Chapter 219 (1/2)

Chapter 219: The Lord’s Absolute Power

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The appearance of Link riding a 13-feet-tall giant tiger really shocked the people who came across them. Some ordinary people went timid and stopped in their tracks, some stepped slowly backwards, and some even cried out in fear.

Fortunately, Dorias made an effort to look as gentle and non-threatening as possible. He walked along the road in an orderly manner and shook his head gently from time to time. After a while, the people there slowly calmed down and got a little less nervous around him.

Soon, they could hear different voices talking about the giant tiger.

“Lord of Light!” exclaimed one voice. “Look at how big the tiger is! It can easily swallow a whole cow!”

“Is the lord sitting on the back of the tiger?” asked one voice.

“Oh my god!” said another voice. “Look at how his body is shrouded in flames! He’s terrifying!”

“Will he chase us away?”

Link listened closely to the words spoken by these people. His eyes scanned the whole area slowly to catch every detail.

He found that these people on the road were all wearing tattered clothes. Their faces were pallid, and their bodies were weak. They don’t look like free country folks who came here looking for work from the Girvent Forest. Rather, they seemed to have dragged their families and their meager belongings to escape from something.

Are they refugees from the North? Link wondered. No, it can’t be. Norton Kingdom’s army has been winning the battles in the North, haven’t they? The recent stalemate is mostly happening in the Black Forest. How could there be refugees, then? The clothes these people wore doesn’t make it look like they’re from the North either…

Besides, even if there were refugees from the North, they’d first appear in the Girvent Forest up north, wouldn’t they? Why come to Ferde Wilderness first instead?

Just then, Gildern appeared. He was now the scout commander in the area and was responsible for investigating the happenings around this place.

Link hopped down the tiger’s back and walked over to Gildern.

“What’s going on here?” he asked. “Where did they come from?”

“My lord,” Gildern hurriedly answered. “I was just about to report this to you.”

“Go on, then,” Link said as he walked into the territory with Gildern following behind him.

“These are the refugees from the Delonga Kingdom in the South, my lord,” Gildern explained. “The Delonga Kingdom and its western neighbor, the Southmoon Kingdom are now at war. The Delonga army has lost many battles and even more lives and territories. As a result, these people had to make their escape and run from the occupied land, my lord.”

Two kingdoms in the South were at war? Link’s chest suddenly tightened as he came to a realization.

It’s already happened! Link thought.

At this point in the game, because the Norton Kingdom was too preoccupied with the war with the Dark Elves in the North, it had no time to control the minor southern kingdoms. At this point, the Syndicate ran wild in the South, and they kept fanning the fire of disputes between the southern kingdoms to provoke them into conflict. In the end, the whole southern part of the continent descended into chaos and bloodshed.

In this world, things were slightly better, although there seemed to be the same trend happening in the undercurrent of events. Link was afraid that history would soon repeat itself again now.

Link let out a long sigh and thought of Elin’s words.

The sun will soon sink under the horizon.

Link knew that he had no power to control what happened in the South now, but he was still puzzled by some questions.

If they wanted to escape, he wondered, why didn’t they take refuge in the deeper parts of the Delonga Kingdom? Why come here?

His estate was known across the continent as a bleak and barren place. What did they expect to find here? Were they going to eat dust to survive? Besides, surely the Delonga Kingdom wouldn’t be happy to know that their citizens had escaped to the Norton Kingdom, would they?

Fortunately, Gildern had figured everything out from his inquiries.

“This must have something to do with Warter, my lord,” he said. “Warter had been to the South frequently, buying slaves. He’d spread rumors all around that we are lacking people here in Ferde Wilderness. He’d probably spread the news of the anti-magic soil discovery as well, giving the impression that we are wealthy. These refugees probably thought they’d be safe here, that’s why most of them sneaked through the borders of the kingdom by the Black River and reached here eventually.”

Link’s estate was indeed short of people, so in Gildern’s eyes, their arrival had been a good thing.

While Link had the same opinion as well, as a liege lord, there were many more things for him to consider. He had to view it from the perspective of his estate’s development as well. If anything went wrong at this point, it would send a cascade of negative effects into motion and ultimately influence his estate’s future.

Link gazed around at the refugees on both sides of the road and fell into silent contemplation.

These refugees all knew that Link was the Magician lord of the land. They all stood humbly before him with their heads bowed down. When Link’s gaze fell upon them, they all became restless, as if awaiting a verdict that would decide their fate.

The children all looked malnourished and weak. Their little faces were dirty, and the clothes they wore were nothing more than tattered rags. They held tightly to their parents’ clothes with wonder and fear in their eyes. They seemed curious and wanted to get a closer look at Link, and yet they were afraid of the strange man, so they quickly darted their eyes away from Link. They were just as fearful as little rabbits.

Seeing that Link had not spoken, even Gildern had begun to feel nervous now. Although he’d become Link’s follower not too long ago, at that time, Link’s reputation had risen higher and higher, and his power kept expanding at a shocking rate. Even his aura was so terrifying now that it could inspire anyone with fear.

Suddenly, there was a change in Link.

He lifted his finger and pointed at a young man not too far away from him.