Chapter 156
"What was the secret mission you received?"
Godhand had mentioned that he received a secret mission before being dispatched here.
What was that secret mission and who gave it?
I had to find out.
"Yes, Your Highness. I will tell you everything."
Godhand shared the details of the secret mission he received from his superiors just before he was sent to the southern front from his incarceration as a convict.
"Indeed."
It was nothing remarkable. Melt into the southern front lines. Observe the movements on the front and report anything unusual. Cooperate closely with the pontiff and carry out espionage.
"And there was one last order."
"What was that?"
"That... I didnt quite understand it myself."
Godhand, watching my reaction, cautiously let the words out.
"To keep an eye on Aider, the aide-de-camp of the province lord..."
"...?"
Suddenly, a most unexpected story had me frozen in place.
Why Aider? Why? Not me?
Could it be...
Did they know... that Aider is someone connected with the system of this world?
I quickly asked more.
"Who gave this order?"
"It was the second prince, His Highness Fernandez."
Indeed, it was the accomplished one.
I narrowed my eyes. As my brother had said, it seemed I would soon need to have a face-to-face chat. We both seem to have quite a bit to discuss.
"I apologize for not telling you this earlier. I am truly sorry, Your Highness..."
Godhand murmured, his head almost touching the floor in apology. I clicked my tongue quietly.
"If youre sorry, stop banging your head and show it in your future actions."
"Of course, Your Highness! What should we do? How should we proceed?"
I simply answered Godhand, who was asking desperately.
"Be my spy."
"...!"
To the startled Godhand, I gave a thin smile.
"You know what I mean, dont you? From now on, youll have to be a double agent for me."
Just a while ago, Margarita said this in communication with Central.
- I have been exposed. I am sorry.
In other words, only she was caught.
In other words, she subtly hinted that Godhands intelligence line had not been exposed. Of course, this was at my instruction.
Central will determine that Margarita has been exposed, but Godhand has not been discovered yet.
And they would try to use Godhand, the only remaining intelligence line in this southern front, by any means possible.
I planned to exploit this and make Godhand a double agent.
"Take separate contact with Central through your communication network. Tell them that you have not yet been discovered by Prince Ash."
"..."
"From now on, report to me every task that Central orders you to do, and deceive Central as I command. Can you do that?"
"Of course, Your Highness."
Godhand did not hesitate.
"I will do it. Upon the honor of our race."
I smiled lightly at Godhand, who nodded heavily.
Well, it wont be that easy.
The opponent is the imperial secret force, directly under the royal family. Moreover, it is an intelligence unit led by the chief administrative officer.
Now that Margarita has been exposed, its natural to suspect the existence of Godhands intelligence line.
From now on, Godhand will be incessantly questioned whether he is a traitor or not, from the royal family and from this front line as well.
I was even planning to transfer Aiders surveillance to Godhand immediately.
And if there was any sign that he would betray me and harm the southern front, I planned to use the leash I received at first to eliminate them.
Well, thats the fate of an undercover agent.
Besides, I could also dig up a lot of information from Godhand, such as the intelligence system of the Aegis special forces and information about Central.
Godhand, as if wanting to prove that he was completely on my side, revealed all the information he knew, not even sparing those I didnt ask for.
After digging up all the information I could, I nodded at the three Shadow Squad members around me.
"Lastly, I have one more task for you."
I murmured heavily to the three who were watching me with focused faces.Cheêck out latest novels at novelhall.com
"Its something only the three of you can do, but it requires all three of you to risk your lives."
***
"Yes, definitely."
"Damn, seeing this vampire bastard lying in a coffin, I cant tell if hes dead or just sleeping."
Bang!
Kellibey, having sealed the coffin, lifted it up with a grunt. I asked out of sheer curiosity,
"What are you going to do with that?"
"Do what? Its not like Ive got some morbid hobby of playing with corpses. Theres nothing useful to extract from a vampires body."
With the coffin in hand, Kellibey approached a large furnace.
"Have to burn it."
When he blew air into the furnace with a bellows, the flames inside grew fiercer. The magical blue flames in the furnace belched out intense heat.
Kellibey put Celendions coffin in front of the furnace and sprinkled shimmering silver dust over it.
It seemed to be fragments and dust left over from making holy weapons.
"Ha!"
After he finished scattering the silver dust, Kellibey shoved the coffin into the furnace with both hands.
Whoosh!
The coffin, drawn into the flames, was consumed in an instant.
"Look, brothers. The damn vampire lord who sucked your lives is no more."
Kellibeys voice croaked out in a hoarse whisper.
"Now free from his curse, fly far away with peace of mind, far, far away..."
I watched the blacksmith conducting a soul-soothing ritual for his brothers from a distance.
"Whew! Thats a relief."
It wasnt until the coffin had completely burnt that Kellibey turned around. To him, wiping his face with a towel, I asked cautiously,
"Are you crying?"
"Damn! Its the heat, you twerp. Cant you see how hot that fire is?"
Kellibey, his eyes still red-rimmed, threw the towel aside irritably and slapped the table in front of him with his big hand.
"Stop teasing the old man! Lets take a look at the loot weve got this time."
I had come to him intending to commission him to make equipment from that loot.
I placed three Magic Power Cores, each emanating a red glow, on the table one after the other.
All three were emitting a terrifyingly vivid light, but one in particular was pulsating with an extraordinary crimson glow.
From the last battle, we had obtained seven SR-grade Magic Power Cores and three SSR-grade Magic Power Cores.
Here were the three SSR-grade cores: the Vampire General Magic Power Core from Alpha and Beta, and the Vampire Lord Magic Power Core from Celendion.
"Monstrous beasts. Spitting out such formidable Magic Power Cores after centuries of consumption."
Kellibey, who had examined the three Magic Power Cores in turn, clicked his tongue after inspecting the Vampire Lord Magic Power Core, which was emitting a particularly ominous crimson glow.
"Its the essence of Celendion. With this, we can make a Nightmare Slayer!"
"Nightmare Slayer?"
I remember Celendion saying something like that.
"What exactly is a Nightmare Slayer?"
At my question, Kellibey chuckled, pulling at his beard.
"What do you call a weapon or a person that kills dragons?"
"Um, Dragon Slayer...right?"
"Right. So, what if we switch the target from a dragon to a Nightmare Legion Commander?"
Ah, indeed.
"So, if we create a weapon with a Magic Power Core from a monster at the level of a legion commander, that would be a Nightmare Slayer."
"Right. And these weapons possess powers that are far beyond ordinary equipment."
In the game, it was just a slightly better boss weapon. But here, it was distinguished enough to warrant such a grandiose name.
Definitely, the magic gun Black Queen does have a rather insane performance.
So, I can prepare another piece of equipment at the level of Black Queen? This is really awesome.
While I was thinking, Kellibey added,
"Though, it also harbors a darkness befitting its power."
"Darkness...?"
At my question, Kellibeys brows furrowed.
"What, your sniper friend has been wielding a Nightmare Slayer and you didnt even know what it does?"
"Excuse me?"
"The more you kill with a Nightmare Slayer, the more the nightmare within the weapon awakens."
I felt a chill down my spine.
I asked hesitantly,
"And what happens when it awakens?"
"Well, that depends on the nightmare. It might lend you its power obediently, or it might..."
Kellibey shrugged, grinning mischievously.
"Swallow the user whole."