Chapter 199 – Making Deals With Madness (2)

Chapter 199 – Making Deals With Madness (2)

Pavan could not hide his perplexed feeling when looking at the huge structure that surrounded the top of the Loen Basin in a circular form. Pavan used to come to the Loen Basin quite often, since it was a place Barth Baltic frequently visited when he wanted to think in silence. However, he had never seen such a structure before.

Hela curiously looked at the structure built on the top of the basin.

“What the hell is that? Is that a castle? No, I think it’s made of steel... I’ve never heard of a castle that’s built out of steel before.”

“Me neither, master. There was no such thing here until just a few weeks ago. At the same time, it’s not something that can be built in just a day or two, is it?”

“Then that can only mean one thing,” Hela said as she kicked her horse to ride faster. “It must be Dismas messing with us using some kind of a trick.”

Pavan was startled and quickly caught up with Hela as she suddenly rode ahead on her horse. He bit his lips; he was worried about her going so far from the other soldiers behind them. Despite his personal feelings about Hela, any chance of her dying or getting hurt had to be avoided at all costs.

“Slow down, master!”

As Pavan rode his horse up the slope, he was able to see Hela wandering around the huge steel wall. She was looking around in amazement at the enormous size of the steel structure.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s perfectly built, but it’s still pretty solid. Steel walls, huh? How did they even come up with such a reckless idea? And how did they even manage to bring it all the way up here?”

“Master, at least stay away from the walls. What if they shoot an arrow at you from the top?”

“Don’t worry. There were no guards on the wall. I’m here to negotiate with Dismas anyway—there’s no need for me to enter while bringing a group of soldiers.”

“I alone am not able to take the responsibility for your safety, master.”

“Oh really? My plan was to do my best to put you in danger.”

“Well, you’ve been very successful so far,” Pavan answered with a fed-up look.

Hela walked along the steel wall and tapped it with the tip of her sword. Then she shook her head upon hearing the dull and heavy sound.

“They didn’t just coat the castle wall with steel. The entire wall is made entirely with steel. I’m curious as to how they were able to pull it all the way up here. And it’s not just that there are no guards. There’s one more thing that’s missing, unlike any other ordinary fortress wall.”

“And what is that?” Pavan asked.

“The entrance.”

As Hela said, the steel walls were lined up with steel plates that were about five meters wide and fifteen meters high—but the door was nowhere to be found. Hela and Pavan couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded, since they came all this way just to meet Dismas and negotiate with him.

But Hela decided to think simply. She grabbed her sword and began to slam it against the wall while sitting on her horse.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A loud clanging noise rang out, causing Pavan’s ears to ring.

“Hey! Is anyone there? I’m here to see Dismas Dilver!”

Pavan felt utterly uncomfortable about making a fuss right in front of the enemy camp. But he knew that they had to try everything they could to meet Dismas, even if that meant having to make a fuss in front of the enemy camp.

Still, instead of joining Hela in making a fuss, Pavan kept a close eye on the walls so that Hela wouldn’t get shot by an arrow.

It was at that moment.

Hela and Pavan instantly stopped as they were upon seeing the steel wall suddenly tremble and shake for a brief moment. Then, the two steel plates right in front of Hela and Pavan slowly lifted up and slightly split on both sides. It was such a cramped space that only two people could pass through the gap.

“They want us to come in, right?”

“I think it’s a trap, master. I feel like we will be crushed as soon as we enter.”

“Okay. I’ll go in first, so you risk your life to save me. Okay?”

“I’m starting to think that it might just be easier to leave you here to die instead of working my ass off to try and save you; I can just ask His Majesty for forgiveness later.” Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

Hela simply ignored Pavan and led the way in.

Pavan gritted his teeth and followed her. Fortunately, the walls did not close down on them to crush the two. And it wasn’t until they had fully entered that they realized what the steel wall looked like.

Behind the wall stood huge giants that were supporting the steel wall.

