Johan summoned the malevolent spirit and directed it towards the tip of his dagger. The blade of the dagger turned as black as a moonless night sky.
Caenerna watched with interest. Johan’s skill in handling the malevolent spirit was quite impressive. The spirit seemed to be following him properly.
‘๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ? ๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐บ?’
“I’ve been thinking about cursing weapons like this. What do you think?”
“It doesn’t seem bad. A malevolent spirit would be skilled in curses. But. . .”
“?”
“Is it right for a knight? Seems like a dishonorable act?”
“. . .Of course, I was just asking. I have no intention of using it in battle.”
Johan quickly covered up. Caenerna, unaware of Johan’s true nature like Suetlg, nodded with a ‘so be it’ expression.
‘๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฃ๐ซ๐ถ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ช๐ต’๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ต.’
‘๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ.’
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
“Did you say you’re going to the territory of Duke Brduhe?”
Mahreet asked with a tone of surprise.
The territory of Duke Brduhe in the southeast of the Empire was so vast and powerful that it was called a duchy.
However, that did not mean it was a peaceful land.
From the east, fierce barbarians raced across the plains to attack, from the south, heretics from another empire were constantly watching for opportunities, and nearby minor kingdoms plotted conspiracies to expand their influence.
The eastern part of the Empire was known as a rough land of opportunity, even among mercenaries.
“Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Sir Knight, we were just returning from the east.”
“!”
Mahreet and the County Mercenary Group happened to be returning from a mission in the east.
“How was it?”
“The east? Always the same. Monsters are terrible, people are tough, barbarians are fierce. . . Oh, I once saw Duke from a distance. He was a remarkably handsome man.”
Duke Brduhe, now middle-aged, was renowned as a great leader. In the troublesome eastern part, his name held absolute authority. Many serfs prayed in his name.
“What about the people?”
“Sir Knight, how would someone like me know that? I only met the steward briefly. But he seemed like a fine man.”
“Why is that?”
“Because he paid the wages on time and generously.”
This was expected, but many nobles failed to do so.
Wage delays were common in mercenary employment, and mercenaries often compensated for these delays through looting and post-war rewards. It wasn’t for no reason that mercenaries were restless.
“Good to hear he’s not stingy.”
“Are you going to meet the Duke, Sir Knight? Indeed. . .”
Mahreet was amazed at Johan’s words. He thought Johan was exceptional, but actually going to meet Duke Brduhe?
“Why did you return from the east?”
“The winter was cold, and the mercenaries were discontent. Staying longer in the east seemed like it might lead to a real rebellion. . .”
“. . . . . .”
“And also the prophecy. . . ahem.”
Hearing this, Johan got a sense of what the east was like. He nodded.
Before Johan left, Mahreet spoke earnestly.
“Sir Knight. I may be a humble mercenary, but I understand what gratitude is. If you ever need my assistance, please do not hesitate to call upon me. I will risk my life to come to your aid.”
“Don’t take the risk of your life lightly. It devalues it.”
“. . . . . .”
“But I’ll remember your words. I won’t forget your honor.”
“Yes!”
As Johan’s party left, the sub-captains approached Mahreet.
“Couldn’t you have followed that Sir Knight, captain? He seemed to come from a good family. . .”
Mercenaries were superstitious, Mahreet no less so.
To them, Johan was like a revelation.
A knight who alone invaded a mercenary camp and banished a malevolent spirit!
To the mercenaries, unaware of the true situation, it seemed almost like a revelation. As if following the prophecies of Mahreet, they desired to follow Johan.
“He’s heading east.”
“Huh.”
“Hmm.”
The sub-captains were appalled. Not just their subordinates, but they themselves detested the east.
After finally returning to the Empire, they wanted to rest until spring warmed the weather.
“No need to worry. He’ll be back soon.”
“Captain! Are you making a new prophecy?”
Although Johan was not an eastern noble, nor were Jarpen or Abner, the mercenaries misunderstood it as Mahreet making a prophecy.
The malevolent spirit was gone, but the mercenaries still believed Mahreet to be a prophet.
None refused when offered a convenient lie. Mahreet nodded.
“Exactly.”
“Oh. . .! What else has come forth?”
“Joining at that time will bring great fortune.”
“As expected. . .!”
“I thought so!”
The sub-captains accepted without doubt. People tend to believe what they want to hear.
Mahreet looked at his subordinates.
He felt both pity and disdain, reminiscent of his own past self, once deceived by a malevolent spirit. . .
‘๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ข๐ท๐ฐ๐ณ.’
Seeing this, he felt he could lead the mercenaries for many more years.
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
“Farewell. And take care.”
“?”
After the party left, Caenerna also prepared to depart. She left with just a few slaves.
“Why’s that?”
“It seemed oddly meaningful for a farewell.”
“You’re getting better at understanding the undertones. Yes, there was a deeper meaning. As you know, I am a wizard. I trust old sayings. ‘๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ธ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ.’ Do you know it?”
“I do.”
“Caenerna is a great wizard, but she has faced misfortune twice. No matter how great, one can’t avoid the tide of bad luck. It wouldn’t be surprising if it happened a third time.”
“Ah, but surely. . .”
Johan chuckled.
That mercenary band was truly an unavoidable misfortune, but surely such an incident wouldn’t happen again.
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
Days later, Johan spotted a familiar figure fleeing on horseback, enveloped in a cloud of dust. Caenerna was being chased by a band of rogues.
“. . . . . .”
“. . . . . .”
“Prepare for battle, charge!”
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