[WN] I Became the Genius Bastard of a Noble Dark Clan Chapter 62

 Chapter 62

However, his current goal wasn't to kill the man. He needed to spirit away the relic without being detected in the slightest.

Shouldn't be difficult. He doesn't seem like a particularly smart guy.

Chris immediately began his work. He moved around the area until he found some suitable targets: Stone-Throwing Monkeys. They were 1-star demonic beasts, not strong individually, but they moved in groups.

[Uki, Uki!]

The monkeys pointed at Chris and chattered, laughing. Then, true to their name, they prepared to throw stones, but—

"Stay still."

The monkeys' movements instantly froze. He had activated the Demonic Manipulation Art, controlling the demonic beasts!

It's even easier than when I practiced before? Chris looked slightly surprised. It's because of the Dark Demonic Energy. His purity was 100%. Therefore, any kind of dark power would exhibit efficiency beyond its optimal attributes.

Perfect. Chris immediately began manipulating the monkeys.

Whizz, smack!

"What?" The man, leaning idly against a tree, scowled at the sudden stone that flew past him. "How dare mere demonic beasts!" But he hesitated. Using poison would leave traces. He couldn't risk the Dark Demonic Sect's exploration team becoming suspicious.

"I'll spare your lives, now scram." It wasn't an empty threat. The masked man raised his aura. It was the kind of aura that would instantly overwhelm ordinary demonic beasts, making them tuck their tails. Indeed, the Stone-Throwing Monkeys recoiled, looking frightened. The masked man sighed and leaned back against the tree, annoyed.

But then.

Thwack!

Another stone came flying!

"These bastards..." The masked man gritted his teeth. The monkeys, from a distance, pointed at the man and chattered with laughter. Some even flipped their red bottoms to tease the man, while others urinated in his direction. The most outrageous act was when a monkey defecated right in front of the man and then threw the feces at him.

Of course, all of this was Chris's doing.

Are you still going to endure this? Let's see how long you can last.

Chris, hidden nearby, controlled the monkeys. As he did this, he found it surprisingly fun. The monkeys, controlled by Chris, all defecated in front of the man and then threw their feces at him.

"..."

As the feces rained down, the air around the man solidified into a chilling stillness.

"You goddamn things."

Sure enough, he took the bait! The man glanced at the location of the relic and spoke with a voice brimming with indignation. "I'll kill you all."

Swoosh!

The man moved away from the relic, creating distance. He couldn't deal with the monkeys near the relic, so he planned to lure them away and deal with them. Chris manipulated the monkeys to continue throwing feces and follow the man. Eventually, after the man had moved a considerable distance—

Whoosh!

As the poisoned demonic monkeys shrieked—

Now!

Chris moved. Upon arriving, he saw a small box. It was a sealed container holding the relic. He quickly grabbed it and pulled out an item he had prepared beforehand: a sealed container with an identical appearance. He had acquired it through Luina, his money pouch. As an auctioneer who trafficked in all sorts of treasures, she naturally had such an item.

Relics are usually found in similarly shaped sealed containers when first discovered.

However, the sealed container he received from Luina was a used item that had been opened before. He had merely had a Dwarf Meister specially treat it to make it look unopened. For reference, the swapped sealed container held a low-grade relic of pathetic performance.

After a short while, Chris vanished into stealth again. The relic's sealed container gleamed with a light imbued with the constellation's blessing, completely unchanged, as if no one had ever come or gone.

Meanwhile, the exploration teams of the Extreme Poison Demonic Sect and the Dark Demonic Sect.

The Extreme Poison Demonic Sect's exploration team was continuously wasting their efforts on the wild goose chase orders Chris had given them, while the exploration team led by Jupien was steadily searching each area of the demonic realm, one by one.

"There's nothing around here, Princess!"

"Then to the next area." Jupien said briefly. Instead of rushing, she systematically searched each designated area thoroughly. It was a textbook exploration.

Next was the northwest region of the mountain range. As they were exploring the northwest region for a while, one of the demonic cultists cautiously spoke. "But will Young Master Christian be alright?"

"..." Jupien tightly pursed her lips. Several days had already passed, and there had been no news since he first left. It was more than enough time for something to go wrong. Jupien felt a slight regret, wondering if she should have stopped him. Although she didn't particularly have good feelings for Chris—no, she wanted to crush him right now—she was, after all, the leader of the exploration team. And Chris was an exploration team member she had an obligation to look after. She felt uneasy, as if she had pretended not to care what happened to him out of ill will, even knowing he was in danger.

No, he left on his own accord, so why is it my fault? What do I care what happens to a guy like that?

Jupien shook her head vigorously. Just then, a shout that shattered her distracting thoughts rang out.

"Here, it's a relic!!"

"!!"

They had finally found it! When they went to see, it was indeed a sealed container holding a relic.

"Is it a holy relic?"

"It appears so." Jupien nodded. It was a shame it wasn't a demonic relic, but it wasn't as if there was no way to utilize a holy relic. The elders of the family would decide the relic's purpose anyway, so their job was simply to take the relic and return to the family.

"Let's go back now."

"Yes, understood! Everyone, we're heading back!" The demonic cultists, successful in their mission, shouted energetically.

"Which direction shall we return?"

