Chapter 61

Surprise Attack (1)

Veneron viscounty, the domain closest to Whitewolf county.

A viscount was a middle manager, not the one ultimately in charge. Even the territories called viscounties were regions a count had designated at his own discretion.

Then, for some reason, the count would suddenly die, or fail to leave an heir. Whatever the reason, once the county no longer had a count, the viscounts simply swallowed up the land they had been allotted. Those were the territories known today as “viscounties.”

Veneron viscounty was no exception. From what I had heard, Count Edmond had died in some sort of accident a few years ago.

So far, there was nothing implausible about that. It was uncommon, but it happened from time to time. After all, almost every viscounty and barony in the kingdom had been created that way.

But that “accident”...

I had my memories as Chief of Covert Operations in the special warfare unit—memories of my previous life, and information from the future. But that information had all been gathered after the war broke out, during my time in the allied army.

In other words, I had little detailed information about events fifteen years earlier, the point in the past I had returned to. So although I couldn't know exactly what that accident had been...

'Did Avarus kill Count Edmond?'

What if Avarus had been involved? In other words, what if the Dark Merchant Company had orchestrated all of this?

The title of count was bestowed directly by the monarch. As such, for high nobles of the rank of count or above, passing the title to someone other than the eldest legitimate son or daughter required the royal family's approval under a royal decree.

That was why I retained my authority as the eldest legitimate son until the royal court recognized my father's will.

Therefore—

'Taking over the title of count would have been difficult.'

The royal court would be directly involved. Even replacing Count Edmond with a homunculus had its limits. Not even a replica-type homunculus inherited the original's complete memories. They couldn't have fooled both the royal court and all the count's vassals.

But a viscount was comparatively easy. They only needed to fool Count Edmond—or eliminate him.

Assuming all my suspicions were correct, the pieces were beginning to fall roughly into place...

Back then—in my previous life, when I had run away from my family—the lycanthrope would have attacked the county with its legion as well. But I hadn't been there, and Kai wouldn't have grown nearly as much as he had now.

In the end, Seraphia would have used her Authority of bitter cold. She could wipe out the entire legion by herself, but ultimately, she would fall ill.

'The lycanthrope would have been too scared to attack again.'

The creature had been too frightened to show itself even after my Dragon Rage Explosion[E]. How much worse would the Authority displayed by the Sovereign of Bitter Cold have been? It probably would have pissed itself and never gone anywhere near the county again.

This time, however, Seraphia hadn't used her Authority then. Unlike in my previous life, I had stayed in the county. My presence had changed things: I had laid out “bait and a trap,” and the lycanthrope had walked straight into it.

The process had changed. But the result was the same. One way or another, Seraphia had used her Authority, and she had fallen ill in the end.

And so, just as in my previous life, Viscount Veneron had approached Seraphia, claiming to possess an “elixir” that could cure her.

And in my previous life, she probably—

'Accepted the marriage proposal.'

As for the result, the failure penalty of the Sudden Quest that had appeared this time told me everything.

==[A Surprise Attack Is Supposed to Be Sudden!] ==

[Objective] - Assassinate Viscount Veneron

[Reward] - A large amount of experience

[Upon Failure] - Awakening of the <Sovereign of Bitter Cold>

The awakening of the Sovereign of Bitter Cold. That was how Seraphia had awakened as the Sovereign of Bitter Cold in my previous life.

Which raised one question.

'Did Avarus know what Seraphia's Authority was?'

Had Avarus approached Seraphia deliberately to turn her into the Sovereign of Bitter Cold? Or had he been drawn by her beauty and discovered it by chance?

Avarus was one of the Dark Merchant Company's leaders, and a Devotee of the Fallen Souls who worshipped the Sovereign of the Abyss.

If all this was Avarus's scheme, and the Dark Merchant Company was behind it...

'Did the Emperor already know about Seraphia at this point?'

Had the Emperor instigated this? Was only the Dark Merchant Company involved? Or was Avarus acting alone?

'I'll have to beat the answers out of Avarus.'

