Chapter 264: The First Continental War (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 264: The First Continental War (2)
A fire had been lit beneath their feet.
At Duke Bamford's urgent summons, all the Behemoth mages stationed at the outpost assembled. Gathered at the 1st Defense Position, their expressions were grim. The reports regarding 'Roman Dmitry's poison' were no laughing matter—this was an issue that had once shaken the very foundations of the Behemoth Magic Tower.
Mateo stepped forward.
"Currently, cases of poisoning have broken out across all eight of Kronos's eastern defense positions, including this one. As you all know, the poison Roman Dmitry uses cannot be easily neutralized, even with Cure Poison. If we don't resolve this issue immediately, the casualty rate will skyrocket."
"Roman Dmitry again... that damn bastard," muttered the Master of the Behemoth Magic Tower.
With skin stained black from countless experiments and sharp, slanted eyes, he looked perpetually irritated. In truth, he was utterly enraged. Back when they had tried to neutralize Roman Dmitry's poison at Baron Charlton's request, people had openly mocked them, questioning the point of Behemoth's existence if they couldn't even cure a simple toxin.
It was a massive humiliation.
As a faction that prided itself on its absolute mastery over poison, they refused to accept the existence of a realm they could not reach.
The Master of the Behemoth Magic Tower glared at his subordinates. "Stake your lives on this mission. I will not tolerate the word 'impossible.'"
"Understood!"
"We will begin the detoxification process immediately."
A total of thirty-two mages, including the Tower Master. This was the full force of Behemoth.
The moment they heard Roman Dmitry had used poison, every single available mage had been mobilized. They immediately set to work in the makeshift laboratory Duke Bamford had prepared for them. It was a gruesome, bizarre sight. Laid out before the thirty-two mages were poisoned soldiers clinging to life alongside already deceased corpses, lined up one by one as test subjects.
"Cure Poison."
Whoosh.
The Master of the Behemoth Magic Tower channeled his mana. With practiced control, he infused his energy into both a living soldier and a corpse, searching for the source of the toxin.
'From start to finish, this is an entirely unfamiliar poison that completely defies existing systems. It normally takes anywhere from a few months to several years to develop a single new toxin. How on earth does Roman Dmitry possess something like this? To reach the 6-Star Realm at such a young age, he must have spent every waking moment training his swordsmanship. Did he really have the leisure to develop poisons on the side?'
Irritation flared within him.
Whether Roman Dmitry had concocted it himself or employed a hidden specialist, it was unacceptable to Behemoth. They could not stomach the idea that some unknown entity possessed a level of expertise that even their Magic Tower could barely comprehend.
He pushed aside his anger and focused entirely on the detoxification.
Mobilizing every scrap of knowledge in his head, he analyzed the poison's components, seeking a way to dismantle it using the energy of Cure Poison. The process was slow but steady. As the Master of the Behemoth Magic Tower, hailed as the absolute pinnacle of poison on the continent, his vast accumulated knowledge gradually chipped away at the barriers of this unknown domain.
However, as he manipulated the energies within both subjects simultaneously, his face suddenly contorted.
"W-What is this...?"
He was utterly bewildered.
At first, he thought his senses were deceiving him, but as the detoxification progressed, he realized the terrifying truth. It was a reality he simply could not accept. The flustered Tower Master verified his findings multiple times, but the accumulating data only solidified his conviction.
'It's not just one poison. There are at least two. The living soldier and the corpse are infected with completely different toxins!'
Goosebumps erupted across his skin.
The situation was baffling because both poisons completely defied common sense. It was absurd. He could have accepted one or two newly developed toxins, but Roman Dmitry was unleashing unfamiliar poisons one after another, like an inexhaustible spring.
Suddenly, a deeply ominous feeling washed over him.
A horrifying thought flashed through his mind. The Behemoth Tower Master abruptly halted his detoxification and shoved past the others.
"Move!"
"T-Tower Master?!"
