◈ Episode 361 Plante (1)
“Plante. Plantera… … .”
Rudger brought up the past.
However, no matter how much he searched his memories, he never had any contact with Plante.
“Did something go wrong?”
Gallien shook his head with unfocused eyes.
“We, the Shadewarden family, do not make mistakes. It smells obviously. Other elves may not feel it, but we can smell it because we are pursuers.”
“Smell… … . Is that why you were able to track it down to here?”
“Shadewarden, who have been trained for a long time, can determine the location of their enemies by smelling on the wind.”
“So, the reason you came to Ledervelk is to catch this guy here, right?”
Rudger pointed at Bellaluna.
Gallien nodded and spoke in a weak voice.
“Our purpose was to catch the traitor who had sneaked into the sacred tree. And at the same time, we were trying to retrieve another sacred tree that we didn’t know about.”
The first place the pursuers of the Shadewarden family, including Galien, headed was the capital of the Empire.
How they were able to get to the capital was not bothered.
It was as if there were no borders for the elves, who were lighter than the wind and excelled in stealth.
‘During the Colonial War, the Elf guerrillas were said to have caused a lot of trouble.’
Even with a bow, a skilled elf can fire a long-range shot comparable to a sniper rifle.
It was a well-known story that many commanders were killed by bows during the war.
“When we came to the capital of the empire in search of the divine tree, what we saw were human soldiers guarding the place thoroughly. They must have noticed something too, so they tried to protect their position somehow.”
“so?”
“First, we decided to observe the situation, and the main unit decided to remain in the capital. Instead, the advance team, including myself, tried to catch the traitor here.”
“Did you find me in the middle of that, smell it and attack me?”
“Yes. First of all, after capturing him alive, I was going to interrogate him about what he had to do with someone from the Plante family.”
Of course, the process of the interrogation will never be peaceful.
If there was one thing they overlooked, it was Ludger’s force.
“Tell me more about the Plante family.”
“The Plante family was a family that used to support the Divine Tree closest to them. They were the chosen noble ones. However, they became overly drunk with the power of the divine tree and committed blasphemy. I dared to increase the number of divine trees.”
“So how did it go?”
“There was a revolution, and the majority of the Plante family was ousted. A great change has taken place between the families.”
The Shade Wardens were in charge of tracking down and eliminating the survivors of House Plante.
“The majority means that there are still survivors of Plante.”
“Yes. But there were very few of them, and those who survived were scattered all over the continent. And we, House Shadewarden, have been eliminating survivors for hundreds of years. I never thought it would be hiding in such a depth of the human empire.”
“hmm.”
After hearing Galien’s explanation, Ludger organized the information.
The fact that Shade Warden’s pursuers came to the Empire was, of course, related to the World Tree.
However, it is said that the sudden attack on him was due to a coincidence.
‘They say I smell the plant?’
I don’t know exactly what scent it was, but I wouldn’t be lying if the elf in charge of tracking said that.
Right away, Galien couldn’t lie because he was hit with the confessional used by Bellaluna.
‘Let’s say it’s the elves around me.’
No one came to mind except Vierano Dentis, an animistic teacher.
‘Or Bellaluna?’
Rudger glanced at Bellaluna and shook his head.
There’s no way he’s a survivor of the Plante family.
“Do you know about Vierano Dentis?”
“Dentis. It’s the family that manages the outside of the forest. Among them, Vierano Dentis is the current head of the place. It’s arrogant to say that even though he’s an elf, he doesn’t live in the forest, but he gets along with humans.”
“Doesn’t the evaluation look very good?”
“The Dentis family is popular with moderate elves, but they are a thorn in the eye for pure-blood elves like us. Even though they are of good blood, they talk about the need to live in harmony with the lower races.”
The response is hotter than expected.
Even among the elves, it must mean that there are conflicting ideas within them.
‘And the fact that these guys sent their pursuers to the Empire so quickly, it must be said that purebloodists are in power.’
But now the important thing is about the survivors of the Plante family.
The fact that the smell permeates this side means that it is a person you have come into contact with so often.
“Is it possible that you were mistaken?”
“does not exist. It is the target we have issued an order to kill for a long time. I couldn’t have mistaken it.”
“then… … .”
