Denzel, the vice leader of the Black Virtue Squad serving the Black Market’s master, was examining Lake Bayon while hiding behind a tree.
Whaam!
The surface of the lake wavered violently, implying that something was happening underground.
‘It looks like there’s an issue…’
The Black Market’s master had ordered him to serve Raon as if he were his master.
He was planning to obey her and wanted to protect him at the cost of his life, but Raon had asked him to make sure to neutralize those on the outside since he could take care of it by himself.
He was well aware of how powerful the White Sword Dragon—well, he was now the Dragon Slayer—was, but he couldn’t stop worrying about him since they were facing a secret organization they didn’t know anything about.
“Ugh.”
“Vice squad leader.”
Denzel was clutching his head while contemplating whether they should enter or not when his subordinate, Siffin, came up next to him.“They finished taking care of the matter at the iron factory.”
“Did they catch them all?”
“Yes. As Sir Raon requested, we’ve taken care of everyone who'd been hiding their identity and let the civilians escape. However, we failed to capture them alive.”
Siffin hung his head apologetically.
“I wasn’t expecting it to happen anyway. It wasn’t an easy task.”
Denzel patted Siffin’s shoulder before looking at the lake once again.
‘Which means the enemies outside have been taken care of…’
Since the assassins guarding the lake had also been eliminated, the ones inside the factory were the only ones left.
‘I should just enter instead of contemplating the matter. We never know.’
Denzel decided to enter and injected his mana into the boulder located in front of the lake with the method Raon had taught him.
Splash!
He connected the path of mana following the set procedure, and the lake rampaged before dividing in half as if it were cut off by a blade.
‘It really worked…’
Raon had told him that he learned how to operate the boulder after seeing it once. His insight was truly inhuman.
“Let’s go.”
Denzel walked towards the center of the lake while guiding Siffin and his subordinates. He injected his mana into the turtle-shaped boulder protruding at the center of the lake once again.
Whir!
The upper part of the boulder opened up like a lid, and a passage leading inside appeared.
Denzel went ahead and walked down into it. The passage was wide and long, and there was no one around.
He couldn’t hear any noises anymore, which suggested that the matter was concluded.
“Let’s move.”
He ran through the passage while using his footwork to the best of his ability. After running for a while, he found a grotesque hill at the center of the passage.
‘No, it’s not a hill…’
They were corpses. More than a hundred corpses were piled up, looking like a small hill.
He furrowed his brow at the ridiculous situation, and he found the metallic cages to left and right. Fortunately, he could feel that the people inside were still alive.
“Gasp!”
“Th-they’re really here!”
“Please save me!”
“Please take me out of here!”
The warriors had remained dead quiet but started to shout for Denzel and the Black Virtue squad members to save them.
“Really here? Why do you mean by that?” Denzel asked as he walked up to a one-eyed warrior.
“The middle-aged man who killed that man told us that someone was going to come to our rescue soon.”
He blinked the only eye he had left while saying that Raon had told them about the rescue that was soon to come.
“Huh…”
Denzel gasped while looking up at the ceiling.
‘Did he actually predict that I would be impatient and enter?’
Raon had only requested that he get rid of the assassins outside and guard the entrance and exit. However, judging from what they were saying, he must’ve predicted that he would enter.
‘He becomes more and more mysterious the more I see him.’
He shook his head and examined the man that Raon supposedly killed.
‘He’s powerful.’
Even though a long time had passed after his death, plenty of mana was still filling his body. His well-trained body and his long and straight mana circuits proved that he was an extremely powerful warrior.
Despite that fact, Raon had slain him in a single strike.
‘It’s not just him.’
The assassins and warriors collapsed all around the passage had their hearts destroyed by a single throwing dagger. All of that had happened in a single move. He couldn’t believe the divine performance he’d displayed even though he was seeing the results.
‘He said that he was used to this kind of battle… Was he being serious?’
Denzel swallowed nervously and stood up.
“Rescue the prisoners.”
He ordered half of his subordinates to rescue the prisoners before climbing the stairs at the end of the passage.
He entered the factory that was supposedly filled with necromancers and assassins.
