Chapter 392
Chapter 392
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 392
>Chapter Title: Senior Brother, You'll Understand, Right?
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Silence settled over the room.
Amid the dim lighting piercing the darkness, Aster sat quietly, gazing at the two people across from him.
Astaroth and Leraije.
‘……Shine’s kin.’
The two who had appeared out of nowhere were shedding tears, pleading desperately. Please save the Lord.
Once their sobs subsided, their eyes still trembled with lingering anxiety and confusion. Aster watched them in silence before posing his question.
They wanted him to save Shine……
“So, you’re saying Shine’s in danger?”
“……Yes.”
“I think I’ll need some explanation.”
Frankly, it was hard to believe. Who was Shine? Leaving aside her infamous title of ‘King Slayer,’ she was the strongest knight Aster knew of.
It would be difficult to determine superiority even against Mu Had, Lortel’s master, but considering her powers and transcendence as a vampire lord, even Aster struggled to gauge her true depths.
And yet, Shine was in danger?
“That’s……”
“……I’ll explain.”
Astaroth stepped in to explain on behalf of Leraije, who couldn’t continue through her choked sobs. Astaroth was just as anxious but forced himself to stay composed as he spoke.
Here’s what had happened.
“The Lord…… chose the Great Steppe’s battlefields to achieve unity of body and soul.”
It had been over two years since they left the Second Black-White Slums.
Shine had wandered the Great Steppe’s battlefields with Astaroth and Leraije in tow.
At first, she was quite satisfied.
The Steppe warriors were fierce and hardy, possessing raw savagery unlike the refined knights of the Empire.
But.
“……The Lord couldn’t achieve unity. She deemed the Steppe warriors insufficient.”
“So.”
“So……”
Astaroth recalled that day a few months ago when the Lord had departed.
- In the end, only Oukan will do.
With those words, she had commanded:
- You two stay here. Until I return, do not neglect your training.
She had told them not to worry, but how could they not?
Still, it was the Lord’s order, so Astaroth and Leraije waited. Until the Lord achieved unity and returned.
But then.
“……We heard a rumor. A red-haired knight challenged ‘Amar’ in ‘Amar.’”
“Amar?”
As Aster tilted his head, Astaroth added an explanation.
“Amar…… is the ritual the Great Steppe warriors undergo to become ‘Great Warriors.’”
A hundred days, a hundred warriors.
The challenger must survive bloody battles against a hundred warriors over a hundred days. And upon surviving all hundred days of combat, they finally earn it. The title of ‘Kaliman,’ the great warrior.
It was one of the Great Steppe’s most ancient rituals, and its rules applied equally to outsiders.
Astaroth paused there, clasping his trembling hands tightly. That was when Aster asked.
“But?”
“But……what?”
“Shine challenged Amar. I get that much……”
Aster trailed off. Honestly, he couldn’t see the problem.
‘A hundred warriors over a hundred days?’
Aster knew full well how tough the Great Steppe warriors were. But compared to Shine? Well. If anyone needed worrying about, wouldn’t it be the hundred warriors, not her?
Catching the drift of Aster’s thoughts, Astaroth covered his face with his trembling hands and let out a sigh.
“To be honest…… we don’t fully understand either. Amar, a hundred warriors. No, even if a thousand warriors swarmed her, we know they couldn’t touch the Lord. But……”
Astaroth stared blankly ahead with hollow eyes. The world filtering through his fingers looked as anxious and hazy as his heart.
Yes, that was exactly the problem.
‘……Unease.’
“It’s unsettling.”
As vampires, their souls were bound to the Lord. They didn’t share her life and death, but the clan instinctively sensed when the Lord was in peril.
That was why Astaroth and Leraije had come to Aster.
“The Lord…… is in danger.”
This wasn’t precognition—it was harsh reality. The Lord’s life was truly at stake right now. The unease was a warning of her precarious vitality.
Hearing that much, Aster looked at Astaroth.
‘Shine’s in danger……’
Truth be told, Aster saw things a bit differently.
The vampire clan’s instincts? He didn’t know how they manifested, but to him, Shine’s life being in danger was almost good news.
……Unity of soul and body.
Wasn’t this a step toward achieving that?
Of course it would be perilous.
The path to the unity she hadn’t achieved through two years of struggle would naturally be arduous—and that very danger signaled she was on the right track.
But.
‘……Of all things, Oukan.’
Even Aster, with his faint ties to the Great Steppe, had heard of Oukan.
The unifier of the Great Steppe after centuries, bearer of the title ‘Geyar Driman,’ the Great Chieftain.
Frankly, titles like unifier of the Steppe or Geyar Driman didn’t matter.
So what did?
‘The power he wields.’
Yes, that was it……
“Tower Lord, please.”
“Please…… please save the Lord.”
Aster gazed at the pleading pair. He took a moment to gather his thoughts.
It didn’t take long for him to speak, but really, the answer was already decided.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The still-unknown power of Geyar Driman, Oukan, was dangerous. Perhaps even enough to threaten Shine.
……And so, Aster resolved to head to the Great Steppe.
A noble heart for his comrade. That choice was achievement enough to fill his chest with pride.
‘For the slave.’
The moon didn’t shine.
Even though it was night.
* * *
The next day, Aster immediately informed the Grand Duchess of his trip to the Great Steppe.
