Chapter 257: Episode 257

[Mana Crystal]

[Rank: SS]

[Restriction: One who has been acknowledged by the other races.]

[Description: A legendary-class item. Passed down since ancient times, the Mana Crystal can absorb all magic. It can also pinpoint the location of powerful magic and show the way. Currently, its other two abilities are sealed due to a lack of magic.]

The Mana Crystal, guarded in the ancient temple for millennia, was now in his hands. The beastmen’s golden mana must have been channeled through this very artifact.

“I refuse to accept this!” Pinyas shrieked. “A demon as our Guide! Something must be wrong, Great Chieftain!”

“Silence,” Hasla commanded wearily. “I have returned after confirming it with my own eyes. Are you saying you don’t trust my word, Pinyas?”

“Grr. But that bastard exterminated the hobbits…”

“That misunderstanding has been cleared as well. On the contrary, the Guide subjugated the demons who captured the hobbits. It was all our mistake. Now, stop this disgraceful behavior and prepare to head to Balak.”

The clash between the Resistance and Secret factions had already been explained. If anything, Taehyun was a benefactor who had avenged the beastmen. The regret of having attacked and imprisoned such a person was immense.

“That could be a lie, too!” Pinyas insisted. “A demon as our Guide? It’s ridiculous!”

“Pinyas, do not test my patience any further…”

“Ah, it’s fine,” Taehyun interrupted, stepping out from the temple. “This Mana Crystal… you said only the Guide can use it? Then I’ll just have to demonstrate its power myself.”

“Grr. You demon!”

The moment Pinyas saw the Mana Crystal in his hand, she lost control and charged. But the beastmen were now bound to Balak by contract. No matter how fiercely she attacked, she couldn’t possibly harm him. Taehyun scoffed and activated the crystal.

[The effect of the Mana Crystal has been activated.]

[Absorbing the mana of the fox tribe chieftain, Pinyas.]

The golden mana swirled, rapidly draining from her. Pinyas, who had been lunging with claws bared, felt her strength vanish, and she collapsed to the ground. The Guide’s power was definitively proven. Taehyun looked down at her sprawled form and smirked.

“I’ll work you several times harder than the other beastmen. Now that I’m confirmed as the Guide, you have no complaints, right?”

“Ugh. How humiliating!” she spat.

“Tsk. This is why people—ah, ’beastmen’—should learn some decency. You shouldn’t mock someone in front of their prison cell.”

Pinyas, who had been the most vocal about punishing him, fell silent. She had even come to the prison to mock him personally, leaving her utterly speechless now. Every being should try walking in another’s shoes. Unlike their first meeting, he was now the Guide who would rule them, and they had to obey his every command.

“Alright. If you’re ready, let’s head to Balak,” Taehyun announced. “From now on, you’ll live your lives defending the dungeon. Of course, there’s a jungle-like forest inside, so don’t worry.”

He had gathered all the different races. Having obtained the Mana Crystal as the Guide, his business here was finished. All that remained was the new ability Hamolten had mentioned. Taehyun used a return item, transporting himself and all the beastmen back to Balak.

—

The Wailing Wall had repelled enemy invasions for three long years. That record was shattered by Gelix’s sudden appearance, but the Haven Fief still stood firm on the front lines. Perched on a high vantage point as if carved from a cliff, it appeared unchanged. But its military strength was a different story. By dangling the carrot of slave liberation and then cracking the whip, Count Dinen had swelled his ranks and established himself as the Liberation Lord. However, as he began to lose the internal power struggle with the royal family, his soldiers started to desert, leaving him in a precarious position.

[S-rank raider, Dark Elf Jerian, casts Wrath of the Evil Dragon.]

[An arrow imbued with the Evil Dragon’s aura is shot toward the Haven Fief’s walls.]

Amidst this chaos, the royal family’s main army invaded, extinguishing any hope of calm. Count Dinen watched the enemy from his window before trying to make a call to Baron Momonte Anslake. The man who had promised aid through his guild just days ago had not contacted him once.

The line remained dead. With bloodshot eyes, Count Dinen hurled the communication device against the wall.

“Damn bastard! What the hell is he doing in a situation as urgent as this?!”

“Count Dinen, the royal army’s momentum is formidable,” his aide urged. “You must escape the fief for now and plan for the future.”

“I know that! I know, but I can’t quell this rage!” Dinen roared. “That damn brat Leon! He tries to take me down the moment he inherits the throne?!”

If it weren’t for those two Superhumans, he wouldn’t have been pushed around like this. Worse, S-rank raiders had joined them and laid waste to all the fiefs in his faction. Distributing dwarf-made equipment to boost his raiders’ strength had only backfired.

’He always figured out our supply routes and used the information to direct the raiders,’ Dinen fumed. ’That son of a bitch. He exploited the desperation of the lords to nullify our equipment. I’ve never been so humiliated!’

Gelix’s advice echoed in his mind. It was highly likely that someone within his faction had defected. The only noble left was Baron Momonte Anslake. Since he couldn’t be contacted, he was the most likely spy. But it was too late for regrets.

“Grrr. Momonte, I will kill you too! Gelix, what is the status of the monuments’ magic?!”

“We have almost reached the final stage,” Gelix reported. “It should be complete within a few days.”

“Hmph. Good. We will take the monuments and escape through the underground passage.”

It was a passage built for exactly this kind of situation. Though the monuments were numerous and large, an S-rank raider could manage them. No matter how strong the enemy was, they couldn’t breach the Wailing Wall in an instant. They had to escape during the siege. Dinen hurried toward the tunnel. Just then, the device in his pocket rang.

“I-It’s the Peyton Dukedom! The knights of the Peyton family have come down from the northern Derk Empire!”

