Overwhelming Firepower

In an unknown area, a person wearing a mask placed down a few communication orbs on the ground. He then used his mana to activate each orb.

Several people who were also wearing masks then appeared before the unknown individual.

”Zehn has fallen.”

The moment those words were spoken, the figures projected from the communication orbs fell silent. After several seconds, one of them spoke.

”Did he speak?”

”He did not speak a word. None of us will, no matter what.”

One of the projected figures slowly lowered his head. ”Then Zehn fulfilled the final act of loyalty.”

”He did.”

”And the body?”

”Destroyed. Black flame consumed everything. There should be nothing left for Norvaegard to examine.”

”Should be?” Another masked individual asked. They did not like hearing such a word of uncertainty.

”He was facing Robert Duskwell and Lysette Crowlorne.”

”He caught the attention of the mad alchemist and the golden noble.”

The second, those names were spoken, the masked people frowned. Similar to Zehn, who has only the upper part of his face covered by the mask, the lower part can be seen by the others. The only difference between them was the designs of their masks. Also, unlike Zehn, who was always smiling, these people were now frowning.

”Since the mad alchemist and the golden noble were there, that means the Ruby-Eyed Monster has also been alerted.”

”Of all the people to be caught by to catch the attention of that person is worse than getting the attention of one of the ducal houses.”

No one refuted those words. The Ruby-Eyed Monster, aside from the Judicar family, was the most feared person in the current underworld of Norvaegard. He hunted down monsters and criminals like he was obsessed.

If the new Saintess of the Temple of Justice and Judgment had struck them hard by cleansing the underworld of Caelhart and the nearby cities. Lucen gave them fear; the mere thought of him targeting you would make any hardened criminal wish for a quick death.

When the spies first arrived in Norvaegard to wreak havoc, they did not expect Norvaegard to have changed so greatly from the last report.

The reason for this great change was because of a single person, and his name was Lucen Thornehart.

He had created weapons that would change the way war was fought on the continent. Now, aside from their main mission to wreak havoc, they needed to acquire the new weapons, details on how to make the train and airship, and, if possible, either eliminate or capture Lucen Thornehart.

They had thought that capturing a single ducal heir, even in Norvaegard, would have been easy with their skills, but when a few of them arrived near Ironhold, they knew that it was currently impossible to do so.

They did not want to admit it, but Ironhold was a fortress like no other they had ever seen. Walls created from powerful monsters and rare materials, on top of that, with dwarven rune engravings.

If that wasn’t enough to deter them, the military power of Ironhold seemed to be greater than they had imagined. There were dwarves and barbarians living in the walls of Ironhold, expanding it under the white snow.

Finally, there was Lucen Thornehart himself. They had imagined no matter what kind of genius Luceun was, at most just a Third Circle mage, and an aura user at the third mantle.

As long as they could wait for a chance when Lucen was outside of Ironhold, they would be able to capture him.

But when they observed Lucen in one of the monster waves, they changed their minds.

Most of the time, Lucen was with Sir Thalos, the strongest knight under Duke Vardon, and if not, he was with his military force, Thornefang. They thought that they just needed a chance when he was alone to kidnap him, but then he showed his skills in battle.

That unique magic of his was a threat, and the way he uses mana and aura did not make it look like he was just at the third circle or third mantle. His combat abilities were dangerous, even for them.

Even if all of them attacked, they might not be able to kill or capture Lucen before reinforcements arrive to help him. And if they failed, none of them believed they would be allowed to die easily.

”Now that he had caught onto our scent, we must lie low for a while.”

”Does it matter if he caught onto our scent or not? The time for war is nearing, and the time when this kingdom will be devoured will happen. So why don’t we just cause as much chaos as possible and get as much as we can before we flee?” The masked person wearing a clown mask spoke while shrugging his shoulders.

”You want us to return home as cowards?”

Another one wearing a horned mask that looked like a demon answered with a bit of killing intent leaking out. Even though they were just communicating using the orbs, they could feel the person’s killing intent.

”We’re spies, we were always branded as cowards to begin with,” The clown mask replied.

The killing intent from the horned mask grew heavier. ”Watch your tongue.”

”Or what?” The clown mask tilted his head. ”Are you going to kill me through the communication orb?”

The horned mask did not answer, but the silence alone made it clear that if they were standing in the same room, he would have already drawn his blade.

”Enough.” The masked person who had first spoken finally opened his mouth again. His mask was one that looked like a skull.

The moment he spoke, both the clown mask and the horned mask fell silent. It was not because they respected him or anything mundane like that.

It was because they knew that among everyone present, the skull mask was the one least likely to waste words. If he spoke, then it meant the conversation had gone far enough. Not to mention, among them, he was the de facto strongest.

”We are not soldiers standing on a battlefield. We are not knights seeking glory. We are shadows. If a shadow is seen, then it has already failed.” The skull mask said plainly.

The clown mask chuckled softly. ”How poetic.”

”Do not test me.” The skull mask spoke with a chilling bite in his tone.

The clown mask raised both hands slightly. ”Fine, fine. I will behave. So then what are we going to do next?”

The skull mask did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at each projected figure in silence.

One by one, the masked people straightened. Even the clown mask stopped moving his hands around carelessly.

”Even though the time for war is fast approaching, leaving our post now without getting anything truly done is unacceptable. For now, we need to cut off a few of our limbs to make the Ruby-Eyed monster satisfied and stop his chase, thinking he has eradicated us all. Once his sights are no longer with us, then we can resume our previous plans.”

”... That might take longer than before, especially if we move more cautiously.” A person wearing a tiger mask replied.

”It doesn’t matter. Even if the war starts, being here is better for us since we can do more here than on the battlefield.”

The tiger mask fell silent after hearing those words. No one refuted the skull mask this time.

They all understood what he meant by cutting off a few limbs. Some of their agents, safe houses, and false identities would be abandoned.

A few would be sacrificed. A few would be allowed to be discovered. To make Lucen Thornehart stop biting down on them.

The clown mask chuckled softly. ”How cruel. We are feeding our own people to the monster.”

The skull mask did not react much and simply spoke in a flat tone. ”They were never one of us to begin with, just disposable limbs that could be thrown at any given time. We have given them what they wanted in exchange for their very lives.”

The clown mask was silent for a moment before laughing again. ”As expected of you. You make betrayal sound like a fine deal.”

”It is not a betrayal if both sides were already using one another.”

The clown mask tilted his head. ”Then who shall we feed to the Ruby-Eyed Monster?”

”Those closest to exposure. The merchants who moved the monster cages. The guards who opened the southern routes. The alchemists who touched the pills without knowing what they were truly handling.” The skull mask answered.

”They will talk if captured,” the one wearing a black mask said.

”It doesn’t matter; they don’t know anything important. Also, even if they do, they won’t be able to say it due to the contract we made. Death would come first before they utter a word about us.”

”Very well, I will make the preparations.” The black mask spoke with a sigh.

”Then is this meeting over? Can I leave now? I was in the middle of a fun game.” The clown mask spoke with a smile on his face, while acting as if he were truly in a hurry.

The skull mask was silent for a few seconds before he responded. ”Very well, let us end this meeting for now. Make sure to lie low until I say we make another move.”

The other masked figures nodded their heads before deactivating their communication orbs. The skull mask, which was standing in the unknown area, mumbled.

”Ruby-Eyed monster, will this be enough to stop your hunt?”

***

Lucen, who was currently the biggest problem of the masked people, wasn’t even thinking about them at the moment as he was currently focused on making a card game with Mireya Aeromont.