Magic Is Learned For Nothing [EN]: Chapter 411

# 412

The Greatest Hostage Crisis 2

“Wow!”

“Damn, that’s really amazing.”

“That is not human technology.”

The Cobra unit members, who had been fiercely fighting the monsters, paused for a moment.

They were looking at Duke Trebia, who was displaying skills they could never have imagined, with admiration.

They sincerely admired him.

The Cobra unit members were highly skilled. If they wanted, they could receive much better treatment and be employed by the lords.

But they remained in the unit and endured painful training.

The reason was simple.

They wanted to become stronger.

They wanted to see the ultimate in martial arts.

Dreaming of reaching the level of Sword Master someday.

The commander of the Cobra unit was Count Anaconda.

But everyone knew that Duke Trebia was the one who actually controlled and manipulated the Cobra unit.

He was the commander-in-chief.

The soldiers were curious about Duke Trebia’s true strength.

“Who is the strongest warrior in the kingdom?”

“Probably one of the Omucheon [Five Great Swordsmen].”

Just as the Baroque Kingdom had its Seven Great Warriors, the Neck House Kingdom also had strong individuals with similar titles.

They, too, were those who had seen the ultimate in martial arts.

The citizens of Neck House called them the Omucheon, with respect.

They were such great individuals that their skills were neck and neck. No one knew who was stronger.

Nevertheless, people liked to speculate about who was the strongest among the Omucheon.

People ranked Duke Trebia high among the Omucheon.

“I think it’s Cheol.”

“Cheol?”

“Yeah, he’s missing now, but he’ll come back someday. Our Cheol will.”

Machine Warrior Cheol.

He was known to have left with the mysterious lover Metel on the mysterious train 999 to find his mother’s enemy.

Before boarding the train, his power was at the 7-star level.

He was a genius martial artist who reached the 7-star level in just a few years.

People say.

When he returns, he might be a level above Duke Trebia.

But that was something no one knew.

It was just speculation.

Until Machine Warrior Cheol returns, no one knows.

“Then what about Casshan?”

Neo-Human Casshan.

He was the oldest warrior among the Omucheon.

He was a hero who defeated the Machine Magic Empire that invaded the kingdom 70 years ago. People commemorated his great achievements by making a movie about him.

A movie about Casshan was also imported into the Baroque Kingdom. So, people in the Baroque Kingdom sometimes mistook Casshan for their own hero.

“Casshan is too old.”

“Still, isn’t he the closest person to Grand Master [the pinnacle of martial arts]?”

“Well, I don’t know about that. But he’s too old.”

“I think it’s Rubber Warrior Luffy, who’s been the hottest lately.”

“Ah! That’s right. Rubber Warrior Luffy!”

The unit members clapped their hands.

If there was anyone who stood out among the young martial artists, it was Rubber Warrior Luffy.

But he had set sail with his companions to find the New World.

It had already been 10 years, but he still hadn’t appeared.

“Then… what about that man?”

“Well, I don’t know. It’s ambiguous.”

“Let’s exclude those who are absent. Let’s say the current strongest is Duke Trebia.”

“Okay. Let’s make Duke Trebia the current strongest.”

The unit members decided to think that way.

And today, they got to see Duke Trebia’s actual abilities.

“Wow! Holy crap, that’s amazing.”

A shining sword 50 meters in size.

The fact that he could summon such a sword was unbelievable in itself.

King Ghidorah, the king of monsters, spewed huge flames of different classes from its three heads and three mouths.

But-

It couldn’t burn the sword of light.

The sword of light pierced through the flames and struck King Ghidorah’s body.

The thick outer skin was gradually torn.

-Kuaaaaa!

King Ghidorah emitted an intense fear. The sound waves were so powerful that almost all living creatures within a radius of dozens of kilometers were temporarily paralyzed and unable to move.

Thousands had their eardrums burst, and thousands suffered internal injuries and vomited blood.

Even the Cobra unit members, who freely used Aura [internal energy], frowned.

Nevertheless, King Ghidorah couldn’t stop the sword of light.

The sword of light penetrated through the torn outer skin.

King Ghidorah struggled. It grabbed the sword of light with both hands. With a sizzling sound, both hands burned away.

