Chapter 154: The Path Leading To The Cold Hell (5) |
* * *
“Shit, dodge!”
A crossbow wielding thug turned tail and screamed as if doing so would help him avoid the incoming arrows.
However, being a Mage himself, Bendu knew better.
Unless one was a knight trained in footwork, no one would be able to outrun arrows propelled by telekinesis.
“B-Boss? Wait a—!”
On finishing his assessment, Bendu grabbed a fleeing subordinate and used him as a human shield. And almost simultaneously, the rain of arrows fell upon the backs of his hapless subordinates.
As his men fell with screams, Bendu discarded the human shield and raised his staff to weave a spell.
Though he made a living through appraisals, he was still a Mage from Dreitherial. Combat was something he had experienced countless times.
However, his opponent’s next move defied all of Bendu’s expectations.
Instead of maintaining the Telekinesis magic or casting another spell, the opponent drew his sword and charged straight at him.
“You’re a knight?”
Of course, he must be a knight. What kind of Mage would have a trained physique like that?
…Then how did he use telekinesis?
Swallowing the question that came to mind, Bendu completed the spell he had been preparing.
With a crackling sound, a bolt of lightning erupted from his staff. It was a lightning spear, designed to pierce through Telekinesis magic.
The opponent’s response to the blindingly brilliant spear was simple.
He raised the sword in his hand high above his head, and as the spear was about to strike, he brought the sword down.
Mana burst into dazzling light, obscuring everyone’s vision, but all who were present could see one thing—the blue Sword Aura flickering around the young man’s blade.
Panicking, Bendu tried to prepare another spell, but the opponent’s sword was quicker, severing the hand holding his staff.
One might have expected him to scream at the sight of his wrist flying off, but Bendu was a seasoned Mage.
He didn’t waste time preparing another spell nor did he make the mistake of turning his back to flee.
Instead, he immediately dropped to his knees.
“I-I surrender! Please spare me!”
Lest his opponent suspect a false surrender, he raised both arms above his head and flattened himself against the ground.
His swift surrender not only surprised the bystanders but also his opponent, who was about to strike his neck.
“…”
Yeomyeong was struck speechless as he looked down at Bendu.
…Is this guy insane?
The lunatic, who staged a daytime ambush for an Arcane Relic and even used his own men as shields, surrendered the moment the tide turned against him.
As Yeomyeong frowned and prepared to strike Bendu’s neck, the latter screamed desperately.
“I-I was wrong about you! Just spare me, and I’ll give you whatever you want. Gold coins, anything from the pawnshop—whatever it is, it’s yours!”
“…”
“Ah, yes! To protect an Arcane Relic like that, you’ll need money and influence! I can connect you with the Southern Count Palatine! If you work under him—ack!”
Bendu’s words were cut off abruptly as Yeomyeong snapped his neck using telekinesis.
The man’s body flopped like a puppet with its strings cut, and the onlookers’ eyes flickered.
Was it because a murder had taken place in broad daylight? No, it was because the words ‘Arcane Relic’ had spilled from Bendu’s lips.
To outsiders, it would have looked as if Yeomyeong had killed Bendu to silence him about the Arcane Relic.
A foreigner who could wield both magic and Sword Aura, an Arcane Relic, and Bendu’s death.
Having picked up valuable tidbits of information, the spectators began to quietly disappear into the other side of the street.
The surviving subordinates of Bendu, who had managed to escape the hail of arrows, also started fleeing; the surly man who had guided Yeomyeong inside the pawnshop among them.
And since he needed someone to spread the tale of him discovering the Arcane Relic in the sewers, Yeomyeong made no effort to stop him.
After a while, Balagu, who had been observing from the back, approached him and asked.
“What if the rumors get twisted and spread in strange ways?”
It was a reasonable concern, but Yeomyeong shook his head.
“No need to worry about that. People only see what they want to see.”
* * *
“Do you know what confirmation bias is?”
In the office of the Southern Count Palatine, Ekatherina murmured as she moved a chess piece on the massive chessboard laid out before her.
However, unlike a normal game of go, it wasn’t just filled with stone pieces.
