Chapter 785: The Phantom Assassin’s Blade (Patreon)

As Luke made his way through the forest, four orcs stepped out from between the trees and surrounded him.

“Another one walking straight into us,” one of them said with a laugh. “This is easier than fishing.”

Luke drew his kukris. Ghostly black blades stretched beyond the steel, translucent like living shadow and edged in deep violet light. A heartbeat later, all four orcs collapsed, cut clean through.

“Agreed.” Luke looked down at the bodies. “Way easier than fishing.”

The phantom blades gave his kukris far more reach than the physical weapons should have had, letting him cut targets well beyond the steel. It was the result of his old skill evolving.

[Force Infusion (Rare)]: By channeling stamina into a weapon or projectile, the user drastically increases the force of its impact, triggering a burst of power on contact. The more stamina consumed, the more devastating the strike. This can launch enemies, break defenses, and even destabilize the surrounding terrain.

His old [Force Infusion] had evolved after Luke killed Ruax, the orc general.

[Lethality Infusion (Epic)]: An assassin-focused evolution of [Force Infusion]. Rather than releasing stamina as raw impact, the assassin keeps it flowing through their blades and converts it into pure lethality, manifesting phantom edges beyond the physical weapons. While maintained, these phantom blades extend the reach of short weapons and infuse every strike with the ethereal edge of an execution. The infusion drastically increases sharpness, pressure, and cutting power, allowing even quick movements to carve through extreme resistance. This skill also gains a minor increase in power based on Lethality and Agility.

After pushing deeper into the forest, Luke came across an orc camp. The monsters noticed him too late. Some widened their eyes while others scrambled for their weapons. An orc in a dark metal helmet turned toward him and narrowed his eyes.

“Blood,” he muttered.

Luke recognized him immediately as a captain. One of the soldiers raised a bow and took aim, but before the arrow could leave the string, his kukri swept through a clean arc and sent the orc’s head to the ground beside his bow.

Then he activated [Lethality Infusion]. Stamina began draining from him as ghostly black blades stretched beyond his kukris, deep violet light tracing their edges. The camp erupted. Orcs roared as they grabbed axes, spears, and hammers, and there was more than one captain among them. One charged, twisting his whole body as he brought a massive hammer around in a killing swing. He was over level one hundred, but that only made Luke smile.

He stepped in and brought his kukri down. The phantom edge extended past the steel and sliced clean through the captain.

The captain went still. For a second, nothing happened.

“The human’s not moving,” another captain said, frowning. “You kill him, Urtur?”

Urtur tried to raise a hand to his face. A faint choking sound escaped his throat.

Then his body split in two and fell apart.

[You have slain an Orc Captain - Lvl 101]

[+211 Soul Energy absorbed]

The orcs took a step back. One captain stared at Urtur’s corpse, then at Luke and shouted an order, but Luke was already moving. He tore through them in a blur, black and violet energy burning along his kukris while the phantom blades extended each swing far beyond the physical steel.

His kukri missed one orc’s chest, but the phantom blade didn’t. It tore straight through him and split him in half. Another died trying to raise his shield. A third lost his weapon before he could attack, and another tried to circle behind Luke only to be cut down before he could reach his flank. Within moments, only one orc remained.

The last orc turned and bolted into the forest. Luke threw one of his kukris, catching him before he made it ten steps. He took a slow breath and stared at the weapon still wrapped in ghostly black energy, deep violet light tracing the edge of the phantom blade.

“Yeah. I like this one.”

Before leaving the forest, Luke took a closer look at the Orc Lord’s camps and planted the Orc King’s banners where they’d be impossible to miss. The attacks were deliberate. Each camp he hit was farther out than the last, building a trail that led away from his territory. The Orc King’s banners made the rest of the story for him. Anyone trying to trace the attacks would end up looking in the wrong direction.

By the time night fell, Luke was back in his village, sitting inside one of the cabins with three dwarven leaders: Dulok, Bernard, and Torren, the highest-ranking dwarves beneath the chief and his wife. There were one hundred and thirty-three dwarves in total.

“We can’t go back to our cave anymore,” Torren said.

Luke folded his arms. “Why did you leave the dwarven kingdom?”

Apparently, there was an entire dwarven kingdom somewhere on this continent.

