LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 134 - Consecutive Incidents (2)
Chapter 134 Consecutive Incidents (2)
Elnote Royal Castle.
The nation established by Hero Andras.
This country, known for its considerable power in the east, was recently embroiled in a tumultuous conflict between the royal faction and the prince’s faction.
The decisive trigger for the civil war was the death of King Hendrick. The rumors began swirling that Luan was involved in his death.
In truth, those who knew even a little about the incident were aware that Luan had not killed Hendrick.
However, by the time everyone knew this fact, it was too late; the true culprit was no longer the focus.
The Hendrick faction, desperate to maintain their privileges, branded Prince Luan a parricidal traitor and sought to kill him.
And so began the struggle of Luan’s faction, fighting to clear his name against the Hendrick faction.
Prince Luan, victorious in the battle, took a resolute stance, declaring he would not hold the coronation until he found the true culprit behind his father’s murder.
But before he could clear his name and find the real culprit, another disaster struck the Kingdom of Elnote.
* * *
“Huff, huff… Who, who are you?”
The king’s office, always heavily guarded by dozens of royal guards, was drenched in a horrifying amount of blood.
Corpses lay with cleanly severed necks.
Contrasting these were bodies brutally torn apart, as if eaten by something.
The room was filled with the bodies of the royal guards, known as the strongest knights in the Elnote Kingdom.
In the midst of this room full of corpses, a young man with gray hair was gasping for breath.
The young man’s name was Luan von Elnote.
He was the prince of the Elnote Kingdom, set to inherit the throne after Hendrick’s death.
“Hmm. Well? I don’t think someone about to die needs to know that.”
A bald man chuckled as he spoke.
His face, covered in grotesque bug tattoos, twisted bizarrely.
“Ugh…”
Luan glared at the bald man with burning eyes.
“…Enough. Kim Jae-hyun.”
At that moment, a woman with purple hair cascading down to her waist spoke in a low voice.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Even in a room stained with blood, she shone with a radiant beauty, holding a blood-stained azure sword in her hand.
The bald man, Kim Jae-hyun, grinned as he looked at her.
“Huh? What’s wrong, Lucia? You also helped kill these guards, didn’t you?”
At his sly words, she glared at him with sharp eyes.
She raised her sword and swung it at the man in front of her.
A silver-white light aimed for his neck.
“…Ugh.”
Lucia let out a painful groan.
She clutched her head in agony.
Her hands trembled as they lowered.
“Hm? Still not coming to your senses, Lucia? As long as I have this, you can’t do anything, you know?”
Kim Jae-hyun, approaching her, stroked her cheek with one hand, his mouth twisted into a smirk.
In his hand was a black rod.
Lucia glared at him with eyes full of hatred.
She placed her trembling hands on her head.
Inside her head was something unknown.
A demonic object that caused excruciating pain and forced her body to move against her will whenever she tried to resist his commands.
“Hahaha! Yes! That’s the look! That electrifying glare!”
“…You perverted bastard.”
“Huh? Is that any way to talk to your master? Who do you think has been kindly taking care of you ever since you lost your memory?”
“Shut up! You just wanted to use my power!”
She screamed in a sharp voice.
Kim Jae-hyun twisted his lips into a grin as he continued.
“Such luck it was, finding an item that lets me control you at will. Whatever the reason, you only have one thing to do now.”
He turned his head toward Luan, who was gasping for breath.
“Kill Luan, Lucia.”
Lucia bit her lip in frustration at his words.
The pain that began in her head spread throughout her body.
With intense pain clouding her mind, her body started to move against her will.
“…I’m sorry.”
She looked down at Luan with an expression of deep sorrow.
The sword in her hand pointed toward him.
“Ugh!”
Luan, who had risen from his seat, lifted his sword again.
Luminous. The legendary sword said to have been used by Hero Andras in the past, began to shine brightly.
“I cannot die here…!”
He stood up with a desperate expression.
If he died here, the Elnote Kingdom would be finished.
He had no children yet.
This meant there would be no legitimate heir to inherit the throne.
No, beyond that, there was no way the kingdom could survive the chaos of losing a king twice in one year.
The Elnote Kingdom would be torn apart by greedy factions.
“Oh, don’t worry about the kingdom.”
