Chapter 2675 – 2675. God’S Atlantis

Atlantis was peaceful today as well.

The curse of the volcanic island had covered Atlantis, but the damage was much less than in the original story.

This was because some preparations had been made due to Eugene’s intervention. Moreover, the conquest of the volcanic island was progressing slowly but surely.

Eventually, the volcanic island would be conquered, and this curse would disappear. The residents of Atlantis believed this without a doubt.

However, an anomaly occurred throughout Atlantis.

It began to snow from the sky. At first, the Empire did not realize this was an anomaly. It was currently winter in the Empire, and it was natural for it to snow in winter.

However, it did not snow only in the Empire.

It snowed even in the deserts where the sun’s power was strong.

It began to snow in areas where it should not snow.

When everyone realized the anomaly and pondered the cause, an alert window popped up.

「Area 8,840, the Winter Castle has awakened.」
「Until the Winter Castle is conquered, it will snow and the temperature will drop throughout Atlantis.」

It’s natural for it to snow in winter. The world won’t end just because it snows. That’s what the idiots of the Empire thought.

However, those with a bit of sense knew how serious this situation was.

“Your Majesty! We must conquer the Winter Castle immediately! The snow is not the problem! The real problem is that the temperature is dropping rapidly!”

“At this rate, the large farms will also suffer great damage. Even if they are magicians who protect the large farms from volcanic ash, at least four times more magicians than now are needed to maintain the temperature of the vast large farms at an appropriate level.”

“If we do nothing, the future of Atlantis will be one of two things: either freeze to death or starve to death.”

The Emperor sighed at the words of his capable ministers.

Area 3,975, the large farm.

This area, which is under the direct control of the Imperial Family, supplies 30% of the total food for the Atlantis continent. A blessed land where crops can be harvested. A place that somehow managed to survive even during the curse of the volcanic island. However, due to this incident, the large farm was also about to be hit hard.

‘If the large farm is like this, the other farms are beyond words. The economy is about to completely collapse. No, before the economy, survival is the problem.’

The Emperor had a prophecy stone tablet that foretold the future, but it did not foresee this incident. If he had known, he could have prepared more thoroughly.

After a moment of silence, the Emperor commanded.

“We need information before the attack. Dispatch a reconnaissance team to the Winter Castle.”

An elite reconnaissance team of knights was dispatched to the Winter Castle.

And the next day, the Emperor received a report of the reconnaissance team’s annihilation.

The Emperor’s gaze deepened.

“Inform the nobles and, as a first step, use the exiles to conquer the Winter Castle.”

If even the exiles fail to conquer it, the Empire will have to step in.

• • •

Elena stared at the sky.

Snow was falling heavily from the gray clouds. At first glance, it could be a romantic sight. However, those snowflakes contained a slight amount of poison. This was because volcanic ash was mixed in the process of the snow condensing. It was crazy to melt and drink that snow, and it was not good to touch it directly.

‘Now, even poison is falling from the sky.’

The curse of the Winter Castle was something that even Sung Yoo-jin and Kang Myung-jin had not anticipated. The curse of the Winter Castle was something that did not exist in the original story.

‘I didn’t even consider the curse of the Winter Castle. At this rate, my wedding will be ruined.’

More than anything else, that was something that absolutely could not happen.

If she waited for someone else to resolve the situation, she could suffer irreparable damage. Even now, crops were dying in real-time.

The Emperor had sent a reconnaissance team to the Winter Castle, but news of their annihilation reached her ears.

It was obvious what kind of action the Emperor would take next. He would try to move the exiles to preserve the Empire’s and the Imperial Family’s power as much as possible. Those exiles would also want to avoid a dog’s death, so they would proceed with the attack slowly.

Elena wanted to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.

‘I’ll have to step in myself this time.’

Anything that interfered with the Valdert family’s event was unacceptable.

Clack, clack.

Her feet headed somewhere. At least it wasn’t the volcanic island. It wasn’t her style to charge straight into enemy territory just because she was angry.

‘What’s important for the attack is information. The Winter Castle didn’t appear in the original story, but the person who knows the Winter Castle better than anyone else is…’

There was only one person.

Kang Myung-jin of the A-Plan Legion.

• • •

Elena came to the A-Plan Legion.

I, the sub-master, and Kang Myung-jin, the Legion Master, met Elena in the reception room. Elena sat on the sofa and took a sip of her black tea.

I had already heard her proposal.

The conquest of the Winter Castle.

She wanted to conquer the Winter Castle with the A-Plan Legion.

I was surprised that she came without even mentioning it to me, and even more surprised that she was stepping in herself. Someone in Elena’s position would often lose more by stepping in directly.

