Episode 11 : The Secret of Kal-Mor - Part 1

That morning - the same morning of Nosferus - Mongol's invading army, which had crossed the Kes, met them in the midst of a livid wilderness.

 After an all-night march, when dawn was about to break, the commander sent out a signal for all troops to halt and told them to take turns taking a nap and eating a light meal.

 The invading army of 15,000 Mongols halted there in the middle of the Nosferus Wilderness, where there was not a single river except for the undulations of rocks and sands, even to the far horizon.

 The Canaan Mountains to the east and the snow-covered mountains of Asgarn to the north - but they are so far away that it seems as if they were very near. But even if it seems to be near, it is only the tremendous height of those mysterious mountains, the roof of the world, that tells the story.

 Long before the Canaan Mountains, a series of oddly shaped rocky mountains hugged the desert, providing a modest refuge in a vast desert that seemed to have been created solely to remind humans of their own lowliness.

 And indeed, only half of the several clans of Shem made this not very high rocky mountain their home and built their villages there as if they were hiding there, but of course the Mongol army was not sure of that at this time.

 But like iron sand attracted by a magnet, they went straight to the foot of the mountains, having been drawn there by a command that agreed with them that they should go there anyway.

 As soon as the signal was given for the night's camp, the soldiers of Mongol dismounted from their horses and took up the thick cloth on the backs of their horses and laid them down. This was the only place where they slept during the whole march.

 When they had watered the horses and provided them with water, the soldiers began to eat. Here and there, grain flour was kneaded and dried meat was fried.

 In the meantime, those who were on duty, of course, did not rest, but kept the crossbow in their hands and focused their eyes on the vast wilderness in all directions.

 In the midst of these men, who were arrayed in a circle, there was, as usual, a huge sheepskin tent, and the banner of the duchess, with its trimmings, fluttered at the top of the hexagonal roof. The captains were summoned in and out of the tent, and the busy attendants of the duchess disappeared into it, carrying in their hands various containers and soft blankets taken from the load on the horses' backs. Inside the tent, the captains seemed to be gathering and giving orders for the future.

 But this was of no concern to the cavalry and infantry who, in the dawn of Nosferus, huddled in the drowsy gloom, trying to take a nap at least. They were tormented by the shuddering visions of ape-men whose faces were smeared with dye and who wielded stone machetes, and who, when the sentry looked away for a moment, crept up on them like demons. They were troubled by visions that made them shudder.

 More than half of Mongol's soldiers were soldiers of the Frontier Guard sent from the fortresses of Arvon, Turid, and Talos, and thus they were familiar with this gray wilderness stretching across the Kes River, and they must have had some knowledge of the strange ecology of the Semites and other inhabitants of Nosferus. He must have had some knowledge of the strange ecology of the Semites and other inhabitants of Nosferus.

 But they had never yet ventured deeper than a day's ride from the banks of the Kes to the depths of Nosferus.

 No, among the rumors that have been passed down on the frontier and have become legends, there is one about a young man who came from Torus and went across the Kes River, or about a trooper, a ruffian, an adventurer, obsessed with such a mad obsession to find the golden treasure of Canaan, a very ancient and abandoned city that still lies in the Canaan Mountains. or of the mad obsession of the captain, the ruffian, the adventurer, the dreamer, to find the golden treasure of Canaan, an ancient city still lying dormant in the Canaan Mountains, in a vain attempt which all failed.

 But there is no exception to the rule that it always ends with the same words. In other words, it is not that there are no people who have crossed the Kes River and entered the wilderness of Nosferus - in fact, there are many who feel it as a challenge to themselves and are attracted to it. However, in the long history of Nosferus, there has never been a single person who has crossed Nosferus or plunged deep into it and returned alive.

 Of course, those who were sent all the way from the capital of Torus, not from the frontier forts, knew all about it. And so, though they could not say so openly for fear of reprimand from above, the officers of Mongol secretly put mouth to mouth and ear to ear, cursing their misfortune at being made to take part in this fearless scheme, and shaking their heads at the uncertainty of its intentions and the fate of their own people, and wondering what had suddenly entered the minds of their commanders. And what kind of evil spirit had taken up residence in the mind of the commander to suddenly conceive such a reckless plan?

 This was the anxiety, concern, and bewilderment that filled the hearts of the captains of the various units who had been summoned to the tents of the headquarters.

"--I hope you'll forgive me for asking."

 The one who opened his mouth gravely was Count Mars, the lord of the castle of Two Reed, who led 2,000 Blue Knights.

"What the hell, Mars?"

 I'm not in a good mood.

 That had been the case ever since the start of this reckless march. Perhaps even Amneris himself did not clearly understand the true reason for his discomfort.

 Between her and the captains, a huge parchment map of Nosferus was spread out, some parts of which were marked in blue and some in red.

 Next to him, there is the youthful face of Astorias, who is struggling with the humiliation of his nine deaths. Count Vron and Baron Rindt lead the White Knights under the command of the Princess.

