Chapter 715: War?

Randa District A, the City Hall.

There was a man there who had luck on his side.

You could tell by his age and the rank on his shoulders.

The man was in his late thirties, and on his shoulder was a single star—a Brigadier General’s insignia.

Which meant the man was on a serious fast track to success.

Even considering that it was a time where colonial expansion was in full swing, making it easier to rise quickly through accomplishments.

Traditionally, there were two ways to shoot up the ranks quickly.

The first was through exceptional personal ability. Not a bad way. In fact, it seemed like the best way to most people. It’s what most people preferred.

Achievements earned through one’s skill alone, without help from anyone else—how impressive and admirable is that?

But that’s something people say when they’re still naive. The man didn’t think that way. It wasn’t efficient, and the risks were too high with all the competition and jealousy from others.

So the man preferred the other way: attaching himself to the right people.

‘Edward X.’

The man thought of the Kingdom’s Crown Prince.

The kingdom’s troublemaker, a hunter of married women, and a slew of other negative titles followed him.

The Crown Prince had more flaws than merits. His youth was probably his only saving grace. After all, young men have been known to achieve miraculous changes in a short time.

And as luck would have it, those expectations had been met. Edward X had recently gone through a monumental change that completely reversed his former bad reputation.

While he remained as overly cheerful as before, he had become much more diligent in his duties, consistently achieving results. Soon, even the nobles, politicians, and financiers, who previously looked down on the Crown Prince, began rallying around him.

There was even talk that the royal blood that had been dormant all this time had finally awakened.

The man latched onto that royal blood. Onto Edward X, the future king. That was his first stroke of luck.

After all, a soldier must align himself well.

The second stroke of luck was climbing that rope and making it into Edward X’s inner circle, even if only at the last minute.

A select few who held absolute influence over decisions within the organization.

Proof of this was that the man learned how Edward X, once a ne’er-do-well, managed to achieve such quick success.

The secret lay in his fingers. Not his actual fingers, but the ‘Fingers of the Black Hand’.

To the man’s shock, Edward X had joined forces with Puppet, the Dark Sorcerer with the most significant power among all Dark Sorcerers.

Edward X, Crown Prince of the United Kingdom that ruled the largest lands in the world.

When the man first heard this, his initial feelings were shock, fear, and horror. It felt like staring into an endless abyss. However, those emotions soon faded.

Once he fully understood what it meant to join forces with Puppet, those feelings seemed naïve.

Because once Puppet’s hand was in play, everything ran smoothly.

His ranks rose with no obstacles in his path, and every matter was handled seamlessly.

One example was a small mission to topple a gang and warlord in a quiet town, which then became a critical mission to save Randa.

Thanks to that, the man now enjoyed unimaginable levels of honor and power.

He dissolved the corrupt City Council and placed the suspect Councilors under house arrest. He eradicated subversive newspapers and radio dramas, cleaning up society.

All with a cough and a dignified wave of the hand. Those who hadn’t experienced it might not know, but that kind of power brought more pleasure than any drink, drug, or woman.

But not long after, the pleasure vanished, overtaken by distressing news: the 606th Defensive Regiment, which had been attacking Z-District, was now combat-ineffective.

The 606th Regiment, which had successfully subdued Y-District and moved on to Z-District, had suddenly been ambushed and was now unable to complete its mission.

There were no casualties, but all weapons and equipment had been destroyed, and over a quarter of the soldiers were suffering from shell shock.

What was even more astonishing was that despite the carnage, they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of their enemy. No one knew what had hit them.

It sounded more like a ghost story. Fortunately, the enemy’s identity soon came to light.

‘It’s Dave. Woodsman Dave. Almost certainly.’

The mysterious woman who worked for Puppet made the statement with an air of superiority.

‘Are you certain?’

‘Believe it or don’t. That’s up to you.’

With that one sentence, the woman left, careless as if her part in this was already done.

Damn. He was having everything run smoothly, and now there’s Dave. The one who supposedly took down Pied Piper—the monster. As the man agonized over what to do, new intel arrived.

A report that Woodsman Dave had raided the prison, and the contents were appalling.

He had brazenly marched in, openly challenging the kingdom’s authority, and gone so far as to kill both the prisoners and the guards.

An undeniable act of terrorism. Worse yet, a direct challenge to the state… to the Royal Family.

Knock knock.

Right then, someone knocked. It was his adjutant, bringing in the latest report from the Security Bureau scouts.

‘According to the scouts, Woodsman Dave is now targeting City Hall.’

‘Damn it-!!’

The man inwardly cursed. The intelligence Puppet had given was entirely accurate.

The insane report about Dave storming City Hall, where the Royal Army was stationed, was actually true.

Where did he get this confidence? Even if he had defeated Pied Piper, wasn’t this beyond reason?

The man, at least, had never directly encountered Pied Piper and found it hard to believe the reports, given that most footage had been destroyed.

‘Puppet didn’t explain much either. All I got was a vague order: don’t worry about civilian casualties and do your best to stop him. Sure, I’ve been given all kinds of support, but still.’

Maybe that instruction itself was a hint. If Dave didn’t possess the power to face an army alone, Puppet wouldn’t give such a command.

In that moment, the man felt the hair on his body stand on end. His body was realizing that what had seemed like a bad joke was, in fact, harsh reality.

If they weren’t careful, they might end up with a stain on the Royal Army’s history that would never wash away. Worse, he might lose his precious connection to the Crown Prince.

He couldn’t let that happen.

‘Mobilize all troops.’

‘Come again?’

‘I said mobilize all troops. Call in the Military Druids, the Security Bureau, and the Defense Force.’

