Battle of Carne II

Raizel walked toward the village's entrance, with Rovan following behind him—who now had a new armor set. During the burial ceremony, a Gazerwing contacted Raizel's main body about another battalion of soldiers approaching the village.

Initially, due to their different armor, he suspected them of being part of the Kingdom's army, and his suspicion was confirmed by the Slane Theocracy's knights, whom he had converted into Slave Vampire Knights.

After confirming their identities, Raizel decided to meet them. One reason for this decision was his desire to introduce himself as a powerful magic caster. According to the Vampiric Knights, magic casters commanded great respect from the masses.

If he introduced himself as a powerful magic caster, he could potentially avoid scrutiny from the battalion commander. Since his next plan of action was to visit E-Rantel, he thought it would be beneficial if the commander escorted him there personally, potentially saving him from hassles like personal identification.

Also, he wanted to know how strong the commander was compared to the Slane Theocracy's knights.

As he neared the entrance, he found the Chief talking to some villagers. He looked sternly at them as if something was terribly wrong.

"What's the problem?" Raizel questioned as he neared the group of villagers. The Chief's face lit up as though he had glimpsed a golden shiny wire of hope.

"Oh, Franken-sama. It would seem some mounted people look to be warriors approaching us."

"I see, no need to worry. I'll handle them."

Saying this. Raizel continued his walk toward the village's entrance. It didn't take long for a small battalion of soldiers to appear on the horizon.

'Let's see how I should introduce myself. According to knights' information, talented magic casters could cast spells of the 3rd-tier, and only a select few break this limit, with some able to cast 5th-tier spells.'

Raizel contemplated as the soldiers approached the village. He then glanced back toward Rovan and decided to introduce him as his companion and swordsman.

~Scene Change~

Raizel's original body lounged on a throne deep within the cave, specifically in the hall at the cave's far end. The throne wasn't the original one used by Guu; instead, he had fashioned a new one using <Create Greater Item>.

The throne, while unremarkable in appearance, boasted a comfortable cushion on its seat. Sized just right for Raizel, it provided a cozy place for him to sit and contemplate. In front of the throne, some of the remaining knights were kneeling.

"Who is the most powerful and talented magic caster in this world, and what tier of spells they can use?" Raizel asked while crossing his legs and leaning back on the throne. In response, one of the knights raised his head and began speaking.

"The most powerful mage that I know of is Fluder Paradyne, the court wizard of the Baharuth Empire. He is an old man capable of casting 6th-tier magic. However, we have someone similar in the Slane Theocracy known as the 11th Seat of Black Scripture, nicknamed Infinite Magic. It is rumored that she can also use 6th-tier magic."

'Hmm, so he can use 6th-tier spells and is considered the strongest mage, which means his chances of being Players are low, and even if he is a Player, his level should be a lot lower than 100,' Raizel mussed while humming.

'So, maybe I should introduce myself as a magic caster who can use 5th-tier magic.'

~Scene Change~

The battalion reached the village, and commanding it was a man with a muscular physique and sunburned skin. He was wearing shiny armor, whose shine had been dulled by the dust accumulated on it.

Raizel also noticed that the other members weren't as equipped as him, and most wore tight leather armor, except for the commander.

The commander briefly glanced at the Village Chief before fixing his gaze on Raizel, who was clad in black armor and had his helmet on. His attention then shifted to Rovan, who also wore black armor but had left his helmet off.

As the commander drew closer to the village's entrance, he reined in his horse. He let out a resounding introduction that echoed through the village square.

"I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. By order of the King, I have been visiting each of the

frontier villages to exterminate knights from enemy countries who have been making trouble here."

There was some commotion from the onlookers when they heard the man's identity.

"Are you the village chief?" Gazef inquired as he dismounted his horse.

"Yes, I am the village chief of Carne," the Chief hastily replied.

"Who is that man? He looks peculiar," Gazef continued, pointing towards Raizel.

Raizel interrupted the Chief, who was about to answer, before nodding to Gazef and introducing himself.

"There is no need for that. Pleased to meet you, Warrior-Captain of the Kingdom, my name is Frankenstein, a magic caster. This village was attacked by knights, and so I stepped in to rescue them."

'His armor seems expensive; also, what kind of magic caster wears such armor?' Gazef reflected, noting that it resembled the armor of a wealthy knight.

In this world, magic casters could only wear light armor because they spent most of their time honing their skills as magic casters. So it seemed absurd for a magic caster to wear an armor like that.

'But I shouldn't offend him. If he was able to kill a whole battalion of knights from the Empire, he definitely isn't weak. I can pry more information later,' Gazef concluded his next set of actions.

Gazef deeply bowed his head.

"Thank you for saving this village. I have no words that can adequately praise your kindness."

