Chapter 20: The World Turned Upside Down
Hans’s expression was a mix of shock and amusement. Nuremberg’s face was pale. Asker was silent, his mind racing.
It wasn’t false modesty. He was the leader of the Azure Longsword mercenary group, how could he suddenly be appointed the chief of their Swordsman Group?
Old Sword Saint, you should really find someone else.
“Master,” Nuremberg said, his voice trembling, “this… this gentleman isn’t even an official member of our Swordsman Group.”
“Oh.” Richard Tennar seemed to just realize this. “Then let him be an honorary chief. After all, his skills are sufficient.”
Asker: …
If this world had a title system, then, in addition to his existing titles of “Azure Longsword Captain,” “Honorary Member of the Night’s Watch,” and “Eternal Comrade of Sparta,” he would now have another one: “Honorary Chief of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group.”
Being too powerful had this problem. No matter where he went, various forces would try to recruit him, asking him to join them in name.
Asker sighed and said frankly:
“I don’t really care about being your honorary chief or not, but I have my own mercenary group to run, I can’t join your Swordsman Group.”
So he’s the leader of a mercenary group, a colleague then. Nuremberg was relieved and said with a smile:
“Don’t worry, since Master appreciates you and is willing to give you the position of honorary chief, you can just accept it. We won’t force you to join us, it’s just an honorary title.”
Hans watched from the side, sneering inwardly. He could see that Nuremberg was worried that the other party would refuse again, and then Master Richard Tennar would revoke his chief position and give it to this newcomer.
However, as the second-in-command of the Swordsman Group, if Nuremberg’s position was revoked, he would become third-in-command. Being demoted for no reason was also unpleasant. So Hans began to explain to Asker what the “Richard Tennar Swordsman Group” was, trying to persuade him to accept this free title.
The Richard Tennar Swordsman Group was founded over a hundred years ago. After traveling the world and mastering swordsmanship, the demigod Sword Saint Richard Tennar decided to establish his own school to promote his swordsmanship.
A few years later, the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group, named after himself, was born. All members were Transcendents of the “Sword Master” bloodline (the sequence consisted of Strength, Sharp Weapon, Dodge, Intuition, and Resilience, a purely physical warrior profession).
As a Swordsman Group, they spent most of their time like mercenary groups, wandering within the Holy Solomon Empire, relying on completing missions to maintain the team’s expenses. Occasionally, they would also explore ruins and anomalies to hone their skills, according to Richard Tennar’s preferences.
This time, they traveled to the Duchy of Carinthia, having heard of a strange anomaly near Villach, and came to try and resolve the source of the anomaly.
Because the magic tide had just risen, Nuremberg, the chief, and Hans, the second-in-command, had only just advanced to level 7. The rest were basically at levels 6 and 5. The entire Swordsman Group had about thirty or forty people.
(With Asker’s level, he would normally only be ranked third or fourth, but because he was so powerful, and the old Sword Saint admired him so much, he created an “honorary chief” position for him.)
Asker was envious after hearing this. He, too, was carrying the entire team, but Azure Longsword’s average level was only 4, while Richard Tennar’s group was all level 5 or above.
What could he say? Having a demigod leading the way was different. At least in terms of potion supply and other resources, Azure Longsword couldn’t compare to their deep foundation.
After chatting for a while, the two swordsmen reported the situation to Richard Tennar.
“In short, we discovered that this foggy area is actually another world created by the anomaly.”
Another world? Hearing this term, with his rich gaming experience, Asker immediately guessed the general idea, and everything he had seen and heard along the way suddenly made sense.
This was a world turned inside out.
Normally, the material world was the so-called “outer world,” the “reality” perceived by people; the spiritual world was the so-called “inner world,” the “sea of subconsciousness.”
This anomaly seemed to have completely reversed the inner and outer worlds.
When they entered the town, what they stepped into wasn’t the real town of Runefield, but a “false town of consciousness” constructed from the collective memories of the ten thousand town residents of Runefield.
And those monsters were naturally not real town residents, but probably creatures that the town residents feared in their subconscious – because everyone feared different things, the monsters were also varied and bizarre.
So, whether it was Medea’s psychic perception range being greatly amplified here, or the “spatial distortion” phenomenon of the two mercenary groups always meeting no matter which way they went, it could all be reasonably explained.
If he wanted further verification, then this foggy area should be the material world’s town of Runefield, which had been excised and swapped out by the anomaly.
All the missing town residents could probably be found here.
Asker pondered, following the two swordsmen and the old man, listening to their account of their half-day exploration, and he gradually became certain.
Passing through the thick fog, shadowy buildings finally appeared ahead.
“Be careful, because of the fog, although there are buildings for guidance in the town, there is still a risk of getting lost.” Nuremberg reminded them seriously. “Next, please follow me closely.”
Although these words were addressed to “everyone,” it was clearly a reminder to Asker, who had just arrived. The latter nodded without saying a word.
The four walked along the street, passing through several blocks and intersections. After about half an hour, they finally reached the church in the center of the town.
The pews for mass had been moved aside and placed randomly behind the lectern. Nearly a hundred townspeople were gathered in the center of the church, sitting or lying down, looking worried.
There were also many unconscious residents lying on makeshift sleeping bags, being cared for by family members or lying alone. Their faces were mostly pale and uncomfortable, as if they were having terrible nightmares.
The swordsmen scattered around were members of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group. Seeing the old man and the chief and second-in-command return safely, they immediately greeted them happily.
“Master! Chief! Second-in-command!”
“Call me Senior Brother!” Hans said irritably. Being called “Chief” was fine, but the term “Second-in-command” (Nummer Zwei) sounded awkward no matter how you put it.
When people heard “second-in-command,” their first reaction was usually “Who’s the chief?” It made it sound like the second-in-command wasn’t “the second strongest in the entire group,” but “the guy who is weaker than the chief,” which was unbearable.
“Second-in-command! If you don’t want to be second-in-command, let me be it!” someone shouted.
Hans saw that the speaker was actually that idiot Jonas, the fourth-in-command, and immediately snapped, “Get lost!”
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