Chapter 127 : Chapter 127
Chapter 127. In Other Fronts (3)
Since Laura recognized them, Roden and Michael were freed from their bonds and allowed to enter Tizren Castle.
They then sat facing Laura in the reception room.
“I heard the 3rd Corps was sending support, but I didn't expect both of my brothers to come. So, when did you two get so close?”
Michael answered Laura.
“Don't misunderstand. We’ve only decided to cooperate for a short while.”
“Cooperation?”
Laura repeated, looking over at Roden.
It was clear from her gaze that she couldn’t understand why he would cooperate with someone like that.
For me, it was a familiar look.
It was a look that had always followed me in my past life and in this one.
For that reason, I wasn't offended.
However,
“Laura.”
Unexpectedly, Michael spoke up, his voice tinged with annoyance.
“How dare you look away while talking to me?”
Only then did Laura smile faintly and turn her head toward Michael.
“No, I just found it funny that you would use the word ‘cooperation’ with that guy. Weren't you the one who despised him the most among us?”
Michael’s expression grew even colder as he replied to Laura.
“I was wondering why the 1st Corps foolishly suffered the most damage from a mere Magic Artifact Unit, and it turns out it was your fault. I’ve advised you before, haven't I, Laura? That you'll never beat Malena by struggling alone without paying any attention to your surroundings.”
Crack!
The moment Michael finished speaking, the armrest of the chair Laura was sitting on shattered.
Simultaneously, the atmosphere in the reception room turned hostile.
Laura had channeled her aura.
“Shut up! Before I kill you before Malena!”
At that, Michael raised both his hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I was just giving you advice for your own good.”
Fortunately, Laura didn't get angrier and withdrew her aura.
Then she let out a sigh, huff.
“Right. Arguing with you is just a loss for me. You snake. Enough. Let's get to the point. The reason you two are here is because of the Black Bell Corps, right?”
‘Black Bell Corps’ was the 1st Corps' nickname for the Magic Artifact Unit.
Just as the 3rd Corps had named the Magic Artifact Unit the March of the Other Shore.
It was a testament to just how much of a ruckus the Magic Artifact Unit had caused in the 1st Corps.
“That’s right. So tell us what you know about the Black Bell Corps. Then, as you wish, we'll leave this castle immediately.”
“They are a company-sized force. According to what's known, the entire force is at least 1-star or higher.”
“A hundred 1-star knights. Even after killing so many, they crawl back out disgustingly.”
“That’s because the Empire has vast lands and a large population. Anyway, they are said to use three main types of magic artifacts. The first is the explosive-type crystal orb.”
The March of the Other Shore also used three types of magic artifacts.
And the trickiest among them was the explosive-type crystal orb Laura had just mentioned.
But Laura went on to name magic artifacts that seemed even more troublesome.
“The second is the recovery-type crystal orb. The last, the third, is the mobility-type crystal orb.”
“A recovery-type and a mobility-type crystal orb? Don’t tell me they can heal and move at will with magic?”
Michael asked, his eyes wide with surprise, and Laura nodded.
“Did the Magic Artifact Unit on your side not use recovery and mobility types? That’s right. The Black Bell Corps can recover once even from serious injuries during battle. But what's more difficult is the mobility type. When the situation suddenly turns unfavorable, they use this artifact to leave the battlefield.”
After hearing Laura's explanation, I felt I understood why the 1st Corps hadn't been able to catch the Black Bell Corps yet.
To suddenly leave the battlefield using a magic artifact.
How could anyone possibly catch them?
However, I was shocked by a different fact.
‘They enchanted a 9th-circle magic, Teleport, onto an artifact?’
I could have understood if it was something like the 6th-circle magic, Blink.
But it was difficult to leave a battlefield with just one Blink.
That was because the distance one could teleport with Blink was very short.
Therefore, to leave a battlefield, one would have to use Teleport, which allowed for long-distance teleportation.
However, Teleport was an incredibly difficult magic to use.
It wasn't a 9th-circle magic for nothing.
Moreover, mass-producing it was an even more impossible story.
It was strange for a mage with the talent for 9th-circle magic to specialize in enchanting, and the price of a magic artifact engraved with Teleport magic was astronomical.
‘Does this mean the Empire is that serious about this war? No. It still doesn’t make sense.’
I asked Laura.
