Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Padiak's Tower
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Shhhk! Shhhk!
The bricks of the fortress moved and changed organically.
In a way, it looked as if stone was enveloping an interior made of black smoke.
It wasn't solid like a stone golem, but more like the outside and inside were moving separately.
‘Right. The black colossus I saw here. Its armor was just like this.’
It seemed to be a characteristic of beings from the Dark Continent.
Thud! Thud—!
The black fortress halted its steps and began to unleash a terrifying shockwave.
The intense killing intent I had been sensing for a while…
That thing was its source.
We had to press ourselves flat against the ground to endure the wave that swept over us.
“You see something new every day.”
“You’re only in your twenties, yet you talk like you’ve seen it all?”
As I muttered to myself in disbelief, a sharp rebuke came from my side.
For a fleeting moment, Camil’s smile held a hint of mischief.
“Hey, I’ve lived a bit longer than I look.”
“Heh.”
He must have thought it was a joke, as he let out a low chuckle.
Though he soon reverted to his usual listless expression.
‘But it’s true, though.’
The thought sprang to mind, but I shook my head.
There was no point in explaining Deinox’s seal; he wouldn’t understand.
No, he would just think I was talking nonsense.
“I’m a man who lives and dies by trust, yet my image has fallen this far.”
As I quietly lamented my plight, Camil’s scornful expression came into view.
His eyes seemed to ask, ‘You, of all people?’
“Enough with the strange talk. Let’s decide what to do about that thing.”
“Shouldn’t figuring out what it is be our first priority?”
“That’s true.”
“They should be here any minute now.”
With those words, I glanced behind me.
Just then, Lis Ganiol and Johnson were rushing over to join us, out of breath.
Their clothes were dirty, as if they’d been knocked to the ground by the fortress’s shockwave.
“Did you two just come from a mud festival?”
“Pant, pant! What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“You’re covered in mud.”
“Ugh! My designer robe!”
Only then did the Vice-Commander notice his ruined clothes, his face a mask of despair.
‘Worrying about clothes in a situation like this… this guy isn’t normal either.’
With a grim expression, I gestured toward the bushes.
I meant for him to dust off his clothes later and take a look.
“That… that’s…”
“Do you recognize the fortress?”
“That is Padiak’s Tower.”
“What? It looks completely different.”
“Do you see this here?”
Lis Ganiol rummaged inside his coat and pulled out a piece of paper with a drawing of Padiak’s Tower.
He then pointed to the black flag at the very top.
It was identical to the one planted on the fortress’s head.
“So that’s the key feature.”
“Yes. We’ve found the right place!”
Excited by the discovery of their target, the Vice-Commander’s voice rose slightly.
At that, Padiak’s Tower, which had been stomping around the area, suddenly stopped moving.
It had detected our presence through the sound.
“Hmph!”
Startled, Lis Ganiol hastily covered his mouth.
Fortunately, since we were lying low, our position wasn’t immediately revealed.
“You almost got us killed. Could you be more careful?”
“S-Sorry.”
The Vice-Commander broke out in a cold sweat, still in a pathetic heap on the ground.
If we were caught by that monstrous giant, we’d be turned into well-pressed jerky.
Even the imperturbable Camil was being cautious.
“So, what now? We’ve found our target, but I don’t see how we can get the Latio.”
“Indeed. How in the world are we supposed to defeat that thing?”
At the cold, hard question, the glint of elation in Lis Ganiol’s eyes faded into gloom.
If he could use his magic to its full extent, things might have been a bit easier.
When it came to wide-scale destruction, nothing could match a mage.
But as he was now, the Vice-Commander was nothing more than a liability.
He’d be exhausted after casting a single spell.
“You just have to be physically strong.”
I let out a deep sigh as I stared at Padiak’s Tower.
At that, Lis Ganiol, who had been racking his brain, posed a question.
It was an attempt to find inspiration, no matter how small.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means that if you’re physically strong, you don’t need to use your head. It’s a very, very profound philosophy.”
“It sounds rather simple. Besides, isn’t it the other way around? If your head is no good, your body suffers…”
“No. If something isn’t working out, it’s not because you lack wisdom, but because you lack strength. Look now.”
I pontificated my absurd philosophy while pointing at Padiak’s Tower.
Honestly, wasn’t it true?
If we were overwhelmingly powerful, we wouldn’t need to be having this worry.
We could just walk over, give it a good smack, and take the Latio.
Lis Ganiol looked at our group with a dumbfounded expression.
His eyes seemed to ask what kind of nonsense this was.
“I agree. He’s a serious sophist.”
Johnson nodded vigorously, siding with Lis Ganiol.
Camil, on the other hand, seemed completely uninterested in our chatter.
With narrowed eyes, he was flexing his fingers, staring at Padiak’s Tower.
It was as if he were comparing the size of the fortress to the surrounding objects.
Then, he turned to me and gave a slight nod.
