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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 260: Recapture (2)
***
The screams that had been going on for a long time suddenly stopped. It was the end of Cherrybell’s life.
Damien mercilessly grabbed Cherrybell’s soul. He crushed it and absorbed her memories.
“As expected, there’s a restriction in place.”
Just like the disciple he killed before, Cherrybell also had a restriction on her.
This meant that the Weapon Master was putting a lot of effort into creating the Demonic sword.
“That Demonic sword is valuable enough for this.”
Even Damien couldn’t help but be cautious. The reason he was so eager to quickly capture the Dwarven fortress was to prevent the completion of that Demonic sword.
Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. Kilo and the Dwarves were looking at Damien with disbelief.
It was understandable. A dark mage had just instantly defeated a Master Class knight.
“What are you standing around for? Go and bring the materials.”
Damien said gruffly. Only then did the Dwarves snap out of their daze.
“Oh, got it. We’ll take care of it from here.”
The Dwarves hurriedly headed towards the storage.
Damien sat down on a nearby rock. He then ordered a skeleton to bring him the Demonic sword that Cherrybell had used.
“Let’s see…”
Damien examined the two daggers closely.
“These are Demonic swords made by a Count-level demon. The demon seems to have the power to devour and absorb anything.”
The swords had no intelligence, but they were imbued with strong demonic powers.
They were fascinating, but not something Damien was interested in.
“Dominico.”
Damien called for Dominico. A black knight emerged from the shadows.
“Yes, my lord. You called?”
“Destroy this.”
Dominico immediately swung his greatsword. The aurablade shattered the Demonic swords into several pieces.
-Kyaaah!
-Keueeek!
As the Demonic swords were destroyed, demonic energy flowed out. Damien absorbed all of it.
Then, the fourth mark began to shine. Damien looked at the mark.
“It’s the Authority of Lust.”
The Authority of Lust could make any creature blindly follow him.
Insects, beasts, monsters, even humans.
In simple terms, it was a power that could brainwash anything.
“It’s a troublesome authority to awaken.”
The Authority of Lust was an incredibly tricky authority to handle.
It was easy to brainwash creatures with low intelligence, like animals and monsters, but it was difficult to brainwash highly intelligent beings, such as humans.
Nevertheless, it was undoubtedly a terrifying authority.
In his previous life, Damien had used this authority under the orders of Dorugo to brainwash captured high-ranking nobles, causing discord among humans and disbanding their armies.
While Damien was awakening his authority, the Dwarves had also finished their tasks.
“Victor! We’ve gathered everything!”
“I don’t see anything.”
Damien looked at the Dwarves with a puzzled expression.
They had looted such a large warehouse, but the Dwarves weren’t carrying anything.
“It’s all in there.”
Kilo pointed to some Dwarves who were carrying large leather bags over their shoulders.
“They’re bags made with the wisdom of our ancestors. They look small, but the inside is incredibly spacious.”
“A magical artifact with spatial expansion?”
“Hmph, don’t compare it to something like that! These are made with the mysteries of our ancestors!”
Kilo said in a displeased voice.
“Well, if you’ve got everything, we need to move again. Next, we need to reclaim the emergency forge, right?”
Damien said as he stood up. Kilo grabbed him.
“Wait! I have something to say first!”
Damien frowned, his displeasure radiating as a killing intent.
As the killing intent emanated from Damien, Kilo and the other Dwarves were terrified.
“Why are you getting angry again!”
“Don’t tell me you plan to back out of our cooperation now that you’ve got the materials?”
“What do you take us for!”
Kilo shouted in anger. Damien immediately retracted his killing intent.
“Is that so? My apologies.”
“Do you think just saying sorry is enough!”
“And what if it isn’t?”
Damien’s killing intent surged again. Kilo quickly closed his mouth.
“Then why did you call me?”
“…I wanted to say thank you.”
“I don’t think I’ve done anything worth thanking for.”
“You saved our kin.”
Kilo turned his gaze. There, Dwarves who had nearly become sacrifices to the Demonic sword were gathered.
“…Thank you, truly.”
Dwarves were known for their stubbornness. The Dwarves from the city of Hammerfell, where Kilo was from, were particularly so.
Here was a Dwarf from Hammerfell thanking Damien.
Damien felt a strange emotion.
“You’re saying unnecessary things.”
“What? A Dwarf bows his head in thanks and you…”
“Just tell me the location. Where is the next facility?”
“Leading you to the forge isn’t difficult. But…”
Kilo trailed off.
“You still don’t trust my abilities?”
“How could I not! I know you’re ridiculously strong! But the emergency forge is filled with security devices we created!”
Damien’s face lit up with interest.
“Security devices, you say?”
“Yes, the forge is filled with the equipment of our Hammerfell Dwarves! If an outsider gets in, our technology might be leaked.”
“Tell me more.”
Kilo proceeded to explain the emergency forge in detail.
The more Damien listened, the more he fell into deep thought. It was practically a small fortress.
“Indeed, it won’t be easy to breach.”
As Damien was pondering how to capture the forge, he heard a faint groan.
