VOLUME 13: CHAPTER 20

The Principality was a country located in the far North of the continent.

Sitting on top of permanently frozen soil, and surrounded by mountains on all sides, the country was covered by white all year round.

The North was supposed to be non-conducive to life. Due to the cold, very few crops were capable of growing in the region, and those that did were mostly inedible.

Still, due to the proper governance of its ruling class and the support of the people, the country grew and eventually became self-sustainable.

The few mages in the country focused all their attention on creating and maintaining crops that were harvestable even in cold weather.

Armies were mostly mobilized to secure the adjacent regions and eradicate monster camps.

The government even went as far as form a peace treaty with largest barbarian settlement in the North, preventing further wars between the two groups from breaking out.

And most of these achievements were feasible due to the existence of a single person.

The Voiceless One of the Principality.

The so-called third strongest person in the entire continent.

Due to his existence, the nation had the leeway to utilize the few mages it had to grow crops.

Due to the Voiceless One's overwhelming strength, the Principality did not fear sending their armies to subjugate the monsters in the North, leaving their nation defenseless.

As long as the Voiceless One existed, they did not fear the invasion of any enemies, even if their armies were currently occupied with eradicating beasts.

The Voiceless One was basically a one-man army.

Only the Great Empire would probably dare invade their land, but thankfully, the Principality was located in the far North. The Great Empire needed to conquer the Three States Alliance first if it wished to reach the Principality of Rinvixia.

Inside the room of the Voiceless One, a figure had just softly landed on the floor. With a flick of the figure's hand, the open window closed with a soft thud, muffling the snowstorm outside.

"Would it hurt to knock before entering my bed chamber?"

An old man with ashen hair, hunched back, and twig-like limbs spoke in a hoarse voice. Various devices were connected to his chest, helping his heart beat and his lungs breathe.

His real name forgotten with time, he was the one-hundred- and fifty-two-year-old human known as the Voiceless One.

Contrary to his title, he was capable of speaking.

"I've already told you before," said the Voiceless One. "It's bad manners to enter someone's room unannounced."

A female voice spoke, "Knock? Stop jesting, old man. You already knew I've come to the north hours before my arrival."

The woman patted off the snow that had piled up on top of her hood.

She removed her hood, revealing pitch-black hair flowing down to her waist.

"…Haha, so," said the Voiceless One, smiling. "What brought the esteemed Wandering Sage to my humble abode?"

Instead of answering, the Wandering Sage strode toward the Voiceless One and started inspecting the apparatuses attached to his body.

"Tch. Old man, look at you. If I arrived a month later, you would have turned into a corpse."

The Voiceless One was very old. He'd managed to live this long only due to the apparatuses attached to his body. Without them, he wouldn't even be able to breathe on his own.

"You asked what I'm doing here? I'm here for the maintenance of the artifact, what else?"

The Wandering Sage took out a small piece of gemstone from her cloak.

Seeing it, the Voiceless One's pupils shook. "…That's!"

"A bloodstone fragment," said the Wandering Sage. "I got it from the Scarvson Peninsula. There's this guy who calls himself the new King of Pirates, you see. Zayn's dead, right? After he died and his fleet got annihilated, that kid started rallying the remaining pirates of the Mullgray Islands. Hehe… I borrowed it from him."

The Voiceless One knew what 'borrowed' meant. The Wandering Sage never returned things she'd 'borrowed', after all. It was no different from stealing.

"You stole it? Again?"

"What do you mean again? Old man, look. I had to do this. If you were the owner of this bloodstone fragment, would you give it to me even if I beg?"

The Voiceless One didn't answer.

"Of course not, right? I have no choice but to steal it. Even the artifacts keeping you alive right now were stolen from a tomb. You hear that? I ransacked a freaking tomb just to keep you alive!"

The Wandering Sage raised the bloodstone fragment, admiring it.

"Honestly, it feels wasteful to use this thing on you. I can extend my life by a hundred years if I use this on my power core."

The Voiceless One said, "Then don't use it. I've lived long enough. I have no regrets—"

"—Are you crazy?" The Wandering Sage frowned. She clicked her tongue. "Stop saying gloomy things, old man. I still have around a hundred years left before my body breaks down. You need this thing more than I do."

"But it's a bloodstone fragment…."

"So, what? I have a lot of time left. I'll just find another one before the power in my core runs out."

"But Anisphia, there's no guarantee you'll find another bloodstone fragment after that one."

