Chapter 159: King of Burst


    "What? Are you crazy? Did you even hear what I said?"


    "Yes... But I am concerned about the well-being of my fellow passengers... What if they were caught by those monsters? Who will be able to avenge them if they died, and who will be able to rescue them if they were still alive? Apart from me, there''s no one else that can do that at the moment! We''re too far away from anyrge city and requesting help from them would most definitely cost an arm or two!" Calvin urged.


    The farmer stared right at Calvin,plicated emotions shing across his face. If he led Calvin into the Vige of Tulog, he would most certainly die. But if Calvin didn''t go there to rescue his fellow passengers, then those passengers would definitely die under the hands of those deranged bastards.


    The farmer hesitated for a moment, but he was finally convinced when Calvin revealed a particr seal.


    The seal was stered on the surface of a piece of paper and it said...


    [For the protection of the people, by the people...]


    "That adage..." The farmer eximed, "You''re part of the police! An Inspector?!"


    Calvin let out a smile, ''What a convenient misunderstanding. The adage used by the Police to remind them that they are serving the people of the Joselian Kingdom is also the adage that the Cavaliers are using for the same purposing. shing this towards civilians along with the official seal of the Church is indeed really useful for subterfuge.''


    "That''s right, I''m a Police Inspector from Ashmelion en route to the Capital City of Laguna for a Mission Order. However, since I am going to a ce that is out of my jurisdiction. I need to pretend that I am a civilian until I properly identified myself to the authorities in Laguna. I know that this is confusing to you, and I will not exin any further."


    "You just have to understand one thing."


    "I am not out here to harm anyone or anybody..."


    "I am here to do my duty to the people of the Joselian Kingdom."


    "To serve and protect."


    Calvin stuck his chest out and his acting was so magnificent that the farmer was visibly moved.


    "All right, I will tell you... I will see to it that the map that I will be making is as detailed as possible."


    "Thank you." Calvin slightly bowed his head in appreciation to the farmer.


    "Your words are wasted on me." The farmer let out a smile.


    He then stood up and made a sidelong nce at Calvin, "Since I am going to make you a map, I will have to talk to the Vige Chief about this. He''s the only one in here that has the materials that I need to make you a map."


    Calvin smiled brightly at the farmer and the two of them walked out of the door. The farmer kept on ncing at Calvin for some reason, while Calvin tried his best to maintain the slight smile on his face. He looked around the hamlet and noticed that it was just slightly smaller than a vige. From afar, it looked small and tight, but now that he was here, the hamlet was actually bigger with more houses inside its fences.


    What''s more, the houses in the inner parts of the hamlet didn''t seem to be constructed out of inferior wooden materials. In fact, they were made out of bricks and from their desire as well as their architecture alone. They wouldn''t lose out against the houses of any of the big cities, such as Ashmelion and Laguna!


    ''Why are such advanced houses here in such a rural vige? What the hell are the people who built these houses thinking?'' Calvin thought.


    The farmer noticed his confusion as he said, "I am sure that you are curious as to why there are those kinds of houses in a ce like this, right? Well, let me tell you this. Our vige was actually a popr tourist spot a few decades ago. We would receive tens of thousands of visitors a year due to the natural hot springs, but all of these changed ten years ago."


    "Our hot springs dried out, and the water running from the top of the mountains down to us didn''t feel warm anymore. It was as if something had taken the warmth of the earth. What''s more, when the drought started. People started disappearing one by one. Until now, no one knows as to what are the final fates of those that disappeared since they had never been found..."


    "Not even a body was found."


    "It was also ten years ago when the poption in our vige started declining. I also sent my daughters and sons away from this vige, since I know that it was only about time until the vige crumbles to dust and forgotten. The only reason why we the old men and women cannot bear to abandon this vige is our attachment to thisnd where we were born and where we lived most of our lives..."


    "As for our daughters, sons, and grandchildren?"


    "We can''t possibly let them live in this kind of environment."


    "That is why I hope that you won''t be shocked to discover that there are no young people in this vige."


    "All of us are old, with nothing to offer but our kind smiles and the stories of our past."


    The farmer let out a mncholicugh.


    The two continued on their journey with the farmer continuously talking while Calvin kept his silence to listen.


    Eventually, the two reached the house of Vige Chief.


    The farmer knocked on the doors and when the owner of the house heard his voice, the door was quickly opened.


    "Who are you?" The so-called Vige Chief was an eighty-year-old man with what looked like a permanent frown on his face.


    "Hello, my name is Calvin." Calvin promptly introduced himself while the farmer quickly exined everything to the Vige Chief before the situation turned sour. After all, he knew more about the Vige Chief than Calvin. He knew too well that the Vige Chief didn''t have the best of attitudes in their small vige.


    "No... I cannot let that happen... Sending him there basically means that we are sending him to die. I cannot let that happen. Besides, how can you be so sure that there are still potentially any survivors from that wagon? What''s more, if they are indeed attacked by the bandits, then how did they arrive here? Wouldn''t it be more appropriate for those bandits to kill them instead of letting them run?" The Vige Chief asked.


