Chapter 4: Paralyzing Herb
The gates leading into Blyer Territory were packed with people.
To pass through the checkpoint, all the assassins disguised themselves as rcenaries, and with their naturally rough looks, anyone would’ve believed they were the real deal.
‘Interesting.’
One by one, the assassins, starting with the leader, pulled out their rcenary tags and showed them to the soldiers.
Wait, are they actual rcenaries?
Looked like assassins these days were working side jobs too.
‘So, what about ?’
Why didn’t I get a rcenary tag?
It’s not like I wanted to get close to these guys, but being left out like this still made feel weirdly annoyed.
“What about this guy? Doesn’t seem like a rcenary,” one of the soldiers said as he looked down at nacingly when my turn ca up.
This soldier, acting all high and mighty for a minor character, really pissed off. My stomach churned with anger, but I had no choice but to lower my head in submission since my current situation was even worse than a re "Soldier #1."
With an awkward smile, I looked to the leader, who let out a hearty laugh and clapped on the shoulder.
Was Crux also teaching acting? The way he did it was so damn natural.
“Hahaha, soldier, this guy is just a porter.”
“A porter? You even bring along porters? You’re only a C-rank rcenary group, you barely have enough money to outfit yourselves.”
“He’s promising, so we’re using him as a porter for now. We’re planning to train him into a rcenary.”
“This kid? Why don’t you just sell him off to a noble? He’s got a pretty face.”
Did this "Soldier #1" piece of shit want to die? He was talking like I wasn’t even there.
Yeah, my face is handso, and my proportions are great, but you’re not even worth fish bait, you bastard.
My face twisted in anger, but—
“Then, what’s in the porter’s bag?”
At his next question, my expression suddenly brightened into a forced smile.
As humiliating as it was, I had to endure it!
Showing him the contents of my bag would be a problem.
“I-it’s all just food supplies.”
“Food? Open it up.”
“Uh, well…”
“Why aren’t you opening it?”
The bag didn’t just contain food, it also held the bundle of cigarettes.
I had smoked one once before. It made my mind foggy, so I knew right away that it wasn’t just ordinary tobacco. I was worried, but it turned out my concern was unnecessary.
“Stop wasting ti. There’s a line of people waiting, just let them through,” another senior soldier said.
“R-right! Got it!” the first soldier stamred.
The leader had discreetly slipped sothing into the soldiers’ pockets. Without even checking the bag, the soldiers waved us through with a salute.
I had just witnessed a perfect example of bribery, an unspoken agreent fueled by silver coins.
I’d seen plenty of disgusting things in my corporate days, but this?
This was on another level.
‘A filthy world where money solves everything.’
Whether in reality or in this novel world, it seed like all societies functioned the sa way.
We entered the outer city of Blyer Territory. As a developed comrcial hub known for its mining industry, Blyer was a bustling and advanced domain.
The streets were lined with endless stalls and rchants, and the crowds were full of curious onlookers.
The leader led us to a large inn with a tavern attached, where we unloaded our gear and gathered in one of the rooms.
“Only four of us will move,” the leader said.
“What about the others?” one of the assassins asked.
“Stay here in case we receive other instructions. Be ready to move at any ti.”
“Understood.”
The leader left the three newcors at the inn while taking the original four mbers, including , outside. We rode off with five horses, and I was stuck leading all the horses through the crowded streets, struggling with the reins.
“Newbie, keep your eyes wide open and don’t lose the path. If you screw up again like last ti, you’ll be in trouble,” one of the assassins said.
“Y-yes! Understood!” I replied quickly.
“Kekeke, hurry up. If we’re late because of you, we’ll starve you,” another one taunted.
The leader remained silent, but the lackeys in the back couldn’t stop yapping. They were the sa bastards who’d beaten when we first t.
I wanted to kill them.
Trying to manage the horses while being harassed by them and getting jostled by the crowd was a nightmare.
But even as I dealt with all this, my mind was racing with survival plans.
‘Running away doesn’t seem like a good option.’
Blyer Territory was crowded, making it easy to disappear if I wanted to. No one in my group was really watching either, so I could escape at any ti.
But after two days of thinking it over, I realized sothing important.
Running away would be the worst possible decision.
‘Even if I manage to escape, what happens afterward?’
Crux never lets an assassin who flees during a mission live. That’s the sa for all assassin organizations.
An assassin running away before the target is eliminated?
It’s the ultimate betrayal, shaking the very foundation of the organization. They’d chase to the ends of the earth, even teaming up with other assassin groups if necessary.
‘Even if I’m just a goblin-tier assassin, you can’t fight off a whole mob.’
Unless I suddenly beca an overpowered protagonist with all kinds of miraculous encounters, I’d die without even a trace left behind.
I needed to find a way to either divert attention or make them forget about .
I needed ti, no matter what.
‘The only way to survive while sticking with the mission…’
There was only one option.
‘Damn it, this is the last thing I wanted to do.’
The answer was to use the current assassination plan to my advantage.
I glanced up at the towering structure in the center of the inner city.
The man who stayed in that tower.
The target I was supposed to kill by tomorrow morning.
‘Kal Blazer.’
The bloodthirsty murderer known as the Mad Butcher. Only he could shield from Crux’s reach.
I couldn’t believe I was planning to use a villain to save myself. I must have lost my mind.
But I believed there was a chance.
‘No one knows Kal Blazer better than I do.’
[When Villains Grow Stronger].
I had read the entire novel.
I was the only one who knew the secrets of the villain protagonists.
For villains, secrets were both their greatest weaknesses and their most powerful assets.
My plan was to exploit Kal Blazer’s secret.
* * *
We arrived at a street near the western gate, lined with nurous clothing stores.
Among the many shops, our group entered one in particular.
Hanging above the shop’s sign was a secret mark known only to Crux mbers.
The mont I stepped inside and saw the person greeting us, I recited the passphrase.
“Ah, didn’t know anyone was here.”
“Thought this was a stable.”
Who the hell ca up with these la passwords? Whoever did was clearly lazy, using the sa code phrase regardless of location.
We were guided to the second floor, where a fat middle-aged man was waiting for the leader.
From their conversation, I learned that he wasn’t part of Crux but rather an underground rchant.
The rchant scowled as he looked at the horses outside through the window.
“You only brought five horses. What happened to the other two?”
“We were attacked on the way and lost them.”
“My paynt is for seven horses. How do you plan to make up the difference?”
“We’ll pay the rest in gold.”
The leader nodded at , and I handed over a small pouch from my bag. The rchant checked the contents and, satisfied, nodded toward one of the clothing display boxes.
Hidden inside the box were seven carefully concealed sets of soldier uniforms.
They were uniforms worn by the inner-city guards of Blyer Territory.
I stuffed the uniforms into my bag.
anwhile, the leader and the rchant were discussing further details about the mission.
“What’s the signal to start?”
“A large fire. Move when you see it.”
“Have you gathered any information about the artifact the target is carrying?”
“A magic orb imbued with protective powers. It’ll be tough to deal with physical attacks. Got any ideas?”
“Ideas…”
The leader didn’t respond imdiately, instead glancing over at as I packed the uniforms. The rchant, sensing the shift, wisely stepped back. Curiosity could shorten one’s life, after all. The hunting was their business, not his.
“I’m leaving town today. Ah, and your master asked to pass along a ssage.”
“The master?”
“He said he’s looking forward to hearing so good news.”
“……”
With that, the conversation ended. After collecting the information and uniforms, we quickly returned to our lodging.
* * *
It was the first proper al I’d had since arriving in this world.
For the first ti, I got to eat food that had real at in it. There was a faint gay taste to it, but it was seasoned well enough to be edible.
“Want more?”
After finishing the deal with the underground rchant and returning to the inn late in the evening, we were having dinner at the tavern.
For so reason, the leader had sit next to him and ordered whatever food I wanted.
The lackeys glared at , their eyes narrowed in envy. They looked like children whose toys had been taken away.
So what? What are you going to do about it?
“This, this, and this, please.”
“Got it.”
“How about so alcohol?”
“Order it.”
The lackeys clenched their fists, veins popping in their hands as they gripped their spoons.
If you’re so jealous, why don’t you beco a human bomb too?
I knew this al was essentially my last supper.
I thought I’d lose my appetite, but surprisingly, the food went down well.
I didn’t know when I was going to die, but strangely enough, I wasn’t feeling the usual anxiety.
Did becoming an assassin make my nerves tougher?
As I shoveled more food into my mouth, making intense eye contact with the lackeys, I overheard a conversation from the next table.
“Did you hear?”
“About what?”
“I heard the lord’s illness is getting worse. What do we do?”
“How do you know that?”
“The number of healers and priests visiting the castle keeps increasing.”
“It’s that serious?”
“Rumor has it there’s been no improvent at all. People are quietly saying he could die any day now.”
“Then the successor will be announced soon, right? Prince William will probably take over, right?”
“He’s the eldest, so it makes sense. There are also rumors that the lord has been actively supporting him.”
“I heard that the second son, Prince Kal, is extrely talented, but it seems he failed to win over the viscount.”
They were comparing William and Kal as potential successors. But most of the conversation seed to be in favor of William becoming the next lord.
In a normal world, that would be how things went.
‘That is, if Kal wasn’t such a massive villain.’
No matter how much Viscount Liamson supported William or how much the people of the territory backed him, Blyer would still belong to Kal in the end.
His rise to power was unprecedented.
Reading about how he took over the title gave chills when I first read the novel.
‘Too bad there’s no gambling ring betting on who’ll be the next lord of Blyer.’
I could’ve placed a big bet, but oh well.
Just thinking about that showed how far gone I was.
‘…I’m so sleepy.’
My eyelids suddenly felt unbearably heavy.
It wasn’t just the usual post-al drowsiness either. I was starting to feel oddly disoriented.
I hadn’t slept for two days, and I had stuffed myself full of food, so it made sense to be tired.
But this was too much. Unless I had taken sleeping pills…
Just as I reached that thought—
‘…!’
My eyes landed on the empty beer mug in front of . The one I had just finished.
And it hit . The chatter around had stopped right after I drained the mug.
Turning my head, I saw the lackeys smirking at with mocking grins.
I’d been set up!
I tried to look toward the leader, but—
Thud—
My face hit the table.
I couldn’t move.
“Let’s head up. Carry him,” the leader’s voice echoed in my ears.
“Yes, sir.”
“Get the Paralyzing Herb from his bag.”
The leader’s words echoed like a distant bell in my head.
Paralyzing Herb?
Only then did I realize that the cigarettes I’d been carrying were made from this herb.
My vision turned black as I was carried up the stairs to the second floor.
And that was when I lost consciousness.
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