Chapter 319 : Ryanga (1)

The northern part of the Kingdom of Ashtalon.

“...This is horrific.”

“Seriously.”

“What on earth is going on here?”

A gruesome massacre had turned the forest into something unrecognizable, soaked in torn flesh and blood.

Three men stood at the scene.

Palmaon the Dragon Lance.

Cheonnyeonbing the Barbarian.

The Hidden Swordsman of the Cliff.

Each of them wielded terrifying power and were known as three of the Seven Great Powers of the Allied Kingdom.

They shook their heads as they looked around at the scattered pieces of flesh.

“Sss— I’m starting to wonder if we shouldn’t have taken this job. This might get annoying.”

Palmaon spoke, gripping a spear that looked to be twice his own height.

“I agree.”

The Hidden Swordsman, dressed in Eastern robes, nodded in agreement.

“Didn’t both of you come here because you had something to gain?”

At Cheonnyeonbing’s pointed remark, Palmaon and the Swordsman cleared their throats and replied.

“Well, that’s true.”

“If it weren’t for that strange stone…”

The Gwaemun Stone.

A mysterious object whose true nature even the intelligence guild hadn’t been able to identify, its information had only been leaked to top-tier warriors in strict secrecy.

It was an object similar in usage to an Abyssal Core.

However, unlike Abyssal Cores, the Gwaemun Stone was fundamentally different.

For one, it didn’t corrupt magical energy.

Depending on which Gwaemun it originated from, it could even grant additional abilities.

In short, it was a tool that increased power without any risk—unlike the Abyssal Cores, which only enhanced magic for weaker individuals but didn’t help strong ones.

The Gwaemun Stone, by contrast, could provide additional power regardless of the user’s strength.

The first person to speak of it was a powerful individual, and these three had gathered at the request of King Shtalian V, who promised to hand over the stone if they completed a task for him.

“Didn’t expect Ashtalon to be secretly collecting Gwaemun Stones. Guess they already knew something.”

Palmaon’s question hung briefly in the air.

“Well, as long as we get what we came for, let’s not waste time. Let’s take care of this quickly and move on.”

“Agreed. We can’t stay here forever.”

“They said it was just ahead?”

“Yes.”

At the Hidden Swordsman’s words, Cheonnyeonbing and Palmaon nodded and walked further in.

The deeper they went, the stronger the stench of blood became, and the more signs of slaughter they saw.

Even the expressions on their previously composed faces began to tighten with unease.

But it wasn’t only the grotesque scene that disturbed them.

They had all been through many horrors and wouldn’t be shaken by this alone.

What made all three tense up was the strange energy in the air.

“This request... one Gwaemun Stone might not be nearly enough.”

“We’ll need to have a serious talk if we make it back.”

“No doubt about that…”

As they moved forward while talking, the three warriors finally reached the source of the energy.

And what they found—

—was nothing.

No, they couldn’t see anything.

Because the moment they arrived at the source—

—they all closed their eyes.

Not by their own will.

“What the—”

Schlunk—

What they felt next was the sensation of a blade piercing their hearts.

“Ghk—!”

“Urgh—!”

They couldn’t speak.

They couldn’t open their eyes.

They couldn’t move.

They couldn’t draw their weapons.

They couldn’t do anything.

Palmaon and the Swordsman’s bodies collapsed without resistance.

Two of the Seven Great Powers—killed in an instant.

And the last one.

Cheonnyeonbing.

With a sword embedded in his heart, he too could do nothing.

Just before his mind sank into the abyss, he heard—

“I’m sorry—”

A voice.

“I’m sorry.”

A voice.

“I didn’t want to do this either.”

So quiet.

“But this is all for your sake.”

A voice.

“So please, die.”

That was the last sound Cheonnyeonbing heard in this world.

***

Alon looked at the divine force that had grown to the size of a planet—just like his own body—and wore an expression of complete confusion.

His divinity had grown?

That should’ve been a good thing.

As Rine had said, he had only been accumulating the divine power in the Divine Land, and he didn’t really know what kind of nature it held.

But ‘divinity’ itself meant an upgrade in power.

Still, Alon couldn’t help being stunned.

Because the growth had far surpassed his expectations.

“It’s like... the Primordial Elf’s level... No, maybe even more than that...?”

Sure, it wasn’t like Alon had never gathered divinity before.

But even so, the Divine Land’s power had already slightly surpassed that of the Primordial Elf.

Up until now, Alon had brushed off the appearance of unknown divine forces.

But this time was different.

‘What the hell is going on in the Divine Land...?’

All he had done was play around making a few little things because he thought it’d be useful...

Of course, ever since the distorted rumors spread and mercenaries started swarming in—

And especially now that they had begun recruiting large numbers of knights and soldiers—the innocent dream had long since gone awry.

Still, Alon had continued to think of it that way.

“Hmph…”

As he kept thinking, Evan, who stood beside him, spoke.

“You’ve been like that for a while. What’s wrong?”

“I think there’s too much divinity now.”

“Too much?”

“Doesn’t it seem strange?”

“Well... but isn’t that a good thing?”

“Is it?”

“Isn’t it actually great? Like you’re just sitting there and getting stronger anyway?”

Evan gestured excitedly, almost as if divinity were duplicating itself.

Since it wasn’t exactly wrong, Alon took a seat.

“Still, something’s definitely going on in the Divine Land. I should investigate.”

“Understood. I’ll check as soon as we reach the next village.”

