Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Trolls' Retreat
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Sssrrrrk! Ssruk!
In the forest cloaked in darkness.
Amid the dense stand of birch trees tinged with white, hazy silhouettes darted forward with a whip-like motion.
As if a massive wave of rock were rolling through.
A stealthy swiftness at odds with their massive builds.
These were the trolls of the Black Rock Tribe, who had swiftly withdrawn from their clash with the Heavenly Flower Squad.
"Kruk! Munjuk-nim, is it truly alright to retreat like this?"
One of the trolls asked in a worried tone, his voice reaching the ears of Munjuk, who led at the front.
"Kruk! Why do you say that, Saruba? Are you concerned?"
"Kruk, this was a battle we waged to restore His Majesty's royal body. Aren't these meager sacrifices far too insufficient...?"
A glance!
Saruba quietly looked back.
Following his gaze, Munjuk's eyes caught sight of three trolls bringing up the rear.
Draped over each of their shoulders was a single Heavenly Flower Squad member.
"Kruk, Saruba, there's no need to be impatient."
Munjuk replied to Saruba in a low voice.
"In the past, didn't our haste once lead us to tragedy? We can't repeat the same mistake twice. Right?"
"......"
Saruba had no rebuttal to Munjuk's words.
What Munjuk spoke of was akin to the Great King's deepest shame.
Even bringing it up continually was tantamount to disloyalty toward the king.
"Kruk, these captives we've taken should suffice for His Majesty's recovery for the time being. In the interim, we can deliberate on new strategies."
Munjuk's calm words.
"Kruk, well... you're right. Without the spirit medicine you procured, Munjuk-nim, it would have been a pipe dream for His Majesty to show such progress."
Perhaps because the one bearing responsibility remained so composed, Saruba's tense expression gradually eased.
"If things continue like this, our tribe reclaiming its former glory may not be so far off."
"Kruk, that's not something to take so lightly either. The humans who entered the forest this time... they don't seem like pushovers."
Munjuk tempered Saruba's optimism with caution.
The newly arrived humans in the forest.
Their prowess was no joke.
He had underestimated them, thinking they were mostly human women and thus no real threat.
Yet a considerable number of the tribe's honorable warriors had lost their lives.
It was only thanks to Great Warrior Munjuk's Earth Shatter technique creating chaos that a few warriors managed to spirit away some humans with their sorcery.
Otherwise, they might have retreated empty-handed, suffering losses in vain.
"Krrruk, we're almost there. Everyone, just a bit more effort."
The moment their king, Attila, regained all his power.
The Black Rock Tribe would once again soar amid the Great Calamity.
The pinnacle of a tower so tall it seemed to pierce the heavens, no, to impale the sky itself.
Thud, thud!
From outside, it looked like exalted ground floating amid the clouds.
A middle-aged man walked slowly down its corridor.
After walking some distance, his steps halted before a holy site housing the Gate of Truth.
Even in this tower, Agena's pinnacle of knowledge and truth, it was the largest and heaviest door. The man straightened his attire.
Confirming his appearance was impeccable, he cautiously knocked.
Knock, knock!
"Chief Elder, it's Rocherto. May I enter?"
It was truly astonishing.
Chief Elder Rocherto ranked fifth in the magic tower's hierarchy, a high-ranking figure.
Yet few in the tower warranted such deference from him.
Grrroooan!
Shortly after Rocherto's question, the massive door began to slowly open.
Beyond the Gate of Truth.
Another middle-aged man stood with hands clasped behind his back, gazing impassively at the world below.
He appeared roughly Rocherto's age, but upon approaching, Rocherto bowed with utmost reverence.
No, even First Elder would bow willingly before this man.
For this middle-aged man was the magic tower's supreme leader and one of the continent's revered Four Heroes.
The Great Sage.
That was the title the continent bestowed upon Midas Alloin.
"How fares it?"
Without turning, still gazing below, Midas asked flatly.
Knowing the question's intent, Rocherto promptly reported the latest news.
"As expected, the monsters lurking in the birch forest were trolls. The Heavenly Flower Squad took an unexpected hit from their ambush, but... fortunately, their captain handled it well and immediately began pursuit."
"I see..."
Even after asking and receiving the answer, Midas showed no emotion.
As if it all meant nothing.
Watching Midas quietly, Rocherto seemed to steel himself and cautiously spoke.
"Um... Tower Lord."
"......"
Midas fell silent at Rocherto's address.
Some might see it as a dismissal, but Rocherto, long at his side, knew better.
This silence signaled permission to speak.
"If I may be so bold... why have you secluded yourself in the tower for so long?"
Wizards often evoked images like Midas—holed up endlessly—but the young Midas Alloin had been anything but placid.
On the contrary, uncharacteristically for a mage, he had tackled Agena's issues with unparalleled zeal.
But.
After a certain incident, he stopped venturing outside the tower.
The conquest of the North Continent's Krohoka Empire.
Right after he and the continent's heroes felled the Hegemon, Lucas.
Returning to Bestrika victorious after a grueling war against the Krohoka Empire, Midas Alloin.
