The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 171
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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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The Natural Enemy of Mages Has Been Reincarnated – Episode 171
‘This is insane. What in the world is happening?’
Ethan, the Forerunner of Frozen Chains, shuffled along like a defeated soldier.
The shock from moments ago still hadn’t worn off.
Not physical shock, but psychological trauma.
Crunch, crunch.
While chewing on an ice pop to relieve stress, a response to the message I’d sent arrived.
It was a summons to log into the Luminous Portalsphere.
After finishing the ice, I crossed my legs and closed my eyes.
Soon after connecting to the virtual space, I found myself facing three figures.
Stella, Baluduk, and Clifford.
The top three in the hierarchy were waiting for me.
[Ethan. What’s going on that you requested a meeting?]
“Didn’t I tell you not to request meetings unless it’s urgent?”
“Of course it’s urgent, old timer. That’s why I contacted you.”
My blunt response made Baluduk’s expression turn cold.
But Ethan didn’t care.
I had genuinely urgent business to discuss.
In the meantime, the expressionless man, Clifford, asked a question.
“What happened with the plan to secure Lillis?”
“That’s exactly why I called everyone here. A serious problem has arisen.”
“A serious problem?”
Ethan took a deep breath, paused for effect, then continued with a grave expression.
“The operation to attack the Divine Descendant Family has failed. Naturally, we also failed to secure the person of Lillis Lin.”
“I knew it would turn out that way!”
Baluduk snorted as if he’d expected it all along.
“You couldn’t even handle such a simple task properly. I bet you were careless, munching on ice pops the whole time, and got beaten like a dog, didn’t you?”
“Ugh, this old geezer…”
“Enough.”
At Clifford’s intervention, both men fell silent.
“We can argue later. First, the report. Why did it fail? You should have been more than capable of handling two 9-Circle mages.”
“There were three, not two. There was an additional woman. But that’s not the real problem.”
Ethan, recalling the events of that time, swallowed hard before speaking.
“The Forerunners were alive.”
“The Forerunners?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Their response was one of disbelief.
Feeling wronged, Ethan cried out.
“I’m telling you the truth! Rita, Zakar, Terion, Pyreo, Ilena—all of them suddenly appeared and blocked me! And among them was Maligore Desbon, one of the Five Lords!”
“Did you eat something bad, kid? Did someone slip you a hallucinogen?”
“No, I’m telling you the truth! Just listen!”
Ethan elaborated on his experiences with greater detail.
Details that couldn’t be described without having been present at the scene.
Yet despite this, the expressions around him barely shifted.
Baluduk was treating him like a madman.
“He’s been eating popsicles and now his mind’s completely gone. Tsk tsk.”
“Come on, believe me! Why won’t you believe me? This is driving me crazy!”
“How could people who were definitely dead or missing come back alive?”
“Maybe they were never dead in the first place!”
“Then? Are you saying they were hiding to stage a coup and attacked us?”
“Exactly. They betrayed us. There’s no other possibility.”
“That’s just as absurd as dead people coming back to life. What reason would they have to betray us?”
“I don’t know! Maybe they wanted higher positions, or they were dissatisfied with their ranks, something like that?”
“While the Lich Dragon is watching over everything? Fat chance.”
“Why won’t you believe me?”
It was then that Stella, who had been observing the argument between Baluduk and Ethan, spoke up.
[Ethan. Did you really face the Forerunners?]
“That’s what I’ve been saying!”
[Can you swear an oath before me?]
At those words, Ethan’s expression became unusually serious.
“I swear on my life.”
“Stella. Even that oath is unreliable. How do we know he didn’t eat some drug and hallucinate?”
“This old man really….”
[It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that the mission failed, and the families of the Divine Descendant are still out there, moving freely at this very moment.]
Stella assessed the situation with cold clarity.
[Clifford. Do you have time?]
“Time, you say?”
[I’d like to entrust you with securing Lillis.]
“My apologies. I have accumulated matters to attend to….”
[And you, Baluduk? You don’t have time either, I assume?]
