Summoning the Holy Sword

Kacha.

Darke twitched his brow and stared in disbelief at the crystal ball that cracked before him. It seemed that he couldn’t believe his eyes, but ignoring it wouldn’t change the fact. The truth was so clear that no excuses came to his mind.

Vulture lost?

Just as Rhode had expected, undead creatures had their means of confirming the deaths of their companions. Vulture’s life shattered before him in the form of the crystal and left Darke anxious, as well as in an unprecedented fear.

Although undead creatures were rarely fearful, Darke was genuinely frightened now because this was a huge trouble for him. This poor Necromancer began to tremble as he imagined how his master would react if he knew that not only was the Bone List stolen, but Vulture had also lost his life getting involved in this.

It was no wonder that Darke was so nervous. After all, this mission required a lot of courage. The conflicts between the four largest families in the Country of Darkness had been contending for a long time. The emergence of the new Dark Dragon soul successor had caused unprecedented changes in the country where new and old powerful families fought for authority and strength.

Darke was a member of one of the four largest families in the Country of Darkness, the ‘Spirit Chaser’ Balende Family. This family used to be the top pillar of support and leading Family in the Country of Darkness, consisting of mainly Necromancers, Lichs, and Undead Knights. However, their position was weakening and although it did not reach the point of being precarious, they were not as strong as they used to be.

The Balende Family was in a mess both domestically and abroad while the families of the ‘Blood Countess’ and ‘Angel of Sorrow’ had been covetously eyeing their number one spot. Furthermore, for unknown reasons, the Dark Dragon had taken a liking to the weakest of all four families, ‘Conqueror’, and they emerged as a new force to be reckoned with against the ‘Spirit Chaser’. These were the internal conflicts of the four families and on the outside, there were also fearless new forces that attempted to throw the Balende Family off their throne to replace them.

The ‘Spirit Chaser’ Balende took actions. The Balende Family relied on their strong history, loyalty, and contributions to achieve their status in the Country of Darkness. Contributions were the Balende Family’s roots. After all, in a country of death, the Undead Knights, Lichs, and Necromancers were the main forces. Due to this, they were able to grasp the foundation of the Country of Darkness, unlike the worthless Vampires who hid in the dark and engaged in intelligence gathering and assassination. Although the humans that the ‘Conquerer’ Garcia led in the Country of Darkness had the most supporters, these fragile beings weren’t able to battle like the undead army. On the other hand, it was impossible for a group of traitors like the ‘Angel of Sorrow’ to impress.

This was the only area with inhabitants in the White River Valley and it was also the resting point for plenty of merchants and travelers. This village was built on the hillside of the valley with a downward-flowing river that had nurtured the villagers for years. Amazingly, their houses weren’t made of wood. Instead, their houses were caves excavated from the valley itself and were very suitable for humans to reside in.

Right now, Hobbit Village was unfrequented as it wasn’t the peak season for trades, so there were minimal visitors. That left the bustling village somewhat peaceful. However, this meant that the villagers who lived here for generations were finally able to enjoy a rare, peaceful period of time.

But the serenity was soon disrupted.

Bang! The door to the pub swung open and shook the pub owner up from his breather. The owner lifted his head subconsciously and turned towards the entrance where five exhausted, anxious travelers, including some beautiful young ladies, stood. The person who stood ahead of the group was clad in a black aristocratic attire, with a flat, shoulder-length short hair. Although ‘she’ had a beautiful appearance, her style of dressing was overly masculinized, which left the owner scratching his head. Furthermore, she had a face as cold as an ice sculpture which he couldn’t gaze directly at.

On ‘her’ left stood a young lady with a full head of pink in a ponytail. She seemed to be the most laid back of them all as her eyes wandered and gazed about casually. Her pair of ears and the swaying, fluffy tail on her back revealed her identity. But even so, her beauty touched the heart of the owner.

A blonde young lady clad in skintight white leather armor stood behind the fox-eared lady. Her large, round eyes whirled in circles curiously and although she had an adorable face, it was her pair of long, slender thighs that garnered the most attention. The splendid curves revealed themselves perfectly, attracting the other male patrons, leaving them gulping at the sight of her fair skin.

Compared to the three gorgeous women, the remaining two at the back seemed much more inferior as they wore tattered clothes and had flustered expressions which made them seem like desperate escapees.

