Chapter 147 : Chapter 147

Chapter 147 - Replenishing Private Soldiers

For the past three days, a ghost story had been circulating in Dusk Citadel.

In a place where fights broke out more often than in the demon world, an incident that would be treated as a ghost story was by no means small.

Every midnight, a gray ghost ship would appear from between the clouds.

Ghost pirates would fall from the ghost ship like hail.

And what they left behind after they came and went were corpses with their hearts stolen.

The ghost ship came without a sound.

To plunder hearts, they held the swords of spirits with the bodies of spirits.

The targets of the plunder were the crime bosses who were untouchable in their respective districts.

When the number of targets exceeded one hand, the bosses of other districts also had to wipe their sweat.

"Hey, you bastards! Stop them! Stop them!"

"Throw all the Spirit Containment Orbs! The rest of you, find the sorcerers!"

The mansions that had been so prosperous just a few days ago were now embroiled in the vortex of a chaotic battle.

The clean gardens were pitted in various places and were crowded with hired sorcerer private soldiers, undead, and ghost pirates.

However, the spirit-type undead, the most troublesome of all, could not be stopped with ordinary defenses.

The same was true for the containment orbs.

"I-It's not working! The containment orbs aren't working!"

The containment orbs, which specialized in sucking in and trapping spirits, were items prepared for an attack.

The items, which had been procured in large quantities by emptying the treasury, could not stop the pirates' swords.

The pirates were all beings subservient to the pirate ship and its captain.

Unless they were harmed or the pirates were attacked directly, capture was impossible.

"Spirit sorcerers! Do something!"

"Damn it...!!"

In the end, the only ones who had to work their fingers to the bone were the spirit sorcerers.

Spirit Sorcery was a sorcery that could not be touched without innate talent, so their fees were expensive.

Twenty such mercenaries had gathered, and the spirits they owned were even more numerous.

But all those many spirits were facing a single spirit.

"That one bastard is too strong!"

"Damn it...! Where the hell did a monster like that come from?!"

"M-My spirit...!! No...!!"

Even when humanoid spirits and beast-type spirits swarmed him, the pirate king did not back down.

Even after stepping down as captain, a pirate king was still a pirate king.

His presence alone strengthened the other crew members and solidified the outcome of the battle.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—!!

Holding a pair of cutlasses, he cut down whatever blocked his path.

The gray sword qi of the ghost surged like a wave, sweeping away the advancing enemies.

It cut down fellow ghosts and froze the souls of the living.

The soul of the pirate king could not be stopped by mere mercenaries' undead.

Furthermore, the same was true for the ghost ship's 100-cannon bombardment.

Kaboom—

A gray mist from the bombardment descended on the garden.

No place was spared, as long as it was the garden of the mansion marked by the fence.

Now, nothing living remained on the battlefield.

Clatter, clatter—

As the situation was sorted out, skeletons took their place.

These harder-than-spirit beings rummaged through the chests of the corpses with their sharp bone marrow.

Even so, their touch was delicate so as not to damage the intended object.

Pshwaaak—

Blood gushed out for a moment, and a heart came out into the cold world.

It was still warm to the touch, and it had been beating just a moment ago.

The thing that had been moving more fiercely than usual due to the fear of death found a new home.

The empty ribcage of the Skeleton Soldier was filled with a new heart.

And at the same time, it took on the face of the corpse that had owned the heart.

Flesh covered the bones, and the expressionless face was cold.

The master of the mansion, who had watched the entire scene, broke out in a cold sweat and fled.

He opened the emergency door and ran into the underground passage with a few of his subordinates.

"What in the world was that...!"

"W-We don't know either. We've never even heard of a spirit sorcerer who handles such things."

"Wh-What about the other families? Is there no support?"

"...Seeing as there's no reply, I suppose."

The boss clenched his teeth so hard they felt like they would break.

"They're trying to get rid of me with this opportunity. Do you think you can handle something like that?"

