The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 125

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 125
Chapter 125
The incident concluded successfully.
Though I hadn’t known beforehand, Jackal explained that our enemies were members of Death Mask, a notorious dark organization.
One of the Empire’s three major dark organizations, if I recall correctly?
Their defining characteristic was the masks they wore upon their faces.
“Mercenaries, thank you. Without you, we would have perished at their hands without resistance.”
The moment the situation was resolved, merchant Robert rushed forward and bowed deeply to us.
He promised to grant us additional compensation once this journey concluded.
The attacks by trolls and goblins, followed by Death Mask’s assault.
Through these trials, the value of mercenaries had become profoundly apparent.
As I reflected on this, several mercenaries handling the cleanup approached and delivered their report.
“All of them are dead.”
“Are there any survivors?”
“None. We attempted to capture at least one alive, but when we tried to apprehend him, he bit down on poison and swallowed it.”
“Hmm, this is troublesome. Without any survivors, how can we possibly discover who hired Death Mask?”
Death Mask was thorough.
They chose death over capture.
Come to think of it, the man I faced also self-destructed at the end, so poison seems almost trivial by comparison.
Still, it would be problematic to simply move forward without discovering who hired Death Mask.
“Allow me to investigate.”
“Pardon? How do you intend to do so? We’ve already examined all their belongings thoroughly…”
I decided to take matters into my own hands.
During my time in First, I often encountered similar situations while completing quests.
Circumstances where NPCs or monsters holding crucial evidence or information had already perished.
There were several methods to extract information in such situations, but for this particular case.
“Luke, do you remember?”
– Of course, Master.
This seemed perfectly suited.
[ Soul Resonance Stone ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form: Orb
Grade: Unique
The Soul Resonance Stone—a weapon wielded by dark mages and necromancers.
When I grasped this item and infused it with mana.
‘I could see.’
The spirits of the deceased became visible to me.
The souls perceivable through this resonance stone were limited to those who had died less than twenty-four hours ago, but that was sufficient for now.
Among them, I located the man with the skull mask whom I had defeated.
No matter how I considered it, this man appeared to be Death Mask’s core operative and the one who possessed the information I sought.
However, this alone accomplishes nothing.
The Soul Resonance Stone could only allow me to perceive the dead—nothing more.
So I needed one more thing.
“The other one as well.”
– Yes, master.
I drew a staff into my right hand.
[ Whispers of the Dead ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type : Staff
Grade : Unique
This was one of the weapons used by dark mages and necromancers alike.
While it enhanced the efficiency of spirit-based magic, what I intended to use now was the unique skill attached to this staff.
– I will activate the unique skill of ‘Whispers of the Dead’: ‘Lament of the Deceased’.
Using this would enable conversation with the dead.
That was precisely why the combination of ‘Soul Resonance Stone’ and ‘Whispers of the Dead’ had been my go-to pairing even back in First.
“Good heavens!”
“You can use dark magic as well?”
“I saw you use magic when defeating the trolls, but I never imagined you wielded dark magic too….”
“Is there a problem with using dark magic?”
“Oh, no. The old prejudice that dark mages were inherently evil has long since faded. I’ve heard that one of the Dragon Slayers was even a dark mage.”
Once I activated ‘Lament of the Deceased’, the staff’s unique skill, not only I but those around me could perceive the spirit’s presence.
In other words, they too were now witnessing the man in the skull mask alongside me.
Though at this moment, what came to mind was the man whose skull mask had been removed, his face twisted and scarred by burns.
“With this, I can ask two questions.”
“Ohhh….”
I wished I could probe for everything, but ‘Lament of the Deceased’ granted only two chances to question.
Once those two answers were given, the spirit would vanish and could never be summoned again.
So I had to extract all necessary information within those two precious questions.
“Since it seems certain these men belong to Death Mask, there’s no need to ask about their affiliation. The most crucial matter is, of course….”
“The one who hired them.”
Merchant Robert and mercenary captain Jackal.
And myself.
The three of us conversed, formulating the question to pose to the spirit.
The first question, thus decided, was.
“Who is the one who hired you to attack us?”
This one.
“…The Carben Merchant Guild.”
“The Carben Merchant Guild!”
“What sort of place is the Carben Merchant Guild?”
“They’re called one of the three great merchant guilds of the Empire alongside our own. For the Carben Merchant Guild to employ Death Mask to attack us, even if they’re ruthless….”
The spirit provided the answer immediately.
Had I been alive, I would never have answered such a question, and if forced to answer, I would have chosen death instead.
But bound by the staff’s unique skill, the spirit could neither refuse my question nor speak a lie.
Now only one final question remained.
And I had already decided what that question would be.
“Where is the evidence of the commission from Carben Merchant Guild?”
At that question.
Flinch.
The spirit trembled slightly.
A sign that even in its spectral form, it was reluctant to answer.
I channeled even more mana into the Whispers of the Departed staff and pressed closer to the spirit.
“…The contract is stored in a hidden compartment beneath the second drawer of Black’s desk at Death Mask’s Third Branch, located in Basement Level 2 of Decant’s Tavern.”
