A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 55

Bang!

When Don Juan slammed his fist on the desk, the sturdy wooden table split in half.

Breathing heavily, he shouted at the cartel bosses.

"Do you think this makes any sense right now?"

A month had passed since the attack on the Pavela Cartel, and now half of the bosses from the Mechain Cartel had been found dead.

Each of their corpses bore the name "Pavela".

Grinding his teeth, Don Juan roared again.

"Wipe out every single one of those Pavela Cartel bastards, no matter what it takes!"

The ferocity in Don Juan's voice made the cartel bosses stiffen with tension.

"B-boss, there's a problem!"

At that moment, the conference room doors burst open, and a subordinate ran in, his voice filled with urgency.

"The port has been attacked!"

With the road to the borderlands blocked, the port was the only place in the southern continent where goods could be transported.

Hearing this, Don Juan's face twisted into a demonic expression as he grabbed the messenger by the neck.

"Damn it! What happened to the goods stored in the warehouse?"

As Don Juan's grip tightened, the subordinate couldn't answer and collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

Thud!

Don Juan threw the unconscious man to the floor and breathed heavily.

He walked back to the desk, pulled out a pouch of soma, and inhaled deeply through his nose.

"Haa... Haa..."

A nearby lieutenant spoke cautiously to Don Juan.

"Boss, perhaps it would be wise for you to leave Mechain for a while, at least until the situation improves."

Don Juan glared at him and growled.

"Are you telling me to run away?"

The lieutenant maintained his calm tone as he replied.

"Those insane pirates are undoubtedly targeting you, boss. They'll come straight to Mechain. Why not take advantage of that situation?"

Don Juan's expression shifted at the suggestion.

"You're saying we should lure them to Mechain and wipe them out in one stroke?"

"Exactly. If we capture the ones heading to Mechain and you lead a counterattack, the Pavela rats will panic and flee straight to the South Seas."

Contemplating his lieutenant's words, Don Juan nodded.

"That makes sense. It's plausible."

"If you oversee the situation from Tahuaní and launch a total assault after the counterattack succeeds, we'll crush them for sure."

"Tahuaní, huh."

Tahuaní was the area closest to the borderlands. Don Juan had a safehouse prepared there.

Looking around at his lieutenants, he spoke firmly.

"Crises like these have always made us stronger."

Don Juan had already returned to his usual composed tone. It was then and there that he decided to move his residence to Tahuaní.

* * *

That night, Don Juan and his subordinates discreetly left the mansion in a carriage.

They headed straight toward Tahuaní.

After two days of relentless travel, they finally arrived at the safehouse. Don Juan grimaced as he looked at the much smaller safehouse compared to his original mansion.

While he sighed, his subordinates busied themselves moving his belongings into the safehouse. Since he would have to stay here until the situation in Mechain was resolved, there was quite a bit of luggage.

'Damn those pirate bastards. I'll wipe them all out.'

He went straight to his room, turned on some music, lit a cigar, and poured himself a drink.

For a while, he sat quietly with his eyes closed. Then, he sensed something strange.

Opening his eyes slightly, Don Juan noticed someone standing there.

"If I need you, I'll call. Leave me be."

Despite his words, the figure didn't move and remained standing silently.

Just as Don Juan was about to explode in anger, the figure stepped forward, revealing their face.

In that instant, Don Juan's expression froze.

"Sieg Murray."

The man he thought had died during the attack on the Pavela Cartel was now standing before him. Don Juan's face contorted in shock and rage.

Sieg looked at Don Juan and spoke.

"You seem relaxed, Don Juan. Even though the situation has turned quite dire."

Hearing this, Don Juan downed the rest of his drink in one gulp and finally opened his mouth.

"Do you think I made it this far without facing threats like this? Not a chance. This isn't even close to something that could truly endanger me."

Sieg nodded at Don Juan's bravado.

"Good. I was worried you'd start crying and begging for your life. That would've ruined the fun of my revenge."

