Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

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Morgen City, the capital of Arabion, was truly a city with the most ideal conditions for forming a metropolis.

First, it was the center of the Dakein Plains which had immense population-sustaining capacity.

Second, there were no mountains to block city expansion, and the massive Ribel River flowed through the city.

Finally third, it was protected by Arabion, one of the world’s most powerful great houses possessing the Storm bloodline.

While other great house capitals had populations between 100,000 to 500,000, Morgen’s population exceeded one million, so no one paid attention to one or two wanderers entering and leaving the city.

This was why a middle-aged traveler could naturally enter Morgen City.

Perfectly disguised, Turan looked around what was considered the world’s greatest city like typical country travelers do.

‘Even seeing it again, it’s still breathtakingly huge…’

Though he had visited Morgen once before, he had only watched the departure ceremony from the outskirts without entering inside. This was his first time entering the interior.

As Turan walked further in, he could tell this city was quite meticulously designed.

From residential areas where commoners lived to nearby entertainment districts with theaters, gambling houses, bathhouses and brothels, and commercial zones for them, going further in there were refined cultural facilities like libraries, debate halls and exercise grounds for those of higher status.

Noisy and smelly places like blacksmiths, paper mills, and dye factories were placed far from residential areas, but well-paved wide roads allowed large carriages to constantly transport people back and forth.

The whole city felt like a well-crafted work of art.

All the various pollutants generated by so many people gathering were washed away to the river through well-maintained sewers, and these were naturally purified while flowing downstream due to magical devices installed inside the river.

It seemed several top-tier magical devices utilizing Purifier bloodline power were installed.

While admiring such internal design, Turan also made sure to check the magical power and bloodlines of passing people by activating the holy relic’s senses.

Befitting a great house’s capital, knights and nobles could be easily seen among passersby, and surprisingly many of them wore common clothing like Turan.

While some of them were probably just wanderers who didn’t want to draw attention or reveal themselves to Arabion, if not that, they were likely criminals or spies.

After walking for several hours while observing passing people thus.

Finally, Arabion’s main house at the city center came into view.

At that brilliant sight, Turan unconsciously covered his eyes with his hand and muttered.

“Ah, it’s blinding…”

This wasn’t a metaphorical expression about being dazzled by splendor – the magical lamps densely embedded in the white castle walls were truly blinding.

If a Zahar noble tried to infiltrate using stealth magic, their magical power would be completely depleted instantly.

Turan slowly circled the castle walls to confirm that Arabion’s main house was completely surrounded by these ‘walls of light.’

There was only one large castle gate open for entry.

Four nobles and forty knights were stationed in front, with inspectors checking the identity of passing people.

Of course, this place too was full of magical lamps making stealth difficult, and likely had detection magical devices similar to what Meisa had used before.

What about flying over to enter?

That too was defended against, with the entire open area above the walls covered in magical nets.

Since Arabion’s vassals had no Barrier bloodline, they must have used magical devices or invited outside help.

Moreover, these magical nets extended underground too, apparently considering earth-shaping to dig underneath.

‘Can’t even analyze inside with the holy relic.’

Currently Turan could detect magical power within about 500 meters radius and bloodlines within 50 meters when maximally activating the Imitator holy relic, but both detection abilities failed to work past the checkpoint.

This seemed to be either part of the barrier’s power or some separate countermeasure against detection abilities.

After thoroughly examining the surroundings, Turan admitted that entry through direct methods using stealth was impossible.

Of course, if it had been that easy, Zahar nobles would have already wreaked havoc here long ago, so this was natural.

However, this didn’t mean he was giving up.

* * *

“Name and occupation.”

“Beka, gardener.”

When the man who appeared to be in his early thirties stated his name, the inspector flipped through the documents beside him to the ‘gardener’ section.

Soon he found the page with information about the gardener named Beka.

Red bob cut, brown eyes, bulbous nose, buck teeth, medium height with protruding belly and one slightly shorter leg, long scar on cheek.

Not only did all characteristics match perfectly, but the face was identical to the magically drawn portrait.

