Proxy war (1)
At the same time as Oren lightly tapped his foot, the pitch-black floor went down one by one, creating a large spiral staircase.
Woooo!!
Without hesitation, he stepped down the stairs and opened his mouth.
“Even when the fort was first built, there were constant doubts and delusions.”
Oren’s steps were unstoppable even as he headed toward the dark basement where no light came in.
“A lot of people have asked. Why is there a reason to build a wall and create a new street in this area… … .”
“….”
“But I believe that we all remember the reason why we built the current order despite all the insults and gossip-”
Oren muttered as he stopped.
“I have been fulfilling my responsibilities up until now.”
Lennok followed Oren’s gaze from behind him.
Inside the dark cavity.
A ray of sunlight creeping in through the gap in the cracked ceiling illuminates the space that is not even a handful.
A tombstone made of old marble. A neglected space where moss and grass grow thickly.
On top of it, small stone crumbs and pieces of wood float leisurely against the flow of gravity.
A heterogeneous landscape that seems to defy the flow of time.
Lennox sighed, realizing the secret of this place.
Rumor has it that there exists a Beecher whose time flows differently inside the citadel.
Oren was directly showing Lennok the truth of the rumor.
“It is an impossible transfer without isolating space as well as time. Do you understand?”
“….”
“Each of the three families, including Samyeong, manages a secret wife like this. The gap between time and space that shouldn’t have existed in Bondi’s world… … . In exchange for sharing this secret with the city council, we gave up a lot and locked ourselves in this cramped citadel.”
Did the city council of Balkan already know what was hidden inside the Pagoong Fortress?
From Oren’s words, it seemed that in exchange for sharing the secret, he was granted an extremely special way of continuing among the Three Heads.
“But now that is over. I didn’t expect it, but I never thought I’d really join hands with the church… … .”
“Right….”
Lennok looked at Oren’s back as he muttered quietly, then nodded softly.
It was only after seeing this Beecher that Lennok understood the message the head of the Pandemonium had left him.
The secret wife of the Guido Church. A historical site related to the magic of time.
He did not advise Lennok to search the chapters of the Church.
Pandemonium knew from the beginning that the Order was searching for these non-cheers.
The reason why Walter infiltrated this city with the responsibility of missionary work must have been because he was aware of the existence of these beechers inside the fort.
In other words, it meant that if you study these beechers, you might find clues about the time series spell.
That moment when Lennok thought so and stretched out his magic to observe the ruins in front of him.
Wow!!
The golden waves surrounding the ruins bounced off Lennok’s magic.
“…!!”
Lennok’s shoulders shook faintly at the completely unexpected reaction.
Now that he has reached the level of Aspect, it is difficult to estimate how far Lennok’s magic manipulation ability has reached, but he was able to manipulate particles at the level of an archmage even at a much lower level than this.
What does it mean to be able to clearly recognize and defend against the magical power sense used with such manipulation ability?
At least among the barriers Lenok had seen with the naked eye, it was by far the highest level of security barrier.
When I turned my head to Oren, he nodded as if it were natural.
“It is a spatial isolation spell that was created by inviting the best confrontation guru on the continent through the mediation of the city council at the time.”
“….”
“Shortly thereafter, the barrier priest challenged the ascension. The three spell barriers rooted in this fortress are his last works.”
“Is this a barrier designed with skills close to ascension….”
Because it was a barrier created by a monster that had reached that level, could it react and reject even Lennok’s magical power?
Oren continued.
“It is only possible to release the barriers and manage the ruins for a moment only if the blood of the householder and chaeju, who manage Beecher, is shed at the same time. And to rightfully inherit the creditor’s authority… … It’s a proxy war you’re trying to engage in.”
He turned his gaze away to stare at Lennok with a calm expression.
“If you lose, the creditor’s authority will be handed over. It means that the church cannot control the means to touch the ruins from this side.”
Her black eyes, unable to read her emotions, reflected her face transparently.
“Do you think it is worth taking such a risk and engaging in proxy wars?”
“…Family Samyeong. I think you know too.”
Lennok laughed.
“If I had really intended to take over the position of debtor by winning the proxy war, I couldn’t have planned it so poorly. They must have thoroughly managed other families and agents in order not to leave even room for resistance.”
“….”
Lennok continued.
