chapter 232
The continuous attacks were ongoing, and all I could do was hope to withstand them as efficiently as possible.
I decided to return to the dry land, and Littchild and Kelleto were going to head to the great forest together.
However, Littchild was currently absent, saying that they were going to gather some people from other tribes.
“Each tribe has its own activity radius, after all.”
Kreto explained that such actions were necessary.
“The day will come when we’ll have to fight against the giants again with Dragon as our leader….”
However, it was impossible to reveal Tinos’ existence to other tribes.
Therefore, we had to rely solely on Littihilt’s power to find our allies.
It was a feasible task. I needed it, and although I was currently living in a different region within the domain, Littihilt was their leader.
Even without Tinos, it wasn’t a difficult task for him.
Meanwhile, Grian was also busy moving around.
He had to report to the royal family about the incident that occurred in the south and inform them that we had officially been requested by Hectio.
It was a powerful justification that the empire had sent us a messenger, which we had to reveal.
Of course, the empire would deny it, but we had evidence.
“You said the empire sent a messenger.”
They had hidden it in their temple.
If it existed, the empire couldn’t deny it.
I remembered what Sol said about the messenger the empire had sent to the Black Star.
“A sacred object….”
Of course, it wasn’t a sacred object of the Goddess’s faith.
It was a sacred object of another religion, and surprisingly, it wasn’t even from the Earth Mother’s faith.
“It’s a sacred object from a small to medium-sized religion, including the Heavenly Church,” he said.
Just like the Earth Church, which barely maintained its existence after the Earth Mother’s faith collapsed, there were still small religions existing.
There were even religions with only faint divine power, and some had spread nationwide.
Among them, the Heavenly Church was relatively large in scale.
It was a religion that had done better than the Earth Church before its revival.
I knew about it since I had occasionally traded with them during my first life.
“I wonder if their headquarters is in Hectio?”
Some large-scale religions had their headquarters in Hectio.
The reason was simple: Hectio was close to the original spirit, making it a place where religions were relatively weak.
One might wonder why they would place their headquarters in a weak spot, but it was because the Goddess’s power barely reached that place.
Therefore, even when the previous Goddess’s faith led the civil war, Hectio suffered minimal damage.
Anyway, those sacred objects were currently undergoing the corruption process in their temple, and although they were sacred objects of a weak church, they were still sacred objects, so it would take a short time for them to corrupt, and they would still be in good condition, he said.
It was obvious, but it was a fact that it took a lot of time for sacred objects to corrupt, unless there was an immortal like me.
I had needed time in the past, and it was even more necessary for them, who had to receive magic from the Demon tribe.
During that time, I was making additional black water and spending time, and I could fill up more black water since I needed a bit more time.
At the same time, I was learning the magic that Sol and Langtem used, one by one, from Tinos.
Perhaps because he was a dragon, he easily grasped the structure of magic, just like Langtem and Sol, and could utilize it immediately.
Of course, I needed a process to adjust it to fit me, but it was a great help.
It was certainly easier to utilize existing things than to start from scratch.
Tinos was teaching me while preparing to make Lang and Sol into Riches.
Meanwhile, Grian finished his tasks and returned, and Littihilt also came back with over 200 Porok and others.
I asked if they were really necessary, and he replied that they were volunteers who wanted to support us in battle.
“They’re all elites, so they won’t be a hindrance.”
There was no reason to refuse since it wouldn’t be bad to have them.
I had put all of them into the dimensional fragments and returned to the Kingdom of Hectio.
I asked Prina, who wanted to help more, to keep an eye on the barren land, saying that the Hectio side would provide sufficient support.
Unfortunately, Tia couldn’t see it, but she was one of the few top-tier merchants who were dealing with the Interspecies Union.
I’m going to the Interspecies Union now.
It was only natural to leave Prina behind, considering the circumstances.
In this world, connections were even more powerful.
As soon as I returned to Hectio, the king immediately found me.
“Thank you for returning quickly.”
“It was a matter of course, given the urgency of the situation.”
I was still facing Grivian.
When I asked about Hectio’s preparations, one of the nobles stepped forward and said,
“We’ve mobilized most of the ancient spirit contractors and reserve hunters. We’ve also gathered as many materials as possible, so we won’t be lacking. A few small sects have also requested to join us.”
“You’ve informed me well.”
“It’s a time when every bit of power counts, so we’ve promised to return their relics as soon as we retrieve them.”
In return, we’ll compensate them accordingly.
It was originally theirs, so there was no reason not to return it.
It would be useful to have it, but….
“How do they plan to infiltrate the Dark Forest?”
“They say the Heavenly Sect has a method.”
They had promised support from 200 clergy members, including their own sect, which was a considerable number.
“They want to work with the ancient spirit contractors as much as possible.”
“I understand.”
As a dark wizard, my main force was the undead, so there was a aspect where holy power would be a hindrance.
Grivian knew that fact well, so he had prepared for these situations in advance.
Indeed, he was capable.
The Hectio side had also prepared maps, including records of past explorations of the Dark Forest, which went deep into the interior.
It was clear how much they valued the current situation.
After the practical discussions ended, the representative of the ancient spirit contractors and the representative of the sect came to find me.
◈ Black Star
The representative of the ancient spirit contractors was, of course, Quahar.
The sect representative was a priest from the Heavenly Sect, known as a cardinal within the sect, with considerable authority.
He had arrived late in the royal capital and immediately came to find me.
