Chapter 303: Any Terms

The knight lunged forward, driving his weapon straight through the giant monster's torso. The beast toppled heavily onto its side and lay motionless on the blood-soaked cobblestones. Breathing heavily, the knight silently rushed toward another one.

A few steps away, the mage extended his right palm, placing his left hand over it. A dense stream of purple flames burst from his hands, spreading down the street in a wide, devastating wave and reducing the monsters to ash.

A few minutes later, silence settled over the kingdom of Nellis.

The surviving knights began calling out to one another, issuing orders:

"Hey! Check every corner! Clear out the entire lower district. Don't leave a single monster alive!"

A full sweep began. About fifteen minutes passed before the sentries were certain the area was safe. The kingdom had been completely cleared of monsters. No monsters remained alive—only an enormous, gaping hole in the wall.

Several knights, covered from head to toe in the monsters' black blood, stood silently by the breach, surveying the damage.

"Have we informed His Majesty?" one of them asked wearily, spitting on the ground.

"We've already sent a messenger. He should pass everything along," the second replied with a nod.

Meanwhile, the messenger was already hurrying through the streets. Upon reaching the palace, he quickly knocked on the massive door to the royal office. Once given permission to enter, he stepped inside and immediately delivered his report:

"Your Majesty! The attack has been repelled, and the monster threat has been completely eliminated. No more monsters are in sight!"

King Andres sat behind his massive desk, not even lifting his head from the stack of papers before him. He continued signing them one after another at a rapid pace. He gave a brief reply:

"Right. Good work." His shoulders relaxed slightly as the tension from the recent attack finally began to fade.

"Keep the entire perimeter guarded. And tell the engineering corps to repair that hole in the wall immediately."

"It will be done," the messenger replied crisply.

Realizing there would be no further orders, he turned and quickly left the office.

The door had barely closed behind the departing messenger when another knight stepped into the office. Bowing respectfully, he spoke with a tense expression:

"Your Majesty. A young man has brought us some information. He claims to know where Iron Everfall is."

Andres froze. His hand, holding the quill, stopped above the paper, and his eyes widened in shock.

The knight quickly continued, straightening up:

"The young man said he's willing to tell you everything. However, he has certain conditions he wants to discuss with you in person regarding Iron."

Andres let out a heavy sigh, regaining his composure. His brief show of interest immediately gave way to dull irritation. Leaning back in his massive chair, he replied coldly:

"Not interested."

With that, the king silently returned to his papers and resumed working.

The knight blinked in confusion, unable to believe what he'd just heard.

"Y-You're really not interested in this information? After all, you've spent so long trying to find him so you could get your revenge..."

Without even looking up, Andres cut him off in an icy tone:

"Not interested. I already told you. Do you really not understand the first time?"

The king's cold tone sent a chill down the knight's spine, and his stomach tightened with fear.

Swallowing nervously, he forced the words out:

"Very well... I'll turn down his offer."

The knight turned and quickly left the office. King Andres finished signing the document with one final, firm stroke, set it aside, and sat motionless in the silence of his office.

By evening, dusk had settled over the village. In the Main Building, inside the quiet of his private office, Iron lay on the sofa with his eyes closed. A completed, meticulously detailed blueprint lay on the desk in front of him.

Without moving, he used Lumon to initiate an in-depth analytical process. In his mind's eye, Iron could see the current settlement eventually growing into a major nation. He was calculating the logistics, infrastructure, and architecture of its future districts. His thoughts then shifted to the economy: images of the people who had just moved here passed before his mind's eye.

"For them to live comfortably, they'll also need to work and receive fair compensation for their labor," Iron reasoned, mentally bringing a hand to his chin. "Most likely, I'll give them some initial funds to cover their first month. Once that period is over, they'll have a choice: either work and earn a salary, or... simply leave... But I need to make sure they have only one option—to stay. And to do that, I'll have to impress them with something."

The mental panorama suddenly collapsed, leaving nothing but the dense, absolute darkness behind his closed eyes.

"The kingdom won't go bankrupt because of inflation," Iron concluded, opening his eyes and returning to reality. "I'll use the quantum matrix replicator, which operates on the basis of stable vacuum energy conversion, or simply the 'Coin.' It'll ensure a continuous supply of coins."

Sitting up slightly on the sofa, he said:

"Heavens."

His gaze shifted upward, toward the sky above the village. He activated a scan and surveyed the entire area, immediately noticing that Noah and Elyria were still absent.

After deactivating the scan, Iron leaned back against the sofa once more and closed his eyes.

At that very moment, the space to his left began to ripple. The air shifted slightly, and two figures materialized out of nowhere: Elyria, sitting in a meditative pose, and Noah, standing beside his sword in a combat stance.

Noah blinked sharply, glanced around the spacious office, then turned toward Iron, who was still lying on the sofa, and said irritably:

"Seriously? You're doing this again?!"

At the sound of his voice, Elyria's eyes flew open. She looked around, immediately realizing where she was, and promptly ended her meditation. Genuine indignation flashed across her face.

"Damn it, Iron! Why do you keep teleporting us without warning?! Maybe I wanted to stay there!"

Iron slowly got up from the sofa, sat down, and calmly looked at them.

"I understand that you want to stay there, but remember: the village comes first. Although I can put up a protective dome, that doesn't mean I can maintain it indefinitely... Besides, this won't be our first or last meeting with the Council. They're our allies from now on, so you can meet with them anytime. But right now, it's time for you to go back to guarding the village."

Elyria let out an annoyed snort and crossed her arms over her chest. Noah, meanwhile, silently turned toward the exit, looking equally displeased as he prepared to leave.

Iron added in an even tone:

"Besides, you'll be spending the entire day there tomorrow, so stop looking so gloomy."

At those words, both their faces immediately brightened, and they proudly lifted their heads.

"And from now on, you'll both be joining the Council as well," Iron added as they were leaving.

However, they completely ignored that last remark, too caught up in the thought that they would finally get a chance to fight and regain their true forms.

Iron got up from the sofa, slowly approached the door, and said:

"Also, we'll most likely be heading north in about a week, maybe a little later. According to Abel, the Council will be holding a tournament up north to determine who among them is the strongest."

Noah immediately stopped right by the door, his eyes lighting up with unmistakable excitement.

"Really?!"

"Yes, that's right," Iron confirmed calmly, raising his index finger. "But you'll only be allowed to go if..."

He was about to explain the condition, but Noah didn't even bother waiting for him to finish. Grabbing the door handle, he bolted into the hall, shouting over his shoulder:

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I'll do absolutely anything!"

The door slammed shut with a loud bang as Noah quickly rushed off to his post.

Elyria let out a heavy sigh, watched him go, then turned to Iron and shrugged.

"Well, fine. I'll go meditate..."

"Nah, wait," Iron interrupted. "You haven't even checked on the village today. Go take a look around and help Noah guard it."

Elyria puffed out her cheeks and threw her hands up in protest.

"Why?! I already saw it today!"

"No buts. Go," Iron cut her off.

Elyria let out an annoyed snort and turned to leave, but stopped abruptly at the doorway. She spun around in midair and stared straight at the engineer.

"And why exactly should I listen to you?!"

Iron calmly folded his arms across his chest and replied:

"You don't have to listen to me. But then, who's going to build that fountain you've been wanting so badly?"

Elyria's expression changed instantly. All her indignation and defiance vanished in an instant, and her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Okay, I'm going!"

Without wasting another second, she took off and instantly materialized in midair, right above the village, straight from the office.

And just as she came to a stop above the village, a sharp snap of Iron's fingers caused the invisible protective dome covering the settlement to slowly descend from above, dissolving into the night air.