Chapter 209

Golden King Alio gathered his most elite soldiers. The emperor had not granted him a title, but his gold provided him enough forces to protect himself.

“To be honest, I do not trust you. But you understand, the solidarity of our relationship comes from gold.”

Alio’s private soldiers listened to their master’s words with indifferent faces. They had not sworn allegiance to Alio, as the golden king had emphasized many times.

“Do not die for me. But if it’s for what you leave behind after death, then it’s fine to die. I will never break my promise to you.”

What the golden king promised was not just a hefty salary. The contract also included taking good care of their cherished ones, such as family, after their death.

“So....”

“Alio!”

The door burst open as Seojin rushed in. Alio stopped speaking and turned his head.

“Speak.”

“Do not attack first. Hide the private soldiers you’ve gathered without the emperor’s permission. Keep only the official ones outside.”

“It doesn’t seem you’ve come with good intentions.”

“There’s no need to lose you in this battle. If anything, we will be the ones to die.”

“There’s no guarantee that it won’t affect us....”

“There will be an effect. We might even become enemies of the empire and be pursued. But as long as you’re alive, a symbolic effect can be expected.”

“As the golden king... understood.”

“...Do you know their identity?”

“I have a vague idea, but not for certain. The emperor’s direct troops. Those who deal with matters that must not be disclosed, moving only under the emperor’s command...is my guess.”

“The name of the group?”

“Unknown.”

“That’s okay then. Let me borrow your name for now. Adventurers will soon apply to join the guild. Instruct the highest authority among your henchmen to accept them all.”

“You’re talking about the adventurers’ guild. I’ll do that.”

Ever since he began to be called the Golden King, it had been a while since Alio had found himself so out of touch with the unfolding situation. But he carried out Seojin’s orders with a sense of exhilaration. Despite the gravity of the situation, thanks to the spies Seojin had planted, it made the process smooth.

In one go, over a hundred adventurers were integrated into the guild. He didn’t forget to evenly distribute them under Muedron, Alio, and Martini, to dispel any suspicions.

Then came the next step.

-Send one person. Just one who wouldn’t mind dying at the entrance, to see what happens.

Seojin instructed Merhen.

The reply came quickly.

-There were a lot of applicants. I’ve picked one myself.

-That’s the least you could do. Well done.

Now, it was time to observe.

One adventurer, a former comrade from the days of Asgard and a member of the Great Red’s guild, headed towards the outskirts of Alio’s villa. He left through the entrance, and Seojin could watch the situation unfold in real-time through the “private broadcast” the guild member started.

‘It is the same mask.’

Seojin alternated his gaze between the inventory and the broadcast. These beings, exuding an almost inhuman aura, were indeed wearing masks identical to the red one he had in his inventory.

And then,

-They’re not attacking?

The result was displayed. Those who had charged with the intent to kill anything in their path didn’t lay a finger on the guild member sent by Seojin. They even backed off as if they had seen something uncomfortable, creating a strange standoff.

Instead of attacking, the red-masked figures maintained a sort of hemispherical formation, simply staring down the guild member.

-Ask them. What are you guys?

“What are you?”

He got immediate feedback, but the masked figures did not respond. They neither attacked nor retreated further. The meaning of this situation was clear.

‘They’re under two conflicting orders.’

An order not to attack the members of the Brave Lions guild. Another to deal with all humans meddling here.

‘They also can’t decide which of the two orders to follow. It might be their position, or maybe... their intelligence isn’t up to it.’

Flappy had said that they seemed not human.

Seojin took another look at the mask in his inventory.

* * *

Hidden within symbols, the information was merely the name of a group. Yet, the significance embedded in this name was profound.

-It seems like they’re murmuring something. It doesn’t sound like speech, but it’s ominously unsettling just to listen to...

-They’re murmuring?

-Yes. Can’t you hear it? It’s like how wolves growl among themselves.

But Seojin couldn’t hear it. The sound was too faint to be caught by the broadcast.

-Can you get any closer?

-You want to listen?

-Yes.

-I’ll try. They might run, though...

The guild member cautiously stepped closer. Fortunately, the masked group didn’t move. With hands raised as if showing no intent to attack, the guild member slowly closed the distance between him and the group.

-That’s close enough.

A faint sound was captured. It was a risk to get any closer, as it might scatter them all.

Growling.

Just as the guild member described, it was akin to the growling of wolves, only much damper and more sinister.

And then,

Experienced : Language — The Wail of the Dead

Unlike the wolf-like howl, the murmuring of the masked group was clearly a form of language.

Experienced : New language

Language proficiency increases.

Language: The Wail of the Dead

*Current proficiency: 1%

The status window popped up as expected. Since he was listening to a ‘conversation’ in real-time, not just reading scraps of records, his proficiency quickly increased.

Class Trait: Natural Senses

The Silver Tongue’s class trait. The ability to efficiently and swiftly learn any language was fully utilized.

Cannot attack. But must attack.

Must attack. But cannot attack.

Cannot attack. Cannot reveal identity.

Must attack. Cannot retreat.

