Receiving Bladi’s send-off, Gaon left Alter Tower.
And once he was a certain distance away, Gaon stopped moving and took out a communication crystal orb from his pocket.
Swaaak!
When he injected Pacheonki, the communication crystal orb glowed.
And shortly after, a voice flowed out.
-Yes, Lord Gaon.
It was Graxios’s voice.
“The matter at Alter Tower is done. No Abyss either.”
-You worked hard!
“And Alter Tower has decided to join the alliance.”
-I’ll prepare right away.
“By the way…….”
Gaon trailed off.
Graxios waited silently.
Soon, Gaon continued.
“The Tower Master of Alter Tower, Bladi, has entered the 8th Circle.”
-What? The 8th Circle?
Graxios asked back in a dazed voice.
“Yes, the 8th Circle. He just entered, but it’s still a world apart from the 7th Circle, so keep that in mind.”
-……Yes, understood.
Gaon could sense regret in Graxios’s voice.
He could guess what he was feeling.
“You’re not far off either, so don’t be too envious.”
-Ah, I’m sorry.
“No need to apologize. I mean it when I say you’re not far off, so prepare yourself. Tell Balversa too.”
Gaon had requested Kerhen to produce the elixir.
And by now, Kerhen would have started producing the elixir.
Gaon had no intention of monopolizing the produced elixirs.
The main purpose was to check if they had any effect on him, who had entered the 9th Circle.
In other words, he only needed a portion, and he planned to use the rest all for his subordinate mages.
Prioritizing those with potential, like Graxios and Balversa.
-Yes!
At Gaon’s words, the regret disappeared from Graxios’s voice.
And Gaon brought up the main topic.
“I’m heading to Lude Tower now. Anything I need to know?”
He was curious if any new information had come in while he was handling the Alter Tower matter.
-By now, the matters of Tower of Fire and Tower of Wind should have spread throughout Lude Tower.
“Didn’t the Tower Master side say they were blocking the information?”
-It seems it eventually leaked because it’s such a big deal.
-It’s an incredibly huge incident, after all.
What Gaon had done at Tower of Fire and Tower of Wind wasn’t ordinary.
Honestly, only Gaon was unfazed; even allies like Graxios and Balversa would be shocked by it.
“Hmm, I guess I need to go straight there and start.”
Gaon let out a groan as he answered.
“Then I’ll contact you after everything’s done.”
-Yes.
With Graxios’s answer, Gaon ended the communication.
And after storing the crystal orb in his pocket, he immediately cast Teleport.
***
Lude Tower Elder Council.
Currently, in the elder conference room at the center of the Elder Council, the leaders and high-ranking executives of the factions leading Lude Tower were gathered, having a secret discussion.
To be precise, not all factions were gathered.
Only the three factions excluding the Tower Master faction led by Tower Master Mild were gathered.
And not everyone had speaking rights.
The three faction leaders.
And five who held significant positions in the tower regardless of faction.
Speaking rights were only for those eight.
“Everyone’s heard, right?”
Afern, the former Great Elder, the head of the Elder Council, and the leader of the Elder Faction, opened his mouth.
-If you’re talking about Tower of Fire.
“We can’t leave out Tower of Wind either.”
At Afern’s words, those with speaking rights each said a word.
And Afern nodded and said.
“No need to explain, then.”
He had planned to explain if anyone didn’t know.
Even if it took time, it couldn’t be helped.
Because the discussion they were about to have required knowing everything to properly express opinions.
But fortunately—no, naturally—everyone knew.
After all, not knowing about such a big incident even now?
They wouldn’t qualify to be here.
Afern scanned the surroundings and asked.
“What does everyone think?”
Currently, Gardion Tower’s prestige was rising exponentially.
The problem was that Gardion Tower and Lude Tower were at war.
Moreover, considering the situation at Tower of Fire, staying still like this was dangerous.
They had to make a decision somehow.
Either wage all-out war before their prestige rose further, or surrender.
The one who spoke first to Afern’s question was Becom.
“Whether it’s Tower of Fire or Tower of Wind, it was all done by Gaon alone. If Gaon comes to Lude Tower now, can we stop him?”
At Becom’s words, silence fell.
Not only Afern, but no one opened their mouth.
Normally, they would have refuted even forcibly for checks and balances.
But this wasn’t the situation for that.
The one who broke the silence was Becom, who had created it.
“From the reactions you’ve shown just now, I think the answer is clear enough. It seems surrender is the only option.”
A bitter expression filled Becom’s face as he finished speaking.
And Tony next to him changed the topic to shift the drooping atmosphere.
“Let’s talk about surrender later and first discuss the Tower Master’s intentions. Why did he block the information?”
The incidents at Tower of Fire and Tower of Wind were information that should have been reported long ago.
But it wasn’t reported.
Because someone had intentionally blocked the information.
The investigation revealed that the one who blocked the information was Intelligence Director Silpia.
Silpia was part of the Tower Master faction.
In other words, Silpia blocked it, but the one who gave the order would be Tower Master Mild.
That’s why it was even more puzzling.
Why did Mild block the information?
And such important information for the tower’s future at that.
At Tony’s words, no one answered.
