Chapter 47

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"The lone bandit 'Exterminator,' who's been terrorizing our Western Wasteland for years, got himself into big trouble this time and fled."

"Huh? That guy's one of the toughest around. Back when he crossed the Iron Sand Chamber of Commerce's smugglers, they hired assassins to hunt him down. He killed the assassins, then came back and wiped out the entire Iron Sand Chamber of Commerce... If even someone like him has to run, who on earth did he offend?"

"He offended two enemies. One isn't all that formidable, and the other is very formidable. Which one do you want to hear about first?"

"Tell me about the one who isn't all that formidable."

"The Black Axe."

"...The Black Axe?! You mean those professional criminals who worship the Poisonous Battle Axe, another name for the God of Bandits? And you're saying they're 'not all that formidable'? You've got to be joking!"

"Who's joking? 'Exterminator' took thirty thousand gold coins and four pieces of magic equipment as an advance payment, then hired a hundred and fifty Black Axe elites to help him attack the Cruel Hunter's temple. The Black Axe did the job and went to collect the rest of the payment, but they couldn't find him."

"Tsk! That's 'Exterminator' for you! He's got some nerve! He even dared to cheat the Black Axe! So who's the other enemy? Don't tell me it's some king."

"Your guess is right. His other enemy is His Majesty the Cruel Hunter."

"...So he attacked a temple. That's nothing unusual here in the Western Wasteland. Does that really mean he's picked a fight with the god behind it? You're trying to scare me again!"

"Who's trying to scare you? The guy killed the temple's high priest and desecrated the statue. The Cruel Hunter has already issued a divine oracle: any follower who kills him will get a place in the divine kingdom! Anyone outside the faith who kills him will get a legendary piece of equipment!"

"...Is it too late for me to convert?"

"Forget it. Even if you convert, can you find 'Exterminator'? And even if you do, there's no telling which one of you would kill the other!"

"...I couldn't beat him without a big enough reward, of course. But if I think about how huge the reward is, maybe I'll discover some hidden potential and bash his brains in with one blow!"

"Keep dreaming! If you've got that much energy, polish up your rusty hammer. We're hunting Black Giant Lizards tomorrow. You in?"

"Of course! If you're not afraid of dying, why should I be?"

Similar conversations were taking place in nearly every tavern in the western reaches of the Wilderness Empire, in the lands bordering the Great Gobi. The adventurers had to admire Mr. Exterminator, who'd vanished after getting himself into such serious trouble. There were plenty of people who courted death, but few managed to do it with such style, variety, and flair!

And there were certainly plenty of people searching for him with the gleam of hungry wolves in their eyes. But no matter how hard they looked—even if they dug down to the sewers or climbed to mountaintops to scan the horizon, or stopped every person wearing a hooded robe and beat them up before stripping off their outer garments—they couldn't find a trace of the lone bandit who'd once roamed these parts.

Some people even found powerful spellcasters to help, using divination spells to search for his location. But all they got in return was a mass of chaos, as if it were hidden behind clouds and mist.

Maybe the guy was already dead?

People speculated as much, but they couldn't be sure.

Had that daring and cunning man really died unnoticed in some forgotten corner, with no one even claiming his body for the reward?

"Ah!" A scream echoed across the wilderness.

"If you're a man, grit your teeth! What's with all the bawling?" Sui Xiong scolded the spineless fellow.

As he spoke, the tentacle gripping the big wooden club rose again and brought it down on Lei's face.

Blood sprayed. Bone snapped.

Lei couldn't help screaming again, but Sui Xiong remained unmoved. He cast a healing spell, restoring Lei's vitality, then hit him with the club again.

He hit him, healed him, then hit him again. After doing this over and over, Lei's facial muscles and bones had finally been completely reshaped. Now, even his relatives and friends—assuming he had any—wouldn't recognize him if they stood right in front of him.

"See? I did a great job with your makeover!" When Lei had finally caught his breath, Sui Xiong conjured an ice mirror in front of him, revealing his new appearance. "Now you can walk down the street without worrying that anyone will recognize you."

"Your Majesty, Void Mask, your cosmetic surgery is truly second to none. If you happen to run into some of my good brothers next time, please give them makeovers too!" Lei ground out. "I'm sure they'll be overwhelmed with gratitude..."

"No need for gratitude. To be honest, I don't like evil men with blood on their hands, and I don't want to waste time on your good brothers, either. I only gave you a makeover to avoid trouble on the road." As Sui Xiong spoke, he transformed into a little floating jellyfish about a foot across and settled on Lei's head like a hat. "Let's go. We've still got a long way ahead of us."

Lei sighed helplessly, then set off over mountains and ridges toward the south with the dangerous object that made his skin crawl perched on his head.

