Lord of Rot

The southern Desert Area.

Dark clouds gathered overhead.

A mottled packhorse galloped aimlessly through the desert.

A closer look revealed a man clinging to the horse’s back, hugging its neck for dear life. ”Faster, run faster!”

After running for an unknown amount of time, the packhorse was panting heavily, its hooves slowing.

The man on its back drew a blade and stabbed it viciously into the horse’s rump.

The pain gave the packhorse another burst of strength to keep running.

”Run!” the man roared, instinctively glancing behind him.

There was nothing but endless sand, yet he felt death nipping at his heels.

After running for some time more, the packhorse collapsed, its mouth gaping as it gasped for air.

”Useless! Useless!” The man scrambled up from the ground, gripped a small knife with both hands, and stabbed the packhorse again and again. Blood spurted out, and he lowered his head to drink greedily from the wounds.

He lifted his head and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

”May Avalado protect me!” He clasped his hands together and pressed them to his forehead.

After choosing a direction, he gritted his teeth and took off running. Left behind, the packhorse struggled to keep its eyes open as its breathing slowed, then finally stopped.

...

Leech’s party had already returned to Waterfall Land. Without stopping at Longship Castle, they immediately set out on their journey to the desert.

”Nya~”

Upon seeing Leech return, Nia the Snake Woman came over to greet him.

Leech reached into the cage and gently stroked Nia’s head. ”Has she been fed on time?”

”Yes, my lord. We’ve been carefully controlling her portions.”

”Good.” Leech felt her serpentine tail wrap around his arm. ’She’s not playing with me,’ he thought. ’She wants to kill me.’

’After all, why would someone imprisoned in a cage develop any affection for their captor?’

After gently stroking Nia’s head one more time, Leech withdrew his hand.

There was some kind of sticky fluid on his arm, but he didn’t know what it was.

He then wrote a letter, instructing Chuina to immediately set off on her study trip to Linta Bay.

The party traveled without stopping and soon arrived at Bonta Canyon.

By the time they entered the canyon, night had fallen.

The moonlight struggled to pierce the darkness, so the party had no choice but to make camp and rest where they were.

Fires blazed as people sat around them in small groups, eating dried rations.

Leech picked up a bottle of wine and walked over to the fire where Lin Nuo and Vendra were sitting.

Unlike Trevor and Allen—who were mercenaries by trade and now captives—they had gone from passively accepting their fate to actually enjoying it. They had wine and food every day, a little spending money, and had become quite friendly with Leech’s Soldiers.

Lin Nuo and Vendra, on the other hand, had a harder time fitting in. They had been ”half-kidnapped” into Leech’s party, and he had yet to mention what their status or roles were.

He mentioned neither pay nor work, simply letting them follow along.

Seeing Leech approach, Vendra flinched. He had become Leech’s designated cupbearer.

Testing, death, testing, death—the infinite loop had driven him to the brink of a mental collapse.

Especially now that Leech had five guard Knights by his side, Vendra found that the mere thought of escape meant certain death. The gap between them was like two different Life Levels; he had no chance to resist whatsoever.

The best opportunity to escape had been a few days ago, when Leech took his guard Knights to Linta Bay. Vendra had considered it, but his ability had warned him countless times: death, always a bizarre and inexplicable death.

The furthest he ever got, he heard a beautiful singing voice, lost control of his body, and then drowned himself by jumping into the water.

After Leech returned, Vendra became much more obedient. He realized that as long as he helped the Baron research the golden Holy Grail, his chances of survival were quite high. Besides, his life wasn’t much different than before.

The only remaining threat of death no longer came from Leech, but from the golden Holy Grail itself.

But compared to the dangerous Baron Porcupine, the threat posed by the golden Holy Grail was nothing.

Leech poured a cup of wine and handed it to Lin Nuo. ”Where in the Northern Territory are you from?”

