#68. 17. Appropriate Bait (2)
It’s been a while since I’ve missed Prince Lloyd.
Sebastian, who felt his blood drying up day by day, finally received the news he had been waiting for.
“Did you find the prince?”
A man who appears to be Alford was found near Dalin Street, west of the capital city of Drunta.
“If it’s Dalin Street… … then that’s where the Rontium Count is located.”
The Rontium Viscounts are one of Prince Lloyd’s long-time supporters.
“Did you make contact with them?”
The subordinate who was watching shook his head.
“I don’t think so.”
The prince was wandering the back alleys in shabby vagrant attire. This meant that he was loitering around the Count’s house, waiting for an opportunity.
I could understand.
Prince Lloyd himself could not have been unaware of the fact that Sebastian could have thought that he might be killed by his own subordinates if he carelessly revealed his identity.
Since he has been suffering from conflict since birth, it is only natural that he would be cautious to that extent.
Anyway, it’s really fortunate.
There is still a chance to recover from failure.
“Send the Hongyeondan.”
The Hongyeondan were not knights. However, depending on the situation, they were capable of being just as powerful as knights.
A knight is someone who wears armor, rides a horse, and goes out to the battlefield to fight. However, battles do not always take place on the battlefield.
There are plenty of people stronger than knights when it comes to kidnapping, confinement, assassination of key figures, and small-scale urban combat. Like adventurers or members of back-alley thieves’ guilds.
For Prince Alford, who had been in a secret struggle for over ten years, such a record was as essential as a knight.
So, he secretly trained a separate bodyguard, the Hongyeondan, to move like limbs.
No one could possibly be more talented than them in securing Prince Alford’s body without causing a fuss.
For the first time in a long while, a smile of relief appeared on Sebastian’s face.
“Now I can finally bring the prince.”
***
The streets of Dalin are covered in darkness as the sun sets.
Twenty men were moving along a deserted road.
They were dressed in plain clothes on the outside, but they were equipped with all sorts of weapons that were not visible.
As we walked down the street, one of the men asked,
“Is this really okay?”
As members of the Hongyeondan, they had been carrying out all sorts of secret missions. Among them, there were many missions that were simply incomprehensible.
Still, there was something a bit strange about this order.
『Prince Alford has lost his wits due to poison or magic. The prince is currently not in his right mind, so even the Hongyeondan is likely to recognize him as an enemy. Focus only on securing new soldiers. It is okay to injure him unless he is seriously injured, such as in danger of death or loss of limbs.』
“It’s okay to hurt the prince… … .”
“No matter how mentally unstable you are, that’s a bit… … .”
The slender, slender man in his twenties who was at the forefront responded bluntly. It was Bellat, the leader of the Hongyeondan.
“As long as you don’t die or lose a limb, you will be completely cured by the divine healing arts. It won’t harm the prince.”
Still, the subordinates were suspicious.
Bellart was in a difficult position.
‘This is difficult.’
He is the captain and he knows the situation.
The fact that Prince Alford and Prince Lloyd’s bodies have been switched is Alford’s plan.
But isn’t it impossible to tell all of these important matters to your subordinates?
That’s how I ended up giving this strange, inconsistent order.
Bellat forcibly changed the subject.
“What is the prince’s current location?”
One of the subordinates who had returned from reconnaissance answered.
“Somewhere in that alley. The exit is already blocked, so you won’t miss it.”
“Aren’t there other people attached?”
“At least from what I can tell, there was no sign of that.”
“Just in case, always be aware of your surroundings.”
It’s been quite some time since Prince Lloyd escaped. Even if he hasn’t made contact with his original subordinates, it’s possible that he’s found other helpers.
“If the prince has any allies, kill them without fail. There is a high possibility that they are the ones who poisoned the prince.”
Once again the men asked in confusion.
“Then isn’t it wrong to kill them?”
“We need to find out who is behind this.”
That’s right. Normally I would have accepted that opinion wholeheartedly.
‘Lies are tiring in many ways.’
The best thing to do in a situation like this is to just yell.
“Put aside useless thoughts and just do as you are told! That’s why we came here!”
Only then did the Hongyeondan members move without a word.
They each scatter throughout the streets and begin to seep into the back alleys.
Bellat frowned as he watched the scene.
‘Why on earth did Prince Alford join hands with those cultists… … .’
***
Finding the prince was easier than I thought.
The Hongyeondan members were scattered in groups of three or five throughout the back alleys, and two of them discovered a man in rags standing in a corner of the alley. Although his clothes were shabby, it was undoubtedly Prince Alford.
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One of the members spoke carefully.
“I have come to fetch you, Your Majesty.”
The prince looked at the members absentmindedly and asked.
“Do I look like Prince Alford?”
The members’ expressions hardened.
‘You said you were losing your mind… … .’
‘It seems to be true.’
This was not the usual Prince Alford. Not only his speech, but also his subtle expressions and the look in his eyes were completely different.
As they took up a fighting stance, one of the members continued to speak respectfully.
“If you resist, we have strict orders to force you to come in.”
“It is for the prince’s sake. Please forgive me.”
The prince smiled broadly.
“Try it.”
“……yes?”
“Try it.”
That was when.
Suddenly a cool breeze blew. A cold breeze passed by my back.
