I Became the Narrow-Eyed Henchman of the Evil Boss – Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Proxy War (2)

The chaos and aftermath from the massive disturbance in Amimone City provided the Divine Cult with ample opportunity to hide their presence.

The Black Dark Tower, one of the Ten Towers, had fallen completely, and the political infighting over its remains was still ongoing. With such unrest, the magic society lacked the stability to organize a wide-reaching pursuit.

At the moment, even the search parties meant to track down traces of the Divine Cult were only operating in Algoth City, making it highly unlikely that the Ten Towers would find the cult’s main forces any time soon.

The priestess of Glaucus, the goddess of war and strategy, had analyzed that the decision to hold the Tower Lord Selection Trials in Algoth City was part of the Ten Towers’ strategy to make it easier to search for suspects.

Even though the attempt to devour the Amimone Tower had failed, Argyrion wouldn’t retreat so easily. This was an opportunity to erase traces and, in some cases, legally claim the remains of the Dark Tower.

By chasing those moving in the shadows of the candidates, the Ten Towers hoped to uncover both Argyrion’s allies and any informants within the cult.

However, the Ten Towers were unaware that the Divine Cult had no real connection to Argyrion. Even the sacred relics planted in Algoth City were nothing but husks, their essence completely extracted for the Pope’s plan.

While being associated with doomsday fanatics like Argyrion was distasteful, the Divine Cult was willing to accept the misunderstanding if it meant they could distract the Ten Towers.

‘While the Ten Towers waste their time in Algoth City, we’ll prepare ourselves…’

The cult’s members were adapting to the new powers they had received from the Sanctuary of the Deities. Among them, Demus was one of the most fervent.

Although he had distanced himself from the internal power struggle between the Pope’s faction and the priestess’ faction within the Divine Cult, there was one thing both sides agreed on:

The overarching premise that, ‘One day, we will have to fight the Ten Towers.’ Whether that fight would end with one side being completely annihilated or result in a climactic battle followed by negotiations depended on individual agendas, but no one denied that a war was coming.

And Demus was a priest of the war god.

He had been in more battles with the Ten Towers’ hunting squads than anyone else. His younger brother had even died in one such battle, deepening his personal grudge against them.

However, Demus knew that with their current strength, they couldn’t face the Ten Towers just yet. So, he had been waiting patiently for the right time, all while testing his newfound divine powers.

That’s when he received a message from Orthes.

“Oh?”

Unlike the more cautious members of the Divine Cult, Demus had a deep trust in Orthes. The war god Enyalius, whom Demus served, symbolized straightforward power rather than complex strategies. Thus, once Demus gave his trust, he stuck to it stubbornly.

While other factions, such as Glaucus’ or Phoibos’, worried over Orthes’ every move, the Enyalius faction was content to focus on training in sacred martial arts and honing their combat aura.

“It’s been a while. What do you need?” Demus asked.

「I need your help.」

It was common for Orthes to be called upon by the Divine Cult, but it was rare for Orthes to request help from them.

This was because Orthes usually had so many resources at his disposal that it was hard to believe he was a mere individual. Typically, help flowed from the side with more to the side with less.

Demus was pleased to have an opportunity to repay his comrade.

“Alright, what’s the situation?”

However, as the conversation progressed, Demus’ expression grew more and more serious. Orthes spoke of the “Rebel Cults” from the Divine Cult’s old records and explained how there had been someone pulling the strings behind these rebel groups.

「You know those cults that were excommunicated by the Divine Cult when they suddenly went mad after operating normally for years? That’s who I’m talking about.」

“Yes, we called them rebel cults. You’re saying there was someone behind them?”

「Exactly. These rebel cults, at their final stage, always summoned the same abomination—a false god embedded in a sacred relic. The one responsible for preparing the birth of these false gods still exists.」

“And how do you know this?”

「Because a larva of a false god has appeared in Algoth City. It’s one of your kind—the kind that has a single consciousness but controls multiple bodies. Its abilities are far beyond what I can handle alone.」

Demus immediately recognized that this was not a decision he could make alone. To subdue a false god, which had left indelible scars on the cult in the past, would require the united efforts of the entire Divine Cult.

“It may not be fully matured yet, but it’s still dangerous. I’ll call an emergency meeting to discuss this.”

「Thank you. If you need to find me, I’ll be participating in the Amimone Tower Lord Selection under the Tavning faction.」

Even in that short amount of time, Demus couldn’t help but admire Orthes for already having made inroads in the battle for the Amimone Tower’s succession.

