Chapter 96 : Chapter 96

Chapter 96

“Hand it over.”

A harmless smile appeared on Killian’s lips.

It had been three days since he hunted Count Konrad.

As soon as he had recovered about 50% of his body with magic and recovery potions, he infiltrated Brussels.

There was no need to use Polymorph.

The Walkers’ attire was suitable for concealing one’s identity, and Killian, too, could imitate movements just as well as any Walker.

What he had overlooked was the speed at which rumors spread.

He had moved as quickly as possible, but the rumor of Count Konrad’s death had reached the King’s ears faster than he had thought.

‘If I had been a little later, I wouldn’t have been able to take control this easily.’

In the end, the infiltrated Annihilation Squad had initiated the action first, and the trembling Bruges III before him was the result.

“A, a good item, you say…?”

“I’ve just come from hearing everything from the Count.”

“The Count… The Count betrayed me…!”

Ssk.

Crimson Wolf, who had been watching, brought his sword to the King’s neck.

“Watch your mouth in front of the Prince, King.”

“Hi, hiiik…”

Blood trickled from the neck of Bruges III.

A king having to watch his mouth in front of an enemy prince was somewhat strange, but Bruges III did not have a strong enough personality to express such a thought.

“Spare me…!!”

“I’ll spare you.”

At the immediate reply, the King’s eyes, buried in flesh, widened ever so slightly.

“Really…?”

His words were a bit informal, but Killian did not mind.

“Of course. That’s why I came here like this in the middle of a war.”

Killian had hunted Count Konrad, Escardo had annihilated the central army, and the knights led by Demian and Paian had completely crushed the left and right flanks of Brussels.

In the process, Baron Nantes had died, and most of the surviving soldiers of Brussels had fled. The Eurasia knights were currently pouring all their efforts into pursuing the remnants.

Even if they conscripted knights and mages, the kingdom no longer had any superhuman-level forces.

It was a complete defeat for Brussels.

And now.

The life of the king who had declared war was in Killian’s hands.

“Prove your worth.”

“Hey, Prince Killian… could you please elaborate a little more… No, before that, let’s sit down and talk…”

Click.

Aether, swung gently, was sheathed.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Uh…?”

Bruges III made a dazed sound.

He felt as if something was missing.

Thud.

A thick chunk of flesh fell in front of him.

“Uwaaaaah…!!”

Confirming that the chunk of flesh was his own wrist, he belatedly let out a scream.

“What’s with the surprise? Think of how much blood has been spilled because of you.”

“Ugh… Ughhhh…”

As if annoyed by the crying, Serena, who had been watching, approached.

“Shall I make him shut up?”

“No. If I leave it to you, I think his head will fly off.”

“I was only thinking of cutting off one more wrist.”

“He’s not a knight who has forged a Mana Heart… He’d be perfect to die from excessive blood loss.”

“…”

Serena shrugged and stepped back.

Killian met the eyes of the wailing king.

As blue mana seeped into the wound, the gushing blood stopped.

“You heard me, right? If you waste time with nonsense, the other one will fly off too.”

Nod, nod.

The chunk of flesh moved violently.

“Speak.”

At the indifferent prompting, Bruges III began to pour out words on his own.

The secret repository where treasures of the 300-year Brussels dynasty, worthy of being called national treasures, were hidden; the secret establishments and financial pipelines he had frequented with the renowned nobles of the royal family.

Most of it was information he had already gathered through Hennessy, but there was some useful information among it.

“The Vice-Head Priest of the Pantera Temple enjoys the company of women?”

“Ye, yes…!!”

“Hmm…”

Killian stroked his chin.

Priests were officially unmarried.

It would be even more so for a position like Vice-Head Priest, but he was said to be a close friend who shared a secret hobby with the King.

“He has fathered more than five children?”

“Exactly seven!!”

Bruges III ratted out his own close friend.

That was not all.

