Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Heir to the Magic Tower (5)
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-This stop is Baektap Station, Baektap Ruins. The doors on the right side will open. Please mind the gap between the platform and the train. Once again, this stop is...
A bustling train station where countless people boarded and alighted.
But the people on the platform were mostly clad in uniforms symbolizing House Ragnar.
This was normally a place visited only by scholars researching ancient civilization relics, but already the air was thick with the stench of blood.
“Ugh! Man, getting some fresh air after so long feels refreshing.”
Selferd stretched grandly, loosening his stiff body.
He then let out a hollow chuckle as he eyed Theo disembarking with hollowed eyes.
“What kind of training did you do to look that beat? It’s not like you were swinging your sword on the train.”
“There’s this thing... Makes me want to down an iced Americano to wake up.”
“Huh? Iced Americano? Why drink that swill? That’s an insult to coffee!”
“I’d rather not hear that from someone who eats pineapple cheese pizza.”
“What’re you on about? Pineapple baked in a stone oven is so nutty and delicious!”
Theo, too tired for a prolonged argument, just nodded as if agreeing with everything Selferd said.
『In the end, you couldn’t quite pull off the ‘rapid time acceleration,’ huh? Heh heh! Magic isn’t as easy as swordsmanship, is it?』
‘I thought talent gained through dragon blood would make it doable somehow, but it’s definitely tough.’
『House Ragnar’s talents are mostly focused on martial prowess rather than intellect, after all. And you’ve awakened yours to an extreme degree.』
‘Still, I’m grateful for the hints I got.’
『Yeah. Give it your best shot.』
If it was hard to bring the body into the consciousness world’s timeframe, what if he made the body’s nervous system perceive things the same way as the consciousness world?
Theo was in the midst of experiments based on that idea.
Lordbroke shook his head, muttering that it was no easy path.
“Then I’ll be off. Take care, everyone.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I’ve got a pile of work to handle.”
Theo and Selferd turned to bid farewell to Deungyong.
Deungyong nodded toward Nazariu and Jirima.
Wellington was keeping a close watch on them.
“Just report back at headquarters. I hear the White Dragon Knights are assembling for a major operation. Keep that in mind.”
Theo and his group’s eyes gleamed faintly.
A full muster of the White Dragon Knights.
Considering they were usually scattered in teams across various regions, this was no small matter.
“Then, until next time.”
‘Next time?’
Deungyong gave Theo a meaningful nod before departing.
Wellington and Theo’s gazes brushed lightly—a silent prayer for each other’s fortune in battle.
Ssslr—
And shadows trailing discreetly behind him.
‘They sure stuck to us like glue.’
Theo scratched the back of his head, watching their backs until they vanished completely.
Agents of Black Snow.
Deungyong didn’t seem the type to show an opening so easily, but those guys would no doubt seize any chance they got.
With that no longer his concern, Theo turned away.
“Then let’s head back ourselves.”
Selferd, Arin, Ray, and Cassandra nodded and moved with him.
Cassandra’s hand gripped Ray’s sleeve tightly.
From here on, it was all an unfamiliar world to her.
* * *
“How long do I have to keep wearing these?”
Some time after leaving the station.
Nazariu grumbled, raising his handcuffed arms toward Wellington.
Four straight days shackled, mana restrained too—it was making him antsy.
Wellington glanced at Deungyong uncertainly, who replied curtly while leading the way.
“You were all set to openly scheme against us, and now you act like nothing happened?”
Jirima’s expression hardened.
It wouldn’t be strange if Deungyong used this as an excuse to take Nazariu’s head and pressure the Magic Tower.
That’s why he’d signaled Nazariu to stay low this time, but
“You’re right. We just stirred up a fuss and planned to bail, but things don’t always go as planned, do they?”
It didn’t faze him one bit.
He even smacked his lips regretfully.
Jirima paled.
“But nothing’s happened yet. So, no interest in shaking hands again?”
Deungyong stared at Nazariu silently for a moment.
Nazariu scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“I know I’m handsome and all, but staring like that makes me shy.”
“Thick-skinned, aren’t you.”
“Ah, too much praise embarrasses me.”
“But a ruler without equal, qualified to stand at the pinnacle of all mages.”
Deungyong chuckled, hands clasped behind his back.
“Indeed. That’s always been our relationship. Trading what we need from each other, then stabbing at the first opening. Never trust the other fully, never rage too much. That distance is just right.”
Deungyong signaled Wellington with his eyes.
Time to release them.
Clank!
Wellington looked a bit displeased but unlocked the restraints on both Nazariu and Jirima.
“Phew! Finally alive again. Wise choice, sir. Live and let live—that’s peace, right? Haha!”
