Chapter 232
Chapter: 232
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 232
>Chapter Title: Defense Battle (5)
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>'Suddenly, what's gotten into you? This is the perfect chance to figure out the enemy's identity!'
Seongjin grew urgent and tried to soothe the Demon King, but the guy remained utterly stubborn.
[Promise me you won't open your Heavenly Eye for the rest of the day! If you don't, no matter how beautiful, cool, and rare a nest it is, I won't go in!]
...The flame-roasted premium bear steak must have appealed to him more than expected.
'Just for a moment. A very brief moment, okay? Once this is over, I'll rest up properly for a while, eat lots of delicious food, and play with you to our hearts' content...'
[...Hmph! If you think you can tempt me with food, you're gravely mistaken! I'm no novice demon—I'm the great Demon King of Gehenna!]
Even the finest flame-grilled bear steak wouldn't work, the Demon King stressed.
In the process, specific foods like lamb and lemon pie popped up too. They must have left a particularly strong impression on him.
For now, Seongjin crammed the barrage of food names into his head and replied.
'I'm managing my condition just fine, even without you telling me.'
[You call this managing?]
'Using the Heavenly Eye a bit longer won't make any difference anyway.'
[Don't make me laugh! Do I not know you? You think you'll stop there? You'll go all out like before, ripping out souls to control the Glacier Trolls and wipe them out right now. Or sneak off alone later with aura concealment and finish them off.'
'......'
Seongjin was speechless at the Demon King's retort. It hit the nail on the head.
The Demon King then vented his frustration.
[It's someone else's territory to begin with! Why should you, who has zero connection to them, sacrifice yourself for those pathetic fools?]
'...What?'
Sacrifice? Who?
Bewildered, Seongjin soon shot a pitiful look at the empty air where he figured the Demon King was.
'Am I crazy?'
What nonsense is this?
This wasn't some incomprehensible sacrifice or altruism. It was simply pure self-interest.
[...Self-interest?]
Yeah. Think about it, Demon King.
The people of Sigismund Territory are all imperial subjects. They're precious assets who protect Delcross's lands on their own and fatten up the margrave—whom I can bleed dry for taxes over and over.
In other words, they're my father's property, and at the same time, the Holy Imperial Family's property.
[Eh?]
Which means their lives are practically 'mine.'
What's wrong with me wanting to cherish my own things a little?
[What kind of twisted logic is that?]
The Demon King responded half-heartedly, but Seongjin glared fiercely at the shaking ice wall, eyes blazing.
'And above all, the most important thing is that my mood is seriously soured right now.'
I never let anyone who touches my things get away with it. I need to vent some anger appropriately.
Either finish off the controllers, or at least snag one more of their Glacier Trolls.
Otherwise, I'm so pissed I'll die of apoplexy right here!
[Tsk tsk. That's why you need to fix that foul temper of yours...]
'What did you say, you punk?'
But Seongjin couldn't bicker with the Demon King for long. Captain Ilma approached with a worried expression after roughly assessing the situation.
"Your Highness. I've prepared a cart, humble as it is. Please board quickly."
"Hm?"
"Your Highness has helped us more than enough—overflowingly so. We'll handle the rest with the Wolf Knights. For now, please return to the territory with Young Master Orden."
Turning at her words, sure enough, a Wolf Knight was dragging something like a cart. Too big for a handcart, too small for a wheelbarrow.
Given the ice wall base where communication with horses was impossible, it seemed like one of the main transport methods used here.
Seongjin furrowed his brow slightly.
"I'm fine, Lady Ilma. I can walk with you."
The intention to give the prince special treatment was nice, but riding that? Just imagining it was humiliating.
"But Your Highness, your complexion doesn't look good."
"I got a bit motion sick. Walking will make it better."
Honestly, after bouncing around on those massive ice bears for half a day, it'd be weirder if he wasn't nauseous.
"Besides, isn't it unseemly? I'm good. What idiot in this world rides around in something like that?"
"...It's one of the carts the family head usually rides in."
"Oh. This cushioning is pretty nice, huh?"
Seongjin hopped on the cart and said.
[...What's with the sudden change? You're flipping your words. Not like you.]
'No need to cause trouble with the margrave right now. There's still plenty I need to get from him.'
For immediate gains, he'd gladly endure a bit of embarrassment.
Rattle, rattle.
Thus, the cart carrying Seongjin began to move. Orden and Lady Valerie followed alongside, naturally joining the retreating troops' formation.
The ice bears he'd designated as Group 1—No. 1, 6, 7, and 8—followed slowly behind the forces.
Thud, thud, thud.
The soldiers, startled by those heavy footsteps now and then, snuck glances at Seongjin's cart.
But even as the base receded, Seongjin couldn't tear his eyes from the ice wall, feeling an odd reluctance. Noticing his gaze, Orden spoke up casually.
"Your Highness, the ones hiding in the ice wall probably won't come out for now. Our only option is to abandon the base and retreat to reorganize the front lines. The Glacier Troll numbers have dropped a lot, so you can fully leave the rear to the Wolf Knights now."
"Hm......"
True, but.
Seongjin stared at the intermittently shaking ice wall with a sullen face.
'If I'd cleanly taken out the controllers too, we could've preserved the base intact...'
Because his power fell short.
By one step.
Just one step short.
"Your Highness has helped the territory more than enough. Won't the Lilium detachment and Prince Logan join us soon? The situation isn't that bad."
No, Lady Valerie.
Thinking this is sufficient is the same as inwardly admitting it's not.
We could've achieved much better results.
