Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Hidden Piece (1)
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“Watch your step. It’s dark.”
The stairs stretched on endlessly.
Without lanterns, they descended cautiously, hands pressed against the wall.
Their footsteps echoed through the darkness.
“Do you know what this building is used for?”
“Judging by the look of it, I’d say a supply warehouse.”
“As expected, sharp as ever. Precisely, it’s a warehouse that once stored military supplies. A place infused with Lady Spera’s ambitions.”
Cardo smiled.
Even without the lady present, he used honorifics—truly a born slave.
In any case, Bran knew this location.
He knew it wasn’t merely being used as a warehouse anymore.
“The reason I brought you here is because you seem poised to become squad leader soon. It’s easier to hand over the reins in advance.”
“I have no intention of becoming squad leader.”
“Your intentions don’t matter. The higher-ups appoint the leader anyway. Age and experience are irrelevant—as long as you get the job done well... Ah. We’re here.”
Cardo came to a halt.
There was another door.
This one was an iron gate emblazoned with the Crow Bandits’ emblem, far sturdier than the one above.
When Cardo pulled the handle, red light flooded out.
“Hmm.”
Bran frowned.
It wasn’t particularly bright, but after half a month living in darkness, it felt like a blinding flash to him.
“This is...”
Bran slowly took in his surroundings.
It was a fairly spacious area.
Scattered debris everywhere attested to its past as a warehouse.
The red light seeped from beyond the opposite corner.
Yeah. I figured it’d reek like this.
But Bran hadn’t frowned solely because of the light.
A revolting stench permeated the room.
Sour and fishy—the smell of death.
Cardo spoke up.
“Heh, nasty smell, huh?”
“It’s fine.”
“Tough guy. I puked my guts out the first time I came in.”
He was already wearing a mask.
To Bran, who had left his gas mask back at the dorm, it felt downright unfair.
He never wanted to smell it again.
The stench emanated from a pile of sacks in the corner of the warehouse.
Cardo trudged over and picked one up.
“Here, take it.”
Bran accepted the sack.
It was quite heavy. The lumpy mass inside felt unpleasant through the fabric.
The sack’s mouth hung loosely open.
Peering inside, Bran raised an eyebrow.
“A corpse?”
A pale body lay curled within.
Emaciated. A man in his mid-forties.
Dried like it had been preserved, yet the deathly odor lingered.
Every sack contained a corpse.
Seeing Bran’s impassive reaction, Cardo let out a hollow chuckle.
“Not even startled by this? Is your heart twice the size of a normal one?”
“I’ve seen plenty of corpses before.”
“You’re one weird bastard. Anyway, now I’ll explain your job. Follow me.”
Cardo hoisted a sack.
The two headed toward the red light.
Turning the corner from before revealed a new space.
“Here we are.”
It resembled a film development room, bathed in crimson light.
A large hole in the floor immediately drew the eye.
Perhaps three meters in diameter.
The red light emanated from within.
Cardo stopped about ten paces from the hole.
“Newbie. Where do you think that hole leads?”
“No idea.”
“To the heart of Harmeno’s stem. Countless people died digging deep enough to keep the sap’s poison from rising. Lucky for me, it all happened before I arrived.”
Bran listened in silence.
Most of it he already knew, but there was potential for new information if luck held.
“And a monster lives down there.”
“A monster?”
“Yeah. One that gnaws at Harmeno’s innards. It prowls the thick stem like it’s its home, rotting the tree from within. That’s why our tree grows so slowly.”
He was right.
Surprisingly, the Harmeno in the Underground Farm wasn’t particularly healthy.
The fact that it still hadn’t broken through the surface was proof enough.
A tree in normal condition would have made even bark peeling far more difficult.
“But here’s the kicker—that monster was brought in by Lady Spera.”
“What?”
“True story. She paid a fortune for it and tossed it down there.”
Bran’s eyes widened.
Fresh information at last.
He’d assumed it had simply taken up residence on its own.
But the reason was obvious.
“...To stunt Harmeno’s growth.”
“How the hell did you figure that out?”
“If the tree gets exposed to the outside, the Crow Bandits are finished. By rights, Harmeno and the Three Dragon Trees are national assets managed by the state. The moment it’s discovered, the Imperial Knights will swarm in.”
And that would be the end.
Not even every last Crow Bandit charging in could defeat a single Imperial Knight.
The day their log earnings from Harmeno were exposed, the Crow Bandits would go from border rabble to heaven-defying traitors.
“Unbelievable. How do you know all this shit?”
“Heard it here and there.”
“What the... Whatever. Makes it easier for me.”
Cardo sighed.