“What they want is not victory, but the very existence of a proxy war. It’s probably because he has a plan to seize the creditor’s authority regardless of victory or defeat.”
I guess to some extent.
The event that decides the owner of the fort is a grandiose cause that is not lacking in bringing all the residents of this district together.
If it was mixed with the breath of the church, which used and discarded human lives like objects, it was obvious what they would do even if they lost in the proxy war.
“The work to be done is fixed.”
Lennok muttered as he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
“To win the proxy war and at the same time forcibly reveal the identity of the church…. For that, we will need to shake the plate ourselves.”
* * *
Time passes quickly.
As the vacation date Aris had promised came to an end, a
general meeting was held in which the eight families gathered together to decide on the next loan.
Of course, the pato without the opinions of the 8 families coming together as one.
Decisions on loans were transferred to a proxy war with an agent.
In this closed and cramped citadel, the only fair and fair thing to do is to decide their next leader.
All residents of the Citadel. It was only natural that everyone who considered themselves to be members of the Palgoong Fort would be there.
A large woodcarving manor built around the roots of a huge tree.
The manor, which is wide enough to accommodate thousands of residents of the fortress, is not short of being called a stadium.
The audience seats overlooking the stage, which stretched several hundred meters in radius, were filled with people without any gaps, and the
shouts of the excited audience rang out loudly to the deafening extent.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
For them, the aspect of the forthcoming proxy war will be as exciting as who will be the next leader right away.
It’s not something I don’t understand.
How many opportunities will they, who have lived as residents of the fortress, legally watch the battle of superhumans?
Rather, if it wasn’t for that reason, he wouldn’t have been able to summon all the residents of the fortress just for the cause of a proxy war.
The atmosphere was more like a festival than a place where major events inside the fortress were decided.
Loud music resounding from all sides and clowns marching merrily around the stage suggest that this atmosphere was intended by the 8 families from the beginning.
A special seat with a wide space in the middle of the crowded audience seats.
Among the special seats allowed only for high-ranking officials of the fortress, the 8 most elaborately decorated seats.
There was not a single vacancy in the position reserved for the heads of the 8 families.
The heads of the families leading the citadel also took their place with their heavy buttocks for this spot today.
‘It’s a place that reminds me of the executive meeting… … .’
Lennok, who was sitting in the waiting room at the back of the stage as an agent and waiting for his turn, looked up at the audience.
It’s hard to see this side from the other side, but it’s not difficult for Lennok to peek into the audience through the thick curtains.
A large-scale meeting of the leaders of the Triumvirate. A convocation order to determine the direction of the organization.
Wasn’t there a similar thing in the fight against the cartel not too long ago?
However, the difference from that time would be that Lennok’s side exists here now, unlike back then when the cartel were no different from enemies.
Samyeong’s family leader, Oren, looked down on the stage with an arrogant expression, and Soo-ryun’s back was straight with a nervous face.
And even the appearance of Yvonne, an elderly woman with her white hair braided up.
The family head of the member sitting right next to her was a young boy and seemed to be struggling just to withstand Yvon’s momentum.
Yvon, who was watching the exciting performance unfolding below with a smile on her face, turned her head to the boy and asked.
“Doesn’t it seem like the ones below have been well prepared? Even old people who see it are naturally excited.”
“I see….”
“It is not enough to say that this is the seat that determines the new owner. I think this will be enough for outside guests.”
As she said that, she naturally looked away.
“But the old man doesn’t understand why the two heads of households didn’t bring their attendants to this place where everyone should know that the Palgoong Fortress is still alive and well.”
The place where Yvonne’s sharp gaze was headed was not far.
The two heads of household who received her sharp eyes showed different reactions.
Contrary to Su-ryun’s slightly narrowed shoulders, Oren crossed his arms and closed his eyes openly.
“…Can’t you hear me?”
Soo-ryun responded with a calm face to Yvon’s voice that had changed to a creepy one.
“The Oryunga family is busy rebuilding the family after experiencing a major crisis recently. Please understand.”
You don’t even have to ask.
She was the one who took issue with the luxury and pleasure of the previous patriarch of the Five Rings and blew his head off.
Yvon, unable to find any fault with her, turned her gaze to Oren.
“Why doesn’t Samyoung answer?”
“Answer….”
As Oh-Ren slowly opened his eyes, he met Yvon’s family head.
