A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 47

"Hmm."

Sieg stepped off the ship and took a deep breath.

The scent of the southern continent, something he hadn't experienced in a long time, stirred memories of his past.

'It was a mess.'

Back then, he had been wandering from one adventurer party to another as a porter before being caught in a fraudulent contract and sold as a slave in the southern region.

Sieg had been just seventeen years old.

He started as a slave on a Soma plantation, eventually being dragged off as cannon fodder on dangerous missions. Yet, Sieg somehow kept surviving.

After surviving five such missions, he was formally trained as a hitman.

Surprisingly, the hitman's life suited Sieg well.

As long as he remained calm and focused on the mission, it wasn't overly challenging.

Even knights who could wield aura would easily fall victim to poison if caught off guard.

It was then that Sieg realized that merely wielding aura wasn't everything.

However, things changed when it came to Blue Knights, who could handle aura blades.

No matter how much Sieg erased his presence and approached stealthily, Blue Knights could sense him like ghosts.

Even poison wasn't effective on them, as they could manipulate their aura internally to burn it away or expel it.

'But in the end, they're still human. Every human has moments of vulnerability.'

Sieg mastered the art of exploiting those vulnerabilities and eventually learned how to assassinate Blue Knights. This skill secured his position as one of the most renowned hitmen under the Mechain Cartel.

Naturally, someone like Sieg earned the favor of Don Juan, the boss of the Mechain Cartel.

As Sieg stood at the port, reminiscing about his past, someone approached him.

"Deputy Manager, everything is ready."

The speaker was a guide arranged in advance by the Reinhardt Trading Company.

Sieg boarded the carriage the guide had prepared. The carriage began its journey toward Mechain.

Currently, the largest cartel in the southern continent was the Mechain Cartel, led by Don Juan. Following closely behind was the Pavela Cartel.

The Pavela Cartel had originally been formed by southern sea pirates, granting them exclusive routes across the Deadly Waters.

Although the routes were highly dangerous, the profit from selling Soma far exceeded the income from piracy. They were currently distributing Soma to the central continent through their own network.

Initially, they had started by smuggling and selling Mechain Cartel goods. Over time, they expanded their operations, eventually becoming even larger than their original pirate base.

If the Pavela Cartel had been content with their position, there wouldn't have been much of an issue. However, they had begun coveting the Mechain Cartel's seat of power.

If the Syndicate's distribution network were blocked, Mechain would lose its means of transporting goods, naturally allowing the Pavela Cartel to dominate the market—or so they thought.

'They underestimated Don Juan and oversimplified the situation.'

In his previous life, Sieg had found himself in the middle of the war between the Mechain and Pavela Cartels.

Leading Mechain Cartel's sicarios, Sieg had traversed the jungle regions, destroying Pavela's production camps and taking the heads of their key bosses.

In the end, it took less than three years for the Pavela Cartel to collapse after initiating the war, leaving the southern region in chaos as smaller cartels vied for control.

On the day of Mechain's victory over Pavela, Don Juan formally adopted Sieg as his foster son and named him his official successor.

However, that very evening, Sieg killed Don Juan along with all the top executives of the Mechain Cartel.

"Deputy Manager, we've arrived."

Sieg, who had been reminiscing with his eyes closed while seated in the carriage, opened them at the announcement.

It seemed they had moved from Golpa Port to a safehouse located in the outskirts of Mechain.

"Not bad."

Cliff appeared to have put some effort into this—there was a fairly spacious warehouse attached to the camp.

As Sieg entered the camp, he spotted a familiar face.

"Kay."

The Syndicate's Kay was already waiting inside the camp.

She wore a slightly tense expression.

"Nervous?"

"Aren't you?"

"I'm fine for now."

Kay shook her head, her expression exasperated.

She said to Sieg, "Everything else is ready. In a little while, we'll head to Don Juan's mansion."

Sieg nodded.

Today was a gathering to celebrate Don Juan's birthday. The bosses of the Mechain Cartel and their partners from the Syndicate would all be in attendance.

Kay, as an operations officer, was also scheduled to attend the party. She had to personally present the Syndicate's future distribution plans to Don Juan.

Sieg was attending the party as her assistant.

Kay sighed deeply, clutching her head.

"Whew... Did you know? When the Mechain Cartel deals with traitors, they use crocodiles. They paralyze the victim and throw them alive into a swamp full of crocodiles."

"It's not crocodiles, actually. They use shark dragons. They look similar to crocodiles but are over six meters long, and their bite strength is beyond imagination. It's one of Don Juan's eccentric hobbies. He loves boasting about his shark dragon farm."

Kay's face turned even paler.

"If it's revealed that we burned the Soma, I'll end up as food for that monster too,"

Kay muttered, her voice trembling.

Sieg shook his head.

"No, Kay. You'd be dealt with differently since you're a mage. In the south, there's a superstition that possessing parts of a mage's body can ward off curses."

Hearing that, Kay's face turned an even paler shade of blue.

Sieg stood up and patted her on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's get ready and head out."

Kay let out a deep sigh before rising from her seat. There was no undoing what had already been done.

After changing into formal attire, Kay and Sieg boarded a carriage bound for Don Juan's mansion, located in the heart of the Mechain region.

Don Juan's estate, which practically encompassed an entire town, brought a rush of memories to Sieg.

The estate sprawled across the mountain, and from the very entrance, cartel members stood guard with tight security.

The carriage carrying Sieg and Kay wasn't the only one heading toward the mansion. Cartel bosses from across the region connected to the Mechain Cartel, as well as southern royalty, bureaucrats, foreign politicians, and local dignitaries, were all converging at this grand event.

When Kay finally entered Don Juan's mansion, her jaw dropped at the sheer scale of the place.

