Chapter Forty-Five: The Reinforced Seal

“Bring me the map!”
Francis, who had been thrilled upon hearing of the vast reserves in the magic stone mine, suddenly recalled something and shouted loudly.
A maid quickly brought the map, and Francis and Christian bent over the desk, studying it together. Before long, they located the position of Dallas City.
“This is it, over a thousand miles southwest of us,” Christian said, pointing at the map. She then noticed Francis’s uneasy expression and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
“The aura of that mysterious powerhouse from last night also came from that direction—southwest, over a thousand miles away.”
Then, as if a realization dawned on him, Francis exclaimed, “Of course! Why would such a peerless expert appear in such a remote place? It must be the massive reserves of the magic stone mine that drew him there. He must have discovered the mine first, then released his aura to intimidate the surroundings. That explains everything!”
Having convinced himself he’d seen through it all, Francis grew anxious. He wanted the magic stone mine, but he also wished to avoid conflict with a powerhouse whose very presence had even frightened Christian. For a moment, he was at a loss.
“If such a huge magic stone vein had already been seized, surely the news would be all over the area by now. Yet even our Thirty-Eighth Knight stationed in Dallas City hasn’t heard a thing. It seems that, even if the powerhouse discovered the mine, he’s chosen not to make it public, but to exploit it secretly. In that case, why don’t we also get involved?” Christian’s suggestion made Francis’s eyes light up.
Indeed, if the mine had truly been occupied by that powerhouse, any attempt to lay claim to it would certainly offend him deeply.
But if everyone was mining in secret, then even if discovered, it would likely lead only to negotiation, not war. After all, if any party were angered enough to expose the existence of the mine to the world, the resulting losses would be something no one wished to bear.
Thinking this through, Francis’s mind settled. He immediately instructed Christian, “Put the frontline training plan on hold. I’m going to reassign a knight order, break them into small groups, and have them infiltrate Dallas City. Let them secretly mine the magic stones there. Also, the mage corps must intensify their research in alchemy—train mages capable of establishing sorcery teleportation arrays as soon as possible.”
After Christian took her leave, Francis paced the room, unable to contain his excitement. If the plan went smoothly, his development would advance by leaps and bounds, and he would soon be able to upgrade his base to level two.
He gazed at the calligraphy hanging on the wall, inscribed by his own hand, and recited softly, his heart ablaze with ambition:
“Strive ceaselessly for self-improvement!”

…

In Dallas City, Stein’s corpse had already been buried by Andy near the mage tower. Before the burial, Andy checked the body and found an alchemical item that made his heart skip a beat.
A spatial pouch!
Andy examined it with his spiritual energy, only to find some notes and reflections on sorcery inside. There were virtually no magic stones, equipment, or alchemical items.

This was not what Andy expected at all. He had no way of knowing that Stein had nearly exhausted his entire fortune arranging the teleportation array and the so-called “Rebirth Sorcery Array.”
As Andy and the members of the Divine Wind Knight Order neared the city lord’s residence, the ground beneath them suddenly began to quake once more.
This was an unprecedentedly violent earthquake. Even those of knightly strength struggled to keep their footing. The earth trembled fiercely, and a series of strange, deep sounds rumbled faintly from below.
Andy held tightly to Catherine, barely managing to stand upright. He was baffled by the repeated earthquakes in Dallas City. Then he caught hints of those subterranean sounds and, his expression shifting, he activated the “Listening Spell.”
Soon, the sounds from below came through clearly:
“Croak!”
“Croak, croak!”
As the echoes of those cries reverberated, the ground shook with renewed violence.

…

Deep underground, the giant toad Apulecin was furiously assaulting the sealing array. Every crack he managed to force open was swiftly healed by the array’s power.
Not long ago, he had received word that his avatar had escaped Dallas City.
He had thought that once his avatar was free, the world would be his oyster. Yet less than half an hour later, he was wracked with soul-piercing agony and lost contact with his avatar for good.
Apulecin knew—his avatar had perished!
Enraged, he realized all his painstaking efforts of the past decade had been for naught. If he failed this time, how long would he have to wait for another chance? Consumed by fury, he launched himself madly at the sealing array, each blow triggering violent tremors throughout the earth above.
The subterranean chamber echoed with his frenzied roars:
“Croak! Croak, croak!”
Meanwhile, in the same underground space, Bill lay prone on the ground, hands clamped over his ears, his rear raised awkwardly—a most pitiful sight.
He had carefully listened to Diga’s instructions on how to reinforce the seal and was about to begin when, for reasons unknown, the evil god inside had flown into a rampage, howling and battering the seal, giving Bill quite a fright.

Years ago, when Diga sealed the evil god, he’d left a contingency in place.
He’d chosen to imprison the evil god beneath Dallas City precisely because he’d discovered a massive magic stone vein there.
Should the array ever lack the external energy needed to maintain the seal, it would automatically tap into the great vein above to replenish itself.
Yet now, something had clearly gone awry. The array was no longer able to fully contain the evil god, nor had it linked to the vein as intended.
With Diga’s guidance, Bill had finally located a flaw in the array. Diga pointed it out, assuring Bill that repairing it would allow the evil god to be sealed once more.
“Damn it, when will he stop?” Bill grumbled, lying in wait as Apulecin continued his rampage.
“This is actually good,” Diga replied. “A complete array can continuously absorb his power. The more he expends, the easier it will be for the seal to take hold and trap him here.”
“Who would have thought I’d have the chance to save the world?” Bill thought smugly to himself as he waited for the outburst to subside.
After Andy and the Divine Wind Knight Order had left the city lord’s residence, Diga, no longer hindered by Catherine’s presence, was free to extend his spiritual senses.
He soon sensed the aura of an “old friend” coming from the direction of the mage tower and realized something had gone wrong with the seal.
Thus, he urged Bill to investigate the issue in the underground chamber.
One’s enemies often know one best. Diga knew Apulecin well and was familiar with the blind spots in the evil god’s spiritual perception. Guided by Diga, Bill easily navigated these blind spots and approached the sealing array—only to arrive just as the evil god was in the throes of madness.
When Apulecin finally finished venting his rage, Bill stealthily appeared beside the sealing formation…
Before long, the chamber resounded once more with Apulecin’s furious howls and assaults upon the seal.
But this time, Dallas City above felt no further tremors…