Chapter 151.

PART 1.

A car is going through the road, with one man walking inside, collecting various items, while the vehicle drives automatically. This is, of course, Munshi’s car. The necromancer has dropped Hatori and is going to Kishore Nanda’s farm.

About a month later after he picked up Hatori from the Academy, he got a letter from the farmer. He explained the undead assaults going on at his farm. Munshi recognized who was behind these attacks at once. At first, he wanted to take Hatori with him there, but he decides that he will be able to deal with this problem better alone. despite the experience Hatori has acquired, he is still not ready to face an experienced necromancer like Manoj alone.

Not that Hatori is free during this time. he has his own case to solve.

PART 2.

Hatori makes himself comfortable in the airship. he is going to the northern region of the Subcontinent, specifically, the capital of that area. Some noble family is having some necromantic troubles, and since Munshi already has a case, Hatori is going to his place.

He is apprehensive about dealing with a noble family alone since Hatori does not exactly get along with the high society. but Munshi told him that there would be some people there to look out for him. so, he should focus on his case, and leave everything to these people. Predictably, when he asked about these mysterious people, Munshi failed to answer who they were.

Munshi also told Hatori before he left that they had not shared much in the letter. He told Hatori that noble families could be like that, so he would have to lean hard on them if he wished to get anything out of them.

PART 3.

James is working with healer Slaughter. Outside, there is a huge line of students, waiting to receive their potions, while inside of the infirmary, several students groan in pain and discomfort. An epidemic has broken out in the Academy, and all the healers and their students are working hard to tackle this problem.

Seeing the exhaustion of James, Slaughter walks to him and puts a hand over his shoulder. “Enough kid, let’s take a break.”

“But sir—” James protested, there is still work to be done.

“Don’t worry, there are other healers here as well,” said Slaughter, and sat down with James for a moment.

While they drink their tea to soothe their nerves, Slaughter begins to talk with James. “This is the first time you have experienced a problem of this scale.” James nodded, and Slaughter continued. “This is always a test. The stupidity of people, and then their panic. Remember though, always take it as a challenge. Do not let it overwhelm you, because then you won’t be able to save any lives.”

“I understand, sir. Thank you,” said James gratefully. He is glad to hear those words, however odd they may be.

PART 4.

While James works with healer Slaughter, in the president’s office, Josh is dealing with the cause of this epidemic. “You knew it was against the rules, and yet you did it all the same. Sneaking a pet inside, unvaccinated no less!” Josh resisted his urge to slam his fist down upon his desk.

Unfortunately, the person sitting in front of him does not seem to care at all. The boy sneered at Josh. “So, what if I did? My father—”

‘Fuck it.’ thought Josh, and with the pressure of his magic, he throws the boy to the floor. “Listen, Tarun, I’m tired of arguing with you. Do you think I give a damn about your father and his position? Well, think again.” Josh gets up from his chair and looms over a cowering Tarun. “You made a mistake. Your pet will be returned to your home, and you will wear the mark of shame as long as you study here for endangering the students here, do you understand?”

Right now, Tarun feels like a gorilla is looking down upon him, ready to crush him beneath his feet for showing the slightest resistance. “But my father will—” he tries to say.

“Will do nothing.” Said Josh, walking back to his chair. “I don’t care whether he comes barging in here, kills your dog, punishes you, or something else entirely. But one thing I know certainly. That you won’t get away by using his name under my rule.” said Josh with finality.

PART 5.

Raven sits down in the camp, tired from all the walking he had to do while carrying heavy bags of supplies. True to the instruction of the general, the soldiers are not giving him any easy time, making him carry the same load as them. though he notices that they do let him rest more. Probably because he is still young.

The reason for this walking? They are lost. the map was forgotten before they came here, and while they did manage to meet with the tribes, they had no idea of how to find their way back to the capital of this region, which would allow them to go to the castle from there.

Just like the other three nights, arguing ensues in the camp. “What? That is not the right path.”

“How can you say it so confidently?”

“There was no river!”

“You speak as if you have traversed this path on foot!”

Raven sidles up to the squad leader and asks to speak with him. at his nod, he asks. “Why can’t we ask locals to show us the way?” he whispered quietly.

But not quietly enough. The soldiers near him hear his words, and they decide to let him know why. “What? How dare you suggest such a thing?” said the woman. “We are the mighty soldiers of our king. we do not get lost, and certainly never ask for help from tribal locals!”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Indeed. Imagine the humiliation!” added a man.

