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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 61
Zeke's mind went blank at the commander's unexpected words.
'What nonsense is this guy spouting?'
The Delfoa Knights had practically zero combat power.
Without the Mage Corps' ranged attacks, the Delfoa Knights were literally nothing more than sturdy targets.
It didn't make sense that they would deliberately come late and then pick a fight like this, knowing the situation.
In front of the dumbfounded Zeke, the commander's face turned red as he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"I told you to carry out a scouting mission, who told you to provoke the enemy! Is that what they teach you at Valhalla?!"
Zeke listened silently to the commander's words.
Andrei, who had come as the leader, also watched the situation quietly without saying anything, observing Zeke's reaction.
After venting for a while, the commander panted and turned to Andrei, shouting,
"Take your students and leave the site immediately! I will report this matter directly to Valhalla!"
Andrei was also dumbfounded by the unreasonable reaction, but he decided to wait and see how Zeke would react.
The reason he had come along as the leader was to assess Zeke's abilities, so he was curious to see how he would respond in this situation.
Just then, Zeke slowly opened his mouth.
"Then can we consider the cooperative relationship between us and Delfoa to be over?"
The commander was momentarily flustered by Zeke's words.
"W-What?"
"If that's the case, then it's not a troop dispatch, so we don't have to listen to the commander anymore."
The commander's eyes wavered intensely.
Zeke took a step closer to the commander and said,
"From now on, we will carry out the mission on our own here. So I would appreciate it if you wouldn't interfere."
"W-What! This is Delfoa territory! How dare you..."
Just then, Andrei stepped forward.
"The Black Yaksha is registered as a continental public enemy. Zeke and I have received official knight status from the Draker Clan, so we can carry out the mission on our own with a report after completion."
The commander broke out in a cold sweat as the conversation went in a completely different direction than he had anticipated.
However, it was difficult for him to take back what he had said.
He gritted his teeth and shouted,
"Damn it! Do whatever you want with your mission!"
Then he took the mages and retreated to the rear.
Originally, he had intended to withdraw with his troops, but it seemed he was staying put and making camp without going down the mountain to keep an eye on what Zeke's side would do.
With the situation like this, it was Jorge's 8th Knights who were in a predicament.
Without the mages, it was impossible to attack the fortress in the first place, and it was difficult for them to do anything on their own.
Just then, Zeke approached Jorge.
"Commander Jorge, I have something I want to ask."
Jorge tensed up at Zeke's words.
"W-What is it?"
"I'm curious if you have any desire to catch the Black Yaksha."
Jorge closed his mouth tightly, and after a long pause, he answered,
"We may not be comparable to the knights of the Draker Clan, but we are knights too. What knight would want to leave a villain who torments their own people alone?"
Jorge and the other knights clenched their fists.
Zeke could sense the sincerity in their reaction.
He said to Jorge,
"If that's how you feel, I'd like to ask for a favor."
"A-A favor?"
"Yes. I intend to infiltrate the fortress and capture the Black Yaksha."
Jorge was surprised.
"O-Oh my god. Without the help of mages?"
"It seems like the Mage Corps doesn't really want to catch the Black Yaksha."
Jorge was speechless at Zeke's words.
Indeed, for several years, the subjugation forces led by the Mage Corps had only engaged in small-scale skirmishes in front of this fortress.
Moreover, the mages only cast magic a few times from a safe distance in the rear, and even then, they weren't proactive, so the only ones who got hurt or died were Jorge's subordinate knights.
Zeke said to Jorge,
"If you help me, we can get rid of that Black Yaksha bastard from Delfoa today."
Jorge and the other knights looked at each other.
They came to an agreement and nodded.
Jorge said to Zeke,
"What should we do?"
***
As the night deepened, silence fell upon the fortress.
And at some point, the 8th Knights, holding thick shields, took their positions in front of the fortress.
Then they drew their swords and began to strike their shields.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The loud clang of swords and shields echoed throughout the mountains.
Perhaps due to the sudden noise, the fortress became busy.