Although it was strange, the Kingdom of Hectio was feeling extremely threatened by the current situation, so they prioritized our side, and he took care of that first.
“My name is Nodan.”
“I’m Do In-ha.”
After exchanging brief greetings, I immediately asked him,
“I heard that the Heavenly Sect can send priests to the Dark Forest.”
“That’s correct.”
“How is that possible?”
“To prevent the mysteries of the forest from interfering, we use our sect’s characteristics to resist. You can think of it as utilizing our sect’s special traits.”
The characteristics of the Heavenly Sect.
They didn’t elaborate, but since they claimed it was possible, there was no need to say anything else.
However, they did make one promise.
“The responsibility lies with yourselves.”
“I understand. If you think we’re hindering you, just say so, and we won’t hold it against you.”
Then, there was no problem.
It wasn’t like they were only causing trouble.
“You, the priests, will support the Dark Hunter units.”
I’m a dark mage.
I control magic, and my Dark Elf subordinates control magic as well.
Therefore, it can be said that we are incompatible with divine power.
Nodan, who knew this, nodded calmly.
“I understand. If our opponent is a dark mage, we can become an effective countermeasure.”
This is a fact.
Divine power is strong against dark magic.
Especially when it comes to magic, I, who use pure magic, receive relatively less influence.
But it’s not something that can be completely ignored, so I’ll prepare separately.
“If necessary, I’ll make a separate request.”
“That’s sufficient.”
“Support…”.
At that moment, Cuahr, who was listening to the conversation, opened his mouth.
“Even if you call it support… in reality, there’s not much we can receive besides protection from the rear. Our battle style isn’t suitable for receiving support from priests.”
It wasn’t a wrong statement.
The battle style of the Dark Hunters was, in reality, close to ambushing from the rear and using terrain to their advantage, which didn’t match the priests’ style of providing continuous support while protecting their formation.
“Moreover, the primal spirits and divine power don’t have a good affinity either.”
“…I know that.”
“Rather than adding priests, it would be better to add holy knights. You can protect yourselves and take care of the wounded.”
However, he did welcome the priests’ participation.
“The situation is urgent, and many inexperienced people have been drafted. Except for a very small number, we’ve gathered as many as possible. Moreover, the inner sanctum is a place where even our Dark Hunters can’t easily enter, so our previous battle style is difficult to execute.”
In the battle against Akachi’s forces, the Dark Hunters effectively restrained the rear and showcased their presence.
However, that was possible because they knew the terrain extremely well, and since they only had limited knowledge of the inner sanctum, they couldn’t repeat their previous performance.
“We’ll do our best to adapt to the terrain in real-time and minimize hindrances, but unfortunately, it’s difficult to expect the same role in battle as before.”
Therefore, they said they would focus on other aspects during this expedition.
When asked what he thought, he replied simply.
“Guidance.”
“Guidance?”
“Although we haven’t directly entered the inner sanctum, at least we can take the lead.”
It’s a correct statement.
Although the inner sanctum was almost inaccessible, and even if they did enter, it would mostly be a waste of resources.
In the past, the Hectio Kingdom had sent out many demon hunters to the forest, but most of them had failed to achieve their goals and had suffered losses instead.
Only a few had returned, and the information they brought back was pieced together to form what we know today, but it was still incomplete.
“That’s why we’ll take the lead. We’ll detect danger beforehand and find the safest and fastest route possible.”
We would cooperate with the Orcroks for that.
It was already known that the Orcroks had escaped from the monster-infested forest in the Great Tree Sea and had settled in the Spetratan Kingdom through me.
As an alliance of different species, some of them had even formed a union with the Spetratan Kingdom, so it was only natural that the information agencies of various countries would know about it.
“Let’s become scouts…”
It wasn’t a bad choice.
In fact, we wanted to quickly move into the territory of the Black Star or the Red Ogre.
If we had time, we could establish more connections, and the Red Ogre’s control over the former Orcrok territory would become more stable.
I didn’t think it could be done in a short period, but giving them time would be beneficial.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Don’t worry. We have a way to stall for time, and it’s possible to concentrate our strength.”
A way to stall for time. Something came to mind.
“Back then…”
I remembered the scene where the ancient spirits were surrounding us.
“That’s correct. Demon hunters who can control ancient spirits can concentrate their power. It’s difficult to maintain it for a long time, but…”
That power was what made them demon hunters.
Instant connection and concentration of power.
Of course, not anyone could do it, and it required intense training, but prolonged or continuous use would leave severe aftereffects on the user.
“Sometimes, demons that emerge from the depths are extremely threatening, surpassing high-level monsters. To counter them, we need thorough preparation and perseverance.”
A master-level strongman. There was no official record of such an existence in Hectio.
And there were almost no magicians in that town…
“That’s why this was devised. Although it’s temporary, it can exert power comparable to a master, and in the forest, it’s even stronger than a master.”
Moreover, as the ancient spirits connected the demon hunters, it was possible to achieve a level of cooperation that couldn’t be reached through training alone.
Although they had to rely mostly on their own strength, they were elite warriors who had received extreme training.
Their support was not something to be underestimated.
“We call the one at the center of it all the ‘Proxy’.”
I could understand why the demon hunters, despite not being Hectio’s representative military force or having a master or magician, could still maintain their reputation.
“…Alright. There’s no reason to refuse.”
Instead, my burden had become heavier.
The Black Star and the Red Ogre.
We had to defeat these two formidable forces.
There was a possibility.