How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 229

Chapter 229 – The Choice

[That sharp tongue of yours is as crude as ever.]

“Well, if you want nice words, try doing sothing worth hearing them for.”

[Should I rip out that tongue of yours first, or should I listen to what you have to say? How did you find out about my spy?]

“Indifference is a choice too, you know. You were a little too uninvolved for soone in your position.”

The Anti-Kal Alliance had barely been around for a month, and already its forces had swelled to ten thousand.

If I were Kal, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night.

It would have been natural for him to crush the threat before it could grow, yet Kal had shown no reaction at all.

‘He must have been confident he could handle it.’

While part of Blyer’s forces had defected to the Alliance, Kal hadn’t bothered to stop them.

Instead, he had used the opportunity to plant his spies within the Alliance.

Viscount Koldy was one of them.

If I had let him be, he would have grown in influence, eventually turning into the dagger that killed Lochter.

In the original story, Heinz would be killed within a year, and Lochter would follow a year after that, leading to the Alliance’s downfall.

I had cut out the weed before it could spread.

A poisonous plant within the Alliance.

[Only I knew Koldy was my spy.]

“You were a bit too obvious in looking for him.”

[Was he a bait?]

“Didn’t expect you to bite this quickly, though.”

I had spread the rumor that He was here.

I was sure that Kal, obsessed with Him, would react.

Using his spies, he would have tried to uncover the truth about Him.

I had sent the Ghosts to watch for exactly that.

As a result, I was able to flush out not just Koldy, but other spies as well.

It was Karl who had told last night that Koldy carried a magic communication orb and that Kal himself would likely be listening in today.

I exhaled slowly, staring at the orb.

This is where it really begins.

A chance to read the thoughts of a butcher whose actions were impossible to predict.

At the sa ti, Kal was likely trying to do the sa to .

It was a double-edged sword—one of us would end up revealing more than we intended.

I had to stay sharp.

“Maybe you should reconsider attacking Beneta? Doesn’t your back feel a little exposed?”

[What nonsense are you spouting?]

“You act all cool, but you’re a pretty good actor. I already know you’ve left for Beneta.”

[Are you saying you plan to attack my rear?]

“Think I won’t? Ten thousand troops could hurt like hell.”

[If you dare set foot on my land, I’ll show you hell.]

“So, you’re planning to ambush us instead?”

[You think I won’t?]

“…That’s a little unsettling. You wouldn’t happen to have a bunch of cavalry lying in wait sowhere, would you?”

[You’re amusing. Very amusing.]

Kal’s dry chuckle filled the silent eting hall.

No one dared interrupt.

Not because of , but because of Kal’s sheer presence.

Even Lochter sat stiff, observing the conversation in deep tension.

[I should have killed you back then.]

“Yeah, well. You should have. I didn’t think this world was going to be such a shitty place either.”

[Where is ‘He’?]

“You really think I’d tell you?”

[You do realize sothing, don’t you? Nobody else ntions Him—only you do. Ever wonder why?]

“Because I’m the face of the operation?”

[There are only two possibilities. Either you’re the only one who can contact Him… or—]

For a mont, my heart dropped at what he was about to say.

[You are Him.]

“If you were trying to make laugh, congrats. I nearly pissed myself.”

[I heard witches were accompanying you. Have you beco ‘friends’ with them?]

He wasn’t asking if I had beco friends with them—he was asking if He had.

He was fishing for information.

‘Shit… Did I let my guard down too much?’

I had tried to use this conversation to gauge Kal’s thoughts, but the more we talked, the more I felt like I was the one being lured in.

This psychological battle…

The longer it dragged on, the worse it was for .

“Yeah. I made so friends, and now we’re coming for you. Wash your neck and wait for us in Beneta—Hunt is coming for your head.”

[You said sothing similar last ti.]

“We were on the wrong path before.

This ti, it’s real.”

[Do you think you can pull it off?]

“Harkman. Wiley. Rengua.”

[...]

“You think they’re enough to stop us?”

I was baiting him with information.

By predicting his forces and outcos, I wanted to make him feel pressured.

The longer he stayed in Beneta, the more casualties he would suffer.

If he felt threatened enough to retreat, one of those three would have to stay behind to guard him.

A weakened army.

That was the real strategy.

[Do you even think you’ll make it that far?]

“What??”

[Tell Him—a choice will have to be made soon.]

“…What choice?”

[Between the witches and Beneta. He will have to choose one. I’ll be watching.]

Silence followed.

I tried to analyze the ssage Kal had left behind, but I quickly realized…

It was pointless.

I turned to Koldy, who was still sitting frozen in shock.

Realizing the implication of Kal’s words, he suddenly sprang to his feet.

“I-I don’t know anything about this!”

How amusing.

The "I know nothing" act—classic.

With the evidence right in front of him, the best he could do was deny everything.

I let out a small laugh and casually tossed the magic orb at him.

Holding it in his hands, Koldy stared at , his face blank with disbelief.

“Then what’s this orb supposed to be?”

“I—I just received it as a gift! I didn’t know what it did!”

“Oh, then why don’t you talk to the person who gave it to you? Prove your innocence. Kal, you bastard! Your loyal dog is reporting in!”

I gave him a sharp glance, signaling him to swear at Kal.

Koldy’s face drained of color.

If he cursed Kal, he feared the consequences.

If he didn’t, he would be exposed as a spy.

Most people would choose survival and betray Kal, but I knew he wouldn’t.

Because it was Kal.

Koldy wasn’t just a spy—he had been sent to kill Lochter.

That ant he was either brainwashed or fully aware of Kal’s true horrors.

He was the type who trembled like a rat before a cat in Kal’s presence.

“Curse Kal! What’s wrong? Why can’t you speak?!”

“Ugh… Ugh…!!”

Koldy collapsed, clutching his head.

I picked up the orb and gave Lochter a glance.

Lochter nodded grimly, then drew his sword and approached Koldy.

“The orb turned off minutes ago, you fool.”

“...What?!”

Shhkk—

With a swift stroke, Koldy’s severed head tumbled to the floor.

And for so reason…

That sight sent a thrill down my spine.

The poisoned had now executed the poisoner.

Fate had flipped.

Lochter wiped his blade and surveyed the room.

“Anyone here friends with Kal’s little lackey?”

Though spoken in a low voice, the words were chilling.

As blood dripped steadily from the tip of Lochter’s sword, it seed as if the nobles felt it was their own.

Their faces had gone ghostly pale, and before long, they began cursing Viscount Koldy’s severed head.

Pathetic.

But it was too late.

The die had already been cast.

Bang!

The doors of the eting hall burst open, and knights stord in.

At the front stood Karl, his sword gleaming as he stood proudly.

“Arrest them all!”

The nobles that Karl pointed out were dragged away without resistance.

They were the ones who had t with Koldy in secret last night.

After a bit of interrogation, their true identities would be exposed soon enough.

The Ghosts’ torture thods weren’t sothing an average noble could endure.

“With things in disorder, let’s end the eting here.”

At Heinz’s suggestion, Lochter gave a nod.

While Lochter spoke with a man at the front, Heinz brought the eting to a close.

In one move, we had rooted out all of Kal’s spies within the Alliance.

But neither Heinz nor the remaining nobles could smile about it.

“I never imagined there were this many spies among the nobles...”

More than anything, it was terrifying.

Kal Blazer.

Just how dangerous was the man we needed to take down?

While the other nobles sat in grim silence, Heinz exhaled in relief.

‘As long as he’s with us…’

He looked toward the sharp-eyed man Lochter was speaking with.

Even Lochter, at tis, called him Captain.

Watching him, Heinz steadied his wavering heart.

With him by their side, even Kal felt like an opponent they could handle.

A short while later—

“Wait, they all left? Seriously?”

Karl reappeared in the eting hall after rounding up all the spies, but he was t with an empty room.

His face fell into disbelief.

“This was supposed to be my debut!”

Karl Bastain.

A key mber of Hunt, the man who had purged all of Kal’s spies from the Alliance.

He had stayed up all night morizing his introduction speech, determined to make an impression.

But as soon as Lochter had left, everyone else had followed him.

These days, whenever people spoke about Hunt, they only ntioned Alex and Lochter.

“Damn it! Karl Bastain exists too, you know!”

Though Karl felt wronged, he quickly pulled himself together.

There would be another opportunity.

“You were acting a little different today.”

“…Different? ?”

“I an when you were talking to Kal.”

Lochter and I walked side by side through the corridor.

It seed he had noticed sothing odd about the way I had spoken to Kal—as if I had been too lighthearted.

“It’s just a distraction.”

“…A distraction?”

“If I make myself seem carefree, it builds a false image in his mind.”

The real reason was to create a clear distinction between and the decoy identity of ‘Him.’

One day, the truth would co out—but delaying that mont was crucial for my survival.

“I want your opinion.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“First, we should strip the spies of their command and absorb the troops they brought.”

“That can be done in a day.”

If the army was reorganized under Lochter’s na, it would fall in line imdiately.

He wasn’t called a hero for nothing—his presence alone was that strong.

“After that, we head for Beneta.”

“…So it’s co to that.”

Since Kal had gone all-in, we had no choice but to match him.

We needed to lead the entire Alliance army to Beneta and press Kal’s rear flank.

Beneta alone wouldn’t be enough to hold out.

“But won’t we be vulnerable to his cavalry’s ambush?”

If Kal’s cavalry attacked while we were marching to Beneta, it would be a disaster.

An army of 10,000 infantry against 10,000 cavalry would be one-sided slaughter.

And among those 10,000 cavalry, at least 6,000 were elite troops.

If we were broken through, we wouldn’t just suffer losses—we could be completely wiped out.

I had been worried about that too.

But after hearing Koldy’s words during the eting, I was sure.

“Kal was never interested in the Alliance.”

“…What?”

“Koldy’s proposal was basically Kal’s plan. If he had intended to ambush us, his proposal wouldn’t have been to divide our troops between Blyer and Etor. Instead, he would have encouraged us to march straight to Beneta. That way, he could have laid traps along the route and waited with his cavalry.”

“…Then where do you think he’s using his cavalry?”

“In Beneta.”

“…Beneta?”

“For so reason, Kal is focusing everything on Beneta. His controlled territories are completely empty—he’s brought everything with him. That includes his cavalry. They’ll all be in Beneta.”

“…Then we need to move quickly.”

“Hunt needs to move even faster. We may need to leave before the main army.”

This battle wasn’t just about troop numbers—the key fights inside Beneta could decide everything.

“If we get there in ti, do we win?”

Beneta had Dorneth Gader and Fenry Chaser.

Both were five-star combatants.

And once we arrived, we’d have:

Myself

Two Dortas-level witches

Lochter

Karl

The Ghosts

That was an overwhelming force—one we couldn’t lose with.

Maybe that was why, even though I was about to face Kal head-on, I felt a sense of relief.

Until—

“Demtor has attacked!”

A witch ca running in with a frantic report.

And in that instant—

[Between the witches and Beneta, He will have to choose. I’ll be watching.]

Kal’s final words echoed in my mind.