Apocalypse Hunter

Chapter 80: Successor of the Emperor (Part 2)

The next day, the team headed to the forest to leave Heavenly Power castle. The residents of the castle continued to do their work, and they briefly said goodbye to the team.

It was a friendly yet reserved response. The residents seemed ready to welcome the team back again, and at the same, they seemed to not care if the team never came back.

Only the castle lord came out to say goodbye. He took out a plated wooden block.

“This…”

“It’s an Eight Diagrams compass.”

It was a compact device that looked similar to the Eight Diagrams. People used the device to detect the feng shui in a particular region.

“It can’t detect the area as accurately as the Eight Diagrams, but it will react to any signs of sorcery or evil spirits. The device will alert you, Master Hunter, if there are any traps or dangers related to sorcery.”

The device couldn’t detect all the minor details like the Eight Diagrams, but the compass was still a great tool that reacted to nearby sorcery.

Zin felt amazement as he looked at the compass.

“The sorcery of the temple has become quite advanced.”

“Haha, we don’t have much else to do here. I wish you a safe journey, Master Hunter.”

“Thank you. I’ll beat that idiot up and bring back the Heavenly Wind.”

“That’s really not necessary. Well, then, I will start with the prayers today…”

The lord walked away from the team, and Zin put the compass in his pocket.

“So it’s like a compass.”

“Yes.”

The Eight Diagrams compass was certainly a useful device.

“Let’s go.”

The three started to run past the forest, and they reached the cliff once again. Leona sat down on the ground and peeked at the bottom of the cliff.

“Oh, man… oh man…” Leona started to panic.

It was a cliff with an endless drop, and she couldn’t see the ground. It might have been possible to climb up the cliff, but going down it seemed like a crazy thing to do.

However, Ramphil and Zin started preparing their descent.

“Oh, man… reallllllllly…!” Leona yelled and was about to cry, but Ramphil and Zin simply ignored her.

Point Weedle.

It was a small village where about a hundred people lived. However, the village had all the necessities for survival. The farmland was fertile, and there were many houses constructed from the ruins. There was a river flowing nearby, which meant an abundant source for drinking water.

The trash wall around the village served as a defense from enemies, and the guards were armed with crude rifles. Their defenses were strong enough to fend off Reavers or monsters. The village was not the best place, but it was considered a great place for the hundred or so residents living in it.

The village only lacked energy, as well as insufficient manpower to hunt monsters outside. The village couldn’t afford to turn on their lanterns during the night, and the problem only grew worse since nobody could go venture out from the Point.

“I hope those guys from the Group don’t show up…”

One of the residents of Weedle murmured, feeling worried. The other residents started to talk as well.

“What would they come here for? What reason would they bother with our poor village…?”

“Do you think they kill people to steal things? They kill because there are living people.”

“But they must not be interested in this village. Only the other villages ended up raided by the Group.”

“That is fortunate…”

Based on the conversation of the residents, it appeared that the northern region was completely occupied by the pack of Reavers called the Group. And the Group was continuing to expand its territory. The two men who were sitting on a rock looked at a staggering drunkard.

“Man, what are the ghosts doing? Why aren’t they taking that guy away?”

“He must have drunk a lot.”

“He drinks every single day…”

“What a pitiful life. He still looks young.”

The young man had long, loose hair, and his eyes were out of focus. He wasn’t walking straight as he seemed to be drunk. He was carrying a leather pouch with his right hand, and as he staggered forth he would gulp down alcohol from the pouch.

Everybody at the Point would bring this up, implying that the drunkard would the biggest problem in the village.

He only knew how to ferment grain to make alcohol, and people weren’t too happy that he was using up precious grains to make alcohol. But the young man harvested his own grain, so the people couldn’t blame him outright. He was quite a character, so much so that the residents didn’t know what to do with him.

“It’s somewhat amazing that he knows how to efficiently farm the land.”

“I know. It would be awesome if he only stopped drinking alcohol.”

Even though the young drunkard seemed to barely work on the farmland, his land always yielded a rich harvest. The man even donated a portion of the harvest to the common storage. Except for his habit of drinking too much, he did everything else right.

The residents would suggest to the man to stop drinking, but he always declined and said, ‘How would I live past a single day in this damned world without drinking?’

The man was adamant, and the people couldn’t continue to rebuke him.

The young man came to the village about two years ago. Initially, he asked for a piece of land where he could farm, and the residents accepted him to the village. But at some point, he started to make alcohol, and he wouldn’t stop drinking. There were many incidents involving his drunkenness, but the people gave up on him in the end.

Although the residents hated his drunkenness, they accepted him as one of their own since he was diligent in his farm work. They cared for him, and would occasionally check up on him if he wasn’t seen for a couple of days. They were thankful that the man was addicted to cheap drugs. In fact, some villagers would visit his house to drink together.

The residents of Weedle both hated and liked the young man at the same time.

