Shadow of the Evil God

"I have transcended the fog of worldliness," the intelligence officer said, a statement that could not be ignored. "If you remain ignorant of the true God, unable to judge and unwilling to judge, then you have nothing to worry about."

It seemed that, like Thane, Canaday used Noien as a tool to achieve his noble goals. After crossing the so-called worldly mist, he no longer cared about the things he once cared about. Whether it was offspring or kingship, even his own family and bloodline no longer mattered.

If everything is a tool to serve the true God's ritual, then nothing has unquestionable sacredness for Canada.

If this were the case, some things would be easy to say. Some things should never be said to a representative of a secular aristocracy like Garcia, but if he said them to people like Canaday, Sean, and Askrid who thought they were at a higher level, it would actually leave a deep impression on them and make them further consider their attitude towards him.

"Do you think Noyen is a prosperous city?" Cesar asked him.

"I do think so," Canaday said calmly. "No other city can contribute as much tax revenue as this one. Without Noyen's conditions, our business would be difficult to sustain anywhere else."

"So you think this is a prosperous trading city, with a vibrant economy, a constant stream of caravans, and people coming here to settle down and make a living. Even with the evil intentions of the court, this place is still getting better and better."

"Don't be so subtle. I believe it's precisely because of the court's ill intentions that all these accidents have occurred here. I'm most curious about how those spies caused the riot. With a city this prosperous, such a thing shouldn't happen."

"That's the problem, Officer Canaday. You only know that Noien is a prosperous city, but you don't know what prosperity means to the residents of Lower Noien. Have you ever considered that their perception of how life is changing—whether it's getting better or worse, becoming more secure or more dangerous—is actually unrelated to Noien's so-called prosperity?"

"I don't live downtown," Canaday admitted. "How much does this have to do with the recent riots?"

"The relationship is very close." Cesar shrugged, making it seem like he was talking about something he didn't care about. "I know there are caravans coming in an endless stream, and I also know that business in Noien is developing rapidly. But from the perspective of the Lower Noien, this doesn't mean they can get rich or their lives will become stable."

He paused as he spoke, allowing the intelligence officer to draw his own conclusions.

"On the contrary, is that what you mean?" Canaday asked.

"I told you they were already living in overcrowded conditions, and it was only getting worse. With less space to live, people were squeezing into each other, and competition was becoming increasingly intense. The day I was sold to the slave traders, a bunch of people were vying for a job on a fishing boat. Those who didn't get a job had to go back home and starve, while those who did had to pay a hefty monthly rent or risk being evicted and forced to live on the streets."

"I've read the investigative report. I thought you were observing an escape route."

"I'm not just concerned about—"

Cesar paused until another woman walked past them, dragging two dirty children. One of the children looked back and stared at him for a moment in the darkness at the corner of the corridor.

This place is really weird.

"From your perspective," he finally said, "Neuen's economy is prosperous, and its commerce is developing rapidly. This not only provides massive financial support for the northern expedition, but also provides indispensable conditions for your rituals. Many temples have recruited followers here, and many guilds have opened shops here. However, after spending some time in Lower Nuen, I found that the people there are simply struggling to survive in an unstable environment, and each day is more difficult and more unstable than the day before."

"You'd say it's inevitable that some people will hit rock bottom."

This intelligence officer is quite perceptive.

Cesar nodded in agreement. "Yes, there will always be a group of people who will be completely excluded, unable to survive in this unstable life in Noien. Then what is their way out? Migrate outward? No, then of course they can only fall further down. You may think that these people have become beggars and starved to death on the streets, but many more will find a way to survive and rely on it. The rampant gangs in Lower Noien are a good place to go."

"We will arrest serious local gangs, but..."

"Giving harsh punishments won't help, will they? Like the leader of that porter gang out there?"

"That's true," Canaday admitted.

"Because this is not a problem of some people's moral corruption, but a problem that everyone feels that their lives are threatened by many invisible things, but they can't explain it clearly. Those who haven't fallen yet will collapse under the pressure of life.

"Everyone is in a state of panic, like a powder keg ready to explode. Those who have already fallen are starting to do whatever they can. At this point, just a little push will make it happen." Cesar said.

Even though Cesar tried to lower his voice and make his remarks more sensational, the intelligence officer showed no reaction. Perhaps this guy was really standing high up, or at least he thought he was high up, looking down at the people below him, as if he were looking down at pigs and dogs in a pen.

Whether it was the wealthy merchants of Upper Neuen or the poor people of Lower Neuen, even his former noble compatriots were probably lumped into the same group. No matter how radical Cesar's words were, to people like Canaday, Sean, and Askrid, perhaps they only provided some new insights into the management of the corrals.

