Chapter 28: Extermination Squad

The title of sage is one of the titles that can never be self-proclaimed, and its criteria are applied with extreme rigor.

Among the sages known on the Serdes continent, Helus Povidas became a sage by following an unusual path.

He did not come from Escolea, the city of scholars, nor was he a genius from whom greatness was expected.

He was simply a mediocre mage of commoner origin.

Helus left an anecdote about how he became a sage.

He said that one day, while sleeping as usual, he woke up and found himself face to face with an absolute existence.

That absolute existence appeared in the form of a god and gave him two options.

The potential to become a great seventh circle mage.

Or wisdom and knowledge capable of encompassing all things.

He could have reached the seventh circle, the level capable of dominating everything.

But Helus claimed that he chose wisdom and knowledge in order to help all humanity.

It was a completely absurd story.

But no one dared to question it.

After all, he was a man called a sage and possessed knowledge and wisdom almost miraculous.

Although he was a vulgar person, it was said that his wisdom never faltered, so in a certain sense he could be considered a superhuman.

But in reality Helus Povidas was no superhuman.

He was someone who did not differ much from an ordinary person and who was very honest with his emotions.

And at that moment Helus had a clearly irritated expression.

His gaze fell upon a woman kneeling in front of him.

As if she were the origin of all evils, his eyes were full of anger.

That middle-aged woman had once been his servant.

Helus had spent half of his fortune to find her.

Skilled mages and trackers followed her trail.

Finally they managed to bring her to his mansion.

When she first entered the mansion she was beaten like a dog.

Throughout an entire night the servants beat her until her body was shattered, barely able to remain standing.

The woman trembled with fear with her head pressed against the floor.

Finally she spoke.

“P-please, forgive me… my lord…”

“My lord?”

Helus let out a laugh.

“Yes, I was your lord. Of course. Do you know what happens to a servant who abandons his lord and runs away?”

He struck his palm with the cane he was holding.

“He receives a beating like a dog.”

“P-please… forgive me…”

The servant begged desperately, clasping her hands together with her broken hand.

She barely had a few teeth left in her half-open mouth.

“Yes, I will forgive you. If you tell me where that brat you stole from me is.”

“I do not know. I was only deceived and they took that child from me!”

Helus kicked her in the head.

“Do you think I am an idiot? They found two gold coins in your pocket! Do you think I do not know where they came from?”

“Ah! Please, just let me live!”

“Yes, I will let you live. If we find that brat! So use whatever brain you have and think. Think! Think!”

Helus could barely contain the impulse to kill her right then.

But he could not do it.

After all, that woman was the only clue to recover that.

At that moment someone knocked on the door.

A man wearing a black hood entered.

“Sage. We have completed the assignment.”

It was the best news he had heard in a long time.

Helus ran toward him with a smile as bright as that of a child receiving a toy.

“Oh! Show it to me. What is the result?”

“After investigating using a portrait based on the servant’s description, the conclusion is that it is the regent of Valdrova.”

“The… regent of Valdrova?”

“We expected you to be surprised. We also did not imagine it would be that person.”

He was not surprised by the identity.

He knew Valdrova was a dragon.

But he did not understand what this regent meant.

“After confirming it in the far east, they said it was the regent and a maid, so it is certain.”

“And what kind of people are they?”

“As you know, recently he began ruling the Duchy as the fiancé of Duchess Valdrova…”

“Ah.”

Helus waved his hand interrupting him.

“It is fine. So those damn bastards stole what was mine, did they not?”

“That is correct.”

Helus was able to understand it more or less.

The person who took it was the partner of the ruler.

‘They came from the far east and took that? Why? Did they discover what it is used for?’

Helus began biting his nails with anxiety.

That was the reason he had become so famous and also his source of money.

That was why he had taken such care of it while using it as a servant.

It is better to hide a tree inside the forest.

‘And all because of that stupid woman…’

He never imagined the servant would sell that child.

