Chapter 93 - The Great Khan
The journey riding the carriage was… how should I put it… peaceful.
Until we entered the Great Khan’s domain on the ship made of poison sand, it was quite tense, and although I can’t say all the tension has dissipated now, but with vast plains outside and only the rattling sound of the carriage to be heard, the atmosphere was just like that.
‘Hmm, is this the Great Khan’s domain… the land of Mongolia…’
It was quite fascinating to have entered a country I had only heard about in history class at school. Foreign travel always makes one’s heart race.
‘It’s quiet…’
And this land that only existed in textbooks was very quiet when I actually came here.
Well, it’s not strange since it’s practically a ruined land. There are no people, for starters.
But this quietness didn’t continue for long.
My thoughts changed when I saw the city that appeared as we kept moving.
There wasn’t a single person.
But countless undead were filling the city.
Undead that were once people, undead that were once monsters, all sorts of diverse undead.
“Is this the Great Khan’s domain…?”
Indeed, they say he’s the world’s greatest necromancer, and even the city gives off that feeling.
A city that feels bustling and lively even though everything moving is dead… what a contradictorily fascinating city.
“It’s like… a dungeon-like city. A land of undead…”
Since the necromancer profession itself is rare, and undead are usually frequent guests as monsters appearing in dungeons, this impression wasn’t particularly strange for a superhuman.
I was having similar thoughts too.
‘A new demon realm established by the world’s only demon realm subjugator… Is that the feeling?’
Although it looked bustling and peaceful on the surface, it seemed like a more dangerous city than expected.
Ah, this isn’t my opinion, but the opinions of the others.
“…There are so many strong ones. As expected of an EX-rank’s land… So many undead that seem to be at least S-rank level…!”
I’m just an ordinary person, so I didn’t have any particular impressions other than thinking the undead looked interesting, but from the perspective of superhumans who are extremely strong, this city seemed very dangerous.
“I can understand the reason for that fame…!!”
“Such an eerie strength… A one-man army in the true sense…”
Come to think of it, I think I’ve seen words like this among the evaluations of the Great Khan.
Something like a devilish Mongol army returned to the present world?
Before the demon realm was subjugated and didn’t allow external intrusion to this extent, there was a time when the Great Khan’s battle was revealed once, and it seems that nickname was attached because the sight at that time was quite shocking.
An unfair fight with an endless horde of fearless undead troops and endlessly raising the enemy’s troops and strong ones as his subordinates.
An immortal army that overwhelmingly hunts and ravages even noteworthy boss monsters without lifting a finger.
The nickname ‘Great Khan’, meaning emperor, was given after seeing such an emperor-like appearance, so that strength must have been truly shocking.
‘They say he was that strong even when he was S-rank before reaching EX-rank?’
It was undoubtedly a strength befitting the word genius.
…Oh, I had completely relaxed on the way here, but now I feel tense again.
Anyway, I thought we would meet the Great Khan in this city since we came to such a place, but that wasn’t the case, and this was just a passing route.
After passing through the city and continuing on, we arrived at a place with a huge tent built using giant bones as pillars.
Since we stopped in front of this place, it seems this is the destination…
‘Is that person the Great Khan…?’
Getting off the carriage, I could see a muscular man lying leisurely in a hammock set up in the middle of a prairie where horses were grazing idly.
“Hm? Ah. Looks like you’ve arrived.”
He was wearing sunglasses and had his face covered with a straw hat, but soon he put the straw hat on his head and got up to approach us.
A man in a strange outfit – straw hat, sunglasses, bare-chested with a fur coat casually draped over his shoulders, revealing a muscular upper body covered in scars big and small, and wearing sweatpants.
But a sense of pressure naturally emanated from that large build smiling leisurely.
‘This person is the Great Khan, Borte Chino Jamukha…’
“Hmm… Looking at this, you seem to be the friend who wanted to meet me, shall we shake hands?”
“Ah, yes.”
I grasped the large, rough hand Jamukha extended.
“Borte Chino Jamukha. Don’t bother with formalities and just call me Jamukha, okay? The fact that you have connections with an EX-rank already means you’re not an ordinary fellow.”
…Well, I prefer being ordinary, so hearing I’m not ordinary from such a big shot makes me a bit sad.
