I Will Buy Divine Power With Money! - Chapter 139
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
“All that exercise has paid off.”
Even after riding a horse for four hours, my physical condition wasn’t too bad.
Just my butt and waist were a little stiff?
Still, it wasn’t as exhausting as before when I felt like I’d collapse immediately.
Thinking about how my butt nearly split in half when I first went to Rubar Village, this was remarkable progress.
When I arrived at the secluded forest path, I stopped my horse and plopped down on a flat rock.
I ate the sandwich I bought from the village on the way while opening the map system.
“I’ve come quite far.”
If I had taken a carriage, it would have taken a full day, but by riding the horse non-stop, I was already close to my destination.
From now on, I could take it easy and still arrive before nightfall.
I closed the map and took a big bite of my sandwich while looking around.
Bright sunlight was pouring down through the densely grown leaves.
Being deep in the mountains, it felt like being in an arboretum.
I took a deep breath of the fresh air.
Fresh air, warm sunlight, and if I listened quietly, the birds that naturally calmed my heart…
“Well, well, a woman in these deep mountains. How admirably brave.”
…not birds, but bullshit.
When I turned my head, about eight burly men had surrounded me, appearing from who knows where.
What the hell are these guys?
“Didn’t you hear that bandits live in these mountains?”
“Take a look at her face, boss. Her clothes are ordinary, but that face can’t belong to a commoner, right? She must be some wandering noble.”
“For that, she doesn’t have any guards? Even after searching the surroundings thoroughly, there’s no one hiding.”
From their way of speaking, these guys are bandits.
Wow, so it’s true that meeting bandits in the mountains is as common as kicking stones on the road.
“Hey, miss. If you hand over everything you have, we’ll let you go peacefully. We’re not that bad, you know.”
“Right, right. If you just listen obediently, nothing terrible will happen to you.”
“We don’t kidnap every woman. Though it is a shame about that face…”
I could feel the bandits’ gazes licking over my face.
Well, our Hyeonjin is quite pretty.
Too pretty to waste on these bandits.
“…How long are you going to keep eating that damn bread?!”
One of the snickering bandits suddenly shouted angrily.
I had been focused on eating my sandwich regardless of what they were babbling about, and I scowled deeply.
“They say even dogs don’t bother you when you’re eating, so why did you have to show up and make a fuss while I’m eating? Who told you to attack during mealtime?”
These guys have no basic manners.
“What are you talking about! It’s common sense to attack during meals or sleep!”
“What? Why?”
“Because that’s when people are most relaxed!”
Now that I think about it, that makes sense.
Incidents usually happen during eating or sleeping.
Even for me, every time I tried to eat some cup noodles and went to get water, sudden dispatch orders would come down. And it wasn’t just once or twice.
…Suddenly tears are blurring my vision.
“You guys are really bad, aren’t you?”
Not letting people eat. I absolutely can’t forgive that.
I stuffed the remaining sandwich into my mouth and jumped up from my seat.
“As a detective, in the name of justice, I shall punish you instead.”
“Detec… what?”
“You don’t need to know.”
I pulled out a brand new, freshly made weapon from my inventory.
Thud!
“Now then, which one of you should I deal with first?”
“…”
The bandits’ gazes turned to the weapon I was holding.
A sleek black body with a menacing spiked sphere.
It was my proud mace, Divine Punishment, being shown to others for the first time.
“A, a mage? You just pulled that weapon from subspace, right?”
“What kind of mage uses a mace as a weapon! Where’s your staff!”
“B, but there are magic swordsmen too, right?”
“Those use swords! I’ve seen mages who use spears, but this is the first time I’ve seen a mage with a mace!”
Well, I’m not a mage.
I pointed my mace at the hesitating bandits.
“Hand over everything you have. Then I won’t beat you up. I’m not that bad a person.”
Perfect timing since I was out of money anyway.
Taking money that bad guys illegally accumulated was something the Sun God permitted, so I didn’t need to feel any guilt.
【’Sun Risen from Death’ applauds, saying the user is right!】
With the god’s enthusiastic support, I infused divine power into my mace.
The pitch-black mace began to glow with an ominous golden light.
“If you don’t like it, get beaten up and then hand it over.”
I smiled brightly and cheerfully swung my mace at the bandits.
* * *
The bandits I had thoroughly pounded with my mace were tied up with rope like dried fish and properly delivered to the nearby village.
The money I extorted from them was a whopping 50 gold.
If I searched their mountain hideout somewhere in the mountains, I could probably squeeze out more money, but I didn’t go that far.
That was the share for the villagers who had been harmed by them.
“Pretty profitable. Should I just wander the continent beating up bad guys instead?”
That is my real specialty, after all.
I entered a restaurant, ordered meat dishes and beer, and seriously considered it.
“Did you hear? Monsters appeared in the Western Region too.”
I was gulping down the beer that came out first when I heard an unbelievable story from the next table.
Monsters? In the Western Region, not the Southern Region?
“I heard too. It wasn’t even the southwest but the center of the west, so I was shocked.”
“I heard everyone living nearby evacuated. The situation is more serious than expected.”
“Didn’t people die too?”
People died…? If it’s that serious, it’s really not an ordinary situation.
Could it be that the urgent matter Rute mentioned was because of monsters?
Then why didn’t he tell me?
“Even the Duke’s knights stepped in, but they couldn’t stop it.”
“I heard they were annihilated?”
“Good heavens, the Duke’s knights annihilated? Isn’t that really serious?”
I put down my beer mug.
The knights of House Sieri were elite.
There’s no way they could have been annihilated.
The rumor must be exaggerated, but…
The problem is the physical condition of their master, Rute.
What if the black stains still remaining in his body reacted with the monster’s poison and went berserk?
What if Rute, having fallen to become a slave of ‘Evil’, annihilated the knights?
“This isn’t the time to be drinking.”
The taste of alcohol completely disappeared.
I asked the shop owner to pack up the remaining meat, then moved to the next table where the conversation was happening.
“Excuse me, but where exactly did these monsters appear?”
I had to get there as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, the location where the monsters appeared wasn’t too far from the village.
No wonder—I was wondering why bandits were running rampant when the Western Region usually has good security.
They probably didn’t have the luxury to deal with mere bandits while handling the suddenly appeared monsters.
Taking advantage of misfortune to commit evil deeds. I’ll beat them to a pulp.
【You have entered contaminated land.】
I stopped abruptly at the sudden System Message while riding my horse.
The place where monsters had appeared was the Central Western Forest.
It was supposed to be a place where people from the Nearby Village mainly hunted and gathered, with proper paths and not too dangerous terrain…
But now it looked gloomy, as if pitch-black darkness had descended upon it.
“Show me where the monsters are.”
When I opened the map and gave the command, red dots appeared throughout the Vast Forest.
“There aren’t that many?”
Were the rumors exaggerated after all? With this much, Rute wouldn’t be in much danger either.
【’Sun Risen from Death’ informs you that there is one intermediate-level monster.】
Then, along with the Sun God’s words, one red dot on the map glowed.
In a dark crimson color that looked much more ominous and dangerous than the others.
Fortunately it’s not a high-level monster, but intermediate monsters also have a high probability of being poisonous.
Can I catch this thing by myself?
【’Sun Risen from Death’ says of course you can.】
Right, I have to fight until Evil dies anyway. This would be a good opportunity to check how skilled I really am.
I have a weapon too, after all.
Drawing my mace in advance, I began riding toward the location marked with the dark crimson dot.
The closer I got to my destination, the stronger the sinister aura became.
So this is what monster aura feels like.
Neigh!
When I got somewhat close, my horse thrashed about wildly as if frightened.
It calmed down quickly when I stroked it with divine power, but it seemed better to leave the horse here.
Even though I’m used to riding, I can’t attack while on horseback.
After tying my horse to a nearby Tree and removing my cumbersome robe to hang it there, I gripped my mace and slowly entered.
Perhaps due to the monster’s dense aura, only the trees and grass in this area were withering.
The monster was at the center of it all.
“…How horrifying.”
I knew that monsters had bizarre forms, but seeing it in person was beyond imagination.
Someone with a weak stomach might vomit just from looking at it.
A body about five times the size of a bear, with spikes covering its back like a hedgehog.
Its long, torn mouth was filled with thorn-like teeth, and its two bulging frog-like eyes were rolling around.
It had a truly bizarre appearance, but perhaps thanks to my mental barrier, it wasn’t too shocking.
【Activating skill ‘Physical Enhancement’.】
As soon as I activated the skill, I leaped up and brought my mace down toward the monster’s head.
Bang!
When fighting enemies, the first strike wins.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————