Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Unyielding Silence
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Clang!
The hairy brute, drenched in sweat, set down the tool he had been gripping.
No, more accurately, it slipped from his grasp.
Blisters had already burst all over his hands from holding it so tightly; he was in no condition to keep gripping it anymore.
Drip, drip!
Sweat poured from the brute's body like rain, syncing rhythmically with the blood trickling from Adam's wounds.
"Kuh, heh heh... Why stop now? You were acting all high and mighty, but looks like... you've got nothing left."
Adam, who looked like he'd taken a blood bath, sneered at the brute.
Perhaps it was the sheer intimidation radiating from Adam's battered form.
Even though the brute had been the torturer all this time, he instinctively took a step back at the sight of Adam.
"Ha... You disgusting freak. What the hell makes you endure all this? I said I'd let you go easy if you just told us where you came from!"
The brute couldn't wrap his head around it.
Sure, knowing their origin would let him infer and track down a ton of other intel.
But from the victim's side, it was just one little word.
That's why, when the pain exceeded all imagination, torture victims always struggled to justify enduring that much agony for just one word.
And that's how he'd gotten answers every single time, without fail.
So why was this guy keeping his mouth shut through it all?
No, the reason doesn't matter anymore.
That excuse was irrelevant now.
What mattered was that the torture he'd inflicted on Adam so far went beyond any physical limit a human could endure.
Hero or not, any human would have spilled even the color of their underwear from the night before by now.
Yet he hadn't heard a peep.
If this keeps up, the Count's trust in me might crumble.
Was it Adam's stubbornness that broke him?
The brute, retreating hesitantly, bumped into someone—his stumbling steps halted.
"Gasp!"
Startled by the unexpected visitor, the brute whipped his head around to see a young boy.
"Wh-who are you? You can't just barge in here! Get out!"
Such a foolish outburst in front of a potential intruder.
His reaction alone made it obvious how flustered he was.
Swish!
Instead of turning to leave at the brute's words, Ian handed over a single sheet of paper.
"I'm Ian Lichtenauer. I have Count Gilbert's permission to be here. Could you step aside for a moment?"
"L-Lichtenauer?"
The tremor in the brute's eyes gradually faded.
The name Lichtenauer and Count Gilbert's permission brought him a deep sense of reassurance.
"B-but..."
Glance!
As if guilty of something, the brute kept stealing looks at Adam, chained to the wall.
He was probably hung up on how he'd turned Ian's prize captive into a rag but still hadn't extracted a single word.
Noticing the brute's hesitation, Ian extended his hand.
Swish!
"Just give me a potion, and I'll handle the rest."
"Ah! Y-you'll do that?"
Feigning reluctance, the brute handed over the potion and slipped out.
He hadn't said it aloud, but after a week of nonstop torture, he desperately needed a break.
Ian had conveniently given him the perfect excuse to bow out gracefully.
Moments later.
The underground chamber was left with just Adam and Ian.
Pop!
Ian uncorked the potion the brute had handed him.
A fragrant aroma instantly overpowered the blood-soaked air of the basement.
Gush!
Ian poured the potion over Adam's head like he was watering a tree.
Ssshh!
As if time itself were reversing, Adam's torn and split skin began to heal.
Focus slowly returned to Adam's hazy eyes.
"Groooan..."
"Feeling better?"
Ian locked eyes with Adam, who shook his head slowly and opened his eyes.
"Kuh heh! I thought I recognized you. The young punk I glimpsed back then. No, wait. If you're here... that means you took down Bator. So 'punk' might not fit anymore."
Though Ian was one of the culprits behind his capture, Adam's gaze held surprisingly little hostility.
He saw Ian as a warrior who'd fairly bested Bator.
"That hairy bastard... ran off, huh?"
"Something like that. I heard you still hadn't cracked, so I figured it'd be quicker to come ask myself."
Swish!
Ian flipped the chair the brute had been sitting in, leaned forward, and stared at Adam.
"Kuh heh! Even if you're the warrior who beat Bator and know about us beastkin... I won't talk."
"I know, I know. Especially you bear clan folk... you're not the type to crack under crude torture like that."
The brute's thinking wasn't wrong.
The torment he'd inflicted was brutal enough to break any human.
An ordinary person would've died from shock multiple times over.
But Adam endured because... he wasn't human.
"Good to know you get it. Then stop wasting time and kill me. I won't say a word."
Ian slowly shook his head at Adam's words.
"Sorry, but... I didn't come to torture you. Just to talk."
"...?"
Adam's face filled with confusion, unable to grasp Ian's intent.
Regardless of Adam's reaction, Ian began laying out his thoughts calmly.
"Where to start... As far as I know, the beastkin were allied with Lucas of the Alexandr Empire. So why are they still kicking after the empire fell?"
"...?!"
Shock he couldn't hide flickered in Adam's eyes.
How does this kid know about the beastkin—whose very existence is barely known even in the North Continent—and their past?
