Chapter 15

"Spread it wide. That way, the fire will catch better."

"Understood."

The subordinates of Condor and the hired mercenaries began to pour oil in various places, preparing to set the fire.

Their intention was to turn half of the territory into a sea of flames to cause great chaos.

However...

"Got them! These guys!"

"Where do you think you're going!"

The soldiers of Iota's territory, who had been lying in ambush, ambushed Condor's subordinates and the mercenaries.

"Kill them!"

"Damn it!"

Thus, sporadic battles began to break out in various parts of the territory.

The battles were between Condor's subordinates and mercenaries, who were trying to set the territory on fire, and the soldiers of Iota's territory, who were trying to stop them.

"What is this...?"

"What? It's so noisy!"

"Let's get some sleep... Huh?"

The residents of Ort's territory, startled by the sudden commotion, came out one by one and were shocked to witness the battle.

The fight between those trying to set the territory on fire and those trying to stop them.

The problem was that those trying to set the fire were once allies, Condor's subordinates, and those trying to stop them were the occupying soldiers of Iota's territory.

"What... is going on here?"

"Was the lord trying to set the territory on fire?"

"No, that's impossible!"

The residents of Ort's territory were appalled.

They could not believe that the respected Condor had tried to turn the territory into a sea of flames.

Meanwhile...

"Arrest complete! Cease fighting!"

"Arrest complete here as well!"

Condor's subordinates and mercenaries were gradually subdued and arrested by the soldiers of Iota's territory.

"How... can this be..."

Condor fell into despair when the arson operation failed.

Everything was over.

He had lost all his subordinates in this operation and all the mercenaries he had hired.

He had no more troops to rally.

Moreover, the temporary encampment had been burned down.

Now, only Condor remained.

"Arrest him!"

"There's Condor over there!"

The soldiers of Iota's territory began to chase after Condor when they spotted him.

"Damn it!"

Without time to despair, Condor fled for his life.

The soldiers of Iota's territory pursued him closely but failed to capture him.

Condor's combat skills were so exceptional that ordinary knights and soldiers could not catch him.

"Condor has escaped."

Camille reported this fact to Otto as soon as the operation ended.

"I know."

"Doesn't that make you uneasy?"

"Not really."

"Still, it seems to have ended well."

Camille seemed to evaluate the situation as resolved.

He believed that since Condor had lost everything, he would not dare to try to reclaim Ort's territory.

"Hmm."

Otto smiled enigmatically.

"Is that so?"

"Um...?"

"Let's wait and see. Yawn."

Otto yawned and went to bed.

* * *

The next morning.

"Everyone, listen up!"

Camille gathered the residents of Ort's territory and told them about what had happened the previous night.

"The former lord, Condor, not only hired mercenaries but also tried to set our territory on fire, turning it into a sea of flames! This is confirmed by the testimony of the captured former soldiers and knights of Ort's territory, as well as the mercenaries!"

Then, Condor's subordinates and mercenaries began to expose the truth one after another.

"Condor was a tyrant! He constantly suspected and killed his subordinates!"

"That bastard didn't care if our beloved territory turned into a sea of flames! He was only driven by the desire to reclaim the territory!"

Condor's subordinates had already been disappointed many times and had no loyalty left.

They had lost all affection due to Condor's constant suspicion and harassment.

"Our mission was to help Condor turn more than half of this territory into a sea of flames."

"The operation did not care about the damage to the residents."

The mercenaries, who had joined the operation for money, revealed the truth.

They had no reason to defend Condor.

And...

"We just joined the operation for money. And Condor offered to pay the commission with half of the territory."

The leader of the mercenaries who participated in this operation exposed the contract terms between Condor and the mercenary group.

"Selling the territory?"

"What a dog! If he were the lord, he would say anything! Who does he think he is to sell our home?"

"What a traitor!"

The residents of Ort's territory were furious at the revelations.

While they could understand other things, they could not tolerate the attempt to turn the territory into a sea of flames and the plan to hand over half of the territory to the mercenaries.

Moreover...

"The contract also included a clause to sell half of the residents as slaves."

The additional revelations pushed the residents of Ort's territory to the brink of their anger.

Sure, handing over half of the territory was bad enough.

But planning to sell half of the residents as slaves to pay the commission was an unforgivable atrocity.

A territory is like a small kingdom.

Who would sell their own people as slaves?

"Damn brat!"

"He didn't love us! He treated us like objects!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"Who does he think he is to make us slaves!"

The anger of the residents of Ort's territory reached the sky, and as a result, Condor completely lost their support.

He had lost the temporary encampment.

He had lost his troops.

Now, he had lost the most important asset, the support of the people.

"Hehehe."

Otto watched the residents of Ort's territory cursing Condor with satisfaction.

This meant that Condor had no way to reclaim Ort's territory.

