Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 224
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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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I instructed Mother to look after the Lusilu Ship well before leaping toward Jack. He caught me securely, already moving before I could even give the command.
“Leon, take care of Papa! Let’s move! We’re abandoning this place! The Largol military can handle their own affairs!”
“Yes, Sister! That’s what makes you my proud sister! We must survive first before we can accomplish anything!”
My brilliant brother speaks the truth! The outer layer appeared to be smoke, while the interior looked like some soft, viscous substance—if we were unlucky, it could follow us through the passages where people traveled. I had to block it. Block the passages first.
“Electron conversion! Maximum concentration! Release!”
With a mountain this massive, there had to be iron deposits somewhere. I gathered the metal with that intention, but instead of the spell activating, a loud boom echoed from somewhere, followed by an ominous, resonant sound from all directions.
Rummmmmmmmmble
Ah… I have a suspicion. But I really hope it’s not what I think it is.
“Excuse me, Lusilu Ship. May I ask you something?”
『What is it.』
“Are there perhaps ore deposits in this area?”
『Most of the region surrounding the Capital consists of iron mines.』
Ah… I see. I understand now. That was my mistake.
“Jack! Run faster! If we’re unlucky, we’ll be crushed!”
“You crazy young lady! What have you done now!”
Hehe, you see, hehe, I think I may have, hehe, twisted the ore deposits a bit, hehe, and that might be the reason.
“Just a little…”
“A little what!”
“A landslide… might occur…”
“You fool!”
People make mistakes sometimes—surely that’s not too harsh a judgment. Still, with everyone’s lives on the line, we ran with even greater urgency than before, barely escaping the mountain before the passage collapsed. We mounted Peter and Elizabeth.
I was about to make a break for where the Saint Brilliant Lusilu Ship was stationed when Papa, who had been riding on Peter, reached out toward me.
“Doctor! The brooch! Hand over that brooch!”
Huh? The brooch? I looked down at what Papa was pointing to and remembered that this ornament clashed terribly with the Largol-style clothing I was wearing.
Right. That’s true. This was one of the 007 tools Papa had made for me! I’d forgotten about it because I hadn’t needed to use it until now!
“Hurry!”
Spurred on by Papa’s urgency, I tore the ornament from my chest and threw it to him. Papa caught it, infused it with mana, and hurled it directly at the collapsing mountain.
“Area designation! Highest-tier offensive spell formula! Maximum mana release!”
Whoa! This is incredible! A seventh-circle attack spell! Just manifesting the magic alone caused sparkling electricity to crackle around Sage, and my heart swelled with awe. This is insane, absolutely insane—a seventh-circle mage unleashing the highest-tier magic!
Unable to miss this spectacle, I handed the reins to Mother and turned to look back. A beam of light struck the mountain’s peak, and with a tremendous roar, it split in two. The mountain cleaved perfectly in half, and the creature within revealed itself as part of the interior collapsed at an angle.
The light didn’t stop at a single beam. Dozens, hundreds more accumulated, forming a massive circular pillar of radiance. Sage’s light obliterated the creature’s black smoke entirely, and the exploded brooch incinerated the soft inner membrane.
What remained of the creature was a lumpy core, hundreds of eyeballs connected by nerve clusters, teeth, and thousands of spines resembling a sea urchin.
“Hey! Pup!”
“Understood, sir!”
What? What is this? Some kind of coordinated attack? At Papa’s shout, Mother responded as though she’d done this a hundred times before, bringing Elizabeth to a halt and tossing out a golf bag. As we entered the wide clearing with quartz jutting out in all directions, Mother planted weapons all around and gripped a long axe.
“Hiyah!”
With a single swing of Mother’s axe, a sharp wind erupted, severing the creature’s spines and sending eyeballs flying. The creature raised its spines to attack Mother, but she deftly dodged, using the handles of the weapons she’d planted as stepping stones as she bounded about.
Was that truly human? No. It was not the movement of a human. I was not alone in my astonishment—Jack and Leon stood with their mouths agape, watching Mother in disbelief.
Ah, so that’s why she needed the golf bag. Mother’s strength was beyond what any weapon could withstand. After swinging the axe a few times, its blade shattered and the handle snapped, so Mother seized a spear next, then a double-edged sword, attacking the creature with each weapon in turn.
With every swing of Mother’s weapon, the creature’s spikes multiplied and broke. Waiting for the perfect opening, Mother finally gripped a longsword, leaped to evade the spikes, and cried out.
“Rosie! A foothold!”
“Electron conversion! Convergence! Release!”
I immediately gathered weapons in the air to create a platform. I understood Mother’s plan. All I could do was adjust the optimal angle and support her.
Mother shattered the foothold I’d created with her landing, launching herself upward—leaving only an afterimage. The blade’s gleaming line traced through the air, and Mother touched down. The creature’s bisection came after. The monster, unaware it had been cut, split in two the moment Mother wiped the creature’s bodily fluid from her blade, collapsing to the ground.
The monster. The monster was not
death creeping ever closer
but that woman. What kind of human was she? Was she even human? Someone who could cleave a lesser god of Zoraab with a single blade?
“Rosie! Did you see Mother! Did you see what Mother just did! Wasn’t Mother amazing!”
I don’t know, this woman is terrifying, stay away. Besides, you’re covered in monster fluid—you reek. Why does Mother always approach me reeking of that foul stench?
