Overgeared Chapter 1075:
“I want to obtain black mithril . ”
“I understand,” Basara replied immediately with a slightly perplexed expression crossing her face .
It was only a moment, but Grid didn’t miss it . “Is it a tough request?”
“No . ”
“Please be honest . It will be hard for me if your position is risked by my request . ”
“You don’t have to consider my position . Your Majesty only needs to tell me what you want . ”
Was it because she just swore she would pay back three favors? Basara’s attitude was very strong .
As a result, Grid became frustrated . “You are the one responsible for the harmony between the Overgeared Kingdom and the empire . Until then, your position shouldn’t be weakened . ”
Basara spoke honestly, “In fact, you have to take a big risk if you want to obtain black mithril . The black mithril mine is managed by His Majesty the Emperor . ”
“It isn’t the empire but the emperor himself?”
“Yes, black mithril is an important resource for the imperial family . The black mithril mine has been managed by the emperor or the crown prince for generations . However, the crown prince hasn’t been decided yet, so His Majesty has to manage it himself . ”
“Are they going so far just because black mithril can accept the red energy?”
“That one reason is enough . Red energy has the effect of strengthening, restoring, and awakening the body’s physical abilities . The ultimate goal of the Saharan Empire is to acquire as much black mithril as possible to equip as many soldiers as possible . The founding emperor was able to establish an empire due to the power of the Red Legion . It is no wonder that his descendants are obsessed with black mithril . Titan was chosen as the capital because it contains the only black mithril mine on the continent . ”
“ . . . !”
It was a story that told of the emperor’s obsession with black mithril since he chose the location of the capital based on the mine . Grid realized that securing black mithril would be much more difficult than expected . “Yet it doesn’t seem to be a big deal to have black mithril outside . ”
“Yes, it is very difficult to obtain . The only practical way is to subdue a Red Knight and rob them of their armor, but that would be hard now . The moment Edan was declared a traitor, the Red Knights would’ve been purged . ”
“The Red Knights would be purged?”
Grid had witnessed firsthand the loyalty of the Red Knights to the emperor . Mercedes was a prime example . The emperor would purge them despite knowing their loyalty . . . ? Even if the commander Limit was a member of the empress’ faction, why purge the knights under him? It wasn’t easy to understand . Grid was baffled .
Basara smiled . “It is an easy and sure way of governing . The vast majority of Red Knights would still be loyal to the royal family, but if a handful of them are tainted by Sword Duke Limit’s ideas, they would be a big risk in the future . ”
“It is too harsh . Purging knights who have been devoted to the nation just because of the possibility that they could be dangerous . . . ”
“It isn’t anything new . The Red Knights, including Sir Piaro, have been purged once already . ”
“ . . . ”
“It is a problem if they aren’t purged . There would be a big backlash . There are no nobles who can accept an organization contaminated by traitors . ”
“Then the nobles would recommend to the emperor new knights to replace the Red Knights . Their relatives,” Lauel interrupted . He spoke on Grid’s behalf because he thought there would be no progress in the conversation, “Is it impossible to infiltrate the mine and secretly mine black mithril? There is a great sage here capable of using Mass Teleport . ”
“There are all sorts of enchantments in the mine, so teleportation and communication magic are impossible . Additionally, black mithril can only be mined once a year . ”
“Once a year?”
“Yes . On that day, His Majesty leads the guards and heads to the mine . In order to mine black mithril, you have to visit the mine on the same day as His Majesty the Emperor . Even if you succeed in infiltrating the mine, you’ll have to face the guards . You will immediately become hostile to the imperial family, and the harmony between the Overgeared Kingdom and the empire will never be achieved . ”
“Then there is no way after all?”
“There’s only one . Infiltrate the emperor’s royal treasure house where the black mithril mined for generations is kept . If you aim for the day when His Majesty goes to the mine, it is worth trying because many of the guards will be away . ”
“The emperor’s treasure house . . . ”
It was the treasure house of the emperors who dominated the West Continent . Many of the guards might be away, but it would almost certainly boast more guards than anywhere else . It might be much more difficult than approaching a dragon lair . Still, everything was relative . It was certainly better than heading for the black mithril mine and encountering the emperor .
‘In any case, the most superior materials are always a problem . ’
Their whereabouts were unknown, and the difficulty of obtaining them was also high . Grid clicked his tongue and asked Basara, “What is the day that the emperor will leave for the mine?”
Would it be a few months later? Would his patience run out if he waited while sucking on his fingers? While Grid was worried, he received an unexpected answer .
“In the next eight days . ”
“Eight days?”
“Yes . It is just a short time away . It might be easier than you think to infiltrate the emperor’s treasure house because of the confusion Edan caused . Even so, I can’t guarantee success . ”
“I see . ”
Edan running wild really helped in this situation . The moment that a smile appeared on Grid’s face . . .
“By the way, why aren’t you paying attention to the meteorite?” A familiar voice rang out . Grid looked back and saw a small shadow under the large table lined with wood . It was the dwarf Ke . The visitor had come without permission .
‘How did he get in?’
