[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 62
"Stimulants?"
Zeke recalled the mercenaries who had rushed at the knights with crazed eyes.
"So they weren't just ordinary Soma addicts."
"It's true that they were made with Soma ingredients."
"Why did they make stimulants?"
"To create warriors who know no pain or fear."
Hearing the Black Yaksha's words, Zeke realized that this was also a type of human experimentation conducted by the Empire.
'They engaged in a war of attrition with Delfoa for several years, observing the combat patterns of the mercenaries on stimulants and experimenting with the drug.'
At the same time, Zeke recalled that the Black Yaksha had held out in the fortress for three years, absorbing bandits and mercenaries and continuously increasing the size of his organization.
He had wondered how such things were possible tucked away in a corner of Delfoa, but it was possible because of the Empire's backing.
'What are those Imperial bastards doing all over the continent?'
Zeke said to the Black Yaksha,
"You know that if things go on like this, you'll be killed by the Empire first, right?"
The Black Yaksha clenched his teeth, then said,
"...I've answered honestly, so have mercy and kill me now."
Zeke shook his head.
"What if there was a way to live?"
The Black Yaksha's eyebrows twitched.
"There's no escape from the Imperial Intelligence Agency."
Zeke said to him,
"What if Draker's power protected you?"
At the mention of Draker, the Black Yaksha's expression changed.
The only force on the continent that surpassed the Imperial Intelligence Agency.
"...Draker? What do you mean?"
Zeke took off the glove he was wearing and used the mana reflection skill.
The magic lamp he had turned on started flickering.
The Black Yaksha looked at Zeke with a hardened expression and said,
"You're a pure-blooded awakened of Draker?"
"Yes. I received the official knight status of the clan."
The Black Yaksha's mind raced.
No one wanted to die, even if they were an intelligence agent.
He had done a lot of dirty work, and his patriotism had faded considerably.
Moreover, if he didn't die here and it was revealed that he had divulged information, the Imperial Intelligence Agency would surely kill him in the most painful way possible.
In that case, it might be a better choice to receive Draker's protection and become a key witness.
The Black Yaksha said to Zeke,
"Can you guarantee that you will completely change my identity?"
"There's a better option."
Zeke looked at the Black Yaksha and said,
"I'll introduce you to a new job. There must be many places where someone from the Intelligence Agency's 13th Division can be useful."
The Black Yaksha felt an inexplicable chill from Zeke's smile.
***
Zeke, who had hidden the Black Yaksha in the cave and returned to the fortress, noticed something strange.
'Didn't they capture the fortress?'
If it was a fortress with only bandits and mercenaries without the Black Yaksha, Andrei and his party would have been able to subdue it.
However, the front of the fortress was still tense.
Zeke left the fortress and returned to the camp where the knights were.
As soon as he arrived at the camp, the mages pointed their staff at him.
Zeke glared at the Mage Corps and said,
"What is the meaning of this?"
Then, the commander walked out from among the Mage Corps.
He shouted at Zeke,
"Zeke Draker! Because of you, the Black Yaksha escaped. You will be taken to the barracks to be held accountable for your crime!"
The Black Yaksha escaping because of Zeke? That was nonsense.
Zeke looked at the commander and said,
"How is it my fault that the Black Yaksha escaped?"
The commander frowned and shouted,
"Because of your clumsy attack, the Black Yaksha, who we had captured, escaped from the fortress! You idiot!"
Zeke tilted his head and asked the commander,
"Did you confirm that the Black Yaksha wasn't in the fortress? When I looked from above, the fortress still seemed heavily defended."
The commander hesitated, then said,
"Shut up! I confirmed it with the others earlier. They said someone hurriedly escaped from the fortress."
"It could have been someone who escaped to call for reinforcements. What evidence do you have to specifically claim it was the Black Yaksha?"
Zeke's logical refutation made the commander's face turn crimson.
Seeing the commander's reaction, Zeke became certain.
'That bastard must have told the Black Yaksha to escape.'
He was a man who had only cared about his own gains while engaging in a war of attrition here for three years.
He probably didn't know that his actions had helped the Empire's experiment, but he was still trash nonetheless.
The commander also pointed his staff at Zeke and said,
"Don't say another word and follow me. I will report your crimes to the higher-ups in detail. Don't expect to get away with it just because you're from Valhalla."
Zeke decided to comply with the commander's words for now.
As he was led by the mages towards the barracks, he saw Jorge and the 8th Knights kneeling on the ground with their hands tied.
Zeke looked towards Jorge.
"Why are they restrained?"
The commander shouted with an irritated expression,
"Shut up! If you say another word, I'll cast a spell to seal your mouth shut!"
There was no such spell among combat magic.
Zeke clicked his tongue at the commander's hysterical reaction.
Just then, Jorge got up and shouted,
"Sir Knight! We do not regret helping you! We also want to remain honorable knights!"
At his words, the other knights also rose and echoed Jorge's sentiment.
The commander gritted his teeth and gestured to the mages.
Crackle!
The mages around them immediately channeled electric magic into the chains binding the knights.
"Ugh!"
The electrocuted knights writhed in pain.
Seeing this, Zeke said to the commander,
"Isn't it a bit too much to treat your allies like that? You wouldn't even do that to prisoners."
Unable to tolerate it any longer, the commander approached Zeke.
"One more word... just one more word and I'll execute you on the spot!"
It was then.
Bang!
A barrack was completely destroyed, and Andrei emerged from within, sword in hand.
Behind him stood Aster and Diego, who immediately aimed their weapons at the mages upon appearing.
Andrei approached the commander who was threatening Zeke.
