Author's Note:
All 10+ chapters to complete the current volume are now available to read for free on Patreon. All the special content exclusive to subscribers are also unlocked indefinitely. Be sure to head on over and binge!
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"To ease the grieving heart of the mourning king," Cassius continued, a trace of revulsion in his voice, "we attempted to introduce a concubine into his life—but the stubborn fool remained hopelessly devoted to his late wife."
Daisuke's frown deepened.
"Of course, I did what any aspiring dictator would to secure power," he said with a smug curl of his lips. "Once I had earned his absolute trust, poisoning him was effortless—so I did.
In the span of a single week, his body withered and his mind softened into pliable clay. After that, introducing a concubine and presenting her child as his illegitimate son was little more than child's play."
Daisuke shifted his gaze back to Stynx who had gotten quiet and extremely pale.
Cassius regarded him with utter contempt. "In case the royal siblings proved too difficult to control, Stynx was intended as a safety net. But as you can clearly see, his services are no longer required."
Daisuke sighed, a spark of determination reigniting in his eyes. "So, in essence, the Mhaledictus seized control of the kingdom to exploit the ruler's power and influence to facilitate their illicit activities."
Cassius snapped his fingers, signaling his henchmen to advance. "Bingo. Unfortunately, I'll have to ask that you take this tidbit of information to your grave with you."
The eight imposing men crept forward, weapons raised and gleaming with the promise of death. In the same beat, Daisuke summoned his daggers, lowering his stance as a frigid breath escaped his lips.
DING!
[Activating the skill «Glacial Dominion».]
From the soles of his feet, a frigid gust of wind rippled outward like the breath of a Frost Dragon. It gripped all eight lackeys in place, who looked on in horror.
Daisuke's body blurred for but a moment. When it solidified, all eight men splintered into pieces.
[Dark Upheaval +3]
▪︎ 40% chance of dealing an additional 30% damage if the enemy is afflicted with an abnormal status]
Time slowed.
Daisuke glanced up with a sneer, liquid golden eyes gleaming through the mess of blood and gore that fell like rain.
But Cassius didn't seem at all worried.
BOOOOOOM!
Reezen Thalrindor hurtled downward, his greatsword—swollen to five times its normal size—crashing into the ground like a massive iron beam. Cracks spiderwebbed across the floor, but the silver-haired target had already slipped aside.
Almost instantaneously, Reezen's sword shrank back to its original size and he lounged at the nimble menace with the weapon raised high. Daisuke crossed his blades and took the hit, sparks flying from the impact.
"So heavy," he grunted, his heel plunging into the floor.
[GoblinModeActivated: Holy fucking ass crackers! Haxks just made those dickbags past tense in an instant! Did you see that?? 🥶🥶
RadiantKnight: I honestly think everyone should listen to Nigel's plea and give Haxks a break. Then again, it's really either that or becoming unalived by him.
Meowster: How are his blades not snapping under the weight of that gigantic sword?
KarenSlayer: Hell, how isn't Haxks himself snapping like a twig under all that force? That knight is built like a freakin' tank! 💀☠️
Shaved_Tunchie: Damn! The stream is already up to 2mil viewers! 🤯🤯]
Daisuke gritted his teeth as the stoic knight's sword began to swell. Twisting one of his daggers, he let the massive blade scrape along its edge and hit the ground, sparks flying, before leaping backward. His golden eyes tracked every movement of his adversary, searching for the slightest weakness.
According to Lumielle, it's highly likely he's being controlled somehow. That vacant expression all but confirms it. If that's the case, I'd rather not kill him—he's been faithful to the royal family for a long time.
BOOOOM!
The knight attacked again, his sword slamming into the floor, pieces of stone flying in every direction like shrapnel.
Daisuke frowned as Impeccable Parry protected him from the onslaught of projectiles. The question is—how exactly do I free him from this mind-control?
While he sought the answer to that question, he chose to engage the mastermind in any way he could, hoping to keep the man occupied long enough to prevent him from calling for reinforcements.
"Who, exactly, is pushing for this war—the kingdom, or the Mhaledictus?"
Cassius looked on with a smirk, intrigued that the vermin had the audacity to feed his curiosity when he was desperately fighting on the defensive.
