Chapter 141: Ambush in the Palace

Swish!

Traon hurriedly drew up mana to create a protective barrier in order to shield Belpur.

“Urgh!”

And then, an immense amount of demonic energy began pounding against the barrier, and Traon grimaced, letting out a short groan.

How did they get this far!

The three were clearly traitors.

So, it didn’t make sense.

The three had said they came from the Rios Empire.

Of course, they weren’t sent by the imperial family.

Given that Calvin had brought them, they were undoubtedly sent by the Belling Marquis Family.

But demonic energy?

Could the Belling Marquis Family have allied with the demon faction?

Traon set aside his thoughts about the Belling Marquis Family.

What mattered now wasn’t the Belling Marquis Family.

How could they survive this situation?

Traon quickly racked his brain while keeping an eye on the three.

However, Traon soon realized.

…It’s over!

There was no way to survive.

The reason Traon gave up was the aura emanating from the three.

Until just moments ago, the three’s auras hadn’t been properly detectable.

They were merely presumed to have crossed the wall.

But now, with the surroundings filled with demonic energy, it was crystal clear.

All three had crossed the wall.

And not the 7th-Circle wall, but the 8th-Circle wall that Traon had given up on.

Why are such beings…

Traon was bewildered.

These three wouldn’t hold ordinary positions even in the demon faction.

The likelihood was high that they were in positions to give orders to others.

What on earth had brought them here?

And not just one, but three?

With the unfolding situation, Traon had no choice but to set aside his thoughts on why the three had appeared.

The red-haired man in the middle extended his hand.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

At the same time, blood-red spears appeared.

Real blood?

A thick scent of blood could be felt.

It wasn’t just the color that was blood-red; they seemed to be actually made of blood.

And then, the blood-red spears began flying toward them.

Traon injected additional mana to reinforce the barrier.

It felt like it wouldn’t hold if left as is.

Soon, the first blood-red spear exploded, and cracks spread across the barrier.

Then, the second and third blood-red spears exploded, and the barrier was filled with fractures, looking as if it would shatter in the wind.

It only looked like it would shatter.

In the end, it held.

Of course, that didn’t mean there was no damage at all.

“Cough…”

Traon spat out a mouthful of blood.

“……!”

And Belpur was horrified.

Traon was Belpur’s reliable spear and shield.

Yet Traon was vomiting blood from a single spell?

Wh-what in the world…

The current situation was unbelievable.

It was right then.

The gray-haired man standing on the right smirked and said, “Pujan, aren’t you underestimating magic too much? In a demonic energy zone, you can’t even break through a mere 7th-Circle brat’s barrier. Heh heh.”

The red-haired man, Pujan, silently grimaced and waved his hand again.

Then, blood-red spears appeared once more.

This time, a whopping six of them.

Traon, looking at the blood-red spears, said to Belpur with difficulty, “I’m… sorry.”

Then, the first blood-red spear reached the barrier.

Crack!

The barrier, already full of fractures, shattered and vanished completely.

And the blood-red spears embedded themselves one by one into Traon’s body.

Traon’s skin withered in an instant, and he met his death before all the blood-red spears had even embedded.

And as soon as Traon died, the gray-haired man pulled a new orb from his bosom.

It was identical to the orb that had been destroyed earlier.

Whoosh!

And the demonic energy spread around began being sucked into the orb.

In that way, all the demonic energy was absorbed into the orb and disappeared.

Not a single trace of demonic energy remained.

As if it had never existed in the first place.

And Belpur couldn’t say a word.

The current situation was unbelievable.

It felt like a dream.

And Pujan, who had killed Traon, asked the gray-haired man, “How many left?”

“Two.”

The gray-haired man answered, and Pujan nodded, muttering, “Since we need to use one on Gaon, even if Seionia comes, one more should be fine.”

“Yeah.”

The gray-haired man answered Pujan’s mutter and turned his head to the blond man. “Ramuka, hurry and start. We don’t know when that guy will show up.”

The blond man, Ramuka, nodded and extended his hand.

Then, something astonishing happened.

Calvin and the palace butler, who had been standing rigidly at the entrance, floated up and swiftly flew to land in front of Belpur.

Swish! Swish!

Then, Ramuka’s eyes turned purple.

And Belpur, Calvin, and the palace butler’s eyes also turned purple.

Soon, Ramuka’s eyes returned to normal.

Naturally, Belpur, Calvin, and the palace butler’s did as well.

And as if by agreement, the three prostrated themselves simultaneously and exclaimed, “We greet our master.”

“We greet our master.”

“We greet our master.”

Hearing the three’s exclamations, Ramuka turned with a satisfied expression and asked the gray-haired man, “Forn, are you starting the work right away?”

“Yeah, we’ll offer the sacrifices tomorrow. Gather them all by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Got it. You’ll handle the ones at the entrance yourself, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll bind them, so collect them as you see fit.”

“Understood.”

Ramuka answered, and Forn turned to Pujan. “Let’s go.”

The palace renovation wasn’t something Forn would do alone.

Forn would lead the important work, but Pujan’s assistance was also needed.

With that, the two left the office and exited the building.

“Bind.”

Forn cast Bind on the knights and soldiers guarding the entrance.

And after confirming that the Bind had taken effect properly, Forn moved on to the first destination.

“But what do you plan to do if Gaon doesn’t come?”

While heading to the destination, Pujan asked Forn.

That Gaon would come.

That was just a prediction.

