< Chapter 5 - The Devil's Hand >
Chapter 5 – The Devil’s Hand
The schedule went smoothly.
Three days since the fairies’ night play.
Inside the carriage heading towards Langest, Yuder opened his closed eyes slightly and looked straight ahead.
Cordelia and Dahlia were sitting close together, talking quietly.
‘They really look like sisters.’
The fact that the relationship between the two was more than just a simple bodyguard and bodyguard was something we already knew through Hero Chronicles 2, but seeing it in person gave it a new feeling.
‘thank god.’
Cordelia was very worried because she had been causing trouble to Dahlia continuously since the last time she ran away.
He even said something like that while openly crying.
“What if Dahlia starts to hate me?”
Because before the Yellow Storm, she was Cordelia.
To Cordelia, Dahlia was not just a bodyguard, but a real older sister.
If you think that you are hated by such a being······.
‘I’m so glad.’
Dahlia forgave Cordelia this time too. Of course, Dahlia wasn’t always kind, so she gave Cordelia a proper scolding this time.
Uder, who remembered Cordelia laughing despite being very angry, snickered without realizing it, and then turned his gaze to the side in shock for a moment.
“Woohoohoo.”
Maia, the exclusive maid who is like a real older sister to Yuder.
She was looking at Uther, who was looking at Cordelia, with a strange – to be exact, an elegant smile reminiscent of the Fairy Queen.
It seemed like he was holding back something he wanted to say.
‘Let’s not talk, let’s not talk.’
Because I knew what he would say if I spoke to him.
Uther closed his eyes, looking away from Maia’s gaze. And then another twenty minutes passed.
It was around the time when Yuder fell into a deep sleep.
“Miss, I’ve arrived. It’s Langest!”
Yuder, who came to his senses suddenly at Dahlia’s bright voice, opened his eyes and looked around. Cordelia was sticking her head out of the carriage window.
“Wow, it’s real!”
It was Cordelia’s first time with Langeste too.
Of course, it was a city that had been visited dozens or hundreds of times by Yellow Storm, but as Uther felt when he saw Cordelia and Dahlia, there was still an unbridgeable gap between the game and reality.
“Your Majesty, look at this too.”
When Maya urged him, Uther pretended to be defeated and got up from his seat, sticking his head out the window on the other side.
“and.”
Just like what you see in the game.
But in a much more grandiose and realistic form.
The giant gate, which can be said to be the symbol of Langest, and the stone statues of knights that are at least 10 meters tall on the left and right.
People filled the wide road, so wide that two or three carriages could pass at the same time.
In the scattered sunlight, Yuder took a deep breath.
‘Langest.’
The city of beginnings where the main scenario of Uther and Cordelia begins.
It was the same this time too.
Although the form and timing are slightly different, the journey to create a new ending will also begin in this city.
‘Oh, I think I hear background music.’
When we arrived at Langest, the lively Langest theme song, as expected from a commercial city, started playing.
As I returned to my seat, absentmindedly humming, I saw Cordelia humming along as well.
‘Hey, you too?’
‘Hey, me too.’
What more needs to be said?
The two people who exchanged glances smiled at the same time, and Maia and Dahlia, who were watching them, tilted their heads, but soon smiled happily.
&
“First, we have to sell our father.”
It wasn’t a story about human trafficking.
A measure to stop the devil’s hand.
Uther prepared a three-stage operation, to be precise.
So, as soon as they arrived at Langest and found a place to stay, instead of lying down and resting or going shopping in the commercial district, Yuder led the entire group except Maia to the Knights’ headquarters located in the center of the city.
‘The Knights of the Blue Lion.’
The north was practically an autonomous region, with 12 families centered around the Count Hresvelg, but it was not an independent region from the kingdom.
In cities that did not belong to any of the twelve houses, such as Langeste, security was maintained by a knightly order dispatched from the royal palace.
“I am Juder Bayer, the second son of the Count Bayer family. I would like to meet you, sir.”
“yes?”
The lobby of the building is reminiscent of a large branch office rather than the headquarters of the Knights Templar, perhaps because it is located in the center of the city.
Everyone was taken aback by the sudden words spoken in front of the reporter who seemed to be handling various reception-related matters.
“master?”
When Jun asked quietly as if he was taking care of Maia who was left at the inn, Yuder raised his hand slightly and continued explaining to the knight.
“My father, Count Bayer, sent a letter to you. He asked me to deliver it to you personally.”
When Uder lowered his voice, the knight who looked to be around the same age flinched.
The name of Count Bayer, one of the Ten Swordsmen of the Kingdom of Seilun, was a magical word that made the hearts of swordsmen beat faster regardless of nationality.
But since Count Bayer himself had asked for the letter to be delivered through his son, he had to meet the captain even without an appointment.
“Okay, just wait a moment.”
As the knight got up in a hurry and went inside, Jun asked again.
“Your Majesty, was there a secret order from the Count?”
“It’s not a secret order.”
