Chapter 61. Ambush (1)
The territory closest to White Wolf County was Venenon Viscounty.
A viscount was not the person ultimately responsible, but a middle manager.
Even the territories called viscounties were merely regions arbitrarily designated by a count.
Then, if the count suddenly died for some reason, or failed to leave behind a successor, or the County was left without a count for any other reason, the viscount would simply swallow up the territory that had been assigned to him.
That was how the territories now known as “viscounties” came into existence.
Venenon Viscounty was no exception.
From what I had heard, Count Edmond had died in some sort of accident several years ago.
Up to that point, it was entirely plausible.
It was uncommon, but it happened from time to time.
After all, that was how nearly every viscounty and barony in the kingdom had been created.
However, there was the matter of that “accident”.
I possessed memories from my previous life as the Special Warfare Unit’s Covert Operations Commander, as well as information about the future.
However, all of that information had been gathered after the war broke out, during my time with the Coalition Forces.
In other words, at the present point in time, after I had returned to the past,
I possessed neither much nor detailed information about an incident that had occurred fifteen years ago.
That was why I could not know exactly what that accident had been.
‘Avarus killed Count Edmond?’
What if Avarus had been involved?
In other words, what if the Dark Merchant Company had orchestrated all of this?
The title of count was conferred directly by the monarch.
Therefore, if the hereditary title of a count or higher-ranking noble was to pass to anyone other than the legitimate eldest son or daughter, the royal family’s permission was required under royal decree.
In that sense, I retained the authority of the legitimate eldest son until the royal family officially recognized my father’s will.
Therefore—
‘It must have been difficult to seize the title of count.’
That was because the royal family would become directly involved.
Even if Count Edmond were replaced with a Homunculus, there would still be limitations.
Not even a Replicant Homunculus could inherit a person’s complete memories.
It could not possibly have deceived the royal family and every vassal serving beneath the count.
A viscount, however, was comparatively easy.
They only had to deceive Count Edmond.
Or simply eliminate him.
Assuming all my conjectures were correct—the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit together.
In the past—in my previous life, when I had run away from my family—the Lycanthrope must have attacked the County with his legion then as well.
However, I had not been there in my previous life.
Kai’s growth probably had not been as remarkable as it was now, either.
In the end, Seraphia used the Authority of Frost.
She annihilated the entire legion by herself, but ultimately collapsed from illness.
‘The Lycanthrope must have been too frightened to attack again.’
He had been too frightened by my Dragon Rage Explosion [E] even to reveal himself.
How much more terrifying must the power displayed by the Monarch of Frost have been?
He probably pissed himself and never dared venture anywhere near the County again.
This time, however, Seraphia had not used her authority.
Unlike in my previous life, I had remained in the County.
Because of the variable that was me, we had laid out “bait and a trap”, and the Lycanthrope had walked straight into it.
The process had consequently changed.
The outcome, however, remained the same.
One way or another, Seraphia had used her authority.
And in the end, she had fallen ill.
Therefore, just as in my previous life, Viscount Venenon had approached Seraphia.
He had done so under the pretext that he possessed an “Elixir” capable of curing her.
And in my previous life, she had probably—
‘Accepted his marriage proposal.’
The result could be inferred from the penalty attached to the sudden quest that had just appeared.
== [A Surprise Attack Is Supposed to Be Sudden!] ==
[Objective] – Assassinate Viscount Venenon.
[Reward] – A large amount of experience.
[Upon Failure] – Awakening of the <Monarch of Frost>
Awakening of the Monarch of Frost.
That was how Seraphia had awakened as the Monarch of Frost in my previous life.
That raised one question.
‘Did Avarus know what Seraphia’s authority was?’
Had Avarus approached Seraphia “deliberately” to turn her into the Monarch of Frost?
Or had he merely become infatuated with her appearance and discovered it “by chance”?
Avarus was a senior leader of the Dark Merchant Company and one of the Devotees of the Fallen Souls who worshipped the Monarch of the Abyss.
If all of this was part of Avarus’s scheme—
if the Dark Merchant Company was behind it—
‘Did the emperor already know about Seraphia at this point?’
Had the emperor commissioned this?
Or was only the Dark Merchant Company involved?
Or had Avarus acted entirely on his own?
‘I’ll have to beat the answers out of Avarus.’
It seemed that I would only learn the truth after dealing with Avarus.
