Ch.172Conquest of the White Light (3)

In the magical society, the basic structure of a city was straightforward. First, there was the magic tower. It was the control device for the magic core that purified mana from other dimensions. The influence of the magic core was materialized through the barrier surrounding the city’s boundaries.

The magic tower and the barrier—these were the most fundamental elements of a city’s structure.

The barrier was part of the magic formation connected to the tower, serving as the operational boundary line for the dimensional purification ritual. It could also be said to visualize the purification range of the magic core assigned to the tower.

For cities with multiple magic towers like Etna City, the area enclosed by the barrier expanded accordingly. The Etna City that Carisia had dropped into Baekgwang encompassed the entire city including its outer walls—a mass that overwhelmed ordinary cities.

Yet even with that enormous mass, it couldn’t surpass Baekgwang’s sphere of influence. The area within Etna City’s barrier was the result of three magic cores’ combined output, but even a single one of the Ten Cores far exceeded the output of those three magic cores.

With the abundant output of the Ten Cores, the Ten Towers constructed multi-layered barriers. They adjusted the mana concentration between walls so that the density increased closer to the tower.

This was both an artificial environment adjustment for magical experiments and an implication of class disparity. Purer mana for higher-level mages.

Therefore, in succession battles, one could predict the course of the battle from the moment the first barrier of the Ten Towers was breached.

Under normal circumstances, only the weakest disciples would be at the first barrier, and by measuring the combat capability consumed by the challengers in the first battle, the overall flow of the succession battle would become somewhat predictable.

But now was not a normal circumstance. Baekgwang had positioned elders at the first barrier.

The most skilled elders had been dispatched to the Arguirion expedition force, and other elders were now preparing to intercept enemies at the barrier. The level of mages remaining in the main tower was below that of elders.

With only one exception—the Tower Master.

This unusual troop deployment was due to House Hydra’s succession battle.

The magical society evaluated House Hydra’s succession battle as “madness.” Those among the magical society who preferred more rational analysis suspected that some intention was hidden behind House Hydra’s actions.

Logically, it made no sense for a mere magic tower that wasn’t even a formal tower to challenge a Ten Tower to a succession battle. There must be a force behind this instigation.

However, most analysts were stumped by the next question: “Who on earth benefits from such absurdity?”

Surprisingly, Baekgwang could provide a convincing answer to this question.

‘Another Ten Tower.’

The Tower Master of a Ten Tower is an asymmetric force. Officially the pinnacle of light attribute magic, unofficially the greatest mage of this era, Baekgwang’s Tower Master was counted among the top even among the Ten Tower Masters.

The other Ten Tower Masters had disappeared beyond other dimensions, leaving behind this era’s greatest mage. This was an opportunity for Baekgwang Magic Tower to dominate. A chance to expand Baekgwang’s influence over the entire magical society, to stand tall not just as a member of the Ten Towers but as their leader.

Thus, another Ten Tower must have devised a scheme. They borrowed the name of a suitable magic tower to declare a succession battle.

Baekgwang had identified when another Ten Tower might have contacted House Hydra. During the sacred artifact voluntary reporting period and House Hydra’s internal investigation. House Hydra, which hadn’t even unified Etna City, acquired the capability to intervene in the Amimoné Magic Tower’s Master selection battle after that investigation. It was too sudden a growth.

Baekgwang’s strategic planning department analyzed that this rapid growth must have been achieved through the sponsorship of another Ten Tower. Some Ten Tower interested in House Hydra must have provided full support to bring them into their sphere of influence.

An unknown magic tower from the frontier gained enough strength in a short time to compete for the legacy of a formal magic tower. Such growth was only possible under the shadow of a Ten Tower.

Originally, the Ten Tower sponsoring House Hydra would have merely thought of increasing their support base as usual. But the situation changed when the Arguirion expedition was decided.

They used House Hydra as a temporary measure to block Baekgwang’s expansion. House Hydra, whose specific Ten Tower affiliation had not yet been revealed, could serve as a good tool.

The strategic planning department predicted that House Hydra would be used for “name borrowing.” The succession battle itself would be applied for in House Hydra’s name, but the actual attack would be carried out by another Ten Tower.

This was a warning.

Even with the Tower Master absent, they would not stand by and watch Baekgwang’s expansionist moves. It was an implication that they would intercept whenever Baekgwang showed signs of physically expanding its influence.

