Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 212
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
The crystal orb, emitting a mysterious glow, captured everyone's attention.
“I can’t tell where this crystal orb is connected, so I’ll check it out alone for now.”
“Oh. Y-yeah, sure.”
“Be careful… It belonged to a dangerous person, so it’s bound to be risky.”
“I will.”
With those words, Kang Seol moved a good distance away from the group. He was about to infuse the orb with mana.
- Wait. Stop.
Ur halted him, and Kang Seol turned back in confusion.
“Why, Ur?”
- Mana traces could linger. If you don’t want the other side pinpointing your location and power level, let me handle the connection. I’ll keep morphing the mana’s properties throughout, so they won’t get any info.
It made perfect sense—no need for second thoughts.
“Alright, do it that way.”
Swooooosh…
Ur’s mana gradually seeped into the crystal orb.
- Is this a VPN? lol
- Bypassing IP too? What even is Ur…
- Perfect timing with the mask too lmao
Ssshh…
A voice flowed out from the crystal orb.
“Shuro?”
Kang Seol playfully modulated his voice.
“Yes, Lady Briah.”
“…You’re not Shuro.”
- lmao caught instantly
- That falsetto sounds so fake lol
- It’s Shuro~ (falsetto)
Kang Seol snorted.
“Shuro’s dead.”
“Liar! Shuro wouldn’t die that easily! More importantly… who are you?”
“Just a passerby. Picked up the orb on the way.”
To be precise, he’d stolen it.
“Wearing that suspicious mask?”
“Yep.”
“…How did Shuro die?”
“Natural causes. Guess he didn’t take care of his health.”
“Unbelievable… You’re the princess’s lackey, aren’t you?”
“…Nah?”
- Nah?↗ lmao
- Strong denial means strong affirmation lol
- Nah?↗
- Not even trying to fool us anymore lmao
- Feels like a prank call lol
Briah ground her teeth as she spoke.
“…Where’s the statue?”
“Don’t have it.”
Of course, not yet.
“No point talking if we’re not communicating. I’ll come find you myself. Wherever you are…”
She warned Kang Seol.
“We’ll see if you’re that brazen to my face. Look forward to it.”
Kang Seol replied.
“Oh yeah… I’m looking forward to it.”
Ziiing…
[Acquired new information.]
[Interferer ‘Selector Shuro’ joins this adventure.]
[Interferer ‘Selector Shuro’ joins this adventure as your enemy.]
[A big shot makes a move.]
[Interferer ‘Black Widow Briah’ joins this adventure.]
[Interferer ‘Black Widow Briah’ joins this adventure as your enemy.]
Crack!
Either the mana connection severed, or the orb lost its light.
Kang Seol pondered deeply.
‘She didn’t ask a word about the princess. She’s really only after the statue.’
After mulling over the next steps for a moment, he returned to the group and said,
“Let’s move out. We’ve got plenty of mountains left to cross.”
Adelrin’s vassals, blinded by rewards; Adelrin Castle, eager to stay on good terms with the newly enthroned Hein IV.
‘And now the Church of Eternal Life gets tangled up too? Did they know the Fallen’s Ecstasy was in the princess’s hands? How?’
Kang Seol asked Brispin.
“Lord Brispin.”
“What is it?”
“Is the statue’s disappearance known only to people in Nevenia’s castle?”
“Probably for now. But not many would know its true value anyway. If Hein IV realized it was a Church of Eternal Life artifact, he wouldn’t have let it slip away so easily.”
Briah hadn’t just noticed the statue’s disappearance—she was all but certain it was with the princess.
‘Was there some deal between Hein IV and the Church?’
It was just a hunch for now.
Truth be told, whatever transpired ahead wouldn’t inconvenience Kang Seol much, even if those two were connected.
‘No, there’s one thing.’
The Church of Eternal Life mobilizing Nevenia’s forces.
But the Church already had plenty of means at its disposal, so it probably wouldn’t resort to that.
‘Anyway, with the Church of Eternal Life stepping in, this is some rotten luck. And one of their leaders, no less…’
It took several days for Kang Seol to fully exit the Nogurs Mountains, hoisting the limping Chadorph onto a horse.
* * *
Crash-!
A wine glass shattered against the floor.
Maids rushed over, startled by the debris, and said,
“We’ll clean it up right away.”
Briah, the one who’d hurled the glass, suddenly let out a piercing scream.
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
The plump man beside her tried to calm her.
“P-please compose yourself, Lady Briah.”
“Why! Why is everything suddenly going wrong?”
“It’s an overinterpretation.”
“Really? Like with Jerry last time. A prominent noble’s mansion raided right in the heart of Tembrion? By someone strong enough to toy with and kill Jerry?”
Her advisor, watching the maids blankly clear the mess, chimed in.
“It does feel ominous. We’ve been pushing to advance the resurrection schedule, but things keep going awry.”
“It’s like they’ve been waiting to sabotage everything I do! What the hell….”
Saboteurs—plural.
A misconception born of scant intel.
They hadn’t realized the one who killed Jerry and snatched the Fallen’s Ecstasy mid-transaction was the same person: Kang Seol.
“What do you think? Got the coordinates?”
“We’re investigating now. Please wait a moment.”
Tap…
Tap…
Briah, arms crossed, face twisted in fury.
Her tapping finger betrayed her deep dissatisfaction.
“Still?”
“Not yet.”
Tap…
“Still?”
“Not yet.”
Tap…
“How long….”
“It’s done, Lady Briah. Please calm down.”
“Fine, who is this guy?”
“No idea.”
“…You’re joking?”
“No, no. This… it’s impressive, Lady Briah.”
The pale-faced man said to her,
“This incident… it feels bad.”
“…….”
“Seems a grand magus has joined the princess’s side.”
“…What?”
“This mana flow isn’t something you can fake on purpose. It’s like… like… right, the kind of mana tuning only a spirit could pull off.”
“A spirit?”
“Beings closest to magic. But not only them. Grand magi can manage similar feats.”
As the conversation progressed, Briah sensed the gravity and sat down.
“Whew…”
Now composed, she exuded a dangerous aura unlike before.
“…Explain in detail. What happened?”
“From the moment mana flowed into the orb, it sent distorted info. Not just twisted data—if it were consistent distortions, we could find patterns—but it’s a total mess.”
“If that’s all, you could crack it, right?”
“It didn’t send one wavelength, then twist to a new one seconds later. Mixed in more fakes there too. Every single one was a fresh wavelength, meaning they weren’t prepped in advance.”
Briah closed her eyes.
“…Go on.”
“That means generating all these wavelengths on the fly… which doesn’t make sense… but…”
“What?”
“Not once did the connection falter during the disruption. So, the info we got is limited.”
“…Compile what we have.”
The man, sweating profusely, gathered the data.
“The opponent has absurd power to pull this off. Most plausible: a grand magus specialized in this field. If there’s one on their side connected to you, it’s either that man or another ally who’s the grand magus.”
“Anything else?”
“High chance Shuro really is dead.”
“…….”
“Lady Briah.”
“We must recover that statue, no exceptions.”
“Then…”
“I’ll move myself. Prepare the followers to come with me.”
“Yes! But we don’t know where they are, or if we can catch up…”
“Teleportation circle, and we might arrive first.”
“It’ll guzzle magic stones. Moving followers too. Side effects will be severe.”
“Use sacrifices.”
“…Understood. But without knowing the princess’s destination…”
Briah said,
“Obvious. Prep a few ships too. Big ones. Actually, have them take over entirely. Done.”
“Ships… so the target is… Freyon?”
“Where else would the princess go? Through smuggling routes to Adelrin, then flee by land? Nah, only one escape spot nearby.”
Briah smiled.
“The sea.”
“Makes sense…”
“We’ll wait there. Sink those trapped rats at sea. Look forward to it.”
“No doubt.”
At Kang Seol’s destination, despair lay in wait, holding its breath.