There were also janggi1 pieces, chess pieces, and meticulously carved miniature models.
Anyone with keen insight would instantly realize this was a microcosm of Dretherial’s power structure.
Each piece represented one of the three Count Palatines and their hands and feet in the city.
The legion of Rat Beastfolk, the Shepherds from Korea, and even the lowly, foolish commoners.
Ekatherina moved the black queen symbolizing her and continued.
“It means that no matter how much opposing evidence is presented, people will only accept the evidence they want to accept, especially when blinded by greed.”
Tap.
Only after Ekatherina placed the queen in the center of the chessboard did the Southern Count Palatine turn his gaze from the window.
“What are you trying to say exactly?”
“Don’t waste your energy trying to stop those rumors. It’s not like you’ll be able to stop them anyway.”
The Southern Count Palatine’s face twisted.
“Are you suggesting that we just stand by and let those lowlifes dive into the sewers over some absurd rumor about a Soviet secret vault?”
“Those fools don’t believe the rumor is ridiculous. After all, it’s true that a Soviet Arcane Relic was found in the sewer, isn’t it?”
Ekatherina smirked while moving the chess piece. The Southern Count Palatine yelled angrily.
“How can that be true? Instead of machine guns or rockets, the rumor claims they found an Arcane Relic? What the Soviets left behind was an armory! That’s complete nons—”
“Have you been ignoring everything I’ve said so far? The truth doesn’t matter. What the citizens want to believe is the truth.”
“Then what do you want to do about it?”
Bang! Unable to hold back any longer, the Southern Count Palatine slammed his hand on the desk. The chessboard shook, and the pieces toppled over.
“Are we just going to leave it be? What if those lowlifes descending into the sewers find the ‘launch code’ before us? All the plans we’ve made so far will be for naught!”
“You’re worried for nothing. No one even knows what the launch code is anyway.”
“That’s your excuse…? With rat bastards and lowlifes filling the sewers like this, it will eventually come to light!”
“…”
“The rumors keep spreading, and if more and more lowlifes go down into the sewers, it won’t decrease, but only increase! If this continues, there’s no way we’ll find the launch code by the emperor’s birthd—!”
“That’s enough.”
One statement from Ekatherina and the air in the office froze.
Startled, the Southern Count Palatine clamped his mouth shut, and silence crawled into the room.
A moment of cold silence passed.
Ekatherina put the fallen black queen back in place and spoke.
“Fine, I’ll admit the plan’s gone awry. So what? All we need to do is change the plan. I don’t see a problem with that.”
“…Another plan?”
“Since it’s come to this… let’s fan the flames of the rumors ourselves.”
Before her words could even settle, Ekatherina pulled out a small ring from her pocket.
A plain iron ring, utterly devoid of any decoration.
But the Southern Count Palatine, who recognized its value right away, stared in stunned disbelief.
“An Arcane Relic left by the former Magic Tower Master…?”
“Use this ring as bait to stir up the citizens.”
“…”
“Use the name of Count Palatine to announce that this relic will be awarded to whoever finds the secret vault. It’s time to add more fuel to the fire.”
Ekatherina whispered devilishly.
It was not difficult to imagine what would happen if he followed her instructions.
Workers unemployed due to the railway closure, vagrants, and all sorts of outcasts would descend into the sewers, dreaming of striking it rich.
Deep in the sewers, they would kill and be killed; corpses would pile into mountains.
And after that…
“We’ll revive them all as zombies.”
A proposal to make use of those lowlifes. The Count Palatine felt somewhat impressed and asked back.
“The plan is brilliant… but is it truly feasible?”
Instead of replying, Ekatherina picked up a black king piece rolling beneath the chessboard.
She fiddled with the king piece for a moment before placing it firmly in the center of the chessboard and said.
“Of course it’s feasible. After all… we have a dragon on our side, don’t we?”
A dragon. Hearing that word, the Count Palatine swallowed hard as he stared at the black king.
Ekatherina, too, was gazing at the black king, and because of that, neither of them noticed the white queen rolling onto the chessboard.
