Chapter 238
Chapter 238
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 238
Chapter 76: Envoys from the Malin Kingdom
Despite the feast that had stretched over two days, Jin-cheon greeted the morning looking perfectly fine. Not only him, but the other officials had also gathered at the Imperial Hall for the morning assembly in equally good shape. The only ones showing signs of exhaustion were King Bera Han, his queen, and King Alsein.
"Your Majesty!"
"What is it?"
A messenger rushed into the Imperial Hall and prostrated himself. Mong Ryu-hwa asked in Jin-cheon's stead.
"A secret envoy from the Malin Kingdom has just arrived at Gaemun Mountain Fortress."
"Malin Kingdom?"
"The Malin Kingdom?"
Bera Han and Alsein looked surprised.
Jin-cheon, too, was well acquainted with the Malin Kingdom. He could hardly not be, since a small number of Malin merchants came and went in Gauri.
"A secret envoy, you say. I'd like to meet them rather quickly..."
"......."
Jin-cheon's gaze turned toward Risel.
Under Jin-cheon's stinging glare, Risel let out a small sigh, rose from his seat, took a step forward, and addressed Jin-cheon.
"This humble servant will go and bring them myself."
"Oh? You'll go, Uljeol? Much appreciated."
"......Yes."
Risel trudged out of the Imperial Hall, his shoulders drooping.
* * *
The Malin Kingdom's envoys waiting inside Gaemun Mountain Fortress waited, trying to calm their nerves.
Bang!
The door opened, and Hailon, the commander of Gaemun Mountain Fortress, strode in.
"The Uljeol will be coming from the capital now. Prepare to greet His Majesty the Yeolje."
"Now, you say?"
"That's right. Hurry and get ready."
At Hailon's words, the secret envoys from the Malin Kingdom exchanged bewildered looks.
'The capital is that close?'
'No. The merchants said that even by carriage on the paved royal road, it takes at least six days.'
'Then how...'
'Perhaps teleportation circles are installed at every key point.'
'Is such a circle installed here as well?'
'It seems their magical power is greater than we knew.'
As the envoys whispered among themselves, Hailon struggled to keep a straight face inside.
"The Uljeol has arrived!"
"Oh! Understood. Then get ready and come out at once."
"Yes, sir."
Hailon bustled out, and the Malin Kingdom's secret envoys, tilting their heads in confusion, quickly finished their preparations and went outside.
As the envoys hurried out, a middle-aged wizard drawing a large magic circle in the fortress courtyard came into view.
'Ha! It's not a pre-installed teleportation circle—he's forming it purely with his own magical power!'
'Then where are the other wizards?'
'I've no idea.'
The secret envoys, their curiosity piqued by the sight of Risel drawing the teleportation circle alone, merely tilted their heads and decided to wait and see.
"Ah, all done."
"You've worked hard, Risel."
"Heh heh, Hailon. Now that you're all dressed up, you look quite presentable."
"You embarrass me."
At Hailon's deferential bow, the Malin Kingdom envoys tilted their heads again.
'He seems to be someone of high rank, so why didn't he assign subordinate wizards to do it...'
Not daring to ask, they merely let their curiosity grow.
"Come stand over here."
"How many can fit?"
"Bring all those wagons over here too. Everyone, stand inside the circle."
"Excuse me?"
When the man who seemed to be the envoy leader questioned him, Risel, looking slightly annoyed, waved them over and repeated himself.
"I said, bring over those wagons and have everyone in the envoy stand here."
"All of them?"
"How many times must I say it?"
Bewildered, the members of the Malin Kingdom's envoy began stepping into the center of the magic circle as instructed.
"Six wagons and twenty people..."
Someone muttered in disbelief. But Risel, either not hearing or choosing to ignore it, slowly raised his hand.
"I shall transport you now."
"W-Wait! Where are the other wizards!"
As Risel began forming a hand seal, the flustered envoy leader threw out the question, but instead of an answer, a spell incantation resounded.
"Ack!"
"No—!"
As the envoys recoiled in alarm, Risel's chant came to an end.
"Teleport!"
"Aaaagh!"
The screams were swallowed by the pillar of light and faded away.
"My, what a noisy bunch."
"Indeed they are."
Hailon and the soldiers clicked their tongues.
Hummmm!
A pillar of light materialized on the open ground in front of Yeolje Palace, making the air vibrate with a deep hum.
Gye Ung-sam, who had come out to greet them, stepped forward as the light slowly subsided and called out to the soldiers.
"The envoys are arriving. Prepare to welcome—"
"Aaaaagh!"
"Graaagh!"
"Mother!"
"...to welcome them."
The scream that cut through Ung-sam's order was utterly unexpected.
Even after the pillar of light vanished and their forms fully reappeared, the twenty-odd envoys did not stop screaming.
"Tch, what a noisy lot."
"Aack!"
"......."
Clutching his ears, Risel grumbled as he walked out of the circle, leaving Ung-sam staring blankly at the screaming envoys, completely at a loss as to how to welcome them.
Step, step.
An awkward silence hung between Gye Ung-sam, who headed toward the great hall, and the envoys from the Malin Kingdom.
'Unbelievable!'
Count Heil Solon of the Malin Kingdom, the leader of the secret envoys, still had not shaken off his panic, his face utterly dazed.
'To operate a teleportation circle alone, over such a distance, in one jump... It's a monstrous feat, unheard of, unseen.'
Their screams were only natural.
To operate a circle of that magnitude required at least five wizards of the 4th Class or higher.
And for a distance that would take six or seven days by horse, making five or six stops was the norm. That was the common knowledge Count Solon and his envoys held.
They knew that only the rare 6th-Class Archwizards within the empires could teleport four or five people alone, and even they had to repeat the spell five or six times like a team of wizards.
If mana ran short, the body would be torn apart in the spatial rift and arrive as scattered chunks of meat. For people who knew all that, the fact that a wizard had moved them all—such a large number—at once, and alone, could be summed up in a single phrase.
"The emergence of an... an Archmage."
A dazed voice sounded from behind Count Solon.