Legend of the Arch Magus_The Upheaval

by Michael Sisa

  Mikael could not believe it. Even in the Capital, anyone would be hard-pressed to find a noble like that. In Behemoth City, there was a clear demarcation between the nobles and commoners. Those in the upper echelons never batted an eye even when their subjects were dying from hunger due to the Black Famine.

  He was plagued with so many questions after stepping in this town for only a short period of time. Mikael remembered the decree of the King. It was indeed a wise decision to personally send the knights to assess the candidates.

  The rumors surrounding Lark Marcus…

  He had not met the young man himself, but he had seen things with his own eyes. The rumors were not entirely true. Those laughing faces. Those eyes filled with vigor. Subjects ruled with tyranny would never show such faces.

  “Hey, are you a new worker?” a bearded man noticed him.

  Mikael broke out of his thoughts. He was too careless. Lost in his thoughts, he failed to properly hide his presence. “Ah, that is…”

  “Never seen you before.” The bearded man scrutinized him from head to toe. “I’m pretty much familiar with the faces of the locals.”

  Mikael was about to utter an excuse when the man suddenly laughed. “Gahahaha! It’s fine! No need to be so stiff! See little Anthony over there?”

  Mikael looked at the child handing out the ‘free’ porridge and eggs. He noticed that the eggs were not given whole, but were instead sliced into four portions each, before handed out.

  “He’s just like you. I was there when he asked the Young Master for work.” The man chuckled. “Such an adorable kid! If I was his brother, I would have been so proud!” His eyes danced as he looked at Mikael. “You’re probably tired of tilling the soils in the northern farmlands, eh? Good choice coming here. The payment’s definitely higher as long as you work your ass off, lad.”

  The bearded man was probably ten years older than him, maybe more, Mikael was not sure. He could already see numerous gray patches on the man’s hair. This old man probably mistook him for a farmer who came here to seek higher pay. A similar thing probably happened lately, since the old man was not surprised at all.

  “That’s right.” Mikael bobbed his head. “I wonder if there’s a vacanc—”

  “—There is!” the man did not even wait for him to finish. He wrapped his arm around Mikael’s shoulder. This old man was muscular, despite his old age. “Come! I’ll lead you to the Scholar! She’ll be pleased to have more working hands for the Mine!”

  To properly assess this candidate, Mikael have no choice but to disguise himself as a resident of this place. The moment he accepted the job from the King, he was prepared to spend the next four years of his life living here.

  Mikael smiled. Things suddenly took an interesting turn.

  The rumors surrounding Lark Marcus were not entirely true. He was dubbed as the one with the least potential of winning the competition for the throne.

  But what if everything was nothing but a façade?

  What if the young man himself was a genius who chose to conceal himself?

  Just thinking of these possibilities made Mikael’s blood boil. He had not felt like this since several years ago, back when he participated in the Bloody Thorn Plains Incident.

  Lark Marcus… Just what kind of a noble are you?

  Mikael could not wait to find out.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Two days had passed since the army arrived at Blackstone Town. Lark and his soldiers still hadn’t returned.

  Mikael had adjusted to the life here. Using a made up story of his previous life in the Lion City, he pretended to be an immigrant who wished for a peaceful life in the country side. For the past two days, he worked as a miner. This was an easy task, since knights like him have several times the strength of an average individual. Very quickly, his ´talent´ in mining was recognized by everyone.

  “Look at that guy,” a familiar voice spat. “He’s just a greenhorn. It’s not even a week since he started working here and he’s already being so familiar with the Scholar. What an ass.”

  The owner of the voice did not bother lowering his voice. Mikael was sure those were all directed at him. For the past two days, this man had been badmouthing him nonstop.

  The miner next to Mikael shook his head. “Don’t mind him. Arturo’s like that ever since.” He cast a glance at Arturo, a short, muscular man in his early thirties. “I heard he’s got some Dwarven blood in him. Those guys are really proud of their blacksmithing and mining skills, you see.”

  Even if the miner did not tell him these things, Mikael had not the slightest bit of intention of fighting him. It would be nothing but a petty squabble, after all.

  Mikael was more interested of other things. “Is it true that the northern farmlands were non-arable several months ago?”

  The miner, whose name Mikael did not yet know, nodded his head. His pickaxe struck a hard object in the ground and he stopped. “Yes and no. There used to be a small field there where we plant vegetables and herbs. But aside from that, the rest of the northern land is non-arable. Even weeds find it hard to grow on that soil.”

  Hearing this, Mikael could not help but be bewildered of the things happening in this town.

  He visited the Northern Farmlands yesterday, and he was surprised to see a field of green covering everything. Numerous small shoots grew on the ground, each of them spaced evenly from each other. He had been to Golden Wheat City before – the richest city in the entire Kingdom, next only to the Capital – and he was sure those shoots were wheats. In the next few months, those things would grow and cover the entire northern lands with a shade of gold.

  Looking further beyond, Mikael noticed an artificially made river – the irrigation system – running next to the fields. It branched into numerous forks, with several stoppers at each path, controlling the amount of water passing through. Mikael later learned that the irrigation system was connected to the abundant river from the Endless Forest. With this, even if drought befell this town, the crops would not easily wither and die. He could not help but gape in awe upon seeing this spectacular sight.

