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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 206: Uneasiness is Intuition's Warning
A group of armed men was passing through the back alleys of Grunewald City.
"Boss, is this the right way?"
The armed forces consisting of Zizek's gang and mercenaries were marching through the middle of the night market where all the stalls had been cleared away, as if they were an army parading through the streets.
"Shut up and keep walking."
Zizek dismissed his subordinates' concerns.
"If we're going to be attacked, it's better to be in an open area. Would you rather be picked off one by one in a narrow space?"
"That's true, but..."
This bold movement was also a strategy devised by Zizek, Gareth, and Rob.
"How should I put it... I feel like everyone in the underworld is watching us."
Rob, who now looked like a skilled swordsman with his newly developed muscles and trimmed fat, nervously fingered the hilt of his sword.
"Well, that's to be expected, isn't it?"
Zizek retorted in a sharper and colder tone than usual.
"By the end of tonight, the order of the underworld might be restructured. Everyone who lives in the night would think so."
It was precisely for this reason that no one was blocking Zizek's gang's path.
'It was worth setting the groundwork carefully.'
Zizek and Nagan had already sought cooperation from the organization managing the night market to keep this alley clear.
'We got lucky.'
As it happened, they were one of the five major organizations in Grunewald City that had maintained friendly relations with the Bisakino Brotherhood since the time of the previous Godfather.
"My spine is tingling, Boss."
Rob wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"It feels like walking alone into a forest at midnight."
The tension of not knowing where night beasts might suddenly attack from behind the densely packed trees.
Or the fear that spirits or undead might pounce from behind.
Zizek's gang was walking through the city of night in precisely that kind of fear.
"Pathetic fool. Stop whining."
Zizek said.
"If you keep acting so scared, it's going to make everyone else nervous too."
"...You're right. I'm sorry."
Rob, seeming to realize his mistake, composed his expression back to a neutral one.
"Go comfort Moritz and Luen."
"Yes."
Rob approached the two children who were walking in the deepest part of the procession.
"Moritz."
"Yes!"
"...And Luen."
"Y-yes."
Luen. That was the name Rob had given to the small boy who was being cared for by Moritz.
"Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll make sure you don't get hurt."
Although they were children he had initially been forced to take care of—
Rob had come to genuinely love these pitiful but kind-hearted boys.
"...Will it be okay?"
Moritz asked worriedly, but Rob nodded as if the question was obvious.
"We've made many preparations. And there are people who will help us if needed. So you have nothing to worry about."
Rob had already assigned three trustworthy members specifically to guard the children.
"Don't worry. No matter how nightmarish the night might be, if you close your eyes and count numbers, it will pass before you know it."
Rob comforted the children while also reminding himself.
"Let's survive. We must live to enjoy more pleasures in life."
"Yes."
As Rob stroked the children's heads, he suddenly thought:
'It's not easy for little kids to grow up in the underworld.'
That's why he too needed to survive for a long time and become these children's guardian.
"Don't be so tense."
Marlok, who was walking like a prisoner tied with ropes, smiled gently and comforted Rob.
"It will be fine. That's the mindset needed for things to work out, even when they seem impossible."
"...Thank you."
'Ah, I still can't get used to this guy.'
Rob nodded while trying hard to suppress the curse that was about to come out. Could the infamous young master of the Cardovan Clan really have changed this much?
"I'll lend a hand too, so don't worry."
After saying that, Marlok glanced toward Zizek.
"...Isn't it about time to start?"
"Hoo."
Rob exhaled nervously and nodded.
"Yes, I think it's time."
"I'll begin then."
"Go ahead."
"Huup."
Taking a deep breath, Marlok suddenly started thrashing about and shouting.
"Aaaagh! Save me! I'm Marlok, son of Viscount Cardovan! I'll reward handsomely anyone who rescues me!"
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Marlok freed himself from the deliberately loosely tied ropes and started to run away.
"Ah!"
"Catch that bastard!"
"We can't let him escape!"
The gang members began reciting their prepared lines and chased after Marlok.
Of course, it was a carefully calculated pursuit that always kept Marlok just out of reach, ensuring he wouldn't actually be caught.
"Catch him! Don't let him escape!"
"Pah! Stop chasing me, you lowly creatures!"
Rob inwardly stuck out his tongue at the convincing performance.
'That bastard is a good actor.'
Could he have been hiding his true colors all this time?
