Chapter 757

Chapter 757

Let's Try That Too. (1)

The Julien Mercenary Corps had now become quite a famous mercenary group.

Especially among the members of the Salvation Church. That was because some of the operations they had been carrying out had failed due to the Julien Mercenary Corps.

The owner of the voice asked again.

"I know that the Julien Mercenary Corps is quite capable. But with your skills, you should have been able to handle it, no?"

"Yes, we had indeed gotten very close to success. We sacrificed four Inquisitors and inflicted a serious wound on the Great Chieftain of the Elves. If we had pushed a bit further, we would surely have succeeded."

"Then why did you fail?"

"I don’t know how to explain it. A miracle happened."

"...A miracle?"

"There was a priestess in the Julien Mercenary Corps. That woman instantly drove out the energy I had planted and healed the Great Chieftain of the Elves from her critical injury. I had no choice but to withdraw."

"Who is that priestess?"

"She seems to be a mere apprentice priestess who is accompanying the Julien Mercenary Corps."

"...An apprentice priestess performed a miracle? Is that even possible?"

"I don’t know. No matter how strong one's divine power may be, it should have been impossible..."

The owner of the voice fell silent again. It was simply too hard to believe.

The Pope himself hadn't even come, and yet their operation had failed because of a mere priestess? And not even a well-known one at that.

Rahmod spoke in a firm tone.

"Prophet Tagmah, I know it’s hard to believe what I say. But you must believe it. Otherwise, we might fail in other operations as well."

Paaaah!

As the darkness swirled, the one called Tagmah revealed himself.

Like Rahmod, he appeared to be a middle-aged man, though he looked much more menacing.

Tagmah stared into Rahmod’s eyes for a moment and then nodded.

Rahmod was not someone who would lie. Nor was he someone who would misjudge what he saw.

Thus, what he said must be true.

Tagmah had stayed here for a long time. Therefore, he was even less informed than Rahmod.

"So, the Julien Mercenary Corps was involved in this incident too... which means their previous interference was not just coincidence, was it?"

"That, I cannot say for certain. But now, we are bound to clash with them inevitably."

"Why is that?"

"Because the Julien Mercenary Corps will come to assist the Dwarves."

"…Are you sure?"

"It’s highly likely."

"Why do you think so?"

"It seems they’re acting under the Pope’s orders. After handing over Ismogen to the Holy Empire, they immediately headed to the Elven Forest."

"Then..."

"The only reason to visit the Elves as an envoy of the Pope would be the Sacred Stones. Since they helped the Elves, they surely secured a promise to acquire the Sacred Stones. The Dwarves will be next, obviously."

Rahmod did not believe that the Julien Mercenary Corps had received the Sacred Stones directly. They were far too valuable for that.

He thought they had only received a promise to hand over the Sacred Stones to the Pope.

At the mention of the Sacred Stones, Tagmah’s expression stiffened.

"The Sacred Stones...? Don’t tell me they’ve figured out how to use them?"

"That’s unlikely. If they had figured it out, the various races would have already cooperated. It seems the Pope couldn’t give up hope and entrusted the task to a renowned mercenary corps."

Tagmah let out a small sigh of relief. The power of the Sacred Stones could inflict fatal damage to their ‘Sanctuary.’

Even the leaders of the United Human Army did not know how to use the Sacred Stones. They didn’t even know what to do with them.

However, the high priests of the Salvation Church knew exactly what could be done with the Sacred Stones.

Hearing that they were going around collecting the Sacred Stones made Tagmah naturally become wary of the Julien Mercenary Corps.

"The Julien Mercenary Corps is significant enough to ruin the grand plan?"

"They can be considered a major variable. Especially that man Astion, who has reached the level of a Transcendent and excels even in Black Magic. He summoned as many as one hundred Death Knights."

"Black Magic? And the humans and elves let him use Black Magic?"

"According to him... he calls himself a righteous Black Mage."

"…"

"I’m not sure how that came to be either."

"…"

An awkward silence passed briefly. Tagmah simply couldn’t understand it, but he knew Rahmod wouldn’t joke about such matters.

After clearing his throat a few times, Tagmah nodded.

"Hmm… Yes, that would indeed be troublesome."

"I have already instructed the nearby Black Mages to interfere with them as soon as they start moving. Executor Munaref will spread the word and come here."

"Now that Ismogen has been captured and you’ve also failed, we can no longer remain in hiding."

