Chapter 107
Chapter 107
Iron Emperor — Chapter 107
At the sudden commotion, soldiers passing by stopped what they were doing and fixed their eyes toward the source of the uproar.
The commotion's main characters were Samdori the hobgoblin and the soldier in charge of communications. Samdori was bracing himself at the doorway like an animal being dragged to the slaughterhouse, and the communications soldier wore an exasperated expression as he pulled Samdori along.
"You little—!"
"Kiiii-kkik-kkik-kkik!"
When resisting desperately, Samdori's strength exceeded even an orc's. But the communications soldier dragged Samdori by sheer force.
"What's going on here?"
Grab!
"Let go of me, you bastard!"
Samdori, being hauled helplessly by the Gauri soldier's iron grip, seized hold of Hailon as he approached with a puzzled expression and made one last desperate stand.
"Kiiik, kkik-kkik-kkik-kkik!"
Samdori abandoned every shred of hobgoblin pride and shook his head furiously with sorrowful eyes. But that was the limit of Samdori's resistance.
"Shut your mouth and get in here before I shove you into an ogre's jaws and pull you back out!"
Shudder. Collapse.
The moment that voice, which he so feared, reached his ears, Samdori lost all his strength and sagged limply. The voice's owner was Eulji Buru.
When Buru, who had gone out in person at the racket, dragged in the limp Samdori, Go Jin-cheon's brow furrowed slightly.
"The effect is good, but the side effects are rather severe."
Buru had carried it out, but Jin-cheon had provided the hint, so he could infer the present situation from that. Moments later, Samdori—still limp—snapped back to his senses at the sound of Buru's voice searching for an ogre and readied every preparation for communication.
"Ask when Hwi-garam and Risel can arrive."
"Yes, sir!"
At Jin-cheon's order, the communications soldier relayed the message to Samdori once more. The answer that came back through Samdori was "tomorrow."
"What?"
Jin-cheon's face went blank at that reply. The location from which they were communicating was unmistakably the homeland, situated in the Reganza Mountains. To arrive the very next day was simply impossible to understand.
"They say that if one condition is met, there is no problem arriving even tomorrow."
"And what in the world is that?"
When Uru, who had been watching from one side with a deeply curious face, interjected, the soldier tilted his head and explained.
"They said they'd be doing something called a warp, and that if there is a wizard who can set up a response coordinate formation, there will be no problem."
"......."
For a moment, silence fell over the Gauri camp.
You have to know something to open your mouth, don't you?
In the silence that briefly hung, only the communications soldier who had spoken was shrinking in on himself, convinced he had done something wrong. The two furrows carved on Jin-cheon's brow and the faces of Buru and Uru, hardened like stone, created an atmosphere that prevented anyone from rashly interrupting.
"A warp...."
Unexpectedly, the stillness broke quickly. The one who spoke was Baron Bels.
His face was tinged with astonishment. It was already a known fact that the Gauri army's camp had no wizards. The absence of even a single wizard in such a well-made unit of this size on a battlefield had raised other questions for him, after all.
So this sudden mention of a wizard performing a warp struck him with shock.
Unlike teleport, warp was a high-level magic that moved multiple people using a magic circle. Teleport, of course, was a 5th-circle spell that could move people in contact with the caster, but warp could be considered a step above that.
It was a variant of 5th-circle teleport, but in both range and magical power, it was effectively equivalent to a 6th-circle spell.
That mention of the 6th Circle meant the same level as the court wizard of the Kingdom of South Roselin. In a situation where fewer than ten wizards on the continent had reached the 6th Circle, the fact that this Gauri army—which he had viewed as a force consisting of nothing but martial strength—possessed a 6th-circle wizard was nothing short of extraordinary.
Combat wizards of the 3rd and 4th Circles were beyond counting, but from the 5th Circle onward there was a formidable barrier to advancement. Baron Bels, well-versed in this common knowledge, increasingly felt that he could not fathom their true identity.
"Oh—!"
"......."
Lost in these various thoughts, Baron Bels inadvertently let out a short exclamation of surprise. That was because the gazes of Jin-cheon, Uru, and Buru were all directed at him.
Feeling self-conscious, Baron Bels broke the silence as if to change the awkward mood.
"Truly impressive. To be able to see a 6th-circle Archwizard."
"......."
Baron Bels reconsidered, wondering if something was wrong with what he had just said. Under the strange pressure radiating from the silent stares of the warriors glaring at him, he hurriedly spoke again as if to shift the topic.
"First, since we need a wizard to install the warp response coordinate formation, I will summon our wizards."
"Do so."
Jin-cheon's lips finally parted. Of course, the uncomfortable expressions on their faces still had not changed.
For warp, there were response coordinate formations and response warp formations.
