Episode 1036. They’re neutral.
At Elio’s suggestion, the knights looked at Fabian in unison.
It is true that even though Fabian sounds like a genius, he is a new blood compared to the level of swordsmanship that Elio has reached.
Even so, Fabian was also an honorable knight of the Marquis Bernardo family.
It was not easy for him, who was not even a servant, to learn swordsmanship under Elio for three years.
“I’ll do it.”
Fabian replied in a determined tone.
It was because when he recalled Elio’s swordsmanship he had seen in Tamion, it was meaningless to call him a servant or a knight.
In doing so, Elio and Fabian promised to teach each other swordsmanship and letters.
***
Next day.
Count Codrantes came down to the garrison, and Count Putocoa was put into a three-day rift monitoring mission.
Thanks to that, the conflict between Count Putokoa and Elio was naturally resolved.
The attention of the nobles in the garrison shifted from the battle between Elio and the Putokoa Counts to the Empire’s Corvo Magic Troops.
The main subject of the conversation was Duke Cillian Hale, the Archmage of the 7th Circle, and Baron Ashley Nelson, a beautiful knight of the Knights who escorts the Magic Troops.
The Hirhera Garrison was having a peaceful time.
It was only natural that the 2 Knights of the Royal Palace of Escatos and the forces of the 3 northern territories and even the magic corps of the Empire had gathered.
Even in front of the rift, it was quiet after the Demon Cyclops.
It was all that the magical beasts that wandered around the ice wall crossed the rift once in a while out of curiosity.
After recovering mana for two days, the Archmage Magus Cillian Hale, Duke of Hale, moved forward again in front of the rift.
Strikingly, the scutum (ice wall) is cracked, similar to what he saw when he arrived at Hirhera.
Baron Rolf Fritz, commander of the Goliath squadron of Count Putokoa, said as if to explain.
“The ice crumbled little by little, and it has been like that since this morning.”
“How do you see it? Are the cracks the same size? Or does it change over time?”
“It has grown bigger than when I first saw it when I arrived in Herhera. I measure it every 10 days, and each time it is widening by an inch.”
“A span in ten days?”
“Yes, for now, but the larger the crack, the faster it may open.”
Duke Magus Killian Hale nodded.
It was quite possible if the rift was really widening.
If Circle 7’s ‘Mega Ice Wall’ doesn’t work, all that’s left is an artificial structure.
I don’t know if a stone wall can replace the scutum (ice wall), but since there is no other way, I have to try.
He took a step back and looked at Scutum.
Can the wall take the place of Scutum?
‘It’s impossible.’
Even if only one giant monster went on a rampage, the castle walls would collapse.
Not to mention the demons.
Any castle wall would be demolished with one stroke of the Cyclops’ hammer.
Cyclops doesn’t even belong to the higher ranks among the demons.
No, it can be pierced by the magic of the 5th circle warlock, not by the demons.
Even so, there was no answer other than building the wall.
‘I’m sure His Majesty the Emperor will like it.’
If the northern kingdoms clung to the task of replacing Scutum with a wall, they could focus on the south as much.
In addition, the interest of the Northern Kingdoms in the Abyss of the Great Forest is also reduced.
In any case, it was not a matter of harming the emperor.
Duke Magus Killian Hale once again cast ‘Mega Ice Wall’ on the crack.
Even if you can’t go for a few days, you have to do your best to repair the rift.
As soon as the ‘Mega Ice Wall’ is opened, ‘Toduk!’ A crack formed between the magical ice and the scutum, but he did not cast the mega ice wall again.
This is because no matter how many times you apply it, the magical ice will fall from the scutum.
Still, the Goliath Company couldn’t hide their joy when the huge crack was closed.
Even though I can’t go for a few days, it’s because I can live comfortably while the ‘Mega Ice Wall’ blocks it.
Duke Cillian Hale, the Magus, left the rift behind the cheering Goliath company.
that evening.
Magus Killian Duke of Hale invited Elio to the barracks of the Corvo Magic Corps.
Elio bowed his head politely as he met the eyes of the Imperial Archmage Magus Cillian Hale.
“hello?”
“Come on. Do you have a favorite car?”
“I don’t like anything in particular.”
“is it? They say that the savage tribes have a developed tea culture, but if you don’t like tea… How about coffee?”
“great.”
“Good thing. Come and sit down.”
Magus Killian Duke of Hale pointed to the empty seat across from him.
When Elio sat down, Magus Cillian Hale, Duke of Hale, put down a mug of coffee in front of Elio.
“I heard about you from Duke Escatos and became interested, so I looked into it separately. There seems to be some problem with Count Putokoa.”
“If that’s the case, we decided to cover it up until the problem with the ice wall is resolved.”
“I see. Aren’t you sorry?”
“Because the safety of the continent comes first rather than individual revenge.”
For a moment, Magus Killian Duke of Hale glanced at Elio.
Are you referring to continents, not kingdoms?
Somehow I got the feeling that he was looking further ahead.
‘I didn’t expect much because I was from a barbarian…’
At that moment, Duke Magus Cillian Hale thought that Elio might not be satisfied with being the Marquis of Bernardo.
“I see now that you had a lot in mind. The Escatos Kingdom seems small to you. Do you have any plans to advance into the Empire?”
“Not right now, but there are.”
Elio did not deny it.
This is because in order to know the location of Celestial Castle, you have to go to the ‘Wizard’s Tower’ in Jedo.
