Makai Hongi

Chapter 73

I didn’t understand the reason, but my connection to Corps Commander Nehyor had been cut off.

Well, I suppose that he wasn’t the Corps Commander anymore.

The Orb of Control connected those who were above to those who were below. And they spread out like the branch of a tree. One might say it was like a tree diagram.

And I had been cut off from that flow.

Yes…that was the best way to describe it. Cut off.

“I didn’t realize it would make me feel so anxious.”

I muttered in surprise.

Everyone could tell if there was a connection through mana.

This was why even meat heads were able to tell their allies apart from enemies during war.

And now that was gone.

For instance, the death of a Corps Commander or Commander would not have caused as much of a stir.

After all, the flow of mana would be maintained–it was like how even if one branching point in a tree diagram disappeared, the overall shape would remain the same.

You just needed someone else to fill in the spot and all would be well.

However, things were different now. Nehyor had been cut off.

He had used a great deal of power and cut the flow.

In order to escape the bond of control, you had to want to do it.

It was like cutting a thick wire with a jigsaw. It was not something that could just happen by accident.

“You two…has something happened? It sounds like someone has broken away?”

Broken away. I suppose it was true. I would never have thought that Nehyor would leave Melvis’s control.

That’s when I realized it.

We were still negotiating. General Farneze was so shocked, that she had blurted out the internal affairs of this country.

“A little problem has occurred…”

The General also noticed that she had misspoken. I could see her grimace.

“What happened?”

“No, it is not something to tell outsiders… It is our concern alone.”

“We are currently talking about something that is very important for both countries. Perhaps it does concern us.”

“It does not concern you. It’s about my subordinate.”

“You do not get to decide that. Hiding it will do you no good.”

I could understand her view.

Miralda most likely wanted to know if we could be trusted.

If we lied or misled her here, it would leave a very bad impression, even if we went through with the negotiations.

“…I see. Well then, I will tell you. Just a moment ago, a Corps Commander was freed from the bonds of control. He was my subordinate”

“Ahh… The one you called Nehyor.”

Now that I thought about it, she had shouted the name in the beginning.

“Yes. That is correct.”

“Did this Corps Commander hear what was being discussed, and run out of fear?”

“…No. Nehyor would have been in King Melvis’s castle, and would have had no way of knowing.”

I thought so too. It was just yesterday. He could not have known.

Hell, I had expected him to still be reading books in that underground library of his.

“And from what I gather, this person left without leaving someone else in his place as Corps Commander?”

“Yes. And so his former subordinates are no longer under anyone’s control. That is the situation.”

There wouldn’t be nearly as much alarm had Nehyor passed on his role as Corps Commander to someone else.

The fact that he hadn’t was close to a declaration of war.

He purposely wanted to cause chaos and turn our eyes towards him.

He wanted us to know that he would not be coming back.

And this confusion would continue unless the next Corps Commander was chosen. I myself was confused.

“So he left by force. He must know that he will be chased. You would do well to assume that he has prepared a way to escape then. Perhaps he is moving now in order to cross the border?”

“I would think so… I see. He made me come here so that I couldn’t chase after him.”

I had to agree with the General there. There were so many things that were suspicious.

It had been Nehyor who pressed me to ask for the Deep Sea Dragon Sword.

He had insisted on it, even. And in order to receive a private possession of the General, it was necessary to go to her town.

On the other hand, Nehyor would be at the castle.

Aside from the General, the only others who would know that he was gone were Nehyor’s subordinates.

The Gob-gob brothers, Bian, Lobos, and me.

We couldn’t contact the others, and even if the General tried to go after him, the castle was much too far away.

“…So he had been thinking about this moment even during the war.”

I was…used as a pawn to get the General away from the castle.

How very sly of him. I would kill him the next time we met.

“It seems like your country is not a monolith then. I don’t know what this Nehyor intends to do now, but… Hmm?”

“What is it?”

Miralda suddenly looked strange. Like she was trying to remember something.

Was there something that we didn’t know?

“Nehyor… Now that I think about it, that name does sound familiar.”

The General of such a great country knew the Corps Commander of a small and weak country like ours?

“Nehyor is a Vampire who came to our country three hundred years ago. Was he from your country before that?”

“No, that’s not it. Three hundred years… I see. Now I remember.”

Miralda’s beautiful face scowled.

Apparently, it was a memory she would have rather forgotten.

“As he never talked about what he did before coming here, no one knows much about him.”

“Hmm… While I cannot confirm anything, I will tell you what I do know. After all, it concerns my country as well.”

So saying, Miralda searched through her sleeve and pulled out a rolled up map.

“As you know, our country has been in a state of war with Demon King Ledard for a very long time.”

Miralda began.