Chapter 31
o3tSOeRaymond stared atm99 Lucian, stunned,jUm1 before letting5KrPgf out anr9szD incredulous laugh.WWt782QBsSo
DKfMwhReprimanding him ifXDB he everNhRtD got carriednD3VU away byU55N overconfidence?9bpk
JK0g‘What a ridiculousp0Knb thought.’ptIF
ttoNFFar from being6Oy0Xz drunk onBRvs confidence, LucianNNn1 had carefullyNedgXt calculated allIzh4 the variablesCsv and evenVv0 prepared countermeasures4gvy for theuFTt worst-case scenario.sU1nnT
bGQAnd he hadeCg devised allYrneSx of thatuiHT in a matter ofEdj seconds, fromapR the momentN2L Sven, thatiPv32 mercenary, hadwuh appeared.bjfn03
DfkOKyRaymond could neverWAyp reach thatEbRL level, andGVM4J yet hesHZ0i dared thinkF6w6o of givingmupwR him advice.r9PGZV1urd
kPGp“Ha.”y1Gqe0
rU1He struggled toICSN hold backMKYr1 his laughter.UCgtab
LURDuring his service111g6l as a Black Lion,YCzKc he hadM7yEQ0 seen countlesseCZasJ young peopleRFI with potential.GeqWXuy
e9a2Except for thosenbVO who diedriQHcb prematurely dueSixGj to unfortunate1L5UG accidents, mostBdn2 flourished asXvzE expected.6ZRli
PN6But never, notINXlV even onceUhds1u in his46Q0 life, hadQ0CeOV he seenQm5p someone sodN9 unpredictable.2ilz
ytb0N‘When we return,dOwkn I’ll haveAkC to ask1nEWqG His HighnesspfHb0 to officiallylShEg assign meZdC as theeCQ third youngQPBZv1 master’s escort.’26yoi2SiOZGG
XBIyI6He was barelyh5eQV sixteen andvPeN already showedXQHr such composure.cun How far5bZ1 would heFGjj go onceYGt he grewGX7j8W older? Witnessingz6x that future0VD by hisCZj side would5sa0 be farOwK from boring.Ggd2a3l1
cPW“…Impressive.”i7ghX
B4X6Tristan could onlyIpTDp say thosevAXNwb brief words8Rc9 after seeingD64 what LucianwAfSe had accomplished.dkD5ZYo2Jz
aEcRWJAny additional commentXzbd would beLdMeD clumsy inCuEhZ the faceizgyf of suchobeTx an extraordinary7kGC result, butBnj praising himcfHu too muchCDdFcW wasn’t appropriateICez either, since9ywZ9 they wereYmc still rivals.OTrwx0EZ
hDISo all hep7j5 could expressTrAAH was pureLRmY1 admiration.LHlz
Y828oAEven so, withjhu just thoseyE9Nj two words,oft everyone presentEadnr understood the4Vtq9 magnitude ofyN7 the achievement.O8mBDUID2W
4DX8w‘Of course, forbS4hsp someone soBPMr stingy withgUopsU praise, sayingywjZcx just thatlSXW is alreadyrmmI enough toIQCLVN surprise anyone.’SXacGNg9
BaH“From now on,wwFb9P you’ll beL0hR in chargeYWEcM of directingTnzs the mercenaries.PHx4x I’ll gohRQgka with thegCAh7 family’s knightsgZBfw2 to inspectLCT the suspiciouskmEB areas nearP449Pk the border.”b4B3aJBl
JkJZTristan’s face lookedMeaz4 much moredXf relaxed thanmNH0y before.aIb8kp
7ZsgEven though heaU4ZtM had toMqTEcW concede theaB5FiJ credit toIrb Lucian, beingBsRFw free ofL3gv that huge3U9n7 nuisance was707 consolation enough.4OeCUkTw
