Chapter 62

(62)

We stood next to the vacant lot, waiting for the fight to end.

“Uaaaah!”

“Help me!”

The number of those wearing necklaces was less than I expected.

If the ones wearing bracelets numbered five hundred, then the ones with necklaces seemed to be less than a hundred.

However, the side with the necklaces had the upper hand.

Among them, there were some individuals who were over two heads taller than the others around them.

Those wielding axes split their opponents in two or threw people with sheer strength, toppling the tent next to the vacant lot, and even grabbed ankles to swing them around.

“Lady Trentia, that….”

“Yes, Your Excellency. It’s clearly Infiltrators.”

I could see black, needle-like hairs growing on their necks, backs, and wrists.

I let out a deep inward sigh.

If that got out, Jeilliris would clearly try to clear the streets.

I needed to resolve this as much as possible within my abilities to reduce her notoriety.

The tide of victory was clearly tilting, and eventually, the poor wearing bracelets started to scatter and flee in all directions.

“Boss, I’m sorry!”

“Aah, how are we supposed to win that?”

Rudi sighed and gripped his magic gun again.

“Valen, can I ask now? I’ll take out their legs first.”

“No, not that side.”

“What?”

Rudi looked at me with clear confusion in his green eyes.

I replied as if it were obvious.

“Do you want to go up to them and say, ‘You’re Infiltrators, right?’ and get into a fight of a hundred versus three? Of course, I don’t think you’d lose, but there’s no need for that, right? It’s better to gather information properly and return.”

“Then?”

“We need to chase Jin’s side.”

There were many fleeing and scattering, but there were also many who maintained their group and helped the injured flee.

We pursued them through the alleys.

Occasionally, those who lost their fear would threaten us with daggers, but those of sound mind ran away as soon as they heard Lady Trentia’s footsteps.

“What on earth were they thinking, charging at the knight?”

Lady Trentia muttered as she struck out with her steel gauntlet, sending a person and a wall flying at the same time.

I looked at one of their eyelids and answered.

A brown aura faintly surrounded it.

“They’re not in their right mind. Their consciousness is, albeit weakly, contaminated. It’s evidence that Infiltration is repeatedly occurring in the slums.”

It wasn’t at a level that was impossible to treat yet, but unfortunately, the problem was that they couldn’t donate to the church for the necessary treatment.

“Valen, it seems we’ve arrived.”

In front of us stood a well-preserved four-story building.

It was not rebuilt with planks and retained the elegance of when it was first constructed.

The surroundings were filled with moans and shouts.

“Boss, someone is here.”

“It’s a knight! There are some expensive-looking people too.”

“Shouldn’t we go and give them a word?”

Such voices could be heard from the entrance.

Just as we were waiting, the door opened first.

“Lady. How do you do? What brings esteemed ladies like yourselves to such a shabby place?”

The boss was a man wearing something resembling a uniform.

He had short brown hair, a somewhat sly expression, and a long scar under his eye.

“Do you know anything about the ones wearing necklaces?”

I replied as if waiting for the question.

“Yes, my lady. I know well. They are fearsome Infiltrators. Recently, they increased their power by absorbing those who came from outside and former guards who flowed in from the red-light district. They indulge in cannibalistic rituals and human sacrifices…”

I shook my head to cut him off.

“Just answer the question. Do you know where their hideout is?”

“We don’t know it accurately enough to strike, my lady.”

“You mean you have a rough idea.”

The boss nodded.

“Why have the Constables allowed you and them to remain until things reached this point?”

At my question, the boss’s eyes widened briefly.

He seemed a bit frightened.

“Are you asking about us?”

I looked at the poor souls lying around, smiling in a daze.

“Lady Trentia, do they look sane to you?”

“…I was wondering how these guys were able to hold up against such strong individuals. It’s difficult for trained soldiers to rush in after seeing dozens fall; there must be a reason for it.”

She wore a bitter expression on her noble face.

The boss’s face turned pale.

I asked the boss again.

“Why have the Constables allowed you and them to remain until things reached this point?”

In a crawling voice, the boss replied.

“Recently, the number of poor has increased too much. There are too many kids coming in from outside.”

“And?”

“Those kids don’t go outside the slums. Since they only fight each other, the Constables actually seem to favor it.”

“And?”

“We distribute drugs, but they don’t touch the drugs.”

I smiled at the boss.

