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The light burned the sky, and silence descended.

It didn’t take too long for the fight on the ground to finish after the fight in the sky finished. The Undead army had remained unharmed under the sun thanks to Belrun’s power. The Undead army screamed as they burned under the sunlight. It was truly easy for Azell’s party and the Guardian Shadows to wipe out the remnants of the Undead army.

A good amount of time had passed after the fight on the ground was over. Azell finally descended from the sky.

His party members tried to ask him about what had happened, but they hesitated when they saw the expression on his face. His expression was too tragic.

Azell was the first one to open his mouth.

“You should use this, duke.”

Azell lifted the staff towards Kairen. After accepting it, Kairen asked in bewilderment.

“What is this?”

“It is Carlos’ keepsake.”

“...shouldn’t a magician use this item?”

“You have to use it, duke. You have the most potential in terms of developing as a tactician.”

“Mmmm?”

There was no context to his explanation, so Kairen was still confused. Azell looked tired as he gave an explanation.

“It is a magical item that will allow you to command the Guardian Shadows.”

The staff, which had been pierced through Carlos, had been key to sealing Belrun. It also had the function of controlling the Guardian Shadows. Carlos was able to control the Guardian Shadows through his will using this item, and he was able to gather information through the Guardian Shadows.

Laura mumbled to herself in surprise when she heard his explanation.

“It is similar to the Great Darkness.......”

“It isn’t similar. It is the Great Darkness.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll explain it to you later. Aside from that, I have a lot I have to explain, but.... I want to rest for a little bit. I don’t want to do anything right now.”

Azell spoke those words as he sat on the ground.

There was a mountainous amount of stories he had to tell them. He had to think over the stories, and he had to choose, which ones he wanted to tell them. There was so much that he felt lost.

Despite this fact, he just wanted to rest.

For now, he wanted to rest despite what was waiting for him in the present and the future.

2

“I have no idea what’s going on.”

Almarick was taken aback.

Something had happened.

However, he had no idea what had happened.

<What’s the problem?>

Reygus queried.

“The fog has lifted.”

<Are you planning on changing career to become a magician?>

“Of course not.”

<What about it?>

“The problem is the Vitan’s Chalice.”

Almarick had authority over a portion of the Great Darkness, so he was able to sense the Dragon weapons used by the Dragon Demon generals. However, the degree of precision in detecting the Vitan’s Chalice had become unusually low after Azell acquired it.

He had even lost track of it not too long ago. Then it appeared in some random location. It seemed someone had the ability to circumvent his tracking ability.

However, it was as if a fog had been lifted after that event. He could accurately senese the location of the Vitan’s Chalice.

<Hmmm. I was fooled once. I don’t want to be fooled again, but......>

Reygus tapped the nasal bridge of his skull as he spoke.

The signal of the Vitan’s Chalice had disappeared for a short amount of time, and it had appeared in a random location. Almarick and Reygus led the elite troops to the location, but the only thing they found were a bunch of Guardian Shadows. At that point, Almarick wondered if Laura had set a trap for them. However, he didn’t think she had the capability of duping his detection ability.

<Still, shouldn’t we check it out anyways?>

“That is why I sent the kids. I told them to avoid any direct confrontation.”

When Almarick and Reygus realized they had fallen for a trap, they quickly returned to the Plain of Darkness. If Azell’s party had attacked the Plain of Darkness while they were gone, they would have been able to fend of Azell’s party. However, the Plain of Darkness would have had to pay a steep price for doing so.

“I have no idea. I don’t know what they are planning.....”

Almarick furrowed his brows. Reygus spoke.

<I have one important thing I have to tell you.>

“What is it?”

<I have only one life now.>

“What do you mean by that?”

<It is as I’ve said. If my body is completely destroyed again, I won’t be able to revive again.>

“How can you be sure? What proof do you have?”

<You aren’t an Undead. Can you really know something only an Undead would know? I’m sure of it. I can’t be revived any more.>

“Are you saying something has gone wrong with the Great Darkness?”

Almarick was taken aback. Reygus wasn’t kidding. At the very least, he believed what he was saying.

<Aunsaurus and Baldark should have been revived, yet they weren’t revived. Are you sure you will be able to revive in the future? The king’s plans aren’t perfect and faultless.>

“Mmmm.......”

