Ganagl Peytan was originally the archbishop of the Deep Sea cult, a rather laughable title for a cult leader pretending to be some sort of structured religion. Funny how the more dubious folks tend to cling to grandiose titles, right?
And wouldn’t you know, Ganagl was particularly obsessed with that. To gain more power, he fully embraced the Abyss’s blessings, even to the point of complete self-destruction!
“—The results were not so great. Ganagl accepted the Abyss’s blessings too deeply and too intensely, resulting in a catastrophic deformation of both body and mind,” someone said, probably rolling their eyes at the state of things.
His body turned into a grotesque mess. Intelligence reduced to that of a child. That was the price Ganagl paid for his power—something he probably never expected.
Well, whatever the case, he ended up swallowing all of his superiors and became the cult leader, so maybe he was satisfied in his own twisted way?
But being a stupid and impulsive monster, he was more of a symbol than a real leader. Still, a leader is a leader, right?
After they dragged Ganagl into their ranks, the Abyssals expanded the Deep Sea cult into their underlings.
Despite their cultish nature, they had a massive scale that rivaled anything the Abyssals could muster.
Sure, several of their branches got snuffed out by the Inquisition of the Goddess and Heid, but they still had plenty of secret branches scattered all over Hervor.
“In this city, Svinarant, they’ve got a branch set up too,” Edgar said, pointing at the map during the operation briefing.
“Boldly disguised as courtesans and masseuses, they’re luring in tourists using drugs and the like. There were even some running inns and pubs.”
What a shady operation! They’re basically drugging unsuspecting tourists into dependency on their cult!
“Did you just let that slide?”
“It’s just a minor branch. You can’t fish without bait, can you?”
So they intentionally left it alone for this purpose. Burning down one branch wouldn’t take down the cult, and touching it out of some ridiculous sense of justice would just lose a valuable bait.
“…I get it. We’ll let it go for now,” I sighed. Not thrilled with that course of action, but what else could we do? What’s the moral high ground worth when dealing with assassins?
If someone wanted to stick strictly to ethics, they wouldn’t be playing assassin; they’d be a priest instead.
“So, do we just hit those places?”
“No. Look here, you see the empty space on the left of the map? We’ll head there.”
Edgar shook his head, pointing at the edge of the map. A small hill located several kilometers from the city. That was where we’d find our target.
“The execution will happen at midnight tomorrow. After preparing, wear these and arrive there by then,” Edgar said, pulling two cloaks and a mask from his backpack.
A black cloak covered in feathers resembling a black eagle and a metal mask with only eye holes. It was the official outfit of the Shadow of the Eagle.
“Well then, see you then.”
As I accepted the cloak and mask, Edgar placed his hand on his chest in a polite gesture and slipped out through the window.
His actions were a little lame, but hey, he moved like a pro assassin from Argantir.
Then again, that’s why he was part of the operation to take down the Abyss Priest, right?
Unlike Hugh Casval, who relied heavily on his monster army and deceptions, Ganagl was solidly built on pure combat strength.
◆◆
A day passed.
After finishing dinner, Friede and I quickly left the city as soon as the sun set, heading toward the rendezvous point Edgar had mentioned.
Draped in a black feathered cloak and hood, armed with the steel spear I purchased and the Edelmut my foster mother gave me.
We arrived near the destination around nine o’clock.
“Is this the place? Perfect for hiding.”
“Looks good for monitoring too.”
Indeed.
I turned my head to survey the surroundings through my helmet. Remnants of a crumbling stone wall and wildly overgrown trees. Cliffs and bushes intertwined with small caves peeking through.
The bright moonlight was obscured by the trees and hills, making the surrounding area as dark as pitch.
It might’ve had a certain charm in the daytime, but at night, it felt far too silent…almost ominous.
It felt like undead or forest witches could jump out at any moment. The absence of even tiny insect sounds made it all the more eerie.
“…Let’s head up there and wait. We got here a bit early.”
I whispered, pointing to a rocky ridge Edgar designated for observation. We’d strike the moment the Abyss Priest appeared.
Climbing up, it was indeed thick with foliage yet had a clear view, perfect for watching below.
“Of course, no one’s here….”
“They’ll come if we wait.”
We lay flat on the ground, hiding in the bushes, waiting for the Argantir’s subordinates to show up.
For two hours straight.
“……”
“……”
…Was it a mistake to come early?
Lying still for over two hours was far more boring than I expected.
If we could chat, it’d be fine, but we had to keep our mouths shut to avoid detection.
– Swoosh.
“…The meeting time was midnight, right, Krimhilde?”
“Turns out they’re closer than I thought.”
About ten minutes later, the fighters of the Shadow of the Eagle finally arrived at the hill.
Edgar from yesterday and a man standing behind him. Seventeen assassins ready to back him up, hanging back a little in formation.
The total force assembled to hunt down Ganagl was just nineteen.
And of that, the only real powerhouses were Edgar and the guy next to him.
The other seventeen were merely backup for taking out the cultists protecting Ganagl.
Looking them over, it was painfully clear that only Edgar and that man next to him had any real skill.
I think his name was Baneum? He was originally with the Goddess’s cult, though not as a paladin or priest, it seemed.
Apparently, he rose through the ranks as an assassin there. An actual secret military unit known for silently removing enemies—approaching the realm of the covert priesthood.
Amazing he got out of there. That organization was covert enough that you’d only retire once you were dead. Did Argantir pull him out?
Anyway, those two were the only usable assets.
In terms of knights, they’d probably rank as elite, bottom-tier. They might not be able to directly beat a royal knight, but if the situation was right, they could assassinate them.
It did seem like their strength was a bit lacking to deal with Ganagl… but that meant Friede and I would have to step up our game.
“Now, we just….”
“Wait for the signal from over there.”
Edgar lay flat, pointing toward Svinarant. Waiting for the signal fire that would kick off the operation.
Baneum also lay prone a little distance away, and the other seventeen spread out below the hill.
Then, ten minutes passed.
Small fires ignited all around Svinarant.
The signal for the operation’s start. The blazing fires from the Deep Sea cult’s workshop meant chaos was about to ensue.
Ganagl and his cultists hiding somewhere on this hill would surely have seen the flames.
At first, they might think it’s just a small fire incident, but after a while, they’d realize their operations were under attack.
What would happen then?
After fleeing to Svinarant to escape Heid and hiding in a secret base outside the city, would Ganagl still sit tight after seeing that?
– Rumble….
Yeah, there’s no way that’s happening.
I grinned as I heard the distant rumble. The secretly hiding Ganagl was practically yelling out his position!
“…Krimhilde, I found them! Northeastern side, beneath the long fissure in the rocks!”
Edgar tapped my shoulder, a slight excitement in his voice.
Ganagl must’ve thought he was being chased by Heid and jumped out of his hideout.
The workshop in the city was nothing but bait. For us and the Deep Sea cultists alike.
They left clues behind to lead Heid that way, and while he wrecked their operation, they probably planned to escape out of their secret base.
It was a clever operation. If Heid had genuinely attacked the workshop, there would’ve been enough time to escape.
Their only mistake was not considering the existence of a third party who had roughly pinpointed the location of their secret base.
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