To honor his great feats, the magic tower had prepared lavish celebrations.
Yet upon arriving, Midas bore a face more troubled than triumphant.
"My eyes were mere ornaments, ornaments... Heh heh heh! Sage, my ass—a fool who stared wide-eyed yet failed to see the truth. How dare I claim the title."
Before the mages who greeted him, he let out a long sigh, then shut himself atop the tower.
He appeared at no external events thereafter.
Not even when Bestrika's king sent a personal letter.
Not for Siegfried Dupel's invitation from fellow hero, celebrating the Dufer Empire's founding.
Not when the Holy Kingdom's saintess ascended to papal heights.
Not when Sword Saint Kaido Ballak became Khan Empire's grand duke.
Midas simply remained silent.
Even more baffling: despite his silence, none who invited him showed offense.
As if all respected his reticence.
But Rocherto was not one of them.
Dwelling below the heavens, not above, he could not fathom the minds of those exalted ones.
"The Great Calamity's three major forces grow ever stronger. Their mounting power poses a grave threat to the kingdom. And that's not all. Even this birch forest incident shows it—powerful individuals among ordinary monsters are proliferating. Yet one of the kingdom's pillars, our Tower Lord, spends these long years idle. I cannot comprehend why."
"......"
A tone overly aggressive and rude for addressing the magic tower's master, the continent's sage.
But rather than anger, Midas quietly turned and met Rocherto's eyes.
Clear, straight, and upright eyes.
Like his own in youth, burning himself out fearlessly for Agena.
Rumor held him a worthy successor to lead the tower.
"...From the Krohoka Empire's founding to its vanishing into history's shadows, twenty years have passed."
"...?"
A sudden tangent on the Krohoka Empire, unrelated to the question.
But Rocherto held his doubts and listened, realizing it answered him.
"We humans dubbed heroes, myself included, all deserve punishment."
"...?"
"With our dim sight, we were swayed by the silver tongues of cunning deceivers, sending away an unparalleled hero. Ought we not pay for that sin?"
"......"
"I'm merely paying the heaviest toll."
With those cryptic words, Midas turned back to the world below.
"...I'll take my leave for today. Rest well, Tower Lord."
Rocherto bowed politely, asking no more, knowing it was a dismissal.
Alone once Rocherto departed, Midas—who seemed set to gaze eternally below—suddenly clicked his tongue.
"...Truly vast. Endlessly so, unknowably broad, oh Agena."
Even from the magic tower's sky-scraping summit, the land below stretched to an endless horizon.
Toward the Great Calamity, toward the kingdom—no end in sight.
This was merely South Continent, deemed the narrowest of Agena's lands.
Factoring East, West, and vastest North Continents... Agena might dwarf an ocean.
Yet still.
"So vast and boundless, yet I know not. I cannot be sure. Whether one like him could ever appear in this world again..."
A fervor like molten lava to reshape the world, the execution to turn dream to reality, a charisma that tamed even North Continent's wolfish warriors.
"He was not one to let go like that..."
Yes.
This was atonement.
For the ugly inferiority hidden deep within, blinding him to the truth.
Midas Alloin continued gazing below.
Should another talent rivaling that man from a decade ago emerge in Agena.
He vowed once more—countless times over—to spare no support.
The Heavenly Flower Squad's pursuit of the Black Rock trolls showed no hesitation whatsoever.
It felt as if they were chasing right at the trolls' backs.
"I've heard much about the Heavenly Flower Squad, but... I never imagined they'd be this good."
Ryu An let out an impressed exclamation.
In truth, excluding Ian and Sylvia, the Latent Dragon Squad members had inwardly felt disappointed in the Heavenly Flower Squad during this mission.
Ian had spotted them beforehand, nullifying the ambush advantage, and the attacking trolls were immature youths, to boot.
While they repelled the trolls unscathed, the Heavenly Flower Squad struggled, suffering notable casualties against the same foes, making their skills seem lackluster.
But now in pursuit, any disdain vanished in an instant.
Strike teams centered on combat abounded in the martial clans.
Thus, even lacking raw power, mid-tier strike teams required compensating strengths.
The Heavenly Flower Squad's tracking was superb—near real-time pursuit.
How many other combat-focused units could match such skill?
As the Latent Dragon Squad shed their disappointment, Leona, vice-captain at the fore, gradually slowed.
"Captain, that seems to be it."
Leona pointed in one direction and said to Sophia.
The spot Leona indicated.
A utterly ordinary cave sat there alone.
"Huh? Captain, doesn't that look too plain? You sure that's the place?"
"Yeah, did we get the wrong spot?"
Murmurs.
The Latent Dragon Squad whispered among themselves, voices low.
Hearing them, perhaps.
Instead of explaining, Leona signaled her squad with hand signs.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Fluid gestures sketching in the air.
Responding, Heavenly Flower Squad members leaped into surrounding positions.
Once all in place, Leona turned to the Latent Dragon Squad and said,
"Watch closely. We'll show you why we're specialized for special missions."
Ah, so she heard after all.