It wasn’t certain.

There was a possibility that, contrary to expectations, Gaon wouldn’t come.

If he didn’t come, what they had done in the palace would turn into a massive loss.

To Pujan’s question, Forn chuckled and answered, “Considering that guy’s personality, he’ll go for the palace first, right?”

Forn knew Gaon well.

The reason he knew him well was because he had waged war against Gardion Tower.

The purpose of the war back then wasn’t to destroy Gardion Tower.

It was to buy time.

And the Matun Tower, to which Forn had belonged, was quite large in scale.

As large as a typical duchy.

So, they started the war.

They thought that by sacrificing only some regions, they could achieve the goal of buying time.

But what do you know?

Gaon appeared alone at the central tower.

And he killed Forn’s master and the Tower Master of Matun Tower, Crasen.

Not just Crasen.

All the acquaintances who had led the war died.

With the deaths of the leadership, Matun Tower ultimately disintegrated and collapsed.

And Matun Tower wasn’t the only one to meet such an end.

Most forces that waged war against Gardion Tower started by having their headquarters raided.

In other words, if Gaon intended to clean up the Eon Kingdom?

He would appear at the palace first, not the front lines.

“And even if he doesn’t come, we have the next move prepared.”

In the unlikely event.

Even in the truly unlikely event that Gaon didn’t appear, it didn’t matter.

There was a next plan prepared for if Gaon didn’t come.

“You mean the Abyss?”

To Pujan’s retort, Forn smiled and answered, “Yeah, those guys seem really determined this time?”

…?!

Arriving at the capital of the Eon Kingdom, Gaon tilted his head.

The reason Gaon tilted his head was the situation inside the palace.

Magic circles and artifacts were installed all over the palace.

Of course, the magic circles and artifacts weren’t the only reason Gaon was puzzled.

What are these guys?

There were individuals harboring demonic energy in the palace.

Judging by the form of their auras, they were presumed to be mages.

And there weren’t many.

Just three.

The problem was that the three’s auras were extraordinary.

They were hiding their auras, but Gaon could be certain.

All three were 8th-Circle.

The Abyss?

The first thing that came to mind was the Abyss.

Kurshum?

And then Kurshum came to mind.

They seem like Kurshum.

All three were presumed to be mages.

The Abyss wasn’t a group of mages.

And Kurshum was a group with numerous 8th-Circle mages.

The more he thought, the more they seemed like Kurshum rather than the Abyss.

I’ll find out through interrogation.

It was right then.

“Dad, I can feel demonic energy from the palace.”

Kring said in a slightly surprised voice.

Gaon, who had been lost in thought, smiled and answered, “That’s right. By any chance, can you sense the one in the northwest?”

“Yes!”

“Could I ask you to handle that one?”

“Should I bring him alive?”

“It’d be good if you can bring him alive, but if it seems like you’ll get hurt even a little, just kill him.”

The being assigned to Kring wasn’t ordinary.

Whether Abyss or Kurshum, he would know a lot.

But capturing alive wasn’t absolutely necessary.

There were two more of similar rank.

Gaon planned to capture the other two alive while Kring dealt with the assigned one.

He could interrogate the captured two.

“Yes! Understood!”

To Gaon’s words filled with concern, Kring answered with a bright smile.

And soon, Gaon and Kring arrived at the palace entrance.

The entrance was empty.

Considering it was the palace entrance, it was definitely unusual.

However, Gaon, who already knew the situation inside, wasn’t flustered.

He passed through the entrance with Kring and entered inside.

And at the same time, Gaon could feel the three targets flinch.

Just as Gaon and Kring had detected them, the three had clearly detected Gaon and Kring.

Of course, detection didn’t change the situation.

“See you later, then.”

Gaon said to Kring.

It was time to part ways briefly.

“Yes! I’ll catch him quick!”

Kring replied to the farewell and left first.

And Gaon smirked and turned direction.

As expected!

Shortly after, Gaon’s eyes flashed.

An immense demonic energy suddenly emanated from the destination.

Since it was a situation he had already anticipated, Gaon strode forward without the slightest hesitation.

And soon, he faced the two.

One was entirely gray, from hair to clothes, and the other was entirely red.

And for some reason, the gray man looked familiar.

It felt like he’d seen him somewhere.

But since he couldn’t recall, he was presumed to be an unimportant, passing figure.

I’ll find out gradually.

Gaon stopped his thoughts about the gray man’s identity.

And he asked the two, “Are you Kurshum?”

“……”

The two didn’t answer Gaon’s question.

They merely stared at Gaon, gauging him.

Seeing the two’s reaction, Gaon was certain. They plan to run.

The two had filled the surroundings with demonic energy.

So, he thought they intended to fight.

But looking at their reaction, there was not a trace of fighting spirit.

Well…

They probably hadn’t lacked fighting spirit from the start.

The fighting spirit likely vanished from the moment they faced him directly.

As 8th-Circle, the two would have realized upon facing Gaon’s realm.

That no matter how filled with demonic energy, they couldn’t oppose a 9th-Circle mage.

Of course, Gaon had no intention of letting the two go.

Gaon waved his hand.

Whoosh!

Then, a barrier enveloping Gaon and the two appeared.

It wasn’t an ordinary barrier.

It was sturdy enough to withstand 8th-Circle magic and interfered with spatial movement.

Right then, the two’s expressions twisted.

They had clearly realized the barrier’s effect.

Gaon smiled at the two’s reaction.