If so, do the wizards of Itris view the world the same way they do?

This was a perspective Cesar had never considered.

The man pondered for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Very good, you've given me a different perspective." He leaned forward, closer to Cesar. "I've confirmed Askrid's opinion of you. I believe Thane's attitude will change, too. It might take a while, but it will eventually change." He leaned even closer. "I've heard you've never taken a single step forward on the path, and this will hinder our relationship. Now, you have plenty of time away from the temple's sight. If you can take this opportunity to try to cross the mists of the secular world, our attitude will improve. In the meantime, I can also speak on your behalf with the Count."

Canaday leaned back and said, "Now, take your levies and go, our young Borgia. I will consider your suggestion and postpone the arrest until I can discuss with the Count a way to stabilize Noyen's situation."

As they walked away, until the intelligence officer's white mask disappeared into the darkness, Fils turned and glanced behind her. "How did you convince Canaday?" she asked. "He's much more difficult to deal with than Askrid." She added, "The last thing I wanted to see was Canaday, wearing a white mask, looking like a dead man, and starting to talk about who's committed something here."

"Give him what he wants." Cesar watched the newly arrested prisoners follow the torturers in line and walk up the stairs. "Canady wants something he's never seen or imagined before. I'll give it to him."

"Will you leave Noyen again?" she murmured, sounding somewhat uneasy. The situation was changing so quickly, and he had already established connections with the Earl's two closest associates. She was indeed uneasy.

"Let's talk about it when we get home tonight."

"Um, where do I start?"

"Start by teaching your puppy not to bite people on the bed."

Chapter 54 Before the Battle

......

Sean waved the servants away and watched the intelligence officer walk in and close the door. By the study window, Corinne's tall, slender figure loomed in the candlelight, her outline indistinct, like a mist. Not only her waist-length hair, but also her flesh and blood trembled in the breeze that blew in through the window slit.

She placed her fingertips on the window, and strands of translucent threads spread along the window sill, like worms floating in the void. They crawled out of the window crack, floated upward, wrapped around a jackdaw perched on a branch, peeking into the house, and squeezed it tightly.

A moment later, there was nothing outside the window except the cold wind blowing through the bare branches, as if the place was just an illusion. Corini licked the corner of her mouth, her tongue already stained purple by the drug.

Canaday stared at Corini for a long moment, then walked around her and took a longer route to get to him.

"Askerid has been gone for a while," Thane said. "Have you got any results on the spies in the city?"

"I decided to hold off on the arrest."

"how you said that?"

Canaday looked toward Upper Neuen City Hall, stroking his white mask as if examining something particularly noteworthy. "After investigation, I've determined that the danger of the manhunt is greater than the spy himself."

"The arrest was your own idea," Sean said, sizing him up. "Why haven't I seen you reflect on your decision before?"

The intelligence officer glanced at him without a trace of shame. "Your good son has convinced me," he said.

"So you've seen him, too."

"Askerid is right. He does have the skills and ability."

Sean knocked on the edge of the wooden table and didn't reply immediately. He noticed that the two people's reactions were exactly the same. What exactly was this sacrifice?

The Count leaned forward. "I was just saying something to Askrid the other day," he said, raising his voice. "Should I repeat it to you, Canaday?"

Canaday shook his head slowly and said, "I've heard what Askrid said."

"Are you the victim of this sacrifice, then?" Thane demanded.

"I don't think I am," the intelligence officer said, staring at Sean. This was also an unsurprising answer. "Although I don't like this man's attitude, I must admit that I feel wiser after talking to him. You know he

Reminds me of someone? Those poets from the north who offended the court.

What kind of crazy talk is this?

"Your feelings are even more absurd than Askrid's." Sean leaned back. "Just last year, a madman was sent to prison for satirizing the palace. The year before, another madman insinuated that Garcia and the queen had committed incest and was exiled to the northern border.

As expected, he caught a cold and died in a foreign land. Now, you tell him that he reminds you of those poets. Do you really know how much he got from Garcia?"

"He is, but he's more cautious."

"You mean to say this person is just pretending to be trying to ascend to the nobility?"

"I'm not sure," Canaday replied, "but there's something unconventional about this guy."

"But Askrid said the man reminded him of Garcia."

"That's impossible." The intelligence officer flatly denied.

Sean lifted the glass, tilted it, and looked at the blood-red wine at the bottom. "Sometimes I just want to kill him, Canaday, regardless of the consequences, and no longer care about his value as a sacrifice, and just watch his blood flow into this wine glass."

"Why?"

