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Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Chapter 43: The Secret of the Totem (3) >
“What do you mean by that?”
Axion asked with a hardened expression, demanding the truth from the guy.
“Th-that is…!”
The response that followed was so frustrating that his teeth clenched hard enough to crack.
Crunch!
* * *
After hearing that Axion had been going around destroying the bases of other factions, Theo and Ray decided to change their strategy.
“I just had a thought.”
“…?”
“What if we turn the tables on them?”
“Turn… the tables?”
“Yeah. If they realize their base is being hit repeatedly, they’ll probably get really angry. And as a bonus, we can quickly raise our own score.”
Ray nodded in agreement, thinking it was a good idea.
She was already at the peak of hostility after nearly dying due to Axion and the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons’ interference.
Moreover, Axion had been maintaining his top position by stealing points that should have gone to the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons’ candidates.
Ray, who had been stuck in second place, wanted nothing more than to drag Axion down by any means necessary.
“Plus, it’s not just Axion who’s targeting us, right? We don’t know who or what else might pop up next. So, if we’re going to clean up, we might as well sweep everything at once.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a good plan.”
“For now, yeah.”
Theo nodded.
What he sought wasn’t just an ordinary victory.
– An overwhelming victory.
A victory that would make everyone fear him, fall to their knees, and bow their heads without hesitation.
A victory so undeniable that even those who didn’t like him would have no choice but to recognize it.
The Gathering of the Hidden Dragons, Plum Blossom Palace, the Central Intelligence, the Council of Elders… even those who looked down on him would have to acknowledge it.
And for that, the perfect sacrifice was Axion.
If this plan went well, the name “Theo Ragnar” would no longer just be associated with the bastard son of the Rose Palace but would be firmly engraved in people’s minds as the rightful heir to Camellia Palace.
“Alright. Whatever you do, I’ll help.”
Ray nodded as she watched Theo smile coldly.
She had already made up her mind to repay yet another debt she owed him.
Thus, the alliance between Theo and Ray began.
And then…
“What, what the hell is this?!”
“Th-Theo Ragnar! Ray Ragnar’s here too!”
“Damn it…! Why did they have to come here of all places…!”
From that point on, they started raiding the safe zones occupied by the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons at a rapid pace.
The minimal personnel left in these safe zones stood no chance against Theo and Ray.
The totems were destroyed, and with them, the demonic beasts were always summoned.
After hunting them down, all the stored supplies were completely ruined as well.
This was the exact reason why Theo and Ray were able to rack up points so quickly.
Thanks to this—
With each passing day, their rankings soared at a rapid pace.
1st. Ray Ragnar (611 points)
2nd. Axion Ragnar (590 points)
3rd. Wellington Narcio (526 points)
4th. Theo Ragnar (500 points)
.
.
.
Before long, Theo, who had been lingering in the middle of the rankings, surged up to 4th place.
1st. Ray Ragnar (654 points)
2nd. Axion Ragnar (600 points)
3rd. Theo Ragnar (573 points)
4th. Wellington Narcio (531 points)
.
.
.
Then, he advanced to 3rd place.
1st. Ray Ragnar (674 points)
2nd. Theo Ragnar (612 points)
3rd. Axion Ragnar (610 points)
.
.
.
Finally, he surpassed Axion and reached 2nd place.
“Find him! Find this bastard no matter what!”
From that point on, Axion began to rampage, doing everything he could to locate Theo and Ray.
However, since they moved stealthily in such a small group, it was nearly impossible to track them down.
Even if Axion managed to find a clue, by the time he arrived, they had long since left the area.
Furthermore, Theo and Ray left mocking messages at the places they had stayed, making Axion and the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons furious.
As a result, nearly 70% of the bases that the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons had painstakingly built were destroyed, and a large portion of their forces were eliminated one by one, leaving many of them retired.
But the bigger problem was that Axion had wasted so much time chasing Theo and Ray that he couldn’t accumulate points properly.
In the end—
1st. Theo Ragnar (721 points)
2nd. Ray Ragnar (718 points)
3rd. Axion Ragnar (622 points)
.
.
.
Before anyone knew it, Theo had taken 1st place.
“Arghhhh!”
Crash!
In a fit of rage, Axion threw everything he could grab onto the floor.
“Theo Ragnar, Theo Ragnar, Theo Ragnar…!”
His eyes were bloodshot as he gasped for breath.
By now, the words of Ed, who had ordered him to somehow keep Theo safe from the hounds of the Council of Elders, had completely vanished from his mind.
