Chapter 69: The Terror of Valles

When Evan arrived, traces of the terror attacks were visible all over Valles.

Knights and soldiers were hurriedly trying to contain the damage.

“It looks like they’ve already struck,” Jena said, furrowing her brows.

Celia looked at Evan with a tense expression.

“I can’t believe it. No one in their right mind would do something like this. To terrorize the capital…”

“It’s because they’re scum that it’s possible. Let’s head back first.”

Evan led the group back to the main residence.

As they walked through the streets, a man approached from ahead, locking eyes with Evan the entire time.

It felt suspicious.

‘I think I’ve seen this before.’

Though outwardly just an ordinary city dweller, something about him felt off.

The memory of encountering the Nervan Cult in Talin flashed in Evan’s mind.

“Could it be…?”

While Evan hesitated, the man continued to close the distance.

Then, the whites of his eyes started to redden.

Evan shouted quickly.

“Everyone, surround your Aura! Jena, priestess, activate the holy protective barrier!”

At the same time, he sprinted forward.

Evan’s preemptive move changed the man’s expression into something grotesque—half despair and screams, half mocking laughter.

“I warned you, stranger. If this is your choice…”

The man charged at Evan.

Just as he neared, his body suddenly inflated like a balloon.

Then—

Boom!

An explosion erupted, scattering Magia in all directions.

Evan was caught in the blast, and Jena, realizing what had happened, rushed over immediately.

“Master Evan!”

By the time she reached him, the Magia had dissipated.

Once again, Evan was unharmed but his face was tightly clenched, radiating a deadly aura.

Jena was more puzzled than worried.

‘Something’s off. It was like this last time too.’

Resisting such powerful Magia was nearly impossible without mastery of Aura or Holy Power.

There was no sign of relics or magical tools being used either.

As Jena pondered this, she approached Evan.

“Master Evan, are you alright?”

“Jena, priestess. We’re going to need the cult’s help. At this level of terror, it’s almost impossible to stop without Holy Magic.”

Jena nodded.

***

Back at the mansion, Evan immediately went looking for Clyd.

“Master Evan, you’ve returned!”

As he walked through the interior, Alburton spotted Evan and came over.

“Yeah, just got back. But where’s Father?”

“The head of the family is currently leading the knights to suppress the terror attacks.”

It seemed Clyd wasn’t available to meet immediately.

Evan clicked his tongue, somewhat disappointed.

‘I was planning to check on Hilton first, but no choice. I’ll go find Darwen.’

As Evan prepared to leave for Darwen, Alburton spoke.

“Master Evan, there’s a letter left by the Marquess.

He said to give it to you immediately upon your arrival.”

“A letter?”

Alburton took the letter from inside his coat and handed it over.

Evan looked down at the letter.

‘If I’m going to the stronghold, why bother leaving a letter like this…?’

As he opened it and read, his expression hardened.

News that Darwen’s stronghold had been attacked.

He was currently in a building near the Magical Tower construction site.

‘Those cult scum are already moving?’

The feeling was grim.

While Evan was away from Valles, the cult had been plotting meticulously.

They even discovered his presence here.

‘It can’t be helped. Those bastards are masters of stealth.’

Getting caught was either impossible or just a matter of time.

Evan left the mansion and headed for the Magical Tower construction site where Darwen was.

***

Clyd was overseeing the cleanup alongside the cult’s paladins.

Valles was shaken by the Nervan Cult’s terror attacks.

Everything was unfolding exactly as Evan had reported.

‘The attacks have spread across the entire Countdom.’

The cult had boldly declared war on the knights themselves.

If they hadn’t been forewarned, the damage would have been much worse.

Clyd had been receiving constant updates on Evan’s activities.

Now that Evan had returned to Valles, Clyd felt it was time to face him.

To see if Evan had truly surpassed his limits.

To see if he was truly ready to bear the weight of the family.

As Clyd was deep in thought, Delian approached with the cult’s paladins.

“How did it go?”

Delian’s expression darkened at Clyd’s question.

“Both are dead. It seems Armeria was attacked as well.”

Clyd had sent Delian to Armeria immediately after the terror attacks began, to recall Heres and Hilton.

But even Armeria had been struck by the Nervan Cult.

Delian continued.

“They targeted the kingdom’s largest prison, and managed to eliminate Heres and Hilton as well. The fanatics’ power is beyond imagination.”

The cult left no gaps.

They knew everything as if by some preternatural sense, and their responses were flawless.

Clyd frowned and issued an order to Delian.

“This won’t do. Tell the cult it doesn’t matter which order, we’re going to send more offerings. Request Executioners from the Southern Holy Union of Bellium.”

Executioners were specialists who dealt with heretics in the united cult factions of Bellium.

Simply put, just as knights had ranks, paladins also had special positions.

Executioners were usually high-ranking paladins.

However, Clyd preferred not to rely on the Holy Union’s power if he could avoid it.

