Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"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?"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"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."

"So, what? Are you scared?"

"It's not fear—it's the fact that he's got real experience. If we engage him head-on, we'll take heavy losses."

What Colin said was an understatement to keep his boss calm. In reality, he believed they stood no chance if they fought Justin directly.

'We've only ever won battles by overwhelming numbers,' Colin thought. 'If we go up against someone with that much combat experience, our people won't stand a chance.'

The real issue wasn't just raw combat ability; it was the ability to hold the line. Maintaining a solid frontline, even when a few comrades fell, was essential. However, Colin knew that his group didn't have that resilience.

'The moment a few of us die, the rest will panic and flee. I've seen it before—it's only a matter of time.'

What was the point of having fighting strength if no one had the will to use it? By contrast, Justin and his crew seemed to possess much greater discipline. Even just watching the one with the hammer during the duels proved that.

The pioneer with the hammer—Derek—had killed his opponents without hesitation, fully aware that taking a life meant risking his own. Yet, he had done it without a second thought.

"Let's leave them alone and let someone else deal with them," Colin suggested. "There are plenty of other groups that would love to take them on for us."

"Stop spouting nonsense. You're missing the point," Victor replied, looking at him with a patronizing stare. It was as if he were speaking to a child.

"Sure, if we let the others handle them, we won't suffer any losses. But we also won't gain anything."

"What do you mean, gain?"

"I'm talking about dungeon rewards! Dungeon rewards!"

Victor tapped his chest in frustration. "Don't you remember how we only got one reward last time? Because of those damned traps and that orc bastard!"

"Well, we weren't in a position to do more back then," Colin pointed out.

"Exactly. But now we are! Didn't you see the staff and that dragon perched on his shoulder?"

"Yeah, I saw."

Colin recalled the small dragon resting on Justin's shoulder and the unique staff he carried. Those were clearly items that could only be obtained as dungeon rewards.

"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.