“You’ll always find dwarves scattered around,” Bernard said. “But most of us would rather stay in our kingdom. That mountain is our home.”

He took a deep breath before continuing. “But our chief, Brund, was banished. They accused him of theft.”

“Falsely,” Dulok said firmly. “Our chief would never do something like that.”

From what Luke understood, Brund and his wife belonged to dwarven nobility. They weren’t just the leaders of some random group. They had status, influence, and enough loyal people willing to abandon an entire mountain for them.

“When he left the kingdom, we chose exile with him,” Bernard continued. “We weren’t going to abandon someone who’d spent so long looking after us.”

Luke studied them for a few seconds. The dwarves had pride, stubbornness, and loyalty that couldn’t be bought with food.

“We’ll repay whatever we use,” Dulok said. “Food, lumber, space. All of it.”

Luke glanced at him. “Build something useful and we’ll call it even.”

Dulok studied him for a moment, then gave a slow nod.

“You can stay in my village as long as you need,” Luke continued. “The orcs are our common enemy.”

After that, Luke left the cabin. The encampment had already spread farther than before, and the dwarves organized themselves quickly, each group knowing exactly where wood, canvas, stone, and tools needed to go. If there was one thing dwarves were good at, it was building. Some had already spoken with Joseph about improving the village and the forge.

By late that night, the settlement had gone almost completely silent. Luke entered the castle carrying Kobi and Rheera in his arms after retrieving them from Norn’s cave. The two young orcs stared at everything around them, far too tense to ask questions.

“These two are Charlie and Angie,” Luke said, introducing them.

“N-nice to meet you,” Kobi and Rheera said.

The two women, however, remained serious.

“Besides me, these are the only two people you have to obey,” Luke said. “Nobody else. I don’t care if they’re my friends, if they’re nice to me, or if they claim they’re doing something for me. You only listen to the three of us. Understood?”

Kobi and Rheera nodded quickly.

“You’re not allowed to leave this castle without our permission,” Angie said.

“And even if none of us are here and you feel like going outside, don’t,” Charlie added.

Luke watched them for a moment. “From now on, you’re under my protection.”

Kobi’s grip tightened around Rheera’s sleeve. Apparently, even that promise was hard for them to believe. Luke noticed but didn’t push it.

“Come with me. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

The small orcs followed him silently through the castle, looking around at the walls, doors, corridors, and torches as they took everything in. They were still uncomfortable, afraid, and intimidated, but at least they were free.

“Better than the box they had you locked in, right?”

Both nodded.

“Don’t worry,” Luke said. “You’ll be fine here until I find your supporters.”

He opened the bedroom door. The room was large, with three beds, and one was already occupied.

Franky lifted his head. “What are those ugly things doing here?”

“They’re staying here now,” Luke replied.

“W-we’re not ugly,” Kobi said.

“Of course you’re ugly,” Franky said. “You’re the ugliest human kids I’ve ever seen.”

“We’re not humans. We’re orcs,” Rheera said.

Franky shrugged. “You rats all look the same to me.”

“Rats?” Rheera asked, confused. “I don’t understand.”

“Don’t bother trying to understand him,” Luke said. “I’ve known him for a long time, and I still don’t.”

Luke pointed toward Kobi and Rheera’s beds. “You already ate, so get some sleep. I’ll bring you breakfast in the morning.”

He shut the door behind him.

I have three kids living in this castle now...

"The Dark Lord Daycare is officially open", Artemis said.

Morning came, and Luke spent much of the day with the dwarves and ratmen, discussing how to organize the settlement. There were already too many future citizens for the village in its current state. He also had to help Antoine deal with the growing number of refugees at Otto’s village. More humans were arriving every day, driven from their homes by war, hunger, and the orcs. Housing them would mean expanding the territory and cutting down even more trees.

Word had spread among the forest survivors that Otto’s village was safe, so people kept coming. Fortunately, Cecilia and Otto had taken responsibility for deciding what to do with the human refugees. Those refugees had already survived one orc invasion. In the latest attack, they lost what little they had managed to rebuild. Their crops were gone, their homes were gone, and so was any desire to return to a place where so many people had died.

