just suggesting this for fun; there’s more to it.”
“……What do you mean?”
“Great Chief, you’ve lived in the forest for a long time. Thus, you might be a little inexperienced in the human world. To understand human emotions more intensely, this kind of experience is essential.”
With that, Ereness let out a small laugh. This guy had no idea what kind of life she had lived.
Human emotions? She had seen plenty of that—during the massive wars long ago, which they couldn’t even imagine.
“How ridiculous. You think I haven’t felt that over my long life?”
“But you’ve never felt emotions at the gambling table.”
“…….”
That kind of feeling wasn’t necessary. Contemplating whether to teach him a lesson, an unexpected voice intervened.
“Great Chief, just try it once. It’s fun.”
It was Ascon, an elf like her. Ascon had a different approach to persuade Ereness.
“Elves across the continent drink and gamble all the time. You should experience it too if you want to understand our feelings later.”
In truth, sly Ascon just wanted to see Ereness gamble and lose.
However, Ereness couldn’t ignore those words. She felt a measure of guilt for the elves who had lived as slaves.
Eventually, she sighed and spoke.
“……I’ll experience it just a little.”
At those words, Claude winked at Ascon. It was a gesture of gratitude. Ascon also smiled back with a wink.
Thus, the gambling table was set up. People flocked around to watch as news spread that Ereness was gambling.
Although the attention made her uneasy, Ereness closed her eyes and steadied her mind.
‘Just this once.’
The game was a simple card game called ‘Stud’. It involved matching pairs of picture cards to decide the win or loss.
“Alright, let’s begin!”
Claude shouted as he shuffled the cards.
After a few practice games to teach Ereness the rules, the real game began.
In the initial rounds, they traded wins and losses, tossing money back and forth.
The problem arose elsewhere. Originally, Claude intended for Ereness to fall into gambling. Thus, he had deliberately lost to her at times.
However, completely unaware of his deeper intentions, Alfoy, as the game progressed, became increasingly greedy, wanting to win it all.
‘That bastard Alfoy…….’
‘Claude, this time I will smash you.’
Alfoy held a grudge against Claude. It was Claude who had turned him into a gambling addict and a slave.
Since it wasn’t his main specialty, he hadn’t yet created any cheating magic for card games. But he had gambled enough to know some techniques.
He planned to use those to take all of Claude’s money.
The emotions between the two began to heat up. The spectators watched with bated breath.
When it was Alfoy’s turn to shuffle cards, he concentrated deeply as he slowly shuffled.
‘It’s chilling. A dagger feels like it’s piercing my heart. But don’t worry. My hands are quicker than my eyes.’
He sensed this was the perfect moment to use his skills.
‘One card from below for Claude, one for the Great Chief, and one for myself.’
He moved his hands deftly again.
‘One more from below for Claude, and now the last one for the Great Chief.’
The moment Alfoy was to hand a card to Ereness, Claude suddenly shot up, grabbing his arm and growling.
“Halt! Are you cheating?”
“What?”
“You took my card and the Great Chief’s card from below, right? Do you think I’m an idiot?”
Alfoy clenched his teeth and scowled.
“Any evidence?”
“Evidence? I have evidence.”
Claude grinned with a nasty smile.
“You must have given me a Soldier card. A very low card.”
When Claude flipped his card, lo and behold, it was indeed a Soldier card.
“And this card you just tried to give to the Great Chief, isn’t it a Slave card?”
Claude forcibly snatched the card from Alfoy’s hand and held it up high.
“Look everyone! You were trying to give the Great Chief a Slave card to win this round all on your own. Isn’t that right?”
The card that Claude held was indeed a Slave card. Alfoy gritted his teeth, his expression full of anger.
“You’re writing scenarios. You crazy bastard.”
Ereness had already received another card earlier. Ascon shouted from the side.
“Great Chief, look at that card! Is it a King?”
The King was the best card, but when combined with a Slave, it became the worst card.
Claude had the next lowest card, the Soldier. It would ordinarily mean Alfoy would have the upper hand in this round.
As Ascon rushed over to flip the card, Claude shouted.
“Don’t touch the card! Before your hand gets chopped off!”
As Ascon halted, Claude turned to Elena, who had come to watch.
“Miss, ready the axe.”
“Do we really have to go this far?”
Elena held the ‘Harbinger of Destruction’ and asked. People were tense. If that hit, a hand would be gone in the blink of an eye.
At that moment, Alfoy opened his mouth with a chill in his expression.
“Wait, do we really need to shed blood for this?”
“If you’re caught lying, your blood will be shed, didn’t you learn that?”
At those words, Alfoy hardened his eyes and said.
“Fine, I bet my hand and all my money on this card not being the King. If you’re scared, just die.”
“Hah, where are you trying to sell drugs?”
“Why is the great Claude suddenly so verbose? Oh, you’ve always been talkative, haven’t you? Are you trembling?”
“Am I trembling? Hoo hoo hoo, okay. I’ll bet all my money and my hand. Miss, chop it off as soon as you confirm.”
“Okay, got it.”
Claude and Alfoy each tied a hand to the other, and Elena raised the axe high.
Claude placed his hand over the card and grinned.
“Ready? Shall we flip it? Starting the check now. Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da.”
As everyone focused, Claude hummed as he flipped the card.
“It’s the King!”
The moment Ascon said that, Alfoy lunged for Claude.
“Energy Bolt!”
Boom!
“Ugh!”
An energy bolt erupted on Claude’s face. Alfoy quickly cut the rope tying his arm and fled outside.
“Uwaaaaah! Wendy! Catch that bastard! Chop off his hand!”
Claude clutched his face in agony and shouted. Piote rushed over, unleashing Divine Power to heal him.
Wendy shook her head, while Kaor and the knights doubled over in laughter. Vanessa facepalmed, and Belinda snickered.
Parniel also chuckled as if finding it amusing.
In truth, the skilled individuals present had seen Alfoy committing his tricks all along.
“……”
Ereness watched the chaotic scene with an expressionless face before rising from her seat.
Why did she keep associating with those fools? She felt she needed to keep her distance.
As the chaos unfolded, Ghislaine appeared with Gillian and spoke.
“What’s going on? Looks like everyone’s having fun. We should start moving soon.”
At those words, the faces of everyone turned tense. It was time to fight again. Against the Kingdom Army, who had once been allies.
Ghislaine’s follow-up remark was quite the spectacle.
“I mentioned it before, right? I need to head into the capital first. Just a little task at hand.”
The expressions of the people turned grim. It seemed an unusual incident was about to unfold again.
