The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 158 Returning Home After Getting Rich

The ghoul's head rolled to the side, and the flying golden light entered his body. The huge amount of experience allowed Eric to level up again, bringing him closer to the fifth rank.

"Killed..."

Leonard took off his helmet, revealing his sweat-drenched head.

While this armor offers formidable protection, it is also a burden for him, as the strain of wearing it during high-intensity combat far exceeds that of his previous work.

"Is it really just that you've only learned a little bit of divine magic?"

Leonard looked at the golden brand that had appeared on Eric's forehead and said, "That thing on your head, I think I've only ever seen it on the heads of some ascetics in the church."

The battle was over. Eric shut down, and the mark on his forehead faded away. He cast a healing spell on himself to replenish the life force he had lost.

Do I look like an ascetic to you?

He was indulging in lavish meals and drinks, staying in the best hotels, and constantly accompanied by two women who seemed closer to him than his adventure teammates. Leonard could see all of this, and he laughed, "You're like a bishop."

Eric was speechless.

Leonard didn't investigate further and began looting the spoils.

"Are you all alright?" Eric asked him, while also inquiring about the other teammates who were fighting nearby.

They all shook their heads. The ghoul boss had been kept in check by him and Leonard the whole time, and they shouldn't have gotten hurt under these circumstances.

"This tomb looks quite large; there must be a lot of burial goods, right?" Leonard looked around.

Noticing Molly staring at him, Eric said, "Look carefully now, there's no pressure of fighting."

The group dispersed, but Molly quickly approached them, asking, "Where did you put the most valuable thing you mentioned?"

Eric was taken aback, then quickly remembered what he had told her earlier.

"It needs an update."

"Ok?"

“He’s the most valuable thing right now,” Eric said, pointing to Leonard. “That set of magical equipment-grade armor is worth more than everything else here.”

Molly glanced at Leonard, then looked at him. "But he's already got his hands on that. I'm asking about what's here."

Eric shook his head. "All I know is that it's hidden here. Let's find it slowly."

Molly had no choice but to search the tomb herself.

Elise leaned closer. "What were you saying to her?"

"It's all for those valuable burial items here."

The two began searching, and soon the tiger-man was the first to discover a large amount of gold coins piled up in a tomb niche.

“Huh, what are these gold coins…” Molly grabbed a handful, only to find that she had never seen the patterns on the coins before.

“It can only be a gold coin from some ancient country before the imperial era.” Eric also picked up a gold coin and looked at it.

In "Thorns of the Soul," this is also one of the items dropped in dungeons. It cannot be used directly and needs to be exchanged for universal gold coins at an NPC. In North Town of this world, there are also people who specialize in buying these kinds of ancient gold coins.

“This thing is only slightly smaller than the Supreme God's Coin, but it’s worth far more.” Leonard, a man of wide experience, scooped up a handful of coins and let them fall freely. “Brothers, we’ve really struck it rich this time!”

Looking at his excited teammates, Eric quietly sighed.

The financial gains from this deep dive into the ancient battlefield were so enormous that these teammates will probably not take any more risks, at least not in the near future.

Next time I come in, I'll have to find new teammates.

He calmly put down the gold coins in his hand, and then noticed that Elise was watching him.

"At least I'll always follow you," she whispered.

Eric paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Let's look again; there should be more here than just these."

"Ah."

After a thorough search, the group found some weapons and equipment that had been buried with them. This turned into a happy problem, because with only twelve hands, the amount of things they could take was very limited.

"The first discovery of a certain ruin yielded such a large amount of wealth. It turns out that the legends circulating in Beizhen are all true."

Leonard was wearing his most valuable suit of armor, holding a long axe in each hand, having discarded his original weapons. "How am I supposed to carry all this?"

“We definitely can’t move it all in one trip,” Eric said. “Before this underground ruin is discovered by others, let’s make a few more trips and bring back everything that’s valuable.”

Everyone's pockets were full of gold coins, and before leaving, they thoroughly swept through every corner of the underground space, cleaning up all the undead.

Regardless of whether Leonard and his companions intend to continue their adventures, Eric plans to use this place as a temporary base for exploring the depths of the ancient battlefield, as the underground is much safer than the surface.

Each of them carried a pile of belongings and evacuated from underground. When they reached the surface exit, they first had the wood elf listen carefully for a while to make sure no one was there before they climbed out.

Half a day had passed since they went up and down, and it was already broad daylight. The corpses of the bandits were still lying there haphazardly on the ground, and there were more undead wandering around.

Leonard wielded his giant axe and went up to clear the way, while Eric pulled a mechanism on the wall to close the passage.

If there were a similar mechanism down there, it would be much more convenient. He was in a bit of a rush this time, so he decided to look for it more carefully next time he came.

After confirming that no traces had been left behind, the group left and moved towards the outside of the ancient battlefield.

The fact that their repeated encounters with other adventurer teams along the way turned into highway robberies is enough to prove just how much they had gained this time.

firewall!

After chanting for a while, Molly waved her staff, and a wall of fire suddenly rose up, blocking several desperate fleeing people.

"You imperialists aren't much better. I thought we were back in Castelfel."

Eric was about to say something when Leonard rushed forward and swung his giant axe repeatedly, causing several people to fall one after another.

“Being merciful to them is being cruel to ourselves.” He turned his head and said, “If we don’t get rid of them, who knows what kind of exaggerated nonsense they will spread when they escape back home, and that will be the real trouble.”

Eric nodded, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and didn't bother to search it further.

"Let's hurry back."

Leonard, now rich, had no interest in the dead either. "Finding treasure and bringing it out of the ancient battlefield alive—that's what makes a true strongman. Once we return to North Town, no one will dare to lay a hand on us."

Attacking each other in the city is forbidden; this is also a rule of North Town.

The group continued on their way. Leonard, being experienced, took a longer route and led them back to Northtown discreetly via a less traveled path.

Back in the city, while not completely safe, at least no one dared to openly attack them. This wasn't Castelfell, after all, where a little restraint could keep people in a human state.

Leonard abandoned his usual low profile, raising his blood-stained giant axe high to show off his spoils and the bloodshed and violence implied in them to all who were watching.

"So what if the demon race has undead cavalry? We still wiped them out!"

Leonard started boasting, using this to conceal the true source of the treasure: "I didn't pay for the meal the day before yesterday, serves me right for being unlucky, encountering undead cavalry on my first visit to the ruined city. But I have the confidence to not pay, and the undead cavalry still can't beat me! ... Don't worry, I'll definitely pay for this meal today."

He tossed a bag of gold coins to Max, the tavern owner, defusing the unseen hostility with money. "Whatever's in the bag you can take, I've got the whole place to myself today! Poor folks, drink up!"

The tavern was soon packed with adventurers looking to freeload.

Eric and his two companions parted ways with him upon returning to town and went back to their hotel first.

"Here you go, two hundred and fifty." As a member of the adventure team, Molly naturally received a considerable amount of money. Upon returning to the inn, she repaid Eric double the amount she had borrowed.

Eric glanced at it twice and accepted the gold coins.

"Do you understand it?"

Molly was taken aback. "What?"

"As long as you follow me, you can have as much money as you want."

She was taken aback again, and after a while she pouted, "It's just good luck. There aren't that many undiscovered ruins that you were the first to find."

“There might be more,” Eric said. “Besides, we haven’t even moved everything we found in the basement.”

Elise leaned against the window. "Once everything there is moved, Leonard and the others probably won't go any further into the depths."

“Yes,” Eric sighed. “Finding more trustworthy people to continue the expedition won’t be so easy.”

"Because everyone comes here to take risks for money."

Molly lay on the table, her hand reaching for the pile of gold coins she had just returned to him, not to take them back, but simply to follow an irresistible instinct. "It's rather strange that someone like you would risk your life just to improve your combat strength... especially since you're a nobleman who doesn't seem like a simple person."

The gold coins jingled, and Eric, not wanting to dwell on the matter, casually asked, "So, with such a large sum of capital, are you going to continue your money-losing business?"

"Can't you speak properly? Where is the politeness and reserve that nobles are so proud of?"

Molly glared at him, then said, "Weren't you worried about not finding anyone to go on adventures with? Well then, I'll just stay with you guys."

Eric was somewhat surprised. "Are you serious?"

Molly nodded at him, their eyes met briefly, and then she looked away.

"I've found it quite fun to go on adventures with you guys... and with you around, there's no real danger."

Elise watched from the side, pursing her lips.

“Actually, they probably haven’t made enough money yet,” Eric said.

Molly was annoyed and immediately shoved him. "Fine, forget it. I'm going back to Castelfel to continue trading alchemical materials."

“Yes, of course we want to.” Eric then looked at Elise. “In any case, at least the three of us are still here, so it won’t be that difficult to rebuild a team.”

Elise responded and looked out the window.

"A lot of people went towards Max's tavern."

“Maybe Leonard is treating. He said it’s the unspoken rule that people who make money treat others at pubs, which reduces the number of people who would covet it,” Eric said.

"is that so."

“Because this counts as a financial loss,” Molly replied.

Eric chuckled. "Pretty much."

"Should we go and freeload a meal?" Molly then asked.

"Forget it, there are too many people."

The three-person group kept a low profile, filling their stomachs at a small tavern where they usually ate two meals a day, and it was several days later when they met up with their other three teammates.

In small batches, along with monster hunting and killing, Eric's team spent more than a month emptying the underground manor of all its valuables—Eric even took out the carpet that he had his eye on first and laid it out on the floor of his hotel room.

On his second visit, he found the mechanism controlling the entrance and exit, which solidified his plan to turn the place into a temporary base.

After the final move was completed, the group divided the money, and as Eric had predicted, the other three expressed their desire to end the adventure and bid him farewell one after another.