This group was indeed conspicuous. However, the pub owner held in his curiosity as he composed himself. Since they arrived at his pub, he should still serve them as normal customers no matter who they were. The owner stood up swiftly and approached the five of them.

“Welcome to ‘Bumper Harvest’. What would you like to have? We have roast meat, bread, cheese, and our very own vine jam. Also, we have comfortable guest rooms and baths to wash your fatigue away. I can prepare the rooms for all of you now, and I guarantee that the price will be very reasonable…”

Rhode stretched out his hand and interrupted the owner’s words.

“I’m sorry, we are in a rush. Please prepare a straightforward dinner which doesn’t require too much preparations. As for the rooms, we don’t need them. Also…” Rhode paused, puckered his brows and let out a hopeless sigh after turning towards Anne, who tugged on his sleeve with a pitiful expression.

“Give me 20 portions of bread and roast meat.”

“20?”

The pub owner widened his eyes in disbelief and quickly left after nodding in acknowledgment. At this moment, Rhode once again halted him.

“By the way, are there any chariots or horses for rent? If possible, we would like to be on our way as soon as possible. Of course, money isn’t a problem.”

“This…”

The pub owner hesitated with a conflicted expression. After a few moments, he replied helplessly.

“I’m sorry, dear customer. Our village only has freight wagons… I’m afraid I can’t help you with this…”

“Freight wagons are fine. I hope you can arrange one for us. We will leave right after dinner.”

“Okay, I will get them prepared now.”

Although the owner was somewhat dubious, he nodded and left quickly. Rhode let out a sigh and turned his gaze to the almost deserted pub before taking a seat.

“Yes…!”

Anne tossed her luggage and shield to the side and crashed on the seat, laying flat on the table like a cat.

“So tiring. Anne has never run this far before…”

Although the rest didn’t respond, their expressions agreed with her words.

After the chariot burned to bits, Rhode’s group hastened on with their journey. Luckily, both Rhode and Anne had strong physiques and this long-distance journey wasn’t any problem for them. Gillian was a beast, so naturally, she wouldn’t mind either. However, Natasha and Grendy didn’t have such experiences before. They struggled through the hardships of this journey and the thought of the Necromancer possibly pouncing on them anytime forced their feet forward. At this moment, both Natasha and Grendy laid flat on the table, similar to Anne.

“M-M-Mr. Rhode… I think, let’s rest for the night before moving on… Since there are villagers and militias around, that Necromancer won’t dare to mess with us here, I guess…”

Natasha was so exhausted that she couldn’t articulate her words properly. It was as though her numb legs had transformed into two wooden sticks. Although Grendy didn’t beg for mercy, his ashen-face revealed that he was at his limits too.

“No.”

Although Natasha’s request was reasonable, Rhode rejected ruthlessly. This young lady didn’t understand how terrifying the Necromancer could be. If possible, Rhode would rather duel with a Necromancer in a desert than face him in a densely populated place. If Rhode and the others chose to stay the night, it wouldn’t only be the Necromancer that they would need to face. Their enemies could even be the corpses of the villagers that the Necromancer had manipulated… This definitely wouldn’t be a favorable situation for Rhode.

Without a doubt, Rhode was also a human. He knew that Natasha and Grendy were at their limits. But…

“Both of you can rest in the wagon in a while. At least, you don’t need to walk for the time being.”

“… Alright, Mr. Rhode.”

Natasha and Grendy exchanged hopeless glances and nodded. Although the wagon wouldn’t be as comfortable as the chariot, at least they had a place to rest their feet…

As everyone was seizing the moment to recharge themselves, suddenly, the pub door opened. A few mercenaries entered the pub and upon noticing Rhode’s companions, they whistled excitedly. However, Rhode didn’t care at all. Even Anne, who was always lively, didn’t respond to the mercenaries. On the other hand, Gillian turned around and winked towards them, causing an uproar of cheers instantly.

But suddenly, a cold and cheerless voice sounded.

“Eh?”

The group of aroused mercenaries shut their mouths obediently and made way hurriedly. Then, a woman in a mask emerged behind them and approached Rhode’s group.

“What a surprise. I didn’t expect to meet you here, Mr. Rhode,” the woman said.