Magic Is Learned For Nothing [EN]: Chapter 425

Magic Is Learned in Vain – 426

# 426

Omen of Disaster (2)

Preitia, wearing a mask, and Jack Nitzer stepped forward.

Don Quixote held a dagger to the prince’s neck and remained still.

Slowly…

They walked one step at a time toward the center.

The same was true for Duke Trebia.

Preitia had excluded Duke Trebia from the negotiation table (a plan devised by Legion). The reason was simple: Duke Trebia’s military power was too strong, and he might do something rash. ‘We’re uneasy, so send someone else forward,’ she’d insisted.

Duke Trebia’s camp had no choice.

After all, the hostage-takers held the knife.

No one had imagined that only one member of the royal family would survive.

Tens of thousands of rescuers were deployed to clear the rubble of the resort, which had been reduced to ashes, but not a single survivor had been found yet.

The destructive power was equivalent to a 5th circle fire magic spell.

Such fire magic had rained down on the resort at least hundreds of times.

It was no exaggeration to say that all living things within a 2-kilometer radius had completely disappeared.

The victims included thousands of royals and nobles.

Finding royalty in such a scene of carnage was nearly impossible.

Duke Trebia was receiving real-time reports but had given up hope.

Hundreds of magical artillery shells were concentrated in one place.

It meant the anti-air defense had been breached. Even the barrier was useless.

The Nex House Kingdom had a strong army. However, that didn’t mean it lacked a navy or air force.

Although they didn’t have a significant impact on the war, they also had two regiments of magic balloon units.

There was also a radar unit near the capital.

The Empire’s proud battleships could never avoid the radar unit.

But!

How on earth did they avoid the radar unit and get to Ice City?

Duke Trebia couldn’t have known that the wyverns flew at ultra-high altitudes, much higher than battleships. Moreover,

No matter how hard they racked their brains, no one even considered the wyvern unit.

So, the only remaining royal was the First Prince Pelle, captured by those damn bastards.

The people to negotiate with were Anaconda and Reeves.

Both were Duke Trebia’s closest aides, and their martial prowess was considerable. Duke Trebia believed that if they moved together, they could subdue any opponent.

“Absolutely do not act rashly. You must never do anything that could harm His Highness’s body.”

“I understand.”

Anaconda and Reeves nodded.

Even if they died-

Even if those guys stabbed them in the neck right in front of their eyes, they had to ensure the prince’s safety.

That’s how desperate they were.

“Good. Here.”

Duke Trebia handed Anaconda a 007 briefcase. It was a magical briefcase, capable of holding 1000 times more than it appeared.

Inside was all imperial currency.

400 million gold.

It was money urgently borrowed from the Imperial Bank at a staggering interest rate of 19 percent.

To pay this off, the entire Nex House nation would have to tighten their belts for at least 10 years.

If they failed to repay the money on time, the entire kingdom might face restructuring from the IMF [International Monetary Fund, an organization that provides financial assistance to countries].

In short, their future was in this briefcase.

Only to save the prince.

Anaconda received the 007 briefcase.

His heart was as heavy as the weighty briefcase.

“Still, it’s a relief.”

Count Anaconda said, receiving the briefcase.

“What do you mean?”

“The Super-Express Janus’s negotiation skills. If it weren’t for his quick information, we would have suffered even greater harm. We might have been extorted for 1 billion gold instead of 400 million.”

“Indeed…”

Duke Trebia nodded.

The Super-Express Janus had told them this:

“They also have fast information. There’s definitely someone behind them.”

“I can guess who’s behind it.”

“May I know who it is?”

“I can trust you. Count Legion, or rather, Duke? Do you know that man?”

Legion was startled.

‘Ah, damn it, why is my name coming up here again?’

“I’ve heard of him before, but I don’t know much about him. I’ve only heard snippets.”

“Snippets?”

“Yes, I heard he’s incredibly foolish, violent, and a piece of trash. I don’t know what connection he could possibly have with this hostage situation.”