He had seen it with his own eyes just a moment ago, but he couldn't believe it.

A single spirit cutting down dozens of spirits.

And then the skeletons taking the hearts of the corpses as their own and changing to look exactly like the corpses.

He couldn't believe any of it.

The reality of running through a damp basement after most of his accumulated wealth was destroyed overnight was also unbelievable.

But the moment that made him doubt his eyes did not end there.

"I had a feeling you'd come this way."

The runners all stopped.

A man in a baggy robe was leaning against the end of the passage with his hood up.

The man who had appeared out of nowhere in the one-way passage had his back to the exit.

"...Damn bastards. Those power-hungry things wouldn't help, but they even sold information."

The boss blamed the other organizations until the very end.

But he was completely mistaken.

"I've cleared all the citadel challenges over a hundred times. I know these underground passages like the back of my hand."

The man who had only spouted incomprehensible words detached himself from the wall he had been leaning against and stood before them.

"Are you that sorcerer?"

The man did not answer the boss's question.

But that was the answer.

"For how much are you doing this? I'll give you double whatever you were paid."

"You, whose house was just destroyed, offering double?"

A younger-than-expected voice came from under the hood.

The voice echoed through the passage for a moment, and the boss said urgently.

"I-I know the weaknesses of the other organizations and their slush fund storages."

"A pity. There's no way I wouldn't know what you know."

"You crazy bastard..."

The boss, who had muttered under his breath, gestured with his chin to the five subordinates who had come with him.

At the expected outcome, the subordinates each spread their hands.

Spirits were difficult to deal with, but it was a different story if it was another sorcerer.

A torrent of gloomy curses poured down on the Youngest Son.

Curses that would rob him of his freedom without putting too much strain on the narrow passage.

They made his breathing difficult, dulled his senses, and made his muscles numb.

In the midst of that barrage of curses, the man became unable to move.

"Oh dear. I'm caught."

For a reaction after his entire body had frozen, it was extremely dull.

On the other hand, the corners of the boss's mouth went up as if they would tear.

He took out a revolver and sauntered towards the man.

"No arrogant bastard has a good end."

The man bound in the chains of the curse was silent.

"Have you run out of things to say? Why don't you say something?"

Just as the boss's hand was about to grab the hood, something else came into view.

The gloomy light of the curse faintly seeped into the hood.

The light illuminated pale skin. And beyond that, it revealed bloodshot eyes.

The bloodless lips in the corpse-like skin drew an arc.

"Thank you. For bringing your subordinates close as well."

Fwoooosh—

Something fell from the ceiling.

What fell through the thick darkness above their heads had many legs and many eyes.

"U-Ugh...!!"

"Ughh!!"

"Aghhh...!!"

The spiders that clung to the heads of the boss and his subordinates quickly went about their business.

They bit their necks to inject paralyzing poison and disrupt their concentration of magic power.

At the same time, they spewed silk to take away control of their limbs.

"I didn't want to attract unnecessary attention outside. Let's finish this quietly here."

It didn't end with one spider per person.

These were spiders that ate human flesh and the magic power within it to increase their numbers and size.

These things, controlled by Elmont's Family Sorcery, had grown quite large from their hunting so far.

Those that had grown beyond a certain size became mothers and increased their numbers.

It would be good to create a spider's den near Eclipse, just as Elmont had done.

"S-Save me...!! Everything! I'll tell you everything you want! I'll give you everything you want, so please...!!"

The boss, being eaten from the tips of his toes by the spiders, screamed as if he would sell his soul.

Unfortunately, there was nothing I didn't know.

The spiders soon ate all the flesh, leaving only the hearts, and brought them to me.

"Good job."

The fact that the boss had fled here meant that the situation at the mansion was over.

"My private soldier force has increased fivefold in three days."

The quality was lower, but the total number had increased significantly.

It was now possible to wage a war of attrition, one of a sorcerer's strengths.

