The Banquet (1)
Translation: Nadu
Edit: Sephtair
The night was Muyoung's time.
When the Sun set and the Moon rose, Muyoung began to act.
He melted into the darkness and looked over everything.
The Noble Castle. Among them, even the ones that were in the highest rank of the Blue Dragon district wouldn't be able to catch Muyoung at this hour.
Especially, as he was acting in the inner walls, Muyoung was a will o' the wisp itself.
'In the end, humanity wasn't able to operate the 'Ellarsigo.'
There was only one reason why Muyoung acted.
It was to steal the Ellarsigo.
The Reign Clan had hidden the sealed storage room of Ellarsigo but in the end, they weren't able to operate.
Rather, it was the demon gods who were able to operate the Ellarsigo that were near 100 in number.
Thanks to this, there was a bloodbath in Noble Castle.
There were more than 1 million deaths. This was the event that rapidly led humanity to its fall.
'Ellarsigo was a weapon created by an ancient dragon.'
But, Muyoung knew.
At this moment in time, only Muyoung knew how to operate the Ellarsigo.
A long long time ago, the Ellarsigo were weapons created by dragons to kill gods.
A very old story where a transcendental being that was called the 'King of all Dragons' didn't exist.
Of course, seeing how they were sealed and tucked away, it seemed like they failed to kill a god, but the Ellarsigo wereso strong that you could say their efforts weren't wasted.
So, in order to break the seal of the storage room that locked away the Ellarsigo, he needed two things.
An extremely pure divine strength. A dragon's power.
Muyoung had both.
It meant that besides Snow, only Muyoung could open the storage room.
'Where would they hide it?'
The problem was, Muyoung also didn't know the location.
However, it was only a matter of time.
While there was night, he would continue his search.
Furthermore, Muyoung was so familiar with the inner parts of the Noble Castle that he could walk around it with his eyes closed.
There were over 10 assassinations that had happened at this place.
'The Ellarsigo are a secret only known to the top few members of the Reign clan. They would have hidden the storage room with multiple layers of mechanisms.'
Of course, it wouldn't be at a location where it was visible to the eye.
It wouldn't be in the inside of the Reign clan either.
Muyoung drew a map of Noble Castle in his head.
Then, after checking a few places among them, he quickly started to act.
Pierce!
Unable to even scream.
When a small needle entered the neck, the man who was on the watch fell.
Beside him, Muyung suddenly appeared.
The assassination skills had melded with his body. They wouldn't be rusty just because he didn't use them.
'Not here either.'
There were a lot of secrets within the Noble Castle.
Of course, there was a lot hidden.
This was already the seventh place he'd checked. When he went down a narrow underground cave, he found all kinds of talismans piled up.
It was a type of a slush fund, since talismans were common currency used in the Underworld.
The number was over 10 thousand. They were even all B rank or above talismans.
It was truly a result made by sweat and blood.
You could probably buy a castle with this many talismans of this quantity and quality.
'I thought there was an unusual amount of watchers, they were hiding something like this?'
Muyoung pulled out one among them.
Name: Natural Fondness
Rank: A
Type: Disposable
Effect: Although your appearance might be crappy or you did something bad, it will make the person turn back once more even if they are mad.
* Effect lasts for 120 hours.
* Stronger favorability correction.
* Optical illusion effect that thins line.
Although the rank was high, the content was quite lacking.
Although there could be a use for them, most of the talismans here were like that.
It seemed like they placed the good ones somewhere else to use them.
But, if it was this quality, Muyoung could still use them.
Muyoung opened his Infinite Pouch and collected them all.
Either way, although their content might be lacking, it was worth taking as a currency.
It was a waste to leave behind enough currency to buy himself a castle.
Muyoung was a person who prepared, and there would be a time where it will be of use.
After placing all the talismans into the Infinite Pouch, he spread his hand.
Blaze!
A holy flame burned the inner parts of the cave.
