Chapter 141: To The Church of Light (1) |
TL/Editor: Rungir
Schedule: none
Illustrations: none
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Late at night, well past midnight, a figure was quickly moving towards the outskirts of the deserted Agnes royal palace.
A woman dressed in a white priestess robe, symbolizing the god of light. She was Serkia, one of the Omareings and known as the Half-Devil General.
'I need to get out of here quickly.'
Her eyes looked desperate. And for a good reason. Even at this moment, the eyes of the First Prince were following her.
'How did it come to this?'
Of course, this didn't immediately put Serkia in danger. Her subordinate was disguised as a human, and there was no evidence linking her to the situation.
'They might have suspicions, but...'
That alone wasn't enough. So, Serkia answered the fanatic prince's questions as if she knew nothing, allowing only her demon subordinate to be captured, avoiding immediate danger that day.
However, it was only a temporary solution. The obsession of the First Prince only grew stronger afterward.
'It's only a matter of time before I'm caught.'
She felt as if she was being watched with every breath she took. Even if Serkia was extremely cautious, the moment it was discovered that her captured subordinate was a demon, it was obvious how things would unfold. She would immediately be dragged before the inquisitors.
'And with Hanosral dead... and the protection from Utekan, no, Tarahal gone as well.'
Leaving the royal palace seemed like the best option, no matter how much she thought about it. This would rapidly diminish her influence in the palace, but it was unavoidable. Escaping the crisis was her priority.
'The situation is getting worse.'
Following Hanosral, Tarahal was also lost. In less than half a year, two of the Omareings had lost their lives, marking the first major crisis since demons first infiltrated the empire over a hundred years ago.
'If this continues, the other Omareings and demons won't be able to act properly.'
In fact, that was already happening.
'Zion Agnes.'
Serkia thought of the man who was essentially the root cause of all these problems. Who would have imagined? The prince, once known as the confined prince, had in less than a year come so close to the throne and pushed them to this extent.
It was time to admit it.
They could never overcome him on their own.
'We need to request support.'
It was a blow to their pride, but there was no other choice. This was much better than risking the collapse of their grand plan.
The other Omareings in the external territories were busy with their own plans, so they couldn't afford to help Serkia.
So, she decided...
'I'll request directly from the demonic forces.'
With this thought, Serkia, her eyes coldly shining, climbed over the outer walls of the royal palace.
---
After the war in the great tribal alliance ended, the first thing Zion did was to bring all the giants, including the Red Horn tribe under Utekan's faction, under the control of the Blue Claw tribe.
Since the Blue Claw tribe had already sworn loyalty to Zion, their joining under him was essentially the same as coming under Zion's command.
And the process was quite smooth.
-'Let it be as His Highness wishes.'
The chieftain of the Red Horn, who was essentially the leader of the pro-Utekan faction, had no will to resist. He accepted Zion's words as if he had given up on everything.
For Bayarma, the chieftain, there was no other choice. The one they had served, Utekan, had used demonic magic.
In the giant tribal alliance, practicing demonic magic was one of the biggest taboos, and the disdain for it was even stronger than in the empire.
The giants were the race that had led the charge in the previous war against the demonic forces, and they had suffered immense losses.
Therefore, Bayarma, who had served such a Utekan, was in deep shock and was satisfied just to have saved his life.
Moreover,
-'Our Black Mane tribe has come to form a brotherhood with the Blue Claw tribe.'
-'The Frost Wolf tribe is also here to align with the Blue Claw...'
It was natural for the neutral tribes, who had not participated in the war and had been waiting, to start moving.
For them, the end of the war was important, not who won.
After handling the aftermath of the war and reorganizing the power structure of the great tribal alliance, the last thing Zion did was to eliminate the hidden demonic beasts.
Though they were few compared to the empire and other external territories, there were certainly demonic beasts within the great tribal alliance.
Zion planned to take care of them all before leaving.
Eliminating the demonic beasts was simple.
-'What? There are demonic beasts within the alliance?'
After giving instructions to Batar, who asked back with a questioning look, to gather the high-ranking giants of each tribe in one place, he activated the tracking formation he had prepared earlier with a roar of his dragon spear.
Screech!
Since there were almost no high-level demons, the demonic beasts exposed by the light from the tracking formation revealed their identities immediately, and the only outcome was death.
It took a week for Zion to handle all those matters.
If we subtract the time he rested due to the backlash from the lunar eclipse, it was less than four days—a remarkably short period. This indirectly showcased Zion's exceptional judgment and execution abilities.
The morning after everything was settled,
"Are you leaving now?"
Batar, the chieftain of the Blue Claw tribe, along with other chieftains, was seeing Zion off as he left the tribal alliance.
In his eyes, a deep sense of regret. Even though it hadn't been long, Batar was sincerely impressed by Zion's capabilities during this time.
Zion had commanded the monster legion at will, single-handedly annihilated Utekan, led the war to victory, and beyond that, unified the tribes and eliminated the hidden demons, demonstrating chilling judgment and charisma.
Who else but such a being deserves to ascend to the throne if not him?
