Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 203

Translator: Pai_

After Turan had fallen asleep as if he had fainted, the wizards of the House Parsha immediately began organizing the battlefield.

The most urgent task was identifying and managing the wounded who were not yet dead.

However, the healers, having nearly exhausted all their magic power during the battle, could only gasp for breath.

"There's no time, quickly use healing magic!"

“Wait, let me just catch my breath for a moment...”

“People are dying, what do you mean rest-”

“Enough, send that person over here.”

The one who had been shouting in a heated voice shut his mouth when he saw the woman who stepped in his way.

That person was none other than Meisa Aravion, who had just moments ago swept away nearly half the monsters that had charged at them in an instant.

“Send the wounded this way.”

“Meisa nim...”

Several magic artifacts that helped with recovery, similar to the healing potion magic artifact used before, came out of her pouch.

Thanks to the addition of her powerful magic power, quite a number of those in critical condition were able to overcome the crisis shortly afterward.

In the meantime, those who were relatively unharmed began carrying out the usual tasks required in wizard warfare, such as burning the corpses of monsters, identifying the deceased, and distributing magic power according to their merits.

However, there were some matters that were difficult for them to handle on their own, one of which was the treatment of the surviving Aravion prisoners.

“What should we do with these individuals, gamo nim?” (TL Note: Gamo here means something like 'lady of the house' or 'matron')

Originally, Meisa was not formally engaged to Turan, so she was neither his spouse nor anything official, but they naturally called her gamo.

One would have to be a fool not to know who the father of the child growing in that noticeably rounded belly was.

Meisa, who had been staring at the prisoners with a heavy expression, soon shook her head and let out a small sigh.

“For now, lock them all up with the restraints we prepared. Make sure they are thoroughly monitored. Take out the healers separately and have them heal our wounded.”

“Understood.”

Some of them tried to act familiar with Meisa, but she deliberately avoided looking at the prisoners.

If Turan had been well, she might have acknowledged them to prepare for eventually seizing control of Aravion, but that was not the situation now.

Even while taking care of all the work, Meisa kept the unconscious Turan close by her side.

She had not forgotten the last thing he said, that the Monarch might be watching them from somewhere.

Once the treatment was complete, Meisa returned to the tent with Turan.

Looking down at her lover, who was sleeping with an innocent expression, she let out a deep sigh.

‘Could it really be... that there are no side effects at all?’

She had heard from him that it was power without cost, but the change was so great that it was hard to believe it literally.

Hadn’t he become incomparably stronger than he was just a moment ago?

Of course, Turan had never lied about something like this before, but this could very well be his first lie.

While she was deep in thought, the nobles of Parsha, having completed their organization, came to Meisa to ask about the next course of action.

“What was the original plan?”

“We were to return to Kalamaf first and reorganize.”

“Then do that.”

Meisa knew well that she was neither a particularly brilliant strategist nor a tactician.

She had no deep knowledge learned in that field, nor was she a natural genius.

Therefore, it was at least a wise decision to move under the grand strategy that Turan had laid out.

*

Turan opened his eyes exactly three days after he had collapsed.

The moment he opened his eyes, he paused slightly at the sight of bright blue eyes, then gave a broad smile.

At that sight, Meisa, who had a lot to say, also let out a laugh and shook her head.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Like a rock. Where are we?”

“We're about a day's distance west from Kalamaf.”

Upon hearing that, he lifted his upper body and realized that they were inside a large carriage.

It had originally been built to conceal Meisa’s body, so it was spacious enough to carry both of them comfortably.

“How long have I been out?”

“Three days. If you didn’t wake up soon, I was about to slap you, but you got up just in time.”

“That would’ve been bad.”

While chatting lightly with Meisa, Turan turned part of his consciousness inward.

He could feel that his four symbols, which had once been completely shattered but now had taken the form of a boy holding lightning, were still intact.

Unlike other gods who had to combine their symbols to fully exercise their power, for him, the form of these symbols seemed so natural that there was no need for any combination.

“Now that you're awake, tell me. What’s with that power? Any side effects?”

“As I said before, there aren’t really any side effects. Just a few things I need to be careful about.”

For Meisa, who was feeling anxious, Turan calmly explained the insight he had gained this time.

After hearing everything, she looked at him with an expression of disbelief.

“A new god's symbol... then, does that mean you became a god?”

“I can now use power similar to that of the gods. But if you're asking whether the power itself is equal to theirs, then not quite.”

