Chapter 298

The sword that lay between the boundary and the barrier.

The Magic Sword Adamas.

He had never reported on it separately.

‘I know that Eurasia is looking for Adamas.’

It was something he had heard after asking Emma Eurasia for Adamas previously.

And the one who wanted that sword was Simon Eurasia, who had gone from the strongest knight of the eastern frontier to the strongest knight on the eastern continent and was now competing for the title of the continent’s greatest sword.

‘I do not know for certain why he is looking for Adamas.’

Among Eurasia’s direct bloodline, only Edan Eurasia had made a contract with the Magic Sword. It had nothing to do with the kingdom’s legitimacy.

‘Perhaps he means to borrow the Magic Sword’s power before the Great War.’

That was because the current Eurasia was in a situation no less dangerous than the Eurasia of Edan’s time.

From Simon’s position, if there was a way to strengthen their forces, it was not a time to be selective about means and methods.

But.

‘The main body no longer has the power it once did.’

The soul that had maintained the rank called the Magic Sword was gone, and only the soul of a 9-Star knight, sealed alongside the Curse of the Anomaly, remained within the sword.

Even if Simon held the sword, it would be fortunate if he did not suffer harm from the curse instead of receiving help.

And Killian was after Adamas as well.

Not to use the sword, but to free Edan from the seal. To save the soul of his friend, who was trapped in a bladed implement and forced to fight the Anomaly without end.

Until now, he had put it off because he could not withstand the Curse of the Anomaly held within the sword.

Now that he had stabilized 9-Star, it was worth attempting.

[Adamas, be sure to find ‘me.’ There lies the answer you sought....]

Those were Styx’s words just before he left the Makeshift Boundary.

Even apart from the matter of Adamas, Killian had reason to find the boundary.

‘There is not enough time, yet there are many places I need to visit.’

In any case, Tomintyul said that he had merely traded with Killian as the revelation instructed him to.

“A trade does not refer only to material things.”

He added that simply obtaining a promise from Killian had been an act of sufficient value.

It was an interesting way of thinking.

“What do you intend to do now?”

Tomintyul was convinced that Killian was the silver-haired knight mentioned in the revelation, and that by trading with him, he had fulfilled it.

“When the war broke out, our temple’s assets were seized.”

“That is unfortunate.”

The Temple of Trade was located within the Empire’s territory.

There was no way the Empire, which knew better than anyone the danger of a temple’s Warp Gate, would leave it alone.

They were now staying in other temples and carrying out the Holy See’s orders.

That was why they had come to decommission the abandoned temple.

“You will need new land on which to serve your god.”

“Perhaps because you are a god’s Apostle, you understand quickly.”

“There is Pantera Temple in the eastern frontier, but it is quite far from the capital.”

Connecting the gates made travel somewhat more convenient, but the number of priests they could accommodate was limited.

‘There must have been many refugees after the war began as well.’

For Eurasia, which also had few mages, every priest was valuable.

‘Have I changed too?’

In the past, he would have strongly opposed bringing temples anywhere near him.

Not now.

He needed to resolve the problems caused by his mistake in failing to open the door.

‘High Priest Tomintyul wants to make a personal trade with me.’

It was not a simple ambition such as the temple’s revival.

He firmly believed in the revelation bestowed by his god.

“As it happens, Eurasia has renowned dwarves.”

“Oh, does it?”

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

Tomintyul asked in return without readily taking the bait.

“How about building a Temple of Trade in Brussels, Eurasia’s capital? It will take quite some time because of the war, but until then, the priests may stay at the royal castle.”

“A new temple in Eurasia’s capital.... Are you considering a Monster Wave?”

“I will not deny it.”

Countless mountain ranges stood in the eastern frontier.

If a Monster Wave arose there, the frontier families would be the first to suffer damage.

In the end, it would only be a matter of time before it reached Brussels, the capital.

‘With Pantera and Horvis’s two temples, that should strengthen us by more than five knight orders.’

It would also enable the Holy Knight Order to respond quickly in an emergency.

They had joined hands against the shared enemies of the Empire and the Monster Wave, so he needed to make the most of what he could.

Eurasia, which lacked mages, would never refuse. What mattered was Tomintyul’s answer.

“The more I speak with you, Sir Knight, the more certain I become. God Horvis has sent me a benefactor.”

“What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.”

In the short term, the trade would prepare them for a Monster Wave; in the long term, it would secure the kingdom’s finances.

“De Teruo Em Keirun.”

Tomintyul held out his hand, chanting an incomprehensible formula.

Grip.

The two men clasped hands and exchanged looks.

“God Horvis will stand with Eurasia.”

“Eurasia, too, will stand with you as we bring balance to the world.”

Tomintyul’s lips curved upward, and Killian’s eyes narrowed.

***

RUMBLE.

The temple collapsed in on itself under the Divine Formula used by the priests.

“Then I will contact you soon.”

“I will send someone to the kingdom and inform them of the High Priest’s intentions in advance.”

With warm farewells, Tomintyul and the priests departed.

They said that they would go directly to the Holy See through the gate of a nearby temple.

Only the Extermination Squad remained in the forest in the north of the continent.

