“This way.”
The King of Kajor swallowed hard and followed the guide through the castle’s entrance.
The landscape of the Eight Lord’s Castle was even more grotesque than he had imagined it would be.
Massive black towers stacked all over the castle. But it wasn’t stone or wood that made them up.
Kiiyi.
Flesh, carapace, legs and antennae that protrude and wriggle out of the hodgepodge.
The tower was made up of countless swarms of insects. Each and every one of them was much larger than a human.
The Eight Lord, the Black Sea Empress, and the legions of bugs she ruled over. The Eight Lord’s Castle was their headquarters and nest.
Throughout the castle, servants bustled about, carrying away the corpses of monsters. Food for the worms.
When the servants threw a corpse at the tower, it was instantly sucked into the tower and disappeared without a trace.
The King of Kajor was completely at a loss for words as he watched the shocking sight, which could not be described as simply ugly.
'Especially...'
He turned his gaze to one side of the castle.
Unlike the other towers, where insects swarmed together, there was a single creature, larger than the castle’s buildings, gnawing on the food brought by the servants with its mouth split into several pieces.
However, what it was eating was not the corpses of monsters, but living humans.
The guide walking ahead of us glanced at the sight and said.
“He’s a picky eater and doesn’t eat much other than humans. I hope you’ll forgive me if you don’t like the sight.”
Despite the mocking tone, the King of Kajor could only remain silent.
This was no way to treat the King of a nation, even if the other was a subject of the Eight Lord, but this was Calderic, not Kajor or Santea.
He was the one who had come all the way here with a purpose. Whatever the guide’s demeanor might be, he was in no position to complain.
The inside of the castle was relatively ordinary compared to the outside.
The guide, who had stopped in front of a door after crossing the corridor, gestured to the door.
“Please come in here.”
The King of Kajor nodded and cautiously grabbed the door handle.
At that moment, the guide added a word.
“Please be careful what you say, lest you offend the Great One. No one here is responsible for your safety.”
“.......”
The guide smiled again and gestured once more.
As he opened the door and went in, the inside was a cold, dark, and very spacious area.
Only one glowing red stone was stuck to the ceiling, emitting a faint light.
The King of Kajor looked around for a moment, unable to adjust to the darkness, and then froze in horror.
This was because he discovered a presence that was looking down at him from inside a huge thread-like thing hanging from the ceiling, like a spider.
“King of Kajor, you said you wanted to see me?”
The voice, languid and distant, echoed in his heart.
The King of Kajor couldn’t even meet her gaze and lowered his eyes.
As a king, he should not feel so inferior that he cannot even meet the gaze of a Lord, regardless of how much lower their rank may be, even if the country he ruled was much smaller and less significant than Calderic.
But the atmosphere of this room, and the look in the Black Sea Empress’ eyes as if she were looking at something less than a bug, compelled him to do so.
...Was this what it meant to be truly intimidated by a Lord?
The King of Kajor couldn’t help but realize it.
The Overlord and the new Seventh Lord seen at the previous conference of neutral countries, were both very mild in terms of the attitude they showed.
“It is my pleasure to meet the Eighth Lord------.”
“Cut the crap and tell me what you’re here for, though I don’t really need to hear it to know.”
The King of Kajor spoke, trying to calm down the shiver running through his body.
“Please support us with troops that can overwhelm Earth Hill.”
The Black Sea Empress snorted and spoke in a nasal voice.
“Santea said they won’t interfere in this matter. Since they didn’t help you, are you looking for an excuse to ask for help from Calderic?”
“...”
“But that’s beside the point. There’s another bigger problem, isn’t there?”
The Black Sea Empress, who had suddenly erased her smile, spoke with a serious expression.
“Our Seventh Lord has already declared his support for Earth Hill. Are you asking me to help invade Earth Hill while confronting the Seventh Lord?”
The Black Sea Empress’ two eyes gleamed fiercely in the darkness.
The next moment, the King of Kajor pulled out a small pearl that glowed with a dull red color.
The Black Sea Empress’ eyes widened slightly at the sight of it, and a creepy smile formed on her lips.
“Where did you get that?”
“It’s a treasure of the Kajor Royal Family recorded to have been discovered by our ancestors in the magical realm.”
King Kajor held out the pearl.
“If you promise to grant my request, I will give this to you right here and now.”
“Hmm...”
The Black Sea Empress snorted and fixed her gaze on the pearl.
“You said you had something I wanted, but I didn’t think you’d bring it as a trade.”
“...”
“But, King, did it ever occur to you? What if I don’t keep my end of the bargain and just swallow the thing whole, or--“
She smiled and pointed a slender finger at the King of Kajor.
“I could just get rid of you right here without even making a promise. You didn’t come to my nest believing that I would keep the end of the bargain, right?”
The King of Kajor knew that her words were not just idle threats, but were spoken with sincerity.
The Lords of Calderic were a force to be reckoned with, and the title of a king of a country did not provide him with much protection.
But he had expected this reaction, and replied calmly.
