Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Assault on August's Citadel
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On the island atop Wind Valley.
Three men were strolling leisurely along.
One was Havel, hands clasped behind his back.
The other two were Hwasang and Azaris, still itching to tear each other apart.
"I'll attack first."
"You're short on firepower. I should go first."
Leaving the two bickering noisily behind, Havel looked up.
Ahead loomed the fortress the August family had built.
Complete with walls on an island like this.
They must have money to burn.
Then, a sound reached Havel's sharp ears.
Fighting was breaking out inside the fortress.
'Has Moebius finally made his move?'
Havel realized Moebius had stirred this up to steal the key.
So he figured the source of the commotion was Moebius.
"What a hassle."
The guy was scheming a last-second reversal for his master.
He'd do anything to pull it off.
With that thought, Havel glanced back at the two.
"I'm heading in first. Follow as you like."
Havel dashed off, leaving Hwasang and Azaris behind.
He wanted to check the situation inside.
As Havel reached the fortress gates, the clamor sharpened.
A bony lizard flickered briefly amid the crumbled walls.
No doubt about it.
It was a bone wraith crafted by Moebius's wraith sorcery.
And Moebius had cunningly laced it with calamity essence to pass it off as a calamity spawn.
Borrowing the Whisperer's power, no question.
Havel vaulted the walls and slipped inside casually.
Looking for Moebius or any others nearby.
"Who the hell are you?!"
At that moment, a knight spotted Havel.
He'd just turned and caught sight of Havel dropping over the wall.
Lucky break.
Not easy to detect someone with Havel's faint presence.
'Or maybe bad luck.'
After all, he'd run into Havel.
"Suspicious bastard! He might be the one who sent calamity spawns into the fortress! Seize him now!"
His booming command rallied the surrounding knights and soldiers against Havel.
Swords and spears leveled at him.
Well-trained troops knew how to encircle and close in.
'Quite the numbers.'
August favored quantity over quality.
Impressive they'd hauled this many up to the 6th hierarchy.
But perhaps because of that.
It didn't impress Havel much.
Numerical superiority shone in wars, creating vast power gaps.
But in the Tower, smaller elite forces often proved superior.
'If this is the Five Great Families' vaunted strength, it's a bit disappointing.'
"Seize him!"
Soldiers and knights charged at Havel.
As spears and blades thrust toward him, Havel smoothly lifted one leg.
Then destruction surged into it.
Boom!
His foot slammed down, shockwaves rippling across the ground.
The earth heaved around him like waves.
Unable to withstand the excessive force, it churned like ocean swells.
Kraka-raka-rak!
"Gaaahhh!"
"Kahak?!"
And it led to collapse.
The bucking ground shattered, sweeping everyone away.
"Wh-what the hell is that guy?!"
"Mage! Intruder! Attack now!"
"Regular soldiers, fall back! Knights only!"
The area turned to pandemonium in seconds.
His earlier stunt had marked Havel as a major threat.
"I was hoping to find a commander and have a nice chat."
Havel cracked his neck.
Looks like he'd have to rough them up first.
Fireworks and lightning rained from the sky in a riot of colors.
The mages he'd just heard called into action.
Havel glanced up calmly and kept strolling leisurely.
Spells crashed down on him.
Black smoke engulfed him.
Inside, Havel emerged unscathed, of course.
His Vajra body was beyond mere magic now.
So he kicked off the ground lightly.
Blasting through the smoke, he reappeared intact.
The mages gaped in horror.
"Just your welcome gift."
In return, Havel casually raised his sword.
As dawn light gleamed on the blade, he swung.
Kwaaaaaang!
The beam lanced toward the mages, wiping them out.
As they screamed and tumbled,
Knights rushed to flank him.
Desperate in their defiance, they scattered ash.
An August secret technique.
Each speck was a razor edge.
A normal person caught in it would be shredded to death in moments.
"Clever trick."
Of course, Havel's Vajra skin shrugged it off.
Not even a scratch.
Alarm flickered in the knights' eyes.
Their swings missed,
And the ash did no damage anyway.
They were at a loss.
'Time to break their will completely.'
Havel raised his sword.
As dawn shimmered along it,
Flash!
A blinding surge devoured all light around them.
As it faded,
Clang! Clang!
