Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Discord
Several months ago, the false information Turan had spread among the Arabion survivors proved even more effective than anticipated.
“White elves occupying Arabion’s upper echelon? What utter nonsense.”
“Don’t dismiss it so quickly—think seriously. Elder Rin, wasn’t he quite different from his younger self? Not changing naturally, but rather suddenly around a hundred and fifty years ago.”
“Hmm, now that you mention it…”
“I thought it ridiculous at first too, but the more I recall past memories, the more suspicious things appear.”
Aging nobles from the main house who lacked ability and thus belonged to the non-mainstream faction, or elders from vassal families—those who had spent their childhood with some vessels—took Turan’s false rumors seriously.
After all, there had indeed been cases where people changed dramatically and unnaturally.
Lies were always most effective when subtly mixed with truth rather than fabricated entirely.
Naturally, in such a situation with internal strife brewing, mobilizing an army immediately was difficult.
With Kadram, the family head’s most active confidant, having died in battle, Arabion had become a headless giant.
The situation seemed dire enough that civil war might be inevitable.
If Turan’s body had been in perfect condition and he had been aware of this chaos, he could have intervened and formally instigated a civil war.
With Meisa as his figurehead, they wouldn’t have lacked legitimacy.
Unfortunately, Turan had no way to monitor Arabion’s internal situation.
A mere vassal family like Berk couldn’t possibly have members capable of performing proper espionage missions, and Turan himself couldn’t infiltrate Arabion while needing to defend against attacks from other factions.
In this climate of vassal families openly rebelling against Arabion without a unifying center, one superhuman emerged.
“F-Family Head.”
“Yes, do I still look like a white elf to you too?”
Badal Arabion, now over four hundred years old with death looming near, had eyes that shone with fierce intensity.
His previously frail appearance seemed like a distant memory.
The man lying on the ruined rubble pleaded with his lord looking down at him.
“I, I harbored foolish thoughts. Please…”
Before he could finish, lightning erupted from Badal’s hand, burning his body.
After a blinding flash, only ashes remained.
“There shall be no more betrayal in this land.”
At the family head’s declaration, everyone bowed deeply, praising Arabion, the great descendant of the Thunder Lord.
Whatever thoughts they might harbor privately, they outwardly displayed submission before his overwhelming power.
* * *
It took about three weeks for the family head to personally suppress the rebellion.
As the Dakein Plains were beginning to stabilize, Arabion sent an envoy to Carmine, who until recently had been preparing for war.
Riding the fastest magical beast from the family and traveling without rest, the envoy arrived in less than five days.
“Peace negotiations, you say?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve heard things aren’t going well for you lately, but why should we accommodate that?”
Rodor Carmine, the Carmine family head, burned the letter delivered to him with an incredulous expression.
Wasn’t it Arabion who had been provoking them and preparing for war until just recently? Now that their situation had worsened, they wanted to stop?
War wasn’t some children’s game.
Of course, having lived for countless years, they had come to view politics and war as half-entertainment, but that didn’t mean they would simply acquiesce to such requests.
Facing Rodor’s attitude, Rin Arabion, the elder who had come as an envoy, spoke with a solemn expression:
“Apart from the document I just presented, I have something to discuss. May I request a private audience?”
“Well, fine. I’ll allow it. Everyone, withdraw.”
“Are you certain that’s wise?”
“What could he possibly do to harm me?”
Rin Arabion was one of Arabion’s most powerful elders and a veteran of war, but he was already over three hundred years old.
In contrast, Rodor, befitting his position as family head, possessed immense magical power while his physical age remained in his mid-thirties.
Considering that even in mage battles, age and physical health were important factors due to reflexes and stamina, there was virtually no possibility of anything happening.
Shortly after, with just the two of them remaining, Rodor created a sphere of light to illuminate the surroundings and asked:
“What’s on your mind? Surely you’re not going to appeal to our shared Eastern heritage or some such sentiment?”
The conversation that followed was not between a great family head and an elder, but between foreigners from distant lands.
Recognizing this, Rin straightened his previously bowed back and looked directly at Rodor.
“Our secret has been exposed.”
“To whom?”
“An illegitimate Zahar child named Turan. He’s currently building his forces in Kalamaf in the gray zone. We must crush him before he grows larger.”
“Turan? Ah, I’ve heard that name…”
After thinking briefly, Rodor remembered where he had heard the name.
Hadn’t Vermillion Phoenix—no, Talis—recently mentioned that he was his grandson?
“But isn’t this excuse too flimsy? Surely any of you could simply go and crush some native resistance.”
