Chapter 97
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Lord of the Thieving Goblin Alliance
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Every organization, to function properly, needs someone to give orders.
That is why the larger the organization…
the more power its leadership requires.
The head of a family holds absolute authority because they are the strongest.
When elders cooperate to lead a family, it is because they are stronger than the head.
In Odobaekryeong, a world governed by the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest, this was an entirely natural principle.
From that perspective…
it was only natural that the Thieving Goblin Alliance had a leader.
And it was also natural that this leader was stronger than the others.
This was even more true considering the nature of the thieving nobles, who wouldn't hesitate to backstab someone if not held down by force.
But…
“What is the matter, White-Masked Young Master? I have invited you as my guest, so you need only show the proper courtesy.”
“Not guest. Prey.”
“Do not be rude, Arga. Even if we plan to devour him, nobles must show each other courtesy.”
“Kekeke. Lar, likes, formalities.”
“Those formalities are what separate us from beasts.”
The left head, with a tattoo around its eye, spoke loftily, its gaze filled with intelligence and composure.
The right head, with long, protruding fangs, spoke savagely, its eyes glinting with wildness and greed.
Though they shared one body…
the two heads conversed with each other.
The only thing they had in common was their boundless arrogance.
Looking at the twin-headed troll, the Lord of the Thieving Goblin Alliance, who stood nearly five meters tall, Parsha’s usually expressionless face stiffened.
‘…This is the worst.’
Trolls were a superior species, born with 【Hyper-Regeneration】 and 【Colossal Strength】.
They were a formidable race, so much so that even half-trolls were popular as mercenaries for their exceptional martial prowess.
Moreover, the twin-headed troll was the apex species among all trolls.
It was a monster that possessed not only immense strength and stamina but also high intelligence and cunning, a creature that looked down on even other giant species.
But it wasn't the Lord's species that made Parsha tense.
It was the absurd ability that had reshaped an entire estate, no matter how small, in the blink of an eye.
Above all, the vast amount of mana she had sensed in the process, far surpassing even high-ranking Awakened Ones, proved one thing.
Which was…
‘To think a Transcendent Awakened One was hiding in a small domain like this.’
…that this twin-headed troll was a monster who had crossed the wall of the Transcendent rank.
And not just one who had barely crossed it, but a seasoned monster who had reached the level of a seasoned [Adept], perhaps even an [Expert] or higher.
What a Transcendent Awakened One was…
Parsha, as the Unlight family’s exclusive maid, knew all too well, and she couldn't help but clench her fists.
“Hmm… I was wondering why there were so few nobles or residents to be seen. So it was a trap.”
“When hunting a cunning rabbit, clumsy hounds only get in the way.”
“I get that, but I’m curious how you knew we were targeting Soryujang.”
From that perspective…
it wasn't like he was half-witted.
Dion’s behavior, calmly striking up a conversation even in this situation, seemed all the more bizarre.
“You can at least tell me that much as a parting gift for the road, can’t you?”
Perhaps finding the sight amusing…
the two heads of the Lord of the Thieving Goblin Alliance, Lar Arga, tilted left and right to gaze at the boy with the half-mask and a faint smile, before speaking in a low voice.
“When setting a trap, one doesn't need to know where the prey is. What matters is the bait you use.”
“For all that, I don’t recall seeing any particularly good bait.”
“Kekeke… Pathetic, pretense.”
“There is no need to feign ignorance.”
“Feigning ignorance?”
“The bandits.”
“They were your target, were they not?”
“…”
“And they were also the tail you used to track down a member of our Thieving Goblin Alliance.”
“Boring prey. Tasteless meal. Pathetic hunter…”
Did he really think they had gathered the bandits at Soryujang merely out of fear?
Slowly.
The corners of the Lord’s mouths curled up, baring his fangs in a grin.
Dion nodded.
“I see. So gathering the bandits was the bait itself. And we walked right into the trap without realizing it.”
“Are all your questions answered?”
“For now.”
“Then, enough, chatter.”
As if he could no longer stand Lar’s tedious game…
Arga cut off the left head’s words and spoke savagely.
“—Now, be eaten.”
“…!”
In that instant.
Parsha’s pupils contracted.
The moment a kangaroo-shaped tattoo on Lar Arga’s leg glowed red, its colossal form vanished.
But the keen senses of a chakra user did not miss the shadow that simultaneously fell over her head.
And so, as Parsha and Dion flung themselves to the left and right…
BOOOOOM!!!
[Kyaaaarrrr!]
“Ack?!”
“Wh-what is this?”
“It’s the Divine Beast! The Divine Beast is screaming!”
The troll’s massive fist slammed into the spot where the two had been standing.
The altered floor of Soryujang collapsed layer by layer, and the horrifying cry of a beast echoed through the air.
A single blow.
Not only had it half-demolished Soryujang…
but the remaining shockwave was enough to cause the Divine Beast pain.
Though it had been reinforced with magic, it was a truly terrifying result to be achieved with a mere fist, not even a spell.
It was only because it was Dion and Parsha.
Anyone who wasn't a chakra user, even a high-ranking Awakened One, would have been killed instantly, unable to even dodge the blow.
“Parsha!”
“Just focus on running.”
*Tap!*
That was why.
Dion.
And Parsha.
The moment they dodged Lar Arga’s punch, they leaped down to the floor below.
No command was needed.
In this situation, the best course of action…
and the only option left to them…
was to escape Soryujang as quickly as possible, a fact both master and servant knew well.
* * *
*Rumble!*
“H-help me!”
“It’s collapsing! Get away—Gah!”
Crushed by the falling ceiling.
Falling through gaping holes.
