Chapter 250
Chapter 250
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 250
Chapter Title: An Ominous Premonition
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Seo Woo-jin, who had set out alone on the road, activated his Divine Dragon Eye.
"Hmm..."
He could feel all the information within several kilometers flooding into his brain.
The temperature, the terrain, and even the monsters prowling nearby.
The wave of countless data made his mind reel for a moment.
But aside from that, nothing particularly stood out.
"Was it just my imagination?"
It could have been.
Intuition was inherently unreliable, after all.
"No, that can't be."
Seo Woo-jin shook his head.
There were too many experiences he'd accumulated to simply ignore this foreboding feeling.
Ever since reaching the Transcendent Realm, the accuracy of such hunches had approached 100%.
"There has to be something out there."
He just couldn't pinpoint what it was.
He stopped in place for a moment and scanned the surroundings with his own eyes, not relying on the Divine Dragon Eye.
As expected, nothing caught his attention.
"Should I venture a bit farther?"
The source of this unease might lie beyond the range he could perceive.
But he couldn't make a hasty decision.
"What if something happens to them while I'm away?"
His comrades had grown stronger, but they still weren't ready to face Apostles.
No, he couldn't even confidently say they could reliably defeat demonic beasts with abilities.
Any entity capable of giving him this ominous feeling posed too great a risk to leave behind.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue.
For now, straying any farther felt too precarious.
"I should head back."
With his guard up even higher, he turned around.
Thanks to that, he failed to detect the two presences lurking just beyond the precarious edge of his Divine Dragon Eye's range, right behind his back.
* * *
"Your Holiness, the Saint King!"
Bishop Philoyan knelt before Mardetain with a grave expression.
"How fares the situation?"
"The rumors of those vile troops from the three kingdoms massing at the border have proven true."
Heh.
Mardetain snorted at Philoyan's words.
"How many are there?"
"Leninstang fields 70,000, Trian 40,000, and Brobaison 50,000. A total of 160,000."
"160,000..."
"And they command over 15,000 knights, so we must prepare accordingly."
"Those ragtag mobs have mustered quite the force."
Excluding Leninstang, the other two kingdoms were little more than minor powers.
For such nations to scrape together nearly 100,000 troops was undoubtedly a massive strain.
"How goes the conscription?"
"...We have only 50,000 so far."
Though Aier was a great power, troops didn't grow on trees.
They had already mobilized 130,000 through the first and second waves of deployments.
Pushing beyond that was proving difficult.
"Tch, the heretics are the real problem."
Mardetain clicked his tongue.
"Fleeing in terror from a single man. And not back home, but to the northern wilds."
It was a bitter loss for Aier.
Losing an entire 130,000-strong army.
"We've sent envoys. Promising no punishment if they return now."
"You think that'll bring them back?"
"Those who know the grace of the Lord God and Your Holiness will turn their legions around."
Philoyan believed it without question.
But Mardetain saw things differently.
'They didn't flee out of mere fear. They might have caught on to my true nature.'
Otherwise, why head to unfamiliar northern lands instead of their homeland?
'The Black Presence... He's the one who's been meddling.'
It was surely the Black Presence who had planted suspicions in the pure-white knight Oien.
Having clashed with the Apostles multiple times, he had likely deduced that Mardetain was one of the Demon King's followers.
'Regrettable, but I'll have to abandon those troops.'
Rage boiled up at the derailed plan.
But there was little he could do now.
Mutual destruction with Aier and the surrounding three kingdoms was the best he could achieve.
"Has 'that one' from Leninstang joined the fray?"
Mardetain inquired.
"Fortunately, he has not been sighted."
"That's a relief."
The reason Leninstang had risen above its minor status.
A mage who had attained the Transcendent Realm.
It was ironic that the strongest in the kingdom of knights was a mage, but no one dared mock it.
A grand sorcerer unbound by the Sky Tower.
The only mage comparable to the Magic Duke.
Leninstang's Red Knights were formidable, but he was terror incarnate.
"Even so, we can't let our guard down. I've planted agents in Leninstang. They'll report any movements immediately, so worry not."
Mardetain nodded.
His participation was something even Mardetain would rather avoid.
In a war meant for mutual slaughter, Aier would bear the brunt of the losses.
'Not that it's a bad outcome.'
Still, ideally, their forces should bleed each other dry as much as possible.
"Leave that matter to Mirea. You, redouble the conscription efforts."
