Ch. 435 - The Dark Mages (12)

Several days had passed since the dark mages came to the Sky Flower Cradle, only to be quietly repelled by Florin.  

During that time, the dark mages attempted to infiltrate the First World Tree a total of 11 times using various methods, but each time, they were stopped by Florin.  

Every time she repelled them, Florin appeared at the scene with dignity, observed their reactions, and then disappeared. Yet, no matter how many times she drove them away, the dark mages showed little to no response.  

What’s more, they appeared at unpredictable times, preventing Florin from resting peacefully.  

Dawn, early morning, late evening.  

They emerged at moments when Florin, burdened by her duties as the Elf King, was most fatigued. They constantly disrupted her mind, but who was she, after all?  

As the proud contractor of Pink Spring Moon, Florin showed not even a hint of weariness from such trifling matters.  

In truth, her body, blessed by the World Tree, always maintained a pure and radiant vitality. Such attempts caused her no harm whatsoever.  

This was, undoubtedly—  

— Well, well. Queen Florin sure has some impressive stamina.  

It was a significant variable from the perspective of the dark mages.  

— I heard she’s not officially a king yet?  

— Yeah, and it’s said she hasn’t chosen a gender yet. Hopefully, she becomes male!  

—- Tsk, you’re a man, and your taste is... questionable...  

The Fairy Kingdom was nestled within the Sky Flower Cradle.  

This place upheld an ideal of perfect pacifism, forbidding any form of invasion by foreign nations. Because of this, ordinary people rarely imagined that the Fairy Kingdom possessed overwhelming military power.  

But that was merely a misunderstanding.  

What are fairies, after all?  

Aside from their other unique traits, are they not an exceedingly beautiful race?  

A race so alluring that greedy humans could never leave them alone. Yet, despite advocating peace, how have they remained safe until now?  

The answer is simple.  

It was because they possess military power comparable to the superpowers of humanity. Elves were innately superior to humans in physical capabilities. 

Because of these traits, elves in magical warfare often exhibited strategically unique behavior. They’d historically displayed terrifying power, such as swiftly setting up colossal magical formations by leaping through trees or running across grasslands like the wind, catching humans completely off guard.  

As for aerial combat, summoning spirits often acted as powerful anti-aircraft weapons, shooting down flying machines, making it difficult for humans to gain an advantage.  

The same sense of dread applied to the dark mages.  

—- By the way, why does that queen insist on handling everything herself instead of delegating to her subordinates?  

— I think their defenses have gotten tighter after the last operation failed.  

— Tch, those useless dark elves.  

— Hey, watch your mouth.  

— Ah! Right. You’re a dark elf, aren’t you?  

Dozens of dark mages exchanged words through their communication network… a multi-telepathic system relying solely on mental connections.  

The idea of multiple individuals communicating simultaneously might seem absurd, but it was made possible through a groundbreaking magical invention by the Dark Mage Cult’s Cult Leader. This innovation allowed the dark mages to establish a communication network far superior to that of humans.  

However, despite its extraordinary technological potential, this invention wasn’t utilized effectively. This was largely because of the dark mages’ nature; rather than advancing technology, they were more preoccupied with indulging in immediate pleasures and desires.  

— Silence, everyone.  

No matter how chaotic or unruly the group, power always establishes a leader.  

The moment Catalun, the dark mage with power comparable to 8 Risks, joined the communication, the hundreds of dark mages instantly fell silent.  

— Let's end the probing here. We will proceed with the operation as planned.

There were, of course, those dissatisfied with the idea of dark mages carrying out an 'operation.'

But no one dared to oppose. Their opponent was simply too overwhelming.  

Catalun of 8 Risks was one of the world’s most powerful entities.  

Moreover, this operation was so significant that it was directly supervised by the headquarters of the Dark Mage Cult. Their objective was nothing less than the recapture of the World Tree.  

Though their words were grand, realistically speaking, it was impossible for such a small force of dark mages to conquer even a single nation.

Their objective was simply to approach the roots of the World Tree and come into contact with the core located there.  

However, several conditions needed to be met in advance to carry out this operation.  

The attention of certain individuals closely watched by the Dark Mage Cult had to be diverted elsewhere.  

Thus, the dark mages initiated multiple large-scale events simultaneously across the world.  

One such event was the Persona Gate Proliferation Crisis, which was currently causing chaos in the Waning Moon Plains.  

‘It was certainly surprising.’  

Catalun still couldn’t forget how he felt when he first heard the operation plan.  

He could understand the reasoning behind triggering simultaneous incidents worldwide to divert the attention of the grand mages.  

The unusually large-scale Persona Gate Proliferation Crisis also made sense if it was to distract the Mage Association’s focus.  

However, the Dark Mage Cult stated that the reason for causing the Persona Gate Proliferation Crisis was not to divert the Mage Association’s attention...  

… But rather to divert the attention of a single young human, barely over 20 years old.  

‘Why such a decision?’

Catalun couldn’t comprehend it.  

Baek Yu-Seol.  

Yes, him.  

Catalun was aware of the astonishing progress Baek Yu-Seol had recently made. But so what?  

Was that human stronger than him?  

If he seriously entertained such a thought, Catalun was confident in his own absolute strength.  

Sure, Baek Yu-Seol might have earned the nickname ‘Dark Mage Slayer’, instilling fear among the lower-ranked ones. But in reality, no general-level dark being ranked 8 Risks or higher had ever been hunted by him, had they?  

