Chương 49: Chapter 49: News of the Wizard’s Ruins—The Four Seasons Garden
Su Nan directed Blom to redistribute the accumulated magical energy back to the werewolf messengers. He was about to command the werewolves to clean up the battlefield and loot the ruins of the manor—perhaps even pilfer some valuables from Baron Frank, who was bedridden and powerless—when he noticed that the cultist on the ground was still clinging to life.
The cultist coughed violently, spitting up blood as his dimming gaze fixed on Blom. "I know who you are... You're the Wizard Lord."
"Even with a being from that world inhabiting me, I still couldn't defeat you. Truly... remarkable."
Su Nan, borrowing Blom's body, looked down at the Bulgar cultist. "I see. It's the bloodline within you that gives you this extraordinary vitality."
"Not exactly," the cultist rasped through blood-streaked lips. "My spellcasting isn't fueled primarily by spiritual power... it's my life force."
"Ah," Su Nan nodded. "So your abilities deplete your life force as the primary resource, with spiritual power merely playing a supplementary role."
The cultist coughed again, his voice weak. "I... I'm dying, but there are things I must tell you, Wizard Lord. When that being from the other world possessed me, I saw glimpses of... the truth. Or maybe just fragments. I saw their world. You'd be curious about it, wouldn't you?"
"You want to know what I saw?"
Su Nan's interest was piqued. He had long been curious about the Energy World that sought to invade the Material Plane. Understanding it could reveal new sources of power and strategies to counter their incursions.
"Very well," Su Nan said calmly. "Speak quickly before your time runs out. I'll answer your question in exchange for what I want to know."
The cultist lay motionless, his body a broken toy discarded by the otherworldly entity. His voice trembled as he began, "I was once an ordinary herdsman on the Bulgar steppes. My wife passed away, leaving me with two sons. We lived simply—herding, hunting, sometimes planting crops where the land allowed."
"I envied the farmers of the Storm Kingdom, their vast, fertile fields... just scatter seeds, and they'd have abundant harvests."
"But one day... everything changed."
Tears mixed with blood as the cultist's face contorted in anguish. "Our flock was attacked by wolves. My sons... brave, foolish boys... went out with the dogs to drive the wolves away."
"But those wolves were unlike any I'd seen. They didn't retreat. They overran my boys."
"I was there. Others were there—dozens of other herdsmen. They could've helped. They could've saved my sons."
"But they didn't. They clung to their own children, their own sheep, and refused to lift a finger."
"I... I couldn't save them alone. I couldn't... I could only watch as the wolves tore my boys apart."
"That was the day I learned the truth: this world is cruel. People are selfish, indifferent, and cold."
"So when the Blind Hand showed me their vision of equality, I believed it without hesitation. I didn't care if it was real. I wanted to believe."
The cultist's voice wavered, his strength failing. "Wizard Lord... you've glimpsed that world through others. Do you think it's real?"
Su Nan's expression didn't change. "You tell me. You've seen it yourself now. Is it real?"
The cultist was silent, his body trembling as life ebbed from him. Finally, he whispered, "It's a lie. That world is a nightmare. Every creature screams. Every soul writhes in endless torment."
"It's equality, yes... equality in suffering. Equality in despair."
He let out a bitter laugh. "I deserve this. I believed because I wanted to believe. And I killed because I wanted revenge on a world that abandoned me."
His eyes glazed over. "Tell me, Wizard Lord... if you saw two boys in danger, would you save them?"
Su Nan didn't answer immediately.
Blom growled impatiently, "What kind of question is that? Of course, I'd help if I could. But if I couldn't, then I wouldn't. Simple as that. At least I wouldn't stand by and watch like a coward."
Su Nan spoke softly, "For me, it depends. If it's convenient, I might. If it interferes with my goals, I won't."
"But altruism isn't just moral. Even from a selfish perspective, cooperative behavior ensures survival. Entire species thrive because they help one another. A completely selfish society would destroy itself in its infancy."
He paused before adding, "Perhaps, had you acted first, others might've followed your lead. But you chose inaction, and your inaction defined your fate."
The cultist began to laugh—a deep, guttural sound that turned into hacking coughs.
"So it was me. I was the cold one... not them. I was the coward."
His voice grew faint. "Wizard Lord, I know little. I was merely a pawn in the grand game. But I can tell you this: the world is being invaded by the Sorcerer Cabal."
"They are exploiting the fading divine authority of the Celestial Gods over this world. Soon, even the gods will abandon it."
"And the wizards... the true wizards... they will never return. Not to this broken world."
"Beware the Confusion Magic of the hybrids. It warps perceptions, blurs morality, and twists logic. When people accept theft and betrayal as normal, magic itself is weakened."
"And one last thing... the Blind Nun's invasion of your lands isn't just personal vengeance. She seeks a relic—a wizard's ruin from over two thousand years ago. The Four Seasons Garden left behind by the Circle of Botanical Wizards."
"It lies hidden near your lands. We sought to steal its secrets for ourselves."
With his final breath, the cultist whispered, "I was a traitor to all sides. Always searching for a better world... and always choosing wrong."
He collapsed, lifeless, into the dark grass.
Su Nan stared at the body for a moment, then sighed. Yet, his lips curled into a faint smile.
Another step closer to finding the wizards.
The Four Seasons Garden. A new clue.
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