Chapter 727
“The Emperor—”
Vanusa spoke cautiously.
At her first words, Ian furrowed his brow, and even the mages who had been lying there like drenched rags lifted their heads to look at her.
“The Emperor has arrived at Landarin Village.”
How could she, who had been confined to the temple, possibly know that? The answer was clear: the information must have come from the Toorun royal palace, with which she was connected.
The palace’s awareness of this fact suggested two possibilities: either Landarin Village had sent a request for reinforcements to the capital, or there was another informant at work.
Either way, the fact that Toorun knew the Emperor’s exact location was far from welcome news.
Ian roughly shook the water from his soaked hair and asked, “So?”
Putting aside the disrespect of calling His Majesty “the Emperor” so casually, he wanted to know the conclusion. More precisely, “So, what’s Toorun’s move?”
Vanusa pressed her brows lightly and answered, “The capital will, of course, send reinforcements to defend. The commander is the fire elemental sorcerer I worked with on security—Ardo.”
Ardo. Head of the fire elemental sorcerer family and her comrade.
Beric rummaged through his memory and then scratched his chin. “Ardo? I remember seeing him once, in front of the Toorun palace, right? Didn’t seem like much.”
“This time, all the warriors of his family will be with him. If you underestimate them, you’ll vanish without a trace. Remember, elementals are living beings.”
Unlike the natural phenomena conjured by mages or magic swordsmen, elementals were sentient entities with near-limitless vitality unless pushed to extremes. Their regenerative abilities were astonishing.
Wherever water, fire, or wind met their natural counterparts, that place became a sanctuary for elementals. So it was crucial to leave them no respite.
“Especially Beric—that guy.”
Beric was a magic swordsman who primarily wielded flames. Elementals would perceive that as part of nature and use it to strengthen themselves.
Vanusa hesitated whether to warn him but decided to get straight to the point.
“As you know, the atmosphere among the Toorun elemental sorcerer families is unsettled. There are clearly problems within the palace itself.”
“Specifically, what kind of problems?”
“I suspect the king’s health is poor. And more than that…”
Vanusa glanced around dramatically. The Masantar Temple lay in ruins. Considering most of the palace officials came from there, it was easy to imagine how much chaos the temple’s collapse had caused them.
“Wait a moment.”
Ian raised a hand lightly to stop her.
“Did the palace learn about the temple’s condition solely because of your eyes? From the way you said it, it seems the palace already knew.”
Sharp as ever. Vanusa averted her gaze briefly, then nodded in reluctant agreement.
“Yes. The king’s health issues seem to have started around the time of your battle, and the Masantar Temple probably sensed it roughly. I don’t know the details. I thought my eyes were their only window, but it seems they already knew.”
Ian recalled the shadow—the one who had emerged from the underground, charred but smiling. That being must have directly relayed the message to the palace.
“The king ordered me to return. I will ascend to the capital by a route other than Landarin Village. If you wish, you may accompany me.”
After all, the goal was to capture the capital, wasn’t it? Traveling with Vanusa would make reaching a certain point much easier.
“Ian, can we trust her?”
“Yes, it feels almost too easy to get help.”
“Could be a trap by the Toorun king… we should be cautious.”
The mages shuffled closer to Ian, whispering as they pressed against him. Vanusa, submerged in water, noticed the exchange and bubbles rose from her lips—they had caught on to the secretive conversation.
Ian declared firmly, “It’s fine. No need to be so guarded.”
“But—”
“Vanusa is definitely connected to the Toorun king, but if she intended to betray us, she wouldn’t have avoided the place when we descended into the temple’s depths. We can’t know if she shares her vision with the king.”
Though uncertain, Vanusa had guarded her sight and only passed selective information to the king.
“And if Vanusa truly cares for my country, then all the more reason to trust her. From her perspective, minimizing Toorun’s damage and letting only the palace fall is the best outcome. It’s rational for everyone.”
“Well, that may be true.”
“But we have to be able to trust the Toorun people.”
The mages acknowledged this but remained wary.
At that moment, Akorella sprang to her feet. She flung open her jacket to reveal the inside pocket and exclaimed,
“This is what we need right now!”
Boom! How on earth did she carry so many potions in that pocket?
The mages’ eyes narrowed.
“Called—Real. Absorption. Potion.”
Now that’s true magic!
Akorella shook a tiny vial no bigger than a finger joint and crouched before Vanusa.
“W-what is this—?”
“Ian, surely this is acceptable? For everyone’s safety.”
“Safety isn’t all—it’s about trust, too.”
“Yes, exactly. Vanusa, take this. It lets us tell if you’re lying or telling the truth.”
Come on, it’s fine.
Vanusa eyed Akorella suspiciously but had no choice. She needed Bariel’s—more precisely, the magic department’s—help, and she wanted to bring down the palace before more damage was done.
Glug!
Vanusa swallowed the potion in one gulp. Akorella’s eyes sparkled. “Oh yeah, never fed this to an elemental sorcerer before!”
“Ugh. Why does it taste like this?”
