572 Boss... We Found Something Interesting!
[Boss… Are you here?]
Just as I waited for ten minutes, I got this message out of the blue. When I saw the name of the sender, I got curious about why they contacted me.
[Yes, what’s the news?]
[We were tracking her, but still didn’t get a glimpse of her]
He was Leo. I knew that Karoline wasn’t here, wasn’t in this world. But I still didn’t recall them. I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t bluffing or lying to me.
But it seemed she wasn’t.
[Ok, come back then]
[But… We discovered something else]
[What?] I wasn’t in the mood to listen to anything useless. However, what he said next made my eyes go wide open.
[Do you know that there is an underground maze of tunnels under the ground? We found a big entrance at nearby waterfalls, so big to allow large number of forces to enter and exit from]
[Underground tunnels? Did you get inside?]
[We are, and boss… we met lots of mercenaries, the ones we fought before]
When I heard that, my eyes flashed in the cold light.
[Don’t delve deeper, just mark the place and return. Return now! Don’t alarm anyone]
[But… Boss we wanted to explore this amazing net of tunnels! We just cleared the few troops stationed here, and ended up in front of a large number of tunnel openings that went to different directions]
[Don’t take a single step forward, do you hear me?] I knew he was trying to help. But good intentions weren’t enough sometimes.
If he kept going forth, he might alarm that bastard. At last I got a lead on him, and I wouldn’t let that lead vanish thanks to Leo’s desire to act heroic here.
Besides if that dude was really in that maze of tunnels, then Leo’s and Alex’s lives were in grave danger!
[Just mark the place and retreat. Don’t forget to take all the dead corpses with you, and try to erase any trace of blood or battle. Leave the place as if it was untouched by anyone]
[Ok, as you see fit, boss]
I knew Leo wasn’t convinced, but he had no opinion here.
“You… At last…” Once I closed the chat with him, I clenched both fists. At last, at last I got a clue about that mysterious foe of mine.
It was that bastard, the one who brought the illusion attack on my forces before, the one who led the attack over my capital, and the one who caused my Karoline to run away.
Damn! Just thinking about all he did made my blood boil out of control! I held myself from going directly towards these tunnels and searched for that bastard personally.
Underground tunnels? I never read anything like that in any record before. I had to first hear what Leo and Alex experienced and saw in there. I might also ask Hilary if she ever met something like that before. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
[How long before you can come back?] I was so impatient to meet Leo and Alex and hear their side of the story.
[Boss, we are in the north. We might take six to ten hours to come back. Alex wants to check on something]
[I told you to leave the tunnels!]
[I know! And we are now exiting them. But she wants to check other sites. After all, if not for her vision from before, we wouldn’t have found this place. It’s so damn well hidden!]
[Her vision?!! You mean… Her ability?!!!]
[Yes boss, you must know about it, right? She saw a glimpse of something huge. And so we have to listen to her words and go to check other places]
I paused. Alex’s ability was a really rare breed in this apocalypse. She could see glimpses of the enemy plans, even delve into their thoughts and preparations.
If she saw such a thing, then didn’t that mean the dirty Angels were part of this? Damn! I never linked the two together before! But… This made quite sense!
If that bastard got the help of the angels, he would get much information about my whereabouts and doings without the need to move a muscle.
That was how he managed to select the best timing each time he tried to touch my things! The two sides also shared the same grudge against me, so it made more sense for the two to work together.
[Just scout from far, don’t delve into any tunnel] I had to make sure they wouldn’t step into a trap or something. [Also keep me posted on your location all the time!]
If they ever needed help, I’d move out personally to relieve it. Even if they would need long hours to reach me, with my chariot, I could reach them in less than one hour!
[Ok boss, I’ll let you informed all time]
I closed the chat with him while feeling my uncontrolled rage. My debt with that bastard ran for so long already. I wouldn’t get settled except for turning him into my dog, and let him bark out of his will for my interest.
Death? Humph! It would be such a mercy to just kill him.
As for those angels… Sigh! It seemed they wouldn’t stop until they either kill me or I’d kill them.
Of course killing the angelic race was a far fetched dream. So my best interest for now was to survive and let my kingdom thrive.
The kingdom of hearts… I had to get that item by any means possible! And that made getting that recipe far more important to me than before.
[I got it!]
And just as I was thinking about it, the lady came and brought such good news.
[At last! Ok, send it over]
[You are ready to pay?]
[Just send, and I’ll pay]
[Ok! What about the invitation to the betting world?]
[Not now! I have to work over this recipe first. But once I have enough forces to move, I’ll let you know]
[Promise?]
[Since when did I cheat you? Send it over, let’s get it done]
[On the way]