Chapter 84

84.

***

The moment Cain began his formal training with the knights.

Leonhardt Hassen, the Grand Duke of Northeast, was reading a letter that had flown in from the capital.

“Hmm,”

A merchant with a shadowy appearance had suddenly appeared and delivered the letter.

The letter, handed over by someone identified as one of the second master’s shadows, despite its plain appearance, carried quite significant content.

“That guy Cain. He’s sending me another troublesome thing.”

A list of nobles and bureaucrats from the eastern region.

As well as the affiliated merchant guilds under them and the types of goods they handled.

Finally, detailed information was written about a few individuals on the list.

‘Some sort of undercover network planted in the Central Intelligence Department… There are quite a few. My my? Is this guy watching their infiltration routes?’

Strange things would occasionally appear in the otherwise quiet Northeast.

When these objects, which had naturally infiltrated the villages, were secretly captured and examined, nine out of ten turned out to be immigrants from foreign lands.

Even though various intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Department, clearly existed, they would appear as if they were visiting their own home. Apparently, there was something going on.

“They were watching their backs all this time. Is this a country?”

The first method by which spies heading towards the capital entered the Empire was through navigation.

Since the eastern region bordered the sea, not only was there trade with the Eastern Continent, but trade ships from other regions were also actively engaging in commerce through the port cities.

According to the content of the letter, the spies entered the country on ships under noble or large merchant guild control. The inspection process was appropriately smoothed out and ignored by the cooperating nobles and bureaucrats.

Leonhardt’s eyebrows rose in disbelief at the absurd reality.

It was already the time when the beasts sleeping through winter were waking up one by one with the arrival of spring. On top of that, the rare sightings of monsters were increasing.

Amidst the busy effort to manage threats directly attacking the northeastern region, how could they have also gone out of their way to deal with the spies troubling them?

“East region… these people…”

Following the instruction to maintain goodwill with the eastern region for the time being, Leonhardt had been fostering friendly relations by unlocking bolts he previously put in place.

He had hinted at cooperation against the duke and packaged the damage received during the purges to the Northeast, carefully concealing his relationship with Cain.

Even just a week prior, he personally moved to the edge of the eastern port city enjoying a luncheon with its mayor.

“Laughing ‘haha hoho’ while stabbing me in the back, is that what this is?”

Recalling the portly figure of Mayor Clayman, Leonhardt clenched his fists.

Clayman’s section did not just assist in the infiltration of the spies but also contained information about trading a few of the rare Northeastern businesses or important intelligence.

‘Assisting Cain. And secretly planning to use it for their benefit before discarding it.’

Though not surprising, learning of it directly still boiled Leonhardt’s blood. Silently, he closed his eyes.

Woong—

As he calmed his swirling emotions and mana, a knight’s urgent shout echoed into the air.

“Baron! The last one is coming!”

Leonhardt’s eyes opened again at the knight’s cry.

His pupils glinted with a blue light.

By releasing the suppressed mana once again, a powerful energy wave spread out from him.

Tok tok.

The once-flat dirt cracked open and small stones were helplessly pushed aside, swamped by the mana’s power. As the destructive force of the mana infused Leonhardt’s body, it gave him superhuman might.

Finally, when the mana gathered into his hands, shining with white light—

A sharp screech tore through the air.

Geeaaak!

The giant arm, whipping through like a whip, hurled towards Leonhardt with a menacing force that could smash his head.

In the blink of an eye.

Kuk.

Leonhardt lightly caught hold of the monster’s arm with his hand. After inspecting the held arm for a brief moment, he turned his gaze.

A black ooze flowing down. The abnormal monsters always emitted a dark energy around them.

The monster’s energy, noticeable to the mana-sensitive eyes, revealed their powers, which drove living beings to extreme fear.

Even so, despite the horrible force that naturally transferred to Leonhardt as he grasped the arm,

Whrrrr—

the fierce mana incinerated and erased the monster’s wave with ease.

“Tsk. Annoying.”

Leonhardt shifted his focus to what he deemed the monster’s face.

Trying to pull its arm free, the monster awkwardly wriggled its body, but the captured arm did not move an inch.

Leonhardt slightly mocked this clumsy movement and concentrated his strength across his whole body.

“Kueep!”

With a small yell, his muscles swelled as if ready to burst.

Overwhelmed by the uncontrollable power erupting within, Leonhardt forcefully pulled the monster’s arm.

—!

The monster emitted a strange sound as it violently flew through the air.

His mana-laden fist then crushed the creature.

Poom!

The form of the black mass exploding in all directions.

Amid the gradually disappearing remnants of the monster, Leonhardt calmly shook his hand off.

“Baron! The beasts are dealt with!”

“Good. Well done! None slipped away, right?”

“Yes! All have been confirmed!”

At the knight’s cry, Leonhardt glanced around.

Even excluding the collapsing abnormal monster, many corpses were scattered.

Wolf heads and bodies exploded, their large frames dead. Their intestines squashed, dripping sluggish dark-red blood down.

“Ei. Lost my appetite.”

As Leonhardt made a face at the nauseating sight, a knight assigned to clean up approached. The knight’s expression wasn’t much different upon seeing the scene.

“Quite a lot, it seems terrifying.”

“That’s right. Even if it’s spring, this number is incomparable to last year.”

Beasts awake from their winter slumber begin hunting earnestly to fill their starving bellies.

There were occasions when they wandered into the territory looking for food, but most often, they did not stray beyond the surrounding mountains or forests of the territory.

Because it was rare for food to become scarce enough to intrude into human domains. But this time, the beasts reached deep within the territory.

This was a rather unusual incident, and thus, the situation had led to Leonhardt, as lord of the land, personally leading knights and soldiers to defend it.

“Surely, the cause is the monsters, right?”

“If we have to pinpoint it, it must be the monsters’ influence.”

The wave emitted by the abnormal monsters induces extreme fear in living beings.

Since not just one but multiple monsters appeared, the beasts fled from them and ended up in the human territories. Had there been just one monster, these huge wolves likely would have hunted them with survival instincts.

“It feels like more monsters are coming down from above… Kearn. What about the messenger from the Northern Front?”

“The messengers haven’t been around for some time now. Apparently, not even merchants can approach the North.”

“What? Why?”

At Leonhardt’s question, Kearn shook his head.

“The route to the duke’s territory has become heavy with snowstorms. The weather has become so severe that they’ve even decided not to attempt it.”

“Other routes?”

“They’re reportedly in similar conditions. It feels like the northern region is completely blocked by the snowstorm.”

“Phew, this is troublesome.”

While the south enjoys a warm spring, the land of the duke seems still gripped in winter.

Wrestling with this strange phenomenon, Leonhardt suddenly raised his head.

“So the North is completely isolated, right?”

“Um, yes. All access is blocked.”

“Hmph… How long has the route been cut off?”

“Completely blocked… approximately a month ago.”

As Leonhardt and Kearn organized the situation, their expressions hardened.

The isolated North.

The increased appearance of the abnormal monsters.

‘The front line… is it wavering?’

The sudden hypothesis that came to their minds wasn’t a good omen.

“Damn it.”

In the current situation, there was no way Northeast could intervene.

Leonhardt muttered an expletive before speaking again.

“Kearn. Estimate the amount of supplies we sent to the North. How much would it be?”

“Regarding food? A proper confirmation is necessary, but… in the worst case, six months. At best, eight months, is expected.”

“Six months…?”

Meaning the Northern region would run out of food within six months.

Even including the food they produce themselves, due to the defense against the abnormal army, the Northern Duchy had maintained an almost pre-war state.

The amount of food and supplies they consumed was considerable.

Originally, through support from the central region and various merchant guilds, the supply was maintained. But after the late emperor passed away, the influence of central nobles grew, and the supply was halted.

Despite the support from Northeast and a few merchant guilds, the exchange was cut off due to the sudden weather changes from the snowstorm.

This situation had surpassed what Leonhardt or Northeast could handle.

The time that remained was not ample.

The moment the Northern Front collapses, the abnormal army would start its rapid advance.

The first target of those forces would be the Northeast and the North Academy in the Northwest.

While Leonhardt was pondering over these unexpected pieces of information, Kearn’s murmurs interrupted his contemplation.

“Did Carlos Macbilian’s seal break?”

“That’s…”

Abnormal monsters were categorized by the size and strength of individuals into grades 1 to 3 by researchers.

The higher the grade, the more overwhelming the size and strength, but the problem was an unusual creature that defied classification.

Its mere appearance strengthened the military force.

Why, how.

A strange existence whose cause and reason were still under research.

The creature, which had appeared once amidst countless secrets, had been sealed with a magic-infused sword by Carlos Macbilian and his suicide squad.

An exchange for their lives.

Thanks to that, the Northern Front did not collapse, and the abnormal army was unable to break through the line for a long time.

‘Kain.’

Recalling Carlos’ last moment, thoughts naturally drifted to Kain.

The young boy who stood firm even after his father’s death had now grown into a young man, becoming a duke and even the empire’s grand duke.

“If it’s Kain…”

The one who overturned the Imperial Palace could perhaps solve the northern issue.

It was an unfounded hope.

But for some reason, Leonhardt felt a strange sense of relief.

Since their first meeting when the boy was an infant, they hadn’t met until much later amidst the chaotic period of territory battles.

Cain, who was then abruptly declared as the new head of the Macbilian household, showcased surprising feats, even acquiring a strange nickname to prove himself.

“Kearn. Let’s send a letter to the capital.”

“The capital…?”

“I should inform Kain about the eastern operation and the condition of the North.”

“You mean, Kain, the Sword Breaker, right?”

“Sword… heh, that’s right. So bring that peculiar merchant to the manor.”

Kearn bowed and departed as Leonhardt also began heading back to the manor, stepping towards the soldiers.

Regardless of the North or the East,

To solve scattered problems, one must not rush.

Prepare adequately and execute plans patiently when the time is right.

“Since I’ve fed them enough materials to deal with the East, it’s time to see their abilities.”

For Leonhardt and Northeast, brief periods of waiting were familiar.