A sudden thud resounded as Sylvester saw Chonky falling from his shoulder to the floor of the boat. Thankfully the furry boy didn't cry in pain.
"What was that?" Lady Aurora looked left and right.
Sylvester shrugged and focused on the map again. "Must have been the wind."
But Lady Aurora was someone who once decides on doing something, never quits. "So, who is this Chonky?"
"An imaginary friend I made when I was little since I had no friends around my age to play with. It was a talking cat, little and very cute. So whenever I am in any problem now, I think about him, and it helps me to calm down." He lied through his teeth.
Lady Aurora made a face that showed pity and some sadness. "You poor soul, mentally retarded and isolated. I can understand your scars, as I was also little when I came to the Holy Land. But I was already at the age of starting school. You were just a month old, so I can imagine."
"What do you mean mentally retarded? I'm not retarded." Sylvester only picked one word from her reply.
"You poor soul, I think I will have to ask the great mother I know who is a great mental healer. She can surely help you."
"Fine, say whatever you want." Sylvester ignored her theatrics and worked on the planning.
"Hmph, you're no fun, an old man stuck in a child's body—that's what you are. Look at me; I'm so old and still trying to live! You need to learn to 'live' too. With your supreme wizard talent, you will live for centuries as long as you don't have an untimely death. So once you reach the higher ranks, get ready to be bored to death!"
Sylvester's eyes silently darted towards her as she said it. 'What in god's name… that was oddly specific.'
"I'm sure I will forever have something to do. I can be very crafty, and making things is a hobby for me."
She sighed and relaxed back in her wooden seat. Sylvester was amazed that she was so brazenly sitting with legs wide open, no shame or shyness. He honestly appreciated that she was this free with him. This meant there were fewer chances she was scheming against him. Not to mention, he smelled nothing that would suggest she had any wrong motives.
"You know, under the rule of the twenty-sixth Pope, the fifth Guardian committed suicide due to boredom. There was no war back then. Though I suppose they very much preferred the boredom than the war."
Sylvester sometimes feels amazed by the history. The fact that the faith was so old, nearly anything one could imagine had already happened. That included the things that are funny and also those that are messed up.
"How did he kill himself? He must have been really powerful, after all." He inquired, wondering if knowing this could one day help him.
"Oh, he just drowned himself. It turns out that the body and powers may be really strong, but a person still needs air to breathe to live. But, it did take him about three months to die fully under the water. It was also sort of an experiment that he voluntarily did." She explained.
'What kind of dumb monsters are manning the church?' Sylvester wondered. But then he thought about who would be a guardian under his rule. At least Lady Aurora will still be there since she was young. Maybe the Lord Inquisitor too? As for others, he knew that the fifth Guardian was soon going to pass away, and the first Guardian was already against him.
'How many of them will I have to kill to forge my holy throne of bones?'
"Lord Bard! Lady Tenth!" The helmsman spoke. "This is as far as I can take you. Look ahead. The chunks of ice have started to appear. I think the winter has been hard in the north this year for the ice to emerge so early. It wasn't there a few days back."
Sylvester annoyedly stood up at the bow of the boat. "How far is the Crusader camp?"
"It's near the start of the river pass, Lord Bard. That's also where the bloodling has appeared. The camp has been set in the woods far north of the shores of Duke Iceling's castle. You are not far from that site, just five or six kilometres."
"What if I stay standing at the boat's bow and keep pushing away the chunks of ice?" He offered.
But the helmsman objected to that too. "I can get you there this way, but when returning, it will just be me."
Sylvester took a little pouch from his pocket on the underside of his chest plate. Then he took out three gold graces. "Here, you can keep these three right now and get two more later. You are to stay with me at the Crusader camp as I wish to return to the County by tomorrow evening. You can remain at the back of the camp, and I assure you no harm shall come to you from the bloodling."
After all, if money could solve some things and he had money, then why the hell not?
The helmsman looked at the gold with shining eyes. "And what about my boat, Lord Bard?"
"We can surely pick it out of the water and place it somewhere safe. Don't worry; I got everything covered for you. All I need right now is to reach that place as quickly as possible. Are you going to get me there, my fellow man of faith? My duty is of utmost importance to the Holy Land—to the Pope. Do you not wish to help the Holy Father? Do you now wish to become a part of history? The main helmsman who helped the Lord's Bard?"
"Yes, my Lord! I am a humble servant of the light. Whatever you say, I do! I shall help the Holy Father get rid of this menace! Please brace yourself, I shall get you to your destination quickly! Haaaa!" The man became pumped and spent all the magic he could to make the boat go fast.
Sylvester also kept a serious face, despite laughing inside. The same was the case with Lady Aurora, as she knew how easy it was to manipulate people with their high identities.
So, their boat journey was cut in half as Sylvester used air manipulation to move all the ice blocks out of the way. He was still hiding the fact that he could use Water and Earth manipulation, at least not using it openly.
