The Archmage’s Destruction Strategy - Chapter 140

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#140. Extortion and Coercion

Beginning with the billionaire’s shelter known as Elysium, I traversed the landscape while deploying wide-range detection magic, systematically plundering the Consortium’s resources and Awakened operatives without discrimination.
All under the convenient guise of ‘forced requisition for war’.
What proved amusing was how those who initially protested my aggressive requisition methods became my most vocal supporters after joining my ranks.
It was only natural—having been forcibly conscripted from their own shelters and mobilized for war, they couldn’t stomach the thought of Awakened operatives in rival Consortiums reaping the benefits while they suffered.
Consequently, the Awakened I’d forcibly requisitioned deliberately exposed the locations of other survivor Consortiums they knew of, compelling me to seek them out regardless of the effort required.
Some even threatened that if I failed to recruit certain powerful Awakened they knew, they would refuse to fight properly on the battlefield.
What transpired upon arriving at the Consortiums they guided me to was even more spectacular.
The moment they reached each shelter, they descended like bandits, ferreting out the locations of secret stockpiles and forcibly dragging resistant Awakened to Hive Hornet by their collars.

“Listen, this is a fight for the greater cause. Don’t lose face over this—just join quietly.”
“What nonsense is this?! How dare you do this to me? Dragging someone living peacefully in a safe shelter into a battle against a Level 9 Corrosion Entity?!”
“Unfair? Of course it’s unfair. But what can you do? I was dragged into this too. So I won’t stand for watching only me die while you live comfortably. Come with me. If I die, you die too, you bastard.”

Since all American Awakened originated from EDS, the Earth Defense Security organization, most Awakened were familiar with each other’s abilities and faces.
Precisely because of this familiarity, they found it utterly intolerable that Awakened as strong as or stronger than themselves remained comfortable in safe shelters while they suffered.
Thanks to this dynamic, I was able to supplement supplies and personnel smoothly without resorting to the extreme measures I’d employed on the first Consortium—like blowing off a shelter’s roof.

“This should suffice. I’ll leave the rest behind.”

As I smiled and spoke, having dumped mountains of supplies painstakingly accumulated through enormous expenditure of money and time into my Subspace, the requisitioned Consortium’s administrator glared at me with eyes brimming with resentment.
Behind him, a Camp guard screamed as he was forcibly dragged toward Hive Hornet, his limbs flailing in the grip of my soldiers.

“This is robbery. When this war ends, I will ensure you face legal consequences.”
“Do you know what happens if we lose this fight? There won’t be any legal consequences—there won’t be anything left at all.”

There was a legitimate reason why I had to resort to coercive measures despite the resentment it might earn from Sung-jun.
If his objective were merely to eliminate the Corrosion Entity in New York, our current forces would have been sufficient, but what Sung-jun desired was victory achieved with minimal casualties.
Even if we succeeded in eliminating the Corrosion Entities that had appeared in China, Japan, and the United States, three more remained in Europe.
Moreover, considering the situation on the American Continent after Sung-jun’s arrival, it was highly unlikely that we could expect support from European forces locally.
Ultimately, to face the remaining three Corrosion Entities in Europe, we would need support from China, the United States, and Japan—regions where the Corrosion Entities had already been dealt with.
Additionally, since my teacher Minastrias had sealed the Corrosion Entity that appeared over Seoul Airspace, we would need to secure support from the South Korean government, which was in a relatively comfortable position.
To achieve this, above all else, we needed to minimize our allies’ casualties in the battle that would unfold in New York.
Those who survived that battle would become reinforcements for the battles to come.
Of course, convincing nations to deploy their own soldiers as reinforcements to dangerous regions teeming with monsters during a time when people struggled to find their own means of survival was no simple task, but I already possessed a solution to that problem.
Enormous quantities of supplies forcibly requisitioned from the underground shelters that the conglomerates had built for their own survival.
Having requisitioned enough supplies to easily feed hundreds of millions of people, I intended to demand their participation in exchange, and I had already informed General MacFarlane of this plan.
Once the battle in New York concluded, I would ask him to assist me and participate in the European front.
Upon hearing my words, General MacFarlane broke into a refreshing smile and nodded toward me.

“Of course. If you had said you were going alone, I would have followed you even if I had to cling to your back.”

The young man called Sung-jun, as the general saw him, was incomprehensible.
It was behavior difficult to understand by ordinary standards—hunting Corrosion Entities across the globe that world governments had abandoned, as though he carried a mission to save humanity itself.
However, contrary to the general’s perception, I had not been blessed with many choices.
Silermantis, which my teacher could not defeat and could only seal at the cost of his life, was far too powerful an enemy for me to face.
To avenge my teacher, I needed strength.
Not the strength that could be gained simply by developing my magical abilities, but new strength that could only be obtained by defeating the remaining six Corrosion Entities.
Every step of my journey thus far had been a movement toward acquiring that strength.

“Now that I think about it, you mentioned that after defeating Yeojiggwi, the Corrosion Entity in China, you placed a curse on the entire Earth that allows lower-grade Corrosion Entities to be damaged by ordinary weapons like rifles? And in Japan, you cast a spell that allows special magic stones capable of creating awakened weapons to emerge from the bodies of defeated Corrosion Entities. Is your intention to eliminate the American Corrosion Entity for a similar reason?”