“Shouldn’t we just get this Latio thing without taking it down? Secretly, I mean.”
“What?”
“What I’m saying is… why are we even trying to fight it?”
“Why do you have to make ‘stealing’ sound so complicated?”
“…It’s a bit awkward.”
“I didn’t know you had a conscience.”
“I’m sure I have one somewhere, if you look hard enough.”
“I sincerely hope you find it.”
In any case, I understood why he was looking at me.
The Rantzverger family was the greatest assassination guild on the continent.
No stealth technique was superior to our family’s secret arts.
Soul Shadow Evasion could even deceive magic, so there was a chance it might work on Padiak’s Tower.
‘It’s not a bad method. But what if it doesn’t work?’
I looked directly into Lis Ganiol’s eyes, which were filled with a strange yearning.
“If I get too close and end up in danger, who’s going to compensate me?”
“I will. Hazard pay! I have a lot in my slush fund.”
“…”
I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at the unexpected confession.
Seeing him willing to use his personal funds, it was clear the Vice-Commander was staking his life on this mission.
It made sense; his position within the Everfilt family was probably shaky.
The Grand Magia had cost a fortune and produced nothing but duds.
My deliberation was short.
The reward Lis Ganiol offered was too tempting to think about for long.
“An additional 10,000 Geld for a success bonus. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Maybe I should buy some land this time, instead of another villa.
Such happy thoughts drifted through my mind.
* * *
‘Wow! This is nerve-wracking.’
I was stealthily approaching Padiak’s Tower, tailing it.
Its stride was so wide that just getting close was a challenge.
In the end, I decided to read its movement patterns and wait in its path.
But even that was an extremely difficult endeavor.
“Hah! It wore off again.”
The concentration of demonic energy was so high that my Soul Shadow Evasion kept dissipating.
If my stealth were to fail just as Padiak’s Tower approached…
‘I’d have to bolt.’
One might say you never know the outcome until you try.
Of course, the probability of winning a fight wasn’t zero.
But if you felt the killing intent it emitted up close, any such argument would vanish.
Thud—!
The tangible killing intent violently shook the air as it spread.
It was so intense that it was difficult to even remain standing.
‘To beat this thing, I’d probably have to die and come back to life two or three more times.’
A monster like Claude the Black Sand might be able to do it, but with my current abilities, it was absolutely impossible.
Shhh.
Just then, I felt my Soul Shadow Evasion dissipate.
‘Yikes!’
I quickly drew upon my aura, struggling to maintain my stealth.
My form, which had started to become visible, vanished once more.
But it was at that very moment.
Thud!
Padiak’s Tower, which had been circling a massive tree, planted its right foot right in front of me.
If my reaction had been any slower, I would have been discovered. It was a life-or-death moment.
But at the same time, it was a decisive opportunity.
‘Now!’
I grabbed the undulating bricks and clung tightly to the tower’s leg.
Its entire body shook violently as it continued to walk, but I gritted my teeth and held on for dear life.
Thud! Shhhk!
The moment its right foot touched the ground was my chance to climb.
Like a cockroach, I scurried up the wall.
Thankfully, the writhing bricks provided plenty of handholds.
If it had a smooth body like the colossus, I wouldn’t have even attempted this.
‘But where in the world is this Latio?’
The infiltration itself was a success, but the next step was the problem.
Padiak’s Tower was smaller than the Ermac Fortress that Mac had built.
But it was still a considerably large structure, making the search area far too vast.
Furthermore, the fact that it was walking on two legs meant it was shaking uncontrollably.
‘For now, getting to the top is the priority.’
After a strenuous climb, I managed to pass the tower’s waist.
From here, I could enter the interior.
Aside from the legs made of writhing bricks, the rest had the proper form of a fortress.
Shhhk.
I moved cautiously, peering inside.
It was so dark I could barely see, but finding my way wasn’t a major issue.
An assassin of the Rantzverger family was accustomed to the dark.
“Do I even need to be in stealth for this?”
After wandering a considerable distance, I found the fortress interior completely devoid of life.
I saw no reason to strain myself maintaining Soul Shadow Evasion.
If I ran into some eye monster, I was prepared to fight.
I wasn’t fighting Padiak’s Tower directly, so I figured there was no need to be scared.
But I soon had to change my mind.
Thud! Thud!
‘There’s something else inside?’
What I discovered inside Padiak’s Tower was a colossus wreathed in dark purple flames.
With a greatsword slung over its shoulder, it patrolled the perimeter of a large chamber.
Its movements suggested it was guarding something in the center.
The moment I saw it, I knew.
Latio was in there.
‘But why purple, of all colors? How ominous.’
As I thought this and reached for my Black Dragon Sword, the colossus’s movements suddenly stopped.
Creeak! Creeeak!
It then turned its head toward me and began to make a strange noise.
—Intruder detected. Intruder detected.
“This is driving me nuts. Now they can talk?”
At this rate, I’ll find out there’s a whole other civilization on the Dark Continent.