"We don't know how the Extreme Poison Demonic Sect will act, so let's head towards the Lankas Gorge." It was a direction where demonic beasts appeared more frequently than other places. However, Lankas Gorge had a significant advantage. It was directly connected to the Dark Demonic Sect's territory, so the Extreme Poison Demonic Sect wouldn't dare try any tricks there.

"Indeed, unless the Extreme Poison Demonic Sect has gone mad, they wouldn't try anything in Lankas Gorge. We will head that way." The exploration team's pace quickened without hesitation.

They arrived at Lankas Gorge.

"Phew, we're finally here." The Dark Demonic Sect's exploration team looked visibly relieved. Although Lankas Gorge was considered a neutral zone, it was practically Dark Demonic Sect territory.

However, the exploration team members still looked at the frowning Jupien and tilted their heads.

"Is something bothering you?"

"..."

What was bothering Jupien was Christian.

He must be dead, right? Given the lack of news, something must have happened. It was his own doing. She wasn't even sad about it.

However.

"Team 1, Team 2."

"Yes?"

"You two won't return; stay behind and search for Christian."

No matter how annoying he was, he was still a direct descendant of the main family. She thought it was only right to at least make a show of finding his body.

"...Do we have to?"

"Follow my orders."

"...Yes, understood." The exploration team members bowed begrudgingly.

Princess Jupien is surprisingly soft-hearted, isn't she?

Why bother caring for such an annoying guy?

"It's highly likely something bad has already happened, so don't overexert yourselves. If you can't find him after three days, return."

"Yes, understood!"

It was at that very moment, as the exploration team was about to split into two groups, that an unexpected anomaly occurred.

Rumble!!

Enormous boulders rolled down from above the gorge.

"!!"

Fortunately, the boulders didn't fall directly on them. Instead, they fell in front and behind them, as if to trap them within a pile of rocks.

"This is...?"

"What?"

As the exploration team panicked, Jupien, who had grasped the situation, shouted.

"Everyone, hold your breath and take cover! It's an attack from the Extreme Poison Demonic Sect!"

But it was too late.

Swoosh!

A deep blue poison sprayed down from above the gorge, engulfing them.

It’s over.

The masked woman thought from atop the gorge. This was the terrifying aspect of the Extreme Poison Demonic Sect. They could lure an opponent into a trap and annihilate them instantly.

This place is near the Dark Demonic Sect's territory, so doing something like this is practically suicide.

It didn't matter. Her objective was to deliberately expose her actions and pin the blame on Marisa. The poison she used was also an extreme poison developed by Marisa herself: 'Blue Flower'. It was a formidable poison that had made Marisa one of the top contenders for the next successor. If caught in this poison, death was inevitable unless one was in the 4-star realm, capable of defending their entire body with a Dark Sword. Or, if one took the secret elixir of the Alliance's top medical family, the 'Medical Immortal Family', as an antidote.

They must all be dead instantly.

The woman leapt down from the gorge. Now, all that was left was to retrieve the relic and place it in Marisa's laboratory within the Extreme Poison Demonic Sect's main family. The poison used was Marisa's poison. The relic would also be found in Marisa's laboratory, so Marisa would be completely unable to escape the blame.

I need to retrieve it quickly before the Dark Demonic Sect arrives...

But then, something unexpected happened.

Crash!

A Dark Sword flew towards her.

"!!"

The masked woman flinched and dodged the Dark Sword. She turned her gaze to see a young girl, trembling and spitting up a gush of blood, slowly rising to her feet.

"You... I won't... let you... get away with this..."

How? The woman's face inside her mask was astonished. Marisa was a genius in poison creation. The poison she developed, though merely a physical poison, far exceeded the power of a 3-star. Yet, not only was the girl still alive, but she was also getting up?

It wasn't just the girl, Jupien. The other exploration team members also slowly began to rise. They were weak, unable to properly steady themselves, bleeding from their pupils, noses, and ears, but no one had died.

Could it be?

A possibility dawned on the woman. "Did you consume the Medical Immortal Family's elixir?"

"...What?"

"Otherwise, it would be impossible for someone at your level to survive after being exposed to this poison!" The masked woman felt certain as she observed the phenomena occurring within the exploration team's bodies.

"Even the unique body recovery reaction of the Medical Immortal Family's elixir. You truly did consume the Medical Immortal Family's elixir."

Meanwhile, Jupien and the other exploration team members looked bewildered. It was an incomprehensible exclamation.

"What... nonsense..."

Then Jupien suddenly stopped talking.

We did take an antidote.

They had taken a type of antidote that boosts resistance to poisonous energy, in case they clashed with the Extreme Poison Demonic Sect's demonic cultists. But the feeling of the antidote was strange. A clear and pure sensation? The antidote looked the same as their usual one, but it felt much more effective.

That was the Medical Immortal Family's elixir?

But that couldn't be. The Medical Immortal Family's elixir was a treasure even demonic cultists sought. If the family had provided such a precious item, she would surely know about it. She had personally checked and received the supplies from the family's storage, so she was certain.

Or, did someone switch the antidotes in the middle?

This was even more absurd. Who would do such a thing, and why? Most importantly, the exploration team had thoroughly guarded and monitored their supplies. Switching the antidotes was impossible.

But at that moment, Jupien suddenly remembered one person.

...Wait. There was one person who could have done it.

Jupien swallowed hard.

Christian, that annoying good-for-nothing.

Christian had been sleeping in the supply wagon throughout their journey here.