Chapter 218
What in the world is that?
Spread across the sandy beach were the carcasses of countless spider monsters.
Among them stood Zieg’s party, completely covered in spider fluids. They had placed spider shells over the remaining embers of the white flame and were using them as a grill to cook jerky.
“Woah, this is cooked perfectly, yo!”
“Argh, moving around after so long makes me crave a beer. Hey, Felix, go to the ship and grab some booze.”
“Instructor, there are plenty of guys here with lower seniority than me, so why me...?”
“Do you wanna get beaten to a pulp and swim over, or just swim over?”
Felix scrambled to his feet and dove into the ocean.
Watching Felix swim toward the ship through the rough waves, the knights of the Silver Knights Brigade stood with their mouths agape.
“A-Are those people...?”
Feeling a sudden wave of embarrassment for his companions, Zieg slightly turned his head away.
Just then, Farel—who had blended right in and was happily eating grilled jerky with them—spotted Zieg and stood up.
“My Lord!”
Only then did the others notice Zieg’s arrival. They hurriedly stuffed the remaining jerky into their mouths and kicked the spider shells away.
Zieg shook his head as he looked at Farel.
“I never imagined even you would get corrupted like this, Sir Farel.”
Embarrassed by the comment, Farel turned his head away with an awkward expression.
At that moment, a knight standing behind him exclaimed in surprise.
“Farel? Could you possibly be Sir Farel Achilleus?”
As a League Champion, Farel was quite a famous figure among knights.
Upon realizing Farel was part of the group, the Silver Knights began to view Zieg’s companions—who had initially looked like a band of eccentrics—in a whole new light.
Right on cue, Felix came sprinting back from the ship, carrying a wooden keg.
“Instructor! I brought the—! Ack, My Lord!”
Felix was caught red-handed by Zieg carrying a keg in enemy territory.
He immediately dropped the keg and taddled.
“My Lord! This isn't mine, the Instructor told me to—”
Thump!
Though he revealed the truth, Felix was promptly met with a fistful of retribution from Klone.
Zieg settled the chaotic atmosphere and had the wounded moved to the ship.
Deciding to get a briefing, he spoke with the knight who appeared to be in the best condition among the Silver Knights.
Zieg placed a pot over the spot where they had been grilling meat, brewed some soup, and served it with soft bread.
Having warm soup inside him seemed to finally restore the knight's vitality.
“Thank you, Sir Zieg. I owe you a great debt. I apologize for the delayed introduction in all the commotion. I am Luno Tilben, Commander of the 3rd Company of the Silver Knights.”
After filling his stomach with soup and bread, Luno explained what had transpired in detail.
“At first, I heard it was simply a mission to subjugate the South Sea pirates.”
“I was aware of that as well. However, when I reached the Sea of Death, I couldn't see any warships belonging to the Silver Knights.”
“To be frank, we didn't bring the warships for this mission. We only selected and deployed elite force from the brigade.”
Zieg expressed his doubts at Luno’s words.
“Only elites to subjugate pirates...? Why do such a thing? That doesn't sound like a decision Lady Khali would make.”
“That is... there was intelligence.”
“What kind of intelligence?”
Luno lowered his voice and spoke.
“It was regarding the Pirate King.”
Zieg furrowed his brows at Luno's words.
As expected, Abel’s side moved their plan forward.
Khali Dreker’s reputation had been built upon large-scale pirate subjugation operations.
However, if a Pirate King appeared, rallied the pirates, and threw the South Sea into chaos again, it would undoubtedly leave a severe stain on her reputation.
Abel, who was a master at exploiting enemy weaknesses and crises, would never miss such an opportunity.
Khali had clearly intended to capture the Pirate King, eliminate the South Sea pirates as quickly as possible before Abel noticed, and turn the tide in her favor.
Abel aimed straight for Lady Khali's vital point.
Since he had played his hand sooner than in the past life, it was impossible to tell what outcome this would lead to.
Zieg asked Luno again, “Where did the intelligence you mentioned come from?”
Luno looked troubled. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly opened his mouth.
“It is top-secret information. Could you please ask the others to step back?”
When Zieg nodded, his companions quickly withdrew from the area.
Once the others were out of earshot, Luno finally spoke.
“This is originally confidential, but considering that you, Sir Zieg Dreker, are in an alliance with our Commander, I shall tell you.”
He hesitated for a moment longer before speaking.
“It was intelligence sent from the Black Fog Unit.”
“From the Black Fog Unit?”
Zieg was taken aback by the completely unexpected answer.
Luno continued, “By any chance, do you know about the Left Wing of the Black Fog Unit?”
Zieg shook his head.
No matter how knowledgeable he was, even he didn't know the internal organizational structure of the Dreker Black Fog Unit. It was an organization shrouded in such secrecy, with strict information management, that even the Syndicate couldn't find a single opening to pry into.
Luno spoke cautiously.
“The Left Wing of the Black Fog Unit is responsible for intelligence. One of the higher-ups there contacted the Commander directly and provided the information.”
Intelligence from the Black Fog Unit, huh?
If it was information from the Black Fog Unit, it made sense why Khali would fall for it.
Then, Luno revealed an even more shocking fact.
“I heard that the Black Fog operative who provided the intelligence was the third direct descendant.”
“The third direct descendant? Could it be...?”
Luno nodded.
Following Khali, Abel, and Helen, the third sibling had revealed himself.
Zieg tried to recall memories regarding the third sibling.
What was his name again? Right, Bacchus. Even in my past life, I think I only saw him once when we were very young before entering the Cradle, and never saw him again.
The reason Zieg couldn't clearly remember Bacchus Dreker was that Bacchus had never made a name for himself as a knight.
