Chapter 172
qZzv“Isn’t the Turhel here?”GeZZp7x
O6iXGismond’s eyes widened.yHsNLQ
nLdnM2The rank 2 monster wasn’t there. Only those ant-like bugs, Envif or whatever they were called, remained.gwSNogY
QN2UQyThey said that in a place without tigers, the fox was king.
Without the monster called Turhel, all the monsters there were his prey.zHPfK
npzk─!thwvK
uMHWith that thought, he sliced through five Envif in a single blow. That’s when, for the first time, his sword was blocked.IMQ9A
KuUy8“Kuh…?”FiFMqF
HM9XuIt wasn’t as solid as a Turhel, but it was like striking firm rock. The strong rebound made Gismond stifle a groan and take a couple of steps back.JrlO
20opneG“What the hell are you?!”gtq
9vqE5Black hair, a face pale as death, and a chilling magical energy.3IBcCbI
hzFxIIt wasn’t human. Yet it spoke like one.Q7fz3B5
loXm‘…No way.’2P3m
wVkyMF“A… demon?”i8jcc
kVubGismond shouted. His body trembled like a leaf, but the confusion soon cleared.uwlw1a
FnjhC3“It’s a monster called Nasgrim. They’re the only ones with human-like intelligence, which is why demons often use them as intermediaries.”6MXOCsa
DZ10yAt Fernan’s words, Gismond regained a bit of confidence.nloON
bgd0Wd“By the way, it’s rank 2. Same as the Turhel.”mJw4JN
uK7NuAP“Help me!”E2UzBw
8HgbVBut he nearly lost it again.Akrm1e
dvHyPX3“In terms of combat, it’s somewhere between rank 3 and 4. It was only classified as rank 2 because of its intellect.”kmG
YD5Monster classifications weren’t made by demons, but by humans.5DOc
XjPLpBIt was said that the knights of the First Emperor fought them and set the scales.TzbTx
mRsNT“I still struggle with rank 5 monsters…”Dk7C
Pi2rGismond muttered uncertainly.7fqsan
vh3XtlHe had shown good results against the Zikrik, but Nasgrim was different.MQmIT33
iCnThe fact that all the hair on his body stood on end meant this wasn’t just any enemy.xKPemOz
tUQYx“Just buy time. I want to talk to him before he dies completely.”7ehkH
uCzG“I asked who you were!”lvVbwP
LIjt“What if I die in the meantime…?”LYBQp
MS2fb7“If you can’t even hold out, you’ll die instantly when the demons descend.”kElB
eUwY“…Couldn’t I just flee somewhere without demons and live there?”ABn
K2MnL“Do you really think you could escape?”vKNM6FD
0NY“These bastards are underestimating me!”X4Q
nIATxClaaang!mXXb8o
NX8rUGismond clenched his teeth and burst his aura. A grey streak clashed against the descending black scythe.LcvNHt
gAnA“I’m the one who feels like crying!”qj0qL7U
QXOMGismond swung his sword again.4V3OF
DsgkDTo survive.nz9
6xEn0***MPWEnC
uhiYDMBMore Envif emerged from the darkness. Fernan, instead of fighting them, raised a thick barrier to halt their advance.l9Eh3
duLThat would be enough to buy some time.ExSsU
SB1uJust enough to talk to a dying man.tM5y82
oHB“Captain Adguif.”u8Jjf
ahYWtgLeaving Nasgrim to Gismond, Fernan approached the fallen dwarf.DIW9YZf
B9iLeaning against the tunnel wall, he was in such a critical state that anyone would think he was already dead.qow
bNmR“In Pellenberg, we have a saying: whoever steals our money won’t escape even in the afterlife.”JvB
phyTZFernan uncorked a potion and poured it over his wounds.TUA4d4V
smi47oX“The mayor is looking forward to seeing you.”GVbE
dOe5“…That sounds terrifying.”BFYT
LKcAdguif gave a bitter smile with his pale face.VCz
wYR4t“It’s pointless. I know my own body well.”QdAD5eB
4jNFp2h“It seems so.”6imkv
0DlEven a top-grade potion wasn’t a miracle cure.a0GVGev
taTRfAWith over half a dozen holes through his body, Adguif was beyond any remedy.alfD
BeBq“I should’ve arrived a little sooner.”kSmD3q
PaXHJ“It doesn’t matter.”ZU26Y4
jJe06uS“Before you die, can you tell me why you betrayed the dwarves and joined the corrupt? Though it doesn’t seem like you actually became one of them.”lBK
OVa“Hahaha…”41cQ3
Jn9Adguif laughed, spitting blood.JRx
Z9jj9“Not a bad question. But first, can you promise me one thing?”Brt
nC8236“A promise?”CXI3V
Vyj“The dwarves will be a resource for you. Get them out of this damn underground city.”jOsZc
18sUnexpected words. So he hadn’t betrayed out of hatred for his kin?THzGP
BzNRGcC“That is, in fact, my greatest wish.”sUX0Z2i