 And behind the young noblewoman, who looked around and shook her blond hair, stood the shadowy mage Gayus, the white knight Feldrick, and another unidentified figure, who appeared from nowhere and for what reason, in silence.

 From the beginning, the man had followed the army in the midst of a cloth hanging down on all sides, built on a horse, just like the women's vehicles used in the East. None of the soldiers of Mongol knew what was inside the vehicle, nor could they see it, and they whispered to each other in secret, trying to guess its identity, but in the end none of them could say with confidence that it was so.

 The generals, too, were not informed of this man, and their curiosity was secretly aroused. He was the last one to cross the River Kes, and was guarded by the White Guard as he marched alongside the horse and bridle of Amneris, but even after several pauses, he never dismounted from the horse, and on the contrary, he did not even raise his drooping head to look out.

 So when the generals were summoned to the tent, they saw the man there alongside the noblewoman, and secretly wondered and wondered about him, but not because they knew who he was.

 This is because, when she finally emerged from the vehicle, her current attire was a huge hood that completely covered her face and head, and a cloak and toga that she wore so tightly that not a single eye could be seen.

 This was fundamentally the same attire as that of the mage Gayus, who stood behind Amneris on his left, so that Amneris looked like a golden goddess of the dawn, with the black god of death on his left and right, but even Gayus had an old, shriveled, ugly face showing under his hood, and from the sleeve of his cloak from the sleeve of his cloak, and from the sleeve of his cloak, his shriveled hands were folded meditatively in his lap.

 But the man's hands were tucked beneath his cloak, and his eyes were downcast, with their hoods turned up so that they met no one. It was an appearance that aroused the suspicion of the generals and led them to strange and bizarre associations.

 Count Mars glanced at it. He turned away in a panic, with a light of dismay, as if he had seen something he ought not to have seen.

"I hope you'll forgive me for asking."

 He kept repeating.

"The recent expedition to Nosferus... We, the men in charge of the frontier guard, received a signal and a messenger. However, we have not been told what kind of thoughts the Golden Scorpion Palace has, what kind of purpose it has, or even how long it will last until now.

"I'll tell you about it in due course-- as I told you, Count Mars."

 Amneris said curtly. If someone had known her better, someone who knew her with the calmness and ruthlessness of ice, they might have told her that she was out of her mind ever since she had joined Nosferus - or, rather, ever since she had captured the strange, leopard-headed warriors with the Paro twins in tow, and had been abused by them, and had then fled. I might have said that she has been out of her mind ever since she was abused by them and then they escaped.

"When will you tell me, sir?"

 But the Count was not intimidated by a girl like his own daughter.

"At least tell me the purpose of the expedition and the approximate duration."

 Amneris did not answer. A hint of hesitation flashed across his white, wiry face.

"Your Highness."

 Malus persisted. He was the oldest of the captains in the line and the highest ranking, a great noble.

"The soldiers must be anxious, and above all, if we who are in charge of them are upset, they will feel it."

"Are not Mongol's soldiers Mongol's hands and feet, moving at the behest of Mongol's brain?"

 Amneris did not raise his voice, but he said it with sufficient irritation.

"Wherever I go, whatever I do, must I ask the approval of all my soldiers before I do it?"

"Your Highness, Your Highness."

 From behind him, Feldrick whispered soothingly.

 Count Mars is also trying to calm the Commander-in-Chief who is like a daughter to him,

"No, sir. However, in order to calm the fears of the soldiers, I had to give them at least the minimum amount of information... The soldiers are more than a little nervous about going deep into the wilderness of Nosferus, which is said to be unexplored and has never been returned. "

"At first, we, too, believed that the expedition was intended to clean up the Semitic raid on Staphorus Castle and preserve the authority of Mongol."

 The young Earl of Regan spoke slowly. He was the son of the Earl of Rickard and bore a striking resemblance to his father.

"But if we continue to wander into the wilderness in search of Shem, we will ..."

"Don't worry about it."

 Amneris waved a thin hand in annoyance. However, the expression on his face was less irritated than before. In any case, it was something that they would have to explain at some point, and they had spared no time for a military conference to do so, but now, as they waited for dawn to break, was surely the perfect time to do so.

"Very well."

 For a brief moment, Amneris seemed to be pondering how much and how to say, but he quickly made up his mind, looked up, and looked around at the generals.

"Very well. It's something I was going to tell you anyway."

 He repeats it thoughtfully. His green, mysterious, cold eyes stare past Count Mars, Captain Ilm, Captain Tanguard, Little Count Regan, Captain Astorias, one after the other.

 This young nobleman of Torus, the captain of the Red Knights, who was only twenty years old but had already made a name for himself as the "Red Lion of Gora" in the three great principalities, had been quietly staring at the white face of the young lady with inarticulate adoration and praise ever since he had taken his seat in the tent.

 When Amneris's cold eyes hit him, as if he was wondering something, Astrias's fair face immediately turned red. He was completely flustered and lowered his eyes timidly.