Helus looked at her with eyes full of anger.

The servant cried miserably.

“Congratulations, my lord… now y-you know who it is…”

With her broken fingers she clasped her hands together to beg.

“Now let me live. Please. I will go far away and never speak of you. I will live quietly. Please…”

Helus looked at her with a completely cold expression.

When the matter becomes clear, there is no reason to leave a possible threat.

Helus turned his head toward the hooded man.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“Kill her. That woman is no longer useful.”

“No! That was not what we agreed!”

The man in the black hood unsheathed his sword and approached.

Inevitable death was approaching.

The servant, who until then had only cried and begged, shouted with her last strength.

“You damned bastard! I know your truth! I know what you did with that child! You are not a sage! You are—!”

The head of the old servant fell to the floor.

It rolled miserably with the same expression of rage she had at the moment of death.

The man in the black hood shook the blood from his sword.

“It seems the mission has ended. Could you pay the reward?”

“Of course.”

A jewel box with an amount equivalent to a quarter of his fortune.

The man quickly checked it and stored it in his leather backpack.

“Thank you very much for using Black Bandana. Esteemed client.”

They completed the job, received the reward, and left cleanly.

That was how the secret organizations known as Black Bandana operated.

With this Helus had spent three quarters of his fortune.

‘It was necessary.’

If he had tried to save it, it would have been worse.

Helus looked at the two portraits the man had left.

A tall man with gray hair.

And a young woman with silver hair in a side ponytail.

Helus’s fat face twisted with rage.

‘That stray dog dares to covet what is mine?’

He swore he would not let them go easily and began to think.

“How do I take it back…?”

He had plenty of methods.

Who was he?

A sage.

A man to whom all kingdoms sent invitations to become their adviser.

He was a figure at the national level.

Even the Empire had contacted him many times.

‘I will use the imperial inspectors. That supposed regent is nothing more than a dog before the Empire.’

Even if the opponent was the fiancé of the Duchess, it would not be a problem.

Valdrova had not appeared before humans again since the murder of the third prince.

It had always been that way, and now it could continue being that way.

Helus placed his hand on the crystal sphere on his desk.

The sphere began to flicker in response to his magical power.

After a short while the light stabilized and a voice echoed in Helus’s mind.

— We are honored to see the sage of water. I am Hans, communications mage of the great Arken Empire!

“Could I speak for a moment with Sir Karl Harvest?”

— Sir Karl Harvest? Understood. Please wait a moment.

After a few moments of waiting, a lively voice was heard.

— Oh, sage! How are you? Have you been well all this time?

“Haha, I have been well. And you?”

— I cannot even sleep at night! I am eagerly waiting for the day when the sage joins our Empire!

“Haha, is that so?”

Helus felt the conversation would go well.

He decided to go straight to the point.

“You see, lately I have a concern.”

— A concern?

“I have a young servant. It turns out she was kidnapped by some criminals. So recently I squeezed all my knowledge and wisdom… and finally managed to discover something.”

— Where are they? Just say it! We will help you!

“The… regent of Valdrova, it seems.”

— The regent of Valdrova?!

Karl responded in surprise.

“What is it? Is there some problem?”

— No, no. I am only surprised by the coincidence. We have just heard that that brat has been causing problems lately.

“It seems he is quite well known.”

— In fact, our Extermination Squad was already thinking of going to put things in order.

“Oh, really? But since it is related to a dragon… would it not be dangerous?”

— Haha! Do not worry so much! Do you not know that dragons rarely interfere in human affairs?

“R-right, of course.”

Helus did not know that.

— That brat will have to resolve it alone. What could he do? No matter how much he struggles, he will remain powerless under the laws of the Empire. Besides, we have heard that even the local lords avoid him, so we will have to show who is in charge.

Helus smiled.

“Then I will ask you a favor. Since you are going to teach him a lesson, bring him here. If you do that, I will join the Empire as you wanted.”

— Oh! Will you really do that? Then I will gladly accept your request! Ha ha!

