Chapter 057: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

City of Moon Worship, the Foresters’ Stronghold.

The request—or more accurately, the plea—that Karen directed to the masked woman was delivered to Old Jack that very day.

“A substantial amount of ‘Whisper of the Dead’? So, it really is something related to the undead!” Old Jack’s expression betrayed little surprise as he examined the sample that had been brought to him. In fact, just as the masked woman had claimed, Old Jack’s abilities as a scout far exceeded anything Karen could have imagined. Yet, surpassing even his skills in reconnaissance was Jack’s wealth of experience.

By the second day of his interactions with Karen, Old Jack had already located the graveyard. Upon returning from that mission, he had sensed a faint aura of necromancy clinging to Karen. From that point on, Old Jack realized that Karen must have inherited the legacy of a necromancer.

Nonetheless, for reasons unknown, Old Jack never exposed Karen. He even covertly aided him, shielding him from the pressures of Moon Worship City and allowing him to remain in Dole Village.

Whatever Old Jack’s motives or sentiments toward Karen, the current situation was undoubtedly advantageous for Karen. Whether Old Jack intended to use him or had other plans, as long as Karen could forge an alliance with the Foresters, the benefits would be immense. At the very least, it would be far easier for Karen to establish himself in the Goblin Forest and secure his foothold in this world.

Thus, Karen’s request for the Foresters to gather ‘Whisper of the Dead’ was, in truth, a test. Should it succeed, the rewards would be great; should it fail, Karen would lose nothing.

As it happened, upon receiving Karen’s request, Old Jack promptly dispatched his subordinates to collect ‘Whisper of the Dead’. That very night, three hundred blossoms were delivered to Karen.

The masked woman placed the three hundred ‘Whisper of the Dead’ before Karen. “Is this enough?”

“Not nearly. I require much more—at least ten thousand blossoms!”

Presented with such a rare opportunity, Karen did not hesitate to make an exorbitant demand.

After all, the plant held little value for others and could be found nearly everywhere in the graveyard. With the Foresters mobilized, gathering ten thousand blossoms was not beyond the realm of possibility. Should the Foresters truly deliver ten thousand to him, even Karen found it difficult to imagine how much his power would increase.

The masked woman did not question or protest Karen’s request; she simply relayed it to Old Jack.

“Ten thousand? What does he want with so many?” Old Jack was somewhat puzzled upon receiving the message, but wasted no time in ordering his people to collect the ‘Whisper of the Dead’.

Yet, while Old Jack had set his subordinates to work, whether he would actually hand the harvest over to Karen was another matter entirely. At least, until he and Karen laid their cards on the table, Old Jack was unlikely to turn over such a quantity.

As for when that reckoning would come, and what would follow—it all depended on this operation against the Phantom.

Regarding this operation, Old Jack harbored no small amount of resentment. Originally, the plan to deal with the Phantom was a joint effort between Moon Worship City and the Foresters, and for the longest time, the Foresters had been in charge. According to their schedule, they were not to act for another two months. But two days prior, Moon Worship City abruptly withdrew, citing suspicions that the Foresters harbored a traitor working for the Phantom, and canceled the joint operation.

Moon Worship City quickly devised a new plan. What was most galling was that their new plan was already nearing its conclusion.

At this point, Old Jack could clearly see that the Foresters had been manipulated by Moon Worship City all along. It was obvious—the original plan was nothing more than a smokescreen thrown out by Moon Worship City, meant to deceive both the Phantom and the Foresters. They might as well have publicly accused the Foresters of being compromised.

Naturally, Old Jack was incensed and stormed into the city’s lord’s manor to demand answers. Yet his righteous indignation was met with only a few words from Ryan, who dismissed him with a single question:

“The Phantom has already betrayed us, betrayed us all! Why should I trust any Forester but you?”

With that, Old Jack was left speechless and the Foresters were completely shut out of the operation.

From that day forward, Ryan took sole control of all actions against the Phantom. Beyond knowing that Ryan would soon strike, Old Jack was kept entirely in the dark.

However, for a Forester like Old Jack, learning when Ryan would make his move was not difficult; he needed only to keep watch over Ryan. Unless Moon Worship City mobilized a massive army, only Ryan himself had the strength to bring down the Phantom. Thus, by shadowing Ryan, Old Jack could discern when the operation would begin.

Indeed, that is precisely what Old Jack did. For three days, he kept a close eye on Ryan, until the fourth day after Karen wiped out the goblin tribe—then, at last, Ryan took action.

Upon learning this, Old Jack immediately followed.

But rather than lurking in the shadows, Old Jack joined Ryan’s force openly soon after they left Moon Worship City. Ryan, unsurprised by Jack’s arrival, glanced at him briefly before looking away, tacitly allowing Old Jack’s participation as the group advanced toward the Phantom’s base.

Yet, not long after the strike force departed Moon Worship City, another group began to act within the city itself. Soon, a bloody massacre unfolded: in the span of just two hours, the mansions of three viscount-ranked noble families were ruthlessly wiped out.

Meanwhile, Ryan’s force arrived at the so-called base of the Phantom, only to find it deserted.

By the time they realized what had happened and hurried back, Moon Worship City had already descended into chaos…