The entrance of the meeting room was naturally guarded by knights . Then the assassins of the Overgeared Shadows were waiting inside . Yet Dwarf Ke managed to come here without being stopped . The baffled Grid suddenly looked at Ke’s feet . A small yellow golem was sticking its head out of a tunnel . It seemed to resemble an elemental, but it was different . The light elemental didn’t respond at all .
Ke laughed . “It is an artificial elemental . The golem—made of earth and metal—was imbued with an ego by processing an earth elemental, but it is pretty useless . As you can see, its digging ability is excellent, and it can smell minerals and guide me there . ”
“Then can’t you easily infiltrate the emperor’s castle?”
“Oh, that is a big deal . I did it over 100 years ago and got stuck in that cage . I’m not going to repeat the same mistake . ”
“ . . . ”
Why was he trapped in the Abyss? It turned out he was a thief . Grid frowned as he stared at Ke . “You destroyed my castle at will and invaded this place illegally . Thus, you’ll have to go to jail again . ”
“W-What . . . Do you need to do that? A broken castle can be fixed in a few days . Just fill the hole again . Additionally, I broke in, but . . . it wasn’t intentional . This artificial elemental smelled minerals and did it at will!”
“How will you take responsibility for the inconveniences that people will experience while a broken castle is repaired? Additionally, whether you did it intentionally or not, is it right to intrude without permission?”
Grid treated Ke as a guest . This was the first dwarf he’d met and he wanted to make a good connection, which was why he saved Ke . However, this concept was too much . Grid wanted to establish a good relationship, but he was going to explode . The first thing to teach such a person was courtesy . Manners must be established . The moment that Grid decided to place Ke in prison . . .
“I won’t just repair the castle, I’ll expand it! I was originally a castle-building craftsman! Even the King of Lubana once asked me to build him a fortress!”
“ . . . King of Lubana?”
“It was Madra . He was a very old man and the king of a failed country, so he didn’t leave a proper name in history . You won’t know him . ”
He had met someone who knew Madra . Grid’s mood became strange . Ke kept talking, “The reason why I broke into your castle was due to my desire to see your great works . It was never an act of malice . Please let me off just once! I’ll be careful not to do it again!”
“ . . . It is hard if I want to set a standard of discipline . ”
“I accidentally overheard your conversation . Are you planning to create a new mineral? Using blood stone and adamantium? I don’t know about blood stone, but you don’t have to remove the unique properties of adamantium . The fragment of the meteorite that fell from space and lost its light is adamantium . This sword is made of a meteorite . ”
Dwarf Ke was pointed to the Star Sword . It was an item left behind by Sword Duke Limit . The item information described it as a sword made from a ‘star fragment’, but Grid hadn’t known it meant a meteorite . He never imagined that a meteorite’s identity would be adamantium that had lost its properties .
‘Isn’t this good?’
Adamantium’s properties didn’t only consist of its powerful divine power . Adamantium also had the strength, hardness, and brittleness that producers wanted . Of course, there were limits, but it was a mineral that could be utilized actively . It was a pity that those properties had to be deleted, but Dwarf Ke provided him with a new solution .
Grid barely restrained the corners of his mouth from curving upward as he spoke with a bold expression, “Okay . If you rebuild the castle as promised and cooperate in the creation of this mineral, I will forget about putting you in prison . ”
“Ohh! Thank you! Really, thank . . . you?”
Was this a situation where he should feel thankful? Ke suddenly felt doubtful, but he let it go . He was just relieved that he wouldn’t have to go to prison .
***
The Saharan imperial household’s army was strong . The level of the soldiers was high and comparable to the imperial army . They had many skills and excellent equipment . It was as if the Ares Army and Overgeared Army were combined . However, Valhalla’s players defeated the imperial household’s army relatively easily .
It was thanks to the active role of their military adviser, Sima Qian . Sima Qian noted that a civil war was currently occurring . He used the imperial household’s mentality to arrive at the marquis’ territory one step ahead of Marquis Aileen . He placed troops along the shortest route available to each army and ambushed the imperial household army, defeating them all over the capital . Only messages of victory could be heard .
“Wonderful . Absolutely wonderful . ” Ares burst out laughing as he received good news about the level of the guild members and soldiers soaring .
Sima Qian was humble . “It was possible due to the information from the grandmaster . Without his information, we wouldnt have been able to put the soldiers in the right place . ”
“He just gave a small hint . It was purely your talent . Then are you now going to save Marquis Aileen?”
“That’s right . ”
He would save Marquis Aileen and **** the marquis to safety, then they would stay in the marquis’ territory and wait for Edan’s arrival . Prince Edan would rally the Red Knights, allowing him to endure the offensive of the imperial army for the time being . It was for a maximum of 10 days . This was enough .
“Prince Edan is relatively young and has less exposure to outside forces than the other princes . If he raises the banner of independence from the imperial royal family to protect the rights of the minorities, he will win support from ethnic minorities all over the nation . ”
“Many minorities will rally to Marquis Aileen and the empire’s civil war will be lengthened . At that time, we will move the main army to the border and conquer the outskirts of the empire . ”
The Saharan Empire, which reigned over the West Continent, was treated as something insurmountable that players couldn’t surpass . He would be the first to break down the mighty empire that even Grid never crossed . Ares’ blood was boiling .