How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 259 - The Dwarves' Mountain Range (2)

‘Could these bastards have been artificially creating Devil’s Blood here?’

It was a thought that came close to certainty when I saw the blackened corpses and people bound and stained with darkness. Even their eyes were red.

This wasn’t impossible. In my meeting with the previous emperor, Rudehrn had explained to me about Devil’s Blood.

-Back then, when the founding emperor had not yet ascended to the position of Sword Lord, at least three Sword Masters were needed to fight a devil. That means the losses were great. So… there were many experiments.

-Drinking the hard-to-obtain Devil’s Blood or eating the body was one of them.

-Almost everyone died. Only Sagnat survived and gained the power of a devil.

There had been unethical human experiments to win the war, and Sagnat, whom the last emperor suspected to be my ancestor, was the only one who survived.

Although it was something that happened in the distant past, the devils must have known about it. After all, Sagnat, who became Devil’s Blood, had dealt with one devil.

Moreover, since the Imperial Intelligence Agency had created devil worshippers, they must have been aware of the information Rudehrn knew.

They were in the process of summoning devils using Devil’s Blood as a medium to begin with.

I could deduce how the situation had come to this. As I exposed their identity and made Erendil the emperor, it became difficult for them to operate on the continent.

‘That means it became harder to find Devil’s Blood.’

Of course, they would have had Devil’s Blood secured until then. Even before making Erendil emperor, I had encountered investigation teams looking for Devil’s Blood.

However, now is different from then. They would have needed more Devil’s Blood after summoning the sphere related to the Great Devil by gathering all the sacrifices they had.

It would have been even more difficult to obtain Devil’s Blood in the east than to find it on the continent. They couldn’t move on the continent, so they tried to create it.

In the game, I had never seen them artificially creating Devil’s Blood. It made sense at that time.

They were so overwhelming. The continent always suffered defeats, and even if they won a few battles, the advantage was with them.

‘There was no need to create a substitute like Devil’s Blood when there were many devils.’

It would also have been because the process of creating Devil’s Blood itself wasn’t easy. According to what I heard from Rudehrn, one had to eat the body and blood of a healthy devil.

They couldn’t give the body of a living devil, so they would have used blood. What’s in the bottle in my hand is probably the last remaining blood of the devil of domination.

There would be limits to extracting blood. Even with good physical regeneration. The corpses around me prove that.

In the life-or-death experiments of the distant past, only Sagnat survived to become Devil’s Blood.

‘It would require the flesh and mental strength of a greater being.’

In other words, it would be cumbersome and not very rewarding to use the body and blood of the devil they serve to create Devil’s Blood.

In that sense, there was room to see the current situation positively. They’re doing this because their situation isn’t favorable.

Still, to think they’re making Devil’s Blood. I hadn’t expected this at all. Well, even if I had guessed, it wouldn’t have changed much from now.

The group following me also seemed bewildered by the surrounding situation.

“W-what is this?”

“It looks like a place where they make Devil’s Blood.”

“Devil’s Blood? Like you?”

“Yes. Sagnat also ate Devil’s Blood and flesh.”

Denif’s eyes widened as he shifted his gaze to my hand.

“Don’t tell me what you’re holding is… real Devil’s Blood?”

“Probably. It’s likely the blood of the one in the east.”

“Damn… Aren’t we in big trouble then? You said they summon devils with Devil’s Blood.”

“That’s probably not the case. It means these guys are in an unfavorable situation.”

“What do you mean?”

I hadn’t heard from Rudehrn how many people were involved in the experiments of the past. It probably wouldn’t be written in documents either.

Experiments on humans are not viewed favorably in this world either. There are quite a few mages who became infamous for human experiments.

Anyway, I don’t think the success rate was high. In the distant past, only Sagnat survived in an experiment that bet on the fate of the continent.

And it probably hadn’t been long since they started creating Devil’s Blood.

They were still directly searching for Devil’s Blood until recently. Devils were summoned after that too.

When their situation worsened, probably only after Erendil became emperor and they lost Tsukva’s Scythe, they might have started.

‘Even assuming the worst-case scenario, they would have created at most one. There’s a higher chance there are none at all.’

Denif sighed in relief after hearing my explanation. But the worst-case scenario still bothered me. And the possibility of success increases as time passes.

I headed towards the room prepared at the back of the cave. I was hoping to find some other information.

‘There’s nothing much. Were they about to leave?’

The small room was messy. It looked as if it had been hastily tidied up. I couldn’t find any research journals or important documents.

A small amount of Flynn Powder was all I could find. It was presumed to be used not to ease the pain of the test subjects, but because they didn’t want to hear the screams.

Ah… For a moment, I thought I understood the situation. These guys were trying to clear out this place. The situation must have changed not too long ago.

They probably set up this Devil’s Blood mass production facility in this mountain range after Erendil became emperor. It’s close to the devils in the north and they could bring sacrifices from the east.

However, the situation changed when a devil died and the devil of domination moved to the east due to the joint attack by me, Erendil, and the Sword Masters.

Even the northeastern mountain range became precarious. We had misunderstood the intelligence that there was something between the devil in the east and the dwarves.

‘There’s a high chance they were trying to clear out this facility, not help the dwarves, after reading our movements.’

I couldn’t find any more of the dark purple blood in my hand in the room. This was probably the last of it. The one I killed must have delivered the ongoing experiment.

