My Villains Chapter 369
61. The Art of War (11)
There have been more than one assassination attempt on Prince Ulkar. But this is the first time an assassin has broken into his bedroom.
I can’t even imagine To think that he had penetrated the guard net of countless knights and magician soldiers who were holding out in the High Castle, crossed the double walls and the inner castle, and hid to the very depths.
Unless you are a group of talented people, you will never succeed.
I’m not trying to make excuses as the central defense commander in charge of protecting the inner castle, but only two of the 20 assassins who have attempted to assassinate have made it to the inner castle. Most of them were discovered while crossing the double wall, and the rest were caught by watchmen, military dogs, or soldiers of the inner castle.
But to break through like this? How the hell
did you get in?”
“Well… I don’t know what to say. He seemed like a very strange man. It was quite difficult to deal with, perhaps because he had learned some strange martial arts.”
The dungeon was, of course, very deep underground in the castle tower. Thanks to this, Ulkarwana and the prince’s entourage were descending the dark and shady basement stairs. Of course, because the space was so small, Ulkar was only accompanied by a few knights.
As they passed through the stair landing where the torches were hanging, Ulkar continued to speak carefully.
“Yes, he was not like a human.”
“Doesn’t it look like a human?”
“…I’d rather see the penis in person.”
The dungeon was a terrible place.
A narrow and dirty stone chamber with an unknown fishy smell creeping up…
Since it’s on the lower floor than the storage room where food and alcohol are stored, the only things that come alive without sunlight are, of course, except for the guards who occasionally come across rats and rats. There were only small worms. It even made me think that it would be better for me to kill myself than to be locked up in a place like this.
I wonder if that’s just my opinion, most of the over 30 prison cells were empty.
Through the corridors lined with empty prison cells, Ulkar headed to the interrogation stone chamber attached to the guards’ rooms.
” majesty.”
Two mages greeted us in a stone chamber that was neither small nor large. It was Master Epos and Madaz Rao.
“I hear you are ready.”
“Yes, as you can see.”
A diminutive man was tied to an X-shaped mold placed on one wall.
“……uh?”
As soon as I saw the man, I was a little surprised. It wasn’t because he was drooling with his eyes wide open, but because he had features that are rarely seen here.
“…Oriental? The assassin I caught didn’t have a face like this.”
To the prince’s question, Madaz took off his light green leather gloves and answered.
“It looks like the face has been modified by twisting the bones and muscles.”
“Have you fixed your face? Is it magic?”
“It’s not magic. It seems that something non-magical was done… I tried a ‘surgical’ recovery on my own. I don’t know if this is the original face, though.”
“I see… It’s bizarre.”
Master Epos, a young wizard with a metal band wrapped around his forehead, shook his head with his face slightly pale.
“You should have seen Lord Madaz do the elimination. It’s not even grotesque… Oops.
He stopped talking and turned his head away and retched. It seems that he remembered a scene that would upset his stomach.
Either that or not, Madaz Rao brushed off his leather gloves with a refreshing expression.
“Everything you said has been done. I prescribed it with poppy essence and gosancho, and the effect was very good.”
“Good job. I do the interrogation myself.”
“Do as you wish, Your Highness. then.”
Madaz took care of four or five sheets of parchment scrawled with scribbles and left the prison cell.
Master Epos pursued his back with a little tired eyes, and only stuck out his tongue after the iron door closed.
“Really… well, he was a man with a strong inquisitive mind. It makes me wonder if the Rao family is like that or if Lord Madaz is an exceptional eccentric.”
What the hell did Mr. Madaz do to say such a thing? To the extent that he was called an eccentric by the same wizard, a genius who earned the title of Master in his 20s.
Ulkar patted Master Epos on the shoulder and approached the assassin.
“What is your name?”
At Ulkar’s question, the man salivated and twitched his lips. It was only after repeating the painful sound several times that a sonorous sound came out.
“Gadan……
“’Gadan’? Is that your name?”
“name. That’s right Gadan…
“That’s an unusual name. Are you from the Eastern Continent?”
“…no. I am Aringen…
Aringen. The name of a province located in the western part of the Mittergerland Empire. I remember that Fritz said he was from there.
After that, Ulkar asked a few random questions, and the Assassin answered as if hypnotized.
Watching the scene with interest, I lowered my voice and asked Master Epos.
“How amazing. Did you set up a confession
?”
“A confession?”
He nodded with a puzzled face.
“Hmm, I don’t know what it is, but after hearing the name, it doesn’t seem that different from Madaz-dono’s prescription. It’s more about breaking the will to answer questions than making them confess the truth.”
