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Chapter 154: The Survivor

“Of course, according to plan.”

Dushala entered the tent, fanning herself as she removed the veil covering her face, displeased with the southern heat. Sweat dripped down her forehead, dampening her lips.

“What are you looking at?”

The warriors of the Tu tribe, who had been staring blankly at her as she entered, quickly turned their heads away at her sharp words. The atmosphere instantly froze.

Watching this, Beikan chuckled. The warriors of the Tu tribe, considered the bravest in the Great Plains, were completely overwhelmed by Dushala.

“It’s going to get busy again.”

Beikan and Kinu, who had come to the south with Karyl, had been waiting in the Great Plains while Karyl dealt with Digon. Naturally, they were the ones who had intercepted the Guidance Mercenary Gang at the Oasis.

Though the southern barbarians were powerful, they couldn’t have guaranteed victory against the mercenaries by themselves. If it hadn’t been for Dushala, Suan, and Aidan, they might not have been able to hold their own.

Almost as if he had predicted a confrontation with the mercenaries, Karyl had sent the trio in the south first to keep an eye on the situation.

“When we meet again, it will be in Tatur, right?”

“Probably.”

“This time, it’ll take a while...” Aidan sounded rather rueful at the thought of parting ways again after their brief reunion.

“You and Suan.”

Dushala pointed to the two of them in response to Aidan’s remark.

“Great. Master is giving me another chance.” Suan Hazar clenched his fist in excitement, still regretting having missed the battle at the Twin Amor and the recent dungeon raid.

Beikan and Kinu nodded in understanding.

“The Ghost Castle is a forbidden zone even for barbarians. You know that well, right?”

“Of course.”

It was the only piece of land on the continent supposedly untouched by the power of Yula, the goddess of light. For that reason, people had deemed that place cursed and built a massive wall to seal it off from the rest of the world.

“Be careful. Not even Grand Sorcerer Kaye Aesir ventured in that place two hundred and fifty years ago. And not even the black market in Tatur has any information about it. It’s completely shrouded in mystery.”

“That makes it even more exciting,” Suan replied with fearless determination. He seemed perfectly suited for an expedition to the dungeon that hadn’t been conquered in a thousand years.

“And us? Has Master left any specific instructions for us?” Beikan asked.

“Of course. He’s not one to be careless. According to his plan, news of Kromen’s death will spread within a fortnight. That’s when the rest of us will move,” Dushala explained.

“Hmm...”

Beikan and Kinu nodded.

They were already aware of Prince Kromen’s impending death, as Karyl had told them about it. Even for the barbarians, it wasn’t pleasant to see a child, not even ten years old, be used as a sacrificial pawn to write history.

“So... In the end...”

“Using someone’s death as a signal...” Beikan murmured to himself.

“Huh? What’s with that face?” Dushala replied coldly, wiping the sweat from her brow. “What, are we the ones killing him? Playing the saint, are we? You think we can afford to show mercy to the enemy in this situation?”

“Dushala, that’s not it. ” Suan frowned slightly.

“Hmph...!” She snorted in disapproval. Perhaps this was her way of showing she cared.

“It’s not mercy. It’s not about having the luxury to show leniency. Even barbarians do their best when hunting. We don’t show mercy to our enemies. But family is different.”

“At least we don’t kill our own family. There are different kinds of deaths. We don’t need to show respect for a miserable death,” Dushala argued.

“If we have to kill someone, we do it without pain. That’s the way of the barbarians,” Beikan explained calmly as he walked out of the tent. “Not with poison.”

Kinu Mukari shrugged and followed him, while Aidan started packing his things.

“Ugh, men always get soft like this,” Dushala muttered as she watched them.

Only Suan, who was also part of the leadership, seemed to understand her feelings and patted her on the shoulder.

“By the way, Suan.”

“Hmm?”

“Master has a special task for you before going to the Ghost Castle.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know.”

As always, Dushala handed him a note. Suan quickly took it and began reading.

“...Is this for real? If I go there, I won’t make it in time. Does he not want me at the Ghost Castle?”

Seeing Suan all disappointed, Dushala took the note from his hand and read it herself.

“Cove?!”

Suan looked anxiously at the map drawn on the note.

“Yeah, it says Cove. What sense does that make? What about the Ghost Castle? How far is it from here to the principality?”

He shook his head.

“No matter how fast I go, it’ll take over three months.”

“Even with your navigation skills?”

“Yeah, even with that...”

Seeing how discontented Suan was, Dushala crossed her arms.

“Why is a big guy like you sulking over something like this?” she scolded. “Think about it. Master has specifically chosen you and Aidan. Maybe it means he’ll wait for you to return, or maybe the Ghost Castle won’t be breached until then?”

"But..."

The message was straightforward.

[Go to Cove and return with Supreme.]

"It\'ll take over three months to make the trip. Will Master wait for me that long?"

