Chapter 351 - Questioning

"I’ll leave the matters here to you; we must go back and deal with the issues at the Thacel Refugee Camp." Seeing that the matters here were nearly settled, Gaven took the initiative to take his leave."Lord, please go ahead with your tasks. After I accompany Lady Olive and complete the thorough purification here, I will visit the Three Rivers Region and take a tour of Weizemay Manor. I hope, Lord, that you will not shut me out." From the beginning, August had a high regard for Gaven, and now even more so.

"It would be my greatest honor to have you at our manor, and you can be sure of good wine and good meat aplenty," Gaven promised, patting his chest.

Compared to the strict and serious Darnell, Gaven preferred chatting with the old Holy Warrior, for he seldom felt the meticulous oppressiveness typical of a Holy Warrior from him.

"Then it’s settled," August laughed heartily.

The others naturally returned to the Thacel Refugee Camp with Gaven.

On the return journey, Gaven was constantly pondering one question: how to persuade the Thacel Refugees to follow him to the Three Rivers Region.

He had thought that by slaying two Dwarf Vampires, he would at least unlock a silver Milestone of Destiny and forcibly boost his popularity in the Thacel Refugee Camp.

Even if it wasn’t something like the Blood Claw Legion performing a True God-witnessed True God Blood Oath, it would make them follow his arrangements.

Inviting them to the Three Rivers Region would then become a mere formality.

Now, however, while the gains from the Milestone of Destiny exceeded expectations, the popularity did not rise by compulsion.

That’s not to say that the residents of the Thacel Refugee Camp had no fondness for him at all. After all, the human heart is made of flesh, and regardless of anything else, they should remember his reinforcement during their time of need.

But compared to being twisted by the Milestone of Destiny, it wasn’t as neat and uniform, which made it less manageable.

After all, each person’s nature and experience are different, and the ways they perceive things vary, naturally leading to different reactions.

All in all, this was the realistic situation one should expect.

Taking this opportunity, Gaven reflected on his own mentality.

Since when had he become so dependent on the conveniences brought about by the Milestone of Destiny?

Since killing the Carrier Bug and affecting Nectar Village? Or since exterminating the Black Reaper and influencing the Hobgoblins?

This dependence was clearly problematic.

Unlocking the Milestone of Destiny was a matter of luck, and often something that could not be sought after.

A situation like the present one was the normal state of things.

He certainly couldn’t become incompetent whenever the Milestone of Destiny wasn’t influencing the situation.

Now was the time to show his true level of competence.

With his mindset adjusted, Gaven was full of fighting spirit and no longer saw persuading the Thacel Refugees as a problem but as a challenge.

When Gaven and his companions returned to the Thacel Refugee Camp, all the refugees were eagerly awaiting them.

In such a scenario, it was inevitable for Regina to personally step forward, retelling the recently recounted tale with fresh flourish. Not just to the ordinary Thacel Refugees but even to someone as worldly as Kopofiel, it left them slack-jawed and swallowing hard in disbelief.

His own feats of valor paled in comparison when placed before Gaven’s.

To slay two Dwarf Vampires and then to destroy the severed hand of a True God— and the most powerful Dwarves Vampire Sacrificer had not even shown his face, retreating in fear.

Not even a legendary biography would dare to write it thus.

Yet it had happened, part of which they had witnessed with their own eyes.

In the eyes of these refugees, Gaven’s stature immediately grew tenfold, so much so that they had to look up to him.

Immediately after, they were plunged back into the immense sorrow of losing their loved ones.

After all, the number of Thacel Refugees who had been taken was not small; they made up more than one-tenth of the entire camp.

In truth, many had already braced for such an outcome.

After all, it was Vampires lacking humanity, who saw people as food, who had abducted them.

Being prepared is one thing; facing the reality is another.

Gaven and his entourage also expressed their grief and bowed to apologize to the Thacel Refugees, led by Kopofiel: "We are truly sorry. Our powers were limited, and we were unable to save those innocent victims in time. If we had split our forces at the start, perhaps..."

Kopofiel quickly grasped Gaven’s shoulders, saying, "Mr. Gaven, there is no need for apologies. This is not your fault; you did all that you could. After all, you were not just facing Vampires but also the will of a True God.

"There is no ’perhaps.’ Even concentrating our forces and setting numerous traps, we suffered such heavy losses. Had we divided our troops, it’s very likely that we would have failed on both fronts. Not only might we not have rescued anyone, but the village could have suffered even greater damage.

"If anyone is to blame, it is that Evil God.

"If anyone is to blame, it is me, for not being able to protect everyone, for not realizing in time that it was a group of Vampires causing trouble, for not seeking help in time..."

"Both of you, stop blaming yourselves. This is not your fault. It’s those monsters’ fault."

"If not for you, Lords, giving your all to protect us, everyone in our village would have faced certain death."

"You have slain so many vampires; it can be considered revenge for your deceased loved ones. If their souls are aware, they should be happy."

"The vampire menace being eliminated is definitely worth celebrating. We can’t just wallow in sadness, we need to look forward."

The surrounding Tesser refugees offered their words of comfort one after another.

