Fire Mage (Web Novel)

Chapter 414: Meeting

After a minute of long silence, he looked at Irzoch and spoke in an ordering tone.

"Change back to your human form."

She chanted a verse in an unknown language like an obedient child and cast her [Skin Change] bloodline spell.

A second later, her skin returned to normal, her tail turned shrunken, and soon she returned to her previous self.

Then, she went to the right side bedroom, lit up the lamp candle using a matchstick, and moved towards the wardrobe.

Soon, she opened it with a screech and started changing her torn cloth into a kirtle. After that, she took out a brown cowl from the wardrobe and wore it over her head like a hoodie.

Then, she walked out of the bedroom after extinguishing the lamp and soon arrived in front of Charles…

"Good. Take this corpse and follow me." Charles said as he pointed his finger at the fallen Radiant Knight.

Then, he stood up from his seat, walked out of the living room, and soon exited the building through the front entrance.

At that moment, the sky had already turned darker, and a single moon appeared in the eastern sky.

'It's been a long time since I saw a white moon.' He looked at the sky and muttered in amazement.

In the meantime, Irzoch dragged the corpse from inside and soon appeared next to him. Although blood continued to stain the tiled floor, she didn't mind anything and obeyed his order.

"Let's go." Charles soon retracted his gaze from the dark sky and started walking towards the compound gate.

At that moment, a few armored soldiers and civilians looked at the Colt's disciples' and foreign Knights' corpses from outside the compound gate and showed shocked expressions on their faces.

Shouts and gasps of the nearby citizens echoed everywhere.

Although a young man tried to enter inside to look closer, other soldiers pulled him back and warned him to act cautiously.

Charles also saw two foreign Knights among the group and asked with a frown.

"Who are those foreigners? Are they Duke Michel's men?"

In the meantime, Irzoch dragged the Radiant Knight's corpse, reached the grassy yard, and answered in a polite tone.

"I also don't know much about them, My Lord. But I once heard that Duke Michel has a special squad full of foreign Knights. They were trained from childhood and are extremely loyal to that man. What's more surprising is that they are elites when it comes to strategic battles." She deliberated for a moment and then continued with a solemn look on her face.

"These guys appeared similar to that group. If you've any plan on recruiting them, I wouldn't recommend them, My Lord. They are trained to even act as loyal guards to the enemies. They will stick to you like loyal guards and will betray you when the right time comes."

Upon hearing those words, Charles couldn't help but show a surprised look on his face.

'Then, I want these capable guards at all cost.' As for loyalty, he already had a method to solve this problem.

At that moment, those two foreign Knights seemed to have sensed his gaze and looked in the direction where Charles and Irzoch were walking. Even though it was dark outside, they saw everything.

The next instant, both of their eyes went wide as they saw the Radiant Knight's corpse!

On the other hand, Charles and Irzoch quietly walked towards the compound entrance and soon stopped near the gate.

"Put the Radiant Knight over there," Charles spoke as he pointed his finger at the soldiers' corpse.

Then, he opened the compound gate, shifted his gaze towards the armored soldiers, and spoke as he saw the confusion in their eyes.

"They tried to assassinate me a while ago. Go and tell the gravedigger to dig six graves for these poor souls. Even if they are our enemy, we should give a proper burial to the dead." He paused for a moment, shifted his gaze towards one of the two foreign Knights, and asked.

"Isn't that the right thing to do, Mr. Easton?" Even though he asked with a smile, his childish voice appeared sinister in the Foreign Knight's ears.

A strange chill crept up to the foreign Knight's spine.

'What?! How did he know me?!' This Foreign Knight was a runaway slave but later picked up by one of Duke Michel's men in the woods. Thanks to his excellent sword skills, that soldier spared his life and brought him to Duke's mansion. From then onwards, he buried his darkest past and changed his identity under a new name.

To his surprise, this young Baron managed to find out this secret in a mere second!

"Don't be too anxious. Everyone has secrets, young man." Charles paused for a moment as he arrived near the Foreign Knight, placed his hand on his shoulder, and added.

"Tell your comrades to not leave this town until I say so. Otherwise, this will be their fate."

At that moment, one of the Darkwell Town's guards showed a hesitant look and asked in nervousness.

"B-But when are we going to the battlefield, My Lord? If we didn't finish the mass funeral ceremony for the fallen soldiers, a great plague may befall on our territory."

"It's common for the winners to do the funeral ceremony, My Lord. It's also written in Goddess Zaqiel's Order of Truth book. Those who didn't follow these rules will be considered as an enemy of Light Church." Irzoch whispered in his ears.

'Oh? The rule book she wrote to guide humanity?' He nodded inwardly and then spoke to the same soldier.

