Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 130

 

Chapter 130: Hedilund (3)

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

 

“F*ck is the word I wanted to say, you little shit.”

 

Russell raised his hand as it was and struck Shadelloc on the head. Shadelloc fell to the ground, his nose and mouth buried in the dirt. Earth and grass filled his mouth, and he immediately started coughing.

 

Russell watched Shadelloc cough as if he were going to die, then grabbed his hair with his left hand and lifted his head. At that moment, Shadelloc raised his fist and shouted.

 

“Azve-to, ugh!”

 

In an instant, Russell’s right hand moved quickly and twisted Shadelloc’s left wrist upward. Then, from the ring that had turned black and seemed to have exhausted all its magic power, a green beam of light shot out and pierced the night sky.

 

The ray lasted only a short time, and soon the glow faded and the line of light dwindled. Russell looked up at the dark night sky where the green ray had been shot.

 

Round tree branches and leaves could be seen between the gaps, the black background, and the twinkling stars. Russell, who had been staring at the night sky, lowered his head and put strength into his right hand.

 

Shadelloc’s left wrist broke with a pop.

 

“Aaaaaaagh!”

 

Russell pressed down on the broken wrist while he howled, as if the forest were going to fly away.

 

“Quiet.”

 

Shadelloc swallowed his screams and moans, panting. Russell pulled the ring off his trembling left hand. The ring had a small green jewel embedded in it. The surface of the ring bore a strangely shaped pattern.

 

Russell’s eyes shone with a purple light. The ring’s engraved pattern revealed a kind of magic circuit, while the small green jewel served as a magic stone.

 

The spell had depleted all its magic power, making it challenging to identify its type. His lack of knowledge about the engraved magic circuit intensified the situation.

 

Just now, an attack spell formed, firing dozens or hundreds of wind blades. Just now, a green beam of light shot out. Through his senses, Russell was able to sense the flow of the beam before it hit him and avoid it by changing its direction upward. However, he didn’t know what effect it had.

 

It seemed to be an expensive magic tool for a bandit boss like this to carry around. Russell held the ring in front of Shadelloc’s eyes.

 

“Where did you get something like this?”

 

“Cough, cough. F*ck you, you son of a b*tch. . .”

 

‘He had some guts.’ Russell nodded once, then slapped Shadelloc on the cheek with his right hand.

 

“Ugh. . .”

 

Shadelloc’s head, which had its mouth broken in one hit, shook. His head, which had lost strength due to the terrible pain, was only hanging by the hair that Russell’s left hand was holding.

 

Blood, saliva, and broken tooth fragments flowed out of his sagging mouth. Of course, this was all because Russell had controlled his strength. A proper hit would have blown away the roof of his mouth.

 

“Where did you get it?”

 

“T, Travelers. . .from the bodies of adventurers. . .”

 

Of course. What bandit who climbs mountains in the dead of night and ambushes people would obtain this kind of magical artifact from a ruin or dungeon?

 

Even considering that, the ring’s power was exceptional. And if he had really killed travelers or adventurers and obtained this ring, the original owner would have been able to cast the same magic as just now.

 

However, Russell’s eyes saw that the circuit engraved on this ring did not seem to be that old.

 

“Are there any more?”

 

“. . . I, I’m thirsty. . .”

 

Shadelloc muttered nonsense in response to Russell’s question. He gently touched Shadelloc’s neck. The pulse was faint. It was so faint that it was barely perceptible, even to his keen senses. Shadelloc’s heartbeat was gradually slowing down.

 

He was dying from the effects of the life force he had drained beyond his limits. Russell lifted Shadelloc’s head higher so that their eyes met. His purple eyes met the brown eyes.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

His mouth opened blankly at the irresistible command.

 

“. . .Sha, Shadelloc. . .”

 

“You must have done this more than once. Why do you hunt people?”

 

“To supply. . . . the tower. . .”

 

“Why? To whom?”