“The confessions I know are probably of that kind, too.”
“Oh is that so? However, this is an irreversible prescription, so
you must be extremely careful when using it.”
“Irreversible? then.”
Master Epos pointed at the assassin with his chin.
“You have to live like that forever. Well, I’ll cut your throat as soon as the interrogation is over anyway, so it won’t matter too much.”
“Ehh.”
I stroked my chin for a moment and whispered again.
“Can you teach me the recipe?”
“yes? why.”
“Because I think I might need something someday.”
“…It shouldn’t be difficult, but you’ll need someone with knowledge of both alchemy and magic to handle this recipe properly.”
A person who is good at both alchemy and magic. Of all the people I knew, there was only one Ellen with such ability.
“…Still, please teach me. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with knowing.”
“If so. I will write down the prescription in detail later.” The conversation with Master Epos was over when Ulkar, who confirmed the effect of the prescription, began the full-scale interrogation.
“I couldn’t sense any smell or presence from you. According to the wizards, they don’t feel any magic power at all.”
No smell, no presence, no magic power?
Upon hearing Ulkar’s words, I looked at him again and found that Assassin Gadan had a very different atmosphere.
It’s the smell and the presence. Because of the environment of the interrogation room in the dungeon, I can’t feel anything special. However, I definitely couldn’t feel a handful of magic power. It was a very unusual case, considering that even if he was unfamiliar with magic, he possessed even a minute amount of mana.
Was this the strangeness the prince was talking about earlier?
“What is your true identity?”
“…witch witch hunter…
“As expected. Are you an assassin of the Witch Hunters?”
witch hunter? The Witch Hunters, a branch of the secret society ‘Three Swordsmen’?
While I widened my eyes at the unexpected name, Ulkar nodded and continued the interrogation.
“The purpose of breaking into High Castle was to assassinate me, right?”
“…me? me?”
“no. I am Ulkar Lionelson of Zeore.”
“…Ulkar. Silver Prince Ulkar…
Assassin Gadan’s unfocused eyes turned to the prince.
“…that’s right. Ulkar. can’t capture It’s just killing…
“Whose owner is it?”
“…buy it? sandbar?” “I am asking who ordered me to be killed.”
“iced coffee.”
The opened pupils gradually turned upward, revealing the whites of the eyes.
“……The owner of the sword…
“The owner of the sword?”
“…the master of the sword. my master The hidden guardian of Middle-earth is the one who deserves to be the owner…
Everyone looked bewildered at the man’s drool-like words, but I could vaguely understand what he meant.
The three treasures that the Three Swords Society possesses. The Preaching Sword (破邪劍), the Static Demon Sword (定魔劍), and the Outer Sword (威外劍).
The owner of the ‘bank’ rooted in the Milanol Kingdom is the Pasa Sword, and the one who leads the ‘Assassination Church’ of the Amir Allied Powers is the Outlaw Sword Master. And the leader of the Witch Hunters, a group of the Mittergerant Empire, said, “
Didn’t you hear the quiet talk to yourself ?
Sir Bolsom, who shaved off Ulkar’s knight’s head, tripped.
“Are you talking about a sword master?”
“…swell. ….
“Yes. Schwertmeister is the master of the sword.”
“…swell. okay. He is a master…
It was a bit ambiguous answer, but Sir Ballsom said, ‘Ha too!’ and snapped his fingers.
“I am Holy Baek Hopeken. He hired an assassin from Mitteltang.”
“…well. I heard that the witch hunters are a new and rare group. I don’t think I made contact with them in the capital of Mittergerland.”
“But right now, the only sword master in the enemy camp is Seongbaek Hopeken. He has a stamp in Miteltang.”
“It is too early to make a hasty decision. Also, it is important to confirm that the enemy sent it, not so much who exactly instigated it.”
“hmm. I understand, Your Highness.”
As Lord Bolsom stepped back, scratching the wrinkled back of his head like a hamburger, Ulkar asked questions for useful information.
Most of the answers were fragmentary or ambiguous, but there were some surprising ones.
“……It’s greed. ….
“Greed? what?”
“Kill the silver prince…
“What?”
Suddenly, the man’s blank face twisted.
“I won’t get caught first. Look at the second batch. Kill the third silver prince. first is second is first The third is no, it’s dangerous…
“You mean you wanted to kill me because you were greedy for the ball… Your original mission was reconnaissance, right?”
reconnaissance. Yeah “What was the reconnaissance for? Is an attack planned?”
