Translator: Pai_
'Could it be they're pulling the exact sa trick as before...?'
That was the first thought that ca to Turan after reading the letter sent by the Head of House Carmine.
Although there was so variation, wasn't the pattern exactly the sa as the trap that Jel had planned when he visited in person in the past?
Of course, ordinarily, people wouldn’t use the sa trick twice, but on the flip side, there was also the tactic of exploiting that very mindset and catching one off guard.
After all, once soone falls for an obviously blatant trick, they tend to unconsciously lower their guard, thinking, “Surely they wouldn’t try the exact sa trick again.”
After silently staring at the letter for a few minutes in thought, Turan slowly folded the parchnt.
“Tell them I’ll contact them soon.”
“Uh, it’s an urgent matter, so they need an imdiate response on the spot-”
“Is the master of Parsha soone beneath the Head of House Carmine?”
“To think you dare to rush for an answer.”
The noble of House Carmine, who had been mumbling with a flustered expression, bowed his head under the intimidating pressure from the nobles of House Parsha standing beside him.
After he left, Turan gave the order to his subordinates to return to Kalamaf.
After riding for several hours and arriving at the city, the citizens welcod the warriors who had returned from several days of dwarf hunting.
“Please look this way!”
“Haha, is all this really necessary...”
The wizards of Parsha laughed foolishly, seemingly pleased by the scene.
It was proof that, in these confusing and fearful tis, people had co to desperately rely on the wizards who protected them.
While allowing the returnees to rest, Turan also confird a ssage sent from isa, who was currently governing the Aravion region.
[The Birdn Tribe is rampaging all over the Takein Plains. It looks like it'll take ti to get the situation under control.]
Bije, who had flown all the way from the Takein Plains with the letter, grumbled quietly.
-Too many fake birds there. Weak, but annoying.
To her eyes, the ones with human bodies and bird wings attached to their arms only looked like re imitations of birds.
Of course, by Bije’s standards, “weak” was relative.
From the context, it was clear that using an ordinary flying magical beast as a ssenger would almost certainly result in it being shot down mid-flight.
For now, it seed they had no choice but to rely on isa to handle the Aravion side for a while.
When sending Bije, he had also requested her to check on the Nagin side, but if it was beyond her capabilities, there was nothing that could be done about it.
After spending about ten minutes playing with Bije, who had worked hard, Ashiz arrived with a tired expression.
“I heard sothing strange on the way.”
“They say the Carmine side want to finish off the Great Sea Serpent.”
“Is that a lie or is it true?”
“I don’t know. Even if the ssenger was telling the truth, it might just be that he believes it’s true. They probably know about the Eye of Truth, so they must have taken that into account.”
“Is that so... So, what’s your conclusion?”
In response to Ashiz’s question, Turan shared the conclusion he had reached after pondering on the way back.
“For now, I’ll play along.”
“You’ll play along?”
“They still don’t know what I’m capable of. If I only use the sa level of abilities as before, they’ll eventually reveal their true colors. Whether they choose to cooperate sincerely or try to pull sothing shady.”
What had changed since before was that Turan now possessed powers they were not yet aware of.
When one lacks power, they have to constantly be on edge, not knowing what tricks others might pull, but soone with power can afford to calmly say, “Go ahead, try to fool .”
“Whether it’s the rfolk or the Carmine bunch, they’re both powder kegs that could explode at any mont. It’s ti to start cleaning things up.”
If they cooperated sincerely, Turan was even willing to overlook the past invasion in alliance with the Great Sea Serpents to so extent.
But if not, if they were trying to pull so shady trick, then the upper echelons of House Carmine would be replaced that very day.
“Oh, by the way, while I was gone, did any word co from those guys?”
“Those guys... the dwarves?”
“Yeah. They called themselves the Honorable Republic or sothing, right?”
“Nothing yet. Maybe they ran away?”
At Ashiz’s words, Turan let out a quiet hum.
Based on what he’d heard before, it was likely that they still hadn’t reached a consensus within the community and were unable to make a decision.
