Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Stirring Up Trouble (3)
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‘Why me, of all people?’
There were plenty of other Demon King’s subordinates, so why come pick a fight with him?
‘If you’re being chased by the Dark Knight, doesn’t that put me in danger too?’
Getting caught hanging around with a demon reeking of demonic energy?
That was undeniable guilt.
And crucially.
‘If you’re a demon under Duke Kranus of the Demon Dragon Clan, shouldn’t you go to the human contracted with them?’
Why seek out him, the contractor of the unrelated Count Rimonschitz?
“I’ll serve you until you depart.”
Marquis Marius replied through gritted teeth, like swallowing mustard while weeping.
He wanted to kick the guy out right then and there.
But the law was far away, and the fist was close.
“Depart? Who said anything about me leaving?”
“Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for you to rely on Duke Kranus’s contractor?”
“The contractor of his in the Atlantis Dimension has already been wiped out by the Rokto Empire. They’re gone.”
This wasn’t a lie; it was the truth.
“So take good care of me for a while.”
Marquis Marius was at a loss for words at Viscount Karut of the Demon Realm’s words.
How was he to know if “a while” meant a month, a year, or ten years?
“Understood.”
In the end, Marquis Marius had no choice but to take in this Demon Realm viscount as an unwanted comrade-in-arms.
But the new comrade’s rampage exceeded all imagination.
* * *
“You killed Baron Braert?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He was a lowly slave acting all cheeky…”
Marquis Marius felt like his chest might explode.
The other party was a demon.
A Demon Realm noble radiating demonic energy, no less.
Naturally, he couldn’t assign an ordinary person who knew nothing to attend him.
So he had no choice but to entrust the task to the Demon King’s subordinates who shared his secrets.
Yet the subordinates who stepped up to serve him kept dying one after another, day after day.
And the reasons were utterly trivial.
Cheeky, didn’t like him, bad attitude, and so on.
He nitpicked every little thing and killed off the Demon King’s subordinates.
“This is driving me insane.”
The number of Demon King’s subordinates wasn’t that large to begin with.
Moreover, they were all in the midst of demonization, making them Marquis Marius’s secret weapons.
Yet these precious assets were dying off one by one at the hands of someone who could be called an ally—a Demon Realm noble—not even an enemy.
“I need to contact him.”
“With all the watchful eyes, is that wise?”
“No choice. It’s do or die anyway.”
If the uncontrollable demon’s identity was exposed, it was over.
If his comrades all died from the demon’s rampage, it was over too.
In the end, Marquis Marius risked it and attempted communication with his contractor, Count Rimonschitz.
-What is it? Do you have info to share?
After explaining his plight in exhaustive detail to Count Rimonschitz,
-Viscount Karut under Duke Kranus of the Demon Dragon Clan?
“That’s right. Please rein in this damn bastard. At this rate, all my forces will be wiped out.”
-So that’s who was behind all those contract terminations.
“Yes.”
-Arrogant Demon Dragon Clan scum.
Count Rimonschitz ground his teeth.
Clear water flows from a clear source.
If the higher-ups were arrogant, their underlings were the same.
However.
-Just bear with it a little longer.
“Pardon?”
-I can’t just descend and beat him down, can I?
There was no easy solution.
“What if we lodge a complaint with Duke Kranus…”
-Do you think that arrogant Demon Dragon leader would listen to me? Besides, my faction isn’t on good terms with the Demon Dragon Clan.
To be precise, they were mortal enemies.
It wasn’t for nothing that Kang Hyun-soo had disguised Doppelganger No. 1 as a viscount under Duke Kranus, the head of the Demon Dragon Clan.
Through intelligence gathering and the demons turned into summons, Kang Hyun-soo had gained more knowledge about the Demon Realm than before his regression.
That’s why he’d factored in the Demon Realm’s power dynamics for this scheme.
“N-No way.”
Marquis Marius was dumbfounded by the feeble response from his one reliable contractor, Count Rimonschitz.
‘Did I back the wrong horse?’
How could a high-ranking Demon Realm count fail to control a mere lower viscount?
-Try to coax and make use of him for now.
“Pardon? Make use of him, what do you mean?”
-The Demon Dragon Clan is arrogant. Their underlings probably are too. Stroke their ego and exploit them.
“I’ll do my best.”
-If you’re lucky, you might throw him into the fire.
“You mean it’s okay to kill a Demon Realm viscount?”
-Doesn’t matter. He’s under the Demon Dragon Clan, so he’s as good as my enemy anyway.
Marquis Marius’s mind raced at Count Rimonschitz’s words.
‘Use him as much as I want and kill him off?’
That opened up possibilities.
“Understood. But when can we expect reinforcements?”
-Once the Saclant Empire’s main forces and the Dark Knight leave the capital, I’ll lend you power anytime.
Opening a dimensional gate wasn’t a trivial matter.
Unless there were clear gains, he couldn’t waste troops on a foregone defeat.
“I’ll rack my brains on it.”
If he used the cheeky Demon Realm viscount…
He could try a diversion tactic.
-See you later, then.
Communication with Count Rimonschitz cut off.
‘Let’s give it a shot.’
He had permission to exploit or kill the Demon Realm viscount.
‘I’ll make him pay for all the havoc he’s wrought.’
Grinning slyly, Marquis Marius went to meet Viscount Karut of the Demon Realm.
However.
“If you strike here…”
“Don’t wanna.”
“This place has no Dark Knight, perfect for a bloodbath of slaughter…”
“Not going.”
“Are you scared of pathetic humans?”
“Yeah, you’re not scary, but the Dark Knight is.”
Despite Marquis Marius’s fervent persuasion and provocations,
It didn’t even scratch the surface.
Instead.
“But you know, why do I feel like you keep trying to shove me into danger? You wanna die?”
“That’s not it!”
“It’s obvious. I’ll personally educate you so you never think that way again.”
Thwack! Crack!
“Aaaagh!”
Marquis Marius was beaten half to death, bones breaking and half his teeth spilling out.
“If you try any tricks again, I’ll make you suffer worse than this.”
At Viscount Karut of the Demon Realm’s warning,
“Yes, I absolutely won’t!”
Marquis Marius could only snap to attention and reply.
* * *
‘Pulling some scheme, huh.’
Kang Hyun-soo could see right through Marquis Marius’s dark intentions.
So he played along roughly.
But.
‘He could be useful if handled right.’
After the orc and undead legions’ invasions, the Demon King’s army had been eerily quiet.
‘Better to pick them off piecemeal than let them swarm all at once later.’
To do that, he needed to lure the demons into opening dimensional gates and invading.
And for that role.
‘Doppelganger No. 1 can handle it.’
Marquis Marius’s scheme was obvious.
Mutual destruction between the thorn-in-his-side Demon Realm viscount and the Dark Knight.
If not, use the viscount as bait to draw away the Dark Knight and Saclant Empire’s main forces.
‘Information is key, as always.’
With Golden Lord Saemael’s help, Shadow Dark Guild had quickly taken root in the Saclant Empire.
And that wasn’t all.
The doppelgangers Kang Hyun-soo had scattered provided significant aid.
Plus, doppelgangers disguised as close aides to the Demon King’s subordinates were actively gathering intel.
Combine that information?
‘You can see exactly what they’re planning.’
He’d been culling the Demon King’s subordinates by nitpicking excuses.
‘But that’s reaching its limit.’
Now these madmen were throwing slaves into the mix.
‘Kill as many as you want, huh.’
However.
‘Can’t let innocents die.’
Facing Doppelganger No. 1, who reeked of demonic energy, was a death sentence anyway.
Once Doppelganger No. 1 left?
The slaves would die regardless.
‘Gotta take the bait once.’
That way, he could wipe out Marquis Marius, the Demon King’s subordinates, and the incoming demons in one fell swoop.
Only if the demons crossed over.
‘Can I boost my Holy stat.’
He could also replenish stronger summons.
‘And filling the Demonic Orb will be easier.’
After the orc legion invasion ended, level-ups slowed dramatically.
Filling the Demonic Orb slowed too.
The solution to all that?
‘Crush the Demon King’s subordinates and demons en masse.’
Soon after, Marquis Marius came to Kang Hyun-soo with a tempting morsel.
* * *
“A diversion?”
“Yes, I’ll mobilize my subordinates to raid the Mokoro Kingdom. Strike the Slav Kingdom then.”
Mokoro and Slav Kingdoms were both Saclant Empire vassals, at opposite ends.
“Why should I bother going that far to cause trouble?”
“Don’t you need to level up?”
At Marquis Marius’s words,
‘Well, well.’
A faint smile curled on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips as he controlled Doppelganger No. 1.
“If your lot fails to draw attention, I’m the one who dies, right?”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s question through Doppelganger No. 1,
“Will you trust us if we use this?”
Marquis Marius handed over a single document.
‘Oath of Conviction.’
Like a soul contract, it was a common binding promise item.
Unlike a soul contract, though?
‘A soul contract binds both parties, but the Oath of Conviction burdens only one.’
Literally, a solo vow to uphold a promise not to do certain things.
Break it?
Only the oath-breaker dies.
‘It’s genuine.’
The item info confirmed it.
“Fine, I trust you. But how do I get to the Slav Kingdom?”
“Suppress your demonic energy as much as possible, and I’ll create a disguised identity.”
“With that, to the Slav Kingdom?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll handle the return too, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then swear the Oath of Conviction first.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s command via Doppelganger No. 1, Marquis Marius quickly used the Oath of Conviction and mumbled his vows.
‘As expected.’
Marquis Marius only vowed that his subordinates would launch a large-scale attack on the Mokoro Kingdom.
No promise not to trap the Demon Realm Viscount Karut—Doppelganger No. 1’s disguise.
‘Could point it out and force a better vow, but…’
Why bother?
‘Gotta dive into a trap this elaborate personally.’
Once Doppelganger No. 1 reached the Slav Kingdom?
Players would swarm like bees.
Then the capital’s main forces and Dark Knight would move to repel the Demon King’s subordinates and demons in Mokoro and Slav.
‘The relatively undefended capital would see another dimensional gate open.’
This wasn’t Kang Hyun-soo’s wild guess.
‘It’s a rational conclusion from the doppelgangers around the Demon King’s subordinates.’
The Demon King’s subordinates had planned this with significant sacrifices in mind.
“You’ll move now?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you!”
Marquis Marius’s face lit up.
‘Too happy, huh?’
Kang Hyun-soo was just pretending to fall for the trap to lure in the juicy prey of demons and Demon King’s subordinates.
Yet Marquis Marius, oblivious, was convinced Kang Hyun-soo had fallen for his trap.
‘What face will he make when he realizes he’s the one trapped?’
A playful smile bloomed on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.