Chapter 72: The Weight of a Noble

“I’m just joking. If I couldn’t even do this much, life would be too suffocating to bear.”

“That is true.”

“Dark Elves or Elves, they’re all the same. If there are good ones, there are bound to be bad ones. Isn’t it the same for Humans?”

“Metras seem to be the same way.”

“I told you, they’re all from the same stock.”

Dielka took a bottle of juice from the refrigerator under the table and poured it into a cup.

“Is this Elf tea?”

“It’s juice freshly squeezed from high-sugar fruits grown by Elves. It’s incomparably more delicious than Elf tea.”

Choi Kangjoong took a sip.

Dielka’s words were the truth.

It was on an entirely different level from the Elf tea he had tasted in Iselin’s office.

“This is delicious.”

“Would you like more?”

“Give me more.”

Choi Kangjoong drained another cup of the juice Dielka gave him.

Iselin, who was listening in secret, widened her eyes.

This was the moment she realized why Choi Kangjoong had suddenly stopped touching the Elf tea.

‘It just tasted bad!’

Iselin knew that Elf tea, with its bitter and mysterious flavor, was a drink that relied heavily on personal preference.

However, she had never once met an Elf who said Elf tea was unpleasant.

It was the same for other races.

Thus, she had vaguely assumed that everyone liked Elf tea.

In reality, there simply hadn’t been anyone who dared to tell her to her face that it tasted bad.

‘I need to find a more delicious Elf tea… No. A different drink entirely… But that goes against tradition. No. There’s no need to be bound by just Elven traditions.’

While Iselin was lost in thought, the conversation between the two continued.

“I’ll try to lure the Demons as much as possible. I’m counting on you, Outer!”

“How many do you plan to gather?”

“At least one Duke. I’ll try to gather two if I can.”

“I only told you to bring the Gate Stone; do you think that’s possible?”

“The other side won’t think I’m stupid enough to just hand over the Gate Stone either.”

Dielka started to shred the letter, then stopped and tucked it away.

She needed to keep it as evidence.

“They’ll bring forces to seize it by force?”

“Exactly. Since they aren’t fools, it’ll turn into a contest of strength. That’s where it will be decided who gets the Gate Stone. I’ll set up Gate-prevention Magic, so it’ll be hard for them to escape anyway.”

“Then we can just round them all up and consume them.”

“Exactly! Exactly! I’ll make sure to gather them properly for you!”

Dielka chimed in agreement.

As Iselin listened to the two of them getting along so well, her mood soured.

Even so, there was nothing she could do.

Choi Kangjoong, unaware of her eavesdropping, decided to accept Dielka’s suggestion to stay and hang out a while longer.

He had nothing to do until the mass production was finished anyway.

It was a frustrating time for Iselin, but Choi Kangjoong enjoyed himself as Dielka shared her battle-hardened experiences with her excellent storytelling skills.

A short while later, Choi Kangjoong departed.

Dielka tapped the desk with a satisfied expression.

She couldn’t be 100% certain, but if there were a bugging device, this was the most likely place for it to be.

‘I hope she heard.’

Dielka told Sierra to bring the Dark Elf who had delivered the letter earlier.

In her heart, she wanted to beat him to a pulp and track down the person who sent the letter.

However, she was no longer a wandering Dark Elf.

She was a Noble of Marsala and the master of Nahrromel, leader of the Dark Elves.

What she did now would be passed down to future generations as a custom or a tradition, so she couldn’t handle matters carelessly.

‘How bothersome.’

Feeling the weight of responsibility anew, Dielka decided on the Dark Elf’s punishment.

Duke Akirif took his cherished dimension ship, the Olextercy, and headed to the ranch.

What could be his purpose in going to a place that used to be a ranch before Choi Kangjoong devoured it?

“This is where the Metra ranch used to be.”

At the Demon Count’s report, Duke Akirif stood up.

Millions of Metras had lived here, and it was the site where Marquis Vespira, Count Ambie, and the Outer Mind had fought.

Of course, nothing remained now.

