VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 20

VOLUME 11: CHAPTER 20

After cutting off communication with Fior, Lark said to the beastmen in the Assembly Hall.

“You’ve heard our conversation. That’s pretty much that gist of it,” said Lark. “I will now head straight to the Iron Mountains to close the portal.”

Van sprung up to his feet and shouted, “Wait! Let me come with you!”

“I’m coming too!” said Hatch.

Lark had seen the two of them fight before. Although they currently weren’t in peak condition due to the injuries they’d sustained from fighting against the demon horde, they should be capable of pulling their weight.

The Beast King grinned, “The young ones sure are full of energy. I’m coming too, King Lark. Even if my mana is nearly depleted, I can still fight.”

“I will come with you, My King!” said Vaungur.

The Royal Guards also voiced their desire to assist the Beast King in battle.

“We will accompany you, Your Majesty!”

“We will accompany you, Your Majesty!”

Lark initially planned on going there alone after seeing the weakened state of the portal. But he deemed it wouldn’t be bad to bring these beastmen with him, as all of them were powerful in their own might.

Had Lark not found the treasure stored in the Golden Statue, it would have taken him a far longer time to expand his mana pool to this extent. And with such a mediocre mana pool, and with the absence of the Sword of Morpheus, even he would be uncertain of victory if he fought against all of these beastmen on his own.

Just the Beast King alone was probably equivalent to several royal court magicians combined.

“How about you, Lord Urza?” said Hatch.

The bear beastman shook his head. “I’ve grown old. And with these injuries, I’ll only be a burden if I tag along. I will stay here and help organize the army. It will be prudent to be prepared in the event that the demons’ remnants suddenly start attacking Talverton.”

Before Lark and his group arrived in the Talverton Stronghold, thousands of demons had already breached and crossed the defensive lines, and the majority of them had already spread throughout various territories in the Alliance.

As the last bastion in the South, the Talverton Stronghold couldn’t afford to fall. And Urza believed someone needed to stay behind to reorganize the army and manage the stronghold. And he, a veteran who’d served the military longer than these officers, fitted this role the most.

“I see,” said Hatch, “then, we’ll leave this place to you, Lord Urza.”

“I will pray to the Three Gods for your victory,” said Urza.

Before leaving the Assembly Hall, Lark scanned the faces of all the beastmen who wished to accompany him to the Iron Mountains. Naturally, his two disciples were also coming with him.

Lark said straightforwardly, “Before we leave, you need to be aware of two things. First, I will not be responsible for your safety. My primary purpose is to close the portal, your lives are secondary.”

The beastmen nodded at these words, as though they were only natural. As proud warriors of the Alliance, none of them had the intention of burdening Lark.

“Second, it’ll be impossible to kill all of the demons in the Iron Mountains without destroying the mountains themselves,” said Lark. “Therefore, our goal is to thin out the horde as much as possible. And once we’ve achieved that, we’ll return to Talverton.”

Hatch, who turned out to be quite intelligent despite his brute-like appearance, didn’t miss the words ‘without destroying the mountains themselves’ uttered by Lark.

“Wait, destroy the mountains?” said Hatch bewilderedly. “You make it sound as though it’s possible.”

“It is possible,” said Lark.

“W-What, you’re kidding, right?”

It was not only Hatch who was baffled by the declaration of Lark. Even the other beastmen doubted if such a feat was possible with the strength of a mere mortal.

“This isn’t the time and place for me to joke around,” said Lark. “As I’ve said before, it is possible. But just because I can, doesn’t mean I should. As you’ve seen in the crystal, there are survivors in the Iron Mountains. Do you want me to kill all of the demons, along with them?”

At that last statement, Van glared at both Hatch.

“Hey, it’s not like I’m telling him to do it, Van,” said Hatch.

“Stupid whale,” said Van. “Just shut your mouth and listen. We’re running out of time.”

Hatch sighed. Gone were the days when beastmen would cower just from meeting his gaze. He couldn’t even threaten or rebuke the black rabbit, as he and Hatch had already become friends.

It felt ridiculous that he was being openly dismissed like this.

“We should also take into consideration of the cost-efficiency of such a destructive spell into account,” said Lark. “Things don’t always go as planned, and even if we destroy the mountains, there’s a chance that several demons would still survive.”

The beastmen agreed to this.

By size, the Iron Mountains were more than a dozen times larger than the City of Magna. It was so vast that after the beastmen conquered it, the mountainous terrain created a natural barrier separating the United Grakas Alliance from the Wasteland.

“I will forcefully close the portal,” said Lark. “And with my remaining mana, I will try to kill as many demons as I can. I’ll target the Fire Giants, Twin-headed Wyverns, and Parasitic Nests in particular, since those three pose the most threat to the stronghold. During that time, you’re free to either kill the demons or rescue the survivors.”

