”Because I killed who may have been his relative or a friend”
The images of a Bengal tiger beastman flashed across Michael’s mind. Jacobe sealed his fate by trying to capture Gaya and he would have accomplished that if it wasn’t for Michael’s timely intervention.
”We have a bigger problem now” Michael quickly cornered all his other thoughts
In case the threat was as bad as he thought, he would have a crisis on his hand. It was not like Michael liked to play goody two shoes, but if Victor was a vampire and he was in the Southern continent, he might start feeling on the southerners. The Southern continent was Michael’s stronghold where he wielded absolute power. Michael would let nothing happen to that stronghold until he built an army on the Southern continent to conquer everyone and everything in this world. Only by doing this, he could fight off the Great clans.
”Hey Elidyr, have you ever heard of vampires?” Michael almost scoffed. Two years ago, he would have laughed at the thought of vampires existing. He couldn’t do that now because he was transmigrated to another world with the system. As far as he was concerned, anything was possible in this world.
”No” Elidyr simply dismissed Michael’s suspicion. However, Michael wasn’t completely satisfied. There must be a whole lot of things that even Elidyr, a few thousand-year-old ancient being didn’t know about.
”Azazel” Michael established a connection with his demon butler,
”My Lord” the butler responded in his utter obedient voice,
”Contact everyone in the Southern continent and order them to raise the security level. The villages in the outskirts must be guarded, no more reducing the strangers on the seas. They are to report to me immediately if they find anyone suspicious” While issuing orders to Azazel, he remembered something about Vampires,
”Be on the lookout for anyone wear dark clothes to avoid sunlight”
”As you wish, my lord”
After everything was said and done, Michael began his usual routine, trying to figure out the correct formula for his new potion. Even the system had no recipe for that. He was creating entirely a new potion, mixing alchemy and technology.
**********************************
The village of Rachdale was surrounded by lofty mountains and lush green fields. The hills were a beauty of their own, nature’s beauty. Except for the name of the village, the people didn’t change at all. From the time the village was founded, they grew vegetables, fruits, and other crops such as wheat, rice, and barley to support their lives. Twice a year, the crops would mature, and at that time, the village would look as though golden sheets blanketed it.
Rachdale had a very little population, most of them were farmers and the rest of them traveled with the merchants to Crilta, one of the towns in Gisel and sold their harvest in the city to earn better.
They were simple people. They eat what they grew, they wear simple clothes, and most of all, they loved each other and always stood by each other in their time of distress. There was a strong bonding between every person in the village. They were definitely not rich but very kind-hearted.
Today the village was muddy, containing several puddles of water and countless footmarks due to the heavy fall last night. Currently, the sun was setting behind the lush green mountains, painting the village in a mild orangy-red tint. There was always an apple tree in the village for a tired villager to sit under and relax. On the outside, the simple beauty of the village had a soothing effect on the eyes.
The evening was their time to relax with their families and take well-deserved rest. However, at this moment, rest was the farthest thing from them.
”We need to find my husband”
”My son has gone missing for three days”
”I have five goats missing from my farm”
The village didn’t have many big buildings. Most of the farmer houses were simple, built with brown woods found in the nearby forest and roofed using silver slabs sold for cheap in Crilta. Except for one building, none of them could hold more than four people and that building was the village leader’s house.
At the moment, inside a hall lit with torches, the villagers were hollering at a 7ft hulking man. He had medium-length brown hair, brown eyes, and a goatee. The man may have looked terrifying due to his hulking body and the man-sized Warhammer he was carrying on his back, he was listening to the pissed-off villagers patiently.
Boom!
The sound of thunderclaps in the distance indicated the approaching heavy downpour. It was ominous.
”Logan, we have to put together a party and search for them” an old man with a long beard walked out from the angry worried mob of villagers,
”Yeah, you were a mercenary before everything. You can come out of retirement and help us Logan” a woman with puffy red eyes shouted from the crowd.
Their words immediately brought down some of the memories Logan desperately wanted to forget. The images of his last job flashed across his mind. The gloomy crypt, the swarming undead, the dead bodies of his group, and the man who killed everyone. Ever since that day, Logan wondered why he left him alive.
”NO!” Logan’s sudden thunderous roar instantly killed the commotion in the hall. The villagers shuddered as all their faces went pale. They had never seen Logan lose his calm ever.
