Chapter 406

Words : 2293 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

“Good heavens.” Sempas couldn’t close his mouth at the sight before him. Arpa stood proudly amidst the swirling poison mist and in front of Arpa lay Amar, sprawled out with his face crushed. He wasn’t breathing. He was dead. “To think he actually won.” Sempas knew that Arpa was strong but no matter how strong someone was, they were supposed to be powerless against poison. After all, poison was the only means that could deal fatal damage regardless of the opponent’s strength. However, Arpa seemed completely unaffected in the deadly poison mist. Rather than enduring or pushing it away, it appeared as if it didn’t affect him at all. Naturally, Amar was destroyed by Arpa’s fist without putting up much of a fight. Arpa quietly looked down at Amar, then turned and approached Sempas. “It’s over!” Seeing that bright smiling face, Sempas felt all the tension in his body suddenly release. Falling backward with a thud, Sempas looked up at the sky. He could see the massive dome ceiling of mist with gentle light filtering through. Then Arpa suddenly poked his head into his field of vision. “Mr. Sempas. Are you alright?” “Thanks to you.” Thanks to the antidote Arpa gave him, he wouldn’t die. He was just exhausted from using too much energy before that. “But what about the others? They must all be poisoned.” “Everyone is safe.” Arpa checked on the condition of the New Magic Tower mages. Thanks to additional support forces arriving, everyone was receiving treatment safely. “But the remaining ley lines...” “That’s finished too.” Arpa spoke while recalling the giant metal bird that had headed toward the forest, and the white owl that had chased after it. The ley lines that had been surging in the distance all returned to their original state. Rudger had succeeded. “By the way, what was that huge life form from earlier?” Arpa recalled the Earth Elemental Lord that had now disappeared. It was a being that truly transcended the laws of physics, like a massive mountain coming alive. “I’ve only heard stories, but I think that must have been an Elemental Lord. Ah, could you help me up?” “Yes.” Arpa gently helped Sempas up. Though it felt somewhat awkward being supported by someone so much younger than himself, Sempas ignored that and continued speaking. “An Elemental Lord is an elemental, but one that stands at the pinnacle. The one that appeared this time was probably the Earth Elemental Lord.” “Heh. So that was the legendary Elemental Lord I’d only heard about.” “There are very few who’ve actually seen one. Even in human history, there aren’t many recorded observations. To think it would appear in a place like this.” “Why did such a being suddenly reveal itself?” “The Earth Elemental Lord may look like that, but it’s still an elemental, so it probably didn’t want the land to be destroyed. Elementals love nature after all. It’s clear the surrounding area would have been devastated if the Kasar Basin collapsed, so as a being derived from nature, it must have wanted to protect it.” “Even so, to stabilize land on the verge of collapse. That’s really amazing.” “Indeed. But that’s why they’re called transcendent beings.” The pillars of ley lines that had shot up endlessly into the sky had all subsided by now. The shaking ground had regained stability, and a quiet stillness hung in the air as if it had never been disturbed. “It’s truly a miracle...” Muttering that, Sempas let out a small laugh as if finding his own words amusing. He had experienced so much since coming here. “Let’s go back to the forward base.” “Yes!” Arpa picked up the pace in acknowledgment. Sempas’ legs dragged on the ground as he was pulled along. “Could you go a bit slower?” * * * The forward base was in a truly festive mood. The blue pillars that had been clearly visible from afar were all gone and the Kasar Basin would not collapse. Everyone here had survived. Finally realizing they were alive, people who had been anxious embraced each other in joy. Even those who usually cared about appearances were no exception. The euphoria of escaping the fear of death didn’t discriminate by rank. The same was true for Yekaterina. ‘It’s finally over.’ Yekaterina also felt like screaming in excitement at the top of her lungs. It was already impressive that she hadn’t just collapsed in her seat but she didn’t, because she still remembered the nagging she had heard countless times before about maintaining dignity and showing royal authority, even though the person who said those things probably didn’t exist anymore. No, it was precisely because of that that she had to follow those words. ‘There are still things to take care of.’ As she contained her joy, her mind began working clearly to assess the situation. Being alive was good and all, but there were still many tasks remaining. They needed to account for the deceased, treat the injured, and organize this chaotic situation. Moreover, what was important was that Varenchina, one of her adjutants, had not yet returned. ‘Varenchina.’ Varenchina had headed toward the cliffs with the Old Magic Tower mages but only the Old Magic Tower mages had returned, and the ley line they were heading to had burst. Varenchina hadn’t returned. When Yekaterina asked what happened to the others, the Old Magic Tower mages gave no answer. They left their posts under the excuse of reinforcing the forward base’s defenses in preparation for the imminent collapse. Additionally, the survivors from the New Magic Tower hadn’t returned either. Since that ley line had also burst, she thought perhaps those people had all died too. Though surviving was joyous, many people had still died. Yekaterina knew she couldn’t just be happy. At that moment, one side of the celebrating crowd became filled with murmuring voices. When she looked to see what was happening, cries about survivors returning reached Yekaterina’s ears. ‘Survivors?’ Yekaterina’s expression brightened as she checked that direction, hoping it might be who she thought. “Varenchina!” She could see the injured Varenchina and Derek Olson flying this way on a familiar. After dismounting from the familiar, Varenchina immediately prostrated herself before Yekaterina, ignoring her own injuries. “Your Majesty! This Varenchina has returned following your orders.” Varenchina’s expression as she said this was not very good was due to the guilt of failing the mission she had been entrusted with but Yekaterina welcomed Varenchina with a gentle smile. “I’m glad that you’re safe.” “I’m sorry. I failed the mission and preserved only my life while losing my subordinates...” “No. That was unavoidable. And look. The Kasar Basin is intact. This battle wasn’t fought in vain.” “...I didn’t do anything.” “Even so, you must have tried your best. Those injuries prove it. If someone like Varenchina ended up in such a state, it must have been really difficult. Thank you for your hard work.” Varenchina choked up at Yekaterina’s words and lowered her head. “Get treatment. I’ll hear the details from Mr. Derek Olson.” “...Yes. Understood.” As Varenchina withdrew, the thoroughly exhausted Derek approached Yekaterina. “What happened?” “Many things happened.” Derek explained everything he had witnessed at the cliff to Yekaterina. At the end of the story, Yekaterina couldn’t help but be surprised when he mentioned that Rudger had chased after the mastermind. “So everything that happened in the forest was...” “I’m not sure if Instructor Rudger did everything. At the very least, an Elemental Lord isn’t something that can be controlled just because a person wants to control it.” “You mean that huge rock mountain?” “It’s essentially a miracle upon a miracle but we can’t attribute everything to miracles. If that man hadn’t fought, we wouldn’t have had time to reach that point.” Yekaterina nodded in agreement with those words. At the same time, she was outraged by the behavior of the Old Magic Tower mages. “To abandon their duty and seek only their own survival! How immoral...!” At that moment, as if on cue, the Old Magic Tower mages who had been on the outskirts returned to the plaza, and they too had realized that the situation had ended safely. Gregorium, the leader of the Old Magic Tower, approached Yekaterina with a shameless face, but his expression hardened when he saw Derek beside her. “Derek Olson. So you returned safely.” “Gregorium. How much benefit did you get from trying to save only yourself?” Gregorium’s expression hardened at those pointed words, but soon a smile appeared on his lips. “You look quite worse for wear. Why did you put yourself through such needless trouble? Things would have worked out fine without all that.” “Do you really think so?” “In the end, everyone is safe, aren’t they? There was never any need to deliberately put ourselves in danger.” Gregorium had clearly decided to be brazenly shameless and Derek’s face grew cold at this attitude. “You...!” Yekaterina couldn’t contain her anger and burst out. “How can you say such things after abandoning the fight and running away!” Gregorium waved his hands with an aggrieved expression. “Your Majesty, you misunderstand something. We didn’t run away, we simply chose the strategically safest alternative. Is it so wrong to seek a path that would save more lives?” “What did you say?” “Or do you think we should have stayed and fought until the end? Look. Besides Derek, who else came back alive? Even if we had stayed, the situation wouldn’t have changed.” Gregorium’s argument was that there would have only been more casualties. Rationally speaking, Gregorium’s judgment wasn’t wrong. Even if the Old Magic Tower mages had been there, they couldn’t have protected the ley line at the cliff but there was a clear difference between giving up after knowing that, and fighting until the end. “Gregorium. Do you not have even the slightest sense of shame?” “Should I feel ashamed for making the best choice to survive?” “Do you feel nothing when you see those who stayed and fought until the end? When you high and mighty Magic Tower mages were running away, the freelance mages fought with their lives on the line!” “And they all died. It was a foolish choice.” “You...!” “More importantly, where is that great teacher of yours? He sneered so greatly at us as we left, yet he’s not even here now. Don’t tell me he died?” “...He chased the mastermind toward the forest. He chose to fight without giving up until the end.” “Then he must be dead. Seeing as he hasn’t returned. If he’s lucky, he might have survived thanks to the Elemental Lord, but what did he gain by going that far?” Derek’s face turned red with anger and just as he was about to clench his fist and swing at Gregorium. -Whack! With a crisp sound, Gregorium fell backward. “...!” Derek stared blankly at Yekaterina. Yekaterina’s outstretched fist strongly declared that she had punched Gregorium. The cold Queen of the North had just punched the leader of the Old Magic Tower in the face. In such situations, it was common sense to slap someone’s cheek, but Yekaterina had thrown a full-power straight punch. Moreover, her form was so clean and good that it was admirable just to watch. ‘Perhaps she trained in combat instead of etiquette?’ While Derek was surprised by this unbelievable fact, he felt satisfaction at seeing Gregorium take that hit. “Wh-what is this outrage!” Gregorium raged while holding his cheek. His struck cheek had swollen greatly. “To lay hands on a person of the Old Magic Tower! Don’t you know this could become a political issue! No! It’s already too late! The Kingdom of Yuta will never receive support from the Old Magic Tower!” Gregorium shouted with bloodshot eyes. Yekaterina snorted at Gregorium’s behavior. “I too have nothing more to say to a scoundrel!” She was someone in an important political position and she needed to be mindful of people’s gazes and act accordingly. Acting emotionally was certainly not permitted but she didn’t want to turn a blind eye to such behavior, however Yekaterina did not regret her actions. “...Can you handle the consequences?” “That’s exactly what I want!” Gregorium was left speechless at Yekaterina’s cry. “How can anyone trust and follow me if I turn a blind eye to such wrong deeds! This is not why I rose to this position!” Gregorium’s face turned purple at that response. His lips trembled as he issued a warning. “That action. I’ll make sure you regret it.” “You should probably follow your own words first.” “...What? Who dares!” Gregorium looked around trying to find the source of the sudden voice but no one else was visible nearby. “Up here.” Gregorium belatedly realized that the voice had come from above his head, from the sky, and looked up. “Wh-what...” Gregorium stammered as he saw the huge beast floating in the air. The same was true for Derek Olson and Yekaterina. The white deer floating majestically in the air while dispersing magical power drew the attention of everyone at the forward base. The deer displayed its presence while emanating a mystical light. People all swallowed at that massive and majestic power and silence fell over the previously noisy scene at the sudden appearance of the sacred beast.

Chapter 406

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