The flames went out. At Duke Bemford’s urgent call, all the mages of Behemoth were waiting at the summoned outpost. And the expressions of those gathered at the 1st defense weren’t good.
To them, the information about ‘Roman Dmitry’s poison’ was a serious matter that shook the entire foundation of the Behemoth Magic Tower.
Mateo said,
“Currently, poisoning has occurred in all eight defense camps in the eastern part of Kronos, including the first one. As you know, the poison used by Roman Dmitry isn’t easy to detoxify even with Cure Poison, so if the problem isn’t resolved quickly, the damage is likely to build up in time.”
“Again, Roman Dmitry, that damned man.”
It was the leader of the Behemoth Magic Tower. His skin had turned black from frequent experiments, and his eyes looked torn as if he were nervous.
Actually, he was quite angry. While detoxifying Roman Dmitry’s poison, which was commissioned by Baron Charlton, people asked what the meaning of Behemoth’s existence was as they couldn’t even handle this one poison.
It was humiliating to them. Since they were a group that used poison as their strength, they couldn’t accept the fact that they couldn’t solve this matter.
And the Magic Tower master of Behemoth said,
“Put your lives on the line for this mission. The word impossible will not be accepted.”
“I understand.”
“Then start with curing it.”
There were a total of 32 mages, including the master. That was the strength of Behemoth.
As soon as they heard the news that Roman Dmitry had poison, they mobilized all the mages and began to decipher it in the lab created by Duke Bamford.
It was a bizarre scene. In front of the 32 mages, the poisoned soldiers and the dead bodies were lying on top of one another for the experiment.
“Cure Poison.”
Wheik.
The Behemoth Magic Tower raised his mana. He infused mana into each of the living soldiers and corpses and found the source of the poison through skillful control.
‘It is an unfamiliar poison that completely negates the existing system from one to ten. Usually, it is said that it takes a few months or years to develop a new poison, but how does Roman Dmitry have such a poison? To reach the 6-star level at such young age, I would have to devote all my time to learning swordsmanship, so I guess he had the time to develop poison.’
He was annoyed. Whether it was developed by Roman Dmitry himself or someone else, it was unacceptable for Behemoth.
They couldn’t accept that this unknown poison had a level of strength that Behemoth couldn’t analyze. They worked hard to find a cure.
They analyzed the ingredients of the poison using their knowledge and Cure Poison magic, and they found out what method to use to decipher it.
The process was slow but steady. All this time, the Behemoth Magic Tower was known to be at the peak of poison-related work on the continent, and they even had a lot of knowledge in new areas.
However, a crack appeared on his face as he dealt with both energies at the same time.
“Wh-what is this?”
It was shocking. At first, he thought the information his mind was receiving was wrong, but the more he tried to decipher it, the more he realized it wasn’t wrong.
It was completely unacceptable information. Even though Behemoth’s mages had confirmed the truth several times, the more they obtained information, the less confident they became.
‘It isn’t just one poison. There are at least two. The living soldiers and corpses were poisoned with different poisons.’
It gave them goosebumps. The reason why the situation they were experiencing was embarrassing was that both poisons were completely different from the common ones.
It didn’t make any sense. How could one or two be regarded as having developed into something new? Roman Dmitry, like the spring water which would never go dry, had created a poison that was never seen before.
At that moment, this ominous emotion rose. At the thought of this spreading, the Magic Tower master stopped decoding the poison and hurriedly moved to the side.
“Get out!”
“M-Master?!”
The mages looked puzzled. The tower master quickly figured out the difference between the poisons, but he still hadn’t discovered that there were multiple poisons.
Wheik.
He raised his mana. The Behemoth Magic Tower master, who had been doing this for a long time, collapsed on the ground with a face stained in shock.
“…I-It makes no sense!”
“Just what is this?”
Mateo came running to him. And the mages also rushed to him after seeing the sudden actions of their master.
And then they saw it.
The tower master shouted with a shocked look,
“All types of poison are different. Roman Dmitry, this insane bastard, didn’t use just one or two poisons!”
His voice was like a scream. And the realization of what that meant made the mages’ faces go pale.
After the detoxifying process, the tower master of Behemoth made a statement.
“Thirty-two types of poison were found in the eight defensive points. Roman Dmitry cleverly used various types of poison to prevent it from being cured, but the problem is that all thirty-two poisons are new poisons unknown to the Salamander continent. I didn’t think the day would come when I would say such a thing with my own mouth, but I can assure you that Rman Dmitry is untouched in the realm of poison. If we have enough time, we might succeed in deciphering each of them, but there is no way to solve all thirty-two of them to face the war right now.”
He thought it couldn’t be deciphered. And seeing him talk with a desperate look, Duke Bamford’s face went stiff.
‘To think that the proud man of Behemoth would admit defeat. It is a problem that cannot be solved even if you practice detoxifying.’
He judged him quickly. Roman Dmitry was a monster. After attacking Rascal and annihilating 10,000 troops, he secretly stayed behind to spray out the poison onto the tens of thousands of troops.
Moreover, the means of the ‘poison’ were of a kind that couldn’t be used generally. No matter how much war was an act of violence against humans, using poison on this scale was strictly prohibited by continental law.
