novelraw Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Chapter 57. Prophecy and Invasion
The cold metal tabletop pressed painfully against the back of Logaris’s neck.
He woke from a brief doze and rubbed his throbbing temples.
Perhaps because of the little boy yesterday, Logaris had once again dreamed of some unpleasant memories from his childhood.
The laboratory was in complete disarray.
Last night, he had been restless and tried to suppress that nameless anger through work.
The result was another exploded alchemical crucible.
The air was filled with the burnt smell of scorched magical dust.
“Good morning, Boss!”
Lilith pushed the door open and walked in like an energetic cat, holding a steaming drink in her hands.
“Your stimulant potion, with double mandrake root added.”
“I guarantee you will feel energetic all day!”
She placed the cup on the table, her dark green eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“That flashy bard has already been locked inside the anti-magic chamber in the basement.”
“Do not worry, Boss.”
“Let alone sound magic, if he even wants to hum a little tune, he will first have to ask whether my fists agree.”
Logaris picked up the cup and took a sip.
The bitter liquid slid down his throat and loosened his tense nerves slightly.
He said nothing.
Seeing that he was in a low mood, Lilith cautiously leaned closer.
“Boss… are we really just letting that little brat go?”
“He tried to steal ‘Fleeting Youth’!”
“One bottle of that thing… could buy an entire street in the south district of the city, right?”
She gestured exaggeratedly, her face filled with the pain of watching money slip away.
Logaris set the cup down, and his gaze turned cold.
“Do my decisions require an explanation to you?”
Lilith immediately shrank her neck and replaced her expression with a flattering smile.
“No, no, no! Of course not!”
“Boss, you are wise and farsighted.”
“If you let him go, you must have your reasons!”
“I was just talking nonsense.”
“My mistake!”
She lightly slapped her own cheek in a showy manner.
Logaris could not be bothered with her.
He waved his hand.
“Keep the bard.”
“His sound magic is somewhat interesting.”
“It might be useful in other areas.”
“Watch him carefully.”
“Do not let him die, and do not let him escape.”
“Understood! Just leave it to me, Boss!”
Lilith immediately perked up after receiving the order.
“I guarantee I will watch him like a hawk!”
She left the room, clearly brimming with excess energy since there had not been many tasks recently.
After thinking for a moment, Logaris decided that the research on Anti-Magic needed to be moved up in priority.
He sat back at his desk and tried to clear the chaotic emotions from his mind.
At that moment, the corner of his eye caught sight of a familiar object on the edge of the desk.
It was the plain black book with no decoration.
The anonymously mailed “Book of Prophecy.”
Calculating the time, it was about when the next update should appear.
He reached out and opened the pages.
On the smooth black paper, which resembled a mirror, lines of golden text had appeared.
【The roots of evil have taken deep hold in the frozen soil of winter. Corrupted believers chant within the shadows. If they are not cut away, within three months, the city will cease to be a city.】
“The city will cease to be a city?”
Logaris rested his right hand against his chin.
“Believers…” he murmured softly while his fingers tapped lightly on the cold tabletop.
A hidden cult within Winter City?
Who were these “corrupted believers”?
Were they remnants of the old nobles that Sylvia had purged?
Or… something else?
He thought of Helena, the leader of the Holy Church investigation group who held clear hostility toward him.
Could it be them?
Unlikely.
The Holy Church might be domineering, but their goal was to maintain divine authority.
They would not destabilize a Northern Territory capital in such a manner.
That would bring them no benefit.
If it was not the Holy Church, then who could it be?
Three months…
The time was extremely tight.
This prophecy was like a thorn lodged in Logaris’s mind.
Winter City had only just begun to move onto the right track under his planning.
The industrial park project, tax reforms, affordable healthcare…
Everything was developing in a positive direction.
He absolutely would not allow anything to destroy it.
Just as he was rapidly analyzing the short prophecy and trying to extract more clues, another object on his desk suddenly lit up.
It was the Communication Crystal Sylvia had given him.
The light flickered rapidly, signaling the highest level of emergency communication.
Logaris immediately connected it.
Sylvia’s upper-body projection appeared within the crystal.
She was wearing military armor.
Behind her was the massive strategic command room in the Duke’s Manor, with a detailed map of the Northern Territory hanging on the wall.
Her expression looked terrible.
The calmness usually present in her silver-gray eyes had vanished, replaced by cold gravity.
“Logaris, come to the Council Chamber.”
Her voice was low, but every word was crystal clear.
“Something happened?”
Logaris felt his heart skip.
Sylvia nodded.
She did not waste time and went straight to the point.
“We have just received the highest-level military intelligence alert.”
“My Shadow Guard discovered something unusual along the border of the Demi-Human Empire.”
“That old man Remington is gathering troops to the south on a scale never seen before.”
She paused briefly before listing a series of military designations that even made Logaris uneasy.
“The Demi-Human Empire’s Second ‘Storm’ Legion and Fifth ‘Bedrock’ Legion are moving toward the area north of the Dragon Mountain Range, near the Black Forest defensive line.”
“The total force exceeds forty thousand.”
“It is far larger than any routine military exercise.”
“This is not a drill.”
Sylvia’s voice was as cold as ice.
“This is war mobilization.”
War.
Logaris frowned.
The Demi-Human Empire was preparing to start a war?
At a moment like this?
Winter City’s new power structure had not yet fully stabilized.
The industrial park plan had only just begun.
A war starting now would be the worst possible timing for the Northern Territory.
Wait…
A bolt of lightning flashed through Logaris’s mind.
He suddenly lowered his head and looked at the black prophecy book on his desk.
【The roots of evil have taken deep hold in the frozen soil… Within three months, the city will cease to be a city.】
An internal cult.
An external war threat.
Both of these events erupted on the same morning.
Was there really such a coincidence in the world?
Impossible.
Logaris instantly realized something.
The prophecy’s phrase “the city will cease to be a city” was not referring to the collapse of faith.
It meant something literal.
Winter City would be conquered.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Someone knocked heavily on the laboratory door.
Logaris walked over and opened it.
A young officer wearing the uniform of a Duke’s Manor courier stood outside.
He was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving violently, clearly having run all the way here.
“Professor West!”
The moment he saw Logaris, he snapped into a salute.
“Her Highness the Princess orders you to proceed immediately to the Council Chamber.”
“You are to attend the highest-level emergency military meeting!”
“I understand.”
Logaris closed the door and turned toward the coat rack, grabbing his black research robe.
His mind was racing faster than ever before.
When would the internal cult strike?
What methods would they use to create chaos?
Would they burn the grain warehouses?
Assassinate officials?
Or incite the people into riots?
And the Demi-Human Empire…
Where would their main attack fall?
Fierce Gale Valley?
Or would they attempt to cross the Dragon Mountain Range directly?