If not, it could simply be that their nest was much farther from Kalamaf than expected, so it was taking them a long ti to travel.
In truth, either way, it didn’t matter much.
As evidenced by the fact that Monarch had once sought to borrow the power of the Night Hunter to exterminate the dwarves, the Night Hunter’s tracking ability was so precise that it could locate even the secret bases the dwarves had built using all their technological prowess.
Turan, who had elevated Tracking Magic to the realm of a skill by manifesting the Shepherd’s emblem, could now display a similar ability. No matter how deeply they hid, he would eventually be able to find and wipe them out.
If they refused to submit and chose only to hide, then all that remained was to prepare the appropriate punishnt.
“In any case, if they send a proposal, accept it, but don’t let them into the city. Without , our forces aren’t overwhelming yet.”
“Got it.”
“We’ve cleared out the dwarf gangs near Kalamaf, but we’ll set aside ti later to re-establish contact with more distant places, so notify the vassals via beacon...”
Ashiz quickly wrote Turan’s instructions down on parchnt.
Even after returning from hard work, the duties of the Head of House Parsha were endless.
***
“This is unexpected. Our ssenger hasn’t even returned yet.”
“Still, isn’t it a good thing that I ca quickly?”
Head of House Carmine, Rodor, looked at Turan with a slightly bewildered expression.
After all, the ssenger he had sent would still be on his way back from the vicinity of Kalamaf, yet Turan had suddenly flown in with an unknown person, so his reaction was understandable.
“Well, yes, it’s good that you ca. But still, don’t you think your numbers are a bit too small?”
“Out of the current troops, the only ones who can fight properly underwater are and this guy here.”
Turan pointed as he spoke, indicating Armania.
As always, Armania, who had been holed up underground, wore a complicated expression, likely troubled by the fact that he now had to face his own family in battle.
When he removed his mask and revealed his rman face, Rodor let out a low whistle.
“As expected, you must be the rman prince they’re so desperate to kill? That makes sense then.”
Guns and cannons, being powder-based weapons, were useless underwater.
Even aside from that, there were barely any who could fight underwater using fluid manipulation magic with real proficiency.
Those familiar with such tactics from the Gray Zone were mostly wizards from Ophen Port, but they had all perished during the last Great Sea Serpent invasion.
While they were talking, Turan used the power of his eye and the Sacred Relic to scout the Carmine forces.
‘At least it’s not a lie that they fought a battle and suffered heavy losses.’
Among Rodor and the other possessed bodies, there were several whose magic flow was unstable, as if they had been injured, and the overall numbers had decreased noticeably from the previous report.
“More than that, I’d like to hear how things are going on the sea side lately.”
“The sea side?”
“You already know, don’t you? All sorts of old-era races are popping up on land. If Great Sea Serpents have also appeared, this wouldn’t be the ti to hunt rfolk.”
Even if they had, if Turan’s theory was correct, the enemies would be sowhat weaker than the real Great Sea Serpents, but still just as threatening.
To Turan’s question, Rodor shook his head and denied it.
“No Great Sea Serpents have shown up. I’m sure of it. When those things start rampaging, the sea has a completely different feel. You can tell right away.”
“Hm.”
Having heard the answer he more or less expected, Turan fell into thought.
Why had everything else appeared, but the Great Sea Serpents hadn’t shown a trace?
Was it because the rman race already existed to mimic their form?
Or was it because Monarch didn’t want to unleash them into the world?
Even Armania’s weakened state might be related to that sohow.
Either way, if the Great Sea Serpents hadn’t descended, now was the perfect opportunity.
If he didn’t wipe out Armania’s relatives now, they’d be an ongoing nuisance for a long ti.
“Then let’s head out imdiately.”
“Straight to the point. I’ll get things ready, so give about thirty minutes.”
Shortly after, Turan carefully observed the wizards of House Carmine gathering along the shore.
As expected, all knight-class individuals without bloodline abilities were excluded, and only nobles with at least mid-tier capabilities or higher had gathered.
