Chapter 164: Chapter 164

As secret groundwork had already been prepared well in advance, Pendia’s plan to disrupt Horais proceeded in an instant.

Hakan was set to head to Beshalia with about a hundred elite soldiers who had been summoned and trained in advance under the Queen’s orders.

Among them were several knights, one of whom was Lug, whose skills in Pendia were second only to Shan’s.

“I look forward to working with you, Sir Hakan!”

“Likewise. I will be in your debt going forward.”

At Lug’s energetic greeting, Hakan nodded with a solemn expression.

Since giant, powerful warriors like him were rare even in Horais, he would be of great help in expanding their influence in the future.

Additionally, Lug was tasked with keeping Pendia informed of Hakan’s movements in Horais via a communication artifact.

Of course, expecting him to expand his influence in Horais with just this was nonsense.

Something else had also been prepared: around five hundred enchanted bows and leather armors produced at the magic artifact factory.

Although their performance fell slightly short compared to those used within Pendia, in the land of Horais where magic artifacts were exceptionally rare, this equipment was enough to overwhelm even the most elite warriors under the High Chieftain.

Naturally, this was only the first batch, and as Hakan expanded his power in Horais and exported large numbers of warhorses to Pendia in the future, additional rewards would follow.

Pendia’s support concluded with assigning two mages to operate or repair the communication artifact in case of trouble, along with a few priests.

Looking at the prepared supplies, Shan asked Hakan beside him.

“Can you pull it off?”

Even though Pendia had provided support while braced for considerable sacrifice, objectively speaking, it was hard to consider it sufficient to overthrow a nation.

At this, Hakan hesitated for a moment before nodding his head.

“I try not to think about whether I can or cannot. It is a duty I must accomplish.”

For the sake of those who had died past trying to elevate him to the chieftain’s seat, and for the sake of those in this land he fled to who had believed in his potential and invested in him.

Having answered thus, Hakan looked at Shan and bowed his head.

“I have wanted to express my gratitude to you, Lord Protector, for a long time.”

Though Hakan had already acknowledged the gap between them after being beaten multiple times in martial skill, what truly made him feel personal respect and yield to Shan was when they went to Ajun to rescue Cassia.

When Hakan reported that he had harmed children encountered during their escape, Shan had not rebuked him.

He had merely encouraged him, saying it was hard to know whether any choice made would be the correct answer.

Even though severely rebuking Hakan and avoiding responsibility would have been the most convenient option.

The nature of the Horais people was like that of wolves; outwardly they gathered in loyalty to their leader, but inside they constantly harbored ambition and sought to challenge them.

But now Hakan did not dare to harbor thoughts of challenging Shan, even if it were anyone else.

Because he had yielded completely, both as a warrior and as a human being.

Hearing this story, Shan pondered for a moment on how to reply, then patted his shoulder.

“Cheer up, and if things seem to get difficult, you can always return. Pendia always needs skilled archers.”

At Shan’s encouragement, Hakan grinned brightly and bowed his head.

*

The party of about a hundred led by Hakan and Lug headed to Beshalia through the south gate of Hasra the following day.

From there, they would take a ship, pass through the port of Meln, and land on the southern coast of Horais. Using the magic artifacts as bait, they would entice, recruit, or conquer various tribes to build up their power.

If they eventually became the master of Horais that way, it would be a grand success; if they became one of the powerful warlords, a fairly decent success; and if they were destroyed or driven out after being battered left and right, it would be an investment failure.

Of course, strictly speaking, even if the last situation occurred, as long as it caused enough chaos to prevent Horais from joining forces with Libert or Ajun, the dispatch itself would be considered a success.

Not long after those assigned to the Horais mission departed, Cheryn called Shan, saying a special gift was finished.

“Here, how is it?”

What she presented was a bow made from the minotaur’s horn obtained in the Blade Mountains when rescuing Cassia from Ajun in the past.

