Bab 68: Chapter 66: Hero(3)
Luke, Spencer, and Liam are now standing outside with the knights and the knight captain. In front of them were Mary and Norman, seeing them off. It was now early in the morning. Norman then asked Luke with a worried expression.
"Are you feeling okay now? Are you sure you are not pushing yourself too hard?"
Luke smiled at Norman.
"I am now fine thanks to your hospitality."
"W-well... If you say so."
"Be safe on your way back."
Luke nodded in response to Mary's concerned voice, then turned to face Spencer. Spencer nodded and then, with Nash's assistance, created large teleportation magic in an instant. Luke waved at the worried mother and son duo and finally teleported back to the front of the palace. Luke sighed and turned his attention to the knight captain.
"Thank you for helping me yesterday."
"No! We are the ones who are thankful!"
Luke was surprised at the captain's energetic voice, but he smiled back.
"Uh, okay, you can all go back to work now."
"Yes!"
The knights then marched away to their respective stations and Luke just sighed. He then walked out of the palace. Liam and Spencer followed behind him with curious stares.
"Brother, where are we going?"
Luke answered Liam while walking straight to the market.
"Buying potions."
Spencer then butted in.
"Buying what?"
Luke didn't answer and charged inside the largest potion-selling store in all the capital. The store owner greeted them with a smile.
"Welcome! How may I help you-"
"Give me all your highest grade potions."
The owner stopped for a second before asking again.
"P-pardon?"
"Give me all your stocks of highest grade potions."
The shopkeeper appeared to be hesitating. Luke sighed and pulled out the golden card that had been resting in his pocket for a while. The store owner saw this and gasped.
"I-I'll bring the potions to you right away sir!!!"
The store owner turned around and dashed towards his employees. He then frantically ordered them to get all the highest-grade potions they could get. While waiting, Liam asked a question.
"How would you use that many potions, brother?"
Luke was silent for a moment before answering.
"I need potions to save the Gron people."
"Wait, what?"
Luke ignored Spencer and frowned. He had intended to have Bell make the healing potions for him for free, but he had forgotten that he was working on the Zorst potion. And besides, it wasn't his money that he was spending, it was the crown prince's money. He is fine as long as it is not his hard-earned money.
After a while of waiting, the store owner with his employees finally arrived with a mountain of potions. Almost all of their stocks were in front of him, causing the store to look quite empty. Only a few bottles remain on the shelves and in the storage rooms. The store owner then approached Luke while panting.
"Haa- these are all the- haaa! The healing potions we have, sir..."
"Thanks."
Luke then pulled out the golden card and passed it to the store owner.
"I'll pay using this card. If there's a receipt, then send it to his highness, the crown prince."
The employees and store owners looked at the card with shining eyes. For this customer to have this card and privileges, he must be high-ranked or close to the crown prince.
Wait a minute-
The store owner and clerks then looked closely at who was in front of them. Their eyes then widened when they finally realized who it was. It's the hero, Luke.
But they then frowned in confusion. No matter how high your ranking and reputation are, you could never receive a golden card that is meant only and exclusively for royalties. Unless you are a relative or...
The store clerks then gasped while the store owner froze. They had just learned something that they felt like they shouldn't know.
Luke noticed this and frowned, but then ignored them and took out a large sack from his pocket. It is a spatial sack that Nash had prepared before. He then looked at Liam and Spencer, who was looking at him.
"Help me pack this up."
Liam and Spencer nodded and started to put the potions in the sack. After minutes of packing, they finally finished putting in all the potions. Luke then put the sack over his shoulders and walked out of the store.
"Thank you for your patronage! Dear customer!"
Luke ignored them and completely walked out of the store. The sack is quite full and heavy even though the potions are stored inside with spatial magic. He feels like Santa Claus for some reason.
"Nash, teleport us back to the island."
· Okay!
Luke, Liam, and Spencer then teleported back to the island. The kids wearing the black coats that Liam and Nash bought rushed towards them to greet them.
"You are back!"
"Welcome home!"
"What's with that sack?"
"How have you all been?"
Luke patted their heads and walked past them. Liam followed behind him, and Spencer was left behind with the kids. Luke and Liam walked across the garden and saw Julius and Selena together. Luke smiled and approached them.
"Hey."
"Huh? Oh hey, Luke."
"Hello, brother."
Luke nodded and spoke to them.
"I need your help."
Julius then asked in confusion while looking at the sack that was on Luke's shoulders.
