Mastermind
Copyright© 2026 by FantasyTranslater
Chapter 28
Three days had passed since they obtained the Ring of the Arrogant One and began preparing to leave for the North. By the time the knights and soldiers had finished preparing, the expedition force had already departed for the North.
Not long after their departure...
“Deus Macallian.”
A man approached Deus. He had long blue hair and a vertical scar across his face. This was Fiola, one of the Master Knights of Caliban, known as the Fourth Sword.
“You laid a hand on my disciple,” Fiola said, his expression cold, his eyes betraying a hidden fury.
Deus, with an indifferent expression, responded, “Your disciple acted rudely towards my benefactor.”
“Ha, and that gives you the right to beat someone else’s disciple senseless?”
“Do you think it doesn’t?” Deus replied.
Fiola frowned at Deus’s words. His anger was clear on his face, and the intense energy he exuded filled the air, causing the knights around them to break out in a cold sweat. However, Deus, who took the full brunt of this power head-on, remained unfazed.
“You’re lucky I didn’t kill him, Fiola.”
Deus’s aura turned even more ominous, emitting a terrifying purple energy that pressed down on Fiola. The tension between them was so thick that it seemed like a sword fight would break out the moment someone drew a weapon. But after a moment of silence...
“Tch.”
Fiola was the first to turn away. Clicking his tongue, he glanced at Count Palatio, who was standing behind Deus.
“Don’t think I’m going to just let this go,” Fiola said before returning to his resting battalion.
Alone, watching Fiola leave, Alon thought to himself, ‘Terrifying.’
He felt a tingling in his hands as he subconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists. ‘So that’s a Master Knight for you.’
Just the sheer power Fiola unintentionally released had left Alon breathless. At that moment, Evan, standing nearby, muttered in disbelief, “That’s insane ... he’s a complete monster.”
Alon turned his gaze to Deus. Despite the overwhelming energy Fiola had directed at him, Deus showed no signs of discomfort, which reminded Alon again that Deus was a Master Knight as well. It wasn’t that he ever forgot this fact, but Deus had been rather humble towards him recently, so seeing this side of him was a fresh reminder.
‘Honestly, he’s kind of rude to everyone else except me,’ Alon mused. He recalled rumors from a few days ago about Deus and thought of the time Deus had snapped at Evan, telling him, “Shut up, old man.”
‘Rescuing his sister must have been the right move after all,’ Alon thought to himself. Initially, he hadn’t understood why Deus was so obedient to him, but now it was becoming clear. In fact, he didn’t even need to guess anymore. Just watching Deus around his sister was answer enough.
‘Maybe in the future, if I call for help while running my estate, he’ll come running to save me,’ Alon grinned at the thought, though deep down he knew Deus wouldn’t go that far. He shrugged lightly and returned to his carriage. The expedition to the North continued.
Two weeks and three days later...
The expedition force crossed the border between Caliban and the North and arrived at their first outpost. There, they received three pieces of news.
The first was the death of Delman, the Third Sword, who had gone missing after news came that the eastern outpost of Caliban had fallen and the enemy appeared.
The second was that Kiriana, the Second Sword, who had been leading an advanced expedition to the western outpost, had suffered severe injuries in battle against the enemy.
And the final news was...
“Undead, you say?”
The messenger reported that the enemy was approaching the outpost, leading an army of the undead.
“Yes, the enemy has been reanimating fallen soldiers and knights into undead and marching with them.”
At the messenger’s words, Fiola let out a deep sigh and muttered, “This is troubling.”
Deus, hearing the same news, remained silent. If the messenger’s words were true, the situation was clearly unfavorable for Caliban.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense. Even the Master Knights and the nobles leading the soldiers were reluctant to speak. Finally, one of the nobles cautiously suggested, “Perhaps we should retreat?”
That simple suggestion unleashed a flood of opinions from the other attendees.
“Are you serious? You want us to turn our backs and run from the barbarians?”
“That’s not what I meant! I’m saying we should wait for a better opportunity. We’re already in a bad position, and the Second Sword is severely injured, not to mention Reinhardt still hasn’t returned from his seclusion. Do you really think we stand a chance?”
“At this point, do you think the injured could even escape while the barbarians advance on the outpost?”
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