Should I consider this fortunate? If we had been a little late, we might not have known this fact at all.

Still, I felt a sense of urgency. Time was already on their side. If they hide in the east and even create Devil’s Blood, the fight will become even more difficult.

Well, let’s think about that when we get back. Maybe we’ll find some answers when we talk to Count Campbell.

I pondered for a moment. Should I blow this place up with a magic bomb? But it was meaningless. It’s a facility that has already been mostly cleared out anyway.

There was no need to waste a magic bomb here. We hid the corpses inside the room so we wouldn’t get caught and headed back to the fork in the road.

“Let’s move again. We need to find Flynn Powder.”

“Ah… right.”

Denif sighed deeply. It was because the tedious search was about to resume. Rina looked at Denif’s expression.

I told Rina it was okay, worried she might feel concerned again.

“Why are you hanging your head? Finding this is more amazing. Thanks to you, we noticed their ploy. You did well.”

“That’s right. You did great! Since we found this, we can find more.”

Denif nodded vigorously and cheered for Rina. Rina might not know, but I could see through the act.

Cunning bastard. He probably wants Rina to use her skills so the search ends quickly.

***

Entry became increasingly difficult. As we entered the central part, the number of dwarves increased. Quite a lot of dwarves were running through the tunnels, perhaps because things were busy outside.

Once, we had to hide against a wall for about 20 minutes.

Anyway, after following Rina’s guidance for another hour or so, we were able to discover something else.

“Wow, unbelievable.”

As if everything up to now had been a long entrance, an underground city built inside the tunnel greeted us.

Denif grabbed Rina’s shoulders excitedly and shouted.

“Rina! We found it! We found it!”

“But we don’t know yet if the place where they make that powder is here.”

“It will be. Um, it has to be.”

Denif spoke positively. Or rather, his words were full of wishful thinking. I agreed to some extent.

“Even if it’s not here, it will be nearby.”

It probably won’t be in the city. Flynn Powder. If an accident happens, it would sweep away the dwarves in the city too.

But it won’t be too far either. Flynn Powder must be what the dwarves are betting their lives on.

Although it’s quite large, I thought we might be able to find it if we search the passages with winds while moving around the city.

Apart from the surprise of the city, I breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike the straight tunnels, it’s a bit easier to move here, hiding between buildings or on rooftops.

Of course, that doesn’t mean freedom of movement is guaranteed. The number of dwarves was not small. It would have been more difficult if the imperial army wasn’t rushing in from outside.

‘Even if the dwarves don’t fight directly, they still have to control the monsters.’

Quite a few people must be out to control the monsters and guard the mountain range. The one fortunate thing was that because the dwarves are short, they don’t look up at the rooftops.

Well, they probably wouldn’t think that outsiders have sneaked into the underground city, and most of the buildings were single-story with two stories at most.

“Let’s move.”

We resumed our search, moving across the city. We followed Rina’s intuition while expanding the realm of winds.

The city was large, so it wasn’t an easy task. After some time had passed, Terka spoke up.

“Hey, Carlyn.”

“What?”

“Just give me an hour. I’ll find it.”

“How?”

As I asked, expecting Terka’s answer, my expression naturally frowned. Terka spoke confidently.

“I’ll seduce one of them. Dwarves shouldn’t be that different, right? There are devil worshippers here anyway. I can just pretend to be one of them.”

As expected. It was nonsensical, but because it was Terka saying it, it seemed quite possible. Even I was tempted.

However, there was a risk. We still have some time. It was a priority to find it safely even if it takes time.

“That’s not possible.”

“Ah, why?”

Terka must have been quite bored until now. It’s understandable. Unlike Denif who’s been trained or Rina who’s learned to steal things, this guy has only held a sword all his life.

“It’s dangerous. Let’s search a bit more, and if we still can’t find anything, we’ll do it your way.”

I tried to placate Terka for now. I deliberately didn’t specify a time because I was worried he might say something unnecessary again.

A considerable amount of time passed like that. We couldn’t find anything. Even after going around the entire city.

“Could it be in another passage? Like there’s a second underground city.”

It was Denif’s words. That possibility couldn’t be ruled out either. But if there was such a thing, it would surely be nearby.

The size and floating population itself were considerable. There couldn’t be that many dwarves. Terka looked at me.

“Carlyn, I’m telling you to trust me just once.”

Terka’s voice was like the whisper of a devil. However, the search was far from over, and we didn’t have much time left.

“Just tell me how to act like a devil worshipper. I’ll really finish in 30 minutes.”

What should I do? Even though I expanded the range, the fact that I couldn’t feel anything in my winds meant it was hidden.

It seemed these guys had prepared. If so, Terka was the best choice.

Although I knew it was crazy, I could seriously consider it because it was Terka. After a long deliberation, I nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

“Hmm.”

“In return, reduce the period we agreed on last time. Then I’ll really do it perfectly.”

It was a sudden deal. However, in the current situation, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

“Okay, give it a try.”

“How much will you reduce it?”

“Let’s talk about that after seeing the results.”

“Alright. Just wait 30 minutes.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be watching.”

I ordered it, but I’m not sure if this was the right choice. Still, it’s Terka. He’s been annoying so far, but strangely, I trust him.

If he fails… well, I guess we’ll just have to blow this place up.