Chapter 143: Retrieval and Revelation

“……Do you mean you’ll help stop Gaon?”

Rai paused slightly at Adela’s words before asking with a stern face.

“No. We need to retrieve the artifact.”

Adela shook her head as she answered.

Oppose Gaon?

Considering the current situation on the continent, opposition was an impossible task.

Rather, it was a situation where they needed to join forces.

Adela only intended to retrieve the demonic energy artifact prepared by the Eon Kingdom.

“Ah, in that case, sure.”

Rai, whose face had stiffened, smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.

And after thinking for a moment, he answered.

“How about sending Sir Marma?”

Sending a knight order to another country wasn’t an easy matter.

Given the scale, it could lead to diplomatic issues with neighboring countries or the country itself.

However, if it was the one-man knight order, the Golden Lion Knight Order?

No diplomatic problems would arise.

They would move very discreetly and quickly.

And that didn’t mean there would be any shortcomings in carrying out the mission.

Marma was strong enough to have made the Golden Lion Knight Order one of the top ten knight orders single-handedly.

In other words, he was optimized for this mission.

“Wasn’t he scheduled to be dispatched to Coexistence Zone 18?”

As Adela recalled, Marma was on standby for dispatch to Coexistence Zone 18.

He couldn’t perform this mission.

“He was originally scheduled, but it’s been put on hold.”

“On hold?”

“Yes, unlike initially, there are only minor skirmishes, and the main demon forces aren’t moving. According to the analysis that they might be plotting something elsewhere, it was decided to have some personnel, including Sir Marma, on standby.”

“Ah, then let’s ask Sir Marma.”

Gaon looked at the three slumped in front of him.

They’re seriously targeting me now…

All three were members of Kurshum.

And not ordinary members, but executives.

To become an executive in Kurshum, one had to lead a faction.

In other words, these three were each leaders heading their own factions.

And the reason these three, who should be deep inside the demon faction, had come here was precisely because of Gaon.

Naturally, not to converse.

It was to kill Gaon.

A powerful force moving to kill him.

For most people, it was a situation that could only bring despair.

That’s welcome news.

However, Gaon wasn’t in the category of ‘most people.’

Gaon was very pleased with the current situation.

He was planning to go kill them anyway, and they were saving him the trouble of going there?

Of course, if he kept killing them as they appeared, eventually they wouldn’t come.

To finish it off, the day would come when Gaon had to go to the demon faction himself.

Gaon looked forward to that day and waved his hand.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Then, the necks of the three who had been slumped dropped off.

Gaon waved his hand once more.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three corpses burst into flames.

And then.

“Dad, I’m back from handling it!”

Kring, who had gone to clean up the palace on Gaon’s orders, returned.

“Good work. Was it difficult?”

“No! I’ve seen it all before!”

Kring answered with a bright smile.

“I see.”

Gaon nodded and thought.

Well, yeah, he just couldn’t speak back then.

Even in the days when he couldn’t speak, Kring was smart enough to understand Gaon’s words very well.

Now, having become even smarter through evolution, there was no need to say more.

“Dad, where are we going now?”

At Kring’s question, Gaon fell into thought.

He had finished cleaning up the palace, and soon someone from the Aiol Viscount Family would come.

In other words, there was no need to worry about the Eon Kingdom anymore.

Should I go to Coexistence Zone 18?

He had just received a report on the situation in Coexistence Zone 18.

Leading the demon forces that appeared in the north of Coexistence Zone 18 was a demon marquis.

And currently, the demon faction and the human forces stationed in Coexistence Zone 18 were in a standoff.

If Gaon got involved in the current situation?

The standoff would break immediately.

…No.

After deliberation, Gaon erased Coexistence Zone 18 from his mind.

If it wasn’t a standoff, he would have gone to Coexistence Zone 18.

To save as many people as possible.

But since it was a standoff, it was actually a peaceful situation.

If the standoff broke?

Many would die.

It’s better to clean up other places while they’re focused there.

And being in a standoff was the same as having their feet tied.

Considering the scale of the demon faction stationed in the north of Coexistence Zone 18, the forces in other coexistence zones had to be weak.

Right now, it seemed better to eliminate the demon forces in other coexistence zones rather than going to Coexistence Zone 18.

“Shall we go to the coexistence zones now and check your strength?”

Having finished his thoughts, Gaon said.

Then Kring answered with a bright smile.

“Yes! Sounds good!”

In the central grand tent of the demon faction located in the north of Coexistence Zone 18.

The owner of the grand tent and demon marquis ‘Gerugona’ was staring at the map.

“……”

Gerugona, staring at the map, said nothing.

He just looked at the map with a face full of irritation.

And the aides had no choice but to tense up at Gerugona’s reaction.

It made sense, as this wasn’t the first or second time they had experienced such a situation.

How many aides had lost their heads over a slight mistake?

The reason these aides were here in the first place was because all the previous aides had died.

It was right then.

“These damned bastards…”

Gerugona let out a voice full of irritation and anger.

And the aides flinched, gauging Gerugona’s mood.

“They said just stay put, yet they dare deceive me? These bastards to chew and eat…”

At Gerugona’s continued mutter, the aides inwardly sighed in relief without showing it.

Fortunately, Gerugona’s anger wasn’t directed at the aides.

It was clearly anger toward the leadership in the newly created holy site ‘Tarun’ in this Middle World.

