Chapter – 30
Dawn was breaking over Berti Gorge. As the slowly rising morning sun gradually erased the traces of darkness from the canyon, the darkness was also receding from Pirancheva’s campsite due to the dawn’s light.
Pirancheva remained seated exactly as he was, in the lotus position.
His face was filled with serenity, like someone savoring the afterglow of enlightenment.
Not that he had attained enlightenment the previous night. It was just that whenever he circulated the internal energy method of the Heavenly Demon Art, his body felt refreshingly light, as if it could float away. He enjoyed that feeling, so he often greeted the morning with such a serene expression.
Pirancheva opened his eyes, absorbed the energy of the brightening morning, and rose from his spot.
Crick, crack, pop.
As he got up and stretched, the sound of bone friction could be heard.
After moving his body lightly here and there, he loosened up with some stretches and then began training in the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon Art.
The Heavenly Demon Art contained a total of seven martial techniques. For convenience, Pirancheva prefixed them all with ‘Heavenly Demon’: Heavenly Demon Heart Art, Heavenly Demon Three Swords, Heavenly Demon Invincible Eight Hands, Heavenly Demon Supreme Tread, Heavenly Demon Clear River Hand, Heavenly Demon Nine Great Forms, and Heavenly Demon Roar.
Back when he lived on Earth, the most famous figure in martial arts movies, comics, and novels was the Heavenly Demon. And since he had obtained the martial arts manual from the ancient dungeon of the Heavenly Demon clan, which ruled the eastern skies of the demon world during his time in Freedom, he thought the name suited him well. Even he himself felt it was a good fit.
It took Pirancheva a full four years just to learn the forms and sequences of the Heavenly Demon Art.
It hadn’t been long since he had fully mastered the forms and sequences of the Heavenly Demon Art.
Even with just that, Pirancheva had acquired the martial prowess to protect himself, which indirectly showed just how remarkable the Heavenly Demon Art was.
Pirancheva moved, stepping through footwork. It was the Heavenly Demon Supreme Tread.
The Heavenly Demon Supreme Tread played a supporting role for the other techniques within the Heavenly Demon Art, but it was also a martial art possessing formidable destructive power on its own.
It had become incomparably faster and more precise compared to when he practiced it under the protection of Eastern Count in the past.
While executing the Heavenly Demon Supreme Tread, he drew the sword at his waist and moved.
It was the Heavenly Demon Three Swords.
The Heavenly Demon Three Swords consisted of just three forms—downward slash, horizontal slash, and thrust—and eight sequences involving movement to eight different points.
From these three forms and eight sequences, twenty-four movements were created; this sword art alone could produce changes as myriad as all creation.
While learning the Heavenly Demon Three Swords, Pirancheva had vaguely come to understand this principle.
Here!
He trained by unleashing all the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon Art: the Heavenly Demon Invincible Eight Hands, which was akin to boxing; the Heavenly Demon Clear River Hand, specialized for breaking and possessing extreme destructive power; the Heavenly Demon Nine Great Forms, similar to sword techniques but strictly closer to saber methods; and finally, the Heavenly Demon Roar, which could subdue opponents with sound.
It was only when the dawn had fully turned into morning that Pirancheva finished his training. He sat back down in the lotus position and circulated the Heavenly Demon Heart Art to stabilize his mind and body, completely washing away the fatigue.
After his morning training was complete, he went to where he had set the mana trap, disassembled it, and retrieved the mana stone placed on it.
“I didn’t encounter any monsters today, so I saved some money.”
Almost all the money Pirancheva had earned working as a mercenary for five years was spent on purchasing mana stones and other items necessary for magic traps.
If he hadn’t occasionally fought bandits and thieves he met along the way and taken the metal goods they carried, he might have starved to death several times over.
“This is why people don’t want to be mercenaries and try to become soldiers instead. The pay is meager for risking your life.”
It was slightly different for mercenaries belonging to a mercenary band, but most mercenaries working independently were hungry mercenaries.
That’s why, even though it was dangerous, places like Berti Gorge were always swarming with mercenaries—there was always work.
