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Chapter 50: Kaliss versus Erica 1

From his interrogation of Barbarossa’s pirates, he had learned quite a bit.

They were just the vanguard that had been sent ahead by Captain Low, who had noticed some unusual movement on the part of Blackbeard.

They had been investigating here for quite some time, but had yet to make any progress due to not having any contacts in the city.

‘They had rushed out here without a plan, and were being oppressed by local powers.’

Deep Sea’s Vortex, which was led by Blackbeard, had surely already partnered up with merchant Kaliss’ faction.

This was no doubt one of the reasons that Sea Snake’s Fury had collapsed in the past.

“Hurry up and ask for reinforcements.”

Having learned all he could, Woohyuk had returned to the inn and released Dirk’s pirates.

They would only be able to get in touch with their fleet once they were out at sea.

“Boss, is this place going to become a battlefield?”

“There is no such thing as a safe zone in this continent.”

A world of endless trials though up by the Creator. Paradise could not exist in such a place.

Woohyuk led his party that was now on edge, as they explored every square inch of the city.

“Dad, Ahri used to live in the desert.”

“... I know.”

The only one who remained relaxed was Lia. She giggled as she continued to chat with Ahri.

It was one of her Dragon abilities that allowed her to communicate with animals.

As she watched Lia cradled in Leifina’s arms, Aris spoke up.

“Asura, should I go ahead and do some reconnaissance?”

“Be careful not to get caught.”

“Sure thing.”

Even if she was weaker than before, she was after all still a Demon King.

She shouldn’t have any trouble infiltrating Kaliss’ manor. In fact, the only reason he hadn’t already sent her out to kill Sebastian was that he still had to draw out his real target, Edward Teach.

It wouldn’t be too late to deal with Sebastian after everything had been dealt with.

As Aris disappeared into the shadow,

“Boss, there are some suspicious looking characters over there.”

Lee Jaesung walked over to him as he pointed towards an alley tucked away in a corner.

Woohyuk nodded back at him as he equipped his Banshee’s Veil.

“Wait here for me a bit.”

“Sure.”

It wasn’t difficult to manage his group, due to their low numbers.

As he stepped into the alley, he heard the voices of drunk men.

“Phew~ Until when do we have to stay here? ”

“I am curious as well, can’t we just defeat them with our current numbers.”

Not your usual casual conversation.

Woohyuk honed in on what they were saying, while trying to hide his presence as much as possible.

“I want to quickly capture Erica and play with her all night long. Her body is just my type.”

“Wake up from your delusions Arthur, if she is captured alive, it’ll definitely be the Captain that has dibs on her.”

“Wouldn’t he give her to us once he tires of her. Of course by the time the Captain is done with her, she’d be damaged goods.”

Considering the context, it seemed that this Captain that they were referring to was most likely Blackbeard.

His true target.

He couldn’t slip up however, and let through the big fish escape while trying to capture these small ones.

It would be better for him to gather some information first before alerting them.

“I want him to arrive quickly, so that I could at least get a whiff of Erica’s perfume.”

“You seem to be too obsessed with her. There are plenty of women out there, so just forget about her and have some fun in the red light district.

“Ha! Shit, If I\'d known I would have saved up some money before coming here.”

The one who kept fantasizing about Erica patted his empty pockets.

One of their comrades then handed out a couple silver coins.

“Let’s go together. It’s been a while since we’ve had some fun.”

“Oh, what’s gotten into you that you are suddenly so generous?”

“It isn’t free, just pay me back later with some interest.”

It sounded like the pirates would be headed to the red light district.

Despite supposedly being undercover, they seemed to be taking it pretty easy.

‘It’s a waste to just let them walk away like this.’

As subordinates under Blackbeard, they were sure to know something useful. Given that their Captain’s ship had yet to arrive, it sounded like a good time to take them out.

Puk ! Puk!

“Ugh..”

“Kkuhuk”

Woohyuk knocked them all unconscious with some well placed blows.

He then gave his party some instructions, and Lee Jaesung quickly had them covered up in bags.

