Chapter 69
Chapter 69: Different than Intended (1)
Cale patted Billos’s shoulder . BIlos’s eyes filled with anticipation as Cale started to speak .
“So work hard if you need some treasure . ”
It was an indifferent command, but Billos still responded with excitement .
“As hard as you need me to work, hehe . ”
Cale shook his head after seeing that Billos was clearly excited . He knew that there was a lot going on BIllos’s mind, but that Billos was putting up this front .
‘Since I didn’t explain it thoroughly . ’
All he had told Billos was two words .
Magic Device . Billos had heard only those two words . Cale observed Billos leaving to work before turning to look at a certain person .
He was looking at the person who needed to be the most cautious in the Whipper Kingdom .
Rosalyn .
The mage needed to be careful if she did not want to get hurt or even killed . Cale found her standing on the deck and approached her . It was so that he could warn her .
“ . . . Miss Rosalyn . ”
But there was no need to do that . Cale stopped to think about what to say .
“What is it, young master Cale?”
Cale had to ask after hearing the calm in her voice .
“Is that a club in your hand?”
The club in Rosalyn’s hand was causing strong gusts of wind as she swung it around . She looked like she was used to this . He could also see a light leather armor underneath her robe as she refreshingly answered Cale’s question .
“It is indeed a club . Whether it is a magic staff or a club, they’re all the same when you use it to hit something . ”
“You are very wise . ”
Cale was honestly in admiration as he gave her a thumbs up . There was no need for him to warn her about moving around the Whipper Kingdom as a mage .
“Wise? I just wanted to make sure things didn’t become difficult for everyone else because of me . I may not look like it, but I learned a variety of basic martial arts when I was young . ”
Tap . Tap .
Rosalyn lightly tapped her other palm with the club . As part of the royal family, especially as the eldest child in line for the throne, she had learned self-defense, as well as some other basic martial arts .
Her gaze suddenly became chilly .
“I also wanted to take a look at this place with my own eyes . ”
Cale started to smile . Rosalyn, the liege in charge of the new Magic Tower in the future, was a very just person like Choi Han . That was why she was able to grow together with her party members . However, she also had a definite goal as well as a cold rationality . The Whipper Kingdom would give her some complicated feelings, as well as an opportunity to learn .
Cale followed Rosalyn’s gaze to look toward the port .
This was the least destroyed port in the Whipper Kingdom because it was the smallest one and because the regular citizens used it quite frequently . However, there were not many ships going in and out of the port, and the faces of the people getting off of the few ships arriving were very gloomy . However, the faces of the people living here were bright .
‘Many of the citizens who were treated like slaves at the Magic Tower live here . ’
Cale could see pillars of black smoke in the distance . Civil Wars always left behind destruction in their paths .
“Young master-nim, we can move now . The carriage is prepared . ”
“Great . ”
Cale nodded at Billos’s statement and got off the ship . He started to speak after taking his first step into the Whipper Kingdom .
“It doesn’t smell that good . ”
Cale sniffed the musky smell of the burnt and destroyed buildings as he headed to the residence Billos had prepared for him . He started to speak to Billos once he got to his room .
“You prepared quite well . ”
Cale complimented Billos, who had prepared the quietest residence by the port, a carriage with the Flynn Merchant Guild crest, as well as all of the other tiny details .
Billos shrugged his shoulders as Cale asked one more thing .
“Did you make sure to do it quietly without others knowing about it?”
“Isn’t that only natural?”
Cale smiled and responded back after seeing the greedy gaze in Billos’s eyes .
“I knew I liked you . ”
“You as well, young master-nim . ”
Cale leaned on the couch as he casually asked .
“Victory?”
Billos slowly nodded his head with a sincere expression .
“Yes . It was as you explained, young master-nim . ”
“I see . ”
In the end, no, as expected, the non-mage faction had been victorious . Cale had arrived right on time for the end of the Civil War .
There was only one thing that signaled the end of the Civil War .
The destroyed Magic Tower .
Sponsored Content
The fall of the mages’ final fortress signaled the end of the Civil War . Of course, there were still things to take care of afterward the war .
“That non-mage faction was wilder than I had expected . ”
Billos started to frown as he described the Civil War .
“They seem like they are not afraid of death and like they are only focused on killing mages . ”
Billos’s shoulders shook a bit as he tried to recall how it looked before the Civil War compared to the current situation . These two periods of time were the best time for him to make some money .
However, he had seen much more than that .
“They were especially scary whenever the citizens with magic resistance showed up in large numbers or took the vanguard . ”
The biggest influence in the battle between the mage faction and the non-mage faction was this, ‘magic resistance . ’
These citizens with magic resistance were slowly born through the generations, and the fact that there were only a few of them, as well as the fact that they could not learn any magic, made their lives difficult in the Whipper Kingdom .
However, these citizens with magic resistance were born in large numbers during this generation, which ended up becoming an advantage for the non-mage faction .
The citizens considered this as a sign from nature that they were to kill those arrogant mages who believed they could rule over nature with their mana .
