Chapter 34
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Trade Route Launch!
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Lightning Mana was an incredibly powerful force, yet at the same time, a profoundly mysterious one.
Even Johann, who had wielded it for so long, felt he hadn't grasped even half of its capabilities.
Among those abilities, the most extraordinary was its independence.
If the wielder was an Aura Master or higher, they could input commands that allowed the mana to move on its own according to pre-set conditions.
Whoosh!
Rewind time just a bit to the moment the cremation furnace ignited. An overwhelming heat instantly devoured Johann's body.
Then, something astonishing happened.
Even though its master was in cardiac arrest, the Lightning Mana—pre-commanded to activate upon sensing intense heat—began circulating rapidly through his body on its own.
First, it emitted Aura to shield his entire body from the flames.
A powerful electric current discharged in the process, but the furnace's roaring inferno swallowed the light whole.
At the same time, the pre-installed supports burned away, causing the platform where Johann lay to rotate half a turn.
This mechanism, too, had been secretly prepared by Hayden while Johann feigned madness.
As it rotated, Johann's position swapped with the corpse of an anonymous executed prisoner prepared in advance.
The prisoner's body swiftly burned to ash, while Johann safely dropped into the prepared pit below.
The real challenge began now.
The Lightning Mana headed straight for Johann's stopped heart.
It delivered repeated electric shocks, relentlessly stimulating the organ.
How much time passed like that?
"Gahk!"
Just when he worried another shock might burn out his heart, Johann mercifully spat up blood-tinged phlegm with a ragged gasp and opened his eyes.
Absolute darkness surrounded him, so thick he couldn't see an inch ahead. The pit was stiflingly hot from the blazing furnace above, but he couldn't move just yet.
'That poison was filthy potent.'
The toxin's remnants had already seeped into his bone marrow.
Even if he miraculously revived, dying again was only a matter of time.
'This is where it gets real. Focus...'
Johann began actively channeling his Lightning Mana through force of will.
Far more precisely than the pre-set commands, it now coursed through his body.
The Lightning Mana sought out the toxins permeating his organs, blood vessels, and marrow, incinerating them at a blistering pace.
With each pass, color returned to his ashen face.
"Nngh!"
Of course, forcing Lightning Mana into his marrow to burn the poison was agony no ordinary person could endure in their right mind.
It felt like thrusting red-hot pokers into his waist or knees and twisting them viciously—a pain that would tear screams from the throat even under heavy narcotic painkillers.
Yet Johann endured, veins bulging on his forehead, biting his lips until they bled.
A single cry escaping to the outside could ruin everything.
'Haa... at least I cleared the hurdle.'
Finally purging the last of the toxins, Johann crawled hand-over-hand through the secret passage leading back into the estate.
"Johann was executed?"
Duke Ganion Eustace furrowed his brow.
It was due to the report from the Shadow in his crystal orb.
"Is this true?"
-The poison we fed Johann was the deadliest of toxins. I personally checked his pulse and confirmed his heart had stopped. Finally, I saw with my own eyes that only bone ash remained in the furnace. Alpha was there too.
"I see. Understood."
As the orb went dark, Ganion's frown deepened.
'The Shadows' testimonies are all consistent, so Johann's death seems certain...'
The Shadow who dragged Johann from the villa to the main house had vouched for his drug and alcohol addiction. Multiple Shadows witnessed his mad seizures at the estate.
The priest who just reported had personally felt Johann's lifeless pulse.
And the cremation was a common detail. No room for doubt about his death.
'Does this mean Alpha isn't Johann?'
Johann's death was now fact.
But nagging doubts plagued Ganion.
'Servants testified his personality changed overnight two years ago, coinciding with Alpha's emergence. Coincidence? He claimed he trained for women, but servants said it was no mere indulgence...'
Alpha's presence at the execution was noted, but with his ever-present mask, anyone could impersonate him.
'But what's the point if the man himself dies? Hmm... disappointing. I was so sure Johann was Alpha.'
This left their intel on Alpha virtually blank.
A critical issue.
Anticipating the motives of someone with unknown origins and identity was like divining a ghost's thoughts.
'From what we know, Alpha aims to expand trade via the Gurkan trade route. If ruined nobility, he'll rebuild his house with the profits. If a fallen merchant, revive his company. Either way, observe longer until his goals clarify, then decide his fate.'
"Well, it seems things went as you wished, for now."
Hayden gazed pityingly at the masked man before him—Alpha.
Only a tiny few knew his true identity: his supposedly dead second son. Hayden included.
"How's Mother?"
"What do you think?"
"...I shouldn't have asked."
Johann smiled bitterly.
Even through the mask, Hayden could vividly picture his son's expression.
"What can we do? She's not someone I can just write off as a failure in my heart... She collapsed searching for you the moment she regained consciousness, without even a sip of water. When I went to check on her, she called me a child-killing murderer, wouldn't even meet my eyes... Sharing meals with her will be tough for a while."
"Father..."
"Don't worry too much. Eating alone is a bit lonely, but nothing compared to your pain. And thanks to her, the Shadows won't suspect your death. From now on, you're free to act as Alpha, not Johann."
Johann rose and bowed to Hayden.
"This is all thanks to you, Father. Thank you..."
"Enough bowing. What kind of father only helps this much for a son sacrificing himself for family and kingdom? I'd deserve curses, not thanks. Besides, your brother still lives."
"If Brother finds out... he'll be furious?"
Johann asked cautiously. Hayden stroked his chin, nodding gravely.
"Probably. He's got my rugged looks and my stubborn temper in spades. Expect a storm at home when he returns. Leave quickly before then. By the way... you plan to hide this from him too?"
"For now. If he knows my identity, he'll act unnaturally despite himself. The enemy would notice. Let him do his best as heir. I'll support him quietly from the shadows."
"Very well. If that's your wish."
Hayden grew serious.
"So, what are your plans now, Johann?"
"Plenty to do, but first, secure funds via the Gurkan trade route. Ideally, claim the Gurkan Mountains—including the route—as my territory."
"You mean become lord of the Gurkan Mountains?"
Johann nodded, and Hayden frowned.
"Easier said than done. The Gurkan Mountains straddle neutral borders, including our Bellovan Kingdom and several others. No one will welcome a flag planted there. That's one reason it's stayed neutral. Tread very carefully."
"I'll keep that in mind. And right now, there's something urgent."
"Urgent?"
The contract concluded smoothly, and around then, construction finished on the grand bridge linking Gurkan Gorge to Viscount Hirobenkal's territory.
Word spread, and the Avangardi Merchant Company—now contracted with Johann—gathered their goods at the bridge.
Gulp...
"What if we run into monsters and croak in there for nothing?"
"This is Gurkan Mountains, monster paradise! Maybe we shouldn't expect survivors at all?"
While final inspections proceeded at Gurkan Grand Bridge, merchants and porters murmured in fear of the unknown mountains.
Passing veteran merchants snorted derisively.
"If you know so much, why show up? You all joined willingly for triple pay. Earn it. Quit whining like kids."
"These young punks these days... tch!"
"Can I just work extra instead of sending them?"
Under the veterans' command, the anxiety ebbed.
And then...
"Look! Crimford Merchant Company’s here!"
"Gods... what’s with that volume?"
"Gotta be hundreds of thousands in gold, right?"
The late-arriving Crimford Merchant Company's scale left jaws on the floor.
Avangardi's haul was massive, but Crimford's was over ten times larger.
Their escort forces dwarfed the baron's in number and quality.
At the center, naturally, was the company's head: Howard.