Chapter 231: 231 Cleaning Up After

All convoy transportation itineraries are tentative. Due to the inherent dangers of travelling, it is never indicated exactly when a delivery run between two destinations will terminate. Rather, an allowable duration is indicated which determines an acceptable time within which a caravan-run must reach its destination. Multiple factors are taken into consideration when calculating this allowable duration such as historic weather patterns, travel conditions, safety against threats, and so on. The travel time between Radiant City and the Capital via a convoy is a week and a half. However, the itinerary assigned to the convoy Guy was partaking as an escort in indicated an allowable duration of three weeks. The fact that the allowable duration between Radiant City and the Capital is double the actual travel time is primarily due to the frequent interception by bandits and robbers in the leg of the trip weaving through the Marches bordering the Maika Duchy.

Needless to say, both the escort and caravan leader were stunned and, to a subtler degree, unnerved by the ease with which the very first confrontation was dispatched, that too with minimal bloodshed and unparalleled efficiency. The caravan leader was pondering whether writing down "the escort mages commanded the bandits to cease and desist, and the bandits, in turn, did just that" in the travel report would pass without the head office either questioning the integrity of his psyche or outright firing him for lying in an official document. Nevertheless, he was glad that Guy had joined as the convoy's escort.

'With him here, we might complete this trip in record time,' the caravan leader pondered giddily. 'I should definitely look into hiring the True World Sect again for the next trip.'

The escort leader, specifically the representative from the Whispering Dusk Sect was still trying to process the events. He shuddered as he remembered the feeling of facing Guy's |Soul Coercion|, which was the name Guy had settled on for his attack. It was as though his body and mind were disconnected, and a third entity had taken control of them both. His mind was pushed into an observer's position as a subconscious state - essentially, he felt as though he was turned prisoner inside his own body. He could only imagine the sheer terror the bandit must have felt when his body plunged his own sword into his chest.

'I can't believe I am empathising with that lowlife,' the escort leader shook his head to clear those thoughts away.

"I'm Korren Jax," the escort leader greeted while shaking Guy's hand. "Forgive me, but I don't believe I've heard of the True World Sect before."

"There's nothing to forgive," Guy responded with a strained smile. "We're a new sect. We are actually on our way to the Capital to officially register under the Alliance."

"That's right! I almost forgot that it's that time again - the Conference," Korren commented. "Well, another strong affiliate entering the fold benefits the Alliance as a whole."

Guy hummed in response and approached the impaled corpse of the leading bandit. He crouched before it and stared at it intensely with a morose frown.

Korren followed Guy and continued in a hushed tone, "That attack earlier, what exactly was that?"

"I didn't intend for the man to kill himself," Guy responded blankly. "I was certain that my command was for him to cease his control over the others. Why would he kill himself?"

"So semantics matter," Korren muttered. He noted that detail down in the back of his mind, in case he had to face Guy in combat in the future. This was his subconscious action, which was a habit of battle-hardened veterans.

"Maybe this was the only way to negate the control," Korren surmised out loud. "It is a trait common in certain strains of blood magic."

"Are you implying that this was blood magic?" Guy inquired, with a faint tinge of hope in his eyes. The death of the thug was the first one he'd witnessed personally after transmigrating into this world. In his past life Guy had toured war-torn areas many times and had observed the horrors of man-made conflicts in person, thus he wasn't so heavily affected by the gory state of the corpse. However, he hadn't taken another life before. Although the thug wasn't a "good guy", Guy wasn't certain if the man "deserved" to die - maybe it was the more civilized part of his brain talking. Nonetheless, knowing that maybe he wasn't wholly responsible for the thug's untimely demise did allay some of Guy's growing discomfort. He recognised that it was probably high time for him to come to terms with the idea of killing after arriving in this more martial world, at least as self-defence. However, the irrational part of his brain was hell-bent on procrastinating on that matter. His moral inhibition against murder was one of the few tethers remaining that tied him to his past life - Guy feared that if he let go of that inhibition, he would end up losing himself and his identity.

"Maybe it was blood magic, maybe it wasn't. Either way, there's nothing we can do about it now. We can't ask the perpetrator," Korren said while pointing at the corpse, "Nor can we ask the affected."

