[An A-rank raid party has entered the Revived Plains.]

The Eleonora Raid Party had been stopped. The third Faction War was over, and the dungeon’s protection period had ended with it. Raiders were once again flocking to Balak’s territory, and the scheduled A-rank parties were beginning their assaults.

‘Throw the boulder, Deshkar.’

‘AGH!’

One thing Taehyun noticed while facing this A-rank party was that it was much easier than stopping Eleonora’s forces. The screen showed about one hundred raiders. As Balak grew, the penalty for party size was triggered less often. The raiders blocked Deshkar’s boulder with a barrier and continued their advance.

[A-rank Raider Pilaton has cast Guidance of Destruction.]

[An explosion has been designated among Balak’s forces.]

[Guidance of Destruction uses remaining: 1/1]

A raider named Pilaton cast a single-use skill, intending to take out Deshkar and the siege soldiers in one blow. Taehyun, however, calmly gave his orders.

‘Activate Divine Teaching.’

Divine Teaching was a single-use skill exclusive to priests, creating a barrier with infinite Endurance that lasted until all Divinity was consumed. It was originally Eleonora’s trump card, but now it was just another consumable in Balak’s arsenal.

[A-rank Raider Eleonora has cast Divine Teaching.]

[A barrier with infinite Endurance will be maintained until all Divinity is consumed.]

[Divine Teaching uses remaining: 1/1]

The soldiers stationed before the Silent Forest continued their attacks, unharmed under her protection.

‘Boom! Boom! BA-BOOM!’

Guidance of Destruction detonated, but the barrier of Divine Teaching barely flickered before regenerating.

“Lady Eleonora!” Pilaton shouted, his voice filled with anguish. “Have you truly become a raider of Balak? Have you no shame? If it were me, I would have chosen suicide rather than become a dog of the demon race!”

Eleonora remained silent.

“Hmph. So you won’t even answer. I understand. I will attack you as if you were just another dungeon soldier!”

Pilaton, who seemed to have admired Eleonora’s forces from the north, pulled out a peacock with a look of utter disappointment. As expected of an A-rank raider, he was trying to exploit the vision battle penalty.

‘He’s going to release the peacock to secure vision priority and block our bombardment. Hey. It’s your turn.’

“Hah… To think the day would come when I’d be fighting raiders,” Sihan muttered. “Damn it. If it weren’t for Hendy.”

“Still complaining even after I promised to break the curse? Raviz, summon him.”

In an instant, Sihan vanished from the Master Room, summoned by Raviz, who was on standby in Yuslan’s Ice Palace. Taehyun watched the ambush unit on the screen and gave the order. The hidden soldiers burst onto the Revived Plains, charging the raid party. Gargoyle lancers broke through the barrier first while harpies dived, targeting the long-range attackers.

“This rabble is nothing!”

“Mirage!”

“Got it!”

Three A-rank raiders took their positions, holding back the ambush. Just then, Sihan erupted from the gargoyles’ ranks, closing on Pilaton in a flash.

“Th-the Drake Slayer, Cheddar?!” Pilaton cried.

“Could you forget that name?” Sihan replied coolly. “I’m not part of the Eleonora Raid Party anymore.”

“Damn it! Mirage, Revolton, over here!”

Pilaton cast a Fly spell to shake Sihan off. His two A-rank comrades, who had been spread out, abandoned the ambush unit and converged on their leader. The Pilaton Raid Party had three A-rank raiders in total, all of them skilled mid-grade combatants. Sihan tapped his shoulder with the flat of his sword and clicked his tongue.

‘Three mid-grades is a bit much.’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Taehyun thought. ‘You can’t kill them all here anyway. Raviz, Spatial Restraint. Gravity Control.’

“Understood,” Raviz’s voice echoed in his mind.

From her position with the long-range soldiers, Raviz cast two skills. Her targets were the B-rank raiders. Sihan immediately understood the plan and drew the attention of the A-rank leaders while the ambush unit tore through the rest of the party, inflicting heavy damage.

—

[The Pilaton Raid Party has been annihilated.]

The defense, which had begun on the Revived Plains, concluded in Balak’s twenty-fourth room.

“Right. This is what a real defense feels like,” Taehyun said. “This makes the third one, doesn’t it?”

“If you include us, it’s the fourth,” Inhye corrected him as she and Sihan walked through the corpses of the fallen raiders. Since signing the contract, the two had served faithfully as Balak’s soldiers.

Inhye hesitated for a moment before asking, “Um… what’s the situation with Hendy?”

“We’ll have the results soon. I’ll let you know when the time comes, so just wait quietly.”

“I see. I understand.” She left the room with a flicker of anxiety in her eyes.

Left alone, Sihan abruptly grabbed Taehyun by the collar, his eyes blazing. “Hey. What the hell is this? Are you sure you can break Hendy’s curse?!”

“Let go of me first,” Taehyun said calmly. “If I get so much as a scratch here, you die instantly.”

“…Tch.”

According to the contract, harming any of Balak’s members was an automatic breach. Realizing this, Sihan reluctantly backed away. Taehyun brushed off his clothes and coolly assessed him.

‘She’s anxious, but he’s on edge.’

It was understandable. They had been captured and were losing hope when he’d suddenly offered a contract promising to break the curse. They were caught between doubt and desperate hope. The contract stipulated that he must break the curse, but that was only if a method was available. If he couldn’t find a way, he would have to keep postponing it. With Hendy’s condition worsening, their anxiety was only natural.

