Chapter 63: Let's go for the main deal
Leon confirmed that Celes had fixed her blunder.
His fortress was once again overseen by her, giving him reliable security. Of course, he always could rely on his slaves to defend his place, but those guys weren't as reliable as the vampiress.
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Leon had taken away those points from the Heaven Library Guild's members. In fact, his nickname became pretty famous in the vicinity as Leon's fortress was known as the third impregnable defense line in the Tehmezhya Region.
The first was naturally the Silver Wing Royal Guild. Those people had created such a vast line of defense that people opened their markets here and other services, such as mending weapons in portable smithies.
Leon wanted to check them.
The second was the Winterborn defense line. Those people brought winter to the split spirit realm, cutting off many spirit monsters away from them.
Humans and other monsters didn't want to come close, too, for fighting in winter had different rules.
No one knew how abundant the spoils of the snow people were and how far they wanted to comb and plunder the split spirit realm.
Leon had a feeling they weren't here for bug monsters, but he could be wrong.
"We'll soon catch up to Celes' level… Yet, we haven't seen any intelligent spirit monster…." Leon commented aloud, for he wasn't alone in his room.
His partners had been listening to him after giving their reports. So far, with at least one hundred and fifty human parties in his fortress, Celes and Louise hadn't spotted any malicious intent.
Of course, Leon's nickname somehow had to reach far and wide.
"I suspect that those spirit monsters are behind that odd rumor." Leon opened the guild chat and read about the rumors about him and his fortress. Those started some time ago.
People say that Leon's responsible for spreading false rumors of the dwarf's quests and services in the middle of the volcano. In this realm, only one volcano stood strong. Many had fallen prey to this rumor and crossed lands to come to the dwarf, excepting to receive a quest and reward from him.
Alas, it was a false rumor, and many had actually died. Not only was it dangerous to cross lands like that, but the black asura also made clear that they had seized the volcano for themselves.
And now, the rumor was that Leon spread those false words, keeping dangers from his fortress.
"It's not a secret that spirit monsters crowd the areas with more people!" Louise shared her view.
Celes added, her eyes shining with killing intent. "For some time now, it's much easier for humans to push through the jungle riddled with spirit monsters. All seek intelligent spirits to make a contract with."
Many also wanted to enslave those intelligent existences whose privileged status had been broken.
"People are getting impatient and want to fight the real deal soon…." Leon inferred that greedy humans would soon swarm more regions in much bigger parties just to kill and enslave spirit races.
In fact, many weren't interested in bug-type monsters, including Leon. Those were common, and their evolution path was heavily limited outside the world.
No one sane would make a contract with them unless their power was about bugs or nature magic.
"Every lie has a little truth in it." Leon drew his friend's attention by standing up. "The dwarf needs the spirit world's volcano to achieve something, probably to make a weapon. That leaves us with Winterborn's plans, but we don't really have to bother with them. If they need help, they'll contact us.
"That's why we'll start with the main deal." Leon fished a card from his inventory, then summoned the black asura whose consciousness was gone.
He appeared and stood like a tool. No one would be able to tell, though.
Leon could control that man with his consciousness. However, as it was the first time he'd done that, he had some problems, and the result wasn't satisfying.
"I am…"
Leon parted his lips, and so did the black asura. Both of them spoke simultaneously.
It was the first flaw.
"It was so much easier to control the skeleton…." Leon complained, and the black asura repeated his words.
Louise chuckled and reminded him. "Master only controlled the skeleton's skill. It's more challenging to control a man as though nothing happened to him, speak through him, and even fight! It takes a lot of training, patience, and information!'
And the scarlet fox listed more flaws.
Celes agreed.
Nonetheless, Leon only needed the black asura to pass the news to his buddies. Though he was an epic grade monster, Leon didn't mind sacrificing him to get the dwarf whose consciousness would be intact.
"I shall copy the basic hammer's information." Leon opened his system and copied the description of his hammer.
He then left it in the black asura's hands and controlled him. But that also wasn't flawless, for the distance between his fortress and the volcano was more than ten thousand miles.
He couldn't control that man from his safe zone.
"Let's head outside and check what's the dwarf doing." Leon confidently smiled, turning on his predator's camouflage.
He wrapped his skill around Celes and Louise, and everyone went outside. Combining it with Celes' skills and her bats, Leon found the best path toward the volcano, with no one being able to bar his way.
And while he thought that he'd only bring the dwarf and the black asura with him back to the fortress, Leon didn't know that a dragon above the volcano had noticed an oddity in the black asura under his control.
Even the black asura defending the dwarf had seen through it.
But Leon remained stoic and patient.
He spoke through the black asura's lips. "The dwarf. I didn't expect you to strike the chains around the coffin in the middle of the volcano. I want you to stop, for I have something you would love to possess."
The short man arrogantly glanced in the black asura's direction. "Kill him. He's been compromised."
But then, Leon whispered the name of the hammer. "It's not as grand as dwarves make it out to be. All I see is a plain-looking hammer."
"…"
Having his attention, Leon sent a system message to the dwarf.
And that message thwarted all his plans.
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