Episode 1012
Chapter 246: The Great Mitra Desert Struggle (22)
Kritil, Office of the Warlord.
Simat stared at the thick stack of reports spread across his desk. Even after his aides had filtered through them once, there was barely any space left.
“Hoo…”
Most of the reports concerned the conquered territories and the supervision of the second-class citizens of the Red-Eyed Tribe living within the former Luterro Federation.
‘It’s laughable. While our Red-Eyed people bleed daily in the Great Desert, these lowlifes enjoy the privileges of citizenship granted by us, sleeping soundly without a care.’
The Red-Eyed Tribe had initially declared their intention to wage a war without civilian casualties because, at the time, they had to tread carefully around Jin.
Now, they were simply honoring that promise, halting indiscriminate slaughter.
‘Well, according to Rimagas’s report, those ordinary humans might prove useful when facing the Demon Stones of Ziphl later on. Until then, there’s no harm in leaving them be, as long as they’re assigned only basic, menial labor.’
At the moment, they simply didn’t have the capacity to pay them much mind.
The situation in the Great Mitra Desert struggle was shifting chaotically. Just yesterday, two more Warlords had been summoned.
‘…Jin Runkandel declared himself the Thirteenth Warlord. He’s probably the last one. That leaves one Warlord, and eight Warlords remaining inside. And the common warriors won’t be ordinary either.’
If all of them managed to survive the corridor bombardment and escape, it would be an impossible number to handle. Especially the Warlord—they were clearly on a different level from the rest of the Changsung.
What’s more, fate seemed to smile increasingly on the Balmel Alliance. While Jin and the Alliance kept summoning Warlords effortlessly, the Red-Eyed Tribe, except for Kri, had poured nearly all their forces in without any significant results.
They were only suffering losses.
The Red-Eyed Tribe’s Red Brain, like the Cheongmyeong and Myeongwang tribes, was naturally produced within their bodies, but their main nutrient was living blood.
Therefore, not only individual Red-Eyed members but also the airborne fortresses and fleets used blood. Though a small amount could generate a massive Red Brain, ordinary blood was insignificant.
Only the blood of trained warriors, mages, or creatures with exceptional strength mattered.
No matter how efficient the conversion to Red Brain was, the blood of the Cheongmyeong victims who had rebelled against the royal family and the blood obtained from striking Ziphl was not infinite.
Ching. Simat pressed his bracelet, initiating a video call to Rimagas.
{Warlord compatriot.}
“Rimagas, have you gathered any new information about the corridor?”
{None. The dimensional anomaly is far more complex than I anticipated.}
“So… for now, even our own people can’t find a way to prevent the descendants of Cheongmyeong from emerging outside.”
{I’m sorry.}
“No, it’s not your fault. After all, the final decision was mine. But we’ll need to revise our plans.”
{Are you planning to use Kri?}
“Will you try to stop me again?”
{Yes. As I said before, it’s better to use the witches.}
“I expected you to say that. Honestly, I think it’s a desperate measure. From the day the Light of Oblivion stops my Radiant Heart, all that will remain for us is destruction.”
{Then what do you propose?}
“We need to make faster use of the witches. You mentioned that those exiled from Runkandel might be backing the witches.”
That was information obtained from the royal family and Ziphl.
“Find them. I don’t know why they haven’t joined the Great Desert struggle so far, but they surely don’t want Jin Runkandel’s power to grow.”
At that moment, a knock sounded.
“Come in.”
“Warlord compatriot.”
“Androlin compatriot, what is it?”
“A human came looking for you at Kritil. He calls himself Lokia Ganestora.”
“I suspected someone was eavesdropping on our conversation.”
“Pardon?”
“Where is he now?”
“At the southern gate.”
“Tell him to stay there. I’ll come out.”
Simat ascended to Kri’s rooftop, where a small ship was hovering. He boarded it and flew toward the southern gate.
Lokia stood quietly before the gate, clad in a black robe. Around her, frozen Red-Eyed gatekeepers were visible.
“Why did you freeze our people?”
“I told you by now you’d need me, but you didn’t believe it. Don’t worry, I’m not dead.”
Her husky voice somehow grated on Simat’s nerves.
“Still, I didn’t expect you to come out yourself instead of letting me in. Red-Eyed Warlord Simat, more cowardly than you look?”
“Do I look like a fool who’d let someone closely tied to witches into the city? Besides, since you already know our secrets from outside, there’s even less reason to let you in.”
