Puppet Master Chapter 27: Chapter 27: The Hired Hand

Read chapter 27 of Puppet Master by PeName on NovelPedia.

“Aaaaarghhh!” A roar of pain and fury thundered through the underground chamber. Zyron snarled, the sound low and heavy, like a beast forcing its voice through a clenched throat. His eyes burned crimson, overflowing with rage. Both hands were clenched tightly, trembling violently. His face twisted, contorted by grief and hatred. “How could Veylor not only fail… but also get Zarek killed?!” His voice exploded again in fury. Of course— There was no one in the sealed chamber to answer him. Veylor had served Zyron for many years. He was the most trusted subordinate Zyron had. Zyron knew exactly how powerful Veylor was. That was why he had entrusted him with the mission without hesitation— even allowing Zarek to accompany him. And yet now— Both candles bearing the names Veylor and Zarek had been extinguished. A clear sign of their deaths. “How…?” Zyron repeated the question, his voice dropping to a whisper. Forcing himself to calm down, he began to think. The most likely culprit— was obviously, Tris. But the problem was— Could that brat truly be strong enough to kill Veylor? Zyron recalled the detailed report Veylor had given him about Tris’s performance in last year’s tournament. It had been extraordinary. So impressive it bordered on unbelievable. However, the reason people give such high praise is simply that the person being mentioned is excessively young. In terms of actual strength, Tris had only surpassed the young Mages in the competition. Compared to the top Mages of the village— There was still a vast gap. If anyone had told Zyron before this that Tris could defeat Veylor— He would have laughed it off as a joke. Zyron acknowledged the boy’s terrifying potential. But potential and actual power were two entirely different things. Potential required time— to be forged into true strength. And only one year had passed. Far too short. ‘Could the blessing of that evil god really be this overwhelming…?’ A flicker of unease crossed Zyron’s mind— along with something else. Jealousy. ‘The urgent matter now… is how to deal with him immediately.’ He continued to calculate his next move. Even with absolute confidence in his own strength, charging in to confront the boy without preparation would be nothing short of foolish. If Tris could kill Veylor— Then he was dangerous enough to kill Zyron as well. ‘First… gather more information.’ With that thought, Zyron moved at once. * * * * * * * * * * Three days had passed since Tris dealt with Veylor and Zarek. For now, Tris remained camped on the mountain, doing everything possible to strengthen himself before facing the next enemy. With both Veylor and Zarek failing to return, even without any long-distance surveillance methods, that village chief—no matter how foolish—would have realized something was wrong and taken action. ‘What will he do next?’ Tris pondered, all the while continuing to dig. Yes—dig. Why was he digging a tunnel? Because Tris believed that preparing an underground shelter here might yield an unexpectedly effective result. He had started this project after obtaining the compass from Veylor’s spatial ring and learning how its tracking ability worked. Even with the assistance of magic, carving out a sufficiently large underground hideout—complete with multiple escape routes—was exhausting and time-consuming. Tris let out a weary sigh, grumbling to himself, yet his hands never stopped working. … That night— While he was fast asleep, a warning magic suddenly jolted him awake. It was a variant of “Eye From Nothingness”, modified to cover a designated area. Any sudden intrusion into that zone would immediately be detected and relayed back to the caster. Because the mountainous forest was vast, Tris could only place the spell in a few key locations—areas he believed most likely to be used for approaching the summit. Previously, the spell had triggered many times due to passing magical beasts. But this time— The intruder was human. In the dead of night, someone was sneaking up