-Kuaaaaa!

King Ghidorah twisted its body. But the sword of light had already begun to penetrate.

It was too late.

-Kuaaaaaaaa (It’s already unfair that I was ganged up on by the Bone Dragon hatchling and the Steel Golem! To think I’d get ganged up on again here!)

King Ghidorah’s huge body was cut exactly in half. King Ghidorah’s upper body, weighing hundreds of tons, fell to the ground.

Kuuuuuung!

It was a vibration that resonated throughout the military city of Thema.

Simply the upper body of King Ghidorah falling to the ground caused dust to rise hundreds of meters into the air.

The dust storm swept in all directions, engulfing hundreds of houses at once.

It was an incredible-

It was the end of an incredibly huge monster.

The Cobra unit members, covered in dust, spat out phlegm.

Even though they were far away, they couldn’t come to their senses.

It was then.

-Krrrreung.

The monsters’ movements were strange. It was clearly different from when they were randomly slaughtering.

They were watching.

-Huh? The boss got taken down.

-Looks like we’re in danger too.

-Hey, let’s go. Mom told us not to go out into the human world, just to live in the desert.

-That’s right. Mom is right. We could die here like the boss.

-Yeah, we shouldn’t have come out of the desert. Let’s go. We’ll die if we stay here.

-Whoa! Uncle Sandworm got taken down too. What are we gonna do? He’s been split into hundreds of pieces.

-Aunt Giant Spider got taken down too. Oh, poor thing. She’s screaming for help.

-Kieeeeeeeek (Save me! You guys. I gave you guys a lot of candy on Halloween)!

But the monsters, already frightened, didn’t save Aunt Giant Spider.

They just exchanged glances with each other.

Let’s run away.

The super-large aerial monster, the Sand Fly, which was 30 meters long, fled with an eeeeee sound.

It was also the monster that caused the most casualties.

At that moment!

The Sand Fly’s wings were all cut off by Duke Trebia’s Aura Blade.

-Ugh! Someone save me!

The Sand Fly crashed to the ground.

The Cobra unit members rushed at the Sand Fly and hacked it into hundreds of pieces.

-Let’s run away! Run away!

The monsters all turned their backs and returned the way they came. The Cobra unit members couldn’t chase them because of how fast they were running away.

Duke Trebia frowned and watched the monsters fleeing, kicking up dust.

Someday, they must be wiped out.

But not now.

He looked around.

The military city of Thema had many high-rise buildings in anticipation of street battles.

There were more than 100 buildings with 10 floors or more. It was an overwhelmingly large number compared to other cities.

But look at the state it’s in now.

More than 80% of the high-rise buildings had collapsed.

About 60% of the entire city was devastated. It was hard to believe that it had happened in just a day and a half.

The number of casualties was impossible to count.

It would take at least 10 years to rebuild the city.

Of course, the amount of money that would go into this place would be unimaginable.

Creak.

Duke Trebia’s molars grinded.

Why in the world…

Why did the monsters attack this place?

It was completely different from what he had ordered. The monsters should have ravaged the southern region of the Baroque Kingdom, not this place.

“Count Anaconda.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

A huge warrior, 2 meters 30 centimeters tall, bowed to Duke Trebia.

He was the strongest warrior in the kingdom.

“Has there been any contact from Grandfather yet?”

“No, not yet.”

Research Director Grandfather sent a mail magic [magical message] to his family and then fled to the Baroque Kingdom with all his assets.

The same was true for other research staff.

The monster changed its course and attacked the home country?

Just this alone is a death sentence.

And the research results were all taken by strangers?

All the researchers would not simply be executed. They would be executed after severe torture.

There was only one way for them to live.

Surrender to another kingdom.

At first, they thought about surrendering to the Empire, but they decided against it. Their research data was not important to them.

If they, who had reached the pinnacle of machine magic, were likely to have already completed the research they were doing.

Other distant countries were excluded. There was a high probability that they would meet assassins sent from their home country before they got there.

Then what about the Stopbi Kingdom?

Those sly guys didn’t seem to welcome them very much either.

Then only the enemy country, the Baroque Kingdom, remained.

Because it was an enemy country, they were much more valuable. At least they wouldn’t kill them.

