Chapter 258: Chaos upon Chaos (7)

The Elven Guardian stared at Cale's palm with a perplexed expression. Then, she looked at Cale's face once, twice, thrice.

"We have a rough idea of what the inside of the castle looks like, but... what do you need it for?"

"We're going to loot the castle."

Cale repeated what he had already said, this time with a gentle tone.

"Loot Ryan's castle?"

"Yes."

Cale nodded courteously at the question. And he flashed a cunning smile.

"It's rumored that the 'Howl of the Sunset' is there."

Cale's words caused White Snake Wisha's shoulders to tremble. Not only her, but also the Wolf Tribe Chief Nia and the hunter Koukan were surprised.

"The Howl of the Sunset! Isn't that relic broken?"

Koukan asked with a trembling voice.

"If we have it, maybe we can achieve the true Berserk State! Isn't that right, chief?"

"Yes, yes!"

Nia nodded vigorously.

"P-Please, give us more details!"

Wisha, who rarely stuttered, spoke these words with difficulty. Cale shrugged calmly.

"Alright. Since I also have to explain what we're going to do next, let's sit down and talk."

Cale crouched down and crawled forward through the narrow tunnel.

* * *

Nyaaa.

"Human, human! Squat lower! It gets narrower ahead!"

Cale sighed and squatted even lower.

"You're like a turtle! Crawl, crawl!"

On and Hong, who were right in front of him, walked calmly in cat form. On's steps were even elegant. It seemed she had learned from Ron the gait of a noble.

"Are you alright, Cale-nim?"

Choi Han's voice came from behind.

"Shall I carry you? Ah..."

He stopped mid-sentence.

"I can't carry you here!"

As Hong said, the tunnel was too narrow to carry someone.

"...I'll go on my own."

Cale sighed and continued.

A voice came from the front.

"Just a little more, and we'll reach the entrance."

It was White Snake. She too was crawling.

"This is the only path that allows us to stealthily enter Ryan's castle. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Cale's group was using a secret passage to enter Dragon Ryan's castle.

"Magic is dangerous."

"All routes leading to the surface will be detected."

"Surveillance is so strict lately that I think we'll be found out as soon as we enter the castle."

Various options were discussed.

"The most important thing is we don't know what's going on inside Ryan's castle right now."

That was the major issue mentioned by the Elven Guardian.

"We haven't been able to even get close to the area in the last two weeks."

A two-week information gap.

To fill it,

"Let's first enter through the secret passage and then observe the situation."

Reconnaissance was necessary.

Everyone agreed with Cale's words.

"I'm sorry."

White Snake apologized once more, to which Cale responded casually.

"No problem."

Despite Cale's response, Wisha still felt a pang in her heart. Her attitude towards Cale was much more reverent than before, which was understandable.

'I never thought he would really be a savior.'

Cale had casually recounted his conversation with the Source of the World. After hearing everything, Wisha shuddered.

'We can reverse everything!'

Cale Henituse. This man could do it all.

"Replenish the world's energy flow?"

And using the Source?

'Is he really human?'

Cale had introduced himself as a human, but Wisha honestly only half-believed it.

On the one hand, the idea that he was a divine being, not a human, haunted her. On the other hand, the part of her that considered him human shuddered at his extraordinary power.

'Actually, it doesn't matter.'

What mattered was that this man was on their side.

"It's possible."

The hope that they could stop the atrocities of the Dragon Lord and the Purple Blood Family Hunters.

The hope that they could save this world from destruction.

'Yes, this man is the hope.'

Therefore, they must assist him in whatever he does.

Wisha reaffirmed her decision. Her crouched steps quickened slightly, reflecting her determination.

"Ha."

Cale suppressed a sigh and quickened his pace to keep up. At the same time, he opened his mouth.

"Lock."

"...Yes, sir!"

Lock's voice came from the rear. Today, only Cale, Wisha, Choi Han, Lock, and children with an average age of Ten were present.

They couldn't bring many people for reconnaissance, so they only brought those with exceptional stealth skills or enough combat power.

"Are you alright?"

"...Yes, sir!"

Cale nodded at Lock's clumsy yet obedient voice and continued forward.

The narrow tunnel was undoubtedly a challenge for Lock, despite his robustness.