Truly luxurious materials had been used for this.

First, the limbs were made of frost maple, classified as a magical creature, with ogre sinew and minotaur horn attached to the inner and outer sides respectively.

For adhesive, melted swim bladders of a siren hunted in the South Sea were used, and the bowstring was made by shredding and twisting minotaur sinew.

At the tips of this crafted weapon, minotaur mana stones were fitted on each end to serve as a power source, enhancing durability, preservation, moisture protection, and restoration magic… thereby resolving even the inherent weakness of composite bows regarding environmental sensitivity and difficult maintenance.

With magic and craftsmanship fully mobilized, the ultimate bow (one that any archer would be desperate to possess) was completed.

However, Shan, whose standards had grown sky-high from handling all kinds of magic artifacts, tilted his head while listening to the explanation and asked.

“Is there any shape-shifting function? Carrying it around like this seems a bit inconvenient.”

“Single materials like metal or wood are fine, but composite materials mixed like this are difficult to transform.”

“Ah, sorry, ah.”

Cheryn explained as she gave her ungrateful, utterly cheeky lover’s cheek a long tug.

Shan stroked his sore cheek with his fingers and nodded.

Come to think of it, most items with shape-shifting magic applied were indeed like that.

Even ‘A Thousand Shapes’, from which this magic was derived, was made of a single block of metal.

Shan took the bow from Cheryn, stroking it here and there as he looked over it.

Befitting a composite bow made of horn, it curved inversely into a circle when unstrung, and stringing it took more strength than expected.

“This… an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to string it.”

Even knights, unless remarkably large and strong, would need to channel their Fighting Spirit just to string it.

Perhaps someone of Roden’s stature would be needed to string it easily.

Of course, that suited Shan’s intentions perfectly.

What he wanted was not a bow capable of rapidly firing a dozen arrows in succession, but a bow that could fly forcefully over immense distances to inflict lethal wounds even on powerful entities like magical beasts.

Added to this were arrows tipped with magical metal like those brought by Ranta, former leader of the semi-horse archers; these were enchanted with magic that aggravated wounds and caused the arrowhead to cling tightly to the wound once lodged inside, making it difficult to remove.

Anyone struck by this arrow would likely have to tear off an enormous chunk of flesh by force or slice away the entire surrounding area to pull it out.

To test the power of the bow, Shan left the royal palace with Cheryn and headed to the ranch on the outskirts of Hasra.

Since it was an outing for the Queen, normally it would require all kinds of complex procedures and etiquette, but as that was troublesome, the two moved alone in light disguises.

“This somehow reminds me of the old days, I like it.”

Draped in a mage’s robe and wearing purple-tinted spectacles, Cheryn spoke with a smile.

Holding her hand, Shan nodded at her words.

Come to think of it, back then they were not as close as they were now, so they had not been able to walk together like this.

The Queen and the Lord Protector walked shoulder to shoulder through the streets of Hasra like any ordinary couple.

Cheryn bought a nice-looking hat at the market and placed it on Shan’s head herself, and when Cheryn showed signs of fatigue, perhaps due to her recent lack of activity, Shan scooped her up into his arms.

Of course, a young man lifting an adult woman with one arm in the middle of the street was quite an eye-catching sight, so Cheryn pulled her hood over her face in embarrassment.

Since it was summer, both wore thin clothes, so their warm body temperatures and thumping heartbeats were clearly transmitted.

Crossing through Hasra’s city streets and entering the ranch, the managers were astonished by the sudden appearance of the Queen.

Shan was an equally high-ranking person, but he visited frequently to bond with Arwin.

While everyone scrambled about wondering if they should bring out some tea, Cheryn quietly gazed at Kasa, the newly born Horais warhorse.

“As expected, babies of any animal are cute.”

“Right?”

“But I guess because I’m not a warrior, I don’t really get why everyone is so obsessed with them.”

Luxury items naturally appeared completely useless to those uninterested in the field.