The ceiling, floor, and walls were completely destroyed, and corpses were all around the place. All of them looked like they’d been slain in a single strike, just like the assassins on the lower floor.
As for Raon…
“Welcome.”
He was sitting next to a woman with cold eyes, and she was spasming with reddened eyes.
“Wh-who is that woman…?”
“She is the person in charge of this factory, the one I mentioned previously.”
“Wh-what happened to the Dashing Spirit Master and the Eldritch Necromancer? If they ran away…”
“I killed them.”
The Dashing Spirit Master and the Eldritch Necromancer had long struck fear into the hearts of the people in the central and western regions of the continent. Despite this, Raon casually declared that he killed them as if he were talking about swatting some flies.
“I managed to easily finish them off with a surprise attack.”
He pointed at a corpse next to the woman, which was melted halfway.
“Ah…”
Denzel examined the Dashing Spirit Master and Raon one after the other and gasped.
‘What is this guy…?’
He was well aware that he was powerful, but he couldn’t believe that he had finished everything perfectly, without making a single mistake, when he was dealing with assassins and necromancers.
Moreover, the Dashing Spirit Master and the Eldritch Necromancer were there, and the man down below and the woman being tortured were both extremely powerful. That was why he couldn’t believe the fact that Raon didn’t even have a single injury on him.
‘This man must never be made an enemy.’
Denzel swallowed nervously while recognizing Raon as being as dangerous as the heads of the Six Kings and the Five Demons.
* * *
“I have something to tell you, vice squad leader.”
Raon left Resia alone as she spasmed like she was about to die and waved his hand at Denzel.
“What is it…?”
“I’ve obtained some information from this woman. There are apparently factories like this in other locations.”
“A-are you serious?”
Denzel widened his eyes because he didn’t expect him to have already obtained information in that short amount of time.
“Yes. I heard it from her before you arrived.”
Raon smiled coldly while looking down at Resia.
“She didn’t last that long.”
Despite how confident she sounded, she couldn’t put up with the torture for long and told him everything she knew.
Uhh…
Wrath’s lips were trembling in fear.
Anyone who could endure that wouldn’t be human. They would need to be a god or the demon god!
‘Come on, it’s not that bad.’
The pain of digging into the skin, the itchiness, the heat and coldness, and you even added the pain of tearing under the skin on top of everything else! No one can endure that!
He clutched his head, saying that even a demon wouldn’t perform that kind of torture.
Why did you even add the wind?!
‘Because I wanted to try using the new thing I’ve obtained.’
Since his energy of wind was getting stronger, he added the pain of tearing under the skin to the torture. Resia was the first victim, and she ended up telling him everything before enough time had passed for a single meal, contrary to her bold claims.
“She said there are factories in Beshir Village and Sofen City. And the Yuuha Company, which supposedly built the iron mine here, was the one providing the funds for them. That implies that they are on the same side.”
Raon told Denzel everything he’d heard from Resia.
“Huh…” Denzel gasped in disbelief, then spoke to his subordinate, saying, “Siffin, you heard him.”
“Ah, yes…”
Siffin was dumbfounded and blankly stared at Raon.
“I’m going to quickly confirm that and return!”
He ran outside after shouting that he would deliver the information to the Black Market.
“Did you find out who is behind that organization?” Denzel asked.
“…I shall figure that out now.”
Raon walked up to Resia and placed his hand on her forehead. She was trembling like a sick person and exhaled a warm breath while going limp on the ground.
“Pl-please, please stop. Kill me instead, just kill me…”
Resia’s blue lips twitched as she shouted for him to kill her instead of torturing her.
“Hmm…” Denzel quietly groaned, while watching Resia’s distorted eyes.
‘What kind of torture could it be…?’
An agent like that should’ve been educated to endure the pain and torture. That was why her reaction was surprising. He was terrified by Raon’s torture method, but he was curious at the same time.
“This is the last question.”
Raon placed his finger on Resia’s head.
‘I won’t hear the answer, though.’
Since Resia had already told him about the other factories and the company that ran them, there was only one question left to ask. He expected that he wouldn’t be able to hear the response.
