#224

Calcos Tribal Alliance (2)

Inside the tent filled with bizarre decorations everywhere.

In a place thick with the smoke of mysterious burning herbs.

Chharuk— Tcharuk!

Lightly thrown bone fragments rolled around on a circular metallic tray.

The old woman, who had been staring at the result, shook her head with a deep sigh.

“Hoo— I can’t see anything anymore, can I? I must be getting old.”

The Great Mage Morgana, lamenting, twisted her face filled with tattoos and tightly shut her eyes.

After all, fortune-telling was never a very precise art to begin with, but that was just conventional wisdom.

For someone of her stature, predicting a simple fate shouldn’t have been too difficult.

‘It should have worked. For some time now, my future has been clouded, and now I can’t see even an inch ahead.’

She slowly opened her eyes and peered outside through the gaps in the tent.

What she saw were countless people moving smoothly for a single purpose.

They appeared to be vigorously preparing for war, as if possessed by something.

‘Balteon… what on earth are you doing?’

But since she began her confinement here right after the regular meeting broke up, there was nothing she could do immediately.

Had her worth not been necessary to mobilize several tribes, she might not have been alive by now.

‘I wonder how long that potion will last. At least I’ve taken some measures myself, but can he really match the timing…? The rest is up to the heavens.’

Following her ‘instinct,’ she had avoided the watcher’s eyes while making contact with a large-bodied warrior.

He was no ordinary person, so once he grasped that the situation in the south was urgent, he must have started to respond in some way.

‘But…’

At that moment, lost in thought.

Morgana’s expression hardened.

‘…What’s this energy?’

As if she had seen something she shouldn’t have, her eyes widened.

“Huh, has it already been too late…?”

With a resigned expression, she gazed out through a narrow crevice at the scenery of Beorsen, thinking of her family trapped in another city somewhere.

She prayed that the storm would pass by them.

Gooooo—

From beyond, in the center of the city where Balteon resided.

The feeling that she had sensed once before, an endlessly ominous and dreadful energy, was gradually spreading throughout the city.

*

-Howard: Huh, seriously twisted? I knew it long ago, but still.

-Hesperon: …Wow, what are you planning to do later?

-Heinrich: Stop! How far are you going to cross the line?! No matter what, that…!

-Hannibal Strauss: Ah— I’m tired of hearing that nonsense. Let’s reconnect when needed.

-Heinrich: Wait…!

Hans concentrated and erected a wall within himself.

Compared to the barrier set with the “Mind Hub” before the main body lost consciousness, it was merely a small fence.

But just doing that was enough to quiet the multitude of thoughts that had been echoing in his head.

And shortly after.

The entity has achieved conditions and is evolving. The special skill “Evil Wisdom” absorbs “Clarity” and “Insight” and evolves into “Profane Sage.”

For some unknown reason, a system prompt appeared before his eyes as he sat in darkness.

[Hoho, indeed. This pearl is quite useful.]

He nodded satisfactorily as he looked at the pearl placed in a corner of his mental world.

A sudden gift left by the Yul Ryeong-ja who had barged in unexpectedly.

This item, which provided positive effects on all mental abilities when used, was quite helpful in blocking the annoying constant connection with avatars.

‘Perhaps it’s also because with time, the independence among the entities strengthened.’

When the main body was intact and the center of all entities.

Each avatar was just like personalized quirks on physical limbs attached to a single body.

Even though Hans’s condition wasn’t the best.

However, after a little more time had passed.

The avatars underwent a procedure known as “brain-to-brain meeting” for smoother communication.

They could still share thoughts and grasp each other’s situations, but the process had become a bit more cumbersome.

‘It makes sense. Without the buffer zone of the “Mind Hub,” distinct personalities getting mixed up would be quite dangerous.’

In particular, Hans, who had been tainted, and Hannibal Strauss were notably separated from the others.

So he essentially built a wall that he could open and close at will using the power of the pearl.

Of course, even if he controls the connection on his own, the essence remains the same, so that effect wouldn’t last long. However, since there wasn’t much time left anyway, that wasn’t a considerable concern.

[Hehehe— Ah, this feels incredibly refreshing.]

Perhaps the avatars had unknowingly influenced each other.

It felt like the emotions contained within him were purer somehow.

More pure and clean— the essence of evil and venom combined.

[By the way.]

His gaze turned toward an abundantly dark energy densely gathered in one spot.

“Kkeuhh— Krrrkk—!”

[Hehehe— This is interesting. I never expected a human could accept the Abyss to this extent. I had an inkling ever since he was harboring madness. Truly, he’s no ordinary human.]

Squish— Crackle—!

The body of the large warrior lying on the ground continued to twist, simultaneously emitting a stream of dark energy.

That phenomenon, which had continued for a while, only settled down after the flowing energy was sucked back into his body.

Wriggle— Wriggle—

“Kkeuhh… disgusting. Even using madness wasn’t this intense. He must be the Undead King…”

Finally rising unsteadily from his position, he, drooling with a stream of spit, let out subdued complaints.

His veins swelled darkly all over his body, and the whites of his eyes had turned black while the pupils glimmered with a bloody glow.

As dark energy dripped down from his body like paint, just his standing there was enough to contaminate the surroundings.

“Kfpfpf— How absurd. The wall I couldn’t overcome after all that effort, breaking it in this way.”

He was the Great Chief who had recognized his true intentions after a minor conflict with the Undead King.

And now, he had become a Demon after accepting the Abyss, the leading figure of this coup, Balteon.

[Do you like the power?]

“Yeah, so what do you want…?”

[Balteon.]

But before his excited words could finish.

A low voice reverberated through the space as if echoing from Hell, causing him to shut his mouth and inadvertently gauge the other’s mood.