* * *
As the rumors about Yeomyeong’s Arcane Relic spread, the city was simmering with tension, like a volcano on the brink of eruption.
The ones who considered themselves strong all descended into the sewer, but they couldn’t even find a trace, let alone the secret vault.
Of course, there were a few who stumbled upon gold coins, but they were in the minority.
- How can so many people search and still not find anything? Is it perhaps a fake rumor?
After diving in numerous times with nothing to show for, there were some who began to raise rational doubts, but those voices quickly disappeared.
- Didn’t you see the Arcane Relic that came out of the sewers last time? It’s definitely there!
- If it were fake, the Southern Count Palatine wouldn’t be offering a reward for it.
- We just need to find the secret vault and the former Magic Tower Master’s ring will be ours.
And in the midst of this, when the Southern Count Palatine himself announced a reward for finding the vault, the citizens’ belief and greed toward the secret vault reached near-religious fervor.
And popular belief always breeds challenges to authority.
- *If we’ve searched the south, east, and north sewers and found nothing, then it must be in the west!*
- They say the Western Count Palatine is hoarding the vault all for himself!
- Unseal the western sewer, Count Palatine! The city belongs to the people, and you’re just a manager! Free the sewer!
Naturally, the citizens’ attention turned to the sealed western sewer.
Of course, only very few openly criticized the Western Count Palatine directly.
After all, anyone bold enough to challenge a powerful figure with a Mage Corps under his command would have been dead and buried in a grave long ago.
Instead, in true Dreitherial fashion, the citizens found different ways to mess up with the Western Count Palatine.
In short… they unlocked the locks, deceived the guards, and slipped into the darkness.
The blockade of the western sewer quickly collapsed as the citizens organized themselves, proving that one hand couldn’t block ten.
And despite the Western Count Palatine’s furious declaration that anyone found wandering in the sewer would be executed on the spot, the rebellious citizens responded by moving more covertly.
In fact, some guards even took bribes to open paths. It was truly a Dreitherial-like scene.
…Anyway.
As the chaotic days continued and the blockade of the western sewer gradually slackened, Yeomyeong decided that it was time to drag out the ‘Shepherds’ hiding in the Western Count Palatine’s building.
The first step was purchasing maps to study the terrain surrounding the Count Palatine’s building.
This was based on Seti’s belief that terrain features were the key to any battle, and Yeomyeong fully supported her opinion.
In fact, he went a step further by mapping the mages’ patrol routes and even bribing the guards stationed in the area.
It was preparation without a flaw.
In comparison, there wasn’t much to prepare in terms of equipment.
Weapons like sword and gun, along with a small amount of consumables, were all they needed.
If anything took more time to prepare, it was the masks they would be wearing to conceal their identities.
“Masks and weapons? Are we planning to assassinate someone?”
Hearing Neti’s impression once they finished their preparations, Yeomyeong didn’t deny it.
“Our top priority is to uncover what the Shepherds and the Western Count Palatine are planning… but if we can kill them, we should.”
“…”
Neti didn’t ask, ‘Why do you hate the Shepherds so much?’
After all, the South Korean government had sown the seeds of hatred more than just once or twice.
She was content with the fact that Yeomyeong was fighting alongside her against the South Korean government.
Though it seemed that her sister decided to take it a step further.
“Wouldn’t they all die if we just fired about ten anti-tank weapons and made the sewer collapse?”
“…”
“Now that I think about it, it’s a pity. If only Joseph had brought some proper explosives, we could’ve blown up the entire building.”
Words that were anything but a joke.
Neti suppressed a wry laugh on seeing this unexpected side of her sister. However, once Seti hauled off an entire weapon crate labeled ‘Magic Wand,’ Yeomyeong’s group was finished with their preparations to attack the Shepherds.
Less than ten days remained until the Emperor’s day.
Footnotes
- 1. Janggi, sometimes called Korean chess, is a strategy board game popular on the Korean Peninsula. The game was derived from xiangqi (Chinese chess), and is very similar to it, including the starting position of some of the pieces, and the 9×10 gameboard, but without the xiangqi "river" dividing the board horizontally in the middle.