Baekgwang’s strategic planning department prepared this analysis as soon as House Hydra’s succession battle was declared. It was an answer submitted almost immediately by think tanks connected to the Ether Space.

Therefore, Baekgwang deployed elders to the front. They intended to adjust their future response according to the level of “warning” prepared by the other Ten Tower.

If their warning was powerful enough, they would acknowledge that it wasn’t yet time to scheme for the magical society, but if there wasn’t enough power left in the current magical society to stop Baekgwang…

Baekgwang would advance.

Toward ascension.

***

This was probably how Baekgwang was assessing the situation. It was almost certain, considering that the area where elders were mainly deployed was in the direction of the magitech train tracks connecting to other Ten Towers.

However, all these plans were neutralized by Carisia’s “It’s Etna City! WRYYYYYYYYYY!”

While all of Baekgwang’s capabilities were focused on the falling Etna City, I was able to break through the three barriers and arrive at the front of the main tower.

At times like this, I feel grateful for my mana-less constitution. I could neutralize the life detection magic that was plastered all over Baekgwang’s domain.

Immense mana was overflowing from Baekgwang’s main tower. In addition to receiving mana from the closest proximity to the Ten Core, the situation now had even more mana concentrated in this space due to my machinations.

I feel dizzy even before properly opening my eyes.

I swallow my breath. I can’t just be clutching my head here. The mages who were already in the main tower had followed Carisia to the upper levels of the tower.

But they weren’t all. Mages stationed on the outskirts of Baekgwang would also come to the main tower to intercept Carisia.

And I had to prevent their joining forces.

I exhale. It’s a difficult task, but nothing compared to Carisia who had to fight the Baekgwang Tower Master alone until I joined.

Where should I start? Most of the mana under Baekgwang Magic Tower’s influence was dominated by the Ten Core. Although the erosion of the artificial Ten Core had begun, in the Baekgwang main tower that had directly collided with Etna City, mana could barely be used.

In fact, this was meaningless to me. The controllability of mana is important only to those who can use magic. The magical element I could use was at most the magic inscription drive. Tools that operate with built-in mana like that could still be used now.

But such basic magic wouldn’t help change the tide of battle. Even if I tried to overwrite a ritual, Baekgwang’s protective magic was too vast. Adding rituals from a few magic inscription drives?

The basic rituals of common magic inscription drives couldn’t withstand Baekgwang’s mana quantity. They would be shattered and disappear before overwriting anything.

If I couldn’t rely on magic.

The only thing I could trust was divine power.

However, the deity I would pray to wasn’t one of the twelve great gods.

It was the god of firepower.

I fiddled with the specially processed sacred artifact that Carisia had entrusted to me.

***

The elders stationed at the third wall, the outermost part of Baekgwang, gathered their wits despite the fall of Etna City.

However, even the elders couldn’t possibly guess the principle behind such a large-scale spatial movement. To move an entire city would require a mana supply source at the level of a Ten Core.

No matter how much another Ten Tower was wary of Baekgwang’s solo run, they wouldn’t have embedded their Ten Core in such a frontier city.

How on earth did they supply such immense mana?

The elders’ thoughts accelerated. Suddenly, one elder spoke up.

“What if they consumed all the sacred artifacts that had been confiscated?”

“Huh? Of course, if they invested all of them at once, they could momentarily generate mana comparable to a Ten Core’s output… Has Blasphemia betrayed us?”

“They didn’t betray us. Those behind House Hydra are also Ten Towers, aren’t they? Blasphemia doesn’t have the capacity to resist a Ten Tower’s withdrawal order. They simply obeyed orders.”

“How vicious. It’s only natural that our Baekgwang, the legitimate heir of all magic, should reach ascension first, yet they employ such means to hold us back.”

The elders judged that the entity that spatially moved Etna City was a Ten Tower. Even a formal magic tower couldn’t perform magic of that scale.

It was purely because of insufficient mana. Only another Ten Tower could show such a miracle. This rational judgment determined their response.

“Then we cannot rule out the possibility of a subsequent attack through the magitech train. Let’s send only half of us elders to support the main tower.”

“Will that be alright?”

“The Tower Master is there.”

A statement filled with clear conviction. However, if they had heard what Carisia would proclaim a little later, they would have admitted that they had made the wrong judgment.

But the elders were not given the opportunity to correct their mistake.

It was Ortes who blocked their path.

A massive explosion echoed from the main tower.

Continuously.