Chapter 366
“Your Majesty.”
Damon didn’t respond to Timothy’s call. Instead, he simply paused his pen.
Judging by the time, all the northern minority heirs must have gathered. People who didn’t get along well were now face-to-face in the same room.
Should he hurry over, or wait until tensions escalated? Damon straightened his collar and summoned his attendants. He chose to proceed as slowly as possible.
“Are they all here?”
“Out of the fifteen tribes, ten have responded. Seventeen representatives have gathered in total.”
“And the other five?”
Though a twisted smile played on his lips, his eyes betrayed his displeasure. To think these mere minority tribes would refuse an invitation from Burgos. He would make sure to remember their insolence.
Timothy carefully flipped through the documents and spoke.
“Well, the Katrika tribe and several others near the ‘Rift’ have largely declined to attend. They claim recent monster attacks and floods have increased sharply, making it impossible to spare manpower.”
“Fools. That’s exactly when they should come.”
“Shall I send another letter?”
Damon frowned deeply. The attendant adjusting his collar flinched nervously. The king’s mood was clearly sour, and any misstep now could be fatal.
“No. There’s only one chance, and this is it.”
“Also, if I may offer my opinion, the regions near the Rift have experienced less internal conflict than others. Perhaps they fear that accepting outside help would cost them the trust of their followers…”
“Ugh!”
Damon grabbed the attendant’s wrist and twisted it, glaring irritably into the mirror. His gaze then landed on Timothy.
“I don’t want to hear it, Timothy.”
“…My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Timothy bowed low in apology. The king was always sharp-tempered, but lately, even more so.
What had he done wrong? If it were a simple mistake, the king wouldn’t have expressed his anger so indirectly. There was clearly something that had upset him.
Timothy gestured for the trembling attendant to leave, then escorted the king.
“Shall we proceed to the reception room, Your Majesty? I will brief you on the peculiarities of the minority tribes along the way. First, Astana. It lies in the center of the northern region and is the most deeply embroiled in chaos.”
“Astana… I heard it’s the land of sorcerers.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Currently, the tribe is divided between those who practice spirit summoning and those who use psychic magic. The one who came to Burgos is a spirit summoner named Hasha. His exact age is uncertain, but he seems to be around thirty—”
Damon stopped walking and furrowed his brow.
“Thirty? By Astana standards, that’s practically a child. And he’s the heir?”
“They were nearly wiped out in internal conflicts. The elder leader of the spirit summoners even disappeared with his child. That’s the official story, but the prevailing theory is that he was invited to study in Bariel and went missing there.”
“And now he’s suddenly back, consolidating power?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Listening to Timothy’s report, Damon couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling. There was nothing particularly unusual, yet something felt off. Was it because Bariel was involved?
That damned empire always seemed to be lurking everywhere. Damon clicked his tongue and ordered him to continue.
By the time they reached the reception room, flipping through one or two more pages, the attendants opened the doors wide to welcome him.
“His Majesty Damon has arrived!”
Creak.
As the doors swung open, a strange foreign scent wafted in.
Around an elongated oval table sat the gathered representatives. Their clothing, appearances, and even the atmosphere they exuded were all distinct. Though they all lived in Gaia’s northern region, the differences were striking.
“Please, be seated.”
After greeting them, King Damon gestured lightly. His eyes betrayed unmistakable anger and excitement. It was clear they had clashed before his arrival.
“Thank you for traveling so far.”
“Not at all, Your Majesty. It is an honor to be summoned.”
“Yes. Burgos is as magnificent as I expected. Had the Makun tribe cleared the roads earlier, I might have arrived sooner to see more.”
“My apologies. The Makun tribe refused passage, fearing the rotten monsters that infest the area. I will do my best to ease your return journey.”
“Are you mocking us by saying we eat monster meat?”
“Of course not. You’re reading too much into it.”
“Hey! What are you all doing? Not in front of King Damon!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Damon watched their bickering with amusement. Their desperate squabbling over a tiny patch of land was both pitiful and comical.
The more their discord deepened, the more they would seek Burgos’s strength and aid. That was an advantage he was happy to exploit, so he simply smiled without trying to intervene.
“It’s alright. I understand the many different cultures gathered here.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty.”
At Damon’s signal, attendants offered each of them a glass of wine—a dark, reddish liquid of unknown origin. Given their sensitivity to assassination, their faces showed little enthusiasm.
“But enough small talk. Let’s get to the point.”
“You seek the aid of each tribe…”
“Burgos will soon declare war on Klipford. I hope you can lend us some of your strength.”
War? Against Klipford?
They exchanged surprised glances, clearly caught off guard. It seemed no one had been informed beforehand.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but war with Klipford is a delicate matter. Such a sudden announcement—”
“Is there a problem?”
There was. While not as dependent as Burgos, many tribes maintained relations with Klipford. Moreover, they had already suffered heavy losses in internal conflicts on the northern continent.
Being dragged into a foreign war was no trivial matter.
“Burgos does not ask for your soldiers. I want the abilities of those gathered here. No need to mobilize troops. I don’t want that.”
What difference would that make? They were minority tribes, after all.
“You mean to deploy sorcerers in the war?”
“Exactly. Especially the power of spirit summoners.”
“Hmm…”
They hesitated, reluctant to commit. Since this wasn’t a war mixed with their own ideologies, if Burgos lost, their positions would become precarious.
Burgos’s influence was strong now because of proximity. But if Klipford won and extended its reach northward, would they let the minority tribes who fought alongside Burgos off easily? This single choice would affect their futures for years to come.
