Chapter 95 : Union and Empire
Chapter 95: Union and Empire
A single piece of information had flown into the royal capital of the Barkat Kingdom.
“There's a mana stone vein in the Pilerium Mountains?”
“Yes, I saw it clearly with my own two eyes! I even brought proof!”
The Pilerium Mountains were overflowing with monsters and were dangerous, but occasionally mercenary bands seeking money went out to hunt.
A mercenary presented the mana stone he claimed to have mined, and the news of the discovery of such an important mineral reached Pablo, the Crown Prince of the kingdom.
“I’ll go there myself.”
“But, Your Highness.”
“We must confirm whether it's true or false. I’m the only one who can explore the Pilerium Mountains without issue.”
“An escort is...”
“Cumbersome. The more people there are, the more monsters will charge at us.”
Pablo secretly headed to Pilerium with the mercenary who claimed to have first found the vein serving as his guide.
“It’s here.”
“A cave?”
“Yes. If you follow the path straight ahead, you’ll find a massive chamber. The mana stone is beneath it.”
“And the monsters?”
“There are many, but before Your Highness they will surely…”
“The mana stone is real, yes?”
“How could I dare lie before someone like you?”
The cave was long. The sloping passageway continued endlessly underground.
“When does this chamber appear?”
“We need to go further.”
“All the way this deep?”
“That is exactly why it hasn’t been discovered until now.”
Bats flapped overhead. Kobolds dwelling in the cave thrust rusted blades toward the intruders, but their heads were cut off immediately.
“Why did you all come this deep in the first place?”
“We heard a rumor that a basilisk lived here…”
Kwoooaaa—
A monster’s roar shook the cave. The owner of the heavy, pounding vibrations appeared the moment he was spoken of— the basilisk.
“…So it was real.”
The massive basilisk exhaled its breath. Its petrifying breath, which could freeze everything solid, was nothing short of terror.
Pablo swung his greatsword. Cutting through the breath of petrification, he charged forward and drove his blade into the basilisk’s snout.
Kwoooooaaaargh—
The creature thrashed. Its tail slammed against the cave walls. Its two front legs struck down at Pablo in succession.
“Damn it…”
The battle grew somewhat fierce.
The basilisk’s head eventually fell beneath Pablo’s greatsword, but from its rampage half the cave collapsed in the process.
Pablo spat out bits of stone dust that had entered his mouth.
“Is he dead?”
The mercenary who had guided him was nowhere to be seen. He hesitated for a moment—should he return or continue?
“I came all the way here and even killed a basilisk. I should go to the end.”
Hungry, he chewed raw basilisk flesh. It was tough and foul-smelling. He spat it out, disgusted.
Like that, he continued downward for a full day.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
And then he heard the sound of a magitech tool digging through earth. Through the cracks and human presence, he felt the vast mana of mana stone.
That was the last memory Pablo Barkat had.
---
When he opened his eyes, his body did not move. His mana also felt obstructed, unnaturally blocked by something.
“You’re awake, Mr. King Ant?”
“…Imperial dog?”
He shouted instinctively.
He saw a mask—one that looked fit for a ballroom. A bright, innocent smile curved beneath it.
She was the spirit sorceress who had blocked his attack. The woman who had summoned a high-grade water spirit to stop his strike.
“So you people were Imperial dogs?”
Pablo gnashed his teeth.
The Empire was arrogant and pursued dominance. They called the northern barbarians savages. Likewise, they belittled the southern small nations as ants.
They called the Union the ant nest, and mocked Barkat as the king ant.
“You filthy bastards…!”
“The filthy ones are you. You attacked first.”
“Nonsense! The guy behind you swung his fist first!”
The man behind her nodded.
“That’s true.”
“Then I guess that settles it.”
“What the….”
“Even so, you were the one who stopped people who wanted to leave peacefully. You won’t deny that, will you?”
“I should never have tried speaking with filthy Imperials! I should have cut your necks the moment I saw you!”
“As expected, do ants make a habit of coveting what belongs to others?”
“It’s mine!”
Pablo shouted.
“The people of Barkat found it first, and I came here! If it’s not mine, whose is it?”
“It belongs to the Empire.”
“Shut up!”
“Did you mine it? Did you leave any marker proving you discovered it first? No, right? But we are already mining it.”
“Shut your mouth, disgusting Imperials! Pilerium belongs to Barkat, and the mines belong to the Southern Union!”
“We can’t communicate at all. You’re so shameless it’s almost admirable.”
“Of course. Swap the gender of Louise Berfht and he’d be exactly like you.”
“Wow. That analogy really does fit.”
“You bastards! You know who I am and yet…!”
“Exactly because we know, you’re still alive.”
Ernan’s hand lifted his chin.
“Pilerium is Imperial territory, and there is no reason these precious mana stones should go to ants. If you weren’t the king ant, you’d already be dead.”
“Shut up!”
“And the mana stones are already entering the Empire’s hands.”
Pablo’s head twisted toward the sound. At the sight of masked figures swinging pickaxes and the steadily mined, high-purity violet mana stones, he screamed.
“M-my mana stones!”
“They’re not yours.”
“Stop this at once!”
His killing intent mixed into his shout, and the elves flinched. Berje strode forward, grabbed Pablo’s head, and tore it upward.
“Graaagh!”
His torso rose with it, earth crumbling off.
“Bring me another pair of cuffs. One is clearly not enough to keep this one restrained.”
---
**New Terms/Characters Introduced**
• 필레리움 산맥 : Pilerium Mountains
• 파블로 바르카트 : Pablo Barkat (Male)
• 바실리스크 : basilisk (monster)
• 마도구 : magitech tool
• 왕개미 : king ant (insult used for Barkat’s crown prince)
“Yes.”
