Chapter 51: The Perfect Lure

“Why? As bait?”

“Yes, surely the Gardion mages wouldn’t ignore a city or village in crisis!”

“That’s a big bait you’re asking for. How do you plan to kill him?”

“I’ll use this.”

Luhan pulled out the Patrin’s Eruption from his pocket.

Recognizing it, Batan’s eyes gleamed.

“Oh, Patrin’s Eruption? And the fuel?”

“A 7-star mana stone.”

“Wow, that could vaporize an entire village.”

“To catch a 7th Circle Archmage, this level of investment is necessary. In a way, it’s for the 2nd Division’s benefit, so hand over a city generously.”

“Is there such a thing as fate?”

“…?”

Luhan was puzzled by Batan’s sudden talk of fate.

“It just so happens that the location of this Gaon fellow is quite perfect…”

Trailing off, Batan grinned and continued.

“Elrin.”

“You mean Elrin in Bretan?”

“Yes, ruled by the Patrin Ducal House!”

Batan exclaimed, slightly excited.

“Patrin’s Eruption, a masterpiece created by Raul Patrin, the tragic genius abandoned by his family, to burn down his own house! Doesn’t it fit perfectly?”

“You’re giving me Elrin?”

Luhan asked, incredulous.

Elrin was a major city.

While Luhan would love to use a big city as bait, it would cause significant damage to the 2nd Division. Was Batan serious?

“Hmm, it’s where the Ritual of Sacrifice is installed…”

Batan trailed off, looking thoughtful, then glanced at Luhan.

“…?”

Luhan raised his right eyebrow at Batan’s gaze.

Batan smiled and said, “If Patrin’s Eruption goes off, the Ritual of Sacrifice will be destroyed too, right?”

“Likely so.”

Luhan understood what Batan wanted—the Source of Life.

“I’ll speak to the Elder to send one.”

“Good. Since it’s you, Luhan, I’ll trust you and hand it over first.”

Batan replied with a satisfied expression, then shouted toward the door.

“Behid!”

Creak.

The door opened, and Behid entered.

“You called?”

“Guide him to Parn. Tell him to hand over Elrin.”

“Yes, Division Leader.”

Behid responded, and Batan looked at Luhan.

“Let’s hope we don’t meet again. Resolve this and return.”

“I feel the same. Farewell.”

Luhan stood, leaving with Behid.

As soon as they left, Batan’s smile vanished.

His face contorted as he muttered, “What? Feel the same? That filthy rat…”

Gritting his teeth, he stared at the chair Luhan had sat in and extended his hand.

Crunch!

The chair compressed into a small orb.

“Marlin!”

“Yes!”

“Replace everything that damn Luhan touched. He might’ve left a curse, so do it yourself.”

Gaon let out a groan.

He looked at Parn, still prostrated before him.

Parn had sincerely shared everything he knew.

Thanks to him, Gaon learned much.

In a year, the 2nd Division planned to activate the Ritual of Sacrifice to create a large amount of the Source of Life, using it to open rifts to the Demon Realm across Bretan.

That wasn’t the end—further devastating plans for the human faction were lined up.

If I’d gone just a bit further into the future, it would’ve been catastrophic.

If it had been 51 or 52 years instead of 50, the continent’s situation would’ve been unimaginably worse.

Just then—

Hum!

A crystal orb behind him glowed, shifting from blue to green, then red, and back to green before fading.

It wasn’t a communication orb or a mere decorative one—mana waves had emanated with the light.

It was a signal.

Gaon looked at Parn, who seemed slightly startled, having felt the mana wave.

“Speak.”

Gaon addressed him with a stern demeanor.

“It’s a signal that a messenger from the division is coming,” Parn replied.

“A messenger?”

“Yes, Behid, one of the 2nd Division Leader Batan’s right-hand men.”

“Any guesses why?”

Parn hesitated, then answered.

“He came before you arrived, my Lord. Coming again likely means they know you’re here.”

“Here to kill me, then.”

Parn flinched, hurriedly saying, “I’ll contact them immediately. If they know you’re the Lord…”

“No.”

Gaon cut him off.

“I still don’t know the 2nd Division Leader’s intentions—what he’s plotting with the 3rd Elder, why he didn’t report to me. His right-hand man should know plenty.”

“…!”

Parn started, then slammed his head to the ground.

“My loyalty lies with you, my Lord!”

“I’ll trust you.”

“Thank you!”

