Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 342 - Desert Temple

The Novad Mercenary Group had been having one surprising experience after another since entering the desert.

The guiding ability of Rashibed, who had been introduced to them, was certainly excellent.

But there was something even more surprising.

It was Ethan’s strength.

Everyone already knew that Ethan was strong.

After all, Ethan Whiskers was the most rapidly rising new star on the current continent.

There were so many rumors about him that they couldn’t be counted on ten fingers.

Each one was an incredible achievement that was difficult to explain in words.

However, there were quite a few people in the world who didn’t believe anything they hadn’t seen with their own eyes.

“I-I heard he was strong, but…”

“I’ve never seen anyone move like that in the desert before. Even the desert warriors couldn’t move that fast.”

“I suddenly feel a bit sorry for the students taking lessons from Count Ethan…”

Only after seeing it with their own eyes did Ethan’s strength sink in.

“C-Captain. You absolutely must not make any verbal mistakes. Understood? If you curse even once like usual…”

“…I know. I-I’ll have to be careful.”

The mercenary group didn’t even realize they were stammering.

Meanwhile, unlike the mercenary group who had fallen into fear, Rashibed was quite enjoying himself.

Various paths were remembered in his head.

But paths in the desert are not fixed.

Constantly moving monsters.

Surrounding circumstances.

The skill of a guide is to find the path for the day by synthesizing various pieces of information.

Sometimes they detour, sometimes they go straight ahead. There are times when different routes need to be used depending on the situation.

As a result, even going to the same destination, the path had to be different every day.

But Rashibed was the best guide with innate senses. Therefore, he always wanted to go by the shortest route, different from other guides.

“Thanks to Count Ethan, we can go by the shortest route! I’ve always only thought about doing this!”

Thanks to Ethan, he could perfectly construct the shortest route.

The excited Rashibed began to modify the route to be even shorter and faster. On top of that, he was quite excited as he discovered paths he didn’t know before.

“I won’t forget this favor. When you come to the desert, please find me, Count! I’ll guide you at the lowest price, no, five times for free!”

How long had they gone like that?

Originally, it would have taken a full two days. But they were able to reach near their destination in just a day and a half.

“But Count Ethan… Didn’t I mention something earlier? That there are three most dangerous things in the desert. One is the Quicksand Guardian and another is the Desert Shark. And I didn’t mention the last one…”

Rashibed said with a deeply furrowed brow.

He was a guide.

It was his professional calling to find the way and reliably lead his clients to their destination.

Therefore, he was deeply displeased with the current situation. But he couldn’t force his way either.

He had clearly seen Ethan’s strength with his own eyes.

But the guys in front were the most dangerous ones in the desert.

“Why are you beating around the bush? Aren’t we almost there?”

“We are almost there. But a final hurdle has appeared.”

“Final hurdle?”

“The Novad Mercenary Group members came to find the Desert King’s treasure, so you must know this story too, right? As you know, the story of this Desert King’s treasure first came from the desert city of Lyubin.”

The desert city of Lyubin.

Among Lyubin’s ancient documents, there was content related to the Desert King’s treasure. The librarian who first found that ancient document immediately reported it to the current Desert King.

“The content was… The Desert King left a treasure in a huge temple. The one who obtains that treasure can inherit the true power of the desert. If you want to become a true desert king, find that treasure.”

Rashibed spoke in a theatrical tone.

“The current Desert King inherits the treasure left by the previous Desert King. How symbolic is this? The current lord of Lyubin and Desert King boldly set out. If he could just find that treasure, he could be recognized as the true desert king. There are various desert warriors in Lyubin, but they all have different roots. So they weren’t properly recognized, and it seems he wanted to firmly assert his legitimacy by finding the treasure.”

The desert is vast. Because of that, various races lived together, so various races lived together in Lyubin as well.

The previous desert king was recognized by all desert warriors, but this generation’s desert king was different.