“Yes… I also have many things to handle… I’m sorry.”
With the second and third-ranked members declining, only Ethan remained to step forward.
Of course, Stella had no intention of sending a broken tool.
“Stella. Please give me a chance to redeem myself. I will definitely recover Lillis….”
[You said there were five Forerunners? And even the Dark Lord on top of that. If that’s true, you couldn’t possibly handle them alone, could you?]
“That, but if I make thorough preparations….”
[Enough. I’m afraid we might lose you too. Let’s leave the Divine Descendant alone.]
Stella had little attachment to the Divine Descendant.
They were certainly a nuisance, but it seemed wasteful to bother with them.
Besides, there weren’t enough personnel to deploy.
[What’s important to us right now is preparing for the Heavenly Demon War. Yes, that descendant of a god who interfered with us is infuriating, but do we really need to poke a hornet’s nest over it? Let’s leave him to the Demon Faction and focus on our own preparations. We don’t know when the Heavenly Demon War will break out.]
* * *
The Albitz Kingdom was a nation of considerable power, unlike the weaker realms of Decan and Byso.
It was the strongest of the five kingdoms, and with Baluduk—ranked second in the hierarchy—established here, that said everything.
‘So Lich Dragons are hiding in a place like this? Polymorphed to appear human.’
I followed Kardeipor while surveying my surroundings.
Despite my conspicuous observation, not a single soul paid me any attention.
Well, that was because I was trailing behind wearing the Shadow Hood.
‘Thank goodness it’s nighttime. If it were day, I would’ve used Invisibility, but there’s a risk of triggering detection magic….’
I followed the Lich Dragon who had volunteered as my guide, holding my breath.
Carbollearos walked with equal tension.
“We’ve arrived. This is the meeting place.”
Kardeipor led Carbollearos to a mansion on the outskirts.
A figure who appeared to be a guide at the mansion bowed his head.
“Welcome. Everyone has been waiting for you.”
Kardeipor nodded and stepped inside.
The mansion was ordinary, but there was an eerie absence of any signs of life.
“This way, please.”
He led them not to a reception room, but to an Underground Chamber.
After descending the dark staircase endlessly—how deep did it go?—light finally appeared.
Torches flickered ahead.
“Follow carefully.”
The two of them walked through the dark, damp Corridor, guided by torchlight.
Including the hidden me, there were three of us.
After walking only a short distance, the narrow passage widened into a vast chamber.
In the center of the space stood a massive round table capable of seating roughly a hundred people.
Various individuals were already seated around the table.
“Ah, there he is.”
“You’ve arrived, Kardeipor.”
“You’re the last one.”
“Sorry, I’m a bit late.”
Kardeipor exchanged greetings and smiles with the others before taking a seat nearby.
“You came with Carrocksina.”
“No wonder—they look like lovers.”
“Hehe. They make a lovely pair.”
The others had mistaken Carbollearos for Carrocksina.
Though Carbollearos remained silent, seemingly tense, it actually worked in his favor.
‘Carrocksina was always taciturn by nature, after all.’
From my position in a state of transparency, I observed the faces of those seated around the table.
‘They’re all Lich Dragons disguised as humans. Each one radiates mana.’
Gathered together like this, the Lich Dragons made no effort to conceal their mana—it poured from them openly.
Yet their genders, ages, and types varied wildly.
‘That one’s a male Blue Dragon form. That one’s a female Black Dragon form. That one’s…’
Being able to read their inner thoughts made it easy to see through their identities.
Not a single human among them.
‘Including Kardeipor, that’s fifty-three in total?’
The table was large enough to seat a hundred, so they sat scattered throughout, but the numbers matched what he’d said.
‘This is a goldmine.’
If I killed them all and eliminated the source of their mana, how much mana could I absorb?
I might even reach the ninth tier in mana absorption and awaken my seventh-tier skill right here.
Then, something flickered in my eyes.
【Sudden Quest: Obtain Conference Information】
└The Lich Dragons’ conference will begin shortly.
└Listen to their discussion and gather information about the dragons.