Anyone below that level wouldn’t be able to deal effective damage to the Great Sea Serpent in the first place, so it was only natural.
In truth, unlike when fighting humans, numbers often didn’t an much when facing these kinds of massive monsters.
For example, if soone like Turan were struck by a knight’s magic, it might drain a minuscule amount of magic power to neutralize it. However, a giant monster with power equal to Turan’s could withstand such attacks with nothing more than its physical body, without consuming any magic power.
While Turan was briefly lost in thought, Armania, who had been silently following behind him with his mouth shut, finally spoke.
“Turan.”
“What is it?”
“Now that I’m by the sea, my condition is starting to improve.”
“I figured as much.”
That was one of the reasons why Turan had brought the weakened Armania here.
If the place for giants was the Enril Desert, and for dwarves it was the Gray Zone, then perhaps the sea was where the Great Sea Serpent rfolk belonged.
It seed that hypothesis was correct.
“Then... does that an I can’t stay in Kalamaf anymore...?”
At Armania’s sowhat disheartened voice, Turan burst out in a hearty laugh and shook his head.
“Well, if you’re okay with feeling a bit weak, you can stay anyti you want. Do whatever you like.”
From the beginning, Turan hadn’t taken Armania in because he expected him to possess the transcendent power of the Great Sea Serpent or because he offered the Jade Mirror, but simply because he was an unusually kind rfolk.
Even if the mirror disappeared and Armania could no longer transform into a Great Sea Serpent, Turan would not abandon him, and upon hearing that, Armania’s eyes welled up with tears.
“Turan, you’re truly a kind devil.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard you say ‘kind devil’.”
The laugh only lasted a mont, and then Rodor inford them that everything was ready, prompting Turan to do so light stretches.
“Let’s move out.”
“Good. I’ll leave the navigation to you.”
Not long after, a warship carrying several dozen nobles and a single rfolk began heading out to sea.
***
Co to think of it, it had been quite a while since Turan had crossed the North Sea.
The last ti might’ve been when he’d acted under the identity of Onil?
Turan leaned against the edge of the deck, powered by the Carmine nobles’ magic, letting the sea breeze wash over him.
Right beside him, Armania stood with his mouth agape, looking dazed.
“What are you doing?”
“Breathing in salty wind instead of water. It feels like it gives strength.”
Turan was about to tell him to stop because he looked like an idiot, but then he held his tongue.
So what if he looked stupid? If it really gave him strength, then it was sothing to be encouraged.
Perhaps it was thanks to the combined power of the dozens of powerful Carmine nobles steering the ship?
The warship’s speed was astonishingly fast.
They had perfectly coordinated the technique Turan had once used with isa and Solif, pushing the ship with seawater, and even had a few sea magical beasts pulling it from the front.
As a result, it only took two days for the ship that had departed from Ophen Port to reach a location in the middle of the North Sea.
Since Bije would be of no use underwater, Turan had sent her off for reconnaissance and spent ti playing with Armania. With Tracking Magic, he could sense that a large number of rfolk were gathered below.
About ten minutes later, Rodor ca to inform him they had arrived right above the enemy’s base.
“Just head straight down from here.”
“Your accuracy’s impressive. Anyone would think you’ve got a Chaser’s ability.”
At Turan’s words, the Carmine god tribe mbers all glared at him in unison.
In truth, one among them had fused Frost, Rapids, and Chaser bloodlines to gain an extraordinarily advanced tracking ability, though only within underwater environnts.
The reason they reacted that way to Turan’s comnt was because the source of that power was likely one of the two Carmine god tribe mbers who had been captured.
In other words, even though they were in a cooperative relationship, they still resented Turan for not releasing their kin.
“Let’s go in.”
“Right. Let’s go, Armania.”
“Got it!”
Leaving only a few behind to tend to the ship, the rfolk subjugation squad all leapt into the sea together.
Splash. As the cold seawater soaked his body, Turan activated the Carmine bloodline for the first ti in quite a while.
He felt the strange sensation of seawater inhaled through his nose being converted into oxygen and flowing through his body.
