“Kyuuu! Look at this, owner punk!” Hamchi handed over three documents he picked up to Siegfried. Siegfried examined the titles of the documents. [Cajun Spice Chicken Salad Recipe] [Broccoli Preparation Techniques] The first two documents were already encrypted, making them completely impossible to read, but... The last document Hamchi gave him was the key to deciphering the previous two documents, the Cajun Spice Chicken Salad Recipe and the Broccoli Preparation Techniques. “Let’s see if this works.” “Kyu! Do it, owner punk!” Siegfried opened the Cipher Index 718 and began decoding the Cajun Spice Chicken Salad Recipe and the Broccoli Preparation Techniques. And the result was... “N-No way...!” Siegfried gasped. His eyes widened in shock, and his mouth was agape in utter disbelief. And the reason was... [Invincible Battleship Blueprint] [Marchioni Empire Mana Utilization Method] Once deciphered, the documents turned out to be documents of monumental value, and Siegfried doubted whether his eyes were playing tricks on him or not. “T-The Invincible B-B-Battleship is the core of the Immortal Fleet... The w-world’s m-most p-p-powerful... f-fleet... its blueprints...” Siegfried was so overwhelmed that his lips trembled, making him stammer. He had once witnessed the Immortal Fleet erase an entire island from existence with a single blast of its laser ray. The destruction caused by the Immortal Fleet that day was etched into his very brain, and it was impossible to measure just how powerful it was. And he had just acquired the blueprints for such a terrifying warship... This was beyond a jackpot. It was a treasure he dared not imagine obtaining even in his wildest dreams. This blueprint alone was so valuable that it couldn’t even be measured in terms of monetary value. But that was not all... “T-T-The... Marchioni Empire’s... m-mana ut-t-tilization m-method...!” The Marchioni Empire’s Mana Utilization Method was a technique capable of massively enhancing NPCs. It was created to maximize efficiency while minimizing mana consumption, and this method could instantly elevate an average knight into a formidable warrior. The empire’s mana utilization technique could be considered extremely advanced and was on a completely different level when compared to the mana techniques used by knights of other nations. In other words, they were like modern weaponry compared to weapons from the Stone Age. Unfortunately, mana techniques such as these were exclusive to NPCs and couldn’t be used by Adventurers. However, that fact didn't diminish the value of this treasure in the slightest. With this, the knights of the Proatine Kingdom were bound to become exponentially stronger. “Pheeew...” Siegfried let out a long sigh. “Kyuuu! What’s wrong, owner punk? Is it bad?” Hamchi asked, tilting his head. “No. It’s not bad at all. If anything, it’s too good, and that’s the problem,” Siegfried replied, shaking his head. “I’m not sure... if I can even use this properly.” Siegfried was starting to feel daunted by the treasures he obtained. If the Proatine Kingdom were to construct the Immortal Fleet and utilize the Marchioni Empire’s Mana Utilization Method to enhance their knights, it would without a doubt greatly enhance the nation’s military power. However, if Emperor Stuttgart were to catch wind of it... Siegfried shuddered at the mere thought of what could happen next. If the empire caught them, then both he and the kingdom were doomed. Blood alliance? That would not matter in the slightest in that situation. The Marchioni Empire would not hesitate to brand the Proatine Kingdom as an evil that ought to be eradicated and erased from the face of the continent. Once things escalated to that point, no excuses would be accepted. The Proatine Kingdom would be deemed a treacherous nation that dared to steal the empire’s most classified secrets. They would surely be executed without mercy. “This is... too much for me to handle,” Siegfried muttered. He wasn't sure if he could even handle the Invincible Battleship Blueprint and the Marchioni Empire’s Mana Utilization Method. ‘I’ll show these to Michele and discuss with him what to do next,’ he thought. Abandoning something this valuable was not an option—or worse, coming clean to the emperor and handing it over to him was simply out of the question. So for now, Siegfried decided to store these treasures in his inventory. [Alert: You have obtained Invincible Battleship Blueprints!] [Alert: You have obtained Marchioni Empire’s Mana Utilization Method!] After that, Siegfried turned his attention to the Cipher Appendix: 718 and began deciphering the document that mentioned Neighdelberg and Irene’s names. ‘I wonder what this is about...’ Siegfried tried to decipher the document, but he gave up in the end. A completely different encryption method had to have been applied to this document, as he couldn’t decipher a single word from it. "I trusted you just as much as I trusted my friend, so I introduced you to my friend without any hesitation." Instead of deciphering it, all he got were sentences that were no different from gibberish. “But why do I feel like... This sounds oddly familiar for some reason...” Siegfried muttered while squinting at the text. He couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of deja vu from it, but he brushed it off as a mere coincidence and tossed the Secret Document: 006 into his inventory. [Alert: You have obtained Secret Document: 006!] [Alert: You have obtained Cipher Appendix: 718!] He decided to hold onto them for now and figure things out later. Whether he would discard them, return them to Emperor Stuttagrt for a reward, or use them for his own gain, he would have to think about it later. Whatever he chose, the decision would most definitely impact his future, so there was no need for him to rush. “Kyuuu! Does that mean we’re joining the others now?” Hamchi asked. Siegfried shook his head and replied, “Nope, not yet.” Instead, he summoned the Three-Legged Crow. The Three-Legged Crow that resembled a rotisserie chicken appeared once again and ran wildly like an oversized ostrich. “Pick all that up for