They were aware that the abducted refugees had been killed but didn’t know that their soul consciousness had already been used as fuel by the Goddess of Undead Vengeance’s severed palm, completely obliterated.

They didn’t need to know this.

For ordinary people, there was no significant difference between the two; dead was dead, separated from the living by the veil of life and death.

"How do you plan to deal with the bodies of those victims?" Gaven asked with concern.

Kopofiel paused briefly before saying, "There are too many victims to realistically transport back for burial. Moreover, many were whole families that perished. Whether here or somewhere else, we are strangers in a foreign land; there’s no great difference. If possible, I would take some people over to bury them on the spot."

"I also think that would be appropriate. Lady Olive is still over there; you could ask her to conduct a collective funeral," Gaven agreed. "Once you’re ready, I’ll accompany you on the trip. I also have some things to deliver to Lady Olive and Mr. August."

In fact, there were still matters for him to attend to in the Land of Sealing, but the Tesser Refugee Camp was more pressing, so he had come to handle this first.

"There’s no need to trouble yourself, Mr. Gaven. If there’s something that needs to be delivered, we can carry it over for you..." Kopofiel kindly offered.

He felt that he and the refugee camp owed Gaven too much and was embarrassed to trouble him further.

Gaven did not argue with him about this matter but cut straight to the point, "General Kopofiel, about the proposal I made yesterday, how have you considered it?"

The proposal Gaven spoke of was naturally concerning the migration of the Tesser refugees to the Three Rivers Region.

For both public and private reasons, Kopofiel’s attitude was crucial.

Publicly, he was the current leader of the Tesser Refugee Camp with an excellent reputation as a leader. His opinion might not represent the entire camp, but it would influence many Tesser refugees.

Privately, he was the last Watcher of Thacel, a renowned sea captain, a naval commander. If he could be recruited back, it would resolve Gaven’s earlier concerns about finding capable captains and sailors – the Watcher’s sailors would certainly follow him.

A conflicted and uneasy expression crossed Kopofiel’s face, "Mr. Gaven’s kindness should not be declined by me, but the situation in Thacel is increasingly dire, especially at sea where there’s no longer any cohesive resistance against the pirates.

To be honest, I’ve been planning my return to Thacel for the past half year. I just can’t bear to leave the villagers here behind – many of them are commoners. It wouldn’t be right for me to involve them in Thacel’s turmoil for my own sake.

Now that you are here, Mr. Gaven, I can be at ease.

I wholeheartedly support the move of those ordinary villagers to the Three Rivers Region. However, I hope you will not hinder those who wish to follow me back to Thacel."

Kopofiel’s response was not surprising to Gaven.

If he had answered otherwise, Gaven would have questioned whether this man was truly the Kopofiel he knew, the one hailed as the last Watcher of Thacel.

"Watcher’s Call has sunk; what will you use to defend the Thacel coastlines once you return, General?"

"Does the General believe that merely holding the Thacel coastlines would save the Tesser people from disaster?"

Gaven did not try to persuade Kopofiel, instead, he threw two questions at him in succession.

"That..." Kopofiel clearly hadn’t considered these two problems, and mumbled his reply, "We’ll have to figure that out upon returning. I believe the noble lords, who have been harassed by the pirates, are fed up as well. I still have some reputation. If I’m willing to continue guarding the coastlines, I trust they would offer assistance."

"Foolish!" Gaven exclaimed loudly, "I cannot believe the General would have such an idiotic notion. This approach will make you dependent on others. Not to mention how much help those noble lords will offer you, but even if they do, would they truly do so without wanting anything in return?

Do you know how many noble lords are in collusion with those pirates?

Do you know how many pirates are supported by those very nobles you speak of?

Do you realize how many attacks are actually carried out by the private fleets of those noble lords in disguise?

General, do you truly believe that Watcher’s Call was forced into the Storm’s Eye by mere pirates?"

The cascade of questions overwhelmed Kopofiel, the lines on his face seeming to deepen, his hair appearing to whiten, and the once ramrod straight posture began to slump.

He was never a qualified politician – just a captain, a general.

His intent was simple: protect his nation, his people, from pirate scourges to the best of his abilities.

Even if alone on his ship, he would adhere to this principle without retreat.

But he was no fool, especially in the waters where he had lived for years. He wasn’t completely ignorant of these concerns.

He simply did not want to believe, nor was he willing to believe that in order to further their own interests, the pillars of Thacel would resort to indulging or even nurturing pirates to plunder their rivals, even their own lieges.

In their eyes, his protective principles were no more than trouble, disrupting their schemes in the Thacel Sea Area. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

As his existence and his ship began impacting more people’s interests, they and their ship had to vanish.

Gaven didn’t wait for Kopofiel’s response, continuing passionately, "Thacel’s problem lies not with the pirates but with those powerful noble lords.

None of them want to relinquish their power; instead, they aim for more, even to become the new King of Thacel. For that goal, they do not care if Thacel becomes worse off in the chaos.

Only when an individual truly has the people’s interests at heart arises, crushes every one of those noble lords ruthlessly beneath their feet, and unifies the country once more.

Do you think those pirates will still pose a problem then?"