nemorosus

Chapter 333: Keys to the Kingdom

A big man with long red hair opened his eyes. Margrave Reinhardt stared at the stone ceiling above before suddenly leaning up. He grabbed his neck and grunted in pain from the sudden movement. A serving woman in the room froze in her tracks. The margrave opened his mouth to call out to her, but she quickly exited the room.

As Reinhardt leaned back into his bed, his son—a red-haired man quite similar in appearance to himself—entered the room, led by the serving girl who’d left earl...

Chapter 332: An End to Things

Argrave walked down cold stone stairs slowly, his big feet forcing him to take the steps slowly lest he fall. He very nearly bumped into Melanie at the bottom. She stood holding an iron gate. Argrave entered, ducking beneath the low-hanging iron bars and entering into the dungeons of Castle Cookpot. Anneliese followed just behind.

The cells had been cleared out a great deal in the past few days on account of their fearmongering efforts in Atrus and beyond. Ruleo’s cell was close, like...

Chapter 331: Race to the Finish

In response to the news that Duke Sumner, not Margrave Reinhardt, led the triumphant army of the south to seize Dirracha, Argrave gathered everyone important for the decision-making despite the late hour. All talked idly around the table waiting for the last arrival: Elenore. Beyond Argrave’s inner circle, there were new arrivals: Leopold Dandalan Jr., eldest grandson of the Relizean leader and commander of most of the forces here, all three Magisters of the Order, and lastly… Melanie. 2023-03-13 06:55:16 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 330: First Steps of Progress

“You didn’t have the foresight to bring boots?” Elenore asked Argrave as she leaned on his arm.

Argrave looked down at Elenore, smiling with a bitter patience. She wore cloth pants for travel, and he could barely see her pink feet. Indeed, pink—the new flesh was like a newborn’s, markedly different from the leg just above it.

“We,” he rephrased. “We didn’t have the foresight. You might be my lackey, but you have lackeys of your own. We’ll get you some ...

Chapter 329: Blood Makes the Body Whole

Argrave and Anneliese sat atop some temporary bedding—specifically, a large tarp splayed out across the flat grass with some fur blankets atop it. Anneliese was already delving into A-rank magic. She had two books on her knee—one projected the strange, incomprehensible full-body matrix exclusive to A-rank spells, and the other was a more mundane book. Argrave, however, was poring through letters. He rubbed his forehead to ease his headache.

Elenore was there, too, lying down just be...

Chapter 328: Hot Blooded

Argrave eyed a wriggling bag made of poor cloth handled by one of the men of the tribes of Vysenn. Some animal lovers would undoubtedly take umbrage with the treatment of the amphibians, suggesting that they would be traumatized being transported in such a manner.

“Your Majesty… what are your plans for these creatures?” the Firevein, standing off nearby, questioned as he looked into the distant land of greenery where the spring taiga reigned. “Do you intend to raise them?”

Chapter 327: Feed the Earth

A small party of four navigated across a treacherous and narrow valley road where rockslides seemed liable to happen at any point. Their feet crunched when they fell upon with the loose basalt fragments beneath. They had the inhuman, alabaster-like skin of the people native to Vysenn. Their wizened yet large leader bore a staff which he leaned upon heavily to walk. Most of his body was exposed to the elements, though not indecently so. His red tattoos were densely packed as to give the impres...

Chapter 326: Reparations

“We cannot afford to make this a long journey,” Elenore informed Argrave as she slipped on some heavy gloves suited for travel. “Given the recent influx of spellcasters you brought, we have no excuses to languish within this fortress. Any wounds have been healed by magic, any supplies lost have been regained from the larder here, and we sit at the precipice of total consolidation of all the north. The officers and patricians beneath us are eager to move. They salivate like bears who hap...

Chapter 325: Vice

On the front opposite the barbarians, the battle was pitched to the point of hopelessness. The army of Relizeans outnumbered their foes, true enough… but the garrison in Castle Cookpot had one advantage over them: spellcasters. They were not of grandiose rank or stature, but they had many. That, alone, was enough.

The crossbowmen, numbering near four thousand, were largely invalidated by the presence of mages. Wind elemental magic, wards… their bolts were deflected or neutralized wi...

Chapter 324: A Dance for a Song

If Anneliese were to analogize being in the tephramancer’s storm of basalt with Llewellen’s [Life Cycle] empowering her, a perfect example came to mind at once. If she had been walking on the land as a B-rank mage, now she was swimming through a still ocean as a fish might. Up, down, or any direction she pleased—if she made the effort, she could reach it.

With magic pouring into her being faster than she could hope to use it, Anneliese sped alone through the black clouds of tephra...

Chapter 323: Alone Against the Storm

The staves of the tephramancers beat down upon the soil of the earth, sending an echoing boom out into the world. It was a marching drum of war that stirred the spirit and could be felt for miles. Every time their rods met the ground, the basalt storm about them whirled faster, then died down until the next drum came. In the darkness of night, the black mass about hid their advance. The only sign of their approach was the rumbling noise erupting from the beaten magic.

Argrave could feel...

Chapter 322: Ashen

Once everyone had set up camp, Argrave stole away from the encampment just before dusk and headed for the ring of verdancy beyond Vysenn. It was difficult for them to do so, as the people set as night watches were quite vigilant. Argrave took comfort in that fact, as it signified the fighting force they had coming was able to follow commands in a disciplined fashion.

It was extremely strange the way the temperature shifted as they walked. Distant plumes of gas rose up into the sky like ...

Chapter 321: Reserved Parking

Their party departed on foot to First Hope from Quadreign. When Argrave had gone there originally, he’d come with only Vasilisa and her personal companions. Now, he returned with a relatively vast force of spellcasters—well over four hundred, all expertly trained and with vast reservoirs of magic. On top of that, he’d secured Vasilisa, Vera, and Hegazar as steadfast allies. But rather unexpectedly…

Svetlana of Quadreign stood before Argrave, her bags packed. Another was by her�...

Chapter 320: Surprise Drop-in

Ruleo stepped through the stone confines of the Order of the Rose fortress he inhabited with one other beside him. This place was far more elaborate and long than most fortresses of theirs he’d visited—from all he’d gathered in old books, this place had been the site of a prolonged war. The fortifications, and concurrently the number of undead, was astronomically high in this place.

Ironically, that war was mirrored centuries later—Argrave’s army stood opposite the valley, whi...

Chapter 319: Magic Man Migration Method

Anneliese awoke with a sharp intake of breath. She sat up with surprising energy, then looked around the room. Most notable was Argrave, sitting by her bed in a chair. He looked tired, yet locked eyes with her all the same.

“You alright?” Argrave questioned.

“I…” Anneliese grabbed at her chest. “I feel so strange.” She paused, questioning if she was still covered in blood. Looking around past him, it seemed Argrave had cleaned everything.

“Strange how?” Arg...

Chapter 318: Drinking Deep of the World

Though Anneliese put up a strong front before Argrave, the truth was she was greatly nervous about this. Hiding as much was a habit she had picked up from Argrave. She had not lied about being confident in understanding Llewellen’s lectures, yet even still, the hound of trepidation followed her as Argrave gazed with expectancy and nervousness both. As though to shut away the world, Anneliese closed her eyes and focused only on the knowledge she had accrued regarding A-rank ascension during ...

Chapter 317: Going Where the Dead Have Gone Before

“If the only thing you’ll offer to our lord Erlebnis is bits of knowledge that may interest him, then this meeting is over,” the gargantuan head continued after Argrave’s refusal to accept its offer.

Argrave stared at it resolutely and confirmed, “It’s over, then.”

The emissary stared ahead for a few moments, unblinking. “Perhaps you did not understand the implication of what we said earlier,” the emissary continued. “Many gods have a vested interest in you, ma...

Chapter 316: Atrophy of Neglect

In coming into this cave, Hegazar had commented about the thickness of the magic in the area. Argrave had thought nothing of it at the time, but thinking back, that had been a mistaken assumption. Onychinusa, pure-blooded ancient elf and mortal champion of Erlebnis, must have been in this area, waiting and watching. She could disperse her flesh into pure magic and had hidden in that manner. That meant either she or the god she championed anticipated this meeting. And that bode terribly for it...

Chapter 315: Abgrundanziehung

A bird of wind tore through the skies, keeping its mystic wings steady in its glide. A party of many sat atop it—Argrave’s coterie and the Magister couple of Hegazar and Vera. It brought back some memories. Argrave watched the terrain disaffectedly, focused more on the duty coming ahead than the scene before him. This ride had inspired awe the first time, but the second time not so much so, even with the time gap.

“Dispel it here,” Argrave looked back and told Vera.

The Ma...

Chapter 314: Knocking Heads

“Your Majesty won’t be attending as… well, as yourself?” Diana questioned Argrave.

Diana had donned different dress than the casual things she had been wearing the days before—now, she wore an elaborate dress of white fur. She had a large silver circlet embedded with sapphires and pearls resting atop and partially weaved into her blonde hair. She stood alone with Argrave and Anneliese in the spacious yet warm palace of Quadreign. The warmth was new—though the Flame of the Te...

