The God of Jesters
Chapter 458 - 7.18.2 Time to move.

Chapter 458: 7.18.2 Time to move.

It’s not always the strongest that survived, nor the smartest, but the ones that survive generally are the cowards.

They understand their limits, they understand their position, and how they should stay away from trouble. And for most adventurers, this nature of theirs is innate.

So the two sat down, looking toward what the hub was all about.

"This." A sound came before an announcement that the Casino was going to be closed.

"Who do you think died?"

"It’s a VIP area, obviously some noble."

Such were the thoughts of the two Adventurers, who slowly parted away from each other, treating it just as another one of the disasters that was all so common the past week.

And besides, both of them still have a job to attend to. Which was guarding the noble houses against any miscreants that might try their hands at the riches during such dark hours.

However, what both of them, along with many others were not aware of was the fire that this simple incident caused in the noble community of Durum.

"Such a perfect job," I say the work I did was simple enough.

Changing faces, finding an empty room, and then moving the bodies one by one into the casino was perfect.

And things were made easier considering the casino was directly connected to the underground illegal market which was still as dense as it used to be.

With enough ingenuity, it wasn’t hard to pull off using my face-changing skills.

And besides, it’s not like Shape-shifters like me are common.

Someone who can not only read the minds of feeble mortals but also copy each aspect of their bodies. Making it much easier for me to learn the passcodes and little small talks that the original servants used to make.

"Ho." I was a bit happy with my work. Glad that I didn’t get rid of those bastards early on and found a way to use their death to my advantage. "This should be enough." I gave an order to the girl named Lavani while implanting certain ideas on the leaders of the rebel group so that they wouldn’t make any drastic moves that might implicate them in such trying times.

Then I left.

My destination is simple enough.

It was the very place where I met with Prince Ludwig, it was time for me to get my hands on the reward.

*****

"There are many more this time, ambushing us at every turn." One of the knights spoke in frustration after killing the last ghoul, with his hand. "Don’t worry too much, this is but a sign that we are close and the leader of the nest finds us threatening enough to use ambushing tactics." Priest Boman on the other hand seemed happy with such a result. The amount of ghouls that attacked them had increased in quantity as well as quality.

A sign that they were close and on the right path. Not to mention, as the sole Grandmaster on their team rarely acted, the ghouls were still under the illusion that they had a chance.

Wasn’t this just perfect?

’This seems to be working.’ On the other hand, Farhad had something else in his mind.

’It was not an illusion.’ Since coming here, he had noticed a certain oddity from before. The oddity of attraction.

He can see the desire the ghouls had for him since the moment he came here. This can be seen from the fact that the digger ghoul had attacked him from all the Knights from the ghoul before.

When added to the fact that he could copy their talents, Farhad understood that he could influence the ghouls in some way.

As for what way it was, he didn’t know. The most he can do is release his pheromones into the air and see what happens. A simple test, whose results were perfect from a certain point of view as well as a matter of concern.

What was the level of his control over this beast? Can he enslave them? Can he rule over them? Can he ask them to stop? Why were they also attacking him if he could be considered one of them? Was he their natural nemesis?

If he was their nemesis, why not send a full force?

Many such questions tormented him, but he also understood that this simple talent of his which was completely hidden from the knights can be used to create a proper illusion as well as cover to escape from their clutches.

A temporary escape until he does his job, but an escape nonetheless. So in the coming two days, he slowly increased the intensity at which the ghouls attacked them, with their variety increasing bit by bit as well.

Variety with talents that seemed delectable to Farhad, but he kept his desire at bay, lest someone notice it and ask him about it.

On the other hand, unaware of what was going on in Farhad’s mind, Vance kept the act of keeping a tight watch over all the knights, but most of his focus was still attracted to Farhad. ’When will you make your move.’ Vance was not stupid, he understood that what Priest Boman said about the frequency of ghoul attacks might not be completely true.

And there is a chance that part of the reason such attacks happened was due to Farhad, who acted nonchalant on the surface.

As for why he thought of such things?

The reason was simple on his end. ’Many wondered what kind of being he was.’ From the very fact that Farhad had copied the talent of the digger ghoul, it can be seen that there was some relationship between the two.

As for what the relationship entailed, Vance didn’t know completely. But one thing for certain was that Farhad was just waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to run away when the chaos of the fight becomes too hard for the Knights to handle, which might force the grandmaster to make his move.

’Show me your true nature pawn of Jester... I need to confirm with my own eyes your true intentions.’ Vance thought to himself.

And it was on the third day since the meeting with Prince Ludwig that Farhad made a move.

"Boom!" Multiple explosions came as a group of ghouls comprised of mutants suddenly ambushed the Knights in the tunnel.

With some variants that none of the Knights have ever seen hence caused them to make a mistake and a bunch of the ghouls exploded, spreading their rotten flesh as well as poison all over the tunnels, making the face of the knights pale.

But the Radiant Knights were not so worried about this, their body covered with the Fire of Devotion burned the flesh as well as poison as it approached them, but the same can’t be said about the Knights from the military as well as the Dusk knights.

"Dusk knights, go all out." With those words, a red flame suddenly erupted from the body of the dusk knights which was not as controlled by the Radiant Knight’s flame, and instead, it erupted like a volcano explosion, spreading to a large area, pushing the Military knights to the back. "Support from the back, this is going to be troublesome," Boman ordered, while turning his head toward Farhad, asking him to help in the fight, he looked toward Grand Master Vance and asked him to be on standby and help as he deems fit.

This was the first senior war since the start of this exploration, and they needed to use everyone that was capable of fighting as efficiently as possible.

Even the military knights who had no defenses against the poison took out their guns and started to support the Knights at the front from the back, shooting and distracting the ghouls that tried to break out from the formation at the front.

As for Farhad, he understood that this was the opportunity he was looking for.

’Ho, ’ But he can’t act yet, he has to make sure that none here die due to his little prank, so he does his best, and takes part in the combat, while stealthily devouring pieces of Ghoul flesh that came in touch with his skin.

Hoping that none be aware of what he was doing.

Explosions and fire spread all over the place, even Farhad’s body started to light up with flames of his own, which seemed dangerous at first, but didn’t cause as much damage to the ghouls as he expected. ’Huh’ Which was first, but he didn’t mind it much, as the flames were never for the ghouls to begin with, instead they were there to defend against the flames of the Dusk as well as Radiant knights.

Which would have purified him to death due to the close vicinity of both were being used.

However, his inclusion did help in the end. The little flesh control he learned made it easier for him to turn his limbs longer while growing multiple bone spikes, which he used to hold back the ghouls, as the Knights did their job in dealing with them.

Things were going well with the fight coming to an end as he kept the ghouls at bay.

But suddenly, a hole appeared below Farhad’s feet, with two giant claws that grabbed Farhad by the legs and dragged him down below.

’Huh?’ And this was not a planned attack, it was an attack he truly never expected not did it ever register in his vitality-sensing talent.

"They took Farhad... shit." Priest Boman cursed, as without Farhad the barricade he created with his long bony arms was broken, causing the Ghouls to pressure him as well as the Knights again. "Shit. Knight Vance, I hope you bring back Farhad, we can’t afford to lose him."