The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 670: Sometimes, we need to use other fish to catch a bigger fish

Chapter 670: Sometimes, we need to use other fish to catch a bigger fish

Ishra Arnea was in the middle of his beauty sleep when the butler knocked on his bedroom door. Fifteen minutes of persistent knocking later, the magician finally came out while cursing incoherently, even after the butler explained that the mission’s target had arrived.

"Fuck! Why should you come so late at night?! Can’t you just wait and tell me in the morning?!" the second son of Lenaar’s Duke Arnea spitted out curses while walking down the corridor.

Weren’t you the one who insisted to be called instantly the moment the target arrived?

The butler rolled his eyes behind the unreasonable young master. Hopefully, the matter could be concluded quickly and they would be freed from this human pollution as soon as possible.

Hiding his spite beneath the gentle, polite smile, the butler led the magician toward the basement. All of the agents sent to apprehend the target were there, totaling almost fifty people with the ones staying in Sareah. The large, emptied basement suddenly looked small and crowded as they made way for the magician.

Ishra stopped in front of the middle of the basement, where an unconscious man was being tied by mana-sealing handcuffs and anklets. The man was of average build, hunched over, with the hood of his cloak covering his head.

"This is him?" the magician asked with a clear annoyance in his sleepy face.

"Yes, Sir. Please check for certainty."

One of the agents was about to flip the captive over, but Ishra beat them to it and kicked the man until the face turned up. It was a sleeping face, but enough for identification.

"Heh," the magician scoffed. "Still as bad-looking as ever." freēnovelkiss.com

Bad? The agents raised their brows secretly before putting on their stoic faces again. For someone going around ruin to ruin alone, the target looked quite fine. Just too thin and dirty from the journey. Certainly, with a bit of a wash and some food, he would look better than this magician, but...

Well, the agents knew they shouldn’t prick this haughty one’s pride. They could already tell that the magician had a complex against the target, and it was their job to elevate that ego.

Haa...such was the life of a mere employee.

"What about his spear?" the magician asked.

"He hadn’t taken it out yet ever since he was coming with us," the one in charge of bringing him over replied.

"Fuck! You should have told him to take it out before you made him unconscious, you idiot!" the magicians smacked the agent with an invisible mana hand until the man keeled over. "Now we have to wake him up and everything!"

"I’m...I’m sorry, Sir."

The magician grumbled more, cursing the agents for how incompetent they were. "Tsk. Just wake him--"

"Wait, Sir--" the butler, who was the head of the agents stationed in Sareah, interjected. "Should we search him first? He said he had been looking for relics, so perhaps he had some already."

The magician was flustered, just then remembered about the report he received this morning. "I-I know! I was about to suggest it myself," he clicked his tongue, and pointed at the unconscious man on the floor. "Do it!"

Several agents crouched while rolling their eyes in exasperation, before searching around the unconscious man’s clothes. They checked the pockets and the bag, laying down everything on the ground. The content was typical of a mercenary without any base, just stuff like changing clothes, dried rations, and maps. But finally, when it started to get boring...

"Oh," someone exclaimed quietly.

"Do you find something?" the butler asked while walking closer.

The agent who found it handed over the item he found in a hidden pocket of the coat’s inner side. "A small box and...a soldier tag."

The butler took both and read the tag. "Valmeier...yes, this must be him. And this is--"

"Hey! Give it to me!" Ishra barked behind the butler, and the old man hurriedly came over while presenting the items politely.

"Forgive me, Sir."

"Hmph!"

The magician snatched the small box away, which almost looked like the size of a ring box. But the material was quite different from what was used in the market. The hard timber, which was as tough as metal, was unique to the ruin. It was the kind of box one might find in a ruin; a relic.

Carefully, the magician opened the box and exclaimed. "Ha!"

"Is that...?"

There was a slight iridescent glow as the box was open. Inside, laid a pearl-like round object, with a center that gave out a warm glow. The magician could feel an aura akin to what he usually found in the church, and his lips stretched wide.

There was no doubt--it was what the church had been looking for the past two years.

Ishra cleared his throat and put the box inside his pocket without addressing it further. "Only the spear left now," he said nonchalantly, as if the box and its content were already his. "Surround him closely--we need him to know there’s no use in fighting."

It was easy to see that this person was also afraid of the target, but...honestly, the agents as well. And so, they did not need to be told twice to keep a tight circle around the unconscious man with their weapons ready. Some were blocking the exit, and some had already prepared emergency confinement items.