Ian pressed on, undeterred.
"No matter how I think about it, it's weird. Taran, Paeung... they're not the type to betray friends they trusted, just to follow the tide of power. They'd die together or hide, not flip like that."
"..."
Adam tried to stay expressionless, but he couldn't stop his eyes from wavering.
"So the only conclusion is one thing. Someone inside the beastkin orchestrated a betrayal. To take Taran and Paeung's places. And since you and the others made it here... you're one of the traitors' crew."
"Y-you... what the hell are you?"
Adam's composure finally shattered as he shot back.
His reaction confirmed Ian's guess wasn't off.
Bear clan had endurance and resistance to rival any torture, but they had a fatal flaw.
A personality so straightforward they couldn't lie.
Thanks to that, Ian got all the answers he wanted from Adam's reactions alone—but he clenched his teeth in silence.
He'd hoped it was a lie, even if untrue. This was the worst outcome he could've imagined.
...You idiots.
Hiding his bitter feelings, Ian continued his interrogation disguised as deduction for a long while.
Until he'd heard every wretched detail about the beastkin leaders' fates—details better left unheard.
The barren North Continent's rare breadbasket, the Kairun Plains.
Considered the North's prime granary, but across all Agena, countless lands were more fertile.
Still, Kairun Plains was arguably Agena's most famous stretch of earth.
Over a decade ago, it was the historic site of the final clash in the great war for continental supremacy.
Under this soil lay the bodies of peerless heroes from across Agena, led by Hegemon Lucas Alexei.
Were there too many restless spirits?
Despite its incredible fertility, the plains were once shunned by farmers, deemed cursed with evil energy.
But time heals all.
Grudges and fears faded gradually... into memory's depths.
Now, over ten years later, it stood as the North Continent's undisputed top granary, filling Duper Empire tables everywhere.
Flash!
Post-harvest, in the now-deserted corner of Kairun Plains.
With a small light, two figures appeared where none had been moments before.
"Bwaaaargh!"
Tia collapsed, vomiting bile and breakfast onto the ground.
After inspecting her regurgitated meal for a bit, she clutched her head and shook it lightly, somewhat recovered.
"Ugh, damn it... Thought my head was gonna split."
Even Absolute Teleport, far stabler than regular teleportation, had limits.
South Continent to North.
End to end of Agena—an ultra-long-distance jump.
Who knew how many layers of mana disruption barriers they'd pierced?
Lucky for warriors like Tia and Bator; an ordinary person would've had their brain fried black.
"...Done puking? Sun won't be up long. Better move now."
Thud, thud.
His head surely ached as much as Tia's, but Bator shook it off a few times and trudged north.
"H-hey? Wait up! Ugh, seriously... Teleporting and I just don't mix."
Tia grumbled but hurried after Bator.
They crossed Kairun Plains, heading steadily north.
Their destination was obvious.
Former capital of the Alexandr Empire, once called Hecaronia.
Now reborn as the Duper Empire's capital.
Antigonia.
The Duper Empire is vast.
Obviously.
It unified the entire North Continent, Krohoka.
Alexandr Empire had ballooned rapidly; folks figured Siegfried Dufel inheriting it wholesale would spawn problems.
Not baseless.
Prime Minister Stion Ballanty, Lucas's old ally, had stabilized it post-fall, but its history was too short.
Yet Siegfried Dufel exceeded all expectations.
The new Duper Emperor hailed from the Khan Empire.
A high-rank "Hero" no less.
He knew the ins and outs of ruling vast lands for ages.
Siegfried transplanted Khan systems wholesale into Duper.
He even fused useful Alexandr innovations from Stion Ballanty into them, birthing new ones.
One: short-range magic circles for ultra-fast transit.
Installed stepwise at key spots across the sprawling empire, they became the people's new legs—boosting logistics and filling imperial coffers.
Thus, Bator and Tia reached Antigonia swiftly.
Thud, thud!
Emerging from Antigonia's magic circle, they headed straight for the central district.
A colossal palace loomed ahead, grand enough to rank continent-wide.
This was Bergina Palace—the sole Alexandr holdover by name.
As two shabbily dressed figures approached the empire's most vital building, guards naturally blocked them.
"Welcome to Bergina. But no invitation, no entry—you know that. Mind telling us who summoned you?"
Alert yet polite.
This iron discipline spoke volumes of Duper's stature.
"...To see Darta."
"...!!"
The guards' eyes widened at Bator's namedrop.
Darta—one of the real powers pulling strings in the capital.
"...Pardon, but what's your relation to him?"
High-profile name or not, the guard's demeanor stayed firm.
Makes sense—imposters were a dime a dozen.
"..."
Swish!
Instead of excuses, Bator pulled out his hidden ears from behind his head.
Proof enough.
"...Apologies for the offense. This way, please."
Grrrind!
The guard offered a curt apology, opened the gate, and led them into Bergina.