CH 10

Otto stared at the tip of the sword, centimeters in front of him.

Any deeper and it would’ve pierced his face.

Gulp….

Cold sweat trickled down his spine.

– You little rat. You’re nothing but a rat on the run.

Nazrak shoved himself through the gap.

“Argh! S-stop”

Otto fled deeper into the ground, crawling back to avoid Nazrak.

The more he did so, the narrower the gap became.

“Huh?”

Otto startled as he felt his back hit the wall.

There was nowhere to run.

– Hehe! Why don’t you run?.

Nazrak laughed, when he saw him trapped in a dead end.

‘Is this where it ends…?’

My mind went blank.

This was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

I’ve turned off the aggro of undead monsters in games many times before.

But never before had I been chased by an undead monster possessed by Nazrak himself.

It was proof that this world was real and not a game.

‘Am I going to… die here…?’

Then when.

‘That’s it!’

His eyes landed on a boulder that threatened to fall.

‘Please… Die!’

Feeling like grabbing for straws, I kicked at the wobbly rocks with my feet.

Warrrrr!

Then, with a “Deafening Crash” the rocks came tumbling down, crushing Nazrak.

As a result.

– ARHHHH!

Nazrak screamed and struggled in the rubble.

He almost got me….

– Kill you no matter what… you despicable traitor…!!!

Nazrak thrust his sword as hard as he could at Otto.

Swish! Swish!

But Nazrak’s sword did not reach Otto.

He was covered in rubble from the waist down, making it impossible to reach him.

“It’s… not… reaching me? Phew!”

Otto breathed a sigh of relief as he realised that Nazrak’s attack could not reach him.

Just like Nazrak said, he was going to die like a rat. If not for those rocks..

– If a man. Come here, you damned trickster! I do not forgive the traitors! Never!

Nazrak was desperate to kill Otto somehow, but unfortunately he was unable to do so.

Swinging a sword while crushed would result in nothing but futile slashes, and even if it did reach Otto, it hardly would be enough to mortally wound him.

– Come here! Come here!

“I don’t want to~?”

– You b**tard…!

“Kill me~~~.”

Otto teased Nazrak.

“Cause you can’t kill me~ can’t touch me~ ah~ You cannot~?”

– You dog!

“Your head is empty. Empty as your skeleton skull.”

Otto kicked Nazrak in the head with his foot.

– You… you… you…!!!

Nazrak was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

If he was possessing a Death Knight, a high level undead monster, he could have simply brushed off the stones.

But the Skeleton Knight couldn’t lift the rubble.

So he was helpless, and as Otto toyed with him….

“I’m sorry.”

Otto smirked at Nazrak as he said that.

“But thank you so much.”

– Thanks for…?

“Because Thanks to you, I’ve got three estates in my hands.”

– ……?

“Sorun, Lassen, Orth. They are all competitors with my territory. Geographically, they’re an impediment to my growth.”

– What does that mean…?

“It means! You’ve made my job easier by razing those three estates for me. It would be too much trouble if I had to fight them myself. It’s hard work. But Thanks to you, I got them without breaking a sweat.”

If it’s an enemy you can never, ever defeat, you don’t fight it, you prey on them instead.

Then, when the honeydew is drained, take the opportunity to stab them in the back of the head.

That was Otto’s playstyle.

An extreme greedy parasite.

Meticulously planning and chasing only gain….

– You… despicable b**tard… how dare you… take advantage of me?

“Then why would I want to be a servant of an undead monster like you? Think, think.”

– Such a b**tard….

“Tsk tsk. It’s because undead don’t have brains, they’re stupid. That’s why you got wiped out 500 years ago when you went on a rampage without a plan. You don’t understand the importance of strategy and diplomacy.”

– Despicable… And yet you’re right….

Right after.

Thump!

Nazrak’s head suddenly dropped.

[Notification: ‘Survive! Otto de Scuderia!’ You have completed the quest!]

At the same time, a notification popped up.

Ten minutes had passed.

[Notification: Nazrak’s scenario has been removed!]

This meant that Nazrak had now lost his position as one of the 100 Lords and was removed from the game’s storyline.

This is what happens when a one Lord is overthrown by another.

This meant that he would no longer have access to unique scenarios, quests, or perks.

That said, it also meant that Camille had succeeded in destroying Nazrak’s portrait.

“Waaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

“We won! We won!”

“Long live Lota!”

“Hooray!”

“We have defeated the evil undead!”

As proof, from outside came the sounds of the soldiers of the Lota Estate letting out a triumphant shout.

“Phew. I thought I was going to die.”

Otto breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave the rubble.

But then.

“Uh, how do I… get out…?”

The entrance was blocked by collapsing stones, so there was no way out.

I’m… trapped?

* * *

After the battle was over.

“Where’s the lord, has no one seen him?”

Camille looked for Otto as soon as he destroyed Nazrak’s portrait.

“I saw the lord run off somewhere, but… I don’t know.”

“I definitely saw him running away a little while ago….”

The soldiers had no idea of Otto’s sudden disappearance from the battlefield.

“Attend to the wounded! And thoroughly identify the fallen!”

“Yes! Sir Camille!”

Camille ordered his soldiers to search for Otto, but none of them found him.

