part0025

The news regarding the fall of the Kalavinka Port and the Kelvin Duchy quickly spread throughout the kingdom. Upon hearing of the barrier protecting Behemoth City, tens of thousands of refugees from the west started flocking toward the capital.

In the throne room, the royal advisors, several government officials, and nobles gathered to discuss the kingdom’s current predicament—their opinions regarding the refugees were currently divided.

“Your Majesty, we should close off the city gates! Who knows what will happen to us if we keep accepting all of these refugees!”

“Are you out of your mind? If we don’t take them in, all of those people will die eventually!”

“This ruthless old fart! You know fully well that this is the only city with a barrier!”

“So what? Tell me, how do you plan on feeding all of those people? Tell me!”

Indeed, although they’d managed to cull the Black Famine last year, the capital currently only had enough food reserves to feed their current population. Taking in almost thirty thousand refugees from various towns and villages in the west seemed out of the question.

“I’ve sent a message to Lord Chase and to Duke Youchester,” said King Alvis, his calm voice was in stark contrast to the agitated officials’. The bickering in the throne room died out. “Their territories had a somewhat abundant harvest this year. I believe it should be possible for them to supply the capital with grain and meat.”

The king looked so tired, despite his calm voice. Dark spots encircled his eyes, as though he had not slept all night.

“We shall continue accepting refugees,” said King Alvis. “The capital of the kingdom shall serve as a haven for everyone fleeing from the war.”

It was a bold declaration. Everyone in the throne room knew the repercussions of letting in too many people.

“I humbly ask Your Majesty to reconsider,” said one of the royal advisors, his voice desperate. He was the leader of the group in favor of closing the city gates. “Thirty thousand people is too many for the capital to take in at once. If His Majesty really wishes to take in the refugees, we can start by letting in a few hundred—even a few thousand.”

King Alvis gripped the armrest. “I understand your concerns, Minister Randolf. But I couldn’t possibly let all of those people die. We shall take in all of them, even if we have to ration our resources. With the help of Golden Wheat City and Youchester Duchy, we should be able to hold on for several months.”

The minister looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes in defeat. For several seconds, he fell silent. He eventually said, “Then, at least let them stay outside the city, Your Majesty. As long as they’re inside the barrier, the refugees shouldn’t complain. The barrier is large. It should be possible to accommodate everyone.”

King Alvis stroked his beard and pondered over it. He nodded. “Very well. Viscount Lakian.”

“Your Majesty,” said the Grand Chamberlain.

“You’ll be tasked with making sure the refugees are given shelter at the city’s outskirts. A shack, a tent, a mud house. Anything will do as long as they have a roof over their heads.”

The Grand Chamberlain bowed. “As you wish.”

The leader of the patrol stepped forward, bowed his head, and said, “Your Majesty.”

“Disorder is bound to arise with so many people gathering together,” said King Alvis. “Take necessary measures to keep security and order in check. If someone is causing trouble, I’m giving you permission to kick them out of the barrier.”

“Please leave it to me, My King,” said the leader of the patrol.

Realizing that they had not discussed any plans on retaking the western region from the demons until now, Calisto Kelvin said, “Your Majesty, how long do we have to wait before we send out reinforcements to the western region?”

Calisto was the third son of Duke Kelvin. If the reports regarding the fate of the Kalavinka Port and the duchy were accurate, the first and second sons of their house were probably already dead. With the duke currently locked up in the dungeon, Calisto currently held the highest authority in the ducal household.

“We should send reinforcements!” Calisto was close to crying. Even now, he couldn’t believe that the duchy had fallen in days. “We could still save my brothers!”

“Calm down, Calisto,” said General Carlos.

“Calm down? How can I calm down when my city is literally burning right now!” shouted Calisto. “And this! We’ve been discussing the demon invasion for a couple of days already, but what have we achieved? Nothing!”

“Lower your voice, you are before His Majesty,” growled General Carlos. “You’ve heard it yourself from those who’d managed to escape. Those demons are capable of taking over human bodies! We can’t recklessly send our soldiers to their deaths! If we charge in that hellhole without a plan, we’ll be simply adding to the number of corpses!”

Under the general’s predatory gaze, Calisto finally shut his mouth.

“And do you think it’s only the Kelvin Duchy? Even Gryphon City has been attacked by those demons. The Marcus Army is probably fighting against those monsters as we speak! Rock Castle! The Leonard School! Quasan City! It is thanks to them that the demons haven’t reached here yet!”

Everyone in the throne room wore grim faces. They knew that if these territories fell in the hands of the demons, it would only be a matter of time before the horde reached the capital.

Thankfully, according to their intel, the Marcus Army led by Lui Marcus had been holding their ground against the horde. But they knew that it would be only a matter time before the Marcus Army was defeated, unless they found a way to prevent the demons from taking over the bodies of their prey.

After meeting with the nobles and officials, King Alvis went to an underground dungeon underneath Lady Ropianna’s mansion.

“How is it, Ropianna?” said King Alvis.

The king stood in front of a cell, along with General Carlos, Lady Ropianna, Elias ‘Farsight’ and several guards. Inside the cell was a parasitized human. A live specimen the soldiers had managed to obtain at a village near the Kelvin Duchy.

Lady Ropianna shook her head. She said in a raspy voice, “The alchemists managed to obtain a blood sample. But it will take at least two days for the results, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, I believe that that alone won’t be enough.”

“Is that so…” said the king. He also believed that there was an extremely high chance that they would not find a cure in a few days’ time. After all, this was the first time, even for the royal court magicians, to encounter a parasitized human.

According to Lark Marcus, the current barrier barred entry to anyone that was non-human. But since they’d managed to locked up this creature in a dungeon inside the capital, it meant only one thing: this creature was still considered human. This was the conclusion everyone here had arrived at. There should still be a way for it revert to its former state.

The parasitized human in the cell roared. It grabbed the bars and tried forcefully squeezing its head through the gap. Slimy tentacles squirmed out of its mouth. The guards warily stood next to the king to protect him in the event that the parasitized human managed to break out.

“It’s still alive even after losing this much blood,” said General Carlos.

A large cut was seen across the chest of the parasitized human. Its skin was extremely pallid, as though it had lost all the blood from its body.

“A normal human would have already died by now,” said Lady Ropianna. “Taking over their will and their body. They couldn’t even die if they wanted to. How cruel.”

The elderly female magician clenched her fists. Her shoulders quivered from hatred toward the demons.

“If by chance I meet the same fate,” said Lady Ropianna in a low voice. “Please kill me.”

Everyone furrowed their brows but didn’t utter a word. They understood the feelings of the elderly female magician. They, too, would prefer death over becoming a parasitized human.

“I haven’t told the ministers and officials about this,” said King Alvis. “But there should be a way for our kingdom to survive this demon invasion.”

Lady Ropianna looked at the king. “The one mentioned in the revelation…”

“That’s right,” said King Alvis. “You confirmed it with your own eyes, didn’t you Farsight?”

Elias ‘Farsight’, who’d been silent all this time, spoke, “Lark Marcus… He’s strong. Stronger than I expected. But it’s not enough for me to come to a conclusion, Your Majesty.”

King Alvis stroked his beard. “Over a week ago, I’ve received a message from the knight stationed at Blackstone Town. From Mikael Garios.”

“The former instructor of the knights?” said Lady Ropianna. Mikael was quite famous in the capital before he retired.

King Alvis nodded. “According to Mikael, a massive wall around sixty meters in height grew and surrounded the entirety of Blackstone Town overnight. Moreover, the same barrier spell protecting the capital was concurrently cast on Blackstone Town.”

Upon hearing this, the eyes of Farsight and Lady Ropianna widened. General Carlos, on the other hand, seemed indifferent to this revelation. As the closest confidant of the king, he’d already heard everything from the king beforehand.

“Pinnacle-grade spell?” Lady Ropianna said in disbelief. She’d seen before how much mana was required to cast that spell. Even the Tears of Ubroxia alone was not enough as a source of mana. A spell even a royal court magician could not cast on a whim.

Before meeting Lark Marcus, they believed that pinnacle-grade spells were exclusive only to dragons.

The fact that something that powerful had been cast to protect a town sounded preposterous.

“And Mikael heard it from Lark Marcus himself,” said King Alvis. “Evander Alaester. A magician who once lived during the Age of Magic. One of the strongest magicians in the history of mankind. Lark Marcus himself admitted that the soul of that magician is currently inhabiting the body of Duke Drakus’ second son.”

The parasitized human locked in the cell started banging on the iron bars. Its flesh was torn, its bone cracked, but it did not stop.

“If it’s him, it should be possible for us to find a way to turn those people back to normal,” said King Alvis. He looked at the parasitized human with pity. “Ropianna, if he is indeed that legendary magician, I will abdicate the throne. Although four years have yet to pass, I shall name him the next ruler of this kingdom. The Gods said so, didn’t they? It’s the only way for our nation to survive.”

The parasitized human started banging its head against the wall. Unable to bear to look at him any further, Lady Ropianna cast a restriction spell and bound the parasitized human by a wind chain.

“Tonight, I shall depart for Blackstone Town.”

The royal court magicians looked at General Carlos. To their surprise, the retired general did not seem against the decision of His Majesty. It seemed that he already knew of this plan.