The Vastness of Magical Destiny

"Uh, our Mercenary Corps isn’t that large, you may have already known. In fact, we used to be a relatively powerful mercenary group in the Binos Tees region. You might have heard of our former name, the Black Rose Mercenary Group; we had a bit of a reputation within the Northern Alliance. The Dark Night Angel Mercenary Group is the new name we registered after something happened to our corps. More than half a year ago, our corps took on a mission to deliver a batch of processed timber to the Hulun Prairie. The task didn’t seem particularly special at first, but it brought our mercenary group to the brink of disaster.""

The Female Priest’s face showed a look of heartbreaking sorrow, as though she did not wish to recall the days gone by.

"Although the Hulun Prairie does occasionally see conflict, it’s not particularly dangerous for mercenary groups if they can stay updated with local developments. Since many in our group hail from the Hulun Prairie, we could avoid wars between beastmen and Mortals as long as we stayed alert. To be on the safe side, we sent over sixty people to escort the goods to the Hulun Prairie, but none of those comrades ever returned. They were ambushed by beastmen on the prairie, the cargo was looted, and all of them were sacrificed there," she said, dabbing her tears with a handkerchief and trying to appear stronger.

"If this had been a random tragedy, we might have been able to move on. The beastmen roam the Hulun Prairie freely and often attack our mortal caravans, but this mission was different. Our employer did not accompany us, and the beastmen’s assault was not a large-scale attack but a deliberate ambush on our only route. They knew our movements and timing perfectly—it was a targeted strike, a downright premeditated murder!" The Female Priest became visibly agitated as she spoke of this.

"After such a blow, our Mercenary Corps was on the verge of collapse, but the remaining members would not let such murder go unchallenged. Even if it meant death, we were determined to seek clarity and justice. The culprits underestimated our strength in the North. Havier was from the Hulun Prairie, and through various means, we discovered that the cargo we were transporting did not seem to be just the processed timber the client had initially requested. It seemed to be parts specifically made for assembling a certain facility. Moreover, the designated delivery location had no human inhabitants or recipients, which means that the cargo was intended to be seized by the beastmen all along, or to put it more bluntly, it was prepared for the beastmen!" Her expression became exceptionally calm as she spoke.

"Hmm, are you suggesting that the employer deliberately hired you to transport these goods to the beastmen, to avoid exposure and be able to conceal their identity in case of an interception? That means there must be a significant issue with this cargo. But if it’s just some so-called equipment parts, what could that be?" Komer mused before responding, "What are these people concealing with such secrecy and cruelty? Perhaps only by solving this riddle can we find the clues to those behind the scene."

The question raised made even Komer’s own heart stir.

He remembered that over a year ago, while still in Cyprus, Ilot had mentioned that beastmen had breached several castles and fortresses in the North using siege weapons, causing an extremely perilous situation which forced the kingdom to re-establish the Iron Cross and Blue Dove legions. Although the situation in the North stabilized later due to the beastmen’s withdrawal, the creation of these two legions also put significant pressure on the kingdom’s lords.

Thɪs chapter is updated by ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

The downfall of Myron Duchy and the breach of Mycenae were also largely due to beastmen-controlled siege weapons. Yet, how the beastmen came into possession of such siege weapons, which could not have been produced within their ranks, remained a mystery.

Komer was certain that including the kingdom, all the nations within the Northern Alliance must have spent considerable effort investigating this mystery, but to this day, there is no clear explanation. One thing is certain: the beastmen could not have made such intricately crafted items requiring Magic Metal processing technology on their own—it would be almost harder than turning them into Mortals.

The origin of those siege weapons thus remained an inexplicable enigma, and many began to suspect that someone within the Mortals or to speak more precisely, within the Northern Alliance, had colluded with the beastmen. The calming of the conflict in the Western Alliance seemed to corroborate this, but without evidence, no one could say for certain.