I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

Chapter 138:

The Spark of War

Kraush was running somewhere at the moment.

It was because of the news he heard from Glen.

The news that the Poison King had been severely injured.

Kraush had heard the news of the Poison King’s assassination in the past.

‘Bianca.’

Before his regression, the Poison King had annihilated the Hardenhartz family.

This was because the Second Prince, who had been pushed out of the succession to the throne, had sought asylum with the Hardenhartz family and revealed the secrets of the imperial family.

Bianca, the sole survivor from that day, became the White Ghost and killed the Poison King out of revenge.

That was the event that occurred before his regression.

And now, a similar event might be happening.

Of course, this wasn’t Bianca’s doing.

the White Ghost.

So why was this event happening now?

Kraush furrowed his brows.

The real problem was the story Glen told him afterward.

“The World Erosion that severely injured the Poison King allegedly attempted to assassinate the Fourth Princess and is now on the run, being pursued by the Empire.”

Upon hearing this, Kraush’s eyes opened wide.

He knew very well who that World Erosion was.

‘Ebelasque Benapoch.’

Regardless of the truth.

In ht Ravens.

And the thought struck Kraush that perhaps the clash between the Poison King and Ebelasque might have been because of him.

Because in the past, he had asked her to prevent the Poison King from harming the Hardenhartz family.

If this incident was caused by his words…

It meant that an unprecedented event before his regression had occurred because of his statement.

An indescribable emotion surged within him.

Perhaps a single trivial flap of wings had changed everything.

[It’s not that person’s doing, Kraush.]

At that moment, Crimson Garden’s voice entered his mind through the brooch.

His heart, which had been beating furiously, gradually returned to its normal pace.

His mind, which had momentarily gone blank, also began to awaken.

“I’ll go after her.”

Wi.

The immediate problem was Haring.

Because Kraush knew better than anyone what outcome awaited her due to the Poison King’s death in the past.

“Crimson Garden.”

Kraush called her, wanting to discern the truth, as he ran.

Then, a crow flew down from the sky and landed on his shoulder.

“Are you certain it’s not Ebelasque’s doing?”

[Yes, I’m certain.]

Kraush let out a short sigh.

Once his mind cooled down, Kraush was also convinced it wasn’t Ebelasque’s doing.

‘No matter what happens with the Hardenhartz, Ebelasque wouldn’t choose to engage in open warfare with the Poison King.’

Besides, the timing made no sense.

Even if the Second Prince were to be expelled from the Empire and seek asylum with the Hardenhartz, it couldn’t happen this early.

‘After all, the Emperor hasn’t passed away yet.’

It’s not a situation where other royals could arbitrarily expel the Second Prince yet.

“Then who did it?”

[It’s true that the Poison King was attacked. Many witnesses saw him collapsed and injured.]

Upon hearing this, Kraush’s eyes began to gradually narrow.

“So the Empire pinned the blame on Ebelasque, regardless of who actually attacked the Poison King.”

Understanding the situation roughly, Kraush’s eyes turned cold.

“The Empire discovered Ebelasque’s location.”

Ebelasque was the leader of the Night Ravens.

Moreover, she had even been accused of attempting to assassinate the princess.

‘More than anything, they wouldn’t want to miss Ebelasque.’

Her usefulness was already proven with the Night Ravens.

Thus, the Empire would never want to miss her, and they would constantly pursue her.

As a result, the Empire realized Ebelasque was within Hardenhartz.

However, if the Empire’s knights crossed the border, it would be a blunder.

The Empire didn’t have the desire to recklessly wage war with Starlon at this time.

[Yes, so had sneaked into Starlon.]

So they decided to escalate the situation.

As long as they could capture Ebelasque, it would be beneficial for them in any way.

Therefore, they decided to induce a larger incident and use either Starlon or themselves to capture Ebelasque.

If Starlon captured her, they would request extradition by accusing her of the princess assassination incident.

If they captured her, it would be the best outcome for them.

“Where is the location for the Imperial Knights’ entry?”

[Hardenhartz.]

As expected.

“Has it been confirmed who actually injured the Poison King?”

[That part is still unconfirmed.]

Kraush furrowed his brows.

‘There’s a lack of information.’

Kraush had never faced the Poison King before.

Even Haring, who was the Poison Fang, was merely a senior from a previous class, with almost no connections.

Moreover, Haring left to avenge herself against the White Ghost and even reached the Skyborne Generation.

So, there was no information coming to mind.

Kraush lightly bit his lip.

‘What’s certain is that this is an unprecedented event.’

Surely, this incident must have been caused by the butterfly effect of various occurrences in this cycle.

However, separate from that, Kraush couldn’t shake off a disturbing feeling.

‘It’s different, yet flowing in a similar manner.’

The Poison King’s involvement with Hardenhartz and the Empire’s intrusion into Hardenhartz.

ression for some reason.

As if the world inherently moved within a predetermined framework.

And toward destruction.

Starlon would definitely refuse the Empire’s request.

There’s no way they would allow the entry of the Empire’s knights into their own territory.

The Empire and Starlon had never been on good terms.

The Empire might use this as an excuse to make various demands.