Before noon, they arrived at the shores near where the Crusader camp was set. They could not go too far since the bloodling was living there. From what the helmsman said, it was known that this bloodling was somehow spawned in the water and had something to do with it.
As they moved about, Sylvester could feel many eyes were on him despite three being nobody in the vicinity. He reckoned the Crusaders had set up a parameter and placed some alert runes.
"Don't be scared if someone abruptly appears." He warned the man behind him.
Woosh!
"Stop!"
As expected, after they passed what appeared to be the border of the parameter the crusaders had set, some knights appeared from the trees and aimed their swords or spears at them.
Sylvester raised his hands. "Look at me, folks, blonde hair and golden eyes. I am Sylvester Maximilian, the Lord's Bard. This is Lady Aurora, the Tenth Guardian of Light. We're here to help you as per the request of your Commander."
"And why should we believe you? Any blondie could claim to be the Lord's Bard." The crusader rebuked.
Sylvester's brows twitched. But he agreed and made both his palms create a ray of light and also sang a hymn silently, making a halo appear behind his head. "Is this enough?"
Thud!
The men fell to their knees and started crying. "Lord Bard! Please save us from this hell. The bloody Bloodling does not die no matter what we do! We're so frustrated, hungry and cold here!"
"..."
'Well, a hero you want, a hero you shall get.'
♫Fear not, children of the Lord,
To save you has arrived his bard!♫
Sylvester spoke in rhyme and went forward to make one of the men stand up. Then he used his palm to pour some light on his head, making him feel warm.
It was his usual theatrics to create a long-lasting image in people's minds. Now this crusader, who was surely not a clergyman, will go around for the rest of his life telling people about this one story. As for the other men, they will also spread the message.
"T-Thank you, Lord Bard. Please follow us!" They happily led the way.
Meanwhile, Lady Aurora was ignored despite her being much stronger than Sylvester. One of the reasons was that most laymen didn't know how vital the guardians were, and the second reason was that women were scarce in the clergy, especially as warriors—let alone one as strong as her. They likely thought she was a bright mother or something.
They were brought to the large camp of crusaders soon after, where multiple divisions of small crusader groups had gathered and worked under one Commander, who was a bishop-ranked clergyman.
The location was depressing and cold, as the snow-covered all of the grounds, and in a short distance, the mountains started—dark and dry as a desert. The river flowed from between these mountains, and the place, where the river came out into the flatlands from between the mountains, was called River pass.
Boom!
"Quick! It's starting to fight again! Leave your posts and run back!"
As Sylvester came close to the river again, he heard the shouts of men in panic and utter chaos. Soon after, louder booms resounded.
Boom!
"It took Sir Carter and Sir Steven!"
"Sir Bruce was also taken!"
Sylvester hastened his steps and finally arrived at the shore. It appeared less like a battlefield and more like a construction site with chopped timber, and men were working to make something out of it.
Also, the most noticeable thing was the destruction, as it appeared something huge and powerful had slammed over whatever the men were building, as now only the shattered pieces of some parts of wood remained.
"What's going on here?" He asked the crusader beside him.
"Lord Bard! The bloodling is a rare type, as the Commander said. This one does not have a physical body and is one with water in this part of the area. Nothing we throw at it can harm it. Even the fire has no effect since it's a river and more water takes the vaporised one's place. So we're trying to make a dam."
"Interesting." Sylvester moved a little upstream, among the crowd of crusaders working to help the wounded and getting back to work. There were at least a thousand men at work right before his eyes.
"What do you think, Lady Aurora? Have you ever encountered one like this?" He asked her.
Lady Aurora stared at the river with interest. "If what he said is true, then this one will be hard to kill—not because of its strength, but because of its ability to replenish itself. I've never heard of such a bloodling in history, however. But I must say, whoever this Commander is, he did a commendable job of planning to make a damn."
"Good, then let's check this dam," Sylvester said and moved further. Soon, they came across a strange structure that was still under construction. But, to their shock, the blockade was not made of earth, neither wood nor was it being worked on by humans.
"W-What the… undeads are making a dam of bones?" Lady Aurora exclaimed in shock.
"Meow!"
Sylvester looked down, as the cat's noise didn't belong to Miraj. He chuckled at the sight, knowing who it belonged to. "Haha, how are you, little Harpy."
Lady Aurora jumped even further and unsheathed her sword. "An undead cat? Archpriest Sylvester, let it go!"
But Sylvester only patted the little skeleton cat. "Calm down, Lady Aurora… I know who it belongs to… and there he is."
Sylvester turned around and saw a man in black hooded robes, so big they covered all of his skin, and even his face appeared under the shadow.
"Hah… here comes my favourite Necromancer!" Sylvester was truly delighted as the man spread the strong scent of tulips—pure worship—the same as the last time he saw him. He was a true loyal cultist.
"Lord Bard?"
400 GT = 1 Bonus chapter.
1 Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.
APE TOGETHER STRONG!
