Chapter 109

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on February 6, 2025

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Chapter 109

#109. Waves of Past Glory (1)

Could it have been because of the recognition and sense of belonging we received for the first time?

After that, my fellow demon den members and I fought harder than anyone else for the Northern Region.

“For our new homeland!”

“Fight! Give it your all!”

The North was now our new home.

“Warriors of the North! Fight! Don’t disgrace our ancestral gods! Don’t get your butts kicked by our ancestors in the afterlife!”

Rune Lenslet was undoubtedly a worthy hero.

The greatness of Rune Lenslet wasn’t in his Sword Master skills.

He had charisma that you’d never see in someone like me, a creepy dark wizard.

A halo always seemed to shimmer above his head as he fought at the front lines of the battlefield.

“Lenslet! Rune Lenslet!”

Countless northerners trusted and followed him.

“Lenslet! Rune Lenslet!”

And among them were me and the other dark wizards.

Time passed.

Thanks to our joining, the savagery of the North gradually began to settle down.

That doesn’t mean it became as stable as other parts of Arcadia.

The harsh winters and savagery were still formidable, but a line distinguishing between barbarism and civilization was drawn even in the North.

At the time, it felt like this glorious moment would last forever.

But nothing in this world lasts forever.

When was it…

“Haven is such a great location. It’s the starting point dividing the Magic Realm and the empire’s mid-north.”

“Further down from here is Louhan, the northern fortress of the empire.”

“Ahh… The fort your ancestors built to stop them, right?”

“Our ancestors? They’re our ancestors now, Isaac.”

“…! Thank you for saying that.”

Ah… It must’ve been around the time we drove the mutant monsters into the Magic Realm.

“Can our demon den settle here in Haven? The mutant monsters have significant research value, you know.”

“Go ahead.”

It was when we were about to establish our base in Haven.

“Boss! Visitors are here!”

“Visitors? What kind of visitors?”

“Uh… Hmm… You should probably come and see for yourself?”

“Don’t bother me unless it’s important!”

It was a group of outcasts who wandered through the land of harsh winters.

“We greet the hero of the North, Rune Lenslet. I am Isabel, the Witch of Spring and representative of the Coven.”

“……!”

The Witch of Spring and the Hero of the North met for the first time.

“Hmph! I’m Rune Lenslet! Welcome, witches!”

“Look, our boss is blushing!”

“Well, it is about time our boss got married.”

“Shut up, you brats!”

The wave of glory began to fade just around then.

The Arcadia Continent has magic.

I heard there’s something similar to magic called ‘mystic shamanism’ in the eastern continent.

In the sealed southern continent where different races crossed over, spirit arts, magic, and shamanism coexist.

And witches can use all three: magic, spirit arts, and shamanism.

“With this wall alone, we can repel the savage tribes, monsters, and orcs from the far north with minimal losses.”

It took only three years—just three years—for the massive Northern Great Wall to be completed in this harsh land.

“…Witches really are amazing.”

Rune Lenslet couldn’t hide his admiration when he saw the Northern Great Wall completed by Isabel and the witches in just three years.

“The North is truly remarkable. We witches were more surprised by the technology of the North.”

But Isabel and the witches who actually built the Northern Great Wall were greatly astonished by the hidden technological prowess of the North.

“To build stone structures so easily using lime powder… and even incorporating iron bars for durability… it completely changed our perception of the North.”

“Hahaha! The ironworking and stonemasonry of the North is somewhat famous. I heard the ancient techniques from the Golden Age weren’t lost and have been passed down. Even when our ancestors were barbarian druids, they somehow managed to preserve these two skills.”

“Combining them with spirit arts allowed us to build quickly and sturdily.”

The two proudly looked around the Northern Great Wall.

Even excluding mountains, ravines, and ice seas, the high and long wall stretched for dozens of kilometers.

This structure named the Northern Great Wall significantly highlighted human presence amidst nature.

“I hear the empire is also building a wall in the Eastern Ruins?”

“They’ll be painstakingly stacking bricks one by one somewhere else.”

If this great wall had been built purely by human strength, it would have taken at least several decades to a century.

But the North was an exception. Somehow, the reinforced concrete method passed down from the Golden Age continued in the North, and with the addition of the witches’ spirit arts, they managed to build the roof of the North in just three years.

“By now, many people in the eastern part of the empire must have died or been injured. A lot of money and time will surely be consumed.”

“The empire does have mage towers, doesn’t it?”

“The assistance from mage towers will likely be limited to enchantments.”

“Ah, that’s unfortunate.”

Rune Lenslet expressed regret on his face, though he didn’t seem genuinely sorry.

“There’s no need to worry about the empire. They have plenty of resources and population.”

“I agree. Who worries about whom anyway? The wall is complete. What do you plan to do next? Whatever support you need, Isabel, I will offer it to you.”

“We’re going to build a very strong and large castle at the center of the Northern Great Wall.”

“Indeed, you know me too well. Yes, we’ll build the castle of the Lenslet Dukedom here. To protect humanity from the northern savages generation after generation—that is the destiny of the Lenslet Dukedom.”

Last year, the emperor of the empire officially entrusted the governance of the North to Rune Lenslet.

At the same time, the extraordinary title of Duke was granted.

Thus, Rune Lenslet became the Duke of the North overnight.

“Isabel, I apologize.”

“For what?”

“I want to marry you properly… I want to make you my proud Duchess…”

“No, you must think about the North and Lenslet. Just being loved by you is enough for me as it is.”

“I love you.”

“Me too.”

“I want to do something for you…”

“Ah, I want your child first. Before the princess sent by the empire.”

“Absolutely, absolutely I will do so. Then, shall we build our honeymoon house right away?”

Isabel’s gaze toward Rune Lenslet was simply that of a man in love.

“The castle… but life won’t be inconvenient. I’ll cast various spells and set barriers so it’s warm, safe, and comfortable.”

Likewise, Isabel’s face looking at Rune Lenslet showed a faint blush.

“…”

Seeing those two, my fellow dark wizards and I felt an indescribable sense of unease.

“Hmph! Your Highness the Duke? That sounds awkward. Just call me by name, Isaac. Aren’t we comrades?”

“Just… Rune.”

“What happened to the wild druids?”

“With the orcs driven out, the momentum of the allied druids was greatly weakened. They’ve asked for peace.”

“Peace… Well, they are humans like us, unlike orcs or monsters, so we should talk. Though it’s hard to admit, we share roots.”

“Isn’t it disappointing?”

“What’s disappointing?”

“Completely splitting from the wild druids.”

“Not at all. Though it was decided in my grandfather’s time, I don’t regret it. Ever since the Great Nature worshipped by those wild druids turned into the White Snake, the answer was already determined.”

“But it’s still a pity. Their beast transformation and magic resistance were tempting.”

“In exchange, we can freely use the construction and metallurgical techniques passed down from the Golden Age.”

Rune Lenslet pointed to the massive wall and the northern cold iron armor he wore.

“Can we not use beast transformations anymore?”

“Since we chose civilization, it’s impossible. Nature rejects it, they say. But our affinity for mana and robust bodies remain.”

“That’s true.”

“When you gain something, you lose something. We merely chose civilization over nature and savagery.”

“True, we can’t live without metal forever.”

My fellow dark wizards and I were curious about the various mysteries of the wild druids.

There was once in the ancient Golden Age a school called the Nephilim, advocates of naturalism, and the northern druids were their direct descendants.

Their beast transformations and magic resistance were rarer secrets on the continent than the witches’ spirit arts.

“I recommend limiting the druids’ territory to the northern end of the Manus Mountains.”

Swallowing my regret and secretly hoping to someday obtain the druids’ secrets, I suggested to Rune Lenslet.

“Let’s do that. By the way, did you find any traces of the White Snake?”

“No, we didn’t.”

The White Snake ruled over all the northern monsters.

The main reason the North fights so fiercely against savagery lies in the existence of the White Snake.

The White Snake brutally ruled over the monsters and cunningly dominated the orcs and druids.

As long as it exists, the monsters of the North will continue to be active.

“Hmm… We need to catch that bastard for the North to stabilize…”

“I’ll keep looking for it.”

“No, it’s fine. We can’t waste precious magical power on that. Focus on castle construction with the witches.”

Rune Lenslet pointed to the already impressive wall.

“Isn’t it magnificent? A wall built in just three years by fewer than fifty witches. The southerners are bloated. How could they persecute such talents?”

Though unintentional, we felt a strange sense of inferiority from his words.

“We excel in combat.”

“What’s suddenly about combat?”

“You just told me to build a castle, but we lack talent in that area. The only spirits we can barely handle are dark spirits that manipulate emotions.”

I said this while being aware of the witch standing next to Rune Lenslet.

“Aren’t witches lacking in discipline? They can’t even properly converse with other mages?”

On the other hand, Isabel the witch looked at me as if I were a cow staring at a chicken.

Back then, I didn’t know much about the curse of Haran, so I found the witches’ behavior extremely unpleasant.

“I see. There’s nothing we can do. Stay in Haven.”

“…Alright.”

“The Northern Great Wall has been built, but not the Magic Realm, right? Please help manage the Magic Realm there.”

“Sure, we’ll keep studying monsters there as we always have.”

“Isaac, it’s the era of stability now. I recommend the Demon Den starts focusing on non-combat magic.”

“…Of course.”

Gradually but quickly,

Rune Lenslet’s attention drifted away from me and the dark wizards of the Demon Den.

With the momentum of savagery weakening recently, the northerners treated the witches more favorably than us.

The necromancy, curses, and experiments specialized in by dark wizards were too different from the practical elemental magic used by witches in daily life.

‘This is the place we barely secured. We need to strengthen our foothold!’

My fellow members of the Demon Den unanimously trembled with anxiety.

We simultaneously guarded against and envied the witches.

‘Those who can’t even fight properly! They just run away on brooms whenever anything happens!’

‘We shed the most blood in this North after the warriors!’

‘How dare they receive founding merit just for helping with buildings and farming?!’

‘Mages should compete with magic, not resort to beauty tricks! Isabel, that bald-headed woman!’

The witches weren’t skilled in combat, but they excelled in elemental magic, healing, and shamanism.

Meanwhile, we were proficient in necromancy, poison magic, and curses.

“I heard you’re looking for a mage.”

“Erm… uh… I hoped for a witch…”

“…Speak. If there’s something we can do, we’ll help.”