"Yes. Time is running short. The vigilance of every kingdom is rising rapidly. That’s why we must succeed with the Dwarves and return to the Sanctuary. That’s the reason I left the Julien Mercenary Corps behind and came straight here."

Tagmah nodded. Though preparations to strike the Dwarves were not yet complete, the urgency of the situation left no choice.

"I understand. We may be lacking in preparations, but with your help, we should be fine."

Tagmah closed his eyes.

They must kill the King of the Dwarves and destroy the Eternal Forge. If they succeeded, it would deal a major blow to the United Human Army.

It would be as if one of the pillars holding the United Human Army had collapsed.

And...

"They will never awaken the power of the Sacred Stones."

That was their true goal.

* * *

All across the continent, countless Dwarves lived scattered about.

They usually built their cities deep underground or in mountainous areas rich with hidden ore veins.

Among them, the most famous place was 'Valskrum,' where the King of the Dwarves resided.

Valskrum was a massive fortress-city built deep within the mountain range, where the outer walls merged seamlessly with the mountains, forming a single, continuous fortification.

Inside the fortress lay a complex structure of countless Dwarven villages, workshops, and mining sites.

The entire mountain itself was, quite literally, both city and fortress.

At the foot of the mountain, there was also a human city built for trading with the Dwarves. The size of that city was much larger than most human cities.

The Dwarves were different from the Elves.

They didn’t create things just to display them. A work was only complete when it was used.

Thus, the Dwarves actively engaged in trade with humans who highly valued their creations.

Since high-quality Dwarven products were easily obtainable here, merchants from all over the continent gathered in this place.

In turn, the Dwarves acquired the humans’ high-quality liquors, clothing, and magical tools.

Both sides obtained what they needed from each other, and naturally, the city continued to grow.

And now, the Julien Mercenary Corps had arrived in that city.

"Uaaaah! We finally made it!"

"I thought I was going to die from exhaustion!"

"Seriously... this trip was one of the worst ever."

As soon as they arrived, the mercenaries plopped down on the ground, chatting away.

In truth, they looked so filthy that even refugees would have been cleaner in comparison. Even Ereneth, who was always neat, now looked like a beggar elf.

Kyle muttered with a tired expression.

"I never knew there were so many Black Mages in the world. Where were they all hiding until now?"

It wasn’t just Black Mages. Monsters controlled by them and bandits kept appearing endlessly.

The journey had been far from easy. The enemies weren’t particularly strong, but fighting continuously without rest had pushed their fatigue to its limits.

Ghislain brushed back his disheveled hair and gave a short laugh.

"We made it. But it was fun, wasn’t it?"

It truly had been an enjoyable journey. The enemies weren’t that strong, but days of non-stop fighting had served as training in its own way.

Everyone stared at Ghislain with blank expressions. Even Ereneth, who usually craved intense adventure, was no exception.

Regardless, Ghislain immediately started walking.

"Alright, let’s find a place to rest first. We’re filthy. Fortunately, it seems the invasion hasn’t started yet."

The Dwarven fortress was famous for being impregnable. From the perspective of the Salvation Church, it wouldn’t be easy to attack either, so it seemed they were taking time to prepare.

The group slowly began to explore the city.

The streets were bustling, and the constant clanging of hammers echoed from the workshops.

Shops lined both sides of the neatly paved stone roads, which were divided into orderly sections.

There were even places where one could try on weapons and equipment directly.

There were plenty of human merchants trading with the Dwarven craftsmen.

This was a city built by humans for trading with the Dwarves. Even so, the Dwarves blended in as if they were part of the city itself.

One Dwarf was openly chugging liquor straight from the bottle, while another was surprisingly grabbing passing human men and trying to solicit them.

"Hey! This belt was made by me, a Dwarf! I’ll sell it to you for 1 gold, how about it?"

"I said no! What kind of belt costs that much?"

"It’s Dwarven-made, I’m telling you!"

"What around here isn’t made by Dwarves! And you made that drunk, it’s obviously a mess!"

"Fine, I’ll let you have it for a bottle of liquor."

The man still refused, shaking off the Dwarf’s arm and running away.

The Dwarf spat curses at the man’s back as he fled.

"Son of a bitch! Why are humans so picky! In the old days, people would just take it without a fuss. Their standards have gotten too damn high. Ptooey!"

Having plenty of experience, Ghislain’s group quickly grasped the atmosphere.

