Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Samarkand Underground
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A sorcerer who had lost one arm.
I figured he'd be distraught after losing part of his body.
But instead, he was utterly entranced by a sight far more astonishing than his missing limb.
The young leopard known as the Eastern hegemon and a member of the imperial family.
The princess who had looked down on every man was pressed right up against one knight.
"You can drop the lover act now."
I looked down at Lydia, who was clinging so close our shoulders brushed.
But she smirked and met my gaze boldly.
"What are you talking about? Even without Hakim, my presence here is a secret from the people."
The princess chuckled as she replied.
Since things had come to this, she seemed intent on teasing me with some burdensome display of affection.
"Going to Hakim's hideout will be even more dangerous."
I turned toward the sorcerer as I spoke.
The quick-witted man hurried over to me.
He handed over a map that had only been shared among Hakim's subordinates.
"Th-that's... His Highness the prince's hideout, as I mentioned."
I subtly slipped out from beside the princess.
Then I examined the sorcerer's nest on the map.
"Look at this... No wonder it's so hard to find even if you tear the whole city apart."
Lydia lifted the edge of her robe and came over to me.
She frowned at the tunnel diagram marked on the map.
"This is an abandoned mine from the early days of Eastern construction. To think they expanded it into a city..."
Total personnel around 100.
Of them, 20 elite knights guarding Hakim.
All at the level of vanguard captains, so probably around Tau's strength before he trained under me.
'Well, that's nothing I can't sweep away at my current level.'
The problem was the former Eastern Knight Order Captain among them.
Thirty years ago, a fierce general who crossed over from the Sammad Empire in the East and aided the emperor.
They said the number of enemy soldiers who fell to his hand was in the hundreds.
In my previous life, Lydia's army had taken him down after a grueling battle, so I never faced him myself.
But in this life, it was up to me alone.
"Your Highness."
"Speak."
"I'll go to this underground city by myself."
At my words, the princess and the sorcerer both looked up in unison.
They gazed up at me with bewildered expressions.
"What are you saying? Of course we'll strike with my knights!"
I shook my head.
Pointing to the narrow underground entrance marked on the map.
"No, if we attack the entrance with a large force right away, we'll suffer heavy casualties in the tight passages."
This tunnel was a strategic chokepoint.
Perfect terrain for a small force to hold off a much larger one.
"So, it's far more efficient for me to slip in alone and take the enemy commander's head."
"No matter how strong you are, do you think that's feasible? Inside there are Hakim's elite soldiers..."
The princess tried to persuade me with worried eyes.
But I replied to her with a faint smile.
"Don't worry. I'm stronger."
The moment she heard that.
Lydia stared up at me, speechless and dazed.
"Your confidence rivals my father's, at least."
For some reason, the princess lifted the corner of her mouth in relief.
"Very well. Then let's do it this way."
The princess reached into her bosom.
She pulled out a red ruby necklace she had tucked against her chest.
"This is a heirloom of mine. It holds a special energy that lets my sorcerers track its location."
The princess leaned in so close I could feel her breath.
And then...
"I'll lend it to you, so wear it well. If you get in danger, my knights will come rushing to help."
She draped it around my neck.
I gazed down intently at the ruby now hanging there.
A color like Lydia's eyes.
I lifted the corner of my mouth in response.
"Understood. Thank you for your concern."
"What concern? This is all just part of the strategy."
The princess turned her head away sharply.
Then she moved off a good distance to write a note for a messenger bird.
"There are two exits marked on the map. Your Highness, just have your knights surround their escape routes."
"So be it."
The princess scribbled the message with swift strokes.
Then she whistled, tied it to a golden eagle that came at her call, and sent it off.
"Then I'll be off with this one."
I grabbed the shoulder of the one-armed sorcerer.
"Be careful. Hakim is a卑劣 fellow."
The princess watched me go with a worried gaze.
"He might try to pull you to his side with his greed."
"Don't worry."
I tucked the necklace, still warm from her body heat, into my chest.
Then, hands behind my back, I had the sorcerer lead the way.
"From today, he'll never see the sunlight again."
Lydia wore a bittersweet smile, half worried, half trusting.
"I'll be waiting."
She watched my receding figure silently, her tone a little different.
"..."
The underground city was hidden in a cliff near the entertainment district.
The path there was quite crowded.
On the way, a display of masks caught my eye.
I picked up a black fox mask.
"Perfect for an ambush."
I slipped it on my face as if it were mine all along, quite naturally.
The mask merchant and the sorcerer both stared at me.
"What are you doing? Pay up."
I looked down at him with black eyes.
Startled, he hurriedly paid the merchant.
"Y-yes...!"
With my face covered, I strode ahead into the crowd leisurely.
"Um... Sir Knight."
"What is it, our bat sorcerer."
The sorcerer, who had betrayed twice now, flinched.
He wiped the sweat beading on his forehead and asked cautiously.
"May I ask why you're wearing the mask?"
"Good question."
I turned my head.
Lifted the mask slightly and said.
"I might have to cut down a lot of people today, unwillingly."
The lifeless black eyes of the fox.
The sorcerer swallowed hard, listening intently.
"So, shouldn't I step forward not as a sacred empire knight, but as an avenger?"
In truth, it was to account for the crown prince's spies.
If Hakim reported my identity to Leon during the subjugation, it'd be trouble.
"I see... Understood."
He bowed his head after hearing me.
Having confirmed my strength already, he harbored no doubts.
Soon we passed the bustling entertainment district and reached a secluded cliff.
He fumbled through the dense thicket.
When he stomped hard on a protruding stone slab...
A intense blue light flashed from the otherwise solid outer wall.
"Come in."