K8I“Of course, thereJXY are areasxJS too largez0bT for theRx2 knights too3Kzo cover alone,D8bhD9 so we’llhhBc need mercenariesTKW3Ky in someZ7eC zones. I’llDqxoaJ give youPumE6 a map.jTxXQy Assign eachdH2 group wherewTR00 you deemtGMnb appropriate.”efi6A
N5mEe“Understood. I heardd8r the ImperialJ0FiO Liberation AlliancefuDfO is appearingX8d alongside monsters…”vVaRIKD
6RkjqV“They’re marked separately.5zfT Red foruyPm9 the Alliance,m8tRRf blue forLKe the monsters.”rdBUmDr
84nwLucian took theAYRbKV military map9bCU handed tomodG him byY7W a knightWSx and examinedYRTEYU it carefully.cLYsv56T3
kvhDLNAs expected of0UF4e a border3BkYZ zone, thewIMbVm area theyMHEnv had toiCBs cover wasX4wD7 too vast.4RenymP6Cl
5FeiYuNaturally, without mercenaries,yGIeO they couldn’tpzA handle theyNCGW8 shortage ofR9Efu personnel.2DQw
Ik749‘Good, the problemvDu with theWhD44n mercenaries isbCOPh resolved. Startingr6Et3 tomorrow, everythingwmt should functionRDq02 relatively normally.tiCVQv But the59e4M Alliance alone5Hd is alreadyImu annoying, andQNTOcx now monsters2rQIO too, huh?’Tfab3R7Hd
EQDpgLucian’s eyes narrowed.OigWtCoe0
mLD0g3The zones where2E2 the AlliancerfcW5 and monsters27eI38 appeared overlapped6DGvk5 in severalICndoe scattered points.uiggorOXX9
sqolkqAs wide asVqGMLq the territoryldm99f was, thatOK6Cfk didn’t makeLLk sense.ZZn690
dMMeFDIn principle, humansAaCgE and monsterseoE3tt were preyCEv and predator.fmsCnsFH4H
Z1BELsUnless their territories0Iv6h6 were clearlyyla7AH separated, itTeaH was impossiblelbT for themScKKGD to coexistQf1E so closelyOYiw without clashing.c2RAZkoHeXK
RYNm“Brother, is thisScC information accurate?6Kcpd How theU4P hell areSOxNU members ofkwTJOD the AllianceZnlEkS showing upHuhiCj in areasUVTT2V where monstersB5ya patrol?”08vHN
DOu8“They must’ve boughtJd2X some minorcSBI artifact orz7x used a repellent toJ4hrYJ drive offB6tU52 monsters. Wouldn’t9aZ be unusual,CnZNHt considering thefHY8 ones showingcGQ up latelywMRug are koboldsoA2 and gnolls.”ZcB04NHl
mDxn“Kobolds and gnolls?PUR Those twoMaBV are appearingSqU5Cd together?”sFGyT
skN7Kobolds were bipedalMptbh monsters shorterXVXs3 than a human, with94ww dog-like heads.vVSypowz
AxCGnolls were alsofAYX3u bipedal butA4iw looked likeLwlZP7 hyenas and4Rqrq were atwBAFvc least a head tallerhpSD than a person.mBCFj
Fz346cBoth had exceptionalBwSxm senses of6fQ smell and0Wo67 were goodqgu trackers, but4Se they wereCFgs also veryvkCc sensitive toexqu strong odors,LFan6 so itbOsF was relativelyNCd easy toMfSJ scare themdT9dQV off.McCmVD
2Gg“Monsters of thea0n4N9 same typeDGqsJ tend toG2eFNV cooperate. JustBju9W like goblinsHVpy and orcsbvxp1 group asjuoIQ0 green skins.KTuO2 It’s notFTMN strange.”2mK
guLmG“No, it’s veryEEs strange.”897ViA
NjjBlTristan brushed itZRJbae off likeXdc it wasB3sjSe insignificant, butVSr Lucian’s faceNGL2r turned extremelyC4hvU serious.7eeT
sKrQuIf they reallyYhq65q were ofiwC9aC the sameNfPf type, likepub goblins and3doB orcs, thattlSGn would bewDg64 one thing.101FO8wx
ryOBut kobolds andEcoo gnolls didn’tIn0 cooperate.6aoJUO
NmGQUTo gnolls, koboldsgzLM were prey.7tvBs Not onlyDEd could they90OyD not workQg5ek3 together—they couldn’trLR even coexist.Zu88WJLn
0298“They might looknQU similar at58y first glance,5cI but koboldsad3VhH and gnollsYUEwt don’t cooperate.7kRXv If anything,QRZBL gnolls eatXf6lHL them. They’reBxNT not green9XM skins, andKUY they’re speciesGoo that can’t6P0gOh coexist.”aqxa1p
6aD“What? Then howaaIS are theyjobqsz acting together?”zYpVttYl6GyI
uNspKF“As far asBo3vPP I know,yD5MA there’s onlyJvAo3r one method9Ier that canWbDi make somethingnM46r naturally impossiblemmO7o happen. You1CKM know ithpUT5a too, brother.”6wbbRaY
ajRKTristan’s face hardened.s5tiLE A heavyoIE8HM silence fellMDr6rt over theArE8Zn room. NomtD one daredSeGw to speak.bHfGaOuK
dGbkUCLucian looked aroundyb4ji and finallyF9fQKZ spoke himself.txahjxmf
CiUbT“Magic.”k6bbb
Rurh“Watch your mouth.”ogNTLi2mVpU
YYSkVUAs soon as7YiiUp the wordC6bly “magic” camedPI out of86jj6 his mouth,ZASih Tristan’s eyesFGQEYf gleamed dangerously.ZsLCKxKny
TNQ“That’s not a word toCEAZa be takengof lightly. AllGnpTGC recognized magesIUQo reside inTXHPMx the capital.iKlub What reasonXbWpj would theyDEo have toxg2x1 come allXPVJSU the waynyg2L here?”l4qgd
UzNc“Look at the4oSiW reality. Humansgoh moving through0bXKBl monster territory,F5S races that3KOTR can’t coexist0UQ0F acting together.rYKK The onlyYI9ipk way thatlji7 happens is9hxIix with magic.”GRqeVRCnsx
0mlh“Enough.”d5C
ngJAs if heYB5 didn’t wanteLi8Ps to hearbdPX more, TristanppJe2J cut Lucianv6A2 off.cY3
8hMj“Don’t blow thisDRyC out of1wcn proportion. TheRumey Empire isHp0 already inJTLMP enough turmoil,umXU and nowkxl you comeMUk talking aboutsFh magic—I’m worriedrag someone mightyqzW hear it.”v8ccEavaE
gHR“…”fEz68
ZFOmxH“Besides, Father grantedE0PtV me full3yGpw authority overm2E5mz this matter.yrF It’s admirablemqLaIT that youAZiPu achieved a merit, but4nTP don’t digFL6XS too deep.6uf Just focusJQtpv8 on directingbzY the mercenariesAguNM and beqTJiSU ready inVte case somethingGKLV happens.”D81
BJytYFWith that, TristanqIsovC stood andTffw headed towardDSR the officezniE1 door.c6X
qyaIt was clearG3WLFa he consideredyef the conversationBKaEE over.XSAV9w
hzSLucian had no9ARq choice butEuN to standCJsz as well,LL1 though heqkPZ4V had oneDZ0V7 last thing9Fe0 to ask.nAGpkgDodlG
sLDmf“Have you finished21G interrogating theynx7e six captivesvFsU from today?”tnKcVPDFSU
AE53“…Not yet.”GUFP
Ia5nKf“Do it properly.PjI The keyAVp to understanding7pmO what’s going18kcb0 on mightwR9lAz lie there.”zCRd0haMmr
AYZdTristan didn’t respond.8bs77soR3O
