Chapter 458 - Elimination (1)
The moment the Grand Warrior's sword touched the floor, cleanly severed skin and muscle, organs and bone… blood burst out front and back.
There wasn't even time to leave a will.
Count Cheolp, split perfectly in two, collapsed to the left and right.
The representative of the East was dead.
Of course, they had already considered the possibility of Cheolp's death during the operation, but no one expected the process to unfold like this.
Who would have thought that the Grand Warrior hired by the East would kill Cheolp himself?
'Why?'
Isabella doubted the true meaning of that action.
It made no sense.
If he didn't care what happened to Cheolp in the first place, he could have simply ignored the threat and launched the attack.
But instead, he cut down his own employer first.
It didn't feel like he killed him impulsively, thinking he was an obstacle. It felt calculated, as if there was another plan behind it.
Boom!
The Grand Warrior's movements did not end there.
After confirming Cheolp's death, he stepped forward with his left foot and rotated to the right.
A blade cleaving through the air.
That strike was aimed precisely at Heras throat.
Heras, though a 5th-tier Magus belonging to the Society, was vulnerable in close combat.
Caught unprepared at such a close distance, there was no way for him to block or deflect the Grand Warrior's sword.
That was why Isabella stepped in.
With a
───Crack-crack-crackle!
The mana wall shattered against the sharp blade.
Even though the impact was lessened, two-thirds of her right arm was cut away, pushed back, and the left palm that supported it split down to the wrist.
Her neck was half-severed.
Immediately, a fountain of blood gushed out, drenching the Grand Warrior.
"I told you before, didn't I? Bathing in your blood would feel refreshing."
The Grand Warrior, soaked in blood, grinned vilely.
He was convinced it was a fatal wound.
But Isabella, perfectly fine, raised her head and sneered in reply.
"And I told you before, didn't I? There are many ways to commit suicide."
"What…."
Sizzleeee—
"Ghhkk?!!"
The Grand Warrior convulsed in agony and leapt back.
From his bloodstained skin, faint smoke rose.
Poison.
And not just any poison, but lethal.
The Grand Warrior immediately released aura, trying desperately to strip the blood off his body.
But Isabella's blood was a medium of invasive Mado infused with deep mana.
Sensing that she had succeeded in penetrating part of the Grand Warrior's mana resistance, she bent her hand.
The Grand Warrior's body froze.
"Disappear."
Kwaaang───crash-crash-crash!!!
The Grand Warrior's massive body shot upward, smashing through the ceiling, then plummeted straight down, unleashing a thunderous roar.
The Grand Warrior crashed all the way down, breaking floor after floor until he was buried at the bottom of the airship.
"Hmph."
Isabella brushed her hair back.
The wounds from the double-edged blade were already nearly healed.
Heras gasped in shock and admiration.
He had known about her body's unique traits, but seeing them in person was still astonishing.
"...Are you all right?"
"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. My clothes being cut and dirtied is a blemish, but thankfully I didn't wear the robe the house head bought me."
Well, in any case.
"Capturing Count Cheolp Paleed, but the objective was achieved. There's nothing left for us here."
The Grand Warrior might still be alive, but with the East's representative Cheolp gone, there was no reason to stay.
Normally, a large airship could accommodate at least several hundred people, but Cheolp's had been modified to hold even more troops.
Facing that many wasn't part of the plan.
As soon as Isabella and Heras stepped into the corridor, they ran into five Mages. Extending mana detection, they confirmed that the commotion had drawn many more their way.
The fire Heras had caused with a delayed magic circle had nearly been extinguished.
"I'll prepare the calculation."
"I'll take the lead."
Heras pulled out his staff, crushed two Mages with massive rocks, and blasted the others with strong winds to disrupt their spellcasting.
Seizing the opening, Heras flew through the corridor, Isabella focusing her mind as she followed close behind.
They dealt with enemies they encountered along the way and diverted attention, but the numbers were overwhelming.
Though they neared the airship's outer wall, being encircled was inevitable.
Kwaaang!
Just then, the Grand Warrior broke through the wall and appeared.
He had climbed up from the lowest floor.
His body was covered in wounds, but he had rid himself of Isabella's blood. Veins bulged on his forehead.
"You bitch."
"Persistent, aren't you."
Strange mana light flickered in Isabella's hand.
"But you're too late."
The calculation was already complete.
Ever since being directly taught by Verden, she had studied on her own every day, mastering the usage of the artifact [Center of the Three Primary Colors], and its function, Chaos Imbue.
Based on a mana sphere infused with Mado, she extracted and fused the icy crystals of
With her right eye—her functional eye—Isabella gauged the range precisely, and cast the spell.
Mana exploded.
"...!!!"
Sensing danger, the Grand Warrior used other humans as shields while fleeing, as cold waves spread across dozens of meters.