After tidying up the spot where he had camped, Pirancheva left the area.
The 72 people occupying the round table had gathered again.
Five years ago, they had tried to ensnare Count Amand in a conspiracy to eliminate him, but it failed due to Count Amand’s immense martial power and deep trustworthiness.
However, by proceeding with the conspiracy, they were able to gauge the tendencies of the nobles and, depending on those tendencies, devise plots and achieve considerable results.
Of course, because of this, the Empire had taken various measures in preparation for the Dark Mages revealing themselves, making their activities difficult, but that was ultimately a minor issue.
Just by making the Imperial nobles distrust each other, the Dark Mages could achieve a certain degree of their goals.
“Among the Empire’s three Dukes, the nobles of Duke Durand’s faction, the First Duke, are greedier than other nobles. It would be good to secretly approach them and spread Dark Magic.”
“Agares, isn’t promoting Dark Magic dangerous?”
“It would be if the Empire’s situation was peaceful, but the current Emperor is aging. The time is approaching for the Emperor to pass the Empire on to the next generation.”
“And so?”
“Until now, we have carried out many conspiracies, sometimes achieving results, but there have also been failures like the Count Amand incident.”
As Agares continued his explanation, everyone listened.
“Because of this, the hereditary nobles of the Empire no longer cooperate with each other as much as before. In other words, trust between them has cracked.”
“Hmm…”
Agares continued his speech.
“And, coincidentally, the Emperor has three wives, and each wife has given him a son. The maternal grandfathers of these three Imperial Princes are the three Dukes of the Empire.”
“So, you mean the three Dukes will engage in covert struggles to make their own grandsons the Emperor?”
“That is my thought. No matter how loyal they are to the Empire, if the grandson of another Duke becomes Emperor, they will clearly face unfair treatment and find it difficult to maintain their power. So, the three Dukes will undoubtedly try to make their grandsons Emperor.”
The people sitting at the round table listened to Agares’s words and organized their thoughts.
“But what if the Emperor invokes the principle of primogeniture and passes the throne to the firstborn?”
“That’s why we intervene and stir the pot further.”
“Stir the pot further?”
“If he says he will pass the throne to the firstborn, we incite the nobles of the Duke faction who are the firstborn’s maternal grandfather, to instill anxiety in the nobles of the other two Duke factions.”
“Anxiety?”
“For example, if it’s said that the throne will be passed to the First Imperial Prince, Fieren, we incite the nobles of Duke Durand’s faction, tempting them by saying they can seize the interests or business rights held by the nobles of Duke Frazka’s and Duke Ruzma’s factions.”
“And then?”
“Then we leak that news to the nobles of the opposing factions. Then the opposing nobles will also feel a sense of crisis and will inform Duke Frazka or Duke Ruzma and prepare countermeasures.”
“And you’re saying that preparation will lead to a muddy fight to make their own Princes Emperor?”
“We try to make it so. Only then will the Empire be unable to pay attention to us.”
It was a plan to keep them preoccupied with the power struggle over the throne so they could obtain what they wanted.
“I also agree with Agares. Even now, there are comrades who have forgotten our purpose and think only about living well themselves.”
Some of the people sitting at the round table flinched but quickly regained their composure.
“However, there is something to remember. The ones who granted us this mighty power are watching over us. If we fail to fulfill the promise we made with them, they will take back the power they gave us.”
The beings whom the Dark Mages referred to as ‘them’ using extreme honorifics were not common.
“Thanks to the efforts of Agares and several other comrades, ‘they’ are satisfied for now, but we do not know how long this satisfaction will last. Therefore, I hope we all strive together so as not to be sacrificed due to their whims.”
“A most proper statement. We never forget the grace bestowed upon us by them.”
“Correct. We are striving to achieve what we swore to do. It’s just regrettable that the results are not visibly noticeable. Lord Bael, please speak well to them on our behalf.”
“I, too, have decided to go together with the comrades gathered here, so do not worry about that.”
