Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 1116

After leaving the outer city of Kundara, Lenox arrived at a small, nameless city for the first time.

He encountered news from the central region in the bustling downtown area near a station where the Trans-Western Continent Railway stopped.

=The Fall of Kundara. The Advance of the Long-Lived Species into the Continent

=Where is the Central Front Heading?

=Will it Act as a New Variable in the War Between the Alliance and the Order?

[Kundara, which fell in the border area of the Western Front, is about to make an official announcement soon…]

[Currently, delegations from the Order Alliance, the Order, and the Ability Awakening Corps are arriving at the border area…]

Newspapers were scattered everywhere. News flowed from the screens at a rapid pace, as if competing with each other.

Experts warned of the advance of the long-lived species into the continent and its aftermath.

Programs discussed how the Western Front would change in the future.

However, the name that appeared most frequently in the news remained constant.

[We are reporting that the Iron Fortress is deeply involved in the collapse of Kundara, which fell in the Central Front.]

[The Iron Fortress is a great mage active around Vulcan, an outlaw who has committed countless acts of destruction-]

[He is suspected of massacring druids in the Western Front and fleeing, but he appeared in Kundara…]

“…….”

The media in the Central Front were all reporting the name of the Iron Fortress.

They posted blurry, faceless photos taken from various angles in Vulcan,

and repeatedly showed the scenes of destruction Lenox had caused, or the battlefields after the fighting had ended.

It was as if they were warning those living in the Central Front about the existence of the mage known as the Iron Fortress.

Lenox stared at the photos and videos of himself being broadcast from all directions with an expressionless face.

‘The news is spreading faster than I thought. It’s not unusual considering the environment of the central region, but…’

He had expected the events in Kundara to leak out somehow, but he never imagined they would be watching him so closely already.

It was inevitable that the central region would be in an uproar after the fall of the Old Calamity, but the speed at which Lenox was being focused on was excessively fast.

He had thought that his actions would only start to become known after the deaths of the Eight Dragon Kings, the Council of Elders, or Maleon were announced.

Was it because the name of the Iron Fortress was already famous in the Central Front, or was it the result of someone else’s intervention?

While Lenox was lost in thought, considering several possibilities and hypotheses that he couldn’t immediately grasp,

the city’s citizens also stopped in their tracks and watched the news reporting on the Iron Fortress.

“Did you hear? They say that’s why all the routes passing through the Western Front have been suspended.”

“Tokerphos, Endorose, and Automile. Even the famous major cities of the Western Continent are considering travel restrictions, so that says it all.”

The Central Front was the most dangerous battlefield in history, where all sorts of monsters and superhumans from the continent gathered.

Naturally, the appearance of a new outlaw on the front lines was bound to be of interest to everyone.

Lenox silently turned his head, his gaze stopping in front of a news screen where people were gathered.

[We have secured some footage of the disaster that occurred in the Western Front. Let’s take a look.]

Beep-

At the same time as the anchor sitting at the desk spoke, the screen switched and showed a blue sky.

The sky stretched out above the horizon. Above it, thousands of beautiful silver meteor showers poured down.

Kugugugu…!!!

It was the moment Lenox realized that it was the radiance of Maleon’s Ideological Battlefield, the Galaxy Dragon Star Group [a powerful domain created by Maleon].

[What you are seeing now is a video taken from hundreds of kilometers away of the sky just before Kundara fell.]

The anchor said in a serious voice.

[Most of the videos were damaged and could not be recorded, but the Order managed to successfully film for nearly 20 seconds and released the video.]

“…….”

Twenty seconds. Lenox frowned as he looked at the screen.

It was obvious that they had managed to secure that much recording time by grinding down the Order’s followers.

If they had filmed Lenox’s spell up close, it wouldn’t have worked at all, so it must have been possible because the distance was that far.

As soon as he saw the video, he could tell which point in the battle it had been filmed.

‘They filmed the moment right after the Lightless Infinite Palace collapsed.’

[That’s after Master was about to shatter the reptile’s hierarchy.]

As Davi added, the video filmed by the Order was a snapshot of the moment right after Lenox ‘shot out’ his domain to break Maleon’s hierarchy.

It was a video of the time when the domain of the Lightless Infinite Palace disappeared, the Galaxy Dragon Star Group shook, and it fell along with the Old Calamity.

He could roughly guess why the Order was only able to film at this point.

In the first place, the scenery could not have been captured on video while the Lightless Infinite Palace and the Galaxy Dragon Star Group were intact.

