Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Translator: Penny
Chapter 39
On the Street (3)
As Jacob acted friendly, the man's expression grew even more excited.
"To be honest, we're just looking for a lifeline. How's your relationship with the Lord?"
"L-Lord?"
When Jacob draped his arm around the man's shoulder and patted him on the back, he felt a strange sense of elation.
"Our Boss is very close to the Lord of Veilain. They're like brothers, you know?"
"Oh—is that true? Wait, let's not talk here. Let's go outside."
Leaving the basement, Jacob led the man to the kitchen on the first floor. He handed him a pre-chilled beer and gestured for him to sit down.
The man carefully pulled out the chair as Jacob instructed and sat down.
"Drink up. It's been chilled."
"Th-thank you."
"Oh, what's your name?"
"I'm... Lange."
As Jacob's red eyes glowed, Lange answered smoothly, as if under a spell.
"Right, Lange. What's the Boss like?"
Lange gulped down the beer Jacob had handed him like water, then wiped the foam from his mouth with his dirty sleeve. The anxiety that had been festering all night seemed to vanish with a few sips of beer.
"Our Boss is like the King of Kotaru's 'Middle' District."
"A King?"
Lange chuckled, a hint of amusement in his eyes, and continued his explanation.
"Kotaru City is divided into three layers: The Inside, The Middle, and The Outside. The Inside is ruled by those City Council bastards, while our Boss reigns supreme in The Middle. As for The Outside, it's just a wilderness inhabited by beasts, so no ruler is needed there."
"Why are the City Council the Masters, but your Boss is the King?"
"That's just the difference in power."
Jacob refilled Lange's beer and this time offered him a bowl of roasted potatoes and chicken soup.
Lange licked his lips and swallowed hard. He hadn't eaten anything in two days since being imprisoned.
"What kind of power difference?"
"We told you we have a deal with the Lord, right? We get him whatever he wants, and we sell whatever he wants to sell. Thanks to that, no one messes with us in the middle."
"You sell things for him too?" Jacob asked.
Lange answered while drinking his soup straight from the bowl. "Yeah, we sell his 'mood-enhancing powder.' I think he smuggles it in from other countries."
"Where do you sell it?"
"We sell it in the Capital."
"Ah, I see. What does the Lord need right now?"
"I heard he needs young slaves."
"Where do you get them?"
Lange took a large bite of his baked potato.
"Where else? Mostly from The Outside. Sometimes we take kids from rural villages too."
"Oh, I see. Where does the Boss live?"
"Even most of us don't know where the Boss lives. But it's probably not in 'The Inside' or 'The Outside.' We usually only see him at gatherings."
"I understand. When are you meeting the Boss? I'd like to meet him too."
"Tonight."
Jacob grinned, watching Lange's unfocused eyes.
It had been worth casting Vampir's Charm to loosen the man's tongue.
If Jacob were a pure-blooded Vampir, he wouldn't have needed such a cumbersome method. Elena could have extracted all the information in under ten seconds without resorting to such tactics.
"Shall we meet the Boss first tonight?"
Lange, oblivious to the thick, murderous intent radiating from Jacob's fingertips, stuffed the remaining potatoes into his mouth.
"Where did all the kids go?!"
Bajes, who ran a mid-sized organization in Kotaru, snapped irritably when he saw that few of his subordinates had gathered for the meeting.
Normally, 40 to 50 members would easily attend, but today fewer than twenty had shown up.
"They've all been captured, Chief."
"Captured...? Where to?!"
"Someone saw Josef leading his men and dragging them somewhere."
"Hmm? I heard Wolf had returned."
"Josef? Wolf?"
Listening to his subordinates' conversation, Bajes recalled the identities of the names mentioned.
Josef was an assassination broker from "The Outside," operating the Night Alley several blocks away.
Bajes's operations didn't overlap with ours, and the assassins of the Night Alley were highly skilled, making them one of the factions we avoided conflict with whenever possible.
Wolf, on the other hand, was a young mercenary who had made a name for himself in the "Middle" district back in the day.
Well, to be precise, he was more of a hired thug or fixer than a true mercenary, but his skills were undeniable.
We had even considered recruiting him at one point, but one day he vanished without a trace. Rumor had it he'd been stabbed to death somewhere.
"Why are those two suddenly showing up at the same time and kidnapping my men?!"
"I'm not sure... Rumor has it Josef and Wolf are gathering their forces for a showdown."
"Damn it! If they want to fight, they should do it in their own damn homes! What if soldiers come swarming in because of all this noise at such a crucial time?"
Bajes grabbed a piece of jerky from the table and chewed it loudly as he shouted.
This was a time for restraint.
If a commotion drew attention while goods were being moved, the entire operation could fall apart.
"Are all the items for our 'Lord' ready?"
"Yes, everything is prepared without a hitch."
"Where did you get them? From those orphan brats?"
"They've been paying their tributes regularly lately, so we're leaving them alone. Instead, we used a girl who gathers medicinal herbs in the mountains."
Bajes chuckled, seemingly surprised.
"Those damn fools from The Outside. Do they really think this will change their fate? Starting next month, we're raising the tribute. And for every shortfall, bring me one of their kids."
"Understood, Chief."
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
Tension filled the room.
"Who is it?!"
"Ch-Chief... it's me, Lange..."
"Lange? You bastard, why are you so late?!"
When the door swung open, unfamiliar figures appeared behind Lange.
"Who are these guys?" Bajes's eyebrows rose.
