Chapter 154
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 154
“They’ve taken the driver’s seat. What do we do?”
“…”
“Didn’t you say only a few wolf pups would tail us? You said even if they did, they’d never catch us while we were moving…”
“Shut up! Keep your mouth shut and pull yourself together!”
Gasping for breath, he slipped his dagger into his coat and out of sight. Then, peering through the window, he spoke rapidly.
“Stay sharp.”
His subordinate, disguised as a servant, gestured toward Barbara, who was hidden beneath the seat.
“Should we use this woman as a shield?”
“The moment we try, we’ll be slaughtered.”
“Th-then what do we…”
Panting, the man stared out the window. The carriage had veered off its planned route and was now heading toward a secluded area beneath one of the many bridges spanning the Rotten River. Massive concrete piers and overgrown thickets blocked all lines of sight.
Jumping from the carriage wasn’t an option. Another carriage had suddenly appeared, boxing them in from the opposite side.
Ignoring his racing heart, Peter’s subordinate muttered under his breath, his words like a desperate prayer.
“The Reinhardt wolves in the capital aren’t mindless brutes. Simon von Bernheim keeps them on a tight leash. They’re highly political. That’s the only reason that woman is still alive.”
“S-so?”
The carriage began to slow dramatically. Swallowing hard, he spoke with forced resolve.
“I am a true noble of Luxen, and you are my servant. Got it?”
The carriage came to a halt.
As heavy, deliberate footsteps crunched closer, he mouthed a final whisper.
“If we play our parts, those bastards won’t dare lay a finger on us. Doing so would put the Marquis in a tight spot—”
Slam!
His whisper was cut short by the deafening sound of the door being ripped open.
A shadow, blacker than the night itself, filled the open doorway. Peter’s subordinate lashed out in a mix of feigned anger and genuine, trembling terror.
“Wh-what is the meaning of this?! How dare you act so insolently! Who do you think you are—!”
“Get out.”
“Get out?! I am Count Gerox! State your name and rank!”
As he bellowed, the massive man blocking the door let out a heavy sigh. Then, with blinding speed, he reached in and grabbed the man by the collar. It was hard to believe someone so huge could move so fast, but his grip was even more terrifying.
Despite years of physical training, the subordinate was dragged out as effortlessly as a piece of dried timber.
“L-let go of me! How do you expect to handle the fallout of—ack—I am a Count—!”
“Oh, right. A Count, were you? Fuck, I swear I never get along with you noble bastards.”
Dragging him from the carriage, Thebes kicked the back of the man’s knees to force him to the ground, then planted a foot as massive as a bear’s paw squarely on his thighs.
“Aaagh!”
“It’s not like I made you kneel on broken glass. Stop whining. It’s almost cute.”
Smirking, Thebes seized one of the man’s arms and wrenched it upward. The man had no time to resist, nor did he possess the strength to do so.
This giant was different from the Wolves he had encountered before. Simon’s, Barbara’s, and Karl’s Wolves were formidable, but they operated with some semblance of discipline. This monster possessed no such restraint.
Meanwhile, his accomplice was dragged from the carriage by the other wolves.
Pinned by Thebes, Peter’s subordinate writhed in a final, desperate struggle. “I don’t know whose orders you’re following, but I am on intimate terms with His Majesty the King of Luxen! If you treat me like this, you’ll bring ruin to your master—!”
“Hey, toss me a cigarette.”
“Yes, sir!”
“It will bring ruin to your—!”
“Ugh, this bastard smokes cheap shit. Got anything else?”
“You ask for a smoke and then get picky?”
If Thebes were the type to worry about putting his master in a difficult position, he wouldn’t have ambushed them in the first place. The subordinate’s desperate shouts echoed uselessly against the massive bridge piers before fading into the night.
Peter’s subordinate stared up in despair at the giant, who was now leisurely smoking. Thebes took a long drag from the cigarette his man had lit for him and muttered, “Man… I won’t be able to smoke for a while. What am I gonna do? What if I die of withdrawal?”
“If withdrawal could kill you, you’d have been dead years ago. You pick up half-smoked butts off the street. It’s disgusting.”
They bantered as if the situation was a minor inconvenience, not a crisis. All the while, Thebes effortlessly held down a trained combatant who couldn’t budge an inch.