Of course, they couldn't create synergy with each other like the First Son's legion, but all beginnings were humble.

The Youngest Son crossed the passage and came out of the entrance instead of the exit.

As he walked out to the mansion, the garden was filled with private soldiers who had stolen hearts.

It was a familiar sight.

"It reminds me of the old days."

[Where are you going next?]

"I'm going to bed. I need to get some sleep."

[Finally. Just because you're a noble of the night doesn't mean you don't sleep for a week.]

I smiled faintly at Enad's grumbling.

"Tomorrow is the banquet day. I need to get some sleep."

The Youngest Son remembered a few days ago.

Ransis, who had suddenly appeared, had brought a message from the Family Head to attend a banquet.

A banquet for the direct-line kinsmen.

At the very least, it was not in the story.

But I could somewhat guess what this banquet meant.

"He must be quite interested in this situation."

The current succession competition structure must be far beyond the Family Head's expectations.

A very strange situation where the youngest, who had appeared like a comet out of nowhere, was receiving everyone's favor.

As both a Family Head and a father, he must want to see it for himself.

"I wonder when the clone will return."

[Seeing as your magic power is draining in chunks, I don't think it will be back for a while.]

"The situation over there is just as tough."

But the clone was doing better than expected.

By the time it returned, it would have good news.

Until then, I had to make good news too.

"My older brothers will meet with the councilors. I'll be able to probe them tomorrow to see how things are progressing."

They would all have many questions they wanted to ask each other.

Since it was the last chance for conversation before a full-scale sword fight broke out.

***

The Youngest Son's prediction that they would meet with the councilors was correct.

Except that it was an Associate Councilor, not just any councilor.

"...What brings you here, Fourth Son-nim?"

An uninvited guest of small stature was sitting on the study window.

He had been stretching his back after a long period of work when he turned his head and saw someone. He was so surprised he almost fainted.

The guest who had appeared without a sound like a ghost only smiled enigmatically.

"It's nothing much! I was curious who my youngest brother's hands and feet in the citadel were, and they said I should check before investing."

My Chief Secretary worries a little too much.

The Fourth Son, who had added that, brought his body, which had been perched on the windowsill, into the study.

Investment...? For Edwin, it was an extremely tense moment.

He had said the tiger wasn't hungry now, but he didn't know when its stomach would grumble and it would bare its teeth.

His back was damp with cold sweat, and his mouth was dry.

"I can only offer you tea, so if you tell me your preference, I will do my best to prepare it."

"No! I didn't come here to get something to eat~."

The Fourth Son waved his hand and looked around the study.

And before coming to the study, he had looked around D-District and opened his mouth.

"The sound is different from the other adjacent districts, isn't it?"

Even now, the only thing that could be heard through the open window was the chirping of insects.

D-District boasted a quiet night.

While the other districts were in a frenzy with gunshots right now, it was very livable here.

"Is this my youngest brother's power?"

"Most of it is."

"Heh. So you did do something."

The Fourth Son nodded appropriately and clapped his hands lightly.

"Okay, I've decided! I'm going to side with my youngest brother!"

"...What?"

"As long as it's not that First Son bastard, I don't care who takes the citadel! It's also true that managing it is a pain."

Shrugging his shoulders, the Fourth Son put his foot on the windowsill as if with that declaration.

"Don't report it to my youngest brother, okay? I'll tell him myself tomorrow!"

The Fourth Son disappeared just like that.

He had been here for less than 10 minutes, but that moment felt like an eternity.

"How does the Youngest Son-nim fight with people like that..."

Edwin, who had collapsed in his seat, spread his hand for a moment and took out a spirit.

Something slightly larger than a fist popped out and flew around.

It didn't look like it at all, but it was capable of mind control... or so the Youngest Son-nim had said.

If someone else had said such a thing, he would have treated them like a lunatic, but now he had to believe it.

"Now let's practice using you."

The Youngest Son's swords sharpened themselves in their respective places.

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