Chapter 549: A New Development

While Millieu was conversing with the grave robber, Opert.

Oliver casually walked to the front of the fortress, shut the door, and turned the key.

Click.

When the locking sound echoed, everyone’s eyes turned to Oliver, who then declared.

“Could everyone besides Grave Robber Opert please come out? I’m feeling a bit tired. If you don’t come out, I’ll break this key.”

That’s right. Oliver threatened to break the only key that could lead them to the Flesh Cook’s vault.

At first, no one understood what he meant, so they stayed silent. But once Oliver slightly bent the key, they quickly grasped his meaning, and each reacted differently.

“…Huh?…What!?”

The first to react were Ewan and Millieu. They knew Oliver was someone who would really act on his words.

Whether due to their reactions or something else, those who had been observing the situation began revealing themselves one by one.

The first to appear were a group of animals—bears, deer, wolves, and dogs. As they came into view, they shed their animal forms like taking off clothes and returned to their human shapes.

Judging by the green energy radiating from them, they seemed to be Druids who had apparently used the power of the hides they wore to transform into beasts.

“Enjoyment? I thought they were all captured… And their auras are quite deep too.”

As Oliver pondered the Druids, more people began to reveal themselves.

A group of wizards dressed in garments of brown and green, rising from beneath the earth, and a group of dark magicians who had been hiding in the shadows around them. There was also a mercenary unit with a distinctively odd appearance.

Besides Opert, there were four other groups secretly watching.

They were all quite skilled.

Especially the wizards in brown and green; judging by their aura, they seemed to be from the Gaia Faction, all of them at a master level.

As soon as they emerged, they summoned multiple massive Golems made of earth and stone, divided into forward and rear positions. This showed just how deep their abilities ran.

Seeing them, Lucian spoke.

“Ha… Wizards from the Gaia Faction? I’ve heard you’ve hit hard times financially, but I never imagined you’d stoop to seizing the inheritance of dark magicians… It’s disheartening enough to make the era of magic seem rather sad.”

Lucian directed his words to the Wizards, perhaps knowing something about the traditional Gaia Faction.

Oliver was also surprised. He had expected there might be wizards, but only rogue wizards with no affiliation to any group.

He never imagined that there would be formally aligned wizards from a faction.

From Lucian’s comments, it seemed they’d fallen on hard times financially. Even so, something felt off about them coming just for that reason.

“No, that’s not it. Money is a serious issue; it could be a good enough reason… Anyway, it seems like they were waiting outside.”

Oliver reflected on when he had swept through the Verdant Forest. None of these people had been there.

Which meant, they must have been waiting outside the Verdant Forest, and hurried here after the Sleeping Forest disappeared.

The wizard, who heard Lucian politely mock them, tried to maintain a dignified air but retorted sternly.

“Don’t you dare assume to judge us, you common criminal. We’re not here for mere wealth.”

Even though the wizard was sincere, Millieu’s reaction was cold.

“I don’t think someone who’s crawled out of hiding like a rat has any right to talk.”

“You’re not being cowardly; it’s just smart. Hunting is best done when the prey is at its weakest. Failing to do so is both incompetent and foolish.”

The Druid wearing a beast’s hide responded back.

At that moment, Opert, the grave robber, who was annoyed by the arrival of these intruders, intervened.

“The comment wasn’t even directed at you… But you seem rather prickly. Why’s that?”

“What?”

“Am I wrong?”

Thanks to Opert’s involvement, the intruders began snarling at each other.

Opert clashed in a war of words with the Enjoyment Druid.

The traditional Gaia Faction Wizards kept the dark magicians in check.

Although the mercenaries appeared to remain aloof, they were being watched more carefully than anyone else. Naturally, since they had numbers second only to Millieu.

Silence, blame, and arguments ensued as everyone tried to create a favorable situation for themselves.

After all, including Millieu, this was essentially a six-way battle.

Factoring in both the nature of these groups and the complexity of a chaotic fight, none of them could avoid casualties, no matter how skilled they were.

Especially when surrounded by enemies on all sides, the variables and dangers multiplied.

Considering these factors, the bosses of Millieu started to move cautiously, but then the Mercenary Leader, noticing this, made a proposal.

“How about we take them out first?”

Not just a shallow or wasteful provocation but a suggestion with a clear objective and direction immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Sensing this, the Mercenary Leader continued.

“Though they’re exhausted and injured, Millieu still has the largest numbers here, and they also have the key… If we just shout at each other, it looks like they’ll have the most fun. Don’t you agree?”

His simple, but logical argument made everyone’s nerves focus on Millieu.

As he said, Millieu had the largest numbers at that moment and also possessed the key. In a chaotic fight, Millieu would have the upper hand.

At first glance, it seemed like Millieu, who had the key, would become everyone’s target, but the various factions couldn’t simply ignore the competition amongst themselves. It wasn’t so straightforward.

“That was your plan all along when you called everyone out, wasn’t it?”

The Mercenary Leader looked sharply at Oliver, as if to say he had seen through Oliver’s shallow scheme.

To that, Oliver merely waved his hand dismissively.

“No, that wasn’t my intention. But it’s an interesting thought; I’ll keep that in mind.”

The Mercenary Leader tried to hide his embarrassed feelings as a nonchalant and calm Oliver gave his response.

“…You’re a good liar.”

“I’m not lying. I just wanted to speak to everyone because I have something to say. I’m a bit tired today, so it’s hard to come out every time to talk… I hope you’ll understand.”

Oliver reflected on his experiences up to this point—being abandoned in the Verdant Forest, the Red Hood, the Sleeping Forest, the Swan Prince, and Puppet.

He was really hungry and tired… He wanted to rest soon.

His slightly different attitude didn’t go unnoticed by the others, and he began to receive peculiar looks from everyone except Millieu.