So, they took everything and surrendered to the Baroque Kingdom.

Duke Trebia was still unaware of that fact.

“Bring them in right now!”

“I will obey your command.”

Count Anaconda selected thirty trackers and dispatched them to the secret underground base laboratory.

“Your Excellency.”

Lord Irony of the military city of Thema appeared. He looked like he had aged 10 years in a day from all the hardship. His armor was covered in red and green blood.

“Oh, Lord Irony, you’re safe.”

“Yes, thanks to Your Excellency, Duke, I was able to save quite a few citizens.”

Duke Trebia could never smile at Lord Irony’s words.

At least 100,000 people had disappeared. They may not all be dead, but it was clear that at least 90% of them had disappeared.

It wasn’t even a war…

The damage was too great to imagine.

“But… there’s a problem.”

“A problem?”

“Yes.”

Lord Irony bowed his head.

Duke Trebia had a bad feeling and felt like his heart was sinking before he even heard the words.

“What… is it?”

“That, that is.”

“Speak quickly.”

“The Crown Prince… His Highness has gone missing.”

“Missing? What does that mean!”

As expected, the ominous feeling never failed.

Duke Trebia shouted at Lord Irony.

“That is…”

Lord Irony explained the situation to Duke Trebia.

The escort knights were all killed by the monsters.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince’s body was not found. It seemed that someone had saved his life nearby.

His subordinates quickly chased after them. Surprisingly, their traces disappeared.

No matter how much they searched the area, they did not appear.

They had vanished without a trace.

“Couldn’t you find them with magic either?”

“We used all detection magic and tracking magic. We even released the dogs… but we couldn’t find them.”

“The search for the missing is important, but… put everything else aside for now. We must find His Highness the Crown Prince first.”

The kingdom’s situation was already complicated. It was a situation where a war of princes could break out at any time.

If a war of princes broke out, the national power of the Neck House Kingdom would plummet in an instant.

That was one of the reasons why Duke Trebia kept trying to bring in the Baroque Kingdom.

To express internal unrest externally.

To weaken the Baroque Kingdom as much as possible and then start a war.

It goes without saying that if a war breaks out, all the kingdom’s power will be united.

Looking back on history, it was rare for things to happen internally during a war.

Even if there were complaints, it was after the war was over.

If the Baroque Kingdom was occupied, that would also disappear. He would be able to throw rice cakes [distribute rewards] to everyone.

But the operation against the Baroque Kingdom continued to fail.

Duke Trebia was on pins and needles.

In that situation, Pelle, the first in line to the throne, disappeared?

It was a terrible thing.

If he disappeared, a war would break out between the other princes to take the throne.

“Find him! You must find him!”

Duke Trebia, who rarely showed his emotions, turned red in the face and ordered his subordinates.

“Your Excellency! Your Excellency!”

But another desperate news was delivered to him.

“What is it!”

“A hostage situation has occurred.”

“What hostage situation?”

“Terrorists who have occupied the Babel Temple… are said to have taken His Highness Crown Prince Pelle hostage.”

“What?”

W, what kind of dogshit is this?

Why are terrorists suddenly appearing?

Why are they taking His Highness the Crown Prince hostage?

Duke Trebia couldn’t understand the current situation at all.

* * *

Legion laid out his sleeping bag on the floor. He thought he should get some sleep.

He didn’t feel like sleeping in a city that had been turned into a wasteland and where corpses were piled up like mountains.

He was just going to sleep here for a while and then move on.

He lit a bonfire and got into his sleeping bag.

It was very cozy.

He felt like he would fall asleep soon.

“Huh?”

He heard Shuttle’s voice.

Legion didn’t move like a caterpillar, but just turned his head and looked at Shuttle.

“What?”

“A cavalry is coming out of the castle.”

“Cavalry?”

“Yes, oh.”

“Why?”

“They’re heading straight this way.”

“Huh?”

Legion had no choice but to wriggle and move his upper body. Then he turned his head and looked in the direction Shuttle was pointing. Sure enough, thousands of cavalry were heading straight for him.

If he stayed lying down like this, he would be trampled to death by those guys.

“Damn it, you bastards.”

He cursed involuntarily.

It was really cozy.

He really didn’t want to get up again.