“Good. I will send you a portrait. You only have to bring that boy. I entrust it to you.”

— Of course! Leave it in my hands!

Helus cut the communication with a satisfied expression.

‘This is the power and fame that I can enjoy as a sage.’

Once he had tasted that flavor, he could never renounce it.

‘If I only recover that child I will stop pretending and become a true sage again.’

That was why he had to recover it no matter what happened.

***

“Your Excellency. A letter has arrived from the Empire.”

“Hmm, has it finally arrived?”

The old lord, Ulvera Consilus, stroked his beard as he took the letter that was on the tray.

When he saw the imperial seal he thought it might be an apology from the supply department.

“Hmm…”

But as soon as he saw the sender he felt the blood rush to his head.

— Extermination Squad

“Ha, ha…”

Consilus let out a laugh to contain the anger he could not express aloud.

“Arwen.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“A letter from the Extermination Squad has arrived in our territory. It seems we will finally have something to eat.”

“Those miserable bastards dare…”

Arwen became furious as if he might draw his sword at any moment.

Consilus tilted the letter toward the brazier in front of him, ready to throw it away without even reading it.

“Hmm…”

But suddenly he thought it might be worth at least checking the contents.

His intuition proved correct.

— What kind of person is Perda Valdrova?

They were not targeting Count Consilus.

They were targeting Perda.

“Those insolent fools are targeting the regent.”

Arwen was surprised.

“Would they dare to do that against the fiancé of a dragon?”

“Do you think those who live inside the Empire’s walls have ever seen a dragon? They are people who fear forest trolls more.”

A nearby threat always weighs more than a distant one.

Many had heard about the terror of a dragon’s wrath.

But very few had truly experienced it.

“And thinking about it, it is not completely impossible either.”

“Really?”

“After all, we ourselves have acted as if Her Highness Valdrova did not exist.”

“Ah…”

“And we also mocked the fiancé of the Grand Duke.”

“That is true, but…”

Arwen finally understood and blushed.

“Even so, I doubt a mere knight would dare to send a letter trying to take advantage of the regent…”

“That only shows how rotten the Arken Empire has become.”

The nobles were immersed in pleasure.

The knights’ swords had rusted.

To maintain the support of the people in the imperial capital they were draining the taxes of the regions until they were dying.

There had been several attempts at rebellion.

But they were always suppressed in silence.

‘The pillars our ancestors built are still solid. Even if they devour them, they will not fall easily.’

But when the time to fall arrives, they will surely collapse without remedy.

Consilus, who was nothing more than a simple count, had tried to survive that current without standing out.

But now it was different.

“Perda Valdrova…”

A man like a flash of light.

Like a handful of salt in the darkness.

When they needed help, he was the only one who supported them without saying a word.

Only for the development and peace of the territories.

Because of that perhaps…

“Damn insolent fools.”

Consilus could not help but become furious.

Even though he was an old man who had always lived walking on a tightrope, he was still a ruler tasked with protecting the Empire and his people.

Just when it seemed that something was beginning to move in the far east, those youngsters dared to ruin it.

“We will have to hook the Extermination Squad.”

It was not a simple warning.

But a complete defeat.

He could not allow those who turned even righteous lords into targets to continue acting freely.

And to do that he would need to use Perda Valdrova.

‘They do not know how great the man who will become Valdrova’s husband is.’

So he decided to spread negative rumors about Perda.

Specifically, he wrote about how Perda had even threatened the lords.

And he added that he was a man who angered even the heavens.

“Send this to the Extermination Squad. They will surely respond soon.”

“Understood. Shall we also notify the regent of Valdrova?”

Count Consilus thought for a moment and shook his head.

“No. Let only us know. In any case, when we arrive everything will already be resolved.”

“Understood.”

He did not say it out loud.

But Consilus also wanted to confirm something.

He wanted to see how Perda would react when he faced the Extermination Squad.

And his expectations would not be betrayed.