Necromancer Of The Black Bible (69)

Shadowpeak Mountain, southwest of Kallios Theocracy.

This place, with its rugged terrain, dense forests, and the only passage leading to the Theocracy, has long been infested with bandits.

However, rumors recently began to spread that the massive Shadowpeak Bandit Clan had been annihilated.

A rumor that, bewitched by a malevolent demon, they killed each other until no one survived.

It was speculated that only the treasures they had plundered remained at the bandit stronghold, attracting adventurers one by one to explore the area.

Those now entering the outskirts of Shadowpeak were such adventurers.

The leader guiding the group spoke as soon as they entered the forest.

“Shadowpeak, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah. When we were with the Theocracy, we used to come here sometimes for fun.”

They were Alfred and Viren, former Holy Knights of the Kallios Theocracy.

About ten years ago, they left their roles as Holy Knights to earn money as mercenaries.

Skilled as they were, they quickly gained fame and amassed some wealth.

But being fond of indulgence, they squandered their wealth quickly.

Then, in a tavern, they heard about the “treasures of the Shadowpeak Bandit Clan.”

They scraped together their remaining funds to form the current expedition.

Ten mercenaries to fight any potential demons and ten porters to carry the treasures.

A total of about twenty people were in the expedition.

Before long, they passed the outskirts and headed toward the mountain ridge.

Meanwhile, the sun was gradually setting.

Noticing this, Viren asked Alfred.

“It’s getting dark. Shouldn’t we camp here?”

“Tsk. Why’s a former paladin who once took down demons barehanded acting like this? Are you scared or something?”

Alfred chuckled heartily, and Viren quickly shook his head, retorting.

“Scared? That’s not it. We’re not alone here, you know. Look at the mercenaries and porters—they’re all exhausted.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Alfred look back.

The mercenaries they hired were cheap C-rank ones, and the porters were mostly new recruits rather than veterans.

So they wouldn’t be accustomed to traveling at night.

Viren stopped alongside Alfred and continued.

“Treasure’s great, but let’s rest here. It’s not like the treasure’s going to grow legs and run away.”

“That’s true.”

Finally, Alfred nodded.

As he was about to give orders to everyone, a young porter at the front spoke up.

“Huh? There’s something over there.”

Everyone turned to look, and something pale caught their eyes.

“What is it?”

At Alfred’s question, Viren used his ability to examine the object ahead and replied.

“It’s a carriage. Looks like it’s been abandoned for a while.”

“Really?”

“There’s something like a noble family’s crest engraved on it.”

At Viren’s words, Alfred also used his ability.

The pale object in the distance became clearly visible.

A carriage adorned with elegant patterns.

Though it was torn in places, the carriage door clearly bore a crest presumed to belong to a noble family.

That wasn’t all.

Other carriages were parked beside it.

The moment he saw this, Alfred instinctively knew they had reached their destination.

He exchanged a glance with Viren, then smiled brightly and shouted to everyone.

“We’re almost there! Let’s get to that spot and rest!”

“Yes!”

With cheerful shouts, the expedition followed their leaders, Alfred and Viren, deeper into the mountain.

Before long, they reached the abandoned carriages.

They also discovered old tents set up in the area.

Alfred approached one of the tents, pulled open the entrance, and saw it was filled with rough wooden crates.

“Oh-ho.”

Alfred only let out an exclamation, but everyone there instinctively understood its meaning.

The treasures of the Shadowpeak Bandit Clan.

The rumored treasures were now before their eyes.

Alfred pried open a crate right in front of him.

A pale yellowish glow revealed itself.

Gold bars.

Confirming this, Alfred gave an order.

“Check all the crates here!”

“Yes, sir!”

Though they were all exhausted, no one showed signs of fatigue.

Instead, they moved faster than before, fetching crates and opening their lids.

“These are gold bars too!”

“This crate’s full of gold bars too!”

“This section seems to be all gold bars. From here, it’s full of silver coins!”

With every shout echoing around, smiles spread across the faces of everyone who had arrived.

Even Viren, who had just suggested resting, moved busily to check the crates.

Only after checking all the crates in the tent could they finally start setting up camp.

On a moonless night, camping deep in the mountains had its own charm.

Above all, finding far more treasure than expected made the atmosphere exceptionally cheerful.

Some, thoroughly drunk, hummed songs, while others lay on the ground, counting the stars in the night sky.

Alfred chewed on roasted meat by the campfire and spoke.

“Didn’t I tell you? This stuff belongs to whoever gets here first.”

“Yeah, we should’ve brought more porters.”

Viren grinned and looked to one side.

There, the porters who had finished eating were bustling about.

They were loading all the gold bars and silver coin crates from the tent onto carts and carriages.

Their own carts and carriages weren’t enough, so they loaded some onto the abandoned carriages as well.

Even so, it seemed they couldn’t take all the crates.

Viren smiled wryly and continued.

“This can’t be all of it.”

“Of course not.”

Alfred took a swig of beer and continued.