“When will he arrive?”

“In three hours, via a secret passage.”

“Three hours…”

Gaon trailed off, thinking, A right-hand man would know more.

His original plan was to kill Parn and destroy the Ritual of Sacrifice across Bretan.

But Parn’s misunderstanding and Behid’s visit changed his mind.

He’d subdue Behid and extract information.

Plenty of time to prepare.

He didn’t know Behid’s strength, but he doubted Behid surpassed Parn.

If Behid were stronger, he wouldn’t be a messenger.

Gaon turned to Parn.

“Do you have any elixirs or mana stones personally?”

“Yes! If you need anything…”

Parn paused, then quickly corrected himself.

“Let me guide you to the vault.”

“Vault?”

“Yes, treasures I’ve gathered while running the kingdom. They’re yours, my Lord.”

Lamu was utterly bewildered.

He couldn’t comprehend the situation.

Gaon had gone to kill Parn, yet Parn was alive.

It wasn’t that Gaon failed.

“Congratulations on catching the Lord’s eye,” Parn said, his eyes full of envy.

“…T-Thank you.”

Lamu responded, turning to the vault entrance.

Gaon was inside the royal vault.

What in the world…

Gaon had explained that Parn mistook him for the Abyss’s Lord, but that was it—no further details.

Lamu was curious—what had happened to make Parn act like this?

“Wow.”

Gaon let out an exclamation.

Kr!

Kring echoed with a roar of awe.

The Bretan royal vault was filled with countless weapons, jewels, and more, neatly organized for easy viewing.

Gaon headed to the area storing elixirs and their materials.

More than I expected.

Elixirs were rare, yet there were far more than anticipated, as if untouched for thirty years.

Over half were low-grade, meaningless to Gaon, but the rest were significant.

Even the low-grade ones held value for others like Rotes or Taylor.

With this…

Gaon grinned widely.

With the 7-star mana stone from Parn and these mid-to-high-grade elixirs, he thought, I’ll reach the 8th Circle soon.

He opened his pouch and extended his hand.

The elixirs and materials floated up, sucked into the pouch.

Having collected them all, Gaon moved to the next section with a satisfied look.

Ten plain boxes sat there, emitting no energy—ordinary boxes.

But there was a reason ten such boxes were in the royal vault.

Gaon opened one.

“Oh!”

He exclaimed.

“Bonds?”

Surprisingly, the box contained bonds from the Holy Empire of Seionia, ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 gold.

He glanced at the other nine boxes, assuming they held bonds too.

Gaon collected all the Seionia bonds and checked the next box.

This time, it was bonds from the Kerhen Workshop.

Smiling broadly, he collected them and moved to the next.

His smile vanished.

He saw bonds that shouldn’t exist—from Daion, a nation that betrayed humanity.

Checking further, he found bonds from Mortin and Myun as well.

…Of course, it’s the Abyss.

Parn was part of the Abyss, aligned with the Demon Realm.

It wasn’t strange for them to hold bonds from traitorous nations.

Better keep these.

They’d be useful when he invaded the Demon Realm.

Gaon collected all the bonds from the remaining boxes and moved to the weapon display.

Near the palace, Behid spoke to Luhan.

“Two minutes to arrival.”

Luhan nodded, then asked, “Is the 1st Branch Leader still the same?”

“…In what way?”

“Has he crossed the wall?”

“You mean his realm? Yes, he crossed it four years ago.”

“I see.”

Luhan nodded again, and the conversation ended.

Soon, they reached the residence of Parn, Bretan’s king and 2nd Division’s 1st Branch Leader.

“Here we are,” Behid said.

“Let’s go in.”

The escort was over.

Unlike before, Luhan took the lead.

As they walked down the corridor, Luhan tilted his head.

“Not alone?”

“What?”

Behid sounded puzzled.

“Someone’s with him.”

“That’s odd. He’s always met alone.”

“Did you mention I was coming?”

“No, I only said I’d come.”

“Hmm.”

Luhan let out a groan but didn’t stop.

It was strange, but not a big deal.

Arriving at the office, Luhan glanced at Behid, who opened the door.

Luhan stepped in, looking at Parn.

Step.

He stopped immediately.

Parn stood respectfully, while a young man sat before him, smiling brightly.

Why was Parn, the master here, acting like this?

That wasn’t the only issue.

The young man’s face was familiar.

Wait!

Realizing his identity, Luhan’s eyes gleamed.

…Gaon!