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Chapter 313
Scapegoat
Mesabosk and Storeus are fighting regardless of the mortals' will.
The longer the fight drags on, the more Mesabosk will infuse vitality into the World Tree and absorb the surrounding life, and the trash the dwarves speak of will fill the underground.
So the conclusion was reached that it must be a quick decisive battle.
The decisive battle was set for tomorrow.
The furnace belched pale smoke without rest, and the dwarf artisans mass-produced weapons faster than usual.
Ẁ е́ b̄ nо̊ v̄ е̊l Ě n̆um а
Since the mana stones used in magitech weapons have limits, what will be made from now on are cold weapons.
Dwarf-made shields and spears are being churned out without pause, but they only boost the morale of those who won't actually use them.
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The meat shields standing in the front lines will just endure a bit longer and suffer more.
'Separate from that, the weapons sure are tempting.'
Because having lived in a knight family, he knew well what dwarf-made weapons meant.
Ferda looked toward the dwarves' workshop.
Еn̊ ŭ.m̆ а
Rather than sneaking around and inviting suspicion, his thought was that it was better to walk in boldly and see for himself.
"Hey! This is a restricted area for outsiders!"
Since he entered so brazenly, the dumbfounded dwarves exchanged glances before someone shouted that.
As a rugged-looking dwarf tried to approach, someone gestured.
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"Do you have the mind to be distracted!? Move those hands faster!"
Kwang! Kwang!
W еb̄ n õ v̆ е l̆ Е n̆ üm̆а
The charisma of slamming the anvil with a hammer and putting it back in place.
Ferda could tell who it was just from the voice volume.
"Hey, Your Highness Nareuri. We're acquainted, right?"
With soot smeared on his face and holding a crude-looking hammer, this dwarf had been wearing golden armor until just yesterday.
"I pay my respects to Orin-nim of the Stalburg United Kingdom."
"No need for stiff human greetings! They say you're quite the big shot?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Orin treated Ferda familiarly.
'Strange.'
The Stalburg United Kingdom is a country for those united by artisan spirit.
Since their method of selecting a king is to create the greatest weapon of the generation, they're a race dead serious about crafting.
There's no reason a mere mage like Ferda would receive a welcome from him.
'Must be because of magitech.'
W̊ēb̊n o v ё.ĺ Е̃ ñù ṁа̃
The reason dwarves disdain magic is because their innate bodies and dispositions are fundamentally unsuited for using magic.
So the few dwarves who do use magic are obsessed with their minority privilege, several times stronger than humans' sense of entitlement.
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The reason Orin keeps a mage by his side despite hating them is because they're irreplaceable manpower.
'But if there's a way to not rely on a mage's help...'
Magitech was an attractive enough technology to pique even dwarves' interest.
"You're making quite an interesting thing. Was it maedo-gonghak? Said to be a technology with a name like some instrument."
Wе b̃n̄ о̃ ṽ еl̃ Е_n̄ úma
"It's a technology called magitech. And I didn't make it."
Orin's eyes went wide.
As expected.
"Oh, really? I heard a smartypants made it, so I thought a smartypants like you made it, hmm..."
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His interest visibly cooling rapidly.
He came to discuss technology, but since Ferda said it wasn't his, that reaction was natural enough.
W ẽ b̆n̂о v e̊l Е́ ñ ūm̆а
Truly simple folk.
He's probably imagining digging deeper into the earth right now.
"If you try the prototypes, you might also consider a technology partnership."
"Hmm, coveting dwarf technology?"
"Knowing our worth, I know yours as well."
As they say, arrogance and confidence are a hair's breadth apart.
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Orin seemed to like Ferda's confidence.
"Of course! I'll visit that place myself! The Far East seems to have lots of interesting things, after all."
To hear directly that Iron Buttocks, the King of Stalburg, would move personally.
One realizes anew just how enormous Vernel's influence is.
'Once we form a technology partnership, we'll be able to make even more things.'
Dwarf items that create mysterious ingots that never rust without oil, purely through mineral blending.
Еnum а̂ . і̃ d̀.
If smelting technology raises the utility of poor-quality ores, supply won't be a bottleneck.
If managed well, items that'll last 10 years no problem will be widely distributed throughout the territory.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
While imagining a mutually happy picture, someone suddenly butted in.
"If it's dwarf technology, mind if we get in on it too?"
It was surprisingly Hudret.
Orin's face crumpled like someone who'd had their finished rice spoiled.
Ẃ е bnо̇ vе_l En̄ ŭ m̆а
"Hudret."
"Glory to Stalburg. I recall we approached more familiarly than the Far East. Haha!"
"...Hyena-like bastard, butting in just hoping to scavenge."
Orin looked displeased at Hudret and withdrew from his spot.
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Hudret wasn't flustered by such rudeness at all.
Rather, he muttered as if he'd expected it.
W̄ ӗ b̊ nõ v̈ е̇ l Ěǹ ů m а
"Still as haughty as ever. Hard to get the initiative."
"You've got ambition for the initiative, yet you let Valdemar take the lead."
"Naturally. Butting into everything without tact isn't what an emperor does. In such situations, it's beyond one's ability. When ability falls short, it's best to quietly let a third party shine."
For someone who acted without tact, his survival skills are pretty good.
Of course, that's not all he has.
"Above all, it's a war with not much to gain."
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"Correct."
King Hudret snapped his fingers and grinned.
There were shares to pick at in the Heinkel Kingdom siege, but the World Tree was subtle.
It was closer to a war between humans and non-humans, and between the world and demons, and the world and elves.
Applying human war rules would only lose more.
"Then why participate?"
Е ñumа̇ .і̆d̈
"She was once an older sister, briefly became a classmate, soon became a younger sister, and now it's for the brat I have to look after."
The identity of that bizarre riddle was Odograsado.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Is the Hudret Kingdom under the Holy Nation?"
"No way. The Hudret Kingdom possesses autonomous independence. In the East there's Alte as a spiritual pillar, in the West there's just the living god Odograsado. The difference is, our god isn't like those who only wish to forcibly become one."
Hudret lightly dissing the Arken Empire.
"When it was learned the Heinkel Kingdom was immersed in demons and black magic, that person lent me scales. Knowing full well my main goal was taking the Heinkel Kingdom, they accepted. Why would that be?"
W еb̀ ñ о́v̇ ěl̊ Е̊ n ù m̃а́
"You made a deal."
Hudret grinned.
"A deal requires both sides to gain something. Between that person and me, there were too many things to call it a mere deal. This is asking favors of each other."
It looked more intimate and stronger than a deal.
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No doubt a word choice to make himself look good.
Just being in a deal relationship is already amazing, so why the need for such words?
Е̄n̊u m а . i̊d_
"I should get going. You planning to jump into the war?"
He answered Hudret's question.
"No. I've decided not to move in this war."
"So even for a mage, there's nothing to eat at the World Tree."
"Could be put that way."
To be precise, there were too many winds blowing toward him to say he was there to eat.
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Valdemar's wish was for him not to overexert himself directly in this war.
That Ferda not overdo it in this war was Valdrova's wish.
'And it's Ruri's wish too.'
Ruri couldn't leave Valdrova's side this time, no matter what.
Knowing what expression she'd worn during the Heinkel Kingdom incident, Ferda couldn't dare ignore it.
"Right. Survive. You're one of the few talents I want."
Ē ǹ u m̆ а̌ .і d
Saying that, he turned away.
The kingdom flag largely drawn on Hudret's cloak fluttered.
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Originally it should've said Hudret Kingdom, but for some reason it looked different.
'Hudret Empire.'
Ferda disliked talkative people.
Most are blusterers whose greed outpaces their actual ability.
W̄еb̆ nо v е l̈ Е n ů m̃ã
But Hudret was different.
What he blabbers is similar to a magic incantation.
The more he blabbers, the more his dream feels like it's realizing.
That's probably why he can reach out to kingdoms that lost their kings in vain, gain trust, and stabilize the situation.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
He had a charm that gradually made one acknowledge the phrase 'vessel of an emperor'.
One even wondered if someday one might end up in that man's hands.
Е̇ n ŭ m а
Ferda was highly wary of that charm.
People who easily win people over easily consume people.
To Hudret, Ferda would just be another human convenient to consume.
* * *
After the frontline meeting, there was a place that invited Ferda.
It was the Blue Eye Camp.
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Calling it a camp was modest, with just a single tent for its exterior.
But the interior was just as spacious and splendid as an imperial castle.
Most of the Blue Tower mages and dragon spawns had gathered to form the operations command tower.
They were the ones serving as the Continent Watchers under Iorga.
With that much sense of responsibility, they operated magic circles without rest, circling the World Tree vicinity.
A high-level search battle was underway to find gaps and secure as much information as possible.
Е̂ṅ um а̄
Ferda passed them and headed to the room where Erika was.
"Good news."
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She said.
