Episode 53
Creak! Creak!
The small boat made a spine-chilling noise.
Zeke, Simon, and a dozen of his men held their breath as they approached the harbor in the Favela district.
In preparation for an all-out war with the McCain Cartel, the city was crawling with armed patrols.
Zeke peered through the darkness with his keen eyes, scanning the surroundings.
He then pulled up a map, steering the boat to a spot where no patrols were present.
“This way.”
Following Zeke’s hand signals, Simon and his men dispersed, melting into the shadows.
Soon, a lone Favela cartel member patrolling the shoreline ambled over.
Lowering his crossbow, the man unzipped his pants and began to relieve himself.
“Ahh… that’s the stuff!”
At that moment, Zeke silently approached from behind, swiftly slitting the man’s throat with a dagger.
As the lifeless body was tossed over the breakwater, Simon’s men caught it, discreetly weighing it down with stones before quietly submerging it in the sea.
It was as if they had rehearsed this for years.
Once Zeke confirmed the coast was clear, he signaled for Simon and the others to join him on the shore.
Hiding behind the stacks of cargo at the harbor, Simon turned to Zeke.
“How do you plan to get to the heart of the Favela Cartel? The city’s swarming with their forces.”
Zeke donned a mask and replied, “The area Favela controls was once under the Holy Empire’s influence. That means there’s an underground sewer system built by the Empire.”
“You’re thinking of using the sewers to reach their base? That’s insane. How do you plan to navigate that labyrinth?”
Zeke grinned. “I’ve got my ways.”
With the map’s guidance feature, even the most convoluted paths could be traversed efficiently. He had no intention of explaining this to Simon, who had no better plan himself.
Zeke led the group to a sewer entrance near the harbor.
The Favela Cartel still used the ancient sewers from the Holy Empire era. The place reeked, filled with accumulated filth.
But Simon and his men, seasoned veterans of the borderlands, were unfazed by such conditions.
Following the map, Zeke guided them toward the Favela Cartel’s stronghold.
After hours of trudging through the sewers, they reached a tunnel connected to the base.
“They’ve got people stationed up ahead.”
Having learned from his encounter with Cain that red knights and above wouldn’t show up on the map, Zeke was extra cautious.
He signaled Simon’s group to plant explosives throughout the Favela Cartel’s base.
Zeke planned to separate from Simon’s group, assassinate key figures in the Favela Cartel, and deliver a warning from the McCain Cartel.
Emerging from the sewers, he slipped into the waste disposal area.
“This brings back memories.”
An assassin had to infiltrate through the least desirable routes. Sewers and dumps were Zeke’s preferred entry points.
Shedding his thin infiltration suit, he used a purification scroll to rid himself of the stench.
Drawing his dagger, Zeke stealthily made his way into the mansion.
His target was Matteo, the second-in-command of the Favela Cartel.
The cartel’s boss, Bastian, was currently on an island in the southern sea.
Capturing Matteo and issuing a warning would surely provoke Bastian into a full-scale war with the McCain Cartel.
“Don Juan probably thought this mission was doomed to fail.”
Don Juan likely saw Zeke’s assault as a mere suicide mission, a warning in itself to the Favela Cartel.
But Zeke intended to infiltrate the base, assassinate the second-in-command, and plant bombs to bring the stronghold down.
Such an act would spiral into chaos beyond even Don Juan’s control.
Zeke aimed to exploit that chaos.
Whoosh!
As he silently dispatched patrolling cartel members with his dagger, Zeke advanced toward Matteo’s location.
“Fewer guards than I expected.”
Knowing the Favela Cartel had allied with the Empire, he couldn’t rule out the presence of knights.
Yet, there were no hitmen or imperial knights in sight, only armed patrols.
Zeke sensed something was off.
“Something’s not right.”
He checked the map, but no personnel were marked.
Remaining vigilant, he moved through the corridor, opening a door into the mansion.
A grand banquet hall lay before him, with a long staircase leading upward.
Then, suddenly—
Flash!
Lights blazed on, and hidden figures surged forward.
“How did they—?”
Zeke assessed the crowd surrounding him.
Among them were cartel hitmen, imperial knights, and even mages.
“Stealth magic, perhaps.”
Stealth magic could erase one’s presence, but he hadn’t expected it to hide them from the map as well.
An imperial knight stepped forward, issuing orders to the others.
“Capture him alive.”
With that command, the knights charged at Zeke.
Zeke grabbed the nearest knight, stabbing him in the throat with his dagger.
“Gah!”
He then seized the knight’s sword.
Retreating slightly, Zeke slashed through the cartel members guarding the rear.
Slash!
“Shoot! Shoot him!”
Cartel members unleashed a volley of arrows at Zeke.
But his movements were too swift, and the arrows thudded harmlessly into walls and floors.
Zeke hurled daggers at the hitmen stationed around the room.
Using the power of the Elemental Sword, the wind-imbued daggers struck the hitmen’s vital points with incredible speed.
“Aagh!”
In panic, the cartel members fired their crossbows wildly, some accidentally hitting their own.
An imperial knight shouted, “Mages! Bind his feet!”
The mages hastily cast their spells.
The banquet hall floor rippled, transforming into a swamp-like mire.
