“How is it?”
“…Surely.”
Duke Huangyeol’s office.
After a brief banquet in the audience room, the Sword Saint was summoned separately to receive the concrete plans.
It was a single parchment, but it looked like a digital book filled with dozens of pages of plans.
Having meticulously read everything, the Sword Saint laid the last page on the table, impressed.
‘Perfect.’
A plan for conquest utilizing the Empire’s overwhelming military might and Deoen’s siege war system.
The understanding of the system was so profound that it would be believable even if a user created the strategy instead of an NPC.
For each castle to be conquered, there was a thorough understanding of the opponent’s military strength, efficiently distributing their resources, and meticulously crafting plans for after the conquest.
Unless there were extraordinary variables, it was clear that after this siege war, 90% of the continent would certainly fall into the hands of the Empire.
“It’s perfect. Especially the detailed information on each member of that weak guild… How did you obtain this?”
It wasn’t just simple questions about how strong they were or what equipment or weapons they were carrying.
The parchment contained ‘rankings’ and ‘stats.’
Information that these NPCs would never be able to obtain.
No, it was information that they wouldn’t even be able to conceive of.
Duke Huangyeol smiled.
“It wasn’t hard. There are humans in this world who sell even the most mysterious information for a few gold coins.”
“And the need for this information?”
“Karia came up with it. She thought this information would be necessary.”
For me, it wasn’t particularly useful information.
After hearing the Duke’s last words, the Sword Saint checked the information again.
Having this information would definitely allow for more efficient movement.
If they anticipated that the opponent’s strength was between 5 and 10 and they had to deploy 15, now knowing it was definitely 7 meant they only needed to send around 10.
The remaining 5 could be used to strike elsewhere along with other forces.
“You’re to head to the northern Retel Castle according to the plan. Karia and the Blood Fight Lord will welcome you.”
Above all, in this war, not only the Empire’s troops but also six of the Eight Swords would participate.
Even without a plan, an all-out push would have over a 90% chance of victory.
“One thing.”
“?”
The only variable that is excluded from this plan.
“How do you plan to deal with Lily Elbrite?”
A powerhouse capable of easily overpowering the Eight Swords, excluding the Three Lords that support the Empire.
If Lily were to join the Empire’s enemies, it was clear that over 70% of this plan would be ruined.
“Lily Elbrite… Truly, she is a formidable threat. Even the Saintess couldn’t defeat her.”
“If she comes, I will act accordingly.”
“Is that in the interest of the Empire or your personal greed?”
“Personal greed.”
A declaration of intent to move freely, disregarding the plan.
The bloodline of the imperial family should have made such an arrogant statement impossible in front of the Duke, but the Sword Saint replied nonchalantly.
Duke Huangyeol, too, accepted the remark without discomfort.
“That sounds like you.”
“That’s the promise I made, and that’s why I sided with the Empire. If I can’t keep it, there’s no reason for me to be here.”
“Have you met Leo?”
Leo.
The user who consistently ranked second as a Spirit Sorcerer and was often compared to him.
And the disciple of Spirit Lord, Arne Partia.
“I haven’t met him.”
“Why not?”
“If I choose one side, won’t that limit my options?”
If he sided with the Spirit Lord, he couldn’t fight if Lily eventually joined the Spirit Lord’s side.
The same goes for the opposite scenario.
Everyone knew the relationship between the Spirit Lord and the Magic Lord, especially Duke Huangyeol.
‘Duke Huangyeol, Robelian Chen Imperium.’
The strongest sword that had existed since the concept of the Eight Swords began, and an old friend of Arne and Karia.
He smiled bitterly.
“That’s a wise decision.”
“Aren’t you going to stop them?”
“Me? How could I?”
Creak.
Duke Huangyeol stood from his golden chair.
As his gaze turned to the tall windows, the capital of the Empire came into view.
“The relationship between the two dukes is already beyond repair. Karia betrayed a friend, and Arne failed to understand such a friend.”
Chuckle.
“I can’t stop them. Their abilities are one thing, but more than that, I understand them.”
The Empire’s core was marked by a strong sense of self.
The Eight Swords, through countless achievements, had become the very essence of the Empire.
What Duke Huangyeol could do was only gather those who didn’t want to get involved and instill a single goal of a mighty Empire.
He couldn’t suppress them.
“The Empire must be maintained as an Empire. Our disputes should end merely as conflicts.”
The Empire must always be a strong ‘one.’
“… I think I understand why you called me.”
“Sword Saint.”
Thud.
“Go and stop the Empire’s ‘enemy.’ It doesn’t matter if you persuade or kill them. Even if that’s the end.”
Even if he had to face the worst enemy named Lily Elbrite.
“Yes.”
The Sword Saint gathered something from the table and left the office.
“……”
Creak.
Duke Huangyeol, left alone, sat back down in his chair.
