Raon naturally rolled his eyes and watched the movements of the man called the work leader.
A waddling gait with one’s back turned and a friendly yet suspicious expression toward strangers. He looked like a middle-aged man who could be found anywhere.
However, the foreman kept his heels slightly raised so that he could step on foot at any time, and his thick back, like a carriage wheel, was straightened so that he could avoid any attack that came his way.
‘It’s a characteristic of shadow assassins.’
The tendency of shadow assassins, who were trained to act as false characters and take on the role of assassins at any time, was felt in the taskmaster.
“Then, please be kind to our village chief.”
The foreman nodded with a kind smile. She narrowed her eyes and gave a searching look, which of course was an act.
“Okay, take a break and everyone come out. “I have to finish it!”
As he clapped his hands and shouted inside the factory, the door opened and workers poured out.
Raon stood behind the village chief and opened his eyes to quickly observe the movements of the workers.
‘six.’
Among the 50 or so workers who have come forward, seven were assassins, and all of them were masters who were able to completely hide their presence.
‘As expected, this is the factory for sign language passengers.’
There was no way seven assassins could have been placed in an ordinary, unmanned factory. It was clear that there was a hidden factory making sign language passengers somewhere around here.
‘Where is it?’
To find the location of the factory, I used the sense of the ring of fire and the story. Mana was sculpted into several threads and sprinkled on the floor so that no one could feel it.
Even though I went down quite deep, I couldn’t feel anything. It seemed like a special magic might have been installed, or it might have been created deeper, or both.
Goooooh.
As Raon was spreading mana not just below, but throughout the entire factory, a young woman who appeared to be a secretary walked out of the foreman’s room.
“Chief. Don’t worry about making other people do your work, but take care of your own business first.”
The secretary, who had a calm expression and freckles on the bridge of her nose, waved a document and motioned for me to quickly enter the room.
“I just feel comfortable in front of the furnace… .”
“Then, Captain, you’ll just be late coming home from work.”
“Oh my, there is no joy in life… .”
The foreman let out a deep sigh and entered his office. The secretary bowed to the other workers and followed them.
‘That woman is also an assassin.’
It’s also stronger than men.
You can tell just by looking at their gait. The power and experience of the woman who appeared to be a secretary were far superior to that of the foreman. Although she was a secretary on the outside, she was probably much higher in the shadow hierarchy.
‘and… .’
The road to the receiver’s factory was inside that office.
A little while ago, when the secretary came out, she felt a very light breeze blowing from inside. There was no way a shady wind that seemed to have come from the basement could have flowed through the windowless room, so it was clear that the place was connected to a factory that made suhwagaek.
‘It was decorated properly.’
As assassins were not assigned separately and a significant number of workers were assigned as assassins, surveillance of the surrounding area was naturally possible. It seemed that the size of the Suhwagaek factory was larger than expected.
“How about it?”
As Raon was looking down at the floor and squinting, Chief Berulic approached.
“It’s hard to say it myself, but it’s a great place to work. “There will be a lot to gain when you come.”
“I think so.”
Raon looked into the village chief’s kind eyes and nodded.
‘I definitely gained a lot thanks to you.’
I found out how I was kidnapped, captured the shadow assassins, and figured out that the taskmaster’s room had a passageway that could lead to somewhere else.
The village chief said it was a bit odd, but thanks to him, things that would have taken a lot of time were completed quickly. I was just thankful in many ways.
“thank you.”
Raon bowed his head to the village chief with sincerity.
“Hehe, if you’re so grateful, please come back. “It’s rare to find someone who listens to me as well as you.”
The village chief gestured, saying that as you get older, you will have no one to talk to.
“Now, let’s go see the mine before it’s too late. It’s about time for the miners to come out, so it’s perfect.”
He led me to the mountains, saying we should go to the mines.
* * *
“Do you really need to go at this late hour?”
“Because the schedule is tight.”
Raon smiled calmly at the regretful village chief.
“So how was our village?”
“The people are friendly and it seems like an easy place to live. “It’s a nice place.”
“yes?”
The village chief raised his eyebrows as if he was happy to hear the village’s praise.
“If you knew that, come quickly and get a seat. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
“All right. “I will definitely come back.”
Raon said something that had a different meaning from what the village chief thought and kept his mouth shut.
“I’ll be waiting.”
“then.”
Raon bowed his head to the village chief and left Capoli Village.
‘He’s a kind person.’
The village chief gave us a tour of the mine and even gave us a room to sleep in. Aside from being talkative, he was a kind and friendly person who could be found anywhere.
‘I have to make sure they don’t suffer as much damage as possible.’
As I was walking along the darkened road, trying to think of a way to deal with only those who created shadows and messengers and not cause any damage to the village, I felt a very small presence, like a grass bug, coming from behind.
‘Is he following me as expected?’
I couldn’t have known it because it was the gaze and movement I felt a moment ago. The work crew leader was following behind.
‘You did a good job securing your seat.’
On the outside, I wanted to use ordinary people who don’t even know what Mana is to show a village with a friendly atmosphere that no one can suspect, and on the inside, I wanted to immediately strike down Derus and the shadow guys who were using corpses to create assassins with a mace.