“This won’t hold me.”
Zeke tossed his daggers onto the swampy ground, using them as stepping stones to dash toward the imperial knights.
It was a daring maneuver, utilizing his mastery of wind techniques.
As Zeke charged, the knights scrambled to defend themselves.
But it was too late.
Thud!
Zeke knocked the knights off balance, sending them tumbling into the mire.
“Ugh!”
Seeing their comrades floundering, the mages quickly dispelled the spell.
Zeke clicked his tongue at the ineptitude of the imperial knights and mages.
“Sending amateurs to curry favor with the cartel, huh?”
The commanding knight stepped forward.
A faint aura blade formed in his hand.
Zeke lunged at the knight with his sword.
Crash!
Zeke’s sword, imbued with immense force, struck the knight’s blade.
“Urgh!”
Even with an aura blade, it was useless if not wielded properly.
Zeke relentlessly hammered the knight’s sword with his own.
The knight staggered back, his hand trembling from the impact.
“Huff! Huff!”
Without pause, Zeke slashed through the knight’s armored leg.
Slash!
“Aaagh!”
The knight screamed, collapsing as his thigh was severed.
Zeke swiftly decapitated him.
Seeing the blue knight fall so easily, the surrounding hitmen and imperial knights hesitated, retreating slightly.
Zeke unleashed his draconic aura, instilling even greater fear.
Some knights and cartel members, overwhelmed by his presence, wet themselves in terror.
“Those who want to die, step forward. The rest, get out of my sight!”
At Zeke’s command, about half the group dropped their weapons and fled.
The remaining ones, still clutching their weapons, edged toward Zeke, their bodies rigid with fear.
Zeke leaped into the air, sword in hand.
Whoosh!
Landing on the second-floor balcony, he swiftly dispatched the mages.
“Aaagh!”
Leaving them unchecked could lead to unexpected spells, even for Zeke.
If someone like Cain appeared again, it could be dangerous.
With the mages eliminated, the knights clambered up to the second floor.
“Fools.”
They had unwittingly entered a narrow space, advantageous for Zeke.
As they approached, Zeke skewered them one by one, piercing their hearts with his sword.
“Ugh!”
He shoved a groaning knight off the balcony.
The banquet hall was now littered with the bodies of knights, mages, and hitmen.
Zeke flicked the blood from his sword and sheathed it.
“What are the Empire’s forces even doing in the south? They seem clueless.”
Just then, a figure in a black robe appeared on the opposite balcony.
“Who is that?”
The map was useless, and even his keen senses couldn’t detect anything.
A suspicious figure, face obscured by a hooded robe, spoke to Zeke.
“A single slippery eel dares to disrupt the grand plan.”
Zeke pointed his sword at the enigmatic sorcerer, ready for anything.
“Who are you?”
In response, the dark figure extended a hand, revealing a ring with a black gemstone.
Suddenly, black smoke billowed from the ring.
Whoosh!
The smoke dispersed into the bodies of the dead scattered around the banquet hall.
In an instant, the once-dead began to rise again.
“A necromancer?”
Zeke quickly scanned the figure’s robe.
But there was no sign or emblem of the Scorpion Clan.
Meanwhile, dozens of knights, hitmen, and wizards let out ghastly cries.
“Not the Scorpion Clan? Even among them, few could raise this many zombies at once.”
Not all necromancers belonged to the Scorpion Clan, but most high-ranking dark wizards did.
As Zeke pondered the stranger’s identity, the dark figure commanded the zombies.
“Seize him. I shall personally extract his soul to reveal the truth.”
The archaic speech, like something out of a classical play, was a clear sign that this person wasn’t normal.
“Raaaargh!”
The zombified knights charged at Zeke with their swords.
“Get lost, you zombie scum!”
Zeke swung his sword, Bahamut.
Thwack!
The heads of the zombies exploded under the force of his blade.
[You have defeated a zombie knight tainted by dark magic.]
[You gain 10 Karma Points.]
“What the…?”
Unexpectedly, Zeke earned Karma Points.
His eyes gleamed as he surveyed the room.
Every zombie seemed like a point just waiting to be claimed.
“Perfect!”
He leaped down from the second floor, slicing through the undead with glee.
Zombies struck by his aura blade were torn to pieces, scattering everywhere.
“Raaaargh!”
But soon, the black smoke enveloped the fallen zombies, reassembling their limbs, and they rose to attack once more.
Zeke, exhilarated, continued to cut them down, over and over.
Eventually, there were no more bodies left to resurrect.
The dark figure watched from the balcony as Zeke decimated the last of the zombies.
After dispatching them all, Zeke shouted at the mysterious robed figure.
“Is that it? Got any more?”
The figure simply stared at Zeke, then slowly retreated.
Without another word, the sorcerer dissolved into a cloud of black mist and vanished.
Zeke flinched but could do nothing.
He regretted not capturing the suspicious sorcerer.
“If we meet again, I’ll make sure to turn you into points.”
Shaking off his disappointment, Zeke sheathed his sword and ascended the central staircase.
He arrived at Matteo’s office.
From the shadows, a dagger suddenly emerged, aimed at Zeke’s throat.
Anticipating this, Zeke calmly turned his head and spoke.
“Simon.”