Chapter 97

Level Up Heresy Inquisitor – Episode 97 (97/227)

Episode 97: The Best Defense

The sun had set, and the night was illuminated only by moonlight.

Standing before the city gate, Ail glanced around for a moment.

Having just arrived at Quinnze Blonde, he took in the sight of the beautiful canal city.

It was still as magnificent as ever, not much changed from before.

But now that the day had turned to night, lights lit up throughout the city where human hands reached.

Buildings with lights shining through their windows and streetlights illuminating the roads created a breathtaking nighttime scene, turning even ordinary streets into something magical.

Unlike the real medieval times when people had to live in darkness at night, in Warode, a fantasy-based game where smooth user play was essential, unnecessary realism like that wasn’t needed.

As expected of Quinnze Blonde, famous for its night views, it lived up to the stories he’d heard.

Some people had even come out specifically to enjoy the night scenery, so the main streets were still lively despite the hour.

“Still… something feels off… seems like there are more troops than usual…”

Ail noticed the increased number of elite guards patrolling the city at night.

The elite soldiers in black armor were directly under Nightmare and served as top-tier NPCs protecting Quinnze Blonde. Even experienced players found them tough opponents.

Their numbers seemed to have increased recently.

Though Ail couldn’t be completely sure, it was noticeable enough to catch his attention.

Whether it was a redeployment or actual reinforcement, this movement warranted interpretation if it wasn’t just a feeling.

However, there was no particular information about this within Ail’s network, and he had more pressing matters at hand.

To address the reason for his visit, Ail crossed one of the bridges.

Walking along the canal and entering a relatively deserted alleyway, he sat down at the edge of the path.

As he gazed at the flowing water, an unexpected figure suddenly appeared beside him and sat down casually.

“It’s been a while. Didn’t expect you to come looking for me first.”

A red-haired woman emerged from the shadows, her familiar face illuminated by the lamplight reflecting off the river.

Sebera, the branch chief of Bloody Hands.

“This isn’t a casual visit. Representing the Church to greet a client isn’t something just anyone can do. Though I must say, you’ve improved since last time. At least you don’t smell like a newbie anymore.”

After inspecting Ail, she said condescendingly.

“Should I thank you?”

“My pleasure.”

Sebera pulled out a letter from her sleeve and waved it around.

It was the correspondence Ail had sent earlier regarding this mission.

“Let’s get straight to the point. You want us to track down a heretic mage dabbling in forbidden magic. Not exactly an easy task.”

Ail nodded in agreement.

Heresy mages hiding in the shadows.

While the Church was skilled at hunting such individuals, they were currently preoccupied with eliminating the Twilight Cult and couldn’t spare resources right now. Enlisting the help of another organization operating in the shadows was the most effective option.

Though hiring Bloody Hands came with high costs, since this was part of the Church’s mission, the expenses would be covered by the Heretical Interrogation Office, so it wasn’t much of a concern.

More importantly, Ail had a specific reason to visit Bloody Hands beyond just tracking someone down.

“That mute heretic mage was using a black stone imbued with mana – a spirit stone. Definitely connected to forbidden magic. There were also spirit stones in the caves where the bandits were hiding. What’s the connection between those guys and the previous mission?”

“Sorry, but that goes beyond what we agreed upon. That kind of question isn’t something money can buy answers to.”

Shaking her head, Sebera took out her pipe.

“Not that we want to cross the Church, but we have our own circumstances that prevent us from getting too involved. Hiring you adventurers to deal with some bandits at Hardrock Cave wasn’t without reason.”

“Hmm…”

During this time, Ail hadn’t been able to figure out why they had entrusted him with their initial mission.

He wondered why an organization like Bloody Hands would delegate handling a small bandit group to an external adventurer. Now things were starting to make sense.

‘They haven’t decided on their stance yet.’

It seemed Bloody Hands intended to avoid direct involvement in this matter as much as possible.

With a major world quest underway, they appeared to be carefully balancing between two paths, ready to switch sides if necessary.

According to gradually revealed information from various sources, this world quest involved two diverging storylines.

