An addendum – Blood Battle [6]
[49]
Void, or the Laziness Demon God.
A relic of that transcendent being, once known in ancient times, now adorned Speira’s neck.
If its power could be fully utilized, it could partially nullify or sever outside influences.
The relic’s ability was not only advantageous in combat but also made it easy to conceal one’s appearance and move covertly.
Speira’s use of the relic for stealth surpassed even high-level Sharpshooters.
Even with expensive detection equipment, it was extremely difficult to pinpoint Speira while she remained hidden.
Unless someone among the strongest on the continent were present, there was practically no way to track Speira in her current state.
‘They must be trying.’
Given time, the Empire might manage to devise a method to track Speira, albeit imperfectly.
However, this was not the moment.
To track Speira, they would need to analyze the characteristics of her powers, such as the ‘Dark Radiance.’
But due to Speira sparingly using her true abilities even in fragments, the Empire had few opportunities to gather proper information.
Thus, since acquiring the relic around her neck, Speira had moved freely in and out of the Empire without leaving any trace, completing her “preparations.”
‘In one swift strike… I must overwhelm them.’
Over the past few years,
Speira had been planting her agents across the continent and attempting to recruit key figures.
This task wasn’t particularly challenging.
Luna, the actual core of the Empire, trusted very few people around her.
Though most factions bowed to Luna, many harbored resentment and gnashed their teeth in secret.
Because of this, Luna’s control over the entire Empire was limited, making it difficult for her to effectively gather or control information.
Thanks to this, the Sacred Country managed to gain an advantage in the information war despite having relatively weaker forces.
Using this edge, Speira moved in and out of the Empire smoothly, preparing for her objectives.
Through coercive brainwashing or religious persuasion, Speira successfully recruited her target individuals.
‘White Tower. Despite its cumbersome functions…’
What good is any great weapon or facility if it collapses before it can be properly utilized?
Certainly, destroying a few White Towers near the front lines wouldn’t collapse the continental defense system Luna had prepared.
However, Speira planned to simultaneously bring down inland White Towers, rendering all of Luna’s preparations useless.
Zzzt!
With a dark radiance, a deep blue dagger appeared in Speira’s grasp.
She continued moving silently, eventually stopping before a cleric who was busy at work.
The cleric Speira approached was Siliaar, the Archbishop responsible for a vast diocese stretching from Glybias to the boundary of the Royal Magic Tower.
Without revealing herself, Speira placed the deep blue dagger in front of Siliaar.
Thud!
“…!”
Siliaar reacted with shock initially, then immediately closed his eyes and began praying.
Siliaar understood well the sacred duties assigned to him.
Silently blessing Siliaar, Speira resumed her movement.
Siliaar wasn’t the only person Speira had recruited.
Those under Speira’s influence were ready to simultaneously instigate unrest according to her will.
‘Preparations are complete…’
Next, Speira intended to visit a White Tower closer to the eastern region.
There, she planned to reveal herself and destroy the White Tower by force.
Simultaneously, the insiders within the Empire that Speira had recruited over the years would act in unison, inflicting fatal damage to multiple White Towers.
Since these recruits were powerful insiders, even with the Empire’s enhanced defenses around the White Towers, it would be impossible to respond adequately.
If everything went according to plan, the continental defense system Luna spent years building could be neutralized.
Should the White Towers fail to function properly, the Empire would inevitably collapse quickly.
‘I must finish this.’
This plan Speira had meticulously prepared over several years in utmost secrecy.
She invested enough effort to ensure its success.
Moving swiftly while concealing her physical form, Speira aimed to end this war swiftly.
However, as she crossed a plain, Speira suddenly stopped.
“…”
After a brief silence, Speira frowned.
*
Johanna recalled her conversation with Luna.
Luna briefly expressed regret while explaining the upcoming military operations to Johanna.
Luna knew Speira’s location. However, Speira was unaware that her position had been detected.
The longer Speira remained unaware, the more advantages the Empire gained.
Had the situation allowed for some leeway, Luna would have let Speira proceed until an “appropriate point,” allowing her to take the bait.
But the situation wasn’t favorable.
The Sacred Country was crumbling, and the Demon King was advancing, collapsing the front lines alone.
The immediate risks outweighed the potential future gains.
Therefore, without excessive greed, Luna demanded a preemptive response from Johanna based on Speira’s movements so far.
Currently, Speira was thoroughly concealed and changing her route frequently.
It was evident that she had contacted traitors within the Empire.
Who exactly betrayed them? That part remained unclear.
Attempting to tail Speira carelessly would risk immediate exposure, so no such attempts were made.
As a result, the Empire could only track Speira’s movements without knowing whom she had met.
Thus, it became necessary to isolate or eliminate key figures in areas suspected of contact with Speira.
“…”
If Speira directly interacted with someone, it was highly likely to be a high-ranking official.
