chapter 141

It was nothing but rubble.

The place where the Blake family residence once stood had become a ruin that told a tale of the terrifying battles that had taken place there.

As one of the most prestigious families in the Kastkau Empire, it had hundreds of years of history.

And now this legendary family seemed to have encountered a rough patch.

Below the ruins, in a place that not even Heinz or Leita Blake knew about, and neither Sheryl nor Frey, who searched the property, could find.

“Kuhuhu.”

Laughter could be heard.

He had lost everything in a single day. The power and authority he’d had, had all but vanished, and it was only through luck that he kept his life.

Everything was gone.

No. He’d expected this would happen.

From the moment Leyrin had accepted Leita as her Apostle, he had been relegated to a chess piece.

He was too weak. Even being a 7 star Wizard and the head of the Blake family had not been an assurance.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had a good night’s sleep.

Isaka only wanted to be confident in his own safety.

“I… am not one of your toys.”

Isaka muttered in a low voice.

Then he removed a bead from his pocket.

“…”

It was a Demigod’s crystal.

When the Lich’s group finished their fight with the Demigods, they left before checking their bodies properly.

This allowed Isaka to get a final chance.

“Hu-, huhu…”

If he went out as is, he would die anyway.

Neither the Circle nor the Demigods would spare him. Therefore, he decided to gamble with his life.

“Huhuhahaha…”

Isaka’s insane laughter filled the underground area.

* * *

It was Eizek, the Force Honor of the Trowman Rings, who had been away on an important mission, who brought the urgent news.

As soon as he returned, Beniang summoned all of the circle’s executives.

About ten minutes later, the Trowman Rings’ executives, some key circle members, and those who accompanied Frey, all gathered in a large conference room.

Eizek looked around the room, noticing that there were quite a few people he’d never seen before.

A black-haired woman wearing a mask, a young girl with a frightening aura, and a strange man wearing a straw hat.

All of them were strange individuals, but it was the blonde-haired girl who truly drew his attention.

‘Sheryl Roland?’

Why was the Circle Rounder for the Phisfounder Armlets in their circle?

Eizek was curious, but he decided to put it away till later.

After all, there was currently something that took precedence to that.

Eizek bowed towards Frey.

“First of all, Rounder Frey, I’m happy…”

“This isn’t the time for formalities, so you can skip it.”

Frey waved his hand and Eizek raised his head to look at him.

“Thank you for your consideration.

Beniang then spoke with a heavy expression.

“Honor Eizek, the Demigods’ appearance and the destruction of Geotanbul… is all of that really true?”

“Yes.”

Gasp~

When Eizek nodded his head firmly, a ripple seemed to go across the room.

“Please explain exactly what you mean by ‘the Demigods appeared’?”

“It is exactly that.”

Eizek chewed on his words slightly with a sour expression on his face.

“Up until now, the Demigods have been moving in the dark. And the last time they destroyed a city was decades ago, but it wasn’t a big city like Geotanbul. Moreover, they also concealed the fact that they did it. But now, they…”

“Did they openly reveal themselves and destroy Geotanbul?”

“…it happened in a single night.”

This time the reaction was larger as everyone realised that the situation was much worse than they expected.

The destruction of Geotanbul was a major situation, and it was possible that this was only the beginning.

“Why did they suddenly make an appearance?”

“What the hell is going on…”

“What are we supposed to do now…”

Frey’s expression was slightly different from the others. This was because he had a better idea about the Demigods’ situation than the rest.

‘Why now?’

Three of the Apocalypses were gravely wounded. Lord couldn’t move because he was currently treating them. And most importantly, Leyrin’s hibernation was inevitable because her Apostle had died.

In other words, the Demigods were currently facing a situation that they hadn’t encountered in the past thousands of years.

That was why it was strange.

The Demigods would only make such a big move if it was an order from Lord, and this was what made Frey even more confused.

The best move they could make at this time was to curl up and cover their flaws. And it wasn’t possible for Lord to not know this before he made his move.

So why did he authorize the destruction of Geotanbul and revelation of the Demigods?

Frey narrowed his eyes.

Was it possible that they were retaliating out of a sense of crisis?

