Ch.335Oleg

Having fully recovered, Oleg and Maksim discussed their next steps inside the prison.

Maksim argued they should secretly escape the frontline base and head to Novgorod since there was a limit to what they could accomplish alone. However, Oleg rejected this idea, saying there wasn’t enough time. When Oleg pointed out that by the time they reached Novgorod, the main force would have already been annihilated fighting without reinforcements, Maksim had no choice but to withdraw his suggestion.

“At the very least, we need to get the troops from this frontline base to join His Majesty. So we need to take control of this place somehow.”

Oleg’s opinion was simple.

Not all the soldiers at the frontline base would be rebels following the traitors. If that many people had been dreaming of rebellion, information would have leaked somewhere and been discovered no matter how well they tried to hide it.

Therefore, he estimated that if they could just ambush and eliminate the four Champions who were likely sound asleep by now, it would be possible to command the warriors of the frontline base and head toward the northern wall.

Even with regenerative abilities, there were ways to kill them by surprise. They could cut their throats with silver blades before they woke up and then stab the blade into the severed surface.

It was ironic that Werebeasts would use silver weapons, which were their weakness, but it wasn’t actually that uncommon. While useless against humans, there was no better weapon against their own kind.

The close associates of the traitors seemed to have already decided to follow the opinions of the former tribal chiefs instead of Rurik… but they too would likely choose submission over resistance if their tribal chiefs were killed before they could do anything, their morale broken.

“If the ambush fails…”

“Then we’ll have a civil war inside this base. Let’s pray that doesn’t happen.”

Maksim sighed.

It was an extremely risky plan, but he didn’t have any better alternatives.

“If it’s to save His Majesty, I suppose we have no choice…”

“That’s right. His Majesty is waiting for us, so we need to return with reinforcements as quickly as possible.”

Nodding, Maksim turned and headed toward the prison exit.

As Oleg had said, they had no time. For His Majesty’s sake, they needed to eliminate the traitors before the night ended.

Behind Maksim’s back, Oleg stared at him intently.

—-

“…This is going smoothly. I was right to trust Maksim.”

Oleg barely suppressed the urge to laugh as he tore into and swallowed the still-warm Werebeast corpse.

He really liked single-minded loyalists like Maksim who were faithful to Rurik.

In that sense… he could say he quite liked Nazar as well.

Their way of thinking and actions were so predictable it was almost adorable.

—-

To eliminate the traitors as quickly as possible, Oleg and Maksim moved toward different rooms.

Maksim would handle Arseniy and Yevgeniy, while Oleg chose Lavrentiy and Kseniya.

“Well then, I wish you luck.”

“You too.”

With a grim expression, Maksim concealed a silver dagger inside his clothes from the armory and headed beyond the corridor.

Oleg watched his retreating figure and smirked.

“Luck… my good fortune won’t be so pleasant for you, Maksim.”

He couldn’t help but smile.

His own good fortune would mean unimaginable misfortune for Maksim.

Oleg began walking leisurely, gripping a silver longsword.

The quiet, cool night air felt particularly pleasant today. He almost wanted to hum a tune.

Though his overworked body felt heavy and his head was tired enough to fall asleep, the excitement and elation in his chest drove him forward.

His plan was nearing completion.

“O-Oleg…!”

“Shh… everyone’s sleeping. It would be troublesome to cause a commotion.”

Oleg killed the guards he encountered with a single strike to the neck as he headed relentlessly toward Kseniya’s room.

If others discovered the guards’ corpses, a huge commotion would break out, but he showed no intention of hiding the scattered bodies.

He merely cut off forearms and chewed on them like packed lunches as he continued walking.

Though Oleg had urged Maksim that they shouldn’t be discovered until all the Champions were dead, his current behavior seemed almost as if he wanted to be caught.

And finally, at the door to Kseniya’s room.

Oleg flung the door open without hesitation.

This was in stark contrast to Maksim, who was very carefully opening the door to Arseniy’s room at that moment.

—-

“Hmm… so you’re alive?”

A voice that shouldn’t have been heard. If Maksim had seen this scene, he would have drawn his sword and charged immediately.