After checking the entry pass as well, the inspector nodded.

“Pass.”

“Thank you!”

The gardener Beka energetically bowed and passed through the checkpoint into the main house.

Elegant and neat buildings befitting where core members of a great house resided.

Beka, or rather Turan, smiled while watching passing people.

‘Got in easier than expected.’

After staying at a lodge near the walls of light for a day, Turan had walked around the gate area several times changing his appearance to avoid attention and understand the inspection system.

As a result, he found that Arabion didn’t control entry to the main house as strictly as expected.

Of course, with over a hundred nobles, thousand knights, and over ten thousand servants inside to attend them, precisely controlling all their entry and exit would be impossible.

Just drawing portraits and making entry passes for everyone was already a security level unheard of in ordinary houses.

Turan approached several servants who seemed least likely to draw attention, and after several attempts, found one gardener on vacation, got him very drunk, stole his appearance, entry pass and clothes, leaving three silver coins instead.

The gardener would have trouble entering later without his pass when he sobered up, but with no entry records, the chance of noticing the same person entered twice was low.

Even if the inspector remembered, with hundreds of inspections daily he would likely dismiss it as his imagination… ‘Besides, I won’t keep this face anyway.’

Though he had drunk and chatted with Beka, he hadn’t learned details about what kind of person he was or his relationships with family and friends.

Meaning if he encountered acquaintances of the face’s owner, his identity would be immediately exposed.

To avoid such awkward situations, Turan hid in the shadow of a building closest to the walls and created a face mixing features of several Arabion knights he had seen at the checkpoint earlier.

Age around late teens with blonde hair and brown eyes, somewhat short and slim build.

Replacing the shabby gardener clothes with training clothes brought from House Berk created one young Arabion apprentice knight.

After stuffing his original clothes into the large-capacity pocket, Turan walked the main road with utmost confidence.

‘So this is what a great house’s main house is like.’

When he raised the holy relic’s senses, countless mages and magical devices could be felt.

Turan carefully analyzed their strength one by one.

‘Among nobles, seems about fifteen lowest tier, thirty low tier, forty-two mid tier, seventeen high tier, and five top tier. Too many knights to count…’

Originally after obtaining the Imitator holy relic, Turan had roughly classified nobles’ strength by observing their magical power, but after recent discussion with his companions, they divided this into five clear tiers.

This was to relatively simply convey the strength of observed opponents.

First, knights were all basically acorns measuring themselves from nobles’ perspective so they were excluded.

Lowest tier were those still too young to fully awaken their magical power or particularly untalented among ordinary nobles, barely awakening bloodline abilities.

Low tier was average for ordinary nobles, or bottom level among great house nobles.

Mid tier was relatively talented among ordinary nobles or average level in great houses.

High tier was house head level among ordinary houses or elite level in great houses.

Top tier was among the few strongest even in great houses, young enough to be considered future house head candidates.

‘And finally there’s one more.’

Turan saw a mass of light in human form inside the largest building in the main house.

A crystallization of power so mighty that even the top tier noble next door, presumably Meisa, seemed diminutive in comparison.

This must be Badal Arabion, Meisa’s father and strongest of the Storm bloodline, head of House Arabion.

‘It wouldn’t be surprising if that guy’s true identity was Freya divine tribe.’

The magical power of a great house head that he directly observed for the first time was that overwhelmingly powerful.

Could Meisa accumulate such power even after living hundreds of years?

And what about the Zahar house head who supposedly fought this monster as an equal?

While internally questioning this, Turan slowly confirmed the overall structure of Arabion’s main house.

First, the largest mansion in the center was likely the house head’s residence, and right next to it was Meisa’s slightly smaller residence.

Though some buildings showed no human presence as if out on business so he couldn’t be certain, it seemed higher status individuals received residences closer to the center.

Relatively smaller houses only showed presence of knights and commoners, so they were probably residences for knights or their families, or servants.

Since Beka whose identity he had stolen was also a knight’s son, most servants here were likely knights’ family members.

Passing by where young knights were training hard with shouts, Meisa’s presumed mansion came into view.

The second largest building inside these main house walls, right next to the main mansion where the house head stayed.

Within that huge mansion only six presences could be felt – five commoners and Meisa.

Compared to other mansions with several knights and nobles and dozens of servants, this was a strangely small number.

Wondering if there might be boundary magical devices like what Rida used before, he carefully investigated but felt no magical devices inside besides what Meisa herself possessed.

‘Is it a trap?’

Though such lax security seemed excessive for where Arabion’s heir stayed, there was no reason for them to set a trap.

He hadn’t left any signs or clues while infiltrating so far.

Surely they weren’t preparing daily for Zahar nobles who might come at any time?

After much contemplation, Turan used stealth magic in the mansion wall’s shadow and climbed over.

Fortunately no alarms suddenly rang bringing dozens of nobles running.

‘Success.’

Breathing a sigh of relief, Turan visually examined the mansion’s interior.

First visible was a garden with wildly tangled trees growing everywhere.

Ivy densely covered the walls and windows, and many of the dozens of windows were broken or dirty.

If he hadn’t known people were inside, the exterior looked like an abandoned mansion.

The room he entered through a broken window was empty without any furniture, and coming out through the door showed all surrounding rooms were similar.

This was visible because all the room doors were wide open.

Not a single tapestry or painting hung on the corridor walls for decoration.

The maids gathered on the first floor were all elderly women in their fifties to sixties who should have retired long ago.

The maids worked their tasks without exchanging a single word of gossip in lifeless attitudes, making it difficult to gather information.

After watching them for a while as they embroidered or read books in half-hearted work, Turan went up to the second floor where Meisa was.

Past several wide open empty rooms like the first floor, one closed room appeared.

Creak- carefully opening the unlocked door revealed old dusty furniture.

In one corner of that dusty room, Meisa lay sleeping curled up under blankets with an extremely thin body.

If not for the elaborate magical devices wrapped around her whole body, she looked more like a starving laborer’s daughter than a great house’s heir.

And at that, one on the verge of death from months of starvation.

‘No matter how I think about it this is strange… such a shabby place, and this defenseless situation?’

At this level Meisa should have developed paranoid delusions about assassins always lurking nearby.

The Berk mansion felt far better defended against assassination than this.

What reason could there be for neglecting the heir like this?… If Turan had been a Zahar assassin, this would have been the perfect opportunity.

Though the various magical devices protecting her body would make instant killing difficult.

Turan considered speaking to Meisa immediately but decided against it in case there were secret watching eyes nearby.

Though the holy relic’s senses felt nothing, there might be techniques in this world that could deceive even that.

For now it seemed best to use this mansion that was large but empty of people as a base to observe the surrounding situation further.

‘Fortunately they don’t seem to have greatly considered Zahar nobles infiltrating inside.’

If they had densely embedded magical lamps inside the walls too it would have been difficult to act at night, but they apparently didn’t want to go that far.

They probably disliked the brightness too and it would make sleeping difficult if night was as bright as day.

Of course, approaching the main building with the house head like this would be difficult.

What Turan was considering was investigating the mansions of influential figures within Arabion like Kadram who he had met before.

He could eavesdrop on their conversations or secretly steal internal documents.

Just as he was thinking about preparing a place to stay in some corner of this mansion, he sensed one presence approaching from far away.

One mage with high tier noble magical power.

The body silhouette suggested a woman, and when she came close enough to check her bloodline, Turan’s face hardened.

‘This is…’

The mage who entered the mansion naturally exchanged greetings with other maids, then carried something up to Meisa’s room on the second floor.

Knock knock, her manner suggested she frequented here quite familiarly.

“Young miss, I brought the books you asked for.”

After several seconds, she opened the door and stared at the soundly sleeping Meisa for a while before placing several books on the desk beside her and leaving.

Turan briefly checked the books she had left before carefully following the unidentified high tier noble.

‘Who is this woman?’

Outwardly she appeared to be just a maid in her early thirties.

But inside this woman who actually possessed high tier noble magical power, the darkness and eye symbols unique to Zahar could be felt.