NOVEL NEXT Chapter 501
<501 – The Temptation of the Revolutionary (1)>
Lilia was thoroughly subdued.
It must have been the same for her as well, being in a similar predicament.
The power of the anti-mana cuffs binding her mana surged in, causing her such intense pain that even operating her ki could make her spit blood.
Despite harnessing mana at the cost of her life, the Revolutionary showed no signs of weakness and calmly suppressed Lilia’s resistance.
“Those who want an easy life hope for luck. Those who want to succeed don’t let opportunities slip by. An easy life and a successful life may seem similar at first glance, but people don’t acknowledge the two as the same. Do you know what the difference is?”
“I don’t care! Just fall over already!”
“Luck stems from insufficient effort, while success comes from sufficient effort. An easy life and a successful life are not different, but the efforts made to achieve them are. In that sense, your efforts are insufficient to subjugate me. Your life was simply too easy to achieve the great undertaking of defeating a revolutionary.”
She couldn’t accept that.
Even while employing every trick in the world to avoid getting hurt, she had learned various techniques from the Destroyer, who was by her side.
Sometimes it was techniques used by allies.
Sometimes it was those used by enemies.
In her repeating quests as a Warrior, she absorbed the techniques and know-how of the strong like a sponge.
She had never once neglected her effort because of her talent.
The evidence was the tens of thousands of techniques she had mastered.
“It couldn’t have been more intense. While ordinary girls my age wasted time on makeup, shopping, and flirting with boys, I ran non-stop!”
“I admit it. You’ve lived quite earnestly in your own way. It’s rare for someone to dare try to subdue me while in cuffs.”
“Yet you dare say my life was easy? It’s not! Neither my life nor my efforts!”
“Regardless, my answer does not change. No matter how hard you’ve tried, your life is still easy.”
“Why?!”
“Because your opponent is me.”
As they entered the scorched underground tunnel from Wessker’s flame magic, the Revolutionary easily ignored Lilia’s attempts to resist as she stumbled back, clutching the wall.
With each step he took effortlessly forward, Lilia was dragged along, simply being pulled by the Revolutionary’s arm.
“The fifth-ranked former leader of the continent’s top ten thieves, the merciless man who has perfected cruelty. The effort to surpass him with a mirror-like imitation must be nothing short of massive. He’s too strong to consider as a rival worth dedicating one’s life to.”
“…”
“But what can we do? The Revolutionary you’re targeting is a man who considers the empire as his enemy. Under the empire’s banner, there are seven powerful subordinates. Just one of them, the Eungchilgeom, is at a level equivalent to that former top thief.”
The Revolutionary chuckled as he trampled over the ashes of someone who had become a corpse underfoot.
“Do you see? Just one Eungchilgeom is already seven times my goal. The fact that the effort I’ve made to achieve that lofty goal is merely comparable to your own efforts is, in fact, an insult to me.”
It became palpable on her skin.
Before the Revolutionary appeared, Lilia had felt a sense of pride.
After all, the Revolutionary was also human.
What she truly feared were the size of the Revolutionary Army and the support of the populace.
She thought it would be easy to annihilate them should she take action herself.
All of that was a misunderstanding.
The Revolutionary was strong.
Even under harsh interference that made it impossible for the continent’s top thieves to manipulate mana, he used mana as effortlessly as breathing.
His mana control was unbelievably proficient.
“Why does someone with such tremendous skills engage in the foolish act of resisting the empire?”
That question was not much different from the one Wessker had once posed to Lilia.
If only he would use that power for us.
Surely there must be a better use for it.
It’s clear that what’s right is on our side, not yours.
“It would take too long to explain why my mission is justified from the start. To put it simply, it’s probably similar to your circumstances.”
“How do you know what my circumstances are?”
“The former fifth-ranked thief. He was one of the targets I had to eliminate to achieve my goals.”
“The top thief…?”
“For now, the Revolutionary Army is reluctantly killing the citizens of Kanelle City and members of the Thief Guild to achieve their goals, but we too have a righteous cause for the masses. The former top thief was so rough that he threatened that cause.”
Kuwung!
With a single kick from the Revolutionary, the secret entrance to the underground tunnel leading to the Thief Guild’s headquarters opened.
Wessker, who had been on the verge of death from Lilia’s assault, glared at her with fierce eyes and stepped forward in front of the Revolutionary.
[Flame Breath]
As the traps lining the passage malfunctioned in a cacophony, the Revolutionary spoke again.
“The top thief exploited the weak during a famine, seizing what little food remained in a city already suffering due to the empire’s plundering. He was a man who, like the empire, would obstruct the Revolutionary Army’s grand cause with his selfish interests.”
“If he was that much of an annoyance, why not kill him sooner? I shouldn’t have to step in.”
“I also wish it could have been done sooner. Facing the enemy known as the empire, it took me a bit longer to reach out to the Southern Sacred City-State Federation.”
A man considered to be an enemy of the empire.
It was unlikely that the Revolutionary would have been able to timely intervene in the South.
Lilia didn’t truly think that the Revolutionary would take down the top thief in her place.