The woman who should have been sleeping was wide awake.

However, Oleg entered the room with complete composure.

“I was half-doubting whether you’d be alive, given how close to death you looked despite your boasting. Seems I worried for nothing.”

Sitting on the bed smoking a Mana Herb, Kseniya gave Oleg a leisurely smile.

It was a smile with a hint of coquettishness, completely different from hours ago when they were trying to kill each other.

“Did I look like I was about to die? You don’t know me very well if you thought that, even after being so intimate.”

“Well… I know you’re the most devious man in Baryachrus.”

Oleg chuckled and sat down on the sofa beside the bed.

Far from an assassin, he looked like a playboy visiting his lover, completely at ease.

“So, what should I do now? Should I go with you to kill Lavrentiy?”

Kseniya casually mentioned killing the saber-toothed Werebeast who trusted her completely.

Like Maksim, she was also a spy previously planted by Oleg. She was also his lover.

“No, that’s not necessary. If Maksim handles things too well, at least Lavrentiy should stay alive. For now.”

The reason Oleg hadn’t told Maksim about her existence was because the two warriors’ objectives had been fundamentally different from the beginning.

Maksim was only loyal to Rurik.

The reason he helped Oleg was because Oleg had shown him the image of a loyal subject who didn’t spare his own life.

But Kseniya was completely different.

She didn’t particularly feel loyalty toward Rurik. Though she didn’t wish for his death either.

However, Oleg wanted that. Therefore, she faithfully followed Oleg’s plan.

His ambition to deceive everyone and gain everything.

—-

“If Maksim had known Kseniya was an ally, he would have tried to subdue the traitors immediately in the reception room instead of temporarily restraining me. With equal numbers, the odds would have been good, and that would have been the quickest way.”

That outcome would have been quite troublesome for Oleg.

If the rebellion ended before it even began, he would have no choice but to send reinforcements on time.

In that case, all he would gain would be the label of Rurik’s loyal subject and an assessment that he was smarter than expected.

Rurik would still be ruling, and the fox cub would be even more wary of him than before.

But look at the result he achieved by hiding Kseniya’s identity and enduring some pain.

Now he was no longer an ordinary loyal subject, but an immortal loyal subject who fought honorably to save Rurik without sparing his own body even in the face of death.

Maksim would testify to this to everyone, never dreaming that it was all Oleg’s deception.

Additionally, the reinforcements Rurik was waiting for would be delayed due to “unavoidable” confusion, so Rurik and the fox cub wouldn’t even be able to return to their homeland alive.

That was what Oleg intended to ensure.

He had done everything possible to make sure they wouldn’t survive.

“Didn’t they say fools don’t live long? Well, that’s one thing they got right. Stupid little fox.”

Recalling the brown fox that had constantly grated on his nerves, Oleg bared his teeth and chuckled with pleasure.

He really liked Nazar. There was no one easier to manipulate than those who thought they were clever.

All he had to do was pretend to be stupid and violent, just as they expected.

This time too, Nazar had sent him to Baryachrus, exactly as he had hoped.

He felt so grateful he wanted to pour a drink on his grave.

Nazar… no. Most of the Werebeasts, except for Maksim and Kseniya who were necessary for his “plan,” thought of him as just a stupid warrior who only knew how to fight.

Ironically.

The sole survivor among all his kin who had lost their lives in reckless battles.

Did they even understand what that meant?

The last snow tiger, Champion Oleg, laughed at them all.

“For now… I wish that guy would disappear quickly. It was torture having to endure his advances.”

“Ha, that’s just like him. Anyway, don’t be so impatient—it won’t be long before he becomes a piece of meat.”

Oleg shook his head and took a Mana Herb from Kseniya.

Everything was going smoothly. Almost beautifully so.

The throne was within his grasp.

The traditionalists who believed a strong warrior should ascend to the throne would bless his strength.

The honorable ones who had pledged loyalty to Rurik would acknowledge him, who had proven his loyalty by risking his life.

In terms of strength, justification, and influence, no Werebeast could surpass him at that point.

Those who would try to interfere by any means—the three Champions gathered here and the fox cub—would all be corpses within a week.

