Return of the Frozen Player

Monchi returned to the lord’s castle and headed straight to Viscount Astol’s room.

Even as he walked down the corridor at a fast pace, he constantly thought about the possibility of being suspected.

‘Viscount Astol might suspect me if I don’t explain things well enough.’

Monchi had never left the lord’s castle since last night, but he had no particular alibi to prove his innocence because he had been staying in the training ground since lunch.

‘That’s the problem. His suspicions are reasonable and valid.’

Monchi thought that he had built a massive rapport with Viscount Astol, but too many demonic stones had gone missing. The missing demonic stones were comparable to a year’s worth of taxes in a few small and even a few medium-sized cities.

‘First of all, I’ll have to prove my innocence.’

To be honest, Monchi didn’t care about not being able to catch the culprit as long as his safety was guaranteed and his innocence was proven.

Monchi took a deep breath and tapped on the Viscount’s door.

Knock knock.

“My lord. It’s Monchi.”

- Come on in.

Monchi entered the room with a nervous expression. He entered the room and saw Viscount Astol’s back looking out the window with a wine glass in one hand.

Monchi knew exactly what that meant.

‘He’s seriously thinking about something.’

Monchi unknowingly gulped out of nervousness and froze. Dead silence hovered in the room, and Monchi didn’t dare to even exhale.

Sip.

Viscount Astol took a sip of his wine and said slowly, “Monchi, how long has it been since you started working for me?”

“It has been twelve years, my lord,” Monchi answered without hesitation.

“Twelve years, huh…haha. Has it really been that long? Indeed, it has been.” Viscount Astol nodded and slowly turned around. “I was informed about the situation. They say someone took on your form and stole all the demonic stones in the safe. Is that right?”

“Yes, my lord. We totally fell for the trap.”

Monchi put down two crystal balls he brought from the scene on Viscount Astol’s desk.

“This is a video of the culprit at the time of the incident. Please check it out.”

“Hmm.” Viscount Astol put down his wine glass and approached Monchi. He watched the video until the end. “He certainly looks exactly like you. Not only his face but also his physique and even his voice is the same as yours.”

“My lord, I am innocent! Please trust me!” Monchi looked aggrieved, and he obviously sounded frustrated. “If you’re suspecting me, my lord, I’ll take any kind of test to prove my innocence. You can even bring in a mare and dive into my sea of consciousness to see whether I’m lying or not.”

“...”

Viscount Astol stared at Monchi for a while and soon shook his head. “Relax. You and I have spent so much time together, so why would I suspect you? Above all, you’re not bold enough to commit such a huge crime and be so brazen in front of me afterward.”

“Y-you are right, my lord.”

Viscount Astol’s evaluation made Monchi feel uncomfortable, but it was much better than being falsely accused.

“The important thing here is to catch the culprit, isn’t that right?”

“Please leave it to me, my lord. I will find the culprit at all costs.”

“I’m counting on you. I don’t want to lose a subordinate who has been serving me for a long time.” Viscount Astol’s words sounded ambiguous as he gently shook his wine glass. “I’ve completely restricted entry and exit to the city, so he’s definitely still here.”

“He’s a trapped mouse, then.”

“Put a bounty on him and search the private houses and commercial districts first.”

“Yes, my lord. Oh, then what should we do about the Cannell Merchant Group?”

Viscount Astol had sent his men to the Cannell Merchant Group, as they had hired so many demons that it started to threaten the city.

“Leave them be, It’s already been two days since they left, anyway.”

“But if they end up having a conflict with another city, there’s a chance that we might get involved in a dispute for no reason and—”

“I said let them be. They’re nothing more than money-hired junkies. Above all, you…”

Viscount Astol’s reproachful gaze was directed at Monchi.

“Are you that free? Don’t you have something better to do?”

“...Please forgive me, my lord.”

Monchi gulped and bowed deeply.

