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However, this did not mean that the Zestrad Barony simply sat back and collected unearned income.

Due to its location deep in the northern part of the Jaden Mountain Range, the area around the mine was often frequented by all sorts of demonic beasts and ferocious predators. Protecting the miners from these dangers and securing the paths was the primary duty of the Zestrad family.

In a forest to the west of the copper mine.

A force of about ten soldiers was engaged in battle.

“They’re coming!”

“Hold the line!”

Demonic beasts charged at the soldiers.

At first glance, they appeared to be large, ash-gray wolves, but these beasts, known as Snerols, had abnormally long fangs and claws.

A pack of Snerols surrounded the soldiers and let out a ferocious roar.

“Awooooo!”

The soldiers maintained their formation, raising their shields, and shouted back.

“Hold them off!”

“Stab with your spears!”

Sharp claws scraped against the shields. Spears flashed as they cut through the air. Blood spattered, and the beasts’ screams echoed through the forest.

“Graaaah!”

The soldiers erupted in cheers.

“We got one!”

“Stay focused! There are still plenty left!”

Varos, who had been watching the battle, couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Wow, they’re fighting really well.”

In terms of physical abilities, Snerols were not much different from ordinary wolves.

The reason they were classified as demonic beasts was due to the deadly poison in their fangs and claws. Even a scratch could paralyze the entire body, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

‘In the past, just a pack of these Snerols would have caused so many deaths.’

But now, most of the soldiers were handling the Snerols with relative ease.

It wasn’t that the average skill level of the soldiers had particularly improved compared to the past.

‘Money really does work wonders.’

Thanks to the income from the mine, the level of armament in the territory had greatly increased.

Before the copper mine, even the knights had to mix chainmail with plate mail.

The soldiers wore low-quality leather armor, or sometimes didn’t even have that, being sent out with only a spear and shield.

But now, all the soldiers were equipped with chainmail and mixed steel arm and leg protectors.

The knights were even wearing full plate armor, including the extremely expensive steel gauntlets.

Even if they were scratched by the fangs and claws, the risk of being poisoned was low, allowing them to fight with much more bravery!

“Die, you damned beasts!”

“Come at us, you bastards! Now we don’t even have to worry about getting bitten!”

“You still shouldn’t get bitten! If their fangs strike you directly, they can pierce through your armor.”

Varos chuckled as he watched the soldiers engaged in the chaotic battle.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers urgently shouted.

“Sir Varos!”

A Snerol had charged at him, aiming for Varos.

In an instant, the beast closed the distance, swiping its front paw at Varos’s head.

It was then.

A flash of light appeared, and the Snerol’s head was sent flying through the air.

The soldiers stared in shock, their eyes wide.

‘What just happened?’

‘What did we just see?’

It wasn’t as if any elaborate swordsmanship had been displayed.

Varos had merely shifted his body and turned his shoulder, but by the time anyone noticed, the blade had already moved to the other side. They hadn’t even seen the slashing motion.

Varos flicked the blood off his sword and bowed his head respectfully.

“That was close. Thank you, Sir Gilliman.”

“Ah, yes… no problem…”

The soldier, referred to as Gilliman, wore a dazed expression before quickly shaking his head.

“Please, Sir, you are a knight now. You don’t have to speak so formally with me, Sir Varos.”

With a simple smile, Varos scratched the back of his head.

“How long has it even been since I became a knight? It’d be even stranger for me to start talking down to you now.”

Recently, Varos had officially been knighted. Karnak, exercising the rights of a lord, had personally appointed him.

There had been no objections at all.

Not only was Varos extraordinarily skilled, but he had also contributed greatly to the defense of the territory and always conducted himself in an exemplary manner.

Even now, despite his astonishing display of martial prowess, there wasn’t a hint of arrogance in him.

The soldiers who vividly remembered Varos’s childhood could only be amazed.

‘He’s so strong at such a young age, and yet he’s still humble.’

