[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 144
Zeke nodded after hearing the words of the 7th Unit captain.
"That's a good start. That's how it should be. Who told you there's a relic here?"
The captain trembled as he spoke.
"I-I'm not sure, but... I-it came from... D-Draker..."
"Hmm. Draker."
"I-I'm not sure! I-I only heard it from someone else..."
Zeke and Boris took their time interrogating not only the 7th Unit captain but also the unit members to gather information and compare it.
Zeke, looking at the recorded information, said,
"So you're saying those Abyss bastards came here too?"
The captain nodded with a tired voice and replied.
"Y-yes... that's c-correct."
"Do you know which demon's subordinate they are?"
"I-I don't know that."
"Tell me anything, any other characteristics."
The 7th Unit captain rolled his eyes and barely opened his mouth.
"G-green..."
"Green?"
"They were guys who always wore green clothes."
"Green."
The Hermit of the Story would have known which demon's subordinates they were just from that, but it was impossible for Zeke.
'They seem to worship a different demon than the Harbinger of Blood and Madness or the Lord of the Lowest Depths.'
He didn't know how many demons and subordinates there were, so he always had to be careful when dealing with Abyss.
After gathering all the information, Zeke killed the 7th Unit and disposed of their bodies with the power of Decay.
Zeke said to Boris,
"It seems like the information from the 8th Unit and the 7th Unit is almost identical."
"Yes. Do you want to check the 9th Unit as well?"
"I don't think that's necessary. It's better to just take care of them."
"Understood."
Zeke and Boris erased all traces and headed towards Death Valley.
The 9th Unit, which had entered Death Valley most cautiously, was approaching the cave, following the traces of the 7th Unit.
Zeke and Boris, who were waiting on both sides, activated the trap they had prepared.
Crash!
Magic bombs exploded, and a pile of rocks collapsed in the narrow canyon.
Then, the captain of the 9th Unit hurriedly summoned something.
Whoosh!
Three giant black scorpions emerged from the ground.
They seemed to be chimeras created through black magic.
The black scorpions knocked the falling rocks aside.
Behind the black scorpions, the black mages prepared their magic, ready for an attack.
Then, the captain shouted at the black scorpions,
"Catch them!"
Two of the black scorpions quickly crawled up towards where Zeke was.
Zeke drew Bahamut and swung his sword at the black scorpion rushing towards him.
Slice!
The black scorpion's shell, harder than a steel plate, was cleanly cut.
Keeek!
The black scorpion writhed in pain and slammed its tail, with its poisonous stinger raised, at Zeke with all its might.
But Zeke wasn't one to be defeated by such an attack.
Whoosh!
Zeke, cutting off the tail with his sword, jumped into the air and thrust his sword into the black scorpion's head.
Crack!
Bahamut pierced through the hard shell and lodged itself in.
The black scorpion went limp.
Another black scorpion lunged at Zeke.
But the result was the same.
The black scorpion, its head pierced by the dagger Zeke threw, also died and went limp.
Seeing Zeke swiftly take care of both black scorpions, the captain of the 9th Unit realized that Zeke was not someone he could handle.
"Damn it! Use the smoke bombs! We're getting out of here!"
The black mages took out smoke bombs from their pockets and threw them around.
They tried to escape under the cover of the smoke.
But the smoke bombs were useless against Zeke, who had Dragon Eye.
Zeke entered the smoke and literally massacred the black mages.
"Kyaaaak!"
The surging aura blade mercilessly cut the black mages' necks and limbs.
The black mages who were lucky enough to escape were killed by Boris sword waiting behind them.
Soon, the smoke cleared, and the bodies of the dead mages were scattered across the canyon floor.
"We took care of them more easily than I thought."
If the black mages hadn't run away and fought back, it would have taken longer to deal with them, but since they set off smoke bombs in a narrow space, it was easier for Zeke to handle.
Zeke gathered the bodies of the black mages and disposed of them with the power of Decay.
He only kept the materials needed for item creation from the dead black scorpions and consumed the rest with Gluttony.
Boris approached Zeke.
"Boss, it seems like the Scorpion Clan has been dealt with."
"Good. It'll be dark soon. The temperature drops significantly in Death Valley at night, so let's go back to the cave."
***
Zeke and Boris returned to the cave and prepared for camping.
After chewing on tough jerky, they set up alarm devices in front of the cave to prepare for intruders.
Since Zeke had summoned Dragon Tooth Soldiers outside, there was no need for them to take turns keeping watch.
Boris, who was warming himself by the magic heater Zeke took out from his inventory, suddenly opened his mouth.
"Boss."
Boris asked Zeke,
"Why did you save me back then in Delphi?"
Zeke, who was staring at the flames in the heater, turned his head and looked at Boris.
"Did you want to die?"
"Not really, but..."
Zeke chuckled and said,
"I kept you alive because I thought you would be useful. There's no other reason."
"Have you ever thought that I might betray you?"
Zeke shook his head and said,
"No, the opposite. I think anyone can betray."
Zeke's eyes suddenly turned sharp.
"Not just you, Boris, but Kay, Master Feynon, anyone. They can betray. People aren't unchanging beings."
Boris felt a chill down his spine as he saw Zeke's eyes.
'What kind of life has this person lived? Is it because he's a Draker?'
It wasn't a look an eighteen-year-old should have.
Then, Zeke opened his mouth again.
"Speaking of betrayals... I did think there might be a traitor."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Abel knew exactly that I was coming to the desert region to find the relic and leaked the information to the Holy Kingdom, the Scorpion Clan, and the Assassin's Guild."
"Wouldn't he have acted quickly after seeing you move?"
