Hiding A Logistics Center In The Apocalypse Chapter 192

Hiding the Logistics Center in the Apocalypse Episode 192

Allied Forces (3)

Knock knock.

Knock knock knock.

“Ugh······.”

Half a day had already passed since the Chamber of Commerce's allied forces had arrived.

While the cannons on the outer wall continued to fire incessantly, Count Bereshti was sleeping soundly.

They had to hold out for at least half a day until reinforcements from the Duchy of Veronica arrived, but it was difficult to even focus on that now.

The knights who were sent down to protect the Magic Heaven brought unexpected news.

The count immediately relayed the news to the duke's family.

“You found it? Really?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am certain it is so.”

The count faced a large full-length mirror.

The mirror remotely illuminated one side of the distant audience room of the Duchy of Veronica, where the pale-skinned Princess Veronica, with her long white hair flowing down her face, sat.

The sole successor to the long-deceased Duke Veronica.

"hmm······."

Even though she was desperately looking for a mirror, the princess had a very cautious expression.

Ever since she heard the news that the evidence vault had been robbed, she had been suspicious of everything.

She thought that this might have been Arcane's own plan to move the mirror to a safer place, but she never expected that someone would show up with the mirror in their hands.

“Why are you holding up the mirror now? Are the Arcanes trying to trick me?”

“You’ll be able to check it out soon. The knights are bringing them. Mercury is also in a state of chaos······.”

Even though it was an urgent situation, it was impossible to distinguish between the serious and the serious.

Because the Princess's mirror was an important object, comparable to the Mercury of Bereshti.

dripping.

The doorknob rang.

Count Bereshti placed a thin veil over the mirror in which the princess was reflected.

The princess was no longer visible, but the princess could see them.

Kkieeee······.

Before long, the thick door opened and two men strode into the room.

Since both of them were wearing masks, the princess's suspicions were further amplified.

But they lightly took off their masks······.

“······Buendia?”

Count Bereshti cried out in astonishment.

The princess also knew that face.

***

“Greetings. This is Princess Veronica.”

“Nice to meet you, Your Majesty.”

The count lifted the veil covering the mirror.

Buendia greeted me gently, and I nodded back appropriately.

Since there was no hierarchy, it was a comfortable greeting exchanged.

Coincidentally, the Count and the Princess already seemed to know Buendia.

Buendia gave me a sneak peek into why.

“When I was working hard in Marques, I proposed an alliance to the Duchess of Veronica. Well, in the end, I was rejected······.”

It appears that the person who came forward as a negotiator at that time was Count Bereshti.

Although it did not lead to an actual alliance, the fact that Buendia proposed cooperation at the time was enough to give an idea of the Duchess Veronica's disposition.

Whatever the past, what I wanted was simple.

To seize the central headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, which will soon be completed in the Allied camp.

If Bereshti could weaken the Allied forces beyond propaganda, it would also make access to central headquarters much easier.

All that was needed was to hand over the mirror and propose a new collaboration that had been delayed for decades······.

“Before that, I’d like to ask you something.”

Before that, I decided to first resolve my curiosity.

Now, the higher dimensions are swarming in and attacking.

Because I wanted to know what this war was for.

To my question, Princess Veronica answered with a deep sigh.

“You do know that we do not drink the blood of other races, right?”

“I heard. You’re replacing it with something called essence.”

Essence.

It was a substance that I had previously confirmed with my own eyes.

The orange liquid that the vampires of Bereshti were wearing was their true identity.

“The essence currently in use is not a very stable substance. Due to structural issues, it has serious side effects.”

Narcolepsy, dehydration, muscle weakness, night blindness, dental imbalance, etc.

The side effects she cited were countless.

Enough to endanger the very survival of vampires.

However, the princess's father, the former duke, put in a lot of effort and finally found a solution by adding a complex refining process to extract the magical water.

“The production facility is located here in Bereshti. And as soon as we begin production of the newly developed essence… Our Duchess Veronica planned to completely sever diplomatic ties with all dimensions except for the cooperative vampire families.”

Complete cessation of diplomatic relations and independence.

It was a declaration to withdraw from the world of survival of the fittest that spread across multiple dimensions, and at the same time, it was the reason why the Chamber of Commerce gathered the upper dimensions and invaded them.

Of course, this was what Duchess Veronica had expected.

If only the side effects of the essence could be resolved, Veronica's vampires would regain their true power and the strength to become independent from them.

but······.

“The more important ingredient is gone.”

After saying that, the princess paused for a moment.

But soon, as if he had no choice, he continued speaking.

It may be because of Buendia, but it seemed like there was no point in being picky about this or that anymore.

“The Holy Blood of the Progenitor that my father was holding. It was stolen. And······ The location where the Holy Blood is hidden will be contained in that mirror.”

That was the real reason why Princess Veronica was desperately searching for the mirror.

***

“······.”

The princess's story went on for a long time.

It was a complex and important issue for them.

Kwaaang!

Kwaaaaang!

“······Let’s talk about it. First, I’d like to ask you to excuse me.”

The battle continued.

The princess in the distant duchy had no choice, but Count Bereshti had no choice but to leave first to support the battle.

As I watched the Count walk away in a hurry, I reviewed with Buendía the events that had taken place in the Duchy of Veronica over the past several decades.

“So, you borrowed the power of Arcane to create a magic water purification facility, and that Arcane Count Franco stole the Duke’s holy blood or something?”

“I guess so. It would have required a high level of magical technique to purify the magical water. Fortunately, I was able to see the bastard’s face with a tracking mirror before that······.”

