“What do we do now? You can’t dig a hole properly in this rain…”
This wasn’t like that time with the noble knight, when there wasn’t a city nearby—just a village, where a body left in the forest might go undiscovered for a long while.
Now they were right outside a city. More precisely, they were in a vineyard estate on the outskirts!
Even if people didn’t come every day, someone would show up every few days.
If the corpses were left lying around, they’d definitely be discovered within a week.
And it wasn’t just ordinary corpses—one of them was a vampire’s body!
If that were discovered while Dylan was still stuck in the city waiting for a ship to the archipelago, it could bring serious trouble.
Fortunately, Cloro was a professional. His methods of dealing with corpses were far more advanced.
He pulled out a bottle from his pack, its mouth engraved with a simple seal. After undoing it, he poured out the contents—a green slime.
“No need to dig. The slime will eat the bodies clean.”Cloro didn’t look too good himself, and his eyes toward Dylan held apology. This whole mess was his fault. His reputation as the “big brother” was in tatters.
“Brother Dylan, I need you to stay here and keep watch, make sure the slime digests the corpses properly instead of wandering off.
I’ll go back to the vineyard and erase any traces.
Sorry for dragging you into this.”
Dylan waved it off, telling him not to worry about it.
Cloro sighed and headed back toward the vineyard.
Dylan remained, staring at the little lump of slime as it grew larger while eating.
The woman with protruding fangs and blood-red eyes—calling her a vampire wasn’t accurate.
More precisely, she was a half-vampire who hadn’t completed her ascension.
True vampires turned to ash when they died. Only half-vampires without titles left corpses behind. That was common knowledge.
From Dylan’s point of view, this was pure disaster from nowhere.
They had already made it outside the port city of Clark when Cloro suddenly suggested they stop at a safehouse for the night before entering.
Dylan didn’t mind and followed him to this vineyard.
Only to find that the “safehouse” was actually the home of Cloro’s old lover.
What kind of spy work was this!?
And then…
How the hell did it turn into a case of catching adultery in the act!?
Covering his face, Dylan recalled what Cloro had said at the vineyard.
“Brother Dylan, wait here outside for a moment. I’ll give her a surprise.”
“What’s the meaning of this? Why is this man in your room?”
“You bastard! You dare stab me?”
“You’re siding with this bastard pretty boy!?”
By the time Dylan rushed in, the unknown “pretty boy” was already lying in a pool of blood, while Cloro and his so-called lover were locked in furious combat. Both were enraged, striking to kill, even unleashing combat skills.
When it looked like Cloro would be killed at any moment, Dylan of course couldn’t just stand by. He grabbed his steel sword and joined the fight.
When it was over, the scene became what lay before them now.
A demon spy, on human territory, killing another demon spy… all because of adultery.
“What the hell is this mess…”
Dylan honestly wanted to ask: was there really no problem with shapeshifters and vampires?
But obviously, that wasn’t a question he could ask right now.
He also noticed that the “pretty boy” really was pale, dressed extravagantly, clearly some noble’s son.
Definitely not the kind of person whose death would be ignored.
Trouble indeed…
“Brother Dylan…” Cloro’s weary voice came from behind.
After Cloro returned, the two waited until the slime finished digesting the half-vampire, then engulfed the pretty boy as well before leaving.
“No need to deal with the slime afterward?” Dylan asked.
“No. It’s just an ordinary slime. Who would know what it had eaten?”
With things as they were, the two didn’t dare linger. They decided to slip into the city overnight.
Of course, they wouldn’t be entering through the main gate. Not only was the gate closed at this hour, even if it were open, Dylan wouldn’t pass inspection.
The salty sea breeze blew as Cloro led Dylan around the city to a drainage outlet near the shore.
A three-meter-wide outlet sat at the base of the wall, sealed with a rusty iron grate. Rainwater poured out nonstop.
Cloro stepped up, grasped the second bar from the left, and gave it a light tug. It came free in his hand.
Gesturing, he had Dylan crawl inside first with his pack.
Then he kicked away a shell fragment wedged in the stone groove, reset the bar, and followed after.
Their boots squelched in the muck that had built up over the years. Dylan held his nose. “This is the first time I’ve seen such a huge sewer.”
“Clark was built to the standards of a city of 400,000. Naturally, the sewers are just as large.”
Dylan figured this must be another one of those spy-knowledge things.
Cloro glanced at the rising waterline. “Let’s hurry. If the rain gets any heavier, this place will flood.”
After walking quickly for some distance, they managed to climb a ladder before the water reached them.
Dylan thought they’d emerge onto the surface, but instead it was an intermediate chamber.
Suddenly a sharp voice called out: “Well, well! Didn’t expect anyone to come up here in this weather!”
Dylan instinctively reached for his sword, looking toward the source—a ratman.
Seeing him draw, the ratman’s hand went behind his back. “Looking for trouble, kid?”
A hand clapped onto Dylan’s shoulder—it was Cloro.
“Relax. He’s new, doesn’t know the rules yet. What’s the toll these days?”
“Tch, keep your people in line.” The ratman grumbled, but didn’t push it. “Ten silvers a head. But with the flooding today, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to go up.”
Cloro nodded, handed over twenty silvers, and the ratman tossed him two crooked but identical iron tokens.
Cloro gave one to Dylan.
As they walked on, Dylan asked in a low voice, “That ratman’s a spy too?”
“Of course not. He’s with one of Clark’s gangs. If my intel’s still current, it’s the Blacksteel Brotherhood.
Doesn’t matter who you are—pay up and they’ll smuggle you into the city when the time comes.”
So that was it. Dylan had almost thought humans had been completely infiltrated.
But no—it was just the usual city gang.
Before long they reached a relatively clean section. A handful of shady-looking types sat scattered around, many holding iron tokens like Dylan’s. Clearly, all were desperate folk trying to sneak into the city.
Further off, some gang members in ratman-style gear stood guard at the exit.
Cloro picked a spot. “Let’s rest here for now. Try not to get into fights. If something breaks out, don’t expect the gang to intervene.”
He’d had enough trouble today and wasn’t about to stir up more.
But no sooner had he spoken than a scream rang out behind Dylan.
“My hand—!”
A halfling knelt, clutching his bleeding wrist, while his severed hand lay several meters away.
The commotion drew every gaze, but the others only watched as if it were a show.
Cloro guessed at once—it was probably a thief, and he was impressed at Dylan’s alertness.
“Not bad, brother. I didn’t even notice anyone coming up behind us.”
“Ah? Oh, just a bit of luck…” Feeling the backpack strap squirm against his shoulder, Dylan realized belatedly what had really happened.
With everyone staring, he just hitched the pack tighter on his back.
Meanwhile, Lin Jun’s vision was fixed on the panel of a man in black robes.
【Skill: Abyssal Magic LV2】
A type of magic he had never seen before!
And just from the name, it sounded extremely powerful!
Should he have Dylan take a closer look…?