Chapter 196
Holtran stared intently at Zeon.
When Zeon had suddenly burst through the door during the meeting, he had been startled—but what shocked him even more was learning that Zeon had been ambushed by men sent by Gerwen.
He never imagined Gerwen would try to kill him so openly. If anything, he had expected an assassination attempt only after Zeon left the Steel Fortress.
Gerwen had always dealt with outsiders that way.
Holtran had planned to warn Zeon before he departed.
“Ha… Gerwen’s tyranny has gone too far. I will apologize on his behalf.”
“I’m not here to hear an apology from you, Holtran. We’re leaving in the morning anyway.”
“Then?”
“I just want you to know what happened—and prepare accordingly.”
“If I had the power, I would have acted long ago. But as you know, Gerwen holds absolute authority. He controls both the awakened and the water supply. There’s nothing I can do.”
“Then if Gerwen disappears, could you take full control of the Steel Fortress?”
“…Are you offering to help?”
“Regardless of the reason, he did try to kill us.”
“Hmm…”
Holtran groaned softly.
He didn’t answer immediately and instead fell into deep thought.
Watching him hesitate, Zeon realized the opportunity was slipping away.
Opportunities don’t come often.
They flash by like lightning—and only those prepared can seize them.
Holtran didn’t seem prepared.
Zeon had no interest in persuading such a man with endless words.
He stood up.
“It seems you have no intention of restoring order to the Steel Fortress.”
“This isn’t something to decide after just a few minutes of thought. Give me more time. And honestly—how can we trust you?”
“…What?”
“What if this is Gerwen’s trap? What if he’s trying to lure us in? We need time to verify as well.”
At those words, Eloi and Levin looked at him in disbelief.
“So that’s why a fortress in such a perfect location ended up like this.”
“Exactly.”
“It’s always the indecisive ones who are the real problem.”
Even Brielle added a remark.
Holtran’s face flushed red.
Just as his aides were about to jump to their feet—
Thud.
A faint noise came from outside.
Only Zeon noticed it.
He frowned and focused his hearing.
“Ugh…!”
A muffled groan followed.
It was so faint that no one else could have heard it without concentrating.
Eloi frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“Something’s happening outside.”
“Something?”
Zeon opened the door and stepped out.
At that moment, he spotted a figure quietly emerging from a nearby house.
Moving silently like a cat, the figure held a sword dripping with blood.
Their eyes met.
For a brief moment, silence hung between them.
The figure hadn’t expected Zeon to appear—shock flickered across her face.
But only for an instant.
She lunged toward him at terrifying speed.
Whoosh!
The attacker was Duduyan.
She had been moving through the fortress, assassinating anyone she deemed dangerous.
Before the Red Storm Brigade made their full move, she intended to eliminate as many threats as possible.
Already, three awakened had died by her hand.
If she killed Zeon, he would be the fourth.
That would be something worth boasting about to Urtian.
Clang!
But her assassination attempt failed.
Eloi intervened and deflected the attack.
Seeing Duduyan’s face, Eloi frowned.
Dark skin. Pointed ears.
There was only one race with those traits.
“A dark elf?”
“Hmph.”
Instead of answering, Duduyan slashed toward Eloi’s neck.
Whoooosh!
“Die!”
“You damn—!”
Enraged, Eloi swung her weapon like a raging beast.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sword and spear clashed dozens of times in an instant.
After stepping back briefly, Eloi asked,
“Who are you? A dark elf?”
“You’ve got elf blood in you too.”
“Why are you attacking people? Are you one of Gerwen’s subordinates?”
“Gerwen? The master of this fortress? He’s just another target to me.”
“Then you’re from outside?”
“You talk too much… half-elf.”
Having caught her breath, Duduyan attacked again.
Eloi met her head-on.
Boom! Boom!
At that moment, explosions erupted throughout the fortress.
Holtran looked toward the source in shock.
“What is this?”
“It seems we’re not the only guests from outside,” Zeon said coldly.
Flames rose in multiple places, and screams echoed through the night.
The people, fast asleep, were completely unprepared for the sudden assault.
This was exactly why awakened existed—but many of them were intoxicated on drugs inside Gerwen’s residence.
By the time Gerwen and the awakened rushed out, the Red Storm Brigade’s plundering was already at its peak.
“What the hell? How did outsiders get in? What were the guards doing?!”
Gerwen trembled violently.
He couldn’t believe the chaos unfolding before his eyes.
His kingdom was collapsing right in front of him.
He kicked a drugged awakened in the backside and shouted,
“What are you doing?! Stop them!”