The sheer absurdity of it all felt surreal.
“Found her!”
There was no need to ask who they had found. The monster, still casually puffing on his cigarette, looked down at him.
“…”
Under that predatory, beast-like gaze, Peter’s subordinate forgot how to breathe.
“Hold him tight. Don’t let him run.”
Thebes tossed the man to his subordinates and walked toward the carriage. The wolf who had been searching inside wore an expression of quiet fury. At Thebes’s curt nod, he stepped aside.
As the wolf moved, Thebes saw his senior, a bloody and mangled mess. His footsteps ground to a sudden halt.
“Damn it… Senior.”
Anyone else would have been dead twice over, but Barbara Wald’s eyes were still open. The cloth stuffed deep in her mouth was so saturated with blood it had turned a bruised black.
Thebes stared silently at the dying woman for a long moment before slowly turning around.
Panicking, Peter’s subordinate thrashed wildly, but he couldn’t break the iron grips of the Wolves holding him, let alone escape. The massive figure approached through the haze of cigarette smoke, radiating a suffocating aura of pure malice. Only then did the captive realize who he was dealing with.
“…Thebes Venok.”
“Well, look at that. Our dear Count actually knows my name.”
Furious to his core, the wolf raised his fist high and brought it down with merciless force.
Crack.
“Urgh.”
“I’m so honored…”
Crack. Crack. Crack.
“Gah… ugh…”
“…I’m practically crying.”
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The blows fell too fast to track. With every strike, flesh split and blood sprayed. The man, who had initially curled up to protect himself, eventually went limp, taking the beating without defense.
Watching the brutal display, Thebes’s subordinates finally stepped in.
“Any more and he’ll die, sir.”
“Ah, right.”
Crack.
“We need to bring them back alive.”
Crack. Crack.
“I said he’s going to die!”
“…Fuck.”
Muttering a low curse, Thebes took a deep drag from his cigarette. Just then, one of the Wolves approached and whispered in his ear.
“Senior Barbara says to leave her here.”
“…What kind of bullshit is that?”
Wisps of smoke drifted from his lips.
“Leave her?”
Thebes whipped around and strode back toward the gaping carriage door, his brow furrowing deeper with every step.
Slumped against the carriage wall, Barbara Wald was clearly in critical condition. Her ragged, wheezing breaths were dangerously shallow.
Stopping before the open door, Thebes exhaled a long stream of smoke.
“Leave you behind? What the hell does that mean, Senior?”
“Make it look like the King’s Royal Guard killed me here, and then go, Thebes Venok.”
“…”
“There are already wolves who died at the hands of the Royal Guard back at the manor. Pierce my corpse with one of their rapiers, dress these bastards in their uniforms…”
“I don’t understand a single fucking word of this,” Thebes cut her off, his voice a low growl.
“Thebes Venok.”
“…”
Even on the brink of death, her eyes burned with a fierce intensity, and her voice remained remarkably steady.
For once, a serious expression crossed Thebes’s face. His eyes darkening, he took two more drags from his cigarette, then tossed it to the ground.
“You smart folks love your political games. But I don’t know anything about that shit.”
“My abilities were already failing me. This is a timely end to my usefulness—”
“Fuck, I told you, I don’t care about any of that. My only order was to secure you.”
“…”
“What happens to you is up to His Excellency. So I’m taking you back to the Marquisate Residence. If you want to play dead, then make sure you don’t actually die on the way there.”
“…”
“Look His Excellency in the eye and tell him yourself. If he gives the order to dispose of you that way, don’t you worry.”
Thebes growled at the gasping woman.
“I, Thebes Venok, will make sure your final send-off is exactly as you wanted.”
* * *
“Senior, what’s the deal with that woman?”
Karl remained silent at his subordinate’s question. He merely stared through the pouring rain, evaluating the Outsider who had appeared so suddenly.
“What the hell happened at the mountain cabin? I can understand that bastard Abel Sting, the Backup Team… hell, even Senior Barbara’s direct subordinates, if we’re being generous.”
“…”
“But I don’t get why Combat Team 1 is practically groveling to her. Have you ever seen those bastards bow down to anyone?”
“When we tried to light up a cigarette, they threw a total fit. And those guys are heavy smokers!”