"No, Abel doesn't know that I'm looking for the relic. I was hiding my identity when I fought the subordinates."
Zeke continued,
"Abel realized that it was me who smuggled Carus out and attacked the Hounds' camp."
Boris, sweating, shook his head at those words.
"B-Boss, i-it's definitely not me. P-please believe me."
Boris trembled in fear, knowing how cruel Zeke could be when he wanted to, despite usually showing a gentle attitude.
Zeke, looking at Boris, said,
"Boris, I wasn't completely unsuspecting of you, but judging from the circumstances, I don't think you leaked the information."
"That's right. I have nowhere to go without you, Boss."
Only Zeke, the true leader of the Syndicate and a pure-blood Draker, could erase Boris's identity as a former member of the Empire's 13th Intelligence Division.
Zeke looked at Boris and said,
"I'll have to find out if there really is a traitor, or if Abel used some other trick. You'll have a lot to do after this is over, Boris."
"M-me?"
"I didn't hire those Assassin's Guild guys for nothing. Sometimes, it's better to use trustworthy outside help when looking for a traitor within."
"Are you trying to find the traitor using the Assassin's Guild assassins?"
"If there really is a traitor."
Zeke was considering two possibilities: that there was a traitor, and that Abel might have used Abyss's strange magic to steal information.
If he tried to find a traitor when there wasn't one and ended up breaking the trust within the organization, it could play right into Abel's hands.
Since it was a hastily formed organization, the trust between the members was irreversible once broken.
He thought Abel might be aiming for that. Fortunately, for Zeke, who had lived in a cartel, finding traitors was as natural as breathing.
In a cartel, even yesterday's friends or blood-related family could become traitors tomorrow, so he always had to be on guard.
Boris felt both trust and fear towards Zeke's calm demeanor.
'Betrayal... I must never betray him.'
To Boris, Zeke seemed even more terrifying than the Emperor of the Empire.
***
While Boris was asleep, Zeke opened the shop category.
Shop—
1. Item Purchase/Sale
2. Item Disassembly/Repair
3. Item Enhancement
4. Item Creation
Zeke first put the items he took from the black mages into his inventory and entered the 'Disassembly/Repair' category.
When he moved the items to the disassembly window, the materials were automatically separated.
In the case of artifacts, the runes with the magic cast on them also appeared.
'Oh, runes. So this is how the magic on artifacts is released.'
Zeke proceeded with item creation using the extracted materials and the byproducts of the black scorpion he collected after the battle.
'Let's see. What can I make with black scorpion byproducts? Here it is. I'll try making a simple shield.'
Zeke moved the materials from his inventory to the creation window according to the list of materials needed for creation.
'The black scorpion's shell, tail, iron ingot... and leather.'
He put in the most important black scorpion tail shell and other materials and proceeded with the creation.
A window popped up saying 'Creating,' and the numbers gradually increased.
'It'll take about two hours to complete.'
He felt it when making potions as well, but it was fascinating how items were automatically created just by gathering the materials and following the system.
It seemed to be the Karma-based creation method that the Hermit of the Story mentioned.
Although Karma points weren't required for making potions, a small amount of Karma points were needed for creating weapons and equipment.
Even so, it was much more efficient to gather materials and create equipment because it was almost ten times cheaper than buying equipment directly from the shop.
After two hours, the completion rate reached 100%.
['Hard Black Scorpion Shell Shield' created.]
The created shield appeared in Zeke's inventory.
"This is amazing, creating weapons for the first time."
Zeke took out the Hard Black Scorpion Shell Shield.
It was quite large.
But it was surprisingly light for its size.
Looking at its shape, it seemed to be made by processing the black scorpion's shell, with iron surrounding the edges and leather finishing the inside.
It could be held by hand or worn on the arm.
Zeke checked the shield's information with Dragon Eye.
—Shield Information—
Description: A shield made by processing the hardest shell of a black scorpion.
Inherent Ability: None
Special Note: Turning the device inside the shield makes the black scorpion's stinger protrude from the bottom. Scorpion poison is automatically generated inside.
Zeke turned the device inside as described in the special note.
Click!
A stinger resembling a scorpion's tail protruded from the bottom of the shield.
"I can stab enemies with this."
Furthermore, since it automatically generated black scorpion poison, it had value beyond just being a shield.
Zeke suddenly remembered the rune he had acquired earlier, opened the enhancement window, put in the shield and the rune together, and tried enhancing it.
[Enhancing 'Hard Black Scorpion Shell Shield' by applying the 'Weakening Curse' rune.]
Soon, the enhancement was complete, and a new information window popped up.
—Shield Information—
Description: A shield made by processing the hardest shell of a black scorpion.
Inherent Ability: Enemies hit by the shield have a 20% chance of being afflicted with the Weakening Curse.
Special Note: Turning the device inside the shield makes the black scorpion's stinger protrude from the bottom. Scorpion poison is automatically generated inside.
Zeke's jaw dropped as he saw the information window.
"This is amazing. You can turn ordinary items into artifacts with just runes."
The value of artifacts with magic cast on them was immense.
It required the skills of a high-level mage, magic tool craftsman, and alchemist to imbue weapons with magic.
The higher the level of magic, the more difficult it was to create an artifact.
It was no wonder that Lubern, who could create holy weapons imbued with light magic, was able to unify the continent and establish the Holy Empire.
Zeke swung the enhanced shield with a satisfied expression.
"If I have the materials, I can arm all the Black Sword Knights with artifacts."
Just as Zeke was pleased with the creation and enhancement functions,
The Dragon Tooth Soldiers, who were on patrol, sent a signal that they had found something.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]