At those words, Don Juan slammed his fist on the table.

"You insolent bastard! You're just a mere rookie assassin, and you dare threaten me? Do you even know who I am?"

Sieg smirked at Don Juan's outburst.

"Scared? You're putting on an unconvincing show of bravado."

Don Juan's breathing grew heavier. Despite his loud voice, no one came into the room.

Sieg spoke to him coldly.

"If you're waiting for your subordinates, don't bother. There's no one left alive."

As Sieg said this, he drew a dagger and approached Don Juan.

"In my past life, I didn't have the time to make you suffer properly. That's something I've always regretted, but this time, things have worked out perfectly."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Sieg's expression hardened, his face now as cold as the blade in his hand.

"I remember how I groveled under you like a dog. I killed anyone in your way, showing my loyalty without hesitation. Even now, they haunt my dreams sometimes—people begging me not to kill them."

Don Juan stumbled backward, retreating a few steps.

"I have no idea what you're talking about! Stop spouting nonsense!"

"How laughable. While you reveled in wealth and luxury built on blood and drugs, this land sank into corruption and despair. All because of you."

Don Juan shrieked as if in a fit of madness.

"I am a savior chosen by God! Because of me, the poor have jobs, and this city keeps running!"

"Cut the crap, you worthless scum."

Sieg stepped closer to Don Juan, his voice laced with venom.

"Don Juan, you will never be saved by God. Because you are nothing but a damned bastard this world would be better off without."

Panicking, Don Juan stumbled backward until he reached a wall where a battle axe was mounted. In desperation, he grabbed it and hurled it at Sieg.

Sieg didn't flinch. He stood still, activating his Dragonscale Armor skill, deflecting the axe effortlessly.

Ping!

The axe rebounded, embedding itself into Don Juan's thigh.

"Argh!"

Don Juan collapsed, clutching his bleeding thigh and staggering.

Sieg kept advancing, his expression icy and merciless.

"This time, I'll make sure you die painfully—and slowly."

Don Juan's trembling body felt the cold, unyielding tip of Sieg's dagger against his face.

For hours, screams echoed from the room.

* * *

When Sieg finally emerged, Simon instructed his subordinates to take care of Don Juan's mutilated corpse.

"Dump it at the Shark Dragon farm. Those beasts will take care of it for us."

Don Juan, who once proudly flaunted his Shark Dragons, could never have imagined that they would end up devouring his own body.

Simon and Sieg walked down to where Kay was smoking on the lower floor.

"Is everything settled?"

Sieg nodded as he sat across from Kay.

"How about the Syndicate?"

Kay nodded in response.

"Yeah. I handled the operations from the start. The lieutenants who tried to side with Pavela were killed by Don Juan anyway, so there wasn't much resistance. Simon took care of the defectors."

"Good. Stick with Simon for now and absorb whatever remnants spill out from the Mechain Cartel."

"You want us to take on cartel duties now?"

"No, just keep doing what the Syndicate does. Simon will handle the southern organizations."

Simon nodded silently at Sieg's words, his expression calm and composed.

Kay, observing this, shook her head in disbelief and turned to Sieg.

"You actually brought down the Mechain Cartel."

"With Don Juan gone, the Mechain Cartel will fall into complete chaos. What happens next is crucial."

At Sieg's words, Kay nodded.

Then, Sieg handed her something.

"What's this?"

"I've signed a contract with the Reinhardt Trading Company. They're setting up a pharmaceutical company, and with high-quality soma as a raw material and skilled alchemists, they can process it into various medicinal products. The plan is to establish a formal export-import route for soma, turning it into legal medicine."

"Huh?"

Kay looked stunned, but Sieg didn't seem to care and pointed toward Simon as he continued.

"Once the organization is stabilized, Simon will drive out the rebels in the Cusco Kingdom. With the kingdom's authorization, we'll legalize soma production. After that, Reinhardt will handle the official import procedures, allowing it to be distributed legally."

