[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 97
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
The arrows were fitted with magic bombs.
Fortunately, Zeke's armor activated its shield, blocking the damage from the explosion.
"Are you alright, Karus?"
Karus coughed out the dust from his mouth and nodded.
Zeke led Karus out of the room.
Boris and Simon were ready and waiting for his orders.
"Simon, there's a sniper! Protect Karus. I'll take care of it!"
Boris and Simon took Karus and went outside.
Zeke immediately went to the window and climbed onto the roof.
He expanded his senses to find the sniper.
'Where is he?'
Just then, another arrow flew towards Zeke.
He drew his sword and split the arrow in two.
Chwa-a-a-ak!
This time, instead of a bomb, it was poison powder that scattered.
However, the poison powder was useless against Zeke, who was immune to all poisons.
Zeke identified the sniper's location by tracing the direction the arrow had come from.
'Rooftop of the building 500 meters to the left, right below the edge.'
He used Gale Technique to dash between the buildings.
Arrows rained down on him as he ran.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Explosions erupted around him, but Zeke ignored them and ran straight towards the sniper.
Kwang!
Zeke crashed through the building wall and rolled inside.
The startled sniper shot an arrow at Zeke.
Ting!
But the arrow couldn't penetrate Zeke, who was wearing armor with the Dragon Scale Armor skill activated underneath.
Zeke charged straight at the sniper.
Kwang!
He struck the sniper with a shoulder charge infused with Golden Power, sending him crashing into the wall.
"Keuhuk!"
Having subdued the sniper in one blow, Zeke grabbed him and interrogated him.
"Who sent you?"
The sniper clenched his teeth and tried to commit suicide with poison.
But such a method wouldn't work on Zeke.
Kwadeuk!
Zeke dislocated the sniper's jaw, opened his mouth, and pulled out the poison-filled molar.
Deolkeok!
After putting the jaw back in place, Zeke asked the sniper again.
"Speak quickly. Who sent you?"
The sniper glared at Zeke and shouted,
"The ghosts of Favela will haunt you forever!"
Zeke kicked the sniper in the stomach.
"Keuhuk!"
Zeke grabbed the sniper's hair and tilted his head back.
"Who are you trying to fool? Since when did Favela raise snipers? You reek of Salmak. Didn’t they tell you to say that when you catch Salmak?”
The sniper, his tricks completely seen through by Zeke, was flustered.
'What kind of person is this?'
He had seen all sorts of people while working as an assassin, but he had never met anyone like this.
Zeke struck the sniper's throat.
"Keuhuk!"
"Don't roll your eyes, you bastard. If you're from Salmak, you couldn't have come alone. How many of you are there? Tell me quickly."
Before he could even get an answer, Zeke took out a dagger and used the lightning skill.
Jijijijik!
"Kuaaaak!"
Despite being an assassin trained to withstand all kinds of torture, the electric shock caused unbearable pain, like his muscles were contracting.
"Th-three! Three!"
As soon as Zeke heard the assassin's words, he stabbed him in the neck with the dagger and killed him.
There was no point in interrogating him further; Salmak assassins never revealed their clients.
'This is troublesome if Salmak is involved.'
Salmak was a long-established assassin group based in the desert region.
Along with the Scorpion Clan, a clan of black mages, they were infamous in the underworld.
Zeke exited the building, heightened his senses, and searched for other Salmak assassins.
Just then, something caught his senses.
It was the direction Simon and his group were escaping with Karus.
'The Salmak assassins are after Karus. As expected, the Empire must have requested the assassination.'
Zeke chased after the Salmak assassins, leaping over buildings with incredible speed.
Hweeek!
As if sensing Zeke's pursuit, one of the Salmak assassins stopped and turned around.
Shweeek!
A throwing star flew towards Zeke.
Pak!
Zeke caught the throwing star between his fingers.
Seeing the blue hue on the blade's surface, it seemed to be coated with poison.
