Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 178.2

Translator: Pai_

“......In that situation, the arrival of a letter from the head of House Parsha was such perfect timing. I immediately declared to my house that I would research the secret of Soul Chains, and that there was no need to listen to anything from those Aravion bastards.”

“Is head Osel’s grip on control weakening?”

“Well, he’s still a child in some ways. He hasn’t been the family head for long.”

Though Osel was already well over a hundred years old, a respectable age even by noble standards, he was considered quite young among the heads of the great noble houses.

He had only assumed the position of family head a few years ago.

Thus, many still viewed his decisions as excessively rash or lacking in maturity.

Of course, due to the authority the title of family head carries, no one would say such things openly, but compared to those who had ruled for centuries, he inevitably lacked authority.

“If it were outright rebellion, that’d be one thing, but since they’re presenting their opinions for the sake of the house, it’s hard to just stamp them out. It’s always the internal rot that causes the worst damage.”

“That’s true.”

Had it been the wandering Turan of the past, he would have found Osel’s attitude frustrating and would have insisted on immediately cutting down those supporting Aravion.

But as the current head of a noble house, Turan could understand the sentiment.

Unless someone had clearly turned traitor and abandoned their house, purging them simply for having a differing opinion would, first, reduce the house’s overall strength, and second, provoke suspicion and scorn even from one’s supporters.

“In any case, if it’s all right, I’d like to relay another message to the family head through Bije soon. We’ll only be able to crush the other side’s opinion if we inform him that a Soul Manipulation Technique user is here and that research is progressing smoothly.”

“Understood. Bije, are you all right with that? You’ve been working really hard lately.”

-That much is fine!

“She says she’s fine.”

-Thank you, good girl.

When Rida rubbed her beak against Bije, Bije lifted and set down both legs once before sharply turning her head away.

“By the way, Rida nim, I know this might be a bit rude to ask, but……”

“You’re wondering why I rejected Aravion’s offer so firmly, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Currently, Rida was one of the oldest elders within the House Lavitas.

Among over a hundred Lavitas nobles, she ranked in the top three.

Although the aging of Soul Chains tends to slow the stronger one’s magic is, there’s considerable variation among individuals, so even if she were to die tomorrow, it wouldn’t be considered strange.

Tomorrow, or perhaps the day after.

In other words, she was the very person who should have most eagerly welcomed Aravion’s offer.

“There were a few others who asked me the same. As for the reason, hmm. It’s hard to explain in words……”

Rida pursed her lips, as though unsure how to explain what she felt to Turan.

“When you reach this age, most people fall into one of two types. Those who want to live longer because life is enjoyable, and those who want to live longer because life is painful but death is terrifying.”

Ordinary wizards or humans, as they age, experience physical decay and constant suffering, and so most tend to shift from the first category to the second. But Lavitas nobles were different.

For those with ageless bodies, death was merely an unexpected guest arriving amid eternal youth.

“I enjoy life as a Lavitas noble. This life where I can indulge in every pleasure and be revered as I please is truly delightful. But even if I were to extend my life further…… if that meant sitting atop the blood and flesh of my friends, how much joy could I truly feel? Even the small vices I’ve accumulated over the years haunt me every night.”

She added, as she had said to persuade others, that she honestly didn’t believe those people truly possessed such secret knowledge either.

“Indeed, if they really did know how to delay the aging of Soul Chains, they would have already tried to devour Lavitas.”

Through the testimony of the half-elves from Varaha and other ancient gods, Turan now understood how they infiltrated great noble houses.

First, they would kidnap a noble of relatively low rank, someone with few close connections and infrequent contact, and replace their body.

Then, the one with that body, now subtly different from before, would expand their social network and build relationships far and wide.

Their own power might not be strong, but they would target individuals deeply connected to the leadership of the house.

Once they identified a second target, they would befriend them, learn their speech, relationships, and even small habits. Then they would abduct them and possess the most skilled impersonator in their group.

By that point, the takeover of a great noble house was already halfway complete.

With two nobles, even capable of using their skills, it wasn’t hard to set traps and overpower a third.

All the more so if they were close enough to lull the victim into letting their guard down.

In this way, with three or four infiltrators in one house, they would occupy key leadership positions, forge ties with the successor, and finally consume the heir and ascend as family head. Then it was over.

There were times when such clumsy attempts were exposed, leading to the total annihilation of a great noble house, but generally, this was the method.

“Anyway…… thank you, Rida nim.”

Turan had experienced many times in his not-so-long life that kindness does not always return as kindness.

Compared to that, Rida’s attitude was genuinely noble beyond words.

“Don’t embarrass me like that. Hmm, let’s talk about something else. Meisa, have you tried playing music for the baby-”

Perhaps embarrassed by Turan’s sincere gratitude, Rida, who was usually witty and glib, blushed faintly and changed the subject.

To the topic of child-rearing knowledge, which was the area Turan and his wife lacked the most.

*

The next day, Bije, with a letter personally written by Rida tied to her leg, flew once more toward Lavitas.

Turan granted Rida almost unrestricted access within the House Parsha, giving her authority practically equal to his own.

Thanks to that, not only could she go underground and analyze the Soul Manipulation Technique alongside Nia, but she was also able to enjoy quite an interesting time.

“Ohh, so this is the weapon?”