  It’s as though one of the three Great Minds of the Kingdom visited this place and created a reconstruction program.

  “You previously told the Head Miner that you’re a farmer. That was a lie, right?” the man next to him began striking the rocks once again.

  “I’m sorry.” Mikael stopped and lightly bowed his head. “I was afraid you’ll kick me out of this town if you found out that I’m an immigrant.”

  “That’s fine.” The man brushed it off aside. “You probably don’t know him, but the Mason in-charge of all the massive projects in this town also came from Lion City. There’s a lot of guys like you, actually. They get tired living in that place. Living life inside the slums – I could understand why people would choose to live in this small town instead.”

  Upon the mention of the words ‘massive projects’, Mikael immediately understood. He had seen those things. Those projects too ambitious for such a small town. Yesterday, after working at the Mines, he went around the town and saw them with his own eyes.

  The poultry farm with hundreds of chickens running around. Looking around the Southern District, he saw numerous coops being built here and there. Mikael was sure that several hundreds more, probably thousands, of chicken would be added later.

  The numerous houses being built left and right in the Eastern District.

  The kalrane stones installed on top of wooden posts, which lights up during the night.

  Coupled with the paved main road, the reclaimed Northern Farmland, the irrigation system, the free porridge for the locals, and the Mines – Mikael could already say that the achievements of Lark Marcus were colossal.

  When are you going to come back?

  He could not wait to meet the young man.

  “Hey, stop chatting during work!” Arturo tossed his pickaxe to the ground and stomped his way towards Mikael. Despite being a head shorter, he haugh
tily glared at the newcomer. “New guy. If I see you slacking again, I’ll personally report you to the Scholar. You got that?”

  Arturo purposely showed Mikael his large fists.

  “Yes. I’m sorry,” said Mikael. “I’ll work quietly next time.”

  Arturo snorted, “Good!” then went back to his post. His satisfied expression was apparent. He even started humming as he struck the rocks with his pickaxe.

  People like him were everywhere. Mikael was well aware of this. He locked eyes with the miner next to him for a moment. They both had a look of resignation on their faces. Arturo was hopeless, and getting into a petty squabble with him would be nothing but a waste of time. They both knew this.

  “Let’s just work,” sighed the man.

  Mikael picked up his pickaxe, and silently, went on with his work. A temporary life like this was not bad at all.

  ***

  After work, Mikael stealthily went deeper into the Endless Forest. In a place where no people went. He took out a plain-looking stone. A fist-sized rock normally seen on the roadside.

  After making sure that no one was around, he started pouring mana into it. Slowly, the stone changed its color. Its dirty brown appearance vanished, and a jade stone with a swirling blue light inside revealed itself.

  This was the artifact granted to the twenty-eight knights chosen by the King to assess the candidates. Mikael was stunned at first upon receiving it, since a single one of these gems costed at least five thousand gold coins. A massive amount even an average noble wouldn’t have.

  Each of these gems were connected to a mother gemstone, which was currently being kept in the King’s Castle. As long as one had enough mana, messages could be continually transmitted through. It was an absurdly convenient device, in this world where sending messages via couriers was the norm.

  Mikael firmly touched the gemstone, and out of thin air, a translucent parchment appeared in front of him. Using magic, he started writing his reports directly to the King. Words started forming on the parchment, as though the gemstone was aware of his thoughts.

  There were a lot of things Mikael wanted to report.

  The incident in the Lake of the Full Moon. The tens of thousands of monsters swarming in that lake.

  The rumors surrounding Valcres, the Lord of Lion City.

  The movements of the merchants. The sudden appearance of the Bloodstone.

  The massive developments in the town.

  The fact that the rumors surrounding Lark Marcus may actually be false. That it was nothing but a façade, an act.

  But since writing messages using this method consumed a great amount of mana, Mikael had no choice but make his report concise. He would report about the lesser important things next time. His top priority right now was to report about “that.”

  The invasion of the United Grakas Alliance.

  The invasion of the beastmen was of utmost priory right now. This was the conclusion Mikael came to.

  After briefly analyzing the topography of the surrounding regions, Mikael realized the strategical significance of Blackstone Town. If those barbarians successfully captured this territory, they would be pointing a knife directly at the Eastern Region.

  Surrounded by a forest so large it was called endless, this town could easily repel invaders by focusing on their front. A large army trying to circumvent the Endless Forest would be easily detectable, and the same could be said even if they attempted to pass through it.

  And what if the beastmen converted this town into a stronghold? A castle with battlements, moats and traps? Just thinking of these possibilities made Mikael unconsciously shiver. He could not let these beastman invade deeper into this territory. If what Lark Marcus said was true – that the beastman had indeed invaded this far – then the Kingdom should do its best to stop them from capturing this town at all costs.

  Mikael decided on the contents of his first report: the beastmen invasion, and Lark Marcus’ attempt to stop it.

  Words continued to form inside the translucent parchment. After Mikael was done writing, the parchment slowly faded into nothingness.

