The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 135

"The Sanctuary itself, huh?"

At those words, the Holy Sword Astella radiated light.

[You want the Sanctuary?]

"Yeah. It’s the ultimate natural fortress. Even while the Demon Realm was dominating the Middle World, it managed to remain hidden and survive."

[That’s right. The Sanctuary has never once allowed an external invasion.]

"And yet, it established the Dungeon Guild to oversee the Middle World."

The Dungeon Guilds were set up throughout the human kingdoms. They detected the emergence of dungeon portals, managed them, and wielded immense influence.

The Holy Legion could warp across distances, descending upon the surface at will, and retreating from the Middle World whenever necessary.

"The Sanctuary's method of transportation is revolutionary. If I had something like this back when I ruled the Unified Empire, governing would have been much easier."

[That must be the effect of the Staff, one of the Sacred Relics of the Celestial Gods. The Crown of the Celestial Gods governs time, the Staff governs space, and the Chalice governs life. By using the Crown and the Chalice, one can achieve eternal life, while the Staff is used to oversee the Middle World.]

"So that’s the key."

Kaylen's eyes gleamed as he spoke.

"Alright. Once the Meier Kingdom is stabilized and I’ve gathered all Six Swords, I’ll target the Sanctuary next. In the meantime, locate its position."

[Understood.]

"Until then, we’ll cooperate temporarily."

[Understood. But… Theresia is a good person. Couldn’t you spare her?]

Kaylen looked baffled.

"Of course I’ll let her live. What do you take me for?"

[But, Master, you’ve always been ruthless. I’ve heard many times that you’re a merciless warrior with neither blood nor tears.]

Back during the Demon King Subjugation War, he had shown no mercy toward the demons. Was that what this was about?

"That was because they were demons. I wouldn’t go that far against humans. I still abide by a minimum justification."

[Is there any justification for taking over the Sanctuary, though?]

At Astella’s question, Kaylen smirked.

"I said ‘minimum.’ Minimum."

[Ah… I see…]

"And you don’t need to worry too much. They’ll provide me with the justification themselves."

[The people of the Sanctuary?]

"Their predecessors were the Holy See, weren’t they? Those guys are experts at turning the tables on others."

Kaylen looked at the Holy Sword and spoke.

"I lent them your replica, but instead of being grateful, they’d probably get angry and claim I stole it from them."

[...That’s true.]

Even in front of the Unified Empire of Meier, the Holy See had always maintained an arrogant attitude.

Recalling those memories, Kaylen’s lips curled into a smile.

"I hope you act the same as before, Holy See."

That way, he would have all the justification he needed to seize the Sanctuary.

* * *

"Your Highness, how did it go?"

Violet entered Kaylen’s office with a bright smile, holding a stack of documents in her hands.

"It went well. I retrieved the Holy Sword."

Srrr—

Behind Kaylen, the Holy Sword emerged from the Light Sword.

Seeing it, Violet’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“As expected of the Holy Sword. I can sense an incredible amount of mana.”

Perhaps because she wasn’t a knight, Violet’s reaction was rather reserved.

“Thanks to your busy movements this time, the number of documents requiring your approval has increased.”

Planting the World Tree and reclaiming the Holy Sword—though it had only taken a matter of weeks, the kingdom heavily relied on Kaylen for governance, making his absence a significant burden.

“Hmm. You could have approved the simpler ones on your own.”

“I have been doing that, but… we’ve run into a major problem.”

“What is it?”

“We’re out of funds.”

Violet held up the documents one by one as she spoke.

“There are more nobles than expected who are giving up their territories in exchange for land compensation. On top of that, a significant amount is being invested in the Myorn Workshop, and the financial support for the Swordmasters’ knights is also piling up. Not to mention the various other projects requiring funds.”

Compared to the days of the Bormian Kingdom, when King Kaitan indulged in extravagant luxuries, the Meyer Kingdom had cut out such expenses entirely.