The Wandering Sage started tinkering with the artifact keeping the Voiceless One alive.

Since she was the one who installed them on the old man's body in the first place, she knew her way around the device.

"Stop worrying, old man. There's this territory called Blackstone City. If I'm not mistaken, I should be able to find more bloodstone fragments there."

"Haah… Stop lying. If it was that easy to find bloodstone fragments, my body wouldn't be in this state right now."

Bloodstone was a legendary item that was said to be capable of granting immortality to the owner. Even its fragments were said to be capable of granting some degree of longevity, and they could even halt the aging of one's body. There were also records indicating it should be capable of curing all sorts of diseases and curses.

Of course, as an item of legends, it was nearly impossible to find.

"It's because you're damn stubborn. With your strength, you could probably scour the entire continent without any problems, but you chose to stay in this gloomy place. I don't understand why you love this country so much."

The Wandering Sage pulled open a latch on the main body of the apparatus, and after activating the device inside, she inserted the bloodstone fragment.

Like barren land that saw rain for the first time in decades, the device started sucking the power contained within the bloodstone fragment.

The device whizzed softly.

Color started returning to the Voiceless One's skin. The old man could feel his life force recovering bit by bit.

The Wandering Sage prevented her lips from curving upward. She felt relieved seeing her friend regain even a portion of his life force back.

"You should be good for another decade or so," said the Wandering Sage. "So, how about it? Want to come with me to Blackstone City? If we put our mind to it, it should be possible to transport all of the apparatuses with us during our journey."

The Voiceless One wryly smiled. "I'm indebted to you again. But… I'm sorry, Anisphia. I do not wish to leave the Principality."

The Wandering Sage sighed.

She knew the answer already, but she asked regardless.

She took out a pipe, lit it using a fire spell, and started smoking.

"It's funny," she said. "The country you love so much has become your cage."

"It's not a cage."

"Then what is it? A playpen? Look, I went to all this trouble just to help you—"

"I'm really grateful—"

"—I'm not asking for words of gratitude, damn it!"

The crimson eyes of the Wandering Sage glowed for a moment.

She spat angrily, "As your friend, I'm asking you to try to enjoy your life even a little! You've served this shitty country your entire life! You devoted your body and soul to it, but look at you now! You've become a withered old man who couldn't even come out of his room without assistance!"

The Wandering Sage and the Voiceless One had been friends for nearly a hundred years.

The Wandering Sage couldn't bear to see her friend waste away in his room like this. At the very least, she wished that her friend would see the innumerable places she'd visited. She wished he'd gone out more and explored this world.

"Haaah, fuck, damn it. If I were you, I would have gone crazy. Imagine staying in the same room for decades. How's that any different from a bird trapped in a cage?"

The Voiceless One smiled in understanding. "It's not as boring as you think."

"That's because you have that nasty ability. Without it, you would have probably gone crazy."

The gaze of the Wandering Sage moved to the device where the bloodstone fragment was currently stored. After making sure the device was working as intended, she continued with the conversation.

She said, "I noticed you seem to be in a good mood when I came here. What kind of conversation are you listening to this time, perverted old man?"

The Wandering Sage was probably the only person in this world who knew how absurdly powerful the Voiceless One's ability was.

People assumed the Voiceless One could hear conversations even from hundreds of kilometers away. No one would probably believe her if she told them the Voiceless One could hear everything in the entire continent.

Of course, this ability had its limit. The Voiceless One couldn't hear every conversation at the same time. He needed to focus on a certain region, and digesting all information in that area puts a strain on his body.

But the mere fact that the Voiceless One could hear things tens of thousands of kilometers away proved how overpowered his ability was.

This same ability was what paved the road for the Council of Scholars to become the greatest information group in the entire continent.

"Haha… I've been following an interesting young man for quite some time now," said the Voiceless One. "You've probably heard of him before."

"A young man?"

The Wandering Sage wondered who this person was for the Voiceless One to be so interested in him.

"Ah, it's starting," said the Voiceless One. "Come, Anisphia. The convention is starting. You wouldn't want to miss this one. Touch my hand."

The Wandering Sage frowned, but did as she was instructed regardless.

She touched the Voiceless One's wrinkled hand, and a full second after, she heard voices.

It felt as though she was sitting in the same convening hall as everyone else.

She could hear the rustling of documents as they turned. She could hear footsteps, and she could hear the murmurs and whispers.