me,” Siegfried said, gesturing at the shredded parchment scattered all over the floor. The Three-Legged Crow diligently collected every last scrap from the ground. [Alert: You have obtained Shredded Parchment Fragment!] [Alert: You have obtained Shredded Parchment Fragment!] [Alert: You have obtained Shredded Parchment Fragment!] [Alert: You have obtained Shredded Parchment Fragment!] Hamchi tilted his head in confusion while watching the whole thing. “Hey, owner punk. Why are you picking up trash, too? Don’t tell me you’ve developed a new hobby of scrap paper collecting for chump change?! Kyuuu!” “You little! Do I look like some lunatic obsessed with money that I’d pick up scraps of paper, too? No thanks. I’d rather leave that to the folks who actually need it. “I’m going to piece it together.” “It will be tedious, but... I feel like the intact version will be worth it. They prioritized shredding these pieces of papers, so I’m sure there’s something in them.” “Kyuuuu! That’s right! And we might see what it is if you put the pieces back together!” Hamchi exclaimed. Then, he asked, “But when the hell are you gonna finish that? There must be billions of shredded paper here!” “Mehehe! The intelligence agents will.” Siegfried could already imagine the intelligence agents groaning, cursing, and pulling their hair out as they painstakingly tried to reassemble the shredded documents. “Well, anyway, we’re done here. Time to move.” Siegfried’s eyes darted to the death counter hovering above him. [Current Death Count: 857] While he was busy looting the Marchioni Empire’s secret intelligence base, the death toll had drastically increased. This could only mean one thing, and that was— ‘They’re in a battle against something.’ The party had probably entered the Palace of Blood and was engaged against the high-ranking undead monsters in battle. That was the only explanation for the sudden surge of casualties... “Kyuuu! Roger that, owner punk!” With that, Siegfried gathered up the rest of the Marchioni Empire’s classified documents and set off toward the Palace of Blood. ‘Why would anything about me be part of the empire’s top-secret files, though...?’ he wondered. A deep sense of unease filled his gut. There was no way his arranged marriage with Irene could be considered a top-secret matter and be classified at such a high level. The more he thought about it, the more it didn't make any sense to him. Siegfried knew that something was not adding up. Sounds of explosions filled the air. Siegfried spread his +10 Black Crow Wingsuit and shot into the sky. After all, flying was faster than running, so why would he walk when he could simply fly? “Kyuuu! Fly! Fly high and free, owner punk!” With Hamchi clinging to him, Siegfried soared toward the Palace of Blood. Just when they approached close enough— “W-What the hell is that?!” Siegfried shrieked in horror, his eyes widening in shock. He considered himself to be quite a calm person, but this time, he couldn’t help but shriek. A massive horde of undead monsters was swarming toward the palace. Their sheer numbers had to be in the tens of millions, which was far too many. However, this was not an impossible number, as the Death’s Carnival dungeon was modeled after the Marchioni Empire’s capital city. If one took into consideration the capital city's population, the massive horde before Siegfried actually made sense. After all, the population of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, and its surrounding metropolitan area was about thirty million. For the Marchioni Empire, which was far bigger than South Korea in terms of area, a population exceeding ten million would not be surprising in the least. ‘I can’t let them go there!’ Siegfried knew he had to stop the horde of undead monsters. He couldn’t allow that many undead monsters to flood into the Palace of Blood, as by now, his comrades were likely in the middle of battle within it or even facing the boss monster. Someone had to stop the horde of undead monsters if they wanted to stand a chance inside the Palace of Blood. “We have to stop them.” Hamchi’s already big eyes doubled in size at Siegfried’s words. It was all because trying to stop a horde of that size from entering the Palace of Blood was practically suicide. “O-Owner punk...? Are you serious right now? Kyu?” “We’re not going to stop the entire horde. We just have to buy enough time for the others to clear this dungeon.” “We can do this. Besides, the entrance to the palace is narrow. We can use that as a bottleneck.” “Kyuuu! That’s true!” With that, Siegfried adjusted his course and flew straight for the entrance of the Palace of Blood. Siegfried made a dramatic entrance, landing at the entrance of the Palace of Blood with immense force. Without wasting another second, he activated Eternal Flames and Embrace of Despair before diving straight into battle. “Kyuuu! Hamchi will power you up, owner punk!” Hamchi immediately summoned his magical wheel and cast buffs on Siegfried. Whiiiing! Whiiing! Whiiiing! The magical wheel began spinning, empowering Siegfried. ‘I have to stop them. No matter what.’ With Hamchi’s buff empowering him, Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp like a madman, cutting down an endless wave of undead monsters. [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] [Alert: You have gained Experience Points!] He looked as if he was in a trance. He killed, killed, and killed. No thoughts; no hesitations. He swung his weapon relentlessly, using basic attacks until his skills came off cooldown. Then, he would wipe out dozens at once with his offensive skills. Like a machine—no, more like a force of nature—he slaughtered the undead monsters. The more he killed, the more experience points he obtained. [Alert: Congratulations!] [Alert: You have leveled up!] [Alert: You have reached Level 331!] He leveled up while fighting off the horde of undead monsters. [Alert: You have obtained a new skill!] For the first time since advancing classes to the Lord of Despair, he obtained a brand-new skill. It wasn't just an enhancement of an existing skill; he actually obtained a new one.