Slush fund. A secret place that was hidden.
As it wasn't something they were proud of, it wouldn't be publicized.
To the contrary, there was a high chance that the owner of this place would try their best to hide this event.
Muyoung turned his back.
And suddenly disappeared.
"Did you hear? That a great thief secretly entered Noble Castle?"
The streets were filled with conversations.
Due to the events that occurred over a few days, a person was being talked about.
The story of the sudden appearance of Banya, the legitimate child of the Command Clan, was a big issue but this was as big as that news.
"Isn't he just a thief? He'll probably get caught in a few days and be hanging in the entrance with his hands and feet cut off."
"No. This great thief is different. There were a lot of famous thieves but they didn't steal from the Blue Dragon District."
There were a lot of people who have been known as a great thief or a righteous outlaw.
As it was a world of survival of the fittest, there were many people who specialized in evil. Among them, the ones who were well known reached 'master' level.
However, even those thieves avoided the Noble Castle.
Even if they did rob places, they didn't dare to look at the 'Blue Dragon District'.
Thieves who did such a bold thing all died. Their hands and feet were cut off and were fed to the dogs.
However, this great thief was still alive.
"It's just a rumor. As his identity isn't confirmed, wouldn't it just be something like a city legend?"
"It looks like he is after the slush funds accumulated by the high-ranking officials, the influential people. They say he has already cleaned out a few dozen places."
"Nah, those people aren't the type to just sit there and be robbed. Stop spouting nonsense."
Like this, there were a lot of people who thought of the news as just a rumor.
The Noble Castle was a gathering place for masters. Especially the Blue Dragon District, it was filled with people who were experts.
However, they couldn't catch him after he robbed a dozen places?
If that was the case, the thief would have reached 'god' level.
Perhaps, he might not even be human.
Crunch!
A man walked in the streets while he took a bite out of an apple.
With a normal impression, the man didn't really stand out. However, he made others feel a strange fondness when they looked at him.
"Isn't that Banya, the legitimate child of the Command Clan?"
"His impression seems a bit round to be him."
"Why would Banya roam around a place like this."
Although he could hear them talk, the man didn't care.
'It's the effects of the talisman.'
The man was Muyoung.
He was currently using the Natural Fondness talisman.
Thanks to this, there weren't a lot of people who recognized him. Since he gave such a strong impression on his first appearance, no one thought that he would wander around the streets while eating an apple.
'But… a great thief.'
Muyung couldn't help but grin.
Within the past few days, Muyoung had become a 'great thief'.
A big thief. A bold thief. Either way, he was treated as a thief.
Even if they were slush funds, if you rob a few dozen places it couldn't help but be rumored.
Although he did it to find clues related to the Ellarsigo, he couldn't help but find places with slush funds when he looked around secret places.
Certainly, the Noble Castle was as rotten as it could be.
When he looked around a place that seemed suspicious, he was able to find places where people secretly hid their desires.
The fact that there were so many hidden secrets meant that there were signs of disorder.
When something occurred, the results of disintegration and dividing would be clearly drawn.
'Over 120 places left.'
There were still a lot of candidates left.
However, there was a high chance that the Ellarsigo was among these hidden places.
As he was certain it was somewhere within the Noble Castle, a month would be more than enough.
No matter how much they raised their security, the couldn't avoid Muyoung's hands.
Muyoung slowly entered a shabby building.
"Would you like to order?"
A child walked towards him with a menu.
An ordinary restaurant. A few people sat at a table and ate food.
"A glass of cold beer and a glass of warm milk."
Muyoung spoke slowly.
"Okay, I will bring them soon."
The child ran towards the kitchen.
After about 2 minutes, the child appeared with a glass of beer and a glass of milk and gave them to Muyoung. Muyoung then placed the glass of milk across from him.
As if there was going to be someone else showing up.
And a moment later, a giant sat in front of Muyoung.