2oM“If you had come a little earlier, none of this would’ve happened.”B3A
4kMfUW“And don’t you think it’s absurd to expect me to quickly find a hidden city deep underground?”RVq0VY
NCBv“That’s also true.”3Ke
jXLe3Adguif nodded.MQ0
ZeX“I always insisted we had to abandon this city.”JRT4V
fVbFor centuries, the dwarves had isolated themselves deep underground.s09KO
acXsNo enemies, safe beneath the earth.VGhn
UGJMaybe it was satisfying at first, but in reality, they had only locked themselves in a well.vTcj
2Y84E0P“The mines were running dry, and to avoid discovery by the elves, we couldn’t do anything serious. Humans dominate the continent, while we live cowering in this hole. Do you call that living?”gv7
7mQhMn“We all knew there was a problem. But we pretended not to see it. Why? Out of fear!”nyxJmsF
Wu48u8Somehow, Adguif summoned strength, the veins in his neck bulging.ipX
POus“Fear of leaving the city! Fear of exploring something new! They said humans had already occupied all the land, and there was no place for us. Then we should’ve left sooner!”cH0
kgyFor centuries they had made excuses, and the result was this.vTvngj
etqyJ“So you used the corrupt to provoke that change? To escape?”HB4UNHQ
Iprm4j“To bring about change, a shock is needed. Even more so for dwarves who are stagnant and rotting.”K0Ld8er
D2Xh“And giving hundreds of dwarves to the corrupt—do you think that’s justifiable?”6A9
9bRc8“Better to kill half and save the other than to wait, isolated, until we all rot.”7Qh7U
ZUeCPerhaps thanks to the potion, Adguif’s eyes remained clear.TUE
QI38BEven in his agony, he didn’t believe his conviction was wrong.IPT
RPqQOU“But in the end, it all turned out like this.”CDoA6mq
ewVQP“That was my mistake. I knew the corrupt could betray us, but I didn’t expect them to act so fast.”0zJ2
OYaiNb“So you broke ties with them? Why so suddenly?”9Aa9Gz
k6X“Because of you, Fernan Pellenberg.”D3WO
sVa8Adguif bit his lips.fjjl
NG0xwu“When you entered and left the city, I misinterpreted the situation. I thought the mayor had rejected our last chance. So, in a fit of anger, I caused the disaster.”5wGnbHO
wfxRSvEThat’s how the two incursions in the mines happened in just a few days, devouring hundreds of dwarves.8XRuUD
A5u“I tried to fix things later. If you were to lead the dwarves, we wouldn’t need to rely on the corrupt anymore.”JiCL
KEVH“And that’s why all this happened?”FYl
Prw“Once I let go of their hand, they tried to take my life… ahh…”8COIZGE
saI4iAt last, everything clicked into place for Fernan.e22
BCT6UuhThe reason why, years ahead of schedule, the dwarven city had fallen into chaos—it was all because of him.istSbs
i46LgX1But he didn’t see it as a bad thing.Rpb6
69uGaElIn a few years, the city would have collapsed. Now, at least, they might endure with fewer losses.Va1
1eEyaQ“…A count. Daniel Kool, a count of the Empire. Be careful… the fourth abandoned mine…”tFxcapF
icSoqZHis voice cracked and went no further.qvg6Xb3
vi0lxRAdguif’s head tilted to the side.Z9Oqm
oGcfl“Whatever your conviction, in the end, you betrayed the dwarves. But I will give you my word on one thing.”8GLQ
YclQBwFernan gently closed his eyes.JrLaBt
FUY“I will make sure the dwarves reach the surface.”gOggmYb
cceyVWZNot for him, but for himself and for Pellenberg.WGg9JDB
3HwUIj9“Daniel Kool… him again.”jBmn
VxoPPWas he in charge of dealing with other races? In Fridian, in the underground cities, he was always causing trouble.Ws5kidv
sqsvD8Fernan stood up.cYnif
6K85rMT─!q0U
SDDb──!7bc
xwl9GVThe battle between Gismond and Nasgrim was not yet over.mBgZZ
Jtm2UB***cPim0ug
71mJA tunnel crowded with corpses of dwarves and monsters.SV6ihX
8gXLfk“Damn it!”PkMAg
jbsH8Count Daniel, wounded, ruffled his hair in frustration.cmOD43
6S0“If I had known, I wouldn’t have used hypnosis…”jNn
znamDUnlike how confident he’d been at first, the battle hadn’t been one-sided.ifYeM
NRJ5KThe dwarves’ level—especially Adguif’s—had been much higher than expected.SMM
RePxUyOIf he still had the full book, it would’ve been easy to defeat them, but unfortunately it had all gone up in flames when he used it to hypnotize Fernan.aI9sK
5xtThat’s why Adguif had managed to escape, and he himself ended up injured.cWr1U