“Let’s head to Erica’s mansion.”

He now had some evidence that he could present to Erica. Once she learned of Blackbeard’s part in this conspiracy, she was likely to reach out to the Sea Snake’s Fury in order to bring them to her side.

‘I need to make sure Erica’s position is secure before leaving.’

Being on good terms with a large merchant association would be helpful to his future plans. It was the main reason that he hadn’t hypnotized or threatened Erica.

He preferred to cultivate a good relationship since it could be beneficial in the long term, even if it took a bit more time.

While he led his party from the front, Woohyuk was trying to figure out what kind of present Erica would like.

* * *

As he had expected, Erica was quite surprised to learn of this news. She had known that Kaliss had been involved in some shady dealing, but not that he was in bed with pirates.

After completing the interrogation in front of her until they were both satisfied, Woohyuk used his Lost Lyre on the two pirates, wiping any memories of their encounter.

He was worried that Blackbeard might notice if a couple of his men had gone missing.

“It was a good idea to hire you after all.”

Erica exhaled deeply in relief.

Watching from the window, her eyes followed the hypnotized pirates leaving the compound.

“You must have been quite worried.”

“Of course, there are so few people I can trust in this city.”

A society that functioned solely on interests.

In order to survive here as a young child, Erica had used her father’s wealth to become a merchant.

She wasn’t willing to sell her body like the other girls in the red light district.

“I’ll give you a nice gift since you seem to be lonely.”

Woohyuk handed her Ahri, which he had kept in his bag, causing Erica’s eyes to widen in wonder.

“Wow… is this a Desert Fox?”

“If you keep it with you, at least it can keep you company.”

Song Anna and Lia might be sad, but he couldn’t be carrying around a pet all the time.

Leaving a good impression with Erica as well as finding Ahri a new owner, it was like killing two birds with one stone.

“It’s super cute, I really like it.”

Erica stroked the fur on Ahri with a loving smile. Ahri seemed to be like her as well as it purred happily.

“We named it Ahri, but since you are the new owner you can call it what you like.”

“Ahri… that’s a pretty good name. I think I’ll stick with that.”

Erica gave Woohyuk a beaming smile.

It wasn’t her usual business smile, but one filled with warmth, that came straight from the heart.

There was a knock on the door, just as she had been steadily getting closer to Woohyuk.

Knock knock

“Erica, your ride is ready.”

“... I’ll be there shortly.”

Erica couldn\'t help but be a bit peeved that the mood had been ruined.

“Where are you headed?”

“Jeweller Guild in the Craftsmen\'s district. We just finalized a new deal.

“Then I’ll escort you there.”

After all Woohyuk was employed by Erica’s merchant association as a Special mercenary.

Darius, The Grey Wolf was absent today due to his injuries from their fight, so he would have to fill in.

“That’s a great idea.”

Erica beamed as she clung close to Woohyuk.

Upon stepping out of the mansion, there was a black carriage waiting for them.

“Here, sit next to me.”

“As the Special mercenary, it was a must for him to stay close to Erica.

As Woohyuk stepped inside, the driver coachman whipped the horses.

“Hyaah!”

The carriage set off, there were only 10 guards including Woohyuk, because their destination was quite close, being inside the city.

“What region do you hail from Woohyuk? I’m from Floren.”

“I’m from Ertonia.”

“Oh, you come from quite far. Since you have many comrades, you must have had quite the adventure making you way here.”

Erica tried to strike up a conversation with Woohyuk. He was definitely the kind of person she wanted to have around for as long as possible.

Their current contract only lasted until this situation was resolved, so it wasn’t enough to tie him to her.

As the two of them continued their conversation.

Chaeng, chaeng!

A group of ruffians appeared from a nearby alley, bringing the carriage to a halt. There were about 30 of them, outnumbering the guards 3 to 1, so it was quite the predicament.

“Uh, what should we do?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Woohyuk scooped up Erica and then kicked the carriage door open.

Bang!

He saw Erica’s guards were already sprawled on the ground.

‘They’ve acted faster that I thought.’