They just glanced at each other.
And again, Becom opened his mouth.
“It’s because he doesn’t want surrender.”
At Becom’s words, everyone’s gaze turned to Becom.
“Didn’t everyone think of surrender?”
And Becom mentioned ‘surrender’ again, which he had brought up earlier, and continued.
“If we surrender, we need a scapegoat. Who will be the scapegoat?”
At Becom’s question, everyone looked at each other.
And everyone realized.
They were all thinking of the same person.
“You all thought of the Tower Master, right? Does the Tower Master not know that?”
“That makes sense. But I have one question about your opinion.”
Afern interrupted Becom’s words.
“If it was information that could be blocked forever, fine. But why bother with this big information that we were bound to find out? Delaying it a few days wouldn’t change the situation.”
Several nodded as if agreeing with Afern’s question.
And Becom answered with an uncomfortable face.
“Actually, I have something to say related to that. Recently, Silpia went on a business trip near Gardion Tower. Perhaps he made contact with Gardion then…….”
“……!”
“Is that true?”
“Are you serious!?”
It wasn’t just Afern who was surprised.
Without exception, everyone had surprised faces.
It was right then.
Kwaaaang…….
Gugugugu…….
An explosion sounded, and the ground shook.
“……!”
“……!”
And everyone there panicked.
The Elder Council was one of Lude Tower’s important facilities.
Explosions or ground shaking shouldn’t happen here.
Afern stood up abruptly from his seat.
“I’ll go check.”
And he left the conference room.
Leaving the conference room, Afern raised his mana and thought.
What on earth happened?
Afern knew something about the explosion that had just occurred.
It was the ‘explosion’ he had ordered as a ‘signal’ for when an urgent matter that needed immediate confirmation arose.
What had happened to cause the explosion?
Soon arriving at the source of the explosion, Afern slightly furrowed his brow.
Green smoke was visible.
Red for when an identity that shouldn’t be discovered was exposed.
Blue if Mild tried to start a civil war.
Green for other situations—they had agreed on that.
Afern immediately turned direction.
And he left the Elder Council and entered the nearby teahouse ‘Traveler’s Rest’.
Traveler’s Rest was empty.
There was a notice at the entrance saying it wasn’t open for business.
It was natural for it to be empty.
Afern had seen the notice too.
The reason he visited Traveler’s Rest anyway was to meet the teahouse owner.
“Fering.”
Afern called the teahouse owner ‘Fering’.
Then Fering, who was inside, appeared.
Fering’s expression was very urgent.
And in Fering’s hand was a document.
Afern asked Fering.
“What’s going on?”
“Gaon has appeared. He’s meeting the Tower Master right now. We’re planning to withdraw.”
“……What?”
Afern frowned and asked back.
Gaon suddenly appeared?
And Mild was already meeting Gaon?
“Did Mild go outside the tower?”
“No. Both are in the central tower. I don’t know how he entered, but it’s certain they’re having a conversation now.”
“……Why withdraw?”
“It’s the upper directive.”
“Hmm…….”
Afern let out a low groan.
And Fering said with a serious face and voice.
“This is personal advice. Don’t stand against Gaon. For the sake of the future, it’s better to prostrate yourself…….”
Having finished the warning, Fering bowed his head slightly in greeting and went back inside.
Afern looked in the direction Fering disappeared and thought.
Mild, what on earth are you thinking……!
For what reason had Mild brought Gaon in?
***
Alus Mountains, the mountain range adjacent to Lude Tower.
Arriving at Alus Mountains, Gaon expanded his senses.
The reason Gaon came to Alus Mountains instead of Lude Tower was because there was a secret passage leading to Lude Tower.
He hadn’t known about the secret passage originally.
It was the place Tower Master of Lude Tower, Mild, had informed him of.
Found it.
Soon finding the destination, Gaon headed there.
Shortly after, arriving in front of a huge rock, Gaon walked straight toward the rock.
And Gaon entered the rock.
Naturally, he didn’t break the rock to enter.
The rock was the entrance to the secret passage, disguised with illusion magic.
Swish.
Gaon checked the surroundings.
Alarm magic was installed.
It was low-level enough to dismantle immediately.
But Gaon didn’t dismantle it.
Because triggering the alarm magic was the contact method.
Gaon walked straight, letting the alarm magic activate.
Who is it?
Not long after walking along the passage, Gaon could sense a presence appearing at the end of the passage.
The aura of the waiting presence was presumed to be a 6th Circle mage.
That was all.
He couldn’t tell who it was.
But one thing was certain.
It was a presence sent by Mild.
Shortly after arriving at the end of the passage, Gaon could meet the waiting 6th Circle mage.
“Hello, I’m Silpia.”
“The Intelligence Director?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
It was Silpia.
Knowing that the mage’s identity was the Intelligence Director of Lude Tower, a 6th Circle who had personally brought Mild’s letter to Gardion, Gaon immediately brought up the main topic.
“I want to meet the Tower Master right away.”
Gaon wanted to meet Mild immediately.
Not to discuss who the betrayers who had turned to the Demon Realm in Lude Tower were.
There was something he needed to confirm before that.