Ch.211Chapter 211: Swift Delivery (4).

# Chapter 211: Express Delivery (4)

Siloin’s words caught Valt’s attention.

“You mentioned good news?”

Siloin nodded in response.

Being a royal of the Duron Kingdom, she apparently still received information from her sources planted within Duron.

All team members focused their attention on Siloin’s words.

Good news? Even after Valt’s group had essentially turned the Duron Kingdom into a “wasteland” during their escape?

Everyone was curious.

Princess Siloin, receiving everyone’s gaze, began to speak.

“The Duron Kingdom is quickly regaining stability. Thanks to the commotion we caused and our push against the Dark Society forces, they were able to discover and eliminate many hidden Dark Society members. In particular, Duron’s magic technicians analyzed the Dark Society remnants and samples we secured, tracking their mana patterns… This allowed them to uncover far more deeply infiltrated spies than expected.”

Everyone was surprised by her explanation.

Though unintentional, Valt’s group’s operation had played a decisive role in resolving Duron Kingdom’s Dark Society problem.

“My goodness… like catching a frog while stepping backward?”

Lati’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Kehehehe, I actually knew this would happen,”

Yuria laughed excitedly.

Solphin nodded, saying, “An interesting outcome indeed.”

Professor Lyman stroked his chin with an intrigued expression.

“Those Duron fellows, their magical technology is impressive. Catching spies through mana pattern analysis. Might even be better than our Empire’s.”

The Dark Society forces had been exposed while trying to capture Valt’s group, and Duron was not a nation weak enough to let such forces slip away.

Of course, they couldn’t have captured elites like Obscurant, but measures had been established to prevent them from operating freely in the Duron Kingdom.

However, Siloin’s expression darkened again.

“But… there’s also unfortunate news. Among the spies… several key figures from the Lamrpo Trading Company were involved.”

At Siloin’s words, Lamrpo’s face turned deathly pale.

The fact that there were individuals in his company collaborating with the Dark Society was something he never imagined. A mixture of betrayal, shock, and sadness brought tears to his eyes.

“No… that can’t be… surely not…”

Lamrpo muttered in a trembling voice.

Siloin looked at Lamrpo with sympathetic eyes and added:

“That person who was being threatened with death was also a Dark Society puppet.”

“That, that can’t be!”

He was Lamrpo’s trusted deputy.

But reality always revealed its merciless truth.

“However… because of them, the entire company has actually become safer, now free from the Dark Society’s influence. The Lamrpo Trading Company will now gain even deeper trust from the Duron royal family.”

Bitter as it was, this was clearly “good news” for Lamrpo personally and his company.

Lamrpo hung his head, caught in complex emotions. In the process of completing the mission, he had unwittingly filtered out traitors and protected his company.

“It’s thanks to you, Lamrpo,”

Valt said in a low voice.

“This was possible because you risked your life to bring information and help us.”

Lamrpo raised his head at Valt’s words and smiled faintly. Though still shocked, he seemed to find small comfort in the fact that he had protected his company.

Their express delivery had brought about good results after all.

***

For the next few days, Valt’s group took a short rest in Gerungtia.

Unlike the heat of the Red Desert, the interior of their lodgings was comfortable, the food plentiful, and the beds soft.

It was relative peace, contrasting with their terrible experiences in Duron.

Their bodies, battered from life-threatening battles and pursuits, recovered quickly.

They recovered from physical fatigue while experiencing Gerungtu’s unique culture and the majestic scenery of the red earth.

Quan provided them with appropriate compensation as promised and made no interference.

He simply left them alone to rest quietly. It was clear how important these parts were to him.

But deep in Valt’s heart, uneasiness persisted.

As his physical fatigue disappeared, the questions circling in his mind became clearer.

Obscurant No. 3 and No. 6. They were clearly powerful enemies at Master level or above.

Yet at the 5th Workshop, they had let Valt’s group go too easily. Almost as if pushing them to take the target.

‘Why? Why didn’t they use their full power? What was their reason for letting us take the parts?’

On the other hand, when they hijacked the Tempest airship, the Duron Kingdom had pursued them desperately, as if pouring all national resources into the chase.

Because their top strategic asset was stolen? While that could be a reason, such persistence suggested something else.