“…Ugh, ugh…”
One of Cherrybell’s subordinates, who was lying on the ground, made a sound. Despite having spikes protruding from his body, he had somehow survived. It was a testament to a knight’s resilience.
“My lord, I will take care of him.”
Dominico raised his greatsword. At that moment, an idea flashed in Damien’s mind.
“Wait, stop.”
Dominico immediately lowered his greatsword. Damien examined Cherrybell’s remaining subordinates.
Most of them were dead, but a few were still alive. Seeing them, Damien’s plan became clear.
“We can use these guys as the key.”
***
“I’m bored to death.”
Akio muttered as he watched the sunset.
Triang stood guard beside him, he clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“It’s your business if you’re bored, but don’t slack off like last time. You don’t want to get in trouble with Lord Salvador again.”
Akio paid no attention to Triang’s nagging.
“Lord Salvador is too much. Who would attack a castle this remote, making us guard it like this?”
The place they were guarding was deep within the Hukmak mountains, a location difficult to find.
Despite being built in such an isolated place, the castle was impressively large.
Most notably, it was constructed with the mysterious craftsmanship of the Dwarves, filled with all kinds of bizarre security devices.
Take the castle wall, for instance. Attempting to climb it would instantly cause it to burst into flames, without having to use any magic.
Even the Weapon Master’s forces would find it challenging to capture the castle without an insider’s help.
“This place is that important. I heard it’s full of Dwarven technology.”
“I know that. But who would come all the way here to steal it?”
“Don’t let your guard down. There’s information that the Dwarves have formed a resistance.”
“Even if they form a resistance, it’s not a big deal. Ugh, I’m so bored.”
“If you’re that bored, why don’t you play with those?”
Triang pointed to the spears set up against the castle wall. Something was tied to them.
Short stature. Muscular build. Faces covered with beards.
They were Dwarves.
They weren’t in a normal state. Their bodies were covered in wounds, looking like tattered rags.
“I’m tired of playing with them. I interrogated them too much.”
Akio shook his head.
Those Dwarves originally defended the castle.
When the castle fell, they were captured and served as toys to alleviate boredom under the guise of “interrogation.”
“And they’re too broken now. Look.”
Akio pulled out a knife and stabbed a Dwarf in the thigh. The Dwarf didn’t even flinch.
“They’ve been tormented so much, they’re as good as dead. They’ll probably actually die by tomorrow.”
Akio clicked his tongue in disappointment. Just then, he saw something in his line of sight.
Three men were approaching the castle wall.
“Hey, Akio! Are you keeping watch properly?”
One of them called out to Akio. Akio was delighted as he recognized the face and shouted back.
“Valentin! Franco! What are you guys doing here instead of being with Lady Cherrybell?”
“We came to see you.”
A smile spread across Akio’s face.
Valentin and Franco were Akio’s peers. They had come under the Weapon Master at the same time and learned swordsmanship together.
“Who’s the guy behind you?”
Behind Valentin and Franco was a man wearing a hooded robe. He looked suspicious, so Akio couldn’t help but be wary.
“This guy? I don’t know either.”
“What?”
“We caught him lurking around on our way here.”
“Then we should interrogate him right away.”
It had been a while since they had an interrogation.
A wicked smile appeared on Akio’s lips.
The guy Valentin brought looked very healthy. It was going to be fun for a while.
“Now let us in! How long do you plan to keep us standing out here?”
“Impatient, aren’t you? Just wait a bit!”
Akio operated a mechanism on top of the castle wall, and the gate began to lift.
“Triang, let’s go down.”
Akio descended to the gate with Triang.
Valentin and the other two walked inside.
“Looks like you guys had a tough time under Lady Cherrybell. Not that your ugly faces could get any worse…”
Valentin and Franco drew their longswords and stabbed Akio and Triang in the abdomen.
The two fell without a chance to scream. Valentin and Franco bowed to the man in the robe.
“It’s done, Lord Victor.”
The robed man, Damien Haksen, threw off his robe and spoke to Valentin and Franco.
“Well done. Now, both of you, kill yourselves.”
“Oh… you honor us with another command…!”
“We shall obey immediately!”
Valentin and Franco slit their own throats. Even as they died, their faces were filled with ecstasy.
This was the terrifying power of the Authority of Lust.
The Authority of Lust wasn’t just simple mind control. It made them follow any command with joyful hearts.
“You… you…!”
Akio was lying on the ground and shouted at Damien.
“What have you done to them?!”
“I just played with their minds a bit.”
Akio’s expression twisted with rage.
“You beast! Using such horrible methods!”
Damien walked over to Akio and kicked him in the stomach.
“Gah!”
Already pierced by a sword, Akio’s abdomen was already pierced by a sword and further damaged by the kick. He coughed up blood in agony.
“A beast? Of course. I came here to kill scum worse than beasts. Why should I act like a human?”
Damien turned away. Akio was dying anyway, so there was no need to pay him any more attention.
Damien walked further inside. Many dark knights still occupied the forge.
“Everyone, come out.”
Damien’s shadow began to ripple, and undeads emerged from within.
“Leave no one alive.”
Undeads spread out, letting out ghastly howls that sounded almost like cheers.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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