Following Zeke's instructions, Jorge and the knights continued to change positions and make loud noises.
After a while, mercenaries holding torches appeared from the top of the fortress.
"Are those guys crazy?!"
Then they started shooting arrows at the knights.
Clang!
The knights blocked the incoming arrows with their sturdy shields.
The 8th Knights had completely mastered shield techniques after years of fighting the mercenaries on top of the fortress.
While the knights were drawing attention at the front of the fortress, Zeke and his party moved to the back of the fortress.
They had learned about a passage leading inside the fortress when they interrogated the patrol.
Zeke led his party and stealthily approached the passage.
Then, he nimbly climbed the fortress wall, took out his dagger, silently killed the mercenary on top, and opened the gate.
Diego and Aster were stunned to see the mercenaries cleanly dispatched.
'Bro Zeke, you're scary, yo!'
'Ugh, I should've just stayed and graduated normally.'
Each with their own thoughts, they followed Zeke into the fortress.
It was then.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
A figure on horseback quickly emerged from within the fortress.
Zeke, his vision enhanced by his Dragon Eyes, checked the face of the figure on horseback.
'Black Yaksha!'
It matched the description of the Black Yaksha he had seen before the mission.
Zeke said to Andrei,
"I'll chase after him. You stir things up inside, open the front gate, and fire a signal flare. Then those mages won't be able to hold out any longer."
Andrei nodded at Zeke's words.
Zeke immediately chased after the Black Yaksha who had ridden out on horseback.
Wheeik!
Outside the fortress, Zeke summoned Bucephalus.
"Bucephalus, let's catch that guy."
The speed of Bucephalus, a divine beast, the king of the dragon horses, was unimaginable compared to an ordinary horse.
Bucephalus ran through the mountains as if they were flat ground and quickly chased after the Black Yaksha.
As Zeke closed the distance, the Black Yaksha turned around and shot a crossbow at him.
Clang!
Zeke simply deflected the arrow with his dragon scale armor.
Then, he took out Bahamut, moved next to the Black Yaksha, and swung his sword.
Bang!
Unable to withstand the weight of Bahamut infused with the power of gold, the Black Yaksha fell off his horse.
Whoosh!
Zeke also dismounted Bucephalus and approached the fallen Black Yaksha.
"Where are you going in such a hurry at this late hour?"
The Black Yaksha immediately got up and drew his sword.
It was a deformed sword with a serrated blade.
Outlaws mostly used these kinds of deformed weapons and mainly employed unorthodox techniques.
Zeke, well aware of this, remained unfazed, gripped Bahamut, and provoked the Black Yaksha.
"Come at me."
Wheeik!
The Black Yaksha dashed in with a low stance, swinging his deformed sword.
Clang!
Zeke's sword, imbued with the power of gold, deflected the Black Yaksha's sword.
The Black Yaksha winced, his wrist seemingly numb.
"...You don't seem like one of those Delfoa guys. Who are you?"
Zeke said to the Black Yaksha with an indifferent expression,
"What difference does it make if you know?"
Just then, the Black Yaksha spat something at Zeke.
Shhh!
Poisonous sand poured towards Zeke's face.
[Desert scorpion poison detected.]
[The effect of the constitution's poison immunity negates the poison's effect.]
The desert scorpion's poison paralyzed the body upon contact and was mainly used by assassins in desert areas.
As expected of an outlaw, he had many dirty tricks.
Zeke brushed off the poisonous sand and slowly approached the Black Yaksha.
The Black Yaksha was flustered when Zeke didn't react at all to the poison he had prepared.
"Where are you from? The Death Corps? Or the Southern border region?"
"You're quite the curious one."
Zeke, as if he had no intention of answering, swung his sword at the Black Yaksha.
Clang!
Pushed back by Zeke's strength, the Black Yaksha lost his balance and tumbled.
'If he's registered as a continental public enemy, he should at least have the skills of a blue knight or higher. Is he hiding his true abilities?'
Zeke slowly approached the Black Yaksha who had fallen to the ground.