"Delfoa Magic 8th Division Commander Ingrid Haxen. Your current actions can be interpreted as a threat to kill Zeke Draker, an official knight of Draker. In this case, I inform you that Draker will shift to wartime response posture against Delfoa effective immediately, and I, Andrei Draker, a knight of Draker, will respond accordingly."
The commander's face turned pale at Andrei's response.
It was a warning from Draker, of all places.
Moreover, it was a warning to shift to wartime response posture against the entire Delfoa, not just him.
He broke out in a cold sweat and stepped back.
"W-Wait! A sudden shift to wartime response posture! Isn't that an overreaction?!"
Andrei glared at the commander with cold eyes and said,
"Ingrid Haxen, listen carefully. The name of Draker is not to be taken lightly."
The commander gulped.
In fact, he had never truly felt the weight of the name Draker before.
So he had scoffed inwardly whenever the commanders of other divisions trembled at the mention of the name Draker.
But actually receiving the killing intent of a knight first hand made his knees weak.
"H-Hold on. There seems to be some misunderstanding."
The commander took a step back and tried to calm Andrei down.
He quickly continued,
"J-Just now, I misspoke. I was just nervous from the continuous battles. I only meant to escort him to the barracks for a proper investigation."
Andrei glanced at Zeke.
Zeke nodded as if to say it was alright.
Andrei withdrew his killing intent and sheathed his sword.
"It seems there was a misunderstanding between the two sides."
The commander breathed a sigh of relief as Andrei readily backed down.
Then, as if preparing for a counterattack, he gestured for the mages who had stepped forward to retreat.
Zeke said to the commander,
"Can I talk to my colleagues for a moment?"
The commander gritted his teeth and replied,
"...I'll give you 20 minutes."
Zeke nodded.
Then, he entered the barracks guided by the mages with Andrei and the others.
As soon as he entered the barracks, he took off his gloves and used the mana reflection skill.
Clank!
The magic devices installed around the barracks all malfunctioned and made noises.
Zeke said to Andrei,
"I've captured the Black Yaksha."
Andrei asked in surprise, "
You mean you captured the Black Yaksha alone?"
"Yes. He used poison, so I lured him into a false sense of security and then ambushed him."
Andrei's jaw dropped.
Although he was an outlaw, the Black Yaksha had been a continental public enemy for a long time, wandering the continent and committing heinous acts.
It was no wonder he was surprised that Zeke had captured him alone, an opponent that even experienced knights had difficulty dealing with.
Zeke hid the Black Yaksha's true identity and told Andrei about his secret relationship with Ingrid.
Andrei's eyes widened as he listened.
If Delfoa's high-ranking officials were involved in corruption, things could get quite complicated.
"What are you going to do?"
Zeke got up from his seat.
"It's best to let Delfoa handle Delfoa's problems."
He relayed the necessary information to Andrei and left the barracks.
Then, he was loaded onto a carriage and taken down to the barracks.
When he arrived at the barracks, the mages didn't confine Zeke in an ordinary detention cell, but instead emptied an officer's quarters and locked him there, placing guards in front of the door.
Surprisingly, knights more skilled than Jorge and his knights were inside the barracks, guarding other mages.
'If they had these kinds of troops, they should have deployed them to attack the fortress.'
Zeke lay in the quarters with a bored expression.
After lying there for some time, someone knocked and entered the quarters.
"Zeke."
Professor Paynun visited Zeke with a grim expression.
'As expected, he came.'
Zeke had Professor Paynun in mind from the moment the situation unfolded, so he wasn't surprised.
Paynun approached Zeke.
"Zeke! What in the world happened?"
"I guess this is the result of not heeding your warning, Professor."
"Oh my..."
Paynun was actually already aware of Commander Ingrid's corruption.
Not only that, but all the high-ranking mage officers were aware of it to some extent.
In Delfoa, mages needed military experience to rise to high positions.
Zeke thought Paynun had failed in the power struggle, but in fact, Paynun had volunteered for the military because he felt limited by his ordinary research position.
Moreover, he had been assigned to this unit because the director of the Royal Research Institute, who was his mentor, had pulled strings for him.
Apparently, this unit was famous for being a place where one could accumulate military experience without any trouble.
As a frontline unit facing the Black Yaksha, a continental public enemy, the Mage Corps suffered almost no casualties, making it the perfect place to build up experience and leave.
Knowing this, they turned a blind eye to Commander Ingrid's corruption.
That was why Paynun had warned Zeke separately.
Zeke said to Paynun,
"I have a favor to ask of you, Professor."
"What is it?"
He whispered to Paynun what he had learned about the Black Yaksha.
"Oh my god...!"
Paynun was startled by the part about the Empire's stimulant experiments.
If this was true, the situation could no longer be ignored.
Zeke said to Paynun in a low voice,
"Although it's the right thing to expose this corruption, there will surely be complaints among the Delfoa mages."
Paynun agreed with Zeke.
Exposing the corruption of a fellow mage was taboo in Delfoa's mage society.
No matter how righteous the cause, he might have to give up on rising to the ranks of high-ranking mages.
Zeke said to Paynun,
"I'll leave the choice to you, Professor."
Paynun fell into deep thought at Zeke's words.
He slowly raised his head, looked at Zeke, and said,
"Zeke, I'm really sorry, but... I can't do that."
"Is it because of the power as a mage?"
Paynun shook his head.
"Power... It could be because of that. I need to attain the title of mage, a high-ranking mage, to pursue the research I want to do."
Paynun finished his words and slowly got up from his seat.
"I'm truly sorry, Zeke."
Paynun left the room as if fleeing.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]