Volume 7 Chapter 11: Corpse defeat
âWhatâs the situation?â when Dolan saw Bastin Faye returning empty handed, he immediately felt uneasy.
Even though nothing was as important as his son, that bone was still something that he spent untold amounts of effort in order to obtain, so he wasnât willing to simply lose it.
âThe thieves have backing, theyâre at least the level of first-rate Pugilists, I canât easily help you in this matterâ Bastin Faye told him straight: âJust consider yourself unlucky this timeâ
After that, Bastin Faye simply left without any further explanations. Originally, it was because Dolan had threatened him with their relationship, and he also wanted more leverage to take control of Dolan that he begrudgingly agreed to help. Now that an unknown entity has gotten involved, this matter can only be left aside.
As for Dolan, other than considering himself unlucky, there was literally nothing else he could do. He didnât even have the ability to scold Bastin Faye, as he was the weaker side in their relationship.
The other party helping him just once was already a show of their sincerity, any further forceful demands would only result in terrible consequences that he didnât want.
Dolanâs expression wasnât great, but he just heaved a long sigh. Regardless of what happened, everything was fine as long as his little Parry returned to him, things like talent and potential can be considered later on, even if all the resources and effort he spent earlier on the bone had gone to waste.
â¦
Catho opened the door to the underground secret room and touched his face. He could feel the buds of flesh moving on his skin, his blood that was now filled with vitality once again circulated throughout his entire body, making it seem like he was no longer a dead person.
He fell to his knees and covered his mouth, madly grinning trying to hold back his laughter. His facial expression was horribly distorted.
Iâve done it, I managed to obtain the Spring of Life from them and become a pseudo Ghostman.
After this, I only need to find a suitable secondary soul and Iâll become a true Ghostman, directly wielding supernatural powers.
During the Age of Metal, even though the foundational technique for supernatural powers had become commonplace, there are still very few who could actually wield them.
A Pugilist who wielded supernatural powers would receive partial treatment and privileges equivalent to an aristocrat no matter where they were, although this treatment wasnât hereditary and they wouldnât be granted any land.
Most people can only reach the level of training their bodies, they donât have the resources to change out their blood, so even though many people were practicing [Bone Forge Art], very few of them could advance any further.
After his hysterical fit of laughter was over, Catho wiped the tears from his eyes and turned towards the trunk in the corner. Some traces of limestone powder could be seen around the edges, together with a faint rancid smell.
Catho stood up and opened the door of the secret room, picking up the trunk, he thought briefly before putting a letter on it.
â¦
âThe city lord is comingâ¦â
âWhat now?â
âCity lord, sirâ¦â
The commotion around him caused Dolan to feel a bit detached from reality. When his butler ran in to report the news, he could already guess by the look on his face.
But even now, he couldnât comprehend that this was the truth, it was as if everything had become unreal.
He was clearly still showing off his achievements to me just a few days ago, so why did it turn out like this?
The group silently parted ways for Dolan to see the small trunk in front of him. A purplish bruised small face drained of any blood was silently lying within a mass of limestone powder.
Dolanâs legs lost all of their strength, he fell on his knees, practically screaming out loud: âThat canât be my son, my little Parry still isnât dead, he canât be deadâ
âHow could he be dead!â
Dolan was completely broken, no longer paying attention to his pride or dignity as the city lord or an aristocrat.
Even though he was denying that this dead body was his son with all his might, Dolan couldnât help but slowly crawl in front of the wooden trunk. As he pulled the small boyâs body out of the trunk, his rationality rapidly plummeted, repeating over and over to himself that this couldnât be true.
His motivation, his faith, the very pillar for his life up to his point had completely collapsed, he was only a hairâs breadth away from going insane.
In the room above, Bastin Faye frowned. Dolan as a person had already been completely broken, so his plan would have to be changed as well.
â¦
Dolan didnât know when he returned to the city lordâs manor, nor who brought him back, but the small boyâs dead body had remained in his embrace this entire time.
It wasnât until that night that Dolan regained his senses. His expression was exceptionally calm, or rather, terrifying calm.
He could clearly feel himself calmer than ever before. He had already read the letter in the wooden trunk as well, which explained in simple words that they were sorry and that Parry had already suffocated to death when he was being carried away by the sewage water.
âSo this is karma?â Dolan once again recalled the small childâs body in the Eskin manor.
For the sake of his goal, he had massacred everyone in the Eskin family, leaving only Aureum remaining who somehow survived.
But the only thing he got out of it was the terrible death of his own son as well.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âIf this was karma, then letâs have things become even more insaneâ Dolan stood back up. His body was already ruined from the years of toil, he could no longer have a second son, so the Ashius family was already done for, he had no other heir.
âI might as well lose everything else as wellâ Dolan turned to the butler and said, the calm but desperate look in his eyes caused the butler to tremble.
âOrder the men around the Eskin manor to do it, my son is dead but heâs still alive, that simply isnât rightâ
Dolan stood up and lightly stroked the dead boyâs head in an incredibly gentle manner. Even the tone of his voice was the same, giving off a terrifying sense of gentleness.
âUnderstood, sirâ the butler hurriedly responded while also sighing in relief.
Turning his rage to an underserved party was a normal reaction at times like this, so as long as he has relieved his rage, lord Dolan should return to normal.
However, Dolanâs next statement caused the butler to freeze up completely: âFurthermore, little Parry liked to make merry, we should send a few more people down with himâ
He continued to keep the body in his embrace and walked to the highest floor of the city lord manor to look down towards this border town. In his vision, he could see numerous people walking through the streets, some of which were little children playing with one another.
Dolan turned to the butler and said: âMy son is already dead, so why do they get to live?â
âMi-milordâ¦â the butler was trembling.
âOrder some men to do it. There are always reckless idiots willing to risk their lives for money, let alone something of this level. Werenât those thieves also the same? The Ashius family is already done forâ
âUnderstood, milordâ the butler trembled as he dismissed himself. He didnât know what the city lord would do if he had refused, so he didnât have the courage to refuse.
There are always reckless people who want to become Pugilists and would not stop at anything to earn resources for this goal. It wasnât difficult to massacre a bunch of children, as long as they remain wary of any revenge that comes afterwards.
Theyâre already used to it, just change their identity after getting these resources and flee to another city, they would still be able to live perfectly well. And for border cities like these, such dark people were a dime a dozen.
Negary and Lan Shan were both standing behind Dolan, but the other party couldnât see them at all. He also had no strong emotions towards this city-wide massacre one way or another.
There had always been people who die in this city every day, no one would obtain any salvation, as the only one who could save them had always been themselves.
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