"Our plan kicks off only after Kromen’s death. If Olivurn has any sense, he won\'t kill him right away. He\'ll wait for the right moment."

Dushala looked at Suan, who was groaning, with an oddly pleased expression. Her face lit up with excitement.

"And somehow... that explains why Master told me to pass on a message to you. Now I get what it means."

"What?"

"It’s time to use it. That’s his message,” Dushala said in a serious tone.

"Hmm...?"

Suan still seemed unsure as to what that meant, causing Dushala to heave a sigh.

"Don\'t you get it? There’s something in Tatur that only you can handle."

She emphasized her words.

"The Mana Battleship."

"...!!"

At that, Suan unwittingly clenched his fists.

"With that, we can cut the time in half, right?"

Suan shook his head at Dushala’s suggestion.

"No, we can do it in a third of the time."

Suan immediately turned to leave, ready to set off.

"But..."

As he enthusiastically pulled back the tent flap to exit, he paused and asked.

"...Who’s Supreme?"

"No idea. I don\'t know either." Dushala shrugged. “We’ll find out when we get there. Master never gives orders without a reason.”

***

"I’m coming with you,” Miliana announced abruptly the second Karyl returned from Marquis Vestal\'s estate.

"What? Where to?" Karyl asked back, frowning slightly.

"Anywhere."

Karyl looked at Miliana with a bewildered expression; she was unusually assertive.

"Even to the Ghost Castle? The southern barbarians consider it a forsaken land and never set foot there."

Hearing that, Miliana’s eyes widened slightly, but she quickly steadied herself.

"I... I don’t care. In fact, this is great. It’s a chance to break that damn wall and expand our territory,” she said bravely, though her voice wavered slightly.

Karyl chuckled.

"And what about Randol?"

"What, you’re worried Digon’s going to eat him? He\'s learned all the basics of Digon swordsmanship from me in just a few months. Besides me, only three in our tribe could beat Randol in a duel."

Karyl nodded at Miliana’s words.

"Aren’t you curious who they are?" she asked, disappointed with Karyl’s indifference.

"No. I can guess. Besides, I’m not particularly curious."

"What? How boring... Don’t tell me you’ve planted spies in Digon too?"

"No need. I already have some eyes there. Do you think the Five Great Families and the four tribes are easy to fool?"

"Obviously. It’s the Tashai."

Miliana pursed her lips. The Tashai were the most secretive of the Five Great Families in the south. Her suspicion was right, as the Tashai had indeed been the first to respond to the Ryeo Knights’ assault on the Abyssal Rock.

However, Karyl already knew who those three individuals were without needing information from Tashai. They were the Queen’s Swords, known for sweeping through the southern Taraks in his previous life. In terms of swordsmanship, they rivaled Sword Masters, and Karyl acknowledged their prowess.

The notable thing was that they were all women.

"I’m well aware of who they are, Miliana. They’re your sisters, after all. But unfortunately, they didn’t inherit the dragon mana."

Despite that, some said that their physical prowess was superior, as though they had inherited a dragon’s body instead of its mana. Even Karyl, who had become a Sword Saint in his past life, had to remain on guard when facing all three at once.

"Are you really coming?"

"How many times do I have to say it? Don’t think about leaving me behind. There’s nowhere in the south you can hide from me."

Miliana had firmly made up her mind, having already packed her beloved swords, Ark and Gale.

"Anyway, as you said, there won’t be a war between Digon and the empire for a while. The emperor would love to sweep through the south right away, but he can’t move recklessly because of the forty thousand prisoners in the Twin Armor."

Karyl smiled faintly at her accurate grasp of the situation.

"I don’t plan to keep the prisoners for long. Feeding them is a huge burden. I’m thinking of moving them to Tatur."

"Hmm."

"They’ll serve as a shield until the final plan is completed."

"And after that? Will you send them back to the empire?"

"Of course. But I won’t send them back for free after housing and feeding them," Karyl said with an ambiguous expression. "Besides, some of them might like Tatur so much that they’ll wish to stay.”

"You... You have that look on your face again. When you’re scheming.”

Miliana had come to realize that every time he had that expression, something unexpected would happen.

"Well, fine. Honestly, I could use some more help. If you want to come, by all means.”

Karyl nodded in satisfaction.

"When Kromen dies, Olivurn will pin it on you,” he went on. “The empire will have a good excuse to conquer the south."

"I know. I’d do the same. They can’t say the brothers fought for the throne and one died as a result. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

"It’ll still be tough after we return."

"Someday, the truth will come out. That’s what this plan is for, isn’t it? Your grand hunt. From the very beginning, your plan was to take down both Olivurn and Titan Shutean."

Milliana’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Can you really play the villain until the end?"

She smirked at Karyl’s question.

"Villain? If you survive to the end, you’re the hero."

With that, she slowly walked away.

As he watched her retreating figure, Karyl began to walk as well.

"That’s right."