Chapter 132
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: The Mercenary's Gambit
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After arriving by ship in the Prasian port city of Ramons, Pernyan first secured lodging.
“The mercenaries who were helping you are in Ramons?”
“Yes.”
He had gotten the gist of what had transpired in Prasia on the ship.
‘He said he used mercenaries to wipe out the Vile Breed’s safehouses.’
They had been tracking the trail relentlessly until they hit a dead end and were taking a break when the letter from Pernyan arrived.
Just in case, he had asked the mercenaries to continue searching for clues.
In other words, they were currently waiting for the mercenaries they had contacted in advance.
“In Prasia, the power and scale of the mercenaries were greater than I expected. They were very useful.”
That was only natural. Prasia was a large country, but its territory was so vast and had so much undeveloped land that it lacked the capacity to manage it all.
A sick giant. It had managed to attract mercenaries with its abundant resources, which naturally led to their power growing.
Nowhere else in the world would one find mercenaries with as much influence as in Prasia.
‘In that sense, the Prasian nobles who became Vile Breed must be shitting themselves.’
While the nobility of Prasia was not without power, they were hardly strong enough to provoke the Mercenary King's disciple.
At least within Prasia, no noble held more power than the Mercenary King.
Teaming up with Barus had been a good choice on Aint’s part.
Of course, even without that connection, there was no one brazen enough to touch the adversary of demons and the symbol of the Empire, who was currently the focus of the entire continent.
Aint dies in Prasia?
The demons would flock in celebration, and the Empire would hold Prasia accountable.
“Didn’t you receive an invitation from the king? He can’t be unaware that you’re hunting Vile Breed in Prasia.”
“As a matter of fact, I did meet him once. He simply thanked me for my efforts on behalf of the kingdom.”
So he hadn’t said much else…
For a king who had discovered Vile Breed in his own country, his reaction was rather lukewarm, wasn’t it?
“He wasn’t one of them?”
“I didn’t check his insides with my aura, but at least on the surface, he wasn’t.”
‘Perhaps it’s because he’s too old.’
The King of Prasia was already over eighty and was neither a knight nor a mage.
It was more accurate to say he lived each day in bed, waiting for death.
“Have you met the crown prince?”
“The crown prince is…”
As they were discussing various matters over a meal, a group of people entered the dining hall.
Leather armor, weapons slung here and there, a menacing atmosphere. They were typical mercenaries.
“Sunbaenim, that’s them.”
There were three in total. Each was the leader of a mercenary group numbering over fifty men.
“Sir Aint, it’s an honor to see you again.”
“Thank you for summoning us once more.”
“We heard you achieved a great victory in the north.”
After greeting the familiar faces of Aint, Aria, and Verian, they turned their gazes to Pernyan.
“I am Pernyan Fallenberg.”
“Pernyan Fallenberg… could it be, *the*!”
“I-It’s an honor to meet you, sir! I am Rick Pitra, leader of the Griffin Mercenary Group!”
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Roderick Fisher, leader of the Blue Wolf Mercenary Group.”
The mercenaries eagerly introduced themselves.
For men as loyal to money as merchants—or in some ways, even more so—their enthusiastic reaction was to be expected.
‘Roderick Fisher?’
Among them, the name Roderick Fisher sounded particularly familiar. Pernyan soon realized why.
‘He was on the list of suspected Vile Breed members my father gave me.’
But he didn’t attach much significance to it.
The list was far too comprehensive, literally including anyone who had achieved some measure of success recently.
Still, he couldn’t help but watch the man.
‘He has quite an aura…’
Above all, Roderick Fisher’s presence was extraordinary. He was the strongest of the three leaders.
‘But the fact that Aint has been working with him means he isn’t a Vile Breed…’
It wasn’t absolute without an internal check, but it meant he had at least passed a preliminary screening.
‘If we spend more time together, something suspicious will surely surface.’
Having organized his thoughts, Pernyan finished exchanging greetings with Roderick Fisher.
After their brief reunion, Aint got straight to the point.
“How has Prasia been in my absence?”
“Nothing much has happened.”
“Yes, we were also surprised to learn there were so many Vile Breed in Prasia, so we conducted our own investigation, but…”
The mercenaries began to recount the events of the past few days.
Just then, Pernyan’s gaze brushed past Roderick’s chest. Something sticking out from his leather armor caught his eye.
“Is that a book? It looks rather high-quality.”
“Yes. It’s a book.”
“Roderick always keeps a book tucked in his chest. A bit peculiar, isn’t it?”
Another mercenary leader overheard their conversation and chimed in with a laugh.
“You always carry a book with you?”
“An orc-faced mercenary always carrying a book must seem a bit strange. I know.”
Roderick Fisher let out an awkward chuckle.
“No, I don’t think so at all. There’s no rule that says mercenaries can’t read. In fact, I wish all mercenaries would read books.”
After all, the Golden Turtle Merchant Guild also distributed books.
“I had a book that was a memento from my mother. I always carried it with me, and one day it happened to block a blade, saving my life.”
“A good reason to keep carrying one. Is that the memento?”
“This isn’t the memento. But now I feel anxious if I don’t have a book with me. It’s my own personal artifact, even if it has no special functions.”
Thanks to it, though, I made a decent find this time.
He added as an afterthought.
“A find?”
“Yes. I’m only human, so I couldn’t just stand by while Vile Breed ran rampant where I operate. So I kept searching for traces and stumbled upon something.”
Roderick opened the book. Tucked between the pages was a map, about a quarter of which was burned.
“I found this after you all left that day, while searching the Vile Breed’s safehouse again.”
“It’s a bit burnt.”
“Yes, they incinerated most of the documents, but it seems they fled in such a hurry they didn’t check if it had burned properly. The wind must have blown it into a crevice between some rocks.”