“There is more than just one.”
“...”
“I have two more in my possession besides the one I brought with me.”
The Black Sea Empress immediately understood the implications of his words.
“I will give you the other two after you keep your promise.”
“That is correct.”
“Now that I know this, why should I bother making a deal with you? I could just go to your kingdom and take what I want.”
The King of Kajor couldn’t help but stiffen at those words.
He hesitated to speak, and the Black Sea Empress burst into laughter.
“You know, even I would have to face many consequences if I went that far. I may be able to get one, but I won’t be able to get the other two, right? That’s what you wanted to say, isn’t it?”
“...”
“I know, I know, I’m just joking. Don’t be so serious, it just makes your ugly face look even more disgusting.”
The Black Sea Empress remained silent for a moment, moving her fan from side to side.
The King of Kajor patiently waited through the suffocating silence.
Eventually, the Black Sea Empress spoke again.
“Very well. If you have nothing else to say, you may leave, and I will send a messenger back to your kingdom.”
The King of Kajor inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had gotten through this difficult situation.
At the same time, he felt a sense of unease, knowing that he had crossed a point of no return.
If only the Emperor of Santea had been a little more proactive, things might not have come to this point. But now it was too late.
If he didn’t act now, it would take too long for another opportunity to arise.
“Thank you. Then...”
The King of Kajor left the room, and the Black Sea Empress reached out towards the pearl on the ground.
A slender thread emanated from her fingers and snatched the pearl, bringing it to her hand.
“It’s interesting. Quite interesting.”
The Black Sea Empress turned towards the door as it opened again, and the guide, who had brought the King of Kajor in, bowed in respect.
“I heard that the Seventh Lord has vacated his seat again?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And his destination?”
“He never discloses it. But it seems he has left the castle for quite some time.”
The Black Sea Empress tapped her fan against her hand.
She didn’t know the details, but she was aware that there had been some kind of conflict between the Seventh Lord and the Overlord recently.
It was probably related to the agreement they had made during the previous incident related with the Sixth Lord, but that didn’t really matter in this situation.
“I wonder what his reaction would be.”
The timing was just right.
What if she supported Kajor to step on Earth Hill while the Seventh Lord, that arrogant human, was away?
The Overlord has declared that she would not interfere in this matter. So, there was nothing to worry about.
The Seventh Lord had already crossed the line once with the Sixth Lord. He had sworn to the Overlord that he would never do it again.
After what had already happened, no amount of rage could drive him to kill herself.
If he ever killed another Lord again, then he would truly pay the price.
***
There were few things to do in the mountains.
One could either take a walk and look at the sky or bushes, or go hunting for animals or monsters.
The Ramon Mountain Range was a vast mountain range where numerous monsters resided.
Kaen went far from her home to find a new monster somewhere in the mountain range to ease her boredom.
As she walked along the mountain path, she habitually tapped her shoulder with a wooden stick, then stopped and looked down at the ground.
“Hmm...”
Huge wolf tracks. And judging by the bipedal footprint, it was the trace of a werewolf.
It wasn’t a new monster, but the length of the footprints was huge, enough to be measured in spans. It was the first time she had encountered such a huge creature.
Werewolves were fierce and ferocious monsters that even most adventurers avoided encountering.
But Kaen, on the other hand, started to follow the footprints with excitement in her eyes.
After a long pursuit, Kaen was able to discover a lone werewolf standing in the middle of the bushes.
“......?”
And then she opened her eyes wide in surprise.
It wasn’t because the werewolf was much larger than she imagined.
It was because she found someone collapsed on the ground near the werewolf.
“A person?”
A middle-aged man with an unknown identity wearing a robe.
This was deep in the mountains where no people usually stepped foot.
Kaen looked at the man suspiciously and then turned her attention back to the werewolf.
The werewolf also shifted his focus from the collapsed person to Kaen and revealed his hostility towards her.
Roar!
As the enraged werewolf rushed towards her, she calmly drew the sword at her waist instead of the stick.
A blue energy circulated around the blade as it clashed with the werewolf.
At the same time, the werewolf’s chest was split open, and blood spurted out.
“Was it a little shallow?”
Kaen muttered to herself as she watched the werewolf turn and charge again, unaffected by the wound.
Although the werewolf’s claws were strong enough to tear even trees apart, they were meaningless if they didn’t hit their target.
Kaen avoided all of the werewolf’s attacks with her extremely flexible body movements and struck back with her sword.
Chyaak!
After several more slashes, the werewolf finally ran out of strength and fell to the ground.
Kaen took a deep breath and wiped the blood off her sword. Then, she approached the man who had collapsed on the ground.
“...”
Upon examining his condition, she found that he was barely breathing.
There were no obvious injuries, but the man’s complexion was completely white, and he didn’t look like a werewolf had struck him down.
Kaen hesitated for a moment about what to do, but then lifted the middle-aged man on her shoulder.
He couldn’t just leave the person lying there, so she decided to take him home for now.
“My father will probably be able to treat him.”