"Making items while drunk and trying to sell them."

"So, Dwarves end up like that too when they live with humans."

"It’s the human’s fault."

Even so, watching different races mixing and living together so lively was both fascinating and entertaining.

As they wandered around looking for a place to stay, they noticed a crowd gathered at one spot.

Several Dwarves were loudly calling people over.

"Alright, if you solve this engineering puzzle, we’ll give you the legendary sword ‘Gramdyr,’ a sword passed down only among us Dwarves! If you don’t want the sword, we’ll give you 100 gold!"

The sword displayed next to them, offered as the prize, looked quite plain and ordinary at a glance.

There wasn’t a single gem or even any fancy decorations.

In fact, calling it ordinary was generous. The dark blade was caked with rust, clearly poorly maintained.

Still, it was a sword confidently offered by a Dwarf. The dark color of the blade might have hidden some secret.

Merchants and knights knowledgeable about swords examined the ‘Gramdyr’ with a sense of anticipation.

But soon, they muttered in disappointed tones.

"Tch, it really is just a rusty sword."

"Of course, there’s no way a legendary sword would be lying around in a marketplace like this."

"The Dwarves who come here are getting more boastful by the day."

"Still, it looks sturdy. At least you’d get your money’s worth in iron."

You could probably find better swords at any workshop. So, taking the 100 gold instead of the sword was clearly the better deal.

The engineering puzzle presented by the Dwarf was a spherical mechanical device.

Around the circular machine were seven metal rods.

The device was filled with numerous holes, and above each hole were numbers and various symbols.

When people couldn’t figure out what it was, the Dwarf began explaining.

"This machine can be held top and bottom and rotated sideways! Each time you rotate it, the positions of the numbers and symbols change! Each rod also has numbers and symbols written on it!"

"So, what are we supposed to do with that?"

When someone impatiently shouted, the Dwarf clicked his tongue and replied.

"You need to find the hidden rule and solve it! In other words, find the logical pattern hidden among the numbers and symbols and insert the rods accordingly! If you put them in the wrong place, the rods won’t fit properly!"

"Isn’t this a scam? You might have rigged it so none of them fit! Not long ago, a Dwarf got caught cheating with another game! There are quite a few con artist Dwarves these days!"

At that, the Dwarf became furious.

"Hey, you ignorant humans! Do I look like that kind of Dwarf to you? Watch closely!"

The Dwarf grabbed the top and bottom of the device and began to turn it several times.

Click, click, click.

Each time he rotated it, the positions of the numbers and symbols above the holes changed.

The Dwarf carefully examined one rod, scrutinizing the numbers and symbols written on it, and slowly inserted it into the device.

Click.

With a pleasant sound, the rod slid smoothly into place and locked perfectly. Anyone could see that it had fit correctly.

The Dwarf then picked up another random rod and tried inserting it. This time, it only went in partially before being blocked by something inside.

The Dwarf shouted with a triumphant expression.

"See? As long as you calculate correctly, it fits perfectly! If you're wrong, it won’t go in!"

"Ooh..."

Only then did the people look at the machine with fascination.

Dwarven engineering knowledge was considered the best on the continent. It wasn’t surprising that they could build something like this.

Of course, finding the rule among all those numbers and symbols would be difficult. Only someone quite intelligent could do it.

The Dwarf looked around at the crowd and shouted again.

"The entry fee is 1 gold! You get three tries! That means you can make up to three mistakes! Just so you know, if you try to force it in with mana, don’t bother! It won’t fit even with mana, but even if it somehow goes in, the internal magic circuit will explode!"

People hesitated a bit. After all, 1 gold was a hefty price for a game.

However, with three chances and a reward of 100 gold if successful, it was tempting enough to try.

Before long, several humans who prided themselves on their intelligence began to take on the challenge.

"Failed!"

"You failed too!"

"Oops! Failed!"

One after another, the challengers kept failing. The Dwarf smiled broadly, watching the pile of coins beside him grow larger.

Despite seeing the failures, a few more people tried. Merchants visiting this city were wealthy, and they all believed they were quick thinkers and smart.

But no one succeeded. Failure after failure, the pile of money beside the Dwarf grew taller.

When someone loudly accused him of running a scam, the Dwarf simply demonstrated it again himself, and everyone fell silent.

After watching the Dwarf make money for a while, Ghislain spoke up.

"Let’s try that too."

His eyes began to sparkle.

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