The map marked no fewer than five safehouses.
Unless the Vile Breed realized the map was compromised and had already cleared out, this was a major haul.
Of course, it could also be a trap. But that didn’t matter much.
‘No matter what kind of trap they set, this force should be more than enough to overcome it.’
This was the Aint who had absorbed even the demon’s egg. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where Aint would lose to mere Vile Breed, no matter the trap.
‘Still, just in case, I should hire a few more mercenaries…’
“Aint. I think we should check this out.”
“Yes, I was thinking the same thing.”
Pernyan handed Roderick a small pouch.
“A reward for the valuable information. If this proves to be true and we get results, there will be more.”
“I pledge my loyalty!”
“Wasn’t it money you were loyal to, not me?”
“I am in the process of doing so.”
“I like your attitude.”
Pernyan read the greed in Roderick Fisher’s eyes.
‘Those who purely chase money are the most reliable.’
Of course, they could be swayed by the lure of greater wealth, but no one in this world had more money than the Fallenbergs.
That was why Pernyan liked mercenaries.
‘This would be a good opportunity to strengthen my relationship with the Mercenary King as much as possible.’
They cost a fortune each time he used them, but there was no card more reliable.
Pernyan approached Aint and whispered.
“Are there any decent men among the mercenaries?”
“Roderick Fisher is the best. At least, he’s the strongest of all the mercenaries I’ve met.”
Is that so?
“Maintain good relations with as many mercenaries as you can. If you always have capable ones around, you can get help when you need it.”
Of course, he’d have to run a background check first to see if there was anything unusual.
“I’ll take care of that part.”
“I’d appreciate that, but I don’t have the money…”
“Who are you worried about money in front of?”
“But I can’t pay you back.”
“Once you’ve killed all the demons, you’ll have the means to repay me.”
“…Does that mean?”
Aint’s eyes widened. Pernyan gave a slight shake of his head.
“This isn’t a good place to discuss it further.”
They soon followed Roderick Fisher’s guidance and raided the Vile Breed safehouse on the outskirts of Prasia.
* * *
“We’re under attack!”
“It’s Aint Armian! Run!”
“Dammit!”
The safehouse was real, and the Vile Breed, clearly not expecting the raid, were in disarray.
“Compared to the previous safehouses, this one is the least prepared. We might be able to catch a bigger fish.”
Aint, full of vigor, unleashed his Sacred Light, cutting down Vile Breed and demonic beasts.
Aria, Verian, Pernyan, and the mercenaries followed close behind.
For a time, the safehouse was filled with screams.
While everyone was fighting the Vile Breed, one person moved stealthily into the depths of the safehouse.
It was Roderick.
As he entered a secret room, a figure waiting in the darkness bowed his head.
“You’ve come.”
“I’m certain of it now. Pernyan Fallenberg was the problem.”
Pernyan wasn’t always where Aint was.
But whenever Aint fought the Vile Breed, Pernyan was always there. With Andromalius, too.
And the common thread in all those events was that every single one had failed.
“This can’t be a coincidence.”
Once is a coincidence. But twice, three times—that could not be a coincidence.
“I was wrong from the start.”
He had thought Aint Armian was the main enemy. That Aint Armian was orchestrating everything, and Pernyan Fallenberg was merely an assistant.
He was wrong.
As he could sense from their conversations, the one in charge was not Aint, but Pernyan.
The one with the Fallenberg wealth and power was leading Aint.
“No wonder things are such a mess when we couldn’t even identify the real target…!”
Andromalius, and all the other numerous plans to sow chaos on the continent.
A boy from the ruined Armian family was in a completely different league from the scion of the continent’s wealthiest house.
“Pernyan Fallenberg, that bastard I could tear to shreds…!”
Rage boiled up inside him.
If it weren’t for that bastard, Aint Armian would have been dead long ago. The continent would have fractured and fallen into chaos.
Things would be very different now if that had happened.
“…It’s still, still alright.”
Andromalius was dead, and Kimaris was dead, but in the grand scheme of all demons, it wasn’t such a significant loss.
They had made the most preparations at the academy, the cradle of the Empire, and though they had suffered many failures, the seeds they had planted across the continent were still numerous.
If those seeds sprouted safely, the grand design might be slightly altered, but the main trunk would not break.
“This is why we should have gotten rid of him earlier…”
It was a shame their plan to completely ensnare him at the Continental Academic Conference had gone awry.
“Find everything related to Pernyan Fallenberg’s activities up to now. In some ways, he’s going to be a bigger problem than Aint Armian.”
“Yes, sir.”
The subordinate bowed his head.
“For now, cooperate as much as possible to win their favor…”
When the time comes, he would strike off their heads in a single blow.
Both Aint Armian and Pernyan Fallenberg, together.
And the continent, having lost all hope, would not be able to withstand the greater chaos to come.
“To do that, first…”
I must work hard to win Pernyan and Aint’s favor.
“Where is the next one?”
“I’ve leaked one to a suitable location, and I have the other in my possession. There are no more.”
“If Kimaris, who returned with all his strength and will lost, knew of this, he wouldn’t rest easy even in hell. Hehehe.”
Not that the reborn Kimaris would be the same as the original, anyway.
Roderick Fisher burst out laughing.
“Farewell.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you for everything. The secret passage is under this desk. Another man has already gone through, so you can chase and catch him.”
*Slice—*
“Sir Pernyan! Sir Aint! There’s a Vile Breed over here!”
He shouted after cleanly beheading the man.
As he retraced his steps, he remained oblivious.
*Kkung?*
In the spot he had just vacated, something that had been rolling about among the stones rose up, its eyes glowing.