Almarick groaned.

On the other hand, Reygus looked excited.

<Our magician friends weren’t able to revive, so we can’t do anything about it until the king revives. However, I like it.>

“You sound as if you’ve lost your mind.”

<Kook kook kook. If you are able to revive multiple times, you won’t value your own life. It is not in my nature to use such cheap methods. Even if I have one life, I’ll willingly put it on the line. That is the way of a man.>

“You are already living your second life. You are just being shameless with your words.”

<The milk has already been spilled, so what can I do? I just push forward even if it is shameless.>

“Anyways.......”

Almarick realized he was laughing as he ragged on Reygus.

His blood was boiling.

He had calmed down a lot, but he used to be a beast-like warrior. He changed after he revived.

Was it because he became older?

No, that wasn’t it.

If time caused his personality to change, it would have changed much sooner. Before he died, he was like a living history book. He had lived for a very long time.

The change was caused by the power given to him by Atein.

In his past life, he knew he was immortal, yet it hadn’t felt like it. However, when he was truly revived, he couldn’t live his life with as much zeal as before.

When living as a life as a warrior, one knew that one would fall someday by the sword. It didn’t matter how powerful you were.

When he was born as a 1st generation Dragon Demon, he had faced fierce competition. He didn’t have any parents that sheltered him. He had to fight everything in his environment to survive.

He was able to fight with such zeal, because he had only one life. If he died, everything he worked for would be for naught. He fought with zeal, because everything he enjoyed would come to an end.

When Reygus saw Almarick’s expression, he cackled.

He asked Almarick a question.

<You like it too, right?>

“I don’t want to agree with you, but.......”

Almarick couldn’t help it. The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk.

“I can’t help it. You are right.”

An emotion that burned in his chest in the past was rekindled.

3

Azell’s party quickly exited the Atisan mountain range. They no longer had any reasons to stay there.

While they were doing so, Kairen was going through the process of identifying and controlling the Guardian Shadows.

“There is about 12,000 Guardian Shadows that can be mobilized.”

The Guardian Shadows were basically immortal before this event. They were able to be revived when they perished. It just took time.

However, this wasn’t the case now.

Belrun’s power had been a big part of why they were able to be revived. Since Belrun was dead, they couldn’t be revived after they perished.

“Even at this moment, their numbers are being replenished, but..... We are consuming faster than we are adding to the force.”

The power of revival was gone, but the system of the Guardian Shadows remained intact. Aside from the Dragon Demon king worshippers, the entire continent provided the Guardian Shadows with information. Moreover, those that possessed eternal enmity towards the Dragon Demon king worshippers continued to become Guardian Shadows.

Azell asked him a question.

“Did you come up with a good idea?”

“I think so. First, we’ll have to contact the friends of our organization in each country. We’ll have to update them on what is going on, and we’ll use this opportunity to see all their faces. The way we run this organization will change drastically.”

Carlos hadn’t used the Guardian Shadows as his voice, because he wanted to keep his secrets hidden. It would have been over even if one person had found out his existence.

Azell’s party wasn’t under such restriction.

Carlos had created an excellent system. Kairen sent the Guardian Shadows as emissary, and he would be able to use the Guardian Shadows like a communication spell.

The only downside was the fact that Kairen couldn’t sort through all the information.

Carlos had become part of the system, so he could manage the massive amount of information. However, Azell’s party couldn’t do that. They could give specific orders to the Guardian Shadows, and they could only receive reports from the Guardian Shadows. They couldn’t hear and see everything the Guardian Shadows observed.

Kairen realized this fact, so he spoke to Azell.

“At the very least, we’ll have to keep one Guardian Shadow with each member.”

“Yes. I am thinking about using half of the Guardian Shadows as noncombatants.”

Kairen started explaining his plan.

What did the party need the most right now?

Military force?

Of course, they needed it. The members of Azell’s party were powerful as individuals. However, the Demon King worshippers were numerous, and they were all over the continent.

If they had to prioritize, strength wasn’t at the top of their needs.

“The thing we need the most is information.”

Kairen was firm with his statement.