It was true that he could draw out strength beyond the magic power he had through the fusion of the Shepherd symbol, but that didn’t mean the total amount of magic power had increased.

"Oh, speaking of which, what about Badal's body?"

"I've secured it. Should we absorb it now?”

“We should. Three days is still within the safe zone, but just in case.”

There was the possibility that hostile forces, including the Monarch, might secretly try to steal the body, and even if not, if a powerful wizard like Badal were to be turned into an undead spirit, it would be a dreadful disaster in itself.

“But before that, we should let everyone know that I’m awake...”

As Turan murmured and opened the carriage door, a few wizards walking indifferently right beside him jumped up as if startled by a seizure.

“F-Family Head!”

“You’re awake!”

“Yes. Sorry for falling asleep at such a critical time.”

“Not at all!”

“We were only waiting for Family Head nim to open his eyes...”

Turan was flustered by their reaction, to the point that some even started to cry.

And it wasn’t even someone from House Parsha but someone dispatched from Varaha.

This was because the divine might Turan had shown in the previous battle had been transcendental, even by the standards of powerful family heads, but such things were hard for the person themselves to feel.

Because of the noise stirred by the news that the family head had awakened, the marching column came to a halt, and he had no choice but to meet with the high-ranking officers of the army and acknowledge their efforts before handling other matters.

Fortunately, none of the powerful nobles of Parsha, including Haram, had died.

"There were fewer casualties than expected."

“The battle on the surface itself was rather one-sided, and thanks to gamo nim’s intervention just before those monsters could cause real damage.”

At Haram’s words, Turan glanced at Meisa, who was sitting by the carriage entrance, then nodded with a sound.

Now that she had revealed herself in front of everyone, there was no longer any point in hiding it.

“How many prisoners do we have?”

“About eight hundred. Since there are too many, we only put restraints on the nobles. The knights have been disarmed and are following under supervision.”

"Well, that should be fine. Unless they're idiots, they wouldn't remain loyal after seeing that scene."

The sight of the surviving nobles and a considerable number of knights from Nagin simultaneously transforming into monsters had been terrifying beyond belief.

The very thought that such an evil magic user had existed within their own army would naturally crush any remaining will to fight.

“Line up all the prisoners.”

“Understood.”

At Turan’s order, the surviving wizards from the Aravion and Nagin sides quickly lined up in several rows.

They looked at each other with anxious expressions.

Though the likelihood was low, they couldn’t help but worry that the Parsha people might simply kill them all on the spot.

“Don’t be stupid. Why would they do that when every wizard is precious?”

“But you saw it too. That horrible magic. Just thinking we might end up like that too...”

At the whispered suggestion that they might be killed because no one knew when they could turn into monsters, the faces of those nearby also turned pale with fear.

However, contrary to their pessimistic expectations, Turan simply walked past the lined-up prisoners and quietly observed them.

His attitude was so indifferent that it made people tilt their heads, wondering what he could possibly be discerning by just looking like that.

Of course, in reality, he was examining each of their inner selves through the power of the Mimic Sacred Relic.

‘This one’s Frost, that one’s Storm, this one’s Ruler, that one’s Pyromaniac... As I thought, the bodies controlled by the Monarch have already fled.’

From what he had seen before, the puppets controlled by the Monarch did not show bloodline symbols, and there were none like that among the prisoners.

They must have either died during the battle or escaped amidst the collapse.

Having confirmed the potential threats, Turan next stepped down from the carriage and took Meisa’s hand.

Originally, they would have needed to be cautious to hide her pregnancy, but since everyone had already seen it, there was no longer any need to conceal it.

After all, getting thousands of wizards gathered here to all keep their mouths shut was something even a real member of the Preah God Tribe couldn’t do.

“Where’s Badal’s body?”

“Behind the carriage. I froze it so it wouldn’t rot and smell.”

“Oh.”

As she said, a block of ice was hanging behind the carriage.

Badal’s headless corpse, stripped of all his magic artifacts, was wearing only underwear and looked nothing short of grotesque.

“There was talk about dressing him in something since he was the family head of House Aravion and my father, but... I didn’t feel like it.”

When he glanced over, Meisa made excuses as if feeling guilty.

Naturally, Turan had no intention of treating him with any courtesy.

Personally, Badal was the enemy of Haroon, and publicly, he was the right-hand man of a villain who had committed countless unspeakable atrocities.

“Then.”

“Yeah.”