Only authorized personnel were allowed in this hideout, and newcomers had to pass Bajes's personal interview.
Usually, his subordinates brought in third-rate thugs they'd met in bars or drifters who'd wandered into the city from other regions.
But the men Bajes saw before him seemed far removed from such types.
"Chief... Heh heh."
"You—"
Bajes realized from Lange's expression that he was completely out of his mind.
They must have drugged him to make him reveal the hideout.
He swiftly grabbed the massive sword he had placed beside his chair and roared toward the entrance:
"Intruders! Kill them all!"
At the sudden shout, his men fumbled for their weapons. In that instant, the figures behind Lange burst into the room.
Someone recognized their faces and shouted:
"It's Josef! Josef of the Night Alley is attacking!"
"H-h-hick! This side is definitely W-W-Wolf!"
"Why are those two working together?"
Hearing his subordinates' shouts, Bajes' face twisted into a furious scowl.
"You fucking bastards! Josef and Wolf?! We haven't even touched your organization! Why are you barging in here and causing this shit?!"
There was an unspoken rule among criminal organizations: when conflicts arose, retaliation wasn't the first course of action. Instead, the bosses would contact each other, meet, and negotiate a resolution to the dispute.
Without such rules, the "middle" and "outside" territories would constantly be stained with blood. This would inevitably draw the wrath of the City Council—and ultimately the Lord himself—who would unsheathe their swords to restore order.
It was only by staying within reasonable boundaries that the powerful could tolerate minor illegal activities.
"Are you the boss of this organization?" a sharp-featured young man asked him.
"And you're Wolf... I saw you once when you were just a greenhorn. What the hell is this reckless stunt?! Do you even know who's backing me?!" Bajes roared like a wild beast, tightening his grip on his weapon.
Clearly, as the boss of an organization, his presence and audacity were extraordinary.
"I've come to hear about your famous backer."
"Ha ha...! Fine, you insolent bastard! My backer is the new Lord ruling Veilain! One word from me, and you'll be dragged away and die without a trace!"
"The Lord is your backer? Are you sure about that?"
"Who else would the Lord of Veilain be?!"
Wolf frowned and pressed further, but Bajes's answer remained unchanged. There was no hesitation or sign of deliberation in his voice, making it difficult to dismiss as a lie.
What's going on here?
Wolf decided to stop probing. After all, his role wasn't to interrogate or interrogate.
"Let's see if you're still spouting the same nonsense after you're captured."
"You dare, you third-rate mercenary, to think you can capture me?! Preposterous!"
Bajes's sword lunged forward with lightning speed, aiming to slice through Wolf's neck. It was a brutally aggressive and threatening strike.
Wolf slid forward, arching his back and head sharply to evade the attack.
Wolf planted his left palm on the ground, kicked off with his left foot, and swung his right leg in a wide arc, striking Bajes squarely on the jaw.
With a crash, Bajes tumbled across the table and sprawled onto the floor.
"Gah! Cough... you son of a bitch!" He wiped the blood trickling from his mouth and struggled to his feet.
Even rotten, a bream is still a bream. It was clear why Bajes ruled this district—his resilience was extraordinary.
Wolf tensed slightly, readjusting his stance.
"Today, you and that bastard Josef will be butchered right here!" Bajes roared, raising his blade again.
But at that moment—
Thud.
Something gripped his arm.
"Huh...?"
The grip felt heavy and solid, like being held by a bear or an elephant.
Bajes turned to glare at his captor.
A handsome young man with broad shoulders and rock-hard muscles stood facing him.
"Who the hell are you?!" Bajes demanded, his voice laced with panic. He struck the young man's chest with his free hand, the one not holding his sword.
Thud!
"Huh...?"
Bajes stared in disbelief as his opponent remained completely unmoved.
This can't be happening.
"Kuaaaah!"
He unleashed a flurry of punches, knees, and kicks against the young man's body.
Bajes was a hulking figure with immense strength; in the Night Alley, no one could match him in a physical fight.
Crack!
"Gwaaaah!"
A searing pain shot through Bajes' right arm, which had been seized by his opponent, and his massive body collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon.
"That was a surprisingly decent massage," the handsome young man murmured indifferently, looking down at him.
"The cleanup is complete," a gaunt-faced man in a dark red suit reported, approaching the young man.
Bajes glanced around and saw that, true to the man's words, all his subordinates lay unconscious on the ground.
"You pathetic fools...! You couldn't even handle these four...!"
"Let's get straight to the point," the young man said, stepping closer to the grumbling Bajes. "You're friends with the Lord of Veilain, aren't you?"
"Yes! You're committing a grave offense! Do you think the Lord will let you get away with this?!"
"Hmm, have you ever been invited to the Lord's Mansion?"
"Hmph! How could we go to the Lord's Mansion when we work in the underworld? We meet separately outside!"
"I see. I'd like to meet this Lord."
Bajes chuckled mockingly at the young man's words.
"You crazy bastard! Do you think someone like you can just waltz in and meet him whenever you please? Kneel down and lick my boots, and I might consider it!"
"Hmm, this won't be easy."
"Count, leave him to me. I'll make him sing like a parrot."
Bajes frowned, wondering if he'd misheard.
Count?
"No, that won't be necessary. I'll handle this myself. You're Bajes, right?"
"Uh... well, actually..."
"I am Agron von Veilain."
"...?"
"Are you a warrior?"
Bajes swallowed nervously.
A chilling, azure aura began to emanate from the young man's eyes.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny
