Chapter 66: The King’s Death.
Chapter 66: The King's Death.
The soldiers that guarded the well last night had been under investigation. In the end, the culprit is found and sent to be executed outside the city.
"I am innocent!" A tied-up middle-aged man struggles while being forced to kneel. His body is full of wounds from torture.
"All the evidence and gold are in your room!" The leader of the guard shouted.
"I don’t know where that gold is coming from!"
"Since you don’t want to reveal the mastermind, yours is sentenced to death."
A burly man swung a large blade beside the middle-aged man and decapitated the man's head; blood splashed on the sand.
This incident caused the whole city to panic. Because all the wells in the city had been poisoned. People who consume the water will get sick.
While everyone is in disarray, a soldier who had been released after the investigation is entering the tent, and several people are already waiting.
"For freedom." All of them say it in unison.
"When should we leave the city?" Asked the soldier while taking a cup of water to drink.
"Today." A man sitting cross-legged spoke.
They are indigenous people who work for the federation. They had been ordered to poison the well the day before, but they were hesitant at first. However, in order to ensure a better future, they poison the well; according to information, the poison will gradually disappear in the water, and those who are poisoned can be treated.
"After this, we need to go into hiding and wait for the next order."
"Yes." The soldier stands up, but he suddenly feels dizzy and falls to the ground.
The rest also felt the same, and one by one they collapsed, except for one.
"I am sorry; to keep the secret, I had been ordered to kill you." After saying that, the man left the tent and left the city. If people find out the culprit is the federation, the tribes in the Red Sand Desert will be united to fight against the federation. A similar thing is happening in other tribes’ territories.
The Anti-federation manages to get the news, but it is too late; without proof and with civil war brewing, no one will believe them.
-
The horned bear mercenary is relaxing in the tent while drinking water made from magic. They had heard the news, but they are calm.
"When are you going?" Levi asked after discussing their plan. Clara and Otis decided to go to the mage nation first to gather information about primitive mages, and it will be a problem for Levi If their identities get exposed later.
"Today, everything is ready." Said Otis, the bald and skinny middle-aged man.
Clara doesn’t say anything. Although she is reluctant, this is the best option. Along the journey, they become comrades who faced many hardships together. Actually, the one who faces the most hardship is Levi because he needs to cook and take care of them.
"I will find you once everything is done." Levi's aim is mana stone, and since the civil war is going to start, maybe he might get something out of this chaos.
That day Levi sends them off outside the city, which means only Ben is left. Both Clara and Otis followed other caravans that wanted to leave the city, riding a large camel with a large bag.
Beside Levi is Ben; he yawns and lies down on the sand.
Levi smiles and waves his hand like a father sending his troubled children to boarding school. Whenever there is a meeting, a parting will follow. He only hopes that their next meeting is not an enemy since anything can change in the future.
-
Time passed, and other water sources in the red sand desert had been poisoned. Although the poison can be cured, not all people can get treatment in time. If the poison doesn’t kill them without water, it's dehydration.
Humans need water to survive, even warriors and mages. Unless you reach master or grand master rank, you can survive without water and food for a long time.
The hot-tempered tribes blamed other tribes and wanted war to solve their grievances. However, none of the tribes wanted to be the first to start the war. After all, they are shrewd and cunning, and although people have called them barbarians, they are people who have a lot of experience in war.
The people who want the Sand Berserk Tribe throne have already left and assembled their army. The faction that does not want to get involved, seeing that they begin to choose sides, some of them even join forces to fight against the first and second princes.
Most people hope that the Sand Berserk Tribe king can stop them. However, he suddenly falls sick, causing the tribe to become anxious. The queen and concubines can’t leave the king's side because of tradition and rules.
The princes and princesses had a tacit understanding that they couldn’t harm the queen and her concubines. Anyone who breaks the rule will be attacked by everyone. Unless that person is crazy,
Inside a tent, the third prince is holding his middle-aged mother's hand. "I am sorry, Mother."
"It's fine I am sorry; because of me, you need to suffer."
After killing the fifth prince, his revenge does not stop; instead, it becomes fuel. The third prince hates his father and has seen how his mother suffers and grovels in front of the queen and other powerful concubines. Killing his childhood friend is the cause of his madness.
"Do what you need to do; when the king is dead, I will be buried together with him because of the custom and my low status."
Hearing that, the third prince becomes incensed.
Mother, please be patient; we will soon be free."
The third prince's mother just smiled because her son had already told her everything. At first, she was shocked and afraid. But at the same time, she is proud of her son; even if she dies, it's fine.
-
Inside a large tent, the queen is sipping tea and hearing the report of the first prince.
"Good, inform me if anything happens." The mother of the first prince had done many things to help her son. Soon, his son will become the new king.
"Yes, your highness."
"How is the king's condition?"
"It does not look good."
The queen's expression changes slightly but soon returns to normal. The king only gets married when he is in his fifties. However, there were many women before her who disappeared. Because of that, she was afraid of him. Fortunately, the king is not of master rank, and his lifespan is almost up.
"The king had passed away!" A servant rushes into the tent and shouts.
"Contact the prince; we need to prepare." Rather than being sad, the queen's eyes gleam, and she begins ordering her savant.
The news about the Sand Berserk Tribe king's death spread throughout the desert.
-
An eagle flies in the sky, and when he sees the caravan, he flees down and lands in the arms of the shaman. He takes out the letter on the eagle's leg.
After reading it, the shaman faces a change and moves further away with the fourth prince and sixth princess to relay the news.
A small sand mouse's head pops up from the sand near them.
"Father was still fine when we left." Said the fourth prince.
"Brother, it must be a trap." The sixth princess is worried.
"We don’t have a choice; Mom is still in the tribe." Said the fourth prince.
"I don’t think the queen will use Mom as a hostage or bury her together with her father and grandfather to stop her."
"Sir. Virgil, what do you think?" The fourth prince turns his head toward the middle-aged shaman.
Virgil contemplated before finally speaking. "If we return, they might be ambushed, and with our number, it’s hard to escape unless we sacrifice some people to delay them."
The fourth prince still maintains the same expression, while the sixth princess frowns.
The vagabonds and mercenaries don’t hear anything because of the distance.
Once they return, the caravan begins to move in a different direction, heading to the Sand Berserk Tribe.
Levi is riding a camel, and Ben is at the back of the caravan. Soon a sand mouse climbs the camel's leg and moves into Levi's shoulder while he closes his eyes. After a while, he opens his eyes, and the undead sand mouse enters the bag.
‘It looks like getting the mana stone will not be easy.’ Levi thought to himself. He needs to make a plan in case the fourth prince uses them as decoys or bait to escape.