Sensing the traces of how not only the Demons but the dimension itself had been cleanly swallowed, Duke Akirif felt fear and excitement simultaneously.

Breaking a dimension was something even he could do.

A Great Legion Commander stronger than him could do it even better.

However, changing the very nature of a dimension was something even Demons, whose specialty was the corruption of souls, could not do.

The dimension they called the Demon Realm simply meant a place where Demons lived or where there was a lot of Demonic Energy; it didn’t mean the dimension itself had turned into Demonic Energy.

The reality was that Demonic Energy was constantly being consumed to make the dimension a suitable environment for Demons to inhabit.

“This is a new possibility. A fragment of omnipotence. Could a Crystal do something like this?”

“Couldn’t it be changed through the Dimension System?”

“No. Not even a Crystal can alter the dimension itself. This is changing the world. Can’t you feel it? This incredible potential! I can become the master of a world made only for me!”

Sticky desire dripped from Duke Akirif’s words.

“Bring me the traces immediately. No matter how small. Bring matter, energy, or anything else before me!”

The Demons took flight.

Spanning out from the center of the fierce battle, they brought anything that caught their eye to Duke Akirif.

Duke Akirif examined them closely, tossing them behind him if they weren’t what he wanted.

Even after a long time, what he sought did not appear.

There were only pieces of Metra bodies, Demon bones, or fragments of weapons.

Just as the pile of things he had discarded grew like a mountain, a black shard was delivered.

Duke Akirif raised his hand and shouted.

“I found it! It’s a fragment of the Outer Mind!”

It was a Kaitin Spike fired by a Light Titan that had broken and bounced far away, which the Air Walker had failed to recover.

It would be difficult to see great results by researching only these fragments, but if he didn’t do something, he felt like he would die from agitation.

“Find more like this! Quickly!”

At Duke Akirif’s prodding, the Demons became frantic.

He didn’t stop the sorting process even as he connected to a dimension communication from Duke Royal, who was plotting to steal the Gate Stone.

“What is it?”

— I have a proposal for you. I think you’ll like it.

“You threw my previous proposal aside, so what nerve do you have to say that now?”

— Our interests didn’t align back then.

“They did align, but your stupid brain couldn’t grasp my foresight.”

— I’ll admit you aren’t entirely wrong.

It was the greatest apology a Demon Duke could offer.

“So, what’s the proposal?”

— I need the Gate Stone, and you need the Outer Mind’s summon.

Duke Royal explained the plan.

He would lure the target with Dielka’s mother to get the Gate Stone.

Since there was a high probability the Outer Mind would come along, he suggested Duke Akirif contribute his forces to take what he wanted.

“What if the Outer Mind doesn’t come?”

— We can lure him with Dielka. He won’t stay away then.

“Hmm. How much do you need?”

— How many can you send?

“My ranch was ruined recently, so the hit was quite large. 500 ships.”

In reality, it was less than 3% of the total revenue of the Akirif Duchy, so it was mere complaining.

— That won’t be enough.

“If you had just cooperated with me, we could have fought the Outer Mind with much fewer forces than we need now.”

— …

“You’ll have to fill the deficit yourself, even if you have to go in person.”

— It can’t be helped, then.

The dimension communication cut off.

Duke Akirif jumped up and paced the deck.

‘How can I avoid seeing that idiot’s face again?’

Before long, a good idea occurred to him.

“I’ll expand the scale. If I make Dielka, the Outer Mind, and even Iselin fight each other, Duke Royal will have to enter the battlefield even if only because of the sunk costs. At that moment, I can just hand him over to the Outer Mind! It would be even better if I received the Outer Mind’s summon as a reward! I’m a genius!’

Duke Akirif cheered and began scouting for others who might join this battle.

[Mass production of Apocalids is complete.]

The middle section of the Apocalid dimension opened.

A large hollow was revealed, and within it, the Super Titans.

The Super Titans slowly emerged, boasting their majesty.

“Since they’re new, their Chitin Gauntlets are sleek.”

“Ku-eong.”

