Dark Mage Vol 1 Chapter 18

He appeared like a sky G.o.d, and he broke the impenetrable encircling net of the orc race.  What followed was a one-sided ma.s.sacre.  His talents were so fearsome that it gave one chills just by looking at him.  One wouldn’t hesitate to say that the knights he commanded was invincible…..  His ident.i.ty was Crossen Magnus.

The strongest country in Truvania was the Ikarot kingdom.  The personal knights that guarded the heir to the throne was picked meticulously, and only the experts were chosen.
The personal knight troop were made out of elite troops that was comparable to the order of royal guard knights.  The personal knights were hopelessly helpless against the explosive attack by the orc army.  They ran about in confusion while being thrust at by spears.  They couldn’t even last 10 minutes.  However, Crossen Magnus’ knights were a different story since over half of them were sword masters.  When the swords flashed, an orc would always be chopped into pieces.  The knight’s individual prowess was exceptional.  One other difference was their disposition when entering battle.  They didn’t lose their cool under any circ.u.mstance and took action.  Even if a comrade fell beside them, the next man would fill the position without any hesitation.
They advanced in a triangular formation with Crossen Magnus in the middle, and they were able to break the orc’s encircling net in a breath.  They were like a hawk’s extended wing pushing against the orcs. In a breath, the orc’s great army was put in disarray and the rout started.

“What, what in the world….”

Rosengart IV was rescued from the desperately dangerous situation, but he didn’t have the wit to express his thanks.  He witnessed the well-ordered movement of Crossen Magnus’ knights as they broke the encircling net.  Their movements could be almost described as artistic.  Even the crown prince was mesmerized in awe of Crossen Magnus.
However after he had returned to himself, his feelings changed immediately.
Crossen Magnus’ name was pa.s.sed around the soldiers as if he was a legend after he jumped into the enemy line and gained accomplishments. Conversely, Rosengart IV suffered a loss of prestige when his reckless behavior resulted in him losing all of his knights.
While he was being treated in the barracks, he heard praises for Crossen Magnus until his ears hurt.  It was natural that he would become jealous of someone, whom he could never measure up in skills.
Especially amongst the gossips exchanged between the soldiers, he coincidentally heard about the kingdoms in Truvania uniting, and crowning Crossen Magnus as the emperor.  Afterwards, he was extremely guarded against Crossen Magnus.  That was the reason why he held ill feelings towards the name Crossen.  Of course, all of the other monarchs held almost identical feelings of jealousy towards him.  The hostility Rosengart IV felt grew quickly.
Not long after the aged emperor died, Rosengart IV finally became the emperor of the Ikarot kingdom.  After he obtained power, he carried out the plans he made in his heart.  Fortunately unbeknownst to him, every other kingdom’s monarch felt what Rosengart IV was feeling, so they were naturally able to organize a united front.  It was a group with a united front against Crossen Magnus.  The monarchs felt threatened that they would lose their monarch seat if they didn’t do anything.
During this time, Crossen Magnus’ explosive statement was said.(TLN:Men make their own destiny not G.o.d.)  It was the incident where he revealed his disbelief of the main G.o.d Belhazel.  Rosengart and the other monarchs wouldn’t lose out on this golden opportunity.  They sent a messenger to the Belhazel church, who was wondering how they were going to deal with this situation, their full support.  In the worst case scenario, they would even start a war.
Finally, the situation came under control.  The church and the monarchs pressured  Crossen Magnus and his followers to cross the ocean to the Arcadia continent.  Although the number of people who went across were numerous, the monarchs felt relieved that it was all over.
The population would naturally replenish with time.  Emperor Rosengart and the other monarchs were satisfied with just preserving their seats.  Meanwhile, this was when the second calamity, the war with the army of darkness, happened.
Once again Rosengart IV had to hear the name of Crossen Magnus.  It was true that the he was the main cause of victory in the battle of darkness, but Crossen was a figure that was very dangerous to him.
The monarchs’ thoughts were all in agreement.  According to their will, Crossen had no choice but to leave this land.  They finally felt relief when the boat carrying him and his followers disappeared below the horizon.  However the threat didn’t end there, and the cursed name had been brought up a third time in this meeting where all the monarchs were present. For this reason, the Truvania continent’s monarchs ill feelings toward the name Crossen defied imagination.

Emperor Rosengart was silent, while deep in thoughts, so Serge stepped forward instead.
He felt like he needed to salvage the situation.

“Of course, I acknowledge Crossen Magnus’ achievements.  However, he is old now.  To say it again, he won’t be able to command like he did in the past.”

“Of course since time had pa.s.sed, he would have lost some power.  However, you should think about the knights he groomed. In the 1st race wars and the 2nd battle of darkness, the Crossena’s(TLN: remember they renamed the country after him) knights were unrivalled. Even if one was to wash one’s eyes, one can’t find knights on the Truvania continent that rivals their might.  That is the reason why we have to ask for a.s.sistance from the Arcadia continent.  After we make them recover the Oath gem, the two continents has to combine strength to overcome the threat.”

The hall fell into silence.  Of course, the monarchs knew that was the most ideal strategy.  However, they worried about the influence Crossen will have on this land again.  Moreover in the background of the refusal, their pride was rustled.
Rosengart IV, who kept silent for a while, finally opened his mouth.

“We won’t ask for a.s.sistance.”

“…….”

“Truvania is the main continent and we don’t need to request help from such as Arcadia.  If the problem worsens then we’ll discuss it again.  Presently, we have to gather all the kingdom’s armies in one place, and repel the enemies’ invasion.”

After he finished speaking, he looked around at the other monarchs while avoiding Shrekheimer.

“Let’s show those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds the might of our army.  We don’t need Arcadia’s help.  Our soldiers are plenty strong and even if we do not have the Oath gem, we can win.”

“You are right.”

“We agree with your highness’ proposal.”

The monarchs, who were silently agreeing with the emperor’s will, uniformly stepped forward in agreement.  They agreed without any doubt that they could go ahead with the war without the help of the Arcadia continent.  They ridiculed the amazed Shrekhemier.

“So what happened?”

Shrekehimer looked at Dok-gosong’s face with sorrow.

“It resulted in them losing miserably in all fronts.  Especially at the great battle that developed on the Plains of Tranbore, we lost a staggering 10 thousand troops.  Half of Truvania continent fell into those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds’ hands as a result.  Half of the monarchs who attended the previous meeting lost their lives in this battle.”

‘It’s was an inevitable result.’

Dok-gosong smiled bitterly while shaking his head in dismay.   Didn’t he body already experience the futility of power?  To maintain their so-called power,

“They had no choice, but to open another meeting.  This time the monarchs were unable to oppose asking for a.s.sistance from Arcadia.  The decision was made and the delegation was created.  However, in the end, we weren’t able to ask for a.s.sistance.  No.  We couldn’t even attempt it.”

“……….”

“The route between the two continents were perfectly sealed off. The silver dragon Chronos was an ultimate being in charge of water. He had us strictly quarantined so we weren’t able to use magic to teleport between the continents.  The monarchs’ decision was made too late.  We had no way to contact the Arcadia continent.”

One could hear the disappointment in Shrekheimer’s voice towards the monarchs, who failed to a.s.sess the situation on time.  Eventually the monarchs held a final meeting to decide the fate of the humans.

All the faces of the monarchs, who were sitting in the wide hall, was hardened.  They had lost so bad that it was almost comical.  Most of them were seriously worried that they had made the wrong decision.  It was evident that if they had allied themselves with Arcadia then they wouldn’t have lost to this extent.  However no matter how fast the regret was felt, it was already too late.  They had to take responsibility for their authority, and the fate of the people, which was hanging on by a thread.
Unlike the monarchs, who held grief-stricken gaze, Rosengart IV had a blank expression.  One could say that it was a face that didn’t regret his decision no matter what.  As if he was trying to dispel the awkward atmosphere, Serge’s clear voice rang out.

“Let us start the conference.”

His voice was very bright as if he was expecting something.  He looked around at the various monarch’s face, while putting away the opened charts.

“Every monarch here already knows the situation, so I won’t give any explanation.  Also, the request for help we sent to Arcadia continent was all for naught.  However, we were fortunate enough to find out one fact.”

All the monarch’s gaze fell on Serge, who ended his words on a trailing note.  Serge started explaining after he gulped once.

“As you already know, the Arcadia continent and our continent is almost perfectly sealed off from each other.  The silver dragon Chronos installed whirlpools in various places making it impossible for even a large boat to cross, and the large-scale magical field prevents any teleportation.  We are cut off.  However, that isn’t the only place we can ask for help.”

“Aren’t humans only located in our Truvania continent and Arcadia continent?”

“To the best of our knowledge, that is true.  However, it is possible to find places with humans.  For instance, there are other dimensions.  Those places definitely has humans.”

A light of expectation started appearing on the monarch’s faces.  Serge continued talking, while feeling their gaze.

“Originally the person we are trying to get help from, Crossen Magnus, is a figure from a different dimension.  Your Highnesses should know that he isn’t from here.  Moreover according to the people who spoke to him, he told them that he wasn’t even considered the strongest expert in the continent he lived on.  This is a fact that was revealed directly by him.”

“T, then.”

The monarchs’ eyes narrowed as they understood the intent of Serge’s speech. Serge shook his head in a.s.sent as if to say they were right.

“It is so.  Our backup plan is to find someone from his dimension.  Then we have to invite the top expert using every possible method. If we succeed in this plan then we might be able to overcome this dangerous situation.  If one looks at Crossen Magnus’ skill, the strongest expert should have an unimaginably strong swordsmanship.  Our hope is for this person to infiltrate the orcs and recover the Oath gem. If he succeeds then our soldiers’ morale will burst through the heavens.  If that happens then it might not be impossible for us to overcome this crisis.”

“However, it isn’t easy to move to a different dimension and no one have ever succeeded in doing it.”

The monarch of Turbia spoke as if the suggestion was too ludicrous.  Serge smiled and he replied back while laughing.

“Have you ever heard of the name Acrofont?”

Sever monarch nodded their heads in a.s.sent as if to say they knew him.  He was Ikarot’s previous palace archmage.
Acrofont von Nesbald.   He was an expert in teleportation magic, and he suddenly disappeared one day.  He was a figure shrouded in mystery that attracted the curiosity of the public.   Most importantly he was the only magician to reach the level of 8th circle in the entire Truvania continent.  However, no one knew why Serge brought up Acrofont in this discussion.

“For a long time, his disappearance was left as a mystery.  His corpse was never found.  Coincidentally, we found his research facility in a dungeon located underground.  Moreover, we were able to find data that is applicable to our situation.”

“What is it?”

“It was Acrofont’s book that contained the vast research result on moving through dimensions.  According to the book, he was responsible for his own disappearance.  He moved to a different dimension using dimensional shift.”

“Then he succeeded in the dimensional shift?”

All the monarchs that were listening were amazed. It was news to them that dimensional shifts had succeeded.
Dimensional shift.  One could move around in the third dimension, and an advance form of the magic allows one to move in the 4th dimension.  However, dimensional shifts are a very difficult magic to use.  Until now, there has been no news regarding anyone succeeding in using the dimensional shift.