Though unclear whether it was the Order or something beyond them, they seemed to be avoiding deeper conflicts related to the background of this incident.

This meant Ail would need to uncover the rest of the information himself.

Smirking, Sebera returned to the original mission and provided him with some intel.

“Hmm…”

Narrowing his eyes, Ail examined the fragment of a map given to him by Sebera.

A cross-shaped slash marked a location on the map.

“Not the heretic mage Mute you mentioned, but one of his companions is holed up underground here. He reeks of mysterious magic. We’re not sure exactly what he’s up to in the dungeon, but if you have good ears, you can probably guess. How’s that for an answer to your request?”

Judging from the marked location on the map, it was a place somewhat distant from Quinnze Blonde.

Specifically near Tully Village, which had recently been plagued by large numbers of undead monsters triggering attack events.

Many level 40 users were engaging in defense battles against these monsters, and the fighting around the village continued.

‘Another member of the Order… seems related to the defense battle.’

Quickly memorizing the location indicated on the map, Ail stood up.

With reliable information in hand, swift action was best.

“Enough.”

* * *

Tully Village, once a peaceful little village on the frontier.

Recently, however, it had become the site of intense defensive battles due to ongoing events, with tall wooden fortifications erected at its entrance connecting to the plains.

Even though hastily constructed, the temporary defenses were surprisingly well-built.

Now, however, they showed signs of damage from the fierce battles.

The scattered corpses of undead had finally been cleared away, but traces of blood and flesh still clung everywhere.

Amidst these remnants…

Numerous users rested in various spots both above and below the fortifications.

All clearly exhausted after the recent battle.

“Hey, did you manage to get anything good?”

“Of course. Both experience and loot were pretty sweet.”

“Hmph, definitely good rewards, but the number of dying users keeps increasing, and it’s getting more dangerous with each fight.”

“Well, that’s unavoidable. Still, there’s no better hunting ground nearby right now. No complicated quests to worry about either.”

Leaning against the palisade, a man grinned as he maintained his greatsword.

Having contributed significantly to the defense efforts, he was close to leveling up and in high spirits.

However, his companion across from him had different thoughts.

“It’s fine for now, but going at this rate, we won’t last long.”

The number of undead monsters attacking kept increasing.

Yet the number of users participating in the defense didn’t change much.

Moreover, those who did participate were mostly there for the quest rewards and had little reason to desperately protect the village.

This small village, isolated from other hubs, lacked any special products attractive to merchant users and was located in a corner far from everything else.

It didn’t offer many useful quests involving important NPCs, and its geographical position was disadvantageous, making it rarely visited.

This meant the village generated little profit, and the large guild officially owning it had largely abandoned it.

Stationing guild members there would result in unnecessary manpower loss, and even maintaining the guard NPCs cost money, making it a nuisance.

For a key area in Warode that should be valuable, this was quite rare.

“Defense quests only happen while the village survives, so this might not last many more rounds.”

“Hmm… true, but we don’t really have a proper solution either, right?”

“Yeah, exactly. Where are all these undead coming from anyway…?”

Beyond the palisades, in the foggy plains, countless undead monsters surged forward.

Some had ventured beyond the horde to investigate the source of the endless undead spawning, but found nothing unusual.

They simply emerged from underground.

There were no special facilities around the plain, nor any indication it was an ancient battlefield.

High-level users who stopped by out of curiosity helped briefly before leaving, bored by the lack of notable drops and considering fights against low-level monsters a waste of time.

Without guilds or kingdom armies stepping in, there seemed to be no solution.

“What’s the problem? As long as we grab our rewards, we’re good.”

“Hmm… you’re right.”

The man who had been smiling a moment ago nodded, dismissing his earlier concerns.

Though the village might be in danger, for users who came solely for the quest, it wasn’t really an issue.

Such disappearances and reappearances of villages were actually quite common and often went unnoticed by regular users.

However, at that moment, a shout from atop the palisade startled everyone.

“They’re coming!”

“Prepare for battle! Everyone take your positions!”