‘Whoa…’ .’
Raon walked down the road at a calm pace, suppressing the anger burning inside him. Even though he was walking half way up the mountain, the assassin behind him did not know that he would fall.
‘There are more doubts than I thought.’
If you do something strange, they will immediately kill you.
Considering that all of the assassins at the iron ore factory seemed to have leader-level skills and a lot of experience, it seemed like they were investing quite a bit in signing customers.
‘I’ll make all your investments go to waste.’
Raon twisted his mouth, recalling Derus’s expression that he would see later. As he continued to walk, pretending not to know anything, he ended up crossing Mount Haro and reaching an unknown lake. It was only then that the presence of the work leader who had been following him completely disappeared.
‘It’s bothering me.’
The distance was farther than I thought, but it didn’t matter. It’s not that far if you walk.
Raon went into the bush. He opened his air chamber and took off his robe after confirming that no one was there. He wore a plain dagger at his waist and covered his face with a mask.
As I was preparing to break into the factory, I saw Lars floating in the air without saying a word.
‘Why are you so quiet today?’
-What do I need to say?
Lars asked back with sunken eyes.
‘You didn’t even ask me to eat, so I’m sure you have some questions?’
When memories of my mother and father came to mind, my emotions became uncontrollably strong. There was no way he couldn’t have felt it, but Lars said nothing.
-I would have said this once before.
Lars’ light blue eyes narrowed.
-The King does not dig into other people’s weaknesses.
The guy nodded slowly and looked away.
-If there comes a day when you want to confess it, say it with your own mouth.
Lars spoke in a serious tone, as if what the insectivore had been doing was a lie.
-The king will just listen.
“under!”
Raon covered his eyes with his hands and let out a sigh.
‘I didn’t know that the tip of my nose would tingle because of you.’
After sniffling once, I looked at Lars.
‘I’m craving a drink.’
-The King doesn’t like alcohol.
‘Shall we have a drink after this job?’
– King Bon doesn’t like it!
‘You choose the snacks.’
-It’s a call!
* * *
The foreman’s office is dark.
The room’s owner, the foreman, was lying prostrate on the floor, and his secretary was sitting on a chair with her legs crossed.
“Has he gone?”
Chief Lesia, who ostensibly acts as a secretary, but in reality controls the shadows here, gestured with his chin.
“yes. “We checked that we were moving away from Lake Shure and came back.”
“What’s special?”
“There was nothing special other than walking a little faster.”
The work leader lowered his head as he reported.
“Did you ever feel like I noticed you?”
“There was nothing at all. “It seemed like she had not studied martial arts itself.”
“Hmm… .”
Lesia frowned and smoothed her chin.
“Why are you doing that?”
“I didn’t feel very good when I saw him, but I guess I was mistaken.”
She waved her hand and said not to worry.
“Good work. “Let’s just go back now.”
“yes.”
The foreman nodded and left his office.
“… … .”
Lesia sat still on the chair for a while and then walked to the left wall. As she tapped her mana-encrusted fingers on the wall next to her bookshelf, a hole opened in the floor without a sound.
Sssssssssssssssss.
Only one staircase was visible, and the bottom was as dark as an abyss, but Lesia went inside without hesitation at all.
The stairs were high and deep. Even though Lesia was walking so fast that it was difficult for an ordinary person to catch up, she did not show the end easily. She went down for more than 10 minutes and only then did her stairs come to an end and her feet could touch the floor.
It was a strange space, with gloomy purple light and strange patterns filling the ceiling and floor.
Wooooow.
Lesia exited the space by stepping on the patterns on the floor in order and entered a long hallway. After walking for a while, I reached the end of the hallway, and a cavity filled with bright light was revealed.
“There was no explosive treatment on that body. Come this way.”
“Is it still not finished?”
“Move quickly, quickly!”
Inside the wide and deep cavity, necromancers dressed in purple robes were moving around busily, and around them were piles of corpses, flesh, and bones that gave off a rotten stench.
There were people who looked fine on the outside, but when you turned them over, their entire spine was missing, and in some cases, instead of bones, they were filled with molten metal imbued with necromantic magic.
It was a sight that even a person who had experienced war could not endure, but no one here thought it was strange. Some people were tearing apart and assembling pieces of flesh like toys, while others were eating food next to them.
“… … .”
Lesia entered the room in the center of the community with an expressionless expression.
“Mr. Schupel.”
She approached the young man in black robes and bowed his head.
“What happened?”
The man who was using a bizarre magic technique looked away with a smile. Contrary to his neat appearance, his voice was dark and sharp.
“A traveler who came to the village a little while ago has returned. I didn’t see anything unusual, but… .”
“I would have told you to take care of that yourself. “I hope you don’t waste my time with unnecessary things.”
He shook his head and told me not to bother him.
“There is one more.”
Lesia pursed her lips while maintaining an expressionless expression.
“They say support will arrive in two days. “It is the largest scale so far, so I think we need to prepare in advance.”
“hmm!”
When I told him I would be coming in two days, a smile appeared on Schupell’s face.