However, the sheer amount of money being poured into military power far exceeded any past expenditures.

“Because of the financial strain, we’ve determined that Your Majesty will need to personally review and approve all major expenses from now on.”

“Hmm. I have been spending a lot lately. But didn’t I provide mana stones as support? The quantity was significant.”

Kaylen acknowledged his generous spending habits but still couldn’t quite grasp how funds were running low.

After all, the amount of mana stones and assets recovered from Black Skull Cesar and the Seven Magic Towers had been immense.

Even with the recent large-scale projects, that vast wealth shouldn’t have disappeared so quickly.

“Ah. There’s also an issue with the mana stones.”

“What is it?”

“The price of mid-tier mana stones is on the verge of dropping below 5,000 gold.”

Mana stones, which were used in various applications, including mana suits, had maintained a stable market price for countless years.

While the price had occasionally risen above 5,000 gold, it had never once fallen below that threshold, making it a reliable asset.

“The entire supply and demand structure has collapsed. The biggest consumer of mana stones has always been the Magic Towers. But since Your Majesty destroyed the Seven Magic Towers, the primary demand has significantly decreased.”

“Hmm. That makes sense…”

“Additionally, because Your Majesty has been wiping out dungeon portals near the capital as if you were merely taking a stroll, the Demon-Slaying Corps has had fewer deployments.”

Fewer deployments by the Demon-Slaying Corps meant less usage of mana suits.

Normally, these suits would consume mana and then be replenished using mana stones, creating a cycle of consumption.

But with Kaylen single-handedly obliterating dungeon portals with his overwhelming power, the overall consumption of mana stones had drastically decreased.

“In this situation, if we were to sell off all the mana stones stocked in the royal palace, prices would plummet. That’s why we haven’t been able to dispose of them.”

“I see. That was a wise decision.”

Even though Violet had been given significant authority, selling the kingdom’s mana stones and potentially triggering a market crash was too great a risk.

Kaylen pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Can’t we sell the mana stones to foreign nations?”

“The trade routes have been severed for quite some time now. And on top of that, none of the neighboring territories are functioning as proper nations.”

“That’s true. Even when I went to the Kingdom of Rahendra to retrieve the Holy Sword, it was barely holding together as a country. The nobles were essentially acting as independent rulers.”

“Exactly. If we wanted to sell mana stones, we’d have to travel from one lord’s domain to another, which would be a hassle.”

“What about selling through the Dungeon Guild and Sanctuary?”

“That is possible… but the volume of goods we can trade would be limited. The transaction fees would also be considerable.”

If Sanctuary's transportation methods had no such limitations, humanity's trade wouldn’t have been so completely severed.

‘If there’s anything else to liquidate besides mana stones…’

Kaylen recalled an item stored among the Demonkin’s relics.

‘There are A-rank mana suits.’

After dismantling the Seven Magic Towers, he had acquired several A-rank mana suits.

Including the one belonging to the former Tower Master, who had turned into a vampire, there were over twenty in storage.

“Violet.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“If we were to sell the A-rank mana suits, how much demand do you think there would be?”

“You’re… planning to sell A-rank mana suits?”

Violet’s eyes widened. This was an idea she absolutely had to stop.

“Your Majesty, A-rank mana suits are strategic assets coveted by every noble house and magic tower. These are items that can’t be obtained even if one wants them. No matter how tight our finances are, selling them is out of the question.”

“A-rank mana suits are considered strategic assets, huh…”

A-rank mana suits were top-tier equipment that could be imbued with spirits and amplify elemental magic to its maximum potential.

Considering that S-rank mana suits were practically impossible to manufacture, A-rank suits were the highest-quality ones humans could possess.

Having an A-rank mana suit—or not—could determine a magic tower’s ranking and the difficulty level of dungeon portals they could subjugate.

To Violet, the idea of putting such highly sought-after mana suits on the market was utterly unthinkable.

