Chapter 40 - Actually, I Have a Cheat Too

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Chapter 40: A Belated Awakening

 

 

Although Marvin hadn't been struck directly by the dragon's tail, he had still suffered severe internal injuries resisting its furious attack. His organs felt displaced, and blood poured from his mouth, staining the water around him. Slumped weakly against a rock, he looked up to see Rex standing before him. But instead of relief, anger flared in Marvin's eyes, his pupils narrowing with fury.

 

The others thought he'd been several meters from the Dragon's Spit Fruit, but only Marvin knew he'd actually touched it. He'd almost grasped it before the Red-Armored Earth Dragon had noticed him. If not for sheer luck, Rex would be staring at his corpse. But now he knew there was no difference; his fate was already sealed.

 

Marvin was a shrewd man. The moment he realized the so-called Dragon's Spit Fruit was just a small, green, unripe fruit months from maturity, the truth dawned on him.

 

Thorn Valley did indeed hold the Dragon's Spit Fruit, but the timing was wrong. Someone had deliberately spread the rumor of its imminent ripening to lure them here. And that person should be none other than Rex, who had leaked the information to them.

 

From the day they'd arrived in Manan City and encountered the Alice Mercenary Group, with Daniel capturing Jimmy soon after, Rex had used the Dragon's Spit Fruit as bait. Captain Locke, eager to redeem himself, had taken the bait easily. News of the Dragon's Spit Fruit in Thorn Valley had then spread far and wide, likely thanks to Rex himself.

 

Yet one question plagued Marvin: What was Rex's true purpose? If he simply wanted to save Jimmy, why go to such elaborate lengths? Now, with Rex standing before him, Marvin finally understood.

 

"Carlos, Ariel, and Cecil… you killed them, didn't you?" Marvin's voice was filled with rage as he glared at Rex, a deadly glint flashing in his eyes.

 

Rex remained silent, his expression impassive, making no move to interrupt him.

 

From Rex's silence, Marvin confirmed his suspicions. A bitter laugh escaped his lips, but it quickly turned into a cough, bringing up more blood. Clutching his chest, he said, "To think I prided myself on my cleverness, only to be outplayed by a mere boy. Yet I have two questions left."

 

Rex made no reply, and Marvin continued, "First question: had you not set all this in motion, we would never have known you killed Carlos and the others. Why go to such lengths?"

 

Rex glanced at Captain Locke, who was still struggling to escape from the dragon's fury outside, his voice cold. "You're smarter than Locke."

 

Marvin froze. It had never crossed his mind that his loyalty could one day make him a target. But Rex's words suddenly made everything clear. He and Locke were on the same ship, their interests bound together. Marvin would have done anything to shield Captain Locke from suspicion. The most convenient route would have been to accuse Rex and Jimmy of conspiring in the murders of Carlos and the others.

 

"And my second question," Marvin continued, "How did you persuade Jimmy, who doesn't even like you, to cooperate with this charade?"

 

Marvin had a good sense of Jimmy's character. Jimmy wasn't one to act out of gratitude; he could see through the young man's superficial pretense, the viciousness lurking beneath. Jimmy was someone whose heart had long been corroded by darkness.

 

Rex's mind drifted briefly to Ge Yan, whose face occasionally bore a foolish expression. But his thoughts swiftly snapped back. Drawing his sword, he said, "This ends here."

 

Without a chance to hear the answers to his questions, Marvin died with regret, his body cast into the lake. The scent of blood drew the Demon Fish over, their gaping jaws ensuring no one would ever learn the truth of his fate.

 

Only one other person would ever know.

 

Rex turned and headed toward the young man waiting a short distance away.

 

The sunlight pierced the clouds and fell over Thorn Valley.

 

The chaos finally subsided as the Red-Armored Earth Dragon, appeased after venting its wrath, returned to its lair, ready to wait the few remaining months until the true ripening of the Dragon's Spit Fruit.

 

The surviving adventurers and mercenaries fled the valley, only to be met by the beasts waiting outside. In the end, they gained nothing; their losses were heavy. Among them, the Black Wolf Mercenary Group fared the worst. With Captain Locke unable to shield them, Marvin dead, and their path blocked by a herd of wild bulls, they sustained heavy casualties. Of the twenty who had ventured in, barely a third made it out alive.

 

"Back to Sarge City." Captain Locke emerged from the forest, his face dark and unreadable, not sparing them a glance.

 

The seven or eight survivors stood in silence for a moment, their heads lowered. Eventually, they followed him back, not a single word spoken on the return journey.

 

When they reached Sarge City, Captain Locke shut himself in his room, as if nothing had changed—as though Marvin were still alive to cover his tracks, to soothe the men whose bodies and spirits had been thoroughly wounded.

 

The next day, with his injuries worsening, Captain Lock was forced to come out. He went in search of someone to order about, but despite circling around, he saw only a few people remaining. Realizing something was wrong, he grabbed one of them.

 

"Where is everyone? Have they all died?"

 

The mercenary he caught happened to be Colin, who suppressed his anger, lowered his head, and said, "They said they didn't want to stay in the Black Wolf Mercenaries. They left."

 

Captain Locke threw him aside, his voice furious. "Fools! Why didn't you stop them? Do they think they can just leave the Black Wolf Mercenaries whenever they like?"

 

"They were too many, and we too few. And…" Colin's mind seethed with resentment; if not for his family in the Imperial Capital, he'd have left with them long ago.

 

"And what? What are you trying to say?" Captain Locke's face contorted into a terrifying snarl, like a lion about to snap, no longer resembling the composed leader he once was. These successive blows had shattered most of his reason.

 

Colin wanted to answer, but Captain Locke's fist stunned him into silence.

 

Nearby onlookers rushed in to break up the fight, only to be treated as accomplices by the maddened captain. In his blind rage, he accidentally beat one man to death, scattering the last few followers he had, leaving him utterly alone.

 

Meanwhile, the two responsible for the entire affair appeared walking down the streets of Sarge City.

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