Uther said with a smile, and Cordelia tried hard to hide her awkward expression.
“Come in. He said he would meet you right now.”
When the bellboy came back out of breath and spoke, Uther took a deep breath and turned to Cordelia.
She was the only one among those present who knew the truth and asked with a nod.
‘Can you do it?’
‘I can do it.’
Because it’s only the beginning.
After calming down, Yuder told his party to wait and followed the knight’s instructions to the captain’s office.
&
The story was simple.
During Count Bayer’s expedition, he had a chance encounter with a group of demon followers, and as a result, he discovered a document.
It was a coded document, but when deciphered, it pointed to a specific location in Langest.
“There was nothing outside the place, but it seems like it had something to do with the devil’s followers.”
At Uder’s words, the typical middle-aged knight, Sir Barua, the leader of the Blue Lions, nodded.
He had always respected Count Bayer, but now that he was entangled with a demon follower who could be considered an enemy of the kingdom, he had to search for him.
“Okay, I see. I’ll make sure to get moving quickly.”
“Thank you. But······.”
“What’s going on?”
“There’s one thing I’d like to ask you.”
“Tell me.”
“It may be a very childish thing to say, but can I come with you?”
“Confucius?”
“Yes, I’m embarrassed to say this, but because of my bad habit, I’ve always been at home, so I’ve never really been able to participate in household chores properly. So… at least I want to participate until the end in this task that my father has given me. Furthermore, since it’s the Knights of the Blue Lion, which my father has always praised in many ways, I think there’s a lot to learn from it….”
As I spoke earnestly, I glanced over and saw that Sir Barua’s reaction was not bad. In particular, when Count Bayer praised the Knights of the Blue Lion, the corners of my mouth went up involuntarily.
Of course, if Cordelia were here, she would have been focusing on the old syllable part and talking about Muandan water.
Anyway, Sir Barua, who had hidden his happiness with a cough, opened his mouth again.
“Hmm. But Confucius, it could be dangerous.”
“Yes, I am willing to take the risk. Of course, if it really gets dangerous, I will cause trouble to the people, so I plan to take a step back together with the knights of Count Bayer’s house and Count Chase’s house to prevent that from happening.”
“Ah… indeed, this is a gathering of the 12 families.”
Sir Barua nodded as if the name of the Count Chase family had come to mind again.
“Okay, I’ll allow you to come with me. But as you said, you have to follow us. Do you understand?”
“I will keep your words in mind. Thank you.”
As Yuder laughed heartily, Barua also smiled pleasantly. It was quite enjoyable for a warrior to have some kind of connection with the Count Bayer family.
And then another two hours.
“Let’s charge in!”
“Woooo! In the name of the Blue Lion!”
If it were Korea, it would have required a complicated process like a warrant, but that wasn’t the case in the Kingdom of Siluen.
The Blue Lions, led by their leader, Lord Barua, rushed into a building on the outskirts, and soon the sounds of shouting, screaming, and fighting could be heard loudly.
The knights of Count Bayer and Count Chase, who had suddenly followed them here, looked somewhat bewildered, but as expected of knights, their gazes changed when a battle situation arose.
“Do you think it will be okay?”
“It’ll be okay.”
Cordelia asked in a whisper as she watched the assault from a distance.
Because the really important things started from now on.
There are twelve gathering places of the Devil’s Hand located in Langest.
Since a group of over a hundred people could not gather in one place, they split up into groups and went into hiding.
The Blue Lion Knights’ raid was just one of many.
‘Of the remaining ones, I know the locations of six.’
Because the game doesn’t reveal the locations of all twelve locations.
‘The problem is conveying the remaining six places we know.’
Of course, there was a way to simply hand over a document that listed all six places, saying that it was found in Count Bayer’s documents, but there were problems with this one or the other.
It was strange that Count Bayer did not immediately deliver the document that was marked in not one but seven places, and it was very uncomfortable that the document he had accidentally obtained contained not only the location of the gathering place, but also information on the key members participating in this raid.
That’s why I prepared a move.
“I think it’s pretty much sorted out.”
Jun said as the sounds of fighting inside the building died down.
Now that they were starting to search the gathering place in earnest, we had to make some moves too.
“Let’s go in too.”
As Uther strode forward, as if declaring something, Cordelia immediately followed him. The knights hesitated for a moment about whether or not to dissuade him, and then followed Uther.
‘Okay, let’s get started.’
The inside of the building was bizarrely different from the outside, which looked normal. This was because there were symbols and decorations of devil worship everywhere.
Uther sneaked in with the Knights of the Blue Lion who were searching the building for any more useful information, and as soon as he found a box that looked suitable, he winked at Cordelia.
‘now?’
‘now.’
When Uther sent the sign, Cordelia suddenly put her hand on her forehead and pretended to stagger.
“Ah, I feel dizzy······.”
“miss?!”
“Um, sorry. I feel dizzy for a moment······.”