Alon resumed his journey toward the Ronovelli Jungle.

About a week later, just before reaching the jungle, they arrived at Castleut—the territory of the Duchy of Luxible, a place they had to pass through.

‘Come to think of it, I should meet with Syrkal too.’

He hadn’t visited since he said he would last time.

But for now, meeting Ryanga was the priority, so Alon moved at once.

After stepping down from the carriage and walking through Castleut, he suddenly felt a strange sensation.

‘Why does it feel like everyone’s staring at me?’

It was as if the citizens of the territory couldn’t take their eyes off him.

When Alon turned his head, they looked away—but then began whispering among themselves.

It wasn’t just a feeling—Alon easily realized they were staring at him.

And just as he started to wonder—

“Oh my—! Good day to you, Marquis Palatio~!”

Suddenly, a fruit vendor in the plaza recognized Alon and approached him.

Evan instinctively stepped in to block the merchant, but—

Alon lightly waved his hand, parting the path, allowing the merchant to approach him.

“Thank you so much~!”

The vendor bowed deeply.

“......?”

Alon was bewildered by the sudden thanks.

But before that confusion could even settle—

“Thank you so much, Marquis!”

“Thanks to you, my life has gotten so much better.”

“Thank you, Marquis!”

The people of the territory began speaking up, as if they had all been waiting for this moment.

“???”

Alon could only raise another mental question mark.

As the people gathered around and began clapping together—

“Marquis.”

“What is it.”

“Did you perhaps... do something again?”

“What do you mean by 'something'?”

“Well... you always seem to do things while I’m not around.”

“We’ve been together for months, haven’t we?”

“Then... what is all this?”

Evan gestured toward the street, which had transformed into something resembling a grand procession.

And Alon—

“......I have no idea…”

Could only answer that way.

***

Ever since the appearance of the timid knight who, with the help of Sili Maccalian, was able to use the power of Kalannon, the atmosphere in the Divine Land had begun to shift significantly.

And the knight himself, Rohan—who had received Sili Maccalian’s help—had changed the most.

He still couldn’t fully wield Kalannon’s power.

Even when he could, it was only for a moment, and the lightning he summoned was extremely weak.

But even that was enough for him.

Because Kalannon’s power had brought him something he hadn’t felt in a very long time—growth.

He had never possessed talent with a sword.

As the illegitimate child of a knight’s house, he trained relentlessly, to the point of collapsing from exhaustion.

Yet, his talent allowed him to become nothing more than an average knight.

Simply put—

He was weak, stagnant, and timid.

His meager abilities had taken away the joy of growth from him.

At least until he began to serve Kalannon.

From the moment he did, Rohan rediscovered what it meant to grow.

Kalannon, as if mocking the limits of his talent, rewarded him with strength equal to his effort.

Of course, that strength was still faint, but it was enough.

The fact that his effort and belief were not betrayed—

That alone was the sweetest fruit of all.

And on top of that—

Crackle!

“Wow—”

“I wonder when I’ll be able to do that...”

Before he knew it, Rohan had become an object of admiration among those who also read the scriptures to gain Kalannon’s power.

“Please tell us, Sir Knight. How are we supposed to believe?”

“Do we really have to believe that earnestly?”

“Please, tell us any method, anything at all...!”

Rohan looked at those who had gathered around him.

Among them were humble wandering knights and mercenaries.

In their eyes were unmistakable reverence—and a touch of jealousy.

Emotions he never could have received back when he was just a timid knight.

That’s why Rohan was thankful to Kalannon—

No, to Marquis Palatio.

To the one who had given him the hope of growth—

To the one who had granted him power.

If not for him, Rohan never would have experienced anything like this.

That’s why—

“Believe, all of you. If you do, Lord Kalannon will surely respond to your faith.”

“Really?”

“Look to the scriptures. Chapter 1, verse 15: ‘To the believer, power shall be given in proportion to belief; but to the faithless, nothing shall be gained.’”

Rohan came to trust Kalannon more deeply than anyone else.

At that moment—

“...Good, that’s great.”

“Hmm. Is it?”

Watching the scene, Sili nodded in satisfaction.

“Yes. Just look at them.”

Following Sili’s pointing finger, Deus turned to watch.

Ever since Rohan had begun to wield Kalannon’s power, the atmosphere in the Divine Land had started to transform in earnest.

Knights and mercenaries in need of power began reciting scriptures and praying with fervor.

Thanks to Sili’s aid, some had even begun to use small traces of Kalannon’s power.

Because of that, even more people clung to the scriptures.

To the point that small fights were breaking out over them.

“Everyone wants to read the Marquis’s scripture, right?”

“Is this the ‘time’ you were talking about?”

“That’s right. From now on, we’ll release the scripture little by little. Just enough to make everyone crave to read it.”

“I see. Is there anything else we need to do?”

Deus asked.

To which Sili responded—

“Of course. Now that we have believers, shouldn’t we make new statues?”

“True.”

“And we’ll need to make a public declaration too.”

“...Declaration?”

“Yes.”

She smiled.

“Because it makes no sense for a god to be beneath a mere human.”

She tilted her head sideways.

“I see—”

Deus nodded firmly, as if he understood her completely.

And—

‘…What the heck are they talking about?’

Kalannon, in cat form, who had heard all this reality(?) of the Divine Land from Alon, could only stare blankly at the scheming siblings, who were grinning wickedly.