Zeke imbued the throwing star with Golden power and hurled it back at the assassin.
Peok!
"Keuk!"
Unable to dodge the throwing star, the assassin was hit in the thigh and tumbled onto the rooftop. Zeke immediately approached the assassin and stepped on his neck.
Ududuk!
With one blow, the assassin's neck was broken.
After confirming the assassin's death, Zeke immediately chased after the other assassin.
***
Ping!
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
Every time an arrow flew, an explosion followed.
Boris and Simon's group, riding on horseback with Karus, couldn't escape the assassin's attacks.
Simon shouted to Boris,
"Boris! Protect the Prince! We'll hold them off!"
Boris nodded and sped up with Karus.
Simon and his men slowed down and searched for the assassin chasing them from the rooftops.
'Where the hell is he?'
Being a high-ranking assassin, he was difficult to spot with the naked eye.
Just then, a bead rolled under Simon's feet.
"Dodge!"
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
An explosion much larger than before erupted.
Simon's ears were ringing from the explosion, and he couldn't regain his senses due to the tremors that shook the surroundings.
He barely managed to steady himself and shouted to his men,
"Take care of the wounded! I'll chase after him."
Simon drew his dagger and climbed up the wall of the building.
As soon as he reached the rooftop, an arrow flew towards him.
Pak!
He deflected the arrow with his dagger, but a cloud of poisonous powder suddenly spread.
"Keuhum!"
Simon, who had inhaled the sudden burst of poison powder, felt his breath becoming short.
'Damn it.'
He decided that he had to take down the assassin before he died.
Lowering his stance, Simon charged towards the approaching assassin.
Hwik!
As he swung his dagger, the assassin kept his distance and shot arrows.
Even though they were both assassins, Salmak's methods were completely different from those of the South.
Salmak assassins considered it the highest form of assassination to kill their targets without them even realizing they were dying.
This was a stark contrast to the Southern style of assassination, where they would confront their targets, inform them of the reason for their death, and brutally kill them.
"Keuk!"
Simon felt his strength gradually draining away.
Just then, something approached.
Hwik!
Blinded by the poison, Simon swung his dagger in the direction he sensed the presence.
Teok!
But the approaching figure grabbed Simon's arm and threw him to the side.
"Eueuk!"
Then, he forcefully shoved something into Simon's mouth and poured something into his eyes.
"Heok!"
His vision and breathing returned in an instant.
When he came to, Zeke was looking down at him.
"Are you alright, Simon?"
"B-Boss... I apologize. I must chase after the assassin right away..."
Zeke shook his head.
"I caught the last one."
Looking up and glancing around, Simon saw the assassin, already captured by Zeke.
Zeke and Simon took the assassin and went downstairs.
Fortunately, there were only injuries, no casualties.
Zeke asked Simon,
"It seems the Empire has placed a request with Salmak."
At the mention of Salmak, Simon's expression darkened.
"If it's Salmak, this won't be the end. The Black Market is practically Salmak's home ground."
Zeke nodded.
"Is there any other route through the border besides the Black Market?"
Simon pondered for a moment.
"There is one. It's a bit further from here. And the exit of that tunnel is close to Ishtar's territory."
At the mention of Ishtar, Zeke contemplated for a moment, then nodded.
"Let's go that way. If it's close to Ishtar's territory, neither the Empire nor Salmak will dare to act recklessly."
In the worst-case scenario, Zeke considered crossing Ishtar's territory, passing through the forbidden Forest of the Forgotten, and entering the Duchy of Troy.
It would take a considerable amount of time, but ensuring Prince Karus' safety was the priority.
Simon instructed his subordinates to return to the cartel with the captured Salmak assassin and the wounded.
Thus, the four of them - Zeke, Boris, Simon, and Karus - decided to traverse the wasteland of the lawless zone.
"We have enough food and water. Let's depart immediately."
Zeke had already amply stocked his inventory with necessities for survival.
