Everything in the letter was false, as good as hoping the sun explodes and rain sugar around the world. The predictions were abysmally wrong, and Shadow of Masan had lost this time because Sylvester was not just another fanatic soldier.
'You couldn't have been more wrong with your prediction.'
"Maxy! Look!"
Miraj's voice shook Sylvester out of his thoughts. He looked at the snake and found Miraj sitting on the top of her nose. Ashra didn't seem as sad now as before, and a newfound scent of hope was there.
"So, what did you decide?" Sylvester asked.
Miraj patted the snake's nose, not scared at all by the giant. "Hehe, she says she will go with us."
"..."
"But that's not possible, and what did you tell her?"
Miraj proudly folded his paws and sat back. "I said Maxy is the best, and I was sad and lonely once. Then you came, and I became very happy. I said you give me lots of treats, and play with me."
'What the hell am I even going to feed this snake if I keep her?'
"Is she friendly? Does she understand what I'm saying?" Sylvester asked further.
Miraj spoke something to Ashra's ears, and soon, the snake hissed softly with her big tongue and nodded.
"Maxy, she says she's a good girl, and Winter Ghost taught her well. She prays to god too. Ash, show him." Miraj patted the snake's nose.
Ashra bobbed her head and closed her giant eyes. Then she started hissing, and soon, her body began to shine. Her skin was made of Mythril, so it had crystal-like properties. The light shined all around her body and made her appear much prettier as the patterns on her skin shined differently.
Sylvester's jaw went agape in awe of the scene. "That is beautiful…You can use light magic?"
Ashra tilted her head as if confused. Then, she looked up with her eyes at Miraj and said something to him.
"Maxy! She says she makes the sunlight spread on her body, making her shine. She's very good at earth magic only."
Sylvester rubbed his chin and thought about what to do with Ashra. He knew that soon the Pentapeak mountain range would become a hotspot for economic activity as the Holy Land would start giving licences for the extraction of resources. That would mean the mountains won't be as calm and safe for Ashra either.
'I can't leave her with the Barbarians either, as that would only make them stronger and, in return, be able to exert pressure on the Duchy.'
He glanced at Ashra, expectantly looking at him. She was definitely cute, despite looking ferocious. She was also smart enough to understand the human tongue, which was great.
"Fine!" He relented in the end. "You will become the Holy Land's mascot. Since you are a familiar of the Winter Ghost, the church will have to respect you and provide you with a home. Perhaps you can be sent to live on the Soul Peninsula and be its protector."
Ashra happily slithered near Sylvester and lowered her head to his tiny form.
Slurp!
With her tongue, she licked his face. In return, Sylvester patted her nose, albeit being slightly terrified of her size. She could swallow him whole without much effort if she wished to.
"Stay near the town from now on. I will call you when I prepare to return to the Holy Land with the body of the Winter Ghost." Sylvester instructed her.
Her eyes showed sadness again as she lowered her head to the snow.
"I will see you later." Sylvester got Miraj back and returned to where Winter Ghost's body remained.
Lady Aurora and Gideon Gracia had wrapped the dead Guardian's body in a piece of cloth. Then they picked it up and brought it to the Frozen town's castle, where a cold room was used to keep the body safe.
After that, Sylvester called for an emergency meeting to discuss what had just happened and what to do next. He wished to end things in the North and return to the Holy Land, as he had much left to learn from the Pope.
"It's a great loss to the church. He died for no reason, so suddenly and unexpectedly." Sir Dolorem commented as they all sat around a large round table.
"Indeed. I can not believe a man as strong as the Sixth Guardian could be killed so easily. That Shadow Knight is too strong." Gideon added.
Sylvester changed the topic soon as he didn't care about Winter Ghost anymore. The man smelled of durians all that time, and Sylvester had realised what that meant. The smell signified that someone was good and bad at the same time. That Winter Ghost was not an evil man and a true believer in Solis, but simultaneously, the latter wanted to kill Sylvester for personal gain.
"I received this from Emperor Lich." Sylvester passed around the piece of parchment and let all read it individually.
There was silence in the room for a few minutes, and everyone let the words sink in. At first, there was horror that, yet again, this mess was part of a larger conspiracy, but then they felt relief.
"His words don't match with the reality at all. You are alive, the Duchy is safe, and the Barbarians are now believers—It seems the so-called spy, Shadow of Masan, failed." Felix commented after reading it.
Sylvester saw it differently, however. In his view, if he had been late and Emperor Lich had not warned him on time, then the conspiracy would have successfully run its course. "He was close to winning, sadly. His confidence hinged on his belief that the church would never compromise with the Barbarians or I would be able to converse with Emperor Lich. He lost not because of his miscalculations but because an anomaly had appeared."
