Chapter Forty-Four: A Decade of Scheming Comes to Nothing

"What is the meaning of this?" After carefully storing the treasure that Edward had been so particular about, Andy cradled Stein's lifeless body and descended the wizard's tower.

He hadn't expected that as soon as he stepped down, he would be subtly surrounded by members of the Order of Identity. Many had their hands resting on their sword hilts. Witnessing this, Andy spoke coldly, his magical power stirring restlessly within him.

Yet, having fought side by side only moments ago, Knight Barton reassured his subordinates with a gesture and explained the situation to Andy in a friendly manner.

It turned out that not only were members of the Divine Wind Knights present at the wizard tower, but a few guards from the inner city had arrived, alerted by the commotion. Clearing the city of rioters was their duty; after failing to penetrate the Red Mist District, they had stationed scouts nearby to monitor the situation.

When Applesin’s avatar began his killing spree below, the guards had witnessed it. Once he fled, Captain Barton noticed the unease in their expressions. After a round of questioning, he learned that the perpetrator was Edward, the only son of Viscount Colin—and Andy’s fellow disciple.

Moreover, Andy had previously been seen at the city lord’s mansion alongside Viscount Colin. Thus, the knights had taken Andy, Edward, and Viscount Colin as a group in cahoots. They were unaware that two of the three were no longer their original selves.

Andy, hearing that the knights had been attacked, appropriately displayed a somber expression. He spoke gravely, "I just discovered on the tower's summit that Edward killed my mentor, Stein! Not to mention, the massacre in the square is likely connected to him as well. I was about to head to the city lord's mansion to demand justice."

Barton had met Stein, the wizard, and quickly recognized his corpse. With his life experience, he could tell that Andy’s grief, though a bit theatrical, was not entirely feigned.

Immediately, Captain Barton ordered his men to withdraw the encirclement and accompanied Andy to the city lord’s mansion to confront Viscount Colin.

"If you can find him, call me your father," Andy thought secretly as he observed the zealous faces of the knights. His ears were adorned with a small earpiece.

Inside the city lord’s mansion, Jella set down her speaker and microphone, then instructed the guards to fetch Viscount Colin.

Andy and the Divine Wind Knights had worried about mishaps during their operation, so Jella remained at the mansion, orchestrating everything remotely. Though she could offer little aid in battle, her presence allowed her and Andy to exchange intelligence at any moment and to offer advice on critical matters.

Upon learning of the situation at the wizard tower, Jella instantly decided to heap all blame upon Viscount Colin and then make "her" Viscount Colin vanish entirely—thus, the conspiracy would be exposed, and the culprit would flee in fear of punishment.

After a considerable time, the guards returned with news: they had searched the entire mansion but found neither Viscount Colin nor Bill. Jella was speechless.

She pressed her hand to her forehead, gazing up at the night sky as if glimpsing her own fate of endless toil and sorrow. After a long pause, she let out a melancholy sigh, "Not a single reliable one among them!"

……

While the Divine Wind Knights marched toward the city lord’s mansion to demand justice, Applesin’s avatar had already traveled thousands of miles. He certainly hadn’t traversed the distance on foot.

He had absorbed part of Stein’s memories, learning that Stein, fearing discovery of his body-switching, had prepared an escape route. Stein had spent considerable savings to have a close friend in the capital construct a teleportation array for him. To prevent leaks, that friend had never left Dallas City again.

Applesin’s avatar made use of this teleportation array, traveling directly from Dallas City to the northern region of Silverwing Fortress—territory of the Principality of Sain.

"Tsk, tsk—his retreat is inside enemy lands. My neighbor is quite the talent, truly a pity!" Applesin’s avatar exclaimed smugly, though his tone betrayed no trace of genuine regret.

After completing the teleportation, he surveyed his surroundings for danger, then sat quietly, absorbing the power brought by the sacrificial energy.

Once he had fully absorbed the energy, his power had reached the level of a Bronze wizard. Of course, with his divine arts, few Bronze wizards could match him, and he was confident he could contend with most Silver wizards as well.

As he observed his environment, Applesin’s avatar began to scheme quietly.

He planned to seek out some remote human settlements and continue to devour the flesh and souls of humans to further augment his strength.

Once his power was sufficient, he would join forces with his true self and break the seal directly. The glory of the God Applesin would once again envelop the continent of Dolun.

After traveling some distance, Applesin’s avatar spotted a small town ahead. Delighted, he laughed, "Well then, the road to freedom begins here!"

……

In the manor at the center of the town, Francis was frowning at the statistical report sent by Christian. His burgeoning power had grown rapidly, but the corresponding consumption was immense. Now, he urgently needed to develop new resource points.

Francis was contemplating whether to strike at the surrounding noble territories when a commotion erupted outside, deepening his frown.

Soon, the disturbance subsided.

"What happened?" Francis asked Christian, who knocked and entered.

"There was an intruder, quite capable—probably at Silver level. But he had a bizarre way of escaping. Fortunately, I managed to restrain him with sorcery, and then a volley from the wizard troop finished him off."

"Do you want to see his corpse? He might be a notable figure on this continent. He certainly had a noble air and the presence of a strongman."

"You handle it," Francis replied, uninterested in such trivialities. To him, any so-called big shot on the continent of Dolun was merely a native. His mind was still preoccupied with resource concerns.

Perhaps sensing Francis’s thoughts, Christian grinned playfully, "I’ve just received some good news that might relieve the commander’s worries."

Francis said nothing, listening as Christian continued, "Our thirty-eighth knight just used the emergency communicator to contact headquarters. During his mission, he discovered an enormous vein of magic stones."

Christian clasped her hands in front of her chest, declaring, "It’s massive!"

"Where?" Francis’s head snapped up.

"It’s a bit far from us—inside the Kingdom of Elan, in Dallas City, the capital of Colin County, south of Silverwing Fortress. Our thirty-eighth, while working as a mercenary gathering intelligence for the Principality of Sain, happened to be in Dallas City last night when an earthquake struck. The tremor exposed traces of the magic stone vein, which his detector picked up."

Francis nodded. He had indeed been searching tirelessly for resource points lately, so he’d equipped every unit with a vein-detecting device.

Christian had initially thought it wasteful to outfit ordinary units with alchemical devices, but now her foresight was proven.

Francis, feeling a surge of satisfaction, listened as Christian continued, "He explored thoroughly—even dug a long tunnel for observation. Guess what he found?"

"He discovered that the entire area beneath Dallas City, extending dozens of miles beyond its walls, is solid magic stone! The veins run deep; without the earthquake, they might never have been found."

"How much is there?" Francis asked eagerly.

"Enough to form a hundred-strong Golden Wizard battalion!"