He even fluently confessed the fact that a secret Warp stone had been placed, connected to the Vice-Head Priest’s bedroom, for their trysts.

“This country is a mess.”

“Brussels is showing signs of ruin too.”

“It’s the people who are to be pitied.”

It was then that the members of the Annihilation Squad, who had been watching, added their own comments.

“The smell of blood is overwhelming. Weren’t we supposed to handle this quietly?”

A man in Walker’s attire walked over from a distance.

[Growl.]

Beside him was Hazard, disguised as Hennessy’s sniffer dog.

“The item?”

“I found it.”

Yulian took out a neatly folded paper from his bosom.

Taking and unfolding it, he saw the corruption of the royal family and nobles that Revric had spoken of.

“I told you to just identify the location and come back.”

The document containing the vices of the nobles that Revric had disclosed was in a safe in the Commander’s office.

Naturally, multiple spells were engraved around it.

Yulian stroked Hazard’s head.

“I was also planning to just identify the location and return… but this fellow scratched it a few times with his claws, and it was dismantled.”

[Growl!]

Hazard howled proudly and licked his claws.

No one here would know that those claws could rip apart even an Arch Mage’s chain magic.

“You did well.”

Serena stroked Hazard’s head.

“I’m the one who dealt with the royal mages and brought the item, though?”

“Completing the mission is a given for the Second Sword of the Annihilation Squad.”

“…”

Yulian shut his mouth at Serena’s cold response.

Killian glanced at Bruges III and nodded his head.

“See this? The atmosphere is getting tense because you keep saying the wrong things.”

“I, I too! Have a lot I can tell you!”

As the confession, which had briefly stopped, resumed, Yulian wore a look of disbelief.

‘Everyone just spills high-level information the moment they see the Commander’s face.’

Just because the war was over did not mean Brussels would become Eurasia’s.

To achieve a true occupation, they had to win over the people of the defeated nation.

Information played a crucial role in that process.

Simply put, if they uncovered and exposed the atrocities of the nobles, the enraged people of Brussels would naturally become citizens of Eurasia.

Of course, there was the information Hennessy had collected, but there was a limit to how much of the clandestine details could be grasped.

But now, the man who was king was willingly confessing information to save his own neck.

‘Bruges III. He’s more useful than I thought.’

He never intended to kill him from the beginning.

The man had a role to play in the process of Eurasia annexing Brussels.

‘I should wrap this up around here.’

Killian raised his head and met the eyes of Serena and Crimson Wolf.

They were a Sword Master and a Night Walker, respectively.

And in the Annihilation Squad, there were three more 6-star knights.

On the other hand, there were no longer any superhuman-level forces within the Brussels royal castle.

It would take time, but it did not seem difficult to annihilate the royal knights and mages.

“Let’s start the cleanup.”

“…!!”

The light in Bruges III’s eyes wavered drastically.

It seemed he thought the word ‘cleanup’ meant taking his life.

“Not yet!!”

“?”

“There’s something I haven’t told you yet!!”

Was it due to the fear of death?

Bruges III recalled a secret of the kingdom he had forgotten.

“The, the piece…!!”

“Hm?”

“A piece is hidden in the basement of the royal palace!!”

“A piece?”

Hearing it for the first time, Killian tilted his head.

“Yes!!”

His voice was as grating as a pig’s squeal.

“A Grotesquery!!”

“…”

As an unexpected entity was mentioned, Killian’s face hardened.

“A piece of the Grotesquery is hidden in the castle’s basement!!”

Unaware of the weight of the words he was spouting, Bruges III shouted at the top of his lungs.

The others’ expressions hardened as well.

“Say that again.”

Killian’s cold voice echoed through the King’s Hall.

***

Grotesquery.

A monstrous creature that even I, who had lived for thousands of years as a sword, had encountered for the first time.

An entity that suddenly appeared on the continent just before the battle with the Empire, and the one behind the wave caused by the monster lords.