The number of people who could absorb the magic power without loss was four in total.

Turan and Meisa took one spot each, and the remaining two went to a few nobles from Parsha and Varaha who had not yet reached their limits.

“Ugh.”

“It’s done.”

As expected, they quickly reached their limits after absorbing only a small amount of Badal’s magic power and had to keep rotating.

Such was the overwhelming power held by a family head of a great noble house.

Compared to them, Turan didn’t feel much from absorbing Badal’s magic power.

He was already equal to or slightly superior to Badal in terms of pure magic quantity, so it was no more than absorbing the power of an equal-level wizard or magical beast.

‘Once I absorb this too, there really won’t be any joy left in absorbing magic power.’

There were only five remaining family head-level wizards in the world besides Turan.

Meisa, Solif, Osel of House Lavitas, Rahman of House Zahar, and Rodor of House Carmine.

Since all of them had less magic power than Badal, the thrill of growth would soon become a thing of the past.

As he was lost in thought, watching the two remaining positions rotate several times, Meisa suddenly let out a short gasp.

“Why?”

“...I think the fourth one just opened.”

Even as he asked, Turan already had a good idea of what had surprised her.

Next to the three symbols that resided within her, the fourth and final symbol, a clenched fist, had appeared.

Meisa had succeeded in fully awakening all four bloodlines of the Thunder Lord.

‘So that’s what the Monarch wanted, someone with the potential to awaken all four bloodlines.’

Whether it was deliberately set up that way or not, the moment the fourth bloodline opened, Meisa reached her limit and could no longer absorb any more magic power.

Eventually, Badal’s body, having had all its magic power drained, was burned to ashes on the spot.

A few of the Aravion prisoners watching from a distance showed signs of agitation, but there was no need to pay them any attention.

The wizards of Parsha and Varaha, at least, were cheering at the sight.

Feeling the slightly increased power within him, Turan ordered the march to resume and entered the carriage with Meisa.

“Can you make the Thunder Lord’s symbol?”

“Yeah. Want me to try?”

As if she had been eager for it all along, Meisa didn’t even wait for an answer before activating the power of the Thunder Lord.

Just like the phenomenon he had seen from Badal not long ago, when the clenched fist struck anvil with a hammer, lightning and wind arose, a surge of violet lightning crackled up from Meisa’s hand.

“This is it.”

“Careful. If it hits the carriage, it could blow the whole thing up in one shot.”

He had already experienced just how terrifyingly destructive that violet lightning was not too long ago.

He decided to put off exploring the power of the Thunder Lord’s symbol in detail and began analyzing the newly awakened Shepherd bloodline ability instead.

“So, the bloodline powers from Aravion and Zahar are still intact, right?”

“Yeah. I can still sense lightning and wind, and the sense of smell... it’s still there.”

“Don’t!”

When Turan teasingly pretended to sniff, Meisa flinched and reached out in a panic.

With a loud bang, Turan’s body slammed into the corner of the carriage.

“Ugh.”

“Ah, sorry... I didn’t mean to go that far.”

“As expected of the Fighter Bloodline, you’re no pushover.”

Luckily, the outer walls of the carriage were reinforced with enchanted magic artifacts. Otherwise, he might’ve been flung straight out and become the butt of a joke.

Once Meisa gave birth and her body fully recovered, it seemed he would be no match in hand-to-hand combat.

Of course, things might be different if he activated the Ruvan bloodline through the Mimic Sacred Relic.

Rubbing the back of his head, Turan checked his body again and tested a few simple spells, then shared his impressions.

“So far, nothing seems too different in terms of standard spells. I can control lightning and wind well, and the tracking and concealment abilities are intact. The difference seems to be in the skill side.”

“You mean the Shepherd has new skills now?”

“Not exactly.”

The Shepherd combination he created had never existed in the original game, so there was no way there’d be pre-existing skills for it.

In fact, Turan had lost the skills he could use in the past from the Storm and Zahar combinations.

He no longer felt that intuitive grip in his mind, like a handle he could pull with ease.

"Unlike that, magic that I feel is suitable for a shepherd seems to be judged as equivalent to skills. Like using a slingshot to launch something, for example.”

Besides that, he could replicate many of the effects that had previously existed as skills in similar ways.

The acceleration skill from the Storm combination could be replaced with the footsteps of a shepherd chasing away wolves, and the concealment skill from the Zahar combination could be reinterpreted as the shepherd’s cloak that hides his presence to keep the sheep calm.