It was then.
Whoosh!
Hidden weapons shot towards Zeke.
Dozens of needles, almost invisible to the naked eye, poured towards him.
Zeke, who had already donned his dragon scale armor, deflected all the needles but pretended to be hit.
"Ugh!"
As Zeke stepped back, the fallen Black Yaksha sprang to his feet.
Then he took a completely different stance than before.
Woooong!
An aura blade surged from the Black Yaksha's sword.
As expected, he had been hiding his true abilities.
Seeing the Black Yaksha's movements, Zeke immediately recognized the identity of the swordsmanship.
'Imperial swordsmanship. And it's from those Intelligence Agency bastards.'
Wheeik!
The Black Yaksha dashed towards Zeke to behead him, swinging his sword.
It was the moment when the sword was about to reach Zeke's neck.
Crackle!
The Black Yaksha couldn't come to his senses due to the electric shock that surged through his body.
"Kugh!"
Zeke, who had cast an electric shock skill on Bahamut, had thrust his sword into the Black Yaksha's body.
Crackle!
The Black Yaksha rolled on the ground, electricity sparking from his entire body.
The human skin mask covering his face burned from the electricity, revealing his true face.
'He was younger than I thought.'
Zeke slowly got up.
But something was wrong with the Black Yaksha.
He was foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolled back, and his body was trembling violently.
"Damn it!"
He had momentarily forgotten how ruthless those Imperial Intelligence Agency bastards were.
Zeke immediately took out an antidote potion and poured it into the Black Yaksha's mouth.
"Cough!"
Fortunately, the antidote neutralized the poison before it could completely circulate through his body.
Zeke even took out a healing potion and poured it into the Black Yaksha's mouth.
When the forcibly recovered Black Yaksha tried to take his own life, Zeke pulled out his jawbone to prevent him from biting his tongue.
"Ugh..."
Zeke looked at the Black Yaksha and said,
"I'm curious why an Intelligence Agency guy would pretend to be a continental public enemy and cause such a commotion in Delfoa."
At the mention of the Intelligence Agency, the Black Yaksha's face turned pale.
His identity as a secret agent of the Intelligence Agency was a top secret.
He had to take his own life as soon as possible.
Zeke shook his head as if he knew everything, looking directly at his face.
"You can't die just because you want to. When you tell me a story that satisfies me, then I'll let you die."
The Black Yaksha looked into Zeke's eyes and despaired.
Those with eyes like that were professionals in this field.
Zeke dragged the paralyzed Black Yaksha into a nearby cave.
Then he took out a dagger.
"You must be used to ordinary torture."
Zeke imbued the dagger with electricity.
"But this will be your first time experiencing this."
Crackle!
Zeke carved into the Black Yaksha's body with the electrified dagger, healed him with a potion, and then repeated the process.
He couldn't die even if he wanted to, and if he seemed about to lose consciousness, Zeke would wake him up again with a potion.
It was truly hell.
In the end, the Black Yaksha couldn't withstand Zeke's interrogation and surrendered.
"Are you ready to talk now?"
The Black Yaksha nodded.
After Zeke put his jawbone back in place, the Black Yaksha moved his jaw a few times and slowly spoke.
"...What are you curious about?"
"Let's start with your identity and what you were doing here."
The Black Yaksha hesitated, then seeing Zeke's dagger crackling with electricity, he broke out in a cold sweat and opened his mouth again.
"I'm an agent from the Imperial Intelligence Agency's 13th Division."
"13th Division? I thought the Imperial Intelligence Agency only had 12 divisions. I guess there's a separate place to manage undercover agents like you."
The Black Yaksha was surprised by Zeke's words.
Few people within the Empire knew that the Intelligence Agency had 12 divisions in the first place.
Zeke continued to press the Black Yaksha without pause.
"So, what were you doing here, Mr. Intelligence Agent?"
The Black Yaksha replied,
"I was conducting experiments."
"Experiments? What kind of experiments?"
He caught his breath and said,
"...Experiments on stimulants."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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