Coincidentally, his name was the same as that of the Arcane Wizard I had encountered in the concentration camp.

Although they were not the same person, they appeared to be wizards belonging to the same family.

The way to create the essence was to assimilate the Holy Blood into the purified magical water, and in the final process, Count Franco stole the Holy Blood after murdering Duchess Veronica.

The princess continued speaking in a complicated voice.

“My father trusted Count Franco implicitly. He was so desperate that he wanted to marry off his only successor. He needed the Arcane purification technique, and he wanted to solidify the alliance… He was one of the most powerful figures in Arcane.”

The only successor refers to the princess herself.

In fact, she announced that she would postpone the succession to the title after the Duke's death.

The announcement was made under the pretext of paying tribute, but in reality it was because the Holy Blood needed for the ceremony had been lost.

That was also the reason why he remained in the duchy, unable to come to Bereshti's aid.

If you go into battle without the Holy Blood of the Duke, you will only inform the higher levels that you have lost the Holy Blood.

If only she had the Holy Blood, she would have inherited powers of the 3rd rank or higher, but if not, the princess's current powers were only at the level of the 5th rank.

The princess slowly bowed her head toward us.

“Please hold that mirror up to me. If you can retrieve the Holy Blood and inherit the power of your ancestors… I will definitely support you in the name of the Duchess Veronica.”

Unlike the deceased Duke Veronica, the princess never trusted Arcane in the first place.

That's why they called in technicians to install a video transmission device on the mirror and even created an artifact that could record the actions of the opponent reflected in the mirror.

The <Tracking Mirror> we had obtained was that item, and it should contain the details of Count Franco's actions in stealing the Holy Blood.

But then······.

Kwakwakwakwang!

Urrrrrr!

A loud roar, incomparable to anything before, surged into the room.

And then, right after, a vampire with half his wings cut off came rushing into the audience room.

It was the guy who brought us here earlier, and he immediately bowed his head to us and said.

“The Count has asked me a favor. I know it’s embarrassing, but… Could you help us in battle, even if only for a moment?”

“Is it very serious?”

“The outer wall of the West Gate is about to fall. No, judging by the sound of it… it seems like the gate has already been broken open.”

Their situation was so dire that the battle situation was updated in real time.

As the count remembers Buendia's reputation, he seems to have asked for a little help.

A princess who had recovered her Holy Blood would have been of greater help, but there was not enough time to show the image in the mirror and recover the hidden Holy Blood.

“Let’s go out first.”

Kwaaang!

The audience room where dust suddenly falls.

We hurried towards the castle walls, leaving behind the mirror in which the princess was reflected.

***

-Wow!

The shouts of the enemies are heard as if stabbing.

As I had heard, the enemies had already captured the outer wall to the west.

The situation is one where they are continuing to rush forward to break through the second gate leading to the main castle.

Flutter!

Count Bereshti flew quickly towards us.

Wings charred black by fire, as if testifying to a fierce battle.

He opened his mouth, gasping for breath.

“Oh, you came······!”

“Tell me what’s going on. How can I help you?”

The Count pointed to the water guns installed on the walls.

The weapons that had once blasted powerful bolts of electricity were now tilted precariously beneath the shattered walls.

“All three electromagnetic cannons installed at the west gate here were destroyed. There is one that is still intact… Could you please fix the circuit?”

It seemed like the operation attempted by the Allied Forces was working.

This time, it seems they used other people as bait, not Earthlings.

While aiming at the ground, the Allied air force's air strategy, which had quickly arrived, destroyed Bereshti's electromagnetic gun.

It seemed like he wanted to ask for help from Buendia, who was an expert in magic circuits, but Buendia shook his head.

“I’m sorry… but I can’t do anything about the repairs. Even if the dwarves come, it’ll take at least a day or two. How long will it take for the reinforcements that the Duke sent to arrive?”

“······There will still be half a day left.”

Count Bereshti's face was stained with despair.

Half a day would be enough time for the enemies to occupy the inner castle.

To him who was trembling with fear, I pointed to a corner of the wall and asked.

“What happens if I just drop that bullet without the electromagnetic bubbles?”

There was a stack of sharp, wedge-shaped bullets used by electromagnetic cannons.

At first glance, it looked like something like lightning was sweeping in, but surprisingly, it seemed like there were shells that were being used up.

The count answered in a voice that still seemed hopeless.

“If it wasn’t fired from a cannon, the power would be significantly weakened. Of course, if you get hit by the falling bullets in succession, you could probably inflict some damage to a 4th-tier enemy, but it’s not like you can just take that many times without any trouble······.”

The Allied forces' strength was evenly distributed from the 7th tier to the 3rd tier.

Considering that the top commanders are of the third rank, those who actually exert the most force on the battlefield are mostly of the fourth or fifth rank.

Simply dropping it would have been difficult to inflict effective damage.

If only I could just drop it.

“Please wait a moment.”

I approached the stack of shells to activate <Shopaholic>.

.

.

.

The Count fell down, clutching Buendia's arms.

“Back then······ I should have held Marquez’s hand. Not Arcane’s······.”

In order to produce the essence, Duchess Veronica required advanced magical refining techniques.

Buendia could have done it too… but in the end, Veronica took Arcane's hand.

If Marques was the main enemy of the multidimensional world, then Arcane was the most powerful dimension.

It was several times easier that way.

“It will be different from that time.”

Buendia raised the count.

Then he looked at Jeong-gyeom, who had gone to retrieve the shells.

and······.

Phage, phage, phage!

Once again, lightning was shooting out from above the three collapsed electromagnetic bubbles.