Chapter 58

Lenox gnawed at his lip as he paced restlessly around the tent. Fortunately, the assassin had committed suicide in time. If he had been captured alive, things would have become complicated. The Duke of Despone knows nothing about this. He had no intention of telling him anyway, but with the failure, it had to be kept even more secret. Lenox suddenly stopped and strained his ears toward the outside of the tent. Narrowing his eyes, he listened to the sound, then slowly exhaled and slumped to the ground. The silence outside, like that of a graveyard, suggested that no one intended to spread the news. Pressing his unsettled heart, Lenox tried to steady his breathing several times, but his expression remained grimly set. It was he who had bound Adel's body with magic. Binding an invisible opponent with magic alone is an extremely difficult task, but Lenox was capable of it. He believed in his own abilities and was confident that he could kill the Empress. While Lenox was holding the Empress, the assassin entered her tent. The Empress remained motionless. At that moment, his heart pounded wildly with anticipation. The Empress was about to die. She had to die! But then something unbelievable happened. His magic slowly receded and dispersed. Despite his efforts to push it forward, it was useless. Only a few of the top-tier Keepers could repel the magic of a top-tier Striker like Lenox. The Empress was a Striker. For her to have control on par with a top-tier Keeper! This gave Lenox another reason to kill the Empress. Even if he failed to bind her with magic, it was only a matter of time before the Empress realized it was his doing. He revised his plan. Given the situation, it was difficult to kill the Empress within the range of the magic. After removing the tower in the Viscountcy of Vetta, the magic range would disappear. He would have to wait for that moment.

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In the temporary camp's female mage tent, a woman with striking red hair lay among the others, maintaining a respectful distance. Her name was Brunhild Alexa. Ranked second among the Ehmont Strikers, she was also a critic of the current approach to dealing with the towers. To minimize damage, the towers should be properly destroyed, and the best way to do this is not through centralized control but by assigning mages to various regions. However, her opinion was completely ignored. Despite her ranking, she was often dismissed because she was an orphan from the slums. Her naturally cynical and critical personality also led the authorities to treat her as merely a tool for handling magic. It seemed there was nothing more she could do in Ehmont. But she was not one to give up easily. A wound that has festered to the point of oozing pus will only heal after the pus has drained. Ehmont was a festering wound. She decided to wait for the right moment. While waiting, she gathered information. To understand the Duke of Despone's intentions, she collected the same information about the towers that he was gathering. As a top-tier Striker, this was possible for her. She also meticulously identified who in the mage corps shared the Duke's views and who could be her allies. Gathering like-minded individuals as comrades, she collected even more extensive information. Now, the question was, to whom should she give this information and how should it be used? Just as she was pondering this, a certain person appeared like a comet. Brunhild often recalled the Empress descending from the crumbling tower. "Ah... there is such a way. How did she figure it out? She must have gone through countless struggles to destroy the tower to find this out." During this journey, Brunhild's gaze was fixed on the Empress. She intensely evaluated her. Could this be the one? The one who can cleanse the festering wound and bring new life? If so, Brunhild was prepared to dedicate everything to the Empress.