"You?" Gabriel exclaimed.
Sir Dolorem interjected. "Who else but him? If it were any other holy man from the church, they would have never even spoken to Chief Koruk, let alone ally with them. So we won because Lord Bard saw things from a neutral perspective."
"He also lost all his spy assets in the East now." Sylvester sounded a bit tense. "But, I'm afraid he will become more destructive in desperation. We must ensure our blades are sharp and shield strong."
"Why does the Masan even want to expand? Don't they have enough already? They are in a centuries-long war with Warsong Kingdom regardless, so why us too?" Gideon Gracia asked, hoping to receive some enlightenment from many members of various influential organisations present.
At that, Chief Koruk, who sat all that time quietly, replied, "It's quite simple, Lord Gideon. The answer is…Religion."
"What do you mean? We follow the same religion." Lady Aurora asked.
Elder Chief Koruk sighed and explained everything in detail. "Since I led a more peaceful faction, my people rarely came in contact with traders of Masan in the past, and we exchanged goods. During those days, we learned many things.
"I remember hearing this from my grandfather, who was the Chief before the last chief. During that era, the newly crowned Masan Emperor wished to prove his might to the realm, so he decided to perform an ancient ritual that the past rulers had abandoned. Although the ritual was done in the name of Solis, we all know the West has different ways of worship than the east—The name of the ritual was Bors Might Ritual."
Bam!
Sylvester facepalmed himself. "Don't tell me the ritual was unsuccessful? Why did that Emperor even try it when it was abandoned for the sole reason that it created senseless hostility and wars."
"What is this ritual?" Felix questioned.
Sylvester explained as he had read in the books. "It's a royal ritual of the Masan Empire, in which a bull and a horse are tied together and left to run around, with a massive Masan royal army behind them.
"Whichever territory the bull and horse enter will have to either bow and accept the emperor as their sovereign or fight the army accompanying the horse and the bull. This ritual is a means of projecting one's power, mostly done by weak-willed emperors—It's supposed to declare that the Solis has blessed the Emperor to rule."
Everyone looked at Chief Koruk, and Aurora asked. "He lost?"
"That's correct. He not only lost, but the soldiers of the King of Warsong Kingdom beheaded his bull and horse. So, to save face, the Emperor of Masan had to enter a war with the Warsong Kingdom, and now it's been centuries, and the war is still going on."
Everyone rubbed their heads in frustration. It was a dumb situation that got blown out of proportion.
"Why haven't I found any written records of this?" Gideon Gracia asked. "The royal Gracia library should have it."
"It was a matter completely suppressed and erased from being spoken about. It was a matter of great shame to the Emperor of Masan." Chief Koruk added. "Only a few know about it now as word of mouth."
Sylvester looked at the unfolded map on the table and pointed to a few places. "The Warsong Kingdom can not be conquered, and the Emperor of Masan is likely losing confidence. So he wishes to take over northern Gracia to show he still has Solis' blessing?"
"That's the only sensible reasoning." Sir Dolorem muttered. "What should we do next? Masan has twenty-five Grand Wizards."
Sylvester felt some strings pulled in his heart as the number was too big. "Let's return to the Holy Land first. Chief Koruk, have you decided where to set your town?"
"I have, preacher of Solis. We wish to create a town south of this Frozen Town, so we can access the river waters, which will help with the trade." Chief Koruk pointed to the same map. "For now, we shall make a nomad camp here and start building."
Sylvester looked at Duchess Milena. "Do you have any objection, my lady?"
Thankfully, she didn't deny it, and Sylvester planned the rest of the things for the barbarians. The town's map and planning were going to be done by a southerner architect since the barbarians lacked skills. In the middle of the town was going to be a large Monastery, which the Holy Land would fund.
Besides that, the new town was going to become a focal point for future resource extraction in the mountains. So, a big port was also planned. Sylvester hoped that as the people would get rich and enjoy life, they'd forget their roots and assimilate completely.
Eventually, the meeting ended, and only Sylvester's team remained behind. Sylvester carefully locked the door and showed the agreement papers of Winter Ghost, which revealed the man had pledged loyalty to someone else.
Varied emotions soon ornate the faces of all. Anger, disgust and disappointment were common.
But Sylvester was all smiles, which irked Felix. "What's there to be happy?"
Sylvester took the paper back and pointed at the bloody fingerprints. "Do you know what this is?"
"A contract?" Lady Aurora asked.
Sylvester smirked. "A blood contract!"
Felix noticed the evil hidden smile on Sylvester's face and asked. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing," Sylvester replied.
'It seems the time has come to build my shadow organisation—Oroborus.'
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