“Tell me the name of the one who ordered you to do this.”
“Ugh…”
Resia looked like she would tell anything, but she closed her lips tightly.
“Alright, let’s get started again.”
Raon chuckled and focused his aura on his fingertip just as Resia quickly opened her mouth.
“He… Aah!”
She couldn’t make any sound—as if the silence spell had been cast on her. She opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish before she perished, her tongue poking out.
Denzel gasped before he hurriedly approached and examined Resia’s condition.
“Sh-she is dead. It looks like her brain melted…”
He bit his lip tightly while watching the life drain from Resia’s eyes.
Raon looked down on Resia with bitterness hiding behind his composure.
‘I knew it…’
Derus was still using the same method where the brainwashing came into action, melting the brain instead of the rage worm when she tried to mention his name.
Derus was definitely a demon in human skin no matter how he thought about it.
“They are even more cruel than I thought.”
Denzel’s pale face revealed his immense shock.
“Let’s wrap it up for now.”
Raon removed all traces of aura remaining in Resia’s body and stood up.
“I’ll remove the traces, so you should gather the documents from this place. They are definitely going to be useful.”
“Understood.”
Denzel nodded and started to gather the documents and books that the necromancers had left behind.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking down at Resia’s corpse.
‘He must’ve heard of it by now.’
Derus must’ve realized that all of them had died because of the rage worms.
The incident wasn’t simply about the death of the assassins. The locations of the other factories were also revealed, and the company that was managing the finances was going to collapse. That was why he was about to suffer a tremendous loss, both in terms of money and time.
‘The dozens of years you’ve spent ended up in vain.’
Raon rolled his lips into a smile while imagining Derus’s confident face being ruined.
‘What’s your next move, Derus Robert?’
* * *
Cubara was called for by Derus and went to the outer part of the great garden.
‘I wonder what he called me for.’
Derus never called on her when there were so many people around, and that was why there was definitely an issue if he went out of his way to call her.
‘I received the report that the materials were delivered. Is it about Valmail’s return? Or…’
She approached Derus from behind while thinking about the potential issue and suddenly came to a halt.
“Ah…”
The atmosphere around Derus was as cold as a frigid winter. She could feel the danger, realizing that her head was going to roll if she made the smallest movement.
“…You summoned me?”
Cubara went on her knees while enduring the pain that felt like wires were tightening around her heart.
“Valmail, Resia, Shupel, and Juran have died.”
Derus told her that everyone in the Deathbringer Revenant Factory had perished without even turning around.
“How could that be…?”
“It’s not just those four. The signals from the Shadows there have all been lost.”
Derus looked around as he spoke. His blue eyes looked peaceful at first, but she could feel a frightening amount of anger rampaging behind them.
“Does that mean that Valmail was tracked down…?”
“No, they must’ve found the factory beforehand, and Valmail’s arrival must’ve ignited the fuse. If it had been a simple attack, Juran, Shupel, and Resia should’ve survived at least.”
Derus was analyzing the situation objectively even though he should’ve been dizzy with panic.
“You are right, my lord.”
Cubara slowly nodded. The Deathbringer Revenant Factory had an exit leading to the lake. The fact that they couldn’t escape from there implied that the enemies knew everything beforehand.
“Haa…”
Derus sighed in a frightening manner and took off his leather glove. Crimson blood was dripping from the back of his hand.
“Figure out the situation even if you have to send all the Shadows, agents, and warriors. Gather as much information as possible.”
“…Understood.”
Cubara nodded while feeling like a blade was touching her neck.
“I’ll personally take action after that,” Derus declared, then went to the center of the great garden, where Lephon Robert’s birthday party was in progress.
“Sir Derus, you must be happy. Your youngest son has an extraordinary talent.”
The head of House Rashian walked up to him with a smile. It was one of the prestigious houses in the south.
“I’m so jealous. All of your children are geniuses without exception.”
“He still has a long way to go. Please teach him a lot in the future, Sir Shikan.”
“Huhuhu, but of course!”
Derus communicated with the guests with an entertained smile even though he’d learned about the incident in the Deathbringer Factory that he’d been preparing for dozens of years.
