Derrick looked at the defeated Trevor, who lifelessly laid on the ground, unable to muster any strength. It was an utter and complete defeat.The necromancer didn"t waste any more time and started asking questions, as Drakos" poison made its way into every organ, slowly but surely killing the spy.
"Who"s the Official? How strong is he? What"s his specialty?"
Trevor looked at him for a second before madly laughing. The laugh was filled with so much contempt that Derrick had to resist the urge to finish him off right then and there.
"You"re not qualified to even mention his name… I"ll sadly not see your sorry state when he tramples all over you and every person you know… You don"t even have a chance… The only thing you can do is exile yourself to another Empire and pray he never finds you…"
Right when he ended his answer, he coughed a mouthful of blood on Derrick"s feet, before falling over, dead. It appeared his severe injuries had accelerated the entire process beyond the necromancer"s estimates.
Derrick was about to walk back, when a sinister idea appeared in his mind. An idea that would certainly chip away a part of his humanity.
"System, would I gain stats if I ate this person?"
[Affirmative]
Derrick"s progression had been pretty stale lately, and the challenger that just died would be a fabulous feast if it had been a monster. However, he was not a cannibal and eating another human being was a bar he would never cross. But…
"Can the same effects be achieved by simply drinking his blood?"
[Processing information… Affirmative. The effects will not be diminished and the trait Gluttony will remain active. The target"s blood will soon coagulate, making it impossible to consume. The host"s timeframe is 10 minutes]
Fantastic! In his mind, drinking blood was not the same as eating his corpse. However, right when he was about to jump him, he stopped himself.
"Will the poison in his body affect me?"
[Negative. Since the host has already experienced it first hand, the host"s body is resistant]
Derrick was surprised, but figured it made sense. He remembered his first encounter with Drakos… The memory certainly wasn"t pleasant.
Derrick seized Trevor"s corpse and sliced his wrist before quickly gulping down the still warm fluid, in front of a shocked Alma who couldn"t figure out what was happening. Why the f.u.c.k was Derrick drinking blood from a corpse?!
The necromancer didn"t have time to explain, and he took in what was left. After all, Trevor"s arm had been severed, making him lose several liters.
The whole thing took less than a minute, and when Derrick was done, he stood up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, facing the still stunned Alma.
The surge of power inside him had been brief, but powerful, and he quickly asked the system to show him his stats.
[Derrick Tarlin, 16 years old (Body), 37 years old (Soul)]
[Cla.s.s : Necromancer]
[Strength : 17 u003eu003eu003e 18]
[Agility : 14 u003eu003eu003e 16]
[Endurance : 16 u003eu003eu003e 17]
[Vitality : 12 u003eu003eu003e 13]
[Magic Power : 30 u003eu003eu003e 31]
[Spells : Banshee"s Cry, Reaper"s Blade, Veil of Darkness]
[Enslaved Subordinates : Eloise Tornomi (General - Human), William Enceworth (Scholar - Human), Fomamli Trollfall (Blacksmith - Dwarf), Merlin Trotz (Researcher - Human), Reyna Grandtree (Enchantress - High-Elf), Ylx (Researcher - Goblin)]
[Traits : ???, Enhanced Body, Enhanced Vision, Death"s Valet, Gluttony, Aphrodite"s Blessing, Language Guru (Language Database)]
[Skills : Superior Appraisal, Potentus, Contract (3/3), Summoning (3/3), Master Craftsman, Submission, Death Warrior (100/100), Empire Professionals (6/10) *Concerns the Scholars (1/2), Blacksmiths (1/2), Researchers (2/2), Generals (1/2) and Ministers (1/2)*]
This increase was the biggest in weeks, making Derrick ecstatic. It had been a while since he had felt this good, making him completely forget the act he had just committed.
"I"ll explain on the way back to Akata. You"ve fought well, it"s time for you to take a rest"
He pa.s.sed next to Alma while giving her a light pat on the shoulder, making her come back to her senses. He had taken the time to a.n.a.lyze her condition, and she hadn"t suffered anything too serious.
***
Derrick was back in the town hall, surrounded by Eloise, Lacha and Moira. His expression was grave, making the three women sit in silence, waiting for his speech. They also couldn"t figure out who was the cloaked figure in the corner of the room, but they guessed it was one of his acquaintances.
"The Official has begun moving"
The bombsh.e.l.l shocked the room, and the three women simultaneously stood up. The first one to recover and speak up was Eloise.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. They were tailing this person, and I intercepted them before killing them. They were, without a shadow of a doubt, top spies from Terra, which means this isn"t the last time we"ll hear about the Official. I sadly couldn"t get information"
Eloise"s face twitched. This was terrible, as their plan wasn"t anywhere near ready. Their army, logistics, research… Nothing was ready to face the behemoth known as Terra.
Seeing her spin out of control, Derrick quickly intervened.
"Don"t worry. This forest is ma.s.sive, and with the two Empires still at each other"s throats, Terra won"t be able to send any large armies without blatantly declaring war over this territory. However, we"ll still be exposed to small contingents of elite troops. Do you think you can get us ready to face that?"
Eloise thought before nodding. The region was indeed still unstable and any moves made by the Krakow Empire would be under heavy scrutiny from the Serichi Empire. They were still "safe", for now.
"Good. I"ll let you get to it"
The General bowed and quickly left the room.
"Moira, I want you to be the Amba.s.sador in charge of immigration"
The sudden turn towards the soldier surprised her, and even more so the talk about her being an amba.s.sador.
"I heard you"ve convinced Julia to move here?"
"Yes, but it was pretty easy once she saw how big Akata had become"
"Good, that"s why I want you to oversee everything related to that field. With Oleo, there are 12 000 people that"ll soon come, and I need someone to keep everything under control. This number will quickly increase once Eloise also sends our army to take out the rebellious ones"
Moira wanted to retort, but kept her mouth shut. Akata was now in crisis, and if she didn"t contribute one way or another, she wouldn"t be able to live with herself. It was also the first time she really had to do something other than fighting, so she looked forward to it deep down.
Derrick dismissed her and it was now Lacha"s turn to be expectant.
"How"s Akata Loans?"
"Fine, but it"s hard when we don"t have any funds to calculate with"
"Don"t worry about that, I"ll solve that issue tomorrow"
He turned to the cloaked figure in the corner and motioned it to come forward.
The figure did so and removed the cloak, which revealed an elf, surprising Lacha.
"This is Alma, Brigand"s aid. She came to Akata to give us the merchandise for our Market"
The introductions were short and Alma promptly took out several magical pouches from her waist and put them all on the table, where Lacha inspected them one by one. The more she did, the more awed she became. The merchandise truly was like the one in her childhood memories when she lived in the Empire.
"It"s magnificent! However, I have a question"
"What is it?"
"Who will manage the market? From what I understand, Sir Brigand has invested a lot in this venture, and I feel like one of his people should be in charge of it"
Alma was taken aback by the observation, and threw an annoyed look at Derrick. Men really were unreliable...