Chapter 24 Part1 (1/2)

<chapter 24.=”” operation=”” -=”” bro,=”” why=”” are=”” you=”” there?=”” -=”” 1=””>

[As expected... Impressive, very impressive.]

”You're too kind.”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was meeting with Count (or who used to be) Nellopa, the lord of the satellite city, Kadinan in a reception room. He was like a mummy who was all skin and bones, and according to Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's a.s.sessment, his name showed up as [Lv6 Undead Commander].

He was already well aware that the higher leveled the undead, the more likely they were to not be bound by the form of a mere skeleton or zombie, so he wasn't very surprised by it. At the same time, he could easily tell that the lord's intellect... was higher than a normal undead as well.

[Ahem... Is Marquis Setapen... doing well?]

”I have not been in contact with him, as it has been some time since he left his estate, but there are trustworthy knights by his side.”

[Marquis Setapen's knights... are renowned for their valor. Indeed. I had thought he would pa.s.s on all of his forces along with his estate, but to think that he had kept people like you by his side; what a sly old fox... Ahem, he's a powerful man.]

The undead were truly mysterious. Even if the undead possessed a similar level of intellect, when thrust into a combat scenario, several undead recklessly threw themselves into the fight; on the other hand, if they met other undead, and remembered their status when they were alive, they would act the part.

There was an extremely thin line between insanity and normalcy for them; only by understanding and arbitrating between that line would one be able to command them. For the past half year, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had encountered countless undead and had roughly been able to ascertain how to do this.

[But... is it really alright for you to help us?]

”The Empire is in danger. Must I say anything else?”

[Hmm... You're right. Absolutely right. You truly are extraordinary!]

That sense that allowed him to turn the conversation to the present situation, regardless of what the other was saying! He didn't know how he felt about Marquis Setapen, but now wasn't the time for Lee s.h.i.+n Woo to be worrying about something like that!

As he thought, because of his statement advocating their cause, the Undead Commander, Count Nellopa nodded his head in satisfaction.

[Then, could I ask you to do something? Since surveillance has been tough with just the knights we have.]

”Of course. Please do.”

And thus, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo much too casually and successfully infiltrated the city, Kadinan. The lord didn't call one of the 12 generals, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had entered the city, and they got the opportunity to scout out the area all at once.

Jin was speechless as he saw Lee s.h.i.+n Woo march out of the reception area (as Jin obviously couldn't go in), where the level 6 undead lord, the Knight Leader (a level 5 Elder Knight), as well as undead wizards resided.

'You're really...'

'Nice. Then, shall we begin?'

Now, operation 'Bro, why are you there?' had begun in earnest! Lee s.h.i.+n Woo volunteered to patrol the outskirts so that he would avoid the lord's suspicion; he p.r.i.c.ked his ears and activated his mana senses, and then began patrolling his allotted area.

[Sir Seta. Thank you for all your hard work!]

”You're working hard as well. Are you on your way back from patrolling?”

[That's correct. I was patrolling an important, protected area. Hundreds of knights go through dozens of routes in order to patrol so that there's no gap in our defenses.]

”Impressive.”

And in the process, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo got closer to the other knights, and obviously acquired some information as well. For reference, they were telling him about the protected area; all the knights that had partic.i.p.ated in human testing were buried there.

[Your horse is quite splendid, Sir Seta.]

”Haha, thanks. You're a full-fledged knight as well; don't you have a horse as well?”

[That's... For some reason, all of the living horses in the city died. There are countless knights in the city without a horse.]

To think that all of the horses had died. There should only be dead horses in the Empire by now... is what he thought, yet Lee s.h.i.+n Woo didn't utter those words.

”How unfortunate. If I have the chance, I'll find a good horse for you.”

[Thank you very much!]

'There're two over here. And it looks like they're the only three disguised on the western outskirts, but there's actually one more hiding there as well.'

Though they were all undead, the dead in Kadinan, and especially the knights, trusted Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, as he emphasized loyalty to the Empire. The most important virtue for a knight within the Empire was strength, while the second most important virtue was loyalty.

”Hmm. It seems that the north side's defense isn't up to par. Shouldn't we adjust the patrol route a bit?”

Moreover, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo made it seem like he was concerned about the defense of the city and their patrols while in actuality, he was fis.h.i.+ng for information; he acted like he actually had some 'recommendations' for them, so the undead didn't even suspect Lee s.h.i.+n Woo in the slightest. There was no way for them to be suspicious of him.

[You truly are perceptive, Sir Seta. However, there's a hidden magic trap over there, so...]

”As I suspected. As I thought, Kadinan is truly an impressive city.”

'Ok. I wondered if they knew about it, but it seems like these guys really don't know that their magic trap is broken and still think it's working... If that's the case, then I can say that there're really no reserve troops over there.'

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo enthusiastically continued patrolling and collecting information; as a result, he figured out their patrol routes, the scope of the patrol, when they changed s.h.i.+fts, and even the route by which they were deployed and returned. It only took him a couple of days to successfully figure this all out, and organized the information in his head such that it was much simpler.

”Good. Then we should...”

”How the h.e.l.l did you get such detailed information!?”