Chapter 159 – Control (1)
A dark corridor cloaked in silence.
Clank, clank—
A knight in blue armor strode through the center of the corridor. The servants who spotted him halted their tasks and hastily bowed in respect.
These were the servants of Etor Castle.
Their expressions were filled with fear as they watched the knight pass by. Once he disappeared from sight, they resud their cleaning in silence.
When they wrung out the cloth in the bucket, red-stained water dripped down. The corridor was still covered in traces of blood.
They had been scrubbing for two days, yet there was no sign of the work ending.
It was as if the entire castle had been drenched in blood.
Lyon stood before an ornate door.
It was the office of Viscount Tomzael, the master of Etor. Yet, no guards were stationed nearby.
Without seeking permission, Lyon opened the door and stepped inside.
His eyes were t with a lavishly decorated study, exuding an air of antiquity and splendor.
At the center of the study stood a young man, not Viscount Tomzael. His back was turned toward the window, gazing out into the dark night.
The dim flicker of candlelight barely illuminated his silhouette.
Kal Blazer, the Mad Butcher.
For so reason, he was the one occupying the master’s seat in Etor.
“My lord.”
Lyon’s call was t with no reaction.
Kal remained motionless, arms crossed, eyes shut as if lost in deep thought.
Only when Lyon called him again did he slowly turn around to face him. His gaunt face showed a trace of exhaustion.
“I don’t recall summoning you.”
“It has been two days.”
“Ti has passed that quickly?”
Clicking his tongue, Kal shifted his gaze back to the window before settling onto a plush sofa.
On the round table before him lay a map, covered with dense markings—evidence of prolonged deliberation.
“What about them?”
“They have not appeared.”
“They haven’t appeared…?”
Brushing back his disheveled black hair, Kal fixed his gaze on the Corun River drawn on the map.
[You filthy bastard. You thought you had cornered, didn’t you? Stay right there—I’m coming to kill you.]
Alex had sent that warning long ago.
From the battlefield to Etor, the journey was no more than three days.
More than enough ti to arrive.
“Was it another trick?”
In both their first and second exchanges, the enemy had made it seem like an imminent strike—yet, in the end, they had not shown themselves.
'Was this his own decision? Or is he rely a puppet moving under his orders?'
Alex Marcia.
Kal had taken minimal precautions against his provocation, but they had played a crucial role in the last battle.
The key decision had been excluding the elite shamans from the Korun River conflict.
“If they’ve fled…”
“No, it’s not a retreat. She is joining them.”
“You an Lily Base?”
Though Caspello had not ntioned Lily’s na in his final ssage before dying, he had given a description of the new enemy.
Moonlight that dispels the veil.
A massive beast cloaked in black fur.
Kal knew only one person who fit both descriptions—the Witch of Ordor Forest, Lily Base.
Her appearance had completely overturned the tide of battle.
“Why is she with Hunt?”
Even after taking control of Etor, even after Alex’s threats, Kal had hesitated to make a move.
And that hesitation stemd from Lily.
Lyon and Rengua.
If he lost the two of them as well, there would be no turning back.
Their opponent was Lily Base.
If Ordor Forest was truly tied to Hunt, then from Blyer’s perspective, this was an incredibly dangerous adversary to face.
To make matters worse, Beneta’s forces, bound by a blood pact, were also in play.
And at the center of it all was him.
From that mont on, Kal had spent countless sleepless nights analyzing the map.
"The losses are painful."
Jack and Howell were dead.
The Hound Troops had been annihilated.
Three-tenths of the shamanic nests had been wiped out.
It was the most severe loss he had suffered since his regression.
For the first ti, he had tasted bitter defeat.
So he revisited it. Again and again.
Kal acknowledged his enemy.
Right now, Tovarn was under his control.
“Where do you think they’ve gone?”
“There’s been no word from Beneta’s borders. Nor from Etor.”
Kal studied the map, then pointed to the Elletor fortress and the vast forest stretching beyond it, blocking the entire northern region of Tovarn.
“Have you investigated Ordor Forest?”
Since Lily was with them, the forest couldn’t be ruled out.
But what Kal truly wanted to confirm wasn’t their location.
It was the Thousand-Year Tree.
Lyon nodded and handed over a letter.
A Black Market request had been made under his orders to gather information on the Thousand-Year Tree.
[Ghost Forest – No anomalies detected.]
[Thousand-Year Tree – No anomalies detected.]
[No unusual movents from the witches.]
Closing the letter, Kal asked,
“The cost?”
“100,000 gold.”
“Then it must be true. And in exchange for selling Lily’s whereabouts, what did they get?”
“They received three Theramore.”
Theramore.
A forbidden arcane bomb, capable of compressing and detonating mana in an instant.
An artifact that couldn’t be bought with money.
Yet, they had traded three of them for information on Lily.
“They didn’t know she had left the forest.”
From the price paid, Kal discerned the truth.
Lily had left the forest.
For the mages, this was an extrely delicate matter.
Where Lily moved, the rest of the witches would follow.
‘I wanted to avoid getting tangled with the mages right now…’
Kal had one card to manipulate the mages.
And now was the perfect ti to play it.
How could he use this to regain the upper hand in Tovarn?
Just as he was deep in thought, a knock ca from outside.
Rengua entered, clutching a large staff.
As the master of Divine Fla, he had contributed the most to the capture of Etor.
And Kal had begun treating him with due respect.
Seeing this, Lyon bit his lip and quietly stepped back.
Unlike Rengua, even after receiving two ancient artifacts, he had failed to awaken his divine power.
Rengua bowed and spoke.
“I just received a communication. Blyer’s southern territories have fallen into the hands of hunters.”
“…Details.”
“Countless villages have been burned to the ground. The damage is worsening with every report.”
“And the people?”
“There are clear signs of mass abductions…”
Kal muttered under his breath.
“…Plundering.”
After a brief mont, he let out a dry chuckle.
“Was it all the work of the hunters? Any other traces?”
“We found none.”
“With the king of the mountain gone, the fox cubs run wild.”
The forces that once controlled the hunters had been wiped out.
The repercussions were spreading throughout the south.
But Kal called them fox cubs, not foxes.
“Soone is fanning the flas.”
“…Do you think it’s him?”
“No. He masquerades as a savior. Plundering doesn’t suit him.”
“Then who—?”
“Connect to the Black Market.”
“…Pardon? O-Of course.”
Rengua lowered his head and activated the communicator.
No matter how much stronger he had beco, sothing about his lord’s presence made him uneasy.
It had started ever since they raided Tomzael’s treasury.
Since acquiring the Mantle of the Dragon Fang…
Had Kal gained another artifact?
And then, the Black Market responded.
Kal’s cold, dry gaze made Rengua lower his head as he took out the communicator.
Though he had beco the Master of Divine Fla, obtaining incomparable power compared to before, his confidence always seed to wane in front of his lord.
It likely started after they raided Viscount Tomzael’s treasury. Ever since Kal had acquired the Mantle of the Dragon Fang, Rengua suspected he might have obtained yet another artifact.
A mont later, the communicator glowed red, and an eerie, genderless voice erged.
[What is it?]
[It’s the Lord of Blyer.]
[It’s not our scheduled day for contact. What brings you to us first?]
[You dare lay hands on my property? Do you take for a fool?]
[…I don’t know what you an.]
[The south, the hunters, the slaves.]
[The Black Market has no involvent in this.]
[You’re lying. Then let’s consider the 'passage' deal void.]
A brief silence followed.
Then, with a flash of light, a different voice erged.
It was still eerie, but Kal could tell from the tone and cadence that it was a woman.
[This is the branch director. The hunters stationed in the south have been wiped out. There are no slaves. This matter has nothing to do with us.]
They cut off the tail.
[Wiped out? Who did it?]
[Lochter Felice.]
[…Lochter?]
[Stories of Lochter’s heroics are spreading everywhere. You’ve been away from your domain for too long, yet you remain in Etor.]
[What are you implying? Etor?]
[The Black Market’s eyes are everywhere people exist. A castle drenched in blood, Viscount Tomzael, the knight commander, and the missing knights… Shall I continue?]
[Who else knows about this?]
[Who can say? But how quickly the news spreads among the nobles is entirely up to .]
Kal fell silent.
After a brief mont of deep thought, he slowly spoke.
[I’ve obtained the information I need, so I’ll let this incident slide. But if you cross again, your rights to the 'mine passage' will be revoked. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you smuggling goods through it?]
[…]
[Keep your hands off my property.]
Kal severed the connection and rose from his seat.
"Hunt wasn't after . They were after Blyer."
“…What do you an?”
"All of Hunt is in Blyer."
They had struck at the most vulnerable spot.
Who would have thought they’d crawl back into the very place they had once escaped from?
"Stories of Lochter’s heroics are spreading…?"
The more Lochter Felice’s influence grew, the more Blyer would fracture.
This was a calculated move to incite division.
If Lochter actively shook Blyer’s foundations, the damage would only snowball over ti.
And right now, Blyer was defenseless.
They had to act quickly.
“Rengua, how is the brainwashing process coming along?”
“We’re in the final stages.”
“What if we imprint the subjugation sigil now?”
“…It should be possible.”
“We’re heading to the prison.”
Kal rose, gathering his belongings.
A black cloak with a faint shimring glow—the Mantle of the Dragon Fang.
The mont he draped it over his shoulders, the air around him grew heavier.
A black sapphire ring.
The Ring of Subjugation, obtained in Etor, was an artifact that only Kal could wield.
And then—
Wuuuuung—
The mont he slipped the ring on, a geotric pattern on his wrist began to glow brilliantly.
Rengua and Lyon, srized by the sight, couldn’t help but let out gasps of admiration.
Kal studied the pattern on his wrist alongside the ring.
The Sigil of Enchantnt.
An ancient sigil of the mind, capable of manipulating a person’s psyche through gaze, voice, and movent.
Through trials, Kal had been recognized as the sigil’s rightful master.
The Black Market had given him two artifacts in exchange for the mine passage deal.
One of them was this very sigil.
“There's still much to take from them. It’s too early to turn them into enemies.”
Every ti Kal looked at the sigil, he reminded himself—he had to avoid outright hostility with the Black Market.
Before leaving, Kal turned back to the map.
After long deliberation, he had devised a thod to reclaim control.
First, he reviewed his Divine Titles.
- [Kal Blazer – The Greedy Lord Who Walks Two Paths (Ti)]
- [Charisma Beyond Control]
- [Insight that Pierces the Soul]
- [Mind Domination (Enchantnt)]
- [Subjugation Authority]
This was the foundation of his first move.
"We go to secure our forces."
Kal stepped forward.
Lyon and Rengua followed behind him, bowing their heads in respect.
The most critical thing at this mont was to amass overwhelming power to crush Hunt.
Kal’s plan was simple: seize control of Etor’s core forces first.
And from there, one by one—
Expand his dominion through subjugation.
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