Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Factions
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“So that’s why the Northern Alliance was so confident.”
The Northern Alliance and the Empire were at a crossroads, teetering on the edge of war. And here he was, the Captain of the White Mercenary Corps—the central force of the Mercenary Nation, a position far from insignificant—meeting them in the heart of the capital.
And he had initiated contact through an informant, no less. It was unbelievably bold.
“To hold a meeting in the middle of the capital at a time like this… how brave.”
“It’s fine as long as we’re not caught, isn’t it?”
Sion, the Master of the Mage Tower, let out a hearty laugh, as if finding the situation absurd.
“Besides, it’s a matter worth taking such a risk.”
“Since you’ve come here yourself, can I assume you hold the decision-making authority in this matter?”
However, he was a captain, not a commander-in-chief or a strategist, so it was natural to feel a pang of concern.
After all, the very reason they had gone to such lengths to gather was for all the groups present to gain firm assurances and trust in one another.
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand their suspicions, but he had more than enough discretion. No, perhaps even more authority than that.
“First, I would like to congratulate you on the founding of the Mercenary Nation.”
Molech, the representative of the Merchant Guild, looked several times more nervous.
The Mage Tower possessed formidable military strength on its own and had other assets to rely on, but merchants, unless capital was needed, were utterly powerless.
He couldn’t help but be tense; if he were discovered to have been at this meeting, he would surely lose his head.
“To summarize once more: if the Mage Tower joins the Northern Alliance, you guarantee the freedom of our research.”
It was intriguing, but not an entirely compelling offer.
“That you will lend a hand in eliminating the black mages.”
This, he liked. Mages and black mages were similar, yet they could never coexist. Like two sides of the same coin.
“The construction of a Mage Tower in the Demonic Realm.”
This was quite… no, very appealing. It was, quite literally, an unknown world. No one knew what magical knowledge and wonders lay dormant within.
“And joining the Northern Alliance in the war.”
This carried the greatest risk. War. A war against the Empire, no less.
Seeing Sion seriously weighing the pros and cons, a smile crept onto Kratos’s lips.
A rather large one, at that.
“What’s so funny?”
The man was dead serious, and suddenly he was laughing. Sion furrowed his brow deeply.
“It’s just that seeing you still weighing your options is quite amusing.”
“What insolence—!”
The Mage Tower and the Merchant Guild. Yes, these two were indeed valuable assets to the Northern Alliance.
In a normal war, they could afford to deliberate like this. But this was not a normal situation.
This was a situation that demanded a clear choice, not one where they could simply side with one or the other.
What if they remained with the Empire? Besides becoming black mages or experiment fodder, what else was there for the Mage Tower to do right now?
“The Empire is already a den of demons. It has long prioritized black mages over regular mages. You’re not unaware of that, are you?”
If he were, there would be no reason for him to be sitting here.
“If you remain in the Empire, you have two choices: submit to the black mages, or become one yourself.”
“That’s—!”
“And if not that!”
Mages... what delectable ingredients they were.
“Then you become a test subject.”
Sion couldn’t bring himself to respond. Because he knew it was true.
“Once the war begins in earnest, do you think there will be a place for mages? You’ll be lucky not to be exploited.”
Knowing this, the Mage Tower had tried to make its own moves, but the Empire was massive. The Mage Tower was large in its own right, but it was dwarfed by the sheer scale of the Empire.
Right now, the Mage Tower’s position within the Empire was nothing more and nothing less than maintaining portals.
Furthermore, the number of disappearing mages was on the rise. No matter how individualistic mages tended to be, this was clearly beyond acceptable limits.
That’s why they needed a plan. As more and more people became corrupted by demonic energy, even the little value they had left would vanish.
“And didn’t the Mage Tower remain silent, even though you knew the Empire was being tainted by demonic energy?”
“That’s—!”
“Don’t say it couldn’t be helped. There are many things in this world that can’t be resolved with such excuses. Like right now.”
The Mage Tower probably thought it was a momentary aberration. Or perhaps they were trying to uphold their grand principle of not meddling in worldly affairs.
But they couldn’t have known that it would become a noose around their own necks.
“This is not the time to weigh options. The entire continent is facing an unprecedented crisis. A madman calling himself Emperor holds the greatest power, and his underlings are tainted with demonic energy, trying to turn this whole continent into a Demonic Realm.”
Hearing this, Sion clenched his fists and remained silent for a long while.
“While destroying everything that isn’t on their side!”
At Kratos’s words, Sion lowered his head and relaxed the fist he had clenched so tightly it had lost circulation.
Because everything he said was true. The Mage Tower had known about this from the beginning, yet they had remained silent. For various reasons.
And that silence was now returning to haunt them as a terrible misfortune.
“The Mage Tower will join the Northern Alliance. We are very grateful for the goodwill the Northern Alliance has shown us.”
The Merchant Guild, which had been watching from the side, followed suit.
“The Merchant Guild accepts the Northern Alliance’s proposal. We look forward to working with you.”
It was settled easily.
***
“Tell me the truth. You didn’t come all this way just to persuade those two, did you?”
Hattie Shaw asked, nudging Kratos in the ribs.
