Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 210

Translator: Pai_

It took Turan two days to hunt down all four giants that had appeared near Axum.

Not only did it require time to recover stamina and magic power after each successful hunt, but even the elite hunting unit had difficulty keeping up with the giants' movements.

The giants, befitting their enormous size, moved rather slowly, but because their stride was so long, their movement speed was astonishingly fast.

Even nobles of mid to high rank running at full strength struggled to catch up with the giants’ large bounding steps.

If those creatures had merely kept wandering without draining the water of the oasis or attacking nearby nomadic tribes and cities, it would have taken ages just to chase them down.

After hunting all the nearby giants, Turan returned to Axum and immediately sought out Phoenix in the Soul Prison to inform him of the current situation.

"Explain."

"Even if you ask me to explain..."

With a troubled expression, Phoenix said he could only explain it as Monarch having deceived them and done something else.

According to the Eye of Truth, that statement was not a lie.

"Fine, let me change the question. Do you have any idea why this phenomenon is happening? Or how we might resolve it?"

"Well, this is merely a personal opinion."

"That’s fine. Tell me."

Perhaps wanting to win even a little favor from Turan, Phoenix responded eagerly with an exaggerated expression.

"When he tried to persuade us before, he once used a special tool to show us the boundary of the world."

"I know. I've been there myself."

Now that a few more keys to that boundary had been gathered, it was possible to come and go without rest, if one wished.

Though in doing so, one’s spirit form might suddenly explode.

"He explained that the boundary of the world was also known as the sea of spirit forms. When all life dies, the remnants of their spirit form become wraiths or undead spirits, and their essence flows into the sea of spirit forms."

Phoenix added that this was where he learned why Turan wasn't some reincarnation of Otas.

In that sea of spirit forms, not only did the powerful gods' spirit forms no longer remain, it was a place where they couldn't possibly remain in the first place.

"The boundary of the world is a place where there is nothing, and thus can become anything, a material of origin. If, as he claimed, a hole was opened in the world by some ritual here, and some essence from the sea of spirit forms flowed into the world..."

"Could it take on the form of what it originally was, perhaps a different race?"

"This is all just a hypothesis. For that to happen, we’d have to assume Monarch has the ability to extract only what he wants from the sea of spirit forms. Whether he has that ability or not, I do not know."

It was entirely possible that he did have such ability.

He already possessed the greatest aptitude for soul magic thanks to his bloodline ability, and he had also been a researcher in this field for thousands of years.

Moreover, the strange technique he used, which involved drawing patterns with blood and flesh, had an unknown origin.

At best, one could only guess that it might be some forgotten ancient human technique, like soul magic.

In any case, the conclusion that came from the conversation with Phoenix was clear.

To resolve this chaos, Monarch had to be captured.

Not some puppet of his, but his true body, wherever it might be.

After finishing the conversation, Turan took a brief rest and then announced his intention to divide the allied forces in Axum City into three large groups.

First were the wizards of the Lavitas who had helped annihilate House Zahar.

Assuming this incident had also occurred in the Siraf Wetland, their goal was to return and stabilize their main house.

"Tell Osel nim that we will not forget this support."

"Understood, Family Head. Thank you for making arrangements so we can return quickly."

"It’s something I was obliged to do."

The man who had come representing the Lavitas wizards bowed respectfully and withdrew.

Though the Enril Desert was no longer a safe place with giants appearing everywhere, at least that many wizards working together should be able to protect themselves.

The second group was a security unit composed of wizards from House Parsha and House Varaha.

They were tasked with maintaining security in the area by managing the captured Zahar wizards.

Of course, it was out of the question for them to hunt giants on their own, so their role was to evacuate people and minimize damage when giants appeared nearby.

"I trust you."

"We will not bring shame to your expectations, Family Head!"

Moved by Turan's encouragement, the young noble Borea, who had once visited House Carmine as a messenger, shouted with emotion.

It was he who had been placed in charge of this security unit, having been selected based on his loyalty, leadership, and individual combat ability.

In truth, for the allied forces to fully take control of the Enril Desert, they would have to continue hunting giants. However, it wasn’t feasible to leave the main base unattended under such circumstances.

