Chapter 147

— They say the head of the Dominic Guild knows a smelting method for a metal comparable to adamantium!

— And that, on top of that, it can be mass-produced easily, in an amount sufficient to heavily equip ten thousand soldiers!

The conversation that Lucian and Dominic had spread in the blink of an eye throughout the entire north.

It was news far too shocking to be dismissed outright as mere merchant bragging.

What kind of metal was adamantium? The king of metals, so absurdly hard that its extraction and smelting required an enormous amount of time and cost.

Due to the difficulty of mining it, regardless of how many veins existed, the annual amount that could be extracted never exceeded a certain limit.

And now they were saying that there existed a metal comparable to adamantium that could be mass-produced as easily as pulling something out of a field.

“He’s gone mad. Has Dominic become senile with age?”

“One should know how to exaggerate in moderation. A smelting method comparable to adamantium?”

“But if it were true, wouldn’t it be a discovery capable of shaking the entire continent?”

“I don’t think a magnate of Dominic’s level would make something like that up for no reason.”

The attention of the entire north focused all at once on Asagrim.

If, even one time in a thousand, Dominic’s words turned out to be true, it was not a matter that could be taken lightly.

Lucian had already brought with him, from beyond the tundra, an enormous number of giants.

Even with ordinary equipment, that alone would already be a colossal force. But if they were additionally armed with equipment on the level of adamantium?

It was no exaggeration to say that he would obtain power sufficient to conquer the entire north without anyone finding it strange.

In other words, the lord who managed to recruit Dominic could make that force his own.

‘Even if he has incurred the duke’s resentment, if he delivers the promised amount, he’ll soon be set free.’

‘At that moment, I’ll have to approach him before anyone else and secure him.’

‘If only I could get my hands on a manufacturing method for a metal equivalent to adamantium…’

While the lords of the north watched Asagrim with various hidden schemes, Lucian made no visible move.

He merely kept watch over the members of the tribes who had settled there and waited silently until the promised date with Dominic arrived.

Of course, he was closely following the movements of the other lords as well, so he understood perfectly what was going through each of their minds.

“You can hear the drool dripping all the way over here. And that’s without it even being confirmed whether what that guy says is true or not.”

“That’s true, but what do you plan to do if Dominic really brings a metal comparable to adamantium?”

“What’s the problem? Are you worried I’ll forgive him?”

“On the contrary. I’m worried that Your Highness will ignore its value and kill him.”

Hans looked at Lucian with a serious expression.

“Your Highness, if that man truly fulfills his promise, you need not worry about me. I may come from humble origins, but I at least know that, for the sake of a greater cause, there are lesser things that must be overlooked.”

“So you want me to forgive him if he really brings a metal of that level?”

“Your Highness has taken that man by his weak point. In other words, you have obtained the opportunity to subdue him before anyone else. Do not let such a chance slip away just because you are worried about someone like me.”

At Hans’s sincere advice, Lucian formed a bitter smile. He was glad for his vassal’s clear and unreserved loyalty, but at the same time it pained him to see how he belittled himself.

Even more so when he placed the value of a mere merchant like Dominic above his own.

“I understand what you mean. But that won’t happen. That man won’t be able to fulfill what he promised.”

“From what I’ve heard, the Dominic Guild is already transporting black, gleaming metal ingots here…”

“The fact that someone displays their result with such confidence does not necessarily mean that the result itself is genuine.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Hans found it difficult to understand Lucian’s certainty. After all, it was the Dominic Guild, one of the most renowned major merchant groups on the continent. It wasn’t that they lacked capability.

That Lucian harbored not even the slightest expectation struck him as strange.

Facing Hans’s gaze filled with doubt, Lucian smiled faintly.

“Because I think I more or less know what kind of metal that bastard is going to bring.”

“Huh?”

“Since we’ve come this far, I’ll tell you an interesting fact.”

Lucian stepped closer and whispered into Hans’s ear.

“The metal he’ll bring, so full of confidence, will turn to dust in less than ten minutes.”

“…!?”

***

On the agreed day to reveal the metal ingot, Dominic appeared before Lucian with an expression brimming with confidence.

Then, holding with the utmost care one of the many black-gloss ingots he had brought, he presented it respectfully.

“Your Highness, here is the metal comparable to adamantium that I promised you earlier.”

“Hmm.”

Lucian received the black-gloss ingot with an indifferent gesture.

Aside from its dark color, it did not look very different from an ordinary steel ingot.

“It is an alloy called tenebrium. I cannot reveal the method or proportions of its manufacture, but it undoubtedly possesses a resistance comparable to that of adamantium.”

“The name sounds imposing. Did you also bring equipment made from this metal?”

“Of course.”

At Dominic’s snap of his fingers, some workers approached from behind carrying several items—a cuirass, a sword, and a spear, all in the same dark tone as the tenebrium.

Lucian gave them a quick glance and then turned his head to the side.

“Hugo. Test it.”

“Yes.”

Hugo stepped forward without hesitation, drew his sword, reinforced his body with mana, and then unleashed a slash with all his strength against the cuirass placed to the side.

It was a strike accompanied by a sword technique; had it been an ordinary cuirass, it would have been split cleanly in two without question.

Clang!

“…!”