It felt a bit awkward to insult himself. But he had no choice.

He had to divert the blade of suspicion somehow.

“No. I think he’s very meticulous. He might be deceiving your eyes.”

“Hmm, that may be true, but I don’t think he’s behind it. I heard he’s very foolish.”

“A foolish person can’t rise to the position of Duke.”

“He’s good with his tongue. They say he’s a great flatterer and has the nickname ‘Grand Vile Minister.'”

Ugh, that hurts. To have to call myself a ‘Grand Vile Minister’ with my own mouth.

“Hmm, is that so? Listening to you, it might be true. But we must investigate him. His name is written all over this.”

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, it’s certain that someone is behind them. Otherwise, they couldn’t have such fast information.”

“I agree.”

“They knew that Ice City had been bombed.”

There was no way they could have known.

Legion was the one who went back and forth, feeding them information.

“Ugh…”

Duke Trebia let out a shallow groan. He seemed to have aged 10 years in the past few days.

He must have suffered a lot.

“But the heavens seem to be on our side.”

“Why?”

“They don’t know that all the royals are dead. If they knew, it wouldn’t have ended with 400 million gold. They would have asked for 1 billion gold. They would have known they held the ultimate trump card.”

“I can’t make 1 billion gold even if I die and come back to life. It’s national bankruptcy. No, even 400 million gold is very dangerous. There’s a high possibility of inflation.”

“Inflation, you say?”

“Yes, that’s not important right now. The fact that we can’t raise 1 billion gold is not important. Because they have the golden card called the prince.”

“If the prince dies, they won’t get the money either. It won’t lead to a good outcome for them.”

“No. Think about it. What they want is money. We are people. Money can be replenished, but people cannot. If the prince dies? There are no royals left, so what are you going to do? Are you going to establish a new dynasty? I think you know how difficult and challenging that is.”

“That’s right. It’s just a loss for them. Are you saying they have nothing to lose?”

“That’s why I said, although seriously injured, we still have a few royals left on our side.”

“Oh.”

“I was bluffing. Their demands started to wane. They lowered it from 1 billion gold to 800 million gold. I countered with 300 million gold again.”

“The negotiation settled at 400 million gold?”

“That’s right. That’s how it happened.”

“You are an excellent negotiator.”

“You flatter me.”

“If this matter ends safely, I will definitely give you a great reward.”

“I will keep the great reward firmly in my mind.”

The Super-Express Janus said with a smile.

Anaconda was highly impressed by Janus.

“Don’t let your guard down until the very end.”

“I know. Let’s go.”

Count Anaconda looked at Reeves. Reeves possessed the kingdom’s strongest hand-to-hand combat abilities.

He was known as the immortal berserker. If anything went wrong, he was willing to be the arrow shield instead of the prince. He believed in his amazing vitality.

Step, step, step.

At the Tower of Babel, Preitia and Jack Nitzer stood ready.

From the army forming the encirclement, Count Anaconda and Reeves walked forward as representatives.

In the middle, Legion, Shuttle, and Profiler were positioned.

They were there to ensure fairness.

“Damn it, I’m dying to pee. This is really crazy.”

Shuttle rubbed his thighs wildly.

“Hey, you look like a pervert. Can you stop doing that?”

“Do I look like I’m joking? If we mess up, we’re all going to hell. Ah, no way. They’re pushing us into such a dangerous job while giving us such a meager appearance fee.”

“Shh, shh. Everything will be alright.”

“What if it’s not?”

“If the protagonist dies, the novel ends. It’s a bit absurd, but…”

“If the boss dies here and the ending credits roll, I guarantee there will be more than 100 negative comments.”

“Hey, hey, I told you not to worry. We can’t die now. There’s still quite a bit of content left. Take it easy.”

“People scream while watching horror movies, right? They all know the ghost is fake, but why do they scream? Why are they so scared that they can’t sleep at night?”