Van clenched his fists. His eyes were filled with resolve.

“Again, my disciples aside, I will not be responsible for anyone’s safety,” said Lark, “remember that.”

“We know,” said Van.

“There’s no need to worry about us, King Lark,” said the Beast King. “Even if you leave us alone in the Iron Mountains, we’ll survive.”

Lark doubted that.

Although he wasn’t sure about the Beast King, he was certain that the rest would perish. The number of demons that had entered the Iron Mountains was not something these few beastmen could handle.

Lark decided to keep such thoughts to himself. After hearing the affirmations, Lark led the group and went outside, toward where the Scylla was.

“Blackie,” said Lark.

“God Evander!”

As always, the Scylla was eagerly waiting for Lark’s return.

“How’s your body?” said Lark. “Do you have enough strength left to take all of us to the Iron Mountains?”

As though flexing its muscles, all seven heads rose, its tail stiffened, and its claws planted deep into the ground.

“Of course! The demons are nothing! We can take you anywhere, at any time, God Evander!”

“I’m taking them with me,” said Lark as he gazed at the beastmen behind him. “To conserve my mana, let them ride on top of your body, Blackie.”

The Scylla hesitated for a second, but eventually nodded its heads. “Of course. As you will, our God. We shall let those things ride our body, if it is God Evander’s command.”

Lark knew that the prideful Scylla was already making a compromise by agreeing to this. Like Dragons, Scyllas wouldn’t let just anyone ride their bodies.

“Thank you,” said Lark.

“Should I call Agnus over here? That damn hatchling is still hiding,” said the Scylla.

Lark gazed in the direction where he could feel the faint mana signature of the young dragon.

“Just leave him be, for now,” said Lark.

“Kakaka! Even God Evander thinks the hatchling is useless, huh?”

Undoing the polymorph spell to revert to his dragon body would consume vast amounts of mana. And it would be impossible for Agnus to pull it off, with his depleted mana pool.

In his human form, Agnus would still probably fare better than the beastmen, but Lark didn’t want to gamble his chances. In the event that the young dragon died while following him around, Lark would find it hard to face Vulcan.

“King Lark. It keeps calling you a God, are you actually one?” said the Beast King.

The Scylla snorted upon hearing this, “Hah! How ignorant! Of cours—

“—They’re just words of endearment,” said Lark. He wordlessly told the Scylla not to speak any further. “Don’t think too much of it. All of you, please get on.”

The Beast King seemed to have a few more questions in his head, but decided to keep them to himself for now.

After everyone had boarded the Scylla’s body, the seven-headed monster roared. The ground shook, and a gust of wind blew as the Scylla spread its two pairs of wings wide. It jumped up, flapped its wings, and flew toward the Iron Mountains at top speed.

Lark cast a simple mana barrier to prevent anyone from falling off, and to block the wind from hitting their bodies.

Several minutes after leaving the stronghold, the Scylla spoke.

“God Evander, it seems that someone wishes to speak with you.”

Lark noticed it too.

The intercity communication crystal stored inside the compartment of the golden throne was active right now. It was an artifact capable of sending messages despite the distance, and only five of them existed right now. One was with the Imperial Envoys, one was with Lark, one was with the Boris Brothers, and the rest were located in the Kingdom of Lukas’ capital.

Who was trying to contact him from the other side?

Lark opened the compartment and took out the communication crystal. It was an item created by combining steel and mithril, and its core was created by using a high-grade mana stone.

Upon applying his mana into it, he heard a familiar voice.

“Your Majesty.”

It was a female voice.

“Secretary Irene,” said Lark.

“Apologies. I know you told me to contact you only if it’s an important matter, but Sir Ninirukiriri insisted that I send you this message.”

Ninirukiriri?

It was an unexpected name.

Why did the former Chief Engineer of the Third Weapons Factory suddenly wish to speak with him?

“Ninirukiriri?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Secretary Irene. “The Chief Engineer said that – W-Wait, please don’t be hasty! What are you saying! Please don’t do this! At the very least, wait for His Majesty to—”

Irene’s words were cut off, and a dwarf’s high-pitched voice was heard.

“Your Majesty!” shrieked the dwarf.

This was the first time Lark heard the Chief Engineer sound this excited. He could even hear him panting through the communication crystal. Of the few occasions they’d met, Nini had always appeared to him composed and elegant.

“We’ve finished the adamantite cubes you requested!”

Several months ago, Lark requested the dwarves who’d come to the capital to create cubes made of adamantite for him. Although Garma, the blacksmith of Lion City, was capable of handling mithril, he wasn’t capable of handling adamantite. Fortunately, Ninirukiriri knew the methods and process of smelting adamantite.

“Good work,” said Lark.

With this, once Lark returned, he would no longer need to be too reliant on the Sword of Morpheus for an external source of mana. Moreover, unlike mithril, a cube made of adamantite should be capable of blocking stronger attacks.