Nazariu laughed exaggeratedly, shaking out his arms.
“But you’ll handle the cleanup for those tails yourselves.”
“That won’t be an issue. Already...”
Nazariu sharpened his senses.
Not far off.
Presences of Black Snow agents lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce.
“Not living people.”
As one corner of Nazariu’s mouth curled up, the agents’ heads severed in unison, blood spraying wildly.
Then, dozens plummeted from the sky, cloaks billowing, landing atop the agents’ spots.
The hexagram on their hoods swayed prominently.
Star of David.
The Magic Tower’s elites, having finished business across the North, converged at their final destination.
“No way... All this time... Out in the field... Moving... For this...!”
Kleve appeared, drenched in blood, glaring resentfully at Deungyong.
Harming allies. Luring enemies into territory. It was tantamount to rebellion.
But Deungyong merely waved dismissively, offering no reply.
A blade of wind sliced through, ending Kleve’s last breath.
Wellington gazed at her limp form with conflicted eyes.
“Now then, shall we begin the trade.”
Deungyong clasped his hands behind his back again, facing Nazariu.
Even amid the elite mages vying for supremacy, he showed no fear.
“I’ve heard the Magic Tower has long exchanged with the ancient dragonkin descendants. True?”
“First, confirm the item we’re receiving is safe.”
“This.”
Wellington stepped forward on Deungyong’s behalf, producing a tome from his bosom.
A grimoire infused with demonic aura.
The raw material to become Paracelsus’s ingredient.
“As expected. Straight to the point. The goods are solid.”
“Then speak. Naga’s nest—its location?”
* * *
At the coordinates Deungyong provided sprawled a massive encampment.
Flutter!
Ragnar banners fluttered vigorously overhead.
“Gulp.”
Just seeing it made Ray swallow dryly without thinking.
An indescribably heavy atmosphere already pressed on their shoulders.
“Ragnar and Troyvan, the war’s main players, are among the Empire’s top great houses. Naturally, their scale is immense. But this... exceeds even my expectations.”
Deungyong had mentioned Ragnar issuing a full mobilization to crush Troyvan early, but this seemed beyond that.
‘The army’s size is way bigger than in my past life. Chasing Ed out unscathed caused this much butterfly effect?’
As Theo pondered and approached the camp entrance with his group,
Thud thud thud!
A massive dust cloud erupted from afar, hooves shaking the earth as it charged straight at them.
A legion of heavy cavalry clad head to toe in black plate.
‘Black Iron Cavalry?’
The strike force forming one of Ragnar’s twin pillars alongside the White Dragon Knights.
“W-What the hell, those bastards?”
“Hey! Dodge!”
Figuring they’d veer off, the group ignored at first, but as the cavalry barreled straight without turning, they hurriedly rolled aside.
Theo especially clutched young Cassandra tight to his chest.
“You assholes! What the hell? There’s a kid here!”
Ignoring Arin’s protest, the heavy cavalry circled wide around Theo’s group.
“Well, well, who’s this? If it isn’t the esteemed White Dragon Knights? You were so small, we didn’t see you. Sorry, sorry. We figured our dragon knights would come soaring in on white dragons from the sky! Right, lads?”
“Exactly! Squad leader’s spot on!”
“Pwahaha! Racing like this, who has time to watch surroundings? If you don’t wanna get hurt, dodge yourselves!”
Laughter spilled from beneath the deeply visored helmets.
Grit!
Arin ground her teeth, glaring at who seemed their leader.
“Pataya. You really wanna die?”
“Hey, don’t glare like that. I said it was a mistake.”
“If it’s a mistake, then it’s fine if we drop mana bombs on your Black Iron camp at night?”
Pataya’s face chilled.
“Even as a joke, there are lines between us, right?”
“Lines? Who was it that crossed them first?”
Arin and Pataya locked glares for a long stretch.
The other Black Iron riders too.
Their gazes downward, lances at ready, brimmed with murderous intent.
Of course, Theo’s group wasn’t backing down—outnumbered but unyielding.
“......”
“......”
After a while.
Pataya yielded first.
“Fine, fine. What’s the point bickering with fledglings? Big-hearted us will yield. Lads, let’s go.”
“Hey! You...!”
Arin lunged forward in fury, but they’d already kicked up a huge dust cloud and vanished into the camp.
“Cough cough! Those bastards, seriously!!”
Selferd hadn’t spoken, but his face showed he was pissed too.
Ray seethed as if it were his own affair.
Theo, however, found the situation puzzling.
‘The White Dragon Knights and Black Iron Cavalry never got along, but this is too blatant. Something happen?’
The answer came after meeting Julius.
“A few days ago, there was an armed clash with the Black Iron Cavalry on the front lines. Quite a few casualties.”