Pinned by tilting pillars.
Dion and Parsha swiftly cut through the countless bandits who were dying with screams from the mere tremors shaking Soryujang.
As if unbound by gravity.
Across walls, ceilings, and the ground.
Sprinting in a zigzag pattern.
Their movements as they escaped the crumbling debris were like a whirlwind.
Even hundreds of trained soldiers, let alone a disorganized rabble of bandits, would not have been able to slow them down.
But…
“Main dish, escape, impossible.”
*Rumble!*
“Aaaah!”
The moment the heavy voice echoed…
glowing red patterns appeared throughout Soryujang, and another change began to take place.
The walls shot up high.
Ceilings fell, erasing their path.
Pillars erupted from all directions, blocking every escape route.
The repeated transformations caused the already chaotic bandits to die like ants.
But Dion and Parsha paid the bandits no mind.
They were too busy focusing all their attention on the twin-headed troll who had somehow surpassed them and now blocked their path.
“Where do you think you’re going? My hospitality has not yet concluded.”
“…Thanks for the kind hospitality, but while I don’t mind doing the eating, I have no interest in being eaten.”
No matter where they fled…
like a crawler inside a labyrinth…
Lar Arga stood there with a cold sneer.
As Dion stood before him and recited a short incantation, spreading his dark magic in all directions…
“Ait AuT.”
The magic circles Dion had inscribed everywhere activated at once, and a massive explosion was meant to engulf Soryujang.
…Or, it should have.
But what followed…
was only one thing.
A dead silence, and a cold voice.
“Foolish, prey.”
“How foolish, White-Masked Young Master. Did you truly believe such a petty trick would work within my domain?”
From the moment they set foot in Soryujang, it was impossible for them to escape, no matter what tricks they tried.
As she watched the troll mock them, filling the area with a visibly dense red mana that blocked Dion’s dark magic…
Parsha’s face hardened.
Their opponent was a monster who had crossed the wall of the Transcendent rank.
She hadn't expected to escape easily from the start, but…
the reality was worse than she had imagined.
This Soryujang, where he had deployed his barrier, was a deathtrap.
It was the worst kind of trap, one they could never escape unless they somehow took the time to dismantle the barrier or find a weakness.
Therefore, she thought.
And after calm deliberation…
Parsha made her decision.
“—I will handle things here. Please, go on ahead.”
In that instant.
Dion turned his head.
As if he had forgotten the presence of Lar Arga right in front of him.
The boy, his gaze fixed solely on the dark elf maid, opened his mouth to speak softly.
“You want me to abandon Parsha and run?”
“Do not misunderstand. I have merely presented the only viable option.”
To break the barrier, one of them had to buy time.
Thus, the best course of action was for her to hold off Lar Arga while Dion, who was skilled in magic, dismantled the barrier.
It was not a choice made for the sake of sacrifice.
It was simply the best method for her own survival.
After speaking with her usual expressionless face, Parsha added one more thing in a low voice.
“Besides, Young Master, you can use that precious stigma of yours to abandon me and escape at any time.”
“So you’re just making it easier for me to make a decision I was going to make anyway?”
“I have no desire for unnecessary time-wasting, that is all.”
“…So like you, Parsha.”
Her own life was on the line.
And this was the master who had forcibly branded her, making her serve him like a slave.
Yet, she still calmly presented the most efficient solution. Watching the expressionless dark elf, Dion let out a small laugh.
In his second life, the Voice had given him the most advice, but it was always she who had offered the coldest counsel.
…Except for the very end.
“But Parsha, there are two things wrong with what you just said.”
“And what might those be?”
“—That I have absolutely no intention of abandoning Parsha.”
“…”
For what reason?
Just as he had no intention of losing her in vain as he did when she sacrificed her life to avenge her clan…
He didn’t say it.
And even if he had, she wouldn’t have understood.
Yet, as Parsha fell silent, looking into his eyes, which were filled with that resolution—eyes of a deep, murky crimson—
Lar Arga burst into laughter.
“Kekeke, as expected, foolish.”
“Sacrifice whomever you wish. It will change nothing.”
“You’re right. Nothing will change.”
A mere high-ranking Awakened One.
To believe she could hold him off for even a moment was laughable.
Dion didn't bother to deny Lar Arga’s words, who was laughing as if he had just heard a clown’s jest.
Instead, he simply raised one hand with a faint smile.
“There's no need for that. A barrier of this level is something I can break out of anytime.”
“Kekekeke, amusing, nonsense.”
“…?”
Unlike Arga, who laughed even louder at what he considered pathetic bravado, Lar stopped laughing.
Because he saw it.
The hand Dion had raised.
To be precise, the faint light extending from the tips of his glove.
…Ten strands of spider silk, so thin and transparent that even he had to focus just to notice them.
And the transparent chakra flowing along those threads.
No, to be precise, the moment Lar sensed the energy hidden within and his face hardened, Dion, smiling faintly, snapped his fingers.
The ten magic circles connected to the spider silk activated all at once, and…
“Ait, emIt, aiM, Ite.”
*BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!*
—a massive explosion engulfed Soryujang.
* * *
“What in the world is going on?”
“As Cael, son of Chavera, sees it, the lord is executing his pre-established plan.”
“Hmm, the explosion was part of the plan, but the situation feels a bit…”
And so, a moment later.
While securing their escape route in the wasteland…
Naru and the others, who were watching Soryujang get demolished with an unimaginable racket, blinked their eyes.
A cloud of dust billowed from the collapsed Soryujang.
From within, a boy emerged like a bolt of lightning alongside a maid, covered in dust, and shouted.
“—Everyone, run!”