“Hoo…”

Soon, Gerugona let out a deep breath, calming his anger.

And then he called the chief aide sitting beside him.

“Kataren.”

“Yes.”

“The estimated arrival time for the item?”

An item was coming from Tarun.

An incredible item that would end this boring, tedious situation.

“It’s scheduled to arrive at 2:15 PM tomorrow.”

“That’s late.”

“I’m sorry. Since it’s such an important item, the escort…”

“Enough.”

Gerugona cut off Kataren’s excuse as if he didn’t want to hear it.

And then he asked.

“With that, it’ll be fine, right?”

There was no subject.

But Kataren, who had served Gerugona for a very long time from the demon world through the holy site to now, understood what he meant and answered.

“Yes, Marquis, please wait here for a moment. As soon as the item arrives, I’ll sweep away all the fools following the heavens.”

“Good.”

Gerugona smiled satisfactorily at Kataren’s answer and looked back.

Behind were the nobles under Gerugona, silently watching the meeting.

At Gerugona’s gaze, the nobles straightened their postures.

And after thinking for a moment, Gerugona called two nobles.

“Set, Murdo. You two need to put in some effort.”

“Yes, understood.”

“We receive the order!!”

At Gerugona’s words, Set and Murdo stood up abruptly from their seats and answered as if it were natural, just like Kataren had.

Hearing the two demons’ answers, Gerugona waved his hand.

“Everyone leave. I need to rest now.”

At Gerugona’s words, the subordinate nobles and aides watching from behind all stood up and left.

Left alone, Gerugona extended his hand to the side.

Then, a crystal orb from the display stand flew over.

Gerugona injected demonic energy into the crystal orb.

Swoosh…

Then, the crystal orb emitted a strange purple light, and soon stars appeared all over the crystal orb.

Gerugona examined the stars closely.

And the stars began to disappear one by one.

Soon, all the stars vanished.

“Hmm…”

Gerugona let out a low groan.

And he furrowed his brow.

Why the hell isn’t the prophecy working?

What Gerugona had just done was future prophecy.

Not a precise prophecy of what exactly would happen in the future.

Gerugona didn’t have such an ability.

Instead, it was a prophecy that could clearly tell fortune or misfortune.

That’s why it was more problematic.

He wanted to divine fortune or misfortune, but he couldn’t.

This case…

It wasn’t the first time.

There had been times when he couldn’t divine fortune or misfortune.

But that was because a very special being was involved.

Could it be that person has crossed over? But preparations aren’t ready yet…

Gerugona pushed the crystal orb aside with a confused face.

And looking at the map, he thought.

I need to go back quickly and check.

Marma, the leader of the Golden Lion Knight Order, looked at the capital walls of the Eon Kingdom ahead and let out a short breath.

“Finally arrived.”

Marma’s expression looking at the walls was the epitome of determination.

He had no choice but to be determined.

What Marma had to do now was, in a way, like waging a ‘war’ alone.

It’d be nice if they hand it over peacefully…

Marma recalled the item he had to retrieve this time.

It was an artifact that produced demonic energy, no less.

He hoped the Eon Kingdom would just hand it over, but no matter how he looked at it, that didn’t seem likely.

A very fierce resistance was expected.

If it were up to him, he wanted to retrieve the item without killing a single person.

But the Eon Kingdom’s power wasn’t weak.

If they resisted, he would inevitably see blood.

Hm?

Arriving at the gate while lost in thought, Marma couldn’t help but be flustered.

It was because of the ‘flag’ hanging on the gate.

Normally, the gate would have the flag of the country or the ruling family.

In other words, the Eon Kingdom’s or the Eon royal family’s flag should be hanging now.

But no matter how he looked, it wasn’t the Eon Kingdom’s or the Eon royal family’s flag.

And it wasn’t an unfamiliar flag either.

It was very familiar.

Why is Varta’s flag…?

It was precisely the ‘Varta Kingdom’s’ flag.

He hadn’t seen wrong.

No matter how many times he looked, it was clearly the Varta Kingdom’s flag.

That’s why it was a problem.

Where was this place?

The capital of the Eon Kingdom.

Yet how was the Varta Kingdom’s flag hanging in the capital?

And unlike the flag, the armor of the knights and soldiers guarding the gate still bore the ‘Eon Kingdom’s’ emblem.

What kind of contradictory situation was this?

…Could it be!!

With the sudden thought, Marma’s eyes flashed.

Has Gaon already…?

There was a monster in the Varta Kingdom.

Precisely ‘Gaon.’

If Gaon had visited the capital?

The current situation could be fully explained.

I need to ask.

He couldn’t know by thinking alone.

To confirm, Marma approached the knight guarding the gate.

“Your identification…”

“Here.”

Before the knight could finish, Marma handed over his identification.

And the knight who checked the identification looked at Marma with a surprised face and exclaimed.

“It’s an honor to meet you, sir. I am Ator, vice captain of the capital defense unit of the Eon Kingdom—no, the Varta Kingdom.”

“……!”

At Ator’s greeting, Marma’s eyes flashed.

Just now, Ator had said he belonged to the Varta Kingdom, not the Eon Kingdom.

It seemed the situation he had thought of earlier had occurred.

Since there might be parts different from his thoughts, Marma began conversing with Ator to confirm.

“If you don’t mind, I have a few questions; may I ask?”