    The farmer froze.


    He didn''t know what to say.


    Indeed, he hadn''t noticed the plot hole in Calvin''s story. If their wagon did meet a bandit group, why were they still alive? Wouldn''t those bandits ughter the men, and take the women with them instead of carelessly letting them escape which might potentially make themnd on the radars of the authorities in Ashmelion or even worse, in Laguna?


    "Outsider! Exin yourself! Why did you lie to us?" The Vige Chief directly asked.


    Calvin let out a bitter smile.


    "Yes, it was a lie that we were attacked by a bandit group."


    The farmer stared at Calvin in disappointment. He hadpletely believed what Calvin had said earlier, but it was such a p on his face that some of his words turned out to be a lie.


    "But it is true that we were attacked."


    "Attacked by who?"


    "It''s not who... It''s what..."


    "What?" The farmer mumbled in confusion.


    The Vige Chief stared at Calvin for a moment before he nced at the farmer, "You go out for now. It seems that we can still discuss it. I will talk with this outsider alone. Rest assured that I will tell you everything that he says to me once we''re done."


    The farmer made a sidelong nce at Calvin before he walked out of the door. He was obviously angry at Calvin for deceiving him.


    "What attacked you?"


    "A subus..."


    "A subus?" The Vige Chief raised his eyebrows, "Indeed, with such robust Yang Energy... You are a delicious target for those sluts." He stared at Calvin''s crotch long enough that thetter felt a shiver down his spine. Calvin tried to avert his gaze somewhere else, but he noticed a picture frame with the image of a man embracing another man with smiles on their faces sitting atop a nearby wooden cab.


    "Oh, you''ve noticed? That''s me and myte partner... Yes, my sexual orientation is abnormal. Got a problem with that?"


    The Vige Chief coldly snorted.


    Calvin''s lips repeatedly twitched, "N-Nothing..."


    The Vige chief nodded, "Since you survived the attack of a subus, you must be a member of one of the Three Judiciaries of the Church of the Three Orthodox Gods instead of a Police Inspector. Let me guess, the contents of your Mission Order must be about that Vige of Tulog, am I right?"


    Calvin stared at the Vige Chief, but he didn''t say anything.


    However, his silence was enough for the Vige Chief to confirm the truth.


    "Finally... It''s about time. It''s about time that the curse that haunts the vige is vanquished. It''s long overdue for a reckoning."


    The Vige Chief''s voice seemed to harden. He stood up from his seat and walked towards the direction of one of the cabs. He opened the cab and revealed a twin dagger. The surface of the dagger''s de revealed signs of normal wear and tear, but the overall build quality of the daggers was so good that Calvin could easily see that they were still usable despite their old age.


    "Chief?" Calvin stared at the Vige Chief in doubt when he saw the man take the twin daggers from the cab and insert it into a holster that he wrapped around his waist. He also took four leather armors and trousers from another cab and hurled it over to Calvin.


    "What is this, Chief?" Calvin asked.


    "You go ahead and wear that. There''s no need for a map. I''ll be your tour guide." The Vige Chief let out a sinister smile, "I know that I am old, and I might be physically worse than an average human being, but never underestimate the power of the one who once held the title of the King of Burst..."


    "As the King of Burst... One can say that I am the strongest human out there."


    "For ten seconds maximum..."


    "T-T-Ten seconds?"


    "Yup, ten seconds... Hey,e on now, don''t look at me like that! Even a blink of an eye is enough to end a battle between experts! Don''t you dare scoff at what I can do in ten seconds!" The Vige Chief red at Calvin.


    "Chief... So you are one of who goes in fast andes out fast..."


    "Not exactly..." The Vige Chief shook his head.


    "Oh?"


    "It''s because I am at the bottom."


    "..."


    The Vige Chief burst out into a peal ofughter seeing the dark look on Calvin''s face. Patting Calvin''s shoulder, he said, "All right, enough with the jokes. Take those leather armors with you, and let''s wake yourrades up, so they can apany us to the Vige of Tulog!"


    "So that is why you gave me two excess armor and trousers... Wait, how did you even know that they are fighters?"


    "It was obvious, the unconscious young man had an identification badge from one of the three Judiciaries, while the bald man had a book containing the gospels of the Goddess. There''s nothing to be said about the former, but thetter should be a Priest... Which means, he will be a great help to us once we get into the Vige."


    "I see..." Calvin nodded his head. The Vige Chief was indeed a person of great experience, knowledge, and wisdom. He even knew how to wake up both Ricardo and Heisenberg. Apart from the shock that the two received when they woke up, their conditions were generally fine with only a few cuts and bruises here and there.


    Calvin gave them a rundown of what was going on and what he was nning to do. Both Heisenberg and Ricardo didn''t want to involve themselves at first, but when they heard that the Vigers might have kidnapped some of the passengers from the wagon. The two were finally convinced to join the expedition.


    The Vige Chief then took the three into the mountain.