‘Selling A-rank suits would be worse than letting mana stone prices crash!’

Violet tried to dissuade Kaylen with that in mind.

But—

“Violet. You should sell items precisely when they’re perceived as valuable.”

Kaylen had already made up his mind to get rid of the mana suits.

‘Besides, these mana suits haven’t been able to harm the Demonkin at all.’

No matter how exceptional an A-rank mana suit was,

it couldn’t overpower mana eaters inscribed with anti-magic formations.

In the current system, where magic towers mass-produced low-circle Meisters heavily specialized in one element,

whether the suits were A-rank or C-rank, they were nothing more than food for mana eaters.

‘A-rank mana suits aren’t strategic assets—they’re just overvalued equipment.’

They were useful for demolishing dungeon portals, but when a real crisis struck, they were powerless.

It was better to sell them now, while they were still at their highest value.

“Send invitations to the upper ranks of the magic towers and high-ranking nobles. We’re holding an auction.”

It had been less than two months since the fall of the Bormian Kingdom and the founding of the Meier Kingdom.

During this time, the high-ranking nobles and the leadership of the magic towers had been lying low, anxiously watching the new king’s rule unfold.

‘If the previous king, Kaitan, was a foolish tyrant, the new king, Kaylen, is a violent one.’

‘If we stand out too much, we might end up like the Seven Magic Towers… or worse.’

The rumors surrounding Kaylen were impossible to ignore.

He had slaughtered Demonkin at the frontlines, eradicated all seven Tower Masters of the magic towers,

and even split the royal palace in half with a single colossal sword.

Each of those things was difficult to believe on its own. But he had done all three.

Because of that, the high-ranking nobles did everything they could to avoid direct contact with him—at least until they could verify the truth of the rumors.

‘Thankfully, the new king hasn’t summoned all the nobles yet.’

‘With the founding of a new kingdom, I expected a grand coronation ceremony where all nobles would be gathered…’

However, King Kaylen had only been focused on governing the capital region.

He showed little interest in the nobles.

Though he had introduced a land compensation plan to reduce the kingdom’s territory, it wasn’t being forcibly enforced—refusing it was an option.

Fifty days had passed since the kingdom’s name changed, but so far, the royal palace had shown no major efforts to control the provincial nobles.

There was no need for nobles to attend in person; their representatives could inherit their titles on their behalf.

‘Still, it’s too early to be at ease.’

‘It’s a fact that he split the royal palace in half. It’s a fact that all the Tower Masters were killed…’

‘The king could draw his sword at any moment. We must be as cautious as possible.’

No one knew when the tyrant Kaylen might turn on them.

The high-ranking nobles, especially those of marquess rank or higher who had stable territories, remained in their strongholds,

closely monitoring the situation in the capital.

One such noble was Duke Ramad Revren, the head of the Revren Ducal House.

“Hm…”

Duke Revren stroked his mustache as he examined the invitation.

It contained an offer no high-ranking noble could refuse.

“Auctioning off A-rank mana suits… What is the king thinking?”

Fifteen of the highest-quality mana suits, which were impossible to obtain under normal circumstances, were being put up for sale.@@novelbin@@

In addition to that, lower-grade mana suits and various magical artifacts would also be auctioned.

Many of the items were worth keeping an eye on.

‘But the condition that only the head of the noble house or the leader of the magic tower may attend… that’s concerning.’

At the bottom of the invitation, it was stated that only the official representative of a noble house or magic tower could participate in the auction.

‘Is this… a trap?’

Selling A-rank mana suits—something that should never be on the market under normal circumstances.

And a condition requiring the attendance of the house’s representative.

Duke Revren couldn’t help but be suspicious of the king’s intentions.

‘But… I have no choice but to attend.

If I refuse to go, I’ll only stand out even more.’

Despite the lingering unease in his heart, he decided to attend the auction.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]