“Did the Black Bell Corps use the mobility-type crystal orb several times when they left the battlefield?”
Laura seemed surprised for a moment that I had spoken to her, but she slowly shook her head.
“No, I didn’t see it myself, but according to multiple testimonies, they left the battlefield in a single instance.”
Then it definitely wasn't Blink they used.
But I still didn't think the Black Bell Corps had used Teleport.
Not Blink, and not Teleport.
In the end, there was only one way for this to be possible.
I came up with the following hypothesis.
‘Did they develop a new teleportation magic?’
Indeed, if they had newly developed a teleportation magic usable by a 7th or 8th-circle mage, it would explain everything.
‘The new magic probably can’t be used for ultra-long-range travel like Teleport. If it could, the Black Bell Corps wouldn't only be active on the 1st Corps' front. It would also be impossible to go over castle walls or enter buildings. If that were possible, they would have already used it in siege warfare.’
As I was lost in thought, the gazes of Michael and Laura turned to me.
It was because they found me, deep in thought, to be both strange and novel.
Laura, in particular, stared at me for quite a long time.
As if wondering if I was the Roden she knew.
However, Michael, who came to his senses first, left me to my thoughts and posed a question to Laura.
“So in the end, it’s because of the mobility-type crystal orb that you haven't been able to catch those bastards from the Black Bell Corps, or whatever they're called. But aren’t magic artifacts supposed to have limited uses?”
“That’s right.”
“And you still couldn’t catch them?”
“Because every time they reappear after using the mobility-type crystal orb, they show up with new magic artifacts.”
“Damn it. At this point, I’m curious how much the mage towers are selling these magic artifacts to the Empire for.”
“Why, thinking of buying one?”
“Not really, but it makes you curious. How much money do they have left to be buying up magic artifacts like that.”
“What’s certain is that they have enough money to buy them without restraint. It's driving me crazy.”
“Do you happen to know the location of the Black Bell Corps?”
“If I knew, I would have chased them down immediately. But since they destroyed our corps’ transport battalion, they’ve only been conducting guerrilla operations. Targeting scouts or supply units.”
“So that's why the patrol tied us up and brought us here.”
“From our perspective, we have no choice. We have to be cautious of any eventuality.”
Although they had found out a lot of information, Michael and I couldn't help but grow more concerned.
It seemed that defeating the Black Bell Corps would not be as easy as we thought.
It was only natural, as we didn't even know where they were, and even if they did appear, we had no way of catching them.
“I think we’ve heard everything we need to hear.”
Michael rose from his chair, and I followed suit.
Seeing this, Laura asked Michael.
“What will you do now? Are you planning to go to Malena?”
“Hmm. I suppose I should, right? I’ll have to see if there’s any other information.”
“What other information. If anything, she'll know even less. In the end, Malena will be no different from me. You know what Malena is like.”
“Ah. That’s also true. Then maybe it’s better to just go back to Biluk and start chasing the Black Bell Corps right away.”
Listening to their conversation, I wondered what kind of person Malena was for them to talk like this.
As I had mentioned before, I had almost no memory of Malena.
I cautiously spoke up.
“Is it really alright not to go see Malena?”
At the same time, Laura was startled.
“What? You really want to go see Malena? How did you get so brave? Have you forgotten all about being hit by Malena's mountain-like greatsword?”
Only then did an image of Malena wielding a massive greatsword and swinging it at me flash in my mind.
At the same time, I felt an immense fear, and it seemed what Laura said was true.
It appeared Ernst had been living with his memories of Malena deliberately erased out of fear.
“I told you, Laura, to live with your ears open. Anyway, Ernst. There’s no need to go out of your way to meet Malena. That simpleton will only be thinking of teaching the Black Bell Corps a lesson when she meets them, so she probably doesn’t know much. She probably doesn't think much either.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So let's go back now and start pursuing the Black Bell Corps.”
I nodded.
Seeing them react like this, it seemed there was truly nothing to be gained from Malena.
Before leaving Tizren Castle, I asked Laura one last question.
“So how is the 1st Corps resolving its transport issues?”
“Well, for now, the main battalion is helping with that mission until the transport battalion is reformed. It should be back to normal around next month. But why do you ask?”
“Just curious. Thank you.”
I gave Laura a deep bow and left Tizren Castle with Michael.
Laura watched us leave and muttered to herself.
“……How did he change this much? What in the world happened to him.”