"Is it a fact that the soldiers are upset, Mars?"

 He asked as if he wanted to make sure before he explained. Count Malus raised his hand.

"For the time being, not yet. However, unless we inform him immediately of where we are going and of His Highness' plans, within the next day or two, rumors and speculations will spread like wildfire throughout the army, and there will be no way to control them."

"Well, one cannot be that adaptable to an uninhabited place like Nosferus, can one?"

 Amneris said in a thoughtful tone.

"We've been in Nosferus less than a day. And we haven't even had a single Semitic attack."

"Believing it to be so, the soldiers have not yet shown much anxiety."

 Malus said. I'm going to keep going.

"However... it has just occurred to me among the soldiers that the purpose of this expedition may not actually be to wipe out Shem... The proof is..."

"What did you hear?"

 Amneris's face grew pale.

"The evidence is that our army, instead of sending out scouts in all directions to find out where Shem is and then heading there to sweep it away, seems to be heading straight for a point, as if there is a known destination somewhere in this unexplored land of Nosferus. --"

"Soldiers are a curious thing. They see what they do not see, and they know what they do not know."

 Amneris had a wry smile on his beautiful face.

"The way you look at it is quite perceptive and accurate. You're right, Count Mars."

 I tell you quietly. The captains in the tent made a slight noise, but it wasn't too loud. It had already been predicted to some extent by the captains.

"Of course, wiping out the Semites is one of the important objectives of this expedition, as all the generals have been informed, but there is another, final destination that we should be aiming for. That is..."

 Amneris stretched out his finger in a gentle gesture, and then, with a sudden change in intensity, pointed wildly at a point on the map before her.

"Here!"

 The generals stared breathlessly at the spot she had pointed to.

 Nosferus, which is said to be an unprecedented map, could not have produced a very precise map, of course. Rather, it was what one might call a blank map, with a few mountain masses and place names scribbled around it, but mostly a blank sheet of paper.

 The dark river Kes is depicted as if tracing the edge of the river near Amneris, and the signs in red and blue ink are clustered around the river Kes.

 But what Amneris was pointing to - it was a point in the middle of the parchment, far beyond the river Kes - a point in the blank, with almost no writing around it.

"Your Highness, it's ..."

 Mars tries to open his mouth hesitantly. Amneris gently restrains him and looks around at the captains with his chest out.

"The Semites call this area "Gul-noo. It means "valley of the miasma. This is the Valley of the Miasma we're aiming for."

 There was no longer the faintest murmur in his voice. The heroes of Mongol looked at each other, as if they were asking each other if anyone knew of it.

"Now that we've made it this far," Amneris said, tapping a red X on the far edge of the map, "there's no danger of any other country's intelligence tipping us off to its secrets. The final objective of this expedition is this. That is, to find this 'Valley of Miasma', to eliminate the Semites in its vicinity, and to build the fortress of Mongol near the valley."

 Amneris's voice, though clear and clear, was not loud or violent, but rather low and subdued. Nevertheless, the lady's words caused astonishment and consternation, as if a bacchanalian berry had been thrown into their midst, bursting out in all directions.

"Princess--that's ..."

 Count Mars, as if he had forgotten even the strictest military discipline, strained his voice in the midst of the great murmur that immediately arose.

"What the hell is that?"

"I told you not to call me Princess."

 Amneris said with a scowl.

"I am no longer the child I was when I called you 'old man'."

"I--I'm sorry, Your Highness. ...

 The old Count bowed his head in dismay. Even this was muffled by the unceasing murmur of the people around him.

"Yeah, shut up. Will you shut up?"

 The noblewoman banged on the table and tightened her voice. At once, as if in a lie, the murmuring and the chatter ceased, and eyes full of wonder and doubt looked up at this tall man, their guide.

"Your Highness-- I hope you'll forgive me for asking."

 In the midst of the silence, Count Mars' voice was still strong,

"We are already aware of the situation in Mongol and how delicate it has become since the Paro conquest. But, therefore, we--I mean ..."

"Now, you don't understand why we have to send 15,000 of our precious troops to such a remote area."

"--is."

 Count Mars nodded. If the Princess were to be crossed, even a nobleman of the Count's stature, even one who had been her protector as a child, would not be safe.

"There is a story to be told."

 But Amneris didn't seem to be in a bad mood.

 Rather, to everyone's surprise, his icy lips even fluttered as he smiled faintly, as if he had gotten what he wanted.

"Here's what they say - go ahead, Kal-Mol ... and take off your headgear."

 The lady looked back at the mysterious figure behind her.

 Then came the shouts of the captains, shattering even their iron restraint, and the moans of astonishment and unmistakable fear, even of panic, which the lady suppressed with her hand.

"Let me introduce you to... Kal-Mor, the miraculous mage who, for the first time since the beginning of the world, crossed the wilderness of Nosferus ... and came back alive!"

 Amneris's voice was triumphant and piercing, echoing through the silent tent.