"All right, enough of this. Let's get back to the stronghold before that bastard Hope starts getting suspicious."
"Third Boss—no, Chief! Aren't we going to strike at Heim Territory first?"
The third boss glared at the man who'd clearly failed to read the room and snapped,
"You really think someone as cunning as Hope would just send his idiot brother here to die for nothing?"
He racked his brain for a convincing lie and continued,
"Think about it! That's impossible.
If I'm right, Heim City is a trap. They're waiting for us to take the bait.
There's probably an army lying in ambush outside the manor as we speak."
"But—"
"No buts! That's an order—everyone, fall back to the stronghold!"
Ignoring his hesitant subordinate, the third boss turned and headed toward the secret passage they'd come through.
He was a man of the North Mountain Marquis, after all.
Now that he'd finally taken control of this force, he was eager to return to Black Mountain, seize full command, and collect his rewards from the marquis.
Why in the world would he risk everything by attacking Heim Territory?
Even if Hel Heim no longer bore the Mandrake name, in everyone's eyes, he was still the son of the Mandrake Duke.
If the third boss dared to make a move, the duke—whether out of family pride or simply to reassert control over the Black Mountain bandits—would surely strike back.
That was not a result the third boss desired.
Once he returned to Black Mountain, he planned to overthrow the big boss, seize the stronghold, and—backed by the North Mountain Marquis—become the true ruler of the entire range.
After that, he could have anything he wanted: wine, meat, women—everything.
But while his dreams were grand, reality was cruel.
At some point, a dark figure in a black cloak appeared before him, blocking the path to the secret tunnel.
The figure held a mithril longsword, its blade gleaming coldly.
"Who are y—"
Before he could finish the question, a cold sensation sliced across his neck.
His vision spun, the world flipped—
and then he saw it: a headless body standing where he'd been.
Only then did he realize—his own head had been severed.
But it was already far too late.
The attacker was one of the skeletal greatswordsmen that Sebas had brought along.
And this was only the beginning.
The moment the third boss was beheaded, the skeletal warrior charged straight into the crowd of bandits.
At the same time, another skeletal greatswordsman appeared at the rear of the formation, cutting through the men from behind.
Both were Tier 4 undead—against the Tier 1 and 2 weaklings that made up the Black Mountain gang, it was pure slaughter.
Just as the bandits had once massacred the people of Hawk Manor, now they were the ones being butchered.
In less than half a stick of incense, not a single living soul remained in the vast courtyard of Hawk Manor.
Meanwhile, atop the manor's tallest spire—
Sebas stood silently, overlooking the carnage below.
Only when he sensed that not a single trace of life remained did he give his command.
The two skeletal swordsmen melted back into the shadows.
Staring at the sea of corpses below, Sebas murmured to himself,
"Well then… who's next?"
The next morning, word spread throughout Heim City:
Viscount Hawk had secretly conspired with the Black Mountain bandits,
but due to a dispute over spoils, both sides had turned on each other and perished.
By dawn, Hel had already arrived at the scene—accompanied by representatives of the Holy Judgement Church.
A viscount's death within city walls was no small matter.
Handled poorly, it could easily provoke the wrath of the Noble Council.
Thus, the presence of the church as neutral witnesses was necessary.
Unlike the incident at Heim Castle, this case showed no signs of dark creatures' involvement,
so the church paid it little attention—sending only Vivienne, the same inquisitor who had dealt with Hel before, to conduct the investigation.
And as expected, the results were clear.
The Black Mountain bandits had indeed attacked Hawk's household—
the evidence was undeniable, and even the third boss's corpse had been found at the scene.
The man's wanted posters had been circulated in nearby territories, confirming his identity beyond doubt.
Before leaving, Vivienne gave Hel a long, meaningful look but said nothing.
It was clear she'd noticed something unusual—
the Black Mountain bandits had been far too strong to be wiped out by ordinary means.
For Hel to annihilate them all in one night, and with every body showing signs of a single fatal blow—there had to be some hidden power behind him.
But such matters were between lords; the church had no interest in meddling.
She wasn't about to expose his secrets.
With the church's report in hand, Hel sent the third boss's head and Viscount Hawk's body to the Noble Council of the duchy.
And with that, the matter was officially closed.
After all, who would believe that a city noble had colluded with bandits—
only to be slaughtered by them over a petty argument?
For the sake of noble "honor," the council preferred to bury the scandal quickly and quietly.
Still, one dead noble was manageable.
But if more nobles kept dying in Heim Territory, even the dimmest councilors would eventually notice that something was wrong.
So, for now, Viscount White couldn't "fall ill and die."
Nor could Ralph or the Knight Guildmaster meet untimely ends—at least not within Heim lands.
But Hel knew better than to leave loose ends.
A week after the Hawk Manor incident,
Viscount Ralph departed for the ducal capital, passing through the lands of the Golden Marquis.
There, at the foot of Black Mountain, his convoy was ambushed by bandits—
and amidst the chaos, he was struck and killed by a stray arrow.
That gave Hel the perfect excuse to send troops into Black Mountain—
and this time, he wiped out the bandit stronghold completely.
As for the Knight Guildmaster,
Hel solved that problem with a special trait—[Brain Damage].
Within days, the guildmaster became a broken man—
a once-proud knight reduced to a dull-eyed fool.
Rumors of his madness—brought on by grief over his only son's death—
caused quite a stir in Heim City for a while.
But since he was still alive and physically unharmed,
the affair soon faded from public attention.
And so, after half a month of maneuvering,
Hel finally took full control of every noble faction within Heim City.