Chapter 179.1

Translator: Pai_

Since being formally united with Solif, Berit had truly been fulfilling many roles.

From becoming a scout in the last war to ruling in place of the absent head of the House Varaha as the designated future mistress.

However, the most important task Turan had originally expected of Berit was exactly what she was doing now: gathering intelligence from within the House Zahar.

They were so well-versed in counterintelligence that it was practically impossible to insert a new spy; extracting meaningful information without persuading insiders was extremely difficult.

In that regard, the fact that she had obtained news so quickly this time meant that she had fulfilled her role beyond expectations.

"Specifically, how?"

"There’s nothing specific to mention. A few people I was in regular contact with all suddenly stopped communicating at the same time."

Since being designated as the future mistress of Varaha, Berit had established even more eyes and ears inside the House Zahar than before she was dispatched to Parsha.

It was thanks to the overwhelming power that came from her identity as the daughter of the future head of the House Zahar, Rahman, the partner of the House Varaha head, and the adopted daughter of the head of the House Parsha.

On top of that, House Zahar's capital, Axum, was located slightly to the east even within the Enril Desert, making it relatively close to House Varaha.

Of course, it wasn't so different from Kalamaf as to make a huge difference.

At any rate, the fact that all of this had been instantly cut off meant-

“So now Zahar has also become an enemy.”

“There’s no need to be so certain about that……”

Berit trailed off, but Turan believed the likelihood of his assumption was high.

If Aravian had worked behind the scenes to persuade Carmine and Ruvan to attack Turan and tried to divide them by swaying Varaha and Lavitas, then there was no reason they wouldn't have done the same to Zahar.

Moreover, according to the House Zahar head, Haroon, most of the gods who ruled House Zahar already disliked Turan and wanted to get rid of him.

If the Monarch had promised them something tremendous in return, it wasn’t impossible that they had betrayed their own leader.

‘The question is, what exactly did he promise them?’

There must have been something that allowed Haroon to lead the House Zahar faction against the Monarch thus far, so what kind of reward could surpass that?

That was something Turan, as he was now, couldn’t possibly know.

After briefly organizing his thoughts, Turan spoke coldly to Berit standing before him.

“From now on, don’t even trust your father. When you meet him next, assume he might not be the person you used to know.”

“You don’t mean…?”

“It’s still just a guess, but there’s a high chance Rahman Zahar has become a soul possession vessel of some god.”

If Haroon had lost power and his body in any form, someone must have taken over his successor, Rahman, and if that person ordered the disconnection from Berit, of course the followers would comply.

In the first place, Berit's influence over the Zahar subordinates came from being Rahman’s daughter.

“Anyway, thanks for letting me know. Thanks to you, I’ve avoided getting blindsided while knowing nothing.”

“......Surely you’re not going to attack House Zahar?”

“Well. It’s not exactly an ideal time.”

The original plan was to finish off Aravian, then add reinforcements drawn from there to push all the way to Nagin. But if Zahar had turned hostile, that would be a dangerous move.

The Enril Desert was like the center of the world where all three regions, Parsha, Varaha, and even Lavitas, could be pierced.

But conversely, this also meant that all three forces could launch an invasion simultaneously.

He had sent Berit away because she said she wanted to rest and see Meisa’s face for a change, and Turan was left alone in deep thought.

‘Ignoring hostile House Zahar and attacking House Aravian… no, that’s just too dangerous.’

Since Turan's ascension, even cities under other vassals of the House Parsha had developed some resistance to infiltration via concealment magic, but not enough to stop several powerful nobles from penetrating.

If those they needed to protect were to die en masse, even victory would be meaningless.

Then should they strike Zahar first?

This, too, was hard to confidently call the right answer.

Right now, the only thing Turan knew for certain was that Berit’s eyes and ears inside the House Zahar had all been severed.

The talk about Haroon’s fall or Rahman’s enthronement remained pure speculation.

If they invaded rashly and it turned out to be a misunderstanding, it wasn’t something they could brush off with a simple “Sorry, we misunderstood.”

But sitting idle and waiting for communication to resume would only hand over the initiative to the enemy……

The more he thought about it, the more his conclusion narrowed down to one single point.

*

Turan immediately had a knight stationed outside call in Ashiz and then asked,

“Ashiz, can I assume our spies have a complete view over Aravian by now?”

