Breath of The Interferer - Chapter 21
Only Noblemtl
#21 – Breath of the Interferer_Key – 1641728
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Heart of the Blue Dragon
The big screen showed Tommy’s face, crying in his father’s arms. There were several empty spaces in his wide-open mouth. His baby teeth had fallen out and his teeth had not yet grown in. The commentary team announced in subtitles that Tommy’s scarf was the one that had been on the field when Notts County won the FA Cup in 1894.
A few minutes ago, Arsenal returned the ball to the back as soon as the game resumed. Hunter ran forward like a madman, and Gray pounced on the ball like a ferocious dog pounced on its prey. Gray’s momentum was so fierce that Xhaka, who caught the ball, passed it to the center back. However, due to Gray’s interference and exhaustion, the direction of the pass was slightly off.
He was already in an offside position, but was ruled onside because the passer was an Arsenal player. As soon as Hunter got the ball, he shot with all his might as instructed by the driver. The ball hit Cech’s right hand, hit the goal post, bounced, and then hit Cech’s left arm as he quickly got up, and rolled into the goal.
When the referee declared a goal, Arsenal players ran to the referee. However, they did not know how to convince the referee. Xhaka even lied to the referee, saying that he did not pass the ball and that Gray touched the ball with his toe, but the referee’s expression did not change and he just shook his head.
The game resumed and Arsenal’s last shot hit the leg of a Notts County defender and rolled in front of Hunter. Hunter took the ball and kicked it forward, and the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the game. The Notts County players hugged each other and the Arsenal players lay down on the grass here and there.
Kishin’s suit for the final was soaked with champagne and other alcohol. When the preparations were over, the trophy with the name of Notts County engraved on it was held in the players’ hands, then passed through Kishin’s hands to captain Carl Dixon’s hands. When Dixon, who was the last to receive the trophy, raised it, the fans who had been holding their breath finally let out a loud roar.
The club bus led the way, and a thousand cars of Notts County fans lined up behind. They all rolled down their windows and sang loudly as they drove to Nottingham. They traveled for about 200 kilometers in four hours, and it was almost midnight when they arrived in Nottingham. But tens of thousands of people were waiting for their heroes in Nottingham.
The madness did not last long. The celebratory party, which had been prepared on short notice, came to a close after Gishin’s speech.
“I don’t know what to say because it’s my first time winning the trophy. I think I’ll be able to give a great speech when I win the trophy for the tenth time in a few years. I wish Notts County glory always.”
### I am the mean dividing line ###
In a large house in Nottingham, six old men with long beards were holding a meeting by the light of a single candle. They were gathered for important business, but as is typical of old men, the conversation began with small talk.
“Notts County won the title. I don’t know when our Nottingham Forest will win the title.”
“Fuck, Notts County’s title tally is now five ahead of Nottingham Forest. How can we not beat Notts County when we have unlimited money to invest?”
“Your players are too loyal. There’s no room to steal good players.”
When people in the British Empire meet, they usually talk about two things. When they meet people they know well, they talk about football. When they meet people they don’t know well, they talk about the weather. After spending a lot of time talking about football, they started a formal meeting.
“First of all, there are more and more mana mutants called hunters these days. We need to allocate more budget to research on this.”
Hunters are called awakeners or mutants, and they suddenly awaken special abilities. Their abilities are often so unexpected that it is difficult to interpret them with magic. For example, those who awaken as flame users have weak power, but do not consume mana to create flames. Those with recovery abilities were also locked in a room where mana was blocked and wounded, but they recovered without any problems. Except for their weak power and the fact that they faint when they use their abilities frequently, they can be said to be better than magicians.
“It seems that if we solve the secret of the Hunter, the secret of the monsters will also be solved. However, the progress of the research is not visible because there are not enough samples to dissect.”
“There are quite a few hunters living in hiding in the Korean Empire. I plan to take over the hunters from there in exchange for handing over low-grade magic weapons.”
After each of them had expressed their thoughts, they unanimously agreed to increase the budget for Hunter research. The old man who chaired the meeting brought up the second agenda item.
“They say a large gold vein has been discovered in Australia. After analyzing its composition, it seems that in addition to gold, it also contains a considerable amount of true silver.”
“But Australia has been designated as a free zone free from interference from any country. What can we do?”
“It is difficult in the name of the British Empire, so we must secure vested interests through mercenaries.”
“How about not letting anyone eat it? If gold is mined there, the price of gold will fall, and if that happens, our British Empire, which is number one in gold production, will be hit the hardest.”
“There are signs of a great change in many ways now. Furthermore, the heart of the Blue Dragon has been stolen. It is time to secure more gold and silver to speed up the production of magical weapons.”
Hundreds of years ago, monsters suddenly appeared and attacked humanity. Since the origin of the monsters was Asia, the European countries had enough time to prepare. However, they were unable to stop the monsters and were defeated.