If he had enough time, he would have embraced Kseniya and spent the night rolling around in ecstasy.

But instead of indulging with Kseniya, Oleg cooled his head and checked his plan.

All the preparations were complete; now he just needed to execute the planned actions without error.

According to Kseniya’s report, about three-tenths of the frontline base’s forces would actively cooperate with the rebellion.

Another three-tenths would surrender immediately if their tribal chief died, and four-tenths were stationed without knowing anything.

As he had instructed Kseniya in advance, the balance was just right for dragging things out.

“A little later, shout that I’ve escaped and go to the hideout I told you about before. Wait for me to return there. If Maksim finds you now, he’ll try to kill you.”

“…You’re not planning to abandon me too, are you?”

Kseniya flicked her tail slightly, looking a bit suspicious.

If things proceeded according to Oleg’s plan, she would bear the stigma of being a Champion who betrayed the king.

If Oleg abandoned her, she might lose everything, including her life. The fact that she was willing to help Oleg despite knowing this showed the frightening aspect of the emotion called affection.

“Of course not. Do I look like such a cold-blooded person? That would hurt my feelings. You and I share many deep secrets. I don’t want to lose my future queen, so I’m just asking you to hide for a while.”

Oleg exhaled the Mana Herb smoke and smiled.

Though he was joking, this much was true.

Just as Kseniya had affection for him, Oleg also had an attachment to Kseniya.

So much so that he intended to make her his queen once everything was over and he had completely taken control of Baryachrus.

Though her appearance might need to be changed a little.

“Just… about three more minutes should do it. If no commotion breaks out by then, it means Maksim has successfully dealt with at least one of them.”

Kseniya nodded.

Though a momentary anxiety had risen, she still trusted Oleg.

—-

Three minutes later, the wall of Kseniya’s bedroom shattered into pieces, and a lioness with a distressed appearance burst through.

“Roaaaar! Oleg has escaped-! Stop him-!”

Shouting loudly as planned.

Loud enough for everyone in the frontline base to hear.

Lavrentiy and Yevgeniy, who had been sound asleep, rose in shock, and Maksim’s expression twisted greatly in dismay.

He couldn’t even guess how they had been discovered, but with Oleg exposed, all that remained was an all-out war.

At least he had successfully dealt with Arseniy, which was fortunate.

“Treason! Yevgeniy, Lavrentiy, and Kseniya have plotted rebellion against His Majesty! Help Champion Oleg subdue the traitors!”

Maksim shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Maksiiim! You dare betray us!”

Yevgeniy’s cry came from somewhere in the corridor.

It sounded not just indignant but even tragic. Considering what they had been planning to do, it was the height of hypocrisy.

“Betrayal? That’s what you’ve committed! Vile and despicable traitors!”

Maksim retorted as he grabbed the head of a warrior charging at him and slammed it into the wall.

With irrefutable righteousness.

“Grrk…! Warriors, kill Oleg and Maksim! Make this fortress their tomb!”

The warriors of the frontline base, confused by the sudden commotion, turned their weapons against each other.

Warriors who had been loyal to Maksim from the beginning and those who had heard nothing about the rebellion cooperated with Maksim and Oleg, while the rest followed the orders of the former tribal chiefs.

Since Kseniya had disappeared somewhere, only Lavrentiy and Yevgeniy remained, but…

In the fierce battle where severed limbs flew and blood flowed like a river.

After a desperate fight, Maksim and Oleg ultimately emerged victorious.

Lavrentiy fell with his fangs ripped out and embedded in his eye socket, his head severed, while Yevgeniy was crushed by Maksim’s hammer and lay sprawled out.

As they fell, the rebels also lost their will to fight and began to surrender one by one.

Those who resisted to the end soon met the same fate as their tribal chiefs. With this, the suppression of the frontline base was complete.

However, Maksim’s expression was not bright. Oleg also wore a somber expression.

“We’re too late…!”

Looking up at the moon hanging high in the sky, Maksim let out a deep sigh. His body and mind were so exhausted that he felt he might drop his weapon.

It had taken more than a day to subdue the traitors.