Side Story 23. Spider Trap (12)
Side Story 23. Spider Trap (12)
Caesar concealed himself and snuck into the imperial palace. His goal was to kill the Blood Emperor and the prime minister. As for the current emperor, It wasn’t that he didn’t resent him too, but these two men were the prime targets.
"You idiot. So in the end, you’ve come all this way.”
When he heard the unexpected voice behind him, Caesar was surprised, and he turned around, getting into a combat stance.
"Oh, it's Virgo." Caesar was relieved after confirming that it was Talaria who spoke to him.
Talaria looked at him and clicked her tongue pitifully. "Tsk tsk, you still have a lot to learn. I can't believe you let your guard down in enemy territory. Do you want to die?"
At that moment, Caesar felt a life-threatening killing intent concentrate on him.
As soon as he began to react, Talaria withdrew her killing intent and scolded him. "If it were my nephews, they would have gone for my neck and heart the moment they heard someone speak. However, you even gave me the chance to surprise you. Aquarius did not teach you right.”
"T, that!"
Caesar raised his voice embarrassedly. He was about to say that it was because Talaria and he were like family, but Talaria grew angry. "Lower your voice. I said we’re in enemy territory.”
"Oh....”
"Tsk, you idiot. Even though he's a year younger than you, my youngest nephew is able to respond to the situation accordingly."
She felt bad when she compared her youngest nephew to the naive Caesar. This was because her youngest nephew had too much of a black heart and would go beyond the expected response to the situation, taking advantage of his opponent. Honestly, Denburg possessed a level of wickedness that was outside the norm.
"I’ve heard a lot, too, that he's very talented and smart." Caesar became a little dejected, and he asked, "Is that why you're here to stop me?"
Talaria snorted. "No. If I were going to stop you, I wouldn't have taught you how to sneak into the imperial palace."
"Then?"
"Take this. Your target moved from his previous position. It seems like he changed rooms based on the situation outside."
Now that the battles were in full swing outside, it was natural for a cautious political monster to switch locations.
After receiving the map which detailed the Blood Emperor’s location, Caesar nodded. "Thank you."
"It’s fine. It's just after-care. An information agency’s life is also built on trust. Use our information again in the future." Finally, Talaria used stealth expertise to leave.
Caesar checked the map given by Talaria and hid again. Everything he’d done up to this point was for today. Patiently passing the time and enduring Zendia’s training, it was all for this.
* * *
After safely returning to the imperial palace alongside the emperor, Glont and Eranto shook off the dust from their bodies that was left from the secret passage.
"That punk. Because Bloody destroyed the mansion five seconds earlier than planned, we got all dusty."
Breaking down the mansion was also a trigger to accelerate the secret passage’s collapse, so the dust they shook off had been blown onto them during the cave-in.
Looking at Eranto grumbling, Glont laughed, covering his masked mouth with his palm. "Ohohoho! He's not good with numbers. What can we do? We just need to try to be understanding.”
Eranto frowned. "Do you not have any intentions in fixing that weird laugh? How is it that your pervertedness hasn’t changed since you were in Knight School?”
"Oh, my. Don’t you know people die when they change suddenly?"
Looking at the winking Glont, Eranto pretended to gag.
"Ahahaha, I know you two are close friends, so hurry up and enter the palace. Don't you know that the chief attendant is annoying when he makes a fuss?" said the emperor.
Even at the emperor's words, Eranto did not stop grumbling and sarcastically said, "How could I, a humble commoner, dare to be close to Glont-nim, a high ranking noble."
Glont pretended to cry. "Oh, my. How can you say we're not close friends! Sob sob! Did you forget that hot night on the first day of the year?”
"Don't be ridiculous! On the night of the first day of the year, you asked me to go with you to scout the enemy troops. And then you ambushed the enemy headquarters! You pervy bastard! I really almost died then!”
The first night that Glont spoke of referred to one of the wars that had been fought shortly after he graduated from the Knights School. At that time, Glont was the commander of a company, and Eranto was the platoon leader under Glont’s company.
"But the timing was so perfect that there wouldn’t have been any other chances.”