“Don’t forget,” Taehyun said, his voice firm. “Now that you’ve signed, I give the orders, and you follow them. I’ll break the curse before she dies, so stop freaking out and wait patiently.”

“Fine. I’ll do as you say.” Sihan turned and followed Inhye out of the room.

Taehyun silently sifted through the items dropped by the raiders. A single letter caught his eye.

[A handwritten letter from Momonte Anslake]

It was a letter from the Anslake family. A smile of satisfaction spread across Taehyun’s face as he tore open the envelope.

‘Just as I thought. He can’t meet publicly, so he’s arranging it this way.’

Some members of the Pilaton Raid Party had belonged to Anslake. After constantly sending raiders to monitor his territory, Momonte had now sent a letter directly. He must have given them the mission fully expecting their annihilation. Taehyun’s lips curled into a smirk as he returned to the Master Room.

—

“Is there still no information?” Momonte Anslake asked.

“We have not been able to confirm Lady Valona’s status, my lord,” the raider reported. “It seems impossible to determine anything without entering Balak directly.”

It had been two months since the raid party had departed from the Sapadin Guild. The search had been hampered by dungeon protection periods, and there was still no news of Valona. Momonte sighed and waved his hand.

“You may go.”

“Understood.”

The raider bowed and left. Alone, Momonte gripped his head, lost in thought. He was already buried in work for Count Dinen, their grand plan slowly moving forward. The Anslake family was poised to ascend to even greater heights. If this business with Valona caused a complication, it would be a disaster.

‘I’ve sent the letter, but the problem is how Balak will react.’

If word got out that he was dealing with Balak, the scandal would ruin not only him but Count Dinen as well. The fall of House Anslake would be inevitable. Momonte sighed and reached for a cigarette. Just then, the raider returned, accompanied by a hooded figure.

“He says he has come to see Baron Anslake. He is from Diols. Do you know him?”

“He is my guest. You may leave us.”

“Understood.”

The raider guided the guest in and departed. Momonte moved to the table and got straight to the point.

“Let me ask just one thing. Is my daughter alive?”

The hooded figure said nothing, instead handing him a communication device. Momonte accepted it, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.

“If you’re talking about Valona, she’s alive. Don’t worry,” a voice said from the device.

“Let me hear her voice,” Momonte demanded.

“Yes, Father,” a familiar voice replied.

It was Valona. Her tone was different, but it was unmistakably her. Momonte looked from the device to the silent figure before him, then finally spoke.

“What do you want?”

—

Momonte Anslake had once been the head of one of the continent’s ten great merchant guilds, but now he was the Baron of House Anslake. He had bought his title with a mountain of Zen, but he was barely recognized in political circles. That all changed when he entered the service of Count Dinen.

He invested his fortune to create and control raider guilds, cultivating talent under the Count’s direction. As a result, House Anslake’s influence had exploded, making them a major power in the West.

‘It’s obvious how he trained them. He must have inflated their performance records to fast-track high-ranking raiders.’

The West was now the land of raiders. Count Dinen’s attempt to use Balak was undoubtedly part of a larger scheme to control the region through the Raider’s Association. Raiders were the greatest military power in the West, and he had used the wealthy Anslake family to professionally train them. The growing number of guilds under Anslake’s banner was proof of that.

There were four things Taehyun could gain from Momonte. First, information on Count Dinen. Second, intelligence on western dungeons and new sources of income. Third, control over the movements of the raider guilds. And fourth, Zen to fill his depleted coffers. All of this could be his, thanks to Valona.

Looking at the screen, Taehyun began to state his terms.

“I-I cannot accept that much,” Momonte stammered from the other end.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to be picky,” Taehyun replied coolly. “This is blackmail, pure and simple. I can spread news of this deal all over the West. And that’s not to mention what will happen to Valona.”

“…Give me time to think.”

“Fine. I can give you that much. But let me tell you one thing. I’m not the only one who profits from this. This will be a very good deal for you, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you really satisfied with being a baron, Momonte Anslake?”

Using Valona, he could secure a steady stream of information and Zen. But he wasn’t satisfied with just that. He could manipulate Momonte himself and use him as a weapon against Count Dinen.

‘That’s right. There’s no way you’d be satisfied as a mere baron. Count Dinen may have promised you a higher station, but who knows when that will be? You could just be used and thrown away. It’s better to devour him before that happens.’

Count Dinen was the current ruler of the West. To advance his career, Momonte must have taken on all sorts of unsavory tasks, his resentment surely festering beneath the surface.

“Y-you… Are you telling me to betray Count Dinen?!” Momonte roared.

“You could put it that way.”

“How dare a demon bastard mock me?!”

On the screen, Momonte shot up from his seat, enraged.

[C-rank Raider Landriol has died.]

The raider he had sent to the Anslake Estate was dead. Taehyun watched the darkened screen and spoke with an unnerving calm.

“Sigh. You should really learn to control that temper.”

“Th-the doll?!” Momonte’s voice was laced with shock.

“Why take your anger out on an innocent doll? I’ll send another one later. Think it over carefully until then.”

Taehyun cut the communication, a smirk playing on his lips. The deal had started with Valona, but now Momonte would be the one left to agonize. Could he truly be satisfied serving under Count Dinen? Would the Count truly keep his promise? A thousand conflicting thoughts would throw him into chaos.

The clash between his revulsion toward a demon and his own raw ambition would ultimately lead him to a single decision.

“Now then,” Taehyun mused to himself. “Will you be content as Count Dinen’s dog? Or will you become the new power that bites its master and seizes his throne? Give it some serious thought.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep