Chapter 369
My Villains Episode 369
61. art of war(11)
There have been more than one assassination attempt on Prince Ulkar so far. But this is the first time an assassin has broken into his bedroom..
I can't imagine it at all. He broke through the security network of countless knights, wizards, and soldiers holding on to High Castle, crossed the double walls and inner castle, and hid all the way to the deepest part of the castle..
Unless you have a bunch of skills, you will never succeed..
I am not trying to make excuses as the commander of the central defense squad in charge of protecting the inner city, but out of the 20 assassins who had tried to assassinate me before, only two made it to the inner city. Most of them were discovered while crossing the double wall, and the rest were captured by mountaineers, military dogs, or soldiers from the inner city..
But it breaks through like this. Todae
How did you get in??”
“well… … . I don't know how to explain it, but he seemed like a very strange person. He must have mastered a strange martial art, so it was quite difficult to deal with him..”
Of course, the dungeon was located deep underground in the castle tower. Thanks to this, Ulkar, I, and the prince's entourage were going down the dark and shady underground stairs. Of course, because the space was so small, Ulkar was accompanied by only a few knights..
As we passed the staircase where the torch was hanging, Ulkar continued speaking thoughtfully..
“Yes, he was not human..”
“It doesn't look like a human?”
“……Well, it would be better for you to see it in person..”
The dungeon was a terrible place.
A narrow, dirty stone room with an unidentifiable fishy smell creeping up.…….
Since it was located on the lower floor than the storage room where food and alcohol were stored, there was naturally no sunlight, and the only living things, other than the guards we occasionally encountered, were rats and small insects. It got to the point where I thought it would be better to kill myself than to be trapped in a place like this..
I wonder if that was just my opinion, but most of the over 30 prison cells were empty..
After passing through a hallway lined with empty prison cells, Ulkar headed to the interrogation room attached to the guards' cells..
“ majesty.”
Two wizards greeted us in a stone room that was neither small nor large. It was Master Epoz and Madaz Rao..
“I heard you're ready..”
“Yes, as you can see.”
A man of short stature was tied to an X-shaped frame placed on one wall..
“......uh?”
As soon as I saw the man, I was a little surprised. It wasn't because his eyes were glassy and drooling, it was because he had facial features that are rarely seen here..
“……Easterners? The assassin I caught didn't have a face like this..”
Madaz answered the prince's question by taking off his light green leather gloves..
“It looks like the face was repaired by twisting the bones and muscles..”
“Did you fix your face? Is it magic??”
“It's not magic. It looks like something non-magical was done... … . I tried my own ‘surgical’ recovery. I don't know if this is the original face though..”
“I see… … . That's bizarre.”
Master Epoz, a young wizard with a metal belt on his forehead, looked a little pale and shook his head..
“You should have seen Lord Madaz perform the kill. It's not just bizarre... … Whoop
Instead of speaking, he turned his head and vomited. It seems like he came up with a scene that would upset his stomach..
Anyway, Madaz Rao shook off his leather gloves with a somewhat refreshed expression..
“All measures you mentioned have been completed. I prescribed poppy extract, amanita mushroom, and alpine herb and it worked very well..”
“Thank you for your hard work. I do the interrogation myself..”
“Do as you wish, Your Majesty. then.”
Madaz left the prison cell, taking care of the four or five pieces of parchment on which the writing was scribbled..
Master Epoz followed him with a slightly tired look in his eyes, and only stuck out his tongue after the iron door closed..
“really… … Well, he seems to be a person with a keen inquisitive mind. It makes me wonder if the Rao family is really like that or if Lord Madaz is a special weirdo..”
What on earth did Uncle Madaz do to make you say this? The same magician, a genius who earned the title of master in his 20s, even called him a weirdo..
Ulkar patted Master Epoz on the shoulder and approached the assassin..
“What is your name??”
At Ulkar's question, the man drooled and pursed his lips. After repeating the pain-like sound a few times, a recognizable sound came out..
“malleable••••••
“‘‘Mallable’? is that your name.”
“name. That's right, mallet……
“What an unusual name. Are you from the Eastern Continent??”
“……no. I am from Aringen……
Arlingen. It is the name of a province located in the western part of the Mittergerand Empire. I remember Fritz saying he was from there..
Afterwards, Ulkar asked several trivial questions, and the assassin gave answers as if under hypnosis..
As I was watching the scene with interest, I lowered my voice and asked Master Epoz a question..
“It's fascinating. I was afraid of making a confession
Because?”
“Confession, yo?”
He nodded with a puzzled face..