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The next morning, the Duke of Despone woke up in a tent that was as terrible as it could be, and his mood was terrible. "Of all places, why did a tower have to come to Vetta? Tsk!" He muttered irritably while washing his face with the water brought by the knights. Despite five layers of some unknown animal fur on his bed, his back ached. Initially, the group was given only two fur blankets, but even after the knights brought their own to add, the Duke was still unsatisfied. Camping was one of the things he hated the most. It was unhygienic, cold, and required eating tasteless rations. Why did he join this journey? "I have to endure. A tower must not be allowed in Vetta." The Duke of Despone calmed himself and unfolded a map. On the map, black and red dots were scattered. The black dots marked the current locations of the towers, and the red dots... "They all need to come down here." A greedy smile spread across his face. When the towers marked in red all descended, Ehmont would become the first magic nation where magic could be used freely anywhere. The downside was a smaller safe zone, but was there ever a risk-free endeavor? Towers were mysterious. The location and power of a tower influenced other existing or future towers. When a powerful magic hub like a tower was established, there was a certain probability that another tower would descend nearby. The Duke of Despone was using this to artificially adjust the locations of the towers. He was leaving the tower in the Calvin Barony alone and planning to destroy the tower in the Viscountcy of Vetta for this reason. He did not share this information even with Lenox. Lenox, being honest, never even tried to look beyond the information the Duke provided. "A tower must not appear in Vetta. Otherwise, it might descend in my territory." The Duke of Despone shuddered and muttered. "When the tower in Vetta is destroyed, where will the next one descend?" He narrowed his eyes and examined the map. "This is a Level 1... and this is a Level 3... so the magic range is roughly this much..." His finger slowly landed on a spot on the map. There, in bold and clear letters, it read: [Capital] If the tower in Vetta were destroyed, it was highly likely that a super-large tower would descend in the capital, similar to Vetta. But the Duke of Despone's face showed no worry. He simply tapped the capital with his finger, rolled up the map, and stretched. "Well... that's good." He was hoping for a tower to descend near the capital anyway. Only then could magic be used in the capital. "It would be problematic if it descended above the palace like last time." The Duke's calm face glinted with a sinister light.

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In the dim dawn, Adel woke up with a haggard face and lightly washed her face and hands. "The next assassin, I will definitely capture you alive. Just wait and see. Ugh, I'm so tired." She grabbed her robe with a heavy hand, threw it on, and stepped out of the chaotic tent. As the golden sunlight began to mix with the gray world, the group resumed their sprint toward Vetta. Their goal was to reach the tower in Vetta before sunset.

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Red sky and overwhelming black disaster. "Aaaaaah!!!"

"Save me!!! Save me!!! No... cough!"

Before the monstrous teeth of the grotesque beast, a knight's armor crumpled. Leaving behind the limp body of a fallen comrade, the remaining knights gritted their teeth. "Mages are coming from the capital!! Hold on!! Hold on!!" The Viscount of Vetta himself rushed out to encourage the knights, but the situation was hopeless. The knight corps, which he had carefully nurtured, was on the brink of annihilation just four days after the tower descended. The vassal families' knights were no better. Every young man capable of fighting had rushed out with swords in hand. But in the face of an overwhelming disaster, humans were insignificant. Seeing a young man, barely out of his teenage years, trembling with a sword in hand, the Viscount felt a surge of anger. Damn it! For the mages not to come in the face of this madness, did they want everyone to die?! "What are you doing!! If you don't pull yourself together, you will die!!" The Viscount grabbed the young man's shoulder and shouted fiercely. The young man's eyes, filled with terror, met his. But the young man's gaze suddenly shifted behind the Viscount. With wide, trembling eyes, the young man gasped. "Ah... Ah..." The Viscount, feeling a chill run down his spine, turned around. The scene before him made him feel as if he were in hell. "What... is that..." A massive, snake-like body, two legs with axe-like claws, and a pair of enormous, membranous wings that seemed to cover the sky. "It's a wyvern..." The most powerful monster from a Level 2 tower circled low over the Vetta territory, emitting a menacing roar. Suddenly, it descended rapidly, completely destroying the knights' formation. "Aaaaaah!!!" The last line of defense collapsed with the wyvern's appearance. The knights, already demoralized by the overwhelming monsters, were in a state of panic. The Viscount gritted his teeth and shouted, "Everyone, retreat!!! Retreat!!!!" But the knights, overwhelmed by fear, were already in a state of panic. As the wyvern, gliding through the air, folded its wings and descended, the Viscount sensed the end. All sounds faded, and his vision blurred. It felt like he was underwater, hearing only his own breathing. Unconsciously, he closed his eyes and sought the gods. But then, a tearing sound echoed. Startled, the Viscount opened his eyes to an unbelievable scene. A wyvern with one wing torn was crashing into the writhing monsters, and the royal guards were rushing past him, slashing at the approaching monsters. As his hearing gradually returned, the sound of hooves and the urgent shouts of the knights filled the air. The Viscount's eyes regained their sharpness. Rising to his feet, he looked for the leader of the royal guards. Above him, a shadow loomed. A woman with golden eyes, impossibly beautiful, looked down at him with a regal air.