  “It’s done.” Mikael huffed. Reporting using this device was a tedious task which consumed a lot of his mana.

  The gemstone, after losing its supply of mana, reverted back into the plain-looking stone it originally was. Mikael placed the stone inside the pouch on his waist. An appraiser would be able to tell that this item was an artifact, but to other people, it looked nothing but an ordinary stone. Mikael was glad of this fact. At the very least, losing the item from burglars would not be among the things he had to worry about.

  He breathed in. This forest was really peaceful, just like the reports stated. Unlike the forests near the major cities of the Kingdom, monsters did not appear here. It was as though the Gods themselves were protecting this particular domain.

  What was at the end of this forest? What would he see if he went deeper in? As far as he knew, the area beyond the Endless Forest was uncharted.

  Mikael looked up. It was already night. “It’s already this late, huh? I need to get back.”

  This was the time when the Mansion opens it gates to give out the free porridges. The special delivery by little Anthony was only during the day, after all.

  Upon arriving at the Mansion, there was the same long queue from the locals, as usual. Mikael was sure that these guys did not mind waiting in line. The food was given for free, after all.

  “Hey, have you heard?”

  “Yeah. The Young Master’s back, right? I saw Sir Gaston running to greet him. I never thought I’ll ever see that old man run.”

  Mikael’s ears perked up as he listened to the conversation. Although he was already hungry, he decided to forgo the free porridge for now. Seeing Lark Marcus with his own eyes was far more important.

  He’s back! Finally!

  Mikael tightened his tattered cloak. Tonight’s breeze was really chilly. He moved past the numerous people lined up in queue, then went towards the direction where the butler supposedly headed to. He soon saw familiar faces.

  Big Mona, Commander Daltos, and Gaston were conversing with Lark. Looking around, Mikael noticed that most of the soldiers Lark took with him were wounded. Several cuts and bruises were seen all over their bodies.

  Dead bodies?

  He saw several bodies lying on the ground, each of them covered by cloths. Several locals knelt next to them, crying and wailing. Those were probably the soldiers who perished during the battle against the beastmen army.

  Mikael actually expected more casualties, considering the natural physique of the beastmen. Each of them, aside those from the Rabbit Tribe, were inherently stronger than humans. The number of dead soldiers did not even reach double digits. Mikael could even say it was a miracle, if he was asked.

  What are those?

  Mikael stared at the suits of armor standing a good distance away from Lark. The three of them stood still, unmoving.

  For some reason, those three felt dangerous. But the peculiar thing was that Mikael could not feel any emotion emanating from them. It was as though they were not human – as though they did not possess life at all.

  Who are inside those suits of armor?

  Mikael wanted to know. But right now, his priority was to assess the candidate for the throne. He amplified his senses. Even while standing a good distance away from the soldiers, he could hear everything.

  He focused his senses on Lark’s group.

  “—What do you mean?” Commander Daltos’ voice was obviously displeased. “Are you questioning my authority? Is that it?”

  Lark shook his head. “Not at all, Commander.” He looked at the army from the Lion City. “What I’m trying to say is that you should concede all authority to me. I need absolute command of these soldiers if we want to win with just this army.”

  Daltos said to Big Mona, “Sir, I know that we are all under your commission here. But please understand that I cannot simply leave the lives of my men
in the hands of this kid. He may be a noble owning this territory, but he knows nothing of war.”

  Big Mona looked conflicted. Eventually, he sighed. He said to Lark, “I’m afraid this is no longer part of our contract. My job is to bring the soldiers here. Persuading them to work for you is a different matter entirely.

  Commander Daltos bowed his head to Big Mona. “Thank you for understanding, Sir.” He turned to Lark. “So, that’s how it is. I can’t let you take command of my soldiers.”

  Lark sighed. “I know this will happen.” He scratched his cheeks. “Then, Commander… Are you telling me that with a thousand soldiers, you’re capable of stopping the advance of more than ten thousand beastmen?”

  Commander Daltos frowned. “Lies. We came here because of the commission, but no soldier believes those beastmen actually managed to get past Sword Master Alexander’s nose. I don’t know what kind of monsters you encountered along the way that made you lose all those soldiers, but know this – I will not leave the lives of my men in somebody else’s hands just like that.”

  Lark paused for several seconds. He said to Anandra. “Take that out.”

  Anandra moved to the back and took back a large sack with him. Big Mona and Commander Daltos cringed their nose.

  “So that’s where the foul smell is coming from?” said the Commander.

  “You said I know nothing of war,” said Lark. He nodded at Anandra, and the sack was opened wide, revealing numerous heads inside. The stench became so unbearable that Big Mona vomited on the ground. “But Commander, it seems that it’s you who knows nothing of war.”

  Lark, not bothering to cover his nose from the assault of the stench, approached the sack, leaned down and grabbed a head inside. Blood had already dried up, but the facial expression of the beastman before he died was visibly apparent before everyone’s eyes.

  "This here, is Commander Azura," said Lark. "A pretty decent opponent, I must say."

  Lark showed the head to them. Those two eyes of the dead beastman seemed to glare at them from the abyss. Big Mona quivered, while Commander Daltos creased his brows.