363

Episode 363 Now You Must Choose (2)

Glenn looked momentarily bewildered. A beggar? Where the hell is a beggar here?

It was only after a while that he realized that Amelia had referred to them as beggars.

"Beggar, what are you talking about!"

"I mean, literally. You've taken money from the Duke and Earl Desmond, and you still haven't dealt with the Red Flame Tower, and you're asking me for money? What have you guys done so far?"

"Wh, what… … ."

"If those who keep asking for money without doing anything right aren't beggars, then what are they? Do I look like someone who came out to serve at a temple?"

"this person...."

Glenn was flustered by Amelia's insulting words and couldn't continue speaking properly.

Certainly, he received a great deal of money from the Duke and Earl of Desmond.

But honestly, there was something unfair about it. All that money was spent on drying up the Red Flame Tower.

If they succeeded, the money they had invested so far would not have been a waste. And even if they had failed, Amelia would not dare say something like that.

"You are being too harsh! Your duty is to support us on behalf of the Earl of Desmond! I will not tolerate any more disrespect!"

Then Amelia twisted her lips into a smile.

"What if you don't tolerate it?"

"I will go to the Lord of the Tower immediately and report this! The Duke will absolutely not turn a blind eye to this!"

"No, you can't go back."

"How dare you!"

Glenn, who noticed Amelia's intentions, quickly gathered his magic power. But someone suddenly appeared behind him.

Phew!

"Cough!"

Glenn looked down at the saw-toothed blade poking out of his stomach.

The one who stabbed Glenn in the stomach by surprise was none other than the leader of the wildcat smuggling group, Caleb.

"Yes, you dare to betray… … ."

Glenn was coughing up blood and shaking his hands. He had no idea why Amelia was suddenly acting like this.

All that filled his mind was the thought that Amelia had betrayed him.

Squeak!

Caleb, who had put away his sword, cut off Glenn's head without saying a word.

Glenn's eyes were wide open and his neck fell off.

Amelia looked at his neck rolling around the battlefield and said coldly.

"bouncer."

Then he immediately turned his head and continued speaking.

"Conrad."

Conrad, the top lord of Actium, bowed his head and answered.

"Yes, my lord."

"Lead the upper ranks of the stomach with Caleb and sweep away the Crimson Tower. We must hurry so that it is over before Delmud finishes the exchange."

"Whose legacy will this be?"

"Fenris."

"All right."

Conrad understood Amelia's intention. The Crimson Tower is the duke's hidden sword. Even if the Crimson Tower disappears now, the duke cannot come forward openly.

It was a great opportunity for Amelia, who was trying to weaken the power of the Duke.

And Delmud, who is furious because his tower is broken, will try to fight Giselle in some way.

Amelia gave a bitter laugh.

"Even if Delmud is a 7th circle wizard, he won't be able to handle Fenris alone."

Either die from a fit of rage or run away since you've lost all your bases. If you fight, Fenris will inevitably take significant damage.

Either way, it was a win-win for Amelia. It was a good opportunity to get rid of the beggars who kept pestering her for money, using the Duke's family as a front.

Ulkan, a former bandit who had been listening blankly from the side, suddenly shouted.

"Me too! I want to go! You know I'm the best at killing people!"

Ulkan jumped up and down, saying that his body had been aching lately, but Amelia shook her head.

"You're too obvious, that's no good."

The Crimson Tower is located in a large city. If someone like Ulkan were to run wild, there was a risk that his identity would be discovered.

At those words, Ulkan made a gloomy expression. But Amelia said not to worry.

"Instead, I'll give you another mission."

"Oh! What is it?"

Chook.

Amelia unfolded the map and pointed to a spot.

"We have to take care of everything before the civil war. The agent sent by the Duke will be coming. Take the children and kill them. Don't forget to camouflage."

Ulkan leads most of the bandits in the north. It's not a big deal for him to disguise himself as a bandit and kill someone.

The place Amelia had pointed out was a place with few people. A decent number of people could have been killed without a trace.

"All right!"

Ulkan went out swinging his club in excitement.

Amelia also ordered the rest of her retainers to reorganize their troops and check their food supplies.

Because they also need to complete all preparations before a civil war breaks out.