‘It’ll be difficult on my own.’
With my current combat strength, fighting Avarus would be difficult.
I would be the one who ended up getting beaten.
However—
Kai was currently chasing after me at a ferocious speed.
Even though I had activated Metabolic Overdrive [U], Kai was keeping up without difficulty.
Because of the variable that was me, Kai’s growth had surpassed what it had been in my previous life.
Just as I was surpassing the Predator from my previous life, Kai was also surpassing the Commander of the Frost Legion.
When he had been my enemy, I had hated him more than anyone in the world.
‘To think I’d end up carrying out an operation with this lunatic.’
But as an ally, there was no one more dependable.
The northern region of the continent was broadly divided into the “snowy mountains, snowfields, and tundra”.
Venenon Viscounty was located in the tundra region.
Unlike the County, which lay along the boundary between the snowy mountains and the snowfields, it had a comparatively mild climate.
However, that was only mild when compared to the County.
It was by no means truly mild.
Especially now, with the season of severe cold approaching.
Viewed from the mountain, the viscounty was covered in thick layers of snow and ice.
It was a cold night beneath a full moon.
Moonlight quietly illuminated every corner of the viscounty’s villages.
When I focused my vision more intently, I saw the residents standing in the alleys or wandering around slowly.
However, their movements held neither emotion nor purpose.
At first glance, they appeared to be engaged in productive work, but upon closer inspection, they had left broken carts and tools untouched while continuing to perform incomprehensible actions.
The people moved simultaneously, at exactly the same speed and rhythm, as though they were under a spell.
I activated Predatory Instincts[S].
‘They’re all Homunculi.’
Information appeared before me, identifying every person within my field of vision as a Homunculus.
In other words, Avarus had transformed the entire Venenon Viscounty into Homunculi.
Calling him a lunatic was nowhere near enough.
Just then—
“What is our next plan?”
Kai cautiously approached and asked.
Yet Kai’s breathing was perfectly steady.
Upon closer inspection, there was not even a single drop of sweat on his face.
No matter how I looked at him, I could not help wondering whether he was actually a Lich.
However, Predatory Instincts[S] classified Kai as Kingdom Animalia, Class Mammalia, Family Hominidae, human.
In other words, he was unquestionably human.
In any case, now that we knew the entire viscounty consisted of Homunculi—
“We’ll infiltrate the manor and assassinate Viscount Venenon.”
After all, the quest’s objective was assassination.
Kai apparently had no significant objections, as he gave a small nod.
Kai and I carefully infiltrated toward the manor standing tall at the highest point of the viscounty.
The manor had been constructed from sturdy timber and stone.
Seen up close, it resembled a fortress.
As we continued moving with our faces covered and our bodies concealed in the darkness—
“This brings back memories.”
Memories from my time in the Special Task Force came flooding back.
The Special Task Force to which I had belonged was a special forces unit under the Coalition Operations Command, directly subordinate to Ian, commander-in-chief of the Coalition Forces.
We moved solely under Ian’s orders and conducted various operations that could not be classified as official warfare, as well as specialized military activities outside the scope of conventional battles.
In particular, we conducted various special operations for the Coalition Forces, including searches, special reconnaissance, assassinations and abductions of important figures, direct assaults, hostage rescues, sabotage of critical facilities, and disruption operations.
Because these missions required both an exceptional degree of secrecy and expertise, the Special Task Force consisted solely of a small number of elites.
As a result, the bonds between its comrades were stronger than those found in other units.
Family.
That had always been a difficult word for me.
Even so, the operatives of the Special Task Force were people I could call family.
And as I gazed at the brightly shining full moon—
—Captain! We should come up with a slogan too!
A certain memory suddenly surfaced.
—A slogan?
—We’re the only ones without one. Operations Command, Magic Command, Holy Command, Engineering Command, and Logistics Command all have slogans!
—Aren’t those commands led by Heroes?
—That doesn’t mean our Special Task Force shouldn’t have one!
—That’s right!
—You’re our Hero, Captain!
Always with the flattery.
—Is a slogan really that important?
—It is!
—Then everyone may offer one suggestion.
—We are the blades in the darkness. How does that sound?
—Rejected.
—Then how about the unseen wolves of the forest? I heard you came from wolves, Captain.
