Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Tai Sovereign's Special Task Force, Muksan Forest
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Tai Sovereign's special task force stormed into Muksan Forest.
They burst into a high-end teahouse.
"Uh, w-welcome."
The waiter hurried out, flustered by their sudden appearance.
They quickly scanned the interior before turning back to him.
"Has a woman with peach-colored hair been here?"
"Ah, that lady."
The waiter turned to guide them.
There sat an empty chair, with a freshly drunk teacup and payment left behind.
The rough-looking half dark elf and the pint-sized Sword-Tooth Clan kid who had been sitting nearby were nowhere to be seen.
"Sh-she was right there just a moment ago."
She looked utterly perplexed.
The Muksan Forest captain's face twisted in fury.
They immediately bolted from the shop.
"The woman's escaped. Chase her down—now."
The captain's eyes blazed with rage.
"We must recover the Philosopher's Stone."
The task force members shouted in unison and scattered.
By the time the Muksan Forest group reached the teahouse...
Leyzon was strolling leisurely through the shadows of buildings, Moshyuna in tow.
Syria popped up beside him and hooked her arm through his.
The dainty, pretty Syria looked like an adorable girl to anyone who saw her.
But those in the know saw something entirely different.
Vampire Queen.
She was a ridiculously monstrous being, every bit deserving of the title.
Syria stared straight through Moshyuna, who had slipped into the shadows.
Moshyuna coughed awkwardly and averted her eyes from that piercing gaze.
She had no idea why she was being eyed like that.
Leyzon casually lifted a hand to cover Syria's eyes.
"Syria, pretty face."
He lowered his hand again.
Syria flashed a cute little smile.
But her teeth were grinding audibly.
"Oops, not quite ripe yet."
Leyzon covered her eyes once more.
Iden then spoke up softly from atop his shoulder.
"Syria gets like that with anyone who gets too close to you, Leyzon-nim. Don't take it personally."
Iden was far less hostile than Syria, at least.
Still, Moshyuna couldn't exactly relax around her either.
And Leyzon, casually dragging the pair around without a care? Forget it.
"More importantly, why are you being chased?"
Leyzon glanced up at the task force passing overhead through the shadows.
They were decked out in Raman-style uniforms emblazoned with the Muksan Forest crest.
The outfits had a subtle Eastern flair—quite distinctive.
And they were charging ahead, eyes practically shooting flames.
"Well... um."
Moshyuna hesitated.
It seemed tied to the fiery-haired guy's plan.
Leyzon stroked his chin.
Now he got what the "cage" the fiery-haired guy had mentioned really was.
'The cage that fiery-haired bastard talked about—it's for reconstructing a Transcendent's corpse.'
A Transcendent's corpse wielded far more influence than he'd imagined.
The biggest effect? Blocking out the influence of other Transcendents.
Just beyond the city walls, the beasts of the land were writhing in agony from the black plague.
And even the prophets couldn't barge into the empire recklessly.
That was mostly thanks to the power of those Transcendent corpses.
'The empire's been exploiting that power nonstop.'
For thousands of years now.
Naturally, even that power was running dry.
'You can tell just from the fact that a prophet like the Crawling Ossuary managed to slink in.'
Leyzon was convinced.
More prophets would cross the walls and invade the empire.
And they'd unleash their power in service of the Transcendents they worshipped.
The empire would be thrown into utter chaos.
'Maybe that's why the imperial family keeps chasing Transcendent awakenings.'
It might be their final bulwark before the empire crumbled from nutrient depletion.
Which was why Leyzon was starting to take an interest in the fiery-haired guy's cage.
The guy had said that once the empire fell, he'd rebuild the cage.
An ark for birds that had forgotten how to fly.
For the citizens cast out once the Transcendent corpses' power finally gave out.
The fiery-haired guy was preparing that cage to protect them.
Honestly, even in Leyzon's eyes, it was a respectable goal.
'I'm no altruist.'
Leyzon wanted to protect the people around him, sure.
But saving the whole world? No way.
The world? Eh, someone else'll handle it—that was his average-citizen mindset.
'Guess that's it.'
A genuine heart to save the world.
That mindset had captivated all five women.
And the guy had the face for it, too.
The fiery-haired one was the handsomest man Leyzon had ever laid eyes on.
A guy like that, with a burning sense of justice to save the world?
Even Leyzon could see how it'd shake anyone's heart.
"If you want to protect the world, wouldn't it be better to have even one more ally on your side?"
Leyzon gave Moshyuna a sly smile.
He didn't want the empire to vanish completely, either.
The ones who needed to go were the selfish imperial family—not the everyday citizens.
Besides, Leyzon now commanded groups like the Steel Wolf Guild and others.
What fell under his hand, he protected.
He absolutely didn't want to see them come to harm.
So yeah, he figured he'd lend a hand to that ark in his own way.
Moshyuna's face froze solid.
"...So if I don't talk, you'll take that as a declaration of war?"