“I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse. You’re going to come with me right now to their hideout. You’ll stand in front of me, and in front of you will be your subordinates. Once your subordinates fall, you’re next. I’ll give you time to gather your subordinates.”

* * *

Originally a decent three-story brick house, the slum street had transformed into a bizarre fortress after repeated constructions with planks.

Countless poor were bustling through the narrow alleys.

By now, evening had arrived, making it seem as if an undead army was advancing.

There were evidently some who were considerably mentally contaminated, as strange incantations could be heard from various places, and bluish auras were visible.

“I’ll cut down those who retreat! The only way for you to return alive is to advance and win! Move forward! Move forward!”

Valenciaunos stood in the darkness like a lantern, urging the poor onward.

Amidst the darkness, his golden eyes sparkled alongside the white uniform embroidered with gold threads.

Lady Trentia drew her sword and aimed it at the boss’s back.

The elite standing in front of the boss gritted their teeth, but no one was brave enough to show such a look to the knight with wolf-like stature and red hair.

“If you show any suspicious moves, I’ll stab you right away. Command properly.”

“I-I thought you were going to save me?”

“His Excellency will be willing to spare you if you do your best. Didn’t you see how pleased he was when you gathered the subordinates of your allied organizations?”

‘Let’s drive them out this time.’

‘I didn’t like that those who never sold drugs were trying to dominate.’

‘The competition has gotten too fierce. Let’s hold our breath for a moment.’

‘How dare that little girl! If she lets me in, I’ll be happy.’

Upon hearing that the upper-ups wanted to take care of the necklace gang, numerous organizations gathered under the bracelet group.

Lady Trentia paused for a moment, wondering if Valenciaunos had anticipated this.

The mind of the white-haired noble, expressing emotions loudly, seemed to change at any moment, like a piece of paper or a bottomless deep sea.

Whether or not he knew about Lady Trentia’s concerns, Rudi neatly tied his long brown hair back and approached him.

“Valen, didn’t the Emperor order you to grasp the situation and come?”

It was a purely innocent question without any sarcastic intent.

After ordering the few fleeing Infiltrators to be shot, Valenciaunos wore a momentarily pained expression as he watched Rudi pull the trigger without hesitation, then, as if returning to his usual self, answered in a sly voice.

“I felt we needed to proceed this way.”

“I didn’t realize it was such a necessity to go this far.”

Rudi replied while loading new ammunition into his magic gun.

“Actually, the Infiltrators are a secondary issue this time.”

“What?”

Her green eyes widened.

For Rudi, who was so devout that she would be shocked to hear that Infiltrators were a secondary issue due to infighting within the church, it was a surprising statement.

“Fundamentally, there are too many people. Look at that. It’s practically an army.”

In the darkness, the overall state of the capital was hard to guess.

If you combined all the poor funneling into the alleys, there must be thousands among those who came out today.

“All that effort in demolishing the red-light district to secure redevelopment areas has come to nothing. If restless wanderers without homes or families cluster together and live uncomfortably, they’ll inevitably fight.”

“Ah.”

“It’s soon winter. Relief for the poor is the church’s and the Lord’s duty. His Excellency is trying to increase military expenditures by cracking down on the red-light district, and he’s pulling the church in to prepare against attacks from the old ones. Do you think he’s going to spend more money on the poor? I don’t think so; in fact, he shouldn’t.”

Rudi shook her head after gazing ahead for a moment.

An Infiltrator from her gang swung an axe, knocking several down as he blocked the alley.

“Something’s strange.”

“What is?”

“In the end, it’s these poor, powerless people who are falling for the old ones. If he intends to fight the old ones, why isn’t he spending money here?”

His response to her question was immediately answered by Valenciaunos.

“Even if these poor were to fall for the old ones, they could be suppressed in an instant. Look, there’s no giant Infiltrator from last time. Even if everyone here were to charge, Lady Trentia could probably win by herself.”

Becoming strong as an Infiltrator is not a common thing either.

To become as strong as a Sword Expert, one must work hard to reach that level.

“The old ones His Excellency is wary of are the magical realms and high-level Infiltrators. To become a high-level Infiltrator, one must be of noble or knight descent mixed with heterogeneous blood. In the end, it’s similar to being wary of the regional lords; he can’t afford to spend too much on what happens in slums like these.”

Rudi nodded.

It felt like she was learning a little more about the world.