"Where is this?" she asked.

"It's the convening hall located in the Five Courts," said the Voiceless One. "An interesting event is currently occurring in the Republic of Everfrost."

In a voice full of interest, the Voiceless One added, "They're going to discuss about the Coalition Army that appeared recently."

***

[Republic of Everfrost]

The Head of the Senate started the convention.

He stood at the dais, his voice amplified by a voice artifact.

"The Coalition of Nations, commonly known as the Coalition Army."

"It is an alliance of nations consisting of the Kingdom of Lukas, the United Grakas Alliance, the Kingdom of Elves, the Dwarven Kingdom, and the Great Empire."

"At their center is the Kingdom of Lukas, with King Lark Marcus as their leader."

"Everyone in this room must be aware of this already."

Several heads nodded.

Before coming here, they'd already received the documents containing this information.

"I'm sure everyone has a few questions. We'll try to address them one by one later, but for now, let's listen to the information gathered by the information guilds. First, The Fox from the Silent Wind."

A man wearing a fox mask stood up and went to the dais. His entire body was clad in a cloak, and the insignia of a musical note was embroidered at its back.

The fox mask symbolized the leader of the largest information guild in the Republic of Everfrost – the Silent Wind.

According to rumors, The Fox was once a member of the Council of Scholars and worked directly under the Voiceless One of the Principality. But during a mission, he fell in love with a woman from the Republic and decided to settle down here permanently.

Of course, no one knew if those rumors were true.

No one even knew if the Master was male or female. The only thing people were certain of was the guild's impeccable ability to gather information.

Little did people know that the person behind the mask was the reigning champion of Hayangji. The same old man who easily defeated Lark in their match during the tournament.

General Astares said in a displeased voice, "Fox. Can you do something about that mask? How can we trust your words when you won't even show your face?"

The mask not only concealed the information guild master's face, it also altered his voice, turning it gender-neutral.

The Fox said coldly, "The High Magistrate has already allowed it. If you don't like it, I will step down. Just ask the other guilds for information, General."

The High Magistrate said, "General Astares, that's enough. I've already talked with The Fox about this matter."

"…Understood."

The Fox scanned all of the people present here.

"If there are no more complaints regarding my mask, I'll start."

Several people were clearly displeased about him wearing a mask during such an important gathering, but they didn't voice out their complaints.

"Lark Marcus, age twenty-two. The current King of Lukas."

"The youngest son of Duke Drakus, and the brother of the Silver War God, Lui Marcus."

"At the age of fourteen, he was exiled by his own father to Blackstone Town, a small territory south of the Kingdom of Lukas. A territory bordering the Endless Forest and the Aden Region."

"Back then, Lark Marcus was known as the disgrace, the filth of the House Marcus. Human trafficking, drugs, alcohol, smuggling, prostitution – he did it all. Despite his young age, he was a piece of shit abhorred by all."

"Ah, maybe I was too harsh with my words? Hmm… I apologize for using crass words."

The eyes behind the fox mask looked at a certain Senator. As the leader of an information guild, the Fox knew that more than half of these Senators were no different from the young Lark Marcus.

They were bastards cut from the same cloth. Demons who'd been indulging themselves in hedonistic lifestyles while sucking the people of the Republic dry.

The only saving grace, probably, was that Senator Sima wasn't included in that list.

The Head of the Senate may be crooked, ambitious, cruel, and power-hungry, but he did not have interests in such things.

Well, the Head of the Senate was aware of the things his fellow Senators had been doing, but he chose to turn a blind eye to them in order to maintain his power, so he wasn't as innocent as he seemed.

"Haha, he's a damn evil bastard, eh?" said one of the Senators.

The Senator who spoke was the one most involved in sex trafficking in the Republic.

The Fox smiled behind his mask. He laughed, "Yes, such people are everywhere, aren't they?"

The Senator laughed along with The Fox, unaware that he was the person the information guild was pertaining to.

"Now, please allow me to continue."

"Age sixteen. That's when Lark Marcus was said to have started changing."

"At that time, the Kingdom of Lukas has just recently suffered from the Black Famine. Blackstone Town, the territory Lark Marcus was in charge of, wasn't spared from the locusts' wrath. Or were they flies? Well, no matter."

"Age sixteen, Lark Marcus decided to open the treasury. He started handing out food, which he called commoner's wheat, to all of the residents of Blackstone Town. Using the remaining funds in the treasury, he started hiring people en masse."