Just like a beast would show its fangs when backed into a corner, it was possible that they were acting violently because they felt threatened.

It had been thousands of years since they last experienced such a crisis.

4,000 years ago, it was Lukas and his team, but they couldn’t even defeat an Apocalypse at that time.

If that was truly the case, then this seemingly dangerous situation might actually be an opportunity.

“The entire continent must be in an uproar.”

“…I heard that most of the nations’ leaders were demanding an explanation from the Circle.”

It was understandable. They were bound to be anxious.

Geotanbul was by no means a small city. On the contrary, the security of that city was on par with the capital cities in most countries.

And yet, such a city had been destroyed in a single night.

Chills must have flowed back and forth on their spines when they heard that as they realised that they wouldn’t be safe even if they hid in the deepest parts of their palaces.

‘But it’s still too much to ask the Circle for an explanation.’

The only reason they turned the Circle was because they couldn’t demand an explanation from the Demigods.

“What’s the situation in Geotanbul right now?”

“So far it has been confirmed that more than half of the city’s population was killed. The entire city was covered by flames and the sky was hidden by the clouds of smoke. It is said that the city became like hell.”

“…it’s a show of power.”

When Gisellan muttered in a heavy tone, Eizek bit his lip before continuing.

“Three days from now, an emergency meeting will be held in the Kastkau Empire.”

“What’s the exact location.”

“The Jun family residence, in the capital city, Kausymphony.”

Frey spoke in a quiet tone.

“I’m sure most circles would be there.”

“Yes. All the influential circle leaders will participate, not just the leaders of the Three Great Circles.”

This was an opportunity that Frey had been hoping for just yesterday. An opportunity to show the world that the Trowman Rings had changed.

But now, he could no longer care about such things. This situation was many times more important than that.

“What is the minimum number of people that can participate in the meeting?”

“There is no limit, but it shouldn’t be too many. Also, Circle Masters and Rounders must attend.”

Frey looked towards Beniang and said.

“Master Beniang, I know the coordinates for the Jun family residence. With Warp, we would be able to arrive there in an instant.”

“Then would it be okay to delay our departure?”

“Yes. It wouldn’t be a problem even if we leave on the same day.”

Beniang nodded happily.

“Understood. Then we’ll depart in three days.”

* * *

“See you in three days.”

Sheryl left the Trowman Rings that same day.

With the situation as it was, she had to return to the Phisfounder Armlets. Perhaps, if Frey told her to do so, she would immediately leave the circle, but there was currently no need to do so.

Instead, having her in the position of Circle Round of the Phisfounder Armlets would make it easier for them to compromise in the future.

After sending Sheryl off, Frey went to find Hector.

Hector was probably the busiest person out of all of them as he traveled back and forth between the Trowman Rings and Paragon several times a day in order to teach Beniang, and to help complete Anastasia.

“Hector, how is the production of Anastasia going?”

“Of course it’s going great. Uh, but it will probably be delayed a little.”

“Is there a special reason?”

“Because you introduced me to Adelia.”

“…?”

Frey tilted his head.

As Hector said, Frey had introduced him to Adelia. While Adelia might still be lacking when compared to Hector, Diablo and Cairo, she was still one of the best alchemists on the continent.

He had been certain that introducing them would have been a good thing, but Anastasia’s production was being delayed?

“Is Adelia bothering you?”

“No. Not at all. Instead, it’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“Her knowledge is very modern. It has truly expanded the perspectives of Cairo, Diablo and I. Hmm. She’s still lacking a bit when it comes to truly in-depth knowledge, but she has passion, ambition and creativity. Huhu. And those are the most important things for an alchemist.”

“Hmm…”

To put it simply, she was young blood.

Hector seemed a little excited.

“Then I became a little greedy about the completion of Anastasia, which I thought was already perfect. I want to add more parts… but you are the client. If you ask me to hurry, I will.”

“Will it take much longer?”

“It would probably take an extra week at most.”

“Then it’s okay.”

That made Hector’s expression brighten considerably.

“Haha. Thank you.”

“By the way, how is Master Beniang’s training coming?”

“It’s coming along well. You have good eyes. She’s a very talented Wizard.”

