Heavenly Lord Of The Blue Turban (1)

Though the monster was revolting beyond words, ever since creating the Corpse Abomination, the group’s speed had increased dramatically.

The Corpse Abomination pulling the cart they’d acquired from a farmhouse never slowed down, no matter how much cargo or how many people it carried.

Azadine’s group crossed the border of Vthuma and arrived at the first checkpoint of sorts—the County of Kimalhazi.

Perhaps because Vthuma was so full of mud and water, the outer walls of the County of Kimalhazi were entirely made of clay.

The inner fortifications were built with stone, while the outer walls were made from earth, which made them vulnerable to wind and rain and in constant need of repair.

Even now, to repair the walls, workers were seen pouring dirt into wooden frames and letting elephants climb on top to press it down and compact it.

“Oh. An elephant… amazing? It’s my first time seeing one. I’ve seen drawings, but in real life—it’s huge.”

Azadine’s eyes widened as he saw an elephant for the first time in his life.

Surprisingly, the elephant wasn’t the only astonishing thing. A large number of Blue Turban Party members had already gathered in the County of Kimalhazi.

Rather than refugees, they looked more like locals. They were working diligently on building the earthen walls.

“This County of Kimalhazi is actually the holy land of the Blue Turban Party.”

Jiswa explained.

“A holy land?”

“Yes. It’s said that our Heavenly Lord was struck by lightning here and awakened to the truth of the Azure Sky.”

“Then is the Heavenly Lord here? It would be great if we could gain his support in saving Vthuma.”

“Regrettably, the Heavenly Lord left Kimalhazi afterward to preach the Azure Sky’s truth across Vthuma. He is currently in Vthuma Kingdom’s capital, Vthuuma.”

“Really? Still, there seem to be a lot of Blue Turban members here. I’m a bit worried they might go berserk.”

As Azadine looked around, someone called out to their group—more precisely, to Jiswa.
“Oh, Brother Jiswa. So, did you do a lot of proselytizing in Korasar?”

Turning to see who spoke, they found a dark-skinned man from Vthuma repairing the wall while riding an elephant. He smirked at Jiswa while using the Blue Turban priest’s trademark cudgel to beat his back like a massage tool.

Jiswa answered uncomfortably.

“Brother Komosal. Actually, there was an incident.”

“An incident?”

“I was preaching the truth of the Azure Sky in the territory of Adirov, but then the people suddenly went berserk and became minions of the Nether. A lot died, and I judged it was no longer feasible to continue proselytizing, so I returned.”

“The people went berserk and turned into minions of the Nether?”

“Yes. Didn’t anything like that happen here? The medicine we gave to people suffering from plague or fever might have been the issue…”

“So, how many Korasar bastards died?”

“What?”

“If a good number died, I’d call that a solid outcome.”

Surprisingly, this Blue Turban priest didn’t seem concerned about the believers going berserk—he was more interested in the damage caused.

As if he already knew they would go berserk, his attitude left Jiswa flustered.

“Wait! What are you saying right now…?”

At that moment, Azadine placed a hand on Jiswa’s shoulder.

“Brother Jiswa. Introduce me, will you?”

“Ah… sure.”

“Hm? Who is this man?”

“This is Brother Adan. He has become a priest of the Blue Turban Party in my place.”

“What? In your place? What are you talking about?”

“I judged myself unworthy and lacking the virtue to take on the priestly role. But by good fortune, Brother Adan, a man of great virtue and chivalry, was willing to take on the position in my stead.”

“As you can see.”

Azadine held the Blue Turban priest’s cudgel and gave his shoulder a couple of thumps like a back massage.

“What the—!”

Komosal was appalled that Jiswa had handed over the priesthood to some stranger.

It seemed that Jiswa wasn’t the only one shocked by Azadine’s unpredictable behavior. But now that he had assumed the role of priest, Azadine decided to follow through.

“Well then, I’ve heard the explanation, so shall we talk, Brother Komosal? May I call you ‘brother’? I’m Blue Turban, you’re Blue Turban, we’re all brothers here, right?”

“……”

“We’ve brought fellow Blue Turban brothers, and refugees searching for work and food. Help us find them some jobs.”

“Jobs?”

“You’re building the earthen wall, aren’t you? It looks like there’s plenty of work to go around.”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

“Also, here’s a leftover elixir. Would you care to take a swig?”

Azadine pulled out a potion vial.

“Ugh?!”

Komosal flinched at the sight of the vial Azadine offered. His reaction—as if it were poison—confirmed Azadine’s suspicion.

“Looks like you tampered with the potion, didn’t you?”

But as Azadine pressed Komosal, the workers building the earthen wall approached with shovels and hammers.

“Priest Komosal!”

“Who are these people?”

“As you can see, fellow brothers of the Blue Turban Party!”

When Azadine showed them the cudgel, they recognized it and grew puzzled.

“Priest Komosal?”

“T-These men are impostors! The corrupt Jiswa sold the priesthood to a random fraud! Arrest them!”

At Komosal’s shout, the workers gathered with their tools in hand.

Seeing this, the Blue Turban members in Azadine’s group also stood up.