Amelia didn't care whether the dukedom or the princely faction won. She was going to tear everything down and build anew anyway.

Her plan was to weaken the power of both sides while the Duke's and the Prince's factions fought each other.

All Amelia wanted now was chaos.

* * *

'How many legs... do you have?'

Giselle, who had been pondering the animal leg problem that Vanessa had brought up, opened her eyes wide. The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt, so she couldn't lie down any longer.

"My lord!"

When he opened his eyes, Vanessa cried out with a joyful expression. Gillian and the knights next to him also breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiselle asked, her lips quivering.

"How many legs… … No, how long has it been?"

Gillian answered immediately.

"About a week has passed."

"You've been lying down for a long time."

"This time it was really dangerous."

"Yeah, you have to be prepared for that much if you're going to deal with a 7th circle wizard."

Jiselle snickered. She had lost consciousness when fighting Blood Python, but not to this extent.

This time, I really felt like I had squeezed every last bit of strength out of my body, and it was like I was twisting and drying up.

"Ugh… … ."

Jiselle, who had barely managed to lift her upper body, checked her physical condition. As if the land had been cracked by drought, she could not feel even a single drop of mana.

'That's strange. I guess I woke up too early.'

If it was a normal person, he would have already died. Even someone as strong as Jisel would have been in a coma for at least a month.

It may seem like I slept for a long time, but I woke up too early compared to my physical condition.

As I was wondering, I heard a tired voice in my head.

― Ugh… … You finally woke up.

'Hmm?'

- Damn it! Do you know that you almost died, Master? If it weren't for me, you would've died!

'Oh, how did you do that?'

― How could I! I held on to the fading life force with all my might! And I kept provoking the master's emotions.

'emotion?'

― Yeah! That damned anger! It was burning so hard that it felt like it couldn't die 'again'. If you keep provoking it, it'll feel like it's going to die, but it won't.

Jiselle chuckled. I didn't know Dark had this kind of ability.

Dark didn't want to die either, so he had to save himself somehow.

The effort showed and I couldn't help but laugh.

- Are you laughing now? No, do you always fight so recklessly? Do you only live for today? Is there no tomorrow?

'If you had seen my past life, you would know.'

― … … .

I know this well. In her previous life, Jiselle fought to the point of giving up her life. It seemed like she didn't care if she died at any time.

But I didn't really think I could die. That's how determined I was in every battle.

Dark asked with a trembling voice.

- Master… … Have you really gone back to the past?

'okay.'

Jiselle spoke comfortably. Dark had already stolen some of her memories from her past life. So there was no need to hide it.

Dark was still in disbelief after hearing the answer.

― That's ridiculous! How on earth did you do that? What was I like in my past life? That's right! That's why you came to me and caught me! Really? Did you really go back to the past?

Dark was excited. He couldn't believe it, but he couldn't disbelieve it, so he was curious about so many things.

But Giselle shook her head.

'Ask me later, I don't have time to chatter around right now.'

Giselle, who had silenced Dark's mouth, asked Gillian.

"Nothing special happened?"

Then Gillian said with a dark expression.

"The Crimson Tower has been destroyed."

"I killed Delmud, didn't I? I killed the rest too. So of course they'll perish."

"That's not it… … I heard that the Magic Tower was attacked and the remaining disciples were killed. They say it was reduced to ashes."

Jiselle was slightly surprised. With Delmud dead, it was only natural that the Magic Tower would fall.

But it was the Crimson Tower that was the best in the North. There must have been quite a few disciples left and their skills must have been formidable, but it was completely reduced to ashes.

"Who attacked you?"

Gillian hesitated for a moment, then answered.

"That's… … It was rumored that we did it. In fact, several bodies were found wearing our military uniforms and bearing identification."

Jiselle tilted her head for a moment and then asked.

"Claude?"

There aren't many people in the North who would dare do something this crazy, so I picked one crazy person first and asked him.

"No. The general has actually raised his alert level. He has been falsely accused. We still don't know who did it."

"Hmm… … ."

Jiselle crossed her arms and sat in thought. After thinking for a moment, she soon remembered someone and nodded her head several times.

'Miss Amelia.'

She had the skills and the ability to execute it. The reason why was also clear.

'I guess they're going to first weaken the power of the Duke's family. The Prince's faction is still at a disadvantage.'