“Instead, I feel something peculiar.”
“What is unusual?”
“okay. It smells like a survivor of the Plante family, and it seems to be born with a fairly thick blood, but the reverberation is strangely light.”
“Light?”
“As if other impurities were mixed in, neutralizing the smell… … .”
“… … .”
indeed. Was it like that
Ludgar finally realized who the survivor of the Plante family was, as Gallien was talking about.
Mixed blood means harp.
And there was only one half-elf close to him.
‘Sedina Rosshen.’
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A girl from the Roshen family who joined the Black Dawn.
‘I thought it was strange that he hated his own family even though he was born in a family called Law Shen.’
Rudger didn’t bother to ask.
Everyone has a past they want to hide.
This was especially true because to Sedina, family affairs seemed like a kind of trauma or wound.
‘I’m from the Law Shen family, but the Plante family is from the Elven lineage.’
I never thought that Sedina, who was hungry for recognition from someone, would have been hiding such a huge secret.
Besides, judging by his behavior, he didn’t seem to know that.
While contemplating whether or not to tell him this, Rudger decided to focus on the reality in front of him.
“Then ask me one thing. What will you do if you find a survivor of the Plante family?”
“Usually, after being captured alive and taken away, the crime is punished in front of the Divine Tree. But if that is not possible, I will give up capture and choose to kill.”
“Then are you still looking for Plante survivors?”
“Yes. The frequency has decreased, but Plante’s survivors are still the target of slaughter for us. The Shade Warden will never forget that.”
“It must be the Leafre family directing that. However, you already have full authority, so is there a reason you are trying to track down and remove it so persistently?”
“that… … .”
Gallien hesitated to answer.
It was a completely different attitude from the way he used confessional to answer any question.
Realizing that there was something here, Ludger urged Gallien.
“Come on, answer me.”
“Ugh, ugh!”
Gallien shook his head, then bit his tongue.
Blood trickled down her lips.
To somehow hold on to the opposite s*x and bite the tongue in the state of confession.
It was unbelievably toxic.
However, biting the tongue did not result in immediate death.
Still can’t answer.
Gallien looked up at Ludger, wondering what to do now.
“It’s a futile struggle.”
Ludger stretched out his hand towards Gallien.
His mana began to move, and eventually the magic was realized.
Magic without magic.
The soft light penetrated Galien’s mouth and instantly regenerated his bitten tongue.
“… … !”
Gallien’s eyes widened in disbelief that all the pain was gone.
He tried to bite his tongue again, but Bella Luna moved first.
“ah. It seems that the dosage was insufficient.”
Bellaluna stuck the syringe into Galien’s shoulder, not knowing when she took it out.
Galien’s eyes, which had almost regained his sanity, became cloudy again.
Bellaluna said with a smile.
“It will be fine now. It is more effective to administer it directly into the blood than to take it by mouth.”
“… … .”
It’s a thought that comes to mind from time to time, but Ludgar was really fortunate that Bellaluna did not join the Black Dawn.
Maybe if it was Bellaluna, she would have become a double-headed mad scientist with Victor Dreadful.
Rudger asked Gallien again, erasing those silly thoughts.
“Why are you so persistently trying to get rid of the Plante family? Is the Leafre family aiming for something?”
“that… … .”
Gallien couldn’t delay his answer this time.
“It is because of the ownership of the divine tree.”
“ownership?”
Once it started to break through, Gallien’s next explanation came out without a hitch.
“Yes. The divine tree itself contains huge life energy. If you can just use it, you can unleash tremendous power.”
“Are you saying that the ownership is now in the Plante family?”
“Among the Plante family, only the head of the house had it at the time. But the gaju ran away. still don’t know where whether he lived or died.”
Since the world tree, the sacred tree that the elves speak of, is a tree that has lived for a long time, the information contained within it is vast.
Naturally, in order to coordinate it to some extent, ownership, or a key, as they called it, was needed.
“But I didn’t expect to catch traces of the plante here. That would mean that Plante’s family head is still alive.”
“… … is it.”
Things turn out to be more complicated than I thought.
The pursuer who came to catch Bellaluna accidentally smelled the reverberation from Ludger, who was often with Sedina.