“I shall do so. Then, I will meet with Duke Durand and casually drop a hint.”
“Then I will incite Baron Rossman, who is attached to him. That fellow has a strong desire for a territory; if we incite him just a little, he will go to Duke Durand and talk about the next Emperor.”
They made plans for another conspiracy and set about moving to advance their schemes.
It was around afternoon, when the sun was high in the sky, by the time Pirancheva left the gorge. After exiting the gorge, he stopped by the nearby Beige territory to fill his hungry stomach, and then headed straight for Marquis Raymond’s domain.
Thanks to his diligent travel, he managed to arrive at the outer city of Marquis Raymond’s domain late at night. However, he couldn’t enter the inner city.
Territories ruled by hereditary nobles had curfews, restricting entry, though they varied from lord to lord.
In the case of Marquis Raymond’s domain, individuals could enter the city until 6 PM, and merchant caravans until 8 PM. After these times, one had to spend the night outside and enter the inner city only after daybreak.
Pirancheva considered using magic to pass through the outer city but thought there was no reason to engage in suspicious behavior, so he decided to camp overnight with the others who couldn’t enter the city.
Pirancheva took out some jerky made from dried Staccato meat and chewed on it.
Although it was dried jerky, chewing it slowly brought out a sweet flavor, and since jerky was food, it could provide a sense of fullness.
While Pirancheva filled his hungry stomach with jerky, others lit fires to boil potatoes or cook soup.
Among them, there were also those who took out meat to roast. Judging by their clothing or the presence of a squire preparing their food, they appeared to be knights or nobles.
“Seeing that even nobles aren’t given special treatment, it seems Marquis Raymond is a fairly fair person.”
Pirancheva roughly found a spot to sit and waited for the sun to rise.
“Since there are eyes watching, let’s just sleep soundly tonight.”
Pirancheva closed his eyes to sleep. But then, mana began to flow from Pirancheva’s mana hole and move along his mana roads.
It was an event that occurred because his body reacted directly, even before his brain gave the command, due to the relentless training he had undergone until now.
Pirancheva was surprised to see the mana moving on its own, circulating without him actively guiding it. He tried to stop it, but then, thinking ‘what if?’, he let it be.
The mana passed through the magical organs formed within his body, was amplified, flowed into his mana roads, and circulated along them. It cleansed the minute impurities accumulated in his blood vessels and meridians, then entered his dantian.
The mana that returned to the mana hole flowed into the mana circle, causing it to rotate. The mana circle then expelled the mana mixed with impurities from his body through his skin.
After that, it absorbed new mana through the skin, and the mana circle purified it, storing the pure mana in the mana hole.
As pure mana was stored, the mana hole moved that mana again, performing a microcosmic orbit along the mana roads formed within Pirancheva’s body, before returning to the mana hole.
The mana hole and the mana circle residing within it helped each other in this way, automatically circulating energy and assisting Pirancheva even when he wasn’t actively circulating the Heavenly Demon Heart Art.
‘This is amazing. It’s like a living creature, doing what it needs to do on its own.’
Internally, Pirancheva was amazed, while also feeling a sense of mystery and awe towards mana.
Pirancheva meticulously observed the changes occurring in his body. Doing so, he was able to reach one conclusion.
‘Mana does what it needs to do on its own. If I hadn’t created the mana circle inside the mana hole, this wouldn’t be happening, and I might have had to control the mana myself.’
When mana removes impurities accumulated in the blood vessels and meridians and returns to the mana hole, it takes a long time for the mana to purify itself. Therefore, mana normally wouldn’t bother with such tedious tasks.
But because there is a mana circle inside the mana hole, when the mana returns after removing impurities, the mana circle expels the impurity-mixed mana out through the skin.
Then, it absorbs new external mana, purifies it, and supplies pure mana to the mana hole. From the mana’s perspective, it was working hard to transform Pirancheva’s body, where it resided, into the optimal body through which it could move rapidly.
“I never thought this kind of effect would occur. Anyway, it’s flowing in a good direction for me. Perhaps I can achieve results even faster than I thought.”