***

The trials for the Tower Lord Selection given by the Ten Towers were traditional in nature.

They largely reused the same evaluation criteria used in previous selection processes, such as the ability to supply magic power and the standards used during the Magic Tower’s advancement exams.

Of course, the first posted trial was less a serious exam and more a preliminary screening to weed out unqualified candidates.

In other words, anyone who seriously considered themselves a contender for the title of Tower Lord of Amimone had no reason to fail this test.

Surprisingly, however, candidates were dropping like flies in a test that should have been a breeze.

The backers behind the candidates—the ones who had been moving since the prelude—were now getting more aggressive in their efforts.

Kynemon watched as the candidate in front of him clutched his stomach and collapsed, screaming, “Gaaaaah!” before being carried off to the hospital. That person would now be disqualified.

“Well, they’re certainly not holding back, are they?”

“Is that so? I’d say they’re exercising quite a bit of restraint, given that they’re not killing people left and right like on the first night,” Orthes said with a shrug.

Kynemon could only feel a headache coming on, hearing such a statement from Orthes, who had been the ringleader of those “killing people left and right.”

“And you’re just going to keep eating those snacks?”

The candidate who had just collapsed had likely been poisoned. Yet Orthes continued to casually munch on the refreshments provided at the test site, seemingly unconcerned.

“It’s fine. I have ways of figuring things out,” Orthes replied nonchalantly, adding quietly, “Besides, I need some excuse to move around and search for that guy, don’t I?”

Orthes had already secured the Tower Lord candidate whom the parasite had first tried to use as a puppet, but since then, the parasite hadn’t made any further moves. As a result, Orthes was busy wandering around the test grounds, trying to trace any influence the parasite might be exerting.

Kynemon wasn’t sure the parasite, who had suffered greatly the previous night, would show its hand again so easily. Still, he trusted that Orthes had his reasons for being cautious.

“Quite the opposite of what I expected. I thought it would try to interfere with the candidates to gain some control over the selection.”

Orthes rubbed his chin thoughtfully, as if this was indeed a troubling development.

‘He says that, but I bet in a few hours he’ll come back saying he’s figured it out,’ Kynemon thought dismissively as he headed toward the exam hall for his turn. His task remained unchanged: he had to become the next Tower Lord of Amimone.

After giving a casual wave to Kynemon as he departed, Orthes turned and resumed his search.

If he couldn’t find his prey immediately, he’d just have to tighten the noose.

In his hand, a notification blinked—Demus had sent a reply.

***

None of the events in Algoth City had gone as Argyrion had anticipated.

More specifically, they hadn’t gone as Nastion had anticipated.

Sprigo, who had been expected to return alive, was dead, and none of the Drachmas soldiers sent with him had returned. If their commander had died, they should have immediately returned to the main camp.

The possibility that they had been captured crossed Nastion’s mind, but those units were designed to self-destruct if disabled.

Every single one of the forces they had sent to Algoth City was gone. The stark reality of it all weighed heavily on Nastion, who considered it a personal disgrace.

However, Halto and the other Argyrion leaders didn’t criticize Nastion.

“It’s clear we have a formidable enemy.”

“But we have no evidence.”

“Don’t you see? The lack of evidence is the evidence!”

“Wait… what?”

Nastion was bewildered, but the other leaders had their reasoning. If a powerful mage from the Ten Towers had been deployed to eliminate Argyrion’s forces, there would have been traces left behind.

That’s how it always was with mages of great power.

Yet there were no records of who this mage was, where they came from, or under what chain of command they had been dispatched. Nothing.

For someone to go to such obsessive lengths to erase their traces, and to succeed in doing so, they could only be an enemy.

Nastion felt uneasy with himself for finding their argument convincing.

Given the situation, he couldn’t oppose the idea of assuming the existence of an “enemy.” Surveying the room, Halto made an announcement.

“Our first objective is to identify the enemy’s true identity. We can’t keep chasing vague suspicions forever.”

“But we don’t have any leads.”

“Then we’ll create some.”

Argyrion was willing to endure any losses necessary to catch a glimpse of this “enemy.” Even if it meant sacrificing some of the Tower Lords they had painstakingly allied with.

And so, it was that Argyrion’s faction, who had been planning to create human bombs in Algoth City, crossed paths with the puppets of the mental parasite.

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