Later, Luke was back at the castle with the ratmen. After speaking with Their Majesties Tarvik and Hegara, Luke had reached an agreement with them: their people would join the village, with a few concessions. Their royal family would still be recognized as the leaders of their people, even though Tarvik no longer seemed to have the courage to rule the way he once had.

Tarvik carried too much shame after watching his citizens spend so long enslaved by the orcs, but he understood what Luke was offering. His people would have food, shelter, and protection here. In return, the ratmen would help build and expand the village.

“You can read, write, do math, all that?” Luke asked, looking at Mivi. “Huh. Didn’t expect that.”

“We can.”

“How?”

They even wrote in the human language used throughout the region.

“We copied what we saw at first,” Mivi said. “Letters, numbers, whatever we could understand. Then each generation taught the next. Eventually, we started reading human books, learning whatever we could from them, and adapting it for our own people.”

Luke went quiet for a few seconds. “If I asked you to teach the goblins, would you?”

“To read and write?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course. But... all our things are still back in our cave.”

“Don’t worry. I promised your father I’d bring everyone’s belongings here, and I will.” Luke paused. “By the way, where’s your brother?”

“Kren... isn’t doing very well.”

“If he’s still injured, my healer can help.”

“That’s not it. He just wants to be left alone.”

“I see.”

Luke continued turning the remaining ratmen into citizens. There were four hundred and eighty-six of them in total.

[Citizens: 600/600]

[Your Kingdom Core has reached Level 7!]

[Your Kingdom Core has unlocked a new skill!]

The next level would unlock at seven hundred citizens, but numbers alone were no longer enough. Luke needed homes, space, and basic living conditions for all these new residents. It didn’t matter if he reached the required population. Without the infrastructure to support them, another level-up would be meaningless.

The Core’s new skill, at least, solved a real problem.

[Delegated Authority]: Allows the Monarch to grant trusted citizens limited access to the Kingdom Core System. Citizens with Delegated Authority may perform functions directly linked to the Core, such as accepting new citizens through [Citizen Card], verifying citizenship bonds, viewing pending quests, and tracking System-recognized tasks. This authority does not grant full control of the Core and only permits access to functions previously approved by the Monarch. The Monarch may modify, restrict, or revoke these permissions at any time.

Finally, something that might let him stop doing everything himself. When he finished, Luke called for Tarvik and Hegara and asked them to bring Kren. A short while later, the king, queen, and their son joined him and Mivi in the Kingdom Core room.

“I’d like to apologize again for how our relationship started,” Luke said.

“You saved us,” Tarvik replied.

Hegara stared at Luke for a few seconds before speaking.

“I forgive you for putting a knife to my throat. Under any other circumstances, I might never have forgiven you. But you brought my children back to me. As a mother, there is no greater gift you could have given me.”

With that settled, Luke went straight to the part that actually mattered.

“I need a guarantee you won’t betray me or start a rebellion.”

“What?” Tarvik’s eyes widened. “Lord Luke, we would never do that.”

“Not today,” Luke said. “Today we’re friends. Today, your people matter more to you than your pride. But give it time. Under my rule, you’ll have plenty of food, comfortable lives, maybe even get stronger. Then someday, someone might decide they’d rather be independent.”

“We would never break our word.”

“I know. But your people might. Have you thought about that?”

Tarvik and Hegara had no answer.

“So, as proof of our alliance, and to make sure your people see it that way too, I want to take your children into my custody as my assistants.”

Silence.

“C-custody?” Hegara blurted.

Tarvik went completely still.

“That came out wrong,” Luke said, his tone unchanged. “What I mean is, I want to give your children important positions in my kingdom. Their positions will make our alliance clear to everyone. And they won’t be ceremonial titles. I actually intend to rely on them.”

“M-my children will have to work for you?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll give them jobs they might actually enjoy. For now, they’ll be my personal assistants. Once I figure out what they’re good at, I’ll give them roles that suit them. Either way, they’ll report directly to me.”

Luke looked at Mivi. “Your daughter is smart, and she seems to have a talent for teaching. They’ll also be my eyes and ears among your people. I don’t want anyone going hungry or getting treated like shit.”

Keeping the royal heirs close solved more than one problem.