It seemed that was the only way I would find out.

'I can't do this alone.'

With my current combat strength, taking on Avarus would be difficult. I would be the one getting beaten.

But there was Kai, following me at a blistering pace. Even though I was using Metabolic Overdrive[U], he was keeping up without difficulty.

My presence had changed things, pushing his growth beyond what it had been in my previous life. Just as I was surpassing the Predator I had once been, Kai was surpassing the Legion Commander of Bitter Cold.

As an enemy, I had hated him more than anything.

'To think I'd end up carrying out an operation with that lunatic.'

As an ally, though, he couldn't have been more reassuring.

* * *

The northern continent was broadly divided into three regions: the snowy mountains, the snowfields, and the tundra. Veneron viscounty lay in the tundra. Unlike our county, which sat on the boundary between the snowy mountains and the snowfields, it enjoyed a comparatively mild climate.

But that was only in comparison to our county. Its climate wasn't truly mild. Especially now, with the season of bitter cold approaching, the viscounty I looked down on from the mountain was blanketed in thick snow and ice.

It was a cold night beneath a full moon. Moonlight quietly illuminated every corner of the viscounty's town.

Focusing my eyes, I could see residents standing in the alleys or slowly wandering about. Yet there was no sense of emotion or purpose in their movements.

At first glance, they appeared to be working. A closer look revealed them carrying on with incomprehensible actions, leaving broken carts and tools as they were. They moved simultaneously, at exactly the same speed and rhythm, as though under a spell.

I activated Predatory Instincts[S].

'They're all homunculi.'

Information appeared identifying every person in sight as a homunculus.

In other words, Avarus had turned the entire population of Veneron viscounty into homunculi. Calling him a madman didn't even begin to cover it.

Just then, Kai cautiously moved closer and asked, "What is our next move?"

Somehow, his breathing hadn't even quickened. Looking closely, I couldn't find a single drop of sweat on his face. I really couldn't help wondering if he was a lich.

But Predatory Instincts[S] classified Kai as Animal Kingdom, Mammal Class, Hominid Family, Human. In other words, he was definitely human.

Anyway, now that we knew the whole viscounty was populated by homunculi...

"We sneak into the manor and assassinate Viscount Veneron."

Assassination was the quest objective anyway.

Kai gave a small nod, apparently having no particular objections. The two of us cautiously made our way toward the manor towering over the viscounty's highest point.

* * *

Built from sturdy timber and stone, the manor looked like a fortress up close.

As we continued moving with our faces masked, keeping ourselves hidden in the darkness...

'This takes me back.'

Memories of my time in the special task force came flooding back.

The special task force I had belonged to was a special operations force under the allied army's Operations Command, as well as a unit reporting directly to Supreme Commander Ian. We acted only on his orders, handling various conflicts that couldn't be classified as formal wars and conducting unconventional military operations.

Our specialties included searches, special reconnaissance, assassination and abduction of key figures, direct strikes, hostage rescue, terror attacks on critical facilities, disruption, and other special operations for the allied army. Because our work demanded both exceptional stealth and expertise, the special task force consisted of only a small, elite group.

That made our camaraderie stronger than that of other units.

Family.

It was a difficult word for me, but the members of the special task force were people I could call family.

And as I gazed at the bright full moon overhead, one memory suddenly came to mind.

["Chief! Let's come up with a motto too!"]

["A motto?"]

["We're the only ones without one. Operations Command, Magic Command, Divine Command, Engineering Command, Supply Command—they all have mottos."]

["Those commands are led by heroes, aren't they?"]

["Why shouldn't our special task force have one too?"]

["Exactly!"]

["You're our hero, Chief!"]

These flatterers, honestly.

["Does a motto matter that much?"]

["It does!"]

["Then let's hear your suggestions, one at a time."]

["We are the blades in the darkness. How's that?"]

["Rejected."]

["Then what about the unseen wolves in the brush? You said you came from wolves, Chief."]

["I didn't come from wolves. I came from a house with 'wolf' in its name. Do I look like a lycanthrope?"]

["Same difference."]

["It's rejected either way. Besides, I cut ties with my family over ten years ago."]

["You're heartless."]

["The special task force is supposed to be heartless."]

["You're too cold."]

["I'm a person, not an ice cube."]

["Boo! That was fucking lame!"]

["Boo! He's heartless and can't even tell a joke!"]

["Shut up."]

["Boo! And now he's getting violent!"]

["Then how about this, Chief! When silent wings take flight amid the shadows of a lightless dawn, a glorious daybreak shall—"]

["Also rejected. Enough. Stop spouting nonsense and focus on train—"]

["Come on, why not make one?"]

["... Ian."]

["Loyalty!"]

["Loyalty!"]

["A motto isn't just a phrase. It boosts soldiers' morale and cohesion, and encourages swift, consistent action in a crisis."]

["..."]

["There's a reason each command has one."]

["That's our Supreme Commander! He knows what he's talking about!"]

In the end, I gave in to Ian's pestering and had no choice but to come up with a motto for the special task force. After tossing around plenty of suggestions, we finally agreed on—

"We hide in the moonlight and walk beneath the stars."

Just as fighting in the mud meant getting muddy, the special task force did things we couldn't proudly admit to, but our purpose always pointed toward the light. That was what it meant.

Well, that was all in the past now.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

When I brushed it off, Kai gave me a meaningful look. But only for a moment.

"It looks difficult to infiltrate the manor."

Security around the manor was certainly tight. People with something to hide usually had heavy security, but this went beyond that.

Worse, every guard was a combat-type homunculus. Killing machines that didn't even need sleep. I could see no way to slip into the manor without being spotted.

Except one.

"I believe we'll have to enter through the garderobe."

We could use the structure known as a garderobe.

Put simply, a garderobe was a private toilet for nobles. It was built as a separate projection from the outer wall, allowing excrement and urine to fall freely outside.

The opening inside was wide enough for a person to pass through. I had infiltrated places through garderobes quite a few times during my special task force days myself.

But that was truly a miserable experience. The falling waste left every wall smeared with shit, and the inside teemed with maggots and stank so badly you could die of an infection before you finished climbing it.

'Hmm.'

I looked up. The full moon high in the sky was quite bright. Moonlight draped the manor like a silver curtain. Our special task force motto said I should hide in that moonlight, but...

... Ah, fuck it.

I leaped up and kicked the manor's front gate with all my might.

CRASH!

"Hey! Avarus! Get your ass out here right now!"

* * *

The manor's front gate shattered with a deafening crash. Kai's mind went blank. It took him quite some time to process what had happened.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

Was he genuinely insane?

"Didn't you say this was a mission to assassinate Viscount Veneron?!"

"That's what I'm doing."

"How the hell is this an assassina—!"

"Didn't you know?"

Adrian sharpened his nails into claws.

"It's an assassination as long as there are no witnesses."

... Kai was struck speechless. There really was nothing he could say.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

An alarm bell rang out, announcing the intruders. Soldiers and knights came pouring out from inside and around the manor in an instant.

Of course they did. It would have been stranger if they hadn't.

As Kai stood rooted to the spot, looking dazed and utterly lost, Adrian was already charging at the soldiers and knights.

"Oh, just so you know. None of these things are human."

And what was he supposed to do with that information? What did that have to do with kicking down the front gate?

SPLURT!

Scarlet blood stained the darkness. The moment a guard's last breath stopped, Adrian's eyes flashed, and he moved again.

As though wearing the moonlight like a cloak, Adrian slipped through the shadows, evading enemy attacks and darting into openings to take down guards with his sharp claws.

Only silence and the smell of blood remained in his wake.

... Kai didn't know anymore.

He slowly drew his sword. Steadying his breathing, he honed the blade with aura, making it as sharp as a wolf's fangs.

Wolf's Swordsmanship. First Form.

Dance of Fangs.

Kai's blue fangs tore into the manor's soldiers.