Still, given their numbers, if these troops actively engaged in relief efforts, it would reduce the damage, at least enough to save face.

Lastly, the third and largest unit was the main force that would head to Helio City under Solif’s lead.

There, the troops of House Varaha and House Parsha would split, with the Parsha side returning to Kalamaf via the Jade Mirror.

And Turan, belonging to none of the three groups, decided to return directly to Kalamaf riding Bije.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“Don’t worry. No matter what attacks, I’ll protect them all.”

News had already spread that dwarves had appeared in Kalamaf and goblins in Helio.

There was no telling what might happen if he took his time over the course of a few weeks, so Turan needed to return quickly.

It would be best if Meisa returned in time, but if something had emerged in the Takein Plains, she would be busy. Since Turan was the most mobile, it was best for him to go personally.

***

After completing all preparations, Turan flew west with Bije.

Along the way, he saw oases and cities reduced to ashes by giants, and several lines of people evacuating.

At times, he encountered giants engrossed in destruction or lying asleep from overfeeding, but he did not hunt them.

From prior experience, he knew that these giants were as tenacious in life as they were massive, and it took a considerable amount of time and magic power to kill even one of them.

Those horrifying monsters were worse than the Great Sea Serpent in that they wouldn’t die easily, even if he entered through their ears and scrambled their brains.

‘Now that I think of it, the Great Sea Serpents are a concern too.’

If real Great Sea Serpents had been revived in that sea, how would they interact with the merfolk?

Not knowing the original relationship between the two made it impossible to predict how things would unfold.

The best-case scenario was that the Great Sea Serpents found it offensive that the merfolk had used their corpses to transform and thus became hostile toward them.

The worst-case scenario would be the royal families of the various mermaid kingdoms all gaining priest status and learning to transform into Great Sea Serpents.

Turan figured he should ask Armania about this when he returned.

In fact, the reason he hadn’t gone to the soul strongholds of the Zahar God Tribe, which were said to be on southern islands, was because of those concerns.

Among the countless islands in the South Sea, it was hard to pinpoint exactly where they were located, and if he encountered a Great Sea Serpent and it ended up coming ashore, it would become a major problem.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Thus, three days passed.

Since Bije was already a bit tired and they had to rest along the way while avoiding a giant or two, Turan arrived at Kalamaf a day later than originally planned.

Fortunately, aside from some singeing on the walls, Kalamaf didn’t appear to have sustained any serious damage.

Turan avoided the barriers and landed quietly in the garden, then passed by startled servants and headed to the office.

“I’m back, Ashiz.”

“You’re back...”

Perhaps he was exhausted from leading the Kalamaf wizards in Turan’s place, but Ashiz looked far more worn out than he had in the hand mirror.

“You have no idea how much I wished you’d come back even a day sooner. Seriously, my place is more suited for a house steward managing household affairs.”

“Did something else happen?”

“The dwarves have occupied all the surrounding roads.”

With dwarf soldiers armed with steam muskets scattered everywhere, logistics and transportation in the Gray Zone had effectively been cut off.

Communication was limited to signal fires and letters delivered by tamed flying magical beasts.

For now, things were manageable, but if the situation dragged on, severe food shortages were sure to begin in some cities.

“You didn’t send out a suppression force?”

“If we send one and they’re stronger, that’s the end for us.”

It was a somewhat overly conservative and safety-oriented decision, but still an understandable one.

After all, the true capability of these intelligent dwarves was still unknown.

“Any news from the Carmine side?”

“Hm? Ah, come to think of it, no. Why haven’t we heard anything from them...”

As Ashiz said this, a strange emotion passed over his face.

A mixture of anxiety and dizziness, as if something had gone wrong, and the unique confusion of someone who doesn't fully realize the source of what they're feeling.

“There’s a lot to do… I should find out what’s going on there as soon as possible. I’ll start handling things after I stop by the Varaha side.”

After announcing that a major dwarf-hunting operation would begin that afternoon, Turan headed down to the underground quarters to find Armania.

As always, he was soaking the lower half of his body in a water-filled bathtub, but for some reason, he looked more drained and limp than usual.

“Oh, you’re here...”