“These bandit scum didn’t just take gold or silver. If the toll wasn’t enough, they plundered everything instead. I bet there’s a ton of stuff in those other tents.”

Alfred and Viren knew from rumors they heard while serving as Holy Knights in the Theocracy.

How cruel and notorious the Shadowpeak Bandit Clan was.

They extorted huge tolls from large and small merchant groups, and if things went wrong, they resorted to murder, kidnapping, and plunder.

Of course, they paid taxes to the Kallios Theocracy diligently, so there was little conflict, but to outsiders, the bandit clan were utterly ruthless villains.

They had been robbing here for over thirty years, and there was no way the treasures they left behind were limited to this.

There were probably ten times as many items stored here.

Having finished the meat and beer in his hands, Alfred spoke.

“My stomach’s full, so let’s walk around and check the other tents.”

“Sure.”

Viren chugged the rest of his beer and followed Alfred.

Patrolling together was a habit from their days as Holy Knights.

Like any military organization, solitary actions were forbidden in the Holy Knight corps.

Viren and Alfred began inspecting the other tents along the path one by one.

Their expectations were mostly correct.

Most of the larger tents were filled with crates containing various items.

Some held accessories like necklaces or rings, while others contained famous paintings or sculptures that had caused a stir.

Of course, not all tents were like this.

Some tents were filled with spoiled food supplies, while others were packed with jerky.

It seemed a long time since human hands had touched them, as the jerky was covered with white mold.

Viren touched the mold and spoke.

“With this amount of mold, it hasn’t been abandoned for too long. We could brush it off and eat it.”

“Really?”

Alfred frowned, picked up a piece of jerky, brushed it off a few times, and held it under the oil lamp, revealing dark red flesh in the darkness.

Viren was right.

Though a bit dry, it wasn’t bad enough to discard.

That meant the jerky hadn’t been dried for too long.

Alfred sniffed the jerky and spoke.

“Beef dried for about three or four months smells just like this.”

“Right. It feels about that old.”

Viren tore off a piece of the jerky Alfred had brushed off and took a bite.

It was a bit tough, but as he chewed, a familiar taste emerged.

The texture was tender, not like something hunted in the mountains.

Viren grinned and spoke.

“Prime beef. It feels rich with fat.”

“Is that so?”

Alfred put the jerky Viren handed him into his mouth.

Viren was right. The jerky wasn’t too tough. Thanks to its rich fat, it had a savory flavor in his mouth.

Viren, chewing the jerky with Alfred, stepped out of the tent.

“It’s strange. To think a stronghold would be abandoned like this.”

“That’s why there’s talk of it being a demon’s doing.”

“A demon…”

Viren’s eyes narrowed.

He looked at the other tents nearby and started walking toward them.

“What kind of demon could’ve done this?”

“Well…”

At Viren’s question, Alfred fell into thought.

During his active days, he had been deployed on numerous missions.

He had fought life-or-death battles against demons at their appearances and tracked down demons infiltrating the Theocracy.

But he had never heard of a demon that bewitched people to kill each other.

Alfred rubbed his chin and spoke.

“I don’t think it’s any of the ones I know. Don’t you know something? You read a lot of books, don’t you?”

“Come on, I’m a paladin too. How many books could I have read? Not as many as the priests.”

“Still, nothing comes to mind?”

“Well…”

Viren rubbed his chin and looked down at the campsite.

Around the campfire, mercenaries gathered in small groups, and the porters, having finished their work, were heading there too.

The bandit clan that used this place as their stronghold probably spent their days like this too.

After a day’s work, they’d gather around a campfire to eat, divide the spoils, with higher-ups indulging and lower grunts standing watch.

Those people suddenly vanished.

Leaving behind treasures and food.

Did they die?

If they died, there should be bodies, but there wasn’t even a single bone fragment here.

‘If it was a demon’s doing, there should be bones or demonic energy dust. But there’s nothing like that here.’

Though Viren read a lot, he knew nothing of a demon that left no trace like this.

Finally, he let out a hollow laugh and spoke.

“I have no idea.”

“After all that pause, you’re saying you don’t know?”

Alfred grinned.

At that moment, something caught Viren’s eye.

“Huh, what’s this?”

A stain on the tent.

It was dark, so he hadn’t noticed before, but under the oil lamp, it was clear.

“This is blood, isn’t it?”

Old, dried bloodstains. They were scattered across the tent.

Following the trail, he found a small finger.

A pinky finger with flesh still intact.

Viren picked it up and spoke.

“This was cut off just a few days ago.”

“No way…”

Alfred’s face stiffened, and Viren asked him.

“Are we the first ones to come here?”

At that moment.

Viren saw something standing behind Alfred.

A beast with long, silver fur.

A red aura flowed from its long, slit eyes, and saliva dripped from its mouth.

Viren wanted to say something but couldn’t.

Because the moment their eyes met, he was paralyzed.

The beast immediately devoured Alfred’s head.

Viren was next.