With that precise answer, the spirit vanished.
Indeed, choosing this spirit had been the right call.
Robert’s expression hardened upon hearing the spirit’s answer.
“Mirain, thank you. I will report this to the Merchant Master immediately.”
He rushed toward the carriage with a grave expression.
* * *
The moment Simons heard Robert’s report.
“We move at once.”
Simons rose from his seat immediately.
Edwin Simons’s personal guard unit, along with mercenaries contracted to the Simmons Trading Company, mobilized toward Decant’s Tavern in unison.
“Who do you think you are!”
“Do you know where you are!”
The moment they arrived at the tavern, the patrons inside moved to block Simons’s entry.
“The Guard Captain will arrive shortly, so subdue anyone blocking the way and hand them over.”
“Yes!”
“My guard unit will descend into the basement with me.”
“Understood.”
Simons moved without hesitation.
He struck down all who stood in his way, and with the help of the specialist he had brought along, located the entrance to the basement.
Naturally, the basement door was sealed shut.
Screech!
One of Simons’s guards unsheathed a sword aura and sliced through the door.
Anyone capable of wielding a sword aura would be renowned as a master even in the Empire.
Through his vast wealth, Simons had secured a Swordmaster who wielded a sword aura as part of his personal guard.
The moment they descended into the basement.
“Die!”
Figures wearing dark masks descended upon Simons.
Screech!
They too fell mercilessly to the guards’ blades.
Without pause, I pressed forward into Basement Level 2.
“Wait, already?!”
Members of Death Mask were visible gathering documents.
Death Mask operatives were notorious for biting poison capsules rather than be captured alive, so Simons saw no reason to spare them.
“Cut them all down before they can do anything foolish.”
“Yes, sir.”
I had the guards strike them all down.
While the guards were eliminating Death Mask,
Simons approached the desk positioned in the center of the room and opened the second drawer beneath it.
Ignoring the miscellaneous documents inside, I had the guards forcibly break open and reveal the hidden wall within, and there—
“Ha, the seal of Carben Merchant Guild. What irrefutable evidence.”
Simons retrieved the contract he had heard about in reports.
The contract bore the unmistakable seal of Carben Merchant Guild, a seal infused with magical arrays that no other merchant caravan could possibly replicate.
In other words, this contract served as definitive proof of the agreement between Carben Merchant Guild and Death Mask.
But that was not all.
This place overflowed with evidence of every corrupt Imperial official who had dealt with Death Mask.
Not just merchant caravans, but nobles and guard captains as well.
I could report this to the Empire immediately, but possessing such evidence would prove invaluable for countless future purposes.
Most importantly, with this contract alone, I could use the Empire’s recently declared “War on Crime” to bring down Carben Merchant Guild.
Once Carben Merchant Guild fell, Simmons Trading Company would naturally ascend to become one of the Empire’s three great merchant houses.
“Mir, Baron.”
Simons gazed at the stack of documents, worth their weight in gold, and smiled as I unconsciously murmured.
“Meeting you must be the will of fate. No—the will of fate for Simmons Trading Company.”
Speaking thus, Simons continued, thinking of Mir heading toward Red Beast Fortress.
“And to maintain our connection, I must pay a price worthy of it.”
* * *
The next day.
Simmons Trading Company was preparing to depart once more.
The problem lay in the damage caused by the explosion triggered by Death Mask’s leader at the end.
“Thanks to Mirain’s skillful defense, the carriages sustained no significant damage.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“However….”
Robert gazed toward something with a troubled expression.
Several horses lay collapsed there.
The explosion that Death Mask’s operative had triggered by throwing himself.
Horses caught in the blast, startled and thrown, or injured from collisions.
While the injured horses could all be treated, there was no reviving those who had lost their lives.
“We lack sufficient horses, leaving two carriages unable to move. The mercenary band offered to lend us horses, but we won’t be able to maintain our original speed.”
Even if the mercenary band lent us horses, the strength of draft horses pulling carriages differed fundamentally from the riding horses the mercenaries had used.
Moreover, the Simmons Trading Company’s carriages were reinforced with spatial magic inscriptions, making them sturdier than ordinary carriages and consequently heavier as well.
Naturally, the horses pulling such carriages were exceptionally strong specimens.
“How much delay do you anticipate?”
“Well, I’d estimate at least two days of delay. It’s not merely a matter of reduced speed—depending on the terrain, progress could come to a complete standstill.”
Two days.
The delay was far greater than I had anticipated.
Since I had no intention of squandering so much time, I immediately summoned Jackal to discuss the matter.
“What is it?”
“Can the Steel Claw Mercenary Band protect the caravan through the remainder of the journey using only your own strength, without my assistance?”
“What kind of disheartening question is that? Of course we can. Hmm, the way you’re asking suggests you’ve already found a way to pull the carriages?”
“Yes.”
Lacking horses to pull the carriages?
Why would such a concern even arise?
“Luke.”
Within Luke’s spatial pocket, the collection of summoned creature flutes contained not only swift steeds, but also powerful beasts more than capable of hauling carriages with ease.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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