Talent-Swallowing Magician - Chapter 260
Episode 260
: Winter
After the inauguration ceremony is over.
Elric responded one by one to the welcome of the large crowd and then got on the carriage in front of the imperial palace.
An eight-wheeled carriage with the emblem symbolizing Mervinger.
It was only after riding the carriage that had been the most popular in the imperial capital for nearly a month that Elric was finally able to take a breather.
“Ugh… I thought I was going to die.”
It was very draining to respond to the enthusiastic cheers of the citizens one by one.
At first, I was happy that I was finally able to bring my family’s glory back to the world, but recently I felt like I couldn’t do anything like that.
How on earth did emperors and generals enjoy such a headache every time they held a victory ceremony? It was almost surprising.
“They all have dying faces.”
At that time, a person wearing deep robes in a corner opposite the seat where Elric was sitting muttered softly.
It was so big that it felt like the huge carriage was full.
Elric crossed his arms and snorted with a sullen expression.
“This is all because of you, and it all ended up like this because you were trying to clean up after me?”
“That’s too bad.”
However, contrary to the content of the words, his tone did not show any signs of apology at all.
Elric, who knew that this guy was like this from the beginning, could only shake his head.
Then, with wide open eyes, I looked at the man across from me.
“so. “Have you made a decision now, Batu?”
If anyone else had heard Elric’s words, they would have been horrified.
Because a name that could never be here was mentioned.
Batu.
The warchief of the mountain people and an unlucky hero who once drove the empire into a crisis, but ultimately died at the hands of Elric.
The person he had thought had clearly been killed was right across from him!
『I wonder how everyone will react when they find out that the descendants of Mervinger, whom the world knows as heroes, are actually peeling pumpkin seeds behind their backs.』
Mephisto chuckled softly while stroking his chin.
As he said, the people of the world, including the Empire, were currently being deceived by Elric.
In reality, Batu was defeated in battle but did not die.
Although Elric lost strength at the end of the attack, he was able to recover easily thanks to Yongin’s abnormal vitality.
Instead, Elric collected the fallen Batuu under the pretext of ‘directly cutting down the enemy general’s supplies’ and personally cured the mystery without others knowing.
However, even though Mia was there to help with the entire process, treatment was not easy, and half of Batu’s body was still engulfed in mystery.
Nevertheless, Batu did not greatly lament his situation or fall into despair.
In fact, he even thanked Elric separately, as if being able to think and move at will was enough.
And asked.
Why are you helping me like this?
In fact, I found out that it was not just Batuu’s life that Elric saved.
A significant number of prisoners of war who should have been executed for mutiny were also given relief.
Of course, those classified as leaders could not completely escape punishments such as imprisonment or forced labor, but Elric was still successful in securing their assignments to the east.
It was thanks to Prince Cromhell’s consideration given to Elric’s request that he must somehow appease the public sentiment in order to rule the eastern borderlands.
From the Red Lions to the Mountain People.
Thanks to Elric, most of those involved in this rebellion, except Grigori, were able to survive.
Therefore, Batu could not help but have even more doubts.
If you want to take control of the entire eastern border, wouldn’t it be better to just ignore Batu and absorb the remaining remnants?
If so, governing would be much easier, but I wondered if there was a need to leave a seed of anxiety.
If it were me, I would definitely have nipped that in the bud.
but.
Elric’s answer to his question was very simple.
-I promised Sarnai. To save you.
Batu couldn’t say anything else.
Sarnai, who was treated as a traitor by his subordinates for abandoning his clan, actually ended up saving his clan.
Did she… really foresee all of that?
I couldn’t figure it out.
But you will soon be able to ask.
Because Elric announced that he would move the base of the few families near the imperial capital to the eastern region.
Since all of the Winds border provinces had fallen into Elric’s hands and he had gained the right to dispose of the mountain people, his base was now set in the east.
So, they probably thought there was no need to postpone moving.