"My goodness, this isn't a mansion—it's a fortress. Even in the Central Kingdom, you'd rarely find a castle this grand."

The wealth generated by the Mechain Cartel through Soma was beyond imagination. Across the entire continent, there were likely very few individuals wealthier than Don Juan in terms of personal assets.

Sieg, who had once lived in this mansion and been responsible for its security, knew every corner of the estate like the back of his hand.

'Even after decades, everything feels as vivid as ever.'

Kay and Sieg slowly made their way inside the mansion.

The banquet hall was nothing short of opulent.

True to the southern continent's diversity, beastfolk of various kinds were present throughout the hall.

The southern continent's abundance of beastfolk was a stark contrast to the central continent, where they were rarely seen, creating a sense of unfamiliarity.

A sheep beastfolk approached Sieg and Kay, offering them drinks with a polite bow.

Kay, trying to ease her nerves, picked up a glass of wine.

Sieg declined the offer and dismissed the beastfolk, his eyes scanning the faces of those gathered in the banquet hall.

'Most of these faces are familiar.'

The information on key figures he had forced into his memory during his hitman days resurfaced vividly, as if time had not passed at all.

With knowledge of the future, Sieg knew exactly how and when many of them would meet their end.

As Sieg scanned the room, his eyes landed on someone, and he lightly tapped Kay's arm.

"Do you know who that is?"

Kay followed Sieg's gaze and nodded.

"Joaquin Fernandez, also known as El Mencho. He's known as the second-in-command of the Mechain Cartel."

"You know your stuff. Make sure to remember him."

"Why El Mencho?"

Before Sieg could answer, the lighting in the banquet hall shifted.

Extravagant music filled the air as flames of brilliant colors conjured by mages danced across the hall.

Suddenly, the floor at the center of the hall rose, revealing someone stepping into view. Standing on the elevated platform was a large, curly-haired man sporting a typical southern-style mustache.

'Don Juan.'

Don Juan raised a hand high, prompting the band to play a lively southern tune. Then, to everyone's surprise, he grabbed a voice amplifier and began to sing a traditional southern song in rhythm with the music.

"In the Deadly Waters, a dying soul was saved, fought fear and marched ahead. A life prepared for reckoning, oh, rejection there left only the marks of death, that noble virtue, indeed!"

Guests at the banquet started to dance joyfully, moving in rhythm with Don Juan's song and the southern music.

Lively music, luxurious food, fine drinks, and mesmerizing performances—Don Juan spared no expense when it came to his parties.

After several songs, Don Juan signaled for the band to stop playing and once again picked up the voice amplifier.

"My brothers! Thank you so much for attending this party today!"

With his greeting as the host concluded, Don Juan stepped down from the platform, and the band resumed playing.

Just then, Kay turned to Sieg and said, "I've just received word from the executives. It's time to meet Don Juan."

Sieg followed Kay as they moved to the back of the banquet hall.

In the meeting room, Don Juan, the key bosses of the Mechain Cartel, and Syndicate executives were seated, engaged in conversation.

Sieg discreetly surveyed the room.

Not only were hitmen present, but notorious outlaws from the borderlands, knights from the Central Continent, and defected rangers from the Northern Continent were stationed at strategic points around the room.

'Money does make the world go round.'

Should an assassin attempt anything here, arrows would rain down from every direction, and the knights' swords would swiftly sever their neck.

At that moment, the chairman of the Syndicate noticed Kay entering and gestured warmly to her.

"Don Juan, this is Kay, the operations officer I mentioned from our side."

Kay bowed her head respectfully toward Don Juan.

Don Juan, with a cigar clenched between his teeth, let his gaze wander over Kay's low-cut dress.

"A pleasure. I heard you were a mage, but I didn't know you were a woman."

"It's an honor to meet you, Don Juan."

Don Juan kissed Kay's hand with a smile.

"A beautiful mage is rarer than a jewel."

It seemed Don Juan was ready to commence the meeting now that Kay had arrived. He glanced around the room before speaking.

"Very well. I'm eager to hear the wise words you've brought for me. Let us begin."

Kay, her face tense, started to speak.

"Don Juan, do you remember the warehouse fire incident from a few months ago?"

At Kay's words, Don Juan and all the cartel bosses in the room froze. The incident had been a devastating blow to the Mechain Cartel.

Don Juan stubbed his cigar out in an ashtray and replied.

"How could I forget? But why bring that up now?"

Kay swallowed hard before continuing.

"I know who was behind that incident."

Kay's sudden statement stunned everyone, not only the cartel bosses but also the Syndicate executives. It wasn't the topic she was originally supposed to address.

'Kay, what the hell are you doing?'

The Syndicate chairman shot Kay a pointed look, but she pressed on.

"Don Juan, the incident was connected to the Pavela Cartel. And... one of the bosses here in this room was colluding with them."

At her words, one of the bosses abruptly stood up, slamming his hand on the table.

"What nonsense is this crazy woman spouting? Get her out of here at once!"

As several cartel enforcers moved to seize Kay, Don Juan raised his hand to stop them.

"Are you willing to take responsibility for what you just said?"

Kay slowly nodded.

Leaning back in his chair, Don Juan spoke again.

"Then tell me. Who is the traitor within the Mechain Cartel?"

All eyes turned toward Kay.

Then it happened.

"Guhh!"

A strangled gasp echoed through the room.

The sicarios, hitmen, and bodyguards immediately spun toward the source of the sound.

To everyone's shock, Sieg had a dagger pressed against the throat of El Mencho, the second-in-command of the cartel.

Looking straight at Don Juan, Sieg spoke fluently in the southern tongue.

"Greetings, Don Juan. My name is Sieg Murray."