[Used, Then Burned]

At sunset, the lights gradually came on.

Paul pushed his cart slowly through the carriage, turning on the gas lamps for the passengers one by one.

He had heard that lamps requiring no fuel had already appeared in the Loselin Empire. They could be switched on with a gentle press of a button, but Paul couldn't even imagine what such a thing looked like.

He didn't care about that now.

As he slowly made his way toward the VIP carriage at the rear, a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

He took a deep breath. "Stay calm, Paul. Stay calm. He's just a person, too. He won't eat you... probably. Just serve him properly and don't do anything stupid."

Then he slowly pushed open the redwood door of the last carriage.

Since steam engines inevitably belched out billowing clouds of smoke, the VIP carriages on trains of this era were usually at the rear. On some trains, the very last carriage was converted into an open-air observation car, where VIPs could enjoy the scenery along the way over afternoon tea.

But at this hour, with the sun setting, the carriage was deserted. Only one burly man sat there, legs crossed, on an intricately carved chair painted white. He held a cup of cold tea and sipped it slowly.

"Sir." Paul tiptoed over and set the man's dinner in front of him: four rosemary-seared lamb chops, a baked potato topped with butter, sour cream, and minced meat, two soft-boiled eggs cut in half, and a generous spoonful of baked beans in tomato sauce.

"Hmm?" The man slowly turned his head and glanced at the food. "Not bad. But remember, next time I want twice the portion an ordinary person gets. Don't make me remind you again, all right?"

"Yes, yes!" Paul nodded hastily. The man's tone was actually quite mild, even tinged with the pleasure of enjoying the view, but Paul didn't dare let his guard down. He knew all too well how fickle the moods of important people could be.

"Go on." The man waved a hand. Paul felt instantly relieved and hurried out, leaving only two damp footprints on the floor.

The observation car was deserted once more.

The man lit a cigarette and gazed at the dense coniferous forest lining both sides of the tracks. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. The green of a coniferous forest might not be as lush and vibrant as that of a broadleaf forest, but it was still far better than a desert.

The man was Lude, of course. And the reason the other VIPs had been frightened into cowering in their private compartments, trembling as they surrendered the observation car to him—and the reason the attendants were so terrified they had turned pale and broken out in a sweat—was naturally the same: Aleppo's Black Hall uniform.

Fortunately, Lude had taken off the uniform when he was disguised as an attendant earlier and stowed it in the Glazed Pouch, sparing it from the flames.

The Glazed Pouch was a Relic made from the heart membrane of an Earth Dragon. Like Lude, it was immune to fire, and it could use the power of flames to repair itself. Naturally, it could also protect the items inside from fire.

So far, the most useful thing Lude had ever possessed wasn't some supernatural object. It was this tiger skin he'd stripped off someone.

Three full days had passed since Lude's meeting with Lord Hypnos.

Over those three days, Lude had traveled north from the westernmost border of the Rhine Kingdom to its northeastern border.

By yesterday morning, the scenery around the train had already ceased to be desert. That meant Lude had reached the Bohemian Forest in the northeastern part of the Rhine Kingdom. His destination wasn't far now.

Lude's destination was a small town called Blackwater Town.

Blackwater Town was known for its black pine and various mushrooms. It had once been a summer retreat for the nobles of the Duchy of Bohemia, but was now abandoned. Still, the scenery had nothing to do with why Lude chose it.

The reason was simple: Blackwater Town was very close to the border of the Loselin Empire, less than five kilometers away. Lude could run there in two or three minutes.

So why hadn't Lude left the Rhine Kingdom directly, instead of heading north along the border?

Lude clenched his fist. "Goddammit, Hypnos, you old bastard!"

Even after all these days, just thinking about it still made his blood boil!

At present, besides the Black Tide Society's pursuit, two more threats had emerged.

One was the descendants of the Radiant Light Society, who were hunting him. But they knew nothing about the Lord Society or Lude, so all he had to do was avoid exposing himself. Besides, once he entered the Loselin Empire, this threat would be all but irrelevant.

Lude didn't believe any organization would risk angering the Loselin Empire by hunting down the descendants of an enemy organization from a thousand years ago—let alone send a large force of armed men across the border to stir up trouble.

The Radiant Light Society's descendants weren't a concern for now, but the other pursuer was much more dangerous.

That was Malinkov, whose Lord's Apprentice status Lude had stolen.

Malinkov was extremely powerful—at least on a par with Lude after he'd used the first dose of Wyvern Blood Essence.

On that point, Lude chose to trust Lord Hypnos's assessment.

So Lude figured it would be best not to pick a fight with Malinkov right away.

Malinkov couldn't directly sense the Lord's Ring, which was good news for Lude.

That was only true as long as Lude didn't use the connections recorded in the Lord's Ring. The moment he did, Malinkov would pick up his scent and randomly spawn right beside him.

That was why Lude cursed Lord Hypnos. That old bastard's treachery was right there in the details!

Only after Lude had found a sheet of glass and studied the list for a while did he realize the old bastard had tainted all the contacts he'd given him. In simple terms, these people had either already caught Malinkov's attention or had been outright turned against them by Malinkov...

The old bastard had even "thoughtfully" marked the names so Lude couldn't miss it: [Burn After Use]. That's right, not "burn after reading," but "burn after use"—once he'd used them, he was supposed to burn them!

The problem was, to enter the Loselin Empire, Lude had to use the Lord Society's connections to arrange a fake identity for himself. And if he wanted a better starting point, that identity would ideally belong to a down-on-his-luck noble from the Rhine Region with an illustrious ancestor.

Some circles required an invitation. No matter how capable you were, you couldn't get in without one.

Lord Hypnos had clearly realized that, too. So he'd put a border inspector at the very top of the list, with a special note: [This person can help forge an identity, but take care to prevent him from contacting Malinkov.]

In other words, unless Lude chose to break into the Loselin Empire and trade gunfire with the Empire's immigration authorities on the streets until dawn, the moment he crossed the border, he'd be blowing the horn to summon Malinkov to a duel.

Lude's solution was to turn around and head eighty kilometers north.

See you later!

He had no choice. Lude's trust in Lord Hypnos had always been exactly zero. The old man hadn't told the truth once.

Maybe he'd tell Lude to get rid of Malinkov, then immediately turn around and tell Malinkov about it. The old bastard might then hole up at the border and wait to watch Lude and Malinkov fight it out. It wasn't impossible!

Of course, Lude hadn't changed his plans to go to the Loselin Empire. He just needed to build himself up first.

After crossing into this world, Lude hadn't yet had a chance to settle down and recuperate. That meant he had plenty of ways to get stronger; he just hadn't had time to try them out.

So after carefully studying the map, Lude chose to board this train and head for Blackwater Town, a beautiful little place nearly cut off from the world, deep in the Bohemian Forest in the empire's northwest.

Lude had given himself one week.