On the evening before the final battle in New York, as we entered the last preparations, General MacFarlane approached me as I stood gazing at the illusion of a magically-created campfire, organizing my thoughts.
Without turning my head, I nodded and answered the general.
Without turning his head away from the flames, Sung-jun nodded and answered General.

“May I ask what it is?”
May I ask what that is?

However, my answer, delivered in a matter-of-fact tone, contained shocking content that the general could never have imagined.
However, General couldn’t have even imagined the shocking content contained in Sung-jun’s answer, which he delivered with an indifferent expression.

“You mean… spirits?”
“Are you… a spirit?”

Since there were many types of what people commonly called “spirits,” General MacFarlane demanded an explanation of what kind of spirit Sung-jun was referring to.
Elementals representing the four great elements—fire, water, wind, and earth—were one type of spirit, and the spirits spoken of in animism were also a form of spirit.
Moreover, in East Asian regions, spirits were words that could mean fairies or ghosts.

“The spirits I’m referring to are a separate dimension connected to the Otherworld where my Teacher resided. They are spiritual entities born with mana sensitivity equivalent to high-ranking Mages, and through contracts with Mages, they enable the use of spirit magic.”
“Then if that magic were to activate, would someone like me, an ordinary civilian, be able to contract with a spirit and use magic?”
“You seem to have read quite a few fantasy novels, and the conclusion is essentially correct. There are differences in the grades of spirits each person can contract with, but fundamentally, everyone will form contracts with spirits.”

The magic Sung-jun was attempting to activate was a form of forced contract.
A spell that would cause all humanity born on Earth to automatically form contracts with their respective spirits.
Sung-jun said that if the spell activated, he would be able to feel the strong bond that would form between himself and the spirits at that moment.

“Simply contracting with a spirit doesn’t immediately grant you tremendous power. The most important thing in spirit magic is the affinity between the contractor and their innate spirit, but the next most important thing is the bond built between the contracted spirit and the contractor. The former is close to innate talent, but the latter can be developed through acquired effort.”

Of course, among them were powerful spirits capable of displaying high-ranking Mage-level abilities through contract alone, without any particular bond.
Those who contracted with the Spirit Kings symbolizing the six great attributes—fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darkness—could become superhuman beings capable of freely drawing upon the Spirit King’s power from the moment of contract.
Unable to contain his curiosity after hearing Sung-jun’s explanation, General MacFarlane asked him another question.

“If all six contractors who have contracted with the Spirit Kings were to gather, would they be able to face a Corrosion Entity?”
“Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be that strong. In the first place, spirits manifesting their power in dimensions other than the Spirit Realm face a severe penalty where they can only exert one-tenth of their true strength. Moreover, if contracts with spirits possessed such overwhelming power, the world where my Teacher lived would not have suffered defeat in their struggle against Corrosion Entities. The role of spirits is ultimately to lend fighting strength to their contractors. Until I arrive in Europe and complete preparations for the next battle with a Corrosion Entity, they will lend the strength to endure so that the remaining humanity in Europe doesn’t face annihilation.”

Having finished speaking, Sung-jun slowly rose from his seat.
The dim light of the morning sun, heralding the approach of the final battle, was slowly beginning to peek over the horizon.
Sung-jun understood well why he hadn’t been attacked even once during his journey to New York.

‘Concentrated focus. They’re gathering every available force to settle this in New York.’

That was precisely what Sung-jun desired as well.
Rather than facing opponents like Yeojiggwi who could read the future and evade every attack, or like the Dungeon Master who could manipulate dimensions themselves as easily as kneading dough, fighting enemies who came at him directly with raw power, as they were doing now, was far more convenient for a Mage.

“It’s today.”
“It is.”

Since departing from Japan and setting foot on American soil, Sung-jun had risked his life for this single day alone. Now he turned his head to gaze at Atlas behind him.
And beyond Atlas’s shoulders, the massive aerial carrier Hive Hornet loomed into view.
Above Hive Hornet’s deck, hundreds of flying golems knelt in readiness for sortie, glittering brilliantly as they caught the light of the morning sun now fully revealed.

“Captain. It’s time to return.”

At that moment, a flying golem descended to the surface to retrieve the General, who had come down to converse with Sung-jun’s phantom.
The General turned to climb onto the golem’s palm, but instead pivoted toward Sung-jun’s phantom and extended his fist.

“Safe travels.”

The General knew full well that even if his fist connected with Sung-jun’s phantom, he would feel nothing.
Yet in this moment, despite understanding that the figure before him was merely a phantom, he wished to share this meaningless ritual together.
Grasping his intent, Sung-jun hesitated briefly before carefully extending his own fist toward the General’s.

“Safe travels.”

Their fists met, but no sensation traveled through the point of contact.
Yet through that brief exchange, the General felt as though he were truly striking fists with Sung-jun inside Atlas.
And Sung-jun, preparing for battle within Atlas, felt that same emotion reflected back with equal intensity.

‘When this battle ends, let us strike fists for real. Please, stay safe until then.’

As Sung-jun finished his silent prayer and channeled mana outward, Atlas lurched into motion with a deafening roar.
It was the first step toward descending into hell itself, where Level 9—the apocalyptic Corrosion Entity that had driven even the world’s mightiest military force to the brink of annihilation—awaited.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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