Claiming est Under the Heavens.

And accusing them of blocking a great cause for mere national interests.

As a result, the relationship between the Empire and Starlon would gradually start to deteriorate.

This incident could ultimately become one of the catalysts that would escalate into war.

‘The Poison King’s Hardenhartz annihilation incident was merely the trigger.’

The Empire and Starlon had been at odds for a long time.

And the Hardenhartz annihilation incident was simply the initial spark that could ignite war.

Perhaps both countries had been waiting for a single excuse to start a war.

Just as every war that began over trivial reasons often showed signs of war beforehand.

‘That’s why Arthur didn’t stop it.’

Even Arthur didn’t try to prevent the war between the Empire and Starlon.

No matter how hard an individual struggled, it would be inadequate to stop an event occurring between countries.

Perhaps Arthur had tried several times to prevent it.

But upon witnessing the result inevitably leading to war, he let it go.

And he changed his approach to using the war instead of stopping it.

Upon reaching this thought, Kraush clenched his teeth.

‘I won’t let these damned countries fight amongst themselves.’

During the war between the Empire and Starlon, they consumed too much of each other’s power, failing to control the World Erosion.

The problem wasn’t limited to the Empire and Starlon.

Both were leading countries within the world.

The war between the two nations inevitably affected neighboring countries, resulting in other kingdoms closing themselves off to protect themselves.

It was the era of the Great World Erosion Outbreak.

‘Following that, the war between the World Erosion and humanity.’

The overflowing World Erosion reaching its peak was perhaps all triggered by the war between the Empire and Starlon.

Thus, the war itself must be stopped at all costs.

But how could it be stopped?

‘I’m merely a student now.’

This was likely why Arthur had left the war alone.

As a mere student, he had no right to mediate between countries.

While Kraush was running and contemplating for a long time, a realization hit him.

His footsteps, originally chasing after Haring, quickened.

Haring Lagrain, the daughter of the Poison King.

She might be the key to resolving this situation.

Kraush’s running footsteps gradually came to a halt.

Because he had arrived at the women’s dormitory.

The place Haring headed to was none other than her own room.

She was probably contacting her family using the communication tools in her room to understand the situation.

Unlike the Martial Arts class, there was an empty class today.

The presence of females increased in front of the women’s dormitory, drawing attention.

“Oh, isn’t that…”

“Mr. Kraush Balheim?”

“Looks like he’s here to meet someone.”

The girls were looking at Kraush with eyes full of interest for some reason.

But Kraush didn’t care.

All he could think of was meeting Haring right away.

However, he couldn’t just enter the women’s dormitory recklessly.

“…You?”

Just then, Kraush encountered Astria, who happened to be coming out.

Her face brightened upon seeing Kraush, but she quickly adjusted her expression.

“What brings you here?”

She asked with an air of elegance.

“Astria.”

But Kraush’s face brightened at the sight of her.

Seeing Kraush seemingly happy to see her, Astria flinched for a moment.

And then, without realizing it, she wore a slight smile.

“Great. Could you call Haring Lagrain for me?”

But that expression soon shattered.

Astria looked at Kraush with a shocked expression.

It was understandable, as the man she had feelings for was asking for another woman right in front of her eyes.

Her eyes trembling pathetically, Astria soon bit her lip.

“…Why?”

Kraush, answering her, noticed Astria’s shoulders shaking.

The man she liked was suddenly asking for another woman.

Even coming all the way to the women’s dormitory.

Naturally, it was a shock to Astria.

“I can guess what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that.”

So Kraush immediately corrected her misunderstanding.

“There’s a problem between the Empire and Starlon. The Poison King was severely injured due to the World Erosion, and the Empire claims that the World Erosion is in Hardenhartz of Starlon.”

It’s a large-scale situation happening at a national level.

Upon hearing that, Astria’s face, which had been twisted with jealousy and shock, slowly began to return to normal.

At the same time, Astria’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“…Such an incident occurred, and they didn’t call for me?”

Considering one of the Ten Strongest Under the Heavens was severely injured.

It would be reasonable to urgently call for the Saintess for treatment.

Yet, the Empire hadn’t done so.

Even more, Astria, the Saintess, had learned of this news through Kraush.

“More importantly, are you trying to get involved in such matters?”

If Kraush’s words were true, this incident was too big.

It was essentially a wrestling ground between two nations.

Her face turned astounded as Kraush, intending to intervene, nodded seriously.

“Yes, it’s something that could potentially escalate into war.”

War.

Upon hearing that, Astria’s expression, which had been slightly frowning, turned serious as she turned around.

“For you to say that, it must be quite a significant situation. Okay. I’ll call her for you.”

As expected of Astria, she could distinguish public from private matters well.

Leaving those words, she turned her body away.

“Astria, thank you.”

As Kraush spoke to her retreating figure, Astria flinched.

Then she glanced slightly at Kraush and turned away with a huff.

“…I didn’t do it to hear thanks, so it’s fine.”

Though she said that, Astria was secretly in a good mood.

With her gone, Kraush stood alone, gazing toward the women’s dormitory.

Hoping that Haring wouldn’t act too recklessly.

End of Chapter