Because the more power they lent, the greater their influence grew.

If the Ruphes Kingdom between Central and Southern lands got wind of this, they would see it as an opportunity for expansion.

It was best to remain neutral regarding cult affairs whenever possible.

Though distant, friction with the Northern Holy Union would also be troublesome.

The continent was already fraught with subtle tensions between North and South.

Hence, most kingdoms in the central region chose neutrality.

‘Their influence will grow.’

But it was an unavoidable choice.

He wanted to deal with the heretics himself, but they were like cockroaches—never fully revealing themselves, only striking with terror.

And due to lack of experience, countermeasures were weak.

This was not unique to the Countdom.

Historically, aside from Holy Kingdoms or special cases, ordinary kingdoms rarely faced heretics directly.

“Understood. I’ll proceed as soon as results come in.”

Delian nodded and moved out to notify the cult of Clyd’s decision.

***

Evan arrived at the Magical Tower construction site.

The tower’s skeleton stood tall, and below, many workers were busily building.

‘The construction is progressing smoothly.’

Evan passed the tower and headed toward the cabin where Darwen was.

Knock knock.

He knocked on the cabin door.

There was a sound from inside, and the door creaked open.

Darwen appeared and greeted Evan warmly.

“Oh! Master Evan. It’s been a long time.”

Evan smirked and returned the greeting.

“Yes. And how have you been, Marquess?”

“I’ve been the same as always. But this is serious. Did you see the letter?”

“Yes, I read it. What happened?”

“I don’t know the details either. When I returned to the stronghold, it was already burning. All the documents were gone without a trace. One thing is certain—the cult scum did this.”

Everything was gone.

Other than the documents stored somewhere unknown by Clyd or the imprisoned Heres and Hilton, nothing remained.

Surely from those two, they could learn what the cult was after.

“This is bad…”

“I think we should meet Father first. We need to find the originals or Heres and Hilton.”

Darwen shook his head.

“I already went to see the Marquess after the stronghold burned down, to verify the originals. But…”

He handed Evan a sheet of parchment.

Evan looked it over—it was completely blank.

“What is this?”

Darwen sighed.

“That’s the original. As you can see, all the important records are completely gone. I think it was designed from the start to erase itself over time.”

Evan clicked his tongue at their thoroughness.

They had prepared so meticulously.

Suddenly, Evan thought of Heres and Hilton.

‘If they’re moving this far, they must’ve already made a move on those two.’

He asked Darwen about their whereabouts.

“Don’t worry about that. The Marquess already sent Master Delian. Armeria has the kingdom’s largest prison, so they should be safe.”

“I see.”

But Evan wasn’t at ease.

For now, it was best to act as if Heres and Hilton were out of the picture.

“We don’t have time. Let’s just move on our own.”

“Hm? Do you know what these heretics are after?”

“No. We’ll find out now. Let me come in for a moment.”

“Finding out now…?”

Darwen, bewildered by Evan’s words, cleared his throat and followed him inside.

Evan found a large piece of parchment.

Then, he summoned the map interface he had obtained from the Archive.

‘This territory predates the current Ruphes royal family by a long time. The Nervan Cult controlled this area as a Holy Kingdom.’

If there was no information, he had something even more precise.

By tracking history, he would surely uncover what they were after.

On the parchment, he redrew the exact location where the capital Valles once stood.

“Master Evan? What is this…?”

Darwen, watching from the side, couldn’t hide his astonishment.

He had drawn a map without magic or special magical tools.

Curious, Darwen asked Evan, “Master, do you have a good memory?”

Evan paused his drawing and shook his head after some thought.

“I’ll explain that later.”

“Understood.”

Evan continued drawing, and in no time, an entire city appeared.

Darwen’s eyes widened. It was a map so incredible he could hardly believe it.

“The Nervan Goddess Domain?”

Darwen already knew the Nervan Cult had once been a massive order.

Relics related to the Nervan Cult had been found scattered across the continent.

But despite encountering many artifacts, he had never seen a map this clear.

“Master, where did you find this?”

“I found out when I was pressing Hilton.”

Evan pointed at the map, weaving a vague explanation.

“More importantly, this map shows an ancient city that existed before Valles took its place.”

“W-What?”

Darwen was once again shocked.

The location of Kerthen County and its capital Valles had once been the Nervan Goddess Domain.

Evan pointed to four locations and the center on the map.

“If we narrow it down to special facilities, there are shrines to the east, west, south, and north, and at the center is where the Great Altar of the Nervan Goddess stood. Those places are suspicious.”

Other than those, there were no notable buildings.

Only residential areas where the common folk lived.

“Looking closer, it doesn’t seem like a normal city. It feels like a fortified stronghold protecting something.”

“Right, so fortunately it shouldn’t be hard to find. The Great Altar is where the bell tower of Valles’ center now stands. The four shrines on the outskirts should be easy to locate by their unique architectural styles.”

Evan readied himself to move immediately.