Chapter 150

-Peter.

The moment I called, Peter responded immediately.

-Yep. I succeeded in gently coaxing them, just as you said.

-He’s not a double agent, is he?

-Who do you think I am? I’m an expert when it comes to doing bad things.

-What was their reaction?

-They agreed right away for five bottles of Essence. To be honest, the Essence probably wasn’t the issue. The tide of the war is already turning against Verno, isn’t it? They must have realized they need to side with us if they want to live.

Oh, right, Peter added.

-Those guys are the ones Verno trusts and relies on the most. The shock will be no joke when he finds out he’s been betrayed.

I told the cackling Peter he did well and cut the connection.

By then, the Essence that had entered my body had finished being completely absorbed.

[Essence, you have succeeded in absorbing the Scales of House Verno.]

Demonic Energy seeped fully into my body.

I had reached a state where Elixirs could no longer raise my Rank.

Even so, this was a little different.

It was more effective than any Elixir I had ever consumed. It was incomparable even to the highest-grade Elixirs Wi Jeong-rak sent me every month.

It had to be.

What Verno had given me was the Essence that symbolized his house.

The head of the house himself had given me one of only three pills he possessed.

That’s why it’s suspicious.

Giving the family’s Essence to some nobody who rolled in from who-knows-where?

It smells fishy, too fishy. Even more so since it was a suspicious man like Verno who did it.

Perhaps it was a trap he had set.

That was why.

I needed to put him a little more at ease.

That was the reason I had ordered Peter to set a trap.

In any case.

The first thing I did after absorbing all the Essence was to release my Demonic Energy.

A decisive battle lies ahead.

I need to heighten my body’s tension, and conversely, lower my mental sense of stability.

Fwoosh— Fwoosh—

My body felt light every time I swung Durandal.

As I was about to fall into a Trance, I chose today’s opponent.

The person who suddenly came to mind was Ian.

If the current me and Ian were to fight, who would win?

Not yet. I’m still a little lacking.

But it was certain that I had grown a lot.

It was thanks to Chilyanggong.

If I were to master Chilyanggong and create my own unique magic that Ian couldn’t achieve…

My heart pounded.

No. Now is not the time. Now. Now, aren’t I facing a decisive battle?

Instead, I placed another man before me.

His name was Verno.

My first Sacrifice.

I slowly approached, holding Durandal. Until that moment, he was still looking at me with a pleased expression.

I imbued Durandal with Demonic Energy. He tilted his head. Immediately after, his eyes shot open.

-You. Don’t tell me.

Yes. Your “don’t tell me” is right. I answered only in my mind and swung my sword down.

Fwaaah—!

The air split, and from the crown of his head to his groin, I cut him in two. He slowly disappeared. At the same time, I heard the exact same voice from behind.

“Incredible.”

When I turned around, Verno was approaching, clapping.

“Have you mastered not only the sword but magic as well?”

“I’ve learned a few trivial tricks.”

“Too much humility can be a poison. If there’s anyone who would describe your magic and swordsmanship as trivial, bring them before me.”

Even as he said that, he didn’t consider me a rival at all.

Of course he wouldn’t. Most of the power I possessed was under a Seal.

Instead of answering his pointless joke, I gestured with my chin and asked.

“…Has the day of the decisive battle been set?”

“Yes.”

He smiled.

“Follow me. I’ll let you smell the blood you’ve been longing for.”

Right. I hope that blood is yours.

Among House Verno, the four subordinates Verno trusted most moved together.

Including me, that made six.

The current operation was treated as top secret among top secrets.

Only the six of us knew that the operation was starting, and only Verno knew the detailed information.

No. There’s one more.

-Peter.

-Yep. I’ve confirmed their location. I’ll send some soldiers that way.

As soon as I got the information, I ran to Verno.

“One hundred and twenty Upper Demons are approaching from the north. They know our exact location. What will you do?”

“…We’ll eliminate them and move on.”

“It will leave evidence.”

“We’ll have to risk it.”

“Just what I wanted.”

And so, the first battle began. Killing one hundred and twenty Upper Demons wasn’t that difficult.

It started from then. I constantly leaked information. A battle broke out each time, and we eliminated them all, moving forward step by step.

With battles raging every day, our stamina was ground down, and the atmosphere grew grim.

The climax of it all was today.

The panting Orc collapsed with a thud.

The situation was not good.

“The deployment of soldiers is increasing wherever we go.”

“It’s clear. The operation has been discovered.”

The other guys also collapsed into their seats.

The spider-emblemed Monsters that had been standing until just a moment ago spewed their venom, but no one paid them any mind.

It was because of the battle that had lasted for over twelve hours.

This time, even I found it difficult.

Their troop deployment was becoming more blatantly stronger by the day.

As if they knew our location and were closing in from all sides.

That was why.

In the middle of the field where venom was billowing like clouds, an emergency meeting was held.

“What will you do?”

“What do you mean, what will we do? Lord Verno. We must call off the operation at once.”

The Orc guy said forcefully.

A rebuttal immediately flew back.

“To turn back after coming this far would result in immense losses. We must proceed as planned.”

“Do you think we ran all the way here for a dog’s death? We can’t. We have to stop, even now. Gor has clearly noticed our operation. We won’t be able to kill him if we go on in this state.”

Various opinions clashed and intertwined.

Amidst it all, there was one thing in common.