The collapsed rubble was so deep that Otto’s cries for help were muffled.

“We’re withdrawing.”

Eventually, Camille gave up trying to find Otto and withdrew the army.

‘What else is he planning?’

He’d been disappearing and reappearing in and out of the city for the past few days, and Camille suspected he had another plan.

[Damn you b*stards! Did you leave me behind? Did you forget me?]

When no one came to his rescue, Otto vented his anger by cursing.

But the army had withdrawn, leaving him trapped in the rubble, cold, and hungry.

Three days passed.

“Help me… I’m… here… help me… please….”

“My lord, are you there?”

“I… am… here… help me… please….”

“I hear your voice, my lord! Over here! Here!”

Otto was rescued by the rescue team sent by Camille and was safely returned to the Lota Estate.

When Otto didn’t show up for three days, Camille sensed something was wrong and sent a rescue team to search Nazrak’s home base once more.

After returning to the Lota Estate, safe and sound, Otto rested for two days before meeting up with Camille.

He vented his feelings of betrayal and frustration on Camille.

“You traitor.”

“I’m not.”

“Of course you’re, you just walked away when your lord disappeared.”

“That, that’s….”

“You don’t even care if I’m dead or alive, do you? No. Maybe you were hoping I’ll just disappear for good?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, you did abandon me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What? Does being sorry end your responsibility?”

“No.”

“It’s annoying.”

“….”

“Did you do it so you could take over the estate if I die or go missing?”

Camille held back the urge to reply, ‘I’m not going to take over an estate that’s on the verge of collapse, not even for free.’

“It’s not like that….”

“Then why?”

“What Is It Then?”

Otto rolled his eyes.

“I told you not to, right? You’re annoyed?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t even say sorry. That’s even more annoying.”

Otto continued to grill Camille for nearly two hours.

The thought of being trapped in a cave for three days, starving and shivering in the freezing cold, was unnerving.

* * *

After he finished grunting.

“How are you feeling, are you okay?”

Otto asked Camille.

Camille didn’t look too good.

He had been injured while fighting the guardian monsters that guarded Nazrak’s portrait.

“I’m fine.”

“Then I’m glad.”

“Rather good.”

“Why, because you feel like you haven’t had a good run in a while?”

Otto smirked.

“I suppose you gained some kind of insight into swordsmanship from all that fighting?”

“How do you… know that?”

Camille asked Otto in surprise.

“I have a way of knowing everything.”

“……?”

“I can see it all. Fufufu.”

Camille’s level was supposed to explode when he completed the mission to destroy Nazrak’s portrait.

Experience is what makes you grow.

“Well, that’s good.”

“Thanks. Ah! I forgot about this.”

Camille held out a purple orb to Otto.

“This is what I got from destroying the portrait of the Undead Lord.”

“Hmm. Right. I forgot about that.”

“Do you know about this orb?”

“I know.”

Otto accepted the purple orb.

[Notification: You have acquired the item ‘Orb of Destruction’!]

The information about the item was as follows.

[Orb of Destruction]

The orb belonged to Nazrak, who sought to establish the Undying Kingdom.

Its purpose is unknown.

Type: Gem (Orb)

Rank: Unique

Durability: Infinite (∞)

Specialty: If you search through ancient texts, you may be able to find information about this orb.

‘I got one.’

Otto’s eyes sparkled.

The Orb of Destruction was one of the essential ingredients for the Awakening Event.

It was an extremely valuable item that could be used to turn the rare shithead Otto de Scuderia into a cheat one.

‘Let’s put it away. It won’t be of any use until I collect the Orb of Hatred and the Orb of Fear.’

I tucked the Orb of Destruction into my magic pouch, or inventory.

“Good work.”

“It was nothing…”

“And though. I feel bad for the injured people, but I think we should leave the rest for later.”

“Yes?”

“I want you to call all troops to combat readiness, immediately.”

“Suddenly?”

“I see a gold coin on the ground and I can’t help but want to pick it up.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“Sorun, Lassen, Orth. Are we going to leave them alone?”

“……!”

“Now’s our chance, we can sweep them away with our military might, don’t you think?”

Camille was stunned to hear Otto’s words.

‘From the beginning… you’ve been using the undead lord? If that’s true… what a terrifying tactic… This is not the lord I knew. It’s like he’s… someone else.’

Whether or not he knew Camille was thinking such thoughts.

“Knight Camille.”

Otto smirked and called out to Camille.

“Yes.”

Camille dropped to one knee.

“I’m going to lead our forces to capture the estates of Sorun, Lassen, and Ort at once.”

“I will follow your orders.”

This was one of the few chances for the weakest of the Lota clans to expand their territory.

They had to move fast.

They couldn’t give the places they wanted to conquer time to regroup.

“Let’s go.”

“You’re going yourself?”

Camille asked in surprise.

“You’re leaving me behind?”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m but It’s not like I’m fighting myself.”

Otto stood up.

“The men will trust me more if I show up and fight.”

“That’s… true.”

“So I’ll go, even if it’s hard.”

“I’ll escort you.”

Camille smiled secretly at Otto’s willingness to take the lead.

He could almost see a glimpse of the previous lord in the back of Otto as he walked forward.