4ENEven though they were fatal wounds that couldn’t be healed, he had sent the monsters to finish the job.4Jd2n
r6NBut that wasn’t the only urgent matter.tvqdB0
YeF“What was that? Why did that guy suddenly change his mind?”IVrrfx
9Y6mUntil then, Adguif believed there was no choice but to use the monsters to sow panic in the city and force an escape to the surface.ZxKA8wO
E2fZmAnd yet, now he was acting as if there were an alternative.nXJx
bS7M“He called him a savior.”vRV3
JMlveIThat meant someone had descended into the underground city.BW0mM
Cnv2nWas that possible?eaIS
XdXo0hfNo one would have imagined that under the dominion of the elves, a dwarven city could exist.bxcUB
FOgkNot even by accident could it be found—it wasn’t just a hundred or two hundred meters deep, but over a kilometer underground.MqEI7
pr0They themselves had only discovered it while transporting monsters as part of the collaboration with Adolf.om9L
RCIbox2‘Who is it? What bastard dares interfere with our plans…?’N2k
6caAt that moment.50Zt
6aEX“Count, we have a problem!”xzH
9oVNxA shadow appeared hurriedly.DgW9bs
27NhhHd“What is it?”rBK9PH
JwQVd“Fernan Pellenberg! That man is in the underground city! He’s killing the monsters and trying to save Adguif! Fyr is fighting him, but I came right away to inform you!”tHmh6zY
2HVzokFyr was the name of the rank 2 monster, Nasgrim, who was fighting Gismond.K74FTX6
laE“…Fernan Pellenberg?”ECdz1wj
VBhHim?2vzQHBe
2TQVN6Count Daniel’s eyes flew wide open.AsdHVQv
vcIe“Why the hell is that man in the underground city?! Didn’t he return to Pellenberg?”jnLbQae
MsK9“That… I don’t know either…”60jo
kbch9dyHe’d heard Fernan had completed the marquis’ mission in Fridian and then left.UrUTP
YnsSo why was he causing chaos here now?KRop5U
oHYHe thought it over but found no answer.S6iR2Z
f10MUntil he connected Fernan to the “savior” Adguif had mentioned.hLd0SH
uPEtSuddenly, everything made sense.NDaKg
KI1ntThe reason Adguif—who had insisted until now that the only way out was to force things with the monsters—suddenly changed his mind as if a new option had appeared.qYxGW1a
I4nZ5toWith Fernan and the Pellenbergs, the dwarves could indeed hope to reach the surface.9pdB
oIrdcThey valued the dwarves far too much to pass up the opportunity.ksrO
FRKhwNo matter what, they would end up taking them to the surface.iF3UtM
2cavw“Him again! That damn bastard again!”fTnPC
ba4GIn Valerich, in Fridian, and now here too.flx
EOAlDPkCount Daniel’s face twisted in fury.HgmXc
w6mq8d“And with the book destroyed, I can’t cast hypnosis again…”57y
kqcThe magical energy was still present, so he could attempt something—but the margin was extremely narrow.H82
N02PCzThen, a thought more urgent than hypnosis made him go pale.UVbj
WJut“The monsters…!”lv2G
cod8With Adguif’s betrayal, he had sent nearly all the monsters against the city, except those left to deal with him.FCU55T
GpAThe idea had been to attack before the dwarves could organize, cause maximum damage, and then use the corpses to summon more monsters.Om7O8
EqBxA7JIt wouldn’t allow for a demon summoning, but at least he could create a monster army.6YL
oCADO6That had been the plan.66d
MxK“But if Fernan is there, the story changes!”hcM
SpdWhether the monster assault succeeded or failed, there would be no next step.P3qUDV
L9dqqBFernan would undoubtedly convince the dwarves to go to the surface.TB2
WyE7WIxThat man would never leave the dwarves behind.qGt
LfP0stAs a result, the monsters he had summoned over years would die in vain.ZaION
zHtE4a“But I can’t kill him either…!”P8a
QQ1VBefore, he wouldn’t have hesitated to sacrifice all the monsters just to eliminate Fernan.KSp
IcAzljBBut now he couldn’t—it would be absurd to kill his best card, the man who was under hypnosis.WAOes7Y
QK6J“Withdraw the monsters immediately!”UiZvQ
0xmjUx2Before the losses grew even worse!DeUk86
FT3R“And give the order that Adguif must self-destruct if necessary, rather than reveal any information to Fernan!”Y1puI
7zCgAdguif knew his face and his true identity.CHXi
ZcfFuw3Count Daniel roared in rage.K7iPaA
What did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first!