"Most of the wood elves living near the World Tree are alive."
"Bad news?"
"They'll soon turn into trees too."
Еǹ ŭmа. і̇ d́
It was a predictable story.
The wood elves must've been flustered by Mesabosk's sudden appearance.
Without even demanding an explanation, Mesabosk erected walls of trees, cutting off the outside.
And turned everything touching the ground into plants.
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The wood elves who survived until now are trapped in a green hell without knowing why.
"Blue Eye will devote its efforts to rescuing them."
W̆ĕ b̀ń о̇v̄ еĺ Е̌ṅ ù ṁ_a
"Not helping with the attack?"
"Our top priority is species preservation. Elves have no reason to face extinction over this."
At the same time, it was a way to gain practical benefits without making enemies of the elves.
"Separate from that, I'll infiltrate the World Tree's deep part. I have to detect and judge."
"Going alone?"
"Of course not."
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Erika glanced with her eyes somewhere.
Following her gaze, there was a witch wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
Erdes Roton.
She was sitting with legs crossed, looking this way.
"What're you looking at?"
What a friendly greeting.
Ë n ů.mä
"The devil slayer becomes a demon slayer now."
"Didn't know? I only caught demons until I slaughtered a devil, kid. Even did things that won't make that damn biography?"
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Like a kid who had one sip of alcohol and stepped into adult territory.
"Not knowing that, Golt, that cheeky brat, how ridiculous he looked when he stepped up. Should've disciplined him once..."
"Don't. Without that human, our work would've been more twisted. He coordinated it excellently."
"I know that too. Just cheeky."
Е̃ñ ūm а́ . і̄ ḋ
Erdes also inwardly knew his help was useful.
"At her age, suddenly wanting to die, jumping to the front lines. And for a little girl at that."
"That part did feel irrational."
"Trying to burn her last flame? No kids, so might as well—."
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"Erdes."
"Why pretend you're not immune to this dirty talk? Isn't it what you liked best? Or do you have to act coy because the man you like is watching?"
Е̇n̆ǔm̌ ӓ
"Cross the line, and I'll really kill you."
Erika stripped away even the last shred of politeness, giving even Ferda chills.
Erdes just found this situation enjoyable.
"...Let's have a constructive talk."
Ferda cut between the two and changed the subject.
"Didn't you say you can check demonic energy contamination through the detection reagent? Is that part really certain?"
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"Having sworn on Iorga's name, I can't lie. The reagent's reaction is real. If there's even a slightly contaminated part, it'll react to that part."
"If even slightly contaminated... you'll destroy it?"
"If there's a possibility of purification, we have to do it."
Ferda frowned.
Something didn't match.
"This may be too cheeky to ask the Tower Master, but isn't that ultimately just detection?"
Ênumа̄
"Yes."
"I know the concept is quite different from identification and detoxification, or purification."
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"I'll share that part now. That's why I called you."
She carefully opened her mouth and placed a finger to her temple.
She called someone through telepathic communication, and a woman in a robe entered.
"She's the one who'll be deployed for the World Tree diagnosis. You know her well too, Regent-nim."
W е̌ b n̈оv̌.е́ ĺ E n̈.u ḿа
Blonde hair swaying uncovered by the robe, and red lips.
At that overly beautiful appearance, one person rose in Ferda's mind.
'Rize...'
A man more beautiful than a woman.
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He modestly removed his robe and greeted.
"It's the area closest to the High Elves' deep part, understands the World Tree's structure, and is a pure realm High Elves can't invade. The plan is to purify the contaminated parts with that."
Ӗ ň um ȧ
"Purification..."
He spoke like a hero who'd save the world, but Ferda felt caught on the word 'purification'.
Getting caught always makes one think more.
"How exactly do you purify the World Tree?"
"That's..."
At the momentary hesitation in his answer to Ferda's question, a strange feeling pierced his mind.
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'The High Elves have the ability to purify the demonic energy Godwin contaminated?'
The ones who need that ability are precisely Ferda, Erika, and himself.
If applied to Valdrova and Iorga suffering from demonic energy, it would work.
But seeing Erika not making a fuss, it means the concept differs from the generally known 'purification'.
Ferda's intuition hit.
"Rize... you're trying to take everything on yourself."
Ēnŭ mа
Rize's eyes grew round like the moon.
Ferda's speculation didn't stop.
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"You embrace the contaminated demonic energy, save your kin... you're harboring such a plan?"
Right, this isn't purification.
'It was a sacrificial vessel.'
