Apostle of the Void

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 35: The Second Request,To Aurelinople (2)

The barrier surrounding the cart vanished just before it touched the ground inside the castle.

The cart bounced multiple times along the road in the castle.

After its wheels broke, fell off, and became a wreck, the cart finally managed to escape the relentless momentum.

The guards rushed over immediately, but when Yuz displayed her witch's insignia, they quickly saluted her.

"Yuz, what happened here?"

The witch residing in Euphoria was a red witch, and upon hearing the details, she showed a bewildered expression.

"I will reinforce the defense forces and set up a barrier, but... I can't guarantee how long it will hold."

"Well, it was mostly goblins. It shouldn't stretch the castle's defenses too thin."

"Then that's good to hear... But until we leave for Aurelinople, I will ensure your safety. You're planning to use the river route, right?"

Originally, they had intended to take the overland route... but traveling via the Belysor River would be several times faster.

‘And considering the number of those monsters…’

Taking the overland route might actually create more significant problems.

"That's probably best. The river route is regularly patrolled by witches, so we should take advantage of any help we can get."

"There’s also the option to hire other adventurers. Let’s use the association's resources."

"No, let's skip hiring other adventurers."

There were plenty of adventurers willing to lend a hand for anything that could be of assistance.

Surely, there would be some willing to dip their toes into the void’s power as well.

"This party may be a bunch of misers, but they still seem reliable when it comes to issues like this."

Especially since all four of them were exceptional in their respective fields.

"Alright, understood."

Jerome and Kitan tossed Sia and Arzen into the witch's hut before spreading out blankets in the living room and falling asleep themselves.

Everyone was exhausted.

The witch generously added firewood to the hearth and then suggested that Yuz take a brief nap as well.

‘The void…’

As the witch reached for the wedge that Yuz had rolled up with her pointed hat, she felt a strong surge of energy and pulled back in surprise.

‘The void, which had vanished from the world since the emergence of the Dragon Sage, has now appeared as if waiting for the Dragon Sage to die, fifty years later?’

It was ominous…

So ominous…

Could this be the end of the second era of peace, the silver age?

* * *

‘Hmm…?’

Arzen once again saw something strange in his dream.

‘Is it black mist or dark green mist? Or perhaps they’re mixed together…’

It was definitely mist, but within it lay an unreal presence that dared not be looked into or uncovered.

That presence was doing something.

It was combining and weaving dark green mist to create entities of emptiness.

“!”

Just as he attempted to speak to that presence, he woke up.

It was already dawn.

He realized the early autumn forest was noisy with the sounds of frogs and insects.

“Did I wake up because it was too noisy?”

Jerome said.

He was using a cleaning rod to thoroughly clean the inside of the barrel.

Due to the high-pressure steam, a lot of moisture remained inside the steam gun, and if left for even a short time, it would develop mold.

“Normally, a night with a lover is noisy. I hope you can bear with it.”

“Where’s your lover?”

“You have to treat a gun like a lover. So what I’m doing now is just like intimacy between lovers. See? It doesn’t make a sound.”

Well, he really is a madman...

Facing genuine madness, Arzen realized once again that he had to be humble in this line of work.

“Did you bring me here?”

“No, you were carried by Kitan, and I’m over here. After moving that heavy load, my arms feel like they’re going to fall off. Recite a healing miracle for me.”

“Who are you calling a heavy load?”

Sia sat up in bed.

She looked like someone suffering from a hangover, holding her head and groaning.

“Is it always like this?”

“Yeah, if you release the bandages completely, you’ll faint for about half a day to a day. That’s my weakness, due to the strain on my body.”

Arzen didn’t ask for further details.

Sia hadn’t asked much about the power of the Void before either.

It was a small act of reciprocity.

“Ah… I owe you one. I’ll take a bit off your pay.”

“Why are you saying something so obvious as if you’re being generous?”

Arzen was momentarily startled and checked his pocket.

His coin pouch was safe.

In this line of work, it was generally accepted that anything stolen from someone who had fainted was fair game, but these folks didn’t operate that way.

‘Maybe it was too busy this time… That’s my oversight! I need to make sure I don’t get too carried away in the future. My body is my responsibility!’

The future’s top-tier physique.

No one should be allowed to lay a hand on it.

“We’ll set out when the sun rises.”

The witch Yuz said.

“Most of the dangerous monsters in the forest are primarily nocturnal.”

Sia rummaged through the hut in her sleeveless outfit until she quickly found water and downed it in one go.

“What route are we taking?”

“We’ll use the river route.”

“What kind of obvious statement is that? It’s not like we’re going to walk for two weeks.”

Yuz stared at Sia with wide eyes.

“Why? What kind of expression is that?”

“Don’t you have any respect for witches? Even if you can’t use honorifics, you should at least show some respect.”

“Ha! Even when I get requests from noble brats, I keep this stance. My life motto is ‘Be strong against the strong, and stronger against the weak.’”

“What kind of trash philosophy is that? You sound proud of it!”

Arzen was genuinely curious.

Why do women always engage in power struggles to establish a hierarchy when they are together?

The female thugs from the Divine Guillotine were worse than that, and there wasn’t much difference.

“Sia is like that with every woman she meets. It’s even more so when she’s with elites like wizards or witches or nobles.”

As dawn approached, the witch brought out a salad garnished with wild vegetables.