“You secured a temple for the capital in no time.”

Serena, who had watched their conversation, spoke evenly.

Contrary to her words, she was somewhat surprised to see Killian negotiate again after so long.

She knew well how bringing a temple in would affect the capital’s defenses.

“I should send a letter to Emma Eurasia.”

“Are you thinking of handing the credit to Prince Julian again this time?”

“There are many things that need attention in order to build a temple.”

He said it because he thought that she, backed by the Sepia Merchant Company, would handle it well.

“....”

Serena did not appear pleased.

“Why? Do you wish that I would compete for the throne?”

“No.”

Once again, her words and expression did not match.

“First, let us return to what we were originally discussing about the Monster Lord. I do not know where he is either.”

“....”

Killian’s belongings were at the Holy See.

He told them that the bag he had left there contained a map he had received from Lucy Eurasia.

“Retrieving your belongings will not be difficult, but.... Are you planning to search every place one by one?”

Miller spoke.

“No.”

“....?”

“The mountain ranges are already no different from enemy territory.”

Perhaps not two years ago.

Now, however, the number of monsters was rapidly increasing.

It meant Damian’s subjugation had not been proceeding successfully.

‘Well, it also means Damian has held on well until now.’

If he left things as they were, Damian and the White Knight Order would be killed by the monsters that poured down from the mountain ranges.

He could not allow a talent with such great potential to become a Superhuman to be lost so vainly.

“First, we will join Damian. Let us hope that the subjugation party has meaningful information.”

It was a slight detour, but it was time to fulfill the mission from two years ago.

***

Damian felt an inexplicable tension.

“Commander, the monsters’ reactions are unusual.”

Las Veltvik, vice commander of the White Knight Order, said.

The instincts of a man who had reached 6-Star were not wrong.

Damian felt the same.

The problem was that he could not tell exactly where that feeling came from.

‘We have not yet found anything that might be connected to the Monster Lord.’

Over the past two years, he had faced dozens of Superhuman-level monsters.

There had been monsters at the level of the Knight Butcher, which had once driven him to the brink of death, and even stronger ones.

Every one of them had offered their neck to Damian’s sword, which stood at the threshold of 7-Star.

He had searched six mountain ranges in that manner.

Though he had scoured them far more thoroughly than a single knight order needed to, he had not found a Dungeon.

The mountain range he was now climbing was the seventh.

‘No Dungeon has been found here either.’

One hypothesis was possible.

‘The Dungeon’s location moved.’

If the Mayer Family’s information was not wrong, and the Dungeon had not disappeared naturally, that was the only possibility that came to mind.

‘Has Killian not arrived yet?’

Damian thought of his younger half-brother.

While he was in the midst of carrying out the subjugation campaign, a letter from his mother arrived.

We have recruited Killian, so he will head there soon.

Though they were brothers, the gap between their levels had already grown extreme.

The person who brought the letter told him that Killian had been stripped of his position as commander of the Extermination Squad.

‘That sounds like him.’

At first, he admired his mother Lucy Eurasia’s action.

Making Killian one of her people was something no one in Eurasia had managed to do.

Killian behaved as though he had joined hands with the Third Queen and Julian, putting them forward while preferring to act alone.

The post of commander of the Extermination Squad suited that disposition, and everything he did led to Eurasia’s benefit.

The person who brought the letter also told him that the war had spread to the Holy Nation because of Killian’s actions.

Eurasia, having formed the Kingdom Alliance, would take part in the war as well.

Lucy Eurasia had sent word through the messenger that he and his knight order need not return to the kingdom and should continue their subjugation campaign.

The Monster Lord was not an opponent that he, not yet even a complete Superhuman, could deal with.

It likely meant that he should narrow the area down as he had been doing.

The arrival of one knight, Killian Eurasia, would multiply the subjugation party’s strength several times over.

He had continued the subjugation campaign for two years in that way.

Killian had gone missing.

Meanwhile, Eurasia’s army led by Simon was advancing toward the Empire, knocking down vassal states one after another.

‘Where are you, Killian?’

He could not think of anyone capable of harming him.

He recalled the last time Killian had appeared during the previous war.

He had appeared as an 8-Star then too.

‘Are you training to reach 9-Star this time?’

Damian shook his head as though to cast aside the thought.

Since he had climbed the mountain range, it was time to check the seventh Dungeon.

‘This is the last one.’

It had been nearly a month since he entered the Ritz Mountain Range.

Recently, the monsters had become strangely tame.

Once this subjugation was complete, he intended to report to Count Vaskia and spend a month regrouping.

If the Monster Lord was secluding himself somewhere in the mountain ranges, he would be a fatal dagger aimed at Eurasia, which was at war.

“We camp here today.”

At his command, the surroundings grew busy.

Damian was catching his breath as he watched rangers and knights cut down trees to make a clearing.

THUD.

The pressure crushing his entire body instantly made his head go blank.

“....!!”

Damian released mana a beat too late.

White mana rose like a heat haze.

He wanted to shout a warning of an attack, but resisting the pressure was all he could manage.

The moment he finished rotating his Mana Heart and prepared to confront an enemy ambush at any time.

[Eurasia.]

A chilling voice sounded in his ear.