“It’s beyond that level. He’s already so powerful that even I would struggle to face him alone. He even has two companions of similar strength, and he can use soul magic. He’s already captured Rom, who couldn’t escape.”
Rodor was momentarily speechless at Rin’s explanation.
When beings like them revealed their true power, ordinary nobles would typically be crushed like insects.
Yet one of them had actually been captured?
Faced with this scarcely believable claim, Rodor immediately voiced his suspicion:
“Could it be something your leader created? Such a capable entity couldn’t possibly be born naturally.”
“I anticipated that reaction. The answer is ‘no.’ We already invested all our resources in creating Meisa. This one is a naturally occurring variable.”
Rodor stroked his short beard, deep in thought.
A natural mage so powerful that even vessels like them would struggle to defeat him.
A mysterious entity that hadn’t appeared once in thousands of years—his long-dead heart almost skipped a beat.
“Well, I understand the situation. So, what’s the price?”
“The price?”
“From what I’ve heard, this fellow seems to bare his fangs mainly at you and Baraha, with little connection to us. If you started the conflict, you should pay a price.”
Rin’s wrinkled face contorted at Rodor’s words.
He had always been an unpleasant character who called himself “The Lawyer” and acted superior, but Rin hadn’t expected him to seek advantage even in a situation threatening all of them.
“…Are you really going to take this approach?”
“Yes, I really am.”
After a moment of silent eye contact, Rin was the first to look away.
It was an inevitable result of the difference in their status, as well as the differences in magical power and vitality between their vessels.
“Fine, I’ll speak with our leader. Separately, I wanted to request assistance.”
“From us? What about Caesar?”
“We already approached him, but he was quite lukewarm.”
“I suspect he thinks you’re staging another one of your schemes? You’ve done that often enough.”
Rodor knew his suspicion was correct from Rin’s throat-clearing reaction.
How could someone be so easy to read after thousands of years?
There was good reason why that person had chosen Rom, now known as Kadram, as his confidant instead of the fool before him.
‘So Caesar has decided to remain neutral.’
Rodor understood the thinking of Caesar, Zahar’s ruler.
Everyone knew how treacherous he was.
Someone who was regularly exposed as a fraud on the forums every few months—would such a personality change just because he had ruled as a god for thousands of years?
Inwardly mocking him, Rodor made a casual gesture.
“Well, I’ve heard your story. I’ll hold off on providing assistance, but since you claim it concerns all of us, I’ll accept a modest price. You may withdraw now.”
“…Thank you.”
“My, how dare you address the family head so casually. You should say ‘thank you, Family Head.'”
“Thank you, Family Head.”
With Rin leaving after responding to the mockery in a tone like spitting, Rodor, now alone, whistled lightly.
A melody from distant memories that didn’t exist in this world.
‘To think my dilemma would be resolved so easily. How fortunate.’
In truth, Carmine wasn’t in a position to growl at Arabion, demanding compensation for agreeing to a ceasefire.
The existence of Giant Sea Serpent merfolk threatening the Northern Sea region had been a major concern.
Though they hadn’t physically clashed yet, it was impossible to withdraw significant forces from their capital, Avaccha.
Now, in a situation where a two-front war seemed inevitable, one side was requesting a ceasefire?
And in the midst of pretending to be strong, they’d even gotten a free meal—it couldn’t be better.
“Turan, Turan…”
After his momentary joy, Rodor mulled over the name he had just heard.
A dangerous element—a mere native of this world daring to rise to their level and challenge them.
‘While it might be fun to play with him, I should eliminate him when time permits.’
Cutting dangerous sprouts early—that had been the secret to their survival over thousands of years.
The Carmine family head added Turan’s name to his death list.
* * *
Whoosh—
Feeling the wind brush past his ears, Turan gazed at the distant gray zone.
Two days after receiving the urgent news.
He was flying north rapidly on Bije, accompanied by reinforcements from Ravitas.
“Are you alright, Bije?”
—So tired…
Bije’s voice sounded faint and broken in Turan’s mind.
It couldn’t be helped.
Bije was currently carrying a massive net with dozens of people hanging from her legs, flying at full speed without rest.
No matter how powerful a magical beast she was, there were clear limits to her strength and stamina.
“I’m truly sorry. But please hold on a little longer. Meisa and Solif, and everyone else, are in danger.”
—Okay…
With the sound of flapping wings, the ground continued to rush past below them.
Turan tried to calm his growing anxiety as he looked down.
‘Two highest-tier nobles, five upper-rank, fifteen mid-rank… this force should be sufficient.’
Though the best reinforcement would have been Family Head Osel himself, having just risen from his sickbed, he couldn’t yet function as an effective combat force.
