episode_0083

“K… … .”

Viscount Tar chewed his lips as if he was quite annoyed and glared at me very harshly. If he were a master-level person who could manipulate mana freely, I would have thought he would have died just by looking at me.

Of course, in reality, it seemed like it couldn’t handle mana properly, so it just looked fierce. To use an analogy, it felt like a hedgehog hissing and threatening. It didn’t seem like it would hurt much, but it was still a threat that felt like it would sting.

Viscount Tarr’s expression became even more crumpled as he smiled softly at the somewhat trivial threat.

However, it was only for a moment that it was crumpled like that. Viscount Tar suddenly gave an instruction to a knight nearby. The knight who received the order immediately ran somewhere, and a smile fell on Viscount Tarr’s wrinkled face.

The sight of him smiling even though it was clearly an absolutely unfavorable situation made me feel uneasy. And, I was able to quickly realize the reason for that anxiety.

“Do you think there was no defense against the warlock? I am a priest specially brought here to deal with evil warlocks like you.”

That is, a priest was brought in. A man wearing clothes of the same style as the religious attire worn by Father Thomas approached him with strides.

He looked at the certified warlock badge that I wore on my lapel every day, and then looked at Viscount Tar as if he wanted an explanation.

“Hmm, Viscount. Isn’t this person a certified warlock?”

“Isn’t a warlock a person who carries out evil deeds despite being a public figure? A good, certified warlock would not occupy someone else’s territory without permission like before. And, it was that evil warlock who put the curse on my son.”

Looking at Viscount Tarr’s hasty words as if he were making an excuse, it seemed that he was not an unconditionally friendly person.

“… … We need to check it first.”

However, he looked at me with a very suspicious gaze, as if he had any prejudice against being a warlock itself. In particular, I was very wary, perhaps because I had placed a curse on Viscount Tarr’s heir.

As if inspired by that sight, Viscount Tarr began to grin. Even if you look at it, it was an unpleasant laugh.

“Why not admit your mistake now and receive the punishment? Oh, if you switch to the noble faction, I will help you. I will not hold you guilty for occupying my territory without permission.”

Perhaps because he thought that I, a warlock, would tremble and be afraid if I were a priest, Viscount Tar suggested that I join the noble faction. Just a moment ago, he had a face that looked as if he was about to die, but now he was smiling as if he had regained his confidence. I was dumbfounded.

However, the appearance was not particularly strange. In fact, as he said, it was possible to easily destroy the skeleton if one received the priest’s blessing.

It was not only possible to simply destroy it, but also to make restoration difficult or impossible. When attacked by someone who received a blessing, the divine power remained in the skeleton, making it very difficult to restore it with black magic. There was a reason why the church took the lead in suppressing the warlocks who had been targeted for no reason.

Of course, this does not mean that divine power is all-powerful. Just as divine power was the opposite of black magic, black magic was also the opposite of divine power. If you stab a priest with a sword full of dark magic, it becomes impossible for the priest to use his divine power properly. In addition, there was also a correlation between quality and quantity.

No matter how sacred power was, it was difficult to overcome the overwhelmingly powerful black magic, and even such black magic had no choice but to bow before even more powerful divine power. It could be described as a relationship where both bite and bite each other.

And, the priest in front of me right now did not have enough divine power to pose such a big threat. Because the amount of blood coming from the city of Carbon and the Viscounty of Defuty was considerable, the amount of dark magic I possessed increased significantly.

The blood from both places came only once, but the amount was still very large. In particular, the amount delivered from the city of Carbon was truly enormous, and thanks to this, even if the skeletons were maintained, there was enough black magic to remain.

Naturally, it was difficult for Viscount Tarr to overcome the current situation with just one priest in front of him. There may be a possibility rather than nothing, but it is literally just a possibility, not a possibility.

However, as if he had not yet figured out this fact, the priest slowly began to radiate divine power from his body.

“It looks like we need to investigate a certified warlock, so we ask for your cooperation. Please defeat the skeletons and disarm the skeletons created from human corpses.”

“Hmm, wouldn’t there be a need for such an investigation?”

“Are you going to break the rules set by the church?”

“It can’t be so. It’s just that there is no reason to investigate something that has already been concluded that there is no problem.”

“Already… … ?”

The priest’s expression changed to one of confusion when he heard that the investigation had already been conducted. With a look as if he was wondering what the hell that was all about, he unleashed the divine power he had been unleashing.

Instead of giving him an explanation, I had a skeleton bring Father Thomas to me. Since it was Father Thomas who was staying in the village on a blood collection project, it didn’t take long to summon him. No, he must have been keeping a close eye on this situation, and he approached right near the entrance to the village.

“Thomas… … Father?”

“It’s been a while. Father Vidis.”

“Yes, yes. Long time no see. But what is Father Thomas doing here? … ?”