“In a way, it’s pretty much an all-purpose setup.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I have to genuinely feel that it fits, so I can’t use it in a way that doesn’t make sense. Maybe with other people, sure, but you can’t lie to yourself.”

Of course, there were people who could lie to themselves, but Turan was not that kind of person.

And perhaps that was precisely why he had been able to gain this kind of power.

As they were talking, Turan suddenly seemed to remember something and dug into his pouch.

“Now that I think about it, I completely forgot about this guy.”

“Badal’s soul?”

“I made sure to catch it in advance. It’s unfortunate we lost all the others... but he’s probably the one who knows the most about ‘that guy’s’ plan.”

Publicly, Badal was the head of House Aravion, and even from the gods’ perspective, he was seen as the Monarch’s right hand and partner.

If there was only one person he would share his plan with, it would most likely be Badal.

But just as quickly as Turan extracted the spirit form and entered the prison filled with anticipation, he soon came back out with a disappointed expression and sighed.

“Of course, he’s doing the exact same thing Cadrum did.”

“Consciousness isolation state?”

“Yeah.”

Just like Cadrum before him, Badal had completely isolated his spirit form from any external stimuli.

Turan already knew well from experience that normal stimuli wouldn't work in this state.

Ironically, Badal had once told Turan the solution to this as well.

Though Badal probably hadn’t wanted to share it.

“We’ll have to return to Kalamaf and interrogate him.”

“How are you going to do it?”

“Drag him out. The same way he used did it.”

Conveniently, in Kalamaf’s underground prison, there were numerous criminals captured from across the Gray Zone, especially those with no hope of reformation.

If he could use any of those bodies, Turan would be able to inflict upon Badal a pain he had never before experienced.

*

Half a day later, the Parsha army returned safely to Kalamaf just as the sun was setting.

Having received prior notice, the citizens of Kalamaf welcomed their returning heroes by throwing flowers and cheering.

“Glory to Parsha!”

“Victory after victory!”

Of course, there were a few instigators planted among them, but the fact that most were genuinely smiling and shouting loudly showed that House Parsha had not lost the people’s support.

Turan, riding Tilly alongside Meisa, waved to the crowd in thanks.

In the midst of it, people who noticed Meisa’s pregnant figure all showed shocked expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

"I can't hide it anymore now."

"That's right."

Judging by her relieved expression, Meisa had been quite upset to keep it hidden for so long for strategic reasons.

After fully returning to their base, Turan quickly sought out Ashiz and first asked about the current state of the southeastern front.

“It’s not too bad. Lavitas reinforcements just arrived recently.”

“Already?”

“Looks like Osel nim organized a separate unit. Elite troops mounted on magical beasts.”

Given the considerable distance between Lavitas’s capital and the Parsha-Zahar border, they wouldn’t have arrived in time otherwise, so it was indeed a sound decision.

Thanks to the strengthened alliance force of the three houses, the Zahar army had now retreated toward the Enril Desert.

“More importantly, is everything completely wrapped up on your side?”

“Pretty much. Nagin is effectively beyond recovery now. Once the returning forces are rested and we rotate in those who were on capital defense, we can solidify control.”

There was no longer any need to dispatch a proper army to the Aravion-Nagin region.

Most of their main forces were either dead or captured, with only a few hundred knights and nobles having escaped.

Even if the Monarch tried something in that region, he wouldn’t even have a suitable high-ranking noble body to use anymore.

“Then we’ll take our time with Aravion... and move to completely subdue Zahar.”

“You going in person?”

“I would’ve if they’d kept attacking, but since they’ve retreated, we can take it slow. This is an important time.”

“Ah.”

Their aggressive offense had only begun because the two major powers, Aravion and Zahar, had simultaneously launched a full-scale invasion.

If they had stayed passive, they would’ve had their territory ravaged and ended up like prey torn apart by wild beasts. That’s why they had taken an active defense posture.

But now that one side had collapsed and the other had retreated in fear, there was no longer any need to do so.

Especially since they now had countermeasures in place against the mass soul magic targeting fetuses of certain bloodlines, which had been a serious issue before.

“Let’s have Solif return and rest for now too. Once the critical matters are resolved, we’ll move in earnest.”

Their next move would come after the birth of Turan and Meisa’s child, the first child to be born bearing the name of Parsha.

By then, Zahar would be facing an enemy that was nothing short of a nightmare.