Chapter 135

After a long conversation, Rida went back inside, saying she had to take care of the Family Head.

It was because if she didn’t recover her magic power and fill her position, others would have to exert more effort in her stead.

Turan, guided by a servant, returned to Rida’s residence and went over the conversation he had shared with her in his mind.

'The Family Head of House Varaha...'

To think that someone would make such an absurd, high-risk move as to directly attack the Family Head of another great noble house at their own base.

Even just leaving one’s own territory to visit another house was already a unprecedented act, but what had been done this time made even that seem like nothing.

If Osel hadn’t fallen into critical condition, House Lavitas wouldn’t have hesitated to declare war against House Varaha, and no one would have blamed them.

The other noble houses also wouldn’t have dared to defend such a cowardly sneak attack.

“They underestimated Lavitas...... no, if I remember right, the other side was also severely injured.”

Unless the gap between the Family Head of Varaha and Osel had been astronomical, the fact that the other side was also heavily injured suggested that the two were close enough in strength for a fight to make sense.

Of course, since this was the Lavitas stronghold, Osel likely had access to more resources, which would have given him an edge.

Considering all this information, the move by the Family Head of Varaha seemed more likely to be driven by excessive impatience.

Although the reason was unclear, it strongly implied that Solif was desperately needed on their side.

'Even though the Enril Desert stands in the way...... word will surely reach them soon. We need to be on guard.'

The only fortunate part was Rida’s testimony that the Family Head of Varaha had also sustained significant injuries.

Unless it was a truly fatal wound, he would recover naturally over time, but that recovery wouldn’t be quick.

On top of that, due to two clashes with Turan, a considerable number of Varaha’s nobles had died, making it likely that they were too busy dealing with their own mess for now.

Anyway, there was only one conclusion to be drawn from all the information.

The stolen sacred relic of Lavitas, which Osel and Rida had previously commissioned Turan to retrieve, had to be found and returned.

If they succeeded, Kalamaf would gain a powerful ally in the south, and Turan would also be cured of his lung injury.

Even just using that sacred relic briefly before bringing it back would be enough.

'The Grassy Plains, was it?'

Even amid the chaos caused by the Varaha Family Head’s surprise attack, Lavitas had not ceased their efforts to chase down the thief who had stolen the sacred relic.

From the Enril Desert in Zahar to various islands in the South Sea, the southeastern great plains, and even the eastern Land of Lakes in Varaha’s territory.

Hundreds of wizards roamed distant regions with great difficulty, sending reports back to the main house through various means.

As a result, they had recently received a report that signs of the traitor were found in the southeastern Grassy Plains.

And apparently, that wizard had joined a tribe alliance, famous for their strength even in the grassy plains.

Naturally, given that Lavitas was filled with high-ranking nobles with strong combat capabilities who now had to focus entirely on treating the Family Head, it was impossible for them to retrieve the relic on their own.

And if they carelessly commissioned another great noble house, there was a high chance those houses would simply take the relic for themselves and pretend nothing had happened.

Interestingly, it had been exactly two days since the report was received when Turan came to visit.

'So there was a reason you called me here.'

'It’s not something safe to discuss in a letter. You wouldn’t believe how happy I was when I heard you were at my residence. Although I was surprised when you immediately realized Osel’s condition.'

Recalling their final conversation, Turan returned to the residence and pulled out the hand mirror, infusing it with magic power.

Three light pulses, three strong pulses.

After inputting the agreed-upon signal, Meisa’s face soon appeared on the other side.

[You contacted earlier than expected. You're in Merem, right? Did the treatment go well?]

“Unfortunately, not yet.”

Turan gave Meisa a rough summary of his conversation with Rida.

Her expression turned grave upon hearing it.

[Then.......]

“Looks like I’ll have to make a trip to the Grassy Plains.”

[Will you be alright?]

“Well, I mean, who’s going to mess with me when I’m traveling alone? Honestly, I’m more worried about you all.”