Kuongi’s back was covered in scars from being gouged or scorched in battle.

They could be erased, but it was more efficient to leave them be, as repairing the outer Chitin Gauntlet required a lot of nutrients.

“With this, there are seventy-eight Titans and five Super Titans.”

Eighty-three in total.

Furthermore, several of the Titans were not ordinary Titans.

The three Titans that had been active with Kuongi for a long time were over 900 meters in size.

Before long, they would naturally reach the Super Titan Class, meaning there would soon be nine Super Titans alone.

The other Titans had also grown in proportion to their active time, resulting in various sizes from 300 to 800 meters.

However, the Light Titans were limited to a size of 500 meters.

Since their purpose was to escort the Titans and Super Titans from smaller entities, they couldn’t fulfill their role if they became too large and sluggish.

The Titan’s basic size of 100 meters was small compared to a dimension ship.

Duke Akirif’s Olextercy alone had a length of 3 kilometers, and Iselin’s Divine Arrow was 2 kilometers long.

The new dimension ship ordered from M2721 was 5 kilometers long.

Therefore, in terms of size alone, the Super Titan Class was equivalent to the capital ships of other races, and the Titan Class served as support for those capital ships.

“Line up!”

With Kuongi at the center, the five Super Titans clustered in a circle.

A Battle Titan was mounted on each of their backs.

Seventy-two Titans and Light Titans lined up outside the Super Titans.

That sight alone gave Choi Kangjoong a thrill.

It was a scale that couldn’t even be compared to when he started with a single Walker and Warrior.

“Should I make a size in between the Cannon Giant and the Light Titan?”

In the Dimension War, he had mainly used the Giant Class called the Bomber Giant, which served as a heavy bomber and supported the Light Titans.

They were over 50 meters in size and were used to bomb enemies while carrying clusters of bomb Apocalids and Biological Torpedoes.

“I’ll need an extra-large dimension to use Bomber Giants properly, so I’ll make them later.”

From large dimensions onward, curvature became prominent, and extra-large dimensions sometimes took a nearly hemispherical form.

Because of this, there were cases where they couldn’t completely dominate the Dimensional Sea, and enemies stayed out of range of the Titans or Cannon Giants. In those instances, Bomber Giants were very useful.

“I wonder when Dielka will contact me.”

Choi Kangjoong muttered, but it was as if Dielka had heard him.

His phone rang with an unknown number, and when he answered, Iselin’s voice came through.

“Iselin?”

— Communicating only through the necklace and the Dawn Guild terminals is inconvenient in many ways, so I’m contacting you on your personal phone.

“What’s going on?”

— The location and date for Dielka’s transaction have been set.

“When and where is it?”

Choi Kangjoong felt like he was about to drool.

For some reason, he felt like this battle wouldn’t be of an ordinary scale either.

— Could you come over here? It’s in a part of the sea that doesn’t appear on the black market map I sent you.

Choi Kangjoong immediately opened a Gate and crossed over.

“Please, have a seat,” Iselin said.

On the table sat a different drink instead of Elf tea.

“Did you poison it or something?”

“Would that even work on you?”

Choi Kangjoong took a sip.

The taste was decent, so he swallowed a few more gulps.

Iselin was satisfied, and Arthil was relieved.

“When and where is it happening?”

“One week from now, at the Bakan Sea, which is quite far from Marsala. It’s further than the Separate Sea. Instead, it’s a place that is similarly far from the Demon Realm.”

“We have plenty of time, so we can just head there early.”

“However, there is a problem. Information has come in that Archduke Ventresca has moved. He is one of the ones suspected of being the prince Charigna mentioned.”

“Then there will be plenty of Demons coming too.”

“So, if it’s too much of a burden, I plan to nullify the transaction itself.”

“No. We have to do it. I like it better the more enemies there are.”

“But it’s truly dangerous. There will be at least 1,000 dimension ships, and you won’t even be able to escape through a Gate.”

“Iselin, we aren’t that weak.”

Iselin felt her mood lift at his words, which sounded almost like a provocation.