Chapter 244: Certain Death (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 244: Certain Death (4)
The disappearance of mages.
It wasn't a problem unique to Phoenix.
At first, the public paid little attention to the vanishing of the Master of the Phoenix Magic Tower. But as mages continued to disappear one after another, rumors of a connection began to surface. That was already several years ago. Though many firmly believed these incidents were no coincidence, there was never any hard evidence to prove it.
Until now.
The Master of the Phoenix Magic Tower had appeared as a shadow.
Roman Dmitry carefully examined the breathless corpse, confirming once again that this was indeed the man Felix had spoken of.
The burn covering half of his face could be a coincidence. However, the magic system this shadow used was highly similar to Phoenix's magic. Even though he wielded dark mana, the foundation of his spells was deeply rooted in the fire attribute. That must be why, even after realizing I possessed a strong resistance to fire, he still tried to settle the fight with the most powerful fire magic he could cast.
If so, the real question was why the Master of the Phoenix Magic Tower had been reduced to a mere shadow.
His disappearance had occurred suddenly, without warning, and he had absolutely no prior connection to the Kronos Empire. The most reasonable suspicion was forced obedience through black magic. In Murim, there were practitioners of similar evil arts, and their victims universally displayed a total loss of reason.
Yet, this was puzzling.
The Master of the Phoenix Magic Tower whom Roman Dmitry had just fought seemed entirely capable of independent thought and judgment.
Black magic is a realm I do not fully comprehend. There might be a method of forced obedience that I am unaware of.
"Chris."
"Yes, my lord."
"Record the faces of these corpses using the magic video recorder. Later, we will verify all of their identities."
"...Did the Kronos Empire truly use black magic to force these mages into submission? If that is true, we must formally raise this issue with the international community. No matter how powerful the Kronos Empire is, they cannot escape responsibility for such an atrocity."
Chris's expression was twisted with rage.
Black magic.
It was a forbidden domain.
He could not hide his boiling anger at the fact that their enemy had touched a power that utterly abandoned human morality.
Roman Dmitry replied, "The truth does not matter much. Whether they followed the Kronos Empire voluntarily or through some forced intervention, the important fact is that Kronos deployed these black mages despite the risk of exposure. Actually, the existence of black mages has been brought up constantly since long ago. The Three Shadows operate in the dark for Kronos—the fact that black mages make up one of those factions is something people could have discovered from the very beginning if they had truly wanted to, rather than simply denying reality."
Kronos.
They were becoming increasingly bold.
Revealing the existence of black mages, openly trespassing into Valhalla's territory, and even during the conflicts involving the Cairo Kingdom, the Kronos Empire no longer bothered to hide their ambitions. It was the absolute tyranny of the powerful. In fact, they might even want this truth to serve as the signal flare for war.
People failed to face the truth, watching the continent crumble with their eyes wide open.
Kronos's ambition for continental conquest.
It would not take long now.
The signals appearing all over the continent were clear evidence that the Kronos Empire's desires would soon erupt like an active volcano. It was amusing. If Roman Dmitry were a man who lived within the bounds of common sense, he would have died the moment he first fell out of Kronos's favor, never even getting close to the truth.
"Reorganize the troops. In one hour, we head straight for the Trade City."
Dmitry was still far away.
Kronos would certainly not give up this golden opportunity to kill Roman Dmitry.
* * *
It was a race against time.
Yet, although they needed to reach the Trade City as quickly as possible, Roman Dmitry never rushed their pace.
No matter when they arrived, safety remained the top priority.
If they pushed themselves too hard and were ambushed by Kronos right before their arrival, Dmitry's forces would have to fight in the worst possible physical condition. Therefore, they took solid rests along the way. They stopped by nearby cities to secure supplies, and if necessary, spent an entire day relieving the fatigue of the march.
During this journey, Sanchez fell deep into his own thoughts.
Whenever he recalled the battle with the shadows, a profound sense of helplessness arose alongside his anger.
How on earth did Dmitry's soldiers fight those shadows? Not all of them are stronger than Valhalla's warriors. Yet, they cut through the bodies of the shadows even as they dispersed like smoke. They possess something fundamentally different from us. There must be a special method.
After the battle, Roman Dmitry had told them they were free to return, but Sanchez and the warriors of Valhalla refused.
The pride of Valhalla was at stake.
Even if they died because of this choice, they hoped their lives would at least serve as a stepping stone for Roman Dmitry's safe return. Therefore, knowing how to deal with the shadows was essential. If another battle broke out, they wanted to at least drag those bastards down to the underworld with them.
He hesitated for a long time.
Finally, having made up his mind, Sanchez approached Roman Dmitry.
"Lord Roman Dmitry. Please teach me how to fight the shadows."
He asked point-blank.
In truth, the possibility of acceptance was slim.
Passing down a secret technique was a highly sensitive matter. Even if Roman Dmitry refused, Sanchez had no intention of blaming him. It was simple to understand if he put himself in the man's shoes; handing over a martial secret required serious consideration. Thus, even as he made the request, Sanchez's expression showed he fully knew how unreasonable he was being.
Roman Dmitry said, "Very well. I will have Chris teach you the technique."
"...Are you serious?"
"The warriors of Valhalla proved their resolve in the battle against the shadows. You have earned the right to ask this of me."
His calm words made Sanchez feel a sudden surge of emotion.
Valhalla itself rarely recognized the devotion of its own warriors.
Yet, he had never expected that a foreigner from another country—a man they had once viewed with deep prejudice—would be the one to truly acknowledge their dedication.
And so, the instruction took place during the march.
Following Roman Dmitry's orders, Chris took charge of the training and explained the principles of the technique to them.