If he hadn't come here and killed Delmud, it would have been quite a nuisance.

The Red Tower of Magic will have been destroyed, and the remaining Crimson Tower wizards will surely fight Fenris.

It's fortunate that he was defeated in a one-on-one duel, but when a 7th circle wizard appears on the battlefield leading dozens of wizards, hell breaks loose.

Even if that had happened, they would have won in the end, but Fenris would have suffered significant damage as well.

Amelia wanted to blow away one of the Duke's hidden powers while also reducing Fenris's power.

'Whenever there's an opportunity, he takes advantage of it somehow.'

Giselle stuck out her tongue. Even though she had laid the groundwork, Amelia hadn't missed a thing. She was really persistent.

Of course, he was going to destroy the Crimson Tower anyway. Amelia took care of the rest, so things were easier.

From Amelia's perspective, it would be half a success.

"Fine. There's no need to make excuses. After all, I'm the one who killed Delmud. I'll just get scolded."

Now it didn't matter who wiped out the rest. Since Delmud was killed, the instigator of the incident had to be Jiselle herself.

But the Duke's family won't be able to come forward officially. No one knew that they were behind the Crimson Tower.

So, it was obvious that for now, he would just vent his anger.

"Let's start preparing to leave. There's a lot to prepare when we get back to the territory."

Before Giselle could finish speaking, the door opened wide and Hubert and the elders came in.

"Oh my! Our Count! You've finally woken up! The strongest in the North! The Sword Master!"

Hubert approached Giselle, his eyes sparkling so brightly that they looked like they were dripping with honey.

Although initially surprised, Hubert soon figured out the situation and was overjoyed.

The Crimson Magic Tower, which had been competing with them for power, was completely destroyed. It finally regained its reputation as the best magic tower in the North.

It didn't matter who did it, even though Jiselle did it all. The only thing that mattered was that the Red Flame Tower in the North was the strongest.

That way, you can make a lot of money and continue to live in luxury.

"By the way, you said you completely wiped out the Crimson Tower? Oh man, you should have told me earlier. Then we could have helped."

Hubert was talking nonsense. If he had actually asked me to do that, I would have made up excuses and gotten out of it.

But Giselle had no intention of letting it go like that anymore.

"You said you were curious as to why that happened?"

"Oh, right? The results are good, but it's so sudden… … ."

"The Crimson Tower was raised by the Dukes. And their mission was to destroy the Red Flame Tower. So I took care of it."

At those words, Hubert and the elders' faces turned pale and hard.

The Duke was targeting them. It was scary just hearing it. I couldn't understand what was going on.

"Why? Why did the Duke try to use the Crimson Tower to attack us?"

Jiselle told him about what had happened and that the Duke was about to start a civil war.

"That, that can't be… … . So, you're saying that the Duke is eliminating all elements that could be a hindrance before starting a civil war?"

"That's right. Destroying the Red Flame Tower is part of that. You've probably heard that several towers in other regions have already been destroyed."

Hubert nodded without realizing it. For various reasons, several of the towers had disappeared.

But I never dreamed that it was all the Duke's doing.

If what Jiselle said is true, then the unwritten rules of the wizards will be of no use. If a civil war breaks out, all the magic towers that are not part of the duke's family will have already disappeared.

Then, only the magic towers held by the Duke will be able to move freely.

Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps. Wasn't that something they had been preparing for years already!

Giselle warned Hubert.

"Now you must choose. Either stay here and die at the hands of the Duke, or fight together."

Hubert and the elders gulped. To be honest, they didn't want to fight.

Hubert thought quickly. A good idea came to mind.

"Well, what if we join the Duke's family?"

Then Jiselle smiled brightly and said.

"Then you'll die first for me? We're closer. No, should we just die now? Gillian."

Gillian took out his axe and bowed his head.

"Just give me the order."

Hubert and the elders, who were watching what Giselle was doing, opened their mouths in a daze.

In the past, they would arbitrarily raise the price of rune stones, but now they are openly threatening to kill me.

But there's no way to stop him. Now he's the strongest in the North.

'I shouldn't have gotten involved with this kind of person who just leaves!'

Hubert sniffled and lowered his head.

A tear welled up in his eye.