“……”
Cubara bit her lip while watching Derus’s back. A chill ran down her spine. She was serving him with everything she had, but her fear only deepened as she looked at him.
She closed her eyes in an attempt to remove the fear towards Derus and quietly disappeared out of sight.
* * *
The next day, Raon went to Haro Mountain’s peak, where the iron mine was located. He concealed himself so that no one would find him and removed his presence to observe Capply Village and Lake Bayon.
You should go eat a proper meal since you are done. Why are you nibbling on beef jerky again while hiding?
Wrath furrowed his brow in displeasure.
‘It’s not over yet. In a way, we can say that we are only getting started.’
Considering Derus’s personality, he should be dispatching agents to figure out the situation first, and then he was definitely going to personally arrive if he couldn’t learn anything from that.
‘You can pinpoint anyone’s arrival in that village, right?’
Hmph, the King of Essence is the king of Devildom and the Monarch of Wrath! Nothing in the world can escape the King of Essence’s senses from this distance!
Wrath snorted, saying that he shouldn’t ask an obvious question.
‘In that case, can you tell me if a human Transcender enters that village?’
He doesn’t want to.
He shook his head firmly.
Why would the King of Essence help you? You are just a hustler who loves to boast.
‘I’ll add one week to the period where I eat anything you want to after we return.’
Two weeks!
‘Ten days.’
Deal!
Wrath immediately nodded.
‘Haa…’
Raon honestly didn’t want to use that method, but he had no other choice because other people’s lives were also at stake.
Hnng~ What shall he get this time?
‘……’
Raon watched the village below while ignoring the demon king who was humming while thinking about food, and Denzel quietly approached from behind.
“We’ve sent all the villagers to other locations.”
“Weren’t they against it?”
“Of course they were.”
Denzel sighed quietly, implying that it was hard work.
“But the kidnapped warriors helped us a lot. We could get it done relatively quickly thanks to them.”
He blinked, saying that the villagers decided to evacuate thanks to the testimony from the various warriors, including the one from House Sikern.
“What did you do with the corpses?”
“As you mentioned before, we’ve identified them and contacted their families.”
Denzel sighed, saying that their families were coming with a saddened voice.
“Because of that, the rumors about a secret organization making assassins from corpses have spread all around the continent. I doubt the secret organization in question is going to make any moves in this situation.”
He tilted his head, unable to understand Raon’s decision.
“They will come.”
Raon nodded with certainty. Judging from Derus’s personality, he was definitely going to personally arrive and determine whether or not the Black Market was really the perpetrator. It was necessary to prepare for it because the entire village and the mountain could disappear from his fit of rage.
“Even if they don’t, it’s better to prepare.”
“That’s true.”
Denzel awkwardly scratched his head. He quietly disappeared after telling him that he would make the preparations.
Raon took an unappetizing loaf of bread from his subspace pocket after Denzel left.
N-Nadine bread! Have you lost it again?!
‘Nadine bread is the best type of rations during a stakeout.’
But you said you would eat wherever the King of Essence wants!
‘I said after we returned.’
Ugh, eat the beef jerky instead! That’s the least…
‘I already finished it all.’
Then just eat dirt or grass! That’s better than the weird bread you are holding!
Wrath screamed, telling him to bite a rock instead of eating the Nadine bread.
‘It tastes alright, though.’
Your tongue is definitely petrified by a spell.
‘You can say that again after we eat.’
Raon ignored Wrath and chewed the Nadine bread before he swallowed it. The mysterious sensation of chewing rubber spread all around his mouth, though it didn’t taste that bad for him.
He swallowed after properly chewing it, and his stomach was as full as if he had overeaten.
Ugh…
Wrath collapsed on his back with his eyes rolled back, deeply moved by the taste.
Y-you are going to hell…
‘Maybe I am.’
Raon smiled faintly and didn’t take his eyes off Capply Village.
One day had passed, and by the time the second day was over, a wind started to blow, as cold as a deadly blade.
Raon narrowed his eyes while watching the black shadow appearing in front of Lake Bayon.
‘He’s here.’
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