"Hmm? What is it, brother?"
"We are going to save people."
Selena then asked in shock. She then frowned.
"Huh? Save people?"
Luke nodded and looked over at Lina, who was quietly listening to both of them.
"You too, come with us."
Lina then pointed at herself in surprise.
"Me?"
"Yes you, I need more hands as possible."
"O-okay?"
Julius, Selena, and Lina stood up in front of Luke. Luke then pulled out some robes from his pocket and passed them to them. They are white robes. Selena frowned as she looked at the robes and asked Luke.
"Why do we need to wear this?"
"We are going undercover."
Selena looked at Luke in disbelief. Luke ignored her and put down the sack and wore the white robe. Liam, Julius, Lina, and Selena also did the same. After confirming that they were all wearing robes, he then spoke to Nash.
"Hey, change our hair and eye color."
"Okay!"
Nash then changed the color of their eyes and hair. Selena now has black hair and brown eyes, Julius has brown hair and green eyes, while Liam now has light brown hair and blue eyes and Lina has gray hair and black eyes. Luke nodded in satisfaction. He then notices his group staring at him. He then asked in confusion.
"What? What's wrong?"
Selena answered while still looking at him with amazement.
"You look holy."
"Hmm? Why?"
Luke's brows were knitted. He couldn't see himself, so he was curious. A mirror made from magic then suddenly appeared in front of him. Luke's eyes widened.
"Wait, why am I the only one with such vibrant hair?"
Luke looked at himself in the mirror. He now has long golden hair and light blue eyes. He looked like a holy priest because his face was naturally blended with the white robe. He then heard Nash's proud voice.
"Of course, I wanted my dad to be pretty!"
Luke sighed and facepalmed. He wanted to protest, but there was no time. He then spoke in a frustrated voice.
"Just teleport us to the Gron kingdom."
"Alright!"
Luke and the others finally teleported to the Gron kingdom. Luke looked around and frowned. He then heard Nash's voice.
"This is where the coordinates lead us."
They are now inside an empty room. Luke sighed and walked out of the door. He then saw Ruth's big hand in front of him. It seems like Ruth was also attempting to open the door.
Luke looked at Ruth and saw his blank and serious face. Raphael, his tamed beast, is also following him. They looked terrifying. Ruth then spoke blankly.
"M-my friend... You came."
Ruth was about to hug Luke, but Liam slipped in between them and glared at Ruth. Ruth just scratched his head. Luke sighed and tapped Liam's shoulder to calm him down. He then took a serious tone of voice.
"Ruth, did you follow what I told you?"
"Yes, I made them stay in their homes. I made the guards wear masks while roaming around the kingdom."
"Good job. By the way, this problem of ours isn't a disease, it's withered souls."
The group and Ruth's expressions turned extremely serious. Luke continued speaking.
"It seems like there were withered souls mixed into the corpses of the monsters that invaded here. And what's worse, it's a smoke type of withered souls, not liquid ones, making everyone affected."
Luke then started to think.
'So this is what the two meant by finishing the Gron kingdom huh?'
Luke thought that they were talking about the monsters, but it seemed like they had a hidden card in case the monsters were all killed. Damn cunning bastards.
Luke sighed. He then looked over at Selena, who was standing quietly beside him. Her hands were trembling as if she was itching over something. It is her instinct as a direct priest of the God of Light, and her sensitivity to withered souls is acute.
"Selena, can you purify the withered souls remaining in the air?"
Selena then spoke while frowning.
"Why are you asking such obvious questions?"
Luke nodded. Ruth then led them out of the castle. Luke then frowned at the sight in front of him. The air is black, like a polluted place. He then stepped aside when he saw Selena slowly walking forward, walking past him. Ruth, Luke, and the rest of the group looked at Selena's back, who was standing tall while looking up into the black air. She looked disgusted.
Selena sighed and then started to focus and gather the light in her hands. She then started to shoot glowing orbs from her hands and the orbs scattered in all directions. The orbs looked like they were sucking in the black smoke like a black hole. Luke and the others looked at this with amazement. The orbs were absorbing the withered souls rapidly and greedily like they didn't want a single molecule of withered soul to be left behind them.
Selena kept shooting glowing orbs to the point where the sky was almost covered in white orbs.
"Haa, haa."
Luke noticed Selena panting heavily, so he patted her shoulder to make her stop.
"That's enough, save your energy. Here."