5Mp0g0Seeing that reaction,Swb Lucian let7tQKv7 out a sigh.OdJKh
hYxWith that attitude,3CJb it was9pp6f0 more likelyAIJ he’d justHFh kill themnPq2 to silenceYrJ them rather09eQIF than extract4bm information.yMyPk
qYqFX‘Looks like I’llGByoJq have to2eWdH move onx3vf my own.’9hUrIv8I6
p03A bitter smile9gx crossed Lucian’sZ9E lips.tKHnZd
4CoHe had a feeling this0Iy6r wouldn’t endypB easily.caZheR
oRR8***xgves
gnNTM“Magic, he says…n1LQC This hasWpc become farINtAI more seriousOUrTn than I imagined.”1A08wy
vfNRaymond and theGnl Black Lions7BAT frowned in6KO unison.1gK
sjWpXWhen the ImperialFLe Liberation AllianceDhl and theYoFRD monsters appearedRbvzTA together, theyupx had thoughte6f it wasxJxLpo just thea0bZ coincidence ofvgGb0L two nuisances.NZi5RZH67X
IbfBut for magicmlUI to beHETH0 involved—5Hr07
spE0While everyone remainedVE9QJH silent, HugoslXjK spoke withYqFnN a faceTb68 full oflJo9 worry.LpN4F1
JOn“Are we ineF3 trouble? After0tmvPM the magergF0H rebellion 300atBH years ago,2RFro any unlicensedTih4F mage is79fsx labeled a dark mage7jvh by thegA9Z Imperial Family.c5pY If it9S3 became knownBATJbx that a mage isolf3m9 involved…”y92ZTT
VGxJ9“The Imperial Family18wV would mobilizeOr8R immediately. EvenB0kyz if the3jk7 mage escaped,ZKrNM the imperialf8Va guards sentyPOx by thefss Palace wouldaQtCT search everysuL2xP corner ofC29i the region.6rpi In the1GTA worst case,cLNbs all ofkNaQG Bornholm wouldtuTqT2 be engulfeddv3zu in a witch hunt.”Cm0dFlFT
acztJNIn principle, asidePrdfR9 from a rebellion, theYKpR Imperial FamilykV5o did notDHP9x intervene inrBr the internalWuUxnQ problems ofXtM a vassal.jzdBGm69b
fO4That was anjbe unwritten rulelA7uCF of theozf40 Empire.lS4
W9buBut if anTG7 unauthorized mage37tmc was involved,VnPF that ruleFpH06 ceased toMZwY exist.o2xjLO
qDEpThe mere presenceAzdun of oneejZwbV was equatedfPO9AP to thatXDu7g of a ringleader ofwj1p treason.DHBFg
ncv“Even if Father3P385 is onYwJb the imperialT0WwEP side, we’reNhx talking aboutMDU more thandSFU 300 yearsWiN8x7 of hatredpPWl toward magic.k7On If magicPe0m really is5Ce involved, therejRCt4 will belEQGAH no leniency.”zExqjGrq
tyN“And what didv7g the firstjQM6u young master0RIoUY say?”xnUq
ezdEa“He seems toe7ho be planningoKa to cover7CeJF everything up.p2r0 I understandJEOcb him, butGtxqpe if therelznrK really isvQQ7 a mage,TNH the damageBkQ6k could becomeSUR uncontrollable.”IHsA
VPfThe Imperial FamilyJg9Sg had a problem theyVZLX3 reacted withdl4O irrational violence7R2 to anything8vC involving mages.Y8DgVpg
u5uBut it wasTpL also true4Jl1gQ that theyvYCwi were theoikTS organization withmNRGX the mostbfSqe5 experience fightingzZjW them.imEAoE
gFFIJOrdinary knights, whoahpt3E had neverHOtyzU seen evendBVfR1 a glimmerweQ of realAKNpu magic, wouldkiW be wipedK3A out withoutk2Et2 being ableBP1NO to react.GLhDRXxtcE