Glont's ambush greatly dampened the spirit of the Imperial State, which was then an enemy, and made a great contribution to the war’s victory. As a result, Glont was promoted at an unprecedented pace and became a battalion commander. As for Eranto, he was promoted at a rate higher than any noble even though he was a commoner.
When Glont spoke coyly, Eranto growled, "Get lost! Get lost right now!"
"Ohohoho! So scary. Then, Your Majesty, I'm scared of this friend. Can I be excused?"
At Glont's question, the emperor’s expression hardened and asked, "Will you go even if I tell you not to?"
Glont stopped laughing and bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
The emperor closed his eyes with mixed feelings. The emperor knew full well what Glont was going to do. That's why he couldn't allow Glont to go. No matter how cruel he was, he was still his father.
Glont bowed once more and left while the emperor closed his eyes.
"You idiot. What even is justice?" Eranto sighed deeply as he saw Glont leave.
"Let's go, Alliance Head. I want to rest."
"I will escort you, Your Majesty."
The emperor headed to the inner palace and followed Eranto’s guidance, his eyes still closed. The unfilial son who abandoned his father could not dare to open his eyes.
* * *
Bloody hit away sword auras that constantly flew at him from his flanks while simultaneously keeping both Capricorn and Cancer from leaving the noble street. If Capricorn tried to chase the emperor and run away from Bloody, Cancer's life would be in danger, and vice versa. If Cancer tried to leave, Capricorn's life would be at risk. Bloody instinctively noticed that they couldn't abandon each other and effectively stalled for time.
"Hehe! We need to revise our evaluation completely. He’s too strong." Cancer was smiling ecstatically despite speaking in a weak tone. It was the first time that an opponent stimulated his wild nature in such a manner. Cancer was seen as the closest to being a great warrior in their tribe. He’d been looking for an opponent that made his blood boil like Bloody.
"Ahem! I am pretty strong!" Bloody snorted happily at Cancer’s praise.
"Are you insulting us?!"
On the other hand, Capricorn’s expression contorted and suddenly grew enraged. It was because Capricorn perceived that while dealing with them, Bloody had another situation on his mind.
Bloody smiled lightly. "No, not really. I'm just buying time until His Majesty arrives at the imperial palace."
"That's an insult! If you’re a warrior, then fight with everything you have!"
Bloody smirked at Capricorn's cry. "I think that’s what I should be saying to you. You guys are not being sincere. You're hiding something, right?”
At Bloody's point, the two flinched. They were from the Hunter Tribe and could become dramatically stronger by using their tribe’s unique power called Beast Transformation. However, if they used Beast Transformation now, they would be openly revealing their identity.
Capricorn bit his lips at Bloody's words. On the other hand, Cancer burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Yes! You're right, Crow Tribe!" Cancer took off the mask he wore.
"You…!" Capricorn was startled by Cancer’s sudden behavior.
"Sorry, hyung. In the end, I can't hide my identity like this and plot within the shadows.”
After saying that, he grabbed the mask in his hand and smashed it.
"I apologize for deceiving you in a duel with our lives at stake, Crow. I'm a warrior of the Green Mane Tribe! Drok Tri! Now, I will challenge you!"
At Drok's introduction, Bloody looked at him interestingly. "If it's Tri, then are you the Tri brothers?”
"I’m a descendant. I hope you’ll ignore the ties to our ancestors and do your best,” Drok requested.
Bloody took a stance, raising his fighting spirit. "Ahahaha! I like it! Former leader of the Crow Tribe warriors, Bloody Blade! I'll accept the challenge!"
Bloody used the title from his hometown rather than his title as a general. Apart from his complicated relationship with his opponent, he simply paid tribute to Drok as a warrior.
"You fool! You will absolutely have to kill him now that he has discovered your identity!” Capricorn was incensed at his younger brother's foolish behavior and threw away his sword.
When Capricorn threw away his sword, Bloody could tell that it wasn’t because he was going to spectate, and he smiled joyfully. "Okay. Both of you, bring it on! This is the generosity given to the challengers!"
"Ahahaha! Thank you for that!" Drok laughed pleasantly at Bloody's cry. Then, he turned into a wolf and charged toward him.