Pavan and Hela opened their mouths wide at the sight of twenty-meter-tall giants that were holding onto huge iron shields that were as big as their bodies in both hands and leaning against them. The wall was formed by the giants as they lined up and surrounded the basin.

A long silence filled the tent.

Then, Pavan cleared his throat to break the dead silence.

It was only after Hela heard his cough that she managed to come back to her senses. For the first time, she was grateful for Pavan’s inhumane character.

When Hela didn’t open her mouth for a long time, Pavan decided to open his mouth first.

“Would it be possible for us to see her remains?”

“They have already turned into ashes, but sure. If that’s okay with you.”

Dismas nodded to the guard standing by the entrance. The guard soon left the tent and quickly came back with a small box. The small square box was filled with white ashes.

Hela looked into the box that reeked of the smell of ash for a long time and then finally opened her mouth.

“Why did you burn her?”

“I’m sorry? Of course I had to burn her, since she refused to repent. Those who have been cleansed by flames will rise to the sun without any of their sins from the world. It is said that His Majesty’s body remains on land, but his soul resides in the palace of the sun and he rules over both the surface and the underworld. Although she was a girl who had stained her soul by using profane magic, I’m sure His Majesty would be generous enough to welcome her into his arms, since she was still so young,” Dismas answered.

“Did she suffer a lot from the pain?”

“The amount of pain becomes a measure of self-reflection. If the soul can be cleansed by the pain of the body, what is more valuable than that? The girl’s screams were painful for us to hear, but we were relieved to think we were able to rescue even one more person’s soul safely and send it to...”

“So you’re saying that she was screaming.”

Hela cut Dismas’ words off even before he could finish speaking.

Dismas flinched and paused for a moment, but soon nodded.

“Yes. She did.”

Then, Hela poured the contents of the box she was holding onto the floor without any hesitation as soon as she heard Dismas’ answer.

Just as Dismas’ expression became stiff due to the white ash covering the inside of the tent, Pavan placed his hand over the handle of his sword in a nervous manner.

“As far as I know, Anya doesn’t scream no matter how much pain she is suffering from.”

Dismas looked down at the scattered ashes and soon became expressionless. The air in the tent froze in the face of Dismas’ cold expression, almost as if his kind and warm smile from earlier had all been a lie.

Dismas bent down and picked up a handful of the ash.

“That I can confirm.”

“...Why did you tell us such a lie?” Hela asked.

“Because I wanted to see you, the fake emperor’s dogs, be surprised. That frozen look on both of your faces just now was quite a sight.”

Dismas’ tone that suddenly became arrogant as if he no longer felt the need to pretend to be nice made him seem like a completely different person from before.

Based on this, Hela judged that Dismas had to have a very elusive character.

The negotiations had begun.

“Is Anya still alive?” Hela asked.

“Yes. But I don’t think there's any reason for me to give her back to you.”

“You didn’t even listen to any of my suggestions yet.”

“The fake emperor insulted my father, His Majesty, and His Holiness. If he really wants to make a suggestion that suits my taste, I don’t think there’s anything else he can offer me other than his own head. Of course, the rest of his subordinates better make a run for it after that.”

‘Us offering to keep you alive might be the most attractive suggestion we have.’

Hela thought to herself. But instead of saying useless things, she decided to persuade Dismas.

“Anya isn’t a useful hostage. She’s simply not worth it. I’m sure you already know this, but I heard that Anya has lost her abilities as a necromancer. She’s just an ordinary person now.”

Hela had already heard from Juan that Umbra had been destroyed and that Anya had lost most of her necromancy. Furthermore, Hela also knew that Anya was severely injured from her fight against Iolin.

Dismas didn’t seem to care about what Hela had said, but he was listening quietly in silence.

Hela sighed and made a suggestion.

“I will suggest a better hostage to you that is worth a lot more than that. I will be your hostage instead of Anya.”