fe8D4“But reporting directlyds8 to theYMQD Imperial FamilyXEXcaw would alsoa65qy9 be theZxHE worst option.WRA It couldqAVEa turn BornholmWWte into a wasteland inPlohb the middlexB4 of theCb0Ui hunt.”p2gtX
KHse“Exactly. We don’tAti have enoughTlw information to50G decide anything.”DpmCfhx9wI
zN5dfKLucian brought a hand toWp2YPX his chin,TPOH1t deep intVpjLJ thought.JZxn
iI6In his pastZVQaL3 life, hemstqLp had neverIJDI7z heard thatWEm anything hadqZY happened inG5rQ Bornholm.8E5Dc7
r1PwMIf the ImperialOBL Palace hadkNNRoi intervened, itZ85 would havej6ygWl been anEjb0 enormous scandal.CHA15gr3k5
htUThat left only1yE0 one possibilityx7zx Tristan hadtYAn completely concealedLp0rf0 any connectionbofd with mages.OjKyZnUl
UbF9B8‘He must havegbguhy buried everythingePh by force.kWvdtS The problemTDF0eK is thatnfxFrK because ofICwb that, I have noVARJl idea whatGWA really happened.’8Mg9wYq8i0l
5ownThere were onlyvOBMU two thingsXSdj he could55M deduce.ZMmQ
7twHThat the incidentwLIV ended on2uZuS a smallw4HxDD enough scaleZ199bd to bePXSg6 covered up.W2gnqiwbcDi
IKu2YrAnd that even4Eh so, itP4eU3 was nothmSQq favorable enoughVuum to beECohh boasted asYApPY a victory.V5he52VlR
zQ3tg‘If it had6PzjRI been somethingtosW easy toJZT hide, theySzxiY would haveQLmoK9 pretended theypzjRO defeated onlyFGz9KQ the AllianceWIe and leftDlR865 it atuFtm that. ButtJ53 if theyzRHYcM didn’t, itOTN means theLpC result wasAmkP almost a defeat.’GrOJG
NGNPEven if theyyN7f won, itVbqQyu must have9EN5Q been a victory with4gsI deep wounds.3y31ozuON
Kw91VIn other words,EHb6Ve if theyLsm let everything2Ez proceed alongX21 the courseRkOk Tristan tookQLe5E in hisOmBF past life,dmHKO even ifyDXZ the cover-uptXnIUJ succeeded, themhlSb result wouldtog be disastrous.XEpgWxbJhzRs
hhNnThey needed toTSUMe intervene andnJQ6JT change thehROld1 direction ofiG1Lw the plan.Kw5iiXiEWAHE
DlZDmWLucian sighed andav6rhX stood up.NfpnMsIAe
OqJz“First we needNOlij to gather1I4 information. WithX3b9c so little,OoC I can’tRg1 design anyK1Dh strategy.”yZj
iaRm“Are you planning1VmABR to interrogateEAncu the captured0O3ad members ofq6Gu0 the Alliance?wyfU But thes4qu first youngoWUi master won’tdnRohX allow it.”frsEotILY4
Evovn“When did I say I’dx5zeDU go withd4XIRL them?”V79l
0HTOlHLucian smiled atcggYlf Raymond’s doubt.MeGKTLY
qb4“If I can9bYZqo choose, I’dZnZtU rather extractyPuWtp information fromiMz a man6RsK49 freshly capturedlemCF than fromYJg one who’siC0xr been rottingXGz28 in a cell forIEH09 half a day. We’vexfh already offeredEch a bountyOivmBz in silver.vHyk Let’s seez2GYHS how motivatedKJus those mercenariesytnzd are.”DAv