And then…

“Ugh, I really didn’t want to stand up. My muscles are already sore just from getting up.”

When Scott rose to his feet, everyone was startled.

Though disguised as a human, his orc physique—especially his well-developed muscles—remained fully reflected in the transformation.

“…Good heavens.”

“What muscles?”

“Looks like an orc.”

Everyone was intimidated by Scott’s appearance.

Moreover, once they heard that this had all started because Azadine had asked for jobs for the refugees and Blue Turban members, they all gathered around to support him.

“You seriously think it’s okay to provoke our priest?”

“Our priest can slice through monsters like fallen leaves.”

“Don’t mess with him unless you want to die. You really wanna see a bloodbath here?”

“You’d better just do what the priest says.”

“Give us jobs!”

Those who had seen Azadine’s power firsthand shouted boldly, demanding work.

Komosal and his Blue Turban followers couldn’t muster the courage to oppose them.

‘Who the hell are these guys, and why are they so confident?’

‘Is that guy really so powerful? They’re talking like he’ll kill everyone if he gets angry.’

As tensions rose between Komosal’s group and Azadine’s group, an elephant approached.

“What’s going on, Komosal?”

“Ah, Lady!”

Riding the elephant was a young Vthuman woman accompanied by maids.

“…Lady Gimela.”

“Who’s that?”

“She’s the Heavenly Lord’s daughter.”

“Oh.”

Gimela, the daughter of the sect leader, was a beautiful woman with dark curly hair and confident green eyes. Those green eyes scanned Azadine from head to toe.

“You look like a newcomer, and yet you’re a priest?”

“That’s illegal! Jiswa foolishly handed over the priesthood on his own and damaged the Heavenly Lord’s authority.”

“Well, there’s no part of the law that says you can’t pass on the priesthood.”

“Y-yes, but…”

“And even if he is questionable, the others are all wearing the Blue Turban, aren’t they? Doesn’t that make them our brothers? You said they wanted work?”

“Yes.”

When Azadine answered, Gimela smiled.

“Alright. As it happens, there’s no shortage of work here. We need to reinforce the earthen walls and gather arrows.”

“Because of the ogre attacks from the north?”

“Oh, you’re well-informed.”

“We ran into a few ogres on the way here.”

“Did you?”

Gimela looked intrigued by Azadine’s response. Komosal, seeing her interest, began to feel uneasy.

“L-Lady.”

“That’s enough, Komosal. Give these people jobs and food in return. That solves everything, doesn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“Then disperse.”

As she resolved the situation, Gimela glanced toward Scott.

“And that new priest, along with Jiswa and the rest of your group—come see me shortly. I’d like to have a word.”

“…Huh?”

Gimela’s eyes swept over Scott’s muscular body. The interest in her gaze was clear.

“Oh, dear.”

Scott shrugged as he noticed her looking.

“Being handsome is such a hassle.”

Thanks to Gimela’s mediation, the refugees and Blue Turban members Azadine had brought were able to find work.

The Count of Kimalhazi was pouring its private funds into reinforcing the fortress and preparing weapons to fight off the ogres coming down from the north. As a region wealthy from trade, it could afford such expenditures.

“Looks like they’ll be able to hold their ground here.”

Shati made this assessment as she watched the defense preparations of the County of Kimalhazi.

Just then, Azadine called out to her.

“Hey, Shati.”

“What?”

“Can you tell me the path to the Naga Kingdom?”

The Naga Kingdom was located within the jungles of Vthuma, and only the Nagas knew the paths into it. The world knew that powerful magic, venomous creatures, and layered defenses blocked the way.

And yet, Azadine was asking Shati how to get in.

“Are you crazy? Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t tell you that. I don’t even really know.”

“You don’t?”

“No. I grew up in a colony outside the Naga Kingdom. I’m a lowborn.”

“Then is there no way to report this up the chain? If we leave it alone, the Naga Kingdom might end up manipulated by the Messenger Clan again.”

“They wouldn’t fall for it that easily. The Messengers must have offered them something tangible—probably a copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth.”

“You think they gave the Naga Kingdom a copy to get their support?”

“Otherwise, after what happened in Korasar, there’s no way they’d let themselves be used again.”

“Hmm.”

Azadine now truly understood the power of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth.

It was the very light of royal brilliance—an unimaginable treasure.

Even if it was an incomplete magical text, it was still far too great a treasure to hand over to the enemy of humanity—the Nagas.

It was no exaggeration to say the Messenger Clan had sinned against humanity.

“Did they also give it to the ogres?”

“No, the ogres were probably brought in by the Nagas. Our people—the Nagas—are the leading race within the Kurt Pantheon.”

Among the worshippers of the Kurt Gods, the Nagas possessed the strongest organizational and economic power.

As the leading force among the Kurt followers, it wasn’t difficult for them to bring in the ogres with the promise of a little profit.

“I’d like to meet that Nagaraja and persuade them. If the Nagas get used again this time, I might have to kill far too many of my own kind.”

“Haa…”

Shati clicked her tongue at Azadine’s arrogant remark.

Azadine was worried that too many Nagas might die.