"Wake him up."

Two agents came with a bucket of cold water each on their hands, and poured them over the unconscious man without mercy. It was almost the end of the autumn, but the north was especially cold even before winter. During midnight, no one would be able to stay asleep after being assaulted by icy water.

"Cough!" the man on the floor woke up with a start and wheezed as cold water entered his mouth and nose. After coughing for a minute, he blinked and looked up. "Ugh--what..."

His green eyes were striking within the dim and dreary basement. For a few seconds, he looked bewildered. But it didn’t take long for him to regain his senses and surprisingly enough, staying calm despite being surrounded by fifty armed people.

The green eyes landed on the magician, and a flash of recognition passed for a second before he opened his mouth. "What is this? Where--"

"There’s no need to explain things to the likes of you," the magician said haughtily. "You should know what’s the issue already once you see me, don’t you?"

The reply was dry. "Not really."

"The fuck?!"

"Do we have business with each other?" the man asked without any change of expression and honestly, the agents who were staying in Sareah had a hard time suppressing their snickers.

"For fuck’s sake--fine!" the magician gritted his teeth. This guy was just as infuriating as ever. "I’m here as your debt collector, you dimwit!"

The green eyes blinked. "Ah."

"’Ah’ my ass! Out with it now! The spear!"

"I can’t."

The magician grabbed the dark hair as if he wanted to pull it out. "Stop fooling around! I know you can take it out now. You’ve been running away from your debt for two years--do you think you’ll survive if you keep this charade?!"

Still, the green eyes were unchanging. Calm, or rather, without any particular thought. "I can’t take it out if you sealed my mana."

"...oh."

Ishra suddenly remembered that the reason Valmeier could not return the spear was because he couldn’t take it out after his mana circuit got damaged. He wondered how this guy managed to heal himself, but that wasn’t important right now.

"Tsk--fine," Ishra glanced at the butler. "Unsealed him."

The butler gave a signal to the agents who brought the target to Sareah--the fake party. Meanwhile, the magician tool out his staff and pointed the glowing crystal at the man.

"Just so you know, if you do anything suspicious, you’ll be dead," he warned the guy. "I’m going to blow you up again."

Even under such a threat, the man moved calmly. He rolled his wrists for a few seconds, and then covered his left wrist with his right hand. His lips parted to mouth a silent incantation, and mana rippled from his left arm. Suddenly, a spear shot out of his left arm and made the nearest agents flinch unconsciously.

As the right hand was about to grab the shaft of the spear, an invisible force dragged the spear toward the widely grinning magician. "Seal him again!"

As the agents hurriedly twisted the man’s arms and put the cuff back, the magician was busy staring at the spear. He looked closely into the green jewels, which were brimming with mana, and suddenly, he saw a vision.

A vision of him exalted as a Hero who claimed and returned the treasure of the church. A vision of him standing beside the Archbishops and the Pope, who praised him in front of the Holy Empire’s Brilliant Plaza.

"Ha! Hahaha!" laughter escaped his widely stretched lips. "Ahahahahaha!"

What the hell is wrong with this magician? The agents were rolling their eyes secretly and cursed inside their heads. Immediately, they knew that none of their hard work would reach the higher-ups. This son of a bitch would claim everything as his work, wouldn’t he? They glanced at each other and sighed.

"What are you going to do with me?" the quiet captive asked.

"You?" the magician stopped his laughter and turned toward the man sharply. "Of course, I should send you for punishment! Do you think you can be pardoned just because we confiscate the stuff you’ve stolen?"

For the first time, the stony face cracked and the man sighed. "To Lenaar?"

"Pfft--idiot!" the magician laughed again in front of the man until his saliva flew out. "The Sacred Spear originally belonged to the Holy Empire!"

The green eyes widened in surprise, and the magician grinned mirthfully.

"Scared yet?" he smirked, before whispering menacingly. "We’re going straight to the highest tribunal. Don’t ever think you can survive this one."

And then, a vicious threat followed.

"This time, I’ll personally make sure you get permanently crippled," the magician hissed. "That is, if you can avoid the death penalty."

While the magician’s laughter echoed in the room again, Qu’en glanced at a mosquito on the wall near the window, which was promptly slipped out into the night. It flew away to the ground, where it shuddered and turned into a squirrel, scurrying toward the border.