Isabella's freezing spell was amplified in range and power by the [Ring of Permafrost (Replica)] and [Maybel's Earrings].
Ssshhhhhkkk───!
Everything froze.
Except for Isabella and Heras, the eastern knights, Mages, and soldiers who formed the encirclement stiffened.
A few Mages, including a lower-ranked 5th-tier, hastily raised fire barriers, but resistance was futile.
They froze, flames and all.
Not only the living, but frost covered the entire interior of the airship.
Isabella snapped her fingers.
Her mana embedded in the ice reacted.
Cr-cr-cr-cr-cr-crack!
The surrounding structures cracked everywhere, then shattered into powder, scattering in all directions.
The fierce night wind rushed in.
A massive hole had been ripped into the airship's hull.
At the same time, the frozen people all exploded, dying instantly.
Killing ability—
In that field, none surpassed Isabella except Verden.
Thud.
Temporarily nullifying the encirclement, Isabella and Heras immediately leapt outside.
Falling from the lofty sky, the two cast the 5th-tier spell
As individuals, they were swift and agile.
Chasing them with a large airship, suited for long-distance flight, was impossible.
Isabella activated her communicator.
"It's done on our side."
A reply came at once.
───What about Cheolp?
"We couldn't secure him. We managed to take him hostage, but the Grand Warrior suddenly killed him. I'll explain in detail once we return."
Isabella spoke to Adrian.
"Anyway, the East is eliminated."
***
The Grand Warrior, who instinctively avoided the magic, returned and stood at the edge of the damaged hull.
In the place still heavy with cold air, he stared at the clouds where they had vanished.
He wanted to chase them down and kill them immediately, but restraining that impulse wasn't difficult.
They would meet again soon.
Not in the sky aboard some airship, but on the ground—on a stage where escape would not be so easy.
'When that time comes, I'll capture you alive, and in front of everyone, I'll slice your body into tiny pieces.'
The Grand Warrior from the North.
In the absence of the "King of the North", he had committed countless massacres, then fled into the Ownerless Land, baring his fangs once more.
***
The Mercenary King, who was staying in one of the fortresses in the disputed territory occupied by the West, was loosening his body early in the morning when new news arrived.
The sender was from the Mediation Zone.
Listening to the messenger's words, the Mercenary King widened his eyes and stroked his chin.
"The North assassinated Cheolp? And by infiltrating a large airship in the sky? This is… truly astonishing. No, considering the recent rumors, perhaps it's not so strange."
Currently, the North, having captured Melconi, was heavily threatening the East.
Of course, this was partly because the West was also invading the East from another direction, preventing the High Lord from properly responding, but regardless.
"Still, wasn't that Grand Warrior supposed to guard Cheolp? Hm, I can't quite imagine who killed him."
It was unlikely to be those Magi.
The man called Cain had been confirmed to be in a fortress occupied by the North, and the woman called Unia was assumed to be resting after capturing Melconi.
They said her body wasn't in good condition.
Well, in a battle between two 6th-tier Magi, it wasn't as if either would come out unscathed.
In any case, the East was finished.
Since the news was proclaimed from the Mediation Zone, it was truthful without any deception. No longer could anyone invade the territory occupied by the East.
With their representative dead, the East was effectively excluded from the competition.
That was the rule.
Rustle.
He brought out the competition board, made with the West's intelligence network, and examined it closely.
Currently, the North had occupied three Eastern fortresses, including Duresque Fortress.
"It's transparent."
Adding together the territories the North had taken from the East, they formed a direct link between the Northern lands outside the disputed region and the Southern large-scale mines.
Their goal was clearly to win the competition, so they seized only the key fortresses.
Not a bad move.
Even with backing from another nation, unlike other powers, they wouldn't have enough troops to conquer and hold many fortresses.
For a faction operating with only a handful of nation-level combatants, it was a textbook strategy.
'Still, when did they manage to recruit such strong individuals… is it divine blessing, or is it truly because he is a ruler?'
In the end, the Mercenary King saw only two choices before him.
First, defend.
Since the North wanted victory, they couldn't waste time. The West still occupied more territory, so eventually they would have to move outward.
To seize more fortresses… or to capture the West's representative, the Mercenary King himself.
Second, attack.
A simple method.
If they captured Liam Arein now, the West would win, and the competition would end.
The Mercenary King laughed.
"Then I must go."
His specialty was not defense, but attack.
"Go and tell the mercenary captains, prepare for departure. Also, tell them we leave in three days."
"Yes, sir."
The Mercenary King rested his dark-hued sword on his shoulder.
The blade touched his armor.
The West had already gnawed away a fair portion of the East's territory, leaving them fairly satisfied.
"Let's enjoy it, let's truly enjoy it."
Hadn't the Ruler himself commanded it so?