Axion felt like he wouldn’t be satisfied until he caught and killed Theo.
“Uh, Axion…!”
Just then, one of his subordinates called him cautiously.
Axion shot him an irritated glance, and the man, drenched in cold sweat, barely managed to speak.
“Someone from Plum Blossom Palace… is here….”
“From Plum Blossom Palace?”
Axion frowned, confused.
“Y-yes… and from the Council of Elders as well….”
Both Plum Blossom Palace and the Council of Elders?
It was an odd combination. They rarely interacted.
But there was a common denominator this time—Theo Ragnar.
Axion stood up.
“Bring them in.”
* * *
“I’ve been hearing rumors that your face is a mess because of Theo Ragnar lately. Looks like your face really is rotting.”
Felix, a trainee swordsman from Plum Blossom Palace, was known for his considerable talent. If the Mistress of Plum Blossom Palace ever accepted a disciple, it was widely believed that Felix would be the first candidate.
But all those speculations disappeared completely with Theo’s arrival.
For that reason, Felix harbored immense hostility toward Theo.
– There’s a high chance that the Council of Elders or the Director of Central Intelligence will move against Theo, so assist him from behind.
Even the Mistress of Plum Blossom Palace’s message, delivered through the proctor, was something Felix completely disregarded.
This was precisely why Felix had come to find Axion.
Swish! Swish!
Blades hovered near Felix’s neck from both sides.
The eyes of the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons candidates, who had drawn their swords, were fierce.
“Hey, take it easy. Take it easy. You pull this trick twice, and you might not have a head left.”
But Felix wasn’t particularly bothered by their threats.
Overshadowed by the genius of the Four Lords of the North, Felix was still recognized as one of the top talents in his own right.
And across from him—
“Enough with the small talk. Let’s get straight to the point. Isn’t everyone here trying to stop Theo Ragnar?”
At those words from Morgan, a representative of the Council of Elders’ faction, both Axion and Felix turned their attention to him.
“Now that we’re sure all of Haid’s men are dead, we absolutely must catch Theo Ragnar. It’s unacceptable that some filthy bastard is threatening the rightful lineage.”
Morgan spoke with a cold, hardened expression.
“So, I want to confirm if you’re willing to join forces. Of course, the targets for our retribution aren’t just Theo Ragnar, but also those aiding him—Ray Ragnar and Wellington Narcio.”
Morgan looked ready to rush out and catch Theo at any moment.
‘These fanatical lunatics,’ Axion thought, scoffing openly as he watched the man.
Axion held a deep-seated contempt for those who called themselves the “Guardians of Ragnar’s Order,” the pureblood supremacists.
Of course, Axion himself took great pride in being a direct descendant of the great House of Ragnar.
But that pride came from the fact that he possessed the skills and talents befitting his lineage, not just because he was born with pure blood.
If he had exceptional blood but lacked the ability and talent?
He would have been the first to dispose of himself. After all, there was no greater disgrace than that.
The pureblood supremacists, however, lacked such perspective.
To them, what mattered was only their origin, status, and bloodline. That was all they could boast about, and Axion viewed them as nothing more than fools.
This was exactly why Axion also held Felix in contempt.
Felix didn’t even understand his own standing. He was driven solely by jealousy, harboring resentment against Theo out of nothing more than blind envy.
A hunting dog should know its place. It shouldn’t try to become the master.
If Felix truly desired to stand in that place, he needed to live with some form of “thought,” but Felix had none.
However, the current situation was such that even borrowing the hands of a cat would be helpful.
For now, Axion decided to sit back and watch, even if Felix and Morgan ran wild without knowing their place.
But after everything was over?
‘I’ll have to deal with them. They need to learn their place.’
Axion’s eyes gleamed menacingly for a moment.
But it passed quickly.
Soon, one corner of his mouth curled up into a grin.
“So, in the end, regardless of everyone’s individual goals, we can cooperate for now. Alright, it seems like you’ve called this little gathering with something in mind. Care to share what that is?”
Felix swallowed dryly for a moment.
He could feel Axion’s malice directly.
Knowing full well what happened to people who fell out of favor with Axion, Felix carefully continued.
“You already know what the hidden piece of the totems is, right?”
Axion and Morgan didn’t respond. Their silence signaled for Felix to continue.
“I heard that you have the totem that can summon a monster with a purple demonic seed. Let’s set a trap with it.”
Felix then motioned to one of his companions who had come with him.
