[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
Chapter 69: Are You Ready to Betray Your Superiors?
Two n dressed in black knelt before Verdzig, confessing their failure.
"We can't track the location."
"It seems the magic has been disrupted."
…Verdzig smiled.
"Hahaha."
Once again, Allenvert had strayed from his intentions. In so ways, it was the pleasant misjudgnt he had hoped for. However—
There was sothing more important than figuring out what Allenvert had done to achieve this.
"Since when?"
At the cold tone of Verdzig’s voice, the n pressed their foreheads to the ground.
Though they trembled with fear, they dared not lie or make excuses.
"F-Forgive us. We can't pinpoint the exact ti."
"You didn’t check properly. I told you to monitor and track it every day."
Verdzig said, rising from his seat, brushing back his bangs.
"Butler."
"Yes."
Butler’s face beca as hard as a stone, presented a sword to Verdzig.
Shlink—
The sword was drawn with a chillingly clear sound.
"Until I asked, you didn’t even notice that the mask had been destroyed, let alone the exact mont it happened?"
At that mont, the quiet murderous intent in his voice was so cold and venomous that it far surpassed the fear Barclava had once felt before him.
"Tell why I should let you live."
"…!"
The n in black began to shake violently.
What could they say to survive this? It felt as though they were climbing a cliff, holding onto a rotting rope, unsure of when it would snap.
When there’s nothing to say, silence is often the best choice. But not here, not before Verdzig.
Swish!
Before they could even process it, their heads had fallen to the ground.
Their headless bodies crumpled to the floor, and Verdzig was already wiping the blood from his sword with a handkerchief.
"Butler."
"At your command."
"Throw the bodies into the sea, but discard the heads separately."
"Understood."
How could this be a conversation between the second son of the prestigious Grunewald Clan and his loyal butler?
Verdzig remained silent, watching as the butler disposed of the bodies and wiped the blood away.
His gaze lingered coldly on the n who had failed him.
"Discipline is weakening. Next ti, it won’t just end with cutting off their tails."
"…I understand."
The response, filled with an undeniable fear, ca from the shadows.
Verdzig smiled coldly as he sensed the fear and read it like an open book.
‘There won’t be a second chance.’
The recent succession dispute had been chaotic and disorganized.
Perhaps this atmosphere had contributed to the looseness among his subordinates.
But Verdzig was not the kind of man who would easily tolerate the gaps that inevitably arise within an organization.
"Butler."
"Yes."
"What’s the status of the spy I planted in Allenvert’s quarters?"
"For now, we believe Olivier has no suspicions."
"I see."
Verdzig gave a dry smile. It was only natural to return a favor when one is received, after all.
"Prepare him to act at any ti."
"Understood."
Indeed, the truly wise always make multiple preparations in advance.
Verdzig planned to repay his younger brother’s tricks in a way that was both cunning and playful.
***
Zizek, having been warned that the next move would be the end, gripped his sword tightly with a tense expression on his face.
‘His body is already stiff.’
Stiffness is not a virtue needed in battle.
Did Zizek realize that the mont he beca conscious of my warning, he had already fallen into my trap?
I closed the distance with the intent to execute a desperate quick strike and launched a feint toward his face.
Swoosh!
With a smooth and natural acceleration, my quick sword flew toward Zizek’s brow.
But Zizek wasn’t foolish enough to be caught off guard by a pre-announced strike.
‘And that’s why you’re going to lose.’
If he couldn’t read the intent behind my swing, his only option would be to react to an unavoidable attack.
Zizek raised his sword upward in defense.
This would be easily blocked. But that was precisely the reaction I intended.
Whoosh!
I fluidly used my shoulder and wrist, adjusting the trajectory of my blade and sweeping it across Zizek’s midsection. It was a perfect change in the trajectory.
“!!”
Zizek was startled and tried to retreat quickly, but I swiftly stepped forward, changing my grip on the sword with my other hand.
The gap he had desperately opened was now hopelessly closed. Realizing this, Zizek took another step back—
Swish!
I lightly extended my sword toward him.
Having already lost his balance after two retreats, Zizek could not handle even the faintest thrust and fell flat on his back.
“It’s over.”
I calmly pointed my sword at Zizek, who lay fallen before .
“N-No…”
Perhaps he was surprised by how easily he had been knocked over? Zizek stared up at with a dazed expression, as if haunted by a ghost.
“I lost. I surrender.”
Feeling humiliated by how easily he had fallen, Zizek bit his lip, and I extended my hand toward him.
“As promised, I ended it with one move. Will you accept it?”
“I have no choice but to accept.”
I smiled, observing Zizek’s expression.
“You don’t even understand how you were defeated, do you?”
“Hmm…”
“The reason, you’ll have to analyze on your own. Reflecting on the battle and understanding the cause of your defeat is part of training.”
I reached out and helped Zizek to his feet.
How much would he be able to grasp the psychological depth of the back-and-forth before he was finally knocked down by an attack that lacked both power and speed?
“…In short, I was deceived.”
Zizek said after so thought.
“Can you tell how many tricks there were?”
“Well…”
Zizek paused, then held up two fingers.
