Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Editor: Thors Stone

Alright then. Please contact me if anything crucial comes up.

Yes.

The sound of Lord Corinths footsteps gradually turned further and further away.

We managed to make it. Those eyes of his were dead serious. At that time, if I was even a little late to interject, we would all be lying dead on the ground by now. No, we would have been killed if I made even one mistake in my responses.

I have never felt so close to death until now. That was truly dangerous.

It looks like I managed to somehow convince him of our usefulness.

Chief, are you really going to betray the country?

Of course. Just shut your mouth. Do you really want us to die?

I pulled out my dagger and placed it near my subordinates neck to show that I was serious in reprimanding him. Theres a limit to mistakenly uttering careless remarks. Do these guys really think the rest of Lord Corinths subordinates have left this place as well?

Everyone warily looked around as if they finally became aware of what I was trying to point out. I couldnt see their appearance, hear any sound from them, nor feel their presence, but they should be still around. Theres no mistake. I feel it in my gut.

Lord Corinth seems to be a reasonable and very rational person. I dont think that kind of careless remark will provoke his ire, but right now, everyones lives are at stake. We cant be bringing any extra chance of danger upon ourselves.

However, it was necessary to speak ones mind and have an open discussion with everyone after this. In any case, we have to decide on our future plans.

We better check out the corpse first before disposing of it. My main subordinates and I quickly gathered around the corpse. After seeing its appearance again, we confirmed that it really was in such a bad state. Im sure none of us have ever seen such a horrible-looking corpse until now.

W-What the heck is this?

Youd notice with just a quick glance that it was not cut apart with a blade. Ive never heard of that kind of high-pitched ominous sound before as well. Did that weapon shoot something out?

I now understand anew why Lord Corinth was acting so calmly. Even that single Artifact from one of his subordinates could have killed us all. What a terrifying weapon.

Please take a look at the cross-section of this bone. It looks like its been burnt to a crisp.

Certainly. Come to think of it, this corpse does smell burnt.

I cant believe that I managed to witness something thats able to burn human bones to a crisp in an instant with my own eyes.

Its an Artifact that weve never even heard of before. Perhaps those are the rumored Sacred Treasures.

Sacred Treasures So they really exist.

Well, at least its been made easier to move. Divide it up and dispose of it at the usual spot. After youre done with that, assemble at the hideout. Got it? Dont unnecessarily run your mouths if you value your lives.

Everyone nodded silently in response.

To be honest, the corpse being torn to pieces actually made it a bit more troublesome to dispose of, but its not like I can afford to voice out any complaint right now.

An hour later, all of us finally gathered inside our hideout.

This was the first time all of us have gathered inside this place. The room we were in, which was not that large, was totally packed with people. With this, I dont think Lord Corinths subordinates would be able to sneak in unnoticed. But I wasnt planning on discussing anything that would cause any problems when heard by others anyway.

Lets all decide on our future plans from now on. First of all, Franz, let me hear your opinion on what happened today.

Franz was young but he was rational and smart and never fails to consider the big picture. He has a good memory and a good eye for observation. He also tended to be right on the money most of the time, so I wanted to confirm his thoughts.

My opinion?

Just tell us what caught your eye.

Alright. Speaking of which, can you show us the bronze coins you tossed up earlier, chief?

I took out the seven bronze coins I tossed up and placed all of them on the table. Everyone immediately crowded around the table to check them out.

This is

These holes Just what could actually make such smooth and uniform holes?

Look at the positions of the holes. Theyre all practically in the exact same spot.

They actually opened up such uniform holes on the coins while they were in mid-air? I cant believe it What a terrifying Artifact.

As expected of you, chief. It was the right call to submit to Lord Corinth.

Anyone would have done the same after seeing these things. What else did you notice?

There are a few things that Im curious about. First of all, the black-spotted snake venom actually failed to work on Lord Corinth. Is it possible that hes in possession of a body thats impervious to poisons?

According to Lord Corinth, most poisons do not work on the current him. Hed said they no longer work on the current him, so I surmise that they did work on him in the past. Its most likely an Artifact thats able to nullify poisons.

So even an Artifact like that actually exists huh

Lets move on to the next point. Lord Corinth said he instructed the dragon to go on a rampage because the rescue team that was in the middle of breaking out the prisoners got into trouble and that he was poisoned twice.

Lord Corinth was within the banquet hall the entire time, so just when and how did he manage to get in contact with the dragon?

Thats a good question. He probably didnt instruct the dragon to make a scene ahead of time. So that means he has a way to contact someone from far away.

Although the guilds make use of Artifacts that allow one to contact far away places, Ive never heard of one small enough for a person to carry with them. Theres also the possibility of one of his subordinates relaying his order to the dragon, but the supposed location of the dragon is just too far away.

Are you saying he has a communication Artifact that he can carry around on his person?

Thats the most logical conclusion. He even has invisible Artifacts after all. Compared to those, something like that sounds more plausible.

Thats true. Just how many Artifacts does Lord Corinth have at his disposal?

No idea. When you speak of Artifacts, the first thing that comes to mind is the Zylink Empire, but Lord Corinths Artifacts just seem so strange and foreign. They probably arent related to Zylink. Judging from his speech and accent, he was probably born in one of the nearby nations.

If thats the case, I suspect that His Excellency has somehow managed to capture an intact ruin.

Capturing a ruin huh There has been no news of any new ruins being discovered in the past 200 years. So does that mean the ruin is located within the depths of the Great Demon Forest?

That would be a natural conclusion.

You mean they are actually developing the land within the Sea of Trees using the Artifacts they obtained from the ruin?

Theres the size of the ruin to consider as well, but if Lord Corinth truly has managed to capture an entire ruin for himself, it is highly likely that he has a large number of Artifacts at his disposal.

If this is truly the case, then wouldnt he have the ability to contend with the top noble powers of this country by himself?

Thats not all. If you take the dragon into account, his overall strength can probably rival an entire nation already. If so, its possible for him to conquer the royal castle whenever he wishes.

Thats true. If Lord Corinths ultimate goal is the founding of a new country, then why does he not attempt to do so?

That I dont know. Perhaps he still doesnt have enough power to secure the entire kingdom even if he captures the royal castle. Or perhaps his true goal was the Great Demon Forest all along.

Is it gold? 150 years ago, the S-rank adventurer Tusker claimed to have seen a shining golden platform of some sort within the depths of the Sea of Trees. There were certainly some official records of him bringing back gold ingots and unpolished gemstones when he returned.

It might be possible. However, it seemed like Lord Corinth wasnt strapped for money in the least before claiming the Great Demon Forest as his territory. And yet, he practically threw away all his money just in order to develop the land within the Sea of Trees. That indicates he has a goal other than monetary gain.

Its natural to assume that there is a pressing reason why he specifically needs to develop a territory within the Sea of Trees.