“I thought the military was supposed to be pragmatic. That’s what the general taught me so far.” Said Raven. Several soldiers opened their mouths but then closed them. “Say it.” he smiled at their discomfort. “Why don’t you say that you think that the general is an office-bound idiot?”

They winced at those words. How did this kid read their mind? “As things stand now, we’re already going through a humiliation. Other squads are probably reporting as we speak. we are the only ones who are missing. There is no sign of a conflict in this region, so the general is going to draw the right conclusion anyway.” Raven turns to the leader, who is listening to these arguments with rapt attention. He is happy to hear something different than the bickering he has been hearing for the last three days.

“Sir,” continues Raven, “I know that I’m not a proper soldier yet, but I do think we should abandon our pride for now. we can think of humiliation once we actually get back in the castle and report to the general. Because if the general sends a search squad, and they find us like this, our humiliation will increase by ten times!”

“You’re right.” said the leader. “Darshan, go speak with the natives. We’ll find our way back to the capitol. Once we get back, we’ll think about how to repair our reputation.”

The soldiers grumble and decide to make their beds. There is more walking to be done tomorrow.

PART 6.

Avinash and Kishore are holed up on the farm. The wards have stopped the undead from invading the farm, but it has also trapped them here. they are not lacking in food for now, but sooner or later, they will run out. None of them are necromancers, so they do not fancy their chances against an undead squad.

Just like every other day, Avinash goes to handle the animals. Provide fodder to the cows, feed the chickens, and of course, keep them inside, and not let them cross the wards of the farm. While he is doing this, he has to ignore the looming presence of the rotting corpses, which are waiting for him to step just one toe out of the line to pounce on him.

As he is walking inside after these chores, he hears the noise of a car. Soon, the walking corpses are attacked from behind with whips of fire and eye-searing blasts of fire, turning the bodies into ash. Munshi walks in, his feet crunching on the bones of the undead. “Wouldn’t they restore themselves?” asked Avinash.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t the normal fire.” Said Munshi. “Is Kishore inside?” at Avinash’s nod, Munshi moves inside of the farm.

The farmer comes to meet him, looking haggard. “Could you provide some details of what is going on here?” asked Munshi, getting straight to the point.

“Well, it was a bloody strange thing. At first, the animals went wild. Then after everything calms down for a while, suddenly these rotting walking corpses show up, forcing us to live here.” he said. “Beyond that, I don’t know. But I certainly know where these corpses came from. A graveyard is located nearby, and I have spoken to the villagers about it on multiple occasions to remove it and burn the corpses. But they refused every time, the magic damned idiots.”

‘He must be using that graveyard as a base of his operation then.’ Thinks Munshi. “Well, you will get rid of these corpses one way or another.” Said Munshi with a smile.

PART 6.

Hatori arrives at the home of the Yadav family. The entire area seems to have a gloomy feeling. There is no carefree talking, no sound of laughter, not a feeling that he expects to get from a family. ‘The noble families do have emotions, don’t they? Or did they eat those in the name of politics and ambitions?’ he thought to himself, as he was led to meet with the family head.

Niraj Yadav looks to be a man of average height, a mage who appears to be middle-aged, but with mages, it is hard to tell. Hatori is still having trouble getting used to visual interactions with humans, so he is not going to judge someone’s age.

“You are Munshi’s student, correct?” asked Niraj, once Hatori took a sit in front of him. “I received a letter from him, explaining why he is sending you.”

‘That explains it.’ Hatori nods. “Yes sir, I am his student,” said Hatori. “Now, will you tell me what is going on here? you didn’t describe anything in the letter.” Said Hatori, deciding to get to the point.

‘The boy looks to be experienced. I cannot disregard him.’ thinks Niraj. “There have been various incidents, where I feel some people got possessed or got violently attacked.” He said, while not giving any specific details.

‘Master was right. these noble people are hard to deal with. Still, I can think of various things, I’ve built up a nice collection after solving some cases.’ Thinks Hatori. “That sounds like a soul. Spirits do not possess humans. If you don’t mind me asking, is there some violent history in your family for which a soul might try to take revenge on you? this seems to be the common pattern I have observed in the cases I have solved on my own.” Said Hatori, when Niraj looked at him strangely for that question.

“Not that I’m aware of.” Said Niraj. “If my ancestor pissed off someone and didn’t tell us, I cannot discard that possibility.”

“Okay. it will take me some time to observe this house and capture this soul or spirit that is causing problems. Until then, please do inform me if anything strange happens.” Said Hatori, taking his leave.

He decides to investigate the history of this family on his own, just in case the head is not sharing with him.