Chapter 227: Executive General Meeting (2)

Lennok scratched his cheek awkwardly, while Velber shook his head with a bewildered expression.

“No, it’s just ridiculous that you could even perceive and analyze mana manipulation happening at such a rapid pace from that distance.”

“We intuitively know how mana is manipulated, but I suppose you, Van, wouldn’t.”

“Exactly. I thought you had no interest in direct combat at all, but…”

Even Dray said so, and Lennok couldn’t help but chuckle.

In truth, Lennok had never revealed his weaknesses: his poor motor skills or his lack of prowess in close combat.

Lennok always meticulously prepared his strategies and foundations for victory before engaging in any battle.

In Lennok’s combat, where he was skilled at maximizing strengths and hiding weaknesses, close combat never actually occurred, nor did he ever appear vulnerable in such situations.

However, despite never explicitly showing it, some people had still noticed that Lennok preferred not to move much during combat, or that he disliked physical activity.

Even without direct demonstrations, they had subconsciously perceived this from the subtle glimpses he had revealed while working with them.

“Well, it’s not that I’m completely uninterested in that kind of physical confrontation… but right now, there’s something more important.”

Saying that, Lennok gazed down at the object resting on his desk.

Wooosh…

A crystal sphere where azure mana converged in a spiral. A Mana Core, glowing faintly with heat, lay there, radiating light on its own.

It was from the Dyke Corp. factory grounds, which the Cartel’s execution squad had attacked. Lennok had acquired it after having Killian retrieve the Mana Core that was pre-installed there.

Since then, Lennok had often been dedicating his efforts to stabilizing this volatile Mana Core.

It was a temporary room Jenny had set up, insisting that a company representative couldn’t be without an office, but it was useful for handling such small tasks.

‘The stabilization is almost complete.’

It wasn’t for nothing that he had asked Panua for help to secure the Mana Core.

Lennok’s mana recovery rate was overwhelmingly superior to other wizards, to a different dimension, but his actual mana capacity wasn’t particularly high compared to sorcerers of similar rank.

It was already absurd that Lennok, who had only awakened to magic just over two years ago, had caught up in mana capacity, which honestly correlated most directly with innate potential and accumulated time.

Nevertheless, the fundamental size of his mana capacity sometimes held Lennok back.

For example, the immense mana consumed when deploying his Domain meant he needed time to cast spells even after deploying it.

Or being unable to use powerful magic that he could already employ due to a lack of mana capacity.

Of course, he had always been careful when using large amounts of mana, so there were few moments when he was cornered, but Lennok wanted to avoid being held back at such critical moments in the future.

At least until his mana capacity grew to far surpass that of other wizards.

‘Considering the growth rate of my mana capacity, I might not need to use it for long. But for now, it will be a significant help.’

Whirr…

As Lennok released his mana into the Core, he carefully circulated it through the internal circuits.

Fundamentally, a Mana Core uses the powerful heat generated by disassembling and reassembling mana particles within its core as its power source.

The reason a Mana Core is treated as an efficient but unstable energy source is that the process of disassembling mana particles makes it extremely vulnerable to external shock, and the heat produced easily spirals out of control.

Therefore, Lennok drastically reduced the heat conversion process to lower the risk, and focused on constructing an external circulation path by replacing the mana particles self-reassembling within the core with his own mana.

If successful, it would be equivalent to having an additional reserve mana tank solely for Lennok.

In other words, it meant that he could temporarily succeed in even powerful magic that exceeded Lennok’s current mana capacity.

As Lennok focused on the Mana Core with that thought, someone outside pounded violently on the door.

“Come in.”

“Van!!”

It was Jenny, soaked in sweat, who burst through the door, panting heavily.

To be out of breath just running up to the rooftop of this three-story building meant her stamina was no better than his own.

“What’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, Jenny handed Lennok the laptop she was holding.

“The Cartel has moved. It’s a big one.”

“…”

Lennok read the email displayed on the laptop screen and let out a hollow laugh.

It was true that he had been speculating about what stance they would take after he handed over Girard Ozette.

But he never imagined they would come out like this…

“An Executive General Meeting convened under the Chairman’s authority…”

“Beyond just convening a meeting, look at the names invited here.”

Below the invitation, where the names of executives were listed, Van’s name was naturally interspersed.

Considering that there would be no mistake or miswriting of the guest list for a meeting held at such a critical moment, this was probably–

“An invitation directly from the Chairman.”

The sparring ceased.

Within moments, opinions began to be exchanged among those gathered around Lennok’s office.

“It seems too dangerous.”

Dray said.

“An Executive General Meeting. In other words, almost certainly the Chairman and all the Presidents will be summoned on their side, along with high-ranking executives including the board of directors.”

“…”

“There’s no guarantee that you, Van, can extract yourself alone if they’re determined to set a trap.”

“That’s not necessarily true, looking at the location where the meeting is being held.”

Velita countered.

“A large convention hall in the 32nd district. It’s an enormous facility connected to a sports stadium, capable of accommodating 80,000 people, and crucially, it has an architectural structure where the sky is completely open.”

“The meeting is just three days away. Setting a trap across such a vast area in that amount of time and scale would be too overwhelming…”

Killian’s words made Velber nod as well.

“If they’ve leased the entire stadium, the cost must be enormous. I don’t think the Cartel would spend that kind of money on a fool’s errand… Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

Lennok ignored Velber’s words and fell into deep thought.

Eolara’s Stasis Demonic Eye was still in Lennok’s hand.

She had, in fact, taken Girard into custody, essentially staking Virgil’s name and her own life as collateral.

If so, this would mean Virgil’s answer to the negotiation Lennok had proposed…

“Let’s organize the things we need to consider first.”

Meanwhile, Jenny stepped forward and began to summarize the situation.

“Olivera Ron Maize. There’s no one who doesn’t know that name, but this is the first time in decades that his name has been directly mentioned in a Cartel document.”

“…”

“Even after agreeing to an amicable negotiation with Virgil in exchange for evidence of a traitor within the Cartel and Girard’s custody, if this is their answer… it’s safe to say that the Chairman’s will is almost certainly involved.”

The room fell silent.

Everyone keenly felt the weight of that name.

Lennok was well aware of Olivera Ron Maize, the Chairman of the Cartel.

Her official activities dated back a full 50 years.

She had been active as a sorcerer who had already reached her peak decades ago, before entering an indefinite seclusion, and was regarded as a formidable figure who had transcended her rank even then.

The fact that this monster, who had shown no presence in the Cartel’s management and had only occasionally hinted at her survival, was now resuming official activities at this very moment, could not be a coincidence.

‘So, it all comes back to the Chairman, after all…’

This wasn’t entirely unexpected.

If the Cartel’s internal conflict had spread to the executive level, the situation wouldn’t be resolved without the Chairman’s direct intervention.

However, he had hoped that Virgil would divert the Chairman’s attention from Lennok and Jenny’s business during this process, but it seemed things wouldn’t go as he wished.

Ultimately, what needed to be done was clear.

“If they’ve sent an invitation, I should accept it.”

“…Are you sure?”

Lennok chuckled at Dray’s words.

“If they wanted to kill me, it’s unlikely they’d go to such great lengths… As Velita said, in the middle of the 32nd district, it’s an area where civilians cannot avoid being caught in the crossfire. She couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.”

A Level 6 military wizard. Everyone knew what the factory grounds where Lennok and Avid Yonsen clashed looked like now.

A scene of stark and brutal destruction, covering an area well over several hundred meters.

If a battle between high-level sorcerers of Level 6 results in that much, how extensive would the effective range be for a sorcerer who has clearly reached a higher realm?

“The Agents, as well as all sorts of powerful individuals within the City Government, will thoroughly keep them in check. It’s no exaggeration to say there’s no possibility of her truly appearing there in person.”

Lennok said, tilting the laptop slightly.

“If anything, this is a formality to extensively publicize the process of purging the traitor within the Cartel.”

“…”

“Perhaps they made an internal judgment that such a massive event couldn’t be hidden. But inviting me in that process…”

No matter what happens, he was confident he could extract himself.

The fortuitous encounter that came after taking Yakson’s pill. The internal changes and the development of his Domain resulting from it.

And now, the Mana Core as an energy source, obtained by destroying the Cartel’s execution squad.

If Olivera truly intended to kill Lennok and appeared there, Evelyn would assist him, as would Antares.

It was no exaggeration to say that Lennok, who had not yet become an Ascended One, would not fall into a trap.

At Lennok’s resolute words, the others nodded silently.

Every single person gathered here had either worked with Lennok or directly experienced how excellent a sorcerer he was from an adversary’s perspective.

His abnormally fast growth rate and his uniquely sharp judgment.

Everyone acknowledged his unique intuition, which had never been wrong through countless battlefields.

“If Van says so.”

Jenny shrugged silently.

Her face was calm, as if she had known it would come to this all along.

“It’s only been a month since we started collaborating… and things have already gotten this big.”

Killian sighed, and Dray nodded.

“To definitively conclude this confrontation with the Cartel, directly conveying our intentions to them would be the most certain course of action. Understood.”

“Should we inform the leader?”

Lennok nodded at Velber’s question.

“Yes. I want to ask Antares for help. I already got a definitive answer from them a while ago, but this will likely be the final conclusion with the Cartel.”

The best outcome was to conclude matters relatively amicably, without unnecessary expenditure of power.

Now that Jenny’s business had proven to have sufficient potential, there was no reason to settle the score with the Cartel right now.

However, what would each side have to offer in exchange to account for the blood spilled and sacrifices made so far?

Lennok had already fulfilled his part by proving the existence of a traitor within the Cartel.

Now it was the Cartel leadership’s turn to respond directly.

32nd district. Elements Stadium.

It was by far the most popular sports club in the 30th district, and recently succeeded in building a new stadium thanks to strong fan support.

Seeking ways to utilize the stadium in various ways to contribute to local community service, it became equipped with variable facilities to function not only as a convention hall but also as a large-scale performance venue, thereby undeniably establishing itself as a landmark in the vicinity.

The fact that this stadium, a source of pride for the residents of the 32nd district, was closed to entry for one weekday didn’t even make it into the news.

There was no reason for civilians to feel the tension and chilling shadows lingering there.

Nevertheless, for today alone, all spheres of influence in the mega-city were uniformly focusing their attention on this stadium.

Cartel’s Executive General Meeting.

No one was unaware of the significance of this large-scale meeting, convened directly by the Cartel’s Chairman, Olivera Ron Maize, who had previously allowed its numerous affiliated companies and their leadership to operate freely, and now for the first time in decades, had put her own name on the summons.

-Agreement has been reached with the police chiefs of the 32nd, 30th, and 35th districts. From now on, for half a day, we will introduce variables to all traffic signals around the stadium. We’ll significantly reduce the frequency of civilian vehicles moving within a 3km radius.

“Understood. Our preparations are almost complete here too.”

Hina O’Neil, from the Agent’s intelligence department, quickly tapped on her phone while responding to the communication in her ear.

Even for the Agent, whose workload had recently become increasingly extreme, it was difficult to ignore this event.

Due to severe staff shortages, even employees normally working desk jobs had come out to assist in setting up defensive lines near the stadium.

“The world is going crazy…”

How many years had it been since the Cartel, one of the three leading forces of the underworld, had moved on such a grand scale?

No one would have imagined that such a colossal corporate conglomerate would rent out an entire stadium to hold a meeting.

-An official document came down directly from the City Council. You understand what that means, right? Headquarters judges it unlikely that the Chairman will appear in person, but if that really happens, we’ll have to act directly.

“…The opponent is one of the three leaders. Can we stop her?”

-It’s a matter of buying time. If she appears, Team Leader Marcia and other high-level sorcerers will cast restraining spells and immediately set up a barrier.

“…”

-Let’s hope they finish their discussion peacefully.

“It doesn’t seem very likely, no matter how I look at it…”

Hina muttered, touching the blade hanging at her waist.

There was no other reason why the Agent or the City Government didn’t stop the Cartel from leasing this stadium, even though they clearly knew about it.

They simply judged it better to observe directly than to let the uncontrollable Cartel conspire in an unknown location.

And the Cartel, too, couldn’t have been unaware of this fact.

Was it just a feeling, if it seemed as though they were playing right into their hands from beginning to end?

-Starting now. Focus.

As a rigid voice echoed, Hina and the other Agents uniformly turned their gaze towards the cameras connected inside the stadium.

A sports stadium capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people.

In its center, using variable facilities, the grass had been replaced with a smooth stone floor, transforming it into a convention hall for VIPs.

With a capacity of 80,000, it was far too small to summon every single Cartel member, but conversely, it was quite spacious enough to accommodate all executives and their escorts.

All executives from cooperative businesses, heads of each affiliated company, headquarters executives and departmental managers, and the highest-ranking leaders on the board of directors, all called for this occasion, took their seats in the vast hall,

And thousands of escorts stood guard outside the main hall.

And on the expansive stage of that vast hall, four men and women stood, each taking their place.

The Presidents, who reigned at the pinnacle of the colossal organization known as the Cartel, had made their direct appearance.

-I had my doubts, but all the Presidents are here in person. If that’s the case, then surely… Hina, prepare yourself.

“…”

Hina O’Neil. Do you hear me?

A stern voice continued to echo over the communication, but Hina didn’t hear it. She just stared at the screen with a slightly blank expression.

Because the figure of a young man slowly walking up onto the hall from the corner of the screen looked too familiar to her eyes.