"You'll lose your life for that arrogance, Crow!" Capricorn also transformed into a wolf and wrapped his claws in strong aura, swinging them toward Bloody.
Bloody deflected Drok's arm as the wolf charged at him and sent a kick to his abdomen, sending him flying far away.
"Ugh!"
"Wow! It's like a piece of metal!" He then evaded Capricorn’s strong auras. With no one to hit, the strong auras destroyed the nearby mansion.
"Oh, my. Arcanta will nag me for this.”
The nobles’ street had already been devastated for far too long to worry about nagging now.
"Where are you looking?!" This time, Capricorn rushed in and cut Bloody with his claws.
"Oh!" Yet, as he clearly sliced through Bloody, the Crow’s form scattered like a mirage. Capricorn was astonished, and his eyes opened wide.
"Hyung! Behind you!" Cancer cried out.
Capricorn hurriedly turned around, putting a protective aura on his fur. Behind him, two Bloody’s quickly swung their sword that was wrapped in a strong aura.
Bang!
Capricorn blocked each attack with both arms. Yet, as it turned out, although he thought one was a mere image, both Bloody’s were real. In the aftermath of the strong aura, the surrounding sidewalk where Capricorn was standing caved in and broken.
"Ugh!" Capricorn didn't get a severe injury because he was covered with a thick protective aura, but his arms broke because he couldn't withstand the impact.
After the two Bloody’s broke Capricorn's arms, they merged into one and stabbed Capricorn's heart.
"You dare!" Drok rushed at Bloody, ignoring the sidewalk blocks that looked more like a thorny field.
Cancer charged at Bloody, sharpening his coat with strong aura, causing his fur to become spiked like a hedgehog. As he was stabbing toward Capricorn, Bloody changed the direction of his sword and aimed at the carotid artery on Drok’s neck.
Drok ducked to avoid the sword and hit its blade with his left arm to change its path. After that, he raised his right claws and attempted to dig them into Bloody's body.
"I don’t think so!" Bloody put strong aura on his knee and left elbow and used them like scissors to crush Drok's claws.
The claws were smashed, and blood burst out of his fingertips. In the meantime, while Bloody was off balance due to Drok’s attack, Capricorn kicked at Bloody's back.
Bloody drew back the sword that Drok had deflected, using it to block the attack that aimed at his blind spot. Immediately after, he held Drok's arm with his left hand and swung him behind him toward Capricorn.
"Argh!"
"Arghhh!"
Drok shouted in surprise, but Capricorn screamed in pain as his brother was sent crashing into his broken arms.
"The teamwork was good just now. I've never seen a guy attack like that with broken arms except for the people from my hometown.” Bloody was in a very pleasant mood, but he also felt regretful. "It would have been nice if we had met ten years, no, five years later. Your skill has not matured yet."
If they faced each other five years later, against their cooperative attacks, Bloody would have had to fight with his life on the line, but their meeting was too early.
When Bloody swallowed his regret and raised his martial aura, the brothers swallowed dryly.
"Hyung, let's run away."
"What?"
"We don’t have any hope in winning for now. We shouldn’t die a dog’s death,” Cancer said.
Capricorn was shocked by his brother’s uncharacteristic words, but he soon nodded. What his brother said was true. "Let’s run away in different directions. We’ll meet at the place where we had the delicious mushroom soup before coming to the capital."
"Okay."
When a mutual agreement was reached, the two ran in different directions without delay.
Bloody laughed cheerfully as he saw this. "Ahahaha! That's the right decision! But first, you’ll have to live through this encounter."
After thinking for a while about who to chase, Bloody chose the yellow-green mask. If one had to choose between an energetic animal and an injured one, the principle of hunting was to prioritize the latter. Above all, Bloody had no intention of sparing his enemies who targeted the emperor.
From a distance, Drok threw a stone with strong aura at Bloody, who was trying to chase Capricorn. Drok was getting farther away, but in contrast to Capricorn running away at full speed, Drok was running leisurely.
At once, Bloody knew Drog's intentions. He was sacrificing himself for his injured brother and was luring Bloody away.
"Oh, jeez. I really like those kinds of fools." Bloody ran toward Drok, violating his principles in order to match Drok's ulterior motive.
It was too bad that he had to kill him.