“Yes. There are still many shortcomings, but……”

“Amazing! If we had something like this, we would truly have nothing to fear.”

What especially caught her attention was the firearm being researched under the direction of Melo.

Since the Lavitas bloodline was inherently lacking in combat capabilities, she found great appeal in a weapon that could deliver immense firepower with ease.

Seeing her interest in weapons, Meisa personally used Enchanter Magic to create a pistol for her.

Naturally, despite all this, she did not neglect her research into Soul Manipulation Technique.

For several days, she had Nia continuously use the technique until she was exhausted, collecting various data. In the end, Rida achieved meaningful results even faster than expected.

"Ah, ahh. So possession through spirits works like this."

The one speaking to Turan was not Rida, but a death row convict who had murdered his entire family in a drunken rage in a back alley of Kalamaf just a few days prior.

Having seen and heard things he never should have, it was obvious he wouldn’t be allowed to leave alive once the experiment was done.

“I knew the connection between spirit forms wasn’t physical, but it’s even more profound than I thought. Should I say that the connection between all bodies and souls essentially extends through that distant sea of spiritual forms......”

While Turan had superior talent in soul magic, Rida possessed centuries’ worth of knowledge and experience in the mysteries of the soul.

After having Nia demonstrate the Soul Manipulation Technique several times, she seemed to delve into independent research, and then suddenly developed a technique for soul possession!

This was different from the existing techniques in soul magic or the method used by fallen gods to transfer between vessels.

Those beings transformed their bodies into something like a spirit form and embedded themselves in others' spiritual bodies, whereas Rida’s method used her own soul entity to suppress the opponent’s temporarily and control the body.

Simply put, what Rida invented was a way to use soul magic to employ the Soul Manipulation Technique.

“How could a human even use the Soul Manipulation Technique......?”

“I can already grasp the general technique one would need to learn. I must write it down carefully and send it to the head of House Parsha. Now then, let’s proceed to the next experiment, Princess.”

“I’d rather rest just a bit longer……”

“Tut-tut, young people shouldn’t be so lazy.”

“I’m probably a hundred years older than you.”

As they bickered playfully like this, a reply arrived from Osel.

The content was that many still doubted whether House Parsha truly possessed a White Elf Soul Manipulator, so he asked if he could send a few people to verify it directly.

Bije had to fly off once again, this time carrying Turan’s letter of acceptance.

After the golden eagle suffered through flights measured in tens of thousands of kilometers over several days, a relatively peaceful routine followed.

Of course, that didn’t mean Turan was idle.

He worked in person to cover the gaps left by forces dispatched eastward, studied with Rida on how to handle Soul Manipulation Technique using soul magic, researched methods to restore Soul Chains, and devised ways to improve firearms……

In the midst of all that hard work, at last, the army returned through the Jade Mirror installed in the underground of the house Parsha.

“Reporting to the family head! The Ruvan expeditionary force has all returned safely!”

Haram, who had taken over as commander of the Parsha forces in Turan’s absence, saluted and called out with precision.

Over the past month, they had stabilized the Ruvan territory alongside Solif, then returned through Helio City.

Turan welcomed the returning soldiers, healed a few who had been injured here and there, and then called Haram aside to ask how things had gone.

“Was the cleanup in Ruvan wrapped up smoothly, Master?”

“Yes. Of course, there are still many issues, but I believe most of the urgent matters have already been handled.”

If the House Ruvan were to be completely wiped out, the lack of wizards to protect the Frostwind Forest region’s people from magical beasts would become a serious issue.

Thus, Solif appointed a relatively young and talented noble from House Ruvan as the new family head, establishing a sort of puppet government.

Of course, regardless of who initiated the war, the people of House Ruvan would harbor resentment toward Varaha for slaughtering their family. However, considering the treaty that bound them and the difference in power between the two factions, there would likely be no room for conflict for several generations.

“Above all, their family head’s magic power was stolen.”

“Well, true......”

What was it that made the heads of great noble houses possess transcendent strength?

It was precisely the hereditary transmission of the family head’s magic power, power that was on a completely different level from even the highest-ranking nobles.

But House Ruvan had lost the corpse of Calais, who inherited that power, and naturally, even with the passage of time, the new family head would lack that legacy of strength.

This was a problem that could only be solved over several generations, perhaps more than ten, as the number of nobles increased and their accumulated magic power gradually grew again.

“Then we can consider the situation with House Ruvan resolved, and since Solif likely won’t return for a few more weeks, it looks like a period of rest for now. Please relay this to the others as well.”

“Understood.”

It seemed they could rest for about a month and then target either Carmine or Aravion next.

Personally, Turan judged that targeting Aravion would be the better move.

Since Meisa was within their ranks, it would be easier to trigger internal division and bring them down. And if Badal fell, their strongest remaining card would be neutralized as well.

Just as Turan gave orders for rest and healed the returning soldiers, news of a crisis came far too soon, only two days later.

The one who brought the news through the Jade Mirror was none other than Berit.

“Family head.”

“What is it?”

This should have been a time when she was busy overseeing the House Varaha, which was also facing a major power vacuum due to Solif’s absence.

Responding to Turan’s gaze, Berit spoke with a noticeably pale face.

“It hasn’t been confirmed exactly what’s happened yet, but it seems that something major has occurred inside House Zahar.”

*****

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