"Your Highness has bestowed an immeasurable debt upon us. How ever shall we repay it? The soldiers may speak foolishly now due to the chaos, but they'll soon realize the immense grace you've shown them."
Orden, you simpleton. Keep that up, and you'll hand over the entire territory to me on a platter?
Learn from your father's shrewd side. Aren't you the next margrave?
Lost in such thoughts amid the ice bears' rhythmic footfalls, drowsiness suddenly crashed over him.
Hm, he did feel a bit more tired than usual.
'Even if my body got younger, I can't fool my age. Skipping one night and it's already showing... damn.'
Blinking his heavy eyes, the voices of the two beside him began to fade from his ears.
-Young Master, about those ice bears. How about attaching the Sigismund crest? It'd greatly reduce the soldiers' wariness.
-Good idea. Easier to distinguish from the enemy's Glacier Trolls too. I'll arrange it as soon as we return. Anyway, how's His Highness?
-I lightly treated him with holy power, but it might be best to have a priest check once we're back. That grueling ride was tough even for me and Young Master. I can't fathom how His Highness, a beginner in aura, held out this long.
At that, Seongjin unwittingly snorted in his half-sleep.
'Don't make me laugh, you greenhorns. You're leagues behind me. How dare you compare? At least 640 years more...'
That was the last conversation Seongjin remembered.
Lulled by the cart's jolts like a lullaby, Seongjin fell fast asleep.
* * *
Deep in the conifers beyond the snowfield.
A massive Lycanslope loomed over a woman, growling. It was Berseus, who had lost Bazra and borrowed a new familiar's body.
[What is the meaning of this?! It's far from what was promised!]
The new body he chose as his main was no descendant of Nebraska, but it had a decent bloodline—quite usable.
Its beastly, razor-sharp claws menacingly pressed against the woman, who looked frail compared to the Lycanslope.
[Didn't your master say this? We'd strike the empty Canyon Fortress, hit the territory, and momentum would let us attack the ice wall base from both inside and out! Sigismund Territory would be engulfed in flames at once!]
Yet the woman didn't flinch at the terrifying threat.
"Betella......"
Beneath her deeply pulled hood, red lips curved into a long arc.
"His words were not off by a single inch. The Canyon Fortress was empty, and though we didn't reach the planned numbers, the Glacier Troll preparations were sufficient."
[Then why......!]
"What do you think caused such a major deviation from plan? Berseus. Someone lost their familiars and 'Ice Hearts' all at once, and they fell straight into enemy hands, didn't they?"
[......!]
"Who handed them over?"
Of the 25 Glacier Trolls painstakingly gathered over years, only 4 remained to her.
The woman rolled her 'Ice Heart' in her hand and continued.
"You must realize that was a critical variable. So tell me, Berseus. Who exactly stole them from you?"
[...That brat claimed to be of Nebraska's bloodline.]
Berseus answered in a slightly uncertain voice.
Thinking of that little punk who mocked him as a mongrel still made his blood boil. But this failure was unmistakably his blunder.
Hearing that, the woman tilted her head.
"Descendant of Nebraska? Hmm, I'm not so sure......"
[I definitely sensed Nebraska's presence from him. Don't you trust me?]
"No, I don't think you missed Nebraska's trace. It's a different issue."
She held up her Ice Heart and explained.
"As you know, this is a product of the astral realm. But this isn't the astral realm, so no one without the Heavenly Eye can recognize it. Controlling it is outright impossible."
[Heavenly Eye......]
"And that's not all. You need to interfere strongly with the 'Ice Heart' using pure intent. It means the enemy has the Heavenly Eye and can freely manipulate intent to form detailed visualizations in an instant."
[......!]
Possesses the Heavenly Eye and freedom in intent.
As far as Berseus knew, only one such person existed in Delcross.
[Has the Guardian returned already?!]
But the woman shrugged with a smile.
"That'd be unlikely. You can't even imagine how much effort my master put into this. You've forgotten because the Guardian's been successfully defending so far, but 'Rift' isn't something you handle lightly."
[Then?]
"Causality warped massively somewhere beyond our expectations. Sigismund Territory should be a sea of fire by now. Who else but one who manipulates causality and intent could remain?"
Berseus didn't fully grasp terms like 'intent' or 'visualization' that the woman used.
But if it disrupted causality, he knew one thing.
[...That abomination intervened, then.]
"Yes. The [Prepared One] exactly."
Berseus recalled the boy's face who blocked him and severed Bazra's head in one stroke. Those chilling gray eyes.
"Right. I thought I'd seen him somewhere—that brat was that guy's stain."
Berseus bared his sharp fangs and growled.
[I knew he was a notorious troublemaker, but to mess with Lycanslope bloodline and sire a child!]
"Hm?"
[...Hm?]
Berseus and the woman simultaneously cocked their heads.
Wait.
The mother of the 'Prepared One' was definitely Archduke Asen's daughter. How could she have Lycanslope blood?
After an awkward silence, the woman sighed softly.
"Set aside the Nebraska matter for now. We lack the capacity to focus on it. Once started, we must reap some meaningful result, no?"
[So, what's your plan now?]
"You keep pressing the ice wall. If my subordinates follow the plan, the third ice wall will crumble soon enough. Then lead the Lycanslopes straight to the territory."
[And you?]
"Meanwhile, I'll harvest more seeds my master planted for the all-out war to come."
Berseus clicked his tongue in disbelief.
[You dug up that many, and there are still Glacier Trolls left?]
"Heh."
The woman looked at Berseus and let out a light laugh.
"My master, the great [Sower], scatters seeds everywhere in this world—nowhere untouched. Who could count all those countless provisions? Betella......"