“This is especially true for the person named Toonka, the one in charge of the non-mage faction . ”
Cale was just silently listening .
“That man and his direct subordinates really seemed to move based on instinct . I saw him just once from a distance and he was pulling a mage’s neck off with his bare hands . You don’t know how terrifying that was to witness . ”
Sigh .
Billos let out a sigh as he shook his head .
“I couldn’t even sleep properly that night . Just thinking about Toonka and his direct subordinates still makes me feel sick . ”
Billos had made up his mind to absolutely avoid those people . It didn’t feel like he could communicate with them . Thankfully, the staff around Toonka were smart and easy to talk to .
“It must have been very cruel . ”
Billos wildly nodded his head at Cale’s short response .
“Yes, it was very cruel . The corpses of those mages who were torn to shreds while they were still alive are hanging outside all of the castles . ”
However, Billos did not say that that was bad .
“Well, I’m sure even that is not enough in the Whipper citizens’ perspectives . ”
Billos understood how they were feeling . Furthermore, as someone who was making money off of the Civil War, he was not in the position to say either side was good or bad .
“But, young master-nim . ”
“What is it?”
Sponsored Content
Billos started to smile as he asked Cale a question . Cale’s response felt cold, but Billos did not budge .
“Where are we headed to now?”
Billos was very curious about their destination, as well as what the treasure was . He could see Cale, who had been quietly listening to everything he had to say, start to smile .
This smile filled Billos with anticipation . Cale then started to speak .
“To meet Toonka . ”
“ . . . Excuse me? Who?”
Billos thought that he had heard wrong . The fact that he had not been able to sleep properly for a while may have affected his hearing .
Cale continued to speak while looking at the confused expression that he had seen for the first time appear on Billos’s face .
“We are going to the Magic Tower . ”
“What?”
There were many reasons Cale had selected this very small port . It was the closest port to the Magic Tower, one out of the battle areas, and one where many of the citizens still lived .
Cale leisurely continued to speak to Billos, who had a blank expression on his face but seemed to be thinking about a lot of things right now .
“Just trust me . ”
Billos opened and closed his mouth a few times before jumping up and heading over to the cabinet in order to take out a bottle of alcohol . He then started to chug it and only stopped after emptying about half of the bottle into his mouth .
“I will trust my instincts . ”
“And what do your instincts say?”
Billos took out a new bottle and handed it to Cale .
“My instincts are telling me to follow you, young master-nim . ”
Cale took a gulp straight from the bottle .
“You have pretty good instincts . It is perfect for a merchant . ”
Cale seemed to be very relaxed . Bellos clenched onto the bottle in his hand as he looked past Cale’s shoulders and out the window .
Although the official Civil War was over, there were still screams throughout the Whipper Kingdom as all of the mages were not caught just yet . Madness, despair, sorrow, these were all still plentiful in the air .
“This tastes great . ”
Billos decided to follow his instincts even more after seeing Cale so calm .
***
A few days later, Cale stepped out of the carriage with the Flynn Merchant Guild crest . There were three more carriages behind him as well .
Sponsored Content
“Young master-nim, this is as close as we can get to the Magic Tower in a carriage . ”
Cale could see the destroyed Magic Tower in the distance, but it was much less destroyed than he had expected .
“He really kept his promise about not destroying it much . ”
Toonka had listened to what Cale had said .
“It is a beautiful Magic Tower . ”
Billos seemed to be in a daze next to Cale . At that moment, Cale took someone out of his pocket and showed a small corner of it to Billos .
“Gasp!”
Billos let out a gasp .
The golden plaque .
He only saw a bit, but that was definitely a golden plaque . Billos’s gaze instantly changed .
“Young master-nim, I respect you very much . ”
Cale just ignored Billos as Hans approached him .
“Young master-nim, what do you plan to do now?”
Hans asked what Cale was going to do as he looked around . They were currently around the entrance of a base that was created in front of the Magic Tower .
They could see lots of huts and houses . In fact, it seemed more like a village than a base based on the size . They could also see uniquely colored people as well . They were the citizens of the Whipper Kingdom .
There were also other odd people as well . This made Hans’s eyes start to quiver .
“Mmph!”
He then subconsciously covered his mouth with his hand . There were people who looked like warriors, but they were covered in blood and chopping up some corpses . They could tell that the corpses were wearing robes . These were all corpses of mages .
Behind the corpses were the chopped off heads of the mages rolling on the ground .
The scent of blood and rotting flesh overwhelmed Hans’s nose as he started to hear the sound of corpses burning behind him .
“Take a break if it’s too much . ”
Hans turned to look at the calm Cale and realized that everybody else around him was composed . Even Maes and the children, whom he recently learned were Wolves, were calmly observing the situation in front of them .
“Hans . ”
“ . . . Yes, young master-nim . ”
“This is a battlefield . ”
Hans could feel the weight of those words . At the same time, he clearly looked into Cale's eyes that were coolly observing the entire battlefield .