Chapter 40: Countdown to Running Away

After the group rushed back to the camp from Black Water Town, they immediately got to work.

The first task was to pack. Since the undead horde was already under the Lord’s control, the top priority was naturally to flee with the convoy as soon as possible and leave the infected zone.

Setting aside the question of how much food the convoy had left, for Xiahou Yan—a man who had lived two lives—and Master Laurie, a battle-hardened veteran, the logic that "escaping sooner rather than later is always the best policy" could not be any clearer.

Sure, everything seemed to be under control now, but what if the Illusory Bracelet suddenly broke? What if the Lord’s Corpse Control Technique failed? What if some other unexpected disaster occurred?

Since they could run now, they should do it early. They absolutely could not afford to waste any extra time—delays only breed disaster!

Thus, the moment the Lord returned to camp, he hurriedly summoned Old Mayor Joel and issued an emergency mobilization order. All camp members must sacrifice their sleep if necessary to pack all supplies within the night. At dawn tomorrow, they would strike the tents and march out!

Learning that he would actually live to see the day he left the infected zone, Mayor Joel was already overjoyed; naturally, he had no objections. After discussing a few minor details with the Lord, the old mayor joyfully went off to direct the men in packing up the camp.

We shall leave the camp’s chaotic and noisy night unmentioned for now.

After sorting out matters with Mayor Joel, Xiahou Yan convened a small-scale meeting with his subjects by the central campfire in the camp.

Aside from the core members of the Igor Family from Eagle’s Rest Castle—such as scholars, servants, and the Guard Team—each tenant farmer household sent a representative. The mere dozen or so Craftsmen in the convoy were also present in full force.

Because Eliot Igor had fallen into a coma from illness long before the convoy mistakenly entered the infected zone (spelled as "coma," but pronounced as "croaked"), this was the first time in many days that the Lord directly addressed his subjects.

The Lord did not bother with aristocratic red tape. Instead, he used the simplest, most easily understood language to emphasize three matters to his uneducated subjects.

The first matter: The Lord solemnly announced that the Thorn Knight, Juan Clemente, would pledge his loyalty to the Igor Family starting today and take on the position of Deputy Knight Commander for the Igor Family!

In truth, the tenant farmers had long noticed this hulking figure in Pitch Black Armor, who constantly exuded a chilling aura. However, after surviving the undead horde’s attack, these simple-minded farmers, who usually only cared about tilling the land, had long since grown emotionally numb. As for how the Lord managed to encounter this so-called "Thorn Knight" in a deserted infected zone and recruit him under his command—the farmers did not want to know, nor could they be bothered to ask.

Therefore, everyone simply offered a sparse, scattered round of applause to welcome Clement as he bowed in greeting.

The second matter: The Lord announced that he had successfully mastered Magic capable of resurrecting the dead, and had already brought a group of Guards who died in battle back to life!

The crowd around the campfire internally rolled their eyes.

No one was blind. Captain Alice, Lawrence, and those other Guards had been wandering around the camp for two or three days now... And everyone had previously seen them die in the undead horde with their own eyes...

In fact, the legendary tale of "Elder Mage teaches Necromancy, Young Lord resurrects the Guard Team" had been spreading by word of mouth among the bored masses for days. Having the Lord personally confirm it now felt far too much like a blatant attempt to cover his tracks after the fact.

It was like an imperial spokesperson solemnly holding a press conference a month after an earthquake ended, just to announce that His Majesty’s palace had collapsed a month ago due to "certain reasons"...

This announcement was just too damn timely!

As a result, the crowd did not show any signs of surprise. Only a few sycophants put on an act, offering a few praises for the Lord’s "superb Magic skills and merciful love for his people."

The third matter announced by the Lord was actually the most crucial.

With serious expressions, Xiahou Yan and Master Laurie warned everyone present that the use of Necromancy was officially considered a taboo. Therefore, once they left the infected zone, everyone had to keep their lips sealed about what had transpired here!

Naturally, the crowd readily agreed.

In truth, those who took this "Forbidden Magic" business seriously were mostly the Mages belonging to the Imperial Mage Association, and perhaps the Holy Light Church at most. The ordinary folks in the territory, who spent their days farming and weaving, were never very sensitive to the rules of the Magic Realm to begin with.

Furthermore, everyone was a member of the same territory, bound by the camaraderie of surviving the undead horde together. As the saying goes, they sink or swim together. If anything happened to the Lord and his resurrected Guards, these subjects wouldn’t face good consequences either. Therefore, this ignorant crowd inherently lacked any motive to report or expose the Lord.

However, Master Victor Laurie, who had remained silent all this time, truly showed everyone what it meant to grow more cunning with age!

The moment the Lord finished his speech, the master pulled a parchment Scroll from his robes and smilingly announced to everyone, "Everyone, what I hold in my hand is a ’Magic Contract.’ The terms are very simple: If any signatory leaks a single detail about Necromancy to the outside world, a ’Blade Skill’ will be summoned out of thin air to slice off one of their hands!"

With a benevolent smile, the master unfurled the Scroll and presented it to the crowd.

"Since you all agree to keep this secret, I must trouble you to take a pen and sign this contract. Please forgive me, but this is a necessary precaution. The rules of Magic are strict. I promise, as long as you don’t leak the secret in the future, your hands will remain perfectly fine!"

Pinching their noses and feeling as disgusted as if they had swallowed a fly, the people signed the Magic Contract one by one.

Only when Master Laurie satisfyingly retrieved the signed Scroll did Xiahou Yan pull the master aside when no one was looking, whispering, "Master, I also attended Academy City, so how come I’ve never heard of such a thing as a ’Magic Contract’?"

"I made it up to bluff them, of course. This is just a plain piece of parchment." Master Laurie casually stuffed the "contract" back into his robes and picked his nose with a wicked grin. "These ordinary folks have a deep-seated awe for Magic and think it’s omnipotent. So, I figured I’d use this fake contract as an extra insurance policy to keep them from spouting nonsense outside!"

Xiahou Yan gave him a covert thumbs-up, his gaze filled with a mix of admiration and disdain.

Once everything was settled and the attendees by the campfire had returned to their respective tents to pack, Xiahou Yan bid Master Laurie farewell. He then called upon Alice and Clement—his two high-tier combatants—and they headed back together.

As the three walked through the camp, taking in the surrounding hustle and bustle, they couldn’t help but feel a touch of emotion.

"Juan, are you truly planning to follow me from now on?" Xiahou Yan asked, turning his head to look at Clement as they walked. "Once we leave the infected zone, if you want to strike out on your own, I won’t be able to stop you."

Due to the concealing helmet, Xiahou Yan couldn’t see Clement’s expression, but the Death Knight’s tone held a hint of sorrow.

"Lord Eliot... my... my family, my friends, they are all from eight hundred years ago. In this world, eight centuries later, I feel as lonely as a... like an outsider with nowhere to go. So, I suppose I will continue to follow you. After all, I originally pledged my loyalty to your family. As for the future, I don’t know..."

"If you ever find a place you want to go to in the future, please be sure to tell me," Xiahou Yan said earnestly. "Juan Clemente, you have been imprisoned by the underground darkness for eight hundred years. If you can find freedom in this world eight centuries later, I would be happy for you!"

"Thank you, noble Lord Eliot!" Clement was clearly moved. He struck his chest twice with an iron fist—CLANG CLANG—then cast a glance at Xiahou Yan and Alice before quickly taking his leave.

For a moment, only the Lord and his Captain of the Guard remained, walking side by side beneath the tranquil moonlight of the infected zone.