He seemed too annoyed to keep prying.
“Anyway, our job is feeding the monster. With these corpses we’re carrying. Since meat rots, we only need to feed it once every five days.”
“Corpses of slaves who died working the Underground Farm?”
“More or less. Occasional exceptions.”
“Exceptions...”
“Enough chit-chat. You first. Just dump the corpse from the sack into the hole.”
Cardo grinned, pointing at the hole.
It looked like a friendly smile on the surface, but malice lurked beneath.
Time to drop the act.
Bran spoke.
“No thanks.”
“What?”
“You go first, squad leader. You’ve demonstrated everything else step by step—why skip this one?”
“...You talking back to me?”
“You could say that. Shall I guess why you want me to go first? You’re scared I’ll shove you in from behind.”
Bran set down his sack.
“Scared I’ll do to you exactly what you had planned for me.”
“You...!”
“You brought me here to kill me. Drop the pretense, Cardo.”
The sudden informal speech twisted Cardo’s face.
Bran stood face-to-face with him.
“For a guy built like a mountain, you’re tighter than a mouse’s shithole.”
“...You son of a bitch!”
Cardo stumbled back hastily.
Coward, as expected. He’d lured him well enough.
“I caught on ages ago. You’ve hated me from the start. A fresh-faced kid showing up with the gas mask—symbol of favor.”
“What? You knew?”
“Would be weirder if I didn’t. You’re the only one still calling me ‘newbie.’”
Bran clenched his fist, then released it.
Each crack made Cardo’s shoulders twitch.
“I could’ve beaten you senseless the moment we entered the warehouse, but I held back. Figured even a pathetic worm like you might have a shred of humanity left. Didn’t think you’d actually try to kill a kid way younger than you.”
Bran growled.
“But you, Cardo—you dashed even my last shred of hope.”
“Haha... Spare me the bullshit, newbie. Shut up and do what I say.”
Cardo reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a crude piece of metal—a handmade knife, blunt on one side and sharp on the other.
“No matter how strong you are, one stab and you’re done. Don’t want to end up a pincushion? Jump into the hole right now.”
“Ha... You’re truly pitiful. Absolutely pathetic.”
“What?”
“No reason to live, is there? No gas mask, not even a proper dagger. What the hell did you get out of bending over for Delgato?”
Bran snickered.
Cardo’s eyes nearly bulged out.
“You...!”
“Huh? What’d you gain? Aside from a squad leader spot worse than class president. A bruised apple would fetch more than your ass.”
Bran slapped his own butt.
Cardo’s face flushed crimson as he trembled, then charged with a roar.
“You little shit! I’ll rip you apart!”
“Fuck. Really struck a nerve.”
Bran was taken aback.
Just a wild guess, and he’d uncovered something he’d rather not know.
Cardo closed the distance swiftly and thrust the blade.
“Die!”
Bran countered calmly.
His stance was awkward.
Great physique, but as a fighter, he was worse than Mog.
Thwack!
Twisting his shoulder to dodge the thrust, Bran drove a straight punch into Cardo’s gut.
“Guhk!”
Cardo staggered.
Nausea welled up. The dull impact pierced his thick abs and rattled his organs.
A blow amplified by his own charging momentum!
Yet his build held; Cardo quickly regained his footing.
“Cocky little bastard!”
Bran expected a punch, but no.
Cardo swiftly dipped into his pocket, pulled out a vial, and hurled it at Bran’s feet.
Crash!
Glass shattered, releasing a burst of white gas.
Cardo retreated rapidly.
Bran, about to pursue, flinched.
“This is...”
It wasn’t ordinary smoke.
His throat and nasal passages burned with cold.
The inhaled air felt like it was freezing his lungs. His heart raced wildly.
A symptom he’d experienced before.
Surviving continuously in a hazardous environment. Tenacity of the Weed activates!
Resistance to plant-based toxins slightly increases.
Cardo’s laughter echoed through the white haze.
“Hah... Cough! You think I’d come unprepared to face a freak like you?!”
Coughing mixed in, but he sounded relatively fine.
Thanks to the mask, unlike Bran.
The swirling white powder was frost mushroom spores.
A narcotic crop cultivated in the Underground Farm.
Main symptoms: elevated heart rate, heightened focus, and pain like licking ice.
Suddenly, the haze on the side parted as Cardo lunged out.
“Die!”
He gripped the blade firmly.
A vile grin twisted his lips, brimming with confidence in victory.
Natural enough. The agony from frost mushrooms was intense enough for crowd control.
As the knife sliced toward his throat, Bran turned to face him.
“You’re truly hopeless.”
“What...”