Luke passes a healing potion to Selena. He noticed Selena looking at him, but Luke just ignored her and looked at the glowing sky above them. It is indeed bright, but it is not that bright to the point that it is blinding.
'I guess she hasn't pulled out the full potential of the God of Light yet.'
In the novel, Noah becomes friends with the direct priest of the God of Darkness, and her power during the war is astounding. She almost made the sky pitch black to the point that it looked like a void during the war with the demon world. Luke believed that Selena's potential was not yet fully revealed. But it looks like it will take her some time to get to that level.
After a few hours, Selena was finally done purifying the air and the orbs disappeared into dust. Selena sighed and breathed heavily. Luke looked at her and smiled gently at her.
"Now, why don't we also purify the people infected with withered souls? You can do it."
Selena frowned. She knew what kind of smile he was displaying now. It is a smile that says 'Hey, pay for the food and the free home that I gave you by working hard'.
Selena wanted to shout in his face, but she couldn't because it was true that Luke was the one who gave her a family, food, and a home. She is an asshole if she doesn't even know how to repay debts. Selena just sighed and stretched her arms. She then shouted with determination.
"Alright! Let's go to House no. 1!"
"Ooohhh~! Selena is working so hard~!"
Selena wanted to break Luke's fingers that were clapping to cheer her on, but she suppressed it. She needs to focus since it is a fucking kingdom she needs to save. They then marched towards the first nearest house from the palace. The knights who saw what happened earlier bowed toward them with gratitude and Luke just smiled gently at them. He then passed some potions to Liam, Julius, and Lina while walking.
"Use that for patients who have been healed. I'm sure some of them are hurt because of shock or something."
They all nodded and finally arrived inside the first house. They entered the house and saw six beds in one room. All of them have black marks on their bodies from withered souls. It seems like they also have a hard time breathing. Selena approached them and started to gather the light in her hands.
Strands of light then spread from her hands and touched the bodies that were resting on the bed. The black marks on their bodies disappeared slowly and their breathing became stable. Liam, Lina, Julius, and Luke then approached them and fed them a potion. The highest grade potions can also relieve fatigue, so this is the perfect potion for this type of condition.
After treating the first patients, the patients immediately stood up and bowed towards them. Luke frowned and spoke to them as if he was scolding them.
"Hey, don't stand up. You just healed so you need some rest."
The patients didn't listen and continued to bow, which made Luke frown. He then sighed.
"Haa, save your thanks for later. There are still a lot of people who need to be saved."
They then nodded energetically while still bowing towards them.
'What's this? Is this how they express their gratitude or something?'
Luke sighed and turned around. Ruth and Raphael were among those who quietly followed behind him. Ruth looked at Luke's back with admiration.
'As expected of my friend, he is such a good person.'
"Ah, by the way..."
Ruth stopped walking when he saw Luke turning his head towards him. Luke then spoke in a serious voice.
"This is not free."
"Ah."
Ruth nodded. If they are going to work hard to heal them, then it is only right to pay them.
"Yes, what is it that you want?"
"Don't.... Don't abandon your soldiers ever again during the battle."
Ruth stopped thinking and looked at Luke's serious face. What did he just say?
"It appears that you are still unsure of what I mean."
Luke sighed and approached him. Luke then pressed his finger to Ruth's broad chest and formed the face of a scolding mother's.
"You, you always abandoned your injured soldiers during battles. Saying that they're a baggage. Don't do that, you idiot! People like responsible rulers! Sure, you are a tyrant, but people will accept a tyrant as long as he cares for the people. If you keep on being an insensitive ruler, there might be a time that your people will have no choice but to leave you! Do you want that? Huh?!"
Luke panted. He said the words so fast that he ran out of breath. Liam and Julius went behind him and patted his back to help him breathe. Luke shot another rap-like word after catching his breath.
"You cared for your people just now, right? You called to express your concern about them. Is it because they are your people or because the damage is just too great on a large scale that you can't bear to lose people? Which is it? Huh?"
Ruth then answered while stuttering, while Raphael just moved back, as if he was scared of Luke.
"O-of course, it is because they are m-my people."
Luke nodded.
"Good, keep on worrying about your people from now on, like what you did today."
Luke sighed and turned his back towards Ruth. He then spoke again with his back facing Ruth.
"Go back to the castle and prepare to hand out food from the granary. I'm sure your people are starving after being unable to move for a week. Now go and do that while we handle this."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone