Chapter 184
Tundra decided to slay Viola’s enemies for Viola. She had taken her role as an adopted daughter too seriously 184th chapter.
Pongpong returned once again.
Turning her back as if to leave the aftermath to Tundra, Heidi walked away.
Viola was left staring blankly at the scene of Pongpong walking over with determined steps.
‘What should I say about this?’
The little kid with blue hair had returned as an adult after just a few days. The adult spoke.
“Don’t forget the promise we made.”
The voice had changed quite a bit. The voice of a child had effortlessly transformed into that of an adult.
“What promise?”
“You promised to water the flower field with me.”
Viola nodded absentmindedly. It was simply that the appearance and atmosphere had changed, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was hard to treat Pongpong casually.
‘No.’
She decided to treat Pongpong as Pongpong. ‘Let’s keep it casual.’
Pongpong is still Pongpong. No matter how much of a beauty she had become.
Even though she smelled like an adult, Pongpong was still Pongpong.
Pongpong got closer.
“I’ll hug you.”
Pongpong pulled Viola into an embrace. Pongpong used to be smaller than Viola.
But now it was different. Why is she so much bigger now?
She had grown much larger than before, and her embrace was warmer and more comfortable. It felt like soaking in warm bathwater.
Soon, Pongpong transformed into water and wrapped around Viola.
“I don’t want to kill anyone.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Okay.”
Viola looked over the water at Tundra. Tundra was walking steadily.
Tundra glanced back for a moment.
It seemed Tundra heard Pongpong’s words as well.
“Be the refuge for the princess.”
There is a fortress to protect Viola. It looked like she was being sucked into the shadows.
Tundra calmly gripped his great sword in reverse.
He then plunged it into the ground with a forceful thrust.
“Did I not mention that I have a good sense of smell?”
There were no screams. The certain thing was that Heidi was no longer visible.
A snowstorm roared, and eerie sounds echoed.
The high-pitched noise made it feel like one’s hair would stand on end just from listening.
Tundra retrieved the great sword he had thrust into the ground.
Blood dripped from the blade. Tundra returned to Viola’s side.
“I have annihilated the enemy.”
Viola fell silent for a moment. After all, Heidi was the villain that appeared in the later part of the novel.
‘She’s almost a final boss-level antagonist.’
To think such a villain could be eliminated with just one stab. If we had to categorize the timing, we might say it’s around the early to mid stages of “Shadow of Bellatu.”
But Tundra now felt stronger than the Tundra from the later part of “Shadow of Bellatu.” ‘Or perhaps because Tundra is younger, Heidi must be younger too?’
There was also the possibility that Heidi could not form a contract with Pongpong. But no matter how you look at it, Tundra’s extraordinary strength was undeniable. The snow continued to blow fiercely.
“Stop it, right?”
Viola doubted her ears for a moment. Was that directed at me?
She thought so but soon realized it wasn’t.
The water surrounding Viola was vibrating.
“What are you asking me to stop?”
“How long will you keep holding the princess?”
“You told me to be her refuge.”
“There are no enemies around.”
“Enemies will show up eventually, right?”
“Not right now.”
“Safety is paramount.”
“It’s safe even now.”
“Not really safe.”
“What’s not safe?”
“I don’t know. Just not safe.”
Even though their appearances had changed, Pongpong was still Pongpong, and Tundra was still Tundra. “You have become an adult.”
“Spirits have no concept of adulthood.
I’ve merely grown up.”
“Then stay away from the princess.”
“What gives you the right to tell me that? I am Viola’s contractor, a friend, a companion.”
“I am the princess’s partner.”
“Ha! More like a pet dog.”
“If we share a life journey, then that’s partnership.”
“Then that makes me a partner too?”
Tundra tightened his grip on the great sword. “I don’t want to cut down a Spirit King.”
“Go ahead and try. You’ll just get scolded by Viola.”
Viola pressed her temples. “Can both of you stop it?”
Heidi was indeed the villain that appeared in the latter part of the novel, but she was not the end. The ‘Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors’ had to be closed for the ‘Heat Wind’ to disappear. “They will soon come pouring in. Can we afford to fight amongst ourselves?”
She had completely forgotten that Pongpong had grown up. “Sorry.”
Tundra stared at that hand. “Tundra, you?”
Tundra reluctantly took her hand. “Sorry.”
The Spirit King and the protagonist. The two absolute beings became childish before Viola.
Only then did Tundra realize his own folly, and his face turned slightly red.
*
There were seven Magic Towers on the continent.
The Magic Towers were the pioneers leading magical engineering and magical civilization.
It is no exaggeration to say that most of the civilization enjoyed by the people of this era was created by the mages of the Magic Towers.
Many people revered the mages of the Magic Towers, and nobles, including those of the Empire, respected them. The authority of the Magic Towers was immense.
They were regarded as partially extraterritorial and faced little punishment even for serious offenses.
However, today the situation was a bit different. “You fools! Have you forgotten where this is!”
“Where else? It’s the Magic Tower.”
Bang! A sound like a Mana Bomb exploding echoed.
“Seems a bit tough.”
A man with a massive frame turned his neck. There was a cracking sound.
The man’s name was Salmon Brandia.
Originally, the Duke of Brandia should have been at the edge of the continent fending off invaders from the west, but he had made an appearance at the Magic Tower.
For reasons unknown, he attacked the Magic Tower.
[The Magic Tower does not forgive intruders.]
[If you do not leave, the magical weaponry will commence firing.]
“You’re talking about magical weapons, huh?”
“Hey. You think this is fun?”
Another enormous figure appeared. This man’s name was Kaiser. The King of Mercenaries.
Today, he was facing a siege weapon.
He was wielding a massive sledgehammer known as the ‘Castle Breaker.’
Kaiser spoke.
“I couldn’t break it last time.”
“Does it hurt if it hits?”
“That? It just tickles.”
“Is that so?”
Believing those words, Brandia summoned his mana. His body grew larger like a giant. Heat began to rise, and hot lava started to flow from his entire being.
“Hey. It’s getting hot, let’s go over there.”
Kaiser said while adjusting his nose. “But, I’m kind of envious.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve gained a lot of muscle, but I can’t become a giant.”
“Do you want to be a giant?”
“It would be nice to be big.”
Kaiser huffed. “Just being big isn’t everything.”
Though he felt very envious, he tried not to show it. “I’ll do a better job of smashing things.”
The magical weapons began a volley of fire. The interesting thing was that all of the magical bullets aimed toward Brandia.
This was the power of the ‘Lava Giant Brickta.’
He drew the flow of all mana to himself, attracting magical attacks.
“Haha, this doesn’t even tickle.”
The attacks of the magical weapons melted away in the lava. The ability handed down in the Duke’s family was a natural enemy to mages.
Soon, the Baby Deer Mercenaries joined in, and the forces of Winter Castle surrounded the Magic Tower.
This was unprecedented.
The sword of Winter Castle was now pointing not towards the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines’ but towards humanity.
This was a shocking fact across the continent. Nevertheless, there was not much upheaval. -Under the Emperor’s approval, Winter Castle had moved. Gaia, the leader of the Night Cat faction, mobilized the intelligence network to spread the news throughout the continent.
She conveyed detailed and precise information to avoid confusions.
– Warriors from Winter Castle and Duke Salmon have joined forces. This was also historically unprecedented. Winter Castle was going towards ‘Place Where the Eye Shines.’
Brandia had been too busy holding off invaders from the west.
– Duke of Mariantu released a supportive statement regarding the departure of the great warriors. The Emperor and the three major Dukes were in agreement.
At this point, other Magic Towers found it hard to openly protest.
This was the first time that the royal family and the three major Dukes had moved in unison. As for who had mobilized them all, it had not yet been revealed that it was Viola. Breaking news was pouring in from various news outlets.
The Emperor visited Selina’s office.
“Selina, do you really think this is okay?”
“We should trust Lady Viola.”
Lady Viola had pointed out the ‘6th Magic Tower’ as one of the backers of the Heat Wind. “In fact, we already knew about their human experimentation taking place in the Magic Towers.”
Among the high-ranking nobles, everyone knows. They knew but kept it under wraps.
Thanks to their human experiments, countless magics had developed, greatly enriching the lives of many. “That’s right.”
You must also know that simply having people die at the ‘Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors’ would not sustain that place.” It wasn’t just that the Spirits made sacrifices and those warriors who visited gave their lives, that allowed ‘Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors’ to be maintained. Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors.
This means that there is another force sustaining the ‘base of the Heat Wind.’ “With a deeper understanding of magic than anyone.”
“The Magic Tower nearest the ‘Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors.’”
The Magic Tower closest to the ‘Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors’ was Winter Castle. The closest Magic Tower to Winter Castle was the 6th Magic Tower.
“A Magic Tower with a Master who knows well about the ‘Sacred Ground of the Ancient Warriors.’”
The Master of the 6th Magic Tower, Sirson, had trained at the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines.’ “Quickly contact Sir Hixson, the one capable of placing mental magic on the unstable Sir Hixson.”
Master Sirson had previously gone to the ‘Place Where the Eye Shines’ with Hixson.
Hixson had mentioned directly before.
“That Sirson of the 6th Magic Tower trained with me over there.”
Selina shook her head after saying this. “No, maybe the Master of the 6th Magic Tower may have already placed magic on Hixson back then.”
Magic is often set in advance. And when someone loses a loved one and becomes mentally unstable, only then do the spells activate, turning them into berserkers. “Only Sirson can do all of this.”
“Moreover, he has an excuse of Clumsy Elcina of the 6th Magic Tower and can enjoy his own time without taking on new apprentices.”
“Usually, someone who can transform and fly around.”
So it was difficult to completely trace Sirson’s whereabouts. He was skilled in transformation magic and could fly across the sky. “He was someone who cared deeply about his reputation, showing an obsessive desire for honor and working hard on image-making, making it hard to suspect him.”
All of those were clues pointing to Sirson being a ‘follower of the Heat Wind.’ But there was still no evidence. “Don’t worry. There must be hidden materials in the 6th Magic Tower.”
Although there was still no evidence, they recklessly attacked the 6th Magic Tower. In fact, the Emperor too was taking a large risk. The seven Magic Towers existing on the continent were the foundation of modern civilization.
It was not something Nela could hope for if they collectively resisted. “Fortunately, we have two very powerful reinforcements.”
“Two?”
Selina smiled. “Can you guess who they are?”