What did she think he was, some monster?
Leyzon felt a pang of injustice at being treated like some irredeemable villain.
"Yep. So spill it."
But experience had taught him that a "good guy" image came with too many hassles.
Besides, as the Abyss, people's preconceptions were already set in stone.
Leyzon opted for the comfy villain vibe.
Moshyuna's lips twitched before she let out a sigh.
"As the Abyss already knows, Raklodun is preparing an ark to protect the world."
"And to build that ark, we need several key things."
Without warning, she slipped a hand under her long skirt.
Syria lunged with a cry of "You shameless wretch!" but Leyzon held her back firm.
Syria's short legs kicked wildly in the air.
Moments later, Moshyuna pulled a gem from her thigh pouch.
A gem etched with strange crimson-black patterns.
Leyzon set down the now-still Syria and said,
"That's the Philosopher's Stone."
"As expected—you knew."
The ultimate substance tied to alchemy, capable of turning metal into gold.
In Dungeon Replay, it worked similarly: feed it materials, get a random higher-grade one in return.
Once a day, though.
Handy for upgrades, but kinda meh overall.
'Someone on the forums reverse-engineered the code and posted the random higher-material drop rates.'
Even with Leyzon's sharp memory, he couldn't recall them all.
If only higher materials dropped more often...
But one thing he knew for sure:
"You need materials that only come from the Philosopher's Stone."
Moshyuna froze mid-pose, still holding it aloft.
Her big eyes went wide.
"Just like Raklodun said."
She muttered, face full of awe.
"You know way more than we ever imagined."
He'd just played the game obsessively, that was all.
Made him see why the fiery-haired guy rated him so highly.
"No wonder the task force is hunting you down like mad dogs."
The Stone churned out higher materials once a day, random or not.
And sometimes, those were real rarities.
Nice little profit center for the Tai Sovereign.
So of course he'd dispatch a task force when it got swiped.
"Speaking of, why steal something like that and not bolt right away?"
"It's not that we didn't escape—it's that we couldn't."
Moshyuna twirled a lock of hair beside her face, looking sheepish.
"We got spotted in the middle of smuggling it out."
"Figured we'd lay low till Raklodun came to extract us, but they pinned the tail on us way faster than expected."
That explained why the fiery-haired guy wanted to meet in Raman.
'Kill two birds: rescue Moshyuna and link up.'
Efficient bastard.
"Then again, you should've at least hidden properly."
Sipping tea out in the open? Ballsy.
Moshyuna beamed innocently.
"Hiding quietly's not my style."
"Besides, they say to hide a tree, plant it in the forest, right?"
Leyzon clocked that Moshyuna was a bit... off.
"Plus, that place has this super-famous tea barista. I had to try their brew."
Correction: more than a bit.
'The fiery-haired guy rolls with this? Wild.'
Guy must have a rough life too.
"The real issue is the Tai Sovereign."
Moshyuna peered down at the ground with a sour look.
The Tai Sovereign wasn't called that for nothing.
"Every wall in Raman falls under the Tai Sovereign's authority. If he decides to lock things down, getting out's no easy feat."
That was why Moshyuna hadn't escaped Raman yet.
She'd brainstormed ways out up till now.
But once the Tai Sovereign caught wind? No dice.
So she'd just chilled with some tea instead.
"Syria, think we can slip out through the shadows?"
"I'd say we'll get spotted. This place is rigged way too sensitive to magic."
Even Syria wasn't puffing up her pride here.
If she said it, sneaking out was off the table.
Moshyuna nodded, as if she'd expected as much.
"Not even an ant can slip past Raman's walls."
"Yeah? I say I can."
"Huh?"
"It's just a wall, right?"
Leyzon had already pulled out his staff and spun it playfully.
"So we'll just blow it to hell."
Moshyuna belatedly noticed the wicked grin on Leyzon's face.
An unsettling aura radiated from the man who'd been so relaxed moments ago.
He smiled like he'd been waiting for this exact moment.
Was demolishing a wall really that thrilling?
Moshyuna couldn't wrap her head around it.
Tug tug—
Then she felt a insistent pull.
She turned to see Hanok, one of Leyzon's crew.
His face was ashen white, head shaking frantically.
A desperate plea: Do NOT let Leyzon do whatever he wants.
Moshyuna panicked.
She'd never seen Leyzon cast a spell before.
No clue why Hanok was freaking out.
"Flame Ring."
In that instant, Leyzon unleashed the magic.
A ring of flames materialized above his head, spinning violently.
Leyzon grinned smugly amid the leaping sparks.
A wall personally managed by the Tai Sovereign himself.
How tough could it be?
He could hardly wait to find out.
"Uh, Leyzon-nim."
Just then, Iden poked her head out from between his arm and side.
"Isn't that Pauli's presence?"
"Huh?"
Leyzon blinked, halting his spell midway.
Why the hell was Pauli here all of a sudden?