'So that must be why Gigaphereses chose him.'
Zion nodded at Batar and briefly responded.
"Yes."
"You could stay a bit longer to rest fully before you go."
"There are things I must do."
"…I understand. Travel safely, then."
Batar, seemingly with no other choice, bowed his head. Following their chieftain, the giants behind him also began to bow to Zion.
Giants do not bow their heads to anyone they do not respect, even at the risk of decapitation.
How many in the world could receive such a sincere farewell from these giants?
"Let's meet again at the 'World Council.'"
Whether he knew it or not, Zion chuckled and turned around without hesitation.
Quietly, Lucas and the Twilight Swordsmen began to follow behind Zion.
Until Zion and the Twilight Swordsmen completely disappeared beyond the horizon.
The giants continued their farewell, not moving from their spot.
"You've made quite a splash again this time."
This was the first thing Thierry said as soon as Zion returned to the Imperial Palace.
"The capital is still calm since the news hasn't spread to the imperial citizens yet, but among the nobles, it's all about Your Highness and the great tribal alliance."
It couldn't be helped.
The actions Zion took in the great tribal alliance were that groundbreaking.
He ended the giants' war without even touching the monster legion he was supposed to subdue, pacified the great tribal alliance, and even ended the life of the Fourth Prince Utekan in the process.
It was a move beyond astonishing, almost unbelievable.
"Utekan's death has been officially attributed to getting caught in a giant clan conflict… but those in the know are already guessing that it was Your Highness who took his life."
The magnitude of the aftermath this could cause was unimaginable.
The competition for the throne was sure to change completely.
However, Zion asked Thierry as if he wasn't concerned about such matters, in his usual languid tone,
"How's Liushina doing?"
"After receiving your orders, she left with the blood mages and we haven't heard from her yet. It seems like her task is taking quite some time."
"Is that so?"
Zion tilted his coffee cup with an expression that said 'as expected.'
The Red Night.
That was the name of the disaster Liushina was tasked with handling this time. Zion had specifically assigned the Red Night to her because of its deep connection with blood magic.
'Liushina might gain something from it.'
Indeed, in the chronicles, Liushina becomes entwined with the Red Night, and it serves as one of the catalysts for her later awakening as the 'Witch of the Apocalypse.'
'I hope this makes her a bit stronger.'
Liushina's power was already satisfying as it was, being the pinnacle of blood mages and possessing a rare strength in this world.
However, compared to the enemies that would emerge, especially the top executives of the demonic forces, the Four Dukes, she was somewhat lacking.
She needed to become stronger to face them in battle.
Then,
"Ah, but Your Highness, may I ask why you returned so quickly? Didn't you say you had things to do and that you should stay longer in the great tribal alliance?"
Thierry, recalling a message he had received from Zion not long ago, asked puzzledly.
"I became unable to do it."
Zion answered calmly.
That task was to recruit Turjan, a companion of the hero, called the strongest warrior of the giant race and the Third Heaven.
Unlike other companions of the hero, Turjan was a fully realized character from the start, fitting Zion's criteria.
Therefore, after ending the war, Zion planned to meet him by heading to 'Sky Mountain.'
However,
'I was too late.'
While Zion was engaged in the war with Utekan, the hero's party had already begun climbing 'Sky Mountain,' and they had made contact with Turjan first.
'The timing has moved up significantly.'
Originally, Turjan joining the hero's party should have happened at least several months later. As someone aware of the chronicles' contents, even Zion hadn't anticipated this.
'Well, it doesn't really matter.'
He wasn't too bothered by it.
If Turjan had joined the hero's party, then acquiring the entire party was the solution. It was entirely possible once Zion ascended to the throne.
Of course, it was regrettable that he couldn't command Turjan immediately, but that was all.
'It's not particularly urgent.'
The reason Zion wanted to recruit Turjan was not because he needed him immediately, but rather, since he was going to the giant tribal alliance, he thought he might as well take care of it then.
"Will you be staying in the royal palace for a while now?"
"No."
To Thierry's following question, Zion shook his head.
"There's a place I need to go."
With that, Zion recalled the contents of the Flosimar Chronicles in his mind.
'With the Red Night appearing, it won't be long before 'that' also emerges.'
The so-called 'Tower of Cause and Effect,' the greatest dungeon on the surface. It was one of the important turning points in the chronicles, contributing significantly to the growth of the hero's party. It was also where Zion needed to obtain an important item.
However, the place Zion intended to go now was not that dungeon.
'There's still time before the dungeon opens.'
Originally, he planned to meet Turjan during that time, but now his plans had changed.
"May I ask where you are going?"
To Thierry's question, Zion revealed his next destination.
"The Order of Light."
More precisely, the headquarters of the Order of Light.
'It wouldn't be bad to unravel the doubts about the oracle that Rubrious mentioned on this occasion.'
If he's lucky, he might also find clues about why he was brought to this world and his purpose here. Additionally, he felt he could preemptively deal with some matters there.
With those thoughts, Zion's eyes began to gleam with a strange light as he sank into contemplation.