“That’s why I feel sorry for you. If I had a slightly wider perspective, if I could have extended a helping hand from the Revolutionary Army, I could have hastened the day of revenge for you.”
“Stop your nonsense. Freely reminiscing about past events is just cheap pity that doesn’t cost time or money.”
“Well, I’m glad you at least understood my feelings. Please rise on your own so I no longer have to drag you across the ground.”
“…The wounds from being dragged across the floor hurt, that’s all.”
“Kkekek! Let’s leave it at that.”
Beyond the trap-filled area, in the hallway where they reappeared, the Revolutionary prevented Wessker, who was about to unleash flame magic.
When he beckoned, a young woman stepped forward from among the group following the Revolutionary, holding a flute.
[Song of Exploration - Sound Wave Detection]
[Activity Detection]
[Mana Detection]
With the mana embedded in the song scanning the surrounding area as if activating a radar, it returned to the woman.
[Target Generation]
[Tracking]
Brilliant light mercilessly exposed the bodies of the thieves hiding in the darkness.
“Attack!”
“Annoying detection ability. We can’t let that one be.”
“We just need to kill the bard.”
The thieves waiting inside the guild headquarters, quickly scattering against the walls, ceiling, and floor.
Despite the circular charge utilizing the entire passageway, the bard simply warned in a low voice instead of retreating.
“I’ve set up a barrier. Do not step in front of me for 10 seconds. I cannot guarantee your safety.”
The woman brought the flute back to her mouth.
The thieves proactively moved to counter.
[Sound Wave Block]
[Sense Block]
It didn’t matter what they did.
If they were threatened by sound, they could just choose not to listen.
As if mocking such a response, the boundary of dimensions opened following the sound of the flute.
[Giant’s Lament]
With a breathless sound, the boundary opened wider.
Panic-stricken, the thieves stepped forward to silence the bard’s voice, casting their spells.
While some interfered with the performance, the rest intensified their speed to solidly handle the close combat.
Others prepared to unleash their ki to take down the magicians beyond the opened barrier as soon as the bard fell.
[One Strike, Giant’s Descend]
Kwakwakwang!
All collaboration ended with the massive hand filling the passageway.
As the outstretched hand clutched the corpses, the passage was left gruesomely splattered with blood and flesh.
“There’s still time. Let’s rewind a bit. You were curious about my goals, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“The empire’s justice is meant for the revival and preservation of the royal family. They have no concept of sacrifice. As a result, they don’t share the wealth that supports their power and influence, leading countless commoners to stare helplessly at the locked storage and starve.”
“You mean the empire has hoarded vast amounts of food but hasn’t shared it with the populace?”
“A cruel reality.”
“Hmph. The Revolutionary Army can fool people, but they can’t fool the Thief Guild. The empire’s food storage isn’t nearly as plentiful as you think.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“We’re thieves. We can’t resist our curiosity, and if we’re curious, we go check behind the locked doors.”
“Have you laid your eyes on the empire’s storages?”
“I have. What little food remains is just the minimal rations to distribute to soldiers during emergencies. The empire couldn’t manage even when the great famine hit.”
A bard capable of sweeping the corridor with a single song of summoning.
Now greatly fatigued and recovering, Wessker from the Red Magic Tower, maybe able to unleash wide area destruction.
In this situation, the only person who could slow down the Revolutionary, the leader of a still numerous Revolutionary Army, was herself.
Therefore, Lilia refuted his claim.
She hoped her answer and fury would be sufficient to challenge his ego.
Now that the combat force had crumbled, it wasn’t long before they reached the place where Oknodie resided.
“You’re mistaken.”
“What?”
“It’s obvious there’s no food in the storage. They’ve all been used up.”
“They must have given some to the soldiers.”
“No. The food was used for the emperor’s vanity and lust.”
“Vanity and lust…?”
“It exists in the empire. They have documented records of food coming into the storage, but none of it leaving. That’s why they have established a special technique where only they can use it as a [Taboo].”
Though the one whose heart should have been shaken was definitely the Revolutionary’s.
“That’s right. Even during the famine, the empire was committing the extravagant act of [Enhancement] with the food meant to save countless lives.”
Lilia finally realized.
The heart that trembled now was her own.
“The emperor… is enhancing? No, wait. That’s strange. Food. It’s food; once you eat it, it’s gone. What would you even enhance something like that for?!”
“There’s a principle of equivalent exchange in alchemy. Properly matched targets can be converted into different items of equal value. If relic-grade grains can be transformed into relic-grade junk, even the most useless relic might have more utility than grains.”
“You mean that they discarded all that grain just for that nonsense?!”
“It’s not nonsense. What the emperor seeks is something far grander than a mere relic. He aims to use the grains of the entire empire as sacrifices to obtain divine artifacts that tread beyond the realm of legends.”
“And then what?!”
“To eradicate the empire’s long-standing enemy, the Evil Dragon Omoshiroi, and end the empire’s 981 years of rule.”
The Revolutionary’s cause was far more pragmatic than the emperor’s.
It made sense enough to understand why one would want to commit a revolution at the cost of the common people’s lives.