He was nothing more than an overhyped mage who picked off weak dark mages.  

If Catalun thought this way, surely the brilliant minds at the headquarters of the Dark Mage Cult wouldn’t think differently, would they?  

‘Does he truly possess something I don't know about?’

Moreover, this operation was being carried out in complete secrecy.  

There was absolutely no chance that Baek Yu-Seol, who lived like a coward holed up in Stella, would catch wind of it.  

And yet, out of fear that the operation might somehow reach his ears, countless dark mages had been sacrificed, and a massive amount of resources had been expended to create such incidents.  

‘It shouldn’t matter…’

Even though they were dark mages, a strong individual like Catalun, ranked among the 8 Risks, could maintain a clear and rational mind if he chose to.  

Their opponent was a nation.  

A reckless charge would only lead to a complete and pointless massacre.  

‘The operation is perfect.’

The Dark Mage Cult, contrary to the usual chaotic and impulsive tendencies of the dark mages, was meticulous, cautious, and thorough.  

They had already analyzed the deployment of the military forces in the Sky Flower Cradle, identified blind spots in their surveillance network, and even mapped out King Florin’s combat abilities and movements.  

‘The success rate is 90%.’

Failure was not an option.  

While many dark mages would inevitably die, as long as they could taint the roots with darkness, the World Tree would return to the hands of the dark elves.  

‘That will mark the beginning of our world.’

Catalun took a deep breath, stood up, and quietly gathered his magic power.

— Everyone, commence the operation...  

He was about to give the command when—  

— Oh my, so this is where you were.  

The next moment.  

A chilling sensation swept over Catalun as he instinctively turned his head sharply, reaching out his hand.  

He twisted the structure of his arm, attempting to form a shield by reflex.  

But—  

‘...Too late.’  

As a blinding white light filled his vision, Catalun instantly realized he was facing death.  

And then—  

A massive pillar of light struck the ground where he had stood.  

BOOM!  

The light pillar annihilated everything in its vicinity, including Catalun, before vanishing without a trace.  

For a brief moment, there was silence.  

— What’s going on?! What happened?!

— Th-this sound...?  

The dark mages realized the situation too late and fell into chaos.  

The location where the pillar of light had struck was none other than the place where Catalun had been hiding.  

— Catalun! Catalun!  

No matter how much they called out, Catalun didn’t respond. The other dark mages who had been lurking nearby also remained silent.  

That could only mean one thing.  

— ...Catalun is... dead?  

Catalun, a dark mage of the 8 Risks. A general of the Dark Mage Cult who earned his rank purely through combat strength.  

And yet, he had been killed.  

In a single strike.  

Instant death from a spell whose origin they couldn’t even trace.  

This alone left the dark mages in utter shock.  

— Oh my~ so this is where you were hiding, whispering to each other~?  

Soon, an unfamiliar girl’s voice infiltrated their telepathic network, sending them into a complete panic.  

— Wh-who are you?!  

— Oh dear. Location confirmed~!  

— Aagh...!  

The connection of a weak dark mage, who had foolishly shouted, was abruptly severed.  

This was due to another pillar of light… smaller than the one that struck Catalun but still devastating in its destructive power.  

— Hehe, you’ve been using some fascinating techniques lately, huh? Took me a while to find you!  

— How did you infiltrate our telepathy?! Who... what are you?!  

— Oh my, found another one!  

Flash!  

Yet another pillar of light descended.  

— How did I get in, you ask?  

Though the one who asked the question was already dead, many dark mages were still around to hear the answer.  

‘This technique is dangerous, isn’t it...? Hehe.’  

The intruder, Scarlet, chuckled to herself as she considered the technique’s potential.  

The technology itself was indeed dangerous. If humans were to use it, their ingenuity would likely make it terrifyingly effective.  

‘It’s a good thing these fools are just dim-witted dark mages.’

With that, Scarlet resolved to leave them with a lasting trauma so they’d never dare attempt it again.  

— Did you think your mental connections were invisible just because they’re intangible?  

— W-what...?  

— Well, then—  

Flash!  

Another dazzling pillar of light descended. 

— Hehehe, I just noticed a ton of mental connections all linked together at once, so I thought I’d squeeze in. Can you even imagine such a thing?  

There were no dark mages left who dared to ask such a question.  

The moment they spoke, they would die.  

— Oh? Hey, you over there! You left the telepathy link, didn’t you? You probably didn’t hear this, but—!  

Flash!  

— Aaah... I-I...!  

— Screaming in your head? You too!  

Flash!  

By this point, the dark mages had realized something terrifying.  

Even leaving the telepathic network meant death.  

Even accidentally letting stray thoughts surface meant death.  

In this nerve-wracking situation, where even thinking too much could cost them their lives, there wasn’t a single dark being whose heart wasn’t pounding violently.  

Thump, thump, thump!  

Cold sweat trickled down their faces.  

They tried desperately not to let any nonsense slip into their minds, their focus so intense that they couldn’t even move from their spots.  

For an ordinary mage who had learned telepathy, separating transmitted words from internal thoughts would have been a trivial matter.  

But not for them.  

— Dugudugudugu!  

Scarlet deliberately made loud noises, laughing as she completely took over their telepathic network.  

— I’ve been cooped up for so long, and the stress was really building up. So, let’s play a fun little game of tag to pass the time, shall we?  

To Scarlet, it was nothing more than an entertaining pastime.  

But to the dark mages, it was pure terror… a game of death tag that had just begun. 

———

TN:- Enjoying this story?

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