However, he presented one condition as a prerequisite for following Elric on his way to the eastern border.
Come under my command.
In other words, it meant dedicating the loyalty of the twelve mountain peoples, including the Yongin called Batu.
“In the end… I guess you want to take control of not just the Winds Frontier Province, but the entire East Coast, right?”
“of course.”
Elric calmly nodded and continued speaking.
“Your grandfather and other ancestors weren’t particularly greedy for foundations or power, right? Even without that, they were very well-off people. But when I tried that, it wasn’t good.”
Elric was able to watch the decline of the prestigious Mervinger family after Usden was defeated in the Great Demon War.
All of his vassals, including Count Calliger and Viscount Curran Sibyl, left Mervinger, and in the end, only he and his older sister Heise remained in the mansion.
Looking back now, I think the reason it happened that way was because there was no ‘foundation’.
A prestigious family that has always been respected by the people of the empire, even if they did not seek power or have fiefdoms.
However, looking back, this was a structure that was bound to decline if the head of the family became vacant or a ‘genius’ was not born. This was because the imperial family and nobles always regarded Mervinger, who had a lot of public support, as a thorn in their eyes.
So Elric planned to take a slightly different path from his ancestors.
Even if he is absent, a family that will never be easily shaken even if no geniuses of this kind are born among his descendants.
The idea was to grow a large tree that would not collapse even in strong rain and wind because it was firmly rooted.
And he planned to keep the empire under his shadow by making it grow so high that the nobles of the world could never surpass even the imperial family.
Paedo (覇道).
Some may say so, but Elric was planning to take that path.
And the first step toward that end was the Star Wars, and the second step was the huge territory called the Eastern Frontier.
“Andre Wynz has already renounced the title of Red Lion and declared himself to become the Mervinger family of bannermen. And he became my right hand man. “The mountain people also come in that way.”
“Are you asking me to become the left arm?”
“If you need.”
“Going under someone…”
Batu muttered as he quietly closed his eyes.
Looking at that guy, Elric clicked his tongue. Well, as a king who until recently led tens of thousands of troops and twelve tribes, it would not be easy to serve someone.
Still, from what I’ve seen of him so far, I thought he would endure that much for the survival of his clan.
It seems that my thoughts were wrong.
“You don’t like it?”
So, I asked a question to get a clear answer and to confirm.
“No way.”
The answer that came back clearly exceeded Elric’s expectations.
Batu opened his eyes.
His pupils were shining brighter than ever.
“All I want is for the clan to prosper. I only thought about it for a moment. “I wonder if you are Hyo-woong or Gan-woong.”
“What’s the difference between the two?”
“If it’s Hyo-woong, he can sacrifice us at any time when necessary, and if it’s Gan-woong, he’ll always find an opportunity to exploit us.”
“So what was your decision?”
“I don’t know.”
Batu continued speaking with a chuckle.
“If we are Hyo-woong, we must be prepared to be hit in the back at any time, and if we are Gan-woong, we must prove our usefulness every time. But I don’t know what type you are. The only thing that stands out is the hero category…”
The laughter grew louder.
“I don’t know any more about that.”
On the other hand, Elric’s face crumpled.
“Oh, why don’t you know that? “Of course it’s the last one!”
“Are you asking because you really don’t know?”
『I think the King knows… Of course it’s because of his humanity.』
[Shut up!]
Elric gave Mephisto, who was busy making a fuss next to him, and reaffirmed with a frown.
“so. “What is the final conclusion?”
Batu suddenly stood up. Because he was so huge, it felt like even the wide carriage was full, but he didn’t care at all and just knelt down on one knee and bowed his head.
“Meet the new master, Batu of the Borfur tribe.”
like that.
All preparations for leaving for the East have been completed.
* * *
“The excavation work on the Jewel Dragon’s nest is almost complete. “The things that are currently discovered there are…!”
Elric quickly completed the chores he had put off on the carriage moving east.