After the [Gate] opened, it would not have been possible to see that moment with the naked eye, so the only moment that could be filmed was the instant in between.

The Order must have not missed the fleeting moment when the two people’s minds were simultaneously broken and shaken.

Kugwagwagwa…!!!

Numerous starlight rotated, drawing a huge celestial sphere, and silver and colorless light intersected and heaved.

Each time, black-stained ripples exploded and pierced the sky and ground vertically, scattering.

The image of a huge celestial sphere scattering starlight and colorless light in all directions as it fell from the sky.

The sphere of the Galaxy Dragon Star Group cracked and resonated, and then, at the moment it emitted an enormous light.

Click-

The video cut off and the screen returned.

[…….]

The reporters sitting next to the anchor were speechless, their mouths agape.

Even the people watching the news with Lenox couldn’t say a word.

[The Order has announced that this video is the main cause of Kundara’s fall.]

The anchor, with his hands clasped together, said quietly.

[They even indirectly admitted that the Apostle Slayer was involved in this video.]

“…….”

[Of course, it is not known how much we should believe the Order’s announcement at a time when there is no official response from Kundara…]

Everyone knew that this video was neither fabricated nor false.

And that alone was enough to warn how serious this situation was.

The reporters sitting next to the anchor began to discuss the aftermath of this incident in earnest.

[The fall of Kundara will completely change the environment of the Western Front. Perhaps we will have to redefine the front lines from the beginning.]

[There was already an impact that changed the terrain. We need to redraw the map, not just the front lines.]

[The long-lived species are creatures with tremendous potential, one by one. If they start to move, change will be inevitable.]

[Is it true that all of this was a crime committed by a single mage?]

The voices of the citizens quietly whispering as they watched the news.

“That’s completely insane… Can you even call that a human being?”

“No matter what someone in the central region says… do you still see that as a human?”

“…….”

[My ears are tickling.]

Lenox, ignoring Davi’s words, glanced away.

There was so much news and information pouring out from the surroundings that it was overwhelming, but among them, there was a screen where a lot of people were gathered.

It was the news that was broadcasting the footage Lenox had just seen, or a program with several newly discovered panelists.

High-ranking mages from the Magic Tower, famous war mercenaries, and military scholars from the Administration Bureau.

Experts who were famous in their respective fields, both on the front lines and behind the scenes, were gathered in one place.

[The mage in question has appeared in the central region for the first time, what do you think about this?]

The host asked a question naturally, as if trying to lighten the mood.

[The great mage known as the Iron Fortress, and his nature, are very well known in the Central Front.]

[There are still many people analyzing the one-on-one battle with Chunbeon in Vulcan.]

The mages of the Magic Tower added, as if they had been waiting for the host’s question.

[Chunbeon’s Alternate Incantation [a unique spell]. There is nothing that has not been talked about, from the spell duel between the two great mages to their domains-]

[Unlike Chunbeon, not much was known about the Iron Fortress’s magic.]

[Recently, Chunbeon has greatly contributed in the first gate, raising the evaluation of the Iron Fortress even higher.]

[If he is powerful enough to defeat a powerful mage like Chunbeon, how powerful is the Iron Fortress?]

The clash between Chunbeon and the Iron Fortress, which took place in Vulcan.

The battle between two level 8 great mages was now even more famous in the central region.

After Chunbeon, who had advanced to the central region first, raised his status by defeating the Grafting Technique Master in the first gate.

It was only natural that the evaluation of the Iron Fortress, who had won against Chunbeon, would rise as well.

But no one had imagined that the Iron Fortress, who had followed him to the central region, would destroy the Western Front in this way.

[The first thing he did after advancing to the Central Front was massacre and destroy a city…]

[I have to admit that his terrible notoriety, and the rumors that he is bloodthirsty, were rather understated.]

[He was a big shot who had almost no external activities except for the sabotage he committed in Machina, so it was impossible to predict his range of action.]

[At least for now, it seems certain that the Iron Fortress is a more bloodthirsty person than he was known to be.]

The panelists freely exchanged their opinions on the rumors about the Iron Fortress.

Even the others who were watching the program intently naturally agreed with their words.

[The level of these organic beings’ remarks is starting to cross the line.]

Davi poked his head out from Lenox’s arms.

[Shall I take care of them, Master?]

“…What do you plan to do?”

Lenox put Davi’s head back into his arms with a dumbfounded expression.

“Leave them be. There’s no reason to get angry now.”

[That’s not analysis, they’re insulting Master. If this was Vulcan, they would have been taught a lesson right away…]

“…….”