The knights' swords snapped in half and shattered.
"Wha-what."
"M-my sword."
Weapons clattered across the ground as knights froze.
A flash, and their arms were empty.
Even living it, their minds couldn't process it.
In the battlefield's frenzy,
Silence fell.
Mages lay unconscious, decimated.
Soldiers gawked blankly.
Knights stared at their broken blades in disbelief.
Slowly, all eyes turned to one man.
Havel's blue eyes gleamed quietly amid their stares.
The brighter they shone, the colder chills gripped the knights.
Their legs trembled uncontrollably.
Breaths grew ragged.
Havel's presence was eerily faint.
Yet something indescribable emanated from him.
A human stood before them,
But it didn't feel human at all.
Their instincts screamed warnings.
"Out of my way."
His sharp command sent knights stumbling back in unison.
August's proud Ashen Knights.
All abandoned their post before one man.
The path cleared instantly.
Only one man stood glaring, eyes wide.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Even he stuttered, clearly terrified.
He'd seen the weapons shatter too.
This was no mortal.
But he commanded the honorable 3rd Ashen Knight Order.
He couldn't allow an intruder.
Too late for that.
Havel had already slipped past the knights to stand before him.
The captain's face drained white.
He couldn't meet Havel's eyes up close.
Even a knight captain was human.
The gap with Havel was too vast to overcome fear.
"You're the one leading these guys."
The captain's shoulders twitched.
"What's your name."
"Be-Belri Jorman."
"Right, Belri. You're holding one of the Golden Generation's guests."
"Gol-Golden Generation?"
Havel patted his shoulder.
"Take me to the highest-ranking guy in this fortress."
An absurd, overbearing demand.
"Ah, Havel went ahead and stirred things up!"
Azaris's voice rang from the walls.
Havel turned to see Hwasang rushing through the crowd.
"Lord Havel, we've found traces of Moebius."
"Where."
"Seems he went the opposite way from where we came."
Paths diverged.
Havel clicked his tongue and peered deeper into the fortress.
A man came dashing out frantically.
"L-Lord Havel?!"
The man recognized him and fawned loudly.
Havel released Belri's shoulder.
"Hwasang, chase the trail with Azaris."
"Yes."
Hwasang quickly retreated, dragging Azaris along.
Azaris grumbled, but after recent beatings from Havel, he didn't argue.
"So, who are you?"
Passing Belri, Havel questioned the man.
He explained hastily.
"Huff, huff, I'm Lionis Osran, aide to Daslan August!"
"Daslan August must be the top dog here."
"Y-yes, that's right."
Seeing Havel listen, he sighed in relief.
Details from Penbola matched perfectly.
Never dreamed it'd come to this.
'What a monster.'
Now he understood the warnings.
He'd meant well for August.
But Havel ignored that and said,
"You lot took my companions without asking."
"Pardon? Oh, you mean Baria's direct kin and some comrades?"
Havel nodded.
The aide paled and backpedaled.
"We escorted them peacefully, no resistance! We just wanted to talk—no harm intended!"
Fearing Havel's wrath over his friends, he rushed to explain.
He had to placate him until Daslan returned.
Staying deferential, Havel clasped hands behind his back leisurely.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, absolutely!"
"Then why are my 'subordinates' causing this ruckus?"
Havel nodded toward the massive bone wraith lizard.
Flipped since Havel's stomp,
It now lay still as death.
The aide had seen Daslan pursuing Moebius earlier.
Moebius the wraith sorcerer.
The bone lizard his handiwork.
Perfect setup for Havel to assume trouble with his men.
"N-no, it was just a spot of trouble."
"Trouble. My 'subordinates' you snatched are good boys who obey nicely."
Casuistry.
Easily refuted with a poke.
But the aide couldn't retort.
This man crushed even pretexts.
And he held the cards now.
The aide clamped his mouth shut.
"Guess I deserve compensation."
Havel knew his position perfectly.
"Bring every key on this island. Nothing else to negotiate."
He stomped the ground.
Earthquake-like tremors shook again.
As if he could rampage anytime.
"You've got ten minutes."
Havel smiled at the fortress.
"Fail to deliver, and I'll show you what ten minutes of chaos looks like."
The aide's eyes rolled back.