A response coordinate formation was merely a basic magic circle that provided more precise coordinates for a warp. However, its purpose—unlike a teleport—was to prevent situations where arriving personnel would be buried alive in the ground from a slight misalignment, or fall out of the sky and break various bones, because a large number of people were coming through.
In addition, when a response coordinate formation was activated, a kind of barrier that blocked approaches would appear.
On the other hand, if a 6th-circle Archwizard connected a warp response formation rather than a warp coordinate formation, that warp response formation could then be operated by ordinary wizards even without an Archwizard present.
The Archwizard only needed to activate it initially; then it was simply a matter of installing Mana Stones and pouring in the operating mana. For that reason, the fact that they were coming via a coordinate formation and not a warp response formation meant that the caster was not an ordinary wizard but an Archwizard.
In the end, both types of magic circles were safety measures put in place for various such reasons.
"The wizard has arrived."
"Send him in!"
As Buru's voice projected outside, a wizard with a flushed expression came rushing in.
"A coordinate formation, you say! Who exactly is coming that requires a coordinate formation! Doesn't the fact that they are executing a warp with only a coordinate formation, and not a warp response formation, mean they are at minimum a 6th-circle Archmage!"
The words of the wizard, who scurried in with considerable fuss, were more agitated than usual. That was because the anticipation of possibly receiving even a bit of instruction was influencing him.
At the wizard's gushing chatter, the expressions of Jin-cheon, Uru, and Buru instead relaxed little by little. By the time the wizard finished rambling on about the various ins and outs of warp, they were even smiling at him.
Nothing wounded pride more than being ignorant of facts that others knew. The hearts of Jin-cheon and his party found peace once more.
"Inform them that there is a wizard who will draw the coordinate formation."
"Yes, sir!"
As the atmosphere finally eased, the communications soldier let out a breath of relief and sent the reply. At that moment, another piece of news came through Samdori.
"Ha—!"
The communications soldier's eyes widened and his face brightened. Once Samdori had conveyed the full message, the soldier swiftly reported its contents.
"What is it that makes you react so?"
"Your Majesty! I report that Daesaja Gye Ung-sam and his party have returned safely. Additionally, I report that Baron Gowin and three knights have come with him."
It was good news.
Gye Ung-sam's well-being brought smiles to the faces of Jin-cheon as well as Uru and Buru. No matter how much they had been frothing at the mouth to get their hands on him normally, it was because they had a place of trust that they entrusted him with difficult missions—and showed faith in preparing operations based solely on Gye Ung-sam's reports.
"That's good."
"Indeed."
At Jin-cheon's brief remark, the soldier bowed his head in agreement. Jin-cheon's words continued.
"Then order everyone to set out for here."
At Jin-cheon's command, the soldier made contact, but at the reply that came back, he carefully spoke up.
"I report they arrived yesterday. Word came that their travel fatigue has not yet subsided, and they are asking for a little time."
"Tell him to quit lying and get here at once."
"Yep."
The soldier simply did as he was ordered. Jin-cheon's words reached the soldier and Samdori as they attempted communication.
"Because we're going to have to go at it for real...."
* * *
"What does he say?"
"......."
The soldier who received the final communication looked back over his shoulder carefully and slowly opened his mouth.
"He says to quit lying and get there at once."
"......."
Hearing the soldier's words, Gye Ung-sam stood frozen as if he had turned to stone. Behind him, murmuring from the soldiers drifted over.
"You should have behaved yourself better."
"Looks like someone's gonna suffer like hell for having the wrong superior."
"Shh! He can hear you."
"At least I'm not the one branded by His Majesty, now am I."
After hearing even Mong Ryu-hwa's final remark, Ung-sam's body trembled briefly. In the end, the situation was that he would have to be dragged out again the moment he arrived.
Gye Ung-sam's group and Baron Levion Gowin's party only learned later that Ryu-hwa's encounter with Viscount Biken during his intelligence operation(?) had been pure coincidence.
When his whereabouts remained unknown for some time, they decided to widen the encirclement and rest at the viscount's residence. The viscount unexpectedly returned to surprise his wife and, absurdly enough, walked in on the scene.
Of course, under normal circumstances, Ryu-hwa would have detected the approaching footsteps, but because he had been wrestling with his instincts, he failed to notice them in time.
And so Ryu-hwa, who had gone to where Viscount Biken and his party were, naturally eliminated enemies who would have been obstacles to his escape, and the subjugation force's leadership was utterly smashed.
In that situation, a wizard's Dispel had exposed their appearances, and the subjugation force mistook them for Ung-sam's party, which naturally caused the security perimeter to expand rapidly. Thanks to that, it had become easier for Ung-sam's party to slip out.
Under those conditions, traces of Ung-sam's party were discovered, which caused confusion with traces of Mong Ryu-hwa's party, and the mixed-up security perimeter posed no threat to them whatsoever.