“But surely, you didn’t call me just to tell me that, right?” said Lark.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” said Ninirukiriri, still panting excitedly. “After creating two adamantite cubes, we immediately proceeded with finishing the core of the magic tower in the capital.”

There was a pause, as Ninirukiriri tried to rein in his excitement.

“But the magic tower! It was marvelous! No, marvelous isn’t befitting a word,” said Ninirikuriri. “It was extraordinary! It was phenomenal! We didn’t immediately see how miraculous those overlapping runes and magic formations were! But after we’ve finished its base and shell, we realized its true essence!”

Ninirukiriri squealed like a pig. “As a dwarf, I’ll be smitten for saying this but! That tower! It’s capable of mass destruction! The tower we’ve envisioned! Once complete, it’ll be a tower capable of killing even a Dragon in a single blow!”

Dragons were creatures revered as deities in the Dwarven Kingdom. If other dwarves had heard this, Ninirukiriri would have been taken to the chopping block for the crime of blasphemy to the Ancient Fire Dragons.

Well, Lark could understand Ninirukiriri’s reaction. Unlike the imitation towers that had started spreading from Wizzert City, the real tower was a hundred times more powerful. It was no wonder the dwarf became so enamored with the project.

“It thought the Lair and the power suits were the pinnacle of dwarven engineering, but after getting my hands on the tower’s blueprint, and after nearly completing it, I am now sure! This! This is the true pinnacle of magical engineering!”

Lark heard the dwarf inhale loudly.

“Your Majesty! Please give us permission to use another pinnacle-grade mana stone for the core of the Magic Tower!”

After a lengthy introduction, Lark finally heard the reason why the dwarf contacted him via the communication crystal. It was apparent that he became so engrossed with the completion and perfection of the magic tower in that capital, that he could no longer even wait for Lark to come back.

“I will… No, we will make the perfect magic tower for you! A tower with an adamantite core! Covered with runes engraved with the dust from pinnacle-grade mana stones! A tower capable of mass destruction!”

For several seconds, Lark fell silent.

Although it was great that the dwarf was this enthusiastic with perfecting the magic tower, Lark was hesitant in using that much pinnacle-grade mana stones for a single tower. Pinnacle-grade mana stones were a limited resource, considering the fact that just high-grade mana stones were already considered a high-ranking noble family’s heirloom.

To get a single pinnacle-grade mana stone, he would need to kill either an adult Dragon, an adult Gryphon, or a creature of similar strength as the two.

It was hard to come up with a decision right away.

Since there were still some adamantite left in the Golden Statue, their Kingdom could opt for two magic towers instead.

The Capital was one city, and Lark was unsure if it would be wise to concentrate their firepower in a single location, especially now that it had been proven that the demons were capable of relocating the portal as they wished.

In the end, Lark said, “Focus first on completing the initial core of the Magic Tower, as instructed in the blueprint.”

“Then, regarding my suggestion—”

“—I’ll think about it,” said Lark. “This is the end of our discussion. Wait for my return, Nini.”

“B-But, Your Majest—”

“I will not repeat myself.”

The dwarf sounded crestfallen as he answered, “I hear and obey.”

Lark cut off the communication and returned the crystal inside the compartment.

“Chryselle,” said Lark.

“Master?”

“I remember you mentioning before that you rose to the rank of an Elder of Wizzert after you acquired the magic tower’s blueprint,” said Lark.

“Yes. But to be specific, it’s an incomplete blueprint,” said Chryselle.

“It’s incomplete?” said Lark.

“Yes, Master. My brother and the other Elders smuggled it from the Republic of Everfrost, through the Mullgray Pirates.”

Lark wasn’t surprised to hear of the method. Based on the location of the Republic of Everfrost on the map, this was the only plausible method for them to bypass the Empire.

Even merchants in the ports of the Kingdom and the Empire would conduct business with the pirates now and then, since there were goods obtainable only through them. And with enough bribery, government officials would turn a blind eye to the trade.

“I heard from my brother that it was taken from one of the ruins,” said Chryselle. “The blueprint was missing a portion of its bottom half, but surprisingly, after we completed the tower, it still worked despite the missing parts.”

“I see.”

So, this was why the imitation towers were severely lacking.

Lark also learned about the ruins of Everfrost when he read the memories of the Morton Twins. And the story of Chryselle corroborated his conjectures. At this point, Lark believed that there was a high chance that the ruins located in Everfrost was related to the Era of Magic, if not the Magic Empire.

If Lark wished to know more about it, it seemed that he needed to speak with Alecto, the Master of Wizzert.

After Lark and Chryselle finished their discussions, their group was finally near their destination.

A large mountain range rich in iron deposits spread throughout the distance, forming a demarcation that separated the United Grakas Alliance from the Wasteland.