532
Chapter 532
Zeke furrowed his brow at Baron's words.
It was an unexpected report.
He asked Baron.
"What do you mean there's suspicious movement from Nirvana?"
Baron handed Zeke the file and said.
"This is a report compiled by the Black Corps monitoring Nirvana's movements for six months. Nirvana, which had been quiet, has shown different movements in the past three months."
Zeke quickly scanned through the file Baron handed over, using his system to scan the entire contents.
He then analyzed the contents through the system to look for peculiarities in recent trends.
During this, Zeke found one key word that would be central to the file contents.
'Golem.'
Zeke opened the file where that word appeared.
He read the contents carefully while tapping his knee with his finger.
After a moment, he looked up and asked Baron.
"You mean Nirvana is producing combat golems?"
Baron nodded.
"In the past three months, we've detected Nirvana purchasing large quantities of key materials that go into golem cores."
Zeke understood what Baron meant by suspicious movements from Nirvana.
Nirvana, renowned as one of the continent's three transcendent families along with Draker and Ishtar.
Draker possessed knights stronger than any other family, while Ishtar had deadly occult practitioners.
And Nirvana, as a magic family, consisted of numerous wizards, though this was true for other kingdoms and magic towers as well.
Nevertheless, one of the reasons Nirvana could become one of the three transcendent families unlike other mage groups was their 'golem production technology.'
Combat mages take on the most strategically important positions in battlefield situations.
However, for combat mages to properly exert their power, they need knights to block enemy attacks.
That's why ordinary kingdoms and magic towers operate knight divisions and mage divisions together to support each other.
Even in Delpoa, called the nation of magicians, they operated a separate knight division for defense, so this approach was practically standard.
But Nirvana chose a different approach from these others.
They created mass quantities of golems to replace knights.
Originally, golems weren't very efficient compared to the effort needed to make them.
They were too slow and limited in movement for combat use, serving only as moving walls in battles against knights using aura.
As aura training methods developed and knights grew stronger, golems naturally became obsolete, and the combined use of mage and knight divisions became common practice.
But Nirvana's mages wouldn't accept this trend of the times.
They kept developing and improving golem cores.
Finally, they succeeded in creating golem cores that were both efficient and mass-producible.
Nirvana's golems showed their true worth three hundred years ago, when the Holy Empire fell and various kingdoms split up, ushering in an era of competing warlords.
The Nirvana family, essentially a group of mages, was targeted by all kingdoms.
Some among them tried to subjugate Nirvana by force.
But without exception, they all had to retreat in great defeat without properly setting foot on Aten soil.
This was because they couldn't break through the defense line created by Nirvana's golems and combat mages.
Unlike ordinary golems, Nirvana's golems were fast, sturdy, and efficiently structured.
Each body part was made modular, so if something broke, they could simply remove and replace that section for immediate reuse.
They had improved golems from their obsolete state into excellent weapons of war.
This way, Nirvana was able to protect their family even during times of chaos.
Now, three hundred years later, Nirvana's golem technology had developed even further.
Zeke himself remembered seeing autonomous golems at Nirvana's central branch.
It was clear that when golems capable of judging situations and moving on their own without a mage's commands entered the battlefield, their power would be doubled.
This was why Baron had submitted the trend report about Nirvana's mass purchase of golem parts to Zeke.
He said to Baron.
"You think Nirvana is preparing for war?"
Baron nodded at Zeke's question.
"The circumstances suggest so."
"They could be producing them to build defense lines against demon attacks."
"That's possible too. However, we must consider the possibility that Nirvana might use these golems to invade the continent."
Zeke spoke to Baron.
"Baron, just tell me your conclusion."
With a somber look, he slowly spoke to Zeke.
"We must disarm Nirvana."
Zeke furrowed his brow at Baron's words.
"You mean we should preemptively strike Nirvana?"
Baron shook his head at Zeke's response.
"An overt approach could result in greater losses on our side. Since golems are Nirvana's core, we can be effective just by pressuring the factories and companies that produce their key materials to prevent them from making cores."
Zeke fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
'So this was Arthur Draker's method.'
Rather than waging direct war, applying pressure from the shadows to cause self-destruction.
This was how Arthur Draker controlled the central continent.
Baron was the blade best suited for Arthur Draker's dark and meticulous battles.
Now that he served Zeke instead of Arthur, it seemed he came to propose his methods to him.
Zeke looked up at Baron and asked.
"What do you think the previous head would have done, Baron?"
Baron answered without hesitation.
"He would have immediately ordered me to compile a list of related companies after confirming the report."
"...Yes, he probably would have."
That was the kind of person Arthur Draker was.
Zeke slowly spoke to Baron.
"My father might have done that, but I won't, Baron. I'll contact Nirvana directly, so don't make any hasty moves."
At Zeke's words, Baron nodded formally and spoke with an unchanged expression.