Roger took out another pair of cuffs. He fastened them to Pablo’s legs. The magical equipment expanded to fit the size of his ankles.
When Berje released his head, Ernan buried him back into the ground once more.
“Continue.”
At her glance, the elves resumed mining.
“Do you think you’ll get away with this?”
“Well, even if ants get angry, they’re still ants. How about you kneel before the great Empire and beg for mercy? Who knows? You might receive a single crumb of mana stone.”
“I am Pablo Barkat!”
“And I’m Louise Berfht.”
“……?”
“…….”
“…You’re not a dwarf!”
“That’s only under the assumption that you really are Pablo Barkat.”
“How dare you insult me! I *am* truly Pablo Barkat!”
“You’re noisy.”
Pablo thrashed. Ernan formed a water droplet and shoved it into his mouth.
Berje sat down on a rock a little ways off and smirked as he watched.
Simply keeping Pablo restrained was never the correct solution.
There was plenty of ore. In contrast, there were few miners, and only one of them was truly skilled.
Pablo was alone. But behind him stood a kingdom and a union.
Keeping him imprisoned for a day or two was one thing— but after enough time passed, the kingdom would notice something was wrong and come searching for him.
Of course, as a *Star*, the grace period would be fairly long, yet even then they could not extract all the ore within that time.
In the end, there were three options.
Give up at an appropriate timing and release him.
Or restrain him until the very end.
The latter was kidnapping. Kidnapping a prince as a Demon King.
But that was the worst option.
Calling him a gender-swapped Louise Berfht was not simply about personality.
It was his reputation, the background he possessed.
To the Barkat Kingdom and the Southern Union, Pablo Barkat was the vanguard and spiritual pillar standing against the beast known as the Empire.
Kidnapping such a prince would mean war with the entire Southern Union.
It went beyond mere symbolism—there would be no escape until everything was settled.
But thinking about it, there was no need to cling too obsessively to the mana stones.
They were not unnecessary, and money was important, but becoming so fixated that it ruined the bigger picture would be foolish.
‘Therefore…’
He had to enlarge the board. Stoke the anger, expand the scale of the war.
They would have to compromise on the mana stones to some degree, but instead gain more Demonic Points.
‘Still…’
He was better at toying with Pablo than expected.
A natural talent, perhaps.
At Ernan’s playful smile, the corners of Berje’s mouth rose.
---
Pablo shed tears of blood.
It was humiliating to be defeated and toyed with by Imperial dogs.
It infuriated him that the kingdom’s resources were being plundered by the Empire.
‘I will have my revenge.’
But the Imperials were not easy foes. He might have been caught because he was careless, but even if he hadn’t been careless, there was no guarantee he would win.
Weakened by a single defeat and shackles that blocked his aura, he had become miserably feeble.
And he wasn’t even alone.
‘This must be the vanguard. The Empire will send more.’
He had to escape first and bring back allies.
Fortunately, the Imperial dogs who had mocked him to their satisfaction had grown lax in their surveillance.
Pablo calmly circulated his aura.
The cuffs on his wrists and shackles on his ankles repeatedly severed the flow. They drained not only his aura but slowly sapped his physical strength as well.
Even so, he grit his teeth.
Slowly— ever so slowly— he gathered aura.
It felt like his blood vessels were tearing. No— they *were* tearing. His muscles ruptured. He struggled to burst through the dam blocking him.
And finally—
Tok—
His hands and legs were freed.
Aura surged through the now-open pathways. The wounded areas ached fiercely, but he let out not even a groan.
‘Not yet.’
His strength began returning slowly. But he did not move. He watched the dogs carefully.
Laughter echoed as they mined mana stones.
‘That will be your last laugh. I swear it…’
He watched for an opening and waited for night. Once night fell, they always stopped mining and sank into deep sleep.
Their disregard for him only fueled his anger further, but for him it was a golden opportunity.
Night came, and the Imperial dogs entered their magical tents.
Pablo, who had been waiting for the moment, finally crawled out.
He cast a single glare toward the tents and sprinted toward the cave he had come from.
He did not know that eyes were watching him.
“Will he fall for it? I think my acting was a bit sloppy.”
“He’ll fall for it. He’s Louise Berfht with the gender swapped.”
“Even down to the brain?”
“Nearly identical in every aspect.”
“Then he’ll return with the kingdom’s army?”
“He’ll likely prepare thoroughly. A week at most.”
“That means we can only mine for one week.”
“Krrrrr… Damn bastard. Dog bastard.”
Roger shed tears of blood, cursing at the fact they could only take a portion of the massive mana stone deposit.
“The next time I see him, I’ll fire the mana cannon at him…! I’ll hit him with a barrage so intense not even bones remain…!”
Berje ignored him.
“But won’t it be suspicious if we disappear?”
“No. The Empire will probably send an army.”
“You already made your move, then?”
“I didn’t, but someone else did.”
As Jason intended, the prince of Barkat had come here. Yet the Empire had not shown itself.
Could Jason truly have done nothing toward the Empire?
Impossible.
‘Two possibilities.’
Either they had stronger evidence and were simply delayed because they were organizing a proper military force.
Or the Empire’s spies had already come and gone, and a proper army was already being prepared.
Imperial forces would arrive soon.
And they would clash with Barkat.
Right here.
Filled with hostility, Pablo would attack the Imperial army the moment he saw them, without thinking twice.
And that moment— that would be the moment the war began.
‘Originally, the war ended in an instant.’
The Imperial army had overwhelmed them with superior numbers, seized the mine, and never relinquished it.
He hadn’t known why that happened before, but now it was clear.
When Pablo Barkat hesitated like this, the Empire must have sent a proper army to secure the area first.
‘That boldness and decisiveness.’
He expected it this time as well.
‘Still, just in case…’
He would play one more trick.