Cheryn shook her head as if finding it hard to understand the knights coveting Kasa.

A short while later, Shan mounted Arwin and lightly galloped into the ranch holding the newly crafted bow.

Then, aiming at a prepared target, he drew the bowstring and released it.

With a sound far deeper and heavier than that of firing an ordinary bow, the arrow flew at a speed invisible to the eye, instantly pulverizing the straw bale set up as a target.

Seeing this from afar, Cheryn, having contributed greatly to creating the masterpiece, clapped her hands in delight and laughed.

Naturally, when one put effort into crafting a gift, one wanted to see the recipient put it to good use.

Having easily achieved mounted archery at a hundred meters, Shan fired arrows in succession at one hundred fifty meters and two hundred meters, shattering all three targets.

Even while riding a horse and shooting a bow with immense draw weight, he never missed.

Normally it was a distance that required angling high for a curved trajectory, but the arrow shot from this bow, possessing strength incomparable to ordinary bows, flew across that distance in a line almost parallel to the ground before striking home.

“This is truly the best.”

Dismounting from Arwin, Shan approached Cheryn with a joyful smile.

With a bow of this caliber, the moment a troublesome wyvern lurked around, he could kill it in a single shot.

Of course, even for him, firing multiple arrows in succession strained his arm to the point of numbness, but it was unavoidable that higher draw weight required more effort to launch stronger shots.

Just as a heavier weapon carried greater power at the cost of being harder to swing.

Cheryn, about to reply that she was glad he liked it, flushed red when Shan stepped close and kissed her on the cheek, lightly striking his chest in rebuke.

No matter that they were to be married soon, wasn’t it unseemly and embarrassing to do such a thing in front of so many onlookers?

At least earlier, the people around did not know she was the Queen.

“What are you doing in front of everyone!”

“It’s fine. Nobody saw.”

As Shan grinned and glanced around, the ranch workers were all looking elsewhere, feigning ignorance.

A most desirable attitude for subordinates.

Afterwards, the two spent an enjoyable time together for the first time in a while, riding horses together and giving Cheryn archery practice… using an ordinary bow, of course.

Needless to say, Shan enjoyed himself, and for Cheryn, who had been busy taking care of Cassia lately, it was a time to recharge her strength.

*

Not long after their pleasant secret rendezvous at the ranch ended, a group of priests from the Eastern Holy See far to the east entered Hasra.

In itself, it was not particularly surprising, but looking at the individual members, no one could help being astonished.

Starting from one of the few High Priests of the Eastern Holy See, priests renowned for their outstanding piety had all arrived together.

At this, Shan, as the military commander, personally led soldiers out through the east gate to greet them.

“It has been a long time, High Priest.”

“I am glad to see you in good health, Lord Protector.”

After exchanging polite greetings with the High Priest, Shan conversed warmly with the priests following behind.

Since all of them had presided over the ‘Chorus’ together with Shan last time, they were familiar acquaintances.

The priests showed moved expressions at the Lord Protector remembering them and treating them so kindly.

Ascending to the royal palace while talking, they bowed respectfully toward Queen Cheryn, who sat on the throne in the audience chamber.

The High Priest greeted her on their behalf.

“We greet Your Majesty the Queen.”

“You have suffered much traveling from afar, High Priest. I also express my gratitude to the others.”

“Responding to Your Majesty’s command is a duty we must naturally carry as subjects of Pendia before being servants of the Goddess.”

After exchanging a few polite words and praising one another, they got straight to the main point.

“Are all preparations finished?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The High Priest answered with a serene expression as befitted a high priest, but harbored a subtle displeasure beneath that anyone sensitive could detect.

This was because he disliked the agreement reached recently between the Queen and his superior, the Archbishop.

No, if they knew the details, probably no priest serving the Goddess would have accepted it comfortably.

How dare they magically analyze the structure of miracles!

