Episode 1000
Chapter 246: The Battle for the Mitra Great Desert (10)
Now, the key to liberating Laprarosa wasn’t technology—it was time.
Of course, buying that time wasn’t easy. The Great Desert was always crawling with the Red-Eyed Tribe and the demons, so they had to find a way to operate their devices steadily and securely for an extended period despite the constant threat.
Still, compared to before, when they had no leads at all, hope now felt within reach.
“Yona, go and report the situation to the commander. We’re retreating immediately.”
“Heh, got it, Owl.”
“Be careful, Yona.”
“Thanks, Luna-unnie!”
With an additional airborne fortress joining the fray and the demons fully engaged, the battle intensified noticeably with every passing second.
But it wasn’t enough to stop Yona from moving. Wielding Death itself, she swept away the enemy’s psychic waves as she pressed forward through the desert.
She planned to retrace Luna’s path exactly. Despite the obscuring psychic waves, sandstorms, and intermittent flashes lighting up the battlefield, Yona read Luna’s route with precision.
‘Heh, was unnie in a rush too? Or maybe she’s just a bit clumsy sometimes.’
Red-Eyed Tribe scouts.
While Luna was searching for the second squad, she hadn’t noticed they were being followed. Their special camouflage suits became nearly invisible when touched by the enemy’s psychic waves.
Thud!
Death stabbed into the ground. Piercing through the sand and psychic waves, Yona struck down one of the Red-Eyed scouts hiding there.
“Unnie was too busy to catch you all. I’m going to kill every last one of you on my way out, so if you want to live, start running now, heh.”
The scouts initially thought their fallen comrade hadn’t concealed himself well enough, but from that moment on, Yona sprinted across the desert, relentlessly hunting down and killing scout after scout.
“Heh, idiots. If unnie wasn’t my master, I’d have made you suffer even more.”
By the time Yona reunited with Jin’s group, she had taken down thirty-two scouts.
“Brother Jin… th-that person…”
Linpa was the first to spot Yona. Seeing Linpa recognize her instantly, Yona felt a fresh shock, just like back at Eltiot.
“Wow, the Mingwang Tribe really has sharp instincts.”
“Yona Runkandel, right? Brother Jin told me a lot about you.”
Belize, who had just been knocked down to the ground by an enemy psychic blast, smiled at Yona. Despite falling hard enough to leave a crater, Belize didn’t have a single scratch.
“Heh, nice to see you too. You guys are tough as nails!”
“Are you here, sister? What happened to the second squad?”
“Qaul says it’s safe to withdraw now. Making the Laprarosa liberation device isn’t hard anymore; we just need to figure out how to buy more time using it.”
Jin’s eyes widened. The day they would all return to Inse was truly close now.
“Understood. Sister, please retreat with me.”
“Brother Jin! Linpa and I will cover the route between the second squad and here. How far do we need to fall back?”
“To the southern edge of the Great Desert. From there, we can use our spatial leap devices.”
Thanks to the chaos caused by the three demons, the retreat wouldn’t be too difficult. The Red-Eyed Tribe’s airborne fortresses and fleets circled overhead, avoiding Masalrun’s curse.
Despite their overwhelming mobility, they couldn’t easily chase Jin’s group. After all, Masalrun was now fighting on Jin’s side.
“Those demons are a big help. When we get back, Brother Jin, we’ll have a lot to talk about.”
As they moved away from the heart of the battlefield, Jin’s group focused on the airborne fortress, Vesel. Every time Masalrun’s curse faded, Vesel fired its main cannon into the rift in Laprarosa.
“Brothers, don’t get hurt. Just hold on a little longer.”
Jin pictured his comrades beyond the rift as they withdrew from the battlefield.
Ziphl, Tower of Stories.
As Keliak entered, Ronil, Satlin, and Ragal stood up. Only Kadun and Elona remained seated, nodding in greeting.
“You’re here, Lord.”
Keliak had just returned from meeting Joshua Ganesto. He needed Ganesto’s insight on the demons summoned in the Great Desert.
“As expected, all the demons summoned there are under the witch’s command. Or rather, not exactly under her command… they’re individuals granted the right to dwell in the Abyss by the witch herself.”
“The right to dwell in the Abyss? What’s that, Keliak?”
“It means they can live in the witch’s domain without harm.”
“Hmm… So, if they’re not her subordinates, does that mean Ganesto’s faction doesn’t control them?”
Keliak exchanged a glance with Kadun and nodded.
“The witch doesn’t keep troops or subordinates. Instead, she has blind followers who act on their own.”
The fragments of chaos called the witch’s daughters, and figures like Masalrun, were prime examples.
Helluram never gave direct orders to his followers. As a result, they often interpreted his intentions on their own.
“Well, even if neither the witch nor Ganesto controls them, it doesn’t hurt us for now. Right, Keliak?”