‘Is this really the same Varos who used to be such a troublemaker?’

‘People can change this much, it seems.’

In truth, Varos hadn’t considered the Snerols to be worthy opponents, so he hadn’t thought anything of it, but outwardly, it didn’t seem any different.

In the meantime, Varos effortlessly dispatched the remaining Snerol pack.

“Kaaagh!”

At last, the final one let out a death cry, spilling its blood onto the earth.

“That should take care of all of them.”

The soldiers began cleaning up.

The hides, fangs, and claws of demonic beasts could fetch a good price as magical catalysts. Gathering them was a nice side income for the soldiers.

While they were busy with this, Varos’s lieutenant, the veteran soldier Toleil, approached and greeted him.

“Well done, Sir Varos.”

“You all did the hard work,” Varos replied.

“It’s worrisome, though. Snerols weren’t this powerful before.”

“Really?”

“They’ve become at least twice as strong compared to before. Didn’t you notice, Sir Varos?”

Varos made a puzzled face.

‘How would I know if these things got weaker or stronger?’

In his previous life, the first time he encountered Snerols was when he was just starting to learn necromancy and was desperately running away with Karnak.

Back then, he was just a clueless novice and naturally assumed that Snerols were demonic beasts straight out of hell.

By the time he faced them again, he had already become a Death Knight. Back then, they were creatures that would explode just from him pointing a finger at them.

‘The difference is too vast, so I can’t really tell if these ones are strong or weak now.’

Of course, he couldn’t just admit that, so he subtly changed the subject.

“Until recently, I wasn’t even capable of participating in a fight like this, was I? I don’t have as much experience as you all, so I can’t say for sure.”

“That makes sense.”

Nodding in agreement, Toleil continued.

“Indeed, the state of the demonic beasts has changed. It’s only because Sir Varos is so strong and our armament level has improved that we managed without much trouble.”

This wasn’t a phenomenon limited to the northern part of the Kingdom of Ustil. Across the entire continent, the rampancy of monsters and demonic beasts was becoming more frequent, and the dangers they posed were growing daily.

“It seems the rumors are true.”

Varos’s expression turned serious.

He, too, had heard the rumors that Toleil was referring to.

“Are you talking about the goddess’s prophecy that the world will end?”

***

A few years ago, an incident occurred that shook every religious order on the continent.

The great goddesses, who protected the world and bestowed their blessings upon humanity, had delivered the same prophecy to all seven churches.

The Void shall open its mouth and spew forth an undesired fate.

It shall be darkness that extinguishes the light, death that reaps life.

Calamity shall come.

The wayward beasts shall gain corrupted power, and the dead shall rise to walk upon the unclean earth.

The King of Death shall descend and cleanse the world with blood and tears.

This shall be the final omen, signaling the end of all things.

The priests who received the prophecy of doom were horrified. They discreetly informed the various nations of the continent, striving to prepare for the coming calamities.

Indeed, anomalies began to appear all over the continent.

The rampancy of demonic beasts became more frequent, necromancers wielding forbidden powers began to emerge, and ordinary people, tainted by darkness, unleashed malevolent forces, plunging the world into chaos.

At first, they tried to keep the prophecy a secret and deal with it in private. This was to prevent the people from falling into panic and chaos.

But it was a secret that couldn’t be hidden for long.

As the confusion continued to grow, all sorts of rumors began to spread.

In the end, the seven churches were forced to publicly announce the goddess’s prophecy.

『If things continue as they are, the world will be destroyed! In the name of the goddess, fight against the apocalypse!』

The Prophecy of Doom rapidly spread across the continent, eventually reaching even the remote Zestrad Barony.

***

In the office of the Zestrad estate.

Varos and Karnak sat together, both with troubled expressions.

“What is this, Young Master? There was no such prophecy in the past.”

“There wasn’t.”

“Then why does the past keep changing? First, the copper mine, and now this?”

Karnak shook his head, his expression serious.

“I don’t know. There’s too little information to make any guesses.”