The Guardian Shadows had been able to become a thorn in the sides of the Plain of Darkness. It wasn’t, because they were overwhelmingly more powerful than the Plain of Darkness.

Of course, they were superior combatants that could sway the balance of power in this era. Event the weakest amongst them could gain employment as a combatant anywhere

However, their number wasn’t as large as they had assumed.

It did come down to numbers.

There were enough members to make up a secret organization that could terrorize their enemies from the background. However, they weren’t an army that could fight all over the world.

“The Plain of Darkness if causing mischief all over the world, and they are using the opportunities created to their advantage. What if they are trying to take over the world without a direct confrontation? There are a very limited number of ways to achieve this goal.”

The Plain of Darkness had used this plan to great effect, and they had almost take over the world before.

If it wasn’t for the Guardian Shadows, the Plain of Darkness would have planted puppets in leadership roles. They would have controlled the world from the back. However, this plan was no longer feasible thanks to the Guardian Shadows.

“The two sides are able to compete with each other, because both sides possess transcendent information capabilities.”

The Plain of Darkness used the Great Darkness to create a massive information net that encompassed the whole world.

The Guardian Shadows used the awareness of people as their information net.

If one side’s intelligence capabilities fell short, the balance would have been broken. Still, neither side could dominate each other, so this boring fight continued to go on.

“We have to get ahead of them. We have to slowly chip away at their organization, which is like a well-oiled machine..”

The information capabilities of the Plain of Darkness remained intact, but a structural defect had occurred in the information capabilities of the Guardian Shadows.

Carlos was gone, but that wasn’t the problem. The bigger loss was the Keepers of the Prophecy.

The Keepers of Prophecy received the information from the Guardian Shadows, and they moved their forces in the most effective manner. They had taken on the role of commanders. They were gone now. The hands and feet remained, but the head was removed from the Guardian Shadows.

From now on, Azell’s party had to act as the head of this system. If they wanted to do this, they had to receive information that everyone could comprehend. The Guardian Shadows had a hard time communicating with others, and there was no point in receiving unfiltered information from them.

“We have to use our limited forces to maximum efficiency. We’ll have to do that until we destroy the Great Darkness.”

This was like eating away at a sand castle with a flag planted on top.

The destruction of the Great Darkness meant the destruction of the Guardian Shadows. If they ate away at the Great Darkness, it also meant they were diminishing the power of the Guardian Shadows.

If both sides were taking damage, they had to make it so that their opponent took on the bigger wound. Kairen already understood the meaning behind the battle.

“Pillars of the Great Darkness.”

If they wanted to neutralize the Great Darkness, they had to kill the sealed beings. They had to do what they had done to Belrun.

“Waypoints for the Road of Emptiness.”

The Road of Emptiness were the main reason why the Plain of Darkness could work behind the scenes. They had to destroy it. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the loss of the Road of Emptiness would cut off their strategic lifeline.

This was the crux of Kairen’s new plan.

“I want to use half of the Guardian Shadows to monitor the Road of Emptiness..”

The Guardian Shadows didn’t have the ability to articulate complex information. However, they possessed the ability to carry out complex instructions. If they were given clear instructions, it wouldn’t be too hard to pass along missives.

Kairen opened a map. He spoke with Laura, Yuren and Leticia to label the waypoints of the Road of Emptiness. He numbered each site, then he sent Guardian Shadows there. They would act as observers.

“They know where we are thanks to the Vitan’s Chalice. If it is as Azell said, they can track us with precision in real time.”

“...I’m sorry.”

At Kairen’s comment, Laura apologized in a sullen manner. Kairen smirked.

“I’m not try to be mean to you. The Vitan’s Chalice is a risk we have to shoulder. It gives away our location, but at the same time, it makes them predictable. We can discern their movements, and we can spoil their plan.”

If they kept tabs on the troops travelling through the Road of Emptiness, they would be able to keep track of what the Plain of Darkness was trying to do. This was why Kairen didn’t hesitate to invest half of the Guardian Shadows to this task.

“Let’s see which side ends up with the flag from the fallen sand castle. Shit. I’ll make sure to deplete their forces before Atein is born. They won’t be able to recreate the Dragon Demon war.”

Kairen’s eyes burned. He made the declaration as he glared at the map.