A heavy silence fell. Damon lit a cigarette and smiled lightly.
“Why the long faces?”
“Your Majesty, this is a matter that requires careful consideration—”
“We will win.”
“Pardon?”
“In the war against Klipford, Burgos will emerge victorious. Those who want to know why, drink this wine. Then I will share my sweet secret.”
His confident, unwavering declaration filled the room.
“Moreover, the spoils of war will be even sweeter.”
Damon raised his glass first.
Some immediately lifted theirs in agreement—tribes weakened by internal strife who desperately needed Burgos’s support.
Others murmured and slowly raised their glasses. If a neighboring country stabilized and grew stronger, it would threaten them all. For the sake of balancing chaos, for the sake of equilibrium and stability, if someone allied with Burgos, they had no choice but to follow.
Swish.
Soon, everyone raised their glasses. The silent clink of toasts echoed in the air. They drained their cups in one swallow, and Damon’s satisfied laughter followed.
“Good, good. Let’s consider ourselves bound by blood now. Brothers all. I have some very welcome news to share.”
Brothers? They all knew exactly how the king of Burgos truly regarded them. If they weren’t holding back the monsters in the north, Damon’s first territorial expansion wouldn’t have been toward Klipford—it would have been northward.
“You all know better than anyone how severe the Rift’s condition has become.”
“Yes. The number of monsters grows every year, and the damage worsens.”
“We will shift the Rift’s power toward Klipford.”
“…!?”
The unexpected statement made them freeze.
Shift the Rift’s power? Was that even possible?
“Isn’t the Rift limited to the northern part of Gaia?”
“It’s almost never seen elsewhere. Klipford? I don’t understand what you mean.”
The attendants refilled their glasses. Damon stood and then abruptly spilled the wine across the table. The crimson liquid spread and then stopped. Everyone watched intently.
“Beneath the Gaia continent we stand on lies an unknown world. Condensed power expands until it tears the earth apart, spawning monsters, ravaging nature, and threatening our survival. Let’s say this wine represents that power. Understand?”
He slowly walked over to the table on the opposite side. Eyes filled with tension rolled after him like tumbling stones.
“But what if a new crack opens up on the other side? It’s like carving out a new path where only the northern route existed before.”
Then Damon poured out some water. It spread slowly, mingling naturally with the liquor already on the table. The clear water took on color, while the liquor at their meeting point grew paler.
“There will soon be a massive earthquake in Clifford. If we exploit that crack, the blood that used to flow only north will start moving toward Clifford. Isn’t that advantageous for you all?”
“Advantageous” hardly covers it. After centuries of fighting monsters, this is a chance to step back from the war and hand down a land of new life to future generations.
“How is that even possible?”
“Just like I did. It’s not liquor, but if you let something with similar properties flow through, it will seep in naturally. Though, honestly, you don’t need to know the details.”
Hasha stared at the water dripping beneath the table. If the monsters kept flooding from the north, it was only a matter of time before Burgos would be affected too.
So before that happened, the plan was to shift the power toward Clifford, take control of that land, and strengthen their grip over the minority tribes.
It was a win for everyone—but Hasha couldn’t shake a feeling of unease. The soaked table seemed to carry a different meaning altogether.
“Shall we have another drink?”
Damon raised his empty glass with a smile, and someone nearby hurriedly refilled it.
Hasha toyed with the brooch tucked in his pocket as he drank.
“Yes, I heard everything. A low-grade mana stone? The sound’s a bit off. Let me see what this is…”
Unlike Akorella, who examined the mana stone from every angle, Noah covered his mouth in shock. The general from Clifford was no different—how could they even consider letting monsters ravage their fertile lands?
“…This is war. A war with no turning back.”
“Your Highness, I wasn’t aware Burgos had technology to predict earthquakes. I will report to His Majesty immediately.”
Tap, tap, tap!
The mages glanced awkwardly between Noah and Hasha. The meeting between the lord of Clifford and the one who sought to destroy it was tense beyond words.
“I don’t yet fully understand what King Damon meant by ‘similar properties.’ But one thing is clear—they’re ‘waiting’ for the earthquake—”
“You bastard!”
“Oh, Your Highness! Please, don’t do this!”
“Now, calm down, okay? Calm down.”
As Noah grabbed Hasha by the nape again, a swarm of mages rushed in to pull him back.
This wasn’t just a simple war. It was a battle to reshape the entire continent. Ian tapped the table lightly with a faint smile.
‘Damon really is something else.’
Is this the best he can do to rewrite Burgos’s future? Since he’s come back, the information about the earthquake seems solid enough…
“I underestimated it.”
Thud.
“What did you say?”
“That King Damon underestimated it. If a new path opens, the original blood flow will surely thin out—”
The monsters from the north might decrease a bit. But if you consider the monster damage across Gaia as a whole, wouldn’t the total amount actually increase?
“It will overflow as it mixes with the water.”
Does Idgalo think it can control that? Idgalo, the new rift, Damon…
“Ah.”
Ian let out a small exclamation, as if a realization had dawned.
Maybe this is exactly what Rutherford wants: a Gaia so flooded with monsters that it can’t survive without Idgalo, with Rutherford pulling the strings.
“Ian, do you know what King Damon meant by ‘similar properties’?”
It wasn’t a full understanding, but Ian nodded lightly. Similar properties to monsters.
“It means anything that uses and contains mana. The White Horns, synthetic monsters—”
Mages and magic swordsmen.
“That includes us.”