As expected, the adjutant’s look of shock was understandable. After all, mobilizing every available troop in Randa, including the Security Bureau and Defense Force, just to deal with one Dark Sorcerer seemed excessive.

Some might even say this would bring the military’s reputation into question.

‘I know what you’re thinking. But we need to be fully prepared. This isn’t some back-alley thug. We’re dealing with one of the most ruthless Dark Sorcerers, someone the Black Hand itself has tried to contact. Consider him more than just an individual; think of him as the lynchpin for all Dark Sorcerers.’

‘Ah…’

With the new perspective, the adjutant immediately understood, letting out a breath of realization.

‘Also, according to intelligence, he can control zombies and Zombie Puppets. We can’t assume he’s acting alone… There could be an entire undead army behind him.’

‘Understood!’

The man faithfully followed Puppet’s order to escalate matters. It seemed like a good call as he watched the adjutant, fully convinced.

‘Good. Now contact the Tower of Magic. We’ve got Military Mages there. Issue a mobilization order. The entire Tower of Magic will likely act in response.’

‘Yes, sir!’

The adjutant saluted, ready to carry out the orders, when another soldier hurriedly rushed in.

His wild eyes, pale face, and cold sweat made it obvious he was distressed.

Whether it was due to the timing or some military instinct, the man could already guess what news he was bringing, and his bad feeling was dead on.

‘E-emergency report! Woodsman Dave has attacked the Randa Defense Force Headquarters!!’

Was it a lie? A diversion? A hundred thoughts raced through the man’s mind.

‘What’s the level of damage?’

‘Casualties are…no casualties…’

‘Answer me already!!’

‘Not a single one!!’

***

While the Royal Army scrambled from Oliver’s unexpected awakening, the Tower of Magic was embroiled in similar chaos.

It wasn’t out of place.

The Tower of Magic, representing Randa, was the organization most deeply tied to the city.

Officially, it was said that the Tower of Magic and the City were constantly in a fierce struggle for dominance over the city, wary of each other. That was partly true.

They did indeed compete and check one another, but it never crossed a line. That would have been mutually destructive.

The city’s core industry, magic, was all tied to the Tower of Magic. This meant the City couldn’t let the Tower collapse. Likewise, the Tower of Magic wanted the City to remain stable; after all, the City functioned like a protective barrier around them.

Some radical mages argued that wizards should protect themselves, but the leadership of the Tower thought otherwise. Outwardly, they kept up an appearance of rivalry but maintained a deeper cooperation.

It was an antagonistic symbiosis. They seemed like they turned their backs on one another, but really, they had each other’s backs.

And like most symbiotic relationships, if one fell, the other would suffer too. This directly tied into why the Tower of Magic was in an uproar.

‘Is this even the Tower? It’s filled with foreign riffraff who haven’t even studied here.’

‘Exactly. This isn’t the Tower of Magic. It’s just Magic in name!’

‘Most of them are Military Mages, part of the kingdom’s forces!’

Thomas Nielsen, Master of Mjolnir’s Minor School, and Burke Post, the head of the Tower’s administration, who had been involved in fending off the undead invasion but pulled back due to their wounds, rose to criticize the mess the Tower had become.

‘There was no choice. Too many mages were lost last time, and we had way too many vacancies. Had we not filled them, the entire Tower could’ve collapsed.’

‘We’re just here because we were asked to be. Watch your mouth.’

‘Even the Military Mages are kept under an honorary Grand Master title.’

Tilda, Master of the Skadi Minor School, who took advantage of the chaos to assume control, and the exiled mages she’d brought into the Tower, defended their stance.

They weren’t entirely wrong.

The undead army had stormed the Tower, and the school leaders and officials who tried to resist had been butchered by the Zombie Puppets.

The damage had shaken the entire Tower to its core.

But even considering that, Tilda’s personnel policies went too far. Many spots that could just barely have been filled by Tower staff were instead given to outsiders.

Such moves would’ve been unthinkable back when the Archive still held influence.

In the midst of the chaos, the debate between Tilda’s side and her opposition continued. Well, it was more like an ongoing argument.

As mentioned earlier, the number of mages from the Tower itself was few, and many were still recovering from their injuries, leaving them in no real position to exert their will.

Tilda knew that, which was why she let things be. It was better to have them knock themselves out than trigger unnecessary clashes.

Meanwhile, news about Oliver also reached the Tower. The Military Mages, who now held key positions, moved to act even before Puppet’s puppet head gave the official order.

And that’s when it happened.

‘Stop right there.’

‘Stay out of the way.’

‘I’m not stopping you. As soon as we get the formal cooperation request from the military, then we’ll move. You still belong to the Tower of Magic, don’t you? The Tower doesn’t do things recklessly.’

As the Military Mages were about to disturb the Tower’s order, the Tower’s own mages began to intervene.

There was a hint of malice behind their words, but they weren’t wrong.

The Military Mages, instead of complying, responded with even more defiance—they were mostly mages from the traditional factions. Those who had once been sneered at by the Tower as washed up.

It made things rowdier again. Just then, however, word arrived that Oliver had attacked the administrative office, and the Royal Army issued a formal mobilization order.

The Military Mages, seizing the measures granted by their authority, tried to move the Tower, but that wasn’t going to happen.

‘You….’

Somebody let out a dazed voice.

Just as they were preparing for action, someone arrived, as if on cue, whose presence could not be ignored by any mage in their right mind.

That was Kevin Dunbar—a crimson-skinned mage. He stood before them and made a declaration.

‘I’m Kevin Dunbar, Professor of the Elemental Faction and student of the Archive. I have returned to inform you that I now inherit the legacy of the Archive.’