Just by smelling it, Kitan, who had been snoring, jolted awake.

This guy is the ultimate glutton.

---

"The goblins attacking the city walls is unprecedented, so all the guards are terrified."

At the words of the red witch, Yuz nodded.

"We might need to strengthen the seals… We have to suppress the overwhelming morale."

The group quickly finished off the wild vegetable salad, packed three days' worth of field rations, and headed out through the south gate of Euphoria.

"If we go down this road for two days, we’ll reach the port. We’ll catch a boat there. Until then, let’s stick to the trails so that passersby don’t get caught up in any trouble, so keep your wits about you."

The purple city, Aurelinople, is one of the seven great cities located in the heart of the Northern Republic.

Since the Balisor River, known as the lifeblood of the republic, divides east and west from this point, it was a strategic location to unify the Northern Republic.

Walking from the backwater town of Euphoria to this major city takes about two to three weeks.

“Kaz tu Arcturus.”

As the dimensional rift opened, the void insects began to pour out, starting with the worker bee.

Buuuuuuuuuumm…

As sixty void insects spread out in all directions, the morning liveliness of the forest fell silent in an instant.

‘Good, good! The way those insignificant creatures of the forest tremble in fear!’

Arzen grinned wickedly.

Someday, when adventurers see my arrival, they will react like this too.

Just thinking about it sent a thrill down his spine.

“Worker bee, I’ll be busy summoning the sixty-first, so take care of the deployment and command of the voidlings yourself.”

Buuuuuuuumm… The worker bee flew up above Arzen’s head.

It seemed to intend to grasp the battlefield situation from the sky and command the others.

‘To maintain all sixty, I’ll have to use up more energy faster… I need to train my energy every time I can.’

And that energy training meant pushing himself to the brink of his limits.

That was the way to increase the maximum capacity of the void insects.

Buuuuuumm…!

Occasionally, he felt a presence somewhere along the trail, and a monster would leap out.

However, it was already a half-step behind, as he had left part of his body somewhere else. It had been hit by a void insect.

“Ugh, gross.”

Sia could easily kick or stomp them to finish them off.

“That guy is working hard to get stronger, despite his obnoxious appearance,” Sia said, glancing at Arzen.

Jerome, pulling the cart forward, shrugged his shoulders.

“It might be due to guilt.”

“Guilt?”

“Arzen collapsed trying to protect us all back then. He didn’t show it, but that must have weighed heavily on his heart, right? Not that it’s necessary, though.”

Hmm, that guy… Sia whistled in interest.

“True, priests and witches, as a type of religious person, generally have better character than average folks.”

Yuz shot a glare at Sia.

“Why does it sound like you want me to hear that?”

“It’s a compliment~ Why are you getting all worked up?”

“Do you think I don’t know the difference between a compliment and a jab?”

In front, Kitan was too engrossed in eating the wild vegetable sandwich prepared by the witch to notice.

As they continued south, they began to prepare for camping in the evening.

To avoid being ambushed, they set up camp in a clearing, with Kitan placing traps all around.

Yuz lit fires to drive away the monsters, but it was uncertain how effective they would be against the creatures entranced by the Void.

Arzen, who had expended a lot of energy, was assigned the last watch and fell asleep first, while the party gathered around the campfire.

“Well, it’s great that we got a big commission, but couldn’t we just hand this off to the Witch Association? Then you wouldn’t have to suffer so much,” Sia said, shaking her head.

Yuz disagreed. “In this era, where the Void has interfered with the world, many witches have fallen.”

“Hmm.”

“Actually, if you look at the ratios, elite magicians and witches tend to be far more corrupted than regular people. For instance, 400 years ago, during the turbulent times, the priestess Lubriane fell into the Void.”

“Wow, you’re quite frank. It seems like the elites have always been more rotten in any age.”

“Right? They’re a bit different from adventurers who only think about how to swindle clients.”

“Did you just say that? Say it again.”

“I said they’re a bit different from adventurers who only think about how to swindle clients. Why?”

Kitan and Jerome sighed and shook their heads.

At that moment, a ping... followed by the sound of something getting caught in the wire, and soon a monster's mournful roar echoed through the forest.

Sia, who had been pointing fingers at Yuz, said irritably, “It’s noisy... handle it before the monsters gather.”

Kitan swung his slingshot and hurled a stone that quickly silenced the area.

Except for Kitan, the first watch, everyone soon fell asleep.

The second watch was Jerome’s.

Whenever it seemed like monsters were gathering, a series of gunshots echoed through the forest, waking the entire party.

“Ugh, just take care of it! I’ll take the watch until your turn.”

Sia, dressed lightly and having disarmed herself as much as possible, wandered around the traps and quickly dealt with the approaching monsters using her daggers.

Yuz was exempt from the watch since she was the client.

The last watch was Arzen’s.

When Arzen was on watch, it was the quietest time, allowing everyone to sleep soundly.

Arzen organized the groups.

One middle-grade unit and three low-grade units.

She instructed the middle-grade unit to take down anything that approached within five meters.

“Hey, I’m going to sleep now, so don’t make any noise, okay?”

Arzen entrusted command to the middle-grade unit and dozed off to make up for lost sleep.

Thanks to the deployment of the units, the monsters were silenced before they could even roar, leaving the dawn quiet.

As the morning sun rose, they awoke to a new day.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]