Chapter 363
Chapter 363: Now You Must Choose. (2)
Glen had a moment of confusion. A beggar? Where on earth is there a beggar here?
It took him a while to realize that Amelia had referred to them as beggar brats.
“What do you mean, beggars?!”
“Just what I said. You’re taking money from the Duke’s faction and Count Desmond, and still can’t handle the Tower of the Bloody Flame, yet you want money from me? What have you actually done this whole time?”
“W-what…”
“What do you call someone who keeps begging for money without doing anything? Do I look like someone who came to serve at a temple?”
“Th-this…”
Glen stammered, flustered by Amelia’s insulting words.
Certainly, they received a hefty sum from the Duke’s faction and Count Desmond.
But honestly, it felt a bit unfair. That money was all spent trying to dry out the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
If they succeeded, all the money they spent wouldn’t feel wasted. And even if they failed, someone like Amelia shouldn’t be speaking to them this way.
“You’re going too far! Your job is to assist us on behalf of Count Desmond! I won’t tolerate any more rudeness!”
Amelia twisted her lips into a smirk.
“And what will you do if I don’t?”
“I will go report this immediately to the Head Merchant! The Duke’s faction definitely won’t let this slide!”
“No, you won’t be going back.”
“How dare you!”
Realizing Amelia’s intent, Glen hurriedly gathered his magic. But suddenly, someone appeared behind him.
Thwack!
“Gah!”
Glen looked down to see a blade protruding from his belly, shaped like a saw.
The one who ambushed Glen was none other than Caleb, the leader of the Lynx Smuggling Ring.
“Y-you dare betray me…”
Glen coughed up blood, trembling hands struggling to comprehend why Amelia was doing this.
All that filled his mind was the thought that Amelia had betrayed him.
Swoosh!
Without a word, Caleb retracted his sword and decapitated Glen.
Glen’s eyes remained wide open as his head rolled away.
Amelia coldly remarked while watching his severed head roll, “What an arrogant fool.”
She then quickly turned her head to speak.
“Conrad.”
Conrad, the leader of the Actium Merchant Group, bowed his head in response.
“Yes, Lord.”
“Lead the disguise group along with Caleb and wipe out the Tower of Crimson Flame. We need to finish before Delmood’s exchange meeting, so hurry.”
“Whose doing should we leave it to?”
“Penris.”
“Understood.”
Conrad understood Amelia’s intention. The Tower of Crimson Flame was a hidden blade of the Duke’s faction. Even if the Tower of Crimson Flame were to disappear now, the Duke’s faction wouldn’t dare move publicly.
This was a golden opportunity for Amelia to weaken the Duke’s faction.
And Delmood, infuriated by the destruction of his tower, would surely try to fight Ghislaine.
Amelia smirked slyly.
“No matter how powerful Delmood is as a 7th circle mage, he can’t handle Penris alone.”
He’d either die in a rage or flee with nothing left to his name. If he fought, Penris would inevitably suffer significant damage too.
Either way, it was beneficial for Amelia. It was also a great chance to get rid of those beggar brats who keep pestering her for money.
Suddenly, Ulkan, who had been listening vacantly, shouted out.
“I want to go too! You know I’m the best at killing people!”
Having been itching for action, Ulkan bounced around joyfully. But Amelia shook her head.
“You stick out too much to be of any use.”
The Tower of Crimson Flame was located in a large city. Someone like Ulkan rampaging about risked exposing their identity.
At that, Ulkan’s face fell. But Amelia said, reassuringly, “I’ll give you another task instead.”
“Ooh! What is it?”
Swish.
Amelia unfurled a map and pointed to a specific location.
“We need to take care of everything before the internal strife. An envoy sent by the Duke’s faction is on the way. Go take them out. Don’t forget to disguise yourself.”
Ulkan led most of the bandits from the north. Killing someone while disguised as a bandit was a piece of cake.
The spot Amelia pointed to was desolate. They could easily eliminate a decent-sized group without a trace.
“Understood!”
Ulkan, elated, swung his club as he dashed out.
Amelia instructed the other retainers to organize their troops and check food supplies.
They needed to finish all preparations before the internal strife began.
Amelia wasn’t concerned whether the Duke’s faction or the Crown Prince faction won. She was planning to destroy everything and rebuild it all anyway.
While the Duke’s faction and the Crown Prince faction fought, her plan was to carefully weaken both sides’ powers.
What Amelia desired now was nothing but chaos.
*
‘How many legs are there…?’
Ghislaine’s eyes opened wide as he pondered the animal leg problem raised by Vanessa. The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt, so he couldn’t lie down any longer.
“My lord!”
As he opened his eyes, Vanessa exclaimed joyfully. Gillian and the knights beside her sighed in relief.
Ghislaine, with his parched lips moving, asked, “How many legs… No, how much time has passed?”
Gillian replied immediately.
“About a week.”
“I’ve been out for a long time.”
“It was really dangerous this time.”
“Yeah, you have to be prepared to face a 7th circle mage.”
Ghislaine chuckled. He had lost consciousness even when fighting the Blood Python, but it hadn’t been this severe.
This time, he felt as if he had strained every last bit of energy in his body until he was completely withered.
“Gah…”
Barely lifting his upper body, Ghislaine checked his condition. There still wasn’t a drop of mana to be felt, as if the barren ground had cracked in the drought.
‘Strange. This feels too early to wake up.’
An ordinary person would have already died. Even someone as strong as Ghislaine should have been in a coma for at least a month.
He felt like he’d slept for a long time, but in terms of his condition, it was way too soon to awaken.
While puzzled, a weary voice echoed in his head.
— Ugh… Finally woke up.
‘Um?’
— Damn it! Do you know how close I was to dying? If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead!
‘Oh, how did you manage that?’
— How do you think! I clung to the fading life force with all my might! And I kept poking your emotions.
‘Emotions?’
— Yes! That damn rage of yours! It burned fiercely as if it simply wouldn’t let you die ‘again.’ Keeping that stirred up, you felt like you could die yet managed to hold on.
Ghislaine chuckled. He never knew Dark had such a skill.
Dark must have also desperately needed to survive.
Seeing that effort made him smile for no reason.
— Are you laughing now? So, do you always fight recklessly? Just live for today? No tomorrow?
‘If you’d seen my past life, you’d understand.’
— ……
I know all too well. In my past life, Ghislaine fought as if he offered his life. It seemed like he didn’t care when he died.
But he never genuinely thought it was okay to die. It meant he approached every battle with unparalleled resolve.
Dark asked, with a trembling voice.
— Master… Have you really returned to the past?
‘Yes.’
Ghislaine spoke comfortably. After all, Dark had stolen glimpses of his past life memories. So there was no need to hide.
Dark was flustered upon hearing the answer.
— No way! How did that happen? What happened to my past life? That’s it! So you could catch me! Is it real? You really returned to the past?
Dark was all over the place, filled with a mix of disbelief and curiosity.
But Ghislaine shook his head.
‘Ask me later. There’s no time to idle around right now.’
Stopping Dark’s chattering, Ghislaine asked Gillian, “Has anything significant happened?”
Gillian replied with a grim expression.
“The Tower of Crimson Flame has been destroyed.”
“I already killed Delmood, right? Of course, it would fall.”
“Not just that… The tower was attacked, and the remaining disciples were annihilated. It was reduced to ashes.”
Ghislaine was slightly surprised. While it was natural that the tower would collapse after Delmood’s death, the fact that the famed Tower of Crimson Flame in the north had been destroyed was astonishing.
“Who attacked it?”
After a brief hesitation, Gillian answered.
“Well… it’s rumored that we did it. In fact, several bodies dressed in our military uniforms and carrying identification were found.”
Ghislaine pondered for a moment and then asked.
“Claude?”
Only someone as insane as him could boldly pull off such a crazy stunt in the north.
“Not at all. The Chief Officer has actually raised security. He’s currently falsely accused. We still don’t know who did it.”
“Hmm…”
Ghislaine crossed his arms, lost in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he remembered someone and nodded several times.
‘Amelia’s group.’
She had the capability and execution to do so. And he understood her motives.
‘She must want to weaken the Duke’s faction’s power first. The Crown Prince faction is still at a disadvantage.’
Had he not arrived and killed Delmood, he would have been faced with a significant hassle.
The Tower of the Bloody Flame would have fallen, and the surviving mages would undoubtedly try to fight Penris.