"Because when each of you thought he was worth using, each of you gave me a different reason—even a completely different one." Sean looked at his blurry figure through his wine glass. "I think each of you is a victim."

"Perhaps you should put him aside for now, Lord Earl," Canaday said. "At present, he is still of great use to my investigation."

"I hope so, Canaday."

......

"It seems you're not satisfied with Canaday's response." After the intelligence officer left, Corini said, "Where does your fake son stand on your list of enemies now? Page one, or line one?"

"I'm just fed up with their attitude."

"I understand. After all, it's not them who have to hold their noses and recognize the heir, right?"

"I care not for the worldly heir, Corinne, at least not more than you do. Now put aside your idle sarcasm and ridicule, and tell me, what do you sense in that man? Is it Garcia, or one of those northern poets, or something more like madness?"

Corinne spread her hands and smiled. "I don't feel anything."

"You're the one that annoys me the most, Corinne."

......

When the spy found Musali, he was directing the vanguard to dig their own trenches. Two shamans, using magic to overdraw their horses' strength, raced tirelessly for days, constantly following the river, finally arriving near Noien. Although a vanguard, the shamans accompanying them were masters of immense power, far more than the ordinary healers of the baggage train. The team also included over thirty sword dancers, provided by various tribes, to ensure the safety of the operation.

The main army was nearly three days behind them, and their route was not along the river, so they successfully avoided the spies sent by Noien.

"Why are you so anxious to leave the city through the secret passage at the bottom of the mine?" Musali was a little tired after working for most of the night, but he managed to pull himself together. "Listen, we're not in that rush. We need to stay in the temporary fortifications for one night."

"A group of troops has left the city," the spy said. This person was one of the invisible spies that Domini had sent after establishing contact with the Qassar Empire. It was said that they were supposed to be responsible for assassinating important figures and causing unrest, but according to the last report Musali received, they hadn't accomplished anything.

"You mean leaving the city?" Musali suddenly realized, "This place and Noyen are at opposite ends of the mountain. Even if you look at the straight line, the distance is nearly 20 kilometers."

"Perhaps the city lord's witch has discovered something," the spy said. "I've come here just to inform you that you're in real trouble."

Musali glanced at Ajeh, who was wearing a wolf-bone mask she'd gotten from somewhere as a helmet and stuffing bacon underneath the bones. She ate with ease, looking like a shaman apprentice.

A troop, he thought, or a small army.

"You two go get my bow and horse," Musali ordered the warriors from his tribe. "You two go find the sword dancers from the Zekel and Kiyu tribes and have them meet me at the top of the mountain."

Soon, he remounted his still-enchanted horse and ascended the winding, narrow path. Ajeh didn't follow at first, but halfway up the mountain, just as he dismounted and prepared to walk the final half mile, she emerged from the depths of the woods, almost making him think a pack of wolves was roosting in the mountains. His beloved sister, on foot, was no slower than the invisible spies of the Kasar Empire.

When he reached the top of the mountain, Musali gazed into the distance, surrounded by rocks. Beyond the mountain lay a tributary of the Joshua River, though it was hard to see clearly from here. But in the distance, the entire vast expanse of the city of Noien came into view—first, rolling hills, then undulating hills, and finally, the huge gray city that rose above it like a spring.

He chose to station here because of its advantageous geographical location. It is the highest mountain nearby, which corresponds to the highest castle in Upper Noien.

"Where is it? Where is the army you found?" Musali wanted to ask the spy, but found that the man did not follow him at all. It seemed that the spy did not have any hope for their vanguard.

just disappeared.

At that moment, Ajeh pointed off into the distance, indicating a specific direction. Although it was difficult to distinguish objects in the dead of night, Musali stood there for a long time before finally spotting a cloud of dust in the hills over ten kilometers away. It was so inconspicuous that it would have been nearly impossible to spot without pointing it out.

"It should be a cavalry unit." Ajiehe

"Otherwise, the dust wouldn't be so massive, and the approach wouldn't be so fast. It seems they know our exact location and could have reached us in less than three hours."

Musali's face darkened as he explained the situation to the newly arrived representatives of the Zeker and Kiyu tribes. These two sword dancers couldn't represent everyone, but they at least represented the two most powerful tribes in the central prairie. "We shouldn't have been discovered so early... Was it the city lord's witch?" he said.

"That's unimportant; preparing for war is paramount," said Monua of the Kiyu tribe. "We've heard you describe the techniques of border warfare along the way, and the field fortifications have been dug and constructed to your specifications. However, the Sasulai lack the cannons and muskets you often mention. Do you have any specific ideas for using these fortifications in battle?"

