Chapter 74

This time, it's a combination of grotesque, disgusting, and cruel, so people with weak mental fortitude should brace themselves before reading.

It contains graphic descriptions.

It was truly an enigmatic existence.

Mari recalled the man she had met just a few hours ago... Almus.

A human with a body from this world and a soul from another world.

If one were to call a wanderer a transferer, then he would be a reincarnator.

Well, it's not impossible for a soul to take over a human body.

If one mistakenly eats or is fed the soul-separating herb, the soul can leave the body.

The body remains alive for a while even after death. If another soul passes by in such a situation, it can be drawn into the dead body.

It was probably a coincidence... or perhaps the mischief of fairies.

Still, that country had a well-established system.

It had vast farmlands and produced a lot of rock salt. And that paper...

The foundation for a powerful nation was already in place. The question was how the new king would subdue the powerful clans.

For now, she needed to come up with a strategy...

"Hey, Mom. Mom, are you listening?"

"Ah, sorry. I'm listening, Ely."

Mari stroked the black creature she was riding.

The black creature called Ely, a flying dragon, let out a joyful sound.

Mari was currently in the sky.

This flying dragon could fly at jet speed, so it was a short trip to the mainland of the Rosel Kingdom.

High-ranking dragons could control wind and fire, so Mari felt no wind at all.

The air pressure was adjusted to the same level as on the ground, making for a very comfortable flight.

High-ranking dragons had high pride and did not carry humans, but Ely was an exception.

For some reason, even after becoming an adult, Ely couldn't leave her mother. Well, for Mari, it was convenient.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing in particular. But you were silent for so long."

Ely said worriedly.

By the way, Ely couldn't speak human language. The vocal organs of dragons and humans were different.

But it was easy to control the wind and create sound by vibrating the air.

"Sorry. It's nothing serious."

Mari stroked Ely's head.

A smile could be seen on her lips.

"Your Majesty, I would like to request permission for a first-class strategic magical ritual."

After returning to the palace, Mari immediately said to King Rosel.

"Rosais' kingdom? It doesn't seem to be that much of a threat..."

King Rosel showed reluctance.

A second-class ritual would suffice to bring famine to a single country.

A first-class ritual could bring famine to more than half of the southern part of the South Adelnia Peninsula.

It would be an overkill and too costly to use it on just Rosais' kingdom.

Besides, a first-class ritual had been used on the three northern countries just last year.

There wasn't much stock of the materials needed for large-scale magic.

"No, no, that country is a threat. They are actively employing Kirisians to modernize the country. They also succeeded in centralizing power after the civil war. Moreover, the current king is young. He will undoubtedly challenge us militarily. If that happens, it will become a troublesome obstacle for our country in the future. It's best to eliminate the threat early."

A first-class strategic magical ritual was costly, but not as much as a military expedition.

It could be considered cheap to weaken a country...

"But a second-class ritual would be enough. That country isn't that large, is it?"

"No, no, I plan to cast the ritual on the neighboring countries of Rosais' kingdom."

Mari smiled slyly.

Clack, clack, clack

Every time Mari's shoes stepped on the stairs, a high-pitched sound echoed.

Occasionally, the sounds of people shouting, screaming, and dying could be heard.

The further down she went, the stronger the foul odor that assaulted Mari.

On the outskirts of the capital city of the Rosel Kingdom, Lutia.

The prison where heinous criminals were incarcerated, commonly known as the Poison Pot.

Mari arrived at the Poison Pot with ten sturdy soldiers.

The purpose was one: to harvest materials for magic.

"Hmm... six, eight, twelve, fifteen, twenty-three, thirty-one. Take them out one by one, carefully. It's quite dangerous, so be careful."

"Understood."

The soldiers first headed to cell number six.

The cell was very spacious, large enough to accommodate thirty people comfortably.

Inside the cell, filth flowed, and human bones and rotting corpses were scattered.

A man with bloodshot eyes sat in the middle.

When he saw Mari, he clung to the iron bars and shouted.

"Witch!! Fall into hell!! I'll kill you!!"

"Ahaha, you're as energetic as ever. Yes, that's good. The best sacrifice is one who is energetic."

Saying this, Mari took out a plant from her pocket.

It had a purplish-red flower.

But it was immediately clear that it wasn't lavender from the shape of the flower.

"Magic herb. Isn't it starting to hurt and get unbearable?"

Mari showed the powerful drug to the man.

"Shut up!! I won't bow to someone like you!!"

While saying this, the man's gaze was fixed on the magic herb.

Drugs can be broadly classified into two categories: depressants and stimulants.

The magic herb belongs to the stimulant category.

This herb intensely excites the human mind.

It can amplify hatred and anger.

The driving force of magic is emotion. The richer the emotion, the more powerful the magic one can wield.

To create a barrier, one needs thoughts of protecting people, love, and kindness.

To cast a curse, one needs negative emotions like envy and jealousy.

The curse of the Gu is a typical example.

Poisonous insects are made to kill each other, accumulating hatred, and then used as a medium for magic.

Insects are used because they are easy to handle and obtain.

In other words, dogs, monkeys, or even humans could be used. In fact, intelligent beings are more desirable.

They have richer emotions.

Human Gu.

A technique that every magician has considered at least once.

However, there are various problems with human Gu.

First, it takes a lot of patience to make relatives kill each other.

It is also costly.

By the time they start killing each other, most of them are insane, and their hatred and anger are distorted, so the expected effect is not achieved.

And, of course, there are no magicians who would want to do such a crazy thing.

Cursing someone creates two holes.

A powerful curse can destroy oneself. Many magicians refrain from using it out of fear of the curse rebounding.

But Mari put it into practice.

She used drugs to make it more efficient and to amplify hatred and anger.

In a sense, she was also broken.

Her modern Japanese ethics had already collapsed over five hundred years ago.

The reason for the collapse... 'woman', 'blessing of immortality', 'barbaric equestrian tribe', 'sex slave'.

It's easy to associate from these four keywords.

"Hehe, you're energetic, which is good, good. I'll let you have a good dose before I kill you. Try to endure for three days. It might be so painful that you want to die, but endure."

Mari smiled wickedly.

"Um, what's the purpose of this? You want to weaken the power of Rosais' kingdom, right? Shouldn't we cast a curse on Rosais' kingdom then? And the number of sacrifices is too small. This will be repelled by the anti-curse barrier and cause no damage at all."

One of the magicians, Annabella, asked Mari.

She was only fifteen years old but had been directly tutored by Mari.

She was expected to be a future assistant.

"That's fine. The purpose is to make the surrounding countries think that the culprit who cast the curse is Rosais' kingdom. There happens to be an excellent magician there, you know."

Annabella understood the intention behind Mari's answer and closed her mouth.

The purpose and their role were clear. Now, they just needed to focus on the magic.

"■■■■■!!!"

Annabella looked at the screaming sacrifices.

They were all gagged and crucified.

If the gags were removed, curses would surely spill from their mouths.

It would just be noisy, so they were kept gagged.

"..."

"Ahaha, does your conscience hurt?"

"Well... somewhat. But they deserve it."

Annabella said while looking at the crucified convicts.

"Those three men raped and killed virgins and boys. That one robbed and killed a family of eight, set fire to the house, and six more people died in the flames of six houses. That one secretly conspired with another country and was a traitor. That one engaged in slave hunting, which is banned in the country, and sold over a hundred people to the Kirisians."

"Hehe, that's right. Thanks to that man, we got dozens of materials in a chain reaction."

Not only did they get materials, but it also improved the security.

It was a win-win situation.

"They were destined to die anyway. It's a just punishment, I suppose."

"Well, there's no point in keeping them alive. There are uses for war prisoners, like selling them or using them as labor."

Mari ordered the soldiers to remove the gags from the crucified death row inmates.

Since they no longer had the energy to curse, she made it easier for them to breathe so they could live longer.

"Crucifixion is the best for sacrifices. Too many people faint with fire roasting. Here, even if they faint, we can wake them up with whips."

"Fire roasting is more painful because the fear of fire outweighs the hatred. It's more painful, though."

"You seem to know a lot. Is it from personal experience?"

When Annabella said this with a hint of a joke, Mari smiled but her eyes didn't.

"Sort of."

Mari turned her back on Annabella and the convicts and said as she left the scene.

"Well, I'm going to sleep. Let me know when they die. I'll do the finishing touches. It's too heavy a burden for you. At this level of curse."

Mari left the scene and, in a place where no one was around, whispered quietly.

"Having a clear goal of death is much better. You're lucky."