 

“Experi, experiments. Sacrifice. Decker. . .s.”

 

‘So the wizard’s name is Deckers, I see.’ Russell looked into Shadelloc’s eyes, which were gradually slowing down, and asked again.

 

“What kind of sacrifice?”

 

The light gradually disappeared from Shadelloc’s pupils, who had been gasping for breath.

 

“Don’t want to die. . . magic. . .”

 

His pupils soon began to greatly widen. They no longer contracted, even if he waved his hand in front of them.

 

Russell turned Shadelloc’s body over, made him look up, and searched his arms. There wasn’t much that came out. The only items found were an old dagger and a leather pouch containing money.

 

He got up from his seat, threw away the dagger, and put the pouch in his arms. Russell, who had sharpened his axe and put it inside his coat, looked around his surroundings.

 

The forest, which had been peaceful until just now, was in ruins within a 10-meter radius of where he was standing. He found ten human bodies on the ground, either bleeding or with their entrails spilled out, while those who had succumbed to Final Frost lay frigid, their skin coated in frost.

 

Russell craned his neck this way and that, then turned around and walked away. The remaining corpses would be well taken care of by the wind, leaves, branches, insects, and beasts.

 

As he left, the forest was silent for a moment, then began to make a gentle sound again. The grasshoppers cried again, rubbing their wings and bodies, as the human presence completely disappeared and the wild animals that had been holding their breath approached, drawn by the smell of blood and entrails.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

Farrells turned his head at the rustling sound. His hands were gripping the scabbard and hilt of the sword that was resting on his lap. Then, realizing that the figure emerging from the bushes was Russell, he let out a sigh.

 

“Oh, Russell, it’s you. I was worried because you didn’t come back for a while.”

 

“Sorry about that.”

 

“No, it’s fine. It’s understandable that you wouldn’t come out. . . Uh?”

 

Farrell sniffed as Russell approached and sat down.

 

“Sniff, sniff. It smells like blood. . . By any chance?”

 

Russell looked at him. Farrell said it with a serious face.

 

“Did you have bloody stools?”

 

“. . . . . .”

 

“Just kidding. Hahahaha. . . Ahem. Sorry. What happened? Did you run into a wolf?”

 

“I was on my way back from dealing with some bandits.”

 

Farrells’s face hardened. He had actually sensed it vaguely. After Russell had disappeared, a loud bang and a slight tremor had been transmitted from a distance. He had sensed it because he had been training his body and keeping his ears open, but if he had been asleep, he wouldn’t have noticed it.

 

“Are you hurt?. . .”

 

“No.”

 

Russell scraped off the bloodstains on his hand from when he crushed a bandit’s head earlier. The dark red crumbs fell to the floor as dust.

 

“Well, I guess I was worried for nothing. Should we not wake the others?”

 

“I guess it’ll be fine. It appears that no more bandits are approaching us at this time. Even if there are other bandits, it seems they’re quite far from here.”

 

“You have good senses. . . Oh, so about the city’s security that you asked about earlier?”

 

Farrells nodded.

 

“There may be different aspects of the city I knew. It’s been a while since I last visited. . . Have you heard anything?”

 

“They mentioned a tower. They said they were handing over the people they caught there. It seems they’re using them as experimental subjects or slaves.”

 

“A tower? Did the Lord have a wizard?”

 

Farrell tilted his head. In his memory, the lord didn’t have a torturer or a wizard.

 

“We’ll find out once we get to the city tomorrow.”

 

“. . .That’s true. Sorry for making you go to Hedilund for no reason.”

 

“No, the whole kingdom seems to be in chaos anyway.”

 

Every village, city, and territory they heard of was experiencing monsters and demons appearing, bandits running rampant on the mountains and roads. No matter which city they visited, they would have encountered similar individuals.

 

Russell had no intention of stopping those who came to find him and end their lives. Russell could have spared the bandits earlier.

 

He had the strength and ability to do so. He could have made them lose consciousness without them noticing, then handed them over to the nearby city guards.

