Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Disintegrating Plan
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After the mysterious assailants fled, Pablo, the imperial deputy commander leading the troops from Kerman Fortress, flew into a rage and assembled the soldiers.
"All units, cease combat! I need to have a word with the Carrot Duchy commander!"
As Pablo withdrew his forces, the fighting came to a halt. He stepped forward and shouted toward the Carrot Duchy's border barrier.
"Carrot Duchy commander! This is Pablo, First Deputy Commander of the Imperial Border Guard! Were you really in league with those bastards just now!?"
Haper, the Carrot Duchy border guard deputy commander, and Baren, who had come for support, exchanged brief glances.
Half of it was true, and half was not.
Fortunately, the imperial soldiers didn't know that the Bunny tribe woman who had fled with that group was their princess, Ravi.
Thanks to the tip Ravi had given them, the two commanders coordinated their response without bickering, speaking in unison.
"Are you accusing us of colluding with the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries right now!? Have some shame! We've been saying all along that we've never killed any of your soldiers, but you're the ones who wouldn't listen!"
"That's...!"
"Or is it because there was one Bunny tribeswoman in that group that you're pinning it on us this time!? By that logic, there were two humans there, so does that mean we can insult you by calling it an imperial false flag operation!? Those people have absolutely nothing to do with us! It's obvious they were scheming to provoke conflict between our two nations!"
Just as Ravi had instructed, they shifted the blame toward Alvis while matching their stories, but guilt weighed so heavily on them that they could barely lift their heads.
'We're so sorry, Princess! And forgive us, young man named Alvis! Please forgive us...'
They hated having to slander their own princess as a member of a band of murderers and deny the human youth who had greatly helped them.
But since it was Ravi's will, they followed through.
"We're lucky there were no casualties on our side, so if the Empire halts the engagement and withdraws, we won't pursue any further responsibility! Don't cause pointless sacrifices—pull back immediately!"
The Carrot Duchy firmly denied any involvement. Moreover, it had been revealed that the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries themselves carried insignia, and Pablo had clearly seen them fleeing into imperial territory. There was no reason for him to waste resources in a pointless skirmish with the Carrot Duchy here.
Pablo withdrew his soldiers while shouting.
"All forces, leave only the standard garrison personnel and retreat! Disable the crystal orb communication jamming spell and notify all border outposts! The Ebony Shadow Mercenaries were staging false flag operations to incite conflict with the Carrot Duchy! Cease combat immediately, leave only garrisons, and withdraw forces from all outposts! Report this to Central Command at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
The imperial communications were carried out swiftly, and soon Pablo's intelligence reached every outpost along the Carrot Duchy border.
The remaining Ebony Shadow Mercenaries scattered here and there panicked at the sudden change and contacted each other through their own channels.
"Hey, word is the imperial army's pulling back from the border."
"Our infiltration got exposed. How the hell...? No issues on our end..."
"What idiots blew their cover so blatantly!? Didn't they know this was a stealth op!?"
"If the imperials fully withdraw, it'll be tough for us to pull anything off alone. Now that our plot's out in the open, the same tricks won't work..."
"What do we do? Any orders from Sophia or O'Brien?"
"Nothing yet. If this was an unexpected snag, they'd have given directions by now..."
"Looks like they're tacitly telling us to lay low and return without drawing attention. Something must've changed. Let's regroup at the hideout and talk it over."
Blissfully unaware that Sophia and O'Brien were dead, the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries assumed their identities had been compromised somewhere and quietly slipped away, disguised as imperial soldiers, heading back to base.
Somewhere in a dark, dank underground chamber.
"What? The imperial army's withdrawing from the Carrot Duchy border? What nonsense is this!"
"I told you to escalate and expand the front, and now the imperials are pulling back!? Hey, Darius! How the hell have you been managing your subordinates!?"
At those words, Darius, boss of the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries, replied in a frightened, hasty voice.
"Th-that can't be! I clearly ordered Sophia and O'Brien to assassinate imperial soldiers in a way that made it look like Carrot Duchy work until all-out war broke out between the nations, and everything was proceeding smoothly without issue! How could this suddenly...?"
Darius, leader of the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries, had been summoned here abruptly and was getting chewed out for reasons he couldn't fathom.
"I'll check right now! Using the communication crystal orbs you provided..."
Then Bastol, a member of the Underground Vermin with a long white beard, shook his head.
"No need. There's an indirect way to confirm it right here. Dantalion."
At Bastol's words, a hulking brute twice the size of a normal man, with a beastly appearance, gestured in the air, summoning something.
A crimson pattern that resembled a magic circle but exuded an entirely different, ominous aura from magic floated up, soon blazing even brighter red.