“Did you say two days?”
A thin old man with a gloomy aura stood up from the desk opposite Schupel. The voice was as sweet as honey.
“Juran was there too.”
Lesia bowed her head to the old man.
“What is the largest scale? What about the body? “Are you alive?”
“It is said that both the test specimen and materials will be delivered in triple quantity.”
“Three times? I finally came to my senses! okay. “It should be like that!”
Juran smiled broadly as if he liked it.
“Juran, please show some formality. “It’s because the person called the monster commander is so frivolous.”
Shupel frowned as he looked at Juran.
“Unlike you nobles, I haven’t learned anything. Never mind.”
“It would be better to learn now. “If everything goes according to plan, you will be able to go out into the world again.”
“Now that you say that, does it make you want to go out even more?”
“… … .”
The two necromancers frowned as they glared at each other, and Resia said nothing, as if she was familiar with her appearance.
But all three didn’t know. Red eyes are flashing above their heads.
* * *
Raon narrowed his eyes while standing on the ceiling.
‘Were Schupel and Juran here?’
Shupel, the monster spirit, Juran, the monster spirit, are all high-ranking necromancers who became famous decades ago.
I thought they were both dead because they couldn’t be seen, but I had no idea they were hiding in a place like this and continuing their research.
It was annoying to have two such high-ranking necromancers in charge, but Derus Robert’s abilities were real.
‘By the way, you said a lot of supplies would arrive in two days…’ .’
There is no reason for the supply to be general food or weapons. Looking at the story about the test subjects, it was clear that they were still alive.
‘It would be best to hit it then.’
If you attack this factory after receiving all the supplies, you will be able to cause the greatest damage to Derus.
Now was the time to hold back even when I was angry.
“I’ll just go back now.”
Resia bowed her head to the two necromancers and left the room.
Raon followed her out of the room and looked at the common view again.
‘There are not many experts, but there are many high-ranking assassins.’
The only people visible in the area right now were the necromancers, but in reality, there were more assassins hiding here and there.
‘I need to figure out this whole place.’
Since you don’t know whether you’ll be fighting head-on or assassinating, the more information the better.
The sense of energy was maximized by using the ring of fire and the sense of folk tales.
We figured out in detail where the assassins of what level of skill were hiding and where the hiding and protection magics were installed.
After examining the entire cavity in more detail than the assassins who lived here, Raon turned his gaze to the floor.
‘It’s empty down here too.’
I felt like there was another space underground, as if the hiding magic engraved on the ceiling didn’t work underneath.
While I was waiting for someone to guide me, I saw a middle-aged necromancer moving towards the right wall. He manipulated the wall, and a staircase leading down opened.
‘It’s that way after all.’
I followed behind the necromancer. Unlike coming down from the factory to here, there weren’t many stairs and it was very wide.
As soon as the necromancer went down the stairs, he walked down the hallway with familiar steps. There were people locked in iron bars on both sides of the hallway, and they all seemed lifeless, as if they had stopped breathing.
-Insulting the dead is something that is reviled even in the demon world!
Lars could not hold back his anger and his clenched fists trembled.
-You damn bastards!
‘As you said, humans may be more evil than demons.’
Raon nodded briefly, sympathizing with Lars’ anger.
“Come out.”
As the necromancer gestured toward the air, two assassins rose from the floor.
“How many ingredients are left?”
“There is nothing alive now, only forty-four dead.”
The assassin answered without any hesitation.
Raon bit his lip.
‘As expected, the material refers to people.’
Seeing as they talked about being alive and dead, they were considering humans as experiment material.
‘Whoa…’ .’
To stop myself from wanting to hit him right away, I clasped my hands together and gave him strength.
“They say a large amount of supplies will arrive in two days. “Put half of it up.”
“All right.”
When the assassins opened the bars and beckoned, the corpses walked out on their own and stood limp.
‘It’s moving?’
The corpses’ eyes moved as if they were alive, and there was no foul odor. It seemed like it was being manipulated using necromancy.
‘That’s terrible.’
This place was a nest of demons who did not regard humans as human beings. I gathered information while suppressing nausea.
The necromancer watched the corpses walk toward the stairs and then turned his back. Instead of going down the stairs, he walked down the aisle on the other side.
Raon went after the necromancer, not the corpse.
The necromancer walked for a while, even casting a movement speed increase spell on himself, and then stopped in front of a wall that looked like it had been dug up.
When he placed his hand on the wall and injected mana, the ceiling split, revealing a blurry night sky that seemed to be reflected in water.
“I’m bored. “How long do I have to stay here?”
The necromancer looked up at the night sky and began to bloom.
Raon looked up, trying to keep his presence at bay so as not to be caught by the necromancer’s senses.
‘here is… .’
The lake?
Judging from its location, it seemed like an unknown lake that appeared immediately after passing Mount Haro.
‘It was here.’
They were transporting supplies here.
Since a supply route was built in the center of the lake, no one would have known.
‘All the necessary information has been gathered… .’
Red lightning flashed above Raon’s eyes, which contained the night sky that had become transparent.
‘I’ll see the end in two days.’