Frey agreed with that.

Afterwards, Frey headed to Paragon with Hector, and upon realising that he wasn’t heading back to the Trowman Rings as usual, Hector asked.

“Do you have something to do in Paragon?”

“Yes. Is Diablo around?”

“I think so. He’s probably in his workshop… hmm. Let’s go check.”

Frey then followed Hector through Paragon’s hideout.

From what Frey had gathered, there were less than twenty members in Paragon.

Of course, this didn’t include the lower members, instead, that was the number of members who were allowed to enter the main hideout.

Therefore the hideout was usually quiet, but now, it was a bit noisy.

This was probably because they’d received word of the Demigods’ actions. Frey wondered how Paragon would react to the incident.

Before long, they arrived at Diablo’s workshop. It was a place filled with an extremely gloomy atmosphere that seemed to ward off visitors.

Hector then directly opened the door to the workshop and walked in without knocking.

“Diablo, are you here?”

[…what do you want?]

After a moment, a unique and creepy voice could be heard.

Diablo, who was creating a potion of some sort, didn’t even lift his head. He tapped his finger bone against the bottle, creating a clear sound.

“Frey is here to see you.”

[…]

Dak.

Then Diablo put down the bottle and turned around.

[Hmm. What is it?]

“It’s about 9 stars.”

[…]

Diablo’s eyes flickered at those words.

Frey looked into these blazing eyes that would make even men with iron-like wills crumble, and continued.

“I need your help to reach it.”

[Hoh.]

Interest fluttered in Diablo’s eyes.

Even his voice was filled with interest as he said.

[It sounds like you already know how to become 9 stars.]

“…”

[Kuku. Sure. I’m curious as to what you want. Besides, you need to reach 9 stars before we can try making you a 10 star Wizard…]

Frey was relieved.

Diablo was a Lich with tremendous power, and unlike Cairo, it was impossible for Frey to tell what he was thinking.

Even if they acted in the same way they did before they died, in the end, an undead was still an undead.

And as a living being, he felt an instinctive repulsion to such creatures.

In all honesty, if they didn’t have the Demigods as a mutual enemy, they would not be talking to each so peacefully at that moment.

[But I have a condition.]

Frey didn’t think it was strange. Instead, he expected something like this.

“What is it?”

[Follow me to the Frozen Lands in the north.]

“The Frozen Lands? Why?”

Diablo fell silent for a moment before saying.

[Because I have to meet Elliah.]

* * *

Frey couldn’t spend the three days leisurely.

It would take at least one day for Diablo to help him reach 9 stars. And he had to be prepared to leave on the last day.

This meant that they had a day to meet and persuade Elliah.

“Do you know where Elliah is?”

Diablo shook his head, causing Frey to make a solemn expression.

The Frozen Lands was incredibly vast, in addition, it was very hard to see anything through the never ending snowstorm.

In other words, looking for someone in this place without any clues was the same as looking for a needle in a desert.

“I remember you said Elliah almost killed you last time.”

[She entered my workshop on her own. I don’t know where she came from.]

“…but don’t you have any clues…”

[No.]

When he said that in a firm tone, Frey couldn’t help but ask with a slightly disbelieving expression.

“Haven’t you been living in the Frozen Lands for a long time?”

Diablo snorted.

[I moved to the Frozen Lands because it is the best environment to focus on training and study. Because it was mostly uninhabited, there is no place as quiet and peaceful. It’s the perfect place to carry out my experiments, training and meditation in an underground cave.]

“…”

Well, it was true that it was almost impossible for him to find a more suitable place to train for an undead.

This place had an extremely high mana density since it was barely touched by mortals, and his body wouldn’t be affected by the extreme cold.

As Diablo said, he wouldn’t have to worry about being disturbed by anyone. And since his body didn’t have any physiological needs, he would have been able to cultivate and polish his magic without distraction.

It was something that Frey understood perfectly.

He sighed.

“…I think we need a guide.”

[I also think it would be better to have one. But do you know someone who would be well versed in the geography of the Frozen Lands?]

Frey nodded.

There was a certain Elven Queen who had grown up in the Frozen Lands. He could ask her for help.