Chapter 313: Used Kingdom Salesman

Argrave stared up at a gargantuan moving gear that clicked every second. One might think the clocktower of Quadreign would be rather elaborate on the interior, but no—it was one large gear with a much smaller one at its center. The smaller received the directed power of the Flame of the Tenebrous Star. Anneliese watched right alongside him, both showing their curiosity openly. Argrave knew this place well, but neither knew how the flame made the clock count the seconds.

Footsteps echo...

Chapter 312: No Pain, Only Gain

Argrave planted his foot down and crested over the top of a hill he’d travelled once before. The snow had melted a little more on their return, and the pine trees seemed a little more robust. Another detail was far more striking—namely, the moving hands of the clock tower overlooking the palace in Quadreign.

Vasilisa caught up with Argrave. The moment her eyes fell where his did, her brain worked to compute the implications. To cement her realization, Argrave commented, “Seems the...

Chapter 311: Blood Bender Hangover

Galamon blinked open his eyes and turned his head. Sunlight fell upon him, and instinct spurred him to move quickly. His hands reached for where he kept his flasks of blood, but then as cognition returned to him as unconsciousness released its hold, he remembered what he had done that put him on the ground here.

“Good morning,” Argrave, to Galamon’s left, greeted. He had a stack of papers pinned atop a simple wooden slab and had clearly been writing diligently not moments before. ...

Chapter 310: Piercing Thoughts

Argrave stared at Galamon as red mist poured out of his body. He was running things through his head in a panic, yet held out his hands to follow his course of action.

“Remember what we talked about, Galamon,” Argrave called out. “Stay conscious. All your years of experience in fighting this thing—use it. You are stronger than the beast.”

A spell matrix whirled in Argrave’s hand—one of C-rank. Then, his black blood started to come free of his hand, bringing the pain ...

Chapter 309: Tree Hugger Armistice

When Svetlana of Quadreign opened the door and Argrave’s gaze fell upon Ganbaatar, memories came rushing back just alongside his plan for how to deal with this situation.

Ganbaatar—a fairly tall individual with golden hair, pure red eyes, and sharp ears—was the only elven playable character in the game, so he naturally had a large constituent of loyal fans that hoped to betray humanity and instead hug trees. The elven rogue-warrior protagonist hailed from what the humans in Vasque...

Chapter 308: Four Horsemen of the Protagonists

Elenore, Durran, Melanie, and some assortment of Argrave’s royal guards surrounded a table in a tent. Durran and Melanie were both fully armored, just as the royal knights. Elenore pointed to a crude map of the region—it depicted no terrain, but did roughly sketch what looked to be a choke point in a valley.

“These are the main structures staying our advance,” Elenore’s index and middle finger straddled between two marked points. “They’re located within the edges of the va...

Chapter 307: Tumor Remover Unleashed

“Are you… sure this won’t do anything unwanted?” Vasilisa asked. She knelt just before one of the runes on the walls of the pit containing the Flame of the Tenebrous Reaper.

Argrave crossed his arms as he looked over her. His mind was still on the unexpected and unwanted disturbance from Erlebnis, and so he answered crassly, “Of course I’m sure. Just do it, yeah? We don’t have all the time to be lingering about.”

Vasilisa cast a glance at him, then back at the rune...

Chapter 306: Geriatric Pal

Their party of six stood at the bottom of the now-useless tower amidst the rubble spawned by destroying all its floors. Vasilisa kneeled over a body—Margrave Ivan’s. Or… just Ivan, now. In death he lost all, even his title. He was covered and dust and debris and mutilated half a dozen times, but remained recognizable enough.

“That sort of power isn’t normal,” Vera said, staring at Argrave with her arms crossed. “To do this much damage? To destroy a tower made to code by th...

Chapter 305: The Gang Floors It

Argrave seemed to have a penchant for fighting powerful people in high towers with the intent of subverting their governance. This was the second time—not a lot by any measure, but even still, it was strange that it had happened twice. This time, Argrave had a lot more at his disposal than a bag of Ebonice arrowheads and a gutful of spite.

Magister Vera held both of her hands out, palms whirling with spell matrixes as she contested Ivan with her magic. The margrave became aglow with g...

Chapter 304: Stroke of State

Argrave had déjà vu to something that had occurred not months ago—namely, Margravine Sophia’s campaign to sway the northern nobles rather strongly reminded him of Leopold’s. Things were markedly different in the aristocratic circles of the north, yet they remained the same to the patricians in many ways. Instead of currency and value being the primary concern, it was prestige, lands, and security dominating their attention.

Argrave had a new, and rather valuable, perspective. He...