“The Great Steppe…… It’ll be a perilous journey.”
Expressing concern over his decision, the Grand Duchess handed him a token in preparation for any contingencies.
“This is……”
“A token proving you’re an honored guest of the Duchy.”
“Why this?”
Aster tilted his head. He was heading to the Steppe barbarians for business—why would he need proof of being a Duchy guest?
But his doubt was short-lived.
Aster’s eyes flashed.
“Could it be you’ve been in cahoots with Oukan……”
“The mood on the northern front is tense……”
Their words overlapped as they stared at each other.
The Grand Duchess spoke first.
“Cahoots with Oukan?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“……I swear I heard ‘cahoots.’”
“Who knows? Not me.”
Aster blinked with the most innocent, dopey look he could muster. The Grand Duchess sighed deeply, shaking her head.
“Cut the nonsense. Cahoots with Oukan? I’m giving you this token for two reasons.”
“Two reasons?”
“Yes.”
First.
“The north’s atmosphere is hostile right now. Not just to barbarians—the punitive forces aren’t safe either. As an outsider, they’ll nab you regardless of whether you’re barbarian or Imperial.”
“Meaning……”
“If trouble brews, don’t flip the table in a huff—show them this token. It should smooth over most issues.”
She knew Aster was a powerhouse few could rival, but the foe was the Empire. No individual could openly defy it.
And second.
“If interests align, you might get help.”
“……Help?”
“Yes. Ideally, save your comrade alone. But if not, borrow the Empire’s hand. Use the token then.”
What did that mean?
In a pinch, she’d lend the Duchy’s name. And even condone using that name to borrow Imperial forces’ power.
Of course, if Aster earned merits, the Duchy would share them too. But in the worst case, she’d share the blame as well.
A not-insignificant burden for the Grand Duchess.
“……Senior Brother.”
Aster looked at her with moved eyes. Not because of the token itself. More like…… he just found the Grand Duchess admirable, somehow.
The Grand Duchess’s lips curved at her junior brother’s(?) gaze.
“If I had the strength, I’d gouge out those eyes of yours.”
“Such a joker.”
Aster grinned sheepishly, but the Grand Duchess wasn’t kidding.
Anyway.
They exchanged farewells and promised to meet again.
“See you someday. Make sure you visit.”
“Of course, Senior Brother.”
Aster still had a Duchy title and land awaiting him. He had to stop by for that, at least.
Leaving camp, he arrived at the rendezvous point where Astaroth and Leraije, already waiting, approached.
“……Tower Lord.”
“How’re you feeling?”
“Still……”
Astaroth and Leraije gave bitter smiles amid their unrelenting anxiety. Aster patted their shoulders.
“Calm down a bit.”
He understood it was beyond their control as clan instinct, but they couldn’t just let emotions run wild.
Yet seeing they couldn’t settle, Aster sighed softly.
“Did you learn the breathing technique?”
“……Yes.”
“Then do it and compose yourselves. We’ll head out after.”
“But……”
Astaroth and Leraije protested, but Aster was firm.
“You’re no good like this. Get it? Either calm down or stay behind. Pick one.”
Their feelings for Shine were touching, instincts or not. But touching was touching—he had zero intention of dragging potential hazards along.
In the end, Astaroth and Leraije relented. As they began the breathing technique, Aster watched and fell into thought.
‘Going to save her is fine and all.’
Truth be told, the army of foreign tribes gathered under Oukan’s name in Maharpart was no small threat even to Aster.
Every warrior was a seasoned fighter and skilled shaman to boot.
‘……Tricky.’
And rumor had it a few could even rival transcendents.
Charging straight in was riskier than sneaking into a noble house.
‘I need a plan……’
Aster pondered.
And he kept pondering even as Astaroth and Leraije finished and they set off toward the Great Steppe.
‘Challenge Amar myself?’
Nah, probably not.
Different specialties aside, the plains warriors weren’t clueless about the gap between mages and knights.
They despised all Imperials equally, but mages especially—for disrupting nature’s order.
So, how?
‘Sneak in undercover?’
……Yeah, right.
If caught, he’d be too busy surviving the warriors to save Shine.
“There’s gotta be a way.”
Endless deliberation.
And finally, when Yoyongi set them down on some empty plain in the Great Steppe.
“……That’s it.”
Aster realized.
……A way to naturally infiltrate Oukan’s main camp.
But before executing it, Aster gazed toward the distant sky…… toward the Grand Duchess, giving a wry smile.
“Senior Brother, you’ll understand, right?”
Her face seemed to shimmer beyond the clouds. Her voice echoed in his ears.
- Do as you like.
Aster smiled brightly at the imagined reply.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Astaroth and Leraije fell silent at the sight. The wyvern flinched back in rare alarm. Yoyongi tucked the wyvern under its wing.
……Days later.
Outskirts of Maharpart.
Forward camp.
A visitor arrived at the Pushk tribe’s outpost.
The Pushk ‘Driman’…… that is, the chieftain startled at the unexpected night guest. But the proposal from that night visitor was even more shocking.
“The Duchy…… could walk the same path as you.”
With those words, the night visitor revealed……
―Sparkle.
The token the Grand Duchess had entrusted to Aster.
Still bearing the warmth of her hand, the document’s ink wouldn’t have dried if it were paper……