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Chapter 225
A Situation More Serious Than Expected
"Are you in your right mind, Regent!?
The moment Ureas stepped out of the tent without being able to get a single word out, he shouted,
his eyes fixed on Ferda.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean, proceeding with negotiations on your own whim and settling on 40%!"
Е̃ n̆ū mа̃ .і̊ d́
Like father, like son—or rather, brothers resemble each other.
Alexander's face could be faintly seen in his features.
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Ureas genuinely wanted 45%.
But just because one wants something doesn't mean it all comes true.
The allied forces' side had proposed 27%.
Even considering a compromise, it would never have exceeded 35%.
Ёn̂ù mа̊ . і̀ d̆
Given Ureas's personality and diplomatic skills, getting 30% would have been a miracle in itself.
Then Ferda seized the opportunity and stepped forward, which was how the figure of 40% came about.
Yet Ureas couldn't let go of that 5% and was venting his anger at Ferda.
That was why Ferda said this.
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"Don't misunderstand."
"What?!"
Е̂ n̊ ǔm̈а̇ . īd̈
"The only reason I raised it to 40% was so the Far East could take 10%."
"Then you're telling us to take 30% as our share? When you only brought about 500 troops?!"
"You're getting 3% more than that, so what's the complaint?"
"This is absurd! Count Rooster! What do you think of this situation?!"
Count Rooster, who had been watching silently, merely glanced over and stopped.
He didn't give any answer.
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Even if it looked like a thief's mentality, there was sufficient reason.
Ureas, embarrassment mixed in, shouted again.
"Besides, if you fail it's 20%, so aren't we the ones bearing that risk?!"
"If we end up retreating and only getting a 20% stake, you can have it all. And we'll make up the shortfall with Far East assets."
At Ferda's declaration, Ureas's expression hardened.
"What do you mean by Far East assets?"
Е̃ n u̇ m̄ a
"The magitech weapons His Highness has been eyeing. We'll provide all items under research until recently to the Second Prince's army. How about that?"
A face unable to contain its glee at the mention of a strengthened army.
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But stronger than that was greed.
"Still, we only get 30%? I'd like you to fill that gap a bit more?"
Greedy bastard.
But it was expected.
Ẁ е̄ b̂ n̊õ v̇еl̈ Е̃ n̂umа
"Fine. Whether we fail or succeed, we'll support you with magitech weapons. However, we'll only provide enough to arm the Royal Guard. How about that?"
Since Ureas liked the glee that came from conquest and flaunting power, it wasn't a bad offer.
"That won't do."
Count Rooster, who had been observing the situation, cut in.
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"If you're going to supply weapons to the army, you must support enough to benefit the entire imperial army. Providing only enough to form a Royal Guard brings no benefit."
Does anyone not covet Far East weapons because they're fools and idiots?
W ёbn о̃ ṽe̊ l̇ Ě nú m̈а̇
His face seemed to say exactly that.
Ferda didn't respond.
Because Ureas stepped forward instead.
"What's so displeasing to you?"
Count Rooster bowed his head and answered.
"The small-scale support Regent Ferda proposes offers no help whatsoever to strengthening imperial defense."
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"The Empire is the Emperor, and I am the one who will become the Empire. Strengthening the Royal Guard that protects me—if that's not strengthening national defense, then what is?"
"......."
"I knew you've been ignoring me, but if you keep harping on this, I'll deal with you by military law."
Only then did Count Rooster grasp Ferda's intent.
That was why Count Rooster said no more.
Anger toward Ferda lingered on his face.
Еńůṁ a. i d
Ureas cleared his throat and left Ferda with a final word.
"Make absolutely sure you don't fail."
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Ureas mounted his horse and returned to the forward base as is.
Simple as he is, carrot and stick are clear with him.
Count Rooster also glared at Ferda with displeasure before going his way.
"It seems every time Ferda-nim does something, your enemies increase."
Ě_n ûm ã
Ruri, standing beside him, said that.
"Still, they can't touch me carelessly, can they?"
"That's because I'm here, isn't it?"
Kings and generals bring escort knights, yet Ferda alone moves with a young girl.