* * *
(New)[Post by ‘MeritAllMine’]
[Posted: Just now]
[Title: Man, she should totally fall right into my lap lol]
If the princess walks right into mine, I’d Wasabi her then go, “You’re exercising your right to remain silent, Princess,” and ride off into the sunset for a love escape.
- Die, trash!
- What’d the princess even do wrong…
- Judge, your sentence is too harsh.
- Saw Princess Liona from afar, she was dazzling…
(New)[Post by ‘TrollinHard’]
[Posted: Just now]
[Title: Isn’t this joint op overkill?]
Pressuring from above, pushing up from below, this right?
- But Kingron has no escape gaps.
- Yeah, that range is super long and rugged, limited flying paths.
- She’s done for this time.
- Kinda feel bad for the princess…
- Splitting merits with knight squads pisses me off too ㅡㅡ Maybe skip?
- Idiot lol too late now?
- Huh? For real?
- Idk lol but rumors say they’re already at Braggrand foothills.
- What, then just chill. No chance I catch her anyway.
(New)[Post by ‘GotchaThisTime’]
[Posted: Just now]
[Title: Letting her slip through smuggling routes? Lol no way]
Total bugs haha
Whoever thought of double-lining Braggrand—Zhuge Liang?
Even past first line, terrain funnels to canyon in between—easy spot, second line + exposed first crushes princess crew. Dead.
Counter? You’re right.
- Came to counter, leaving.
- lmao not just Braggrand, east-west lines too, no escape… Ever seen a manhunt this big?
- She’s a princess, not a monster… feels off.
- Then you save her.
- I’m munching popcorn watching?
Disguised as cemetery visitors, they’d slipped into a small town nearby.
The town was basically a slum—no proper inspections.
‘Well, that’s why we could stop there… anyway.’
Checking intel from the town, Kang Seol wasn’t surprised.
Adelrin had launched full-scale searches.
[Acquired new information.]
[Sudden adventure ‘Braggrand Sandwich’ occurs.]
Detouring the mountains would take too long. Now it was a race to Freyon before enemies noticed—bypassing wasn’t viable.
‘Gotta force through eventually…’
This stretch was likely the riskiest in the princess’s flight.
“Everyone, ditch the horses from here.”
Nod…
Swoosh…
Kang Seol scanned the terrain, pinpointing the widely spread sentries.
“Think they’ll pass here?”
“What if they show up?”
Sentries blanketed everywhere.
‘…Net’s pretty tight. Won’t be easy.’
Couldn’t just charge killing everything—reckless.
They’d end up in the central canyon anyway; detection before that meant near-zero escape odds.
‘As stealthy as possible.’
Swoosh…
Swish…
“Still nothing?”
“They’re not coming this way?”
“Hey! Eyes sharp! Who said chit-chat?”
“S-sorry!”
Gaps existed everywhere, minimal but there. Kang Seol exploited them expertly.
30 minutes passed, then an hour—no detection.
But trouble hit not from Kang Seol’s group, but unexpectedly.
Rustle…
‘Tch!’
A fattened squirrel passed near, making notable noise. In this place, even small sounds drew suspicion.
“I’ll check it out. Hold position!”
“Yes!”
“Hahaha! Excellent! As expected, leading by example ensures Adelrin’s people trust us and sleep soundly.”
“Wise words!”
Well…
No choice.
Not enough space or time to hide everyone.
Likely the sector commander heading this way.
‘Kill him?’
Swooo…
Right hand shadowed, Kang Seol eyed the approaching man.
One shout or fuss, and he’d strike mentally.
“Heh… now with night vision added, no rat escapes Beregion Knights’ grasp…”
It was Bren.
“Rats…”
“What’s wrong, sir?”
Bren donned goggles his knight had worn before, approaching Kang Seol’s spot.
He definitely saw Kang Seol.
And that rippling shadowed right arm.
But as Kang Seol debated slicing his throat,
“Bren, sir? Find something?”
Bren’s gaze shot up.
“N-no, aren’t the stars just lovely tonight, men?”
It looked like desperate pantomime for survival, pretending he’d seen nothing.