[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 53
Creak! Creak!
The rowboat made a chilling sound.
Zeke, Simon, and his twelve subordinates held their breath and approached the port area of Favela.
Perhaps in preparation for an all-out war with the McCain Cartel, organization members were patrolling the city with weapons.
Zeke used Dragon Eyes to pierce the darkness and examine the surroundings.
Then, he brought up the map and docked the boat in a place where there were no patrols.
'This way.'
Following Zeke's hand signals, Simon and his subordinates scattered and hid themselves in the darkness.
Soon, a Favela Cartel member patrolling the coast approached, swaggering.
He lowered his crossbow, unzipped his pants, and started to urinate.
“Ahh… what a stream!”
At that moment, Zeke approached him from behind, swiftly slitting the cartel member’s throat with a dagger.
They threw the dead cartel member's body under the breakwater. Simon's subordinates caught it, weighed it down with stones stuffed in the clothes, and carefully threw it into the sea without making a sound.
It was as natural as if they had been working together for a long time.
After checking the surroundings, Zeke signaled them to come up, and Simon and his subordinates also climbed up to the shore.
Hiding behind the cargo piled up in the port area, Simon asked Zeke.
“How do you plan to approach the Favela Cartel's headquarters? Troops are spread all over the city.”
Zeke put on his mask and said.
“The territory occupied by Favela was under the influence of the Holy Empire for a long time. That means the underground waterways, which the Holy Empire considers most important, are built there.”
“You're going to find your way to the headquarters through the underground waterways? That's ridiculous. How do you plan to find your way through the maze-like waterways?”
Zeke grinned.
“There's a way for that.”
Using the map's guidance function, it was possible to move to the shortest distance, no matter how complicated the path.
He had no intention of explaining it to Simon, though.
Anyway, Simon didn't have a way either, so he didn't say anything.
Zeke found a sewer on the harbor side and led the group into it.
Favela was still using the sewers built during the Holy Empire era.
The sewers, which were no different from ancient relics, were full of filth and smelled terrible.
However, Simon and his subordinates were veterans who had rolled around enough in the border areas, so no one was bothered by this level of stench.
Zeke followed the map's guidance towards the Favela Cartel's headquarters.
After walking along the waterway for a few hours, they arrived at the sewer connected to the headquarters.
'They've deployed personnel all over the front.'
From the confrontation with Cain, he realized that those above the Red Knight level were not displayed on the map, so he needed to be even more wary of his surroundings.
Zeke signaled Simon and his group to plant explosives throughout the Favela Cartel headquarters.
Zeke decided to separate from Simon and his group to assassinate key figures in the Favela Cartel and deliver the McCain Cartel's warning.
He climbed up from the sewer and slipped into the garbage disposal area.
'This brings back memories.'
An assassin had to infiltrate through places where others were most reluctant to go.
As a result, sewers and garbage dumps were one of Zeke's favorite infiltration routes.
He threw off the thin infiltration suit he was wearing and took out a purification scroll to erase the stench.
Drawing his dagger, Zeke slowly made his way into the mansion.
His target was Matteo, the second-in-command of the Favela Cartel.
Bastian, the boss of the Favela Cartel, was currently staying on an island in the South Sea.
Rather than catching him, if he caught Matteo and gave a warning, Bastian would surely be enraged and engage in an all-out war with the McCain Cartel.
'Though Don Juan would have thought this mission would fail.'
Don Juan would have considered Zeke's attack as a suicide mission and a warning to the Favela Cartel in itself.
But Zeke was really going to infiltrate the headquarters, assassinate the second-in-command, plant bombs, and bring down the headquarters.
If that happened, it would surely escalate into a situation that even Don Juan couldn't control.
Zeke was aiming for that gap.
Whoosh!
Zeke stealthily killed the cartel members roaming the hallway with his dagger and made his way up towards where Matteo was.
'There aren't as many people inside as I thought.'