As always, it was acting close to reading a Korean textbook, but it was effective enough.
This was because not only the party but also the knights around them were focused on the beautiful and pitiful Cordelia who was dizzy at the sight of the devil’s bust.
Meanwhile, Yuder quickly moved his hands. He opened the box lid and lifted the documents he had been carrying in his arms.
“Captain Barua! I think I found something!”
As Yuder shouted, Lord Barua and his entourage, who had been looking around from afar, came running in a hurry. The same was true for Yuder and his group.
“I found it in this box. It seems to be an important document.”
Sir Barua accepted the documents that Yuder had handed him, his expression hardened for a moment, and then nodded.
This was because it was a document that contained information about other gathering places of the Devil’s Hand within Langest, as well as information about important members.
“Will this help?”
“Of course. It really helped me a lot. I’m sure your father will be happy.”
“That’s fortunate.”
When Sir Barua gave him great praise, Uther breathed a sigh of relief with a bright face, and Cordelia pursed her lips.
‘Wow, that conman. Look at him lying without even wiping his mouth.’
It was such an obvious story, but it was Yuder who created the document in the first place.
‘Break the power.’
Turn seven of the twelve assembly points.
Even if information was leaked along the way and there were some failures, it was enough to deal a blow to the Devil’s Hand group gathered in Langest.
The Knights of the Blue Lion, led by Sir Barua, hurriedly returned to the Knights’ headquarters, while Yuder and his party headed back to their quarters.
Good news would probably be delivered today or tomorrow.
But the operation wasn’t over yet.
“You wouldn’t give up at this level, right?”
“No way. They’re fanatics.”
The Devil’s Hand was a group of people who fit the definition of fanatics exactly. They were people who didn’t even mind sacrificing human bodies to summon demons, so even if their power was lower than before, they wouldn’t give up easily.
So Uder looked back at Cordelia and spoke refreshingly.
“So now let’s sell your father.”
“What is that crazy guy talking about?”
In fact, it was far from what was actually being sold.
Because it wasn’t about committing fraud in the name of Count Chase, it was about getting help.
The outline of the second operation was also simple.
‘Summoning the wizards from the Red Dawn Tower.’
If the Devil’s Hand actually forces an attack, it will eventually lead to a situation where they will have to resort to force.
So, we reduce the enemy’s power and strengthen our own power.
In particular, to repel ‘Mine Minos’, who could be considered the boss of this attack, the help of the fire wizard ‘Ronin’ was essential.
Cordelia, the biological daughter of Count Chase, seeks out a wizard from the Red Dawn Tower for help.
‘There are demon followers in Langest! Can you help us during the fellowship period so we don’t have to worry about them attacking?’
It was a request from a peerless beauty, and from the daughter of a top lord at that.
In reality, since the Blue Lions were stirring up trouble all over Langest, any wizard would have accepted Cordelia’s request.
As Lord Barua said, the demon followers were the public enemy of the Kingdom of Siluen.
‘I did prepare for the case where they don’t listen.’
Cordelia took out the letter she had kept in her bosom and opened it.
It was a summons signed by Count Chase, but it was actually a fake.
Since forging an official document with the signature of a top leader was a felony, it was something created with the intention of being used in the worst possible situation.
‘Wow… but what exactly was this kid doing?’
I’ve admired it several times already, but the more I look at it, the more amazed I am by the forgery.
Not only was the signature of the Count Chase copied almost perfectly, but the content of the letter was just like the Count Chase.
Even though Cordelia, the biological daughter, provided various materials and information, how is this possible?
It was definitely not the work of an ordinary citizen A.
‘Could it be that he was really a scammer?’
The near-perfect forgery skills, the clever acting that goes on without a trace, and the idea that all you have to do is forge documents.
‘There is a possibility!’
It was when an excited Cordelia snorted and clenched her fists.
Uther said, poking Cordelia in the ribs.
“Hey, I can see what kind of delusions you’re having. I was a good citizen who paid my taxes and obeyed the law.”
“Taxes? Did you pay your taxes?”
“Then you’re going to evade taxes? Let’s stop talking nonsense and get going.”
It took time for the wizards near Langest to get here after hearing the news. They had to hurry to make it to the social gathering schedule.
But that was just then.
“Cordelia?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
When Cordelia, who had been lost in thought, suddenly raised her head and answered, Uther narrowed his brows in suspicion, but only for a moment.
“Let’s hurry.”
“huh.”
However, since it was impossible to go out secretly, Yuder planned to take only Dahlia and Jun with him.
And as she watched the back of Uther walking ahead, Cordelia resumed her fantasy that had been interrupted for a moment.
duty.
Pay taxes.
Social person.
A real adult.
‘Oh, is it you?’
I never thought about the age of an outboxer.
“Hey! Aren’t you coming?”
“Huh?! Oh, no. Okay! I’ll go!”
Cordelia responded urgently to Uther’s urging again and hurried her steps.
&
< Chapter 5 - The Devil's Hand > End