Viscount Astol was right. Monchi’s priority was to catch the culprit to regain Viscount Astol’s complete trust. He had no time to spare because the opponent was the worst thief capable of imitating everything about his opponent.

‘Wait a minute. Aren’t I the first one to report here? How did the Viscount know that someone had imitated me to steal the demonic stones?’

Monchi saw a terrifying possibility, and he couldn’t help but speak, “My lord.”

“What is it?”

“What should we do about the Servie Mine? Should we take ownership at all costs like you said last time?”

“...”

A brief silence enveloped the room.

Monchi was about to muster his demonic energy with his hands behind his back, but Viscount Astol turned toward him with a frown.

“What are you talking about?” said Viscount Astol. ”Have you already forgotten that we’ve decided to lease the Servie Mine for twenty years in exchange for the development rights of Lake Renzas?”

“Y-you’re right, my lord.”

“You’ve changed. Anyway, don’t forget that I’ve got my eyes on you.”

“...I’ll keep that in mind, my lord.”

After leaving Viscount Astol’s room, Monchi felt cold sweat running down his back.

‘How stupid of me. What the hell was I thinking?’ Monchi inwardly lampooned.

If the culprit were stronger than Viscount Astol, he would have no need to imitate Viscount Astol because he could simply kill everyone and become the new city lord.

‘Damn it. I only got myself in more trouble. He’s Viscount Astol, so it’s not strange that he has eyes and ears everywhere in this city.’

Monchi shook his head and picked up the pace. He had to hurry up and catch the culprit as soon as possible to regain his master’s trust.

***

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho stared at the door for a long time, even after Monchi’s departure.

Keen Intuition spoke to Seo Jun-Ho.

- Everything went as we planned.

“Phew. What a relief.”

‘That was dangerous.’

However, he had won because he had achieved everything he wanted.

- It’s much better to get rid of all suspicions rather than to wait until it bites you.

“Certainly. That’s why I gave him reason to suspect me.”

Seo Jun-Ho was relieved to know that he didn’t have to worry about Monchi suspecting him anymore. ‘He probably has no doubt that the culprit is weaker than Viscount Astol.’

Furthermore, Seo Jun-Ho didn’t have to worry about getting caught in his lies, as he had read Viscount Astol’s memories.

- Well. You took one more step forward with this, Partner.

“I sure did.”

Seo Jun-Ho only had to take one more step to get to Lavue, the owner of the East.

- Is it really possible?

“Trust me. It’s possible.”

Now that Seo Jun-Ho had all of Viscount Astol’s memories, it was no exaggeration to say that he knew all the historical and geographical information about the East as if they were the back of his hand.

“The next settlement is in ten days.”

Viscount Astol was a meticulous man, so he had always offered demonic stones to Lavue personally rather than leaving the task to someone else. The settlement day was the perfect opportunity to wrap up Seo Jun-Ho’s plan.

“But there’s a problem that needs to be dealt with before that.”

Seo Jun-Ho approached the window where the wine glass was located.

After a while, the soft breeze of the cool afternoon shook the curtains.

***

There was a long and endless procession in the dry and desolate wilderness.

Cannell was riding in the most luxurious and biggest carriage.

‘Damn it. I have a bad feeling about this.’

Cannell couldn’t hide his anxiety upon looking out the window.

There were way more people in the procession than he initially expected.

“Hey! Is anyone there?”

“Yes, sir. Is something wrong?”

Cannell asked a mercenary who had approached the window on a hell horse.

“Why are those damned things following us from that ridge over there? Are they thieves or something?”

“Oh, I don’t think you have to worry about them, “said the tactless mercenary with a grin. “We asked them why they were here since we were also worried, but they said they‘re just following us because of the Underworld’s public enemy.”

Cannell made sure to conceal his trembling voice as he asked, “T-The public enemy of the Underworld? What do you mean?”

“Apparently, the public enemy of the Underworld is a member of the Liberation Army, and he’s planning something against this procession of slaves.”

