Chapter 684: Gutons Fortress
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 684: Gutons Fortress
"Where is Gutons Fortress?"
Muen waited until his father had finished dealing with Old Robert’s corpse before finally posing the question.
Though he had pored over extensive records regarding the Demon Race before arriving, neither his own research nor the materials provided by Pink Bear contained any mention of a place called Gutons Fortress.
This was to be expected. Despite centuries of warfare against the demons, the Empire’s intelligence on their inner workings remained remarkably limited.
The vast majority of the forces the demons sent to their deaths were low-class demons—creatures with the intelligence of wild beasts from whom no useful information could be pried. On the rare occasions a high-class demon was captured, they were almost always bound by a blood curse, much like Old Robert, rendering them incapable of revealing anything of core importance.
Consequently, most of the Empire’s intelligence over the years had been gathered by brave adventurers or imperial scouts. These fearless individuals ventured deep into those desolate, perilous lands, piecing together information bit by bit.
One could say that their intelligence reports were written in blood.
Despite this, Muen had a nagging feeling that his father knew the name.
When Old Robert had uttered it earlier, his father had remained far too calm—a calmness that suggested the name’s appearance was a foregone conclusion.
"Father?"
"Ah..."
Lorne seemed to snap back from a long-forgotten memory, looking at Muen with a fond expression. "What was that, my dear son?"
"I asked... what kind of place is Gutons Fortress?"
"Gutons Fortress... Ah, damn it, look at my memory! I have an important meeting to attend, yet here I am wasting time. Those old fogies are going to nag me again."
Lorne didn't answer. Instead, he slapped his hands together in feigned frustration and stood up quickly, looking quite hurried.
His gaze seemed to pointedly avoid Muen as he turned to Abel.
"What are you all standing around for? Clean this place up, then get back to your posts. Dolonslei Fortress has no room for idlers!"
"Yes... Yes, sir!"
Abel and the others were bewildered, but they moved quickly to "clean up" a site that had already been dealt with.
Scratching their heads in confusion, they began gathering the soil where Old Robert’s wine had spilled. Perhaps the Duke wanted it analyzed for poison later...
Watching the busy scene, Lorne nodded in satisfaction. He stroked his bushy beard with one hand and patted Muen’s shoulder with the other.
"Well, son, your father has business to attend to, so I’ll be off. Go get some rest. You just finished a major battle, and your health comes first. We’ll talk about whatever is on your mind after I’m done, alright?"
"But—"
"Oh, it’s all minor stuff. We can talk later. Dismissed, dismissed!"
With that, Lorne gave Muen no chance to press further. With a flash of movement, he vanished from Muen’s sight.
No matter how much Muen specialized in speed... he couldn't possibly catch a Crown Bearer who was dead set on making an escape.
"Father... that was a bit too obvious."
Muen shook his head, silently lamenting that his father’s acting was still as clumsy as ever. It was no wonder his mother caught him every time he tried to sneak a drink at home.
However, this only confirmed Muen’s suspicion: there was something strange about Gutons Fortress that he wasn't being told.
But why would his father want to hide it from him? It was just a piece of geographical intelligence regarding the demons; there should be no reason to keep it from his own son.
If it were an Imperial secret... well, he was practically the Empress’s closest confidant. Could a mere place name be so classified that it had to be hidden from him?
Or was it that his father wasn't trying to hide the name itself, but rather something far deeper hidden behind it?
Still, the logic didn't hold. Why hide it from him? It wasn't as if his father suspected him of being a demon spy.
Muen pondered the matter for a long time but found no answers.
He didn't even know where to look for them. If the Duke himself refused to speak, who else in this fortress would dare tell him?
He could interrogate someone like Old Robert, but he didn't yet have the standing to go around questioning the high-ranking officials who actually held the keys to such secrets.
The gap in status between the "Son of the Duke" and the "Duke of Campbell" was very clear within these walls.
Neither the Duke’s doting affection nor the Empress’s trust could change that reality.
After all, this was the Lion King’s fortress.
"Forget it. There's no use overthinking it. Perhaps Father has his reasons."
After a bout of fruitless speculation, Muen sighed helplessly, cleared his mind, and prepared to leave.
As he turned, his gaze met Verner’s.
The busy second-in-command of the fortress hadn't left yet. He stood there, seemingly lost in thought.
Perhaps because his presence was so naturally understated, Muen had almost forgotten he was there.
Noticing Muen’s gaze, Verner didn't say much. He simply gave Muen a slight smile and a polite farewell.
"Goodnight, Young Master Muen. I hope you can get some proper rest tonight and sleep well."
"Is that so?"