“What?!”

It was Duke Peyton, the one he had feared. His influence over the imperial family had vanished with the internal conflict. With even the Raider’s Association cutting ties, the Derk Empire was no exception. The Haven Fief, defender of the front lines, was now surrounded. Time was running out. Dinen quickened his pace down the corridor.

“Just down here and…”

“Where do you think you’re going, Count Dinen?”

As he reached the outer staircase, dozens of raiders appeared from behind. They were all A-rank experts, and worse, they were from Anslake’s guild.

“Grr. That bastard Momonte. He infiltrated his guild raiders into the fief beforehand.”

“Not just the fief,” the lead raider sneered. “Most have already joined the royal army in the siege. Surrender quietly.”

He could faintly hear the shouts of battle outside. With the guild raiders joining the royal army and the Peyton Dukedom, there was no hope left.

’Thud-thud-thud.’

More raiders swarmed up the stairs from below, cutting off his escape. Gelix collapsed in despair.

“This isn’t what I wanted,” he whimpered. “I just wanted to make a name for myself, but for it to end like this… I can’t accept it.”

The tower he had built so carefully had crumbled. He had climbed from a mere branch manager to a headquarters executive through Dinen, only for Leon to shatter it all in an instant.

“Now! Capture them!”

“We have permission to cut off a limb if they resist. Take them down without mercy!”

“Finish this before the S-rank raiders arrive! Hurry!”

The raiders charged. Attacked from both sides, Count Dinen lifted his head and let out a crazed laugh.

“Khuhuhu! Yes! Everything is getting in my way, as if the world itself rejects me. But I will not give up! I will return to the Aeneas Kingdom and exterminate all of you, starting with the royal family!”

“Still talking big when you’re about to be captured? Hah—”

’Shhhk!’

The raider’s body was sliced to pieces. S-rank raiders had appeared among the attackers, dispatching them in an instant to protect the Count. Dinen helped Gelix to his feet.

“I will return to the Aeneas Kingdom,” he declared, his eyes burning with mad conviction. “If the plan succeeds, I can surely drive out that bastard Leon and bring ruin to the royal family. This is no time to waste. Hurry!”

“…Understood.”

And so, the two of them, along with their S-rank bodyguards, took the monuments and fled the fief.

—

That day, the fall of the Haven Fief became known throughout the continent. The internal conflict of the Aeneas Kingdom had ended in victory for King Leon, and Dinen’s faction was annihilated. The tyrant had once again demonstrated his power in the West, putting other nations on high alert. As the Gogul Kingdom and the Peshant Empire began to make subtle moves, the continent was once again descending into chaos.

“So the Haven Fief has finally fallen,” Taehyun mused. “What of Count Dinen and that bastard Gelix?”

“Nothing has been revealed yet,” Raviz reported. “It seems the Aeneas Kingdom is hiding the truth.”

“Hmm. Then they either failed to capture them or killed them. For now, I suppose I only need to worry about Duke Peyton.”

The Duke had entered the West with thousands of knights. He must have made a deal with Leon beforehand, with Balak as the prize. With the pressure from the imperial family gone, he would surely come to attack Balak as he had declared. Taehyun put down the report and began to list his assets on a blank sheet of paper.

’- Resistance Faction’

’- Livixiun’

’- Momonte Anslake’

’- Karon’

’- Balak Territory’

’- Double-Edged Sword’

’- Special Abilities’

’- Mana Crystal’

’That’s about it. Since that bastard Leon isn’t dealing with Momonte, he must intend to keep him around as a spy. In that case, the Zen and resources I invested in the royal family weren’t a waste. For now, I should watch the situation and look for an opening.’

With the Balak territory developing on a national scale, they wouldn’t be able to attack it rashly. The immediate problem was Duke Peyton. He needed to be sent back to the Derk Empire.

’Should I use the Double-Edged Sword first? Hmm. I’ll have to think about it again once their advance on Balak is confirmed.’

Before playing that card, he had to gain an advantage using his special abilities and the Mana Crystal. Moreover, he still had the variable of Karon Dake. If he could navigate this period safely, he could leverage the Resistance to plan for the endgame. Having made his decision, Taehyun headed for Balak’s Labyrinth.

[You have entered Balak’s Labyrinth.]

The labyrinth had suffered a mana overload while he was dealing with the beastmen. It had happened before, but the damage this time was considerable.

“You have arrived,” Edchan greeted him. “I have been waiting.”

“How is the crystal orb now?”

“It has stabilized for the time being, but the excess mana has surpassed a critical level. If left as is, it will overload again.”

Just as Edchan said, the crystal orb looked extremely volatile. Taehyun approached the orb as it pulsed violently with raw magic.

[Labyrinth’s Crystal Orb]

[Rank: C]

[Level: 5]

[Mana Value: 147,841/450]

[Upgrade Level: 5]

As expected, the mana value was astronomical, having surpassed one hundred thousand. It was far beyond anything he had anticipated.

“With this much, I could use my unique skills dozens of times and still have some left over.”

“The problem is that it’s impossible, sir. What do you plan to do?”

“What do you mean, what do I do?” Taehyun said with a grin. “I’m going to suck it all dry. Where else would I find such a good mana charging station?”

If it was going to overload, he just had to relieve the pressure. Taehyun took the Mana Crystal from his pocket and began the cleanup.

[The effect of the Mana Crystal has been activated.]

[Absorbing the mana of the Labyrinth’s Crystal Orb.]

Streams of blue mana flowed from the orb into the crystal. Taehyun watched the orb’s value plummet and hummed a cheerful tune.

“It’s filling up nicely. Filling up fast. Perfect!”

The volatile crystal orb had been reduced to a mere battery.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep