Chapter 323: Villa Raid (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 323: Villa Raid (2)
It was a dense, deep forest, abandoned by civilization. Not a single proper path had been carved through its depths, and monsters roamed freely.
There were few people in the world capable of building and maintaining a villa in such a place. Joshua, however, kept his Guardian Knights and Hounds stationed here permanently.
Grrr, gurgle…
From somewhere in the gloom, nameless monsters let out low growls.
They didn't dare approach Jin, however, instinctively fearful of the energy of the Pluto Tribe radiating from him.
A secret villa and Joshua’s childhood.
If Luna hadn't told him, even the information network of the Seven-Colored Bird would have never found this place. In a way, the villa was situated in a location that was impossible to find unless you were a blood relative who had grown up alongside him.
—Back when Joshua was an adolescent, there was a forest he’d go to for training on days I’d given him a particularly hard time. It was a forest where monsters appeared. It seems he chose that place to imitate Father’s training in the Black Sea.
That was what Luna had told him when she revealed the location of the secret villa.
The people of the Ekan Kingdom called this place the Abandoned Forest, the Dark Forest, or the Forest of the Abyss—the sort of names every region had for its useless and dangerous woods. The nearby villages had long since vanished after being raided by monsters, and the Ekan Kingdom lacked the power to clear the forest.
As a boy, Joshua believed this was the perfect land for his training.
He thought his father would be pleased. He expected that if he practiced solitary training in this forest, just as his father did in the Black Sea, he would one day earn his recognition.
Only once did Cyron ever speak to Joshua about that forest.
—You are doing well. But you cannot catch up to your sister that way.
It was extremely rare for Cyron to offer his children pure praise. Therefore, a comment that mixed praise and reprimand—delivered without a hint of mockery—was certainly closer to a compliment.
But for the Joshua of that time, even in that moment when he was training to follow in the footsteps of the father he respected… he could not bear being compared to Luna.
And so, he led the cadets of his faction and set the villa on fire himself.
After that day, the villa disappeared from Runcandel’s records, and Joshua no longer visited the Ekan Kingdom.
Yet, about ten years later, for some unknown reason, Joshua returned to this place and built a villa identical to the one he had made as a boy.
—I don’t know if it’s because of his love-hate relationship with Father, or if he just realized he liked that forest after all, or if his inferiority complex has faded a bit. I’m not sure of the reason, but regardless, it seems he’s using it as a fairly important space.
As Jin briefly recalled Luna’s words, he sensed a presence and turned his head. Masked figures appeared between the dense, dark trees.
Casimir, Alisa, Kuzan, and Julian. Having arrived at the forest, they had just caught up to him.
“We’ve erased all the traces you left behind as we came, Young Master,” Kuzan said, bowing politely. Just as he said, the group had wiped away the marks Jin had intentionally left to guide them.
“Good work.”
Three Guardian Knights and ten Hounds. According to Luna’s information, that was the number of personnel stationed inside the villa.
“You may kill all the Hounds, but try to keep the Guardian Knights alive if possible. Subdue them, but kill them if they can’t be restrained. Kuzan, Julian—there might be former comrades who recognize your abilities, so you must change your fighting styles.”
He wanted to spare the Guardian Knights because they were men who had sworn loyalty to Runcandel long before they became Joshua’s henchmen. From now on, he wanted to avoid killing the family’s Guardian Knights whenever possible. In a way, he was giving them a chance.
A chance to defect or surrender before the full-scale war with Joshua truly began. He was more than willing to recruit any knights who made a wise choice.
“Understood.”
Jin, Casimir, and Alisa had also brought secondary weapons. Alisa had foregone her gauntlets entirely, bringing a pair of daggers instead.
Jin shifted his gaze to Julian. The boy was usually extremely introverted and always wore a terrified expression whenever Joshua was mentioned, but today he seemed exceptionally tense.
“Julian.”
“…Yes?”
“It’s definitely here.”
At those words, Julian bit his lip firmly. Jin lightly tapped his shoulder and continued.
“Let’s move in.”
Jin and his companions began to advance rapidly through the forest.
Except for Julian, no one seemed particularly nervous. Three Guardian Knights and ten Hounds were a force they could easily handle, provided the opponents weren't at the level of Enforcement Knights.
The darkness was only due to the dense canopy of tall trees; it was still broad daylight. As they neared the villa, the trees gradually thinned, and soon a flat clearing revealed the villa standing alone in the center.
Sunlight poured down over the log building. It was a picturesque scene, but at a glance, it didn't look like it could possibly accommodate thirteen people. Since Joshua had originally built it for his sole use and restored it to the exact same specifications, the building was quite small—more a cabin than a villa.
The group approached the entrance, silencing their footsteps.
Inside were two of Joshua’s Hounds. They were gambling amongst themselves and only noticed a presence when the group was right in front of them.