She felt a bittersweet understanding of the efficiency that the upper-ups spoke of.

It truly was unavoidable.

She understood how frightening magical realms and revolts could be.

But does that mean it’s acceptable to disregard what happens to these poor people? That they’ve done enough and can just brush it off?

In the moment of harboring such impious thoughts.

“So,” he began, smiling a white smile, “you sent me.”

“What?”

Rudi turned to Valenciaunos, whose green eyes peered out from behind the thin-rimmed glasses.

He loosened the buttons of the front of his white uniform and unsheathed his sword, preparing for battle.

“I am yielding certain results with a limited budget, aren’t I?”

In a world where the empire’s administration struggles to avoid the worst, only a bandit, who is not expected to make a choice, could choose a second-best.

Valenciaunos asked Lady Trentia.

“Lady, what’s the situation with the offensive?”

Lady Trentia scanned the area swiftly and immediately replied.

“It’s at a worst-case level. The exchange rate might be 80 to 1. The paths are narrow, rendering numerical superiority meaningless, and the ones wearing necklaces hardly seem fatigued. If this were a siege, winning would be a lost war.”

Rudi checked ahead once more.

The wall of humanity stretching endlessly before the boss had become quite thin.

It was hard to see in the darkness, but the liquid making splashing sounds underfoot certainly didn’t seem transparent.

“Good. Boss?”

“Yes, m-my lady.”

He had half-lost his mind after hearing Lady Trentia call Valenciaunos ‘Your Excellency’ several times.

“Gather the injured and deceased and retreat. Allow the use of the magical white powder on the injured. Be sure to send off each deceased down the underground sewer one by one. Otherwise, they might all come back as abominations, zombies, or skeletons. At that time, battle mages on wyverns will fill the slum skies.”

Contrary to his resolute tone, Valenciaunos had his own discomforts.

He placed those who were irreversibly contaminated among the fighters sent by various organizations at the front lines, issuing a retreat order once they had all fallen.

Although a lot of blood was spilled today, the fighting in the slums would likely lessen significantly by tomorrow.

It was unfortunate, but to avoid amputation, one had to sacrifice a toe.

It was a regrettable thing to think of severed toes, but that was why someone bore the title of duke.

And if someone’s blood had to be spilled in someone’s name, it should be his name rather than Jeilliris’s.

“Yes, my lady. I will do as you say.”

The boss quickly responded and began gathering his subordinates to retreat.

“Aah!”

“They’re running away!”

“We’re retreating too! They’re too strong!”

“Chase them! Kill them!”

An enormous chaos erupted in the darkness, and in an instant, the front lines collapsed.

The scattered torches that had been slowly advancing began to scatter in all directions, creating a splendid sight.

Rudi watched in pure admiration, while Lady Trentia and Valenciaunos followed with their eyes to see from which building the chasing members of the necklace gang would pop out.

“Your Excellency, it’s over there.”

“Good. Let’s find out who the leader of those Infiltrator monsters is.”

* * *

There were no lights to be found in the slums, so the insides of the buildings were pitch-black.

However, neither Rudi, Valenciaunos, nor Lady Trentia was at a level where they could be tripped up by such darkness.

“Carefully cross over.”

“Yes, Valen.”

Valenciaunos stood before a window, having jumped from building to building through a makeshift building supported by planks.

Lady Trentia nodded once, and she leaped into the room beyond the window.

“Everyone kneel and lay down!”

There was a sound of breaking, something shattering and flying, and then silence fell.

“Your Excellency. You may come over now.”

Valenciaunos stepped over the window with Rudi to enter the room.

Inside the spacious room, a slight stench lingered, and several large men, emanating the aura of contamination, were rolling on the floor, while Lady Trentia was aiming her sword at what was likely the boss.

“Now, shall we see your face?”

Valenciaunos chanted an incantation to conjure flames.

“Eh?”

The face sitting in the chair was unexpected.

Long, wavy brown hair had a faint red aura about it, and almond-shaped eyes carried a sharpness uncharacteristic of a slum.

The girl, who had matured and become cunning in the months since, still bore a resemblance to the man she had stabbed.

Soon, she opened her mouth.

“Duke Valenciaunos, Your Excellency. It has been a while. May I get up with a crutch and greet you?”

She was the one-legged daughter of the leader of the knotted gang in the slum, who had received Urglim’s penpoint.