"The principle of attacking the shadows is actually not that difficult. The shadows have two weaknesses. The first is striking the gap when their physical bodies are reconstructing. It's a method that exploits the fact that they inevitably have a vulnerable moment when transitioning back into a physical state. The second is perceiving the flow of mana and severing the connection maintaining their forms."
The explanation was simple.
Dmitry's soldiers had received Roman Dmitry's teachings and succeeded in mastering the technique in a relatively short time. Feeling the flow of mana was already a core part of their training process, and since this technique was merely an extension of that, they easily made it their own through sufficient practice.
However, Sanchez and the warriors of Valhalla were different.
Even after several days passed, they couldn't get the hang of it. Instead, they could only look on in astonishment at how easily the others had succeeded.
"Is everyone in Dmitry a mana genius? I simply cannot understand how you feel the flow of mana so easily."
Hearing Sanchez's question, Chris finally realized the sheer weight of what Roman Dmitry had taught them.
He realized just how valuable and precious those past teachings truly were.
It was clear.
The Emperor of Valhalla might desire his loyalty, but the absolute most ideal environment to grow as a swordsman was to remain under Roman Dmitry and receive his teachings until the very end. Whether their opponent was the Kronos Empire or the Valhalla Empire, there was no longer any room for doubt in that belief.
If he could ever surpass Roman Dmitry, then the world would undoubtedly call him the First Sword of the Continent.
* * *
Meanwhile, Valhalla was in an absolute uproar.
Whenever Roman Dmitry stopped by a city along his path, the people of Valhalla rushed out to show their respect.
"Ah!"
"We greet Lord Roman Dmitry!"
"We offer you our utmost respect!"
Enthusiastic crowds filled the streets, and some even bowed to the ground. To the people of Valhalla, Roman Dmitry was no longer just a foreigner. The way he faced the Kronos Empire's conspiracy head-on reminded them of the epic hero's tales that had once set their hearts ablaze.
The people would say, "Roman Dmitry is a great warrior who will eventually ascend to the realm of true warriors. Look at his actions! He proved a warrior's fighting spirit by defeating Barbosa even after consuming poison, and he hasn't retreated a single step even with the Kronos Empire openly trying to kill him. There has never been anyone like Roman Dmitry on the Salamander Continent. He is displaying the ultimate pride of a warrior, intending to bring down the two giants of the continent with nothing but a single sword."
It was the exact kind of story Valhalla yearned for.
A single sword.
Stripped of all political background and external factors, Roman Dmitry proved his existence solely through overwhelming martial power.
His origins in a weak nation only added to the hero's mystique.
Unlike the empires, he had no massive background to rely on, yet his absolute strength rendered all such disadvantages meaningless. Barbosa had knelt after just seven strikes. And despite the Kronos Empire openly revealing their intent to assassinate him, they had repeatedly failed to kill Roman Dmitry—an unprecedented occurrence in history.
It was the true path of a hero.
As his past deeds were brought to light one by one, the people of Valhalla came to revere Roman Dmitry as an existence that was truly special.
On the road to the Trade City, all eyes and ears were focused on him.
The harassment from the shadows continued, but whenever a battle broke out, news of his flawless victories swept through Valhalla.
Look! Roman Dmitry has won!
Once again, Kronos's trash has died by his sword!
Whenever people gathered, they talked endlessly about Roman Dmitry, completely losing track of time.
Two weeks later, with the Trade City finally right before them, Valhalla's troops at last came to intercept Roman Dmitry.
* * *
"From here on out, we will guide you."
The speaker was a man who identified himself as Rodriguez.
He was the leader of Nokya, one of Valhalla's premier martial organizations, and his ranking was 7th—just one step below Barbosa.
It should have been good news.
But while ordinary people would have accepted it as such, Roman Dmitry reacted coldly.
"Let's drop the hypocrisy. I do not need your help. It would be impossible for Kronos to run rampant in Valhalla's territory without Valhalla's explicit permission. It seems you sent troops purely because you care about public perception, but since we both know the truth, you had better just find a decent excuse and back off."
"You are indeed as bold as the rumors say."
Rodriguez smirked.
Barbosa's death was a great achievement, but there was absolutely no reason to fear Roman Dmitry while standing on Valhalla's soil.
"If you think this is Valhalla's conspiracy, why on earth are you taking such risks? Public opinion is already on your side, Lord Roman Dmitry. If you had just stayed in a city to buy time, Valhalla would have had no choice but to send you back safely in the end. This situation... you brought it upon yourself. Why did you run wild and make things so much worse?"
The higher Roman Dmitry's reputation soared, the clearer the reason to kill him became.
Seeing Rodriguez openly bare his intentions, Roman Dmitry let out a light chuckle.
He looked down on the man as if he were utterly pathetic.
"Your premise is entirely wrong. You cannot kill me. Even if you bring in Kronos and attack me directly, that fact will not change. So, there is no need to drag things out. No matter how much you struggle, my death will not happen on Valhalla's soil. And..."
Instantly, Rodriguez's expression froze.
A bloodthirsty aura surged forth, choking his heart.
"The moment I return to Dmitry, you will pay the price. So, if you want to kill me, you had better do your absolute best. Because if not now, a better opportunity will never come again."
Roman Dmitry.
The man was definitely insane.
While being hunted by the Kronos Empire on Valhalla's soil, and having turned both of the continent's giants into his enemies, he had just boldly handed both empires the perfect justification to attack him.
Rodriguez was genuinely curious.
In the next few days, would Roman Dmitry really be able to return to Dmitry alive?
But deep down, Rodriguez instinctively felt a firm conviction—such a thing must never be allowed to happen.