"He says he's fine."

There was no need to worry too much. Choi Han would probably take care of Lock before a problem arose.

Cale continued moving forward without looking back.

- Cale, are you tired?

He deliberately ignored Super Rock's words. And Lock watched Cale's figure from the rear.

'I must not be a burden.'

He crouched as low as he could as he moved through the tunnel. He didn't mind the dust staining his back and head from rubbing against the ceiling.

"If we go, we'll just be a hindrance, right?"

When the Wolf Tribe Chief Nia asked cautiously, Lock couldn't tell her that they could accompany them.

'I don't have the ability to protect the chief, and she can't protect herself either.'

They couldn't cause more trouble for Young Master Cale.

So, Lock told Nia and Koukan.

"I-I'll go for you and report back!"

The two beasts thanked him. And they looked at Lock with...

Bright eyes.

Eyes that shone intensely. Lock knew that look.

It was similar to the look of people who admired Cale.

Therefore, Lock knew that light meant "expectation" and "trust".

"Hoo."

Lock exhaled unknowingly.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

He casually replied to Choi Han's question, but Lock felt a strange heaviness in his heart.

However, he didn't dislike that heaviness.

Crunch.

Lock's hands gripped the ground tighter.

'Definitely...!'

He didn't have a clear goal in mind. Just the idea that he had to do something filled Lock's mind. A vague unease plagued him about whether this feeling was right.

"Stop."

At that moment, White Snake spoke.

"We've arrived."

Hiss.

A small white snake crawled out of White Snake's lap, climbed up her head, pressing its face against the tunnel ceiling.

"Mom."

Hiss.

The snake returned to White Snake's lap, and Wisha reached her hand toward the ceiling.

Thud~

The ceiling entrance opened immediately.

"Wait a moment."

Wisha exited first. A moment later, she peeked her head back into the tunnel and spoke.

"You can come out."

"Human, me first!"

Raon came out first, followed by the others one by one.

"Mmm."

Of course, Cale came out of the tunnel groaning.

"!"

He stood up and staggered a bit.

"Are you okay, human?"

It was the result of crawling on his knees for quite some time.

"Ah. I'm fine."

Cale responded vaguely and straightened up.

"Here."

A chair appeared in front of him.

Wisha smiled at him and offered him the small chair.

"Sit."

"Alright."

Cale sat down on the chair without protesting and looked around.

"It looks like a basement."

Choi Han closed the exit door of the tunnel after Lock also climbed up. He then stood behind Cale.

Crunch~

Cale unfolded the map.

"Is this the house?"

"Yes. This is the basement of this house."

Ryan's Castle.

Cale had imagined a single huge castle when he heard the word "castle".

But in reality, this place was like a large village.

'It has an outer wall.'

And within it, there were many houses.

Their number exceeded that of a normal village.

'And then there's the inner wall.'

And only within that wall was Ryan's "nest," that is, the castle.

"There are magic devices installed on the inner wall, so those without a registration pass can't even approach."

A permit was needed to enter Ryan's nest.

"That's why our spies with registration passes work inside the castle and bring us information."

Thanks to that, the map showed a fairly detailed layout of the inside of the castle.

"Of course, none of them lasted more than 3 months."

The spies who entered Ryan's nest were discovered in less than 3 months, as they were very good at finding spies. Those who managed to escape were lucky, but most were captured and met a terrible end.

"That's why we haven't been sending many spies into the castle lately."

They couldn't risk the lives of their already scarce allies.

"So, we've switched to gathering rumors from the village, that is, from the outside."

Even that wasn't easy for the past two weeks.

"It's said that they've also started patrolling the village."

Registration checks were being carried out even in the village, and the Guardians, who couldn't take risks, stayed away from the castle.

The spies had also been ordered not to engage in reckless activities.

It was an inevitable choice.

"...It hasn't been long since we connected with the Source of the World, right?"

For the Elven Guardian and Wisha, who had encountered the Source of the World, it was more important not to reveal the hideout.

"In any case, this is the house where our agent lives."

The village drew a circle around Ryan's Nest. The agent's house was to the north.

"In the west and south areas, some beast people live. They work as slaves. Of course, most of the beast people are in the Nest."