I had Elizabeth slowly back away, asked Papa to ensure the creature’s death, and rushed toward the Largol Imperial Palace. Mother chased after me, wanting a ride, but I refused to share a mount with that fluid-covered woman.
◇ ◆ ◇
In the end, Mother caught up with me, and I had to share Elizabeth with her—three beings riding together into the bathhouse.
After washing, still wearing the shackles, I had to summon Camille to change clothes. Fortunately, Camille survived the chaos and came running with Lien at my call, and we all headed to the Fourth Prince’s Palace together.
The Fourth Prince’s Palace reception room was decorated in authentic Largol style, with walls, floors, and carpets adorned accordingly, and everyone sat with cushions, enjoying drinks.
“Oh! Our architect of the enthronement has arrived!”
At the head seat sat Prince Nerva, looking extraordinarily pleased, and beside him was Aster, swaying with dead eyes and no spirit—apparently having decided to abandon all sense under extreme stress. Just as well. It would be quieter.
“Yes, yes. The cute architect of His Majesty Prince Nerva’s enthronement has resolved everything and returned.”
“Hahahaha! You’re still the same, but I’m not yet in a position to be called Your Majesty. Call me Prince Nerva as you have until now.”
“Ugh, I’m overwhelmed by your grace. How magnanimous you are. A truly virtuous ruler! Largol’s future will be even more solid!”
We exchanged greetings with laughter, sat down, shared a toast, and immediately prepared documents and pens. I’d claimed to have resolved everything, but the real work was just beginning. I would not yield a single step in my dealings with this pint-sized negotiator.
“So if I successfully inherit the throne, you promised to withdraw from Aleine, yes?”
“Of course. Oh, and when you withdraw from there, please add that you won’t touch the Masujung Mine. If even one pillar goes missing, I’ll demand compensation, hahahaha.”
“Hmm, naturally. How could I forget that?”
“Right. Prince Nerva is a man of his word. Oh, and there—compare the pre-invasion records with current data, and please revise it so that Largol compensates for the missing Masujung inventory.”
“Hahahaha, the Largol Military maintains proper hierarchy unlike Aleine. We don’t engage in plunder.”
“Of course I know that. So please make the revision quickly.”
“Hahahaha.”
“Hohohho.”
Revise it, you pint-sized thing. Why aren’t you moving that pen? I forcibly grasped Nerva’s hand and made him write, expanding the agreements between our nations.
By the time I’d revised and corrected every line and word of the contracts, non-aggression treaties, decrees, and everything else Nerva had prepared beforehand, the sun had set.
Let’s see—I’d secured the Masujung Mine’s safety, ensured Largol’s military withdrawal, received compensation for invasion damages, promised that the treatment of the Zoraab Orthodox Church and the Heretical Sect would be decided through trilateral talks, waived claims about the star-shaped coastline, confirmed I’d receive the official title of Countess of Largol without territorial grants, and had Prince Nerva personally sign that all these promises would hold throughout his reign, with the imperial seal stamped. Hmm… was this enough?
“You’ve worked hard, Prince Nerva.”
“Huff, huff. What a persistent woman.”
“I hear that often.”
“You’ll live long. You’ll be cursed until the day you die.”
“I hear that often as well.”
Was there truly nothing left but this one matter? I’d already handled all the official business, so it was time to move into personal affairs. While everyone else ate, drank, and made merry, I grabbed the contract and pen, then quietly dragged Prince Nerva away to a secluded spot.
“I’ll be taking Lucilucil with me.”
“You’re underestimating me. Do you really think I’d let such a dangerous man live?”
“Well, I’ll keep him well-restrained so he doesn’t leave Rocksburg. I’m not fond of him holding such a high position either.”
“Now that I think about it, why? You could have become Empress just by staying by Lucius’s side without even needing to support me.”
Was he only asking this now? It was absurd, yet I found myself genuinely laughing, my lips curving upward of their own accord. If I were to be with Lucilucil, there was only one form I desired. Everything else was unnecessary.
“I don’t wish to become Lucilucil’s possession. I wish to possess Lucilucil.”
“So you’re going to depose him as Crown Prince, make him disappear, and lock him away in the Rocksburg Mansion?”
“Your phrasing is rather extreme.”
“Isn’t that what you mean?”
The man looking at me clicked his tongue and scratched his arm, saying he was getting goosebumps, then examined the contract.
“Keep the leash tight. If he becomes a threat to me, I’ll nullify all the contracts we’ve made thus far.”
“Of course. If you’re still anxious, we can add additional clauses.”
“And one more thing.”
What else? I tilted my head in confusion, and the man glanced toward the drinking gathering before his face flushed red.
“That is… regarding Aster… for a moment…”
“I’ll lend her to you for a month.”
“No, it should be half a year. That way I can make my move whether she cooperates or not.”
“Two months.”
“Please be a little more generous. I’m begging you.”
“Three months.”
“Fine, three months.”
“Contract established.”
“I’ll need some time to make that bastard disappear as well, so bear with me.”
“Understood. Since you are Prince Nerva, I trust you without reservation.”
“Dealing with Rocksburg, I’m truly overwhelmed.”
After shaking hands, we stamped the contract and each took a copy. I knew Aster would cause an uproar if she found out, so I decided to keep my mouth shut until the very moment of departure.
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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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