The sorcerer conjured a flame in his remaining palm.
He led the way into the dim passage.
At the end of the dark tunnel, bright light appeared.
We soon arrived to find a vast underground city unfolding before us.
"This is Hakim's underground city, Samarkand."
The ceiling was sealed with earth, not a single ray of sunlight penetrating.
Yet there was a mysterious cave breeze from who-knows-where, and well-constructed buildings.
Seen like this, the underground city seemed worth living in.
Of course, excluding the swarm of Hakim's knights waiting for us at the passage entrance.
"What is it? Were you all waiting for me?"
I said with a relaxed expression.
But they gave no reply.
"Hearing that a prince of imperial blood was hiding in such a dingy hole, I came to see... How pitiful."
They merely gripped their weapons and aimed them at me.
"Where is he? I should meet him in person and offer some pity."
The knights glared at me in the fox mask with murderous intent.
But soon, they had no choice but to step back in unison.
"Did you call for me?"
The Eastern prince, who had been waiting ahead, answered from afar.
"For our rare guest, clear a path."
At his voice, the knights split into two lines.
Opening a wide passage to the prince.
'Certainly elite knights— their movements are swift and organized.'
Military force enough to defy Lydia.
"Come up. I've been waiting for you."
I raised my head stiffly toward the voice.
At the end of the opened passage stood a tall mound.
Atop it was a pavilion.
Like a heavenly temple where gods feasted.
"You, retreat to the passage."
The sorcerer backed into the dark tunnel at my command.
He no longer followed Hakim.
"..."
Killing stares followed me the whole way.
Ignoring them, I ascended to the pavilion leisurely.
'He's really living it up.'
The table up close was even more ridiculous.
A lavish spread on the precarious pavilion.
Foods as splendid and luxurious as a mythic banquet.
And beautiful women flanking both sides.
The underground city was essentially Hakim's paradise.
'If this guy regains power, the East will be quite the sight.'
"Wearing a mask, eh? You're an interesting one."
I raised my head toward his deep voice.
At last, I faced the First Eastern Prince who had drawn me all the way here.
Black hair tied in a topknot and swept back.
And red eyes identical to Lydia's and Vanessa's.
Anyone could see they shared the same mother, siblings.
But his eyes lacked Lydia's vitality.
While hers sparkled like red rubies, his were murky like bloodied water.
"Welcome to my city."
Dressed in long-sleeved robes, he spread his arms wide.
Gazing at me arrogantly, as if showing off his world.
"I've known you were coming here for quite some time."
"Yes, the former Eastern Knight Captain must have told you."
I rolled my eyes beneath the mask, a smile on my lips.
Gazing at the middle-aged man quietly drinking in the corner of the table.
White hair, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
But a bear-like massive build and the golden mana emanating around him...
A swordmaster, like me.
A fully mature one.
"Quite the power for such a young age."
The old warrior who once ruled the world alongside the Conqueror King flashed golden eyes.
Piercing my mana as if seeing through it.
"What trials did you endure to grow so strong so fast?"
I snorted at the former captain's question.
"While you were boozing and sleeping, I kept training."
He must have been formidable in the past.
But now, sunk in luxury and indulgence, the mana that should shine was thoroughly dulled.
"Pity the captain met the wrong master and ended up like this."
I clicked my tongue.
Sitting across from Hakim, I swirled my glass.
"Pour me a drink. For your rotten carcass's sake, at least one round."
The middle-aged captain's eye twitched at my words.
"This brat..."
He began wrapping his arm in golden mana.
Ready to strike me dead any second.
"Now, now, Captain. How many times have I said I hate blood at drinking parties?"
Hakim patted the old man's shoulder to rein him in.
Then he laughed heartily at me.
"Let's drink first and slowly unravel each other's goals—"
Hakim snapped his fingers demonstratively.
From below the pavilion came the soft rustle of silk.
"You called, Your Highness?"
Black- and white-haired women in Eastern-style dresses with beautiful patterns.
They bowed demurely, then sat at my sides unbidden.
"A drinking party needs eye candy for appetizers."
They began pouring into my glass.
Exuding a seductive perfume.
Hakim slapped the shoulder of the stunning woman beside him.
Sliding his fingers into her bosom as he spoke.
"How about it? Drinking with the finest Eastern beauties?"
He stared at me with arrogant eyes.
Downed his glass and said.
"Doesn't it loosen you up a bit?"
I alternated glances between his glass and the women at my sides.
Indeed, as he said, both were national treasures.
The black-haired woman brimmed with vitality.
A friendly beauty that could make even a man worn by hard life smile.
The white-haired woman was pure and ethereal.
With even her eyelids white, a mysterious, feminine allure that made you want to protect her.
I gently placed hands on the shoulders of these two exceeding beauties.
Hakim chuckled in satisfaction.
"As expected of someone who knows how to enjoy. I liked you from the moment I saw the fox mask among all those beasts."
But.
I felt none of their skin.
"Not sure if they're the finest."
Instead, I concentrated blue mana in my palms.
Purging the aphrodisiac tainting their bodies entirely.
"Compared to the women I've known, they're nothing special—"
The women, freed from the drug, looked bewildered.
Then they caught my black pupils gleaming through the mask and scrambled back.
"At least those ladies never offered drugged drinks."
Hakim's smile vanished at my words.
The captain, who had watched my delicate mana control, too.
"Why the long faces? Weren't we going to enjoy?"
I gazed fondly at their stares.
"No women now, so pour the drinks yourself."
I've always loved highborn criminals, after all.
Half-talk and insults to them? Innocent.
"Hakim."
And if attempting imperial assassination.
Killing them? Innocent too.