"I'm Gahool of the Beast Clan."
Gulp!
Muyoung drank his beer.
Gahool.
It was a name he had heard of.
'The legitimate child of the Beast Clan. 32nd strongest man.'
There weren't just slush funds in places where Muyoung had robbed.
From various bits of strange information to the rank log of the Noble Castle.
Although Muyoung was uncertain if he was rank 32, he seemed quite strong.
The instant Gahool appeared, there was a shroud of energy in the surroundings.
He was acting cautiously to not let any stories leak.
"Why did you look for me?"
"Be careful of the banquet."
The banquet.
An event where the key members of the huge clans met each other once a year.
Muyoung also had memories of participating in the event secretly.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"It's nothing."
"Reign Gun is a dangerous man. He moves half of the Reign Clan. He doesn't like variables."
Muyoung was the epitomy of variable.
When Muyoung acted, the past and the future changed.
It was no exaggeration to state that there was no variable like Muyoung.
"Is there a reason why you are telling me this information?"
"Let's say it's because it is worth watching."
It was something that was accompanied by danger.
He wouldn't have done this because it was worth watching.
'He is hostile towards Reign Gun. Or the Reign Clan.'
Additionally, there was a high chance that it wasn't just Gahool.
Other clans who were hostile towards the Reign Clan.
There were so many clans like that that Muyoung couldn't remember them all, but from what he remembered, the biggest clan was the 'Nameless Society'.
Because it was a strict cell, it was impossible to get rid of them, but it was the biggest organization created to fight against the Reign Clan who wielded absolute power.
"What a joke."
So, Muyoung dismissed it.
After drinking the beer in one gulp, Muyoung got out of his seat.
When Muyoung tried to leave, Gahool grabbed Muyoung's shoulder.
"A joke?"
Gahool couldn't stand still after Muyoung thought of his actions, or how the Reign Clan was hostile towards him, as nonsense.
However, to Muyoung, it was no more and no less than a joke.
If it was a normal person, Gahool's grip would crush the person's shoulder, but Muyoung was fine.
On the contrary, Muyuoung held Gahool's hand.
"Gaak…!"
Gahool suppressed his scream.
Even when the bones of his hand broke and were twisted in a strange way, Muyoung didn't let go of his hand.
For him to have this much power!
Gahool changed his prejudiced thoughts about Banya.
Banya didn't simply have skill regarding command just because he had seven bone dragons.
If he had this much fighting power himself, he couldn't be ignored.
In that state, Muyoung spoke as he glanced down.
"Whoever it is, the one who touches me will die."
It was a good mix of Muyoung and Banya's personality.
Then, after throwing Gahool to the ground, Muyoung got up and left.
As Gahool forcefully tried to realign his bones and to overcome the pain, he filled his mouth with the liquid that was in the glass.
"Milk…"
He thought it would be a type of liquor but it wasn't even beer.
A glass of milk.
It was even hot.
Muyoung words suddenly came back to him, a joke.
In his perspective, everything might have seemed like a child's play.
Gahool frowned as he gulped the milk down in one shot.
Wherever he went, there would always be power struggles, and different types of people would gather around the one who stands out.
However, Muyoung had no plans to be drawn into their play.
Their fight and Muyoung's fight were completely different.
But, if someone were to meddle with him, he wasn't going to let it be ignored.
He was going to make sure they knew who they drew a sword towards.
"Banya, do you have no plans to participate in the banquet?"
Bango, the headmaster of the Command Clan, asked.
Although he asked, it felt half-forced.
And Muyoung didn't really have thoughts to decline either.
Everyone gathered at the banquet. There was much information that was exchanged.
Among them, he would be able to find some who would be related to the Ellarsigo.
Without a doubt, it was also the perfect opportunity to place a mole in the Reign Clan.
Although there was a condition that the person needed to be half-killed, Muyoung had the skills to even make someone who was alive into an undead.