"He also started the reclamation of the northern land, converting it into cultivable land. We do not know what kind of trick he used, but he managed to turn the supposedly non-arable land into a vast farmland today. According to the intel we've gathered, the amount of grains the farmlands that territory is producing is enough to feed even two or three cities."

"Not only that, he also made preparations to cull the Black Famine, effectively stopping the catastrophe that kept recurring each year from destroying the crops."

"Age seventeen. The Third Legion of the United Grakas attacked Blackstone Town. And overturning everyone's expectations, Lark Marcus led his small army, composed of a thousand soldiers, into victory. Not only did he manage to defeat an army ten times their number, he also killed the leader of the Third Legion – General Urkawi, the so-called Immortal Beastman of the United Grakas Alliance."

Hearing the name of the defeated beastman, General Astares couldn't contain his surprise.

Although the United Grakas Alliance was far from the Republic, the renown of the Immortal Beastman reached all the way here.

They said that even swords couldn't penetrate the defenses of General Urkawi.

How did Lark Marcus, at such a young age, defeat him?

"That monster… is dead?"

"Hm, I thought it's common knowledge?" said The Fox.

The Lord of Five Courts smiled, "It's also my first time hearing this. Maybe it's high time the government creates an agency specializing in continental espionage? I understand that agents have already been deployed in various countries, but apparently, it isn't enough."

"I agree with Lord Caliqua," said one of the Arbiters.

"Look at the Principality," said another Arbiter. "Their country is even smaller than ours, and they're located at the northernmost part of the continent. But because they have the vastest information network in the entire land, their neighboring countries don't even dare invade their territory."

Almost five decades ago, the Four States Alliance tried invading the Principality. But halfway through their army's march, a civil war broke out in the capital of two of the four states. That event forced the army to turn back, stopping the war before it even escalated.

It was an open secret that the Principality was the one behind that civil war.

Although it was a neutral country, the moment the Four States Alliance tried invading it, the Principality mobilized its vast information network and spies to infiltrate the inner circle of the Alliance, fracturing them from the inside.

Moving behind the scenes, the Principality incited rebellion and civil war in the Four States Alliance, preventing the marching army from arriving at their land.

The series of conflicts caused the Alliance to turn against each other, resulting in a war that devoured one of the states, thus becoming the Three States Alliance of today.

It was a historic war that forced the nations around the continent to respect the might of the Principality despite being a small country.

"An agency? The cost of setting up an espionage agency aside, it will take several years, maybe even decades to properly set up an information network encompassing the entire continent," said The Fox. "Silent Wind already has all the necessary prerequisites for that. So, if the time comes when the Republic wishes to proceed with this plan, don't hesitate to contact us."

"We're diverging from the topic," said Senator Sima.

"Haha, of course," said The Fox. "Should we talk about Lark Marcus' achievements during the war with the Empire next?"

The Fox continued, revealing to everyone Lark's achievements one after another.

His contributions to the war with the Empire.

How he had personally slain the Ghost of the Empire, and how he paved the way for the death of the Magic Slayer.

The leader of the information guild also discussed Lark's contribution to the eradication of the demons in the Kingdom of Lukas.

"Ah, this is my favorite part," said The Fox. "King Lark's ascension to the throne."

"The way he ascended the throne is like a romance novel! Overcoming all odds, fighting against a powerful ducal house and the largest underworld syndicate!"

Passionately, The Fox narrated the events that occurred during the throne succession in the Kingdom of Lukas.

How Lark eradicated Black Midas, the largest underworld syndicate of the Kingdom.

And how he overcame all malicious rumors about him and eventually revealed to everyone the sins of Duke Kelvin.

"Such a wonderful young man, isn't he? It's during moments like these when I regret not having any children myself."

Those present in the convening hall were silent.

No matter how they digested the information given to them, they couldn't help but think it sounded like a fairytale. It felt as though they were listening to the achievements of a hero from legends.

No matter how they thought of it, it felt impossible for a person to garner so many achievements in such a short period of time.

"Hm… since everyone is still attentively listening, I'll take that as a sign that I can proceed with the information regarding the Coalition Army itself, no?"

After receiving the go signal from Senator Sima, The Fox spoke:

"Now, the Coalition Army. All of you must have heard of it before – indeed, the creatures that arrived at our doorstep were Dragons."