Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Second Continental Summit Conference (3)
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The tense atmosphere in the grand conference hall began to ease only after the Thalia Kingdom delegation took their seats in one corner and a bit of time had passed.
嗡嗡嗡—
“Ahem, so as I was saying...”
“Ahh— I see.”
The crowd started chatting among themselves once more, one by one.
Everyone knew the extent of a vampire's... a powerhouse's hearing, so no one spoke openly about them. Still, people couldn't focus on their conversations, constantly glancing toward the corner.
‘Thalia Kingdom's new ruler, Heinz 2nd. A vampire from the Brocoslak Clan who has ascended to the rank of Sacred Blood.’
As representatives of their respective nations, all the participants here were well-informed.
They naturally knew plenty about the vampire group that had swallowed an entire kingdom whole, and especially about their leader, Heinz.
Of course, knowing about them in advance didn't make the earlier stiffness any easier to handle.
Vampires were predators who sustained their lives by preying on the blood of others, after all.
That inherent unease, combined with the ominous aura naturally emanating from them, triggered an instinctive reaction.
And it wasn't just that...
스윽—
“Hm? Viscount Pristin?”
“Excuse me for a moment, Your Highness.”
Isea quietly moved through the crowd and positioned herself right behind Princess Ryley, who stood at the center.
Ryley gave her a puzzled look, but Isea shamelessly held her ground regardless.
Still wary of the vampires... precisely, Heinz 2nd.
Ready to respond immediately if anything happened.
‘...Strong. Can I block an all-out attack...? With the cathedral's barriers, maybe it's possible. Even if I just buy time, the Church will step in afterward, so prepare for that...’
If they had any sense, they wouldn't cause trouble in the heart of the Church. But wizards always prepared for the worst contingencies.
Just recently, Ryley had been kidnapped by the Immortal King right in front of her eyes.
So it was only natural to exercise extra caution in everything.
‘......!’
At that moment, Heinz, who had been sitting quietly, flicked his gaze toward her.
It passed by as if it meant nothing, but in that brief instant, countless spells assembled and disassembled in Isea's mind.
‘...Tch, he's making me jump.’
After that fleeting glance passed.
She steadied her breathing lightly but had no intention of lowering her guard.
Her transcendent intuition rang alarm bells, warning that even a moment's carelessness against that foe was unforgivable.
And this wasn't just her—it was a common reaction among all the powerhouses present.
“Kuhuhu—. Impressive indeed.”
Starting with Calcos's Great Sorcerer Morna, who had her attendant advisor in tow at the back.
“Hmm... This is intriguing. Such a presence. As expected of his reputation.”
The Lord of the Mage Tower Alliance, eyes gleaming with curiosity at the appearance of a Sacred Blood known only from ancient texts.
“Truly, nothing on this continent is to be taken lightly. You've had it rough all this time, Lady Rapori.”
“Hahaha... All I've done is talk with the Church so far. I'm more worried about you, Lady Lydia, from here on out.”
The High Elves from the Elven Kingdom on the Enamel Continent.
“Hmph! This feels all kinds of off. You sure this is okay?”
Lionel, the beastkin representative from the Wild Lands, and so on.
The powerhouses serving as escorts for each delegation kept their tension high, watching the vampire group like a bomb about to go off.
And Heinz, drawing all that attention onto himself...
‘I expected this to some extent, but it's more than I thought. Should I have toned down my presence a bit?’
...continued such nonchalant thoughts while slowly stroking his chin with a serious expression.
He had deliberately amplified his presence to assert dominance, but maybe he'd overdone it.
He had casually glanced at the familiar face of Isea, only to hurriedly avert his eyes when her intent exploded toward him in response.
She must have found him thoroughly threatening.
“Tch, staring at us like we're some sideshow. How rude to dare treat High Lord this way.”
“Vampires appearing in broad daylight and attending a holy event like this is unprecedented, so it's understandable. Especially since High Lord is a legendary Sacred Blood, isn't he?”
“True, but still...”
Frigia Brocoslak, brought along as both a show of force and an attendant, clicked her tongue in complaint, only for Mulro, her fellow attendant, to placate her.
No matter that Heinz 2nd was a Sacred Blood, they needed some True Blood-level powerhouses to flaunt their strength properly.
Mulro, handling intelligence, seemed useful for various tasks, while the martial artist Frigia had nothing better to do after sweeping up recent rebels, so she'd been roped in casually.
‘I can't stand seeing her slacking while I work. Plus, Frigia once posed as a noble lady, so she's familiar with public-facing duties.’
The parties involved were thrilled to be favored by a Brocoslak founding contributor.
If everyone was satisfied, what was the harm?
Of course, as a proper national delegation, they had actual staff for the practical work along too.
“Ah, the Church representatives are entering. Looks like the meeting's about to start. I'll escort you to the central round table, High Lord. Shall we go?”