The Grassy Plains at the southeastern edge of the world and Kalamaf, located somewhat northwest of the central region, were unimaginably far apart.

For ordinary people, just traveling there and back on foot would take almost half a year.

Of course, if Turan flew on Bije, he could make the trip in just a few days, but even that felt like an incredibly long distance.

After all, isn’t the world such a place where anything could happen in just that short time?

At Turan’s words, Meisa let out a small sigh.

[It can’t be helped... Just be careful. There shouldn’t be any enemies out there in such a remote area who can match you anyway.]

“That’s true. But how are things going on your end?”

[Good. As of today, Solif has received alliance support from three cities. You could say it’s halfway done.]

After signing a non-aggression pact with the nobles of House Zahar, the leadership of Kalamaf began a new strategy.

It was to unify the Gray Zone where they were based.

Of course, that was a somewhat refined way of putting it. More bluntly, it was a process of turning the city of Kalamaf into something akin to a great noble house that commanded the loyalty of all wizard families within the Gray Zone.

Since it was so unprecedented for three powerful nobles of different bloodlines, like Turan’s group, to rule together, no one neither they nor outsiders, knew quite how to describe it.

Unexpectedly, the wizard families of the Gray Zone didn’t show much resistance to Kalamaf’s attempt.

After the war twenty-some years ago, they too had come to feel the need for a great noble house to protect them.

Under those circumstances, the rise of a powerful force strong enough to sign an equal contract with Zahar was actually something to be welcomed.

Of course, some ambitious individuals might be fuming with rage.

However, the fact that Turan possessed Zahar blood had quietly spread, and some were concerned about that.

There were opinions that this might lead to them effectively being treated as a House Zahar vassal, potentially igniting a second great war with House Aravion.

Considering just how bad relations were with Aravion, it wasn’t entirely an unreasonable concern.

“In any case, I’ll try to come back as soon as I can.”

[Got it. I’ll be waiting. Then.]

Even after the conversation ended, neither of them cut off the magic, so the other’s face remained visible in the hand mirror.

Turan hesitated for a moment and then whispered softly, “I love you.”

The hand mirror immediately shut off, as if even it could understand the feeling of embarrassment.

*

Every moment being precious, Turan immediately left Merem City and began flying east.

Perhaps his impatience was transmitted through the soul bond?

Thanks to Bije flying at full speed, Turan was able to exit the Siraf Wetland by that night and see the deep blue South Sea.

Unlike before, when he would find a suitable ship and travel that way, this time he made the bold decision to fly the entire way on Bije.

It was a little less stable, but much faster in terms of travel speed.

Three days.

That was the time it took Turan to cross the South Sea and reach the Grassy Plains.

He even spent one of those nights simply lying down and sleeping on the open sea because there was no island suitable to land on.

When he woke up the next day, he found his face buried in the water, but thankfully, he had activated his Carmine Bloodline, so he had no trouble breathing.

And so, without rest, on the third day of flight.

Upon arriving in the Grassy Plains, Turan first comforted Bije for her hard work and then absorbed her back into his body before heading inland.

After walking for about an hour, he sensed a rather strong smell of blood assaulting his nose.

In the natural order of the world, where the cycle of eating and being eaten continues even in unseen places, the scent of blood wasn’t anything remarkable. But the scent of human blood was different.

Wasn’t it for that very reason that he had detected the death of the village elder, Labus, back on Hisaril Hill?

-Hmm, fighting...?

“It’s nothing, you can go back to sleep.”

Sensing the shift in emotion, Bije awoke from within Turan's body and whined as if complaining. In response, Turan soothed her and immediately approached the source of the scent.

Before long, what appeared before his eyes was a small nomadic tribe, consisting of several dozen people.

“Kyaaak!”

“Run! Hurry!”

“To where!?”

The nomads’ tents were half-collapsed, and the people were screaming and fleeing in all directions.

Threatening them was a massive horse-like magical beast, even larger and more ferocious than Tilly.

