Chapter 186: The Master Behind The Scene [1]
From the moment he entered the mansion, Carl could not see anything.
The curse didn't completely ruin his vision; he still had some left. It was just dark, and he couldn't see because there wasn't a single ray of light.
The square tower-shaped mansion, built for war, had small windows, making it difficult even for moonlight to enter.
Garten could permanently erase Carl's eyesight at any moment.
But why did he deliberately leave room for recovery?
Shhh!
Carl's sword swung through the air.
Although Carl was not as skilled as a Master, his physical abilities were better than those of a normal mana user. Still, Garten's movements were too fast, and he missed him.
Thud!
As the wide-open door to the mansion closed, the noise of the battle taking place outside faded away.
It felt like Carl had been sucked into another world. Silence lingered.
Garten did not attack Carl but watched him silently from a distance.
"What are your intentions?"
Since he couldn't see ahead anyway, Carl asked with his eyes closed.
There was no reason for Carl to be fussing around for no reason.
Without Garten, Jaren would eventually be able to deal with all the flesh golems. Carl had to buy time until then.
"How clever," Garten opened his mouth and whispered. "And bold, and cool, and…"
Carl could feel that it was Garten's voice speaking, but it was not Garten.
"…You have a lot of abilities that are beyond your capabilities."
"Who are you?"
"A bunch of variables."
"Was Garten just a puppet?"
"You have to die here."
"Then why don't you kill me right now?"
"…"
The conflicting conversations converged into a statement that hit home for Carl.
The entity speaking through Garten's mouth was silent for a moment, then slowly opened its mouth.
"Well."
In the end, it didn't convey any meaningful information to Carl, and it seemed to have no intention of wasting any more time.
Boom! Krrrr!
"Huh!"
No matter how close Carl's intuition may be to foresight, his actions could only operate within the limits of his abilities.
If he smash the floor like this and make it collapse, Carl won't be able to respond.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The floor collapsed, and Carl curled up into a ball as he was thrown underground.
He protected his head and chest, inserting his left leg's hamstring to shield his right foot, whose armor had been torn off.
Thud!
Boom!
Choaaaah...
Falling debris knocked against his armor.
Even in the midst of all this, Carl avoided all the debris that could have killed or seriously injured him, holding on to the slim sliver of a path of escape.
Carl, pushing away the debris covering his body, staggered back as he stood up.
Chul-chul.
He felt an unpleasant sensation with his bare right foot. Slimy, gooey, a little warm, and…
"…It's you."
"What?"
"You were one the behind at Hilpin."
A thick, memorable blood fog made him taste blood every time he breathed.
"Yeah, it was you after all."
In Carl's words, the unidentified thing echoed the same sentiment.
"What is the purpose?"
Instead of answering Carl's question, an attack came in response.
Choaaaah!
Something ran through the blood that had risen to his ankles.
Carl swung the one-handed sword in his right hand and turned his body to the left.
Chomp! Puck!
Carl clearly cut it down and dodged it, but its broken tip floated through the air and struck Carl in the chest. Carl flew away and landed in a pool of blood.
"…The eyeballs were still there."
Carl staggered to his feet, trying to buy some time by speaking out loud.
He figured out that it was an eyeball because he caught the chunk of eyeball that had hit his chest with his left hand while being blown away by the attack.
Puck.
Carl, who had his eyes popped out, shook his hand and waited for the other person's reaction.
He couldn't see ahead, his opponent was far stronger, and the space itself was inside his opponent's jaws. It was not easy to move.
Unlike Garten, the unidentified opponent seemed more skilled at using eyeballs.
The curse was even more powerful, with the severed eyeballs floating in the air and crashing down with great force.
It seemed like there was no chance of winning.
But Carl did not neglect to seek a way out.
The opponent, who could kill him right away, was just toying with him, focusing on wearing him down.
"What happened to Garten?"
Shhh!
Carl's question led to another attack.
Carl cut it down with his sword, then covered his body with his left arm to parry the next attack.
"I already know you use dual swords. I've seen it all. You have so many eyes."
"Then I will use it without hesitation."
Sreung!
Carl pulled out his other sword with his left hand. It seemed they were trying to frustrate him and bring him down.
There was no particular reason to tell them he knew their hidden numbers.
What really happened to Garten? Had his ego completely disappeared? Or was his body just taken over for a moment? Or was it acting? Should Carl give it a try?
"That slave has never been a slave since the day he was born."
"… … ."
No answer came back. There was no attack either.
"Were you born a slave, lived as a slave, and then thought you were no longer a slave, only to end up living as someone else's property? Did Garten know that he was nothing more than your slave?"
"…stop."
"Well, since he was born a slave, it must have been easier for him. to live as a slave, no matter what you say."
"… … ."
There was a reaction.
Did Garten react? Or did that react? What will happen if I continue? Are you going to roll your eyes and try to kill me?
Well, Carl don't know. But if he stop now, he will just die, so he have no choice but to keep provoking him.
"If you look at it that way, then Garten must have known his place as a slave. He must have learned very well from his slave parents. He worked hard as a slave who was nothing more than a tool, and then he was thrown away like this after being used up."
"Stop."
"You are a bad master to your slaves, but you are a good master to your efficiency."
At Carl's words, silence fell over the foggy basement.
Carl did not place any value on bloodlines and was willing to employ anyone with ability.
That was why he actively recruited people from the commoner family of Bilford, Catherine and the Mold family from the fallen family, and Howell, and he would continue to recruit talented people based solely on their abilities, regardless of their origins or bloodline.
However, to provoke and shake up the opponent, Carl could act as an 'arrogant and mean royal' at any time.
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