Even if they had used a secret passage, coming this deep into the capital was a huge risk.
If Kratos were captured here and now, it would throw a wrench into more than just one or two plans. He knew that, so coming to the capital must have meant there was a compelling reason.
And it surely wasn’t a small matter.
“Hey now. The main objective was still getting those two groups to join us.”
The talks had ended well, and both were scheduled to join the Northern Alliance as soon as they were ready. To be precise, the Mage Tower was.
The Merchant Guild would focus more on procuring war supplies than on joining directly.
“Until then, Hattie, please keep a close eye on things. This can’t go wrong, not even by an inch.”
“Don’t you worry about that. This is tied to the Northern Alliance’s military strength, so how could I not pay attention? Besides, there are more than a few people who want to use this chance to escape.”
The Mage Tower would secretly install a teleportation gate connected to the Demonic Realm. The main goal was for everyone to escape before the Empire noticed.
If word of this got out, it was over. If they were discovered midway through and not everyone could escape, that would also be a problem.
Everything had to proceed according to plan, without a single error.
“But you know that’s not enough, right?”
Hattie Shaw was right. They couldn’t just hope for everything to go smoothly. No matter how preoccupied the Empire was with war preparations, this was the capital. Literally the enemy’s headquarters.
“Of course.”
He fiddled with the item he had taken from his laboratory, now in his inventory. It had been sleeping soundly there, as there had been no use for it until now.
The kill switch.
“What if… all the trains were to stop?”
It was a calm, level question, merely posing a possibility, but Hattie Shaw shook her head.
“It would be chaos. If that were even possible.”
There was no other way to describe it. The trains that Prometheus had introduced had become an indispensable mode of transport on the continent.
Not just for transportation, but strategically as well.
While large-scale movements were possible with teleportation, it wasn’t cost-effective for moving regular soldiers.
Therefore, the standard method of war was for regular soldiers to travel to their designated areas by train and join the front lines.
It was a way to save time while also significantly reducing troop fatigue.
“Conversely, it would be good news for the Northern Alliance.”
“You… don’t tell me. Again?”
Right now, there were only a few ways to stop the trains. One was to blow up the central control center in the capital, halting all train movement. The second was to destroy the trains or rails scattered across the continent.
“I’ll infiltrate the central control center, but I won’t blow anything up. There’s no reason to attract attention and heighten security at this stage.”
Of course, the first palace terror attack was done in a fit of rage, and the second was to screw them over, but not this time.
This task was important, but transporting our people was also crucial.
“I have a way. If I can just get in, I have a method to disable it quietly and escape.”
The window of opportunity while they scrambled in confusion would be short. They knew how important the trains were, and the security there would be tighter than I imagined, around the clock.
But I had to exploit that opening.
“Well, then. You’ll have to prepare thoroughly. After all, besides the Imperial Palace, it’s one of the most heavily guarded places in the Empire.”
“Of course it is.”
I built it, and I designed the processes. Of course, I had to assume they’ve added more to it by now.
“How do you plan to infiltrate? The ground is too difficult.”
I knew. The ground was layered with detection magic.
“From the sky.”
“The sky?”
After the Imperial Palace, the central control center was the tallest structure. But infiltrating from the sky?
Hattie Shaw didn’t understand at first and nodded for him to explain further.
“Well, it’s nothing that special. Or maybe it is?”
Ditto, who had been sleeping in his embrace, transformed into a bird and spread its wings wide.
A tiny one, the size of a hawk.
“Huh? With just this tiny bird?”
As if hearing Hattie Shaw’s scoff, Ditto began to absorb spiritual power and grow in size.
“Uh… uh-uh! Okay, okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Only when it had nearly filled the room did Hattie Shaw wave her hands, stopping Ditto. If it grew any larger, this secret hideout in the capital would collapse.
“Well, I figured I could ride it, even for a little while.”
“Phew, you always have a plan, don’t you? My apologies. I take back the ‘tiny’ comment. And that *is* special. Who thinks of infiltrating from the sky by riding a bird?”
***
“Are all the preparations complete?”
Kratos, clad head to toe in black, took a deep breath and nodded.
The situation was escalating faster than expected. The Empire had also begun preparing for war, amassing troops in Libria.
But the number of troops was alarming.
“I’ll signal the mission’s progress through the communication device, so keep it safe.”
There were checkpoints for each phase of the mission, like when the people gathered and when they began to move.
When the communication device connected and vibrated at a checkpoint, they would know how far the mission had progressed.
“As for my part, you’ll know naturally when it’s done.”
“I suppose so. An incident of that magnitude is bound to cause a stir in the Empire.”
He bumped fists with Hattie Shaw.
“See you when it’s over.”
“Yes. I’ll see you then.”
On the rooftop of a building a short distance from the secret hideout.
Ditto absorbed spiritual power and began to grow, reaching the size of a legendary thunderbird.
Large enough for me to ride.
With a powerful beat of its wings, it slowly took flight, moving silently toward its target.
And above the central control center that managed all the Empire’s trains, he leaped onto the rooftop.
After all, nothing beats a good first strike.
Since the war had started anyway, there was no need to be discreet. How wonderful.