The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board - Chapter 213
Death.
It was a word that sent chills down the spines of those without faith.
Bren, one of the top knights of the Veregion Knights, felt death’s touch once more.
It felt not like a lump in his throat, but rather, a sword in his mouth.
âI-Iâm going to die.â
Bren was certain that a single misstep, or even a single word that could agitate Seol, would lead to his death.
He was acting this way because of the reasonable, logical conclusions he had reached quite a while ago.
It was the conclusion he had arrived at after dealing with the cartel and visiting Adelineâs royal laboratory.
– So youâre telling me it wasnât broken?
– Yes, it never was. What made you believe it was broken in the first place, Sir Bren?
– Obviously, I would think it was broken when it said a transferee had over 100 million points. Transferees are essentially children all born on the same day. Itâs natural to be suspicious when, in a sea of crawling toddlers, a man with a full beard shows up!
Seol was the man with a full beard Bren was referring to, while the crawling toddlers were the other transferees he had met so far.
The researcher was confused after hearing that.
– There was nothing wrong with the goggles, though. Theyâre still fully operational and collecting information.
– Then that meansâŠ
– If there is an oddity, it would be the âman with a full beardâ and not the goggles. Donât you think?
– âŠIâm asking if 100 million is a reasonable point total.
– Was he weak?
– No, he was strong.
– How strong?
Bren thought for a moment, recalling Seol leaping around the city like a playground.
– He was a little⊠no, very strong?
– Hm?
– He was definitely strong. It was the first time Iâve ever seen a transferee that strong. I could definitely understand how he would have 100 million combat pointsâŠ
– Haha! So you understood it but couldnât believe it? Thereâs nothing for me to fix then, I guess.
– âŠI apologize, I was mistaken. I should have just accepted that he was that strong.
The researcher then smiled.
– You must always destroy your preconceived notions if you want to truly learn. Iâm sure today was just one of those incidents.
– Then⊠What should I do if I meet that transferee again?
– Didnât you say that you fought together? Why would you beâŠ
– Iâm asking this on the off chance that⊠he and I will be enemies.
– Sir Bren, you know about shooting stars, right?
Bren scoffed after hearing that.
– Of course. Youâre referring to how people make wishes when they see them, right? Why are you saying that right now⊠Are you⊠treating me like a little kid?
– No, not at all. Couldn’t you just think of meeting him as seeing a shooting star?
– âŠWhat do you mean?
– Because youâd die if he hits you. Shooting stars are meteorites at the end of the day, after all. Also, youâd make a wish.
– âŠA wish?
The researcher scratched her head before answering.
– Iâm sure he would let you go if you begged for your life, right?
On that note, Bren was currently fucked.
âItâs him, itâs so obviously him!â
Bren didn’t have the best look at them, but the dark energy gathering in their hands was undoubtedly familiar.
âWhy did he have to come to my area!â
The black energy began to grow even more.
Bren began to waver even more after seeing it as it reminded him of the cartel members that the individual in front of him had killed.
He then recalled a few words his mother had left him with.
– Bren, the most important thing is your life, alright? Honor and trust arenât as important as long as you can live.
– How could you say that, honey?! Bren will follow in my footsteps and become an honorableâ
– Got it, Bren? Donât be an idiot. Treasure your life.
The words of Charlotte, his late mother, echoed in his mind once more.
Suddenly, Brenâs chest began to feel hot. His heart was pounding louder and louder.
âI need to survive! It is strong to survive!â
Bren racked his brain as fast as he could, trying to come up with something.
The only thoughts in his mind were how he could prevent the situation from escalating any further.
âSir Bren? Did you find anything?â
âAh! I⊠didnât.â
âIt must have been a beast then, huh?â
âIt must have been, hahahaâŠâ
However, Seol maintained the black energy.,
âDamn it! That wasnât enough?â
Bren was desperate, to the point that he would have begged for his life if the others werenât near him.
However, as there were too many eyes, he searched for another method.
âBy the way⊠Donât you think weâre too close together?â
âHuh?â
FadeâŠ
Seol pulled back a bit of the black energy.
âSo thatâs it!â
Bren quickly calmed his pounding heart and retreated toward his men.
