Chapter 305 - End of War Agreement (3)
It was a surprising story. The 9th circle warlock—that had been released from the grimoire, Death’s Worship—had tried to contact the emperor of Andras?
Maybe Jerem was aiming to fill the vacancy left by the former emperor, Invidia. Most of the Seven Swords had been lost, but the power of Andras was still strong. They had wide lands and a vast population, which was something that would be hard for a warlock to ignore.
Andras had humans to supply as offerings.
They occupied close to 60% of the Northern Continent. Sacrificing just 1% or 2% of the population would be enough to gain a tremendous power. If Jerem obtained the throne of Andras, Meltor would have to devastate Belfort with their full power right now.
With a cold light in his eyes, Crowd started to talk about the warlock, “Somehow, he knew my identity and looked for me. He thought I was a power-blinded traitor and said that we could control this Northern Continent if we joined hands.”
“Hah, it isn’t out of the question.”
“If I were interested in necrophilia, I would’ve thought about it for five minutes.”
Theodore laughed at Crowd’s words. It was true, despite being a joke. If Crowd had concealed this fact and colluded with Jerem, most of Andras’ population would be used as sacrifices for black magic. The Northern Continent would’ve turned to hell in one month, rather than the three months that Heathcliff had seen.
“But I didn’t want to rule over rotten corpses, so I refused.”
“Did he step back?”
“No way. He revealed his true colors on the spot. Vampires, banshees, and other things appeared behind him.” Crowd stroked his empty sheath and his eyes deepened as he looked back at the memories of that time.
After all, Jerem was a legend who had reached the status of the 9th circle. So, it was a terrible experience even for Crowd, who could be called the strongest swordsman of this era.
Crowd continued speaking in a much heavier tone, "Honestly, it was pretty dangerous. This is despite the fact that he was in a terrible state and I was in perfect condition. If my helper hadn’t arrived at that moment, it is likely that this meeting would’ve been canceled.”
“Helper?”
“Haven’t you seen him once? The bow master who possesses the ability of foresight, he helped me.
“Ah.” Theodore was convinced.
He had been wondering why the bow master hadn’t shown up with Invidia. If that person was Crowd’s helper, then it was natural that he wouldn’t join in on the wild suicide mission. For a mercenary, this was merely a contractual relationship. It was rare for mercenaries to accept a mission where they would die, even if they were paid for it.
As one knot unraveled in his head, Theodore asked another question, “So? Did you kill Jerem?”
“No, he ran away. Somehow, he couldn’t show off his full ability. It was clear that the longer the fight went on, more energy was being consumed. He held on for an hour before giving up.”
Theodore nodded. As Gluttony said, Jerem had suffered a deadly blow. Despite his opponent being inferior to him, Jerem had retreated because he couldn’t continue fighting. This meant Theodore could defeat Jerem now. Theodore had to quickly search for Jerem while he wasn’t in a perfect state.
“From now on, it is the main point.” At this time, Crowd spoke with a serious expression. “In the process of trying to sway me, I was able to find out the warlock’s intentions. I know what he is trying to do and where his next destination is.”
“...Where?”
Theodore couldn’t help reacting by leaning his upper body forward, which caused Crowd to smile.
“Heh. I can’t tell you everything."
“What?”
“Now, let’s start the agreement to end the war. I wonder what concessions I can get with this information.”
Theodore lost his composure and raised his voice, “You are using information about Jerem to negotiate? Don’t you know that neglecting him will cause a disaster for the entire continent?”
“I'm sorry, but we are also on the brink.”
“Kuk...!”
It seemed that Crowd was already taking action as an emperor, regardless of how long it had been since he was crowned. The frustrated Theodore was forced to take a step back. Clearly, it was impossible to persuade the ruler of Andras, who sat on the throne of responsibility. Moreover, it wasn’t Theodore or Veronica who was in charge of the negotiations but Orta.
“...Sigh. Then please do so, White Tower Master.”
Orta nodded and replied, “Don’t worry. Not everything will be decided with this agreement. Just think of it as the basis of diplomacy.”
“Thank you.”
“Still, it will take a few hours. I will try to conclude it as quickly as possible.” Orta sat facing Crowd on behalf of Theodore and pulled out the stack of documents he had prepared in advance.
From here on out, these would be the real negotiations.
How far would they go and what would they get? This was a battle that went beyond the military forces. Veronica hated the sight of documents, Randolph only knew the sword, and Theodore only had knowledge from the library, so it wasn’t a struggle they could involve themselves in.
Three hours later...
“...This seems to be the primary agreement.”
“I agree. I’m a little tired.”
The two people—Crowd and White Tower Master Orta—talked in the same language, but the matters were so complicated that it was difficult to understand what they were saying.