'Introducing myself as a magic caster proved more efficient than I had anticipated. At most, I had hoped he wouldn't scrutinize my identity. Still, his bowing to me exceeded my expectations,' Raizel monologued while Gazef bowed his head.

Raizel was shocked at Gazef's actions because he now had some information about the societal structure of this world. According to this, human rights were non-existent in this world.

In this world, people were divided amongst each other, so it was quite strange for someone who was the warrior captain of the Kingdom to bow his head to a random magic caster.

'However, this might be due to his character. But, I need more information to ascertain that,' Raizel ended his inner monologue and spoke.

"Please, do not stand on ceremony. In truth, I did this for payment, so no thanks is needed."

"Oh, a payment. Does this mean that you are an adventurer?"

"That is close enough to the truth, however, not entirely true. My companion and I wander around the continent to better ourselves. And while we were training in the Great Forest of Tob, I saw the village being attacked, so I decided to intervene," Raizel answered.

"Oh... I see. So can I assume that he is your companion, Frankenstein-dono?" Gazef asked while pointing toward Rovan.

"Ah, yes, his name is Rovan, and I do apologize; he doesn't speak very much. And also, please call me Franken," Raizel replied while bowing a little.

"Please, you don't have to bow," Gazef spoke while putting a hand on Raizel's shoulder. Raizel stopped bowing and looked directly at Gazef.

"I don't want to pry, but might I ask you a question, Franken-dono?"

"I don't mind," Raizel casually replied and continued, "But might we move out of the sun? The Chief's house is nearby."

~Scene Change~

While this exchange was going on, a group of men emerged from the Great Forest of Tob and headed toward the village. At the forefront was a man with a scar running down his face, blonde hair, and black eyes.

His name was Nigun, the leader of the Sunlight Scripture of the Slane Theocracy, and he was ordered by the Cardinals to assassinate the Re-Estize Kingdom's strongest warrior, Gazef Stronoff.

The Sunlight Scripture was one of the Six Scriptures of the Slane Theocracy. And they were responsible for eliminating demi-human villages.

Nigun and the rest of the men failed to notice that a football-sized eye was floating near the forest's canopy and keeping a close eye on them. The floating eye was obviously one of the Gazerwings Raizel had summoned.

After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at a small hill overlooking the village. Once there, Nigun halted, and the rest of the group followed suit, stopping as well.

"Everyone, take heed," Nigun shouted.

"The prey has entered the cage," he turned as he spoke and spread out his arms.

"Offer up your faith to the gods."

Everyone began their silent prayers, reciting a shortened version of their usual praise to their gods. Even when operating in another country, they made time for prayer. This was not complacency but a symbol of their unwavering faith.

These men, who devoted everything to the Slane Theocracy and the gods they revered, were far more devout than the average citizen of the Theocracy. This devoutness allowed them to commit cruel acts without hesitation and without guilt.

After their prayers, the eyes of every man present were as hard and cold as glass.

"Begin."

With that single word, they moved to encircle the village with a precision that would appear to any onlookers as the result of long, hard training.

~Scene Change~

Raizel's main body was sitting on the throne, seeing the Sunlight Scripture members as they encompassed the Carne. He was observing them through the {Mirror of Remote Viewing}.

Previously, he was reluctant to use it because even a low-tiered anti-divination spell was enough to block out its effect. However, he had used some scrolls to buff it up.

Raizel already had some information about the Scriptures of the Theocracy from the knights, but the information was scarce. Even though their names were very well known, not a lot was known about them.

'I need more information about these Scriptures and the Theocracy as well. According to the knights, the Theocracy was founded by the 6 Great Gods 600 years ago.'

Raizel mussed as he observed the men as they had completely surrounded the village.

'If they attacked the village, I should save Gazef and the other villagers as well. This will help me leave a good impression on him.'

As he was thinking of his next course of action, he saw something that left him shocked. All the members of the scriptures started using spells.

'So they can use magic, but of what tier. According to the information I have, they shouldn't be able to use 6th-tier spells or higher.'

The scripture members continued casting their spells, and in a few seconds, Raizel saw some angels coming out of the spell circles.

'WHAT?! Those are Arch-Angel Flames! An Yggdrasil monster!' Raizel was somewhat panicking inside because if they were able to summon Arch-Angel Flames, who was to say that they couldn't summon higher tiers of angels.

Raizel closed his eyes and took a long breath to calm himself.

'Calm down; I don't think they can summon higher-tiered angels. If they could, they would have killed Gazef and the others without much effort. This means that they should only be able to summon such trash monsters. But I shouldn't be careless.'

Raizel calmed down and started thinking rationally, and after a few seconds, he had made a plan. Which involved kidnapping Nigun and investigating him about the Scriptures and their strength.

To be continued...