"After burying these guys, go and gather all the remaining soldiers at the town's entrance. We'll go back to the battlefield around 9. P.M."

Then, he also told the soldiers to clean his house and started walking towards Potters Street.

Irzoch also followed after him after placing the Radiant Knight's corpse next to other ones, and soon both entered a dark alley.

After walking for a while, they reached the other end of the alley and finally entered Potters Street.

But just as Charles stepped on the Potters Street road, he suddenly saw a group of Light Knights standing in front of an old house entrance and got startled.

It was the same house where the Ancestral Hall's entrance was located!

He also noticed that Bishop Blake was discussing something with the house owner and got a bad premonition.

Without any delay, he fastened his footsteps and soon arrived near the group of silver-armored knights.

At that moment, Bishop Blake also noticed his arrival and greeted him with a smile.

Then, he turned his face serious and asked.

"What happened, Lord Baron? Is there anything I can help you with?"

On the other hand, Charles shook his head and shifted his attention towards the house owner.

He was a man in his 80s, had long white hair, skinny, and his face was filled with full of wrinkles. Currently, he wore an old linen shirt and pants and held a wooden stick in his hand. Moreover, his eyes appeared red, and his cheeks were a little swollen. With a swift glance, Charles knew that this man was crying a while ago.

"Elder Rhett? Are they troubling you?" He asked.

Before the old man could respond, Bishop Blake let out a fake cough and interjected.

"Ahem, we just now rented his house for 1 gold 60 silvers for the next 30 days, Lord Baron."

On the other hand, the old man wore a forced smile on his face and nodded his head.

"Y-Yes, Young Master. I also don't have much money due to the death of my both sons. So, I thought of renting the first floor and the basement to save up some money for the winter season." His voice contained a trace of sadness and pain.

At that moment, Charles was utterly stunned inside.

'Of all the houses in this town, why did Light Bishop choose this one?' He couldn't help but get suspicious.

'Is this also the work of the mysterious Victor?' A strange sense of wariness appeared in his mind.

'What should I do now? Kill them?' But he instantly dismissed that idea. If he kills them now, there was a high chance that the Light Kingdom would send an army of Light Knights to this territory. Although this territory was under Aetas Kingdom's rule, the second prince had already discarded this territory.

'Moreover, I'm not strong enough to face a whole nation.'

He may be powerful enough to kill 100 Crystal Knights or even more, but he was still a single man. Against an army of powerful Knights and the mysterious sorcerers, he would stand no chance.

'I still need time to learn more about this world. Going offensive is not an option. There is also this seer named Victor lurking in the Light Kingdom.' As that thought crossed his mind, he raised his head, locked his gaze on Bishop Blake, and cast [Curse of the Overlord] spell.

A second later, an eerie fire thread entered Bishop Blake's dark space and attached to him.

After that, Charles glanced at the Light Knights group and asked.

"Why don't you use my two guest houses for staying? They are large enough to accommodate more than 50 people and are still maintained properly. If Father Blake is planning on staying here for a month, those two guest houses should be a better choice."

Bishop Blake went speechless as he heard those words. After a short deliberation, he wore a troubled look on his face and responded hesitantly.

"But we already paid rent for this house, Lord Baron. If we back away now, wouldn't we break our promise?"

On the other hand, Charles waved his hand and spoke.

"Let Elder Rhett keep the rent money." He paused for a moment, turned his gaze towards the old man, and added with a smile.

"I'm sorry for not protecting your two sons, Elder Rhett. But I'll not repeat the same mistake. I've grown stronger than before. I'll use my blood to protect you and your other family members." He said in a solemn tone.

At that moment, Irzoch also nodded her head and even gave five gold coins from her pouch.

"You are a good person, Lord Baron," Bishop Blake commented with a smiling face and soon turned solemn.

"Lord Baron, can you tell me what happened on the battlefield? Also, did your family members offend someone from our Light Church? In truth, someone sent me here to cause trouble for you." He said.

In the meantime, Charles showed a surprised expression on his face and asked more about this person.

Bishop didn't hide anything due to the sudden friendliness towards Charles and spilled everything.

Unfortunately, Bishop Blake only knew of him as a gambling addict and his bad reputation among the church members. He also told Charles about how he got the Bishop title using family ties.

After another 15 minutes of talking, Bishop and other Light Knights bade farewell to Charles and went in the opposite direction.

On the other hand, the frown on Charles's head deepened.

'Is he some kind of newly awakened seer?' After some thought, he decided to deal with him later.

Then, he shifted his attention towards Elder Rhett and asked.

"Elder Rhett, can you take us to your basement?"