Volume 9 Chapter 32 The Night Before The Festival's Outcome
The crucial point in our strategy was how to break the strong ones' spirits.
The strong ones, in other words, the tower's administrators, would likely use the tower as their base, just like Eik.
Therefore, simply winning wasn't enough; we had to crush their spirits thoroughly, making them think, "It's better to run away than fight these guys."
So, after taking over the tower, we planned to have Mudi remotely kill the captain-class enemies, and then, with Sandra, I would use infinite rekill to take them down while they were isolated and revived in the tower.
However, I'm just staring at the Demon (Majin) who's not moving, with a ridiculous expression.
"...What did you do, Mudi?"
He's completely broken, his heart shattered. He's like a doll, a mere puppet.
I checked his pulse to make sure, and he's definitely alive. But he's not moving. He has no will or presence. I crossed my arms, grumbling.
"This guy's hopeless."
"Hey, hey, aren't I 'Your proud mentor, the world's greatest torch and platinum adventurer in the dungeon'?"
"Ugh, shut up."
"You're such a stupid disciple."
Mudi suddenly appeared, patting me on the shoulder, and I made a disgusted face. Mudi lightly hit me, but it didn't even faze me at this point.
"Well, I guess the stupid disciple's plan is complete, then? Hey, call the demons and have them occupy the tower. That way, we can maintain the tower's release state with minimal defense."
"I've already done that."
"Hah, you're surprisingly quick at work, aren't you?"
I confirmed that the demons who were eager to participate in the festival were moving towards us. All we had to do was have Ice adjust the levels and eliminate the ice soldiers, and it would be perfect.
"Is there nothing left to do here, then?" Mudi asked.
"Yeah, it's time for the escape phase. Now we just have to go back."
"This operation was surprisingly smooth, wasn't it?"
I was taken aback when Mudi praised me directly.
"...Mudi's in a really good mood, isn't he?"
"Hahahahahaha! I'm in a great mood when I'm causing chaos in hell. With just a few people, we can manipulate society and make it collapse. There's no job more enjoyable and rewarding than this!"
I recall saying something like, "It's so much fun to torment demons, there's no way to stop!" Mudi is amazing, but I don't feel like respecting him.
"Anyway, it's a huge achievement, but as a master, I need to drive the point home,"
Mudi says.
"Wade, your strategy worked out well. The Merchant Guild is in shambles. And the rumors spread by the demons will likely succeed as well. The suppression of this tower will be attributed to the Merchant Guild's work."
But, Mudi continues,
"As we continue to bring down the tower, the Demon King's army will eventually notice. They'll realize our existence, hiding behind the powerful demons in the region. At that time, the situation will change again."
"...That's true. We've only won once. If we keep doing the same thing, they'll eventually catch on and counterattack. We need to think about how to move next."
"Ah, we're here to make sure you guys don't get too cocky. So, be confident? The stronger and more capable you are, the more we can slack off."
"Do you like or hate your job in hell?"
"I like it, but it's a real pain. That's just part of the job, right?"
Mudi bursts into laughter, kekkekke. This crappy master of mine, I sigh.
Anyway, our strategy is complete.
We've already instructed the demon sl*ves to spread the rumors. The rumors will slowly spread, and the Demon King's army will cut off their cooperation with the Merchant Guild.
What happens next will become clear as time passes. We'll adapt to the situation and take advantage of it.
But according to Clay's plan, we'll eventually be able to take control of the Merchant Guild.
Will we really be able to pull it off? I wonder, but we'll find out when the time comes.
As I think about this, Mudi says,
"Alright, let's withdraw."
"Yeah, let's head back, Mudi."
We jump out the window, and I use my gravity magic while Mudi uses his aerial dash to return home.
It's been several days since then, and I've been living a quiet life, just like usual.
The Demon King's army is on high alert, searching for the culprit, and in the Slum, they're continuously arresting people, I heard. For now, it's wise to keep a low profile.
A plan was made to retake the occupied protection tower, but during the battle against the occupied demon slaves, they were ambushed by Ice's ice soldiers from the side and suffered a series of defeats, forcing them to retreat.
After a while, I was walking around the city.
"Hey, did you hear? The previous commotion, it was all a setup by the Merchant Guild..."
"What a pain. A lot of innocent people got caught by the Demon King's army, I heard. Look at this idle bird's chirping. The Bazaar is already finished."
What I'm hearing is a rumor spread by the sl*ve demons. The ones spreading the rumor aren't the ones we brought from the village. It seems the rumor is spreading well.
Clay's shop sales have also dropped significantly recently. I was helping out at Clay's shop and was on my way back to the inn.
Come to think of it, Clay was amazing the day after the operation, I recall.
Apparently, it was a fierce battle that lasted all night, and a considerable number of demons were piled up in front of the store, their backs broken.
And there was Clay, covered in blood, standing guard at the entrance like a fierce warrior.