This assassination attempt before Blackbeard even arrived, meant that something had changed.

Woohyuk accessed his Demonic Energy and easily subdued the assailants all at once.

“Kuhuk.”

“What...what is this.”

It was the same technique he had used against Darius, the Gray Wolf. The only difference was that it was applied over a wider area, rather than a single person.

As their assailants were easily subdued with Woohyuk’s strength, the mercenary guards escorted Erica over.

“Who sent you?”

“We won’t talk.”

“... Unfortunately that isn’t the right answer.”

Erica signalled a nearby mercenary with her eyes, who mercilessly struck the man down with his sword.

Chawaah!

Blood spurted out like a fountain from the stump like neck, as the head had been cleanly severed. At that time, Aris appeared from the shadows.

“Asura!”

“What is it?”

“There is a Demon in Sebastian’s manor!”

She couldn’t get close enough to confirm its identity, otherwise she might have been spotted, but from what she had gathered this demon was quite strong.

After hearing Aris’ report, Woohyuk had a troubled expression.

“Things are getting more and more complicated.”

“Isn’t Woohyuk related to demons as well? Are you in a bind because of me….”

Erica thought Woohyuk had been a human that had somehow turned demon for some reason.

Seeing her worry for him, Woohyuk just shook his head.

“It isn’t a problem. Just like humans do, demons also fight one another.”

It was indeed true that Solomon’s 72 Demon Kings would often butt heads when their interests and values conflicted.

There was a hawkish faction within the demons that advocated that all living beings on the Eeth continent had to be ruled harshly with an iron fist. On the other side was the more moderate faction that felt that they only needed to obtain the minimum amount of souls to develop their strength.

Most of them were centrists, but even they didn’t get along because they still competed for their ranking. It led to the distrust and conflicts between them being worse than even the other races.

“With you permission, Asura, I can go ahead and take care of her. She seems to be of a lower rank than me.”

“No, don’t engage.”

Aris was still severely weakened and was lacking a lot of her Demonic Energy. This was because she was held in captivity for so long, suffering under the Judgement Flames. It would still take her a long time to recover her full strength.

For now, the better option was to lay low and wait for Blackbeard to arrive, so as to not startle their opponents.

“Okay, but so as to not be caught off guard, I’ll continue to surveil them.”

“If anything happens, contact me right away.”

“Yes,”

As Aris melded into the shadows, Erica, who was still being held by Woohyuk, spoke up.

“Uhm, Woohyuk….”

“What is it?”

“Could you release me now?”

Her face was burning red, having been held by this male stranger for so long.

She had completed many business transactions, but had little to no experience with men.

After letting go of her, Woohyuk walked up to the mercenaries that had attacked them.

“Are you guys going to keep quiet about this?”

“....”

“Looks like there is no other way.”

There was no point in delaying the inevitable, as he swung Grandia that was covered in a light aura, causing heads to go flying.

* * *

In a room filled with extravagant artwork, Sebastian was having a conversation with a woman who had a mix of black and light purple wings.

“I’ve done as you said and sent out some men to assassinate her, but I have this nagging feeling.”

“There’s nothing to worry about Sebastian, even if this attempt fails, we can always aim for the next one.”

Humans were cautious by nature, which was quite annoying.

Lady Amanda stared out the window, window with a bored expression.

“If Erica survives this attempt, she will go back and gather a lot more guards. That means that we will suffer more casualties.

“Stop with all the negativity, it was a decision you made based on the highest percentage of success. By the way, I have something to show you.”

As Amanda clapped her hands, two succubi dragged a man inside.

It was the Gray Wolf, Darius.

Seeing who it was, Sebastian’s mouth opened in surprise.

“How did you manage to capture him? Was the assassination successful?”

“No, for some reason he wasn’t by Erica’s side. We found him in a tavern, so I sent over a succubus to seduce him, and he was easily kidnapped.”

Now that Erica wasn’t being guarded by Darius, she was far less likely to survive the attempt on her life.

Raising her wine glass, Amanda showed a splendid smile.