âWe werenât even assigned that much ground to cover⊠This is terribly ineffective. Wouldnât you agree?â
âWerenât we forced into this position because a lot of knights were dispatched? I thought you were the one most eager to do this, Sir Bren.â
âNo, I wasnât. I was never eager to do this!â
â…What?â
âAhem⊠Do you really think they would be foolish enough to go through here? There are more people here than trees.â
âI mean⊠I would get scared off too, yeah.â
âExactly! And I, Bren, am also worried about everyoneâs well-being.â
âIâm fine.â
âIt isnât fine!â shouted Bren. âWe might face situations like this in the future as well, but this way of doing things is completely unrealistic. An excellent leader shouldnât be wearing down their menâs stamina for an enemy who has yet to arrive. As someone who dreams of becoming an excellent leader, I, Bren, will split us into three groups. I want the other two groups to rest at the base uphill.â
âS-Sir BrenâŠâ
âIn three groups tooâŠâ
âI canât believe you thought of us like that⊠hrghâŠâ
The knights, in awe, looked at Bren with teary eyes.
âNow, Iâll split up the groups, so gather around.â
âB-But our lineâŠâ
âNo! How else would we divide it fairly? All men must gather now, quickly!â
Their positions quickly crumbled as the knights gathered at Brenâs command.
âNow⊠wellâŠâ
Bren glanced at where he last saw Seol, confirming that he and the others had left.
âFuuuâŠâ
* * *
[[You are currently wandering through the Bragrand Mountains. The soldiers patrolling the mountains are constantly moving. Which direction will you head?]
1. Toward a ridge to the right.
2. Toward a far-off cliff.
âŠâŠ]
âHaah⊠HaahâŠâ
It required an immense amount of effort to move without exposing oneâs presence.
It was especially difficult for the injured Chadorf, and the frail Riona, as they couldnât ride their horses. Exhausted, they continued to gasp for air.
‘The most dangerous thing would be stopping.’
Despite that, Seol continued forward. He kept finding gaps and openings in the soldiersâ guard.
To the right.
âStill no news?â
âThere would have been a commotion if there was.â
To the right again.
âThis is so stupid.â
âOur job is to follow orders. What can we do?â
Left this time.
âMaybe they went another way?â
âOr it could be tomorrow instead of today.â
Seolâs decisions had been correct so far. However, an issue arose as they headed toward the narrow channel at the center of the mountains.
CawâŠ
A bird just happened to cry as Seol was passing by.
âHuh?â
Seol and the soldier locked eyes. They undeniably noticed each other.
âIntruââ
Fwip!
WooshâŠ
Seol quickly struck the back of the knightâs neck with his hand, knocking them out cold, and carefully placed them on the ground.
Seol shot a glare at the bird that had made noise.
Caw cawâŠ
However, the bird only stared back at him. Reflecting on his behavior, Seol sighed.
âHaahâŠâ
The situation was not good.
âRather than helping me, theyâre only making things worse.â
It was to the point that Seol almost became frustrated at an innocent animal.
âHuh? But this birdâŠâ
It seemed similar to the bird that Seol saw in the Nogurs Mountains.
âDonât tell me it followed me all the way here⊠right?â
Caw cawâŠ
Seol noticed more birds as well.
âWhat is this⊠feelingâŠ?â
BathumpâŠ
Seol’s heart began to pound like it did when he was passing through the smuggling route.
Flap flap flapâŠ
The birds all took off from the trees at once.
â…Itâs definitely not just in my head.â
A chill ran down Seolâs spine.
However, it wasnât something he could dwell on for long right now.
Seol quickly headed to the rift at the center of the Bragrand Mountains, a location he had been worried about since the start.
– I recommend you stop right there.
â…I felt it too.â
– Magicians⊠I sense two different wavelengths up ahead. The first is a wavelength that deters the use of mana, and the other is a wavelength that scouts for any mana that isnât on record.
âHow are they using both at the same time?â
– Itâs definitely possible; itâs just a matter of which you set up first. However, there is a weakness.
At times like these⊠there was no better summon than Ur.
âA weakness?â
– For spells where sequence is important, just tripping the flow a little is more than enough to make it fail. I can change the order so that their search spell conflicts with their mana-deterring spell.
A large-range jamming.
âWouldnât they realize it, though?â
– They wonât. The mana will flow exactly like it did before. Iâm sure theyâll be clueless for a while. Also, Iâll be able to take all of the leaking mana for myself, butâŠ
Ur shifted to a more serious tone.