[Your words are short.]

A brief but authoritative and overwhelming phrase.

Was it the influence of the Abyss he had accepted?

Having reached a realm he had long desired, he somehow couldn’t freely extend himself before the Undead King.

“…Is what you desire as you mentioned before?”

[Of course.]

What Hannibal Strauss wanted was influence over the continent, particularly massive influence that would guarantee him ample karma.

[It’s war.]

With everything ready, simply adding his name would have earned a decent amount of karma, but he had no intention of settling for such a trivial gain in this grand opportunity.

So what should he do?

Having completed all preparations from the planning phase to final setups, what was the maximum way to intervene with the army just about to set off towards prosperous lands?

‘The answer is right in front of me.’

The Commander-in-Chief, now having succumbed to the power of the Abyss, Balteon.

Just like in his case, if he completely covered the top brass of the prepared army down to the lower ranks, wouldn’t it be enough?

Kkehhehe—!

To the Abyss.

To death.

The incidental happenings during that process were merely trivial matters to him.

*

Using the pearl in the mental world, Hans cut off the connection with his avatars.

Now communication was impossible, and until Hans opened the door, it was also impossible to confirm their states in real time.

“I’ll hurry up.”

Under Heinrich’s lead, hastening the pace, the hero party quickly sped through the desert, having received the desert robe and survival gear transported by the “Avatar Cloud.”

Saint Liesta was focused on increasing speed, with Heinrich while Isea was being carried by Harley.

“Harley, your back is so wide that it’s easy to focus. It’s also soft!”

“Hahaha! I’m getting another ride!”

While running, Isea, maintaining the invisibility and temperature-controlling magic over the entire party, tapped Harley’s vast back with one hand, in admiration.

Not only was the surface area considerable, but underneath the robe lay a thick beast leather, making it feel like a moving bed.

Even while running, the members exchanged a few words.

In the avatars’ brain-to-brain meeting, serious topics were being discussed today as well.

-Heinrich: We can’t leave Hans like this. We have to find a way to stop his actions.

-Hugo: Indeed, it felt like something was worsening. Initially, they even exchanged opinions and understood each other, but suddenly cutting off communication like this…

-Hubert: Is there a way? Well, if I can stab him with a holy sword filled with Holy Power, there might be a chance.

-Hesperon: By the way, Harley, before the connection broke, it looked like Hans would turn all those humans into Undead or monsters. What about the new engravings? The old woman must be there too.

-Harley: Ehh? Really!? Hey! Skull head! Did you kill the sorceress? Gosh! Are you not answering? Don’t kill her! I warned you!

While discussing future measures internally and externally, they were indeed the strong representatives of the world.

Naturally, their sensitivities exceeded ordinary perception.

‘A dozen suspicious figures hiding in the desert. Are they bandits? Or perhaps a military deployment?’

They were already aware that a considerable number of people were hiding along the path they were taking.

However, turning back would be unnecessary time waste, and since the opposing side wouldn’t see through Isea’s magic, they decided to simply pass quietly…

But it seemed the other side had different intentions.

“Alert! Alert!”

“Stop! Show yourselves!”

“If you do not comply immediately, you will be regarded as hostile forces! You will be executed on the spot!”

Suddenly, over twenty people blocked their path, brandishing spears and arrows.

Despite the fact they were moving, and not being able to use all their strength while maintaining other spells, it was still Isea’s magic as a renowned Great Mage.

They not only detected it beforehand but were also quick enough in response, indicating they were definitely not ordinary folks.

‘Should we just ignore them and pass? Or subdue them and gather information? No, there are hundreds around here. Just thinking about interrogating them after subduing could take too much time. Seems passing is better…’

While running, in a split second, they methodically analyzed how to respond…

‘Huh?’

Seeing the faces of some of the soldiers, Harley suddenly stopped in place.

Then Heinrich and the others also halted.

“Harley? Why the sudden stop…?”

Isea, who was carried on his back, showed a puzzled expression but wasn’t overly worried.

After all, they were powerful beings capable of tearing apart giants over thirty meters in height. Surely they wouldn’t be intimidated by mere desert soldiers.

Harley, removing the invisibility spell, stepped forward.

While still wearing a robe to shield from the sandstorm, his figure was not fully revealed—

“Huh!”

“Hmm!”

The violent pressure emanating from his massive form made even the elite soldiers instinctively tense and step back.

Of course, some flinched while narrowing their eyes to observe him closely…

“…That build looks quite familiar.”

“This ominous feeling too. Though much stronger. Could it be…?”

“Harley? Is that you?!”

By a rather coincidental twist of fate, past connections, and amidst the desert, they met again.

The trio of southern warriors who had previously tangled with the now powerful Harley, who was establishing himself in the north and had later mingled as friends and subordinates.

Luwang, the giant, and the old man Turaba, as well as the scarred Dao.

Harley tossed off his robe and approached them.

“Hahaha! Look who’s here, friends! What are you doing here?”

“Harley, what in the world are you doing here…?”

“Right! I heard you were busy traveling with the hero… Wait, hold on, could that person behind you be!”

“Eek! Saint Misty! Saint Misty! Come out! It’s Harley! It’s the hero!”

Just as they were headed toward Beorsen, they accidentally stumbled upon an unidentified army.

These were the anti-Balteon forces gathered to take down Balteon, who was oppressing the tribes with evil tactics, led by a twenty-something woman named Misty…

“Hello. I knew someone was approaching, but I never expected it would be the Hero’s party. This must be fate. My name is Misty.”

The daughter of the Great Chief who ruled the South before Balteon’s coup,

She was the granddaughter of Great Mage Morgana and, at the same time, her disciple— a Great Mage herself.