"But..."
Philoyan's face darkened.
Having already drawn so many troops, further forced levies were untenable.
Push any harder, and even the faithful masses would not endure it.
"It is the will of the Lord God. Execute any who resist in His name."
"Your Holiness!"
Philoyan recoiled in shock at Mardetain's words.
"If we do that, the people will rise up!"
Execute resisters?
With unrest already simmering, they would never tolerate such extremes.
In a situation where troops were scarce and public order shaky, a revolt would spell disaster.
'That would be true catastrophe!'
Wars could be resolved through diplomacy and politics rather than force.
But a revolt? No.
Politics? Diplomacy?
Irrelevant to the masses.
Survival was what mattered to them.
"The people's faith in the Lord God is unshakable. Refuse the Holy War, and they will bear the shame of heresy."
Mardetain's voice was firm.
Acceptance or death.
The people of Aier, who had lived in the peaceful grace of the Lord God, now faced those two choices.
"You as well, Bishop Philoyan."
Philoyan's body trembled.
'Why...'
Had he changed so?
The Saint King he knew had always been a merciful servant armed with piety.
Yet at some point, he had transformed.
'Like a completely different person.'
Blasphemous as it was, Philoyan could only see it that way.
Ever since the 'Saintess' perished in the Empire's academy, he had embarked on this path of domination.
Even the other bishops worried.
If this continued, nothing awaited at the end but Aier's ruin.
Philoyan bowed his head, his face aged a decade in an instant.
"I shall obey."
But he accepted Mardetain's command.
The Saint King was the faithful servant of the Lord God.
As a bishop, he had no choice but to obey.
"I wish to be alone. You may withdraw."
At the dismissal, Philoyan exited the audience chamber.
"Tch."
Mardetain clicked his tongue again, watching the old man's feeble steps.
"That one's starting to crawl out from under my thumb."
Pushing too hard for the plan's success had allowed some to slip his control.
"I'll need to carve out time to eliminate him."
Doubt had crept into Philoyan's heart, who once would have endured death at his command.
No need to keep such a one around; best to prune him at the opportune moment.
"Now, let's see..."
Mardetain rose and approached a wall.
A massive map hung there.
"If we conscript properly, we can muster 100,000."
He needed another 50,000, but he believed it feasible.
"A gap of 60,000?"
At that, they could afford a proper clash.
Defense was far easier than offense, after all.
"The knights are the issue..."
Aier had barely 2,000 holy knights remaining.
Against the coalition's 15,000, it was no contest.
"I'll need to request aid from the others."
Mardetain scowled, displeased.
But to maximize the death toll, he needed a balanced front line.
And for that, he required other Apostles' help.
"No choice. Even to check that damned Leninstang mage, I need assistance."
Reluctant as he was, it was unavoidable.
"Who would be best?"
He recalled the nearby Apostles among the ten remaining.
"Benoin feels off, so exclude him. Ardeto's gone south. Tch, I miss Gerald at times like this."
If Gerald were alive, no such dilemma.
That mad Dark Elf loved combat and slaughter; he'd have jumped in unbidden.
But Gerald was dead.
"In the end, only him?"
Mardetain's face darkened slightly.
The strongest and most useful Apostle near Aier.
"Baron."
He would more than suffice.
Yet Mardetain hesitated to decide.
"He's too strong. He might not obey my command."
Baron was one of the three mightiest Apostles.
Hence the reluctance.
A misstep, and he'd act on his own whims.
With no alternatives, though, Baron it had to be.
"Lupera."
At Mardetain's call, a figure appeared.
"You summoned me?"
She was Aier's Cardinal, Lupera.
Having failed in the Empire and endured house arrest, she emerged seething with venom.
"There is a task for you."
"Speak."
Lupera knelt on one knee, awaiting his order.
"Go to the Forest of the Wilderness in the west."
"And do what?"
"Find Baron and bring him here."
Lupera flinched at Mardetain's words.
"...You're summoning him?"
Fear flickered in her eyes.
"I'd rather not, but for the grand plan, it's necessary."
"But..."
"Lupera."
Mardetain cut her off.
"Obey, before I tear that insolent mouth of yours."
Her head bowed under his murderous tone.
Mardetain was a man of his word.
Any further objection, and her mouth would truly be ripped.
"I obey."
She had no choice but to accept.
"Depart at once. Time is of the essence."
Mardetain's gaze upon her was ice-cold.