“I said you can smell the people of the Plante family. So, does that mean that it has been possible since you entered this city?”
Gallien shook his head.
“no. The air here is too thick, full of soot and all sorts of bad smells. In this vast city, where there is little natural vibrancy, not even a Shadewarden can detect it from a distance.”
“Instead, it means that you can tell when the distance is close.”
“Yes. If you approach within 30m, you can smell the reverberation.”
“So, how else can I get rid of that smell?”
“It is to cover up the existing smell with a strong smell. It’s very basic common sense.”
“Is there a smell that elves don’t like, especially you Shade Wardens?”
Gallien said with a frown.
“It’s perfume.”
“perfume?”
“Yes. A product of artificial products made by humans. Then all kinds of plants go into the ingredients, and when you smell it, you get dizzy. If you’re a Shade Warden who is sensitive to the smell of grass, it’s a contradiction.”
“Right.”
After hearing the story, their tracking skills were great, but they weren’t all-powerful.
I was worried about Sedina, but since she’s only staying in Seorn, she won’t run into direct encounters with the elf chasers.
It seems the elf chasers didn’t even think about it until Ceorn.
‘But I should be prepared just in case.’
I got all the necessary information.
Rudger gave orders to Pantos, who was crossing his arms.
“Take care of it.”
Pantos twisted Galien’s neck without hesitation.
With a knocking sound, Gallien collapsed like a doll with a thread cut.
“What are you going to do now?”
Pantos asked.
Although they had eliminated all of the advance party of the pursuers, the main force still remained in the capital, so they asked if the rest should be organized.
“They will also notice that the news has been cut off and send new troops this way. If so, stop fighting again.”
“Aren’t you going to the capital yourself?”
“I’m too busy to get there.”
“Where are you going again?”
“Soon the mysterious night will open. There is something to be found there. There are things to solve with both sides.”
“It’s a place where magicians gather.”
Pantos snorted as if he wasn’t interested.
Come to think of it, out of Owens’ members, only Violetta was related to magic.
Even she was very talented in wind attribute magic, so Ludgar taught her, but she wasn’t very interested in the mystery and knowledge of magic itself.
Since the number of cases requiring force has increased recently, it seemed necessary to teach them separately.
“For the work of the capital, you can call one person and do it.”
“A person?”
“okay. There is one junior who is perfect for this kind of job.”
Even at the word junior, Pantos and Bellaluna responded with bewilderment.
* * *
Shade Warden’s pursuers looked outside from an empty house inside the capital.
Quite a number of Shade Warden pursuers came, but not all of them could move inside the capital, so only a few quick ones were specially selected and sent inside.
They had to watch the movements of the strict guards surrounding the root of the world tree from the inside, but their expressions were not very good.
“damn. Why do we have to stay in the houses of these stinky humans?”
“Even just breathing makes me feel like I’m in the same place as a lower race, and I hate it.”
Still, it was unavoidable.
There is a sacred tree in the basement of this capital, even if it is dead, but I had to check it.
However, the security was so thorough that it was not possible to sneak in.
Especially among humans, there were quite a few knights with good senses.
“Can’t we get rid of this corpse?”
One of the elves grumbled at the sight of the bloody corpse lying on the floor.
The person who was originally the landlord of this place had already become a cold corpse.
Beside the man who appeared to be the head of the household were the bodies of his wife and grown-up son.
“It will be over soon anyway. Just check and go back.”
“If only I could go back.”
The elves were startled by the sudden voice of a third party and looked towards the door.
In front of the open door stood a handsome blond man with a smile on his face.
Surprisingly, until he spoke, no one felt his presence.
“… … human. You’re out of luck. To see this scene.”
“Hmm. is it? I think I came here well.”
As Pasius muttered, he glanced sideways at the corpses of his family on the floor.
His eyes suddenly sharpened.
“I was going to listen to a conversation about why I came, but that thought has completely disappeared.”
“die!”
The elves rushed at Pasius.
Since it seemed like an excellent article, it was the intention to deal with it before pulling out the sword.
However, it wasn’t that Pasius couldn’t pull out his sword.
I didn’t feel the need to pull it out.
A sharp aura formed on both of his hands.
Inside the dark house where the lights were turned off, pure white light streamed out.
