All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 199

100. For the Sake of Discord – 1

“By the way, why are you here?”

“And how did you know I was here, Clan Lord?”

The Clan Lord picked up Myane, who had been clinging to Ian.

Perhaps it was because she had spent some time with him?

Myane nestled quietly in the Clan Lord’s arms.

“I was returning from an errand outside.”

“Errand?”

“Yes. I don’t know if you’re aware, but monsters have been acting strangely lately.”

‘Is it the same situation as before?’

“Are you referring to the phenomenon of monsters gathering in one place?”

“Yeah, that’s right. You know about it too?”

“Roughly.”

Actually, he had just learned about it thanks to Kirke.

He had been too busy with research to pay attention.

Kirke also tended not to report unless it was a special situation, to avoid disturbing his research.

“Yes. Such things have been happening recently. Especially near neutral zones like the Forest of the Faceless.”

“But such things don’t happen in the Mial Mountains.”

The Mial Mountains were also a major neutral zone, but nothing like that had occurred there.

“I don’t know why. I checked with the mages, but they don’t know either.”

“Did you happen to have something like this?”

When he took out the horn he had received from Park Bare, the Clan Lord shook his head.

“Some places did, but not all of them.”

“Any malice?”

“That too.”

Some places had lingering malice, but others didn’t.

‘Kirke, what do you think?’

‘Yeah.’

Monsters don’t necessarily stay put in one place.

They roam in search of food or flee to other places to avoid subjugation.

These cases are called wanderers, and when they find other monster groups, they are either absorbed into them or seize dominance.

‘A demon injected the monster groups with faith in Rubellin. And the monsters who received that faith go around spreading it to other monsters. Wherever that faith takes root, this symbol appears. Something like that, right?’

‘What do they intend to do by receiving the faith of monsters?’

In this world, monsters are takers.

They don’t produce anything themselves; they take from others.

Whether it’s food, equipment, or life.

And although they are in the same category of monsters, they hate each other and prey on each other.

That’s why they don’t unite.

But that is changing.

“The mages are speculating that the monsters have gained faith. And if that’s true, it’s a serious matter. They say they might be able to unite…”

“I suppose so. Monsters are fundamentally stronger than humans, after all.”

“Yes. Those who can’t use aura or mana, or haven’t been properly trained, are weaker than them.”

What if such monsters become a single force?

And attack the current world?

“What if the monsters, gathered around faith, kill all life in the world and then commit suicide?”

Then the demons would be able to achieve the destruction they desire.

Ian nodded at the Clan Lord’s words.

“The reason they can’t do that in the Mial Mountains must be because of me.”

“In any case, the demons consider you their biggest threat. Well, I hope the monsters move on their own and establish a force there as well. Anyway, this is going to be a headache.”

The Clan Lord sighed and shook his head.

“Really, all sorts of weirdos are coming out and causing trouble.”

“Haha. It can’t be helped.”

As they talked, they arrived at the inner gate.

The gatekeepers of the inner gate opened the gate when they saw the Clan Lord, revealing the interior.

It certainly looked much better than the outer walls.

“The problem is that humans and other races could be influenced by their faith.”

“Do you think so? Isn’t that going too far?”

“The ignorant are easily swayed. There were even those who worshiped monsters as gods.”

“Hmm… well, you’re not wrong.”

Just then, someone was thrown from the entrance of a building.

“Uwaaaagh!!”

It was a large man.

As he flew towards him, Ian caught him and tossed him aside.

“That’s how it is. Humans are a bit like that. They get caught up in petty schemes and lose their reason over trivial squabbles. Do they save their intelligence to put in stew? It’s pathetic.”

What emerged from the broken door was a red-haired woman in armor.

As large as Gust, she frowned and raised her battle-axe.

“Say that again, you son of a bitch.”

“Kuaaagh! Karin! You muscle-brained idiot, relying on the Forest Keeper to act tough!! I’ll completely destroy Blood Devil today!”

“I’ll take down the Blazing Wave’s signboard today!!”

The woman with the battle-axe and the martial artist man clashed.

Watching this, the Clan Lord let out a cold sneer.

“The reason they’re fighting is simple. By spreading some nonsense, they’re provoking each other’s pride.”

“You know it well. Did the Sword Flower Clan do it?”

“Ah, not us.”

He pointed to one side.

There, wearing white uniforms and with their arms crossed, were people watching their fight.