“Y-yes!”
The drugged awakened staggered forward toward the Red Storm Brigade.
Not running—walking.
Seeing that, one of the brigade’s awakened stared at him in disbelief.
“What are you?”
“I am the guardian of the Steel Fortress.”
“Guardian, my ass. You’re just a drugged-up junkie.”
The awakened from the Red Storm Brigade didn’t bother listening further and swung his weapon.
The drugged awakened of the Steel Fortress couldn’t block the attack.
Slash!
He died on the spot without even being able to scream.
The others fared no differently.
The awakened who went to stop the Red Storm Brigade were cut down before they could even put up a fight.
Seeing this, Gerwen screamed,
“N-no!”
Because of the drugs he had forced them to take for control, the awakened were collapsing without being able to use their strength.
The Red Storm Brigade showed no hesitation.
They moved through the Steel Fortress like it was their own home, slaughtering the awakened.
“Aaagh!”
“Ugh!”
The desperate screams of the fortress’s awakened echoed everywhere.
“What is this? Why are they so weak?”
“More than half of them are junkies.”
“Idiots… staying holed up in a safe place made them completely lose their edge.”
Even the Red Storm Brigade’s awakened shook their heads in disbelief.
They had always fought to protect their families from desert monsters and the harsh sands.
The only ones they could rely on were fellow awakened.
Because of that, they constantly kept their senses sharp, ready for battle at any moment.
Being drugged and sluggish like this was unthinkable to them.
“These guys don’t deserve a fortress like this.”
“Kill them all and take everything.”
The Red Storm Brigade grew even more frenzied.
“How… how could this happen?”
Holtran widened his eyes.
The supposedly invincible Steel Fortress was being ravaged before his eyes—it felt unreal.
“This Elder! Please give us orders!”
“Holtran, please!”
The awakened who followed him urged him to decide.
But Holtran stood frozen, unable to act.
Even his followers, lacking direction, panicked and moved in confusion.
Zeon sighed.
“This is a complete disaster.”
“I hate to say it, but this place deserves to fall.”
“...How does something rot this badly?”
Even Levin and Brielle shook their heads.
At that moment, Jacob and Lucy approached Zeon.
“Please help us.”
“We’re begging you.”
The children—only around ten years old—knelt before him and pleaded.
They had seen how easily Levin dealt with monsters, and yet even he deferred to Zeon.
That meant Zeon had to be far stronger.
Lucy spoke with tears in her eyes,
“Not all the adults are bad… there are good people too. Please… save them.”
Even at the young girl’s plea, Zeon did not waver much.
But Brielle did.
She said,
“Are you really going to just stand by? I know you hate reckless interference, but you can’t let even children die like this.”
“You’re not that much older than them.”
“That’s not the point. I’m talking about basic human decency.”
Zeon let out a small chuckle.
Hearing a pure-blood high elf talk about human morality felt oddly ironic.
Just then—
“What? There are awakened here too.”
“Kill them!”
The Red Storm Brigade spotted Zeon and attacked without hesitation.
A martial-type awakened swung an axe, while a magic-type fired a Mind Cutter.
There wasn’t even a trace of hesitation.
The moment they identified him as an enemy, they used lethal skills.
It showed just how experienced they were.
But their attacks never reached Zeon.
He swung his right arm and launched a Fire Missile.
The Fire Missile intercepted both the Mind Cutter and the axe.
Boom!
“Urgh!”
“Gah!”
The awakened who attacked Zeon were thrown back with screams.
Ordinary awakened would have been severely injured—but these were far from ordinary.
The moment they hit the ground, they sprang back up and counterattacked.
“You bastard!”
“I’ll rip your throat out!”
They unleashed even stronger skills.
Boom!
Their attacks struck Zeon—
—or so they thought.
Shhh—
Zeon’s figure vanished like a mirage.
Their attacks struck only the wall and ground behind him.
The awakened widened their eyes.
“An illusion?”
What they had attacked wasn’t his real body—but an afterimage left by his extreme speed.
“Then where is he—?”
“Wait…!”
A chill ran down their spines.
They felt a presence behind them.
It was Zeon.
“Shit!”
“Damn it!”
They turned to retaliate—but Zeon was faster.
Crack!
His fists slammed into their jaws and temples.
Like puppets with cut strings, they were sent flying and collapsed unconscious.
From afar, other Red Storm Brigade awakened saw the scene.
“What? Wol and Bohem went down?”
“That bastard…!”
They charged toward Zeon.
Zeon brushed back his messy hair and muttered,
“I really didn’t want to get involved…”