“Now, question time. Vanusa, you said you’d guide us to the capital—no traps, right? And your desire to bring down the Toorun palace is genuine?”
Vanusa hesitated briefly, then shook her head.
“No traps. I truly want to save Toorun.”
At that moment, blood trickled down. Vanusa’s eyes widened in shock, and the watching mages turned to Akorella in surprise.
“What’s wrong? Is this Real Absorption Potion an old batch?”
“Yes! Don’t waste money. On the battlefield, we have to mix whatever’s on hand.”
“No…”
Sorry about that. I thought our leader was crazy but kind… The mages apologized to Vanusa, who kept rubbing her mouth, trying to lighten the mood.
“Well then, that’s settled. We’ll follow Vanusa.”
Beric flopped back down, indifferent. “Whatever. Might as well rest a bit before we go. Maybe even grab some meat.”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Eirin, who had been silent behind them, raised her hand. Sweat dampened her hair.
“I don’t know how you’ll take this, but I have a bad feeling.”
“A bad feeling? About what?”
“I’m not sure. My heart’s been racing, and the back of my neck feels cold and uneasy. Following Vanusa is fine, but what if we join the Emperor’s side instead?”
Ian folded his arms, considering. Following Vanusa meant direct access to the Toorun capital and faster infiltration of the palace. That would make it easier to deal with the Toorun soldiers blocking Bariel’s main force advancing from the north.
The mages voiced their opinions.
“Ian, even if she’s an elemental sorcerer, the magic swordsmen can handle her. And everyone knows about the puppeteer, so we’ll be cautious. It’s a chance we shouldn’t miss.”
“Yes. Joining the Emperor means a frontal assault, which is troublesome. Vanusa doesn’t seem to want that either.”
“War is about capturing the king. The best defense is offense—go straight for the throat. Let the Emperor ascend comfortably.”
Vanusa said nothing, but it seemed she wanted Ian’s group to come with her.
We can’t ignore Eirin’s intuition.
Paladins read omens. Not always right, but not to be taken lightly.
Ian knew Eirin was important to Jin in some way. And as a paladin who shared the divine will, her opinion deserved respect.
“Eirin, Beric.”
“Yes?”
“Half the mages and you two join the Emperor to report and support the main force. The rest of us will follow Vanusa.”
“No! Wait—”
“Beric, remember you belong to the palace guard.”
Entering the capital quickly was as important as sharing the temple’s situation with the main force. Neither could be sacrificed, so this was the most reasonable plan.
Eirin nodded in relief, while Beric grumbled loudly, complaining about how hard it was to get a meal between Jarrett and old Tweller.
“Ian, when do we depart?”
“At sunrise. Until then, we’ll carefully monitor for any abnormal signals beneath the temple. Vanusa.”
Ian pointed downward, addressing Vanusa.
“If there are any documents or papers floating around somewhere in the temple, bring them back—no matter what condition they’re in, even if they’re soaked or damaged. Better to check with your own eyes, just in case.”
“Got it.”
Vanusa slipped away smoothly, as if dissolving into the water.
The mages collapsed back down again. Only a few hours remained until sunrise. They all instinctively knew this was their last chance to rest.
“Can you see them?”
“Yeah. There they are.”
“Damn it, these bastards… How the hell did they manage to get this far?”
The ones facing off against Bariel’s main forces weren’t the regular troops of Toorun. They had all turned their backs on the capital, choosing to fight from the outskirts. This wasn’t out of any sense of duty to protect the kingdom, but a calculated move based on what they stood to gain later.
They were a ragtag bunch—bandits, wandering mercenaries, human traffickers, and the like—operating on the fringes of the capital.
“Looks like the country’s in a real mess, huh? They’re pulling everyone in, even us.”
“When has this kingdom ever run smoothly? If it had, I wouldn’t be stuck here like this.”
“True enough. Heh heh. So, who’s going first? You. How about you go?”
“Screw off. Why don’t you, the youngest one, go instead?”
Inside the tent, representatives from dozens of these groups were gathered, tearing into each other with words.
They were the worst kind of rabble. Without a commander, everyone was just arguing over who was better, and they couldn’t even agree on who should step forward first.
A defensive line made up of nothing but dead weight. Their only job was to hold the line with their bodies, buying time until the regular army arrived.
Bang!
“What the hell is everyone waiting for? I’ll go.”
At that moment, a woman slammed her chair back with an irritated shout and stood up. This was Helna, notorious in the Toorun slave market.
“Who’s that?”
“That’s the woman who used to run the slave market. You know the Minister of Magic? She was called ‘Dog’s Paw’ because she once caught a slave there but let her slip away.”
“Is she from Bariel?”
“How should I know? I heard she was robbed and sold to a slave trader as a kid, but she was so tough she clawed her way back to the top. You know the saying—I’m the mad dog of this district.”
Ignoring the chuckling men behind her, Helna’s red eyes gleamed as she tied her hair back into a single knot.
Idiots. Don’t they realize that in times like this, stepping up first is the smartest move?