“…attack. Cut High Castle’s hair. The Silver Prince, the young fox goblin of the indigo family…
The Silver Prince must be Ulkar, and from a quick glance, it seems that the rest are nicknames for other lords. Marquess Landry, who is blue. The young fox must be Earl Oth, and the goblin must be Viscount Cyril.
“You’re going to assassinate all the leaders.
“…The master of the sword is coming…
“The master of the sword? Is your master coming?”
“My master. Paving the way is the work of our witch hunters…
Ulkar seemed to have caught on to something, but he still calmly continued to ask questions.
“When did you decide to attack? When is the scheduled date?”
“…soon. A day without moonlight…
“It’s been a while. When is the old moon rising?”
Sir Gisela quickly replied to the prince’s question as he turned around.
“We have about three or three days left, Your Highness.”
“Three days.”
Ulkar stiffened his forehead and rubbed his face.
“I must prepare.”
That was all the information obtained from the interrogation.
Aside from the fact that it was difficult to have a conversation with Madaz’s prescription, he didn’t know much about the assassin Gadan. Well, it’s a big enough achievement just to find out the forces you belong to and the attack plan.
Some of his aides, including Sir Gisela, suggested that the news of the assassin’s capture be kept secret, saying that information might be leaked to the enemy.
However, in order to prepare for a secret attack, the prince decided that it would be more effective to share all knowledge among allies.
So Ulkar immediately called a meeting and shared the information he had obtained from the assassin. At the same time, the city’s vigilance
was rechecked in preparation for an imminent attack by assassins.
On the other hand, the assassin’s invasion was very unpleasant to me as well. It was because I was the person in charge of security at Naseong High Castle.
Since everyone knew that I had so many responsibilities and that Sir Gisela was actually in charge of escorting the prince, no one held me accountable.
Still, I couldn’t help being annoyed, so I decided to bring in a few more men, including Fritz, to reinforce my vigilance.
After the military doctor was finished, I had a private meeting with the prince and brought out the suggestions I had prepared. It was about the Nudean soldiers led by Atalanta.
“I’ve been looking at it for the past week, and the Nudein soldiers aren’t bad, and they seem full of fighting spirit.”
“…I know.”
Ulkar, sitting on the window of the castle tower to catch the wind, nodded with his arms crossed.
“Aran Hares (Atalante) is a powerful warrior, and her bodyguards are true soldiers that are comparable to those under my command. Excluding the Royal Guard, it is a good army with a good balance of cavalry, spearmen, and archers.”
“In addition, he proved himself to be a reliable comrade in action at Port Oduenne.”
“I agree. I’ve heard enough about their activities through Sir Lyam.”
I, who had prepared a lot of words, narrowed my brows in a trembling mood at the sight of the prince accepting meekly.
“…You know all that, so why don’t you use them? Even though I fought for the prince to my heart’s content, I couldn’t even enter the city and I’m sitting in a garrison between the double walls. Ever since His Highness set up the training ground, I’ve been covered in dust every day. Everyone is not alone in their dissatisfaction.”
“Looks like you’re misunderstanding something.”
Ulkar opened his mouth with a calm face.
“I never kicked them out.”
“yes?”
“A small area was given to the west of ‘Axod’. It can’t be said that it’s a very good seat because I deliberately chose a place with few people, but I wouldn’t have to live in a tent like I do now.”
“But in the words of Atalanta…
“It must mean that the lord and the residents were kicked out of the inner wall. But it’s not like someone used prestige to drive them out.”
He sighed lightly.
“I am well aware of the plight of the Nudans. But I don’t have enough time to stop the Kwangmyeong Cultists one by one who are looking down on them.”
From Ulkar’s point of view, he gave up his seat right away, but the Nudans took notice of each other and went outside the inner wall.
It wasn’t that the lords and the territorial residents who implicitly challenged the Nudin people were not at fault. However, Ulkar would not be able to accept even the whining of ‘they care so much that I can’t live here’ in the face of war.
“…well then why don’t you give them any assignments? The Nudane soldiers are outraged that they have been completely excluded from defending the city.”
“It is true.”
“…Yes? What is that?”
“They will not participate in the siege.”
I was dumbfounded and opened my mouth slightly.
“You’re saying you’re going to exclude 800 soldiers when you’re already outnumbered?”
“exactly.”
“Why?”
“There are several reasons.”
Prince Ulkar replied with a very determined expression.
“The most important thing is that we cannot give them the land of the kingdom.”
“….-yes?”
What about Atalanta?
I guess you guys got fucked.