Now that he knew that the Favela Cartel and the Empire were joining forces, he couldn't rule out the possibility of knights being deployed.
However, he couldn't see any of the cartel's hitmen or the Empire's knights, only armed patrol troops were roaming around.
Zeke felt something strange.
'Something's weird.'
He turned on the map and looked inside.
There were no marked people to be seen.
He cautiously passed through the hallway, opened the door, and entered the mansion.
A spacious banquet hall and a long staircase leading upwards were situated in the center.
That was when it happened.
Flash!
Suddenly, the lights turned on, and people who had been hiding rushed out.
'How?'
Zeke examined those who had surrounded him.
Not only the cartel's hitmen but also the Empire's knights and mages were mixed in.
'Did they use invisibility?'
Using invisibility mana erases one's presence.
However, he didn't know that erasing one's presence with mana would also prevent them from being displayed on the map.
At that moment, one of the Empire's knights stepped forward and ordered the others.
“Capture him alive, don't kill him.”
With those words, the Empire's knights rushed towards Zeke.
Zeke grabbed the knight who was running at the forefront and stabbed him in the neck with his dagger.
“Cough!”
Then he snatched the sword the knight was holding.
Zeke retreated backward and slashed the cartel members guarding the rear with the sword.
Slice!
“Shoot! Shoot him!”
The cartel members frantically shot arrows at Zeke.
However, Zeke's movements were much faster, and the arrows were stuck in the walls and floor.
Zeke took out daggers and threw them at the hitmen positioned throughout the hall.
The daggers, imbued with the power of the wind using the Elemental Sword, pierced the hitmen's vital points at tremendous speed.
“Kyaaaak!”
The cartel members, terrified, fired their crossbows haphazardly, and the randomly flying arrows accidentally hit others.
The Empire's knight shouted.
“Mages! Quickly bind his feet!”
Only then did the mages hurriedly cast their spells.
In an instant, the floor of the banquet hall rippled and transformed into a swamp.
'This won't be enough to catch me.'
Zeke threw the daggers he was holding onto the swamp-like floor and then ran towards the Empire's knights, stepping on the daggers.
It was a trick utilizing the Gale Force skill.
The knights, flustered as Zeke ran towards them, hurriedly took a defensive stance.
But it was already too late.
Thud!
As Zeke fell backward, pushing the knights, the knights, losing their balance and falling, were instead submerged in the swampy floor.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Seeing the knights struggling in the swamp, the mages hurriedly canceled the spell.
Zeke clicked his tongue, watching the Empire's knights and mages with their poor coordination.
'They sent the newbies and took credit from the cartel.'
At that moment, the Empire's knight who was giving orders stepped forward.
Woooong!
There seemed to be at least one decent one among them, as he created a faint aura blade.
Zeke charged at the Empire's knight with his sword.
Clang!
Zeke's sword, imbued with Gravity Force, struck the Empire's knight's sword with tremendous weight.
“Ugh!”
Even if an aura blade was created, it was useless if it couldn't be wielded properly.
Zeke struck the knight's sword repeatedly with his Gravity Force-imbued sword.
Before long, the knight was pushed back, his hand holding the sword trembling.
“Gasp! Gasp!”
Zeke didn't stop and slashed the knight's leg, armor and all.
Slice!
“Uaaack!”
The knight, his thigh severed, screamed and rolled on the floor.
Zeke then raised his sword and cut off the knight's head.
Seeing the Blue Knight die so pathetically, the hitmen and the Empire's knights surrounding him faltered and retreated.
Zeke used Dragon's Majesty to instill even greater fear in them.
Some of the faint-hearted knights and cartel members even wet themselves, overwhelmed by Zeke's imposing presence.
"Those who want to die, come! Those who want to live, get out now!"
At Zeke's shout, about half of them dropped their weapons and fled.
The remaining ones, even in that situation, crept towards Zeke with their weapons raised.