Reeling what his outburst did, Logan took a deep breath calming himself down,
”Tomorrow we will go to Freedom town and request King Tiberius’s help”
Just before the people could react to his words, a teenage boy slammed the door open. The boy was running towards Logan, completely soaked wet. His face and leather armor was smudged with mud.
”Captain…Captain Rogers…” the youngster mumbled
Then some of the citizens saw it…the youngster was bleeding and they saw a dagger sticking through the youngster’s back,
”Dewey…he’s bleeding” the villagers mumbled as the youngster stumbled down.
Logan immediately caught him before the youngster could hit the floor. He then gently placed the youngster down,
”Dewey, what happened? Where are Captain Rogers and the rest of your team?” While questioning the young man, Logan looked at the old man, telling him wordlessly to go and bring the village healer quickly.
”Found…Georgie…dead…something (cough) (cough)” the youngster coughed up blood. Logan gently grabbed the dagger sticking out of his back. The dagger was deep into the youngster’s spine, Logan could feel it.
He had enough life experience to tell that this youngster was on the verge of death and soo embraced the darkness. Nonetheless, Logan wanted to lessen his suffering as well as get as much information as he could.
”Everyone…it…blood…drin (cough) (cough)”
Logan and the surrounding people could barely make sense of the mumbling coming out of his mouth.
”(Cough)…killed…(Cough)” the youngster began to cough up blood more and more.
”It’s gonna be alright Dewey, you’re gonna be alright. The healer will fix you right up” Logan smiled at the youngster, trying to make him calm down. He was a big man with a big heart so he wanted to send the young man as painlessly as possible.
”MY SON!” All of a sudden a woman completely soaked in rainwater rushed into the room. She pushed aside everyone who stood in her way. When she saw Dewey lying on Logan’s lap, bleeding and fighting for his life, she collapsed to the ground,
For some reason, Logan couldn’t look the woman in her eyes. He blamed himself. It felt as if he did something sooner, Dewey wouldn’t have been like this.
”Dewey!’ the mother shouted,
”What happened to you!? NO! Oh my god! Someone help me!” her sickening cry echoed through the hall.
”He said they found Georgie” another woman screamed from the crowd,
”Yes!”
”We have to do something and do something now”
”YES!”
The crowd began to roar. Logan however didn’t hear anything but the cries of a mother who is going to lose her son soon. He couldn’t even imagine what she was going through. If he was to lose his wife Tessa, he would break into a million pieces. She was the only thing that kept him together and gave him a new life after the traumatic events he experienced on the undead island. Every day he had nightmares. It took everything in him to fight through the nightmares and overcome the traumatic experiences.
He promised himself that he would leave the mercenary life behind. However, seeing Dewey’s mother, Logan decided to take on a task one last time.
”Gary, put together a team, I’m going to find Georgie and everyone”
Logan stood up with a resolution in his eyes to find the disappeared villagers. Until now, twenty people in the village had mysteriously disappeared including three children and two young girls.
At first, they thought they left the village, then, they thought those villagers were lost in the forest. Only when the team sent into the forest disappeared too, did they realize that something was wrong.
Of course, if Logan didn’t leave for Gisal to get some financial help from the senate, he would have sent for a search party sooner. It took the temporary village leader two weeks to realize those people were actually missing.
Logan left the hall and entered his room where he saw his wife peacefully sleeping on the bed. Her pale was illuminated in the candlelight on the stool beside the bed.
Other than the bed and his wife, there was only an oak wardrobe and several roses in mud pots. He walked toward his wife. When he reached her bed, he moved aside her red hair and gently kissed her on the forehead,
”Sleep well Tessa. I will come back to you as soon as possible, It’s time I find these people”
She slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were tired as her skin was so pale.
Looking at Logan, Tessa blacked but her eye movement seemed restricted,
”I will take care of myself Tess. Don’t worry” Logan closed her eyes gently before placing another kiss on her forehead. Turning back, he walked towards the wardrobe, not to wear any new clothes but to take something he shouldn’t.
He was welcomed by several brown robes and skits neatly stacked as he opened the wardrobe. He opened one of the drawers where there was another set of brown robes. He lifted the stacked robes to see the empty bottom. Only he knew that it was a false bottom and lifted up the false bottom, revealing a black card and a Spyder-shaped pendant lying there.
”Am I going to regret this?” he asked himself thinking about what he was going to do.
**Logan is one of the team member who went with Ross to the Undead Island. Refer Chapter 237 if you don’t remember him**