Chapter 188: Say You Want To Live - 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 188: Say You Want To Live - 4
Hardship never sends a warning. The same is true even when it takes the form of a person.
The ability to read minds is a power specialized in not making enemies. It allows one to read another’s heart and adjust accordingly, deftly weaving in and out to avoid any conflict with their feelings.
You could say it’s like dancing.
But mind reading is far from omnipotent, let alone omniscient. It reads minds, not the future, so it can’t predict whims, nor can it react to sudden accidents or disasters.
And most importantly, even when dealing with people, it cannot stop blatant hostility.
He mentioned a Military State officer was investigating the back alleys. The description matches.
From across the way, I felt a dark killing intent. It wasn’t a decision made from emotion, but a conclusion reached through cold reason.
Kill them. Leave no trace.
A cold killing intent began to swell. The horrified captain didn’t even have time to assess the situation with her golem. Wolfen already had us in his sights.
Across the pitch-black darkness, he was staring right at us.
The moment I sensed it, I threw open the carriage door and shouted.
“Sephi! Captain! Get in the carriage! Senior, go now!”
“Huh? Where to?”
“Anywhere!”
I yanked the captain and Sephi back into the carriage in one swift motion. Senior, who had been hitching the horse, quickly leaped into the driver’s seat and spurred the animal on.
“Hiyah!”
Hee-hee-hee-heeeigh.
With a powerful neigh, the carriage lurched forward. Perhaps because it was a thoroughbred, the Lion Horse reached top speed in just a few strides.
Sephi and the captain were still clueless. The captain asked.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a long story! We’ve got a Shadow on our tail!”
A Shadow? But I can see nothing but darkness…
The captain synchronized with the nearest golem using her unique magic. Her vision wavered, and in a corner of it, the speeding carriage appeared. Each time it passed a dimly lit streetlamp, she could see the Lion Horse, its mane flying, pulling the carriage at a full gallop.
And behind it, the streetlamps flickered out one by one. It was as if the darkness itself were racing down the street…
Darkness?
Realizing the situation, the captain shouted urgently.
“Something is following us! Considering the Qi Art that shrouds the entire body in darkness, it’s an Umbra…! Presumed to be Wolfen!”
“I know. I told you we were being followed!”
Even as the captain and I were screaming, Sephi seemed unfazed, as if she didn’t sense the danger.
“Don’t worry. The horse pulling this carriage is no ordinary steed; it can’t be caught by a mere human’s speed. Plus, this carriage has a Level 4 protection rating. It can’t be breached by any ordinary attack.”
“Please, stop saying things like that! You’re scaring me just listening to you!”
“I was just trying to reassure you.”
I poured enough money to build a house into making this one carriage. You think I’d cut corners on a carriage for myself? From the frame to the fabric covering it, every single part is made of Level 4 alchemic steel and thread. I don’t see what there is to be anxious about.
Now she’s jinxing us with her thoughts! For god’s sake, stop!
Suddenly, my mind reading caught a faint trace of hostility. I quickly grabbed Sephi and the captain and pulled them toward me. They stumbled into my arms.
“Master?!”
“You?! What is this?”
There was no time to explain. Wolfen’s intent to attack instantly became reality.
The carriage jolted violently. A dagger he’d thrown had pierced the joint connecting the carriage to the wheel. At the same time, another dagger sliced diagonally through the window and embedded itself in the back of the front seat. The dagger, reeking of a dark aura, was buried so deep that not even the hilt was visible.
The unbalanced carriage tilted precariously. It was a good thing I had pulled them over; otherwise, they would have been thrown to the other side.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Sephi screamed and threw her arms around me. That’s right, I saved your life. So be a little more grateful and listen to me…
“How? You said this crystal glass could easily deflect bullets! Who are the bastards who made this?! I’ll show them hell!”
“This isn’t the time to worry about that, Sephi!”
I calmed the frantic Sephi and focused my mind. Mind reading. Far in the distance, I could feel Wolfen’s thoughts.
A sharp, cold hostility, like a lake covered in thin ice. At its focus was the precariously speeding carriage. The distance between us was gradually closing.
It’s sturdy. I meant to sever the wheel completely, but it only knocked the axle out of alignment.
Even if the carriage was sturdy, it couldn’t use Qi Deflection. And a wheeled carriage, by its nature, moves in a frustratingly predictable line.
In other words, it couldn’t dodge a dagger infused with a massive amount of Qi.
A couple more times should do it.
Damn it. If this continues, the carriage will definitely stop. If we’re pinned down like that, we’ll never escape.
The only way to break this stalemate is…
Tch, looks like I’m stuck with the dirty work.