However, Britain, the predecessor of the British Empire, was spared from the monster invasion. The Blue Dragon, who had been stationed in Nottingham, left behind its heart when it died. Thanks to that heart, the monsters were prevented from landing on the British Isles, and the military and talents of the fallen European countries were absorbed. Afterwards, most of the territory in Western Europe was recovered in the name of the British Empire.
“I heard that the Germanic kids want independence these days. What are you going to do about it?”
“Just do as you did to the French. Recognize their independence and cut off support. They will naturally drive out those who claim independence.”
France, which had historically been on bad terms with Britain, declared independence decades ago. The British Empire expressed support for French independence, but cut off all support for France. In the end, after only a few months, the French Revolution erupted, driving out those who had advocated independence, and bringing France back under British rule.
“They say that the expelled independence fighters have formed quite a large force in Africa. Shouldn’t we do something about that too?”
“Why do you insist on making a fuss when we can stop the monsters so well with the uncivilized blacks from Africa? Now that the heart of the Blue Dragon is gone, if all the defenses are breached, our British Isles could become a battlefield.”
“The independence of the German children is a matter for parliament to decide, so don’t worry about it. Let me decide what to do with the gold mines in Australia.”
“If we join hands with the Korean Empire, won’t we be able to eat it?”
“Don’t underestimate Russia. They too have been spared from monster attacks thanks to their cold weather.”
“You can just provide Norway, Sweden, and Finland with magical weapons and food to temporarily check Russia. All three countries have territorial disputes with Russia anyway.”
The three countries also demanded that they be annexed by the British Empire, but the British Empire refused with various excuses. One reason was that they did not want to share territory with Russia, and the other was that they needed a third power to use in times of emergency, as they did now.
“Let us make a decision after sufficient consultation with the Korean Empire.”
“The last item on the agenda. I have found the whereabouts of the Blue Dragon’s heart.”
The only candle left in the room swayed precariously. The mana had not moved, but the candle in the middle of the conference room was still swaying due to the archmages’ momentum.
“The Druids disguised the heart of the blue dragon as a battery and smuggled it out. However, because they did it so secretly, someone mistook it for a normal battery and mishandled it, eventually ending up on the black market along with the game console.”
The Druids, who worshipped the power of nature, were the most powerful force in Britain. At that time, magic was barely maintained by a few people with magical bloodlines. However, after the monsters appeared hundreds of years ago, the number of magicians began to increase, and they surpassed the power of the Druids.
The Blue Dragon was originally a demigod worshipped by the Druids. When the invasion of the monsters began, the Blue Dragon prophesied the end of the world to the Druids and disappeared, leaving behind its heart. As the power of the wizards grew, they almost took away the ownership of the Dragon Heart from the Druids, and after the appearance of the monsters, the Druids, who had been in decline, fell into ruin except for a few prestigious families.
“Why would a game console end up on the black market?”
“I’m talking about the black market of the Korean Empire. After secretly investigating, I found that the game console is currently in the hands of a child named Shingi. He is the third son of Count Shindo.”
“If you’re a believer, aren’t you one of the few vassals with independent operational rights in the Korean Empire? You’re a big shot that’s hard to mess with. If you pretend to be crazy and throw a magic bomb here, wouldn’t it be a big deal?”
The Ma-Bung-Tan (魔崩彈) is a weapon that produces tremendous destructive power through the permanent disappearance of mana. Normally, only the Emperor of the Korean Empire has control over it, but in times of war, the Commander-in-Chief and several commanders with independent operational authority also have limited authority. As long as the input coordinates are not in the territory of the Korean Empire, even believers can use the Ma-Bung-Tan.
“We just need to retrieve the game console’s battery. We can just take the game console’s battery and replace it with the Shingi game console’s battery. Anyway, there’s no one there who would know that the battery is the Dragon’s Heart. In fact, we don’t have the ability to know either, do we?”
“What if Shingi has already replaced the game console’s batteries? Then, wouldn’t you have no choice but to torture the child Shingi to find out where the dragon’s heart is?”
“A child named Shin-gi entered the Magic Academy last year. If we send a witch to seduce him with magic in two months and then question him, there will be no evidence left behind.”
Two months later, wizards from the British Empire will visit the Korean Empire’s Magic Academy to inspect students who will be studying abroad for the next semester. Since the Korean Empire is rife with corruption, sometimes unqualified nobles are selected as students, so they always go in advance to check.
“Why should we send a witch? Wouldn’t it be much safer to send one of our own who has mastered the magic of enchantment?”
“I haven’t verified the credibility of the information, but I heard that the child named Shingi has a mana affinity of 10. He’s now 17, so he’ll have incredible resistance to magic. That’s why they’re sending a witch of a different class. Since a witch’s magic doesn’t utilize mana, magic resistance is of no use.”
### I am the mean dividing line ###
Shin-gi jumped while practicing magic. The second stage magic he had created with difficulty failed and sparks flew all over his body. Shin-gi grumbled as he looked at his arms that were red and burning.
“Damn, how can someone with the makings of a legendary archmage be burned by their own magic? Isn’t there a way to find out magic resistance with a tester?”
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