“You don’t look well. What’s going on?”

“I suddenly started feeling like this a while ago. Something’s... wrong.”

Turan instinctively sensed that Armania’s condition was somehow related to the changes in the world caused by Monarch.

Unfortunately, it seemed the person himself couldn’t pinpoint anything other than the sudden loss of strength.

Turan also asked if he knew anything about the relationship between the returned Great Sea Serpents and the merfolk, just in case, but it was in vain.

“I don’t really know. All I’ve heard from Father is that we used to serve the Great Sea Serpents long ago. But... judging by his expression when he said that, I don’t think they were good masters.”

It was fortunate to at least have gotten that much of a clue.

Turan told Armania to rest more and then traveled through the Jade Mirror.

Helio City, like Kalamaf, was weighed down by a heavy atmosphere, and perhaps because of that, the reaction to Turan’s arrival was unusually noisy.

“The Family Head of Parsha is here!”

“Have you come to save us from the goblins!?”

Slightly flustered by the unexpectedly dramatic response, Turan quickly made his way through the crowd to find Berit.

And he soon understood why they were reacting this way.

“They’re abducting children by climbing over the city walls?”

“Yes. I thought they were just mythical monsters, but their physical abilities are beyond imagination. They're cunning too.”

The goblins, another race with muscular bodies and shark-like sharp teeth, were effortlessly leaping over Helio City’s high walls as if they were mere fences, breaking windows and stealing away children.

If any adults in the house noticed and resisted, they were crushed to death with a single punch.

Even though numerous police officers and knights had been stationed, a single goblin could easily overpower several ordinary knights, making it difficult to deal with them.

“More importantly, what happened with the war against Zahar? I assume you came here because it ended well, but...”

“Hmm.”

“Sol is safe, right?”

“He’s very healthy.”

When she heard that Solif was leading the allied forces to Helio, Berit uncharacteristically welled up with tears.

Afterward, Turan briefly stopped by the safehouse to confirm that Luska was secure, then went down to the underground prison to find Kim Woong.

As requested, Berit had treated him well, and despite being confined underground, he showed no signs of deterioration.

“You came sooner than I expected.”

“I’ve taken care of Phoenix, so there’s nothing to worry about. Though I haven’t caught that guy yet.”

“Phoenix? Already? I suspected as much, but still...”

Kim Woong’s eyes widened with genuine surprise at Turan’s words.

Turan still avoided mentioning Monarch’s name, not wanting to reveal his location.

The moment he said that name, Monarch would know that someone closely related to him was here somewhere.

“Then what’s the reason you came to see me?”

“I wondered if you knew anything about the current situation.”

Naturally, since Berit hadn’t gone out of her way to explain the situation to a prisoner, Kim Woong was completely unaware of the worldwide god-era return phenomenon.

After hearing everything, he spoke with a serious expression.

“If the giants are returning... then the Enril Desert is doomed.”

“What would happen if real giants clashed with the current great family heads?”

“No need to even say it. They’d be crushed. Just flattened.”

According to Kim Woong, the true bodies of the Preah God Tribe who had crossed over from Earth were so powerful that even the weakest among them could fight or overwhelm three or four heads of great noble houses at once.

And the giants, on average, were even stronger than those weakest gods.

In fact, their leader, the Giant Queen, was such a formidable being that only top-tier gods like the Night Hunter or the Thunder Lord could hope to face her.

“At that level… it’s clear the giants we’re seeing now aren’t in their complete form.”

At present, Turan was probably capable of fighting three or so high-level wizards of family head caliber, like Osel, without too much trouble.

If he had the advantage of a surprise attack, he could likely take on even more.

In other words, he had gained power comparable to some of the relatively weaker gods of the past, which meant that in theory, he should be evenly matched in a one-on-one battle with a giant.

Therefore, there was a possibility that these creatures could grow stronger.

If Monarch expanded the hole he’d torn in the boundary or if the giants absorbed more of the power leaking from it and regained their prime capabilities.

“Should I go out and help?”

“No, for now, stay here. Sorry, but I can’t release you until we’ve captured that bastard.”

“Well, then there’s no helping it.”