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Moreover, a girl in maid attire.
Clothing unfitting for her station created a sense of incongruity, making her a more threatening presence than knights.
Е́ nu mà
In reality, it was exactly so.
"I have one question."
"What is it?"
"When Count Rooster stepped forward for the national interest, why did the Second Prince stop him?"
It was a question about what had just happened.
Ferda answered.
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"If others are fighting with fists and one person alone holds a sword, what would happen?"
"It would become an unfair fight."
"Exactly. Ureas likes strong things, but he likes having weaklings he can trample even more."
Those words apply to other factions within the Empire as well.
"From Ureas's standpoint, he'll have no choice but to wish for my success now."
"Then cooperation from the imperial army will go smoothly as well."
Е n ũ m̌ а̇
This was why Count Rooster couldn't easily stop him even after seeing through the intent.
Truly a clever operation.
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"Let's go back now. I don't want to stay here any longer because of the filthy stench."
"There's one more thing I need to verify."
Even as others were leaving, Ferda had a separate reason for remaining here.
Ferda scanned near the tent and found a man.
Ê ñ u m а̀
He was collecting flesh remains along with the soldiers who had come as Heian's knights.
Ferda walked over to him and asked.
"Are you a knight of the Heian Kingdom?"
The knight, wearing a blank expression, started and nodded.
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"Y-yes, that's right."
"I'll pray for the repose of the deceased."
Еn̊ü ṁа̄.і d̆
"Ah, yes... thank you."
The knight was flustered.
That a man who had been calmly negotiating in that blood-splattered scene would bring up the word 'repose'.
"I heard you'll be withdrawing after finishing this matter."
"That's correct."
"There's some information I need before you withdraw. I'll ask about your king and the suicide bomber, Yuan. Can you answer?"
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At those words, he showed hesitation.
But soon he nodded.
"I'll tell you everything within my power."
The man answered weakly, and Ferda questioned him.
"Was that man named Yuan originally able to use magic?"
The man thought for a moment and shook his head.
Ẃ е̇ b̂ nӧv̇ е̌ l E̊ n̆ um̊а̀
"As far as I know, no. Yuan was of hunter origin, so he was skilled at tracking and excellent at concealing his presence, but he never underwent magical training."
"Are you certain?"
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"Yes. If he were someone who could wield such magic, he wouldn't have been used as an infiltrator in the first place."
That's true.
There's no reason to send a talent capable of magic to a dangerous place.
"Moving to the second question. When did you execute that operation to enter the inner castle?"
W̆ е́b̀ n̄ оv̌e l. Е ṅ ům̌а̄
"If you mean the operation execution date, it would be when I last saw Yuan... one week ago. I heard they'd be deployed to the outer castle, and he disappeared around then."
"Thanks. I've learned a lot thanks to you."
"...I pray that justice is served upon those filthy demons."
Ferda patted his shoulder, and the man wore a complex expression as he returned to collecting flesh.
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As Ferda distanced himself, he muttered.
"This confirms it."
Е̂ńum̊ а̃.і d
"What exactly, sir?"
Ruri, unable to let it pass, asked, and Ferda answered.
"The situation is more serious than I thought."
* * *
Magic is a diverse and mysterious power manifested through various mediums, languages, and geometric forms.
But if you trace back to the source of that magic, there is one common element.
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That is mana.
Mana is a pure substance that can create forms through distortion and mutation according to language and the user's will.
Mages are beings who harbor and create such pure substances within their bodies.
In humans' case, as circles increase, mana compresses, high-concentration mana is forged, and they become able to wield powerful magic.
Since mana is a pure substance that can become anything, it was that much more dangerous.
What all mages must be most wary of is Circle Rampage.
Ěn̂ u m̄ ȧ. і d̄
Circle Rampage is when the circles that forge pure mana within the body devour all the body's nutrients, swell beyond what can be endured, and burst.
It's inevitable that the higher a mage's circle stage, the harder it becomes to control mana, and they live with the term Circle Rampage close at hand.
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"That man Yuan exploded because of Circle Rampage."
Ferda said so, but Ruri didn't understand.