The gazes Verno’s core subordinates sent me were not kind.

The fundamental reason was probably because I had received the highest-grade Essence passed down only within House Verno, and the second was because it looked like the new stone was about to push out the embedded one.

But there’s no need to worry.

I have no intention of playing house here.

All of you gathered here, including Verno, are scheduled to become my Experience Points.

“Have you located Gor?”

At Verno’s question, the Orc answered.

“He’s holed up in the deepest part of the castle.”

“He seems to be strongly conscious of an assassination.”

“The possibility of an information leak?”

The Orc hesitated, hissing.

“There’s a very high probability that he has detected our approach.”

“How on earth.”

The Orc looked at me. He was suspicious. He was asking if I was the informant.

This guy. He’s a good actor.

The informant Peter mentioned just before was this very pig.

The spy who was completely won over by five bottles of Essence.

A guy like that is suspicious of me?

Verno spoke.

“The key is whether we can eliminate Gor even if we’ve been discovered. Is there a way?”

“Give me a lot of time.”

“How much.”

“If you give me another half a year from now, I can eliminate Gor.”

“That’s the same as saying not to do it. Rejected.”

“Since Gresham was the one who proposed this plan, Gresham must have a way.”

One of them looked at me and smiled wryly.

“Gresham. Is there a way?”

“There is.”

I nodded without reservation. No surprise or admiration emerged.

As if they expected it, their suspicious gazes intensified.

They sent glances to their master.

Didn’t I tell you, sir? He’s suspicious. To say he has an answer in this situation. We must kill him.

The unspoken words drilled into my ears.

Sure enough, the Orc guy made the first move.

“Lord Verno. Five location-tracking spells were discovered just yesterday. The Demonic Energy analysis showed they were from Peter’s side.”

“That bastard. He pulls all sorts of shady shit.”

The guys who had each said a word now looked at me. They slowly began to raise their Demonic Energy.

“The timing is quite strange, isn’t it? Some nobody who rolled in from who-knows-where suddenly appears and suggests we strike Gor. But then Gor noticed the ridiculous operation. Where on earth could the information have leaked from?”

“You’re right. I don’t care about anything as long as I can drench my body in blood. But it is strange.”

“Where did you say your hometown was?”

“What will you do with that information?”

“What do you think? I need to check if your body has a spider emblem on it.”

As he said, Verno’s gaze turned chilling.

If I can’t explain myself properly here…

Conversely, that was exactly what I was aiming for.

For Verno to find me suspicious.

Verno is a man of deep suspicion.

And, the more suspicious a man is, the easier he is to deceive.

Because as suspicious as they are, they will believe even the slightest bit of evidence you show them.

To see the shocked expression Verno had made in the Mental World, this current work was essential.

“Gresham.”

Verno called me. Even then, my expression remained unchanged.

“Speak.”

“What is this method you mentioned, to assassinate Gor without being discovered?”

“I’ll have to say that after we get rid of the spy.”

“Then you would have to die.”

Look at this. Verno took the bait perfectly.

“Do I look like a spy from their side?”

“Are you not?”

The Orc guy came closer, hissing from his stinking mouth. No one stopped him.

I let out a smirk.

“The smell of Essence is sickening. Just how much did you take?”

“…What?”

Silence fell simultaneously.

The men flinched all at once.

Oh-ho. Now that I see it, did all of them get a share?

And, Verno also witnessed this momentary flinch.

I’m almost there.

I stared straight at Verno.

“Keep your subordinates in line before you suspect me.”

The next moment, I sent the Orc guy’s head flying.

Blood gushed like a fountain.

At the same time, I pulled him toward me and took a piece of paper from his clothes.

It was a paper with only Coordinates and numbers written on a blank emblem.

“Didn’t I say there was a rat hiding?”

Verno’s eyes widened to the size of basins.

Betrayal from someone he trusted delivers this kind of shock.

I didn’t stop there.

“Did you know that there’s more than one rat?”

“…Don’t tell me.”

Verno looked at the other three.

Their pupils trembled.

It was right after that.

The remaining three charged at me.

Time flows slowly.

Killing the remaining three is not very difficult.

What’s important is Verno’s action.

The moment a brief moment of deliberation passed.

Verno swiped his hand.

Just like that, the heads of his three subordinates rolled onto the ground.

Done. I’m almost there.

A heavy silence flowed.

“…They were men who followed me since I was the young lord. How futile.”

I replied indifferently.

“The shock of being stabbed in the back must be considerable. It would be better to cancel the operation. You’ve worked hard.”

The expected response came flying back.

“No. I can just find new commanders. And if it’s a trustworthy Warrior, I can trust them even more.”

“I hate the word ‘trust.’ It’s just a transaction.”

“That’s what I like even more about you. I’m the same. I won’t ask for your loyalty. I’ve only just realized.”

“Will you be alright? I’ll ask one last time.”

“Don’t ask twice and tell me the method you mentioned earlier. Gor has discovered our operation. And yet, you said you could kill him. What is that method?”

“…If you’re so curious.”

As my Demonic Energy boiled, a spell was completed.

“?”

“I think it’ll be possible if I kill you and Level Up.”

[Divine Punishment]

KRAAANG!*

A bolt of lightning struck down on his head. I couldn’t see his expression. It didn’t matter. As long as I could land the first strike, victory was unconditionally mine.