With each charge, its hooves crushed the heads and bodies of those caught beneath them.

It seemed the nomads had tried to resist in their own way, broken spears and arrows were scattered all around, but unsurprisingly, not a single one had pierced or even scratched the beast’s hide.

“So this is what places without proper wizard families are like.”

From what Turan had previously heard from Solif, the nomads of this grassland not only fought among themselves but also enjoyed raiding the fertile lands of Varaha to the north.

According to the method of discerning people that Turan had learned from his mother and internalized himself, they were wolves.

But looking at their current state, being trampled by a magical beast, it was hard to imagine them as such savage creatures.

After a brief moment of thought, Turan stepped forward and immediately formed a spear of flame, which he hurled at the beast.

[Neigh-!]

The horse twisted its body with the razor-sharp reflexes unique to magical beasts, sensing the flame spear approaching, but Turan had already set the sacred relic to the Sun Bloodline and adjusted the trajectory smoothly to pierce its chest.

The massive horse’s body was instantly engulfed in black flames.

'It's over.'

The beast had possessed magic power on par with a mid-tier noble, a fearsome enough presence to make a name for itself in the northern continent, but to Turan, it was no more than an easy kill, like breathing.

Silence descended over the grassland in an instant.

While Turan absorbed the beast’s magic power, the nomads who had been flailing about on the backs of frightened horses leapt down and bowed low.

“O great shaman.”

“To burn such a mighty beast... Truly, a divine one...”

“Stay still.”

Turan’s command wasn’t directed at the people, but at the horses, which were panicking.

Perhaps shocked by both the presence of the magical beast and Turan’s act of burning it to death, they had begun to trample the owners who had leapt off their backs.

Turan used Telekinesis Magic to physically restrain them while simultaneously casting Mental Control Magic to calm them down, which made the nomads look upon him with even deeper reverence.

One middle-aged man, who appeared to be older than most, stepped forward to speak to Turan.

"O great shaman of spirits, are you perhaps from a land outside these great plains?”

The clothing he wore was travel gear that Meisa had personally enchanted.

Naturally, it differed in style from the nomadic attire, making it easy to distinguish.

From the nomads’ gaze upon him, Turan sensed a complex mix of emotions.

Longing and gratitude, yes but also fear.

Perhaps to these people, foreign wizards were typically from Zahar or Varaha, who came to subjugate them.

“I’m looking for the Golden Fleece Tribe Alliance. Do you know where they are?”

“I have heard that they are a powerful tribe in the inland region, but we are far from them. I have only heard the name.”

It was a disappointing answer, but Turan clicked his tongue and let it go. He hadn’t helped them expecting any meaningful reward.

“Ugh.”

Then came a cough, one he was now quite used to.

As Turan covered his mouth and coughed lightly, the middle-aged man watching him spoke with a curious gleam in his eye.

“Are you unwell, by chance?”

For some reason, the man appeared pleased upon learning that Turan was in poor health.

When Turan shot him a subtle glare, the man quickly realized his behavior had been inappropriate. He lowered his head and spoke hastily.

“It’s nothing major, but about half a day’s journey south from here, there is a tribe with a shaman who possesses healing powers. If you’re willing, I can guide you there.”

“Healing powers?”

Wasn't the Lavitas traitor supposed to be with the Golden Fleece tribal alliance he had just mentioned?

But only for a moment did Turan ponder this, he soon realized that the healer here likely wasn’t one of them.

Naturally, the wizards from Lavitas pursuing them would also be in this region.

This person was probably one of them.

“Half a day south, you say?”

If he could meet that person, he might be able to track the traitor’s movements more quickly.

*

A few dozen minutes later, using flight and Detection Magic, Turan found the tribe mentioned by the nomad chief he had rescued.

Their numbers were about three hundred, and as expected, there was a single lower-noble-level wizard among them.

What was unexpected was that there was only one, and he could not sense the presence of any knights or other nobles.

According to Rida, Lavitas had certainly dispatched nobles and knights in groups for this search.