The nearby Behemoth mage looked bewildered. While the Tower Master had quickly recognized the discrepancy, the other mages hadn't yet realized there were multiple toxins at play.
Whoosh.
He channeled his mana into the other subjects. After spending a long time frantically examining them one by one, the Behemoth Tower Master slumped to the ground, his face pale with shock.
"……T-This is impossible!"
"What on earth is the matter?" Mateo rushed over in a single bound.
The other Behemoth mages stopped their work and gathered around, startled by their Tower Master's sudden breakdown.
Looking up at them, the Behemoth Tower Master cried out in a trembling voice, "Every single poison is different! Roman Dmitry, that crazy bastard... he didn't just use one or two unfamiliar poisons!"
His voice tore out of his throat like a scream.
Only then did the mages realize the true gravity of the situation, the color draining from their faces.
* * *
After spending hours desperately attempting to detoxify the victims, the Behemoth Tower Master finally reported back to his superiors.
"Thirty-two different types of poison have been discovered across the eight defense positions. Roman Dmitry was cunning enough to use a wide variety of toxins to prevent mass detoxification, but the real problem is that all thirty-two types are entirely new concoctions unknown to the Salamander Continent. I never thought the day would come when I would say this with my own mouth... but without a doubt, Roman Dmitry is second to none in the domain of poison. If given enough time, we might eventually succeed in neutralizing them one by one. But with the war right before our eyes, there is absolutely no way to resolve thirty-two different poisons right now."
Incurable.
That was his final verdict.
Seeing the Tower Master speak with such a despairing face, Duke Bamford's expression hardened.
'For the prideful Master of the Behemoth Magic Tower to openly admit defeat... Even if I press him to find a cure, this is not a problem that can be solved by force.'
He made a swift decision.
Roman Dmitry.
The man was an absolute monster.
First, he had attacked Rascal and annihilated ten thousand troops. Now, he had secretly dispersed poison to drive tens of thousands more to the brink of death. Furthermore, poison was a strictly forbidden tool of war. No matter how inhumane the battlefield became, Continental Law strictly prohibited the use of poison to massacre large numbers of people.
Anger boiled within the Duke's chest. He was insanely furious, but this was the time to resolve the immediate crisis, not throw a tantrum.
Duke Bamford summoned his adjutant and barked out his orders.
"Isolate all the poisoned soldiers immediately, and cremate the corpses to eliminate any further risk of infection. From this moment on, the Empire's soldiers are strictly forbidden from consuming anything within the defense positions, including the drinking water. Even if it's troublesome, all water must be sourced from the distant river. Furthermore, the soldiers might panic over this. Summon the Centurions and have them reassure the men that the problem is being resolved so morale doesn't waver. The truth does not matter. Even if people are dying right before their eyes, someone must stand there and tell them everything is fine."
"I will carry out your orders immediately, sir!"
"Very well."
Bamford turned his gaze away.
It was a swift, clear-cut decision. Experience had taught him that a commander's hesitation on the battlefield—even for a single second—could result in massive chaos by the time orders trickled down the chain of command. Acting with excessive caution was not the way to solve a crisis. Even if it required ruthlessness, a commander had to decisively abandon what needed to be discarded.
The Behemoth Tower Master was the poison expert. Since Duke Bamford was not an expert in every field, he listened to the judgments of specialists. That was the true duty of a commander. Having experienced countless wars, the reason Duke Bamford had survived long enough to reach his current position was not solely due to his own martial prowess.
His judgment was correct.
Nearly one hundred thousand soldiers had fallen to the poison. Although the damage was catastrophic, with corpses piling up like mountains, Kronos had experienced a stroke of luck. The defense positions could not accommodate all the tens of thousands of troops. Because some had set up camp outside and sourced their drinking water from a nearby river, they were able to prevent the disaster from wiping out the entire army.
Furthermore, as the Behemoth mages quickly isolated the infected and cast purification magic, they minimized the spread of the toxins. Their presence hadn't been entirely useless. Their precise response, built on years of experience, managed to contain a situation that could easily have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
After sorting out the immediate aftermath and finishing his report to his superiors, Duke Bamford spoke, his face contorted like a demon's.