Fssst…
Simat lightly released his psychic energy, melting the ice encasing the warriors. They quickly regained their senses and stepped back.
Simat quietly studied the gleaming eyes beneath Lokia’s hood.
“It’s funny for you to call me cowardly, Lokia Ganestora. Sending a doppelganger instead of coming yourself.”
“Oh, but that’s typical of a Changseong. You recognized me immediately. I’m only able to act in spirit form right now, so please understand.”
“What do you want from me?”
“You haven’t even told me why you came.”
“You came to tell me how to disrupt the Balmel Alliance and the descendants of Cheongmyeong. So tell me what you want.”
“Oh, what I want… nothing in particular.”
“What?”
“There’s nothing among your Red-Eyed Tribe worth coveting. I waited, thinking you’d at least be able to block the dimensional rift, but seeing how things are going, it’s hopeless.”
“That’s because the witches’ minions are involved. You’ve been interfering, haven’t you? Did you come to pick a fight?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t meddle in that. The witches are too busy right now to pay attention to that side.”
“That’s an absurdly shallow lie.”
“Believe it or not, it’s your choice. Anyway, I’m giving you this.”
Lokia reached into the air. The space before her warped like dough, and she pulled out a dark orb.
It was a condensed mass of chaotic energy.
“The Myeongwang tribe’s Warlord, Ban. He has a pet chaos entity named Lingling. Cute, right? This is… like a rabies virus.”
“…A pet chaos?”
“Yes. Originally, a chaos lifeform born as a host to Jin Runkandel… but Warlord Ban absorbed it. So Ban and Lingling are one. This orb can drive Lingling into a frenzy, which will affect Ban as well.”
“I heard Laprarosa’s dimensional rift has never been opened before, and only Jin Runkandel can pass through. How do you know all this?”
“You seem to want to believe me. Heh. Let’s just say I’ve recreated it several times.”
There was no way to verify Lokia’s words. Simat simply observed her carefully with the insight of a Changseong.
“Recreated… Though the Sun God is dead, this world is still a magnificent creation left behind by him. How could someone like you recreate that?”
“That’s not important right now. Let’s move on.”
“And if this chaos orb can so easily harm Laprarosa’s Warlord, why not use it yourself?”
“Good question. It’s dangerous for those who wield chaos. As you can see, I use chaos power myself, like all Ganestoras.”
Lokia stepped closer, extending the orb toward Simat.
He took it without hesitation. Even if it was a trap, he was confident he could control it.
The orb didn’t burst or change in his hand. Upon close inspection, it was pure chaotic energy.
Only witches could create such a pure form of chaos. The Myeongwang tribe called it the ‘Primordial Chaos.’
“Take it near Laprarosa’s rift and shatter it. Then you’ll understand how useful this is.”
Lokia’s doppelganger began to fade rapidly. Simat glanced between the orb and the spot where she had vanished, then pressed his bracelet.
[Warlord compatriot. What did Lokia Ganestora propose?]
“She gave me a shard of the witches’ chaos. She says it can easily harm Laprarosa’s Warlord. She asked for nothing in return.”
[That’s even more worrying. Using it will surely cost us something.]
“It wasn’t a deal with the witches themselves, but their followers. So the damage won’t be extreme.”
[Do you intend to use it immediately?]
“Yes. Even if it costs us a little, if it can bring down Laprarosa, it’s worth it. From the moment we decided to use the witches—except for Kri and the Light of Oblivion—we accepted that we’d lose something.”
Rimagas nodded. There was no such thing as using the witches’ power without a price. But whatever the cost, it wouldn’t be greater than Simat’s life.
“I’m heading back to the Great Desert. Open the dimensional gate.”
{Understood, Warlord compatriot.}
Simat boarded the small ship.
Soon, a massive pillar rose from the center of Kritil—the spatial leap device of the airborne fortress Kri.
As the pillar shot a blazing red beam into the sky, a massive dimensional gate opened before Simat.
Without hesitation, Simat led a small fleet through the gate and began flying beyond it. Inside the portal, waves of crimson storms raged violently, revealing the vast desert below, with a floating fortress and its fleet hovering above.
Instead of heading to Pibil’s command bridge, Simat made his way toward the labyrinthine passage of Laprarosa, which shimmered and twisted unpredictably. Though the bombardment had paused for an hour, the area around the passage still radiated intense heat, as if molten lava boiled beneath.
The closer he got to the passage, the more the chaotic orb clenched in his hand vibrated. Simat hurled it toward the rift, then unleashed a blade of energy, slicing it clean in two.