Chapter 224
Chapter 224
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 224
Chapter Title: Calcos Tribal Alliance (2)
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Inside the tent, bizarre ornaments were placed here and there.
In a space thick with smoke billowing from unknown herbs smoldering faintly.
Clatter— rattle!
Bone fragments lightly tossed rolled across the circular metal tray.
The old woman stared blankly at the result, then shook her head with a deep sigh.
"Hoo— No matter what I do now, I can't see anything. I guess I've gotten old."
The grand shaman Morna let out a lament, her face full of tattoos twisting as she squeezed her eyes shut.
Divination itself wasn't a spell known for high accuracy to begin with, but that was just the general rule.
For a grand shaman of her caliber, simple fortunes of good or ill weren't particularly difficult.
'It should have been that way. But at some point, the future grew hazy... and now I can't see even an inch ahead.'
She slowly opened her eyes and peered through a gap in the tent toward the outside.
What she saw was countless people moving in perfect unison, all for a single purpose.
They were tirelessly preparing for war, as if entranced by something.
'Balteon... what in the world are you doing?'
But ever since the council meeting ended, she'd been confined here, unable to do a thing.
If her reputation wasn't needed to sway the tribes, she probably wouldn't even be alive now.
'I don't know how long that drug will last. I've made some arrangements on my end, but will he make it in time... The rest is up to the heavens.'
The massive warrior she'd secretly contacted, evading the watchers, guided by her 'instinct.'
He was no ordinary man either—he'd surely begun some countermeasure the moment he sensed the crisis in the south.
'But...'
In the midst of her reverie, in one fleeting moment.
Morna's expression hardened.
"...This presence?"
Her eyes widened as if she'd seen something she shouldn't have.
"Hah, is it already too late...?"
With a resigned look, she gazed through the narrow slit at the outside scenery—Beorsen—and thought of her family captured in some distant city, letting out a heavy sigh.
Praying that the coming disaster would pass them by.
Rumble—
From the heart of the city beyond, where Balteon resided.
An endlessly ominous and horrific aura she'd felt once before was slowly spreading across the entire city.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ — Howard Hah, he's really lost it? I knew it all along, but still. — Hesperon ...Wow, what does he plan to do after this? — Heinrich Stop! How far do you intend to cross the line! Even so, that's...! — Hannibal Strauss Aah— I'm tired of hearing that. We'll reconnect when needed. — Heinrich Wait...! Hans focused his mind, erecting a barrier within his inner self.
It was merely a small fence compared to the wall he'd set up with Mind Hub before the main body lost consciousness.
But that alone was enough to silence the cacophony of thoughts echoing in his head.
And shortly after.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The entity has met the conditions and grows. Special Skill Wicked Wisdom absorbs Clear Mirror Still Water and Keen Eye, evolving into Impure Sage. Whether that served as the trigger, system text appeared before his eyes in the darkness.
[Hoo, impressive. This orb is quite useful.]
He nodded in satisfaction, gazing at the orb placed in one corner of his mental world.
The gift left by the sudden visitor, the Ruler of Rites.
This item, which positively enhanced all mental abilities upon use, had greatly aided in blocking the constant connection with the bothersome avatars.
'The growing independence between entities over time helped as well.'
When the main body was intact, serving as the center for all.
Each avatar was no different from limbs or body parts—simply extensions with slightly quirky habits.
Even right after the main body fell asleep from resisting the Abyss's mental corrosion, they naturally shared thoughts as if breathing.
Aside from Hans's poor condition at the time.
But a bit more time passed after that.
For smoother communication, they began holding so-called 'inner brain conferences.'
They could still share situations and thoughts, but the process grew a tad more cumbersome.
'Only natural. Without the buffer of Mind Hub, mixing distinct egos would be far more dangerous.'
Hans and Hannibal Strauss, especially since they were corrupted, had always been somewhat isolated from the rest.
So, he took this chance to use the orb's power to erect a wall he could open and close at will.
Of course, voluntarily controlling the connection wouldn't last forever since they were essentially the same being, but with little time left anyway, it didn't matter.
[Kekeke— Ah, my head feels so refreshingly clear.]
Were they subtly influencing each other without realizing?
The emotions within him felt purer somehow.
More pristine and unadulterated— the very embodiment of malice and venom.
[Anyway.]
His gaze turned to where the pitch-black energy filling the space pooled most densely.
"Grrr— grrrk—!"
[Kekeke— Fascinating. To think a human could accept the Abyss this deeply. I suspected as much when he harbored madness, but he's no ordinary human after all.]
Crunch— crackle—!
The massive body collapsed on the floor kept twisting, black energy spewing from it in streams.
The phenomenon continued for a while until the leaking energy was sucked back in, finally ending.
Twitch— twitch—
"Guh... Vicious. Even using madness wasn't this bad. As expected of the Immortal King..."
Finally staggering to his feet, he spat complaints low while drooling.
His veins bulged dark purple across his body, his sclera blackened from white, crimson glow flickering in his pupils.
Thick shadowy energy dripped like paint from his form, corrupting the surroundings just by standing.
"Keh— Ridiculous. All those efforts before, and the wall I couldn't breach breaks like this."
He was the great chieftain who, after a minor clash with the Immortal King—persuaded with a touch of force—finally recognized his sincerity.
