Chapter 101
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Reward
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Urk, the Lord of Nangnang Fortress.
The Dogwiryeon and Giam Fortress.
While the Deformed City was in an uproar due to the two factions' sudden declarations of war.
A quiet air settled over the heart of Nangnang Fortress, one of the sources of the chaos.
As if this was nothing.
Or rather, as if they had been waiting for it.
And the same was true for those occupying the largest tent in Nangnang Fortress.
“What a shame, Orc uncle.”
“What is?”
“Letting the Dogwiryeon leader get away. If you had finished him off then and there, swallowing up the Dogwiryeon would have been much easier.”
“Khahaha, it is a bit of a shame, but it’s fine. I had a valuable experience thanks to it.”
“A valuable experience?”
“Chasing a troll that was running away without its head.”
No matter how vast Odobaekryeong was.
There couldn’t be many orcs who’d had an experience as strange as his.
The giant orc, covered in bandages, tilted his wine cup and laughed in satisfaction.
Watching Urk, the similarly bandaged boy chuckled.
It was certainly a rare sight, even for Dion, who had lived through the Calamity War.
All the more so because the one who had fled was no ordinary troll, but a powerful Transcendent Awakened One.
“Honestly, I was impressed. I didn't expect you to overwhelm the Dogwiryeon leader so one-sidedly, Orc uncle.”
“Khahahaha. It’s because that old fool has gone senile. A Caster trying to face a Fighter head-on.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Dion readily agreed.
Lar Arga, who could instantly regenerate severed limbs and displayed transcendent physical abilities using his runic tattoos, was certainly a monster, but…
In the end, he was a shaman.
His essence was that of a Caster who used tattoos in place of spells.
Urk, an Aura user and a pure Fighter, was able to push him back due to the differences in their class compatibility and combat skills.
…On the other hand, it also meant that Lar Arga had devastated Dion's party while fighting so casually.
If it had been a pure one-on-one fight, even Urk might have struggled more.
But…
“You wouldn't have won so easily if you hadn't brought the Nangnang Knights.”
“It was worth mobilizing the entire knight order, even if it meant leaving the fortress empty.”
“Khaha, though I had to go through the trouble of setting a trap while avoiding others’ eyes.”
Recalling the Nangnang Knights who had ridden in on their wolf mounts to join the fierce battle while he fought.
Urk smiled with satisfaction.
The knight order was a combat machine trained to face Transcendent Awakened Ones.
On their own, they could only hold their ground against a Transcendent Awakened One, but…
In a fierce clash between two such beings, they were a weight heavy enough to tip the scales.
It was a method only he could use, one who held absolute power in his domain and had an adopted daughter who, along with the Waryongjang, could protect Nangnang Fortress.
Still, it was quite impressive that Lar Arga had managed to shake off both him and the Nangnang Knights to escape.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t use the trap you prepared.”
“No, it's actually a relief. The plan would have failed the moment that old Dogwiryeon leader showed up anyway.”
Urk looked at Dion with meaningful eyes.
From the beginning, their target in this plan had been the Dogwiryeon's leadership.
At worst, the goal was to lure in as many of the lower-ranking rogue nobles as possible and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
At this point, it was no exaggeration to say they had exceeded their objective.
“No matter how tenacious that old geezer is, with one of his heads gone, he’ll have trouble moving for a while.”
“So you declared war right away?”
“Khahaha, a Dogwiryeon without its leader is no different from a king turtle without its shell.”
Urk wore a deep smile.
He was also injured and needed to recuperate, but it was a minor wound.
He would be fully healed within a month, and even if he wasn't, mere high-level Awakened Ones were no match for him.
With Lar Arga in a near-death state, now was the perfect time to strike the Dogwiryeon.
If there was one regret, it was this.
“But a tiger is still a tiger, even when old.”
“You mean how he immediately launched a counter-campaign with rumors right after that pathetic escape.”
“If not for those false rumors, the forces of our anti-rogue alliance would have doubled by now.”
Urk clicked his tongue.
The Dogwiryeon was too massive a faction.
Even as a Transcendent Awakened One, he couldn't handle dozens of families alone.
Even if he managed to deal with them through strategy and tactics, his own domain and clan would suffer near-total annihilation in the process.
That was why, along with the declaration of war, he had gathered nobles who wanted to tear apart the Dogwiryeon with him, aiming to achieve the maximum gain with minimal losses.
Thanks to the significant stir Dion had caused, it was easy to find the hidden rogue nobles just by tracking the nobles who had gathered their forces.
The problem was that fewer people than expected were joining the allied forces due to the false rumors spread by the Dogwiryeon.
No matter how just the cause.
If the Dogwiryeon leader was safe and the Lord of Nangnang Fortress was severely injured, it would be like willingly jumping into a fight with low odds of winning.
“Hmm, I tried pulling some strings here and there, but they said it would be difficult to do anything about the rumors.”
“I’m sure. The roots of the Dogwiryeon run surprisingly wide and deep.”
Dion also smacked his lips.
He had chewed out Naru, who had slinked away during the fight with Lar Arga and then returned, to use the Guild's organizational power to manipulate the rumors.
But he hadn't seen much of a gain.
Given the Guild's broad but shallow nature, there were limits to what it could do against the Dogwiryeon, a long-established power in the Deformed City.
This was especially true since a faction of the rogue guild was helping the Dogwiryeon.
“Still, don’t worry too much. There will probably be good news soon.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s not for certain, but just wait without expecting too much.”
“Khahahaha. If the Gongja says so, then I will look forward to it. This is all thanks to you, after all.”
“All I did was act as bait on a fishing line.”
“If a whale is caught on that bait, then the bait is a treasure.”
Urk wore a deep smile.
He had shown Dion extraordinary favor from the start, such as readily handing over the Waryongjang just for passing the groom trials.
But what Dion had accomplished this time was enough to make him think that all his previous evaluations might have been underestimates.
He couldn't help but take even Dion's passing remarks seriously.
“In that spirit, Gongja, speak.”
“About what?”
“—What do you desire as a reward for this affair?”
That was why.
Why Urk asked with such gravity.
He was essentially handing Dion a blank check, promising to grant anything that wasn't impossible.
It was an offer so extravagant that not only most lesser nobles but even high nobles would swallow dryly, but…
“Isn't that for you to decide?”
“...Khahaha, you are quite greedy, Gongja.”
“However greedy I am, I can’t match you, Orc uncle.”
*So, what's your best offer?*
The smirking boy coolly asked back, and the old orc burst into laughter.
Even as they laughed.
Their eyes were not smiling.
The old man and the boy sized each other up.
In the end, it was Urk who spoke first.
“—Pandora, bring what I have prepared.”
“As you wish.”
As if she had been waiting, the one who opened the tent flap and appeared was a witch of utmost beauty and ominousness.
The Calamity Princess, Pandora, quietly approached Dion’s side.
She knelt gracefully and, careful not to let her hands touch it directly, respectfully placed the scroll she carried onto Dion’s table.
“This is the deed to the Soryujang.”
“Hmm…”
Soryujang.
The manor that the Dogwiryeon leader, Lar Arga, had used as a trap to capture Dion.
But it was he who fell into a trap in reverse, defeated by Urk and forced to flee.
As a result, the abandoned Soryujang fell into Urk’s hands.
No matter how small the manor.
A domain was precious even to a high noble.
To gain such a territory whole was an unexpected windfall even for Urk, and to offer it all was a truly absurd reward.
But…
“Is this it?”
“Khahaha, do you think I’m trying to make a big deal out of a half-ruined domain?”
“To be honest, yes. The domain is already half-destroyed; the restoration costs will be more than it’s worth.”
“And yet there is a mountain of nobles who would sell their entire extended family to buy even such a domain.”
“That’s their business.”
Dion said indifferently.
No matter how valuable a domain was.
Ultimately, to raise a private army and generate income, you needed subjects.
Even the Waryongjang, with its intact infrastructure and immediate population of dark elves, had taken considerable money and time to turn a profit.
In fact, if he hadn't ruthlessly worked the slave soldiers, it would still be in the red.
So what would it take to restore Soryujang, which was half-destroyed from the fight between Lar Arga and Dion and had no subjects?
It would consume a truly massive amount of funds like water.
“What if I include the slave documents of the Soryujang’s Driver, whom we fortunately captured this time, and also cover half the restoration costs for the next year?”
“Hmm… That’s not bad.”
“And it’s still just ‘not bad’?”
“You know this isn’t enough either, don’t you, Orc uncle?”
“Khah, that’s what makes it a headache.”
Urk chuckled.
A high-level Driver was a talent that even nobles would offer their daughters to acquire.
The value of a domain could more than double depending on whether it had a Driver or not, which made his offer immense, but…
It all depended on the merit.
Dion had brought down seven noble houses.
He lured out and defeated the Dogwiryeon leader.
As a result, he had secured the upper hand in the war against the Dogwiryeon from the very beginning. His achievements were immeasurable.
Urk, who had to provide a fitting reward, couldn't help but be perplexed.
Especially since Soryujang itself was something he had obtained thanks to Dion’s machinations.
*Tell me what reward you want.*
The reason Urk had offered a blank check in the first place was because it was that difficult to decide on a suitable reward.
“I would have gladly given you my daughter if you had asked for her instead.”
As if lamenting the fact.
Urk smacked his lips.
Pandora, one of the Eight Evils and Six Demons, was the most eligible bride in all of Odobaekryeong.
For most nobles, simply taking her as a wife would have been an unparalleled reward.
The problem was that Dion was not most nobles.
The fact that he had rejected the marriage Urk had subtly pushed for several times, saying it was a matter for Pandora to decide herself, revealed the extraordinariness of his origins.
All he could do was complain about his disappointment like this.
“Ah, that’s a good idea.”
“…?”
“…Good idea?”
“Someone like Pandora seems like a fitting compensation for an otherwise lacking reward.”
“…???”
“Gongja, are you serious?”
That was why.
Why Urk could only blink at Dion's response.
As even Pandora, who had been sitting quietly beside them, flinched, unable to hide her agitation.
Dion spoke with a bright smile.
“The war won’t start in earnest for another month anyway, right?”
“Even so, isn’t a month too short? Especially at a time like this.”
“It’s even more necessary because it’s a time like this.”
“You’re not wrong, but… noble houses have procedures and traditions, do they not?”
“What do procedures and traditions have to do with it?”
“…?”
“…?”
“…Weren't you suggesting we confirm our strong alliance by having you and Pandora wed before the war with the Dogwiryeon?”
“No, I meant I wanted to borrow Pandora for a month.”
“…”
Only then realizing he had completely barked up the wrong tree, Urk fell into a silence deeper than death.
As Pandora gently bowed her head as if to hide her face.
Dion asked leisurely.
“So, is it possible?”
“Ahem! As you say, Gongja, we do have about a month to spare, but… what do you intend to do by borrowing Pandora?”
“Something came up that I need to do after this incident.”
“Something you need to do?”
“Yes, it’s nothing much…”
Dion explained with a wide smile.
What he wanted to do with Pandora’s help during that one month.
And so…
“You crazy, *cough!* *Cough cough, ack!* son of a—!”
“…”
Hearing Dion’s plan.
Watching the Transcendent Awakened One who had choked on his wine, spitting it out and nearly suffocating.
Pandora, who was able to take in his words with only a brief moment of shock due to her past experiences, couldn't help but think.
The White-Masked Young Master might be a prodigy worthy of representing the Demonic Spirit Realm, but he was, without a doubt, the craziest bastard in all of Odobaekryeong.