Chapter 195

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 195

“Ugh!”

The man trying to strip Eloy off was now clutching his groin, writhing on the ground. Blood stained his pants.

Eloy spat on the ground and muttered.

“What a filthy thing to pull out. And so small, too.”

“You, you—?”

“What? You little maggot! Just give up already.”

Crack!

Eloy easily neutralized his manhood.

A single punch from her knocked the man unconscious.

Leaving the limp body behind, she walked back to where Zeon was.

The situation there was already resolved.

The only intruder still standing was the leader, and his face was twisted with confusion and fear.

“How... how? The venom of the Four-Eyed Bat is supposed to completely paralyze the nervous system.”

“That would be true if we were caught off guard.”

“So you were prepared for it?”

“Wouldn’t it be more unusual to be completely defenseless in an unfamiliar place?”

Zeon asked, genuinely puzzled.

In this hellish world, the most dangerous creatures were not monsters but humans.

Only humans would deceive and kill their own kind.

From the moment they arrived, the atmosphere at Steel Fortress had been anything but welcoming. It would have been strange to let their guard down without any precautions.

Fortunately, they had Brielle’s antidote potion, which easily neutralized the nerve gas derived from the Four-Eyed Bat’s venom.

“Damn it! You bastards dare deceive me? I’ll kill you all!”

The leader screamed, unable to contain his rage.

In an instant, a dark energy swirled around him.

As he directed the dark energy towards Zeon and his group, he shouted.

“Fear, confusion, paralysis!”

“A curse.”

Zeon identified the dark energy immediately.

It was a manifestation of curses.

If struck by it, the curses would disrupt their minds and weaken their bodies.

Zeon raised a wall of sand around the man.

The curse dissipated upon contact with the sand wall.

“What the?”

“Mister, get some sleep.”

Levin stepped in, releasing a controlled electric current to the back of the man’s neck.

Zap!

With a spark, the man rolled his eyes back and passed out.

Levin had become proficient at adjusting the intensity of his electricity. It was easy for him to paralyze just the central nervous system.

Eloy looked at Zeon and asked.

“What are you going to do? They tried to kill us. Are you just going to let this slide?”

“I’m thinking.”

“What’s there to think about? We should find the ones who ordered this and deal with them.”

“And then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“Can you take responsibility for what comes next?”

“Responsibility? For what? We just need to deal with them.”

“There are two thousand people here.”

“What?”

“That’s how many people live here. Their lives are at stake.”

“Damn it!”

Eloy cursed, understanding the implication of Zeon’s words.

Zeon and his group were just passing through.

But those two thousand people had to continue living here.

If they recklessly killed Gawen and his men, the future of those two thousand people would be uncertain.

Interfering irresponsibly could drastically alter the lives of everyone in the fortress. Zeon wasn’t willing to do that without being able to shoulder the consequences.

Eloy sighed.

“Haah! Why does life really have to be complicated. Can’t it be simpler?”

“That’s the only way we survive.”

Duduyan answered without a hint of hesitation.

After failing to raid the Pegasus Raid Force, their food and water supplies had dwindled. If they didn’t find a solution soon, the families of the Red Storm would starve.

Duduyan caressed the hilt of her dagger.

“I’ll assassinate the leaders. You prepare the way for the boss to come in.”

“Okay!”

Aslan replied with a grin.

Duduyan vanished into the shadows, perfectly blending into the darkness like the Dark Elf she was.

Aslan wasn’t surprised; he had seen it many times before.

“Guess I should get moving too.”

Aslan’s role in the Red Storm was infiltration and information gathering.

His job was to provide Urthian with accurate information for sound decisions.

Usually, that was the extent of his role. But in special situations like this, he had to take risks too.

He strolled casually toward the entrance of Steel Fortress.

“Who’s there?”

“What’s that?”

The guards at the entrance raised their weapons at the sound of footsteps. Aslan spoke nonchalantly.

“It’s me.”

“Who?”

“You don’t recognize me? That’s disappointing.”

The guards squinted, trying to recall the voice.

The dim light and Aslan’s casual approach made it hard for them to consider him an intruder.

One of the guards tried to match the voice.

“Is that you, Oron?”

“Yeah! It’s me, Oron. Finally, you recognize me?”

Aslan effortlessly pretended to be Oron.

The guards fell for it completely.

“Oron, what brings you here at this hour? Your shift isn’t until tomorrow afternoon.”

“I needed to talk to you.”

“Talk to us?”

“Yeah, it’s about...”

Aslan trailed off as he approached the guards. The torchlight illuminated his face.

The guards’ eyes widened in shock.

“Wait, you’re not Oron!”

“Who are you?”

Thud!

Instead of answering, Aslan drew his dagger and slit the guards’ throats.

Thinking he was a comrade, they had let their guard down, and now they collapsed without even a scream.

Aslan sheathed his dagger and muttered.

“Sorry about this. But not really...”

He showed no remorse.

He took the torch and waved it vigorously. Below, someone responded by waving another torch.

The Red Storm was ready.

“Good!”

Aslan activated the mechanism to lower the basket.

Creak!

The pulley system lowered the basket.

Moments later, someone tugged the rope from below.

Aslan reversed the pulley to lift the basket back up.

In no time, the large basket was back, carrying Urthian and others.

Urthian stepped out and addressed Aslan.

“Good job. What’s the situation inside?”

“Duduyan is already preparing.”

“Excellent!”

Urthian grinned, his teeth gleaming menacingly in the torchlight.

Meanwhile, the basket continued to shuttle up and down, bringing more of the Red Storm into Steel Fortress.

In less than an hour, the entire Red Storm had infiltrated Steel Fortress. The fortress still hadn’t noticed the invasion.

Urthian commanded the Red Storm.

“Kill all the Awakeneds.”

[Translator – Peptobismol]