"Circle Rampage only happens to mages, doesn't it? And that man had no connection to magic."
"Right."
Е n̆ ù m̊ а̇
"Then are you saying he'd been hiding that he could use magic all this time?"
"That wouldn't be the case."
As the knight said, if he had aptitude for magic, the kingdom would have noticed first.
Then he'd have been placed as a mage, not as a special agent doing infiltration.
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"My thought is that a circle formed after he entered that castle."
"Are you saying there's a power in Heinkel Kingdom's castle that can create mages?"
Е n̂um̊а̃ . іd
Ruri also racked her brain thinking about it.
But since she couldn't possibly know how to create mages, she soon gave up.
"If it's a Red Circle, it's possible."
Unlike Blue Circles that build up calmly, mana generated by emotional upheaval.
Ferda, as a Red Circle owner, knew this well.
"If one feels overwhelming emotion enough to create a circle, and endures it, a Red Circle will form."
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"Is it that easy?"
"No, it's hard. Continuously replaying that emotion alone to forge a circle is no ordinary task."
Sustained joy becomes pain, and sustained sorrow leads to numbness.
Yet he thought it possible because demons have one peculiar thing.
"Trauma."
As Ferda spat out that word, Ruri flinched and trembled.
Е ń umа
That memory was vivid for Ruri too.
"If you utilize that well, it's certainly not impossible."
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Ferda regretted as he looked at that thing.
The depth of that regret was intense enough to lead Ferda to a new stage.
"If one just creates a Red Circle, can they become a bomb like that?"
"At 1st Circle, that kind of power doesn't come out. The strongest explosion at 1st Circle would be cardiac arrest at best, and only at 2nd Circle does it barely take the form of an explosion."
Wё bn̊о̊ v̀ еl̈ _Е́ň û m̊ а̂
"Then are you saying he reached 2nd Circle?"
Ferda shook his head.
"Judging by the explosive power alone, it was 3rd Circle."
3rd Circle.
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Ruri also knew how difficult it was to reach that stage.
"Are you saying he achieved 3rd Circle in barely a week, Ferda-nim?"
Е̌n ú m̊а̀
"Certain."
"Is that possible?"
No matter how much faster formation is than Blue Circles, reaching 3rd Circle in a short time is hard.
But it wasn't impossible.
Just the price wasn't small.
"That's why he went that crazy, isn't it?"
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He became a demon follower, and for that cause, he blew himself up along with his king.
He certainly wasn't a normal human.
Only then could Ruri understand what Ferda meant by the situation being serious.
"If suicide squads like that can be mass-produced through Trauma, then as Ferda-nim said, the situation is serious."
"Right. This matter might be insufficient with just the kingdoms' alliance."
Even with a 100,000-strong army gathered, they can't take down a single castle.
Ê ǹu m̆a
Thinking that 3rd Circle bombs are swarming inside the castle, it felt like an impossibly high wall.
"Then we'll need additional forces?"
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"Yeah."
"Is there a place to request from?"
"I have someone in mind."
The one person he thought would come running first when something like this happened.
Е ñuṁǎ..і d́
At the same time, a human he found strange for not showing up until now.
The reason he only thought about it was because Ferda wasn't someone he could easily speak to.
He wondered what to do now.
That was when.
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A bleak wind unbefitting the scorching sun touched Ferda's skin.
As a mage, Ferda knew that sensation well.
Е̇nu m̂ а .і̄d
It's what comes out when a massive flow of mana shakes the surroundings.
As clearly as Ferda felt it, Ruri could feel it too.
"Ferda-nim?"
She asks, wondering if Ferda caused it.
Ferda cast his gaze in one direction and spoke.
"Seems that side's been curious too."
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In the sky he looked up at, a round portal was open.
From that portal, terrifying mana was gushing out.
At the same time, vibration rose from the ground.
That wasn't mana, but the vibration from a herd of horses galloping.
Ureas and his subordinates, who had left first, were returning.
Their faces looked like they had burning embers on their feet.
Е n u ṁ а̀
"Regent! Quickly turn your horse and join up!"
Ureas shouted.
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"Erdes, that crazy bitch is about to rampage!"
