Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: The Spark of War
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Krash was racing toward somewhere right now.
It was because of the news he'd heard from Glenn.
The Poison King had sustained severe injuries.
Krash had once heard the news of the Poison King's assassination in the past.
'Bianca.'
Before his regression, the Poison King had wiped out the Hardenharts family.
It was because the second prince, who had been pushed aside in the imperial succession, had sought refuge with the Hardenharts and unraveled the imperial family's secrets.
Bianca, the sole survivor of that day, had become a vengeful ghost and killed the Poison King.
And in the war between the empire and Staron that erupted as a result, Bianca was ultimately slain by the Poison Sealer, Haring Lagren.
That was what had happened before his regression.
And now, something similar might have occurred.
Of course, it wasn't Bianca's doing.
The Poison King hadn't exterminated the Hardenharts, and Bianca was still a long way from becoming a vengeful ghost.
So why had this incident happened now?
Krash's brow furrowed.
The real problem lay in the rest of Glenn's story.
"The World Eroder that gravely wounded the Poison King apparently tried to assassinate the Fourth Princess and fled. The empire is chasing that World Eroder."
Upon hearing the follow-up, Krash's eyes widened in shock.
He knew exactly who that World Eroder was.
'Evelask Venapoci.'
Whatever the truth was,
according to the rumors spreading, the one who had attempted to assassinate Fourth Princess Sizzly Epania was Evelask, the leader of the Night Raven Squad.
And it suddenly struck him that the clash between the Poison King and Evelask might have been because of him.
He had once asked her to ensure the Poison King didn't harm the Hardenharts.
If this incident had happened because of his words?
It would mean an event unprecedented before his regression had erupted due to his own statement.
An indescribable emotion surged within him.
Just a single flap of a butterfly's wings might have changed everything.
[ Krash, that guy's not behind this. ]
At that moment, Crimson Garden's voice pierced through the brooch into his mind.
His racing heart gradually returned to its normal rhythm.
His briefly dazed mind sharpened once more.
"I'll go after her."
With Crimson Garden's words, Krash snapped back to reality in an instant and began pursuing Haring.
The immediate issue was Haring.
Because Krash knew better than anyone what fate had befallen her due to the Poison King's death in the past.
"Crimson Garden."
As he ran, Krash called out to her to verify the truth.
A crow then swooped down from the sky and landed on his shoulder.
"You're sure this isn't Evelask's doing?"
[ Yeah, I'm sure. ]
Krash let out a short sigh.
Now that his mind had cooled, he was convinced it wasn't Evelask.
'No matter the Hardenharts situation, Evelask wouldn't choose all-out war with the Poison King.'
Besides, the timing didn't make sense.
Even if the second prince's exile from the empire to the Hardenharts was accelerated as much as possible,
it couldn't happen now.
'Because the emperor hasn't returned yet.'
The other imperial royals weren't yet in a position to arbitrarily drive out the second prince.
"Then whose doing is it?"
[ The Poison King was indeed ambushed. Plenty of witnesses saw him collapsed and wounded. ]
At those words, Krash's eyes began to narrow slowly.
"So the empire pinned it on Evelask regardless of who actually did it to the Poison King."
Having grasped the situation, Krash's eyes turned fierce.
"The empire figured out Evelask's location."
Evelask was the leader of the Night Raven Squad.
Especially now that she was being framed for attempting to assassinate the princess.
'Above all, they wouldn't want to let Evelask slip away.'
Her usefulness had already been proven with the Night Raven Squad.
So the empire would never let her go and had relentlessly pursued her.
As a result, they had realized Evelask was with the Hardenharts.
But sending imperial knights across the border recklessly would be a mistake on their part.
The empire had no intention of starting an all-out war with Staron at this time.
[ Yeah, so they're formally requesting permission for the imperial knight order to enter, claiming the World Eroder who left the Poison King in that state has fled into Staron. ]
They had escalated the incident instead.
For them, capturing Evelask meant profit no matter what.
They planned to make a huge fuss and use either Staron or their own forces to catch her.
If Staron caught her, they'd demand extradition on charges of attempting to assassinate the princess.
And if they caught her themselves, that was ideal.
"Where's the approval site for the imperial knight order's entry?"
[ Hardenharts. ]
As expected.
"Have you confirmed who actually put the Poison King in that state?"
[ Not yet. ]
Krash's brow furrowed.
'Not enough information.'
Krash had never met the Poison King.
Even the Poison Sealer Haring had been merely a senior by a generation back then, with almost no connection.
Moreover, Haring had later left with the Generation of the Sky to seek revenge against the vengeful ghost.
So no solid information came to mind.
Krash bit his lip lightly.
'One thing's for sure: this is a new event.'
This incident was surely the butterfly effect of various events in this regression cycle.
But regardless, Krash couldn't shake the uneasy feeling.
'It's flowing differently, but in a similar way.'
The Poison King being linked to the Hardenharts for some reason.
The empire trying to infiltrate the Hardenharts.