—I did not come from wolves. I came from a family that used the name of the wolf. Do you think I’m a Lycanthrope?
—Same difference.
—Either way, it’s rejected. Besides, it has been more than ten years since I severed ties with my family.
—How heartless.
—The Special Task Force is supposed to be heartless.
—That’s too much.
—I’m a person, not a radish.
—Boo! That was damn boring!
—Boo! He’s heartless and boring!
—Shut up.
—Boo! He’s even violent!
—Then, Captain! How about: When soundless wings take flight amid the shadows of a lightless dawn, a brilliant daybreak shall—
—Rejected. Enough. Stop talking nonsense and focus on your training—
—Why don’t you just let them make one?
—....Ian.
—Loyalty!
—Loyalty!
—A slogan isn’t merely a string of words. It raises the soldiers’ morale and solidarity while encouraging swift, consistent action during a crisis.
—There’s a reason every command has its own slogan.
—As expected of the commander-in-chief! You really know what’s what!
In the end, Ian’s persistent pressure forced me to create a slogan for the Special Task Force.
Numerous suggestions were exchanged, and the one upon which we ultimately agreed was—
“We hide within the moonlight and walk beneath the starlight.”
Just as one could not fight in the mud without getting dirty, the Special Task Force committed dishonorable acts, but its purpose was always directed toward the light.
Well, that was all ancient history now.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
When I brushed off his question, Kai gave me a meaningful look.
However, that lasted only a moment.
“Infiltrating the manor appears difficult.”
The manor was certainly heavily guarded.
The more someone had to hide, the tighter their security usually was, but this went far beyond that.
Moreover, every guard was a Combat-Type Homunculus.
They were killing machines that did not even need to sleep.
I could not see any way to infiltrate the manor without being detected by them.
Except for one.
“It appears we’ll have to infiltrate through the garderobe.”
We could use a structure known as a garderobe.
Simply put, a garderobe was a toilet exclusively used by nobles.
A separate projection was built into the outer wall, allowing waste from inside to fall freely outside.
The opening inside was wide enough for a person to pass through.
During my days with the Special Task Force, I had also infiltrated buildings through garderobes on several occasions.
But that—was something no one should ever have to do.
As the filth fell, it smeared every part of the walls with excrement.
The interior was so overrun with stench and maggots that one could die from the poisonous fumes before even climbing through the garderobe.
“Hmm.”
I raised my gaze and saw the full moon shining brightly high in the sky.
Moonlight covered the manor like a silver veil.
According to the Special Task Force’s slogan, I was supposed to hide within the moonlight.
But—
Ah, to hell with it.
I leaped forward and violently kicked down the manor’s main gate.
Booooom—!
“Hey! Avarus! Get your ass out here right now!”
The manor’s main gate shattered with a thunderous crash.
Kai’s thought process abruptly ground to a halt.
He needed quite some time to comprehend the situation.
“Have you completely lost your mind?!”
Was this man truly insane?
“Didn’t you say this was an operation to assassinate Viscount Venenon?!”
“That’s what I’m doing right now.”
“How could this possibly be considered an assassination—?!”
“You didn’t know?”
Adrian sharpened his claws.
“If there are no witnesses, it counts as an assassination.”
Kai’s words caught in his throat.
He genuinely had no idea what to say.
* * *
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
The bells announcing the presence of intruders rang out noisily.
Soldiers and knights instantly poured out from both inside and outside the manor.
Naturally.
It would have been stranger if they had not come pouring out.
As Kai stood frozen with a dumbfounded, despairing expression—
“Oh, just so you know.”
Adrian had already begun charging toward the soldiers and knights.
“None of these guys are human.”
What was Kai supposed to do with that information?
What did that have to do with kicking down the front gate?
Splurt—!
Bright-red blood painted the darkness.
The instant the guard’s final breath ceased, Adrian’s eyes flashed as he moved once more.
As if draped in moonlight like a cloak, Adrian glided like a shadow, evaded the enemy’s attacks, slipped through their openings, and struck down the guards with his sharpened claws.
All that remained in Adrian’s wake was silence and the stench of blood.
‘At this point, I give up.’
Kai slowly drew his sword.
He steadied his breathing and honed his blade with Aura.
It became as sharp as a wolf’s fang.
Wolf Swordsmanship, First Form - Dance of Fangs.
Kai’s blue fangs tore into the manor’s soldiers.
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