Quickly finishing their preparations, the four men left the village and galloped towards the wasteland.
The scorching sun beat down relentlessly, and the barren wasteland stretched endlessly.
Karus, with the weakest stamina, was naturally the first to tire.
"Ugh... Zeke. Shouldn't we rest for a bit?"
Although Karus rarely suggested resting first while they were together, the wasteland of the lawless zone was that brutal.
Zeke opened the map to find a suitable resting spot.
Finally finding a shaded hill, Zeke and his companions took a short break.
Zeke took out food and water from his inventory and handed them out.
Boris, watching Zeke, remarked,
"I feel this every time I see it, but Boss's subspace artifact seems to hold a lot of things."
Zeke remembered vaguely explaining his inventory as an ancient relic with spatial magic, as he couldn't reveal its true nature.
Zeke replied nonchalantly to Boris's remark,
"That's why money is good, Boris."
"Indeed."
Boris nodded in agreement with Zeke's words.
As they were taking a short rest, they saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance.
Zeke and Simon stood up, wary.
Zeke used Dragon Eye to examine the approaching group.
'Are they outlaws?'
When he described the appearance of the group he saw, Simon's expression hardened.
"They are famous bounty hunters in the lawless zone. It seems the Empire has spread information about the Prince not only to Salmak but also to the outlaws."
At Simon's words, Boris took a stand
Karus, who was behind them, also held his crossbow and kept watch.
Dudududu!
A dozen people on horseback were seen approaching Zeke's group, weapons drawn.
"A hundred thousand gold is right there! Get them!"
The bounty hunters charged excitedly.
Just then, Zeke shouted to Simon and Boris,
"Close your eyes!"
Then, he used the flashbang skill towards the bounty hunters.
Flash!
An intense light flashed, attacking the bounty hunters' corneas.
"Kuaaak!"
While Zeke protected Karus, Boris and Simon stepped forward to deal with the bounty hunters.
Chwaak!
As Boris was a Blue Knight and Simon possessed comparable skills, they could easily handle the outlaws who had lost their sight.
After Simon and Boris returned from dealing with all the outlaws, Zeke said,
"We need to hurry. With a bounty of a hundred thousand gold, most of the outlaws in the lawless zone will come running."
Zeke's party started galloping through the wasteland again.
As he anticipated, outlaws chasing them appeared throughout the wasteland.
Most of them were small fries, easily dealt with by Boris and Simon.
Zeke checked the map while watching Boris and Simon return from handling the outlaws.
'We still have half a day to go to the tunnel, but I'm not sure if Karus' stamina will hold up.'
Karus was already mentally and physically exhausted.
Simon and Boris, who had been constantly on the move without proper sleep, were also in a bad state.
Zeke, judging that it would be difficult to move any further, looked for a place to rest.
"Let's set up camp here."
Zeke dug out a space under a large rock and pitched a tent to create a shelter from the sunlight.
Karus, already exhausted, immediately collapsed and fell asleep.
Zeke said to Boris and Simon,
"I'll take the first watch, so get some sleep."
Boris and Simon, marveling at Zeke's incredible stamina, lay down next to Karus and closed their eyes, pretending to be persuaded.
Zeke consumed the Kraken leg, which he had kept separately, using Gluttony to replenish his mental and physical strength, and mana.
Then he summoned the Chimera, Gurab.
Gurab, summoned from Zeke's shadow, seemed excited to be out after a long time, scurrying around restlessly.
"Gurab, play around here and if you find anyone suspicious, bite them. If they're not dead, bring them to me."
Kieeee!
Gurab excitedly ran around the wasteland.
But then,
"Kuaak!"
Not long after being released, Gurab brought back a suspicious person, having bitten them.
Zeke examined the person Gurab had brought.
"Uhhh..."
As ordered, the person was still alive.
Zeke checked the suspicious person's belongings.
And he discovered the person's identity.
'It's one of the Empire's hounds.'
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]