The sword rebounded with a loud clang upon colliding with the cuirass. Even Hugo, who had wielded the weapon, was taken aback by the unexpected hardness.

Before the astonished gazes of everyone present, Dominic smiled smugly.

“I told you. It has resistance comparable to adamantium. Unless it is attacked with a metal of equal hardness, an ordinary sword won’t leave even a scratch.”

“Hugo. This time, use the sword brought by the head of the Dominic Guild.”

“Ah… yes!”

Ignoring Dominic’s explanation, Lucian issued the order once more.

Hugo, still bewildered, obeyed faithfully. With the exact same force as before, the black blade struck the cuirass.

Craack!

“Huh!”

At the sight of the blade embedded halfway into the cuirass, gasps were heard everywhere. That result could only occur if both metals had very similar hardness.

Having demonstrated the resistance of tenebrium, Dominic bowed his head with a relaxed expression.

“If you wish, you may subject it to any tests you like.”

“No, there’s no need. It’s impressive resistance. I don’t know if it reaches the level of adamantium, but at the very least it’s on the next tier.”

“For Your Highness to say that is—”

“However.”

Lucian interrupted Dominic and tapped the tenebrium ingot lightly.

“In my opinion, there is a serious flaw. Head of the Dominic Guild, you aren’t hiding something from me, are you?”

Under Lucian’s sharp gaze, Dominic shuddered.

Did he know something about tenebrium?

‘No… that’s impossible.’

Dominic immediately rejected the thought that crossed his mind.

He was the only one who knew the method of manufacturing tenebrium. At most, there had been three others who knew it, and all three had already passed on.

‘He’s probing me. He’s pretending to have noticed a hidden secret to try to shake me.’

For his age, that young noble was skilled, but he was still far from being able to unsettle Dominic.

That kind of psychological warfare was something Dominic had experienced to excess throughout his life.

Convinced of Lucian’s intent, Dominic denied it firmly.

“How could I hide a product defect from Your Highness? Moreover, tenebrium is the object with which I seek to have my sins forgiven. Tampering with something like that would be the same as defiling my own soul.”

“Oh, really?”

At Dominic’s words, spoken without the slightest hint of shame, Lucian let out a small chuckle and gave an order to one of the servants.

“Bring a large container filled with salt water. It must be large enough to completely submerge this cuirass.”

“…!?”

Upon hearing “salt water,” a chilling shiver ran down Dominic’s spine. Of all possible things, salt water?

Realizing that something was wrong, Dominic awkwardly opened his mouth.

“Y-Your Excellency…”

“Shut up.”

Lucian cut him off with a sharp command, making it clear that he had no intention of listening to excuses.

While Dominic could only move his lips without a sound, the large container filled with salt water was made ready.

“It’s ready, Your Highness.”

“Submerge the cuirass in the salt water.”

“Eh? A-ah… yes!”

At the unexpected order, the servants, though confused, submerged the cuirass. The onlookers tilted their heads in bewilderment.

That metal being vulnerable to salt was something that only happened after prolonged exposure. Submerging it for an instant shouldn’t cause anything. What was he doing?

Fortunately, the doubt did not last long.

Crshhh.

“E-eh?”

“The armor is crumbling!”

Just as someone shouted, the cuirass began to fall apart little by little within the salt water.

It was impossible to believe that it was made of the same material that, moments earlier, had stopped a knight’s sword.

In less than ten minutes, the cuirass was completely disintegrated and dispersed in the water.

“Put the rest of the equipment in as well.”

“Yes!”

The servants began to place the remaining pieces Dominic had brought into the container one by one.

Like the cuirass, all of them crumbled with almost ridiculous ease just from being in contact with the salt water.

After watching all the equipment dissolve, Lucian spoke in a voice laden with mockery.

“It dissolves quite nicely. And this is a metal comparable to adamantium?”

“Y-Your Highness…!”

Dominic, pale as wax, trembled uncontrollably with his forehead pressed to the ground.

Seeing that they would get no explanation from him, the gazes naturally turned toward Lucian.

“Your Highness, what does this mean?”

“Black magic.”

“Black magic?”

“Within black magic, there is a spell that absorbs life force and infuses it into other objects or beings to temporarily reinforce them. That was the trick he used.”

“That’s not true!”

A desperate cry escaped Dominic’s lips.

Yes, he had used magic. Magic from the school of metal, which extracts energy from the earth and transfers it to other minerals.

A mineral infused with terrestrial energy increases its hardness in proportion to the amount infused, but after a certain time it returns to its original strength.

It was only that kind of magic! Black magic that absorbs life force?

“I-It’s true that I used magic, but not black magic! Why… why would I use black magic…?”

“That’s what I want to know. Why did you resort to black magic, knowing perfectly well what kind of monsters black mages are?”

“Your Highness!”

When Dominic tried to protest once more, he stopped short upon seeing the smile that formed on Lucian’s lips.

Why was Lucian so convinced that he had used black magic? Even without resorting to it, there were countless spells capable of producing similar effects, even if only temporarily.

‘Don’t tell me…’

What if that mention of black magic was not due to a misunderstanding? What if, even knowing it was ordinary magic, Lucian was deliberately trying to brand him as a black mage?

When that thought occurred to him, Dominic felt every hair on his body stand on end.

‘He caught me.’