Ch.189Improvisation (2)

Let me reconsider the situation.

I mentally sorted through the information in sequence.

First, we initiated the Ten Pillars Front by declaring a succession battle for Baekgwang.

Next, before the fight between Hydra Company and Baekgwang concluded, Lampades, who was deployed to the Yellow Thunder Front, emerged victorious. Then he broadcast interference waves amplified by the Ten Pillars’ Yellow Thunder across the entire Ten Pillars Front.

After that, false news about Arguirion Mountain began spreading on the Green Eye Front.

Only then did we achieve victory over Baekgwang.

Reconsidering this sequence…

“…Boss, should we pretend Baekgwang won for about 30 minutes?”

“What?”

“Right now, no one except Lampades knows that the battle on the Baekgwang Front has ended in our victory.”

Since communications were cut off before our battle concluded. Besides Hydra Company and Lampades, only the (former) mages of Baekgwang know the outcome of the Baekgwang Front.

However, the other mages in Baekgwang’s main tower have already been subdued after their magical support from the Ten Pillars was cut off. There are some Baekgwang elders who remain isolated, unable to enter the main tower due to the containment barrier, but they know better than anyone that fighting without support from the Ten Pillars would be suicidal.

Once the containment barrier is lifted and Carisia shows off her double-boosted magic from both Baekgwang and the artificial Ten Pillars while declaring “I have arrived,” they would surrender, finding it easier to give up.

In this situation, if we spread false information that the succession battle between Hydra Company and Baekgwang ended in Baekgwang’s victory, and disguise Carisia as Baekgwang…

“If you request them to open a spatial transfer passage to support the Green Eye Front, they’ll gladly create one. Since things have come to this, let’s take over Green Eye as well!”

Who was it on Earth who said that it’s not the voters but the vote counters who decide everything?

The current situation was the same. Not those who heard the truth, but those who reported the truth could determine everything.

Our employees who heard Arguirion’s slander might spread various rumors.

But wasn’t Panoptes in Niobe’s hands? The name of Baekgwang was also in our possession.

The moment Baekgwang’s victory is announced, Arguirion’s slander loses its primary power. Arguirion would have exposed their own ally, only for that ally to have already been defeated by Baekgwang.

Then Niobe would deploy Panoptes to spread the narrative that Arguirion’s slander was merely a vile scheme to create confusion in the magical society. At this point, there would be no reason for other Ten Towers to form an alliance against Hydra Company.

And if Carisia personally descends upon Green Eye and ends the Green Eye Front, from that point on, even if a Ten Towers Alliance forms, it would be a manageable fight.

The artificial Ten Pillars, Baekgwang, Yellow Thunder, Green Eye, and likely Silver Iron that Hector would have obtained—the Hydra Company alliance, having eliminated all Ten Towers where tower masters remained, could receive magical support from five Ten Pillars.

Carisia established a direct communication link with Lampades and the Ten Towers. They needed to transmit communications step by step as soon as the interference waves were lifted.

“Please relay to Mr. Lampades. As soon as communications are restored, we must inform our allies that ‘Hydra Company actually won.’ To prevent our feigned defeat from becoming a real one.”

After Lampades provides this preventive instruction, Carisia will announce to the other Ten Towers in Baekgwang’s name that the succession battle ended with challenger Hydra Company’s defeat. Then she’ll request them to open a spatial transfer passage so she can go deal with Arguirion, who has launched a surprise attack on Green Eye.

“It would be difficult to perform city-scale spatial transfers using the artificial Ten Pillars twice. So this time, let’s go with just the two of us, our most reliable forces.”

Carisia nodded. The long-standing bad blood with Blasphemia had expanded from the decisive battle in the Golden Desert to the karmic connection with Arguirion.

Now was the time to settle the karma that had continued from the past.

“Both Green Eye and Arguirion must have experienced considerable attrition. Considering the support from the Divine Light Order through Prodito, we can subdue both forces in one fell swoop.”

Lampades wouldn’t be able to appear on the front lines directly, but he would need to spend busy hours continuing to monitor all communications for the Hydra Company alliance.

“We need to send all available forces to Green Eye. Even if we exclude Niobe, who needs to control Panoptes.”

If Panoptes were to go beyond controlling public opinion and say something like “The magical society is in an unusual state, so we’re declaring martial law,” Niobe could naturally take the position of commander.