They first descended from the mountaintop to the mid-mountain, then rode down. On the way back to camp, Musali observed the surrounding terrain and topography from different heights halfway up the mountain. Combined with the location of the smoke, he had some ideas.

"Let's first talk about the possible attack routes over there," Musali said as he pondered. "The base we've chosen is a flat area near the mountains. To the north is a shallow tributary of the Joshua River, and to the east is the lower reaches of the Joshua River extending from Noyen. If they want to launch a surprise attack at night, they must cross the river first. The river in the east is too deep and too wide to cross. There are three shallow fords in the north that are barely crossable. One of the fords is directly opposite this mountain, closest to our base. This mountain is our chosen cover, but it can also provide cover for their crossing."

"If it were me," Maunuya said, "I would have part of the army cross the river from this ford and come from the east side of the mountain to attract attention. Then I would select another group to go around to a ford farther away and attack from behind. After all, this is just a vanguard, and at first glance it seems too small to withstand a surprise attack by well-trained cavalry. Judging from the speed of the attack, these people are not dragging cannons on their horses, but they are definitely carrying the muskets you mentioned."

Musali nodded in agreement. "You're right. The two shallow fords farther out, the one to the west, is covered by abundant trees and shrubs. Splitting up and bypassing them is indeed a good idea. This vanguard is indeed small in number, but they have no idea that it is led by the great chief of the Khazars, with two shaman masters and more than thirty sword dancers who can tread any terrain with ease. And at the bottom of the river lies the ancient spirit of the Kuna people."

"We can't expose everything," Monuya said. "At least the two-headed snake has to hide until the official siege begins. It will take at least seven days from the time the shaman prepares the sacrificial array until it can use that ancient, terrifying magic."

Chapter 55: Various Places That Cannot Be Offended

Musali nodded. "I understand," he said. "They're moving fast. They must have known we'd traveled all day and night to get here, and they discovered we were camped and preparing to rest. Taking advantage of the enemy's fatigue to launch a night attack is a rare opportunity. We can gain the upper hand, achieve victory, and boost morale within the city. If we were merely a scouting vanguard, then Noyen's night attack would surely be successful. Even if we discovered the attack, we'd have no choice but to retreat, leaving behind a few remnants to serve as spoils. But we're not like that, and that's where we can exploit it."

"You want to sacrifice some of your men to be overwhelmed by the first group of cavalry crossing the river, and then feign a rout? That might be a solution," Monuya said. "If the first group of cavalry crossing the river wants to maximize their victory, they must abandon the cavalry that are crossing the river and those that have not yet crossed and launch a follow-up charge. The ford is not wide, and there won't be many cavalry crossing at the same time."

The old sword dancer rode to a ford and halted. He pointed toward the road beyond the ford. Directly across from it stood a small hill, shaped like a giant shoulder blade. The slope wasn't steep, but to cross the ford, he'd have to climb the other side and descend.

"We can set up an ambush here," Musali agreed with his keen sense of smell. "But I think that since they can detect our vanguard, it means they can also detect the movements of an army of similar size. We need to continue to build fortifications in the camp, preferably making a big move to attract the attention of any mages."

"At this time, I will take a small group of elite troops up the mountain on foot and prepare for an ambush in the woods on the ridge?"

"Yes." Musali also looked across the river. "It would be best to have a shaman, a sufficient number of sword dancers, and a large number of elite longbowmen. When the first group of cavalrymen who have crossed the river rush towards the camp, you can ambush those who are crossing the river or preparing to cross the river from various points on the ridge."

"I remember you said bows and arrows might not be effective against their armor," Monuya said.

"Shoot arrows at the warhorse." Musali said with a smile.

"this......."

"Although we Sassulai generally don't like to shoot horses, you must know, Monuya, that to protect against muskets, the Franks' armor has become heavier and thicker, and its coverage has become less and less. Some even only have a breastplate left. Even so, this new armor is heavier than the full body armor of the past."

"Since it can protect against musket balls, it should be easy to resist arrows. Is this what you want to say?"

“Yes, that’s why the horses have reached their carrying capacity.

The limit. In the past, cavalry would wear horse armor, but now it is rarely produced. The longbowmen consciously shoot the horses, and the shamans activate the rune spells tattooed on your sword dancers to ensure that in a short time

"We're not afraid of musket bullets within this timeframe. As long as you take advantage of this opening to charge into the fallen enemy formation, the other tribal warriors lying in ambush can then flank us. This way, we can easily eliminate these cavalrymen, who may be carrying muskets. Furthermore, the topography of the hillside... have you noticed the specifics?"

Monuk looked up the hillside. "Will it stir up a cloud of dust, gravel, and pebbles?"