Episode 9.
Triad Meeting (1)
Eastern Fortress – Manticore
Jinong, the leader of the Golden Sky Clan, thought it was a hoax when he first heard that Magrit had been killed.
“No way!”
It was an Extra-Large Dead Man that would require at least a Lesser General of the <Great Lands> to handle. One that was as powerful as a 9th stage Adapter. It was so powerful that there were only three of them in <Chaos>.
“It’s impossible!”
Jinong sent people out to check on it. And after the third day, he was told that all of his northern offices near Gorgon had been destroyed.
[Ten days after Magrit was killed… a lot of changes in Gorgon… biggest change is… and I interviewed an old man passing by…]
Lenius, an associate journalist from [Chaos of this Month], stopped typing with his [Emergency Memo] skill and looked up to ask, “So, what changes did you notice afterward?”
The old muscular man was carrying a huge horn on his shoulder. It seemed he was a blacksmith, as he had a chisel and a hammer on his waist belt. Since he was carrying stuff himself, he was probably not very important in Gorgon. It was a perfect individual to ask such questions.
“It got better to live.”
Better to live? That was a weird answer for the young Lenius to fully grasp as he had only lived for 30 years in <Chaos>.
“Sir, exactly in what way has it gotten better?”
“Well, the economy’s doing good, for a start.”
Gorgon’s economy was booming. They now had six out of the ten Ten-Clan. They had moved into Gorgon with a large number of powerful warriors. It meant that those warriors brought in a lot of various horns and other goods that weaker individuals couldn’t obtain. But that wasn’t the only thing.
“I’m sure that’s not enough to change the streets this much.”
Gorgon was in ruins. The outer walls were decimated and a lot of people lost their homes, not to mention the countless number of spirits that perished. However, the people seemed bright. The people repairing their homes were full of joy, and those who shared horns were excited. No other place in <Chaos> was like this.
“Well, you would say that since you did not see the [Way in the Wave].
A Way that was created in the sea of Dead Men. Lenius had heard of this, but he couldn’t understand. How could one man start a ‘Way’ in the middle of millions of Dead Men?
‘Even if it was true…’
Lenius thought that might not be the only important thing. On the day of the attack, a lot of journalists were at the scene. However, all of those senior journalists left this message.
-Sometimes, some things are worth more than just a few columns.
Then, they joined the fight against the Dead Men. And died. That was why associates like Lenius were sent out to investigate.
‘Just what did they see that day?’
He was curious about what they had witnessed.
“Well, I’ll just say that it got better to live. I’ll elave it at that.”
The muscular old man walked into a small tent. It had a sign over it which said ‘Emergency Healing Tent’. Lenius followed the old man inside.
“Hey, here’s a new horn.”
“Oh, you’re here!”
Healers quickly ran to check on the horn.
“Wait, this is a quadhorn! We can’t use this….”
“That’s why I brought it here.”
The old man then swung his hammer down on the horn and crushed it. The healers were shocked, as was Lenius. He was only an associate, but he knew how hard quadhorn horns were.
‘Is he not just some old man?’
The question in his mind was quickly answered by the healers.
“Vice-Chief, you are really amazing!”
The medicine that was processed by the old man was then used to heal other patients. Lenius stared dumbfoundedly. Using a quadhorn as medicine? It was unheard of in any of the other fortresses.
‘I guess this place is full of rich people.’
But Lenius’ thoughts were proven wrong soon enough.
“Wait… are those medicines given away for free?”
“Huh? Yeah,” the old man answered. All the patients were Non-Adapters. There was no way that Non-Adapters would have the money to afford quadhorn horns.
“Why are you doing this? How can you afford such…”
“The Master of Gorgon hunts them down himself.”
“The Master himself?”
“Yeah. He brings back hundreds when he goes out. There are plenty of these.”
Lenius couldn’t believe what he heard. A Master of Fortress going out to hunt down horned monsters himself?
“Don’t try. You won’t understand unless you live here.”
The old man seemed very proud of what he was saying. Lenius realized who he was talking to.
The Vice-Chief of Twilight’s Fall, Meikal Garnad.
It was the only human who could process the horn of Garnak, and the best blacksmith in Gorgon.
‘And he’s very proud of the change.’
Lenius, as he only lived for 30 years in <Chaos>, knew what that expression was the result of. It was positive anticipation.
-Better to live.
No one who had lived over a hundred years in <Chaos> used the word ‘live’ easily. The word itself directly contradicted the ones in <Chaos>. But Meikal, who had lived over 150 years in <Chaos>, had used that word. Lenius took out the [Emergency Memo] and checked the headlines he had chosen when he was first assigned.
[Master of Gorgon. Hope or Disaster?]
Lenius quickly erased the title. Then, he turned towards the streets. People were laughing with hope. He then quickly began writing down what he felt at the moment.
[The People of Gorgon ‘live’ again.]
He felt this was going to be a very important column. What he was going to say was the embodiment of something very vital to <Chaos>.
Just then, an explosion startled Lenius. Smoke began to rise from within the inner keep.
“What’s going on?” Lenius asked, to which Meikal shrugged as he answered, “Well, that’s normal.”
Lenius looked at the smoke. Explosions such as that would only occur when high-stage Adapters fight. Lenius then remembered there were now six of the Ten-Clan of <Chaos> residing in Gorgon. It seemed too quiet for that. Having just three clans in one fortress was enough to result in clan wars. And now there were six of them.
“Is there a war within the Ten-Clan?”
“A war? HAHAHA!”
Meikal laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke ever.
“Well, you can say it’s a war, I guess.”
Meikal then watched as the leaders of those Ten-Clan getting thrown into the sky.
“It’s five today.”