And now, having accepted the Abyss and become a demon, the mastermind of this coup: Balteon.
[Do you like the power?]
"Yes, so what you want is...?"
[Balteon.]
But before his excited words finished.
A low voice like thunder from hell vibrated the space, silencing him as he instinctively gauged the other's mood.
[Short on words, aren't you?]
A brief, authoritative, overwhelming command.
Was it the influence of the Abyss he'd accepted?
Despite reaching the pinnacle he'd craved his whole life, he inexplicably couldn't even speak freely before the Immortal King.
"...As you said before?"
[Of course.]
What Hannibal Strauss wanted was influence over the continent—immense influence guaranteeing ample karma.
[War.]
With everything already prepared, simply naming it would earn no small karma.
But he had no intention of settling for that in this golden opportunity.
So how?
With the army fully prepared from planning to final readiness, marching on fertile lands—how to maximize his intervention?
'The answer's right here.'
The supreme commander, now his puppet after being overtaken during power absorption: Balteon.
Just like him, corrupt the entire army from top brass to foot soldiers in his color!
[Kuhuhu—!]
Into the Abyss.
Into death.
Whatever happened in the process was trivial to him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Using the orb in his mental world, Hans severed the connection pathway with the avatars.
Now, not only communication but real-time status checks were impossible until Hans opened the door.
"We'll have to hurry a bit."
Under Heinrich's lead, now anxious, the hero party—equipped with desert robes and survival gear airlifted via Avatar Cloud—swiftly traversed the sands.
Saintess Riesta rode on Heinrich, Isea on Hari, focusing solely on speed.
"Hari's back is so wide, it's easy to concentrate. And so comfy."
"Uahaha! Ride on my back anytime!"
Isea, maintaining perception interference and temperature regulation magic over the galloping group, patted Hari's vast back in admiration.
Not just the area, but the lush beast hide under the robe made it a literal moving bed.
Even while racing, a few words passed between them.
Meanwhile, today's topic in the avatars' inner conference was gravely serious as ever.
— Heinrich We can't just leave Hans be. We have to stop him somehow. — Hugo Definitely, it's getting worse. At first, we shared opinions and understood other views. But suddenly cutting communication? — Hubert Any ideas? Well, a holy sword stab full of divine power might have a chance. — Hesperon Speaking of, Hari—from what I saw before the cutoff, Hans looked ready to turn everyone there into undead or monsters. What about the new seal? The grandma's gotta be there too. — Hari Euung? R-Really!? Hey! Skullhead! You kill the shaman granny? Damn! No answer? Don't kill granny! I warned ya! Thus, devising countermeasures inside and out while moving, they were the world's top powerhouses in name and truth.
Their senses naturally transcended mortal limits.
'An ambush this size in the desert. Bandits? Or dispatched troops?'
They already knew of the considerable forces hidden along their path.
Detouring would waste time, and they couldn't pierce Isea's magic anyway, so they'd planned to pass quietly...
But the enemy apparently thought differently.
"Alert! Alert!"
"Halt! Show yourselves!"
"Non-compliance will mark you as hostile forces! We will engage immediately!"
Over twenty suddenly blocked the path, thrusting spears and arrows.
Even mid-movement and maintaining other spells, it was magic from a grand mage like Isea.
Not only detecting it beforehand but responding this quickly meant they were no ordinary foes.
'Ignore and pass? Subdue and interrogate? No, hundreds nearby. Interrogation would take too long. Better to just go...'
Still charging, in less than a second, he methodically analyzed responses...
'Huh?'
Hari spotted faces among the soldiers and abruptly stopped.
Heinrich and the others followed suit.
"Hari? Why suddenly...?"
Isea, riding on his back, looked puzzled but unconcerned.
Why worry? They tore apart 30-meter giants effortlessly—what were a few desert soldiers?
With Isea's help dispelling the perception block, Hari stepped forward.
His robe still shielded from sandstorms, not fully revealing him—
"Hup!"
"Ugh!"
But his massive build and overwhelming physique exuded such violent pressure that even elite soldiers tensed and fell back involuntarily.
Some flinched but narrowed eyes, scrutinizing him...
"...That bulk looks awfully familiar."
"This chill too. Much stronger, but... no way..."
"Hari? Is that Hari?!"
By sheer coincidence, they reunited in the desert heart with past connections.
The southern warrior trio who'd clashed with Hari while he was settling north, then became friend-subordinates: hefty Luwang, bearded Turaba, scarred Dao.
Hari tossed off his robe and approached them.
"Kuhahaha! Meeting like this out here, friends! What brings you guys here?"
"Hari, what about you...?"
"Yeah, heard you're busy with the hero... Huh? Wait, then that one over there!"
"Eek! Miss Misty! Misty! Come out quick! It's Hari! The hero's here!"
The mysterious army en route to Beorsen.
Anti-Balteon forces gathered to punish the tyrant oppressing tribes with foul methods, led by a certain Misty, a woman in her twenties...
"Greetings. We sensed someone approaching but never dreamed it was the hero's party. Fate, I suppose. I'm Misty."
Daughter of the great chieftain who once ruled the south before Balteon's coup.
Grand Shaman Morna's granddaughter and disciple—herself a grand shaman.