While the war continued within the walls of the Golden City, the Northern and Middle Regions were under control. The Southern Region, however, was—so to speak—burning. Earth and sky were covered with orc warriors, but there were also some humans moving alongside the forces of the Orc Empire.
Besides the Hell Realm Army that participated in the siege following the Great Invasion, there was another army. The first human Nafız and Alyon had ever met—a man who was once nothing more than a merchant trying to trade on the Orc Steppes—was advancing through the ruined battlefield with his army of ten thousand.
During the long siege, the Four Great Merchant Guilds must have already moved their assets outside the borders of the continent. Looting the guild buildings was out of the question; in fact, no one was even looking at the riches within the Golden City.
Dimitri Balsici and his army were among them. With his golden-haired apprentice Sasha on one side and Dona Gracia and her dwarf manservant on the other, Dimitri marched in lockstep with the ten thousand soldiers surrounding him.
"Are you sure you know where they are, Dimitri? Even though the orc forces have searched everywhere, they haven't managed to find those three fossils!"
"Of course, milady, it's only natural they couldn't find them! If my father hadn't once held an executive position within the Golden Leaf Guild, it would be impossible for me to know the secret hiding place as well."
When Dona Gracia shed her appearance that resembled a pile of dung and reverted to her original form, everyone around her adopted the nature of the dwarf servant. Dimitri could not help but stare at the beautiful woman as he spoke, having to wipe the water attempting to overflow from his mouth at least three times.
The dwarf servant was very annoyed by this situation; you could tell what he was thinking by looking at his second-by-second changing facial expressions, but he did not open his mouth to say a single word. Perhaps he did this because his mistress was the only beautiful thing in the ruined city; after all, the Orc forces had shown no mercy to the city that was the shining star of the World of the Six Civilizations.
Their aim was to take this point—the last branch for the Mercenaries to hold onto. Since they could not achieve this by asking, they would achieve it by force, and the only thing the chosen path would bring was destruction.
The state of the place that was the capital of brilliance, wealth, and excess was heart-wrenching. Although the Orcs did not engage in intentional acts using the barbarism attributed to them, the nature of war was to ruin everything beautiful.
Furthermore, not all the destruction belonged to them. The forces stationed to defend the city had perhaps caused more damage to the capital than the attackers. The Machine Empire, invading the Southern Region, had started this work before the siege, and the Mercenaries and Apostles had caused as much damage as the Orc Army the moment the struggle began.
This was the view of the army walking among the ruins, but the footsteps that ceased with Dimitri's order to stop told them they had reached their target. They stood before a rusty tower rising in the center of the Golden City walls, amidst all the glitz, wealth, and grandeur.
"Rusty Tower, you were the only non-shining structure in the Golden City. Look, now everywhere is full of ones like you. What happened? Did you rejoice, did you like returning to the years you were built?"
Dimitri Balsici spoke while leaning one hand against the iron that had taken on a reddish-brown color from oxidation. It was as if he were addressing an old friend—no, like a family elder who had aged but still deserved respect.
Those behind him could not make sense of this attitude; their bewilderment was readable on their faces, but only Sasha maintained the same posture as his master. He came before the Rusty Tower and bowed to greet it.
"The people we want to kill are here. They are hiding inside the tower, but before we enter, I need to tell you what kind of place this actually is!"
Dimitri Balsici spoke, turning his face toward Dona Gracia and the dwarf servant. Ten thousand mercenaries remained behind; it was an effective method to illustrate that they were not involved in this matter.
"I'm not in the mood for stories, Dimitri. Let's go inside so I can slit the throat of that old geezer who wears gold grains on his eyebrows. Remember, you promised. I will be the one to take the life of the Golden Leaf Merchant Guild Leader!"
Dimitri held a deep grudge against the Golden Leaf Guild, which was responsible for his father's death. Under normal circumstances, he would certainly not allow the privilege Dona Gracia demanded, but this was one of the conditions required for the gates of the Golden City to open.
While Dona Gracia was negotiating with Dijamant, the Leader of the Diamond Leaf Guild, she had committed to marrying his son, and the same beautiful woman had set one condition for the Orc Empire forces: I will be the one who takes the life of the old man named Zlato.
"Then let me tell you the story of this place on the way. We have plenty of time; I hope I don't bore you with my bad voice and mediocre sense of humor!"
It was an offer that could not be refused. Dona Gracia was a woman who had managed to survive until now through her intelligence and intuition. What she had seen while coming here had told her certain things; she had no reason not to accept Dimitri's suggestion.
"There is only one entrance to the Rusty Tower, but if you don't know your way, you might make an exit from multiple places—or you might not!"
The Leader of the Balsici Family took the rust-covered door knocker in his hand. First he struck once short, immediately followed by a long, then short again, a long, two shorts in a row, a long, and again a short strike, then waited for three breaths.
No one could understand what was happening, but Dimitri Balsici did not stop; he struck in a pattern of long, short, long, long, short, short, long, short, short, short, long, long, short, short, long, long, short, short, long, short, short, short, short, short, long, short, short, long, short, long, short, long, and everyone saw the rusty door open on its own.
Dimitri leaned in and whispered something into his apprentice Sasha's ear, and except for a team of twenty people separated from the ten-thousand-man army, the rest moved into a defensive formation around the tower. These twenty people were the strongest and most loyal individuals within the Balsici Army. Dimitri had chosen them with his own hands.
"No one try to be a hero. No matter what you see, you will do nothing other than what I say!"
Dimitri, Sasha, Dona Gracia, and the dwarf servant took priority. Twenty mercenaries followed them, and they entered the Rusty Tower, which was a taboo even within the Golden City.
Darkness was at the very front of the welcoming committee. As it greeted the uninvited guests with its legendary hospitality, the words of the Balsici Family head rang in everyone's ears.
"Open your right arm and advance in that direction until you touch the wall. Do not go any further and walk straight until my next command!"
Dimitri did not leave the lead to anyone; together with his apprentice, they moved sideways with their right arms extended. The instruction given was very simple; anyone entering the Rusty Tower could easily apply it, but Dimitri shouted as if remembering something.
"You, Dona Gracia's servant. Continue by holding onto your mistress's skirt, otherwise if you fall into the gap between the wall and the path, no one can save you! Always keep a distance of one step between you and the person in front of you, and keep in mind how many people are between you and me!"
The energy radiated by the Mercenaries, who thought their journey would proceed safely with the instructions they received, changed. They now understood the reason for advancing with their right arms extended; if they walked by holding directly onto the wall, they could die by falling into a place they could not see.
"Now that we've settled everything, I can tell my story while we walk, can't I?"
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