Thinking it best to investigate directly, Turan immediately approached the nomads.

Among them, a few who were peacefully grazing their sheep spotted Turan and rode toward him.

“Stop!”

“Who are you and where do you come from?!”

In their eyes was a mix of hostility and fear as they looked at Turan.

It was likely the unfamiliar clothing that sparked the hostility, and the fear came from the fact that his clothes were unnaturally clean and he rode no horse.

In these plains, traveling alone without even a horse usually meant either a madman or a wizard.

To meet their expectations, Turan lightly snapped his fingers and sparked a small flame.

“F-Fire...”

“A fire shaman! He’s one of those devils from the north!”

“Aaahhh!”

As soon as the flames appeared, the nomads screamed and fled to their tents without even giving him a chance to explain he hadn’t come to attack them.

Fortunately, sensing the commotion, the Lavitas wizard emerged from a tent and walked toward him.

Moments later, a middle-aged man with a pale complexion stood before Turan.

“Are you by any chance from Varaha?”

“No, I’m not. And you are?”

“I’m Mago. A noble who wanders without even a family name.”

Despite what he said, Turan could sense the two defining traits of Lavitas intertwined within him.

It was likely a false identity prepared by Lavitas to avoid revealing they were searching the plains.

When Turan took a step closer, Mago seemed to sense danger and subtly raised a hand.

Since the man wasn’t a threat at all, Turan ignored it and whispered so the nomads in the back wouldn’t hear.

“Nice to meet you, Mago. I was sent by Lady Rida.”

“Lady Rida... you mean...?”

“Yes. I’m here to retrieve the sacred relic.”

Mago’s eyes widened at Turan’s words.

He seemed unsure whether Turan was telling the truth or simply fishing for information.

“I heard the traitor is with a group called the Golden Fleece Tribe. Is that correct?”

“Y-Yes... You really were sent by Lady Rida.”

Since Turan knew that much, Mago seemed to take him as an ally at last and even teared up with emotion.

He must’ve gone through a lot here, his clothes were shabby, and dark circles hung under his eyes.

Even though he was at least a low-ranking noble, which should have afforded some level of comfort.

“Then I assume you can guide me to the Golden Fleece Tribe as well.”

“Yes, of course. But if I may ask... what is your name?”

Instead of answering, Turan simply smiled gently.

Having changed even his face just in case, he couldn’t reveal his real name. But he also couldn’t be bothered to make up a fake one.

Sensing the silent pressure, Mago chose not to press further and changed the subject.

“These plains are in quite a state of chaos right now.”

“So I noticed.”

He had just witnessed a magical beast trampling a tribe, hadn't he?

At Turan’s remark, Mago shook his head and replied.

“It’s not just bad, it’s practically a war out here. I originally had a few comrades with me, but they were all killed in this chaos, and I’ve been relying on this tribe to survive alone.”

The Grassy Plains, due to their lower population density compared to other regions, generally had fewer and weaker wizards. However, given the sheer size of the area, there were still a few powerful nobles to be found.

And now, all of them were fighting over the powerful healing ability possessed by the Lavitas traitor who had recently appeared.

“In that case, does that mean they’re in possession of the sacred relic?”

“I can’t say for certain, since I haven’t seen it with my own eyes...”

But considering no rumors about the item had spread, Mago muttered in a tone that sounded more like an excuse, it was likely the traitor still had it.

Turan nodded and gave Mago a few reassuring pats on the shoulder.

“In any case, you’ve done well. From here on, I’ll take care of everything, just guide me there.”

“A-Are you sure...? Perhaps we should request additional support...”

To Mago, Turan looked far too young.

He hadn’t directly compared him due to his own lack of magical power, but even if Turan was strong, he couldn’t possibly match the seasoned, older nobles, or so he thought.

In response to his concern, Turan adjusted his power appropriately and projected his magic power for Mago to sense.

After that, Mago no longer brought up the need for reinforcements.

***

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