“He’s a member of the Liberation Army? That’s just ridiculous…”

“Well, all rumors are ridiculous. However, it seems that they’re following us like leeches just in case the rumor turns out to be true. It’s all for the sake of receiving a part of the bounty.”

“...I see.”

Cannell closed the window and leaned on the fluffy backrest.

Then, he cursed inwardly. ‘Fuck! Damn it! A merchant’s hunch, my ass!’

He was basically gambling with his life by cooperating with the Underworld’s public enemy. His revenge would end up being successful if he were to succeed, but he would lose everything if the plan failed.

‘I don’t care about dying or losing money, but…’

What was important to Cannell was whether or not he could get revenge.

Cannell was convinced that the plan would fail at this rate.

“Damn it. How many of them are following us?”

Cannell had hired 3,100 demons, but there were a few thousand demons following him, which meant that there were a total of roughly five thousand demons in the procession.

Cannell knew that the public enemy of the Underworld was strong; it was the reason he had decided to cooperate with the latter.

‘He killed Count Gorgon, the ruler of the South. But… can he even handle more than five thousand demons on his own?’

As far as the demons knew, the Counts of the underworld had reached the Star Destruction Stage. However, there were only rumors about just how strong Star Destruction Stage demons were.

‘He’s strong, but I just can’t imagine one man fighting against five thousand demons…’

The complicated thoughts made a mess in Cannell’s head.

Meanwhile, a mercenary at the front of the procession approached him.

“Sir, are you sure it’s okay to go down this route? There’s a vortex zone up ahead.”

A vortex zone was a natural phenomenon in the Underworld, and the scholars of the Underworld were still researching them. No one still had any idea how they were formed, but vortex zones were filled with demonic energy tornadoes.

‘He told me to enter a vortex zone.’

The public enemy of the Underworld had told him to lead the demons into a vortex zone.

Cannell agonized for a while. He gnashed his teeth and said, “Let’s enter the vortex. It’ll take too much time and supplies to go around it at this point.”

“...All right.”

The mercenary didn’t seem to like the idea, but he still went back to his spot.

‘He probably judged that it wouldn't be too dangerous to enter the vortex zone, as there are too many of us.’

“Phew.”

The die was cast.

***

“Do a headcount once we’ve entered the vortex zone, do you understand?”

- Yes, sir.

The Simba Crew was one of the most powerful armed groups in Cologio. After all, the crew was composed of only the top rankers, even in the notorious Colosseum. In addition, this procession was extremely tempting to them.

‘If things go well, I don’t have to risk my life at the Colosseum anymore.’

‘I’ll make huge money out of this procession, and… I’ll kill the lord of a remote village and have fun there.’

‘Hmm. Should I buy demonic stones with all the money I make out of this and try to get a position in the capital?’

Each demon had a different motive in mind for joining the procession, but one thing was clear to all of them.

‘This procession must end in success.’

Simba, the leader of the crew, was currently standing at the very front of the procession.

‘A vortex zone is just as expected. It’s my first time entering a vortex zone, and the rumors are true. I really can’t see even an inch ahead.’

The dense demonic energy between heaven and earth disturbed everyone’s senses.

Simba gulped and picked up a communication crystal ball.

“Start reporting.”

- Here…this…I…

“Tsk.”

‘Good thing I had zero expectations.’’

Communication crystal balls seldom worked properly in areas filled with unstable demonic energy.

Simba turned to the others at the back and shouted, “It takes only five hours at most to get out of a vortex zone! Just look ahead and keep moving!”

“Yes, sir!”

There was no reason for them to be afraid of a mere vortex zone when there were too many of them. Moreover, even powerful demonic beasts wouldn’t dare to approach such a large procession of demons.

“Hm.” Simba felt uneasy for some reason. However, he ignored his feelings and continued moving.

“...”

Once every demon in the procession had vanished into the vortex zone, a man wordlessly followed after them.