[From here, go straight down.]
Perhaps they were using a technique that transmitted sound through the water as a dium, as Rodor’s voice reached Turan with a slight delay.
Turan responded with a nod, then grabbed the fin of Armania, who had transford into a large shark right beside him.
“Ah, ah...”
[Ah.]
After a bit of practice, Turan succeeded in mastering the thod of transmitting voice underwater.
It was partly due to his innate talent, but mostly because he was already used to sending his voice through wind, and the technique felt similar.
[Let ride with you.]
[Can’t you swim on your own?!]
Armania replied in a whining, echoing sound wave-like voice, but despite his complaints, he obediently carried Turan as he descended downward.
The ocean, which was fairly bright just a few ters deep, rapidly darkened as they went lower.
Ten ters, fifty ters, a hundred ters, five hundred ters...
Before long, they were surrounded by pitch-black darkness beneath the sea.
Turan thought that if it weren’t for the power of the Carmine bloodline, the water pressure alone would have been quite a nuisance, when suddenly, lights began to appear far below.
‘We’re here.’
[It feels like... coming back to my holand after a long ti...]
Armania mumbled quietly beside him.
Though this was surely a new hideout the rfolk had built, and completely different from the place he used to live, the fact that it was an underwater dwelling seed to stir up feelings of nostalgia.
The rfolk’s underwater base looked like the ruins of an ancient kingdom subrged by a flood.
Buildings carved from coral and stone clung tightly to the solid seabed, and glowing deep-sea fish were tied in places, illuminating the darkness.
One rfolk, noticing the approaching wizards, scread at a frequency only their kind could hear and fled.
The presence of powerful enemies approaching must have been enough to suppress even their instinctual hunger.
Monts later, six massive Great Sea Serpents began to appear one by one around the base.
[Devils!]
[Have you co to wipe us out?]
[Armania!]
[Traitor to your own kind!]
At the shouts of what appeared to be his brothers and sisters, Armania, still in shark form, visibly shrank.
Urged by Turan’s sharp patting on his back, he reluctantly took on the form of a Great Sea Serpent as well.
While the other rfolk asured about fifty to sixty ters in length, Armania was clearly over eighty ters at a glance.
He seed even larger than when Turan last saw him in the library.
And the only one of comparable size, the rfolk King, a Great Sea Serpent, glared with wide eyes as he swam toward Armania.
[Father...]
[I won’t waste words, boy. Co back. I’ll forgive everything.]
The rfolk King was openly trying to coax Armania back.
It made sense, given their desperate situation, they couldn’t afford to completely reject a “traitor”.
Even if Armania decided to rejoin the rfolk, it was uncertain whether they could still win against Turan and the Carmine nobles.
[Father, can’t you reconsider? Turan promised not to attack humans. If you agree, he won’t harm us-]
[That’s not a rfolk’s life. That’s the life of livestock! You’ve been to the surface, so you must know what a dog is. Is it so joyous to eat food handed down by a master, to breed at the master's command?]
[I... I...]
Armania fell silent, unable to respond.
As Turan quietly listened, he stepped forward to face the rfolk King directly.
[So, you’re saying you’d rather die than give up a life of ruling the seas and eating humans at will.]
[And what will you do about it, monster?]
[If our ideals differ, we settle it by force.]
At the sight of the slingshot in Turan’s hand, the rfolk King and the other Great Sea Serpents growled quietly.
They knew all too well what that slingshot could do, having once hunted the undead Great Sea Serpent together.
[Well then, shall we begin?]
As Turan loaded a chunk of ice, created from frozen seawater, into the slingshot and spun it, the Great Sea Serpents interpreted it as a signal to attack and roared in unison.
As the Sea Serpents and rfolk charged forward in an instant, the Carmine nobles in the rear also took up combat positions.
[Let’s go! Attack, all of you!]
As the thundering shout from behind spread through the water, Turan’s body spun upside down.
The wave from Rodor’s thrusting trident and the ice projectile Turan fired collided, creating a massive shockwave.
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