Chapter 155: Hero Lochter Felice (4)
Knock, knock, knock—
I was in the middle of a conversation with Karl about our next course of action when a knock sounded at the door.
Elton stepped inside.
He was the one we had been waiting for. I stopped talking and turned my full attention to him.
"Did you get the map?"
"I got it from the village chief."
"We owe him another favor, huh?"
"He said we’re welco to ask for anything we need."
It seed Elton had chosen this village well.
He pushed aside the cluttered dishes from the table and spread out the map before us.
A detailed map of Blyer’s territory.
I had been worried that a small village like this wouldn’t have one, but from the start, things were looking promising.
I glanced at Elton with anticipation.
After dinner, he had approached , saying he had important information regarding Blyer.
To be honest, I was more interested in what Elton had to say than in the map itself.
"So, where did you get this intel?"
"I infiltrated the hunter groups that approached the village and gathered information."
"Both groups?"
Elton nodded, and I gave him a thumbs-up.
In the story, these n had once been villains—working as Karl’s subordinates, carrying out massacres in the Butcher’s shadow. No matter where they went, they delivered results.
Now that they were allies, I couldn’t be more reassured.
"When did the hunters appear in the village?"
"Three days ago and again yesterday. The first attack happened on the day I arrived."
"...Three days ago?"
"Yeah. It was so sudden that it nearly escalated into a battle."
"Three days is too fast, isn't it? That’s barely enough ti for the hunters to regroup after scattering."
I nodded at Karl’s words.
Three days ago, I had still been recovering from the backlash of Burst Strike.
The Land of the Dead had just ford, and not much ti had passed since the battle ended.
Yet sohow, the hunters had already reorganized and begun raiding villages all the way up here?
Even if information about Blyer had spread among the hunters, their movents were unbelievably fast.
It wasn’t just reckless—it should have been impossible.
Sothing wasn’t adding up.
Then, Elton put the missing piece of the puzzle in place.
"What if the Black Market was supplying the hunters with information and directing their movents?"
"The Black Market?"
That was a na I hadn’t expected to hear.
"While infiltrating both groups, I overheard the na of a hunter who seed to be acting under orders from the Black Market."
"Do you know his na?"
"Draka."
"...Draka."
"Seems like this Draka convinced the hunters that they’d make a fortune if they followed his lead. They all acted according to his word."
"..."
I mulled over the na for a mont before shaking my head.
Draka was an unfamiliar na.
If I didn’t recognize him, it ant he wasn’t a major character in the novel.
A minor figure—nowhere near the level of Jack or Howell.
He wasn’t worth focusing on.
What was worth focusing on, however, was the Black Market’s involvent.
‘The Black Market doesn’t enter the story until Chapter II…’
And yet, here they were—scheming in the Butcher’s territory.
I didn’t know the nature of their current relationship, but in the future, the Butcher and the Black Market would form a secret pact.
That ant they were already developing a cooperative relationship.
‘Things are getting more complicated…’
First, the Witch, Lily.
Then, Arcane, the Prophet of Fate.
And now, the Black Market.
The events of Chapter I and Chapter II were starting to blur together.
That was not a good sign.
It ant the novel’s tiline was accelerating.
Still, if I set that aside, this information was incredibly valuable.
"At least the situation isn’t completely bad."
"What? The Black Market getting involved is bad news! You do not want to get tangled up with them."
"We won’t. Because we’ll end this before they can interfere. Elton, was Draka present in either of the groups you infiltrated?"
"No. He wasn’t with either of them."
"Then he must be in the third group."
From the testimonies of captured hunters and rescued villagers, I had determined that the hunters were operating in three separate groups.
If Draka wasn’t in the first two, then he had to be leading the third.
Soone deeply tied to the Black Market.
"Or… he might even be a mber of the Black Market."
We needed to take him down before he made contact with them.
Using the map, Elton predicted the routes of the two known hunter groups.
Since their final destination was Wailing Hill, pinpointing the location of the third group wasn’t difficult.
Once we identified where Draka’s group was likely stationed—
"If Elton hadn’t been here, we would’ve been in serious trouble," Karl muttered in relief.
I agreed wholeheartedly.
Without Elton’s intel, we wouldn’t have found a strategy this quickly.
Today had been a powerful reminder of the importance of information.
I took a red pen and drew three attack routes on the map.
"Our battle plan is set."
However, before launching the attack, there was one critical piece of information we needed—
Kal Blazer’s movents.
Pointing to the Beneta border, I asked Elton,
"Have you heard anything about the Blyer army?"
"They're still stationed at the border. No major movents."
"What about the Lord of Blyer?"
"His sudden absence is widely known among the hunters, but no one knows his exact location."
The Butcher was currently near Etor.
If Fenry hadn’t tracked him with the enchanted necklace, we wouldn’t have even known that.
That ant he was moving with extre secrecy.
What was his real reason for leading his forces to Etor?
Blyer was falling into chaos, yet he still hadn’t returned.
‘And the army still isn’t moving?’
If they had suddenly mobilized toward Etor, I would have assud the complete downfall of the region.
At the mont, I saw two possibilities.
If a small force had gained enough power to completely devour Etor’s territory…
Viscount Tomzael was one of Tobaron’s Three Great Military Powers.
And yet, if the worst-case scenario beca reality, it would be a disaster for .
What were the chances of things unfolding that way?
‘Can I ignore it… when he is by Kal’s side?’
Arcane, the Prophet of Fate.
The one who had empowered Kal’s reckless actions, making his movents impossible to predict.
‘If I consider the second possibility…’
I fell into deep thought.
Elton started to call my na, but Karl stopped him with a shake of his head.
A silent signal—don’t interrupt him.
After a mont, I spoke.
Now that I had sorted out my thoughts, I knew what needed to be done.
First, we had to eliminate the hunters.
"We’ll split into three teams."
I quickly wrote down the team mbers on the map.
Karl frowned at the nas.
" and Lochter? Just the two of us?"
"That’ll be enough. They might have numbers, but they’re a disorganized ss."
"But what if they take hostages—"
"We can’t save everyone. I’ll make sure Lochter understands that."
"So my squad moves alone?" Elton asked, looking at the second route.
I nodded.
Elton’s nine-man team could easily annihilate an entire hunter group.
The biggest concern was the third route.
The one where Draka was.
I didn’t know how strong he was, but if he was orchestrating this operation, he had to be at least 4-star—possibly 5-star at worst.
I pointed at Draka’s route and looked at both of them.
"I’ll take this one."
"Will you be okay?"
"I won’t be alone."
"That’s exactly why I’m worried."
My team consisted of just two mbers.
Lily Base and Keros.
Karl sighed at my choices, but I simply smirked and nodded.
Now that the attack routes and teams were set, the rest of the plan ca together quickly.
I explained to Elton what to do after dealing with the hunters.
He didn’t yet know about my plan to turn Lochter into a hero.
"Wait, then what about ?"
"What about you, Karl?"
"I’m paired with Lochter, right? If I try to do what Elton’s doing, Lochter will literally kill ."
"You don’t have to do anything. Just send the rescued people to Blyer."
"...What?"
"Only Elton’s team and mine need to handle the hero-making. Hundreds of people have already been sent to Blyer."
Within a few days, rumors about Lochter would start spreading naturally.
The spark had already been lit.
And there were plenty of people to fan the flas.
We didn’t need to stage another performance with the ones Lochter rescued.
The operation would begin at dawn and finish by the next morning.
With the plan solidified, exhaustion hit all at once.
A few hours of sleep would be perfect before we left.
But there was one person I hadn’t seen all day.
"Where’s Lochter?"
"In the forest, probably."
"He’s still training?"
I had read about Lochter’s extre training habits in the novel.
But reading and witnessing it firsthand were completely different things.
We had traveled nonstop, fought battles, and even skipped als.
And he was still training?
When did he even plan to eat?
Thank god Reto was asleep.
If he saw Lochter’s training, he’d probably get inspired—which would make my life miserable.
"Maybe learning about his Divine Na made him even more obsessed with training?"
"…His Divine Na?"
"Yeah. His is… a little ‘special.’ That’s why I’m worried."
Karl’s concern made sense.
Lochter’s Divine Na was different from other awakened warriors.
[Lochter Felice – The Knight of Betrayal (None)]
[Master of the Sword]
[Fundantal Mastery]
[Unyielding Will]
No affinity.
No talent.
His Divine Na brutally confird it.
There wasn’t a single gifted ability—only the skills he had painstakingly earned through decades of blood, sweat, and tears.
"That’s not the issue."
"But now he knows he’s talentless."
Yet when Lochter first saw his Divine Na, his expression didn’t change.
He remained eerily calm.
As if he had already expected it.
"If anything… he looked relieved."
It was probably proof to him that he had never been wrong about his path.
Because that was the kind of man he was.
Karl left with Elton to join the rest of his squad.
He probably wanted to catch up and share what they had all been through.
"You don’t have to worry about explaining the plan to them. Just go check on Lochter."
"Alright, I’ll leave it to you."
Karl waved off and disappeared with Elton.
Left alone in the room, I pondered for a mont before heading out to find the village chief.
I asked to borrow the kitchen.
Soon after, I walked out carrying a large basket.
One modern recipe had sohow made its way into this world—sandwiches.
The lack of seasonings was disappointing, but by mixing in local ingredients, I managed to replicate the flavor.
Basket in hand, I made my way to the forest where Lochter had disappeared.
The bright moonlight illuminated the woods, making it easy to see.
Wooong— Wooong—
The sound of the wind humd through the silent forest.
Following the sound, I soon spotted Lochter training in a clearing.
His entire body was drenched in sweat.
How long had he been swinging his sword in that sa stance?
He moved like a machine.
I didn’t want to interrupt his training, but it was about ti to head back to the village.
Just as I was about to call out to him—
"Huh?"
I noticed a shadow at my feet.
A woman’s silhouette.
Looking up, I spotted Lily sitting on a tree branch, lazily swinging her legs as she gazed at the moon.
What was she doing here?
Not that it mattered.
This was perfect.
There were a lot of things I wanted to ask her.
"Hey."
Hearing my voice, Lily looked down at .
I smirked and lifted the basket.
"Want so food from a ‘hidden gem’ restaurant?"
This—I was confident in.
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