Am I already destined to never live a peaceful and comfortable life…
“I’m Dam Han-ul. Just… an unremarkable amateur fortune-teller. Haha…”
“Hmm, smoke screen or modesty or deception… Well, does it matter?”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. That’s not what’s important, right? Right? Let’s go inside first! This doesn’t seem like a conversation to have outside!”
Jamukha grinned and led us into the tent.
And I didn’t particularly refuse and accepted his guidance towards the huge tent.
“Ah, and here… I’d like to have a chat with just this fortune-teller gentleman, can I borrow him for a bit?”
“Well, someone of the Great Khan’s caliber wouldn’t pull any tricks. Go ahead.”
“…If you do pull any tricks, you’ll regret it.”
“Haha! I like your boldness! I’ll return him with all his limbs intact, so don’t worry!”
??? Hey guys??? Where did my opinion go???
I’m still very uncomfortable with this person??? Guys????
Like that, in the blink of an eye, a private meeting between me and Jamukha was arranged…
As the Great Khan’s undead guided the others to another space and took them away, only Jamukha and I were left conspicuously in the largest space inside the tent.
“Sit comfortably, fortune-teller. This space doesn’t get guests often, so the chairs might not suit your taste, but please understand that! From my perspective, I’m suddenly receiving uninvited guests!”
Well, we did barge in without any warning. That was the only way to meet this person, but still.
…But that doesn’t mean I want to sit on a chair made of bones!
Maybe because he’s a necromancer, his taste seems a bit maniacal. Why a skull chair of all things…?
Damn, I’m too weak to say “If you’re annoyed, why don’t you live more openly and make contacts?”… Well, what can I do… I’ll just have to sit…
Anyway, after sitting down with a dissatisfied face, I looked at Jamukha sitting on the opposite side.
“We’re not close enough to exchange greetings, so let’s get straight to the point! I’m very curious about why a foreign fortune-teller I’ve never met before would mobilize even a big shot like Dokma to meet me in my domain!”
“Ah, yes. If that’s the case, let’s move on to the main point.”
Phew, that’s better for me…
I don’t want to talk for too long with such a burdensome big shot…
Anyway, since the Great Khan came out like this, I immediately spilled out the purpose of my coming here.
“Well, to summarize briefly, in about a month, something like a meteorite will fall in Jamukha’s domain. It’s not just a simple meteorite… it can be called a kind of alien life form with immense power. Well, it’s not just a life form… it’s something called an outer god, but…”
Probably when expressed in rank, that outer god would be about EX-rank.
However, due to a difference in compatibility, it will be defeated by the Great Khan, but its strength doesn’t just disappear, so sparks will fly everywhere and it will spread into a great calamity.
I briefly explained this to Jamukha.
“…Hmm, I see. Since you’re a fortune-teller, I suppose you saw such content in your fortune-telling? Interesting… So your purpose is to cooperate with me to deal with it before such a great calamity occurs?”
“Uh… something like that?”
Cooperation… should I call it that?
Dealing with it is correct, but what I want is not so much cooperation as borrowing the Great Khan’s land…
“Hahaha! To come rushing straight to my land for such a thing! You must be quite a kind-hearted and noble fortune-teller!”
It’s not particularly that, it’s because sparks are expected to fly to me too, so I came… If it wasn’t related to me, I wouldn’t have had any reason to come.
“But… from my position of seeing this fortune-teller for the first time and not having heard of your reputation, it’s a bit hard to believe easily. Hey, fortune-teller! Can you give me some faith?”
Ah, is it going this way?
Hmm… It looks like I’ll have to do a thorough fortune-telling again?
“If you ask if I can give you faith…”
“Fortune-tellers are the kind who look out at the world, see the future and find answers, right? It’s simple! Find the answer I want. If you do that, I’ll help you in return!”
Well, simply put, he’s saying he’ll become a customer.
“If it makes things easier, I guess I should do that. So, what’s the answer the customer wants to find?”
What kind of fortune-telling does a superhuman of no less than the Great Khan want? Does he really want something? Or is it just something to test my ability?
But, completely different from my expectations as I was racking my brain, a request popped out of the Great Khan’s mouth.
“My parents… I want to see my parents who loved me unconditionally until the moment they died one more time. Fortune-teller, is that possible?”
“So… you’re saying you want to meet your dead parents once more??”
Oh my, this is quite an unexpected request??