“Ah, that bastard talks too much. Headmaster, switch places with this guy. He’s too noisy.”

Legion looked at the Profiler.

But…

He had already wet himself. A man in his thirties was sobbing.

“I want to go back.”

“No. Headmaster, shut up too. Ah, what’s wrong with everyone?”

“Ugh, it’s coming. It’s here. It’s really unavoidable now. My face is completely exposed. I guarantee I’m going to die. Ah, Headmaster too.”

“Why me…?”

“It’s just that being with the boss is a sin.”

“Quiet. I can hear voices.”

At Legion’s threat, Shuttle and Profiler shut their mouths.

Step, step.

Preitia and Count Anaconda stood facing each other. Jack Nitzer stood half a step behind Preitia, and Reeves took his place half a step behind Count Anaconda.

About 10 meters apart.

Legion, who was in the center, bowed to both sides.

“From now on, I, the negotiator, will mediate.”

Preitia and Anaconda nodded. Both trusted the man called ‘Super-Express Janus,’ so there were no major difficulties expected in the negotiation.

“The money is here.”

Anaconda held up the 007 briefcase.

Legion approached Anaconda.

“I will check. Please open the briefcase.”

Count Anaconda, nodding, opened the 007 briefcase.

Legion’s eyes widened. He was rich, but he didn’t have money on a national scale.

400 million gold.

It was an enormous amount that even he, as a wealthy man, was seeing for the first time. The corners of his lips involuntarily rose. He wanted to dance, shaking his arms without realizing it.

Count Anaconda closed the 007 briefcase.

“What about the prince?”

Count Anaconda asked.

Preitia looked back.

Don Quixote removed the mask from the man with the knife to his neck. He removed the gag from his mouth.

“Kugh, Count Anaconda. It’s me! It’s me! First Prince Pelle. Please save me. Hurry!”

The man, believing he was the prince, shouted desperately.

Count Anaconda, confirming his voice, let out a short sigh.

The prince’s health seemed to be fine. Thank goodness. He had to be healthy at least until the next descendant was born.

“Let’s hand them over at the same time.”

Count Anaconda said.

Legion looked at Preitia and asked.

“What do you want to do?”

Preitia also nodded. She looked at Don Quixote once more.

Don Quixote pushed the man’s back. He, too, had a parched mouth.

No one knew yet that this guy was a fake. As soon as it was revealed that he was a fake, they wouldn’t leave us alone.

The two men who came to negotiate.

Even with a quick glance, they were no pushovers. They were really strong guys.

It was said that Duke Trebia had plenty of such superhumans under him.

With his personal abilities, he could never escape from them.

The only thing he could trust in the end was Preitia.

The mercenaries who couldn’t escape were pitiful, but…

Step, step.

The man, believing himself to be the prince, slowly walked towards Count Anaconda.

“I will also hand over the money. Give it to me.”

Legion held out his hand.

“Ah, here it is. Please take care of it.”

Count Anaconda unlocked the handcuffs on his wrist and gave the 007 briefcase to Legion.

Legion took the briefcase and headed towards Preitia.

Step, step.

He passed by the man who believed himself to be the prince.

Legion was also sweating profusely down his spine.

He had never been so nervous in his life. He was crazy. Why did he come up with this idea? He was deeply regretting it.

But there was no choice.

The water had already been spilled [an idiom meaning the situation cannot be undone].

He had to do it with the determination to die.

Legion winked at Shuttle.

Shuttle quickly threw the portal stone on the ground.

Instantly, a portal was created.

“Jump!”

Shuttle and Profiler jumped into the portal.

Immediately, Legion jumped in with the money briefcase. The portal door was closing in an instant.

Everyone was just watching what Legion was doing with blank eyes.

No way…

No.

It can’t be.

He’s the Super-Express Janus.

One of the Five Great Heavenly Kings.

Hey.

Hey.

Say something.

Really…

Did he run away with 400 million gold?