"Understood, my lord. Is there anything else you need?"
"There is."
He looked straight at Baron.
"Arthur Draker."
Zeke continued while maintaining eye contact with Baron.
"I want to know about the previous head. And about his relationship with mother as well."
The relationship between Arthur Draker and Laura Agamemnon.
He thought Baron might know what was entangled between the two.
Zeke heightened his senses to observe Baron's reaction.
Surprisingly, Baron showed no emotional change at Zeke's question.
Even Zeke, with his transcendent status, couldn't read Baron's emotional changes.
Baron bowed directly to Zeke.
"I will fulfill your command, my lord."
"Report as soon as you gather the information."
At Zeke's words, Baron nodded, gave a formal bow, and left the room.
Left alone, Zeke stared at where Baron had been, fingers interlocked.
'Baron Draker. He's as hard to understand as Arthur.'
It seemed he needed Boris and Shadia to investigate Baron separately as well.
Zeke pushed aside his thoughts about Baron and turned his thinking toward Nirvana's golems.
'Mass production of golems.'
Given the recent frequent large-scale attacks by monsters and demons, it appeared Nirvana was preparing defenses against demon attacks.
But as Baron said, it might be worth looking into just in case.
'I should contact Nirvana through Zeros.'
* * *
The next day, Zeros came up to Zeke's office.
He had immediately found answers regarding Zeke's instructions about golem production.
Zeros spoke to Zeke with a slightly troubled expression.
"My lord, when I inquired through my master, superficially it is indeed for defense against monster attacks."
Zeke noticed something subtle in Zeros' answer.
"Then there must be something else in reality."
Zeke furrowed his brow, wondering if perhaps as Baron said, Nirvana was producing combat golems to invade other territories.
However, Zeros' answer was completely unexpected.
"Well... apparently the head suddenly returned to the family, claimed he had seen the future, and strongly insisted on producing a thousand golems."
Zeke frowned even more than before at Zeros' answer.
"...So Master Jorge has returned. But does that make sense? Even for a family head, family matters shouldn't work that way."
"Yes, I know how it sounds. It would be absurd for other families, but it's possible in Nirvana."
Nirvana wasn't a family bound by blood, but one where membership could be gained through qualification tests.
One might think it was a chaotic family of magic-obsessed eccentrics, but the reason they could continue for hundreds of years was because they strictly followed the family head's words.
Zeke recalled his past life memories.
'Come to think of it, something did happen when Nirvana's head reappeared.'
He calmly recalled his past life and remembered one thing.
'Master Jorge, Nirvana's head, achieved 9th Circle.'
Reaching 9th Circle earns the title of Grand Mage.
While Hoshgar transcended beyond 9th Circle and achieved ascension, a 9th Circle mage in the material world was enough to be considered among the strongest.
'But it's not time for that yet?'
In his past life, Master Jorge reached 9th Circle four years from now.
He wondered if the timing of achieving 9th Circle had been accelerated because history changed due to Zeke's regression.
"Nirvana's head said he would make a thousand golems to prepare for the future."
"While there's skepticism within the family, everyone's following along since it's the head's decision."
Though reluctant, their agreement to make a thousand golems showed Nirvana's true capabilities.
As he pondered this, Zeros moved closer to Zeke and whispered.
"My lord, my master separately asked if we could get more fairy stones."
"They used up that much already?"
"For mages, fairy stones don't have a concept of quantity. There are only two states - having them or not having them."
Zeros continued with a sigh.
"Since fairy stones are essential for golem cores, it seems they've used up everything they had. I had a hard time calming my master down."
After thinking about Zeros' words, Zeke spoke.
"Zeros, tell Master Antonio that we'll provide twice the usual amount of fairy stones this quarter."
Zeros cheered at Zeke's words.
"But there's one condition."
"What condition?"
Zeke's eyes flashed as he spoke.
"Tell them to send a representative from Nirvana to attend this continental assembly."
Zeros was flustered at Zeke's words, his eyes darting around.
"Th-the assembly attendance..."
Nirvana's mages only attended meetings for the head selection ceremony every five years.
Being busy with their research, they refused to attend any other meetings.
Zeke grinned at the troubled Zeros.
"Let them know that the representative from Nirvana will get free use of the newly developed High-Density Mana Analyzer for a year."
The High-Density Mana Analyzer was a magical experimental device created by Hades, Feinan, and Gelion.
Recently announced at the magic society, it had superior performance to existing mana analyzers and broader experimental capabilities, making all mages covet it.
Offering free use of one of only two such precious devices on the continent for a year was an irresistible condition for any mage.
Zeros' eyes widened in surprise before nodding with determination.
"I'll make sure to persuade them no matter what."
"Good, Zeros. I can count on you."
The next day, Zeke received news that Master Jorge, Nirvana's head, would attend the continental assembly.