“Sephi. You can ride a horse, right?”
“Not with some lunatic throwing knives at us from behind!”
Since I’m Master’s student, of course I can ride a horse. However, I’ve never had to shake off a pursuer before, so I’m worried.
Her true feelings were spilling out in her haste. I gripped Sephi’s shoulders firmly and spoke in a tone that was both placating and firm.
“Sephi. Get the captain to headquarters. Captain Bbey is on a very important secret mission. Once she completes it, she can help me.”
Sephi immediately shot back.
“What about you, Master?”
She’s sharp. When I hesitated for a moment, Sephi’s eyes blazed as she interrogated me.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to fight that thing? If you spout some nonsense about buying time, I don’t care if you’re my master or not!”
There’s a limit to this nonsense! Doing something like that without a plan! If you die, I won’t give you another cent!
These days, students even scold their masters. Wow, the world’s turned upside down.
Even her thoughts and words were blaming me. Being stabbed from the inside and out was as bad as any torture.
I urgently gripped Sephi’s shoulders.
“Sephi. Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course not.”
No. Of course not.
What happened to the lip service? Where did all those Sephi Points I’d carefully saved up go?
Hoo, she’s hard to persuade. I kept a firm grip on her shoulders and pointed at the captain.
“Look. The captain is right there. A captain of the Military State can bring reinforcements before I get taken down. That’s the only way we can survive.”
“You think some plan you just cooked up is going to work?!”
“It’s not a plan I just cooked up. In fact, I was planning to use the Military State’s power to clean up the Shadows from the very beginning.”
To be honest, it’s a bit awkward to say now that the plan has gone awry, but I had intended to drag the Military State into this a step earlier.
My plan was this:
Lure the organizations targeting the Market, the Shelter, and the Family a day early. Simultaneously, pass on secret information to draw in the Military State as well.
Then, the Shadows, who would be itching for a fight, would join the fray, run into the Military State’s Military Police, and get wiped out… a perfect plan.
I called it the “You’re Not the Only One Who Can Exploit the System” plan.
But the Military State didn’t make a move. I’d laid out such tempting bait, but for some reason, their response was slower than usual. It was as if all the troops within Amitengrad had been sent somewhere else.
I shouldn’t have trusted this damn country. It was my mistake, if anything.
However.
“The Military State is still the Military State, for all its faults. They must have had troops on standby for a disturbance like this. As long as I can hold out and the troops are dispatched to confront Wolfen, it’s my victory. So, for me to live, you and Captain Bbey have to hurry.”
Crash. The carriage shook violently once more. The wheel’s wobble was now transferring directly to the carriage itself.
After barely regaining my balance, I looked at the captain with a gaze full of trust.
You get it, don’t you, Captain? That this is the most rational option?
“You understand, right, Captain?”
“It’s too dangerous! I cannot accept this!”
“Ah, now what.”
The captain’s expression was no longer stiff and rigid. Her large eyes were filled with worry as she refuted my words point by point.
“The opponent is an escapee from Tantalus. Even if you are a magician, you do not have the power to subdue him! You are…! Weaker than you seem!”
“It hurts my pride to be called weak to my face. I know that! But I’m strong enough to buy some time, you know?”
“You told me to survive! So why must you, the one who said that, be the one to face danger?!”
“I really, really don’t want to do this, okay? Sacrifice isn’t my style! But this is the best option!”
This wasn’t some noble sacrifice. It was the one and only meticulously calculated method for survival.
I was, at best, a petty criminal being hauled off to a labor camp. But Wolfen, the Umbra, was a genuine threat who had even been to the Abyss.
Well, he was nothing compared to Tyr, Azzy, or the Regressor, but his ambiguous level of strength was all the more fatal to me. It’s always the little guys who are more sensitive about these pecking orders.
“In that case, I will act as the bait!”
“Hahahahaha!”
I laughed boisterously. For a moment, all eyes were on me. I cut my laughter short, my expression turning icy as I retorted.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Bait is only valuable if you can reel in the fish. You wouldn’t even be a snack scattered in the pond. You’d just be another notch on Wolfen’s belt.”
“Are you saying you can stop him, then?”
“If you bring reinforcements in time!”
But unfortunately, this was the only way. Honestly, the fact that this was the best option was just deplorable.
My opponent was a Shadow of the Kingdom who used stealth, ambushes, and psychological warfare as his main weapons.
I was a petty criminal with nothing to my name but mind reading.
Even if our skills were vastly different, in terms of a matchup, I was his most advantageous opponent. We were already past the point where this could be resolved by other means.
“Master, that’s absurd! Those imprisoned in Tantalus are criminals worthy of being recorded in history. Even for you, against them—!”
There was no more time for persuasion. I lowered my voice and spoke to Sephi.
Ignoring affection, points, and all that. I spoke with cold intent.
“Sephier Bakiya. As your master, this is both a request and a lesson. Do not turn away from what must be done.”
“But!”
“If you continue to be stubborn, this will be my last request as your master. Whether I live or die.”
Sephi gasped at my cold rebuke. A choked, resentful hiccup escaped the lips of the harshly scolded student.
A moment later, Sephier spread her suit jacket and wrapped it around the captain. She draped the bulletproof, slash-proof, and magic-proof jacket over the captain’s shoulders.
Covered by the suit, the captain asked with trembling eyes.
Are you truly going to face him alone? But you…!
“If you want to save me, then survive. Go to headquarters and call for reinforcements! That’s the only way I can live!”
After snapping at her, I immediately shouted toward the driver’s seat.
“Senior! Prepare to escape! We’re abandoning the carriage!”
“Got it!”
And right after, another impact. The carriage, which had been staggering along, finally gave out.
Screeeech. The tilted carriage screamed as it scraped against the ground. Through the half-shattered window, I could see one of the carriage wheels rolling past us.
“Well then. See you later!”
I opened the opposite door and climbed onto the roof of the slanted carriage.
In the distance, I saw a pitch-black darkness. I could clearly feel the thoughts of Wolfen, hidden by his Black Shadow Qi Arts, staring intently this way.
A man? A guard? It doesn’t matter. I’ll kill them all.
Who says you get to decide who lives and dies? Who said I’d make it easy for you?
I might as well greet him. Flashing a relaxed smile, I pulled the 3 of Diamonds from my pocket. I folded it in one hand and aimed it at Wolfen.
Alchemical transformation. The card instantly changed into a large bow. Since I’d already fired it once, it wasn’t nocked with an arrow, but arrows are meant to be drawn and fired. I carefully stared into the darkness, taking precise aim at Wolfen beyond it.
“Fahrenheit!”
Fwoosh. Fire erupted from the tip of the arrowhead. Then came the twang of the bowstring. A single arrow shot down the straight street, splitting the darkness.
The arrow flew straight toward Wolfen. His eyes twitched.
The arrow is nothing special. But to see through my Black Shadow Qi Arts?
What do you mean it’s nothing special? I’d appreciate it if you felt a little threatened, since I put my heart and soul into that shot.
Qi Deflection.
Tch. Of course.
His Qi swelled. The flames were swallowed by the darkness, and the arrow I had fired with all my might was deflected uselessly away.
In any case, I had achieved my initial goal.
Having finished my greeting, I leaped from the carriage. I nearly lost my balance and fell, but the carriage had slowed down since losing a wheel, so I just managed to stay on my feet.
Behind me, the carriage slowed to a stop. Sephi and the captain somehow managed to climb over the driver’s seat and onto the horse.
With my back to them, I stood firm and faced Wolfen.
“…Stalling for time.”
The voice came from my right ear. But the thoughts were coming from my left.
Nice try, using psychological warfare on me.
I smirked, put away the bow, and drew my next card.
4 of Diamonds, a short spear. As I pointed the harpoon-like spearhead in his direction, Wolfen stopped walking.
A brief silence fell. In the distance, the captain, Sephi, and Senior rode off side-by-side on the horse. Freed from the carriage, the Lion Horse was fast, and with the distance between them now, not even Wolfen could catch them.
On the desolate street, we were now completely alone.
Wolfen didn’t seem to care. He paid no mind to those who had escaped and simply stared at me.
“That was no coincidence. To see my form so clearly in the darkness…”
“Perhaps our meeting like this is no coincidence either.”
I took off my hat and bowed deeply.
Though it was an opportunity to strike, Wolfen didn’t attack me. Was he wary of me, or was he just tolerant of this kind of pageantry?
Skill, unknown. Identity, unknown. Is his Qi sense exceptionally sharp? Or is it some other, unknown power?
Probably both.
Wolfen, like me, was the type to make full use of psychological warfare in a fight.
Good. Now it’s a battle against time.
If I can stall long enough, I win. If I die before then, it’s over. A very simple fight.
“Hello, Wolfen Fenshtein. I’ve heard the rumors. The Shadow that has existed since the days of the Kingdom, symbolizing the darkness of this nation.”
“Who are you?”
I put my magician’s hat back on, then lifted the brim slightly and smiled.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Hughes: valedictorian of the secondary school, a supernova in the world of hosts, a personalized tutor and a matchmaker, a legend among pickpockets and an undefeated gambler. An idol to children, a benevolent caretaker, and a magician with a proud criminal record of one offense.”