All these elements somehow seemed to repeat the outcome of the previous cycle.
As if this world moved within a predetermined framework.
And that framework seemed to steadily march toward destruction.
Staron would definitely refuse the empire's request.
There was no way they'd allow imperial knights into their territory.
Relations between the empire and Staron were already poor.
The empire might use this as an excuse for various demands.
They'd tried to assassinate the princess and gravely wounded one of the Ten Supremes, yet Staron was blocking them for mere national interests.
They'd twist it that way to find fault.
As a result, relations between the empire and Staron would gradually sour.
This incident would ultimately become one of the triggers leading to war.
'So the Poison King's extermination of the Hardenharts was just a trigger.'
The empire and Staron had been at odds for a very long time.
And the Hardenharts massacre was merely the spark that ignited the war.
Perhaps both nations had been waiting for that one excuse to start a war.
Just like how most wars sparked by trivial incidents had long shown signs of brewing.
'That's why Arthur...'
didn't act to stop the war between the empire and Staron.
No matter how much an individual struggled, it wasn't enough to halt events between nations.
Perhaps Arthur had tried multiple times.
But upon seeing it inevitably lead to war, he gave up.
And shifted to using the war rather than stopping it.
At that thought, Krash gritted his teeth.
'Like hell I'll let these rotten countries fight among themselves.'
During the war, the empire and Staron consumed so much of each other's forces that they couldn't control the World Erosion.
The problem wasn't just them.
They were two of the world's foremost powers.
Their war naturally rippled to neighboring countries, causing other kingdoms to lock down for defense.
It was the era of the great outbreak of World Erosion.
'Followed by wars between World Eroders and humans.'
The rampant World Erosion turning into a catastrophe might all stem from the war between the empire and Staron.
So the war had to be prevented at all costs.
But how?
'I'm just a student right now.'
That might be why Arthur had let the war slide.
A mere student had no right to mediate between nations.
As Krash ran, deep in thought, something flashed into his mind.
His steps, already chasing Haring, quickened further.
The Poison King's daughter, Haring Lagren.
She might be the key to resolving this.
Krash's running steps gradually slowed to a stop.
Because the place he'd arrived at was the girls' dormitory.
Haring had headed straight to her own room.
She had probably gone to use the communication tools in her room to contact her family and get the full story.
Unlike martial arts classes, there was a free period today.
In front of the girls' dormitory, the number of women increased, drawing gazes.
"Hey, isn't that...?"
"Krash Valheim?"
"Wonder who he's here to see."
The girls looked at Krash with eyes full of curiosity.
But Krash paid them no mind.
He was solely focused on meeting Haring right now.
But he couldn't just barge into the girls' dormitory.
"...You?"
Just then, he ran into Astria, who was coming out.
She brightened upon seeing him but quickly schooled her expression.
"What are you doing here?"
She put on a haughty look as she spoke.
"Astria."
But the moment Krash saw her, his face lit up.
Astria flinched at his joyful expression, as if he were happy to see her.
And just as she unwittingly let a shy smile slip,
"Perfect timing. Could you call Haring Lagren for me?"
That expression shattered instantly.
Astria stared at Krash in stunned shock.
And understandably so—the guy she liked had come to the girls' dormitory first thing and asked for another woman.
Her eyes trembled pitifully, but she soon bit her lip hard.
"...Why?"
As Krash answered, he noticed Astria's shoulders trembling.
A crush suddenly asking for another girl.
And right in front of the girls' dormitory, no less.
Astria couldn't help but be shocked.
"I can tell what you're thinking, but it's not that."
So Krash immediately cleared up her misunderstanding.
"There's a problem between the empire and Staron. The Poison King was gravely wounded by a World Eroder, and the empire claims that World Eroder is in Staron's Hardenharts territory."
It was a massive, nation-scale event.
Hearing that, Astria's face, twisted by jealousy and shock moments ago, began to calm.
At the same time, her brows furrowed slightly.
"...Something that big happened, and they didn't call me?"
One of the Ten Supremes was severely injured.
Normally, they'd urgently summon the Saintess for treatment first.
Yet the empire hadn't.
And even Astria, the Saintess herself, was learning of it from Krash.
"More importantly, you're getting involved in something like this?"
If what Krash said was true, this was far too big.
It was practically a tug-of-war between two nations.
She looked incredulous at Krash trying to insert himself, but he nodded seriously.
"Yeah. It could escalate to war if we're not careful."
War.
At that word, Astria, who had been frowning slightly, turned around.
"If you're saying it's that serious, it must be huge. Got it. I'll go call her."
True to form, Astria separated personal feelings from duty.
She left those words and turned away.
"Astria, thanks."
Krash called out to her retreating back, and she flinched.
She shot him a quick glance, huffed, and turned her head away.
"...I'm not doing it for thanks, so whatever."
Though she said that, Astria was inwardly pleased.
As she left, Krash stood alone, gazing toward the girls' dormitory.
Hoping Haring wouldn't act too recklessly on her own.