– The flow will be unnatural, meaning once they realize the mana was tampered with, it essentially ensures that there is an intruder. Therefore⊠donât get caught. Itâll be troublesome if you do.
Nod.
[Ur, the Sealedâs Wizardry activates.]
[Ur, the Sealed, deciphers the unidentified spell.]
[Spell deciphering in progress.]
[The spell has been successfully deciphered.]
Ur was now able to manipulate mana much more easily.
– Done.
StepâŠ
Seol and the others entered the rift, making sure to stay near the darkest places.
Step stepâŠ
âHm?â said a magician guarding the rift.
âWhat is it?â
âNo⊠Itâs nothing.â
âThatâs good.â
The security here was much more lax than earlier.
It was a gap formed because of the faith they had put into their trap.
âThereâs no way they can slip past all of us.â
âI doubt theyâve already slipped past⊠right?â
âThatâs impossible.â
âWell⊠Even if they did, we have a bunch of transferees behind us. Itâll be fine.â
âI still remember the commotion they caused about wanting to be on the front lines this morningâŠâ
âRight? I have no idea why they were going so farâŠâ
Flap flap flap!
âWh-what the hell?!â
âBirds?â
A flock of birds landed on a nearby tree.
The magicians wore worried expressions due to the birdsâ strange behavior.
âWere they⊠exposed to mana?â
âNo way⊠We made sure it wouldnât harm living things.â
âThen why would the birds⊠Hm?â
âWhat is it?â
â…We need to report this to Sir Heinkel.â
âWhat?â
âQuickly!â
– They found out. I was able to feast on a bunch of mana, but⊠a detection spell will be scanning everything nearby. You need to move, fast.
Seol and the others picked up the pace at Urâs word.
However, it didnât take long for their surroundings to be filled with lit torches and loud voices.
âIntruders! Theyâre already here!â
âItâs the princess! Princess Riona is trying to cross the mountains!â
âFind her! Search everything!â
Soldiers entered the area in droves.
In fact, even the soldiers from the earlier line returned to search for Seol and the others.
âGet back! Weâve received information that theyâve already slipped past!â
âTheyâre already through!â
Seol and the others sped up.
âHaah⊠HaahâŠâ
âYour Highness, we need to run!â
âHaahâŠâ
âHrgh⊠GrghâŠâ
Magicians continued to light up the area from behind with illumination magic in an attempt to find them.
Glooooow!
Fwoosh!
Fwooosh!
âFind them! Theyâre definitely here!â
âThe knights will arrive soon! Locate them, at least!â
It was definitely a problem behind them, but the bigger issue lay ahead.
âYeahhhhhh!â
âTheyâre coming here!â
âGet them! Weâll get all of the rewards if we catch them!â
âCatch them before the knights arrive!â
âI canât see! The useless ones should just fuck off already!â
âWhat did you say?!â
Seol wondered if this was what a group of starving cats would look like.
âOver there! There! I found them!â someone shouted.
The individual who shouted that was definitely smart. After all, they only shouted. They didnât take a single step toward Seol, avoiding exposing themselves.
If they had taken a step forward, Seol would have likely killed them to prevent them from saying anything.
Seol scowled.
âOver there!â
âTheyâre there!!! They wonât be able to slip past us now!â
âYour Highness!â shouted Chadorf. âThe earl and I will stop them! Crow, take Her HighnessâŠâ
âWrong,â interrupted Seol. âThe two of you wonât be able to stop them.â
âThen what else are we supposed to do?!â
âJust⊠Just give me some time.â
The situation was beginning to resemble a battlefield.
Seol had already summoned Karuna and Karen to protect them.
And like a faint whisper, Seol only caught fragments of their voices.
âWho⊠that! âŠsferees to us, andâŠâ
âStop your bullshit! âŠyeah?!â
âAhhh! What the hell? Donât shoot!â
They were all slaves to their greed.
The hyenas were fighting among themselves in front of the lion over who should take the rewards.
âI guess this is as far as I can go.â
Seol no longer had a choice but to accept that he had to fight the transferees to fulfill his goals.
He had no option but to take their lives.
The world could never be kept purely good. No matter how much an innocent child tries to straighten those crooked lines, there comes a time when they must dip their toes into blood.
It was now time for Seol to make a decision.
âI could definitely open up a way if I kill them all, butâŠâ
Countless transferees would die at his hands.