Moreover, mobilizing him would leave the Ravitas main house too vulnerable.
In contrast, the high-ranking nobles who had been helping treat Osel merely lacked magical power and stamina, which could be replenished while flying.
Of course, in the current situation, though magical power might recover, proper physical recovery seemed unlikely.
“Is it still far?”
“We’re almost there!”
“Ugh, next time please arrange for us to travel sitting down…”
Below, one of the Ravitas nobles hanging from the net covered his mouth, seeming nauseous.
It would have been better to have the large saddle they had used when crossing the mountains with the Berk family members, but unfortunately, having left it in Kalamaf, they were using a hastily made net saddle.
At least Turan was riding directly on Bije’s back, using the excuse that he was controlling her movement.
As they approached Kalamaf, Turan closed his eyes and used tracking magic to locate Meisa.
‘Southwest of Kalamaf… I smell blood. Is she injured?’
Clicking his tongue at the worry that suddenly arose, Turan next detected Solif’s presence.
The two weren’t far apart.
He then checked for Asiz, Melo, and the Berk couple, finding them all in a similar direction.
It seemed they were fleeing the city.
This meant the enemy was too powerful to confront.
‘Could it be?’
In the current Arabion, there was only one such force.
Turan realized his dreaded suspicion had become reality.
“So he’s come.”
His fearful murmur dissipated into the air.
Shortly after, Bije, carrying Turan and the Ravitas mages, flew more slowly, exhausted to the point of collapse.
Just before complete exhaustion, Turan instructed her to land.
“You’ve worked so hard, Bije. Rest well.”
—Turan, the fight…
“I’ll handle this myself.”
A tired Bije would only be a liability in battle, causing more concern than help.
Seeming to understand Turan’s thoughts, Bije nestled inside his body and fell asleep.
While the Ravitas mages who had landed stretched their stiff joints, Turan immediately located his companions using tracking magic.
“This way. Let’s run.”
“Yes.”
Though the Ravitas mages would have preferred to rest after the uncomfortable journey hanging from Bije’s net, they couldn’t say so in front of Turan, who looked ready to die from urgency.
The twenty or so mages ran over the low hills at a speed faster than any wild animal.
Before long, bright lights and thunderous sounds announced their destination in the distance.
The battle was taking place at the boundary between the gray zone and the western forest region, closer to the forest.
“Over there!”
“I’ll go ahead!”
After notifying the highest-tier Ravitas noble who had accompanied him, Turan immediately leaped into the air with a single kick.
His body shot forward at a speed even faster than before.
‘I hope they’re safe…’
The fact that tracking magic was working meant the targets’ bodies still existed intact.
When tracking the dead, unless recently deceased, the distinctive smell of corpses would inevitably be detected.
Though he understood this intellectually, he couldn’t help worrying whether Meisa, Solif, and the others had come to harm.
His urgent feelings transferred directly to his magic, allowing him to fly even faster than usual.
Shortly after, the battle scene came into view.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Die! You filthy traitors!”
“Please spare me!”
“Hold on just a little longer!”
The first thing he saw was Arabion mages attacking the Berk family members.
Outnumbered, the Berk mages had clustered together in a defensive formation, but they were clearly struggling.
Toward them, Turan stopped his flight and immediately launched a steel ball from his sling.
The ball, traveling along a wind path he had created as naturally as breathing, tore through the air and exploded at the target point with a thunderous boom.
“Kyaaah!”
“Ugh!”
Those who screamed were the Berk family members.
Naturally, the pursuing Arabion mages had been instantly torn apart by the impact.
After a moment of shock at this unexpected attack, their faces brightened as Turan flew toward them.
“Ah…!”
“Lord Turan!”
“Thank you!”
“Which way are you moving?”
With no time to accept their gratitude, Turan immediately got to the point.
The apparent leader answered:
“We’re moving toward the western gorge. We were ambushed on the way and scattered, so I don’t know where the others are…”
“I’ll handle that. For now, retreat there.”
“Yes!”
After saving one group, Turan set his tracking magic to locate Meisa and Solif again.
In truth, there was no need for that to find them.
They were at the epicenter of the most intense fighting in the area.
Before long, Turan could see Meisa and Solif, covered in blood, engaged in a desperate battle.
And opposite them, an elderly man.
As if sensing Turan’s presence, the elderly man paused in his assault against the two and took a deep breath.
A familiar aged voice reached Turan’s ears.
“So I finally meet the friend who kidnapped my daughter.”
Badal Arabion, the Arabion family head, greeted him with a joke, his face devoid of any humor.