Some desert warriors said they could never recognize him and left Lyubin, while some remained in Lyubin and even hindered the desert king’s progress.

Because of that, the desert king set out to find the desert king’s treasure himself. Along with the desert warriors he trusted most.

“The result was devastating. The Desert King returned having lost one arm, and all but three of the desert warriors died.”

At the terrible result, Lyubin’s desert warriors asked the king.

What on earth had happened?

“But the Desert King didn’t open his mouth. He just issued one decree. That all warriors of Lyubin should never go near that temple.”

After the decree, the Desert King tightly shut his mouth and mourned the dead.

“That seems to have fueled their motivation even more. Although they had no legitimacy, the Desert King and his subordinate warriors were extremely strong. But that Desert King returned with massive damage. So they thought there must be something in the temple that even the Desert King couldn’t handle, and if that’s the case, the treasure inside must be incredible.”

The treasure of the previous Desert King that even this generation’s Desert King couldn’t handle.

People thought the treasure inside the temple must surely be incredible.

But since the Desert King returned in that state, along with expectations, fear also arose.

“But there are those who aim for instant riches anywhere.”

There were those who moved quickly after hearing that story.

“The Gaister bandit group, those guys are the most dangerous ones in this desert. Well, they call themselves dawn warriors, but… They plunder the merchant guild and draw the attention of monsters to attack travelers… They’re just bandits, plain and simple.”

Rashibed shook his head.

“It seems those guys are near the temple now. Ah, don’t worry about the treasure. They can’t get inside anyway.”

“They can’t get in?”

“There’s one thing I didn’t mention. The Desert King sealed the door as he came out. So no one can get inside anymore. Those bandit guys are trying to find a way around to get in somehow.”

“Wait a minute… Then we can’t get in either!”

“Captain, I’m a guide. Didn’t you ask me to bring you this far? I faithfully fulfilled my request. I did the work I was paid for.”

“No, but still! And the Gaister bandit group? Mere bandits are the ones we should be most careful of in this desert?”

“This doesn’t make sense! Mere bandits are!”

Monsters are understandable.

But aren’t the Gaister bandits just guys aiming for treasure?

“There’s no need to be afraid, right?”

“Count Ethan is here too.”

“They’re guys born in the desert and grew up with the desert as their playground. They know how to survive here. Do you have much experience fighting on sand?”

Rashibed said as if in disbelief.

“There are hundreds who can move freely on sand. They’re not just simple bandits. Don’t you understand seeing how they come and go freely even though the Desert King warned not to approach the temple? It means even Lyubin can’t touch them.”

It was practically the same as saying they couldn’t be stopped in this desert.

In Rashibed’s opinion, the Gaister bandits’ strength was that powerful.

“There are many descendants of desert warriors who left in opposition to the current Desert King. There are also those who inherited the bloodline of the desert royal family. If this were somewhere else it might be different, but on sand, the chance of winning is 0 percent. It’s right to avoid the storm.”

“……”

“……”

Rashibed was a man who knew his own capabilities very well.

‘This is how people live long.’

He clearly draws the line between what he can and cannot do and makes judgments.

That’s why Ethan remembered Rashibed, who was merely a desert guide.

“N-No, then we came here for such a large amount to a place we can’t even enter…!”

“If you had said so earlier, we wouldn’t have come!”

Despite the mercenary group’s angry reactions and protests, Rashibed sighed and said one name.

“Ophemar is the leader of that bandit group.”

“O-Ophemar…?”

The angry mercenary group was suddenly greatly confused.

“You mean that Ophemar?”

The desert has a very closed social structure due to its environment.

But there was one person whose infamy had spread even outside the desert. That was Ophemar.

“The finger collector… Ophemar?”

“I heard he collects ten thousand fingers and wears only the prettiest ones on his waist…”

“I heard the bounty on his head is 50 million gold. They say Lyubin put it up.”

“So that’s why? That’s why Lyubin couldn’t touch him?”