Taking them out one-on-one was a relief. If a 7th circle mage led dozens of mages onto the battlefield, hell would break loose.
Even if they did manage to win, it would come at a significant cost to Penris.
Amelia aimed to not only eliminate the Duke’s faction’s hidden power but simultaneously chip away at Penris’s power.
‘Always looking for an opportunity to exploit.’
Ghislaine was astonished. Although he had set the stage, Amelia managed to seize every chance she got. She was incredibly persistent.
Of course, he intended to destroy the Tower of Crimson Flame anyway. With Amelia handling the rest, it ultimately made his task easier.
From Amelia’s perspective, it would be half a success.
“Alright. There’s no need for an explanation. After all, I did kill Delmood. I’ll just take some heat for it.”
It no longer mattered who took care of the rest. Since he had killed Delmood, Ghislaine would inevitably be the main culprit in this incident.
However, the Duke’s faction wouldn’t dare to move publicly. No one would know they were behind the Tower of Crimson Flame’s demise.
Therefore, it was clear they’d vent their frustrations elsewhere for now.
“Let’s start getting ready to leave. There’s plenty to prepare back at the territory.”
Before Ghislaine could finish his sentence, the door burst open, and Hubert and the Elders entered.
“Oh! Our Count! You’ve finally woken up! The strongest in the north! Swordmaster!”
Hubert excitedly approached Ghislaine, his eyes sparkling as though honey might drip from them.
Initially shocked, Hubert quickly assessed the situation and rejoiced.
The rival Tower of Crimson Flame had utterly collapsed. They were about to reclaim their status as the premier tower in the north.
Although Ghislaine did everything, they didn’t care whose hand did the work. What mattered was that the Tower of the Crimson Flame was the strongest in the north.
That way, they could earn plenty of money and continue living in luxury.
“By the way, I hear you wiped out the Tower of Crimson Flame entirely? Aah, you should have told me earlier. I would have helped out!”
Hubert’s insincere chatter rang out. If he were genuinely asked to help, he would have backed out with one excuse after another.
However, Ghislaine had no intention of letting him wiggle out of this one.
“Did you say you were curious about why I did it?”
“Y-yes? The result is good, but this was so sudden…”
“The Tower of Crimson Flame was raised by the Duke’s faction. Their mission was to eliminate the Tower of the Bloody Flame. That’s why I took care of it.”
At those words, Hubert and the Elders turned pale, their expressions stiffening.
The Duke’s faction had been targeting them! The mere thought sent chills down their spines, leaving them confused about the situation.
“Why? Why would the Duke’s faction use the Tower of Crimson Flame to strike against us?”
Ghislaine recounted the events leading up to the situation and explained that the Duke’s faction would soon start internal strife.
“That’s not possible… So, the Duke’s faction is removing anything that could be a hindrance before the civil war actually begins?”
“Exactly. Destroying the Tower of the Bloody Flame is part of that plan as well. I’m sure you’ve heard that several towers in other regions have already been brought down.”
Hubert nodded instinctively. There were several reasons for some towers’ disappearances.
But he never thought they were all the Duke’s faction’s doing.
If Ghislaine’s words were true, the unwritten rules of magic would be useless. If a civil war broke out, all towers outside the Duke’s faction would surely be wiped out.
Thus, only the towers possessed by the Duke’s faction would be allowed to operate freely.
Just the thought sent shivers down his spine. They had been preparing for this since several years ago!
Ghislaine warned Hubert.
“You now have to choose. Either stay like this and face death from the Duke’s faction, or fight together with me.”
Hubert and the Elders swallowed hard. Honestly, they didn’t want to fight.
Hubert quickly racked his brain. A good idea popped into his head.
“Wh-what if we sided with the Duke’s faction?”
At that, Ghislaine smiled innocently.
“Then you’d be dead first, right? We’re closer together, after all. Or should we just finish this now? Gillian.”
Gillian readied an axe and bowed his head.
“Just give the command.”
Hubert and the Elders, who had been watching Ghislaine’s actions in shock, stood there aghast.
Previously, he had unilaterally raised the price of Runestones, and now he was publicly threatening death.
But there was no way to stop him. This guy was now the strongest in the north.
‘I really shouldn’t have gotten linked up with this reckless guy!’
Hubert sniffled, lowering his head deeply.
A tear formed in his eye.
