The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 309: Volume 5: Lord’s Path - 2: Half-Beastmen_2

Chapter 309: Volume 5: Lord’s Path Chapter 2: Half-Beastmen_2

Food merchants and the owners of grocery stores welcomed this change, as the surge in business transactions made them consider hiring more hands and getting new carriages to restock more quickly from Bruce. Almost everyone viewed these changes with welcoming eyes, seemingly forgetting the shadow cast by Demonsky Castle in the eastern suburbs. Each time a new lord arrived, endless disasters and troubles followed, and it seems the tenure never lasted beyond three months. Would the arrival of this new lord change their fate?

At this moment, Komer had no energy to ponder the rumored curse of the demons. The pressing matter was how to lead these hundred thousand people safely to Caucasus and then ensure they earnestly survive this winter until the summer harvest season next year. That was the biggest concern on his mind.

Compared to the harmonious cooperation of the immigrants from Myron, after their communication with Reese, the immigrants from Meine City-State and Susoer City-State seemed not as easy to get along with. Perhaps because of the rumors about Caucasus being remote, barren, and the terrifying legends associated with it, the immigrants from these two places were full of complaints about the migration. But with no chance to stay in the Three Kingdoms and a refusal to become slaves to the beastmen, and the chilling winds of the North enough to deter anyone, they trudged southward, albeit extremely reluctantly.

Watching the long line of families, Komer found his mood was no longer the initial excitement or irritation. What was coming would come eventually; since he had accepted the trouble, he could only grit his teeth and move forward. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he imagined. The first batch of food from Palermo had already been transported out of Duke Zellin’s granary before the team arrived. That fellow really had some skills, managing to convince Duke Zellin, who was dissatisfied with this matter, to agree to the sale and transportation of the food. The security of the regions they passed through had been resolved thanks to the joint public relations of the Internal Affairs Manager and Palermo. He could only hope that Puber, who was left behind, would bring him a pleasant surprise, without leaving too many troubles for him to solve.

Just thinking about the relentless chatter of the representatives from Meine City-State and Susoer City-State about the curse of the demons gave Komer a headache. The dreadful reputation brought by Demonsky Castle seemed to have spread throughout the Kingdom of Nicosia and even the Northern Alliance. After all, it was no coincidence that three consecutive lords died mysteriously not long after taking over the territory. With that and the unique geographical environment of Caucasus, it was enough to make anyone believe this place was ominous. Perhaps the only way to dispel the fears of these anxious people was for him to move into Damarlinsk Castle and live happily and safely. However, this seemed like an adventure without any certainty.

The horse-drawn carriage rattled forward on the hard-packed mud road while Reese had returned to his fellow villagers, carrying out the task given by Komer. He needed more time to introduce the beauty and richness of Caucasus, albeit with a fair amount of embellishment.

Komer gently closed the window, his gaze weary as he reclined his head against the padded support behind his neck. Since leaving Cyprus, it seemed he had not had a moment of leisure. The carefree times he used to enjoy with Puber and Ilot were probably gone forever. To live and to survive, people must fight for their goals, and so did these refugees outside his window. But what was his ultimate goal? To become a competent and successful lord, or to become the King of the Dark Magic World, as his master had mentioned?

Memories of chaotic scenes kept flooding his mind. As the carriage swayed and the window shutter was closed, the interior became somewhat dim. Komer’s eyes closed in a daze, but his hand instinctively reached into his chest, caressing the crystal stone that bore his body’s warmth.

"Where is this place?" The sky became unusually dark, with serrated and spherical lightning intermittently revealing itself through the rolling clouds, and the faint sound of thunder seemed to come from an unknown direction, sounding incredibly dull. Giant stele-like archways, devoid of any gaps, lined one side—made of some unknown material, they stood over five meters tall. The black, shiny surfaces of these steles were etched with strange, twisting characters that seemed vaguely familiar, yet Komer couldn’t recall where he had seen these inscriptions before.

Tall wild grasses swayed in the howling wind, their resilient, band-like leaves twirling into the air like dancing elves before falling and rising again. In the distance, the sun dipped toward the horizon, and the cyan-gray clouds in the sky felt oppressively heavy. The dark clouds overhead had slowly amassed, as if plotting something sinister.

Continuous cawing from crows perched in dead trees nearby grated the ears. Behind the stele-like archways, a wide stone pathway stretched out. At the far end, Komer could see the entrance to a grand cluster of buildings that, upon scrutiny, seemed unlike any architecture found across the Continent. The palatial buildings had black walls of unknown stone, and at the entrance—bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun—stood rows of large, ominous gray stone beasts, their sinister, smirking sphinx faces with glints of blue in their eyes sent shivers down one’s spine. These ancient creatures—with the faces of beautiful women, bodies of lions, and dark green eagle wings—seemed to drip with remnants of blood between their teeth, perhaps from devouring those who failed to solve their riddles. Komer didn’t understand why such monstrous statues would be present at the entrance of such a majestic palace; though each had a distinct expression, they all appeared as if they had been literally petrified from the original creatures, which filled him with dread as he approached the palace.

The palace doors opened on their own, shrouded in black mist, rendering the interior indiscernible to Komer. Hesitant, he felt an inexplicable draw towards whatever lay inside, as if something inside beckoned him unwittingly to this spot. As Komer wavered, an imposing and chilling voice from within called out, "Enter, Guide. The wheel of fate has brought us to a collision point, and it is destined that you will inherit all that is mine."

Like a spell, Komer found the confident voice immensely alluring. Without even fully understanding the meaning behind the words, he found his feet carrying him inside without hesitation.

The interior of the palace soared upwards, with twelve giant black stone pillars on each side supporting an arched dome. To Komer’s surprise, upon looking up, the dome was actually a bas-relief of a mask—none other than the seldom-worshipped mask of the dark god on the Continent, Hades—with its sinisterly smiling face.

Atop an emerald nephrite throne sat a humanoid stone statue, but no—it couldn’t be called just a statue, it was more a partly petrified figure. Its twitching eyebrows and stern eyes proved that the head was indeed alive. However, upon closer inspection, one could notice that everything below the neck was a pristine white jade sculpture. Yet somehow, the two were so harmoniously and perfectly melded together that one couldn’t discern any incongruity at the seam.