Northlands Power (II)

Corland Kingdom.

His Majesty the King and Grand Duke Gailan agreed to Ryan's proposal to build roads, and the real reason was not merely the benefits and prosperity Ryan had mentioned.

It was also because of the recent threats surrounding the Corland Kingdom.

Those humans who had turned into monsters had brought immense panic to this land.

Many villages had been burned to ash. Their people were displaced, and no noble was willing to take in survivors from places where such disasters had occurred.

"They have been cursed by demons. Demons of the Abyss lurk within their souls."

Recently, because of the Dawn Believers, a large-scale rebellion of faith and a scandal involving the Pope had erupted within the Church of Dawn. At last, word spread across this eastern land. Even slaves knew that the Church of Dawn had released demons of the Abyss, that terrible demons had already invaded their world.

The Church of Dawn's prestige among the lower classes suffered a severe blow, and talk of demons began appearing more and more often.

The people here began to believe that those evil monsters were the result of a demonic curse.

In truth, it was Mage Lyman's Shadowwood Mycelium. He had agreed to come here and wreak havoc for Ryan in exchange for an enormous reward. After some time fermenting, that legendary power had finally developed into a large-scale disaster.

He had the Shadowwood Mycelium invade human flesh and blood, turning humans into puppets under his control. Since all the nutrients in their bodies were seized by the Shadowwood Mycelium, those puppet-like humans became increasingly sallow by the day, their appearances hideous and terrifying, filling ordinary people with fear.

The puppets controlled by the Shadowwood Mycelium were not even as strong as they had been while alive, but their