At first, I thought about using the Mado Steam Train for quick travel, but since there were many places I had to stop by, I decided to use a carriage even though it was inconvenient.
It goes without saying, but the Star Servants were creating a grand procession to protect the Elrics, so it was not only a headache.
anyway.
In the process of handling errands, Elric also heard several reports.
The biggest thing among them was the jewel dragon’s nest.
The place where Elric met Mephisto and helped him reach a new turning point in his life.
Tasha Neresta, the Witch of the Firebird, had a very flushed face as she continued to report on the results so far.
‘That’s what Sean told me was a dragon lover. I guess it’s true.’
Elric quickly skimmed through the report while laughing.
And the result was ‘as expected’.
Should I call it Neresta?
The results were all full of things that would cause a stir in academia.
Ancient magic books as well as various works of art seemed like they would be very useful in researching the culture of the time. The keynote that dominated an era not only influenced academic, artistic, and philosophical thought, but also provided significant inspiration for magic.
‘Even so, I thought I’d stop by before I completely move to the East. Should I go now?’
Currently, within the magic storehouse Interresia, there were three dragon eggs left behind by Borfur’s guardian dragon.
It’s currently hardened like a fossil, so it’s unclear whether hatching will be possible, but I thought I might be able to get some hints if I go to the Jewel Dragon’s nest.
‘I think things will work out once we get ‘Spring’, but I’m not sure. Besides, I need to learn more about the magic stone.’
Now that you have succeeded in obtaining all of ‘Winter’, you must now get a hint for ‘Spring’.
I felt like there was a lot of things I needed to do.
‘Then first, let’s visit the Jewel Dragon’s nest…!’
While thinking like that, I was about to ask Tasha something.
Crash!
Suddenly the carriage came to a sudden stop.
“So now we’re sorting this out… Wow!”
Tasha had to stop mid-sentence.
When Elric looked at the coachman to see what was going on, Brian, who was driving the horse at the time, looked back with a rather perplexed look on his face.
“sorry. Suddenly, a strange person jumps in front of the carriage… I tell him to get out of the way quickly.”
Since efforts to meet Mervinger’s hero up close were something that happened several times on a regular basis, Elric tried to nod his head as if he understood.
However, I had to stiffen my face after checking who I saw through the window.
“wait for a sec.”
“yes?”
“I think he has some business for me. Please let him into the carriage.”
Brian’s eyes widened as he didn’t know why Elric was acting so suddenly, but he nodded when he saw that Elric’s expression was unusual. Tasha also stopped mid-report and looked at me blankly, wondering what was going on.
but.
Elric’s gaze was fixed on the man walking towards him, and he could not let go.
Although they certainly looked like ordinary civilians on the outside, Elric’s eyes could never be deceived.
Magical energy secretly flowing out. The author was a demon.
No, to be exact, it was the devil.
A high-ranking demon lord with great energy.
However, Elric’s temperament was different from the Demon Lords of Grigori that he had faced so far.
A temperament that is very familiar to Elric.
No, he also had some of that temperament.
Cold chill.
‘Why does the power of Camellia God…?’
(Season 1 completed)
Author’s note
I think this is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to say hello through space. Hello, this is Bread-Eating Squirrel, the author of The Wizard Who Swallowed Talent.
The reason I left this in the author’s words is to ask for your understanding regarding the short break we will have with the completion of the long season 1.
In fact, “The Wizard Who Swallowed Talent” was conceived as an original novel for a mobile game that was in production when it was first planned.
OSMU (secondary content production) of web novels and mobile games has been attempted in Korea only a few times, and webtoons are currently being produced simultaneously in parallel.
The game and webtoon are scheduled to be announced in the not too distant future. Thank you for your interest and support. I will also take a short break and come back with a more enriched Season 2.
The cold winter has arrived. Everyone, please be careful not to catch a cold. I will leave now.
Happy new year, everyone!
Wizard who swallowed talent