He then picked up the parchment that the Sword Saint had left behind.
The biggest variable of this plan.
“Lily Elbrite…”
If it truly became irreversible…
“Then I’ll have to take action.”
Golden light surged fiercely from his body.
■
“…Huff.”
…Phew.”
Back in reality, I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment.
The reason Naphras mentioned was an experiment on spirits.
A topic she could never just overlook.
Let alone experiment on her contractor’s spirit—what a shameless act that is!
‘Is she out of her mind?’
Her friend is a spirit master, and she’s experimenting with spirits?
And that involves the spirit her friend directly contracted?
I suddenly felt dizzy.
I’ve seen countless trashy humans, races, and monsters in the past, but even compared to them, the Magic Lord was unmatched in terms of garbage quality.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he ranked in the top 10% of trash!
“What should I do?”
In fact, Karia Marchelfield already qualifies as an ‘extermination’ target.
If it were in the past, I would have either killed her or sealed her away in a weapon by now.
After stepping down as a saintess and learning techniques from him, I set a standard for myself as I wandered the world.
The criteria were simple.
If they were deserving of death, then kill them.
If not deserving, mix in a little mercy and let them go.
Except for the ancient beast that kills thousands upon thousands each time it appears, I mostly let others go alive, but anyone going beyond that standard died.
‘The Magic Lord… is more than enough.’
She had already crossed the line.
Betraying Arne and using a spirit for her experiment, she was already a target for extermination.
Of course, it’s not that she’s evil and I must carry out the punishment. That’s not the point.
I’m not an executioner, and I wouldn’t call myself someone sufficiently righteous to punish evildoers.
The decisions to save or kill someone are all for my own satisfaction.
Setting the standard was just to help with my own accurate judgment.
“Sword Saint… Magic Lord…”
In dealing with the Magic Lord, the Sword Saint inevitably comes into play.
I wanted to meet the Sword Saint anyway, so it shouldn’t matter.
But the problem is I have to wage war…
“…Hmm.”
As expected, it’s not so simple…
Ding!
“?”
It’s a message from Deoen.
It’s been a while since I saw a familiar nickname.
Laguiel.
▶Hello. I have a favor to ask…
■
Angel Guild.
As the name suggests, it’s a group that uses the myth of the Seven Archangels, and it’s ranked number one in Deoen’s official guild rankings.
All Seven Archangels are incredibly strong, ranking within the top 100.
Moreover, the leader of the Angel Guild, Michael, ranks third.
He’s a user following right after the Sword Saint and Leo and also possesses the strongest guild buff known as the Sanctuary of Light in Deoen.
He did it.
With such incredible abilities, he…
“Laguiel.”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you just do it once?”
“I don’t want to.”
“No, just once.”
“No, I told you it’s not happening!”
How …
“How do you call Lady Lily?”
… I’m persuading Laguiel.
■
After Laguiel returned from the mock siege war.
The always playful Seven Archangels welcomed Laguiel back with open arms, and Laguiel felt a strange sense of anxiety.
They made one somewhat unreasonable request before he went into the mock siege war.
“Bring Lady Lily!”
Of course, they didn’t mean it in a literal sense. Though Uriel did argue that it wouldn’t hurt to seduce her.
Anyway, the voices for bringing Lily to the Angel Guild seemed endless.
From Laguiel’s perspective, it made no sense.
“What kind of friendship is that?”
Laguiel wasn’t even on the same team as Lily, and he had no personal connections.
The only link she had was that she belonged to the same guild as Raphael, who donated ten million won to Lily’s broadcast.
Finding that as “friendship” was ridiculous, but the Seven Archangels wanted to build some kind of relationship with Lily through this opportunity.
… Well, they did build a little.
After the mock siege war, they spent about one to two hours at the same table during the banquet, and that’s when they friended her.
“Oh, please.”
“No, huh? If we bring Lady Lily to this siege war, we’re definitely winning!”
“Are you making any sense?”
“I’m saying it makes sense!”
“It doesn’t.”
“Um, doesn’t it? We friended her, right? So doesn’t that make us friends?”
“Yeah, it does.”
“Agreed.”
“The fairy of acknowledgment has acknowledged it. Isn’t that enough?”
“I guess I’m a fairy.”
“Crazy girl.”
The older siblings were hitting it off without a care.
Laguiel felt dizzy and sighed.
“…Do you think I haven’t tried? Look, it’s been days without a reply. Do you really think she’ll respond just because I send another message?”
Ding!
Huh?
“Uh?”
“Hmm?”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the chat window that Laguiel had shared.
In it…
Lily Elbrite.
▶ Let’s talk when we meet.
Everyone’s eyes widened as they stared at the chat window.
Breaking the silence, a voice echoed around the round table.
“Wow, sex.”
“Shut up, you crazy girl!”
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