“That would have been true.”
“…Would have been?”
A crease formed between Keliak’s brows.
Before confirming new information with Joshua, the three demons had been a boon to Ziphl. Since they kept the Red-Eyed Tribe occupied, Ziphl had some breathing room.
“Laprarosa. Joshua said that because of the demon summoning and the battle, a passage connecting Laprarosa—the Mingwang Tribe’s land—and Inse has opened in the Great Desert. Two of the Mingwang’s ‘Tuwang’ have already been freed.”
—We should talk to Ganesto about those demons. Anyway, from now on, we need to focus properly on the sanctuary and the demon stones. Unless another variable appears in the Great Desert.
Keliak touched his forehead, recalling what he had said right after luring the Red-Eyed Tribe into the desert.
From that moment, the variable had already appeared.
“The Mingwang Tribe’s Tuwang!? Keliak, are they Red-Eyed or Blue-Eyed? No, you said only the Blue-Eyed descendants remain now, right? Those Blue-Eyed bastards are dangerous. Are they stronger than the remaining Red-Eyed Tuwang?”
“Considering the Mingwang Tuwang Jin Runkandel temporarily summoned in the past, they’re probably stronger. But even then, compared to their Tushin… it wouldn’t even qualify as a problem.”
Tushin Ban.
The transcendent mastery he displayed during the Fierce God War wasn’t some forgotten legend or exaggerated myth.
“The moment he’s fully summoned, the balance of Inse won’t even need to be measured.”
Ziphl, Kinzello, the Red-Eyed Tribe, Ganesto, the Sun God Cult.
Even combined, it was doubtful they could stand against the Balmel Alliance, bolstered by Ban and the Mingwang Tribe.
“Then that means we have to join the battle for the Mitra Great Desert.”
Elona spoke coldly.
“Before that Tushin and the Mingwang Tribe cross over, it’s best to destroy the passage completely. Am I wrong, Keliak?”
“Exactly. Stopping the Mingwang Tribe is more urgent than relocating the sanctuary or rebuilding our forces. From the next battle, we’ll have to enter the Great Desert ourselves.”
“Keliak, then why not propose negotiations with the Red-Eyed Tribe? After all, both sides want to stop the Mingwang Tribe…”
“Hey, Ragal. Those are the same bastards who recently stole Drakka from us. Don’t you have any pride?”
Kadun’s sharp retort made Ragal shrug awkwardly.
“I was just offering a reasonable suggestion. But on second thought, pride aside, since we have Elona here, it’s better to just sweep the enemies away if things go south.”
Of course, the best outcome for Ziphl was for the enemies to take as much damage as possible before the Laprarosa passage was destroyed.
“There’s no need to negotiate separately with the Red-Eyed Tribe. Once they realize we’re trying to destroy the Laprarosa passage, they’ll respond passively. The demons summoned now favor the Balmel Alliance, so from the Red-Eyed Tribe’s perspective, we’re playing that role.”
“Then it’s better not to use the airborne fortress Elona took from the Red-Eyed Tribe. We don’t want to hurt their pride and complicate things.”
“…Ragal, you’re really irritating. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not your friend? You’d have died a dozen times over by my hand if not for Keliak.”
Elona glared at Ragal. She still felt a surge of anger whenever she saw him.
‘She still holds a grudge against Ragal. The Holy Water Ring hasn’t fully controlled Elona yet.’
Keliak thought.
He knew exactly why Elona was so hostile toward Ragal. It was because she bore a grudge before she started using the Holy Water Ring. Back when she fought alongside Veradin, Elona was seriously injured protecting the federation’s citizens from Ragal.
‘I have to keep in mind the possibility that Elona might suddenly break free from the Holy Water Ring’s control. Before that happens, we need to relocate the sanctuary and strengthen the ring.’
There was no reason for Elona, if uncontrolled, to remain in Ziphl. If that happened, she would surely join the Balmel Alliance with Veradin.
“And once the control over Seongsu-gwan is perfected, only then will it be possible to fully dissolve Elona and Ziphl into the Demon Stone… When all of that is safely completed, Ziphl will be able to rewrite the history of the world—from beginning to end.”
As Kelliak pondered this, Elona quietly suppressed the unease that had started with Lagal.
“Sometimes, it’s not just Lagal—I feel a surge of hostility even when facing Kelliak Ziphl. There has to be a reason for it… When the opportunity arises, I need to ask the Tower about this, especially when Kelliak isn’t around. Where exactly does this hostility come from? And if the day ever comes when I can no longer hold it back, what am I supposed to do?”
Elona vaguely sensed that both Lagal and Kelliak might harbor some grudge against her from the past.
Lost in thought, she began recalling a voice she had heard long ago in the depths of hell.
—Lady Elona! Don’t forget, I will come back for you! Don’t forget! Please don’t forget…!
It was the voice of Veradin Ziphl.