Then so it shall be.
***
A city in the Western Continent.
"Thank you so much, sir!!!"
The merchant guildmaster, neatly kept as though he had always maintained himself, bowed to Verden as if greeting a king.
For Verden had just bought enormous quantities of supplies, of very high quality, all at once, and paid in full.
It was the first time in the guildmaster's life that such a great customer had appeared without prior notice.
"No matter what, I'll have all the goods secured within three days and neatly stacked in the warehouse. Just tell me where you'll be staying, and I'll send someone when it's ready."
"The top floor of the Black Seagull Inn. Be it dawn or morning, the time doesn't matter, contact me as soon as it's prepared."
"Understood. Then, safe travels!"
Personally seen off by the guildmaster, Verden leisurely strolled through the city center.
There was no rush.
The dwarves remained in the temporary underground dwellings Verden had created with
Step, step.
The street was peaceful.
On the faces of the passersby, there was no sign of great worry.
From afar, a young girl walking with her parents clutched the ice cream she had received from a vendor, raising both arms high.
"It's so tasty! Let's eat it at the park!"
"Hey, you'll fall if you run like that!"
Sure enough, the child, running happily toward the park, tripped on a small protruding stone.
Just before falling—
The density of space thickened, and the girl, who had tightly shut her eyes, froze in place. The ice cream too stopped mid-fall, not hitting the ground.
The very next moment, as her foot touched the ground, the ice cream cleanly returned to her tiny hand.
Her parents rushed over, belatedly.
"See, mom and dad told you not to run! Are you hurt?!"
"Uuung… I'm fine!"
The girl, with innocent eyes, glanced at her clothes, then licked her ice cream and smiled brightly.
She didn't know how, but since the ice cream was safe, she was delighted.
Verden walked past the family.
'That reminds me of the old days.'
The industrial city Cohen, in the Principality of Riviant.
While staying at the inn called the Beehive's Rest to accept a commission arranged by the broker Pale, it happened.
He had caught a girl named Aisha, almost bumping into her at the entrance, and stopped her ice cream from staining his Mahbat leather gear with
Back then, her guardian, an old fortune-teller, had thanked him, and later, when they met again on the street, he had even received a free fortune reading.
Of course, Verden did not believe in fortune-telling.
Clack.
Entering the inn room, he sat on a wooden chair by the window.
A table full of dishes.
[Scanning.]
Alpha was carefully scanning each of the fine dishes. Perhaps he would even become a chef, though it didn't seem entirely unfitting.
After all, he was rational by nature, and being a golem, his handiwork was extremely precise, making his cooking almost flawless.
Verden let Alpha do as he pleased, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed outside.
He thought of the unresolved matters still at hand.
He had found two of the three Golden Relics, so he had to search for the last one.
He needed to visit Anonium Bank, using the key Jack had given him as a reward, to access what had belonged to Councilman Nellonian of the Beldirn Republic, who had been slain by Glory of the dead.
'That's the small matters….'
The most important task was meeting the Sages of the Society, informing them that he was ready, and preparing the stage to draw out Dahit of Black Hour.
To keep his promise with the Society and Harkan, and to annihilate the Bohemirn Tower.
Not only that.
He also had to repair the core of Beta, the Golem of the Magus King found in the Great Forest, and build him a new body.
'And someday, I must also uncover the secret between the Magus King and the magic tower's power source… and the truth about my own body entangled in it.'
Ash-grey hair.
Blue eyes.
A heart filled with infinite mana.
Even after reconstructing his body through Defying the Heavens, and becoming a Transcendent, these changes had yet to be explained.
'There is a mountain of work.'
Revenge remained for Verden a purpose that had to be fulfilled. Yet, unlike before, he no longer saw it as the end of the road.
Verden had his own vision of an ideal future.
'Still… I wonder how the disputed region is faring now.'
Surely, they were doing well.
As Adrian had assured him, by the time Verden returned with the dwarves, the competition would be over.
'But that won't be the end of it.'
The factions ruling the Ownerless Land would hardly accept defeat easily, nor willingly retreat with enormous profit at stake.
Especially what Verden kept his eyes on—the South, the very faction that had hosted the competition.
If they had set the stage, then there was a clear reason for it.
If matters dragged on even after the competition ended, Verden intended to step in.
Delays in securing the large mines where the dwarves would live were unacceptable.
[Your Majesty Verden, please eat before it gets cold.]
Alpha speared a piece of finely sliced steak with a fork and held it out.
"Yes."
Verden accepted it.
The taste wasn't bad.
***
Derkadil Fortress, under Northern occupation.
On the high ramparts stood Cain and Lester, commander of the Valiant Fugitives.
Directly opposite, in the battle lines of the Western forces, stood the Mercenary King.
The two forces faced one another.
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