Chapter 188 - Central Powers (2)

Chapter 188 - Central Powers (2)

Apart from his plan, Henry also told Herarion everything that would further gain his trust, such as his being the one and only apprentice of the Imperial Archmage and that he was the new master of the Magical Spire of the entire empire.

“Sir Henry, you’re quite remarkable, just as I thought you’d be, or should I say, Imperial Archmage?”

“Haha, you can call me however you want, Your Majesty.”

"Thank you. I feel like all of my worries have vanished by talking to you. Knowing that you’re the one and only apprentice of the late Archmage and that you’re the only one who’s achieved the 7th-Circle in this entire continent gives me the confidence that we might stand a chance against the empire.”

“It’s not about standing a chance. I can assure you that we will emerge victorious. On that note, Your Majesty, I would like to ask for your help in my plan of forming the Allied Powers.”

“Me?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I have already sent the archmages of the Magical Spire to deliver my message in regards to forming the Allied Powers. However, I can’t help but think that it would be more persuasive if you were the one to deliver the message. After all, the others are unfamiliar with the archmages, whereas you’re a member of the Central Powers. Wouldn’t you agree with me?”

“Hmm, you do have a point.”

“We might be in for a long haul. With that, I believe we need to build a strong foundation from the start.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“And from now on, you’ll no longer have to produce Shahatra specialties like perfume.”

"Hmm? Not even the cigarettes?”

“Hmm, I believe the Pink Swamp will be useful in many ways, so you can keep producing them, but just small amounts like usual.”

“I’m glad to hear that. What a relief.”

“May I ask what you mean?”

“Frankly speaking, I’ve used most of the money I received from you to buy rice rations and weapons, just in case.”

“That was a wise decision on your end.”

“I consider this a blessing from the great Sun God.”

"Haha! Just as you’re considered the son of the Sun God, it seems like your father is watching you from above. What remarkable paternal love.”

There seemed to be nothing bad that would disrupt their plan. Everything seemed to have aligned at the right time, and from now on, Herarion just had to do his best to prepare for the upcoming war.

“May I ask how Her Majesty is doing?”

"Of course. Thanks to you, Sir Henry, she’s been able to put a smile on her face to this day.”

“I’m glad to hear that she’s doing well.”

“But I do have one question. Do you happen to know where Hector is? I haven’t seen him for a couple of days.”

“Oh, I’ve had Hector doing some other work in the meantime. At the moment, he should be doing the work I assigned him in Salgaera. But apart from that, Your Majesty... Have you been able to hone your swordsmanship skills lately?”

“I think I’ve gotten better than I used to be, thanks to a good mentor.”

"Is that so? Hmm... Then, while we’re at it, how about we have a sparring session?”

“With you?”

“I believe I’ve mentioned before that not only am I the sole 7th-Circle mage in the entire continent, but also one of the swordsmen who have awakened Auras.”

“Uhm, since I haven’t properly sparred in a while, may I ask you to go easy on me?”

The two of them were short on time, but not to the point where they couldn’t have one sparring session. They went to the royal palace sparring hall, which was bathed in sunlight.

Herarion got ready while fixing his grip on an ordinary wooden sword. Henry contemplated for a while and eventually pulled out a small wooden dagger out of thin air.

"A dagger?"

“I’m aware that this may seem disrespectful, but this will do for me.”

Henry deliberately provoked Herarion. He knew that anger was a good catalyst to bring out the opponent’s strength. At his taunt, Herarion became slightly flushed.

‘He’s getting worked up.’

In the midst of all this, Henry thought he was being considerate to Herarion compared to how Hector treated him. He had an actual weapon in his hands, a dagger, which was a big step up from the sparring sessions the king had with Hector. The latter had told Henry that he used no weapons when sparring with the king.

‘Well, I’m better than him.’

Henry spoke up, “I’ll let you attack first. I’m not worried about getting hurt, so please do your best to attack me.” The creation of this content can be connected to n0ve1bin★

"All right."

As soon as the sparring began, Herarion bolted toward Henry using the Hector Step he had learned from Hector himself.

‘Seems like someone paid attention to their lessons.”

The prison was located on the edge of a cliff in the cold, northern part of the continent. The endless cliff behind the prison only led to a raging ocean of abyssal depths. Apart from the hell-like ocean, the prison was surrounded by nothing but frozen, unwelcoming land. Rumors had it that days and days of walking wouldn’t get you anywhere. Additionally, the climate was so cold that it was impossible to leave the area without some means of transportation.

In Killive, someone spoke up.

“Is this it?”

Arthus had reached Killive, the land with no master. There was only one person accompanying Arthus, namely Drakan.

The four soldiers guarding the entrance to the prison saluted Arthus at the top of their lungs, “Your Highness! The great lord of the Patrician Family, Grand Duke Arthus!”

It seemed like the news that Arthus was coming hadn’t reached Killive yet. However, Arthus didn’t seem to care and just casually spoke to the guard at the entrance.

“I came to see the Punishment King.”

“Yes, Grand Duke! May I see the entry permit you have?”

The guards were going by the books. After all, this was Killive, the prison state that managed all the felons in the entire empire. Not even the Grand Duke Arthus could enter Killive without a stamped entry permit.

At the guard’s request, Arthus’s face contorted with anger and annoyance, but Drakan bowed his head slightly and said, “Sir, let me handle this.”

Drakan was cold as ice to everyone except for Arthus. Noticing that Arthus was feeling uncomfortable because of the guard, he immediately prepared to open the door to Killivie.

Gurgle, gurgle.

“...?”

After speaking, Drakan folded his back. He then gathered his mana and let out strange sounds through his puffy cloak.

Crack, crack!

“W-what?!”

That moment, a pointed tentacle shot out from his cloak and pierced the stomach of the nearest guard.

“GHAAAAHH!!”

The soldier went flying as he let out a piercing, harrowing scream, blood spewing from his lips.

“...G-Grand Duke! What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

The remaining soldiers quickly activated their Auras and prepared for battle. However, almost instantly...

Crack, crack!

Their resistance was pointless. Drakan instantly stretched out two additional tentacles and pierced the hearts of the remaining soldiers, completely ignoring their Auras.

Drip, drip.

Drops of blood stained the snow that had accumulated on the ground. Drakan ripped out the hearts of the soldiers with the tip of his tentacles and threw the corpses far away. He then grabbed their hearts and proceeded to eat them.

Munch, munch.

Drakan's mouth opened up in all four directions and ate their hearts like regular pieces of meat. After he swallowed the hearts, he said, “Sir, allow me to open the gate now.”

Drakan had completely devoured all of the guards’ hearts, and before he even had the chance to wipe the blood from his mouth, he stretched out his tentacles toward the huge iron door that had chains and pulleys attached to it.

Clinic, clink!

What tremendous strength he had! Drakan opened the gates of Killive not by using the pulley, but with the sheer strength of his tentacles.

Thud, thud!

White dust flew off the iron door. Then, the soldiers on the other side stared at the two intruders with surprised eyes.

“Get rid of them.”

“Yes, Grand Duke.”

With that, Dracan’s tentacles burst forth once again.

* * *

Amaris.

They had quite a long tradition, and because they kept their family tree through men who were outsiders, all of their surnames were Amaris. Among them, the strongest and most beautiful woman was given the title of the ‘Iron and Blood Empress.’ In other parts of the world, she was known as ‘the Steel Queen.’

Of course, Henry had passed through Amaris during the unification war in the past. However, the citizens of Amaris had proved to be strong, and after fierce battles, he had decided to respect their culture and accept them as a tributary state. Of course, this had only happened after he had agreed to some conditions that their Steel Queen had presented.

Flash!

Out of nowhere, a thunderbolt struck the center of the palace of Amaris.

“What in the...?”

Dry lightning struck out of the blue. Everyone in the palace naturally looked at the spot where the lightning had struck, their eyes being as wide as they could be.

As the dust slowly dispersed, two silhouettes emerged. When the air finally cleared out, Henry and Herarion showed themselves. Henry then raised his hand with a faint smile on his face and said, “Greetings.”