Muen blinked, then returned the smile. "Don't worry. Having slain a Demon General, I think I’ll sleep quite soundly tonight."
*
"Immortality, huh..."
That night, within his consciousness space.
Muen stared at the fragmented images, thinking back to Old Robert’s words. He couldn't help but murmur again, "Is such a thing truly possible?"
In the broadest sense, immortality meant never dying, existing forever—a life as long as the boundless river of time itself.
But for humans, in a narrower sense... did immortality just mean living for a very, very long time?
"Like that damned old loli."
A lifespan exceeding a thousand years might as well be immortality to an ordinary person.
Yet, Muen still didn't believe the Demon Race could achieve it.
Perhaps they had some method of extending life—seeking help from some "helpful" neighborhood Evil God, for instance—but at what cost?
The price of such immortality was surely not something an ordinary person could bear.
"Ugh... how irritating. First it’s 'immortality,' then it’s this 'Gutons Fortress.' Why are there suddenly so many mysteries... wouldn't you agree?"
Muen asked suddenly.
Before him, the fragmented lights shifted again, the shards piecing together into a demonic figure.
Chihe Niman.
"Well? Can you tell me?"
"..."
Naturally, there was no reply. This Chihe Niman was merely a past image read from the records of the Black Book.
Furthermore, because the soul fragments were incomplete, it lacked even a hint of spirit, standing there like a lifeless puppet.
Fortunately, even as a puppet, it could still replicate the techniques it had used in life.
"Everyone loves playing the 'riddler.' Don't they know that the thing I hate second-most is a riddler?"
Muen suddenly gripped his dual daggers and lunged at Chihe Niman.
"As for the thing I hate most, it's..."
*
Muen opened his eyes.
After a bout of intense combat, his mental state felt much improved, and his physical injuries had mostly healed.
Knock, knock, knock.
He turned his head toward the window, hearing the expected tapping sound.
*
The night was as deep as the sea, the smoke of war as thick as a tide.
The grey sky was covered by even darker hues, and the sudden drop in temperature had frozen the blood on the ground into ice.
Despite this, the demon siege had not ceased; if anything, it showed signs of intensifying.
The demons' army of a million couldn't possibly swarm Dolonslei Fortress all at once. They were clearly divided into waves, relentlessly battering the final bastion on the Empire’s border day and night.
Even so, the scale of the assault was staggering.
"You needn't worry, Young Master Muen. This is only the first day of the siege. We are still operating with relative ease; nothing will go wrong," Verner said with a smile.
On the top of the wall where they stood, many soldiers were constantly passing by. These Imperial troops were also divided into shifts, and since it was currently time for a rotation, the scene was somewhat chaotic.
"What did you want to tell me by calling me out here in the middle of the night, Mr. Verner?"
Muen leaned over the edge, looking down at the piles of demon corpses that were already several meters high.
An arrow whistled past his face, but it wasn't a targeted shot from a powerful demon—just a stray arrow from somewhere on the battlefield.
Such stray arrows were everywhere in this war zone; there were always a few unlucky souls every day.
"Surely you didn't invite me out for a heart-to-heart at this hour?" Muen joked.
"I would actually love to have a deep conversation with you, Young Master Muen. In my eyes, you are a very interesting person."
"Interesting..."
Muen’s gaze immediately became wary. He crossed his arms and took two steps back. "Mr. Verner, you aren't... into that, are you?"
"No, no, no! I’m not into men. Please don't joke like that, Young Master Muen."
Verner waved his hands helplessly.
"I called you out here to answer the question you had earlier today."
"Oh? Which one?"
"What kind of place Gutons Fortress is."
As I thought...
Muen’s expression turned solemn as he listened intently.
"The story of Gutons Fortress begins two months ago."
Verner looked out into the distance, his fingers tapping lightly on the stone battlements.
"Two months ago, a scout we sent into the Abyss suddenly sent back a report... He had discovered a city in the heart of the Abyss."
"A city?"
"Yes, a city. It isn't strange for there to be a city in the vast Abyss, but what was bizarre was that according to our previous intelligence, the location where that city stood... was supposed to be an empty wasteland."
Verner paused.
"That city appeared as if out of thin air. It rose from the wasteland in the blink of an eye. It was utterly surreal."
"That is strange." Muen fell into thought. "Is it possible the intelligence was wrong?"
"We suspected the scout might have made a mistake. After all, in the Abyss, where the range of a Voice Transmission Stone rarely exceeds ten miles, such errors are common. However, shortly after, we received intelligence from a team of adventurers..."
"They had also discovered that city. The city the demons call Gutons Fortress."