Worse still, there was a chance an entire diocesan leadership might have defected.
Identifying the traitors with limited information required significant time.
Unfortunately, Johanna didn’t have that luxury.
Neither Johanna’s unit nor other regional units had enough time either.
First, they needed to secure important facilities under imperial orders and request peaceful disarmament.
Anyone resisting the sudden disarmament order would need to be eliminated regardless of whether they were truly traitors.
A minor misstep could lead to a large-scale bloodbath.
“…”
Arriving at the diocese overseen by Siliaar, Johanna steadied her breathing.
Despite the looming possibility of bloodshed, it no longer weighed heavily on her as it might have seven years ago.
Having witnessed too much bloodshed, Johanna couldn’t afford to feel burdened by it anymore.
What concerned her was how to stop Speira moving toward the east.
“…”
Speira was moving to simultaneously collapse numerous White Towers, intending to paralyze the defense system Luna had prepared.
However, Luna was tracking Speira’s movements in real-time, and Speira’s intricate schemes would undoubtedly be thwarted.
But what next?
Even if the White Towers were secured, unless Luna acted personally, there was no clear way to definitively stop Speira.
The southern White Line was on the verge of total collapse due to the Demon King.
If Speira also started wreaking havoc within the Empire, the situation would become dire.
In Johanna’s view, even she should have moved to confront Speira.
When she voiced her opinion, however, Luna calmly opposed it.
“…”
Luna explained that protecting the White Towers was more important.
Securing the White Towers would temporarily restrain Speira, Luna assured.
Prioritize solving the issue with the Demon King while containing Speira inland.
That was Luna’s judgment, and Johanna trusted her enough to follow her orders.
Gripping her sword hilt, Johanna issued her command.
“Identify the traitors. Treat anyone who refuses cooperation as heretical rebels and respond accordingly.”
*
“…”
Speira couldn’t comprehend the current situation.
She would normally smile confidently, but now her brow furrowed.
Until just moments ago, she was certain that she wouldn’t be detected unless she revealed herself.
Yet, a magic circle emanating from a distant White Tower was targeting her with unsettling precision.
“…”
Questions swirled in her mind.
When was she discovered? How did they find her? Could her route have been exposed?
Dozens of questions tangled her thoughts further.
But soon, Speira simplified her conclusion.
Destroy the originally targeted White Tower first, then worry about the next steps.
“…Impressive indeed.”
Regaining her composure, Speira muttered in disbelief.
Somehow, Luna had succeeded in detecting her, though Speira had no idea how.
Had her movements been read from the start, the carefully laid plans of years could easily unravel.
Thinking about the distortion of years of preparation made Speira feel a slight heat rising to her scalp.
However, this doesn’t change the balance of the battlefield.
“Even Anthonyus seems to be struggling, doesn’t he?”
Twisting her lips, Speira prepared to accelerate her body.
At that moment, a red beam descended from afar.
Zzzt!!!
Flames erupted where Speira stood.
Ignoring it, she accelerated her physical form.
Such clumsy interception weapons couldn’t meaningfully harm her.
Meanwhile,
Luna was monitoring Speira’s coordinates.
Thanks to Speira penetrating deep into the Empire, all White Towers across the Empire synchronized, precisely pinpointing her location.
Now pinpoint bombing was possible.
Though weak firepower could barely delay Speira’s movements.
Fortunately, over the past few years, Luna had continuously accumulated antimatter.
Whoom!
The newly constructed gray tower in the Imperial Capital resonates with the Obelisk of the Royal Magic Tower and the various White Towers across the continent.
Normally, implementing a Warp Gate comes with numerous restrictions.
For instance, the mana veins’ influence makes maintaining a Warp Gate almost impossible on the surface of the Imperial Capital, which was equally true for Luna.
However, a microscopic Warp Gate capable of passing through extremely small amounts of material, measurable in units smaller than grams, could bypass some of these constraints.
The problem was that even if such equipment was created with massive investments, there weren’t many practical uses for it in the past.
Zzt!
From the A-Space, a black-glowing substance flowed through the vacuum channel created by the previous White Tower beam, reaching the Imperial Capital and the Obelisk before being discharged from the White Towers.
Realizing the approach of the black-glowing substance, Speira halted her acceleration.
!!!!!!!!!!
A flash of light erupted, and the ground burned.
The Dark Radiance resisted most mana-based attacks effectively.
Thus, brute physical force often proved more effective against her than mana-based assaults.
While continuous bombardment with antimatter couldn’t kill Speira, it would certainly scorch her.
“…”
Luna calmly observed Speira’s coordinates.
Thanks to the increased production speed of antimatter compared to the past, there was plenty stored to bomb Speira repeatedly.
First, tie down Speira with automated pinpoint bombings from the White Towers.
Meanwhile, the situation with Anthonyus needed temporary resolution.