Tarvik took a deep breath. “I think I understand what you mean. For the sake of cooperation, it could be good. After all, my children will eventually succeed us.”

Mivi and Kren stood off to the side, listening to everything.

“To formalize their positions as my assistants, I’ll use a power called Soldier.”

Luke explained how it worked. He told them that the goblin chiefs and their children had already received the same power, but for now, he only intended to use it on Mivi and Kren.

Kren, who had remained silent until then, finally raised his head.

“With all due respect, Lord Moon, I have no interest in becoming a citizen of your kingdom.”

“Kren!” Tarvik snapped.

“It’s fine,” Luke told the king, then looked back at Kren. “Why not?”

Kren held his gaze.

“We ratmen shouldn’t stay with you. We already know what humans are like. We know what they do to us. How they beat us for fun. How they hunt us. I’ll stay until the last of our people has recovered. After that, I’m leaving, even if I have to go back to our cave alone. We don’t belong here.”

He didn’t look away.

“Until then, I’ll work. I’ll help. And I’ll spend every day convincing the others to leave with me.”

The king and queen stared at him, eyes wide. At least Kren was honest. Honest problems were easier to deal with.

Luke stepped closer. “All right.”

Kren frowned.

“You have my permission.”

For a moment, Kren just stared at him.

“You’re free to convince the others,” Luke continued. “But use the truth. Stay here for a while. See how I run things. And if anyone treats one of your people differently because of what they are, tell me.”

Luke’s expression went cold. “Trust me. I’ll deal with it.”

Kren said nothing. He simply left the room.

Mivi lowered her ears. “I’m sorry about my brother, Lord Luke.”

“I’d rather he say it to my face than plot behind my back.” Luke turned toward her. “Now, Mivi. Ready?”

She nodded.

Luke used the Dark Lord’s Soldier power on her.

[Citizen Mivi has become a [Soldier] of the Dark Lord!]

When the glow faded, Mivi had evolved. Her parents stared at her, unsure how to react.

“She’s... a little different,” Hegara said.

“I told you that might happen,” Luke replied.

Mivi had changed in subtle but obvious ways. Her posture, once slightly hunched, was now perfectly straight. She had also grown hair similar to a human’s, unlike most women of her race, who normally had none. Her face remained narrow and distinctly ratlike, but her features seemed sharper now, more defined.

Then Mivi reached for her tail.

“My tail!” she exclaimed. “My tail is back!”

The moment Tarvik and Hegara saw it, every other change stopped mattering.

“It’s back,” Tarvik said, his voice breaking. “It really came back.”

Luke could tell immediately that this meant far more to them than a missing limb growing back.

“It was cut off,” Hegara explained, wiping away tears.

“The orcs did it,” Tarvik said. “They cut off our people’s tails. Our tails are our pride. They’re also our weapons.”

They cut off their tails so the ratmen couldn’t fight back. Cruel, but efficient.

“It grew back, Dad!” Mivi said excitedly, whipping her tail from side to side. “My tail grew back!”

Mivi kept touching it like she was afraid it might vanish. Hegara pulled her into a hug. Tarvik laughed once, choked on it, then covered his face.

Luke opened Mivi’s Soldier interface.

Name: MiviRace: RatfolkRank: FDark Rank: SoldierRace Skills: [Whiskered Perception (Common)], [Nest Defender (Rare)], [Rapid Assimilation (Ultra-Rare)]Soldier Skills: [Silent Intent (Uncommon)]

He’d wanted information about their race, and now he had it.

[Whiskered Perception (Common)]: Ratfolk possess highly refined senses, combining vision adapted to low-light environments, sharp hearing, a keen sense of smell, and extremely sensitive whiskers. Even when one sense is impaired, the others compensate, allowing them to detect movement, scents, vibrations, and subtle changes in their surroundings.

[Nest Defender (Rare)]: When defending a place or group they consider their nest, a ratfolk gains increased morale, endurance, and short bursts of strength. They become more resistant to intimidation and fight with greater determination, especially against invaders or direct threats to their family and allies.

That second skill explains the welcome I got when I barged into their throne room.

That could make the ratfolk incredibly useful for defending the kingdom. But Luke barely looked at the first two skills again.

His eyes locked onto the third.

[Rapid Assimilation (Ultra-Rare)]

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