The sight of them forcing themselves forward with their bodies completely stiff was almost pitiful.
Suddenly, Zeke leaped into the air with his sword.
Whoosh!
He jumped onto the second-floor railing and struck down the mages above first.
"Kyaaaak!"
If he left them alone, they could cast mana at an opportune moment and even Zeke could be caught off guard.
If another guy like Cain appeared, he could be in danger too.
Once the mages were slaughtered, the knights naturally came up to the second floor.
'Foolish bastards.'
Zeke was grateful that they came to a narrow terrain that was disadvantageous to them.
One by one, he pierced their hearts with his sword as they came, like skewering meat on a skewer.
"Uugh!"
Zeke pushed the knight, who was groaning with a sword through his heart, from the second-floor railing.
In no time, the banquet hall was filled with the corpses of dozens of knights, mages, and hitmen.
Zeke shook the blood off his sword and sheathed it.
"What the hell are the Empire guys doing in the South? I can't get a read on them."
That's when it happened.
Someone in a black robe was standing on the balcony opposite Zeke.
'Who is that?'
He couldn't be sensed, not even by Zeke's senses, let alone the map.
The suspicious figure, with his face hidden by the robe, opened his mouth towards Zeke.
"A single loach hinders the great work."
Zeke pointed his sword at the suspicious mage and remained vigilant.
"Who are you?"
The black figure then held out the black gemstone ring on his finger.
Suddenly, black smoke billowed from the ring.
Shushushushuk!
The black smoke dispersed into the bodies of the dead that filled the banquet hall.
Simultaneously, those who had died rose again.
'A dark mage?'
Zeke quickly examined the opponent's robe.
However, he couldn't see the Scorpion Clan's symbol or rings.
Meanwhile, dozens of knights, hitmen, and mages roared.
'Not even the Scorpion Clan? Even the Scorpion Clan wouldn't have many who could create this many zombies at once.'
Not all necromancers belonged to the Scorpion Clan, but most high-ranking dark mages did.
While Zeke was questioning the identity of his opponent, the black figure who raised the dead shouted towards the zombies.
"Seize him! I shall personally extract the soul of the one who interfered with the great work and make him confess the truth."
From the moment he casually uttered words that seemed to belong in a classical play, it was clear he wasn't normal.
"Kraaaagh!"
The zombified knights rushed towards Zeke with their swords raised.
"Get lost! You zombie bastards!"
Zeke swung Bahamut.
Thud!
The heads of the zombies struck by the sword were smashed as if exploding.
[You have defeated a zombie knight contaminated by demonic energy.]
[You have earned 10 Karma points.]
'Huh?'
He unexpectedly gained Karma points.
Zeke's eyes lit up as he looked around.
The zombies roaring towards him all looked like points.
"Excellent!"
Excited, he jumped down from the second floor and swung his sword.
The zombies hit by the aura blade were torn to pieces and scattered everywhere.
"Kraaagh!"
However, the black smoke soon enveloped the fallen zombie knights, and their different limbs reattached. The zombies rose again and attacked.
Zeke excitedly eliminated the zombies again and again.
Even if they died and came back to life, Zeke immediately tore them to pieces, so at some point, there were no more corpses left to revive.
The black figure merely watched Zeke from the railing.
After defeating all the zombies, Zeke shouted towards the suspicious robe.
"Is that the end? No more?"
The figure, as he had been doing so far, looked at Zeke and slowly retreated.
Without another word, the mage dispersed into black mist and disappeared.
Zeke flinched but there was nothing he could do.
He was disappointed that he couldn't catch the suspicious mage.
'If I see you again, I'll catch you then and turn you into points.'
Zeke quickly shook off his regret, sheathed his sword, and climbed up the central staircase.
And he arrived at Matteo's office.
At that moment, a dagger emerged from the darkness and aimed at Zeke's neck.
As if he had expected it, Zeke calmly looked to the side and opened his mouth.
"Simon."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]