“Hmm, I'm not sure what it is, but the name doesn't seem that different from Lord Madaz's Prescription. Rather than making you confess the truth, it's closer to breaking your will to answer a question..”
“The confession system I know is probably of the same type..”
“Oh, is that so? However, since this is an irreversible prescription, use it with extreme caution.
must do.”
“Irreversible? then.”
Master Epoz pointed his chin at the assassin..
“You have to live like that forever. Well, I'll cut off your head as soon as the interrogation is over anyway, so it doesn't really matter..”
“Hmm.”
I stroked my chin for a moment and whispered again..
“Can you tell me the prescription??”
“yes? why.”
“I think I might need it someday..”
“……It's not difficult, but to properly use this recipe, you'll need someone skilled in both alchemy and magic..”
A person skilled in both alchemy and magic. Of all the people I know, there was only one person with such abilities: Ellen..
“……Still, please teach me. I don't think there's any harm in knowing this..”
“If that's the case. “I will write down the prescription in detail later.” The conversation with Master Epoz was concluded around the time when Ulkar, who had confirmed the effectiveness of the prescription, began the full-scale interrogation..
“There was no smell or presence of you. Wizards say they don't feel any magic at all..”
There is no smell, no presence, no magic.?
After hearing Ulkar's words, I looked at him again and saw that the assassin Gadan was giving off a truly alien aura..
As for smells and presence, I couldn't sense anything particularly different due to the environment of the dungeon's interrogation room. But I definitely don't feel an ounce of magical power. It was a very unusual case considering that even though he was unfamiliar with magical powers, he still possessed a small amount of mana..
Was this the strangeness the prince mentioned earlier?.
“What is your identity??”
“……witch, witch hunter……
“also. Is he an assassin from a witch hunting group?.”
Witch hunter? The witch-hunting group is a branch of the secret society 'Samgeomhoehoe'.?
While my eyes widened at the unexpected name, Ulkar shook his head and continued his interrogation..
“The goal of breaking into High Castle was probably to assassinate me.?”
“……me? me?”
“no. I am Ulkar Lionelson of Jeore..”
“……Ulkar. Silver Prince Ulkar……
Assassin Gadan's unfocused eyes turned to Prince Ja..
“……that's right. Ulkar. You can't be captured alive. Just kill it……
“Who bought it??”
“……Are you buying it? sandbar?" “I am asking who ordered me to be killed.”.”
“iced coffee.”
The opened pupils slowly turned upward, revealing the whites of the eyes..
“••••••master of the sword••••••
“master of the sword?”
“……Master of the sword. my master The hidden guardian of Middle-earth, the one who deserves to be its master.……
Everyone looked confused by the man's sleep-talking words, but I could vaguely understand their meaning..
The three treasures that the Three Swords Association possesses. Pasa Sword (破邪劍), True Magic Sword (定魔劍), and Wioe Sword (威外劍)）.
The owner of the 'bank' rooted in the Kingdom of Milanol is the Sword Lord Pasa, and the one who leads the 'Assassination Church' of the Amir Allied Powers is the Lord Sword Wioe. And the leader of the Witch Hunting Group, a group of the Mittergerand Empire,,
“True Demon Sword Master……
Could it be that I didn't hear you talking quietly to yourself? Ulkar's knight, Sir Bolsom, with his shaved head, stumbled..
“Are you talking about a sword master??”
“……swell•♦••••
“okay. Schwertmeister, master of the sword.”
“……swell. okay. He is a master……
It was a bit of an ambiguous answer, but Lord Bolsom said, 'Ha, as expected!' He snapped his fingers.
“This is the Hofken Holy Baek. He hired an assassin from Mittelthang..”
“…… well. I heard that the witch-hunting group is a group that comes and goes. It is unlikely that there was contact with them in the capital of the Mittergeland..”
“But right now, the only sword master in the enemy camp is Hofken Seongbaek. He has a seal in Mitteltang.,”
“It is too early to jump to conclusions. Also, it is important to confirm that the enemy sent it, and it is not so important who exactly instigated it..”
“hmm. Okay, Your Highness..”
As Lord Bolsom stepped away, scratching the back of his hamburger-wrinkled head, Ulkar asked various questions, trying to extract useful information..
Most of the answers were fragmentary or vague, but there were also some surprising stories..
“••••••It's greed•♦••••
“greed? what?”
“kill the silver prince……
“What?”
Suddenly, the man's blank face distorted..
“First, don't get caught. Second, check the arrangement. Third, kill Prince Silver. First comes first, second comes first. Thirdly, no, it’s dangerous.......
“Are you trying to kill me because you want the ball? … . Your original mission was reconnaissance, Gero.?”
reconnaissance. Okay, “What was this reconnaissance for? Is an attack planned??”
“……attack. Cut off Highcastle's head. Silver Prince, Sodomite, Young Fox, Goblin……
The silver prince is of course Ulkar, and after a quick glance, it seems like the rest are nicknames referring to other lords. The indigo man is the Margrave of Landry, the young fox is Count Orth, and the goblin is Viscount Cyril..
“You're planning to assassinate all the leaders..
“……The master of the sword is coming……
“Master of the sword? Are you saying your master is coming??”
“my master It's our job, the witch hunters' job, to pave the way.……
Ulkar looked as if he had figured something out, but he continued to ask questions calmly..
“When did you decide to attack? When is the scheduled date??”
“……soon. A day without moonlight……
“It's the end of the year. When does the old moon rise??”
Sir Giselle quickly answered the prince's question as he looked back..
“There are about three or four days left, Your Majesty..”
“Three or four days.”
Ulkar smoothed his forehead with a stern expression..
“I need to get ready..”
That was all the information obtained from the interrogation..
Aside from the fact that it was difficult to have a conversation because he was completely addicted to Madaz's prescription, the assassin Gadan didn't know much. Well, just finding out the faction they belong to and their attack plan is a big enough achievement..
Some close associates, including Lord Gisella, suggested keeping the news of the assassin's capture a secret, fearing that the information might leak to the enemy..
However, the prince decided that it would be effective to share everything he knew with his allies in order to prepare for a secret attack..
So Ulkar immediately called a meeting and shared the information he had obtained from the assassin. At the same time, the city's alert status was raised in preparation for the upcoming attack by assassins.
rechecked.
On the other hand, this assassin's intrusion was very unpleasant for me. This is because the person in charge of security at Naeseong High Castle was none other than me..
Since everyone knew that I had so many tasks and that the person in charge of the prince's actual guard was Sir Giselle La, no one held me responsible..
Still, I couldn't help feeling annoyed, so I decided to bring in a few more men, including Fritz, to strengthen the guard..
After the military consultation was completed, I met alone with the prince and laid out the recommendations I had prepared. It's about the Nudean soldiers led by Atalanta..
“Over the past week, I've looked at the Nudein soldiers from time to time, and they seem to have good skills and a strong will to fight..”
“……I know too..”
Ulkar sat on the window of the castle tower to get some fresh air, crossing his arms and nodding..
“Aran Hares (Atalanta) is a powerful warrior, and her personal guard is as good as the soldiers under my command. Even excluding the Royal Guard, it is a good army with an appropriate balance of cavalry, spearmen, and archers..”
“Moreover, he proved to be a trustworthy comrade while serving in Port Auduenne..”
“I agree. I have heard enough about their activities through Sir Lyam..”
Seeing the prince obediently agree, I, who had prepared many things to say, narrowed my brows in a nervous mood..
“…… If you know all that, why don't you use them? Although they fought for the prince to their heart's content, they were unable to enter the city and were now sitting camped out between the double walls. Since His Majesty set up the training center, he has been covered in dust on a regular basis. Everyone is so dissatisfied.”
“I think you're misunderstanding something..”
Ulkar opened his mouth with a calm face..
“I never kicked them out..”
“yes?”
“‘They gave us a small area to the west of ‘Axode’. I couldn't say it was a very good spot since I deliberately chose a place with few people, but I wouldn't have had to worry about having to stay in a tent like I did now..”
“But in Atalanta's words……
“I guess it means that they were driven out of the inner walls due to the bullying of the lord and residents. But it's not like someone used force to drive them out..”
He sighed lightly..
“I am well aware of the situation of the Nudein. But I don't have enough time to stop the Gwangmyeong believers who look down on them one by one..”
From Ulkar's point of view, he had already given up his position, but the Nudein people were looking at each other and moved out of the inner wall..
It is not that the lords who implicitly challenged the Nude people or the residents who were territorial did not do anything wrong. However, for Ulkar, in a situation where war was about to start, it would not have been possible for him to even accept the whining of 'I can't live here because they are too cautious.'.
“…… Well, then why don't you give them any tasks? The Nudein soldiers were upset that they were completely excluded from defending the city..”
“That's true.”
“……yes? what is that.”
“They won't participate in the siege..”
I was dumbfounded and opened my mouth small..
“We are already outnumbered, and they are going to exclude as many as 800 soldiers.?”
“exactly.”
“Why??”
“There are many reasons..”
Prince Ulkar answered with a very stern expression..
“Most importantly, we cannot give them the land of the kingdom..”
“•…-yes?”
What should I do, Atalanta??
I think you guys are screwed..
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