Chapter 322: Falling (1)
Translator: miraclerifle
Editor: Borderline Masochist
“Your highness, when are you thinking about hitting the Roan Kingdom? We will probably start with the Gyerre territory, right?”
‘Aigoo.’
Cale shook his head side to side at the things the knight was saying to Adin.
- Human! That knight and the Imperial Prince have such unbelievable thoughts!
‘That’s exactly how I feel.’
Cale approached Adin a little more.
- Human, human! I am thoroughly observing the inside of this terrace. Just trust me.
Unlike normal terraces, this terrace was divided up on the inside with glass.
Cale observed Adin, who was on the other side of the glass.
Something was weird.
Adin’s complexion was oddly too good.
“Your highness.”
The Imperial doctor filled the empty wine glass with dead mana as he asked.
“Who will you send to the Eastern continent then?”
‘The Eastern continent?
Why is he suddenly talking about the Eastern continent?’
“I'm not so sure about that.”
Adin had an odd smile on his face, but one of the knights who was looking at him asked in a concerned voice.
“Are you planning on going yourself, your highness? Aren’t the injuries left by that sword master still there?”
The injuries left by the sword master.
He was talking about the injuries Choi Han left on Adin.
“Ah, this?”
Adin pointed to his chest.
His skin looked smooth without even the smallest of scars.
“Yes, your highness. I've heard that his aura's attribute is quite tough and that it was difficult to heal. Although I'm certain that you will overcome it, this lowly fool cannot help but worry.”
Smirk.
The knight stopped talking.
It was because Adin was smirking. It was different than his usual smile that made him look like a good guy.
It was clearly a sneer.
“That sword master, Choi Han’s attribute is indeed quite tough.”
Adin took another sip of dead mana.
He did not feel any pain.
He didn't feel anything at all.
He just calmly assessed Choi Han’s strength.
“But he's only half-complete.”
‘Half-complete?’
Cale's expression turned odd.
Honestly speaking, Choi Han was the one who was struggling the most to improve.
Actually, rather than struggling to improve, the fact that stronger people appeared and some other people got stronger made it so that Choi Han didn't really stand out anymore.
However, Choi Han was strong enough to cause pain to the Dragon half-blood.
‘But he's only half-complete?’
- Human, I figured it out.
He could hear Raon's voice.
- I figured out what is weird about the Imperial Prince.
Cale flinched at Raon's tone which was serious for once and looked at Imperial Prince Adin's hand.
It was the hand that was not holding the wine glass.Follow current novels at novelhall.com)
There was smoke coming up from his palm.
It was aura smoke.
It was a thick aura smoke that could only come from a highest-grade expert who was right underneath the sword master level.
Cale remembered that Adin was a highest-grade expert and not a high-grade expert as was publicly announced.
‘...But the color of his aura is-
black?’
The thick aura smoke rising from Adin's hand.
It was black in color, just like Choi Han’s aura.
‘That was a color that only Choi Han is supposed to have.
Wasn’t that how it was in, ‘The Birth of a Hero?’ ’
Cale then heard both Adin and Raon’s voices at the same time.
“Choi Han can’t handle me. He can’t handle the current me.”
- The Imperial Prince is different than before! Despair is his attribute now!
‘Despair? Choi Han...’
Cale's mind started to quickly move. There were too many new truths to think about.
- I knew he felt weird for some reason! That is why Choi Han’s despair was eaten up! Choi Han doesn’t have perfect darkness nor despair! I, Raon Miru, am truly great and mighty for figuring this out!
‘Ho.’
Cale couldn’t help but scoff.
‘The Imperial Prince and despair?’
- I'm sure he must have drunk the black despair! He ate the thing that Choi Han rejected! He gobbled up other people's despair and is using their despair as aura!
Raon was huffing and puffing more than ever before.
- That shit is worse than trash!
‘He ate other people's despair?’
The black despair.
The screeches of the voices inside the black despair were still ringing in Cale’s ears.
Choi Han had been shaken up but rejected the black despair thanks to Raon and Clopeh dragging him out of its bewitchment.
The first round was taking care of the Alchemists’ Bell Tower and the Imperial Prince.
The second round would be taking care of black magic and the Tower Master who would arrive slightly too late.
It would be great if the White Star came as well.
“Our goal for the first round is to attack the Alchemists’ Bell Tower and to destroy the city walls while closing off all entrances to the Bell Tower other than the entrance to this underground area.”
A rat in a jar.
No, a rat who can only run away to hell underground.
“Meeeeeow.”
Rex let out a meow.
A predator would be waiting for these escaping rats.
“Sir Rex.”
“Yes, young master-nim.”
“Did you gather the people I told you to gather last time? Can I meet them?”
They were people who shared Rex's pain and had worked with him in the past.
Rex thought about how Cale had told him to gather them together and nodded his head.
“Is there something for us to do?”
The strength of the Empire and black magic were both at levels beyond Rex's imagination.
He was worried about what his friends who were spread out throughout the Empire could do because he was the only one with strength.
He then heard Cale’s response.
There were two days left other than today.
“Of course. You guys need to do everything.”
He needed to quickly start moving.
Later that night.
There were people stealthily moving through the Empire’s capital's slums.
There were small orbs in each of their arms.
They were the video recording orbs.
These orbs were the ones with the recording that Cale's group had taken all day.
‘I am putting my life on the line for this operation.’
They were all thinking about how Rex, whose forehead injury had opened up again and was bleeding, told them about what to do without even wiping his blood away.
Rex’s eyes had been completely bloodshot.
The eyes of the people dispersing around the slums with the orbs in their arms were similarly bloodshot as well.
They had all been forced to send their siblings, families, and neighbors to the Alchemists’ Bell Tower.
‘Nothing can go wrong during this operation. I won't accept it.’
Rex’s pressing voice was almost branded into their minds.
There were soldiers and knights walking around the capital during the night.
However, there were not many knights or soldiers patrolling the slums. This was because there were no lights or lamps in the dark slums, making them have no reason to patrol.
Knock knock knock.
A person with an orb knocked on a door.
Others went into caves that were secretly built in the slums.
Some of them ran to their families.
There were no lights in the dark slums.
However, during this night... The slums were covered with silent anger and cries.
The next day.
“Hello there.”
The guard standing outside the Alchemists’ Bell Tower looked toward the person who came up to the door with an odd expression.
“What is it?”
He could see a man wearing shabby but clean clothes smiling at him.
The guard was concerned more about the bloodshot eyes than the respectful smile, but he motioned with his chin for the man to state his business.
The man bowed respectfully before starting to speak.
“I came to meet my older brother.”
“Older brother? An alchemist?”
‘His outfit looks too shabby to be the younger brother of an alchemist.’
The man smiled and responded back as the guard's expression revealed his suspicion.
“Yes sir. My brother Honte went into the Alchemists’ Bell Tower fifteen years ago.”
Honte.
That name made the guard's eyes start to shake.
The Alchemists’ Bell Tower’s Tower Master’s disciple, Honte.
‘...But he’s dead?’
The guard watched the other guard urgently rush into the building before looking back at the man. He then got the chills after looking past that man's shoulders.
There were many people wearing clean but shabby clothes heading toward the Alchemists’ Bell Tower. There were at least ten people.
They ranged in ages as well.
They all smiled and started to speak.
“I wish to meet my younger sibling.”
“I wish to meet my older sister.”
“I wish to see my son and daughter. Is that allowed?”
Fifteen years ago. There were many people fifteen years ago who had come to see their children who were left with the Alchemists’ Bell Tower. They had always sent them back with excuses.
They sent them back while saying things like, ‘are you really going to be the chains on your siblings or children’s ankles and drag them down when they are finally living a better life?’
However, there had never been a time when so many of them had shown up at once.
‘Well, I guess around ten isn't that many.’
The guards looked past the people who were approaching the tower.
There were many citizens looking at the tower and whispering to each other. They were curious about what was going on.
That was why the guard was unable to see it.
He couldn’t see the bloodshot eyes or the puffy faces of the people who came to seek their family members, nor their tightly clenched fists that were contrary to their smiling faces.
Cale was watching this from far away.
- Human! Rosalyn says she’ll be here soon! All of the Dark Elves are coming as well! Clopeh also said that the Holy Knights will be arriving soon as well!
Cale looked toward the Bell Tower that was the tallest building on the Western continent and started to speak.
“It's finally starting.”
There was only a day and a half left until the start of the battle.