Was this really the right decision?
While Seol definitely wasnât a good person, he also wasnât a bad one.
Seol wouldnât have hesitated if the transferees in front of him were evil. However, he wasn’t cold-hearted enough to kill hundreds of innocent transferees.
At least⊠until now.
However, Seol hesitated as he knew there was a price to pay. Once he crossed this line, there was no coming back.
âItâs⊠fine now.â
As Seol was lost in thought, Princess Riona sorted the situation. She ran ahead of Seol before greeting him with teary eyes.
âYouâve already done all you can for me. That was⊠more than enough.â
âYour Highness!â
âNot yet! Itâs still too early to give up!â
âI didnât give up,â Riona sniffled, smiling at her two loyal but foolish subjects. âIâve simply accepted my fate after doing my best.â
âWhat are youâŠâ
âThose lunatics are only aiming for me. So you guys shouldâŠâ
BathumpâŠ
Seolâs heart began to pound fiercely.
Sensing it as well, Ur brought Seol good news.
– I can temporarily suppress all of the mana here. If you can escape during that opening, youâll be able to escape from the magicians.
Seol shook his head.
âItâs impossible. There are too many knights and transferees.â
– Then, unless you can fly, everyone will die. Is that what you want? If itâsâŠ
âFly⊠huhâŠ?â
Caw⊠CawâŠ
Seol glanced at the birds from earlier, the very ones that had exposed their location.
Bathump⊠bathumpâŠ
“Yeah, no wonder⊠I thought I lost my mind for a second.â
– What do you⊠mean?
âI would rather die!â shouted Chadorf.
âHurry!â shouted Riona. âIf all of you can escape before they close in on us⊠maybe you guys will be able toâŠâ
Excited, Seol cut off Riona.
âRiona.â
â…Yes?â
âWe only have one opportunity, got it?â
âWhat are you talking about?â shouted Riona. âNowâs not the time for this! You need to escape now, or all of us will beââ
âGet on my back.â
âWhat the⊠UhhâŠâ
Seol quickly picked up Riona and began sprinting. As he did, Chadorf and Earl Brispin quickly followed.
âGet them!â
âWeâre almost caught up!â
âDrive them into a corner!â
âWhat the hell are you saying?! We might end up hitting each other! Make sure to maintain distance!â
As the transferees and knights rushed them downâŠ
Caaaaaaaw!
Above the birds, something emerged from the clouds.
It looked like a meteorite.
âWh-what the hell is that?!â
â…A griffin?â
It was certainly not a griffin.
There wasnât even a hint of griffin on it. Its sturdy wings were much more massive than a griffinâs, and it had a birdâs body, not a lion’s. Not to mention⊠the flames that continued to gather near its beak.
FwooooshâŠ
The flames continued to gather and billow.
âR-Ruuuuuuun!â
FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
A ray of fire spilled across the mountains.
FwoooshâŠ
It was a warning. They were not allowed to cross that line.
Seol then sprinted faster toward the strange bird approaching them.
âKoopaaaaaaaa! Over here!â shouted Seol.
Caaaaaaaaaaaw!
BathumpâŠ
The reason Seolâs heart had pounded so fiercely was because of their connection. Their close proximity had intensified their resonance.
âI knew it was you!â
[Helper âKoopa, the Vultureâ has appeared in this Adventure.]
[Helper âKoopa, the Vultureâ will join you in this Adventure as an ally.]
Seolâs friend had returned much larger than before, with an even larger beak and wings.
âGet on Koopa!â
âTh-thatâs Koopa?â
âHow didâŠâ
Boooooom!
âKrrrrgh!â
âBlock them!â
âUse spells now!â
Koopa kicked up the dirt to block their view.
– Hmph! Who do you think youâre attacking?!
Wooooooooosh!
Ur casted the mana suppression spell that he had been preparing since earlier.
âO-Our manaâs dissipating!â
âThen shower them with arrows!â
Fft! Fft! Fft!
Fwoooosh!
Karunaâs Black Wave repelled all of the projectiles.
âNow!â shouted Seol.
Caaaaaaaaw!
Koopa, Kiriâs true inheritance, had opened a path for Seol in the sky.
Fwoosh⊠FwooshâŠ
Dust kicked up with each flap of his massive wings.
Their arrival was as swift as their departure.