Translated Chapter
369. Tall Tower
Baron Kai Xiusu teleported Misha into the Guest Lodging within Northwind Keep, where attendants—though not necessarily human—would attend to her needs, dressing her and preparing her bath. They could be Serpent Folk, Dragonborn, or even half-beasts. The Kingdom of Ashen had long since embraced the full spectrum of racial diversity.
“Lanpu, come in.”
“Yes, Master.”
After waiting patiently outside, Lanpu finally stepped through the door, bowing deeply at the foot of the staircase.
“Master, I hope the Human I brought meets your approval?”
“Excellent. Far beyond my expectations.”
“Rise.”
Kai Xiusu spoke coolly, issuing the command with effortless authority.
“Your satisfaction is my greatest honor,” Lanpu murmured, rising slowly. A grotesque grin stretched across his丑陋 face.
Unaware, the Ogre Magus had no idea that his position as the Kingdom of Ashen’s first spellcaster was about to face its most formidable challenge—one he himself had delivered.
Kai Xiusu continued, “I want the Magic Ministry to provide Misha with a full Systematic magical education. And around Northwind Keep, construct a Tall Tower—name it…”
He paused, hesitating for a moment, before choosing to honor the original course of fate.
“Tower of Wicked Flame.”
“Yes, Master. I shall see to it personally. You shall not be disappointed.”
Lanpu bowed deeply, his voice firm and obedient. He did not question why—such inquiries were meaningless. His only duty was to obey the Red Dragon’s orders.
Yet even Lanpu, with his lowered gaze, could not entirely hide the flicker of surprise that passed through his eyes. To devote such resources, even building a wizard tower solely for one girl—this Human’s value and importance must be far greater than he had imagined.
Clutching his staff tighter, he thought.
Kai Xiusu paid no mind to Lanpu’s inner thoughts. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes and asked, voice indifferent, “It’s been nearly two months. How stand the Northern Regions?”
“Have all the Stellarfallen been cleared?”
“Yes, Master. Marshal Dolo’s strategy has proven highly effective. The fallen’s efficiency is undeniable. We now control nearly eighty percent of the Northern Territories. The remaining pockets of resistance are completely surrounded.”
Kai Xiusu’s expression shifted—just slightly—into something new. Curious.
“Oh? Now there are still rebels?”
Lanpu replied, “Count Jacob Rosa of Swinno Duchy. He’s rallied all nearby noble factions, attempting a counteroffensive. He’s even reclaimed several cities.”
“But the Kingdom’s forces responded swiftly. Marshal Dolo redeployed his troops immediately. Now, they are fully encircled. As you once said, these remnants of Northern nobility are nothing more than ‘Caged Rats.’”
Kai Xiusu mulled over the phrase.
“Jacob Rosa…?”
“Interesting.”
A long-buried memory, sealed in dust, stirred once more.
Count Jacob Rosa—once the most esteemed general of Swinno Duchy, a hero of the war against demons, revered by the Northern people as the “Great Wall of the North.” In a past life, he had been a key ally to the Player characters, a pillar of the Justice Alliance, and the source of countless side quests.
Perceiving Kai Xiusu’s momentary silence, Lanpu stepped forward.
“Master, does this Human have any use to you?”
“If so, I can have Dolo capture Jacob Rosa alive and bring him before you.”
“No,” Kai Xiusu shook his head, calm as ever. “Kill him.”
Jacob Rosa was indeed a powerful supernatural warrior, but he was nearing fifty. To Kai Xiusu, he held little potential. Worse still, he was a staunch loyalist of the Northern Order, the symbolic leader of the rebellion—precisely the kind of figure whose destruction would serve as both a warning and a deterrent.
“To truly break their spirit,” Kai Xiusu added, “give him a humiliating death. Let him not die with dignity.”
“Yes, Master. As you command.”
Lanpu bowed, but then, without pause, added with a sudden spark of enthusiasm:
“Master, should I have the Propaganda Department fabricate a scandalous narrative? Paint Jacob Rosa as a depraved noble, a monster who raped and pillaged without mercy?”
“We could even twist some boyhood anecdotes—attach them to his name.”
“Thus, we’d shatter the last divine image the Northern nobles have built of him. Crush their spiritual foundation utterly.”
“Once their hero is disgraced, their rebellion will lose all will to fight.”
The Ogre’s voice grew more animated, breath puffing white smoke from his nostrils—truly a “benevolent” soul.
Kai Xiusu couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. This Ogre had clearly mastered the art of propaganda—on his own, without formal training.
Still, he praised, “Well done. You’ve thought it through thoroughly.”
“Proceed as you’ve planned. Crush the rebellion completely. And tell them plainly: History is written by the victors.”
Lanpu’s face lit up with exaggerated humility.
“Why, Master, you flatter me. This wisdom is but a fragment of your boundless knowledge.”
“Indeed, I’ve only grasped a fraction of the depth you’ve shown me. My mind is but a drop compared to the ocean of your wisdom.”
The dragon and the ogre exchanged a knowing smile.
And so, in just a few words, the fate of Jacob Rosa—the legendary “Great Wall of the North”—was sealed, all without his knowing.
One could only marvel at the capriciousness of fate.
Once a revered hero of the past, Jacob Rosa now stood as the leader of a doomed rebellion. He would soon face annihilation—surrounded, captured, put on public trial, and executed on the guillotine. Even in death, his name would be sullied, his legacy stained with infamy for generations.
“Jacob Rosa’s death was not just the end of a hero—it was a lament, a cry of anguish, the final melting of snow in the Northern lands. He died standing. Not cowering. Not as some slandered figure would have it.”
—Secret History of Anzeta: The Termination of the Northern Regions, Duke Luton
“Luton Sieg had already fled south. How could he possibly know whether Jacob Rosa died in surrender—crushed by the fury of peasant laborers?”
“Given Luton Sieg’s own past, and the fact that Jacob Rosa had a disturbing fascination with minors, I have every reason to suspect that Luton himself once shared a… compromising past with this Baron.”
“Otherwise, why would he so urgently defend him now?”
—Miscellaneous Records of Feanso History, an anonymous historian
(End of Chapter)
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