Pushing aside such suspicions, Rob sharply scanned the surroundings.
'Now is when we need to be alert.'
"The young master has escaped!"
"What are you waiting for! Hurry and save him!"
"Yes!"
"You go too!"
The viscount's soldiers who had been following from a distance, along with the mercenaries they had hired, all rushed forward, looking for an opportunity to rescue Marlok.
"It's just as the old man said."
Zizek, watching the scene, nodded.
"What did I tell you, Boss?"
Up to this point, everything was going according to Gareth's plan.
However—
"Huh?"
"Who are those guys?"
The unexpected turn of events happened on the Black Night Society's side.
"Damn it! Who ordered them to rush out without permission?"
"Those men aren't our people, sir!"
"Shit, tell them to come back! Why are they charging forward like that?!"
Some of the Black Night Society members who had been following Zizek's gang mistook Cardovan's people for allies and, caught up in the momentum, began rushing forward.
"Stop them!"
"It's too late, sir!"
"This is insane!"
Before anyone could react, sporadic skirmishes began breaking out.
"Should we go out too?"
This kind of situation inevitably caused unrest among the waiting members as well.
"Just attack! If we stay here, they'll all die for nothing!"
"A-alright!"
"Ah, shit! I don't even know anymore!"
In an instant, Zizek's side, the Black Night Society, and Viscount Cardovan's forces became entangled, and chaos erupted.
"Who the hell are these guys?"
"You dare attack us?"
"Just kill them all!"
The eyes of those who had tasted blood grew wild.
Men who had lost their reason in an instant due to fear and anger began swinging their swords indiscriminately at everyone around them.
"...Hmph."
"What a mess."
Zizek and Gareth watched the scene while fingering the hilts of their swords.
Though surprised, this was still within the range of their expectations. No matter how well-thought-out the plan might be, fights in the underworld inevitably devolved into chaos anyway.
Moreover—
"Draw your swords!"
"Don't break formation! We continue to advance!"
Of the three groups, Zizek's gang was fighting most calmly. They had already prepared themselves mentally for such a situation.
Furthermore, hadn't they given their men the miraculous honey received from Haglandere, mixed with water?
'All that hard work is paying off.'
Zizek nodded with satisfaction.
As long as their formation didn't break, and as long as their seniors continued to encourage them from behind, the buffaloes would continue their advance even if wolves were tearing at their flanks.
Whether that journey could continue to the end, however, remained to be seen.
"Zizek! Where do you think you're running to like a dog that needs to take a shit?"
Zizek turned his head at the familiar voice.
"Chairman of the Black Night Society?"
"Yes, it's me."
The Chairman of the Black Night Society, who had lost weight and gained a fiercer look in his eyes since they last met, walked forward with a sword at his side.
"I hear you teamed up with that Karzan fellow and killed Krahel?"
Zizek shrugged at the Chairman's attitude, which suggested he knew everything.
"You're only figuring that out now? Your head must have really hardened. Isn't it time for you to retire?"
"Shut up."
The Chairman drew his sword.
"Come out now. I'll cut off your head and plant it in front of Krahel's grave."
"Whew, look at how you talk. So brutal."
Zizek rubbed his neck while feigning nonchalance.
"If you won't come out, I'll start by killing your pathetic handful of subordinates."
"!"
That was a statement Zizek couldn't ignore, and his eyes changed.
"Boss, you must endure."
Gareth, who knew Zizek's temperament well, grabbed his arm.
"The leader of the first army shouldn't rush to the front so easily."
Gareth whispered in a low voice.
"This isn't the end. Surely stronger enemies are lying in wait."
"...I know."
Zizek snorted and agreed. Seeing this, Gareth smiled lightly.
"You should save your strength for when stronger enemies appear. The current boss has become stronger than me."
"Do you really think so, old man?"
"Of course."
Zizek, who had surpassed the 4th Tier threshold thanks to Karzan's teaching, several potions, and his own efforts.
Having watched Zizek fight against the executives of the Huten faction, Gareth was now convinced that the young boss's strength had finally surpassed his own aging self.
"Above all, if someone must die, it's more fitting for an old man's life to be spent before a young man's."
Determination shone in the eyes of the retired old knight.
"If the Chairman breaks through our defensive line and approaches, I'll handle him first."
"...Can you do it, old man?"
"Listen, Boss."
Gareth responded with a grin.
"Living a long time means being strong."
