Chapter 156 – Beneath the Smile
Selene - Guild master: Lethrain branch
Selene kept a calm smile.
The problem here was solved.
No excessive bloodshed.
No one died here.
At least — for now.
But in another town?
In another place?
No.
Someone might die.
An assassination attempt might already have succeeded —
before she ever arrived.
She had merely stumbled upon a cruel truth.
A truth she regretted discovering far too late.
30 minutes earlier
When Vulture and Bastion began their clash—
Selene discovered something disturbing.
Several sensitive documents had been transcribed.
Reinforcement routes.
Supply lines.
Timetables.
Lists of notable adventurer groups.
Estimated troop numbers.
And more.
The original parchments remained, but she saw faint ink impressions — the subtle trace of a pen pressed over stacked pages.
Someone had copied them.
She asked around the guild.
No one knew anything.
Until a staff member hesitantly informed her:
The former investigator had come earlier to retrieve some personal belongings.
A chill ran down her spine.
An instinct — sharp and violent — screamed inside her.
Something bad will happen.
She needed to act.
Immediately.
“Tell [Dragon Piercer] and [Meteor Fall] to guard the Baron,” she ordered. “I have urgent matters to attend to.”
She gave no further explanation.
Grabbing both her whips and her outer coat, she stormed out.
Minutes later, she was leaping across rooftops, cutting the shortest path through the city.
Then she felt it.
A presence.
Oppressive. Non-human.
No… not Gruthak.
He was Orcish — his aura heavy, yes — but he respected rules. He could negotiate.
This presence was different.
Cunning.
Predatory.
Selene suppressed her aura and descended silently.
The once lavish mansion loomed before her — halls lined with ornate statues and artwork, grotesque displays of corrupt wealth.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
She remembered the day she stormed this estate with guild personnel, confiscating evidence of his crimes.
He had been stripped of authority and wealth.
But he retained guild membership.
She had believed—
He could still redeem himself.
They had once been friends.
Back when they were young.
Back when they were pure.
When did he go wrong?
…
She stepped into the mansion.
Silence.
No guards.
No servants.
No movement.
Strange.
Then she saw it.
Blood.
Dragged from the main hallway toward a darkened corner.
She turned.
A corpse.
Torn apart.
Half-devoured.
Her instincts flared.
Creatures that tear humans open and gnaw on flesh—
Demons.
But here? In Lethrain?
Impossible.
They were near the front lines, yes — but still behind the Margrave’s territory.
Had an elite slipped through?
No—
He’s in danger.
She ran — silent but swift — searching every corridor.
No survivors.
Only blood and corpses.
Too few for a mansion of this size.
She reached the third floor — his private office and living quarters.
And then she heard voices.
“This is the last of the documents, Dame Venom.”
“Good. And the other plans?”
“We’ve hired multiple assassin groups to eliminate notable adventurers. The Baron as well. Everything is in motion, my lady.”
“And you provided clear inland access. Impressive. If we breach the border fortress, this town will be yours — as agreed.”
“That is my pleasure.”
A pause.
“But the humans you offered us… they were hardly filling. Our men remain hungry.”
“That’s why I had them transported through the tunnel. Your soldiers may treat them as rations on your return.”
“Ufufu… how generous.”
…
Selene’s mind froze.
The man she once called friend.
Sold critical war intelligence to demons?
All for greed?
And fed his own servants to them?
BOOM!
The door exploded inward, incinerated by her artifact — [Tempest Line], a whip that unleashed lightning with every lash.
Two cloaked figures stood to the side.
The man turned, pale and stunned.
“You don’t need to speak,” Selene said coldly. “I will capture you all and interrogate you myself.”
“Oh? How frightening,” one voice purred. “I must decline.”
A large figure hoisted crates filled with documents and leapt out the window.
“Not on my watch!”
Lightning roared from her whip—
—but the smaller cloaked figure stepped forward.
“Tsk. So impatient.”
BOOOOOOM—!
A barrier manifested.
The lightning detonated against it, charring the entire room into black ruin.
The barrier cracked.
Only slightly.
But visible.
Her eye under the cloak widens.
“Oh! Thank you, Dame Venom!” the man cried.
“… troublesome,” the cloaked woman muttered.
She licked her lips.
“Keep our identity secret. If you survive when we destroy Margrave Vaelor’s domain and march here with our army, we will honor our agreement.”
“… what?”
“You won’t escape!”
Selene switched to her second artifact — [Stillthread].
Unlike Tempest Line, this whip immobilized its target with paralyzing shock.
She lashed.
The tip nearly touched—
—and the figure blurred.
Gone.
“Teleportation?!”
High-tier magic.
Even some Gold-rank mages struggled with it.
Selene rushed to the window.
The larger demon had jumped into the well below.
A hidden passage.
She turned—
Just in time to see the man crawling toward another secret exit.
Crackle.
“UGH—!”
The lightning seized his body, paralyzing him.
She dragged him back.
“Where does that well lead?!”
“The city outskirts!” he gasped.
He knew.
When Selene reached this level of fury—
Honesty was survival.
“What did you give them?!”
“… Reinforcement routes. Supply paths. Numbers. Notable figures. And… markings of those already being tailed by hired assassins.”
“WHYYYYYY?!”
Her control snapped.
She hurled him across the room, slamming him against walls and ceiling.
He coughed, laughing weakly.
“My mighty Selene… You shine brighter and brighter. And I’m left doing mundane corruption audits in forgotten guild branches. How could I ever catch up? I would always stand beneath you!”
His voice twisted with bitterness.
“So I sought wealth. A shortcut. Anything so I wouldn’t feel inferior to you!”
“… Haa?”
Her mind rejected it.
Such stupidity.
“And when things were finally smooth, that damned halfling brat ruined everything!”
“You mean [Silver Ward]?”
“Call her whatever you want! I sent an assassin to eliminate her along with their desired target. She should be dead by now!”
“What?!”
Selene froze.
If she chased the demons—
she might intercept them.
But that child would die.
If she saved the child—
the invasion plans would unravel.
Information was irreplaceable.
Strategy could be rebuilt.
But a life—
Once lost—
Never returns.
She made her choice.
She hurled the man out the window.
Then she leapt rooftop to rooftop toward the western camp.
Information could wait.
Plans could be revised.
Lives could not.
Saving the child came first.
But she would remember.
Venom.
A high-ranking demon who infiltrated the barony and successfully sowed chaos among humanity.
At the town outskirts
A figure materialized from teleportation.
Demons gathered around her.
The tall one beside her smirked.
“Venom, hm? How many aliases now?”
“Who cares?” she replied smoothly. “If it misdirects her toward a nonexistent entity, that’s my victory.”
“You are truly cunning.”
She smiled faintly.
“We retreat before that woman mobilizes pursuit.”
“I understand. Any instruction?”
“You head toward the Margrave’s domain. And regroup with general Silva.”
“And you?”
“I have unfinished business with the [Brave].”
“As you wish… Shadow Queen.”
She cast her spell once more and vanished.
The others moved west.
This disturbance—
was only the beginning.
The true invasion of the Pinta Kingdom
had just begun.