"After wandering for so many years, it's about time I went back to my hometown."

Leonard, who appeared to be the oldest, was also the most emotional at their parting. "The greatest luck of my life is meeting you. Otherwise, I might still be taking risks when I'm fifty... I know you're definitely not an ordinary nobleman, but even if you are the emperor's son, you still have to be careful here. There's a limit to the pursuit of the thrill of battle. Just do what's necessary. Survival is the most important thing."

He said he would go to Star Origin Academy in Castelfel to meet his old friend, the mage Hodge, again, and then return to his hometown to become a wealthy landowner.

After saying goodbye, the honest-looking tiger-man said he never imagined he would receive so much money in his life and sincerely expressed his gratitude to Eric. He said his hometown was in a small country to the south, and if Eric ever passed through there in the future, he could come to him for help.

The wood elf who left last said he was going to Lutia to live a life of debauchery, spending half his money over several decades before considering the next few decades.

“If you spend recklessly, you can spend it all in a month at most. Prices in Lutia are different from here, no, they're different from anywhere else.” Eric reminded him that if he overspends, he might have to consider the next hundred years or more of his life.

"……Yeah?"

Everyone received roughly the same amount of money, so Elise could roughly guess how much money he had.

“He calculated the prices in the southern part of Lutia. If it were in the eastern or northern part of the city, you wouldn’t be able to make ends meet in a week if you were serious about it.”

Eric nodded. "Trust her. She's lived in Lutia for over a decade."

"Seven or eight years," Elise said modestly.

The wood elf stared blankly for a while.

"……so."

He decided to change his route and go to Tallinn.

Before leaving, he said something similar to Leonard's, telling Eric to be careful. After all, he was four times Eric's age, and he would feel it would be a great pity if Eric died on the ancient battlefield.

"I'll pay attention."

After seeing off his last teammate, Eric looked at Elise and Molly.

"Rest for two days, then continue searching for people and exploring deeper into the area."

Elise nodded. "Yes."

“You’re the boss, so I’ll listen to you,” Molly said.

On the second day of his rest, after dinner, while taking a walk and passing by the church, a nun stopped him and said she had a letter for him.

Eric followed the nun back to the church, waited for a while, and then received several letters sent from the Black Ice Wall on the far north border.

Are these the only ones?

"Yes."

Eric was slightly disappointed that there was no letter from the Lessier Monastery. He turned his head and saw Elise looking at him.

"……What's wrong."

"nothing."

Back at the hotel, Elise and Molly followed him to his room.

Eric opened the letter, and his face darkened the moment he glanced at it.

After reading the first letter, he opened the others and remained silent for a long time after reading them.

Iris and Molly both looked at him. "What's wrong?"

“Villi is dead,” Eric said.

"Who?" Molly had never heard of the name before, and Elise was also confused for a moment until Eric said that Willy was his family's bodyguard.

She quickly remembered that the family guard named Vili was the one he had sent to the Black Ice Wall to search for any possible moles.

“These letters were sent by Princess Natalia.” Eric took a deep breath. “Vili died protecting her.”

"...Did the garrison of the Black Ice Wall betray us?" Elise asked in surprise.

“No.” Eric picked up the second letter again. “It says that several demon assassins infiltrated the Black Ice Wall, and they were after Natalia. They were very powerful and killed or wounded many of the guards. The seriously wounded Vili jumped off the wall while holding onto one of the demon assassins… Princess Natalia was also stabbed, but fortunately it was only a minor injury.”

"The princess you mentioned... is she the princess of the empire?" Molly asked.

"Ah."

Molly asked curiously, "Why would she write to you?"

“We’re friends, you could say.” Eric didn’t bother to explain further and began to ponder the letter.

"Why would the demons target Natalia... She hasn't been at the border for very long."

“It can only be that what His Highness is doing poses a threat to them,” Elise said.

“I know,” Eric nodded. “What I mean is, the demons shouldn’t realize this so quickly, especially since Luca is dead. Natalia’s greatest asset is simply being the emperor’s sister.”

Elise looked at him. "That was the message that the Black Ice Wall's inside man sent to the demons. In that man's eyes, Your Highness's actions at the border have affected the demons' plans to move south."

“Hmm…or perhaps the scouts she sent to investigate the demons were discovered and forced to confess that it was Natalia’s arrangement.” Eric picked up the third letter. “Natalia said that none of the people she sent out have returned.”

Elise glanced at the letter, then looked at him. "So, what are your plans?"

"do not know."

"..."

As Eric said this, he got up again, found paper and pen, and began to write a reply to Princess Natalia.

Molly wanted to take a look, but Elise pulled her aside and told her not to disturb her.

When he put down his quill, he had already filled four or five pages with all the suggestions he could think of.

"While I still have some time of my own, I can only improve my strength as quickly as possible." He said to Elise as he put the letter into an envelope.

(End of this chapter)