Chương 108

Grid tapped his blacksmith hammer against his palm. The heavy despair from just an hour ago was completely gone, instantly replaced by his usual, unapologetic greed.

"I can't go raid the Vatican right now," Grid said, shaking his head.

"The Tzedakah Guild gave me a fifty thousand gold deposit. I have to stay here and craft items for them. If I bail on them now, they'll ask for a refund. I am not giving that gold back." Rudra just smiled and nodded.

"I completely understand. Never turn down a payday." Grid looked relieved. He thought Rudra would pressure him to go fight the Pope immediately.

"You aren't mad?"

"Not at all," Rudra said, resting his bone staff on his shoulder.

"Honestly, if we marched into the Vatican right now, the Pope would wipe the floor with us. We are way under-leveled to fight the leader of a religion. You stay here, make your items, and stack your gold. I'll go to the desert and grind so I can actually keep you alive during the raid. Just send me a whisper when you're ready."

"I will," Grid promised, his eyes burning with determination.

"And I'll forge you that custom staff, too."

"I'll hold you to it," Rudra grinned. He turned around and whistled.

"Come on, Kratos. We're heading west." The half-gold, half-black divine beast barked happily, trotting out of the smithy. Piaro gave Grid a nod, sliding his sword into its sheath. The blade wasn't a rusted, chipped piece of junk anymore; Grid had completely repaired and polished it to a razor-sharp edge for a cheap fee of fifteen gold. The walk west took over a week. They briefly passed by the heavily guarded walls of Patrian, keeping a low profile and not stopping to chat.

As they pushed further toward the border, the scenery changed drastically. The lush green forests and mild weather of the central kingdom slowly faded away. The air grew incredibly dry. The dirt roads turned into loose, shifting sand. The sun beat down on them relentlessly. Rudra pulled his black trench coat open a little, wiping sweat from his forehead. Kratos was panting heavily, his tongue hanging out as he dragged his paws through the hot sand.

"It is just over this dune," Piaro said, entirely unaffected by the heat. They crested a massive sand dune. Sitting in the middle of a barren, endless desert was a colossal city. Reidan. From a distance, it looked like a grand fortress. But as they walked closer to the massive stone gates, the reality was obvious. The city was completely dying. The walls were crumbling. The irrigation canals were totally dried up.

"What happened here?" Rudra asked, frowning at the ruined gates.

"This place is huge, but it looks like a ghost town." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"It is a tragic history," Piaro explained quietly as they walked through the empty entrance.

"Ten years ago, vampires from the western lairs used the citizens here as livestock. The local lord conscripted the young men to raid the vampire lairs and stop the feeding."

"Did it work?"

"It only made things worse," Piaro shook his head.

"Shortly after the troops left, giant desert worms emerged. They ravaged the land, completely destroying the ecosystem and turning the entire western region into a desert. Reidan was isolated. The vampire subjugation team never returned." Rudra looked at the swordsman.

"How do you know all this?"

"As a former Commander of the Saharan Empire, keeping track of border crises and Imperial extortion was a part of my duty," Piaro explained, his voice turning bitter.

"The families of the conscripted soldiers waited for years. Half of them starved to death. The survivors eventually begged the Empire for help. The Empire protected the river from the monsters, allowing the city to farm again. But in return, they demanded a massive yearly tribute."

"Let me guess," Rudra grumbled.

"The Empire got greedy."

"Yes. The tribute grew every single year. Eventually, the citizens couldn't pay. The Empire withdrew their protection and abandoned them. Out of hundreds of thousands, only twenty thousand people remain. They are entirely trapped." They turned the corner into what used to be a bustling market square. The sight made Rudra's stomach completely drop. People were slumped against the stone buildings. They looked like walking skeletons. Their clothes were just dirty rags. Children lay in the dust, too weak to even cry.

The severe malnutrition debuff was painfully obvious on every single NPC. It looked exactly like the Stormbreak Region, only a hundred times worse.

"This is awful," Rudra muttered. Suddenly, a loud, sharp crack echoed across the square. CRACK!

"Get back, you filthy rats!" a harsh voice yelled. Rudra and Piaro looked toward the center of the plaza. A large wooden wagon sat in the shade, loaded with wooden crates of fresh apples, dried meats, and canteens of clean water. Standing in front of the wagon were ten guards. They weren't starving. They wore polished iron armor and looked incredibly well-fed. Sitting on a plush chair in the back of the wagon was a fat, greasy man in expensive silk robes.

He was holding a shiny red apple, taking a loud, crunchy bite. [Administrative Officer of Reidan] A starving, frail woman had crawled toward the wagon, reaching a trembling hand out for a dropped apple core. One of the guards stepped forward and kicked her hard in the ribs.

"I said get back!" the guard laughed.

"The Administrator's food is not for trash!" The fat Administrator chewed loudly, spitting a seed into the dirt.

"If you want food, bring me gold! No gold, no food! That is the law of Reidan!" The starving citizens just looked down, completely defeated. They didn't have the energy to fight back. Rudra stopped walking. He stared at the fat man eating the apple. He hated seeing people starve. But he hated people who hoarded food while others starved even more. Rudra reached over his shoulder and gripped the heavy bone shaft of the Staff of the Fire Lord.

A dense, heavy blue haze of Staff Energy slowly started to leak from his shoulders.

"Piaro," Rudra said. His voice was completely flat.

"Yes, Duke Rudra?"

"I'm going to cause a scene." Piaro looked at the corrupt guards, then at the fat Administrator. The Great Swordsman rested his hand on the hilt of his newly polished sword.

"I would expect nothing less," Piaro said calmly.