“Now that everyone seems to understand, let’s wait for now. Those bandit guys come and go here periodically, and looking at the situation, they’ll leave soon.”

“I understand there’s a dangerous bandit group.”

But the mercenary captain was still angry.

“But it’s a temple that even that Ophemar can’t open. Shouldn’t you have told us in advance?”

The angry mercenary captain put his hand on his waist.

“Stop.”

Ethan strongly stomped the ground with his foot.

Then a shockwave spread around, and a huge hole suddenly appeared near the temple.

“Huh, hiccup…”

The mercenary captain was so surprised he started hiccuping.

“Excellent guidance, Rashibed.”

“We haven’t arrived yet… As I said, there are bandits, but they won’t stay long at this temple. In about three days they’ll go somewhere else to plunder, so in that gap…”

“This way is the path to the temple, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Just guide me.”

Ethan said with a confident expression.

“You don’t need to worry about anything else. I’ll be behind you.”

***

“Damn it. Is there really a way around?”

“I feel like we’re coming here more often than our home. Can’t we just break everything and get inside?”

“You crazy bastard, don’t you see the magic spread out there? If we make one wrong move, this could become our grave.”

“No, I just said that out of frustration.”

A huge temple.

As if human hands hadn’t touched it for a long time, it was broken here and there and covered in moss.

Above all, there were many parts eroded by the desert’s sandstorms.

Who could think this building was a temple?

This place was a complete ruin.

In front of that ruin was an armed bandit group. They called themselves dawn warriors, but no one called them by that name.

“Damn it.”

“Did we fail again today?”

Amidst everyone’s complaints.

Bang-!

Suddenly a loud noise was heard from afar.

“It came from the temple direction?”

“No way!”

The bandit group’s leader was at the temple.

The bandits urgently ran towards where the sound came from.

“Boss!”

“D-Did you do it!?”

Everywhere was full of dust.

Soon after, as the desert wind swept away the dust, what had happened began to be seen.

“A hole has been made.”

It was small, but there was definitely a hole.

In front of that hole was a man with a huge stature and a great sword as overwhelming as his height.

Shaggy beard and sharp eyes.

This was Ophemar, the leader of this bandit group.

“The time has finally come to get our hands on the desert king’s treasure, my children!”

“Wooooooah!”

“Finally!”

Now if they widened the hole and went inside, everything would be resolved smoothly.

But the joy was short-lived as some bandits guarding the surroundings shouted towards Ophemar.

“Boss! Someone is coming this way!”

“It looks like about fifty people!”

“I see a mercenary group’s flag!”

“Mercenary group? Stupid guys lured by the Desert King’s treasure. How dare they come here.”

Ophemar grinned.

“Well timed when we’re short on supplies. Let’s steal some of the delicious food they have. They probably have alcohol too, right?”

“I’ll go and take care of them all!”

“Please send me!”

The first button of the stagnant temple attack had been fastened.

Because of this, the morale of the dawn warriors was quite high.

“Stupid guys. Let’s all go and see their faces.”

Ophemar led the warriors towards the front of the temple.

“Really stupid guys, they’re even carrying a flag for all to see!”

“The one in front seems to be that guide guy.”

“Was it Rashibed? They say that guy’s path-finding ability is excellent. This time, bring him to our side. If he refuses, just cut off his head.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Warriors numbering as many as 800 began to walk in formation.

With each step, the sand tried to swallow their feet, but the feet of warriors accustomed to the desert pushed back the sand instead.

“What’s with those guys? They’re retreating?”

“The guide guy is retreating too?”

“Huh? One person?”

As the warriors advanced, those carrying the mercenary group flag and the guide began to slink back.

But one person started walking towards the temple in reverse.

“…What?”

“Is he trying to negotiate or something?”

“Pathetic guys.”

Eight hundred warriors advancing forward.

And one person walking towards those warriors.

What was about to unfold, and its result, seemed all too obvious.