The brief summary was as followed:
The designation and development of the trade zones, excluding some of the mines in Meltor’s 30% territory that they obtained, would be divided into 5:5. Unlike the conditions in the first letter which were one-sidedly disadvantageous, Andras could get reasonable benefits.
“Okay, I will keep my promise.” Crowd had a tired but satisfied face as he turned to Theodore. The half-dozing Veronica and Randolph woke up, and the story began again in earnest.
“He said he was heading to Lairon.”
“Lairon, what purpose would a warlock have there?”
“I didn’t hear that much. I just know it has something to do with the royal family. It sounds like Jerem is looking for something left from the old days.”
“A warlock and a religious kingdom...”
It was incomprehensible, but Theodore was satisfied with the clue to Jerem’s location. Theodore organized the information in his head and spoke to Crowd, who was still looking through the documents, “I have to ask. Will you help us capture him?”
“No,” Crowd replied decisively. “I’m sorry, but I can’t afford to act independently, regardless of my will. Don’t you know that all of the empire’s Seven Swords are dead except for me? I can’t give up the role of the king to become support.”
It was an answer that Theodore had expected.
“Then how about the bow master? If he is a mercenary, I will willing to pay appropriate compensation.”
“That... He can’t. I can’t tell you everything, but he can’t do it right now.”
“Later is good. When he is free, tell me.”
“...I will do so.”
Thus, the conversation with Crowd was over. Turning his back to Crowd, Theodore faced the three people who were waiting for him. Orta asked Theodore a question first, “Now that the negotiations are over, what are you going to do?”
“Let’s see... The negotiations went well, but it would be nice for me to stop by Lairon.”
“Then what about Red Tower Master and Sir Clovis?”
Veronica and Randolph answered instantly.
“I will move with Theo.”
“I don’t want to go back without doing anything.”
It was as expected. Orta sighed lightly and nodded to Theodore. As the negotiator of the contract, Orta was obliged to report to Kurt. Before flying away from the tower, Theodore briefly looked at Crowd.
A human born from a monster, who had become a king of humans...
“Crowd.”
Crowd faced Theodore without asking why.
“I feel like I won’t fight you again.”
“...Hut, what are you saying?”
An unknown consensus was formed between the two men involved in the Seven Sins.
Why...?
Somehow, Theodore could sense it. For the rest of his life, he would never fight this man. Theodore flew away from the tower convinced about this despite there being no basis for it.
That was the day when the unique empire of the West Continent disappeared.
* * *
Flash!
This time, light swirled in the sky. It was the principle when moving to a place where the coordinates weren’t clear or unknown.
Teleport to at least 100 meters up in the sky—this was the first advice that a magician learning space magic was taught, since it wouldn’t threaten the life of someone unlucky. Theodore had also learned the warning, so he set the farthest point in the sky as his arrival point, even if it was a place without humans.
“I don't know where this is. Theo, where is this place?” Veronica asked while floating in the air with magic.
It was unfamiliar terrain.
“It is the northwest part of the Soldun Kingdom. I’ve been here before in the past, so I remember the space coordinates.”
“Ah, you thought up to here? There are many places in Lairon where teleporting doesn’t work.”
“That’s right. They are wary and appearing suddenly can be considered a hostile act by the Meltor Kingdom.”
Theodore maintained the flying magic on Randolph while speaking. It was well known that the religious kingdom of Lairon hated magicians and magic. However, many people didn’t know that the temples scattered through the kingdom obstructed magic itself.
This was the power of a divine power barrier on a national scale.
Lairon didn’t have any physical defenses, but it was excellent for detecting elaborate teleportation or the activation of large spells. It was nothing they couldn’t break through with force, but it was better to avoid attracting attention until they knew where Jerem was.
‘I can’t let him run away.’
It had been a few centuries ago when warlocks were declared a public enemy of the continent, but they had still survived. This was because it was impossible to find a warlock when they were determined to hide. A 9th circle warlock could definitely conceal himself from the pursuit of Theodore, an 8th circle magician.
“Now, we should go north. In my memories, there should be a city...”
Then at that moment...
“Theo.”
“Hmm?”
“The north is that direction, right?” Randolph’s voice was low and heavy, causing Theodore to turn his eyes in that direction.
Then Theodore’s expression hardened. “...Smoke?”
The sky was turning black. It was evening, when the sun sank toward the west and the moon rose. He thought the red light was from the sunset, but the dark light on the horizon wasn’t from sunlight scattering. It was the color of a large amount of flames burning and gaining momentum.
‘No, let’s concentrate.’ Theodore focused his five senses, and heard screams and the sounds of clashing metal.
It was clearly the noise of battle. Seeing his signal, the other two people prepared themselves for battle as they waited for Theodore to talk. Should they rush over and check it? He was too nervous about the disruption taking place in Lairon to leave it alone.
“Let’s go.”
Using flying magic, the three people quickly shot toward the west.