The gaze shifted to the map of the inside of the Nest.

"There's nothing in the basement, right?"

A huge Nest the size of an imperial palace.

"Yes. It's estimated to have at least 3 underground floors. But no agent has been able to access them. Of course, some tried, but we lost contact."

"It seems security is tighter there."

"Yes. If we had to choose a place where the divine artifact might be, it would be Ryan's bedroom or this basement. And..."

She fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"It's said that a considerable number of beast people who surrendered to Ryan disappeared into that basement about a month ago."

This was information even the White Snake was unaware of, something she had learned upon meeting the Elven Guardian. Cale's eyebrows arched slightly.

"And two weeks ago, a warning sound started ringing without any meaning, and access became impossible?"

"Yes."

At the White Snake's confirmation, Cale sank into his thoughts.

He recalled the howl Choi Han heard, a sound that evoked the darkest of despair. The howl of the divine artifact the Source of the World had mentioned. Plus, Dragon Ryan, who possessed the Domination Attribute. And the hunters, who always caused trouble by masterfully using dead mana and despair.

"It's quite creepy."

For some reason, Cale remembered the horrific aspect of the Alchemy Tower he had encountered in the underground of the old capital of the Mogoru Empire.

The bone hills rising in the Tower's basement. Among them, a cylinder brimming with dead mana. All stacked up to create the Black Despair.

"Sometimes the answer lies in past experiences."

As Cale continued his thoughts, the voice of the White Snake reached his ears.

"And the agent here is a human."

"Really?"

"Yes. One of our few human agents. It's worth noting that there are also many humans living in Ryan's castle. Most tasks are carried out by humans."

She snorted.

"If you go to the center of the village, there's even a prayer temple where they worship Ryan as a God."

Her laughter was mocking.

"In any case, since he's a human agent and is already quite old, he's been conducting espionage activities here for three months without arousing suspicion. You can trust his ability. I think he might even break the agency's record."

And she added.

"I heard from the Guardian that this agent also obtained a registration pass that allows him to enter the Nest. It would be good to gather information through that."

"That's good news."

Unbeknownst to him, Cale nodded at the idea that things were about to get a little easier.

The sound of the door opening resonated. The White Snake's expression lit up.

"Ah, it looks like it's the agent!"

Her face was radiant with joy, indicating she had a good relationship with the agent. Cale's gaze naturally turned to the basement entrance.

Creak~

The door slowly opened, and a face appeared in the frame. The White Snake addressed her first.

(Note: The agent is female)

"It's been a long time. I've come with an ally. I'll explain the situation now."

Wisha, unable to exchange information for a while, wanted to get straight to the point.

Creak~

However, the door stopped halfway open.

"!"

And then, the person,

Bang!

slammed the door shut.

"Hold her!" Cale shouted as he jumped up.

Bang!

But Choi Han had already moved first.

He smashed through the basement door.

No, he went through it.

"!"

Cale was surprised by his reckless attitude, but then he saw through the hole in the door how Choi Han grabbed the agent by the nape of her neck as she fled and threw her to the ground, immediately covering her mouth with his hand.

Choi Han had completely subdued her.

"W-what is this...?"

The White Snake Wisha couldn't finish speaking out of surprise, but Cale didn't have time to pay her attention.

Cale immediately stepped out of the basement.

What he saw was an ordinary familiar house, a little old but with a warm atmosphere. It was a cozy space that exuded warmth with its cheerful decoration.

"..."

Cale looked around the house and then squatted down. He met the gaze of the agent, who was lying face down on the floor, immobilized by Choi Han and with her mouth covered.

"How long has it been?"

It was a familiar face. It was someone who was in Cale's memories.

"What is the Holy Maiden of the God of War doing here?"

Deputy Chief Priest Cotton.

The follower of the God of War who had hidden as Deputy Chief Priest when Cale went to Endable Kingdom to meet the White Star.

She had also provided a safe place for Cale's group to take refuge while they fought the White Star.

And after everything was over, she disappeared without a trace.

Now that it had been revealed that there was something between the Purple Blood Family and the God of War, Cale asked with a refreshing smile.

"Did the God of War send you?"

Cotton's pupils shook ceaselessly.

* * *

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]