‘hmm?’
I feel an instinctive resistance to ignoring it, thinking it’s just the night breeze.
But the Hongyeondan members didn’t know the reason.
Until a whitish shape rose up from behind the prince, emitting a strange noise.
Saaaaa… … .
Two lines of darkness glided through the air, turning into evil spirits. The members’ eyes widened.
“omg!”
“What is this?”
Soon, evil spirits began to attack the members.
A terrible scream echoed through the quiet back alley.
“Kwaaaaah!”
“Ahhhhh!”
***
Darkness flows through the back alleys and evil spirits run wild.
“Eww!”
“You, you monster!”
No matter how much you run away, it’s no use.
The walls open, sending out tentacles, and the floor splits open, spewing out corpses.
Even the air I breathe is filled with such foul odor that just running makes my lungs freeze and my tears dry up.
“Ugh, ugh… … .”
“Ugh… … .”
Twenty Hongyeon members ran into the back alley, and they were all dying helplessly.
And the leader of the Hongyeondan, the Belathites, were no exception.
Ughh …
Uh uh uh… … .
A large number of zombies approach through narrow alleys, groaning eerily.
The complexions of Bellat and the two members surrounded from the front and back become increasingly pale.
The subordinates cried out in sorrow.
“colon!”
“What should I do?”
Bellat couldn’t give an answer.
All the training he had received so far had been against humans.
All the missions he has carried out so far have been against humans.
They were enemies who would get cut if you cut them, get stabbed if you stabbed them, and eventually fall if you made them bleed.
But what if the enemy is a moving corpse? What if a formless evil spirit is after your life?
I have no idea how to deal with it.
“What is this… … .”
Buried in the horde of zombies that was advancing, Bellat despaired.
‘Why is there a shaman next to the prince?’
A miserable final cry echoed across the night sky.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
***
Two days ago, Karnak said:
“How can we bring the cultists who have joined hands with Prince Alford to the forefront?”
First, we need to figure out why they aren’t coming forward.
Firstly, because of the risk of your identity being revealed.
Secondly, there are no enemies that are so difficult to deal with that it requires the intervention of cultists, or more precisely, necromancers.
“That is, there is no need to worry about their identity being revealed, and you just need to create an enemy that the shamans can deal with.”
His answer to this was at first glance absurd.
“You can deal with this one as well as the shaman.”
What if Prince Lloyd’s assistant was a necromancer?
Since we are both living in hiding, we cannot rush over and report the Alford cult members even if they show up. This solves the first problem.
Besides, if this force is a shaman, Alford’s existing subordinates will naturally have a hard time dealing with it. They have no experience with it.
So, we need to invite a priest or magician to handle this separately, but isn’t the current situation not so honest that we can bring in an outsider?
But what if the socialites themselves take action?
Likewise, if you know a lot about necromancy, you will be able to deal with it without any problems.
“More than anything, necromancers can steal each other’s necromance to increase their own power. Naturally, they will jump in blinded by greed. If they can’t eat it themselves, someone else might.”
Lloyd looked incomprehensible.
It sounds plausible at first glance, but that plan requires one premise.
“Where on earth are you going to get that necromancer? Is there a necromancer that King’s Order has captured?”
“No way.”
King’s Order is secretly hiding a necromancer? How could someone as old-fashioned as Commander Erantel do that?
“But there are many evil items that have been confiscated.”
Karnak chuckled.
Zombies? Demons? All sorts of strange spirit barriers?
Using illusion magic, you can make something look magically similar.
For example, casting the illusion of a zombie on a magic-controlled doll, or casting the illusion of an evil spirit on a spirit magic.
But most people wouldn’t be fooled to this extent.
This is because of the terrible fraud and evil spirit that inevitably follows when practicing sorcery.
The problem is the instinctive fear and rejection that all living things cannot help but feel, and that even a layman can immediately recognize.
“So, by using magic and obtaining the cult’s secrets, you can spread fraud and evil spirits. This way, on the surface, it looks like you’ve used necromancy.”
“Is that really possible?”
“It’s one of the techniques we’re currently developing to fool other necromancers.”
“Indeed, if it’s King’s Order, then I guess that kind of thing is necessary given the nature of the mission.”
Lloyd nodded, convinced.
“Let’s do it according to plan.”
***
Lloyd looked into the darkness of the back alley, recalling his conversation with Karnak.
Beyond that darkness, all sorts of screams are heard, all sorts of evil spirits are running wild, and corpses are resurrected and killing people.
Finally, the screaming stopped. It seemed like the situation was over.
After a while, a red-haired woman approached Lloyd.
“Are you injured or anything, Your Majesty?”
It was Serati, a member of Karnak’s detachment.
“Not a single truck was hurt. Captain Karnak’s magic was truly amazing. Did things go well?”
“I let them go alive. I’m sure they’ll testify properly.”
It seems like everything went according to plan.
Lloyd exclaimed in relief.
“By the way, it really does sound plausible. I guess even they can’t help but be fooled by this.”
The magic of Karnak was truly tangible.
It really looked like a zombie, really like an evil spirit.
“Even I, who knew the circumstances, could only see it as a real sorcery.”
Serati made a strange face.
“I guess so?”
“Huh? Why are you making that face?”
“No, nothing… … .”