Unlike Helen, who made a name for herself as the Knight of Steel after Khali’s death, or Abel, who gained infamy as the Knight of Slaughter, Zieg had never heard any news about Bacchus.
If he joined the Black Fog Unit, discarded the Dreker name, and had his identity wiped, that would make sense.
The personal details of the Black Fog members were the ultimate secret within the Dreker house.
Even a direct bloodline member would be treated the exact same as any other operative once they joined the Black Fog Unit.
Zieg asked Luno, “Even if that Black Fog operative is a direct descendant, it's surprising that Lady Khali took such a risk based on it.”
“I felt the same way... but in any case, the Commander seemed to believe his information was trustworthy.”
It seemed there was a bond between Khali and Bacchus that Zieg was unaware of.
I can't quite remember which family Bacchus's mother came from. What if that side is also affiliated with Siemens, and Bacchus's intelligence was meant to lure Khali into a trap?
Abel's side could have fed forged intelligence to Bacchus to pass along to Khali, or Bacchus himself could be one of Abel's men.
In his past life, Abel was able to eliminate Khali through this very trap and rise to become the head of the Dreker family.
This trap was essentially Abel's ultimate move, created with utmost care.
If he had even brought Bacchus—whom Khali trusted—under his control to set this trap, it meant that behind the scenes, Abel's power was already surpassing Khali's.
Treachery is most effective when it strikes from where it hurts most. I can't afford to let my guard down.
Concluding that he needed to look further into Bacchus, Zieg stood up.
He looked at Luno and said, “I doubt you would, but do not breathe a word of what you told me today to anyone else. Do you understand, Sir Luno?”
At Zieg’s sharp, chilling voice, Luno nodded his head nervously.
Sending Luno back to the ship to recover as well, Zieg gathered his companions and headed toward the cave where the Shark Dragons were located.
The skeletons summoned by Richmond had already set up a basic campsite.
Setting up base camp, Zieg explained the plan to his companions.
“Sir Khali and the Silver Knights should be somewhere on this island. We must find Sir Khali and ensure her safety.”
Just then, Klone raised his hand and asked Zieg, “By the way, who are the enemies we're dealing with here? Surely not the monsters living on this island?”
Zieg shook his head and said, “No, not the monsters. You can consider every single soul on this island—except for Khali Dreker—as our enemy.”
At those words, Farel also raised his hand to ask a question.
“Are you saying there are forces from more than one faction stationed on this island?”
“Good question, Sir Farel. Pirates who came seeking treasure, imperial hounds, Abel’s Red Knights, and dark mages are essentially guaranteed to be crawling around here.”
At Zieg’s words, Felix’s face turned pale.
“M-My Lord... Should I just stay behind and guard this place? Someone needs to guard it...”
“Yes, this place needs guarding, but that someone isn't you, Felix. The Shark Dragons will guard it on their own, so don't worry about useless things and use your legs.”
“Sob. Yes, sir.”
Since the island was larger than expected, they decided to split into three groups to search.
Klone, Felix, and Liam were in one group, while Farel, Diego, and Aster formed another.
“Divide the island by sectors and search. If you spot enemies, do not engage. Fall back and mark their positions. If an engagement occurs, fire a signal flare.”
Zieg sent Klone’s group along the coastline to the left, Farel’s group to the right, and decided to cut straight through the forest toward the center himself.
Since it was impossible to tell what trap Abel had laid out, the key was to find Khali as quickly as possible.
The companions dispersed toward their assigned sectors.
Right after, Zieg summoned Richmond, who was hidden in his shadow.
“Richmond, you’re coming with me.”
“M-My Lord, I thought I was guarding this place, was I not?”
“...Why would you guard an empty camp? The Shark Dragons and Gulav will guard this place fine on their own, so stop complaining and follow me.”
After summoning Gulav, Zieg took Richmond and stepped deeper into the forest.
Perhaps because the Island of the Sea God had been hidden from human eyes for a long time, many creatures he had never seen before inhabited the area.
“Whoa, Master! Did you see that lizard over there? Its body color keeps changing!”
Richmond was deeply interested not only in monsters but in all kinds of creatures.
While scolding Richmond and searching for tracks, Zieg suddenly sensed a suspicious presence up ahead.
Zieg paused his steps and summoned a phantom soldier to scout ahead.
Sharing his vision with the phantom soldier, Zieg was able to observe a group of figures in front of him.
To his surprise, there was someone he hadn't expected to see at all.
A man with heavily curled hair, a mustache, and a beard that nearly covered his face.
Bastian? Why on earth is that bastard here?
Bastian was none other than the supreme boss of the Favela Cartel.
After Matteo, the second-in-command of the Favela Cartel, died by Zieg’s hands, the boss, Bastian, had completely vanished without a trace.
To completely crush the Favela Cartel, Zieg had tried to track down Bastian, but he moved so fast that even the Syndicate couldn't catch his tail in the end.
Although he hadn't been able to kill Bastian, because all of the Favela Cartel's infrastructure had been destroyed, the organization was effectively collapsed.
Yet he never expected to discover Bastian, the boss of the Favela Cartel, in a place like this.
If Bastian is here, the pirates who followed the Favela Cartel must have been brought along too.
This was likely another trap set up by Abel.
Since the Favela Cartel was a drug syndicate formed by South Sea pirates who were scattered due to Khali’s exploits, they held a deep grudge against her.
It would be just like Abel to incite Bastian into killing Khali.
I'll know the details once I capture and interrogate him.
Zieg summoned more phantom soldiers to survey the surroundings.
He needed to figure out how many forces besides Bastian were present on this island.
Just then, another group appeared near Bastian's crowd.
They were bastards Zieg knew all too well.
Damn hounds.
The Imperial hounds—who never missed an event like this—had also revealed themselves.