 

However, Russell did not do that. He responded to the flying blade with a blade and swung his fist to kill a life.

 

He was compelled to act, not because he desired it, but because he was unable to find an excuse not to. Unlike his past life, which was a million light-years away from fighting and bloody battlefields, he now lived a life where he didn’t have to find a reason to save or kill a life.

 

He no longer harbors any regrets about his actions. In a world where living conditions, customs, and culture were different, it was a rare world where people believed that murder was a sin.

 

Rather, it was a world that could be considered barbaric, where it was enough to kill as long as the situation and reasons were convincing. But in the end, it was the land where he set foot and walked with his legs.

 

“Get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

 

“Oh, okay.”

 

Farrell nodded at Russell’s suggestion and went into the tent. Soon, the sound of snoring filled the air.

 

Russell chuckled when he saw that he had fallen asleep. He removed a ring from his pocket and examined it.

 

It was clear that the ring contained more than one spell. The person who engraved this magical circuit appeared to be an excellent wizard. It contained at least three spells, but Shadelloc was an ordinary person who didn’t have a single drop of magic power.

 

Based on the rapid decrease in his vitality, it appeared that even if magic power wasn’t the source, it could still activate the spell by draining the caster’s vitality.

 

He didn’t think a wandering wizard, mercenary wizard, or combat wizard would engrave this kind of mark. A wizard with a personal research lab could have engraved it.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

“Hmm?”

 

Wizard Deckers turned his head at the surge of magic power that echoed from afar. Then, in the distance outside the window, he saw a thin line rising into the night sky through the dark mountains and their shadows.

 

A green line. He knew that beam held a powerful instant death spell. And Wizard Deckers had recently engraved that spell on a ring.

 

Originally, the ring was only associated with a spell that created a barrier and blocked projectiles, but Deckers erased two spells and then re-engraved the Storm Blade spell and the Instant Death spell.

 

It wasn’t a difficult task for him, but engraving was one of Deckers’ lucrative businesses. Of course, there wasn’t much demand since accessories, weapons, and armor that could withstand magic circuits were rare.

 

That’s why Deckers had only charged half the usual price when the man who had recently been supplying him with test subjects brought him the magical tool.

 

Deckers had no talent for magic, but he craved magic, and he craved money even more. Deckers deemed it a humble existence that held no value unless employed for this purpose.

 

“What’s his name? Sha, something or other.”

 

With his long-nailed fingers, Deckers scratched his head.

 

“I don’t know. Anyway, the fact that he used that spell means he met someone pretty strong. . .”

 

From what he knew, Shadelloc was a cowardly man who knew how to recognize who he could and could not face. He probably hadn’t encountered anything like a monster. He would have run away before he even met one.

 

Even so, the fact that he had used that spell meant that Shadelloc had met someone he couldn’t handle. But was that spell headed for the sky?

 

“He must be dead. Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a shame.”

 

Unlike his words, Deckers’ expression didn’t show much regret. ‘Anyway, there was an abundance of vagrants, beggars, and trash to use as test subjects.’

 

He wasn’t that sorry that one of the suppliers had died. However, his eyes soon emitted a desolate aura.

 

“Still, I can’t forgive the guy who killed my supplier. Let’s see.”

 

Deckers soon concentrated his magic power and attempted to locate the ring on which the spell had been engraved. It was far away, but since it hadn’t been long since he had engraved it, he was able to find it easily.

 

Penmaur Mountain, Middle Slope. There, the ring detected the signal. And the road that continued from there led to this city, Hedilund.

 

“I’ll have to go and see his face.”

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

The next day, Russell and his party got out of bed and set off on their way. They ran for a while in the morning sunlight. Soon, they could see the city walls rising up from a low hill.

 

“That’s Hedilund City.”

 

“It’s not far. Let’s go.”

 

Kry neighed and surged forward as Russell kicked his flanks.

 

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