Chapter 97: An Uncontrollable, Changing Era (IV)

“You’ll do it better than I could, my foolish son…” Glancing deeply at the door, the old count struggled to stand, walked over to the cabinet, poured himself a glass of red wine, and muttered angrily, “To open up wine that’s been stored for over a decade? You bastard!” With that, he returned to the sofa, took a sip of the wine, inhaled its aroma deeply, and murmured, “At last, I can rest properly. It’s just a pity it’s taken so long… hehehe…”
The old count’s hearty laughter filled the room, though this time it seemed lacking its usual vigor. Soon, the laughter faded away…
Outside the room, Yvonne—no, Yvonne O’Gill—stood with her eyes closed, arms crossed, leaning against the door, as if listening to her father’s laughter, tinged with regret and sorrow.
“Argus…” Yvonne, who usually appeared carefree, showed a hint of coldness in her eyes, along with a touch of mockery and sneer, as she said lightly, “Now it’s my turn to play with you!”
“Lord Yvonne!” A soft call from nearby caught Yvonne’s attention.
Glancing in the direction of the voice, Yvonne chuckled and said, “Oh, Old Black… You can’t come in yet. Otherwise, the angry old man will throw you out!”
“I… is that so?” Old Black forced a smile and said softly, “You’re still as energetic as ever…”
“Of course. That annoying old man keeps nagging nonstop. I’d rather he leave soon!”
“Heh… You’re still as dishonest as ever, Lord Yvonne!” With that, Old Black bowed to her respectfully and said, “The old master ordered that once you come out, everything… will be handed over to you!”

“Tch! What an irresponsible task!” Yvonne shrugged helplessly. Then, the smile on his face vanished as he spoke seriously, “Black, don’t reveal my arrival in Galk for now. In my father’s name, seal all checkpoints in Galk. Starting today, troops must be stationed in every city, and border areas must be on high alert… Argus BartClarfield, as the most notorious fugitive in Galk and even the empire, post his portrait in every corner of Galk. Also, go and summon Ikabod Weiss, the head of the local Magic Association branch… Never mind, I’ll go myself! Publicly announce that Lord Efrey O’Gill of Galk is recovering well after being treated by the empire’s great mage, Gret Kaines, and the twelve archbishops of the Church. He should be fully recovered in a few days… Especially the army—Galk’s forces can’t withstand two blows at once!”
“Yes, Lord Yvonne… no, Your Dukeship! But such a lie probably won’t hold up for long…”
“Whatever—it’s fine. In a few days, I’ll have ‘father’ appear unharmed before the people and the army. It’s extremely simple with magic. Galk is the empire’s barrier in the northeast; nothing must go wrong… Go!”
“Yes!”
A few days later, while the people of Galk living in Allicok were worried due to the successive events, they suddenly heard news: Their respected old lord had recovered his health thanks to the combined efforts of great mage Gret Kaines and the twelve archbishops of Salonia.
Though it seemed unbelievable, the credibility of the great mage made the people of Galk accept it gladly.
Of course, some still harbored doubts. But soon, when the old lord inspected the barracks as usual, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he had ruled Galk for decades, and his authority and reputation could not be replaced by anyone else, not even those in the barbarian tribes.
Everyone in Galk celebrated this news—except for those with ulterior motives, like Argus.
“Wow! I’ve never heard of anyone surviving a shot from Karl’s arrow…” Wearing a black cloak, standing at the entrance of an alley in Allicok, Argus said mockingly to Lelarkin beside him, “As the person involved, Karl, what are your thoughts?”

“Impossible!” Leilajin said expressionlessly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “No one can survive an arrow from me!”
“He’s dead, right?” Pur said softly with a faint smile. “It’s just to keep the people of Galk calm!”
“That’s true,” Agus said with a slight smile and a sigh, adding meaningfully, “Using magic to deceive the ignorant masses is indeed a good trick. When they see that count appearing right before their eyes… those ignorant people won’t realize it’s just a magical deception—how infuriating! It took so much effort to create chaos in Galk…”
“Do you need me to kill someone else?” Leilajin asked calmly.
“No need. Since they’ve chosen this method, no matter how many times you kill, Efray OGil will still be ‘alive.’ But one thing surprises me… Even if magic is used to have someone else pretend to be that old count to deceive the people, it’s impossible to avoid any mistakes—even among those around the count… Hmm, has someone taken his place? And someone trustworthy… Hmm, does that count have a son?”
“I only heard there’s a grandson…” Pur paused briefly, thinking. “Ah, I remember Efray OGil has a son living in Sassen, named Yvon OGil. Their relationship seems very strained…”
“The relationship they show is just for others to see. Even if father and son are at odds, they can’t deny sharing the same bloodline, right?” Agus glanced in the direction of the count’s castle and sneered. “But it really surprises me—that guy is way too calm. His father was assassinated, yet he can still hold back his anger and keep things as they are—shouldn’t he mobilize his army to hunt us down?” He glanced at the wanted poster stuck on the wall and joked, “Looking at these posters everywhere seems to say, ‘You can get out of Galk now, you bastards!’ Haha, interesting!”
“That’s indeed the case,” Pur said with a sigh, forcing a bitter smile. “Thanks to him, we can’t get any help in Galk. Food, water—don’t even think about it, unless we use force…”

“So he’s a cold-hearted guy, isn’t he? Compared to that count, this lord seems to care little about the lives of commoners—he must have figured we need to keep our whereabouts hidden. Those two annoying old men are still at Galic’s magic branch! There’s no choice but to leave!” With that, he glanced at Connel, who was staring at him intently. “Ran?”
“Don’t call me by my name!” To Agus’s surprise, Connel punched him hard in the face. The force sent the unprepared Agus crashing into the wall.
“You bastard! Were the humans you said you killed that count?” Connel glared at Agus angrily.
For Connel, that count had left a good impression on him, and due to his connection with Ravia, that was enough to make him angry—after all, he had quite a fondness for that little girl.
“What are you doing, Connel?!” Pur instinctively pointed his wand at Connel.
“Oh? You know that old count?” Amidst the sound of falling debris, Agus slowly got up from the wall, touched his injured cheek, then licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. Shrugging, he said, “That’s too bad. If you’d told me earlier…”
“Hmph!” Glaring at Agus, Connel said viciously, “I swear, when I achieve what I desire, I’ll teach you a lesson, Agus!”
“I’m glad you still remember your wish… Oh, no, no—this is definitely not a provocation!” Smiling slightly, Agus glanced at Allicock’s bustling streets as usual and said calmly, “It seems we were careless and he got ahead of us. Now, even if we spread news of that count’s death, it will only be seen as a curse by those ignorant people. Tsk! Why can’t things go smoothly like in the other two regions?” He paused then sneered, “But even so, how will we deal with the issue of military pay? Hehe, the Thelanders really helped us a lot. Should we burn down the last food stores in the area too?”
Staring coldly at Agus, Connel said seriously, “Don’t go too far, Agus!”
“Alright, alright,” Agus shrugged in a surrendering gesture and said casually, “Including that punch you gave me earlier, let’s consider it my apology… The people of Galic really owe you thanks, Ran!”
“Hmph!”

“Well then, let’s leave—though the crisis is averted for now, chaos is inevitable. When the food runs out, can Ghalik maintain this peace? That man who replaces the lord? Ha!” With that, he turned around, pulled up his cloak to cover his entire body, and said mockingly, “The seeds of chaos have been sown. All that’s left is to wait for the right moment, and that moment is almost here!”
Just then, the necromancer Puhl seemed to sense something. He took out a magic communication stone from his pocket, frowned, and said, “Argus, it’s a message from Hampa!”
“As I thought…” Argus chuckled and whispered, “The time has come! I think we’re in for a good show—a grotesque struggle for power among the nobles… Go ahead and divide that power cake as much as you want. All you’ll end up with is eternal darkness, you fools!”
“Tch! Madman!” Connel glanced at Argus and shook his head.
However, barely a few miles away from Allicok, Argus and his group were blocked by a group waiting for them…
“Oh dear,” Argus said mockingly, looking at them with a wry smile, “Well, esteemed Archmage, and old Andrew, did you come all the way here to see us off? That’s quite the effort for you…”
“See you off?” Father Andrew snorted angrily and said in a deep voice, “I knew you’d try to sneak away. How could such a thing happen?”
“Argus,” the old dean said seriously, staring at him, “under no circumstances will you be allowed to leave this time! As the one who caused chaos in the empire, no matter what the cost, you must stay!”
“Ah, I knew it wouldn’t be that easy for us to leave,” Argus said, seemingly troubled as he scratched his head. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he said mockingly to the old dean, “It seems like you know something already? But it’s too late now!”
“What do you mean?” the old dean asked, frowning.
“Well…” With a slight smile on his lips, Argus narrowed his eyes at the old dean and whispered mockingly, “Is this okay?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, as the dean of Heliriox, you’ve given up your responsibilities just for me. Aren’t you worried that some unruly folks might take advantage of your absence to do something unpleasant? Like that historically famous castle, Heliriox…”

“You…” Staring at Argus in shock, the old dean felt a ominous premonition arise—all the previous bad omens that had surfaced in his mind seemed to come rushing back at once.
“You seem quite surprised, esteemed Archmage,” Argus said with a smirk, raising his hand mockingly. “That old, dilapidated castle—there’s no harm in destroying it, right? You’ve always thought I was just one person, haven’t you? Tsk tsk, what a pity. It seems I’ve gained some rather reliable allies who’ve long desired revenge on you black magicians. As lofty black magicians, perhaps you’ll never learn to look down on others?”
Suppressing his anger, the old dean gritted his teeth and said, “You bastard…”
“Hey, what a terrifying expression,” Argus shrugged, appearing calm and feigning regret. “Honestly, I really did plan to kill you all that time, but alas… Truly worthy of being the empire’s most renowned Archmage. Of course, Father Andrew too—you’ve surprised me once again. But even if I can’t kill you, I’ve still achieved my goal… Esteemed Archmage, it’s hard to believe you still have the leisure to stay here. If I were you, I’d head back right away. That ancient castle… maybe it’s not too late—to save it before it turns to ashes!”
“Argus…”
“Of course,” Argus said, a hint of coldness in his eyes as darkness gathered in his right hand. “It seems I can’t let you leave like this! I’m never lenient with those who harbor hostility toward me… It seems our situation has changed!” His tone shifted suddenly as he growled, “Old men!”
With that, a storm-like surge of dark power erupted from him, along with his companions Purl, Connel, Lelarkin, and Simonley, launching a fierce attack on the old dean and Father Andrew.
On the other hand, after hearing Argus’s words, the old dean’s mind could no longer calm down. Heliriox… Could it really be destroyed just as he had seen it happen? The glory of the previous black mage…
“Argus!” The old dean was furious. He raised his wand and recited a spell. Soon, a strange red hue filled the sky, and intense flames seemed to melt even space itself. Amidst the endless fire, a huge, hazy figure could be faintly seen.

The snow evaporated in an instant, and the ground beneath his feet gradually rose with tremors, eventually forming a massive volcano. In its scorching crater, bright red, scalding magma surged forth. The sudden immense pressure even shocked Argus, who was otherwise so powerful, with this enormous force.
【Lava Hell: Hephaestus’ Fury】
Staring in astonishment at what lay before him, Argus wore a wry smile.
“Hey, a forbidden spell—really?”