Then Duke Magus Killian Hale leaned his upper body forward.
“Is it true that you have plans to go to the Empire?”
“yes.”
“When are you planning to go? Of course, you will go after you receive a salary in the Kingdom of Escatos, right?”
He presumed that Elio would go to the Empire after being crowned a nobleman.
In general, that was the common behavior of people who were aiming for success, but the northern area was too dangerous.
There were no nobles who had their own territory in the north and would risk their lives to repair the scutum (ice wall).
And who would wallow in the dangerous north when there was an empire in the rear that would treat them much better than the kingdom?
However, Elio gave an unexpected answer.
“I’ll go when the crack problem is finished.”
“…”
Magus Killian Duke of Hale looked at Elio with an absurd face.
I don’t know why he’s talking like that when he’s not even the guardian of the continent.
“You know that, right? That the rift is getting bigger every day and cannot be repaired even with 7th circle magic.”
“yes.”
“The only thing that can replace Scutum is the Wall. Considering the length of the skutum across the northern regions, you don’t know how many generations it will take.”
“You just need to remove the cause.”
“It sounds like you’re going to get rid of the warlock who created the rift… that’s more difficult than building a wall.”
“But it’s also the fastest and surest way.”
When Elio did not break his stubbornness, Magus Killian Hale Duke shook his head.
“I heard you are also one of the survivors of the ‘Meteor Swarm’?”
“yes.”
“As you can see, the magic of wizards has its limits. The higher the magic, the higher the mana consumption, and once the mana is exhausted, you can no longer use magic. There is a difference depending on the density of mana, but usually if you use the magic of the circle you have reached three times in a row, mana will be depleted. Then you can’t use magic until your mana is restored. I don’t know how much of a black magician’s realm is, but ‘Meteor Swarm’ must have been magic that exceeded one’s limits. So they must have mobilized ‘Terminus’.”
“A Terminus?”
“ah! I’m talking about the black magic you saw in Tamion. It is black magic used to amplify demonic energy with the power of evil spirits.”
“Is there an evil spirit?”
“The evil god at the opposite end of Mana Phthras, the creator god, is Shaitin. He is the god who created demons and monsters. I can’t believe the creator, Mana Phras, made something like that.”
“okay. This is purely a personal curiosity. What kind of gods are Kama Devias (Celestial Horse) and Ushas Undra (Golden Snake)?”
“What kind of god are you?”
“I was wondering if their tendencies are closer to manaphthras or shaitin.”
“That is an interesting question. hmm! There are people who believe that both gods are as good as Mana Phthras, but strictly speaking they are neutral.”
“Are you saying it’s not evil?”
“Kama Devias is the owner of the ‘Abyss’ called ‘Sky Star’ Ushas Wund. Do you know what that means?”
“I don’t know?”
“That means that the two gods have a close relationship with humans. The location of the perforated castle is unknown, but like the Abyss, it is said to be somewhere on the continent.”
“Because it’s on the continent, not on Tamion… so you’re saying it’s close to humans?”
“As expected, my head is working fine. But the Abyss doesn’t discriminate between good and evil adventurers. That’s why the ‘City of Adventurers’ is called ‘The Refuge of Criminals’. In that respect, the Celestiality is the same. That’s why warlocks are digging into the secrets of the Celestial Castle.”
“Even if you don’t know where the perforation castle is, can’t the city of adventurers be managed by the nearby kingdom?”
“The profit to be made there is not great, so I just neglected it.”
“I heard that the southern kingdoms are paying attention to the Abyss these days? Aren’t you going to send soldiers to manage it?”
“Where else did you hear that?”
“All over the place.”
“Hmm! I don’t know how far you know… In conclusion, the southern kingdoms can’t get involved in the city of adventurers.”
“why?”
“Because the Empire doesn’t tolerate that. If the Southern Kingdoms send troops to the Abyss, the Empire will do the same. The thing I hate the most in the southern kingdoms is the Imperial army setting foot in the south. So I just have to wait and see.”
“Can’t the Southern Kingdoms and the Empire send an army together?”
“There is no such level of trust between us. Fifty years ago, we were at war with each other, so do you think we would be stationing troops in the same area?”
Duke of Magus Killian Hale shook his head.
Can the Southern Kingdom, which even carries out the ‘Great Forest Entry Permit System’, allow the Imperial Army to advance into the Abyss?
Elio soon gave up his interest in Great Forest and Abyss.
Seeing that it is neutral, it seems that Kama Debias and Ushas Undra did nothing evil here.
However, since their twisted desires (Thousand Horses and Golden Threads) have been released from the ‘Heaven of Kings’, there is no guarantee that they will continue to do so in the future.
What do Kama Debias and Ushas Undra want?
‘It’s probably not the confusion itself.’
No matter how much I think about it, I don’t know what their purpose is.
The voice of the Duke of Magus Killian Hale reached Elio’s ears as he was lost in thought.
“The story leaked a little bit. What I mean is this The black magician has poured magic that transcends his limits on Hirhera. As a result, his mana was depleted, and he must be recharging somewhere. If you use magic beyond the limit, the recharge time will be that much longer. If it’s short, it won’t be more than six months at the latest. It was about two months ago that the ‘Meteor Swarm’ fell on Hirhera, right?”
“That’s right.”
“At the shortest, one month at the longest, four months later, the warlock will resume its activities. It looks like the Corvo Magic Corps will return to the island before then… Would you like to go to Jedo with me and meet His Majesty the Emperor?”