Father Thomas, who came to my side, seemed to be acquainted with the priest brought by Viscount Tarr, and we exchanged light greetings. And, right away, he started telling him what he needed to know.

“Warlock Andrew here has a close relationship with our branch. Also, unlike other warlocks, he is a good warlock who strictly follows the rules set by the church.”

“But I heard that a curse was placed on the children of Viscount Tarr here… … . Moreover, I heard that the humanoid skeletons over there were also made from the corpses of the Viscount’s knights.”

“There is no problem with that at all. I guarantee it.”

The other priest, Father Vidis, looked very surprised when he heard that there was a guarantee. As a guarantor, if I made a mistake, Father Thomas would also be in danger.

Of course, Father Thomas, who had watched the entire process, knew that there would be no problems with me, so he just gave me a guarantee.

“At that time, I was on site for collaboration between the church and Warlock Andrew. I watched the entire process, and I also acted as an agent for reporting and reporting to the church.”

“… … What happened?”

“The heir of Viscount Tarr, who was said to have been cursed, took his knights with him and attacked Warlock Andrew’s burial and the slaves he owned. Damage was caused by a preemptive attack, and Warlock Andrew only responded within the scope permitted by the church’s rules. The curse was also responded to within an acceptable range.”

Father Vidis, who had been looking at me suspiciously at Father Thomas’ words, turned his gaze to Viscount Tarr. Even though I didn’t believe it, my fellow priest, Father Thomas, seemed to believe it.

“Viscount Tar. Didn’t you tell me that I was an evil warlock who illegally occupied the territory for no reason and placed a curse on your son? From the story I just heard, it doesn’t seem like the certified warlock is guilty of anything.”

“That, that… … that is… … .”

Suddenly, Viscount Tar looked completely embarrassed as the priest’s arrow was pointed at him. It seemed as if he had never expected something like this to happen.

Looking at that, I thought that it was a good idea to build friendships with people from the church. It was clear that without Father Thomas, who believed in me and supported me, this situation would have been quite troublesome. Still, I wouldn’t have been in trouble as there were plenty of witnesses and evidence.

Anyway, Father Vidis, who had been looking at Viscount Tarr who was only stuttering and unable to give any answer, turned around. Then he moved to Father Thomas, who was next to me.

“Attempting to deceive the clergy with lies and persecute innocent people in the name of the church. We’ll have to talk again later. Please note that the curse on your son has not been completely removed but rather suppressed, so please speak with the Certified Warlock here about it.”

Father Vidis’ face and the back of his neck turned quite red as he spoke as if giving notice. It seemed to be a mixture of shame at having been deceived and anger at Viscount Tarr for deceiving him.

And, after giving notice to Viscount Tarr, Father Vidis immediately headed to the village with Father Thomas.

He looked at the two brides quickly leaving, then turned his gaze to Viscount Tar with a grin.

The faces of the knights and soldiers, whose morale had been boosted as Father Vidis exercised his divine power, instantly turned bluish, and among them, the sight of Viscount Tarr, whose face had turned black, caught my eye.

“I don’t know what to do because the priest I brought specially has gone.”

With a face full of ridicule, his already dark face turned even blacker. The fact that he was sweating profusely seemed to indicate that he was aware that his situation was not a good one.

Seeing Viscount Tar like that, I smiled even brighter and gave a signal to the knight who was commanding the skeleton.

Sereung-

The knight received my signal and controlled the surrounding skeletons. Then, the surrounding skeletons simultaneously drew their swords. Over three hundred skeletons immediately began preparing for battle.

“Hee, hee!”

At the sight of the skeletons pulling out their swords, loud screams were heard from all over Viscount Tarr’s army.

With the appearance of the priest, the slightest hope disappeared like snow, but in that situation, the skeletons took out their swords and panic spread, mainly among the soldiers. Some people dropped their weapons, while others suddenly ran away. As one person began to run away, some of those infected with fear began to run after them.

Several knights tried to catch them, but it was no use. Normally, it would have been possible to control about 500 soldiers with just 10 knights, but all the soldiers who ran away were consumed by fear. The knights’ shouting was not enough to control it.

About half of Viscount Tarr’s soldiers fled and were cut in half in an instant. Even without a single battle, their power was drastically reduced in an instant. The only thing that gave me an advantage was numbers, but now I have an advantage in numbers as well.

Of course, the morale of the others was low as half of the soldiers fled. Not only the remaining half of the soldiers, but also the ten knights who were guarding Viscount Tar right now seemed to be wondering whether there was any way out.

I smiled lightly at these people and approached Viscount Tar. Of course, with the knights and mages guarding me.

“I think we have a lot to talk about… … . How would it be better to relax and talk?”

“Hi! Whoa, what do you want!”

At the same time as telling them to relax, the skeletons all took an attack stance, and Viscount Tar started shaking as if he was having a seizure and asked what he wanted.