With Argos’s virtual downfall and Eidolon’s continued silence, Blasphemia held the real power. The leader of Blasphemia was in seclusion, and Salmosia regarded Niobe as something of a plenipotentiary ambassador.

In the current situation where confusion had spread like wildfire throughout the Ten Towers, if Panoptes were to make a “decision to save the nation,” Niobe would be the only card that could control it.

‘Actually, it would be more advantageous if Panoptes made a decision to save the nation.’

The most ideal scenario would be for Niobe to rise as Panoptes’s interim commander and use those troops not to attack the Ten Towers occupied by the Hydra Company alliance, but to attack other Ten Towers.

But the situation hadn’t become chaotic enough to reach that point yet. Although the Blasphemia faction supporting Niobe was imposing silence on the entirety of Panoptes…

“Ortes, I’ve conveyed all instructions to Lampades. Let’s have him lift the interference waves.”

I nodded.

***

With the sudden resolution of the communication disruption, shocking news struck the magical society.

The succession battles that had erupted in chain reaction following the declaration of succession battle against Baekgwang—news came that the first of these battles had concluded.

Yellow Thunder had a new master.

Before there was time to digest this fact, news from the front lines continued to spread endlessly.

Compared to the first piece of news, the second was within the realm of understanding. The story was that Hydra Company had somehow launched a surprise attack on Baekgwang’s main tower, but ultimately Baekgwang had emerged victorious.

Common-sense questions arose about how Hydra Company could appear above Baekgwang’s sky, and how they could secure mages capable of facing Baekgwang without any supporting forces, but resolving such curiosities was not important.

Because with the third and final piece of news, all common sense evaporated.

The identity of those challenging the Green Eye Front was Arguirion.

How could the rebel faction, which should have been fighting the Ten Towers expedition force, be brazenly engaging in succession battles within magical society?

It was news of shock and terror. Arguirion had already threatened the Ten Towers more fiercely than any doomsday cult. What if such people got their hands on the Ten Pillars?

It might truly bring about the end times.

Moreover, given the circumstances, there was no guarantee that others currently engaged in succession battles weren’t also in league with Arguirion!

What resolved the great confusion in magical society was the declaration of the new Yellow Thunder Tower Master, Lampades.

“The Lampades Tower has no connection whatsoever with the subversive group calling itself Arguirion. To prove this, the Lampades Tower will dispatch supporting mages to the Green Eye Front.”

It was an unprecedented move, equivalent to declaring that he would ignore the rights of succession battles that prohibited outside intervention except by the parties involved. But Lampades had already received the justification logic for this from Ortes.

“While the right of succession battles to be fought only between Ten Towers and challengers is immutable, apocalyptic anti-magic groups and extra-dimensional infiltrators like Arguirion are fundamentally not guaranteed the right to succession battles. The right to succession battles is for mages, not for infiltrators.”

The new Yellow Thunder Tower Master’s declaration found an unexpected supporter. The oldest and therefore greatest, Baekgwang.

“As the Yellow Thunder Tower Master stated, infiltrators are not mages. Therefore, to preserve the universal rights of all mages, we declare that we will resolutely attack Arguirion. Among the Green Eye succession battle participants, those unrelated to Arguirion should immediately withdraw from the front lines to preserve their lives.”

This was followed by broadcasts from Panoptes.

‘The Ten Towers are doing their utmost to subjugate the treasonous faction Arguirion, so please rest assured and attend to your livelihoods!’

‘Mages, be at ease! The magical society is safe!’

***

Haltos and Arguirion could also hear the suddenly restored communications and the information flowing from them.

In all the news from the Ten Pillars Front, Haltos could sense the cold malice of the faceless Ortes. Both Baekgwang’s defeat and Ortes’s defeat were difficult for Haltos to imagine.

Haltos’s inner voice was saying that whenever Ortes gets involved, situations always take a turn for the worst. Haltos pondered which victory would be more terrible—Baekgwang’s or Ortes’s.

The future that would follow Baekgwang’s arrival was easy to predict. Arguirion would be swept away in an instant, and their grand cause would be buried in the ashes.

But if Ortes were to come?

He couldn’t even imagine what would happen. Thus, Haltos was certain.

He’s coming. Ortes is coming.

The Green Eye Tower Master, moved by the support from other Ten Towers, sought to form a passage to Eleusis. Haltos cried out with a gut-wrenching feeling.

“Don’t open that passage! It’s a trap!”