Kim Woong, who had casually offered his opinion, gave a bitter smile at Turan’s response.

Though he had said he was satisfied with life here, he still seemed somewhat frustrated deep down.

Of course, people aren’t content just with eating well and resting.

Meisa, too, had often felt depressed since being cooped up constantly after becoming pregnant.

The pressure of not being able to move freely could be heavier than expected.

Still, there was no way Turan could let Kim Woong roam free, not knowing what might have been done to his body or soul.

As a convert, the best reward Turan could offer was to treat him well, keep him alive, and detain him in comfort.

This underground prison in Varaha had been reinforced after Solif’s parents escaped last time, and it now had enhanced defenses, making it the most secure location if Monarch attempted anything using Kim Woong’s body.

“I just hope everything gets resolved. I wouldn’t dare hope to gain a new body here… but I’d at least like to live out this last life meaningfully.”

Speaking as if to himself, Kim Woong left Turan with a final piece of advice.

“If you want to find a clue about this incident, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look into the House Nagin. From what I know, it’s a bloodline that bastard painstakingly crafted over a long time.”

Of course, they’d likely have tried various ways to erase traces by now, but if Turan seriously dug into it, something would surely come up, in Kim Woong’s opinion.

***

Leaving Varaha’s underground prison, Turan returned to Kalamaf via the Jade Mirror, and took some of the remaining troops at the main estate outside with him.

There was much to be done, but the first order of business was making the area around Kalamaf at least somewhat livable again.

At the very least, the capital needed to function properly.

“My goodness, we’re going on an expedition with the Family Head...”

“Don’t get too excited, idiot. Maintain the dignity of a knight of Parsha.”

Naturally, all of the proper elite troops had already been deployed with the desert expedition force, so those remaining here were mostly recent inductees, inexperienced greenhorns, or elderly wizards past their prime.

Just like it had been with House Aravion’s main estate.

These men were either overly excited or visibly nervous about serving directly under the family head, but Turan didn’t go out of his way to reassure them.

As long as the dwarves didn’t suddenly display some absurd mythical power, Turan alone would be more than enough to handle them.

The reason he had brought these men was to test and measure the dwarves’ capabilities together.

He needed a clear sense of how strong they were to determine the right size for a subjugation force.

Tracking the dwarves themselves wasn’t difficult at all.

Having already encountered the degenerated modern-day dwarves in the past, Turan was able to use Tracking Magic on dwarves, and now his Tracking Magic was so potent that, if he willed it, it could reach from one end of the world to the other.

‘If only I could use this Tracking Magic to chase Monarch.’

It was an impossible thought, as he hadn’t obtained even a single clue about Monarch’s true body so far.

Tracking Magic could locate a target through countless methods, but it couldn’t find someone through magical abilities as a medium.

After briefly pondering this, Turan realized the target had drawn near and informed his subordinates behind him.

“They’re hiding behind that hill. Everyone, focus on defense. Getting injured is fine, but if you die, I can’t bring you back.”

“Yes, Family Head!”

Perhaps spurred on by their spirited reply, the dwarves hiding beyond the hill flinched, then began to move in unison toward them.

Sensing over a hundred presences approaching, Turan slowly took to the air.

He saw the dwarves marching forward, steam muskets in hand.

‘So this is what the ancient dwarves not manipulated by Monarch looked like.’

The dwarves he had seen in the past were twisted, bipedal mole-like monsters.

In contrast, the returned ancient dwarves looked much more human.

First of all, unlike their modern counterparts, their eyes were intact, black and shiny, and their noses and front teeth were recessed, making their facial features more similar to humans.

Their bodies were much less muscular and leaner, with minimal hair, and if you removed their heads, they could easily be mistaken for hairy humans.

As they flinched at the sight of Turan flying toward them alone and raised their steam muskets in unison, the one in the lead suddenly shouted sharply.

“Stop! Cease fire!”

The lead dwarf who halted the attack stared intently at Turan, then removed his military cap and bowed slightly.

“With gray hair and the ability to fly through the sky, you must be the devil lord who governs this region. I am Al-Rakuyo, guardian of the honorable Republic. As an intelligent being, I seek dialogue.”

*****

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