”Duen.” She took the cup and gulped it down. The spicy Porcupine Wine made her grimace. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, Lin Nuo continued, ”But I left Steel Saber Mountain when I was a child. I followed my father and became a pirate. Later, he was thrown into a prison in Storm City, so I stole a blade and became a Mercenary.”

She said it so casually, but her experience was surely not as simple as she made it sound.

”What brought you over here?” Leech poured himself a cup of wine and asked casually.

”I killed someone in Storm City.” Lin Nuo took another drink. ”A nobleman. He hired us to retrieve something from the legendary Star Dragon Island. When we brought it back, not only did he refuse to pay, but he also tried to have us killed. All my people were slaughtered. I figured if I was going to die, I wouldn’t let them have it, so I ate the thing. I never expected to become... like this. I killed that nobleman, disguised myself as a slave, and escaped here by boat.”

She patted her thick forearm. ”I used to be slender. A lot of men wanted to sleep with me, but I prefer being like this.”

’It must have been something that can make a person Extraordinary,’ Leech thought. He was no stranger to such things. Besides, the Northern Territory was too far away for him to reach.

”I agree, you’re more captivating this way.” Leech nodded very seriously. ”Confident, strong, and full of charm! But if I were choosing someone to sleep with, I’d definitely pick a slender lady. Haha, drink up!”

Lin Nuo flashed a healthy smile and took a swig of wine. ”Nobles are all bastards, but you, my lord, are one of the few who are different from the rest! You’re not a hypocrite!”

”That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

Leech chuckled and extended an offer. ”Are you interested in working for me? With enough merit, I can make you a Knight.”

In the distance, Trevor and the others, who had been chatting, all turned their heads in unison to look over.

Female Knights were not unheard of, but they were rare. The offer Leech had made to Lin Nuo was something most people wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

For a Soldier to become a Knight required countless years of effort, and Lin Nuo was a fugitive from the Northern Territory—and a woman, at that.

The surroundings grew so quiet that the only sound was the CRACKLE and POP of firewood in the fire.

Lin Nuo said seriously, ”I’m a woman, my lord! And you don’t even know me.”

”I think you’re more reliable than most men. In my service, ability and loyalty are paramount. Gender is irrelevant, and so is your background!” Leech said. ”If you prove useless, or if you choose to betray me, I won’t hesitate to kick you to the curb. You might even become a fugitive in the East Gorge as well.”

Lin Nuo knelt on one knee. ”I swear to serve you to the death! Uh... I swear it by the Four Gods.”

”You’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove yourself.”

As he spoke, Leech turned to look at Vendra.

Vendra, who had always been terrified of Leech, was inspired by Lin Nuo’s example and suddenly puffed out his chest. ’If I could become one of Baron Porcupine’s Knights, I suppose I could accept that.’

”I’m one of the East Gorge People, my lord!” Vendra recalled what Lin Nuo had just done and tried to formulate his own tragic-sounding story. ”My father was...”

”Mm,” Leech nodded, his interest clearly waning. He pushed himself up from his knees. ”Get some rest. We need to get an early start tomorrow. Once we reach the waystation, we can get some proper rest... or we might have a tough fight on our hands.” ’It’s hard to say if a Wandering Knight can be trusted,’ he thought.

Leech needed Lin Nuo’s loyalty not because of her story, but because she was a Transcendent with considerable combat experience and a principled way of doing things.

His operation was expanding, and he had too many empty positions. He had to convert talent quickly, forcing people into roles even if they weren’t ready, just to fill the gaps.

Leech returned to his carriage to rest, leaving an elated Lin Nuo and a stunned Vendra by the fire.

”What was your father?” Lin Nuo asked.

”My father was a farmer. He brought strange women home every day. Later, after one of his women seduced me into bed, he got angry and threw me out of the house,” said Vendra.

”Oh.” Lin Nuo nodded, then got up and walked away.

”Don’t you think my story is tragic?”

”It is pretty tragic.” Lin Nuo stretched her body, then found a spot to lie down and closed her eyes. ”...For your father.”