【Conditions】
└Obtain information about the dragons
【Rewards】
└Sixth-tier skill proficiency increased by 20,000
[Do you accept the quest? Y/N]
A quest asking me to gather information appeared.
I was planning to do that anyway, so there was no reason for me to refuse.
Just then, one of the dragons rose from his seat.
A strikingly handsome male dragon form.
“It appears everyone has arrived. Shall we begin the conference?”
As everyone’s attention focused on him, the moderator cleared his throat and continued.
“Greetings. I am Carvilrud, a Gold Lich Dragon, and I’ll be conducting today’s conference. First, I thank you all for attending despite your busy schedules. Normally today wouldn’t be a conference day, but we’ve called this emergency meeting due to an important matter.”
“An important matter?”
“What could it be?”
“Could our plans have hit a snag?”
As the Lich Dragons chimed in with their own questions, the murmuring grew louder.
Carvilrud raised his hand to settle the situation.
“That will be explained by someone else, not me. Kardeipor?”
The chair creaked.
Kardeipor, called upon, rose from his seat.
“I am Kardeipor, a Black Lich Dragon. The reason I called this conference is because of one human.”
“A human?”
“A particularly despicable human named Zeke McLafflin.”
Emotion colored his final words, but the assembly’s reaction remained cold.
“You called a conference over a single insect of a human?”
“What is this…?”
“Ha! We’ve just wasted time on this.”
“Now, now, let’s calm down and hear the rest of the story.”
Mediation had always been the moderator’s responsibility.
“Ahem, first of all, Zeke McLafflin is no ordinary human. He is presumed to be a descendant of a god, and he is openly obstructing our plans.”
“A descendant of a god?”
“What kind of absurd nonsense is that?”
“Wasn’t the idea of a god’s descendant just a joke humans made up?”
The conference hall erupted into chaos once more.
Kardeipor ignored them and raised his voice further.
“That creature possesses both cunning and formidable power. He has the ability to completely seal the magical power and demonic energy of any target he wishes—truly a god’s descendant worthy of threatening us.”
“Seal what?”
“Magical power and demonic energy?”
“Where did you hear such nonsense?”
“I simply cannot believe it.”
Watching people dismiss his words as lies, Kardeipor felt a surge of indignation.
“I speak the truth! There is not a shred of falsehood in my words! The god’s descendant employs mysterious techniques and can neutralize us Lich Dragons in an instant. That much, both I and my beloved Carrocksina here can testify to. We experienced it firsthand.”
Carbollearos was startled by the sudden mention.
All eyes in the room turned toward her.
Amid the murmuring, Carvilrud, the moderator, lent weight to the claim.
“What Kardeipor says is true. At first, I too dismissed it as absurdity, but the Demon Legion Commander Seire himself testified to it. The existence of the god’s descendant is indeed a threat.”
“Commander Seire himself…?”
“Blocking demonic energy? Is such a thing even possible?”
“If that’s true, then Commander Seire also…?”
The moderator nodded solemnly.
“Indeed. Commander Seire’s avatar was also affected by him and returned to the Demon Realm. He is currently devising countermeasures there. We too find ourselves in need of our own strategy.”
With Seire’s involvement mentioned, there was no room for doubt anymore.
The suspicion faded from their eyes.
“If that’s the case, what are we to do?”
“We cannot allow him to interfere with the Heavenly Demon War, can we?”
“The Forerunners are already troubled by this matter. That is why I have summoned you here. Please come forward.”
As the moderator called out, a figure emerged from the corner of the corridor and walked into the conference hall.
The man who entered introduced himself with an expressionless face.
“I am currently ranked third among the 12 Pioneers and bear the epithet ‘Iron Man.’ My name is Clifford Stewart. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Despite his words of pleasure, his expression was utterly stoic, but I found myself inwardly astonished.
I had sensed the presence of a third party, but I never expected it to be a Forerunner.
Yet there was more to come.
‘This creature’s true identity… is not human but a Lich Dragon?’
I had read his inner thoughts and discerned his true nature.
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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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