“Since when have you been so interested in my entourage?”
“….”
“Even when Chae-joo was alive, the grandmother who had no interest in other families is now trying to lead me… … . The years are so fleeting.”
Yvon gritted his teeth at Oren’s nonchalantly muttering words.
“Samyoung Family. As the time is the time, wouldn’t it be very dangerous to make such remarks? On a day like today, there would be nothing good about ruining the atmosphere.”
Yvon’s hand naturally moved to the shoulder of the boy who served as the head of the group.
“Isn’t it?”
Kwak.
“This old man wants to hear the opinion of Wonwon Familyism.”
A natural attitude that doesn’t care about the opinions of other families.
However, no one objected to that high-handed remark.
The eight families that led the Pagoong Fortress. However, it was because everyone acknowledged that the prestige of the three families was clearly different.
Even after the death of Chae-joo, who was from Irwon, that fact does not change.
The boy, who was frowning in pain, barely nodded.
“….”
Oren looked at him with a glimmer of pity, then turned his head.
While sharp tension flowed between the heads of the 8 families, the emcee’s loud voice filled the hall and resonated.
[Then, from now on, we will start the proxy war to determine the owner of Palgoong Fortress!!] * *
*
“Then, I will explain the rules of the proxy war to the agents here.”
A middle-aged man dressed in a robe of unknown origin took out a long scroll in front of the four, including Lennok.
“As it was confirmed that there was no consensus at the Gaju meeting to determine the next borrower, we will appoint a representative between the families to transfer the right to decide according to the tradition and rules of the fort.”
“….”
“As the opinions of the eight families, centered on Ilwon and Samyeong, are divided, it is judged that it may become meaningless to score points on wins and losses, so we will proceed with the grand battle.”
It’s not a hard word to understand.
Now that the agents are divided into four, the possibility of a 2-2 victory cannot be ruled out.
A method of appointing one captain and continuing a one-on-one duel with each other until the captain is defeated.
“Before the match, all agents, please put on this bracelet.”
The man took the bracelet out of his bosom and handed it out to Lennok and the other deputies.
A bracelet made of eight large rings. Among the eight chain links, only one chain was shining softly.
“It is a catalyst that mediates the ceremony of proving the qualifications of an agent and transferring authority according to victory or defeat. It activates at the same time as the Proxy Warfare Ritual begins, and the ritual ends when the will is infused into the eight chain links.”
[It’s heavier than I thought.]
Ignoring Manson’s grumbling, the man continued.
“If damage such as damage to the bracelet or transfer of possession occurs, the match ends at that point. authority will be transferred. Considering the safety of the spectators, if you project more than a certain level of magic, it will be easily damaged, so be careful.”
“What is that standard?”
“…We did not consider the participation of a person with equal skills to the family heads.”
In short, doesn’t it mean that if you use castle-level magic power recklessly, you could be disqualified on the contrary?
Among the representatives of the other side, there may be warriors who have reached the state, but it is undoubtedly a disadvantage to this side.
It was no different than saying that he would get rid of the magician Lennok and eliminate any room for him to hit the opponent with firepower.
Chen, furious, tried to shoot him, but Manson grabbed him by the shoulder.
“Chen. Leave it alone.”
Lennox also replied with a calm expression.
“The other side made safety a pretext, but it’s difficult to fault it here.”
It’s not that I don’t understand.
A proxy war to determine the owner of Pagoong Fortress. If you don’t put an upper limit on the agent’s skills, things will get messy with the intrusion of outsiders that the fortress can’t handle.
In addition, it was not entirely wrong to consider the safety of the residents of the fortress who had crowded around the manor.
If the battle of superhumans gets fierce, the aftermath will also get out of control.
“Damn it, but this…”
“I know. But it’s worth it.”
However, this kind of blatant horsepower restriction would only be aimed at keeping Lennok in check.
Some of the moderators of this ceremony must have already lined up with the Federation.
“On the contrary, it’s strange that it ended like this.”
“….”
It seems that he wants to weaken Lennok’s strength even a little, but there are plenty of ways to circumvent this kind of penalty.
The man’s eyebrows twitched faintly at Lennox’s relaxed words while wearing a bracelet on his right wrist.
Lennok didn’t miss the faint crack in his expression.
“…I have already explained it to the representatives on the other side, and the captain has been decided.”
