Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Chapter 119 Where are they!?

"Find that bastard first!"

As soon as the leader Victor appeared on the plains, he barked orders to his subordinates. The "bastard" in question was none other than Justin.

"Track him down and take him out! If we don't, he'll take everything from us!"

"Yes, sir!"

His team scattered immediately in all directions without hesitation. Being the type of leader who was always in a hurry, his subordinates had grown used to obeying without question. Their plan was simple: scour the area, and if they couldn't find Justin, move on.

However, his lieutenant, Colin, wasn't so sure about this approach. His face betrayed his unease.

"Boss, are you really going to fight that guy head-on?"

"Why ask such an obvious question? What do you think we should do, just let him roam free?" Victor snapped back.

"Maybe that's the better option."

"You idiot!"

Victor exploded, his voice full of frustration. If Colin weren't his lieutenant, he might have hit him already.

"Are you even thinking? That bastard has already gained six extra points! If we don't deal with him now, he'll take the entire fortress!"

"I get that. But... do you really think we can beat him?"

"What?"

"You saw him in the duels."

Colin recalled the image of the black-robed man during the duels—Justin. Even under the murderous stares of hundreds of pioneers, Justin had only smirked, unaffected. When one of his men had killed an opponent, he hadn't even blinked. In fact, it was clear from the context that he had ordered the kill.

"I may not have been a gangster or thug back on Earth, but even I can tell—he's someone who's killed a lot of people."

"And what about that hammer the other guy was using?" Victor continued. "If we kill them, all of that will be ours. We need to act fast before someone else takes it."

"But that's only if we win, right?"

"Of course, fighting alone is risky. That's why we find their location and call in some reinforcements."

A sly grin spread across Victor's face as he leaned in close to whisper in Colin's ear. "We'll bring in two or three other leaders, attack together, and then split the dungeon rewards. After that, we all go our separate ways. We might not get the fortress, but we'll walk away with the loot and minimal losses."

Colin blinked at Victor's plan, dumbfounded. Did this fool actually think this was a good idea? The absurdity of the suggestion left him speechless.

'How can he trust the other leaders? Has he forgotten that we're all competitors? Why would they even agree? And even if they do, how could we trust the loot would be fairly split?'

The more Colin thought about it, the more flaws he found in the plan. The biggest problem was that Victor seemed to see the other leaders as allies, rather than rivals.

But Colin held his tongue, shutting his eyes briefly. There was no point in arguing—Victor wouldn't listen.

'He'll realize his mistake when the other leaders refuse. Until then, I'll just play along.'

"Found them!" a nearby pioneer shouted, snapping both men's attention back to the present.

Victor and Colin's eyes widened in surprise.

"They're really nearby?"

"Where? Where are they!?" Victor demanded.

"Over there, on the hill! You can see them from here!"

They looked in the direction the pioneer pointed and, sure enough, there they were. It was hard to make out their faces from this distance, but the black robes were unmistakable.

"Good. Start moving in slowly," Victor ordered. "They'll get scared and try to run. Just remember which way they're going."

Colin nodded in agreement. He didn't doubt that Justin's group would flee—after all, they had been marked as public enemy number one since the trial began. They were likely worried that there could be others lying in wait.

That's when it happened.