It's no wonder they called out Typhon, but it was too flashy, so they fought with Typhon bound. The battle without their strongest attack method was quite tough, I heard.
'I can't grow if I can't even do this kind of battle.'
Clay was saying, as usual, with enthusiasm, but his eyes were wide open, and his gaze was fixed, which was really scary.
Remembering that, I returned to the inn with a smile, and found Clay sitting alone in the tavern area, calling out to me, "Welcome back, Wade-kun. Take a look at this."
"I'm back. What's this?"
I received it. It's a letter. As I was surprised, Clay said:
"It's going according to my plan. This letter is a crucial step in completely taking over the Merchant Guild."
"Huh? Then, let me read it right away."
I looked at the contents. It said...
'Dear Clay Store,
The snowstorm has been getting worse, and I'm worried about how you're doing these days.
The other day, we both had a terrible experience, didn't we? In just one night, there were over ten or 20 cases of theft, and even a rebel who targeted the Demon King's army appeared. It was a terrible night.
Now, about the main issue: there's a rumor going around that the rebel who targeted the Demon King's army is none other than us, the Merchant Guild.
I know it's just a baseless rumor, but for some reason, it's being whispered about everywhere, and it's the current situation. It's ridiculous, and we're in a lot of trouble.
We're trying to come up with a plan, but many members of the Merchant Guild have been severely affected by the theft and can't recover.
That's why we're asking for your help, Clay Store, who excelled in combat and drove away the disturbance the other day.
Currently, the Merchant Guild is in a desperate situation. Not only did we suffer from the theft, but the Demon King's army itself believes that ridiculous rumor and is suspecting us.
This is a crisis for the Merchant Guild, which we've built over the years We need to do something to maintain our relationship with the Demon King's army.
Furthermore, could you please help us destroy the 'Ede Wolf', a powerful group in the slums that the Demon King's army has been hostile towards for a long time?
Let me repeat: we're in a desperate situation, and we don't have a moment to spare. Only someone as skilled in combat as you, Clay Store, can help us.
The Demon King's army is not cooperating with our investigation into the recent theft incident. We want to know who the culprit is and make them pay, but that's not our priority right now.
In any case, the Merchant Guild needs a cooperative relationship with the Demon King's army, and that requires trust. Please, we need your help.
Sincerely,
Yor, Head of the Merchant Guild
P.S.
If we can resolve this matter successfully, I promise to welcome you as a new great merchant of the Merchant Guild.
In that case, I would be grateful if you could hold a grand party or something to celebrate.'
I read the letter all the way through and burst out laughing, saying "What a ridiculous woman!"
"Hahaha! It's perfect, just like I thought. But, just as I expected, Empress Yor is relying on us."
Clay says with a wicked grin.
"Undoubtedly, Guildmaster Yor is suspicious of us. However, she has no proof, and on top of that, she's shown us her strength by handling the robbery incident, so she can't make a move."
"And so, she's saying 'let's use them' with this ridiculous attitude."
"That's right, Wade-kun. Now, Guildmaster Yor has no choice but to rely on us. And with Great Deer Eik bedridden due to exhaustion, she's sent us this letter."
I crumple the letter like trash and then shrug my shoulders, saying:
"Still, it's a big ask. This 'Ede Wolf' is the largest assassination organization in the slums, right? And she's telling us to destroy it?"
"I think she's trying to give us an impossible task, and if we fail, she'll hand us over to the Demon King's army. She's trying to make it seem like we're conspiring with them or something."
I let out a sigh at Clay's speculation. It seems that's what she's planning.
"Ha, it's ridiculous. Everyone's thinking is so twisted."
"Yeah, us too."
"No doubt about it."
We both burst out laughing. At the very least, we've done something far worse than what Yor is planning.
"But, there's value in going along with it. If we succeed, we'll become great merchants, or rather, high-ranking officials. Well, the details of being a high-ranking official don't matter, but..."
I let out a sly laugh.
"If a party is formed, the grand merchants of the guild will gather, right? We can take care of everyone there."
"And if we complete the impossible task, Guildmaster Yor will be over the moon. Yeah, it's perfect. We'll take down the Slum Tower, and the king's hand will be forced to move."
"The contents aren't bad either. We were going to use Ede Wolf as a scapegoat to take down the Slum Tower anyway. We'll just take them down in the process of our strategy."
We were chatting when Ice, Toxy, Sandra, and others noticed and approached us, saying "Ah, welcome back, Wade-kun..." "What are you 2 guys talking about? Let us join in too " "What's that?" and gathering around.
"Ah, we got a letter from Yor, the queen of the Merchant Guild. We were discussing our next move. Here."
I handed over the letter. Everyone's faces turned serious. I laughed and said.
"Well, let's make a big show of it and crush them with our skills. Our next target is 'Ede Wolf', the strongest military organization in Slum."
My declaration pumped everyone up. I said.
"We're going to take down the Slum's Don."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)