"While the aristocracy is highly favorable toward expanding their sovereignty, it was ultimately we—the Mhaledictus—who introduced the idea of waging war on Wavecrest."
The man watched as both warriors darted around the throne room, leaving utter destruction in their wake. "If we managed to annex the port town, we could seize control of the waterways and, through the kingdom's influence, establish an unscrutinized route to move our merchandise freely into neighboring towns and kingdoms."
"One last question," Daisuke grunted, ducking beneath a sword slash that sheared clean through a massive stone beam. "I understand the desire to seize the kingdom, but why offer slaves and demihumans up to the monsters?"
A muscle flexed in Cassius's jaw, his expression suddenly taking on a different kind of darkness. "My late wife… she was a Beastkin."
Daisuke's eyes widened, his surprise costing him several strands of precious hair. "Then why? Shouldn't you of all people be supporting the minorities?"
The man tilted his head haughtily, eyes blazing with disdain beneath his long nose. "My wife… she was murdered while her own kind stood there and watched. Their wretched cowardice led to her death," he spat.
"If they refuse to grow a spine, then I'll do them all a favor and wipe every last one of those pathetic swine from the face of the world. That way, their suffering will finally end."
Daisuke didn't bother to challenge the man's twisted ideology—instead, he activated the skill Accelerate and shot forward like a lance.
Reezen attempted to raise his mighty sword to retaliate, but a perfectly hurled dagger penetrated his right palm and pinned it to the column behind him.
BANGG!
The greatsword clattered to the floor, but before the man could grab the blade that restrained him, Daisuke was already there. A precise thrust of his second dagger pierced the breastplate and struck the dark pendant around the man's neck.
A foul aura erupted from the shattered accessory, and like a marionette whose strings had been cut, Reezen went limp. And, the moment Daisuke willed his dagger back, the man slumped to the floor—unconscious but alive.
Without missing a beat, Daisuke spun around. His eyes first locked onto Stynx, whose life force was rapidly fading, before shifting to Cassius, who had finally abandoned his perch.
From the man's stance and movements, it was obvious he was more of a figurehead than a fighter—but that wouldn't spare him from the full force of the beating Daisuke had in store.
WHAMM!
Daisuke's fist shot toward the bastard's face, only to be thwarted by a translucent wall of energy.
…This barrier, he frowned as the small stone atop the man's ring splintered. It's just like the one Keith had used.
A mocking grin tugged at Cassius's lips. "It looks like you recognize this device. It may very well be the last memory you have."
At the man's words, a nearby corpse twitched. Like a scene ripped from a nightmare, Vaerythos's lifeless body began to rise from the ground, as if being raptured by the divine.
Suddenly, an arm stiffened, veins snaking across it as it swelled to a grotesque size, far out of proportion with the rest of the body. A leg followed, and then the entire frame ballooned and twisted, transforming into a hulking, ogre-like monstrosity over thirty feet tall.
DING!
[Vaerythos | Lvl 97 | Homunculus | HP: 138083/138083]
Gone was the poised, ambitious nobleman who had sought power and glory above all else. In his place stood a grotesque fiend, a mindless instrument of destruction whose only purpose was to annihilate its master's enemies—and a mere snap of the fingers was enough to set it into motion.
A menacing roar erupted as the creature swung its massive hand in a deadly arc.
Daisuke dodged with ease, dagger raised to sever several fingers—
CLANGG!
—but his blade struck the giant's flesh as if it were solid metal.
"So hard," Daisuke snarled.
[DemonModeActivated: What the hell is that thing? 😱
LagnoJutsu: Did an NPC seriously just transform into a mob? That's a thing??
ComboWomboKing: Nigel?
RadiantKnight: …It's a biological weapon.
TrashTalkTanuki: To pull off something like this… who the hell are the Mhaledictus, anyway?
RageMeterMax: An organization wrapped in mystery… and yet the NPCs know enough to be terrified.
Nigel: No matter how you slice it, this has to be either an S-class quest or a Main Story event.
RadiantKnight: Either way, the real question is… will Haxks' win streak finally come crashing down?]
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Author's Note:
All 10+ chapters to complete the current volume are now available to read for free on Patreon. All the special content exclusive to subscribers are also unlocked indefinitely. Be sure to head on over and binge!