Chapter 114
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Guerrilla Warfare
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After the return of the Calamity Princess, Pandora.
The Anti-Fiend Alliance and the Fiend Coalition had been locked in a tense stalemate.
Everyone had believed that their conflict, involving countless nobles, would remain a deadlock for some time... but their predictions were wrong.
All because of one person. No, to be precise, because of the intervention of one faction.
The White-Masked Young Master.
The rising star of the City of Deformity, who had been causing all sorts of incidents ever since his first appearance.
When he turned the tables and began hunting the pirate lords who had been plundering the Anti-Fiend Alliance, the thieving nobles of the Fiend Coalition were thrown into chaos.
At first, they said he was just lucky.
Or that it was thanks to the Calamity Princess.
They tried to console themselves, but when a coincidence happens twice, it becomes fate.
As the same thing happened again and again, they had no choice but to accept reality.
The absurd rumor that the White-Masked Young Master was leading around thirty high-ranking Awakened Ones was not a rumor after all.
But even after they accepted reality... the real problem had just begun.
“We must capture the White-Masked Young Master quickly!”
“The one the Coalition Lord himself couldn't catch? How?”
“If we can't catch him, we at least need to find a way to stop his raids…”
“The one who appears like a ghost even when we're hiding in the middle of a Labyrinth? How?”
“…”
The nobles of the Fiend Coalition realized.
They were cornered on all sides.
Mobilizing a separate force to capture the White-Masked Young Master and the White Fiend Troupe during a fierce war was an overreach.
Especially with the risk of falling into a trap like before, no one was willing to risk their own life to go after him.
Moreover, with the Thieves' Guild's cooperation cut off, preparing for the White-Masked Young Master's surprise attacks had become much more difficult.
Naru, who provided information from the Guild.
The Vault Keeper, who preserved the purified water.
The slave soldiers who had become high-ranking Awakened Ones.
And even Arsha, who commanded them with perfect discipline, as if they were her pawns.
As a result of all these factors combined, Dion had become a ghost that no single pirate lord could ever hope to stop.
In the end, the only option left for them was to bolster their forces so they could confront the White-Masked Young Master at any time.
This meant either filling their domains with over thirty high-ranking Awakened Ones or moving together with other pirate lords.
But no matter how powerful the Fiend Coalition was, high-ranking Awakened Ones were rare, and pirate lords were even rarer.
As a result, the Fiend Coalition's domain hunting slowed down incomparably.
Consequently, the nobles of the Anti-Fiend Alliance quickly joined forces at Nakrang Fortress, rapidly expanding their influence.
The precarious balance of the war had begun to tip to one side.
“Khahaha, to think he'd change the tide of the war the moment he joined. That's the White-Masked Young Master for you.”
That was why.
Urk was roaring with laughter.
The thieving nobles of the Fiend Coalition were only running away without facing him, and the nobles of the Anti-Fiend Alliance were using the pirate lords as an excuse to delay joining, which had been infuriating.
But Dion's actions had turned the situation around in an instant.
It was to the point where he didn't regret giving away several domains in the slightest.
“*Snort*, that's also thanks to you, Grandfather. If you hadn't been keeping the Fiend Coalition in check, how could the White-Masked Young Master have achieved such a great feat?”
…The problem was that not everyone shared Urk's opinion.
In a field tent set up in a small manor.
Among the clan members sitting around inside, one orc with a particularly large build and a scar on his face.
Urk frowned as he looked at his 11th grandson, Hulak.
“Foolish words. Do you think catching a pirate lord is an easy task?”
“That's not the White-Masked Young Master, it's the White Fiend Troupe he commands that's impressive.”
“…So, what are you trying to say?”
Commanding such slaves was in itself a noble's power.
Besides, it wasn't as if those cunning pirate lords would fight fair and square just because you swarmed them.
Whether he didn't know this fact.
Or if he knew and was choosing to ignore it.
To Urk, who questioned his intention of downplaying the White-Masked Young Master's achievements, Hulak spoke confidently.
“*Snort*, it means that you deserve a share of the spoils the White-Masked Young Master gained from capturing the pirate lords, Grandfather.”
“…Are you telling me to seize the White-Masked Young Master's domain?”
“There's no need for you to step in personally, Grandfather. If you leave it to me, I will persuade the White-Masked Young Master to gladly offer up his domain.”
For a moment, Urk fell silent, looking at his grandson.
Urk slowly turned his head to look at the other clan members.
“Does everyone else think the same as Hulak?”
“Well…”
“…Even if not the domain itself, shouldn't the White-Masked Young Master share some of the spoils?”
“*Chwiik*. In the first place, the only reason he can hunt pirate lords freely is because we are protecting his domain, so he should pay a protection fee.”
“That's right.”
The clan members, who had been watching Urk's reaction, began to speak up one by one.
They were the ones who gathered the Anti-Fiend Alliance.
They were the ones who mobilized the most troops.
They were the ones fighting the fiercest battles.
And they were the ones spending a fortune on the war effort.
All of this was done by Urk and the Kortel family.
Yet, while they had yet to gain any significant spoils, the White-Masked Young Master was raking in money and domains all by himself.
Everyone harbored some degree of dissatisfaction.
This was especially true because the target of their ire was the very same White-Masked Young Master whom Urk had overestimated from the start, even giving him several domains.
But looking at his children and grandchildren, Urk's face hardened.
“You foolish fools!”
*CRASH!*
Perhaps unable to contain his anger.
He smashed his fist down, shattering the entire table of drinks in front of him.
Urk then spoke to his stunned and silent kinsmen in a voice like a beast's growl.
“Even a dog will bite its master if you take its food! If you steal the White-Masked Young Master's accomplishments, who will be willing to fight at the forefront in the future?!”
“B-But, Grandfather. There are many in the alliance who are unhappy that the White-Masked Young Master is monopolizing the glory.”
“That's why we must reward the White-Masked Young Master handsomely, to encourage the other nobles to step up as well!”
“You mean we should favor him even more than this?”
“That's right!”
“That's…”
Perhaps afraid of provoking his anger further.
Hulak couldn't bring himself to argue back, yet he couldn't hide his dissatisfaction.
And as he watched his other kin show similar displeasure, Urk furrowed his brow.
‘What a pathetic bunch…!’
It's natural to be greedy.
Greed is an orc's instinct, and an ambitious man with desires is better than a passionless idler.
I can also understand keeping Dion in check.
There are no eternal allies among nobles, so if the White-Masked Young Master's power grows, he could become a threat later on.
The problem was one thing.
Their incompetence and stupidity far outweighed their greed.
‘If they had at least suggested we dispose of the White-Masked Young Master after the war, I would have praised their courage.’
You only cook the dog after the hunt is over.
Trying to bite your strongest ally when the war isn't even over is just foolish.
Moreover, by bringing the White Fiend Troupe, it's become a public secret that the White-Masked Young Master is a direct descendant of the Baekdaesega.
Instead of thinking about the benefits of befriending Dion's family, they covet his achievements out of petty greed.
How can they be so short-sighted?
Even though they are my flesh and blood…
No, it was precisely because they were my flesh and blood that I had to lament their shortcomings even more.
‘If only I had one who was even half as capable as the White-Masked Young Master, I would have no regrets.’
No matter how many high-ranking Awakened Ones the Kortel family possesses.
Odobaekryeong is not a place where one can prosper with strength alone.
Just as Urk, suddenly worried about whether his descendants could protect the family after his death, wore a displeased expression.
A goblin butler entered the tent.
“My Lord, there is something you need to see for yourself.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
For a moment, he glanced around cautiously.
The goblin butler carefully approached Urk and handed him a letter.
The moment he saw the large, fist-shaped seal on the letter.
Urk's eye twitched.
And with careful hands, he broke the seal, unfolded the letter, and after a long silence, let out a groan.
“Kuh, of all the…”
“…What is it?”
“A ‘precious item’ that was being transported has fallen into the hands of those pirate bastards.”
“What?!”
“What do you mean?”
The Kortel clan was shaken.
Urk hadn't declared war on the Fiend Coalition without a plan, knowing full well he was at a disadvantage.
He had prepared several trump cards to turn the tide of the war.
One of them was the 'precious item'.
It was an item that could have changed the entire atmosphere of the City of Deformity if it had arrived as planned, an item whose existence was only vaguely known even to his kinsmen.
But it had been stolen by the Fiend Coalition before it even reached the City of Deformity, so of course, they were agitated.
“*Chwiik*, don't tell me the information was leaked?”
“No, thankfully, it seems they don't know anything. The domain where the 'precious item' was located just happened to be captured whole.”
“Such a coincidence…”
Their expressions turned complicated.
They could all understand why Urk had sighed and said, "of all the...".
Should they be relieved that it was a blessing in disguise?
Or should they lament their bad luck?
As they hesitated with truly complex emotions, Hulak's eyes glinted as if he saw an opportunity.
“*Snort*! Leave it to me, Grandfather!”
“…What are you asking me to leave to you?”
“The retrieval of the precious item!”
Urk fell silent.
It was indeed necessary to retrieve the item before the Fiend Coalition realized what they had.
Since it couldn't be made public, it had to be recovered covertly.
Entrusting it to one of his kinsmen was indeed the best way, but…
“Just lend me one domain, and I'll smash that pirate lord's head in and bring back the precious item!”
“…”
It would be risky enough even if the item were retrieved as quietly as possible.
Looking at the simple-minded Hulak, who was planning to make a huge scene, Urk pressed his temples.
After all, he knew better than anyone that you couldn't expect a High Orc to perform a stealth mission.
‘If it were any other matter, I could have entrusted it to that child, Pandora, but…’
Unfortunately, Pandora stood out wherever she went as well.
No matter how carefully she moved, if a battle broke out, it would become an even bigger incident than if he had entrusted it to his kinsmen.
Especially since moving Pandora would leave Nakrang Fortress defenseless.
Therefore, after long deliberation.
Urk opened his eyes.
“Send word to the White-Masked Young Master. Tell him I have an urgent favor to ask.”
“Grandfather?!”
“Are you saying you're going to entrust the retrieval of the precious item to the White-Masked Young Master?”
“That's absurd! I acknowledge his skill, but he's still an outsider…”
“Is there a more suitable person?”
“…”
Considering the elusiveness of the White-Masked Young Master, who was achieving great success against the pirate lords, he was the ideal candidate for a covert retrieval mission.
At Urk's cold assessment, the other kinsmen dared not argue further and fell silent.
Only Hulak, who had volunteered himself and was thus essentially told by his grandfather that he was inferior to the White-Masked Young Master, contorted his face.
But Urk paid no mind to his kinsmen's reactions. He was lost in a more important concern.
‘If the White-Masked Young Master successfully completes this task, the problem will be what reward I should give him next.’
He sighed, hoping the family wouldn't go bankrupt before this war was over.
Urk prepared the letter to be sent to the White-Masked Young Master.
* * *
“Ugh.”
“They'll come, right? They will.”
“We sent an emergency signal, so the Lord of Nakrang Fortress should send someone… He has to.”
“…What if he doesn't?”
“No, that can't happen.”
“Now that it's come to this…”
“…”
[Long time no see… I'm sleepy, so get to the point… What's up?]