Could it be that the reason why the voices criticizing the Iron Fortress were not so loud in the Vulcan public media was because of that…?

Lenox shook off the thought that suddenly came to mind and turned away, while the voices analyzing the Iron Fortress’s position continued in the video.

[The massacre of the druids in the Western Front, the damage and intrusion of the [Barrier], and the fall and collapse of Kundara.]

[Each of these incidents is enough to warrant a continent-wide execution order-]

[Surprisingly, there are quite a few people among the vanguard attack forces in the central region who are trying to recruit the Iron Fortress.]

[What? Are you saying that they are trying to bring such a heinous mage to their side?]

At the host’s appropriate question, the experts’ mouths naturally opened.

[Isn’t the Four Heavenly Calamities and the second gate stuck in a stalemate for different reasons?]

[Now that the war between the Alliance and the Order is repeating a meaningless war of attrition, they want a variable that can change the situation.]

[He is the one who destroyed the Western Front and caused Kundara to fall as soon as he advanced to the central region. Regardless of his character, his abilities are unprecedented.]

[The ‘organization’ I belong to speculates that the Iron Fortress’s actions are a means of promoting himself.]

[A means of promotion, you say?]

When the host asked back, a young man with white hair smiled and nodded.

[He appeared in the central region as if to show off after Chunbeon went wild in the first gate, so it is certain that it was to show off his abilities.]

[That’s…]

[Even if they don’t show it, they can’t help but be aware of it. Transcendents who have reached that level are such beings.]

The young man looked at the audience and experts around him and gave a clear smile.

[He is a villain, but he is a mage who is so capable that he doesn’t care about such evaluations. He definitely wants something. He wants to change the game with his existence.]

[You mean, he wants to change the Central Front…]

[Now that he has proven his abilities in such a flamboyant way, isn’t it natural that various forces would want his power?]

“…….”

Lenox, who had gotten up from his seat and was walking away without any regrets, glanced back.

The young man with white hair who referred to himself as a member of the ‘organization’. He knew this situation better than anyone else gathered there.

To be precise, he knew about the impact on the Central Front and its consequences due to what Lenox had done.

“Davi. You said organization, right?”

[I’ll search the networks near the Central Front.]

Davi, who immediately understood Lenox’s words, perked up his ears.

[If I rummage through the database, I can filter out similar information using AI indexing.]

“Okay. Investigate whether such an organization actually exists in the depths of the Central Front.”

The Order Alliance and the Guido Order. The Ability Awakening Corps and the Dead Rise.

He had faced the super-large forces that dominated the continent and the Central Front several times, but apart from that, he had heard that there were organizations that directly attacked the central cities from the deepest part of the front lines.

If these people called the organization were referring to an organization that was active in the deepest part of the front lines, then Lenox would also need to be aware of the information about them.

[If I connect to the train station’s communication system, it’s possible right now. Shall I start right away?]

“…No. Let’s wait a little longer.”

Lenox answered and headed to the outskirts behind an alley where there were no people.

He sat on a secluded bench where no one was around, and the moment he quietly turned his gaze.

“It seems like it’s about time.”

Chijik-

The surrounding screens and electronic devices began to turn off one by one with noise.

Chiiiiik…!!

A sense of incongruity, as if an invisible, intangible barrier was blocking and disrupting communication, cutting off this space.

The quiet back alley of the city.

The edge of the outer commercial district, where the outside of the city was visible right in front of him.

The moment Lenox tilted his head at the end of that deserted bench where people had stopped coming.

Thud…!!

He could feel someone very heavy and huge landing in front of Lenox.

A figure much larger than Lenox. A strange appearance with his whole body wrapped in thick black cloth.

But Lenox did not miss the faded silver scales peeking out from under the cloth.

“Before finishing everything, there was one last thing I had to do.”

Lenox said quietly.

“Even if you didn’t want this ending… I thought you would definitely come looking for me.”

“…….”

The other party did not answer.

Instead, he heavily released a gloomy, sunken thought.

With that alone, Lenox could understand how he felt about this moment.

Because it was the last thing he did not expect, and because he knew it was not a clean ending.

Even if there was only unwanted lingering attachment there.

“I’ve been waiting, Maleon.”

“…Ban.”

Inside the thick cloth, the sharp face of a dragon was faintly visible.

It was tattered and miserable, as if his whole body had been torn apart and sewn back together.

Maleon’s eyes, looking at Lenox, were filled with an endlessly gloomy light.

“Why… am I alive?”