“Try acting like a man for once. What the hell is this?”
Cardo froze.
Bran was unscathed.
Snot streamed from his nose, but his eyes glared unwaveringly.
Grabbing the wrist of the knife hand, Bran kicked out at Cardo’s knee.
Crack!!
A gruesome tearing sound rang out as Cardo’s right leg buckled backward.
“Kuaaaaak!”
A wretched scream erupted.
Cardo writhed on the ground.
White bone had shredded through his pants and protruded.
Wailing like a newborn, Cardo looked up at Bran.
“Hic... H-how?!”
“This much is tolerable now.”
Bran said calmly.
There was pain, but nothing unbearable.
Compared to Harmeno’s sap, frost mushroom spores were little more than a mild allergy.
The dwarf hazing had contributed too.
The white haze was slowly settling.
Ptui. Bran spat out saliva laced with spores and looked down at Cardo.
“So. All done?”
“A-aaaah...!”
Cardo’s face drained of color.
He reached out a hand, but Bran ignored it and delivered a kick to his face.
Smack!
Teeth popped out like popcorn kernels, flying through the air.
“Ugh!”
Cardo toppled backward.
The blade slipped from his hand with a clear clink.
Struggling to prop himself up, he clutched his face and sobbed.
“M-my face... My face...!”
His nose was twisted in an unnatural direction.
Over seven teeth glittered on the floor.
Bran strode forward.
“Come here. Time for more.”
“Eeeek!”
Cardo fell flat on his ass and scrambled backward.
Retreating like a rat, he soon had the hole at his back.
“W-wait, Bran! Hold on!”
“No.”
“I-I’m sorry! I did something unforgivable! Right?!”
Cardo clasped his hands like a fly begging abjectly.
Tears and snot streamed down; no trace of a squad leader’s dignity remained.
Bran shook his head.
“If you planned to kill someone, you should’ve been prepared to die yourself.”
“If you kill me, they won’t let it slide! You’ll be torn apart too!”
“Same excuse you were gonna use. Dropped while feeding—oh well?”
“N-no! Please! I’ll stay quiet as a mouse, just this once... Guk.”
That was when it happened.
Cardo, mid-plea for mercy, froze in place.
“Uh...?”
Cardo slowly lowered his gaze.
A milky-white tentacle had pierced clean through his abdomen.
Bran cursed.
“Ah, damn it.”
“Urk. Ugh.”
Blood bubbled from Cardo’s mouth.
The tentacle connected back to the hole.
Another tendril rose slowly, coiling around his face.
“......Bran... Kuk! Save me...”
Cardo tried to speak.
Splat!
A shape burst from the hole and engulfed him.
“......!”
Not even a dying scream remained.
Bran’s brow furrowed.
It resembled the previous tentacles but was dozens of times larger.
Covered head to toe in Harmeno’s sap, it evoked a parasite freshly yanked from entrails.
Presence of an otherworldly being crushes down on you!
Afflicted with abnormal status ‘Fear’.
Physical abilities are decreased.
【Kirurururu...】
It slowly peeled its mouth from the floor.
The four-pronged maw brimmed with razor-sharp teeth.
Where Cardo had been lay only a pool of blood, slime, and three or four severed fingers.
“...Must’ve been drawn by the frost mushroom spores.”
Bran gritted his teeth.
He recognized it. Though he’d never faced it when this weak.
Slim tentacles connected to its body writhed like hunting serpents.
Seven eyes scattered across its form scanned the surroundings, rolling wildly.
The moment it finished its meal and looked down at Bran...
Strong mental fortitude resists Fear!
Abnormal status ‘Fear’ is released.
Some decreased physical abilities are restored!
His pounding heartbeat grew louder.
“Huu... Huuu...”
Ragged breaths echoed.
Harmeno’s monster.
True name: Dementia Serpent.
In some ways, a tougher foe than Spera or Delgato.
“Talk about rotten luck...”
Bran muttered.
This wasn’t supposed to happen now.
He’d planned to hunt it at the tail end of his escape.
But the plan had gone completely off the rails.
Subpar stats.
A body worn down by overwork and sleep deprivation.
The worst situation—no backup to call, no chance to flee.
That’s why Bran didn’t retreat.
There was nothing more foolish than a cornered man showing fear.
Bran grinned.
“Nice to meet you, Hidden Piece.”
【Kirururururu!】
The Dementia Serpent roared.
Bran kicked off the ground and charged.
The serpent lunged with its maw agape, but Bran evaded by a razor-thin margin.
Splash!
Grabbing a small tentacle, Bran mounted the serpent and jammed Cardo’s blade deep.