And so he felt enraged. He was furious, but now was the time for him to address the problem in front of him. Then Duke Bamford called and ordered his lieutenant.
“Quarantine all the soldiers and make sure to cremate the dead ones to avoid any trouble. And from now on, the soldiers of the empire will be strictly forbidden to drink water in the defense positions. Even if it is too much work, they need to drink water from a flowing river. Also, the soldiers might be confused about this, so call in the captains and assure them that the matter is being handled well so they don’t have to be worried. The truth might be different, but even if people die in front of their eyes, it is very important to declare that there is no problem.”
“I will do as you have commanded.”
“Right.”
And he looked away.
It was a quick and clear decision.
The hesitation of the captain on the battlefield would lead to greater confusion for the soldiers, so it had to be avoided. And acting with too much caution every time wouldn’t solve the problem either.
Even if it was too much, it was necessary for them to throw away the things that they had to give up.
The poison experts of the Behemoth Magic Tower made a judgment. Duke Bamford wasn’t an expert in everything, so he listened to what the tower master said. That was the duty of a commander.
Having experienced numerous wars, the reason why Duke Bamford was able to survive until the end and rise to his current position wasn’t because of his ability but because of his right judgment.
About 100,000 soldiers died from the poison. There was huge damage to the extent that bodies piled up like mountains, but it was fortunate for the Kronos Empire. The defense positions weren’t ready to accommodate so many troops.
Some set up camps outside and got drinking water from the river to prevent any further spread of the poison.
And while the mages of Behemoth were quarantining by using purification magic, they minimized the spread of the contagion. It wasn’t that their role was useless.
Accurate responses based on their experience so far solved the situation that could have killed hundreds of thousands.
Duke Bamford, who finished the report to his seniors, said with a face that was contorted like a demon,
“Contact Dmitry right away and arrange a meeting. I will have to ask them. The Continental Law clearly forbids the use of poison on the battlefield, so how do they plan to explain this? If their explanation isn’t rational, we will be holding them accountable.”
The response from Kronos was expected. Marquis Vendenberg, the commander of the West, said,
“Kronos requested to talk. It is a really interesting situation. They, who have been doing the worst acts to the point that the actual Continental Law got overshadowed, now want to hold others responsible for the same things.”
“Didn’t we expect it? It is Kronos, after all.”
Baron Noel, the head of the staff, said.
Poison was a difficult problem. War was usually aimed at winning by all means, but if one were allowed to use poison, then the destruction would be huge. So the use of poison was forbidden by Continental Law.
If there were no sanctions against it, not just the soldiers but the civilians would also die if poison was used, so there was a limit. However, Dmitry crossed it.
Flora Lawrence said,
“We knew from the start that using poison would create trouble for us. Maybe this will trigger a third country like Valhalla to enter this war, but we have no other option to use. The important issue from now on is the situation in front of us. No matter what Kronos says, we need time.”
On the Western Front, Roman Dmitry wasn’t there. He moved to fulfill his own plan, and the remaining forces in the west had to buy time against the Kronos Empire.
So the poison was used. Roman Dmitry’s departure was a huge loss of power, and if confronted head-on, their odds of winning the war were slim. So they had to gamble.
In order to defeat a dragon, it wasn’t possible to have a fair fight.
Thus, they made a surprise attack on Rascal. By capturing the outpost, the Kronos Empire got overshadowed, and while their attention was on Roman Dmitry, Chris and the others infiltrated the eight defense positions.
It was a diversion. Thanks to the Kronos Empire’s intense pursuit of Roman Dmitry, the infiltration and poisoning went easy.
And now, they faced another problem.
Flora Lawrence continued,
“The Kronos Empire’s response was a lot faster than we expected. The matter was sorted out in just a few days, and it is clear that he deliberately requested a talk to prevent the Kingdoms’ Alliance from joining the war under the pretext of poison being used. That is why we need to accept their request for a discussion. When the talks happen, we can buy more time.”
There was no reason to be concerned.
Thinking of a plan, they had to prepare the options according to the response of the enemy, and this was one of them.
Marquis Vandenberg said,
“Then, in a few days, we will proceed with the talks.”
A few days later, the conversation took place at the border. Duke Bamford appeared alone without any escorts, and no one thought he was being reckless.
When conducting dialogues between nations during a war, the lives of the representatives were guaranteed.
It was a completely different matter than the poison conversations. If banning poison was for the sake of the lives of many, then guaranteeing the life of the representative was a matter of national security itself.
If the war went the other way or if a ceasefire was desired, at least the representatives needed to be safe. So Duke Bamford came alone.
With his sturdy body despite his age, his confident attitude gave off a strong force that was enough to overwhelm the troops on the Western Front.
The talks about the history of Kronos weren’t false. Having risen to his current position after experiencing many battles, the man didn’t show an inch of distraction despite numerous people looking at him.
And then someone came from the other side. The person walked slowly, enjoying the gazes on him, and when met with the Duke, he asked to shake his hand.
“Nice to meet you. I am Count Fabius.”
His face showed a bright smile.
And the tension of war was nowhere to be found.