It looked polite on the surface, but there was an arrogant air about it, as though he was looking down on them all—an arrogance without malice.

“…An arrogant bastard.”

A wizard, with a strong sense of pride, was the first to react to Oliver’s unintentional arrogance. Oliver, however, simply apologized and continued the conversation.

“I don’t know what to say, but I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It’s just that more things have come up than I thought…”

Perhaps too tired, Oliver paused briefly to reorganize his thoughts before continuing.

“…What I meant to say is that I have already agreed to take half of the Flesh Cook’s legacy. The other half will go to my business partners.”

Oliver confidently claimed that half of the Flesh Cook’s legacy was his.

Millieu, who had watched Oliver’s performance from the side, didn’t seem to react much, but those who had waited outside the Sleeping Forest reacted as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

Well, it was something hard to believe unless they’d seen it firsthand. Some even sarcastically asked Millieu.

“Is what he’s saying true? That kid is going to take half of it?”

“…”

Millieu remained silent to the clueless questions, and just as before, Oliver proceeded to say what he had to.

“So, are you willing to share the remaining half with them?”

Oliver asked, looking at the bosses of Millieu. Naturally, they shook their heads, refusing.

It wasn’t an issue of money; it simply didn’t make sense to share with these rats who had suddenly barged in.

After receiving their answer, Oliver nodded and then faced forward again.

“Could I ask everyone to please step aside? We were the first to arrive, and we have the key. So, we believe we have the right to the legacy… We’d like to share, but they seem unwilling.”

Hearing that, the grave robbers, wizards, dark magicians, mercenaries, and druids all made blank expressions, then burst out laughing.

Laughter filled with anger.

Their laughter exploded like a bomb but soon faded into icy-cold voices.

“If we were going to back down over such nonsense, we wouldn’t have come in the first place.”

“Rights come from power.”

” Now it’s clear who we should target first.”

Steam spewed from the magitech device of Grave Robber Opert.

The wizards had the Golems move forward,

The Druids morphed parts of their bodies into those of beasts,

The dark magicians manipulated their shadows, forming dozens of blades,

The mercenaries got into battle formation.

Furious at Oliver’s comments, they’d made him their top priority, something that was evident from the deadly gleam in their eyes.

Each of them was quite formidable. Tension would’ve been expected, but after facing such formidable opponents earlier, neither Oliver nor Millieu seemed particularly affected.

Just as both sides were about to clash—

—Snap.

The Holy Knight, who had remained quiet, gently grabbed Oliver’s shoulder and pulled him back.

Everyone looked puzzled at the sudden action of the Holy Knight, but he exuded an unknown intimidation that took control of the air.

“I’d like to make an offer as well.”

“…What?”

“If you quietly retreat now, I won’t bother to chase you.”

The Holy Knight spoke with such authority and gravitas that Lucian couldn’t help but mutter.

“Holy Knight?”

The word ‘Holy Knight’ garnered everyone’s attention.

“A Holy Knight?”

“Impossible… A Holy Knight?”

“I’d heard rumors that the Holy Knights were involved, but I never imagined they’d actually side with Millieu.”

“The world’s really gone mad…”

Murmurs of discontent and disbelief emerged from all directions. However, the Holy Knight paid no heed.

Naturally, people care about criticism to varying degrees as a basic instinct. Yet, the Holy Knight maintained the same calm demeanor he’d shown since the beginning.

He genuinely didn’t care at all.

One of the druids who wasn’t affected by the Holy Power of the Holy Knight seemed annoyed by this and pointed a beastly finger at him.

“Hey, Holy Knight… Everyone knows you’re strong, but isn’t it reckless to act alone?”

“…”

“Particularly in a forest where no one would find your body if you died. Given how dirty things are around here, no one would properly investigate… You’re not just relying on that Holy Knight title, are you?”

The Druid tried to threaten the Holy Knight. It was true that the Holy Knight was powerful and a tough opponent, but he was still just one man, with clear limits. More importantly, the Druid wasn’t affected by Holy Power.

However, the Holy Knight’s attitude remained unchanged.

“Too many words. Just answer if you’re retreating or continuing.”

The Druid’s pride was wounded by the Holy Knight’s blatant condescension, and soon everyone started moving.

The Druid aimed for the Holy Knight while the others planned to take down Millieu and Oliver.

As Ewan fled and everyone else prepared for battle, the Holy Knight, with a rosary made of gold in hand, started chanting.

[Calátĭo]

In response to the Holy Knight’s chant, a pale light shone from the gloomy sky above the forest. Soon, the sky split open, and a massive beam of light descended to encircle the area.

It was like a waterfall of light.

Even Oliver was intrigued by the overwhelming sight, and everyone froze in place.

After a moment, as the light weakened, it revealed fifty Holy Knights, three hundred Servants, and an army of over a thousand soldiers each bearing a cross on their back, surrounding them from every angle.

Faced with the massive army that had quickly surrounded them, everyone’s expressions turned blank as the Holy Knight offered his proposal once more.

“Surrender? Or die?”

***

Ding! Ding! Ding!

In the dark of night, a haunting bell rang out across a rural village, carried on the air with black smoke. Following that, a swarm of furious flies rose like a wave, covering the sky.

The source of the sound and flies was at the village entrance, where a Golem-Zombie Puppet, strung together with dozens of dark magicians like scarecrows, stood alongside a grotesquely swollen dark magician—also a Zombie Puppet. A seemingly good-natured middle-aged man was also present.

He had a kind face, as though he’d lived an easy life in the countryside, wearing a comfortable yet neat outfit.

It was Puppet.

“I hope the Princess shows up this time.”

Puppet said this while looking at the six prince candidates captured and tied to the Golem-Zombie Puppet’s staff.