By then, it was too late.
Shick, shick!
Poison needles fired by Kuzan through the gaps in the window pierced their throats. As their heads slammed onto the table, Kuzan skillfully retrieved the needles and slashed their necks to erase any trace of the puncture wounds.
Aside from those two, there was no one else inside the villa. The three Guardian Knights and the remaining eight Hounds were nowhere to be seen.
They were underground.
Since the building was small, finding the passage to the basement wasn't difficult—provided one knew a basement existed.
Creeeeeak!
Alisa opened a trapdoor hidden in the floor and checked for traps. Since the residents moved in and out frequently, there were no special traps near the entrance.
Descending revealed a pitch-black passage. The group unhesitatingly lit the mana lamps that had been hanging from the belts of the two dead Hounds.
Unlike the cabin on the surface, the basement was substantial.
“Let’s not split up, Sir Casimir. We don’t know the internal layout,” Jin said.
“Understood, Young Master Jin.”
For ten minutes, they walked through the basement without encountering a single enemy. During that time, they realized the basement was structured like a prison. Beyond iron bars were numerous cells filled with bloodstains, but all the ones they had seen so far were empty.
There were human bloodstains, and there were also those of dragons. One could tell by the fallen, decayed scales in some of the cells.
Julian could not hide his anxiety at the sight. They had decided to raid this villa because his Guardian Dragon was imprisoned here.
Are the traces of the dragons being held here all from the Guardian Dragons of the contractors Joshua keeps under him?
The number was by no means small. This raised a question: How could a mere thirteen humans guard so many dragons?
That’s impossible. There must be some other device or method.
The Demon God Stone immediately came to mind. It was the only thing Jin knew of that could terrify or control a dragon. However, it didn't seem likely that Joshua possessed one.
As he was thinking, a figure suddenly appeared as they rounded a corner.
He looked nothing like a Guardian Knight or a Hound. His back was so severely hunched that his head barely reached Jin’s waist. He was covered from head to toe in a pitch-black robe and held a staff.
A person Luna hadn't mentioned.
No, Jin wondered if it was even human.
None of the group, including Jin, had sensed any presence from him.
“What is this? Were materials scheduled to arrive today?” he spoke in a low, gloomy voice.
The moment Kuzan prepared to subdue the mysterious man with a poison needle, Jin raised a hand to stop him. He had realized the man’s pale eyes were staring aimlessly into the air, completely out of focus.
He’s blind. If he weren't, he wouldn't react like this after seeing a group of masked intruders. But who on earth is he?
The rest of the group noticed the same thing a moment later.
“How many came?”
The man had used a word for counting people. The ‘materials’ he spoke of were human beings.
“Five.”
“A pittance. Nothing can be done with that amount. Just throw them inside and go back.”
“I’ve been curious for a while,” Jin said, stepping closer. “Materials for what?”
The man shook his head. “Tsk, it’s rare for Sir Joshua to make such a mistake. Letting in someone who asks such questions…”
Thump!
He struck the floor with his staff.
Suddenly, ominous purple magic circles unfurled across the floor, ceiling, and walls. Instinctively, Jin and his companions could tell it was ancient dark magic. That meant even Jin had no idea what effect it would produce.
In that brief moment, several thoughts flashed through Jin’s mind. Should he kill the man, or should he try to defend against the unknown magic and then subdue him for information? The latter was tempting, but the risk to his companions was too high.
Swish!
Jin lunged forward like an arrow and thrust his sword into the man’s throat. He judged that merely severing a limb might not be enough to stop the magic.
“Gah!”
The man flinched and collapsed. Not even a second had passed since the magic circles were activated.
“Young Master, are you alright?”
“I killed him because I couldn't tell what kind of magic it was. Like Myuron, he might have been trying to summon something from hell,” Jin said as he pulled back the hood of the fallen man. The purple magic circles were already losing their light and vanishing.
It was a hideous sight. His face was so mangled that his nose and mouth were indistinguishable, and his body looked like a lump of flesh someone had forcibly mashed together. Furthermore, he seemed to have been in a weakened state even before Jin killed him.
“You did well. Hah, what exactly was this thing… a mage? No, he doesn't feel human,” Casimir said.
“He certainly doesn’t seem human. He looks like a demon. I was taught during my time in the Special Task Force that weakened demons take on this appearance,” Alisa added.
Jin began searching the robe for belongings. From the inner pockets, strange old papers and bone fragments—it was unclear if they were animal or human—spilled out.
Thud, roll…
And then, a pitch-black orb fell out.
“Yo-Young Master! This is…!” Casimir looked down at the orb in horror.
The orb was remarkably similar to an object they all knew well, made of the exact same material.
A Spirit Energy Orb…?!
Solderet’s recording device.
The orb that had fallen from the man’s robe was identical.