Kim Jae-hyun’s mouth twisted as if he was enjoying Luan’s predicament.
His eyes, glistening with madness, were fixed on Luan.
“I will personally rule over the good citizens of the Elnote Kingdom.”
“You, bastard!”
Luan shouted in fury and charged at Kim Jae-hyun.
Luminous, enveloped in bright light, was aimed at Kim Jae-hyun.
– Clang!
Lucia blocked Luan’s charge toward Kim Jae-hyun.
Her sword, swung like a flash of lightning, ‘split’ Luminous in half.
“Wh-what…?”
Luan stared at her in shock.
The legendary sword used by Hero Andras.
The ego sword, which could only be wielded by a recognized direct descendant of the royal family, was shattered like a twig.
“Th-this can’t be…”
Luan muttered in disbelief.
How could the legendary sword, passed down through the Elnote royal family, be so effortlessly and easily destroyed?
“I’m sorry.”
She apologized to him once more, swinging her sword again.
Thud.
Luan’s neatly severed head fell to the ground.
Even in death, his eyes remained fixed on her.
Tears streamed down Lucia’s cheeks.
She bowed her head, her body trembling.
“Huh? Why did you break Luminous? That could’ve been an S-grade rare item.”
Kim Jae-hyun picked up the split Luminous and said.
She turned her head to glare at him.
“A precious sword like that isn’t meant for trash like you.”
“Hahaha! So you destroyed it? Well, I don’t use swords anyway, so it doesn’t matter to me.”
He chuckled, patting her shoulder.
“Besides, I have the great Hero Lucia, one of the eight legendary heroes, by my side. Compared to your worth, an S-grade rare item is nothing but trash.”
Kim Jae-hyun grinned, showing his white teeth.
Lucia’s expression twisted in anger.
In truth, she had no memory of being called one of the ‘eight heroes’ in the past.
When she first woke up, she found herself collapsed in an endless wasteland.
Whether she was indeed one of the eight heroes as he claimed, she did not know.
But one thing was certain.
She could not defy this devilish man.
***
“…Did Prince Luan die?”
Tiria asked her in a daze. Park Si-a slowly nodded.
“Yes. Prince Luan was murdered by the Abaddon Guild.”
A heavy silence fell.
In the midst of the silence, Yeong-sik frowned slightly.
‘Prince Luan is dead.’
In fact, the news of Prince Luan’s death was welcome from the Salvator Guild’s perspective.
It meant that the pursuer who had been relentlessly chasing them was gone.
But upon hearing who had killed him, that thought vanished completely.
The Abaddon Guild. The guild where Kim Jae-hyun, the strongest in the east, resided.
The ominous feeling associated with that name sent a shiver down Yeong-sik’s spine.
It was the moment when his uneasy premonition came true.
“Why did the Abaddon Guild suddenly kill Prince Luan?”
Yeong-sik asked in a low voice.
“…I think they sensed our plans and struck first.”
“Plans?”
“Yes. The Leviathan Guild and the Hanul Guild had been planning to form an eastern alliance for a long time. They intended to gather the strength of various guilds to prepare for the northern conquest.”
Yeong-sik nodded at her words.
He had heard about the Leviathan Guild’s preparations for the northern conquest when they received the Blessing of Seraphim.
“But the Abaddon Guild has no interest in the northern conquest. They aim to take control of the entire eastern region for themselves.”
“…The entire eastern region?”
“Yes. The Ixis Kingdom has already fallen into their hands. Officially, it is known that they have close ties with the kingdom, but in reality, they already dominate the entire kingdom.”
Yeong-sik pressed his lips together tightly at her words.
If what she said was true, it was no small matter.
A guild composed of powerful summoners alone had strength comparable to that of a kingdom.
And now, they had taken control of an entire kingdom.
It meant they had created a perfect military force, both in quality and quantity.
“They drew their swords before we could officially organize the Eastern Alliance.”
“And their first target was the Elnote Kingdom.”
“Yes. The Elnote Kingdom was greatly weakened by the recent civil war. It had enough value for them to target as prey.”
“Huh?”
A short exclamation escaped Yeong-sik’s lips at her words.
It was none other than him who had murdered King Hendrick and instigated the civil war in the Elnote Kingdom.
