"That fool...... to lose so utterly and embarrassingly!"

  Abak wore a dark scowl.

  "Damn it! Now there’s no way to take down the White Cat Clan! After this, Bars will definitely......"

  He shivered involuntarily as the words trailed off.

  He could already vividly picture the inevitable consequences.

  "My lord...... if I may, there’s another matter we need to address right now."

  "What is it!? "

  "I mean...... those people......"

  "Huh?! You’re bringing them up now? After they failed us completely!"

  "U-Uh...... But all we asked them to do was arrange the matchups, right?"

  "Hmm??"

  Abak froze for a moment, then adopted a shameless look.

  "So what? I never promised them anything—I only said I’d consider their offer!"

  "......Are you certain about this, my lord? They don’t seem like people to be trifled with."

  "......"

  Abak fell silent.

  He pondered the matter long and hard.

  "......You’re right."

  "Besides, those men are truly capable. And now that we’re on our own, we have no chance of seizing power. Since they dared to make this a condition, we might as well hear them out."

  ......

  That night,

  at the Black Wolf Clan’s mansion.

  Abak met with a group of mysterious figures.

  Though he’d agreed to negotiate, he had no courage to venture into their territory.

  "Abak Larry. You seem like a sensible man."

  Only three men had arrived. Abak had already stationed a large number of guards around the mansion, but for some reason......

  As he stared at the three figures before him, an uncontrollable chill ran down his spine. Not even the presence of his numerous guards brought him the slightest sense of security.

  The faint, overwhelming aura exuding from the trio seemed to dominate the entire space. Especially the leader—the man wearing a pitch-black mask—filled him with an indescribable dread.

  "Ahem...... I hear you have a way to help the Black Wolf Royal Clan rise to power. I want to know the full details."

  Abak struggled to keep his composure, doing his best not to show his fear.

  "Heh~!"

  The masked leader let out a soft chuckle.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  "We’re not stringing you along with empty promises."

  "Let me put it this way: soon, a major incident will shake the Indam Federal Council. The entire federation will be transformed by it. And you——"

  The masked man fixed Abak with a meaningful smile.

  "As long as you cooperate with us, the transformed federation will openly support your clan’s ascension to the High Seat. I assume that’s clear enough~?"

  "Y-Y-Y-You——"

  Abak’s eyes widened in terror, his face turning pale. He didn’t just understand—his heart was now filled with sheer panic.

  This was catastrophic!

  This wasn’t just getting involved with a risky deal. These men......

  were extremely dangerous extremists!!!

  "Hehe~!"

  Whoosh!

  In the blink of an eye, the masked man—who’d been standing in the middle of the hall—materialized right in front of Abak.

  "Eep——?!"

  Abak let out an involuntary shriek. The fear he’d been suppressing erupted into full view.

  "W-What do you want!?"

  He pressed his body back firmly against his chair, his hands clutching the armrests so tightly his knuckles whitened. If his legs hadn’t gone weak, he would have fled on the spot.

  Seeing the commotion, the hidden guards rushed out from their posts at once.

  But then, the other two men in the hall unleashed their immense aura without hesitation. A tangible wave of magical pressure swept over the room, freezing the guards in their tracks, none daring to make a move.

  "Relax~. You’re still useful to us—we won’t hurt you."

  The masked man looked down at Abak from above, his face hidden behind an impenetrable smile.

  "But...... there’s one condition, of course——"

  His eyes narrowed slightly.

  "You must be willing to cooperate."

  "After all, what I just told you is a secret~. It wouldn’t do for it to get out."

  "......"

  The masked man’s threatening words made Abak’s heart pound in his throat.

  "Of course," the terrifying aura suddenly lifted just as Abak was on the verge of collapsing. "If you become our ally, then there’s no such thing as 'leaking a secret,' now is there?"

  "Y-Yes! Y-You’re absolutely right......"

  Abak forced a smile uglier than a frown, nodding stiffly.

  "Hehe~! You truly are a sensible man. I like doing business with sensible people. Starting tomorrow, I want you to use your clan’s resources to infiltrate Helinks’ military defense systems—and the command centers of the troops stationed around the Grand Arena. You must plant your men in key positions within these two days."

  "W-What——?!"

  Abak stared at him in horror.

  "A-Are you trying to get the Black Wolf Clan destroyed!?"

  "Hmph~!"

  The masked man snorted coldly, then sneered: "What a misunderstanding. It’s you who wants to seize power. Did you really think you could achieve that without paying any price—just sitting here waiting for success to be handed to you?"

  "I......"

  "Heh. Let me give you one final warning!"

  "Don’t even think about pulling any tricks. Otherwise, we’ll get angry~. And the price of our anger is far more than your little Black Wolf Clan can bear."

  "......"

  Abak fell into complete silence.

  "I’ve told you what needs to be done. Think it over carefully......"

  The masked man turned and strode toward the exit.

  "If this succeeds, it will benefit you too. So you’d better pray everything goes smoothly. Let’s go......"

  The three mysterious figures left the Black Wolf Clan’s mansion unimpeded.

  Abak slumped in his chair, drained of all vitality, and remained motionless for a long time.

  "My lord...... Lord Abak! Lord Abak!"

  "A-Ah——!!?"

  His trusted subordinate’s urgent calls finally jolted Abak back to his senses.

  He glanced around the hall in a panic.

  "W-Where are they?"

  "U-Uh, they’ve already left, my lord......"

  "Left?"

  Abak froze, then let out a long, shaky breath of relief.

  "Gone...... Thank goodness they’re gone......"

  Watching his master’s sorry state, the subordinate hesitated before asking:

  "My lord, what should we do now?"

  "What do you mean, what should we do?"

  "I mean...... what they asked us to do......"

  "......"

  Abak fell silent once more.

  After a long while, he gradually calmed down.

  The despair and frustration in his eyes faded away, replaced first by cold resolve, then by a sharp, unyielding glint.

  "......What that man said is true."

  "We have no other choice. Having already offended the White Cat Clan, offending them too would leave us with no way out! We might as well bet everything on them. If we succeed, we could truly rise to unprecedented heights!"

  "You——"

  "Your subordinate is listening!"

  "Pass down my orders. Tell the entire Black Wolf Clan to proceed as follows......"

  A few minutes later,

  "Yes, my lord! I’ll see to it at once!"

  "Remember!" Abak warned solemnly. "The operation must be carried out in complete secrecy. Don’t arouse any suspicion!"

  "Yes, my lord!"

  The subordinate nodded firmly, then hurried out of the mansion and vanished into the night.

  Staring at the now-empty hall, Abak—who’d just been so resolute—suddenly let out a dejected sigh.

  "Sigh......"

  "How did things ever come to this......"