The very entity that had caused the death of my friend, the invincible knight Edan Eurasia who had mastered 9-stars, and had brought about the downfall of Eurasia, which was the center of the Kingdom Alliance.

I could list many other descriptions for it.

“…”

A corner of my chest where the Mana Heart was located throbbed.

The pain of the moment I sealed the Curses it had poured out was vivid.

A piece of that being.

“Is here.”

Killian muttered, looking at the firmly shut door before him.

The 5th basement floor of the Brussels royal palace.

A secret place where an entire floor was made inaccessible without the King’s permission.

A piece of the Grotesquery was said to be hidden there.

‘Revric Roach. To think you hid such a fact so well.’

Unlike Bruges III, he was no fool.

He had spewed out a considerable amount of information under constant interrogation, but none of it was related to the Grotesquery.

I did not know what he was thinking, hiding such information, but now that I knew, I could not just sit still.

“Commander, wouldn’t it be better to enter after completely securing the castle?”

Philip, who was standing guard beside Bruges III, asked.

“That would be too late.”

“?”

Philip tilted his head.

The Annihilation Squad and the Walkers were in the process of securing the castle.

Even with a 7-star knight and a 6-star knight absent, with Crimson Wolf and Serena present, a day would be enough to secure everything.

‘The Commander’s aura has changed.’

Ever since hearing the name Grotesquery, a fighting spirit had been leaking from Killian’s body.

It was not that Philip did not know about the Grotesquery.

‘Even if it’s related to Eurasia’s decline… it shouldn’t hold much meaning now, 200 years later.’

Philip, who had only ever watched over Eurasia since its decline, could not understand the Commander getting worked up over a mere piece, not even the complete entity.

Killian glanced at Bruges III, who had acquired a few more bruises in a short time.

“Is the Empire helping Brussels because of this?”

“That’s right… Since the previous generation… under the condition of not disclosing it to the outside world… the Empire promised protection…”

He had heard it from Count Revric after inheriting the throne.

“What about Count Konrad?”

“He knew about it too… but he wasn’t particularly interested. Revric also said that he had tried to enter once in his youth… n, no… he was about to enter, but he felt an unusual energy and kept it sealed as it was.”

As if wanting to prove his innocence, he prattled on about things he was not even asked.

‘A piece… That thing is not something that can be broken into a tangible form.’

The Grotesquery was an entity with an indistinct form.

It was as if a Curse in the form of a cloud had gained sentience.

I could not understand how such a being could have left behind a piece.

Even after resorting to physical violence and interrogation, Bruges III did not seem to know the detailed information either.

‘I have to check it myself.’

“I, I will open it.”

At Killian’s nod, Bruges III placed his hand on the indented center of the door.

Ssssss.

Soon, the magic engraved on the door activated, and mana flowed into Bruges III’s body.

‘It would have been a big problem if I had sent his other hand flying too.’

The level of mana felt from the door was 7-star.

Cutting through magic was not a difficult task, but this was a Shik that had been maintained for a full 200 years.

There was no telling what would happen if he tried to force it open, so there was no harm in being cautious.

Kuuung.

It did not take long for the magic engraved on the door to be released.

As the firmly shut door opened a crack, the unusual energy beyond it could be sensed.

“…”

Philip and Bruges III seemed to have noticed nothing.

The first to react was Hazard.

[Grrr.]

“Philip.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Stay here and guard the entrance.”

“Then…”

“Only Hazard and I will go in.”

“…Understood.”

Philip grabbed Bruges III by the neck and stepped back.

“Let’s go, Hazard.”

[Grrr! Grrr!]

Ssssss.

Blue mana surged around Killian’s body.

His physical condition was not perfect, but.

‘Using Aether and the scabbard, I should be at the level of a typical superhuman.’

He put strength into both hands and pushed the door.

Kuuuung.

The door that had not allowed intruders for many long years slowly opened.

And then.

Saaaaaaah.

The Evil Energy that had led my friend to his death leaked out.

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