“First, you used footwork and a quick strike to provoke a reaction, then followed up with a midsection cut.
Second, you caused to retreat in shock, leading to lose my balance.”
“Good, but you missed one thing.”
I marked Zizek’s response with a circle and then added a correction in red ink.
“The first trick was when I ntioned that the next move would end the fight. The mont you tensed up in response to that statent, you began to focus too much on that one move, which caused you to overextend your focus. That’s why you were so startled by a simple feint and ultimately brought about your own downfall.”
“……!”
Zizek shook his head in frustration.
"One careless remark, and there was an unexpected psychological ga hidden within it."
"Rember this: in battles between the strong, psychological warfare is much more important than you might think."
I transford my sword back into a bracelet and swept my bangs back.
"And another thing. If your thod of responding to your opponent’s attacks is too simple, you'll be exploited quickly."
"What do you an by that?"
"Whenever you felt at a disadvantage, you would retreat and create distance. It’s a good tactic, but it was too obvious. I morized your response and used it against you at the most crucial mont."
"Are you saying you anticipated that and set a double trap?"
Zizek asked, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Yes."
"…That's absurd."
"Don’t believe it?"
"I believe your words, but I find it hard to believe that a person could fight with such foresight."
"You probably don't want to believe it. It’s hard to accept that such a vast gap exists."
I chuckled softly and pointed at Zizek.
"But if you can’t acknowledge that, you’ll only end up dying needlessly whenever you et your match. The battles of true strength are far more complex and profound than you imagine. Those who haven’t glimpsed that world can’t even begin to comprehend it."
"…"
Zizek, his face now filled with understanding, spoke.
"Now I see, you never intended to kill ."
"How did you know?"
"If you wanted dead, there would be no need to teach like this. You want to beco a more useful man instead."
Zizek was quick to understand, likely due to his experience. I appreciated that about him.
"You have a sharp eye."
He was capable enough to carry out my orders and expand an organization.
"My guess is that you have no intention of staying in this organization. Am I right?"
There it was, his boldness and sharp intellect. I smiled and asked for the reason behind his thinking.
"Why do you think so?"
"The easiest thing for you would have been to kill and take control over the frightened ones. But you didn’t do that. You’ve been testing , giving advice, as if you want to remain here."
I clapped my hands in approval.
"Excellent. To et a man like this? I must be lucky."
"I’m cursed with terrible luck, damn it."
"Don’t be too hard on yourself. Life is unpredictable, and it’s hard to determine what is an opportunity and what is a trap."
"You’re talking big, so are you perhaps in the con artist business?"
I chuckled and looked around.
The n I’d fought before seed to be receiving treatnt sowhere. Only unfamiliar faces were watching with uneasy eyes.
‘All of them are weak.’
But I wasn’t the kind of man to look down on others simply because they were weak. I needed them.
‘Relying only on power to control them is not a good strategy.’
For that reason, I showed overwhelming skill in front of Zizek but didn’t intimidate him.
‘It’s important to show a rciful side.’
To those who felt fear from my strength, it would give them a small glimr of hope that I was soone they could talk to.
‘If I can gain Zizek's loyalty and cooperation, the others will follow as well.’
This was the nature of the underworld.
Now that I thought about it, there were still young faces among Zizek’s subordinates.
"Did you recruit all of them?"
"…Yes."
"I like that."
Even in a filthy swamp like this, there are always fools who seek loyalty and faithfulness. Like Karzan.
"Zizek. From now on, let’s talk man to man."
"Very well."
Zizek nodded, his face asking.
‘What is he trying to say?’
"I have a big picture I want to build with you."
I whispered into his ear.
"Are you ready to betray your superiors?"
"…!"
Zizek’s eyes widened.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be?"
"If you ss up even a little, your head could end up on a pike sowhere down an alley."
"You know that and yet you say such things. Are you asking to push my n into the fire?"
"Don’t jump to conclusions, you fool. I didn’t say that."
"But that’s exactly what you’re implying."
Zizek extended his sword toward .
"If that’s what you’re planning, then just kill . I’ll die, but I won’t drag my n to their deaths."
"Ah, you're so frustrating. Are you going to keep making the mood like this?"
Of course, I understood why Zizek was reacting like this. Betrayal in this world was the gravest sin.
But in so ways, it was also an absurd situation.
‘It’s not that surprising; it happens all the ti.’
The reason why loyalty is often romanticized is the sa. There are so many people without honor.
And I had, in my own way, managed to uphold my own sense of loyalty in this world.
‘But now, I need to control them to betray the higher-ups for my own purposes.’
Straddling both the noble families and the underworld, sotis using the underworld’s power to dominate the noble families and sotis using the nobility's power to control the underworld—
That was the crux of my grand strategy.
But I couldn’t share that with Zizek yet. To him, I was just an intruder trying to take over and use the organization.
‘Besides.’
I had already recognized that Zizek’s martial ability, insight, and awareness were exceptional. Perhaps I had a chance to nurture an underling as capable as Zamuel.
Therefore, I had no intention of letting Zizek slip away.
"Listen carefully. From now on, I will persuade you."
[Translator - Pot]
[Proofreader - Kawaii]
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