"By the way," Korren interjected. "Although your attack did its job admirably, please avoid friendly fire at all costs. I'd prefer it if I didn't have to run around putting out fires started by my own team, metaphorically that is."

Guy bowed apologetically and reasoned, "I'm sorry about that. I only did that because I felt it was the optimal way to end the confrontation without needless deaths. Though I do think this could have been further averted if we could have coordinated better, which could have been possible if we all discussed our strengths and weaknesses from the very beginning."

The final sentence had a barbed rise in pitch, with a hint of sarcasm garnishing it. Before the group set out on the journey, Korren didn't deign to touch base with Guy and the other True World Sect members. He preemptively judged them as weak. Useless. Basically, wastes of space. The implications of Guy's retort weren't missed by Korren, who in turn coughed awkwardly and turned to face the tied hodgepodge of men.

"Why is the girl healing those scum?" Korren spat out when he saw Jean administering treatment to a man who'd been slashed by the attack from one of the other Whispering Dusk Sect members.

"Jean aspires to become a healer," Guy answered. "She is just following through on that aspiration."

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"Sure, I get that. But why bother treating them? They attacked us, why must we extend a helping hand in return?" Korren retorted incredulously.

"A healer's job is to heal, not judge whether someone deserves to be healed or not," Guy emphasised. "If there was a healer who healed anyone without prejudice, and another healer who only healed people they deemed worthy or good, who would you approach in your time of need?"

While Korren nodded contemplatively on that hypothetical, Jean completed her treatment and approached Guy.

"I've finished treating the more pressing injuries. Senior Brother Markus is administering first-aid to those that need it, and helping calm those still reeling from being mind-controlled. It seems that these folk aren't originally from the Blackstar Kingdom, it was only the dead thug," Jean said.

"How can you be sure?" Korren interrupted. "You can't just take their word."

"I didn't. My conclusion is supported by the fact that nearly all their stories match in one way or another," Jean responded with a blank stare. "They are actually an amalgamation of villagers displaced from the Balen Duchy and the neighbouring Marches. They were migrating in search of refuge in the vicinity of the Maika Duchy or the Capital, however, they fell victim to this man's spell. The man forced the folk under his control to cull the weak and elderly, and as for the women and children..."

Even Jean's impassive face warped slightly as she struggled to complete that sentence, though the implication of that pause was conveyed.

"They must be traumatised," Guy commented.

"Very much so," Jean agreed. "Though I would prefer to stay behind and help rehabilitate them, it would deviate us from our mission. Instead, I have written a letter to my father, Josie is delivering it as we speak. I have asked for his assistance in this matter. I have also informed him to increase his patrol on this front, and to expect more refugees moving through here."

"More refugees?" Guy tagged with an intrigued eyebrow raise.

Jean released a troubled sigh and said, "When I said their stories matched, it was because all of them were displaced from their villages for a similar reason. A new plague has afflicted the regions of the Balen Duchy bordering the Blackstar Kingdom. It only affects the regular folk, thus there has been no response from the Solar Sect Alliance. As for the government..."

"Bureaucracy and corruption," Korren filled in the blanks. "I will file a petition in this Conference. The True World Sect can co-sign this - since the Whispering Dusk Sect is more storied I believe it will be taken more seriously."

"Your initiative in this is highly appreciated," Jean thanked with a courteous bow. Her gaze then landed on Guy, who immediately deduced its meaning and said, "Once our Sect is officially registered, the first thing we shall do is investigate the affected region."

Jean nodded resolutely and returned to performing first-aid along with Markus, though her mind replayed the descriptions of the plague offered by the refugees. Her torturous memories started to resurface, urging the voices in her head to ramble morbidly.

#It's him! The Plague Emperor has resurfaced!#

*We must avoid it at all costs!*

#That's right, let them die like the worms they are.#

*We cannot go against him.*

#Weak! Useless! Broken! You can't even fix yourself, how do you expect to heal others?#

*We aren't strong enough to go against him.*

She gritted her teeth and meditated, letting the voices recede into the background. She wanted to tell Mister Larks about the voices.

'M-Maybe another time... When it isn't so hectic...'

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