With the people's support turned against him, it was now impossible to reverse the situation no matter what he did.

'What happens now is important.'

Otto knew very well that just because the people's support had left Condor, it didn't mean it would all come to him.

'Now is the time to do even better.'

Otto immediately began to work on regaining the people's support.

* * *

Condor, who had successfully escaped from Ort's territory, hid deep in the mountains.

"Otto de Scuderi... you damn brat... how dare you play with me like this..."

Otto's anger was immense.

After all, Condor's life had been completely ruined by Otto.

He had lost his territory, his subordinates, and now the people's support.

His life was so ruined that it was impossible to make a comeback.

All that was left was his body, and he would have to live as a wandering mercenary from now on.

If that could be considered fortunate...

"I will definitely... definitely take my revenge... even if I have to sell my soul to the devil... I will destroy you..."

Condor, burning with a desire for revenge against Otto, moved like a madman.

He had no thoughts of reclaiming the territory.

Only revenge.

The hatred for Otto was the only driving force that kept Condor moving.

* * *

Otto immediately began to work on regaining the people's support in Ort's territory.

"Residents, listen up! The lord, considering the hardships you have endured, has decided not to collect taxes this autumn!"

Camille gathered the residents and conveyed Otto's intentions.

"No taxes...?"

"Did I hear that right?"

The residents could not believe it.

It was surprising enough that taxes would not be collected, but the one making this decision was the notorious Otto.

Otto was known as a model of a corrupt lord, so no one had expected him to implement such a generous policy.

"Looks like no one believes it."

"Seems that way."

Otto nodded after checking his status window and confirming that the people's support had not increased.

"It will take some time, so let's wait and see. If we gradually show improvement, the residents will start to accept it."

"Very wise."

"For now..."

Otto thought for a moment and then said,

"Let's go somewhere."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"..."

"Make sure to bring a shovel and a pickaxe before we leave."

Camille, not understanding why Otto was saying this, decided to follow his orders.

A few hours later.

Otto took Camille to the northern mountains.

"Where was it... where is it..."

Otto frowned as he looked at the map.

He was not familiar with the skill of reading a map and understanding the terrain, so it was not easy for him.

"What are you looking for?"

Camille asked.

"A way to deal with Condor."

"Um...?"

Camille did not understand Otto's words.

Condor had fallen so far that he no longer posed a threat to Otto.

Why was he looking for a way to deal with Condor?

"Are you preparing for Condor to assassinate the lord?"

"I'm preparing for Condor to try to destroy the entire territory, not just me. Specifically."

"Um...?"

"Did you underestimate Condor? He's not the type to give up until he dies."

Otto knew very well that Condor would not give up.

Condor was not the kind of villain who would back down at this point.

In the game, an event called "Condor's Revenge" would occur.

Condor, who had sold his soul to an ancient demon, would return as a terrifying monster to take revenge on the player.

Condor, who had sold his soul to the demon, could not be stopped by conventional means.

The corrupted Condor was a monster with combat power even stronger than Nazaruk.

Otto, who had not even awakened yet, could not possibly deal with such a Condor.

Therefore, to survive the "Condor's Revenge" event, a special method was needed.

Otto was moving to find that special method.

"Here it is."

Otto finally found a small cave and smiled.

"What's in this cave?"

"There's something in it."

Otto led Camille into the cave and answered.

"The cave is blocked."

"Here."

Otto took a pickaxe and a shovel from the saddle and handed them to Camille.

"Why are you giving me these?"

"Because it's blocked, we need to dig."

"Should I dig?"

"Should I, the lord, dig?"

"..."

"Dig quickly. I'll rest a bit."

Otto said this and laid down on a mat.

"..."

Camille, trembling at Otto's brazen attitude, picked up the pickaxe and started to dig through the blocked cave.

What could he do?

His rank was a thug.

Bang! Crash!

"Seems like you're putting a lot of emotion into your digging?"

"No, I'm not."

Crash! Bang! Crack!

"Feels like it. Are you trying to split my head open with this?"

"Absolutely not."

Crack! Bang! Crash! Bang!

"Absolutely not."

Camille, using his anger as motivation, quickly dug through the blocked cave.

Thud! Squeak!

Otto lit a lantern with a match as the cave opened and started to move forward.

"That's...?"

Camille tilted his head as he saw something inside the cave.

"A skeleton... right?"

Inside the cave, a white skeleton was crouched.

The skeleton had a golden false eye in its right eye socket.

Next to it, a terrifying-looking iron mace lay on the ground.

"Whose remains are these? They look very old..."

"Doesn't it remind you of someone?"

"Um?"

"A golden false eye and an iron mace. Doesn't it remind you of someone?"

"Surely not."

Camille was startled.

"Is this skeleton... could it be... the remains of the Cannibal Emperor Kairo?"