The language of the dead reached Seojin’s ears as actual speech.

Simultaneously, the window popped up.

Sufficient clues gathered

Information on the ‘Red Lion Mask’ has been unveiled

It showed the content he hoped for unfolded one after another.

-Stay put for now. Don’t move.

-Okay. That’s easy enough.

The guild member readily agreed. Time was bought, and Seojin reopened his inventory.

Red Lion Mask

*An item distributed to members of the “Army of the Dead” in the Camilton Empire.

As suspected, the previously omitted part was revealed.

The Army of the Dead. Meaning, those wearing this mask were part of an army composed of the dead.

‘It seems like things are finally starting to unfold.’

This was the first direct encounter with beings related to an Evil God in the Empire.

Seojin hurriedly ran off somewhere.

“Raul!”

“Ah, you’re here? Oh, those things?”

“They’re what I think I am, right?”

Raul nodded vigorously, as if remembering.

“Always popping up out of nowhere, wreaking havoc, then vanishing. Never thought I’d see them here. But I’ve never seen them hesitate like this. Why are they doing that?”

“It seems like they have two conflicting orders. They can’t attack this adventurer, but they’re supposed to wreak havoc here.”

“Not attack the adventurer?”

“Only the guild’s members. The Brave Lions. Can those things even die?”

“I don’t know. Couldn’t put up much of a fight, just got swept away. Didn’t manage to kill a single one. No bodies were left at least.”

“They’re directly under the emperor, right?”

“Must be. Or at most a step or two removed. Anyway, they’ve been running after anyone they see that doesn’t agree with the emperor’s wishes.”

Raul sighed lightly and looked at Seojin.

“What will you do? Fight?”

“The emperor should have noticed, right?”

“From this moment on, nothing’s certain.”

“Were there more than that?”

“At least ten times more. Wouldn’t have been defeated so easily if there were a hundred of us. Know what those who saw it first-hand said?”

“That it was like a tidal wave?”

“Correct. They said it was like a crimson tidal wave.”

No more needed to be said. These beings were merely a reconnaissance level at best. Or perhaps, they deemed that number sufficient.

“Those are corpses.”

“In what sense?”

“Exactly as the word implies. The literal dead are being controlled.”

“...Never imagined that.”

“Anyway, we can fight if we need to. Probably win, given these constraints.”

“But then again, who knows what will happen next. Without those constraints, that friend might have been torn apart already.”

“Yeah, that’s likely.”

There was a moment of silence. An unintended, not-so-leisurely pause was granted.

“How long till the others arrive?”

Raul spoke first, referring to the Valaran players currently boarding the ship.

“At least a day.”

“I’d like to hear your thoughts first.”

“We maintain status quo. Drag out the time if possible. It’s for the best. And if an unavoidable situation arises, then we fight...”

“And the fighters?”

“Adventurers. The residents here don’t deserve to die for this.”

“From a humanitarian perspective?”

“Efficiency-wise. We can afford to die.”

“My opinion is the same as yours. It seems the best option to me. But, you know.”

“Yes?”

“Can you understand their dialogue?”

“Yes.”

“...You just admit that. Anyway, good. What about me?”

“Do you have any more of these masks?”

Seojin showed the Red Lion Mask.

Implicit pressure for him to produce more if available.

“Unfortunately, no.”

“That’s too bad. Things would have been much different.”

“Besides, can you only hear their dialogue? Can’t you speak to them directly?”

“I can.”

“That’s good.”

“Still, direct conversation should wait. The risk is too high right now...”

“Right. If you died, everything would collapse. That’s not what I meant though.”

“Then?”

“Teach me. So I can speak with them.”

“This language isn’t something you can learn in such a short time... Ah?”

“Have you forgotten why you came to me?”

“Right.”

Seojin accepted. Why did he seek out Raul? He reached Raul after following the clues of Silver Tongue that he obtained in Shahav.

Raul was an NPC with the job of Silver Tongue, having lived as such long before Seojin.

Language: The Wail of the Dead

“What’s the exact function of this mask?”

“XXX XXXX XXX.”

A low growl came from Seojin’s mouth, a disturbingly unpleasant wail.

“...The language structure is simple. Alright, to get answers, I have to master this first.”

“XX XXXXX XX X.”

“More. Keep talking. Don’t mind whatever I respond.”

The one-sided “conversation” continued for a while. Raul expressed his thoughts without fail as he listened to Seojin’s voice.

After some time,

“That’s enough. I’ve learned everything. So, the mask has that kind of magic?”

Raul “understood” Seojin’s voice. Even faster than Seojin had learned!

“Did you really learn everything?”

“I’d bet my head I can handle this language better than you can. So, wearing that mask means they won’t attack, right?”

“Correct. You might also feel a bit more courageous. Those are the two main effects.”

“Let me borrow it for a moment. Feels like taking back a gift, but still.”

“What will you do?”

In response to Seojin’s cautious question, Raul gave an expected answer.

“I’ll talk with those cursed things. It is too heavy for you to bear the weight of this risk.”