Considering that since ancient times, defining miracles as a type of magic was regarded as one of the greatest taboos of the Goddess Church and a teaching of heresy, had he received such a proposal a few years ago, the High Priest would have scoffed, stood up, and ordered the person arrested.

But the one presiding over this event now was the Queen, who held the most powerful royal authority in Pendia’s history and enjoyed the sole respect and love of her subjects.

The Holy See and the priests, who relied on the people’s support as their foundation, did not dare refuse her request.

Of course, even so, because it violated the taboo of all taboos, Cheryn had to engage in a lengthy tug-of-war with the Eastern Holy See over the matter.

Granting it without any conditions would shatter Archbishop Vent’s grip over the Holy See, so there were various supports and concessions.

Cheryn reasoned that since support given to the Holy See would be used to relieve those suffering across the land, and caring for Pendia’s subjects was something the Queen ought to do, strictly speaking it was not even a loss.

“Do not worry about it. As a believer in the Goddess myself, I have absolute no intention of touching the core of our doctrine. It is merely to uncover the cause of this unusual phenomenon and prevent strange rumors from spreading.”

Of course, nobody believed that Cheryn, who did not visit the church right next to the royal palace even once a month on the pretext of being busy, was a devout believer.

Rather, Shan often attended service in her place, demonstrating faith as a Paladin of the Goddess.

However, Cheryn’s statement that she had no intention of touching the foundation of faith was sincere.

Apart from her lack of faith in the Goddess, the existence of a Holy See that faithfully obeyed the Queen’s commands was a very useful tool for managing believers.

Cheryn did not trust the intellect of the populace.

Touching the Goddess Church unnecessarily would not cause them to break free from religion and gain rational thinking; instead, they would create or fall into all sorts of strange, deceptive cults.

After their discussion, Cheryn headed down with the priests to one of the rooms in the basement of the Red Palace.

Accompanied by Shan, Ravana, and a few other knights.

On the floor, several magical diagrams were drawn, and mysterious magic tools were placed in all directions.

“Mmm…”

Seeing this, the priests wore uncomfortable expressions, but none stormed out.

For it was something already agreed upon and notified by their superiors, the Archbishop and High Priests, after numerous discussions.

Strictly speaking, only those who agreed to it had come here in the first place.

A moment later, they all drank a small potion handed out by the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting.

Ravana, who had likewise consumed the potion, grimaced and spoke.

“Mmm, this doesn’t taste particularly good.”

The potion invented this time used ground nightmare horn as an ingredient, producing an effect that prevented clearly remembering events that occurred within twenty to thirty minutes after drinking it.

Naturally, those who drank it were notified of this effect in advance.

Even Shan drank it fairly as well.

Cheryn was the party conducting the experiment, but even though he was the Queen’s prospective partner and the Lord Protector, failing to drink it would make the other knights feel deprived.

It also served to reassure them that the potion had no harmful side effects.

“O benevolent Goddess who watches over us.”

Once the ladies-in-waiting left, the priests began the Chorus in front of the Queen.

The targets of this Chorus were five in total: Shan, Ravana, Tavera, and two separately selected knights.

The remaining two belonged to the Royal Inspection Knights and the Eastern Patrol respectively; one had exceptionally strong Fighting Spirit, though not to Shan’s extent, while the other was old, nearing fifty years of age.

They served as control groups according to individual traits (an Altoan, particularly strong Fighting Spirit, young age, and advanced age) to compare how the Chorus acted upon them.

As paladins had demonstrated in the past, it was possible to bestow the Chorus not just on one person at a time, but on multiple individuals.

Depending on the skill of the High Priest presiding over it, that number varied to some degree, but usually six or seven people was the limit.

Cheryn stood still, watching the voices of the priests resonate.

“O Goddess, sing your wrath through your warriors.”

Moments later, as the Chorus concluded, a bright halo erupted from among the knights.

Among the five, Shan was the only one who produced a halo.