"You want us to start a legitimate business now?"

"No, the Syndicate will keep doing what it's already doing. Someone else will manage that business. All the Syndicate needs to do is handle transportation once the medicine is produced. Though we'll need to set up a front company for logistics, even if it's just on paper."

Kay carefully reviewed Sieg's plan.

Setting up a transportation company to move legitimate medicine would make it easier for the Syndicate to operate in secrecy.

After considering his words, Kay nodded.

"Fine. There'll probably be some resistance internally at first, but we'll figure it out."

"Good. Simon, stick with Kay until the situation stabilizes."

"Understood, boss."

Sieg rose from his seat.

"I'm heading out."

"Where are you going?"

"I have an appointment."

"What? What kind of appointment all of a sudden?"

Sieg shrugged as if he had no intention of answering and left the estate.

Once outside, he opened his map and activated a portal.

The space around him shimmered, and a portal opened.

In a flash of light, Sieg's body disappeared.

* * *

"Hah."

In the blink of an eye, Sieg had traveled across continents.

'Losing 600 points in one go hurts, though.'

Sieg reappeared near the ruins of Atlas, mounted Bucephalus, and rode toward his destination.

The place he arrived at was none other than a hotel in the heart of the city.

Sieg dismounted Bucephalus in a discreet location and sent the beast back to the spiritual realm before entering the hotel.

Guided by the staff, he ascended to the hotel's top floor, where the sky lounge was located.

"Oh! You're here! Sieg, come on over!"

A loud, enthusiastic voice welcomed him from the VIP section of the sky lounge.

The speaker was none other than Carus Nerva Constantinus, the 4th prince of the Rom Empire.

The prince, who had been invited to the Four Seasons Castle, was still staying in Atlas and had summoned Sieg to meet him.

When Sieg first received the unexpected invitation through a long-range communication network from Decker, he already suspected something was up.

'Just as I thought.'

Seated next to the prince were Abel Draker and William Zimmens.

Abel rose from his seat and greeted Sieg.

"It's been a while, Sieg. I heard you've been in closed-door training lately. I hope I didn't disturb you."

Sieg responded politely.

"Not at all. Lately, I've been frustrated by a lack of progress, so this came at the perfect time."

As he answered, Sieg carefully observed Abel. He wanted to discern whether Abel suspected him of being involved in the current turmoil in the South.

To establish an alibi, Sieg had intentionally traveled via portal. Given the physical distance, it would have been impossible to travel from the Southern Continent to the Central Continent the day after receiving the invitation without using such a method.

'If it's not about the situation in the South, then why did they call me here?'

Carus, oblivious to Sieg's thoughts, excitedly poured himself a drink.

"Abel and William may be competent at their duties, but they're no fun to hang out with! Sieg, I hope you're different."

Sieg smirked and lifted the glass Carus handed him.

"I'll toast to an enjoyable time with the prince."

Carus, delighted, raised his glass high.

"To a toast!"

The two men downed drinks that cost over ten gold coins per glass as if they were water.

Carus became increasingly excited when he realized Sieg could hold his liquor well, and the rounds of drinks kept coming.

Thanks to his Healing Factor, Sieg remained unaffected, no matter how much he drank. Eventually, Carus was the one to pass out first.

"Snore... Snore..."

William helped the inebriated Carus to his room, leaving only Abel and Sieg in the lounge.

Abel, maintaining his elegant demeanor, retrieved a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass.

Taking out a new glass, he poured wine into it and placed it in front of Sieg.

Lifting his own glass, Abel looked at Sieg and spoke.

"Sieg, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Please, go ahead."

Abel fixed his gaze on Sieg and asked, "What do you think of the current state of the Draker family?"

'Why is he asking this all of a sudden?'

Before Sieg could answer, Abel continued.

"One day, I plan to bring the Draker family to ruin."