“The black tea isn’t bad.”

Glance. I looked at Kang Myung-jin, who was sitting next to me. Kang Myung-jin, who had been lost in thought without even touching his black tea, spoke.

“It’s black tea prepared for a precious guest. I’m glad that the Illusion Lord likes it.”

“So, will the A-Plan Legion accept my proposal? As I said, the dominion over the Winter Castle will be handed over to the A-Plan Legion. Also, the reward for conquering the Winter Castle that His Majesty the Emperor promised will also be handed over to the A-Plan Legion. All I want is to conquer the Winter Castle as quickly as possible. That’s all.”

“Your Excellency. May I ask why you are in such a hurry to conquer the Winter Castle?”

“The Valdert family’s event is about to be ruined. We must fix it before the damage to Atlantis gets any worse.”

Both I and Kang Myung-jin knew what that event was.

My wedding with Elena. There were about four months left until then.

The curse of the Winter Castle could mess up the schedule. And if the schedule was messed up and the wedding was canceled… I didn’t know how many months it would take to set the next date. It might even take years.

I predicted what kind of decision Kang Myung-jin would make. The reward was a reward, but… Kang Myung-jin wanted to conquer even one area for sure.

“If the Illusion Lord joins us… we will have a good chance of winning. However, the Winter Castle is quite a dangerous place. Individual power is more important than the group’s power. We will select a small number of people to attack.”

“Do you know much about the Winter Castle?”

“Yes. I received a hint from the Contract Throne.”

I and Elena knew that wasn’t the case, but we didn’t bother to dig into it.

“When will the attack begin?”

“We will start tomorrow.”

“…You’re starting sooner than I thought. I thought it would take at least three days.”

“What else do we need when the Illusion Lord herself is joining us?”

I quietly nodded.

The Imperial Five. One of the five pillars of the Empire. Elena was one of the top-tier powerhouses in Atlantis.

“Then, let’s meet tomorrow.”

Before leaving, Elena looked me straight in the eyes.

• • •

The next day.

There were a total of five of us.

Me, Kang Myung-jin, Rilsne, Joo Seo-hyun, and Elena.

To be precise, it could be said that there were six of us. The Azure Dragon Biya was stuck to Kang Myung-jin. Even now, she was only peeking her head out from Kang Myung-jin’s arms. She was not in human form, but in dragon form. She was so small that she only looked like a snake. Even though she looked like that, a dragon was still a dragon, and she was stronger than most.

Rilsne, an elf ranger specializing in exploration, was adjusting her bow with her hands while looking at Elena with a complicated expression.

Joo Seo-hyun was openly glaring at Elena. Elena responded to Joo Seo-hyun’s gaze with a smile. Joo Seo-hyun’s face became even more distorted. Joo Seo-hyun turned her head away.

“Your Excellency. We have finished our preparations.”

“Then, let’s move.”

A blue butterfly appeared from somewhere and flew around us. Elena tapped the ground with the tip of her silver staff, which was decorated with jewels. The moment a clack sound rang out, the scenery changed.

「Area 8,840, you have entered the Winter Castle.」

A snowstorm was raging in the snowy field. In the center of it was a frozen castle.

“I wanted to move directly into the castle, but… the system is blocking it. What should we do now?”

Elena asked, looking at Kang Myung-jin. Kang Myung-jin had not spoken about the attack method until now. The reason was that if he spoke about the attack method in advance, it could change.

“Survive and find the mirror. The real thing is inside the mirror. If even one person finds the mirror… we will meet again.”

The moment Kang Myung-jin finished speaking, a strong wind blew and swept us away. A white snowstorm blew and obscured our vision.

The snowstorm soon disappeared, and I was standing on a quiet snowy field under a clear sky. There was no one around. The Winter Castle, which should have been there, was also not visible.

‘…Damn it. I don’t know any information about the Winter Castle attack because it was a place that the Imperial Family attacked in the original story. This is a pain in the ass. First, I’ll set the coordinates here…’

I took out a space movement scroll that had no coordinates set and set the coordinates.

「This is a place where space movement scrolls cannot be used.」

Tsk. I clicked my tongue.

It was not easy. I also understood why Kang Myung-jin only brought a small number of people. It was because he knew that we would be scattered like this. In this case, a small number of strong people were more advantageous.

Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Electromagnetic Wave (電磁氣波).

Unfortunately, there was nothing around.

‘…Should I just go wild for a bit?’

Crackling.

Blue lightning streaks covered the snowy field and soared into the sky. If someone had seen this scene from a place where the electromagnetic waves did not reach, they would surely come this way.

After that, 30 minutes passed.

Nothing happened.

“Damn it.”