Chapter 598: Twisted Persuasion

“What is going on here?”

Led by the Swan Sect follower Gavino, they arrived at a village.

Captain Mero spoke as soon as he saw it.

There wasn’t a single sign of the prince candidate who had requested asylum or even an ant.

Mero immediately grabbed Gavino by the shoulder and asked urgently.

“Hey! What’s going on? Where’s the prince candidate?”

“I-I don’t know! When I left, the prince was still here!”

Gavino, equally flustered, hastily replied.

Judging by his emotional state, he wasn’t lying.

“There are signs of an attack here.”

One of the guards surveying the area raised his hand and spoke, and Captain Mero let go of Gavino and walked over to check it out.

Oliver naturally followed, and as the guard said, there were signs of an attack not too long ago.

“It’s unlikely the prince candidate was attacked…”

They found a hut with signs that people had been there.

Captain Mero judged it after looking at the collapsed wall, broken windows, and shattered door.

Oliver agreed. It looked more like an animal had attacked rather than a person.

“Besides, if the prince candidate was attacked, there would be more than just these minor traces.”

Oliver remembered the Swan Sect’s prince candidate he encountered while searching for the Flesh Cook’s legacy.

The one wearing a Thistle Crown and wielding a spike-shaped sword made from flesh.

If it had been him, there would be no traces left, or at the very least, not such minor ones.

Apparently, everyone else thought the same, and they began considering other possibilities, like—

“—Could it have been a monster attack?”

Given that monsters often appear in the Cursed Land.

Oliver had encountered one before: a horse with a human face.

It was said that these monsters appear due to the influence of the Cursed Land.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand.”

Oliver, who had been quietly observing, raised his hand slightly.

Naturally, everyone’s attention focused on him.

“If it wasn’t the prince candidate but just a monster that attacked, why did they flee? From what I know, the prince candidate is quite strong.”

Everyone silently turned to Gavino, seemingly agreeing with Oliver.

Leaving the village to avoid a monster’s attack instead of fleeing from the prince candidate was hard for them to comprehend.

Though the monsters that appeared in the Cursed Land were indeed dangerous, it was only a threat to ordinary people.

Trained soldiers could manage, and an elite fighter like the prince candidate shouldn’t have had any trouble.

Even Oliver could handle them simply by using a standard Gatling gun mounted on a car.

“Our prince cannot fight.”

Gavino’s answer was genuine.

“He cannot fight?”

“Yes, unlike other princes, he is one who saves lives, not one who takes them.”

Gavino continued explaining.

He told them that each of the Swan Sect’s prince candidates received a unique gift from the Swan Princess, granting them powers fitting the items.

The spike-shaped sword used by the prince candidate Oliver had first met was one such item.

“And the prince I serve received a ring that heals and uses it to save the sick. He is a man who saves lives, not harms them.”

Gavino spoke with utmost sincerity.

One guard sneered.

“Acting all pious while sacrificing people as offerings.”

“Watch your mouth! In a place with no proper doctors, he sacrifices one to save ten.”

His sincerity was also evident this time.

It didn’t seem like he was merely asking for help from Bean City due to losing a power struggle.

As voices began to rise, Captain Mero, the one responsible for resolving the situation, calmed everyone down and redirected the conversation.

“So, from what you’re saying, your prince has no ability to fight, correct?”

“That’s correct. However, it is strange. One of the followers serving the prince knows a dark magic that conceals them from the monsters here, but I don’t understand why this happened.”

Gavino’s mumbling indicated he genuinely couldn’t comprehend the situation.

However, they were equally clueless.

With many thoughts in his mind, Captain Mero scratched his head and asked Gavino if he could guess where they might have fled.

“I don’t know. The situation was far too urgent for that.”

“Damn it, this is bad.”

“What are you going to do?”

The guard, having heard Gavino’s answer, asked Mero, who organized his thoughts and made a decision.

“Hey, Jorge. Take some men and search the surroundings. They might have left some traces while fleeing. The rest of you, keep watch with minimal personnel and continue searching the village. You never know what else we might find.”

The guards didn’t welcome the orders, but they didn’t refuse either.

They understood how crucial this mission was to Bean City’s security.

Everyone moved swiftly to follow the orders, and Oliver naturally joined in with those searching the village.

There was a place he particularly wanted to look at.

***

Creak…

In the midst of everyone searching the village and its surroundings.

Oliver entered a chapel in a corner of the village and found a hidden secret door in the floor.

He acted as if he knew about it in advance. Which was partially true.

There was a book on demons he had obtained from the Flesh Cook’s secret stash, which had records about this Cursed Land.

“Was it the Arrogant Village…?”

He couldn’t be sure until Captain Mero explained it to him.

Bang!

When he opened the thick iron door hidden in the floor and descended, another chapel came into view, just as described in the book.

A twisted chapel created by villagers who had fallen into arrogance over their faith.

According to the book, the people who once lived in the Cursed Land were so devoted that they became arrogant, believing they alone were loved by the gods. This led them to commit various sins.

The underground chapel bore witness to their twisted faith.

A large altar, torture devices, ancient dried blood, and torn paper.

Whether it was voluntary or due to some devil’s trickery, their fanatical faith evolved into devil worship, ultimately crossing a line that led to the creation of the Cursed Land.

Oliver had two questions.

The first was, why had the story been altered?

According to Captain Mero, the Cursed Land was created by demon worshippers who cursed a devout village, but the truth was the opposite.

It was the original residents, who were arrogant in their faith, that created the Cursed Land.

One might think the story was distorted over time, but it seemed too cleverly changed to be a mere distortion.

It felt more like someone intentionally altered it.

The second question was, what exactly were demons?

Oliver had always felt that demons were more than just evil entities as the Pater Church taught.

Whether it was the Burned One, the contents of demonic books, or this Cursed Land, it was like they served a particular role.

“As if…”

“Ah, there you are.”

As Oliver was organizing his thoughts and collecting the papers and hardened blood around him, Captain Mero’s voice echoed.

“Captain Mero.”

“What is this place?”

Captain Mero asked as he came down.

“I don’t know. I found it by chance while exploring.”

Oliver said it so naturally, it was almost believable.

He didn’t mean any harm. If he mentioned he read about it in a book on demons, it would take too long to explain, so he just made it up.

In a similar fashion, Oliver changed the subject.

“But what’s the matter?”

“The team that went out to search has returned. They’ve found traces of where the prince candidate might have gone.”

This was true.

Once back outside the underground chapel, they learned that Jorge, a guard with a smuggling background, had found traces leading to a nearby village.

“Since it’s a rest stop for smugglers, I know it well. Given that people have limited places to hide around here, there’s not much choice but to go there.”

From experience, Captain Mero recognized the importance of this information.

“But that also means it’s an easy place to get caught, right? Other prince candidates are leading their men in searching the area.”

“That’s highly likely. So we have to decide now. Go quickly or withdraw, anything in between and we’ll risk everything with nothing to gain.”

Captain Mero contemplated, but not for long this time.

“Continue with the mission. We can’t return empty-handed after coming this far. Mr. Dave, can you release the Minimized Magic and return the vehicle to its original size?”

“It’s possible, but is it wise? Weren’t you worried that driving might attract monsters?”

“Yes, but now I think speed is more important than caution.”

Oliver understood.

Their original plan was to secretly extract the exiled prince, but that plan had already failed. They would need to revise their approach.

“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”

As Oliver restored the 6-wheeled military vehicle, Mero addressed him.

“We’ll give you another vehicle. Can you operate separately from us?”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“It’s just a feeling, but I suspect that if we drive, we’ll soon be attacked by monsters or run into the Swan Sect.”

It was very likely. Even Jorge, who had explained the geography, said they might run into the Swan Sect.

“If that happens, we’ll likely get bogged down.”

Oliver nodded.

“If that happens, we’ll act as bait to draw their attention while you go to the village alone and check if the exiled prince is there. It would be more effective for you to operate solo in this case.”

“I don’t mind, but are you sure?”

Oliver asked sincerely. He was right to question it; this was a matter concerning Bean City’s security.

Given the situation, could they really leave everything to him?

“The situation demands it. Also, the Mayor instructed that if it came to this, Mr. Dave should take charge. He said he trusts your reputation from Randa, so whatever the outcome, he’ll accept it.”

“Understood… If something goes wrong, I’ll go alone to confirm it. Though I’d rather it didn’t come to that.”

***

“So it’s come to this after all.”

Oliver spoke within minutes of driving.

His bad premonition proved true as all sorts of monsters from the Cursed Land appeared not long after they started driving and began attacking the convoy.

Monsters with grotesque forms similar to Randa’s abominations popped out to overturn the vehicles.

The guards from Bean City used all their gear to fend them off.

At first, they did well, but the situation changed when attackers that appeared to be from the Swan Sect joined in.

Armed with firearms, scythes, saws, and various makeshift weapons, the Swan Sect zealots managed to overturn the lead vehicle, trapping everyone.

The only one who wasn’t trapped was Oliver in the custom vehicle that Philip had gifted him.

As they had discussed, Oliver drove alone toward the village.

Given the need for speed, he judged it to be the best course of action.

Durududududududududu━━!!

When Oliver reached the village entrance, he did a quick spin with the vehicle and used the Gatling gun to wipe out the monsters chasing him before getting out.

He immediately activated Warlock’s Eye to scan the village but found no one.

However, there was something ominous.

Oliver instinctively headed there.

Click.

He found a man’s corpse inside a worn-out abandoned house.

A corpse with its fingers crudely severed.

The body was seated in a chair, and Oliver recognized the dead man as the prince candidate because of the Thistle Crown atop his head.

He was too late.

However, Oliver wasn’t disappointed. There was someone else standing at the door who caught his attention.

A Red One with mottled, discolored skin, wearing a Thistle Crown on his head.

Oliver greeted him.

“It’s been a while, Unbent Knee.”

***

At first, Unbent Knee didn’t understand.

Why was he told not to fight but to persuade Dave?

He had seen how strong Dave was with his own eyes. He’d heard how Dave had even defeated Fen, yet Puppet insisted he shouldn’t fight but instead follow her instructions to persuade him.

Though Unbent Knee had killed Swan Sect prince candidates to steal their artifacts and increase his strength,

he still thought he could at least try to fight him.

What he really wanted was revenge.

Revenge against Dave, who had stopped the Red Ones’ vengeance and played a part in their destruction.

Even knowing this, Puppet ordered him not to think of fighting but to persuade Dave so that at least he would hesitate in the future.

Despite knowing Unbent Knee’s grudge, hatred, anger, and desire for revenge.

To his surprise, at this very moment, facing Dave, Unbent Knee understood why.

Swan Princess, who made a pact with a demon at the cost of the world’s end.

As one of her fully blessed prince candidates, Unbent Knee could see Dave clearly for the first time.

This creature—no, this existence—could not be beaten. He wasn’t someone to be defeated.

Understanding this, Unbent Knee activated the Grace and Levy Ring he had just stolen to control the corpse and convey his message.

“I want. To make. A deal.”