‘Did Duron… know the true importance of those parts? No, that’s impossible. The Duron royal family thought it was just a “water-making machine part.”‘

Then was Duron Kingdom’s desperate pursuit not just about the Tempest? Or…

‘…Or did the Dark Society induce Duron Kingdom to pursue us so desperately? To make us bring the items we “difficultly” stole from the Dark Society to Quan, breaking through Duron Kingdom’s “fierce pursuit”… What if the Dark Society intended this entire situation?’

Additional news had arrived in the meantime.

The Duron Kingdom had covered up the incident by publicly announcing that they had “deployed Tempest to fulfill their promise with Quan,” it was said.

And thanks to Valt’s group, many Dark Society forces within Duron had been eliminated, bringing stability to the Duron Kingdom.

‘Duron finding stability? Covering up the Tempest hijacking incident? All these results… seem to flow as if the Dark Society wanted them to.’

The Dark Society seemed to have gone easy during the parts theft.

The reason?

Valt thought simply.

‘Did they need us to take the parts?’

At the point when the Lamrpo Trading Company was paralyzed.

Did the Dark Society predict that Lamrpo would be unable to deliver the parts and anticipate that Valt’s group would perform this delivery?

The thought sent chills down his spine.

Valt felt like he had been played by the Dark Society.

The Tempest hijacking was the same.

Everything had proceeded smoothly.

And the Duron Kingdom covered up the Tempest hijacking incident to maintain relations with Quan.

This entire process contributed to making Quan receive and use the parts without any suspicion.

‘Damn it… Every situation… feels like it’s helping me. In the direction the Dark Society wants… too smoothly…’

All the discomfort he had felt seemed to fit into one terrible picture.

Even Lamrpo’s confirmation that the parts were “not broken” now took on a different meaning.

Because they weren’t broken, Quan would soon use them… and then, the Dark Society’s real plan would begin.

‘I’m certain! There’s something wrong with the parts!’

Valt quickly sought out where the parts were being assembled.

***

Even before Valt subtly noticed the Dark Society’s scheme, the assembly of the parts was already nearing completion.

Deep within the Southern Alliance fortress, surrounded by strict security, in a cutting-edge magical engineering laboratory, the five core parts brought from the Duron Kingdom were being carefully assembled by the Southern Alliance’s top experts.

Work proceeding under the name of ‘Water of Life Storage Core.’

The Southern Alliance’s best magical engineers and mages were amazed by Duron Kingdom’s technological prowess, yet bewildered that the parts’ structure was so different from their common knowledge.

Especially the fifth part, the ‘Dimensional Phase Mana Stabilizer,’ which looked like a living energy sphere and emitted an ominous energy as it connected with the other parts.

“This… this magical formula is different from what we were told… Isn’t it a bit strange?”

The elderly magical engineer overseeing the research muttered.

Anxiety flashed across his face.

“These… seem like core components of a device that summons dimensions, or… something else.”

“That’s water, isn’t it? This is exactly what realizes the crazy idea of producing water by summoning moisture scattered throughout the world. It’s natural that it’s difficult to understand.”

“Yes, well, it must be connected to the spirit realm somehow. In the spirit realm, moisture can be obtained infinitely.”

“Huh? Using such insane performance just to obtain water?”

Then an old engineer muttered.

“It must be limited to water. Bringing anything else would be impossible.”

Other engineers nodded in agreement.

Such situations were common with other magical devices.

It was a familiar story in all magical devices, like trying to recreate a fire-manifesting magical device but ending up with one that only manifests ‘heat’.

They thought this water-generating device was similar.

They were experts in magical engineering, but not elite magical scholars from the magical kingdom of Duron.

The magical engineers available to Gerungtu, not Duron, couldn’t fully understand these parts.

But they could assemble them.

Because each part had its precisely defined role.

After the experts placed the final part in the center of the assembly device, and the five parts were completely connected.

At the moment of performing mana resonance for the final calibration—

Wooooong…!

With a massive resonance sound, cold, dark mana explosively erupted from the assembled device.

“Oh finally!”

The air in the laboratory froze, and unknown, curse-like whispers circled around their ears.

“What? This, this is…!”

The experts’ faces turned pale.

“Something, something is wrong! How could a mere moisture-summoning device be so malevolent…!”

That’s when it happened.

Unidentified mana shot up as if to pierce the laboratory ceiling.

KWAAAAA—!

It was that power, the one that Valt’s group—no, the entire continent—was extremely wary of.

It was ‘Magi.’