Varos asked, his tone skeptical.

“……This doesn’t have anything to do with you, does it?”

Calamity is coming? The dead will rise? The King of Death will cleanse the world with blood and tears? The world will walk the path of destruction?

“Isn’t this exactly what we did?”

“It does seem that way, doesn’t it?”

He couldn’t deny that he had considered the possibility.

“But the timeline doesn’t match. We returned only about a year ago.”

The goddess’s prophecy had been given several years ago. While the exact timing was unclear, it was definitely long before the two of them had traveled back in time.

“It seems like it happened about four or five years ago.”

That roughly coincided with when the copper mine, which hadn’t existed before, suddenly appeared. Perhaps the two were connected.

“At least we now know why the matter with Sir Randolph was resolved so easily.”

Apparently, for the past few years, there had been a growing number of people across the continent dabbling in necromancy.

And it wasn’t just oppressed commoners or back-alley criminals.

More and more often, knights, wizards, and even high-ranking nobles were being discovered using dark powers after succumbing to corruption.

“So it seems they thought the incident with Sir Randolph was just another common occurrence.”

“That’s fortunate for us, but still…”

With a worried expression, Varos questioned him, almost accusingly.

“Shouldn’t we investigate this? They’re saying the world is going to end!”

Even if it wasn’t directly related to them, the magnitude of the situation couldn’t be ignored.

“What’s the point of coming back to live like a decent person if the world itself is going to be destroyed?”

“I’m worried too, but there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”

Karnak shot back and then asked,

“So, what do you want to do? Visit the Church of the Seven Goddesses, who issued the prophecy?”

“You said the Chaos Magic would keep you from getting exposed, right?”

“And what am I supposed to say when I get there? ‘Hey, we’ve traveled back in time, and we know a bit about the future, but now history has changed. Can you tell us why?’ Should I ask them that?”

Varos’s shoulders slumped.

“Yeah, that… that doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

For a moment, silence filled the room.

It was Karnak who finally broke the silence with a calm voice.

“Maybe it won’t be a big problem? The goddesses were kind enough to give a warning to prepare for destruction, after all.”

“Right? The world won’t end that easily, will it? You only succeeded because you secretly built up your power and pushed forward gradually.”

“And even then, do you remember how hard it was for us to conquer the world? It wasn’t easy.”

“It was really tough. The Three Archmages, the Four Martial Kings, even Dragon Emperor Grateria.”

The former Necromancer King and the former Death Knight Lord exchanged weary smiles.

“They’ll handle it, right?”

“Of course. There’s no way this so-called ‘King of Death’ could be as ruthless as you, Young Master.”

They reached a conclusion.

Let’s believe in the strength of the world!

Surely, the great humanity will overcome this calamity on their own!

The mighty dragonkind, the noble elven race, and all the other great beings will surely band together!

So, let’s just focus on taking care of ourselves and living modestly!

…Even so, the unease lingered.

‘Ugh, this feels bad…’

‘I have a feeling ignoring this will come back to bite us.’

***

No matter how much one tries to hole up in their estate, it’s not easy to avoid the storms of the world.

Even the remote Zestrad Barony in the northern regions wasn’t immune to the effects of the Prophecy of Doom.

About a month after the rumors had spread, clergy from the Church of Latiel, the Goddess of the Sun, visited the territory to request cooperation.

“A necromancer who was operating in the Countdom of Chad has been found to have fled to the Zestrad Barony. It seems they’re hiding somewhere near the Jaden Mountain Range, so we seek the cooperation of Baron Karnak’s estate.”

Karnak readily agreed.

“How could I refuse the sacred duty of the goddess?”

The Church of Latiel’s request was simple—they only wanted a few local guides who were familiar with the nearby terrain.

It was a task that required little effort and would bring significant credit, so there was no reason to refuse.

For Karnak personally, it was also a timely opportunity.

‘This works out well. If I capture that necromancer, I might be able to find some clues.’