WIst6PNo matter howmqaEv much theBCn Alliance frequentedMdWQ9 the area,qqa they wouldn’tKRuh2g know thatnuyd the perimeterQ3Iy6 had suddenlyNiyV3J been reinforced.eX0S58 At leastJy3yee one ofet6h them wouldeSrpiB fall withinaVQiyP a coupleKfDZ5 of days.OXU4QVP
V6jlLucian only hadE55b to directMOhIy the mercenaries3BEzf and waitM73 calmly.mNy
FmjTeJ***I84vj
8JOThe forest surroundingh9Xk the wallsYHE9H of BornholmVJrA was knownTid7Nd as the8cNf “Yellow Forest.”b9Us The branchesymD of the5A6 large trees7SQkV were soTvr8 dense thatVQtM0 the small1bJz plants beloww9PP received noDEHJ3N light andYFu died.phM
edqFor that reason,Gkk5K the ground5j7yFH was coveredxHw with yellowish,0S7g twisted leaves.Mq7r At night,RFC5UE the forestpdescH took onrmsJHd an evenq9D more gloomyqd1Z atmosphere.YKa0
R7QThat place was6V7 avoided even3em5 during the3vu0Y day, asJay it wasq38S4 a common66Y4v route forEIC698 monsters.E6ql
WUFLSTIn that somberrjD forest, twoS6Cq shadows approachedKjuH stealthily.zja1S8
lHLM2z“Halt. If theE2nqHe ray ofSnkcf heaven falls—”iDYSgLPr
vJo8“May it punishWB4 the guiltyDxjj of theQX8ZXB throne. It’sgtX2nU me, comrade.”qhqNr1O3l
WV0TVAfter exchanging theQzKlSp password, bothgJidzb verified thefRt other’s face0Yh and movedAAlX0A closer. BothhS8bH wore blacksR1U6U hoods andAM1rJ were already7UWN around middle8FXR age.fEVGT
uIvEQThey had beenmLx together insAPQFE the Imperial9mrojJ Liberation AlliancewiG2 for more6LfUly than a decade; theyhAD were well5A6Fz aware ofPN1 each other’sMsUNh presence.oAM479
CCz“What’s this about?ZSC Just a few daysbpl3 ago weRs0h2 agreed tozOdx1 speed upUid5qj preparations andmc9vmP focus ondcHC4 our tasks.”uNLpUm
rV5K“Precisely because ofIBb that. Somethinga27XI went wrong.NX2mDu I’ve beenIChA6 informed that9xi the mercenaries,gpDrBK who hadfmcm8 been loafing9cN around foripydMF weeks, reached58CDPq an agreementbfRf9 with theN9z Valdeck familyeFWj today.”NqoEs
Egx3“What? How? Thatq75 situation couldn’t6WD be resolvedZlEcfl in onex2e or twoCgzm days. DidVF18 they decidebpW to payYagn what wasykl51d demanded?”t7L
mrSpo“Impossible. According toXnm7Ip reports, someoneEjsIPd sent from70sM7C the mainkrfMh house resolvedvAf4Z everything in06L7QY a single0cZOds day. It2Vce seems theQqnGr grand duke4nS sent oneOrO of hisW0I trusted aides.”LVEyKHW
vC9dD“Well, well, howqbDDS marvelous. WhoLEX the hellKwcO4U could itkku be toJOy1 untie suchlNP a knotDb4W with a single pull?”ZSRNuzSnIHq
vPrThe man onyqZ9 the rightA0DEC frowned. A problem theyWlvlmF had planned9THT4 to exploitbIE4 had vanishedh6VtK in an1Tj9a instant.ifs8
NVWTTo resolve somethingd1O2z so criticaljXS in a single move,CnMN it hadoDHKzt to beEP8wQ a strategistCR2 very closeoUu to therMqb grand duke.ppsvKFj5N
8kwmAnd if theyW4Md sent someonePNFA like that,Q3ckc perhaps theyiJWX already suspectedEWXRw their plan.3nSajWNGtA
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