‘To think that a third force would invade with that in mind.’
Yeong-sik’s expression twisted in anger.
He felt extremely displeased.
The thought of someone reaping the benefits of the plan that the Salvator Guild had been forced to choose to survive was unbearable.
An overwhelming sense of irritation washed over him.
“Our Leviathan Guild plans to go to war with the Abaddon Guild in cooperation with the Hanul Guild. If we leave them be, the eastern region will collapse before the northern conquest can even begin.”
She continued in a low tone.
“We would like to request the cooperation of the Salvator Guild in this plan.”
Park Si-a’s eyes turned to Tiria. She was well aware of the power the Salvator Guild possessed from their previous dungeon raids.
Despite their small numbers, they were a powerful guild, rivaling any of the top three guilds.
“There are conditions.”
Yeong-sik, who had been listening to her, spoke up.
Park Si-a nodded in response.
“Yes, please tell me.”
“After this war, we need your help investigating the new species of monsters that have appeared in the central continent.”
“New species of monsters?”
At Yeong-sik’s sudden words, Park Si-a and Bae Seong-hoon both frowned.
Yeong-sik continued in a low voice.
“The Salvator Guild recently conducted an expedition to the central region. We encountered a new type of monster that forced us to retreat.”
“What kind of monsters were they?”
“They were monsters with a partially mechanical appearance.”
“…Mechanical?”
Park Si-a looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Monsters mixed with machines?
What kind of nonsense was that?
“Yes. It was a type of monster we had never seen before.”
“…Are they powerful?”
“If they weren’t, we wouldn’t be requesting your cooperation in this investigation.”
Park Si-a, quick-witted, instantly grasped the gravity of the situation upon hearing that new types of monsters had appeared in the central region.
With a serious expression, she asked Yeong-sik.
“How did you come across these monsters?”
Depending on the situation, she thought, this issue might take precedence over the matter with the Abaddon Guild.
“We discovered them hidden underground.”
At his words, Park Si-a’s eyes widened.
“Are you saying…”
“Yes. It’s entirely possible that those monsters were also hidden during the Leviathan Guild’s expedition.”
Park Si-a clutched her forehead with a troubled expression.
The information that the monsters were ‘hidden’ led to only one conclusion.
The creators of the recently dormant monsters.
There was a possibility they were planning something.
“Sigh… How could such things happen in succession…”
The appearance of new monsters following the Abaddon Guild’s actions felt like a cruel joke from the gods.
“…It seems we need to prioritize our tasks.”
“My opinion is that we should deal with the Abaddon Guild first,” Yeong-sik said, looking at Park Si-a, Bae Seong-hoon, and Bae Yeong-hoon.
“Could you explain why?”
“It’s simply because the matter with the Abaddon Guild can be resolved more quickly. At least, it would be easier than an expedition to the central region.”
Without the combined strength of the eastern guilds, investigating the central region would be impossible.
If they left the Abaddon Guild unchecked and went on an expedition, there was a risk that the entire eastern region would fall into their hands, like an unattended house being robbed.
Eliminating the immediate threat first was Yeong-sik’s priority.
“…Understood.”
Park Si-a nodded with a heavy expression.
She knew all too well what could happen if they left the Abaddon Guild alone and went on an expedition.
In fact, there was probably no one here who knew better than her about Kim Jae-hyun’s ambitions.
‘First, we focus on dealing with the Abaddon Guild.’
The appearance of the new monsters that Yeong-sik mentioned was certainly a serious matter.
In truth, if the entire continent got caught up in the Creators’ plans, it could lead to its destruction, making it more important to uncover the identity of these new monsters.
But that didn’t mean they could ignore the immediate threat posed by the Abaddon Guild.
“The biggest problem right now is that we cannot accurately gauge the Abaddon Guild’s strength. With their absorption of the kingdom’s forces, we don’t know how large their army is.”
She spoke with a voice filled with anxiety, overwhelmed by the two major issues occupying her mind.
Another heavy silence descended upon the room.
Yeong-sik’s voice broke the silence.
“It’s alright.”
“…Yes?”
Park Si-a looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“They can’t accurately gauge our strength either.”
Who could have imagined that a mechanized division would suddenly appear on the Elnote Continent?