"Contact Dmitry immediately and arrange a parley. I must ask them directly. Continental Law strictly forbids the use of poison on the battlefield, so how do they intend to explain this? If their explanation is unsatisfactory, we will hold them properly accountable."
* * *
Kronos's response.
It was exactly as expected.
Marquis Vandenberg, the commander of the Western Front, scoffed. "Kronos has requested official talks. How amusing. Those hypocrites have committed enough atrocities to render Continental Law utterly meaningless, yet the moment they suffer a setback, they seek to hold us accountable through dialogue."
"Did you expect anything less? That is the Kronos Empire for you," replied Baron Noel, the Chief of Staff.
Poison.
It was a truly troublesome issue. While war usually aimed for victory by any means necessary, allowing the use of poisons that caused mass casualties would lead to horrific consequences. That was precisely why Continental Law banned it. Without such restrictions, every outbreak of war would result in the indiscriminate slaughter of not only soldiers but also civilians through the reckless deployment of toxins.
It was the absolute minimum moral baseline.
Yet, Dmitry had crossed it.
Flora Lawrence spoke up. "We knew from the beginning that using poison would become an issue. Perhaps this will provoke the intervention of third-party nations like Valhalla, but we had no other choice. What matters most right now is the immediate situation. No matter what Kronos says, we need time."
The Western Front.
Roman Dmitry was not here.
He had departed to carry out his own plan, and the forces remaining in the west had to buy time against the Kronos Empire. That was why they had used the poison. Roman Dmitry's absence was a massive loss of combat power. In truth, even if he were present, their chances of winning a head-on clash in this war were slim.
Therefore, a gamble was necessary.
To bring down a dragon, they could not fight using conventional methods.
A surprise attack on Rascal. By launching a sudden strike on Rascal and capturing the outpost, they had seized the initiative. While Roman Dmitry drew all the enemy's attention, the forces led by Chris infiltrated the eight defense positions. It was a grand diversionary tactic. Because the Kronos Empire was so intent on pursuing Roman Dmitry, the infiltration and subsequent dispersal of the poison were accomplished without much difficulty.
But now, they faced another problem.
Flora Lawrence continued, "The Kronos Empire's response is faster than we anticipated. They managed to clean up the mess in just a few days. They will undoubtedly try to use the poison as a pretext to prevent the Kingdom Alliance from joining the war by requesting a dialogue. That is precisely why we must accept their offer. At the very least, we can buy some precious time while the talks are ongoing."
There was no reason to hesitate. While formulating the overall strategy, they had prepared various options based on the enemy's potential responses, and this was one of them.
Marquis Vandenberg nodded. "Then, in a few days, we shall proceed with the parley."
* * *
A few days later.
The parley took place at the border.
Duke Bamford appeared alone, without a single escort.
No one considered him reckless. When conducting talks between nations during a war, the life of the representative had to be absolutely guaranteed. This was a completely different matter from the use of poison.
While banning poison—a weapon capable of indiscriminate slaughter—was a safety net to prevent the worst-case scenario, guaranteeing a representative's life was a matter concerning the very security of the nation. If the war took a different turn, or if either side desired a ceasefire, they needed the ironclad assurance that their envoy would be safe.
Therefore, Duke Bamford showed himself alone.
With a robust physique that defied his advanced age, his imposing demeanor exuded an aura powerful enough to overwhelm the forces of the Western Front. The title of Kronos's veteran general was not earned in vain. Having risen to his current position through countless hardships and bloody battles, he did not show even a hint of disturbance, despite the numerous hostile gazes fixed upon him from afar.
It was then.
A figure walked over from the opposite side. Strolling slowly as if thoroughly enjoying the attention, he stepped up to Duke Bamford and offered his hand first.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Count Fabius."
His face wore a playful, easygoing smile. He, too, showed not even a shred of the tension expected in a war.