Thud!
As soon as the bundle he’d been carrying was opened, Morgan let out a small exclamation of admiration.
The bag was filled with a dozen totems.
“We’re offering these as our contribution,” Felix said.
Axion read Felix’s plan instantly and let out a mocking laugh.
“So, you want to lure that bastard with the totem that can summon a purple-marked monster, and then summon a whole bunch of monsters with these totems to gang up on him?”
“Exactly.”
Felix nodded heavily, and Axion clapped his hands, bursting into laughter.
“Wow! Our Felix, when did your guts grow this big? I never would’ve guessed!”
Theo and Ray had been rapidly accumulating points not only by stealing the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons’ totems but also by specifically targeting higher-ranked monsters.
In other words, if a totem that could summon a purple-marked monster was placed as bait, Theo would undoubtedly be tempted.
Felix’s plan was to plant a bomb, figuratively speaking, in that exact spot.
No matter how skilled Theo was, once he found himself surrounded by a horde of monsters, there wouldn’t be much he could do.
“Our goal is to catch Theo Ragnar, no matter what. So, what’s your answer?”
“Alright. We’ll contribute some of our remaining totems too. The more monsters, the better,” Axion replied with a satisfied grin, then turned his gaze toward Morgan.
“These guys are putting in so much effort, shouldn’t you do something as well, Morgan?”
He tapped his sword hilt with his finger, sending a subtle message. If Morgan refused to cooperate, Axion would deal with him on the spot.
This conspiracy couldn’t be allowed to leak; it was an invitation to join them or face the consequences.
Morgan frowned, clearly displeased, but soon twisted one corner of his mouth and replied, “Fine. We’ll contribute twelve totems as well. That should give us more than thirty monsters.”
“Big spender, huh?” Axion smirked.
“And,” Morgan added.
“There’s more?”
“I’m thinking of bringing in two more people for this operation.”
“Who? If you’re talking about bringing in random nobodies, forget it. We don’t need unnecessary numbers making things more complicated.”
“No need to worry. You’ll like these guys, Axion.”
“Who are they?”
Axion tilted his head, unable to think of anyone who fit the bill.
“Huh…”
Just as Morgan was about to say something with a cold smile—
Suddenly, they all flinched.
A chilling sensation ran down their spines.
At the same moment, all three of them looked up.
As if on cue.
* * *
“It’s no fun when everything goes exactly as expected, don’t you think?”
Theo stood at the edge of a hill, overlooking the forest clearing where Axion, Felix, Morgan, and their group were conspiring below. A faint laugh escaped his lips.
They seemed to think they were being cautious, carefully guarding their surroundings, but to Theo, who had spent a lifetime executing information operations, their efforts looked embarrassingly amateurish.
More importantly, his vision, enhanced by spiritual essence, was far superior to any ordinary telescope. Even from this distance, he could observe their every movement in detail.
“Pl-please… let me go already! I-it’s enough, isn’t it…?!”
From behind, a desperate voice whined. It was Orien, tied up tightly with ropes. He had been the one who had spilled the secrets, revealing the hidden safe zones of the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons to Theo.
His fear of Theo had shattered any sense of loyalty he once held for Axion. And now, Orien had even given away Axion’s location.
All he wanted was to escape this nightmare. The problem was whether someone like Theo, who hardly seemed human, would actually let him go…
“Alright. A promise is a promise, so I’ll let you go.”
Contrary to Orien’s expectations, Theo cut through the ropes binding him with the blade of his Drake’s Blade without hesitation.
Orien stood dumbfounded for a moment, unable to believe his luck, before bolting in the opposite direction, terrified Theo might change his mind at any moment.
“Is it okay to let him go like that?” Ray asked, watching Orien’s retreating figure with a tilt of her head.
Theo just smirked and waved off her concern. “Don’t worry. He won’t get far. Even if Axion spares him, the head of the Central Hall won’t.”
Ray nodded quietly. She knew Ed well enough to understand—he wasn’t someone who forgave traitors.
“So, you’re going to use that now?” Ray asked, her gaze shifting to Theo’s feet.
Theo nodded and opened the sack at his feet.
“Let’s show them. They’re not the only ones who can set traps.”
The bag was filled with more than thirty disposable totems. These items were originally meant to be used for hunting the summoned monsters, but Theo’s totems were all brand new, untouched.
They’ll be overjoyed when a barrage of fire rains down from the sky like fireworks, won’t they?
With that thought, Theo reached his hand into the bag.