After explaining the rest of the rules, the man continued with an expressionless face.
“If Samyeong’s agents also decide the order in which to fight, we will start the proxy war right away.”
Lennok didn’t respond, but turned his head to look at the man sitting furthest to the right.
To be precise, the agent of Samyoung whom Oren personally designated and brought to this position.
“What should I do? oh my god….”
“….”
“I don’t want to fight, so what can I do…. What should I do?”
Two sunken eyes and a skinny body.
A young man biting his nails in a cold sweat.
This man, who doesn’t look like a warrior and doesn’t even look like he’s in condition to fight right now, is Samyoung’s agent.
Lennox sighed silently.
Of course, this was also something that had been agreed with Oren beforehand, but seeing him, he couldn’t stop sighing.
“Did you say As?”
“Bah Van. Help me. I came here because of my uncle’s words, but I’ve never actually fought a single time!!”
Seeing Asui burst into tears while making a fuss, the facial expressions of Manson and Chen, who were watching from the side, also changed strangely.
I knew that he was a colleague who would not be helpful in this proxy war in the first place, but I never thought that he would be a person who had no energy to this extent.
However, Asui didn’t care about that gaze, knelt in place, grabbed the hem of Lennok’s coat, and began to tremble.
“Oh no, I thought you were asking me to read and research books in the back room, but why am I doing this…. Why would you do this!!”
Watching Asui screaming desperately like the main character of a miserable tragedy, I doubt whether it is actually that scary.
However, instead of cutting off the fuss like a knife, Lennok let out a small sigh and began coaxing him moderately.
“Asui. Calm down. I’m sure you’ve already heard a bit about it from Oren?”
“That’s all…. I heard about the plan, but… … I don’t know about proxy wars. I really didn’t know I would have to stand there!!”
“hmm.”
I knew roughly that Oren was insensitive, but I never thought he would explain anything to the person acting as the family representative.
Manson and Chen, who were watching from behind with their arms folded, shook their heads.
“okay. Isn’t this the reaction of a normal sorcerer? Seeing class so often, I forgot about it for a while.”
[that’s right. There are so many guys who don’t have real life experience, let alone stand in the rear. You’re weird.]
“…”
That’s not wrong.
Even though Lennok had spent a fair amount of time on this floor, he hadn’t seen a case where he didn’t distinguish between the front and back ranks with magic alone like he did.
At least Parden McQueen, who fought against the cartel, would be a similar case, but wasn’t he also a high-level warrior who learned rubber arts?
Asui, a collateral descendant of the Samyoung family and inherited the shadow arts, may be an excellent magician, but he was by no means an outstanding warrior.
It was natural for him to lose his temper if he had never quarreled with others or felt threatened for his life, and was thrown into a battle where he died suddenly.
“I don’t have much time.”
The middle-aged man spoke in a calm tone.
“Please make an order quickly.”
“….”
He didn’t show anything on the outside, but he seemed to have already roughly guessed where the victory or defeat of this proxy war would go.
Lennok let out a small sigh and immediately assigned the order.
Lennok is the captain. Manson has a fever. Chen is the middle class.
And Asui is the vanguard.
“Aaaaaaaaaa!!”
Asui saw her name scrawled on the wooden board, foaming at the mouth and passing out.
“Um….”
[This idiot is really Samyoung’s agent, right?]
Manson shook his head as the robot’s head sounded a red warning light.
“O-Ren is a virtuoso who maintains a high reputation and secret privacy even inside the fortress. I don’t know what Van talked about with that person, but this… … .”
Chen muttered with a serious face, but Lennok shook his head.
“Asui is second only to Oren among the three shadow magicians. We need his strength for this job.”
“that….”
[Isn’t this the problem after surviving the proxy war as the vanguard?]
One of the rules of the proxy war. Withdrawal is possible only after 5 minutes have elapsed since the match.
Will it be possible for Asui to last 5 minutes against the first agent to appear over there?
But Lennok nodded without hesitation.
“Don’t worry about that.”
“…Wait half. Can’t you?”
Feeling ominous in Lennok’s words, Chen asked, but it was too late.
“Rather, it might be better for this guy to be unconscious.”
Magical thread extending from five fingers wrapped around Asui’s limp limbs without hesitation.
Genius Magician Who Takes Medicine Chapter 277