After they'd walked for a while, Sui Xiong couldn't help asking, "Tell me... after all those whacks, did you get any sudden inspiration? Did you break through some bottleneck you'd been stuck at for ages and start showing signs of attaining mastery?"

"No."

"Then did you have a sudden change of heart and decide to turn over a new leaf? Like, 'All that happened yesterday is dead and gone; today is a brand-new day,' or 'I never had a choice before, but now I want to be a good person'... Anything like that?"

"No."

"...You really are a hopeless case!"

They walked a little farther, but Sui Xiong still couldn't help asking, "Lei, I've got a powerful technique that can help people reject evil and mend their ways. Even if it can't get you into heaven, at least it'll give you a chance to atone and keep you out of hell. Interested?"

"I'm doing just fine as I am. I have no intention of changing."

"Keep going like this and you're sure to end up in hell when you die!"

"Then I'll deserve to be there. If a scoundrel like me can avoid hell, then something must be wrong with the world!"

Sui Xiong was taken aback, then clicked his tongue in admiration. "Who would've thought? You're an angry young man after all! You also think something's wrong with the world, huh? I think so too! I never expected us to have so much in common!"

"...Sorry, I don't want to have anything in common with a jellyfish!"

"Hey, I'm a god! What's wrong with having something in common with a god?"

"Oh, then let me correct myself. I don't want to have anything in common with a god who looks like a jellyfish and is sitting on my head pretending to be a hat." Lei replied expressionlessly. "Please go talk about these things with your followers. I'm sure they'll agree with you unconditionally."

"...Lei, has anyone ever told you that you're no fun?"

"Yes. Lots of people."

"Then add me to the list!"

After another stretch of walking, they were far from the Great Gobi and the Western Wasteland, deep in the Gray Stone Mountains.

The Gray Stone Mountains were known for their abundant graystone deposits. As far as Sui Xiong could tell, graystone was something like limestone. It wasn't particularly strong, but it was easy to mine, and after being fired, it turned into powder. Mix the powder with water and it would solidify again. It wasn't as sturdy as rock, but it was no weaker than ordinary bricks. Once the costs of production and transport were taken into account, it made an extremely suitable building material.

For that reason, there were many quarries along both sides of the Gray Stone Mountains. The Gold Coin Federation to the west, the Wilderness Empire to the east, and the Eagle Kingdom to the south all had plenty of roads and houses built with graystone mortar. The mountains had given the world a distinctive landscape.

The inner reaches of the Gray Stone Mountains, however, were dangerous. All kinds of dangerous magical beasts roamed there, and several particularly fierce, unusual races made their homes there as well. Adventurers generally avoided going deep into the mountains, afraid of provoking them and taking unnecessary risks.

The most common dangerous creatures in these mountains were a goblin variant known as the Fierce Goblins. They stood about half as tall as an average adult, but their muscles were extraordinarily well-developed, and they had several innate magical abilities.

For example, they could all use Stone Skin, a spell that even mages needed a certain level of skill to master. It formed a layer of protection around the caster's body, hard as rock and capable of withstanding plenty of attacks. This made the Fierce Goblins, who otherwise lacked armor because of their primitive technology, as formidable as fully armed warriors.

On top of that, Fierce Goblins had the abilities "Bloodlust" and "Berserk." The former let them grow stronger as a fight went on, while drawing vitality from the fallen to rapidly recover from injuries and exhaustion. The latter gave them astonishing strength and speed for a short time. Some especially powerful Fierce Goblins could even go toe-to-toe with magical beasts after going berserk. For their size, that ridiculous strength was downright unfair!

Ordinary Fierce Goblins were already this powerful, and they also had their own civilization, all kinds of powerful abilities, and even their own gods to protect them. So when adventurers spotted them in the mountains, they usually chose to steer clear rather than pick a fight.

But Sui Xiong certainly wasn't one of them.

"You said Fierce Goblins were violent creatures—cruel, quarrelsome, and unreasonable?" The floating jellyfish drifted through the air, waving its tentacles in disbelief. "That can't be right! Look at them. Aren't they reasonable and hospitable?"

Lei looked at the Fierce Goblins around them, who had painted themselves in every color of the rainbow and were hopping around them, bowing repeatedly to Sui Xiong. He couldn't help rolling his eyes, his heart full of helplessness.

Where's your cruelty? Where's your berserk fury? Your savagery? Your unreasonable behavior? Just because you met a god who's willing to be friendly, you've thrown your dignity out the window?

Where's your pride as a savage race? Aren't you afraid the gods above will be furious when they see you sucking up to an outsider so shamelessly?

You're making a fool of me! Don't you know I was just bragging about you? Don't you know I was just talking about how fierce and formidable you are? Don't you know I was fully prepared to fight to the death here?

Brothers, we're all out here making our way in the world. You're being so uncooperative, and I'm exhausted...