Past Life Returner
chapter-425

Joshua suddenly realized that he was aging. The aging process had not been noticeable since he regained his former appearance. The feeling he had was purely due to his heightened Sense, while the actual speed of aging affecting him was incredibly slow.

He wondered how much longer his lifespan would be. Five thousand years? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? The numbers that crossed his mind were so vast that it became meaningless to think about them.

However, it was different for his subordinates. The Awakened had been aging at a rate not much different from ordinary people since they returned from the Stage of Advent. Their lives were finite. There was a high possibility that they would die before reaching the age of one hundred.

Mmm…

Therefore, Joshua experienced a sense of sorrow upon witnessing his followers, with whom he had shared moments from Act Two, Stage One, distancing themselves from society. Although he was reborn in this land, his people were still confined to the lonely and distressing life they had on the stage.

At that time, a beautiful aristocratic woman approached Joshua while he sat on the throne. She was ghastly pale as if she was sick and had mysterious colors in her eyes that captivated people. She politely held the hem of her dress in both hands and bent her knees.

“Would you like to dance, my lord?”

A victory party was being held.

The party was bustling with attendees, but only Joshua and his followers were from the mainland. They had no interest in how the party was going.

The party was a typical Greenwood-style event, unlike those in the areas that the Awakened had occupied. No human tunes from the mainland could be heard, nor were any plates to be found. Instead, the melodious sounds of Greenwood’s musical instruments filled the air, while the attendees joyfully danced to the rhythm. Amidst the noble dancers, the woman of aristocratic status, who Joshua had previously rejected, was present.

Joshua got up from the throne and moved to where his followers were gathered.

“Are you guys bored?”

Ever since the Stage of Advent, his people had no attachment to the mainland. Unlike other Awakened who sought wealth and sought to claim territories, Joshua’s followers were not motivated by such desires. Their sole reason for being with him was their unwavering loyalty to him.

If they wanted land or wealth, then Joshua could have easily fulfilled their wishes. However, since they lacked such ambitions, he could only satisfy their primal instincts.

Joshua began gesturing with his eyes to indicate multiple locations within the hall for his followers. He first looked at the center of the hall, where the crowd was dancing, consisting of chosen vampire nobles and city dwellers, who had undergone the selection process.

Then, he glanced at the perimeter of the hall, where the captured knights and priests were bound and stripped of their clothing, regardless of gender. He then focused on the musicians, who were solely concentrating on their performance.

Lastly, Joshua shifted his gaze toward the men and women who were trembling in fear. These individuals were the ones Joshua had handpicked for his followers from the city, although it didn’t matter if his people wanted someone else other than this group of people.

“Go ahead and pick anyone you like.”

Joshua instructed his followers to choose anyone they desired from among the attendees. With a single clap, the musicians ceased playing. When Joshua returned to his throne and sat down, his subordinates started to walk around. A startled scream and a burst of tears could be heard from different parts of the hall.

Joshua then clapped his hands again, and the music resumed. Bitterness crossed his face when his last subordinate left. Over half of his people had died during the battle against Holy Knight Caldoran, and since capturing Caldoran’s city, more than half of the remaining had died in the ongoing fights.

There were fewer than fifty followers now, and the absence of his dead subordinates was painfully apparent to Joshua.

The party resumed as if nothing had happened, and an uninvited guest arrived. He wore a battle suit with two emblems. One was the logo of the World Awakened Association, and the other was the logo of a company or agency he worked for. It was evident from the iron tag around his neck that he was a mercenary and not an Awakened.

Nonetheless, Joshua felt a strange sensation upon confronting the man, unrelated to his identity. Despite not being Awakened, the man’s gait displayed remarkable strength, and his pupils were dilated, akin to a cat’s at midnight. The blood vessels in his eyes were prominent, but there was no visible hemorrhage on his sclera.

He introduced himself to Joshua while standing beneath his throne.

“Thank you for allowing me to enter. I am Marco from TTMC[1]. I am currently stationed twenty kilometers north of Mr. Osiris’s occupied territory, and…”

The mercenary had adapted well to the laws of outer space. However, standing before Osiris and trespassing into the vampire region that everyone avoided caused unease to surface in his eyes.

Joshua asked about the source of the mercenary’s extraordinary abilities despite not being an Awakened.

“It’s Spider Web,” the man replied.

Unable to withstand Joshua’s penetrating stare, the mercenary quickly lowered his head. Then, he handed one pill to Joshua even though there was no order. The mercenary’s group had previously mentioned how expensive the drug was to him, but that did not matter at the moment.

Afterward, the mercenary divulged the true reason he had taken the risk to enter the building.

“There is a message from the Association's leadership to you, Mr. Osiris.”

「 Dear Osiris,

This is Lee Tae-Han. Thanks to your defense of the Land of Whirlpool, the Association could concentrate on seizing the central region. We would like to express gratitude towards you for your efforts through this letter. In addition, I am writing this to tell you an important matter about Mana…」

***

Joshua’s eyes turned cold as he read the message.

Thanks to your defense?

He had no official responsibility, and even if there were, it wouldn’t have come from someone like Lee Tae-Han. The only one who could issue him a command was him.

Nonetheless, Lee Tae-Han was implying that Joshua should remain in the Land of Whirlpool through the letter. Although it was just one sentence, Lee Tae-Han definitely knew how Joshua would interpret the phrase.

But the reason he is still saying such a thing is…

Joshua knew that Lee Tae-Han was trying to enforce his own ideas. As the letter stated, the safety of the battlefields where Awakened was deployed was guaranteed since Joshua and his people had confronted the invading forces and Holy Knights from all over the continent.

Nonetheless, Joshua had defended the Land of Whirlpool by his own will as he wanted to contribute to his war.

He purposely refrained from requesting reinforcements even in the rapidly worsening situation where he lost his people day by day. It was only because he wanted to help him.

Lee Tae-Han…

Joshua thought to himself. Even without employing such obvious tactics, Lee Tae-Han would still get his authority over the central area. Joshua didn’t mind if he had to defend the Land of Whirlpool or expand into other regions for him, but this was…

You are in that position because of me, you arrogant fool.

Joshua crumpled the letter in his hand, and his handsome face remained contorted.

“My Lord… Is it because of the guest earlier? If you wish, I can go after him, then…perhaps teach him a lesson.”

The approaching noblewoman had noticed Joshua’s change in expression and offered him assistance.

Joshua was preoccupied with the situation that would happen from then. Whatever stupid Lee Tae-Han’s intention was, safeguarding the Land of Whirlpool and expanding into other regions was what he could do to support him. That was the only way the Awakened could quickly finish occupying the central area and advance to the outer regions.

The Greenwood Continent was immense, but it wasn’t the only continent of its size in outer space. There was still a long way to go, and that was why.

Being in a situation where he had no choice but to follow the arrogant idiot’s intentions made his rage surge up.

I can’t lose any more followers.

Therefore, the problem was finding a way to replenish the troops. There were limits to increasing the number of vampire nobles, and increasing their number did not only have advantages.

Moreover, turning townspeople into vampires also posed limits as a majority of them died from previous battles. The consequences of turning all the remaining townspeople into vampires were impossible because then, no one would be in charge of production as vampires couldn’t move during the day.

Joshua’s mind was consumed by dark thoughts.

Should I lift the restrictions?

He had prohibited hunting to prevent conflicts with other Awakened groups, but it happened often at night. It didn’t apply to him, but the circumstances were different for the nobles and ordinary people. Their thirst for blood was uncontrollable as they risked severe punishment by biting townspeople or hunting across the city. They usually targeted the lands vacant by the Awakened instead of the territories where the expeditionary forces and knights were gathered.

It was common for the Awakened to share the land they seized and leave for other battlefields. Therefore, it was an easy target for vampires.

But…

Making the territories of other Awakened groups into their hunting grounds wasn’t something to decide impulsively.

***

Joshua couldn’t make up his mind because satisfying the vampires’ thirst in the battles against Lacryma's Order and capturing as many slaves as possible was better than turning other groups’ lands into their hunting grounds.

His mind was gradually leaning toward this idea. It was not only because of the Awakened or Lee Tae-Han. He just wanted to hasten the end of the war that he was fighting. Thus, if he could eliminate powerful enemies in the Lacryma’s corps in advance and find ways to expand his territory… Then, he wouldn’t have to worry about his subordinates’ hunting grounds.

Finally, Joshua decided to go on a secret mission. He was not going to bring any subordinates. Instead, he chose some insignificant aristocratic individuals whose death would mean nothing. Men and women with pale faces gathered in his bedroom at his call, then…

“Joshua.”

A fierce wind rushed in. Of course, there was only one person who could call him that way. Joshua immediately knelt down.

“Welcome, Master.”

The vampire nobles also knelt following Joshua. At that moment, he saw an old book appearing in front of him. He lowered his head and slightly brushed aside his long blonde hair. Then, he could clearly see the book.

It appeared similar to the [Book of Death Volume 2], which had turned him into a Vampire Lord.

- Seon-Hu: Raise the dead, and make them your slaves.

Joshua heard his voice through telepathy.

1. Not a typo, was TTMC in the raws ☜