“...And that’s how it happened.”
Captain Ryan of the guard squad recounted their experience in the gray mist in full, leaving out no small detail.
Beside him stood a warrior clad in heavy black armor, holding a greatsword larger than a man. He was as burly as a black bear.
The armored warrior was named Colin, the commander of the Lionheart Warband and a Silver rank bloodline warrior.
While Ryan was considered lean and fit among normal people, he looked like a small child next to Colin.
Hearing Ryan's report, a look of surprise crossed Colin's resolute face.
“Light Prayer, but with the effects of a healing aura and a burning aura?”
“Yes!” Ryan said seriously.
“If it weren't for Lord Leon’s assistance, not even a third of the townspeople who made it out of the gray mist would have survived!”
“Lord Leon is absolutely not one of those incompetent young masters from the noble families; he is a true priest of the Sacred Light!”
Seeing the earnest expression on Ryan's face, Colin, who was his childhood friend, chuckled and asked:
“Oh? A true priest of the Sacred Light? Then who was it that was complaining to me earlier, saying another young master priest had come to town just to pad his resume?”
Ryan’s expression suddenly stiffened. He opened his mouth, “That’s because...”
When Leon first arrived in the town, Ryan indeed couldn't stand those noble young masters, thinking they all came to the town just to polish their backgrounds.
Once they were done, they would simply wash their hands of the place and leave, completely indifferent to whatever mess they left for the residents.
“Lord Leon is different...” Ryan tried to defend him.
Colin didn't pay it much mind, though. He patted Ryan on the shoulder and laughed.
“I understand. I will report the situation truthfully to Viscount Clyde.”
“Besides, you’ve got it wrong. Lord Leon is indeed a young master from a great family; you don't need to worry about him.”
Hearing this, Ryan felt somewhat relieved.
After discovering that Leon wasn't one of those incompetent noble young masters, Ryan had misunderstood again, thinking that the "capable" Leon was actually an outcast of some family—that he had come to the town to be a priest not to pad his resume, but because he had been abandoned.
After all, in Ryan's mind, the terms 'noble young master' and 'useless' were basically synonyms.
That was why he had emphasized Leon’s contributions in his report, hoping to help Leon gain some face in front of Viscount Clyde.
Who would have thought that Leon wasn't an outcast sent to the town to fend for himself, but a young master truly valued by his family?
“Anyway, that’s the situation. I’ll leave the rest to you guys,” Ryan said, looking at Colin.
Even with the Gray Mist Barrier holding back the surging gray mist, the connection between the mist outside and the physical world was growing tighter. The monsters inside wouldn't just stay put; they might burst out and begin a slaughter.
At such times, it was up to bloodline warriors like Colin to hold the line.
Bidding Colin farewell, Ryan returned to the guard squad and saw Leon standing among the crowd, accepting everyone's thanks.
“Lord Leon.”
Ryan spoke:
“Since Colin needs to lead the Lionheart Warband to defend against any further attacks from the mist monsters, I will be the one to escort you to Solainem instead.”
Leon nodded. “When do we leave?”
“Right now,” Ryan replied.
...
Having escaped the pursuit of the gray mist, the group finally didn't have to flee in a desperate panic.
On the way to Solainem, Leon asked:
“Did Commander Colin mention the cause of this gray mist riot?”
In his memories, the boundary of the gray mist was originally in the Lightless Sea, over two hundred kilometers south of the town.
For some reason, it had rioted within a few days and began to spread outward.
“Colin said the priests and mages in the city are investigating, but they haven't found anything yet.”
Ryan shook his head, then lowered his voice.
“However, I heard the warriors of the Lionheart Warband whispering rumors that it’s a conspiracy by those disgusting bats.”
“They supposedly threw some kind of magic into the gray mist to make it spread toward the Empire, all to weaken our strength.”
Vampires?
Leon spoke a name: “The Nightmare Empire?”
Ryan neither confirmed nor denied it. “That’s what the rumors say.”
Leon sifted through his original memories. On the continent of Ommissiah, there were other races and powers besides humans.
There was the World Forest, the orthodox home of the wood elves, and the Mountain Kingdom of the dwarves.
And then there was the empire established by the vampire archdukes, the Nightmare Empire.
Among them, the Mountain Kingdom was on good terms with the human Heron Empire, while the World Forest maintained its usual neutrality.
The Nightmare Empire, however, was in constant friction with the Heron Empire.
One reason was that they shared a border, leading to territorial conflicts.
The other was that the vampires of the Nightmare Empire had a particular fondness for human blood.
According to the description of a certain vampire archduke, wood elf blood tasted like herbs and dwarf blood tasted like gunpowder—neither was good to drink.
Only humans, especially the blood of human maidens, had no strange aftertaste and was exceptionally delicious.
With one side being blood-sucking vampires and the other being humans, conflicts were naturally frequent.
However, Leon felt this reason was a bit far-fetched.
It was like saying the gray mist sold a monster's hook to a vampire archduke, and in return, the archduke helped the mist expand.
If this were his previous world, it would be like one country intentionally triggering a massive tsunami to drown another country just to strike at them.
It seemed highly unlikely, didn't it?
After all, a tsunami is extremely uncontrollable. One mistake could lead to irreversible consequences, potentially even affecting oneself.
The same applied to a natural disaster like the gray mist; the governors of the Nightmare Empire wouldn't be that thick-headed.
As they talked, a massive city wall, thirty meters high, appeared in their vision ahead.
The wall's boundaries stretched beyond the horizon, extending to the edge of the sky.
The wall was inscribed with all sorts of magical patterns, which together formed a gold-tier magical barrier.
Atop the wall, every five hundred meters, stood a Holy Light Tower, manned by paladins clad in holy light armor.
“Welcome to Solainem, Lord Leon. Would you like me to give you a tour?”
Ryan’s voice rang out at the right moment.
Leon replied, “No need. Before I took the job as the town priest, I lived in Solainem for a while.”
“Oh?” Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Since you’ve lived in Solainem, you must know about the Red Pavilion, right?”
“I asked the brothers in the Lionheart Warband earlier—Mistress Alicia of the Red Pavilion is personally hosting guests today!”
Leon’s lips twitched. Even if he didn't have any memories of the Red Pavilion, he could guess what kind of place it was from Ryan's raised eyebrow and lecherous expression.
So, Ryan had spent all that time chatting with the Lionheart Warband warriors just to talk about this stuff?
“Lord Leon.” Ryan gave him a look that said 'you know what I mean' and then said:
“As an apology for my prejudice against you in the gray mist, how about I take you to the Red Pavilion to relax?”
“No, thanks.”
Hearing this, Ryan glanced at the butler, Old Hunter, who was behind them, and then it clicked.
He whispered, “Don't worry, I can find some other excuse to help you ditch your butler.”
“It’s because I don't want to go.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I am a Pure Love Warrior.”
Rate on N.U.