“The unskilled don’t survive long in the Forest of the Faceless.”

“I see.”

In the meantime, the battle-axe warrior called Karin beheaded the man.

As his head fell, she panted and then collapsed to her knees.

She had also been hit by the martial artist’s attack earlier.

White-clad people approached Karin, who seemed to have broken ribs.

They must have been hiding.

As they emerged one by one, Karin gritted her teeth.

“Damn bastards…”

“Hehehe. Karin, this is the end.”

Watching this, the Clan Lord grabbed his sword hilt.

“Ian, wait here for a moment.”

“Are you going to intervene?”

“The Sword Flower Clan and Blood Devil are in alliance. It’s good to create debts at times like this.”

As the Clan Lord walked towards the surrounded Karin, Ian shrugged and walked with him.

“There’s no need for you to get involved.”

“Still, it’ll be over faster if we do it together.”

“Useless.”

But he didn’t stop him.

As the Clan Lord and Ian approached, the white-clad people flinched and tensed.

“…Why is the Sword Flower Clan intervening in this?”

“White Castle has been a nuisance for a while. And I have things to receive from that old Forest Keeper.”

The Clan Lord slowly pointed his sword.

Seeing this, Karin bit her lip.

“Damn it! I’ll definitely repay this debt!”

“You’re too weak to repay it, so tell the old man later.”

He replied coldly as he prepared for battle.

Watching this, Ian raised his hand.

A huge magic circle was created on Ian’s hand.

The moment that magic circle was formed, magic circles appeared in front of the faces of the White Castle clan members, a strong clan even within the inner walls.

“Huh?!”

“Wh-what is this?!”

“Is there a rule that you can’t use magic in the Forest of the Faceless?”

“There’s no way.”

“Then let’s finish this quickly.”

Ian activated the magic.

Light burst from the magic circle in his hand.

-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As dozens of lights were fired into the air, the white-clad people, the clan members of White Castle, tensed and raised their auras.

But.

-Bang!!

Their auras could not block the light falling from the sky.

As if stamping a seal on the magic circles engraved on them, dozens of lights rained down spectacularly, chasing after them.

“Damn it!!”

One person quickly dodged.

But the already stamped magic circle followed him and changed the direction of the falling light.

“Homing?!”

Those were his last words.

Ian casually dusted off his hands after instantly slaughtering dozens of people.

“Let’s go.”

“…You’re still really…”

“A-amazing. Who are you? Ah, no. Who are you, sir?”

“Ian Brandon.”

“…The one the grandfather mentioned? Wow… truly overwhelming. Ah, I’m late with the introduction. I’m Karin Balzac, the 3rd leader of the Blood Devil Clan, the number one clan in the Forest of the Faceless.”

“Nice to meet you.”

As the two exchanged greetings, the Clan Lord pointed to Karin indifferently.

“The Blood Devil Clan is also investigating the phenomenon I mentioned earlier.”

“What, the phenomenon of monsters gathering? Hmm. As a matter of fact, our clan has found out one thing…”

Karin scratched her cheek and sighed.

“I don’t know if you can believe this or not.”

“What is it?”

“The monsters used writing. They made strange clay tablets.”

‘Well, it has to be a language that monsters can understand.’

Even if it was a language that no one knew, it was not difficult to translate if he connected to Truth [a skill that allows him to understand anything].

Kirke quickly obtained information from Truth, checked the contents of the clay tablet, and said.

‘It’s not the doctrine of the Moon Cult, is it?’

Currently, there were cults of the Sun and Moon on the continent.

And most humans followed the Sun Cult.

And most other races followed the Moon Cult.

The two formed the world to some extent, in harmony without major complaints against each other.

But what does it mean that the faith followed by monsters includes the moon?

‘They’re aiming for conflict.’

‘They’re using their heads a bit this time. I wonder what he looks like. Is it Rubellin?’

When Ian chuckled.

People wearing the same armor as Karin ran from afar.

“Leader Karin!!”

“What is it?”

“It’s a telegram sent by Leader Kepron!”

She gritted her teeth as she looked at the paper they gave her.

“These sons of bitches!”

“What’s wrong?”

Karin said coldly to Ian, who was puzzled.

“There’s a village in Cowell Gorge, north of the Forest of the Faceless. The monsters attacked that village. And…”

She clenched her fist tightly.

“They performed human sacrifices in the village.”