But nothing happened from the pattern, and the red glow quickly faded.
The giant called Dantalion ground his teeth with a growl.
"No retrieval."
"You mean the power we implanted?"
"Not even a flicker. The very power we embedded in them has been completely washed away. The only thing capable of that is... the power of the goddess."
At those words, Robert—who was disguised as deputy commander of the Goddess's Sword Unit—asked.
"So those two are dead?"
"They wouldn't have let it be taken peacefully, so yes. It has to be that apostle of the goddess again."
Dantalion trembled with rage, stomped the ground, and slammed both fists down.
The unbound iron chains on his arms and legs clanked heavily.
"Again, again, again that bastard! He wrecked the dungeon I was using as a lab, the blood and flesh from Arborness that should have come to me was half what it should've been, the creature my sorcery created there vanished— all his doing! And now this interference!!!"
"He definitely cleared out the gargoyle cave in the Fresia Mountains on the sly too."
"Vector fell to him as well. Even if we can't fully wield our power yet, that was beyond expectations."
Bastol and Robert chimed in, and the gathering underground let out displeased groans.
"If we leave him be, it'll never end. If we keep letting that guy run loose—"
『It could all go up in smoke... Is that what you were about to say?』
A low, resonant voice echoed from the deeper darkness.
At that voice, not only Darius the Ebony Shadow Mercenaries leader, but even Bastol, Robert, and the toughest-looking Dantalion flinched.
Bastol sweated profusely, desperately soothing the voice in the darkness.
"Th-that will never happen, O Exalted One."
『Plans have already been disrupted multiple times, and yet you dare claim it won't happen? You've survived this long among your rabble because you're the most capable and vile of the lot.
I watched over you for ages, telling you to use that vile brain to succeed, and now you're going to hand everything to some street rat on the cusp of victory? Do you not know who will bear my wrath if you do?』
"O-of course. How could we forget."
『The very fact that I'm groveling here at your level was triggered by your greed. Don't forget that I haven't incinerated your souls yet only because I need you to achieve my goal. The day your incompetence delays my purpose...』
Kurrr rumble!
The underground cavern shook violently, and everyone prostrated themselves before the voice in the darkness, pleading.
"W-we will succeed without fail! There will be no more failures! Please, have mercy!"
"M-mercy, please!"
An invisible pressure crushed their bodies like they might burst, forcing them all into a prone, four-limbed position without realizing it.
The suffocating pressure vanished in an instant, and they gasped for air, drenched in cold sweat.
『I'll give you half a year.』
The voice in the darkness said quietly.
『Succeed in everything within that time. Quell the goddess's final spasm, eliminate her apostle, reclaim the power. Then perform the ritual to restore my full form. Considering the time I've already granted you, you can't even joke that half a year is short.』
"H-how could we object, O Exalted One."
『I'm already on the verge of going mad with irritation that I can't handle everything alone without leaving this world, so don't provoke me further. My patience is wearing thin...?』
Mid-sentence, the voice in the darkness sensed something and fell silent.
『A guest has arrived. I'll go greet them. Heed my warning.』
After the voice in the darkness vanished somewhere, the Underground Vermin and Darius sighed in relief, wiping cold sweat.
"Bastol, some imperial soldiers must have laid eyes on the goddess's apostle. Gather all intel on him and have the emperor issue a wanted order. If we pinpoint who he is, I'll prod this shell's Holy Warrior into issuing an execution order for impersonating one."
"We'll reconvene the moment we have info. Dantalion, if need be, you may have to forcibly unleash your power and fight him outside."
"Music to my ears."
After issuing orders, Bastol called to Darius.
"Darius, the instant Holy Warrior rumors are confirmed, assemble all members and prepare to eliminate him."
"As the client commands."
The voice in the darkness opened a portal to a temple bathed in bright sunlight.
It was night, but no moonlight penetrated this temple—only sunlight shone brilliantly.
Returning to his domain, he opened the door with a kindly smile to greet his "guest."
A pretty woman with flowing blue hair rushed inside in a panic.
"How long has it been? Feels like millennia, Liniaras. First time since that day, right?"
"Solaris! It's bad! Lunarin... Lunarin was taken out by the Underground Vermin! Our last kin in the world was murdered..."
As Linian ran in, blurting that out, she suddenly widened her eyes, halted, entered combat stance, and demanded in disbelief.
"Solaris, you... what are you? Why do you reek of the same aura as those Underground Vermin bastards!?"
The handsome black-haired man with streaks of white, the "Sole Son of the Sun" Solaris, gave a light smile to the blue-haired woman, the "Daughter of the Three Twinkling Stars" Linian.
"That's some sharp greeting for old friends, Liniaras."