Duke Bright, who had attended the first meeting as a representative.
His skin now taut and youthful, he bowed politely to Heinz and extended a hand toward the conference hall's center.
Recognized for his contributions, he had become a Pureblood vampire in one leap and was handling logistics for the second meeting as well.
“Hmm, alright then. Let's go.”
As Heinz moved, the representatives from each faction, scattered in their groups, began gathering at the center one by one.
Gazes of wariness and probing flew back and forth as they drew closer.
Fortunately, everyone took their seats without major incident.
A short time passed.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here.”
Right after Riesta, Heinrich, and Cardinal Cordelia from the Church entered and sat side by side at the empty spot on the circular central table.
“Then, let the Second Continental Summit Conference begin.”
As in the first meeting, the proceedings kicked off with Cardinal Cordelia's brief greeting.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Throughout the meeting, Heinz simply sat with his arms crossed, unmoving.
There hadn't been anything requiring his input yet.
The flow was much the same as the first meeting.
For all the back-and-forth, the overarching theme was simply uniting their strength to overcome this crisis.
First, the continental coalition army, previously discussed, was officially established. Through cooperation with the Church, Mage Towers, and others, they solidified a system for rapid deployment anywhere needed.
Their first deployment target: the Rohan Duchy, clinging to survival only in its capital.
Already struggling, they had suffered devastating losses from a recent white giant emergence. Without further aid, even holding their current position would soon be impossible.
“...Thank you for your help.”
At the decision, Dennis Rohan, the grand duke heir, forced a pale smile and bowed deeply.
Reclaiming territory was now out of the question, so the coalition's goal was merely to help Rohan's refugees safely evacuate to the Empire...
But that was all he could do now.
The next topic was the ‘white giant’ itself.
“This time, one appeared in our republic as well. We mobilized quickly to subjugate it, but not without heavy civilian and military casualties.”
The middle-aged woman who spoke first on the matter, Zephia Republic's Vice President Kayla McClaire, continued in a stiff voice.
She must have agonized over the recent disaster, massaging her temples with roughened hands and sighing wearily.
“I heard the Saint can foresee the Immortal King's attack targets in advance. Is there no way to predict the giants' appearances? If we could detect them beforehand, we could drastically reduce future losses.”
“...I'm ashamed to say, my abilities are still limited in scope. The giants invading through the Abyss's Wound are beyond my current capacity.”
“I see... No helping it, then. Sorry for the pointless remark, Saint. It must not be easy to foresee even that, yet I burdened you with complaints.”
With that, Kayla bowed lightly in apology, and Heinrich returned the gesture, inwardly troubled.
‘If we could at least detect it right after one appears, the hero party could respond directly. But without his prior ‘foresight,’ there's a limit to how fast the hero party can intervene.’
By the time the incident reached the Church, then Heinrich received word and calculated coordinates via Isea for translocation...
‘If luck's on our side, we might arrive in time, but relying on chance is slower than nations handling it themselves.’
This was regrettable for him... or rather, for Hugh.
Handling a white giant personally meant claiming its core too—a missed opportunity stung.
“There is a way.”
But then.
A voice cut through his thoughts.
“A method we've only recently made possible after much trial and error. To be precise, it's not true foresight. Rather, the moment it uses the Abyss's Wound as a passage to reach the surface—.”
It was Riesta, the Saintess of the Church of the Main God, seated right beside him.
“I can detect that instant.”
As she finished, a bright gleam flashed in her golden eyes.
The sight sparked a sudden realization in his mind.
‘Right, Riesta has that ability.’
A vast-range blessing to track demons.
Hans had once gone through hell to evade it.
Thanks to that, he now had near-perfect concealment, useful even back on Earth.
‘But didn't she say the worldwide madness imposed heavy restrictions on using it?’
And giants resisted divine power strongly too.
She must have been working hard in the meantime.
“Oh! As expected of the Saintess!”
“Indeed, that would let us cut losses far more than now.”
“Then, the most effective way to counter the giants would be...”
As the good news delighted the others, Heinrich continued his earlier train of thought.
‘Huh? With this, we can know the moment a giant appears?’
Even its exact real-time coordinates.
But to use this most efficiently, one issue needed resolving first.
Having reached a conclusion, Heinrich turned to Riesta beside him.
As if thinking the same, she gazed back with a gentle smile.
“So, Saint? Will you allow me to act alongside you?”
The Saintess calmly declared her intent to dive into danger to save lives.
With the Saintess joining the Saint-led crusade, it signaled the Church's ironclad resolve.
But unlike the others, Heinrich's first thought upon hearing her was somewhat out of left field.
‘...She must really, really hate administrative work.’
Of course, it was just a passing notion—not the real reason.
...Though maybe a little.