“That’s right. Of course, we haven’t managed to plant anyone in the head’s residence, but we did succeed in coaxing two people living inside the Wall of Light.”

“With that much, unless it’s a surprise attack, it should be more than enough to read the signs of war.”

“Exactly.”

“Then what about the Carmine side?”

“We’ve pushed in further on that front, too, using the recent attack as an opportunity. Hold on a second.”

Ashiz deftly fumbled through several documents on one side of Turan’s office, then pulled some out and showed them.

According to the documents, since losing their capital Avacha, the House Carmine had been using a riverside city somewhere midway as a stronghold. They had successfully coaxed a few long-time citizens from there.

“When did this happen?”

“I clearly submitted a report on it before. See? Your signature’s here too.”

“Hmm. Right. Did Bije sign it for me?”

Honestly speaking, there were times Turan skimmed documents because of the sheer volume of work. Though he always carefully reviewed critical matters, this kind of status report wasn’t urgent enough to demand immediate scrutiny.

Ignoring Ashiz’s slightly narrowed eyes, Turan continued reading and gradually frowned.

“But there’s nothing for the Nagin side yet?”

“Well, it’s such an isolated place... I mean, who would want to settle down in a land where it snows all year round? Rare minerals are found there, so merchants do pass through occasionally, and we get some information through them. But establishing a permanent spy is very difficult.”

In a low voice, Ashiz added that the sheer distance between Nagin and Parsha was also a significant issue.

Considering that the leader of the Aravian faction, the Monarch, was the head of the House Nagin, this was actually the most important place to plant a spy.

But since it wasn’t working, blaming anyone would be pointless, so Turan gave a light sigh and stated his intention.

“I’ll be away for a while.”

“...What? Why?”

“Infiltration.”

When Turan said that something was off in the House Zahar recently and that he would investigate the reason personally, Ashiz immediately leapt up in protest.

It was the natural reaction, after all, the head of a great noble house was suggesting he would act as a spy himself.

“Are you insane? The head of a great house personally infiltrating another house? What if you get caught...!”

The House Parsha still barely qualified as a legitimate organization, more of a warlord faction held together by Turan’s overwhelming charisma than a structured house.

If Turan infiltrated House Zahar and died, it wouldn’t be strange if the group instantly disintegrated.

Of course, Meisa could match him in raw power, but she lacked Turan’s innate leadership.

And now, she was pregnant and hiding that fact, so she couldn’t be active in public either.

“I’ve thought it over a lot, and this is the best option. We can’t just sit and wait for them to make a move, we can’t launch a preemptive attack when we know nothing, and we can’t act while leaving ourselves wide open to betrayal.”

“That’s... no, wouldn’t it be better to train more spies?”

“You’re the one who said that wouldn’t work, Ashiz.”

At Turan’s words, Ashiz let out a short groan.

He knew better than anyone just how excellent Zahar’s counterintelligence was.

He was just saying anything in reaction to this unprecedented situation of a house head infiltrating another great house.

“Do you really think you won’t get caught?”

“Well, I pulled it off in Aravian without getting caught. I’ll try again this time. It’ll definitely be harder, though.”

At the time, Aravian had been completely unguarded, never imagining someone with the powers of a Mimic and Zahar Bloodline would infiltrate. That had allowed him to move around freely.

Compared to that, Zahar now was not only well aware of Turan’s power but likely in a state of extreme alert.

However, if there was one advantage, it was that just like Ashiz, they probably wouldn’t imagine that the head of a great house would personally attempt infiltration.

“If someone attacks while you’re gone- ah.”

“That’s why I asked. We can see Aravian and Carmine’s movements, and it’s not easy for the Great Sea Serpent mermaids to sneak in like before. If the situation looks like it’s going to turn bad, I’ll get in contact via the hand mirror and return immediately. If it’s Axum, I can barely make it back to Varaha in a day through the passageway.”

Of course, Bije would be half-exhausted and unable to function at full strength if they did that, but even then, Turan returning to the main house would provide a much greater boost in combat strength.

“I... I don’t know, damn it. Fine. The great house head makes the decisions, and I, the butler, just do the cleanup work.”

In the end, all Ashiz could do was grumble.

***