Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Hassan and the Nine-Headed Thief #8
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Crash.
The olive wood club I hurled struck the lantern dead center. Honestly, it had been a fifty-fifty shot, but slinging stones was something I'd done constantly since my slave and gladiator days. Plus, with the Sun God's blessing boosting my hand-eye coordination, my accuracy had gone way up.
Once even that last lantern went out, the underground chamber plunged into total darkness.
The thieves stirred uneasily here and there.
"Putting out the lights? Kinda fun, like it just hit me while we were working."
"Yeah, definitely easier for us in the dark."
True to form for criminals who operated under the cover of shadows and moonless clouds, they showed no panic even with their vision blocked by the lack of light sources.
Their boss, Ismail, seemed no different.
"Night vision's not some special talent. You think hiding from me just by snuffing out a few flames?"
Rustle.
He soon drew a small lantern containing a glowing stone from his belt. A soft blue light poured out, illuminating the surroundings and painting the floor.
Swish, swish.
Ismail swung the lantern this way and that.
But he couldn't spot me—just flailed blindly at empty air.
Someone muttered.
"He's gone?"
"Vanished in that split second? Guess he really does have a Grace."
70.
69.
68...
I'd activated 《Night Cloak》 Grace, gaining a stealth bonus. To trigger it, I first had to vanish from the enemy's sight.
That's why I'd doused the lights to create a brief blackout. I'd figured thieves would be used to the dark anyway.
But even humans need time for their eyes to adjust—there had to be a window of blindness.
And my hunch had paid off.
I'd ducked behind a suitable pillar and was now peeking around the corner to monitor the thieves' movements.
Their leader, Ismail, kept swinging his lantern and dagger in vain, desperately hunting for me.
"Dragging this out won't save you. This fight ends when one of us dies—either you or me!"
Then he started slashing at thin air, as if my invisible form was lunging at him.
Shing!
Slash!
His blade cut the air with a sound like venomous serpents hissing. With Hydra poison on that dagger, it was no different from a viper's fangs.
60.
59...
The numbers ticked down before my held-breath eyes.
Like he said, stalling would only last until the Grace expired in a minute. Once it did, I'd be exposed and eventually take a hit from that dagger.
This was my only shot to throw a wrench in the works.
I scanned around, hoping for something useful.
That's when I noticed small stone fragments at my feet—shards from the pillar Ismail had smashed earlier during his show of strength.
This was that pillar.
I grabbed a stone chunk from the floor and hurled it at Ismail with all my might. Perfect sidearm throw from behind the pillar.
My target: his lantern.
Please hit!
Whoosh...
My Strength 12 full-power toss sent the stone flying like a bullet, smacking his arm.
Thwack!
"Gah!"
Ismail screamed as the stone hit, dropping the lantern from his grip.
Clang, roll...
I hadn't nailed the lantern dead-on, but I'd created an opening—exactly what I wanted.
Thud.
I launched from behind the pillar, charging straight at the thieves' leader. The Grace wore off right then, and the others erupted in surprise.
"Huh?"
"There he is!"
Ismail whipped his head around, reacting to his men spotting me.
"You bastard!"
He tried to counter my ambush, arm moving, but mine was already outstretched—I was a hair faster.
Whoosh, slam—!
I grabbed his head with my gauntlet and smashed it down into the floor.
"Argh!"
A massive impact echoed with his scream.
In that gap, I mounted him and raised his dagger-hand high before slamming it toward his throat with everything I had.
"Y-you fucker!! What the hell kind of strength—shit! Fuuuck~!"
But Ismail wasn't going down easy. Getting his skull bashed like that should've caused a concussion or panic at minimum.
Was his head made of iron? He snapped back to his senses and flailed his arms to block, pure survival instinct kicking in.
Stab, thwack, thwack!
My dagger meant for his throat instead gouged his palms, arms, shoulders, and chest, spraying blood.
He'd dodged instant death, but the wounds were fatal—his body was turning red.
"Die, you fuck!"
For the finisher, I gripped the dagger reverse and raised it high, then drove it down at his chest with full force.
"Grk!"
He threw up both arms to block, grabbing my wrists to protect his heart, straining with all his might.
I responded by throwing my free arm's strength into the downward strike.
My instantaneous power was high, but my stamina sucked.
If I didn't finish him now, in this seized moment, I'd be the one gassing out first.
I clenched every muscle, teeth grinding like they might shatter.
"Grraaah!"
"Y-you dog bastard—! I-I'm the king of the mountains, Ismail...! I am!"
My hands forced the dagger's tip toward his heart.
Squelch.
The sharp point pierced his black garb, and I felt it slice through bone and organs up my arm.
"Kuhk, hngh."
In that instant, all resistance drained from the thieves' leader like a lie.
I'd pierced his heart for sure.
Unsatisfied, I yanked the blade free and stabbed a few more times into his throat and chest.
With magic, curses, and weird Graces in this world, I had to confirm the kill.
Stab, stab...
As I drove the blade into the unresisting boss's corpse.
Rustle.
I sensed someone approaching from behind.
"Enough, he's definitely dead. You can stop now."
It was the thieves' guild exec, Dorthea. She stood a step away, hips shifted back in a wary stance, tapping my shoulder lightly.
"It's over now!"
"Hoo..."
Only then could I finally relax my grip. My red-tinged vision cleared, and the ambient noises I'd blocked out flooded back into my ears.
The adrenaline surging to my head was finally ebbing.
My chest and gut throbbed like I might puke—probably from the blind punches I'd taken from the struggling Ismail.
"Hng..."
I caught my breath, then checked the boss's wrist.
No pulse.
No letters appeared.
He was truly, completely dead.
I'd killed a man.
The realization made my arms and legs tremble. My clenched fists couldn't even hold the dagger anymore.
But I'd won.
In this savage world, duels boiled down to live or die—no room for morals or ethics.
Rustle.
I rose from the stiffening, bloodied thieves' leader. Then I rummaged his body, taking anything useful.
No one stopped me. They just stared blankly, wondering what came next.
Clink.
From him, I scored a blue-glowing stone lamp, the poisoned dagger, five underground silver coins, and finally a key with a bizarre ornament.
"A key. The boss's vault key, huh."
Big Joe, the burly guy, approached and chimed in knowingly.
"That skull ornament on the end—skull key. No doubt. It's the key to the vault where past bosses hid their treasures."
Just as he said, it was a key with a creepy skull decoration. A vault for past bosses' treasures? My gut tingled at the implications.
Gold coins? Bullion? Bullion would be nice. Holding a gold bar had always been a dream.
Gold bar.
Just looking at one would make me feel rich.
As I daydreamed about shiny ingots, someone spoke up.
"So, you're the new boss now. Who'd have thought you'd take down Ismail for real. What should we call you?"
Big Joe's question blanked my mind. What to call me? Like a title, nickname, or alias?
But as always, I sucked at this stuff. Only names like Old Man Valley or Meng Huo came to mind.
More importantly, where were Luna and Hippolyte? They should be here by now. But I'd accidentally soloed the boss and ended up in charge.
Damn, what now?
Totally off-script, my thoughts were a jumbled mess like an earthquake in my skull.
Thief King Hassan.
I'd become the king of thieves.
In this backwater shit, I was now head of a major crime outfit.
"So, what's next? We scrapping today's plan?"
"New boss means new rules. What'll it be?"
All eyes turned to me.
Now that it had sunk in, I realized I wasn't cut out for decision-making roles.
Let alone leading notorious criminals in a city. One wrong law and I'd be locked up, Gold Tier or not.
They might drag me off to shit's prison city as a big-shot crook. Gotta avoid that future.
So I wracked my brain and spoke.
"The boss's word is absolute, right? First order as head honcho: all of you, turn yourselves in."
"What the fuck?"
"That's bullshit!"
The reaction was explosive. I'd beaten the boss, sure, but these were hardcore criminals. If they all drew blades, could exhaustion-riddled me handle them?
I could picture myself getting stabbed to death like Caesar.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
"Nah, just kidding. No need to turn yourselves in. How about... disbanding the guild altogether?"
"Disband the guild?"
"You're serious? Honestly, not a bad idea."
I'd blurted it out with a headache, but the execs reacted positively.
A skinny, wiry guy spoke—Astrid, I think that was his name.
"Honestly, Hydra's past its prime. Pressure from above is mounting. Might be good to dissolve the old guild and rebrand."
That sparked a chorus of agreement.
"Pretend we got wiped out and rebuild under a new name? First time changing guild names."
"Sounds good. Thieves using aliases is standard."
"I pitched this to Ismail—no, the former boss—tons of times, but he was obsessed with the Hydra name."
"But who do we say disbanded us? If we blame random adventurers, no one's buying it. Too obvious we're jumping ship."
"And what about the rest of the underground market? They don't even know this is happening."
"Outside us execs, they're not real guild anyway. Parasites clinging to the name—they'll figure it out."
The seven execs chattered away, turning the vast cavern into a debate hall.
Right then, inspiration struck like lightning. Was this what artists call a eureka moment?
I said,
"Hydra was crushed by a great angel of the gods, hero of the masses. Spread the word far and wide."
"A people's hero? Lie that a Gold Tier adventurer took us out? Too easy to debunk. They could just deny it. Forcing their hand's risky."
"No, not Gold Tier. Bronze Tier from Mars Guild. Hassan of Samaria..."
I was about to finish when—
Boom!
A massive explosion rocked the air, black smoke and flames erupting everywhere with scorching heat.
"See, Elfi! Follow the arrows, and look—rat bastards hiding after all!"
"Truly Mercury's guidance. My prayers answered."
Emerging through the flames was Delphina, her party members armed with staves and swords at her side.
Shit, fuck.
"Rats always scamper when you light the fire!"