Chapter 508: Remedial Measures
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 508: Remedial Measures
That night, somewhere in the wilderness outside the city of Belland.
A withered old man sitting cross-legged before a campfire suddenly snapped his eyes open. A ruthless, predatory glint flashed within his vacant pupils.
"My clone... was actually defeated."
The Indra King stared into the flames before him. In his vision, the fire was also gray, possessing nothing worth noting; the gesture was merely a reflection of his inner turmoil.
Originally, that clone—which he had sent into the city at only the Fifth-Tier realm to avoid drawing attention—was of little consequence to him.
What mattered, however, was what that clone had been guarding.
"That must not be compromised."
In the shadows, several gazes were peering toward him.
The Indra King turned his head, plucked a blade of grass, and flicked it with a finger.
Pfft.
The sound of tearing flesh echoed in the darkness, followed by a muffled groan of agony.
A faint scent of blood wafted through the air.
All those prying eyes turned away, retreating in terror.
Seizing this moment of solitude, the Indra King picked up a transmission stone without hesitation.
*
"What? The clone was dealt with?"
In the circular conference hall, Robin froze upon hearing the news, his wings nearly losing their grip on the transmission stone.
But quickly, his shock curdled into a hysterical, defensive rage. He roared into the stone:
"How did this happen, Indra King! Didn't you say that it was absolutely impossible for anyone below the level of a Crown Bearer to get past your clone?!"
"I never said any such thing. The word 'absolute' does not exist in this world. However, it is a fact that ordinary Fifth-Tier Martial Artists—or even Radiant-Tier Mages—should have been unable to bypass my clone."
On the other end of the transmission, the Indra King’s voice remained steady, yet a hint of suppressed, towering fury could be heard beneath his calm tone.
"On the contrary, Robin, you were the one who guaranteed me that the project you are completing would never be discovered!"
"Of course! I placed that research institute in the most hidden part of this city—so hidden that it doesn't even technically belong to the city itself!"
Robin snarled, "That is the Shadow of Belland. Do you even know what the Shadow of Belland is? Ah, right, of course you don't. No more than ten people in this entire city even know that place exists. Ten..."
As he spoke, Robin’s expression shifted. A deeply unsettling thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Wasting no more time, he abruptly cut the connection and took flight into the night.
Soon, he landed on a rooftop, gazing at a heavily guarded courtyard not far away.
Clank, clank. The sound of grinding metal rang out as an armored figure slowly knelt on one knee nearby.
"Lord Robin."
"Has there been any unusual activity here?"
"Reporting to my Lord: there have been no anomalies."
"Truly?"
Robin whipped his head around, staring intently at the figure. "Are you certain that Princess Celicia is still inside?"
A flicker of confusion crossed the figure's face as he lowered his head respectfully. "I am certain. An entire squad of the Royal Knight Order patrols this place day and night. Nothing that happens here can escape our vigilance. As for Her Highness Celicia... we delivered dinner to her not long ago. We confirmed she is still in her room."
"Is that so..."
Robin fell silent.
This result was beyond his expectations.
If Celicia was still obediently under house arrest here, then who could have possibly found the Shadow of Belland—a place that didn't even belong to the city?
No, now was not the time to obsess over that.
Robin dialed the transmission stone again. This time, the voice on the other end wasn't the Indra King’s, but a rasping, sibilant tone that sounded like a viper flicking its tongue.
"That place has been exposed. Arrange for men to quickly evacuate the personnel. As for the assets, take whatever can be moved!"
"Understood, Lord Robin," the voice replied respectfully, before hesitating slightly. "Transferring the personnel is no issue, but as for the things inside... I'm afraid it's already too late."
"Then..."
Robin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Aside from Yaluer, eliminate everyone else who needs to be dealt with. We cannot allow a single living piece of evidence to fall into enemy hands! We cannot afford to expose anything more!"
"As you command."
After issuing the series of orders, Robin took flight once more, heading toward a secluded manor on the outskirts of the city.
After circling the manor several times to ensure no one could track his position, he transformed into a plume of green smoke and descended through the manor's chimney.
Shortly after, in a room within the manor, a figure slowly opened his eyes.
"Someone, come."
A voice carrying a hint of majesty rang out.
"Prepare the carriage. I must make a trip to the Imperial Palace."
*
"Lord Yaluer, this is bad! This is terrible!"
Yaluer, who was in the middle of a critical stage of his experiment, was once again interrupted by his subordinate's frantic shouting. He looked up, about to explode in a fit of rage, but the subordinate's next words sent a cold shiver down his spine.
"The Indra King lost!"
"Wh—What? The Indra King lost?"
Yaluer froze for a moment, then grabbed the man by the collar, his expression twisted. "Say that again! How is that possible? That’s the Indra King! He’s a veteran Crown Bearer! Even the old Academy Head might not be his match! You’re telling me he lost to some petty thieves?"
"B-but he really did lose," the subordinate said with a long face. "What do we do? Those people don't seem to have come over yet; they're probably recovering from their injuries. Should we take the chance to strike?"
"Strike? Strike my ass! How are we supposed to strike? I'm a researcher, damn it! Fighting isn't my specialty!"
As he spoke, Yaluer had already turned around, frantically beginning to organize his documents.
"What else can we do? We bolt! Quick, take everything we can carry and get out of here!"
"Yes, sir!" The subordinate scurried off.
Yaluer suddenly looked up, watching the man's retreating back with flickering eyes.
Knowing Robin as he did, he suspected that anyone from this research institute who made it out alive today wouldn't live much longer.
Of course, he would be the exception. He was still far too useful to them.
Yaluer looked toward a certain direction. Inside a precision instrument, a petite figure drifted up and down within a glowing emerald solution.
"It seems I'll have to appropriately slow down the progress a bit," Yaluer whispered to himself. "I'd rather not lose my usefulness quite so soon."
*
"How long has it been?"
Muen opened his eyes. What greeted him were those still-perfectly curved peaks and the gray mist churning outside the ruins of the factory.
Hearing the familiar question, Celicia fished the pocket watch out from Muen’s shirt, glanced at it, and tucked it back in.
"Ten minutes."
"Ten minutes... It seems my recovery speed is faster than before."
Muen glanced at his abdomen.
Beneath his torn clothing, he could see newly grown, fair skin. With the aid of the Black Flame, it had taken less than ten minutes for his near-fatal injury to almost completely heal.
The process had been excruciatingly painful, but fortunately, Celicia had kept him in a lap pillow for the entire ten minutes, which provided a great deal of spiritual comfort.
The saying that a beautiful girl’s lap pillow is a panacea was apparently true.
However, in his opinion, it was a bit of a pity that he couldn't use his more sensitive face to fully appreciate the sensation.
He would just have to find another opportunity in the future.
"Right, we've stalled for so long. Those guys inside haven't run away already, have they?"
Muen sat up abruptly, remembering the purpose of their trip.
Celicia, however, didn't seem particularly flustered.
"If they were going to run, they would have run long ago. Those people aren't idiots."
"True..."
"Since you've recovered, let's go."
Celicia stood up as well, taking the lead toward the depths of the room.
"Let's see exactly what secrets are hidden in here."