“Hmm…”

“Well…”

It appeared that the two men were hoping to get some drinks from the young man.

The drunkard staggered into his hut and lay down on the floor. The smell of yeast filled his his room. He happily took out a bucket of alcohol from the jar and drank it. The man lived as he wanted, and he seemed to be quite the character as not many people drank in this apocalyptic world.

“Kaaaaah…” The man finished his drink and started to feel tipsy. With his face flushed from alcohol, he was ready to go to sleep.

However, the drunkard was always thinking about something.

You look too comfortable. There’s no time to be drinking all day long.

Ah, what’s the matter, sis? It’s okay. You should take it easy and enjoy your life.

You nasty bastard. It was foolish of me to expect something out of you.

Hahaha, what did you expect? Just go with the flow. Nothing really changes in this world. Why do you try so hard? Why do you worry too much?

Do you have no intention to inherit the relic at all?

Well. I don’t need an item that seems useless.

Then, give it to me.

Unfortunately, I can’t because of the promise with the master. And I don’t even have it.

You always use the master as an excuse.

Haha… is that anything new? Anyway, would you like a drink?

Phew… I don’t want to talk to you anymore. It looks like you’ll die in this place drinking. I’m so done with you.

Take care, sis. I won’t walk out and send you off.

About a year had passed since he saw her. Her eyes were brimming with ambition and greed. The man thought that it would be better to live as a fool. As the man was about to fall asleep, the door of the hut opened.

…Creeeeeaaak…

The hinge creaked, and someone who the drunkard did not recognize entered the hut.

“… You really look pathetic.”

The man with a black coat looked like a hunter, and he didn’t look friendly at all. The drunkard scratched his stomach and sat against the wall. In response to the visitor’s hostility, the drunkard had a hardened face. The young man started to speak in an unfriendly tone.

“This village doesn’t welcome visitors.”

“The residents sure did welcome me.”

The residents had welcomed the visitor’s companions after they handed out a couple of chips to the residents. But the drunkard talked as if he didn’t care.

“That’s the villagers’ problems.”

The young man continued to stare at the visitor as he seemed to be getting sober.

“If you were able to reach the village by getting through the Disguising Sorcery that was set up at the entrance, you’re definitely not welcome.”

Weedle Point remained safe from the Group because the Reavers couldn’t find this place. The young man activated the Disguising Sorcery in order to keep the village safe from an outsider’s attack.

Naturally, no visitors came to the village, and the visitor in front of the young man was someone who had managed to find the hidden village. Therefore the young man could not welcome the mysterious hunter in front of him.

“How did you find the ‘Gate of Life’?”

The Disguising Sorcery created several gates, and all the gates led to a ‘Gate of Death’. In order to get to the Gate of Life, one would have to avoid the fourteen Gates of Death. It would be impossible for someone to find the Gate of Life by accident.

“I know a little bit about sorcery as well.”

The hunter was saying that he knew how to solve the trick behind the Disguising Sorcery. The Eight Diagrams compass had helped Zin big time, but he wasn’t about to mention that to the young man.

Zin sat down in front of the drunkard and stared at him. The young man was completely sober at that point.

“Are you the successor of the emperor and the high-level sorcerer?”

Zin looked ready to twist the neck of the young man if he gave a stupid answer.

The young man was astonished to hear the word emperor from the visitor.

Zin browsed the odorous hut and clicked his tongue as he looked at the drunkard in front of him.

“You look like a total bum. You look totally worthless.”

“…What do you want?”

“I heard you took the Heavenly Wind. Give it to me.”

“You must have come from the Heavenly Power temple.”

The drunkard slowly stood up and turned away from Zin.

“I sold it a long time ago to get myself some drinks.”

“You think I’m fooling around here?”

—Pow!—

“Arggh!”

Zin grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against the wall. The old hut started to shake and dust fell off the ceiling. Zin was pissed and was ready to kill the man.

“Alright… I will give you one more chance.”

—Bam!—

“Owww!”

Zin threw him away and the man rolled on the floor. The young man seemed to be a drunkard, and he didn’t look like a high-level sorcerer at all.

“I need the power of the seal.”

“What are you talking about? What in the world would you need the power of the seal for…?”

“You call yourself a high-level sorcerer, and you don’t even know what’s happening in this world?!”

Zin was extremely angry.

Although the young man wasn’t like Zin, he was a person with great power. Zin was treating the man differently than other people.

Zin was furious that a person with great power was wasting his abilities. The young man was not even a villain but a drunkard.

Then something unexplainable happened next.

Zin grabbed the young man and threw him out of the hut. Sitting next to him, Zin wanted the young man to sense what was going on in the world. It had been a while since the young man had performed any powerful sorcery.

The sky was clear, and the young man quietly focused his attention to sense the energy of the sky. In a brief moment, he felt as if he a dagger had stabbed him in the heart.

Star of Disaster!

A heinous energy that had never been seen before swirled around the sky.