***
"The Black Night Society has clashed with Zizek!"
"Zizek is cautiously holding his position, sir!"
"Zizek's gang's fighting power isn't inferior to the Black Night Society at all. They've grown surprisingly strong in a short time."
"The mercenaries are also performing remarkably well. They're not low-quality cheap ones."
Huten closed his eyes and tilted his chin toward the ceiling as he received the flurry of reports.
"So it was indeed happening according to a plan."
He could smell conspiracy.
What were the chances that the two assassins from Svartalfar whom he had been most wary of would cause a disturbance, while at the same time Zizek would boldly cross the night market to provoke an attack from the Chairman of the Black Night Society?
"What about Nagan's side?"
"They've taken a thorough defensive stance but show no other reaction."
Huten opened his eyes at the scout's report.
"Caleb. How do you interpret this situation?"
"It's clearly a lure, sir. When you appear to attack Nagan, probably—"
Huten brought his hands together like a hammer and anvil, then struck his palm.
"Karzan will appear and attack me. That must be their strategy."
"Yes. It's certain."
Caleb, who had once been defeated by Karzan, gritted his teeth.
"They're underestimating me."
He wasn't foolish enough to have no countermeasures against such an obvious variable.
"Then let's employ our own deception this time."
This was similar to a hunter surrounded by wolves in the snowy mountains, who, having understood the wolves' tactics, tries to turn them around.
"No matter how sharp a dagger might be, if you're aware of its existence, you won't fall victim to it."
Accordingly, Huten had prepared a deception to make Karzan, the dagger, "be drawn out incorrectly."
"Let's begin."
"Yes!"
Only time would tell whose strategy would ultimately fool the other.
***
"Wow, they're fighting."
I was watching the battle from beneath a tall chimney.
"Who the hell is that guy?"
The one fighting Ghir was a strong fighter I'd never seen before.
'His swordsmanship is no joke?'
Blood spurted simultaneously from several places on Ghir's body, who had charged in barehanded.
'An incredible swordsman.'
Though Ghir's defensive techniques and body were exceptionally tough, resulting in only superficial wounds—
The important point was that even Ghir couldn't completely block all of the man's consecutive attacks.
'He's no ordinary fighter?'
Did that Huten bastard request reinforcements from somewhere?
"They just keep coming, one after another."
Like some kind of potato vine.
'Who do you serve?'
I'd be able to confirm their identity after tonight.
And one more thing.
'Zizek's gang seems to be handling the Black Night Society reasonably well on their own.'
There was help from the mercenaries, and the sudden intrusion of a third force, but withstanding an attack from the Black Night Society, a 4th rate organization, was by no means an easy feat. It meant their organization had long surpassed the 5th rate.
'Those guys who once seemed like they'd blow away in the wind have gotten much stronger.'
That was satisfying.
Moreover, with Rudgarda standing by as a reserve force in case of emergency, there seemed to be no need to worry too much about Zizek.
'Huten has finally made his move.'
He appeared to be dividing his forces in two, having Caleb attack Zizek while he himself would attack Nagan.
'According to plan.'
Then all I needed to do was strike Huten from behind.
'...Is that really enough?'
Suddenly, a strange sensation tickled my heart.
'This is going too smoothly. Suspiciously so.'
The troubling point was that Huten's side's response was too swift and systematic. As if they had anticipated things would unfold this way.
'Requesting new reinforcements to block Ghir's side, sending the now one-armed Caleb against Zizek.'
And now he's attacking Nagan himself. Isn't this a precise three-pronged attack, as if pre-planned?
But the problem was that the existence of the skilled swordsman pressuring Ghir was outside my expectations.
'Something is off.'
The enemy's reaction has deviated from my prediction, yet the result is moving in the direction I wanted?
'...Can things really work out so conveniently?'
Expecting Huten to be such a pushover would be too naive.
'Uneasiness is intuition's warning.'
Ignoring that signal wouldn't be a good choice.
'...If they have some foul intention.'
I shouldn't move rashly until I figure out what it is.
'Heavy as a mountain.'
The cargo placed at the very bottom of a sailing ship to maintain its center of gravity is called ballast.
'For me now, patience and composure are like ballast protecting the ship from the storm.'
I changed my mind. Like the most cautious hunter, I decided to sit tight and wait for the optimal moment.
'I cannot allow myself to become a misdirawn dagger.'
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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