The Extra of The Lunerra-Chapter 499 - 34: Explaining the Plan

Old Gundam was a city that had spent its recent months largely in peace and tranquility.

Instead of bickering and fighting with one another, the families remained silent.

The first incident to break this silence was the conflict between the Inferesse, Bluelet, and Reross Families.

The Reross Family was completely wiped out, the Inferesse Family lost a vast portion of its power, and the Bluelet Family was the side that lost the least.

Of course, the influence these families held over the city wasn't particularly great. The disappearance of one of them was a minor matter. At least compared to the massacres and tragedies the city had witnessed up to that point.

But this time, things were different.

This time, one of the families with the greatest influence over the city was involved.

The Morten Family, who under normal circumstances remained quite neutral, preferring to observe events in silence and maintain their stability, had, in a single night, flooded the city's streets with their men and caused the complete annihilation of five whole families.

The repercussions for them would be significant.

And here, right in front of me, was Thomas Morten... the very person who would have to deal with all of this. Though, he didn't seem to care much about these events.

"What are you going to do about Phon? I'm guessing he's awake by now."

Thomas Morten's eyes, which already looked as if they were detached from the world, narrowed. The serious expression on his face soured.

"He's awake. At first, he played along again, claiming he didn't understand what was going on. But once he realized there was no way out, he gave up. He started cursing like a madman, saying we had to let him go immediately or else Saligia would level the entire city."

"Pathetic."

After I made that cold remark, Thomas Morten let out a deep sigh.

"True. I'll try to extract as much information as possible over the next few days."

His eyes narrowed even further. His sour expression seemed to... take on a sorrowful look all of a sudden.

"And then…"

He would kill him, even if he struggled to say it. Well, no matter who was inside, the body he was dealing with was his son's after all.

It wasn't an easy situation.

"I understand."

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them as if our last interaction had never happened. As his sorrowful expression returned to normal, he exhaled softly.

"Let's set my family's situation aside, Franz. Ah, though… Aiden."

I didn't care much about the sudden changes in his demeanor and expression.

"You can address me however you like."

I had once again taken on the guise of Franz Martin Inferesse. Since he had only just learned my true identity, it seemed even he found it hard to tell the difference.

Without making any further comments on the matter, Thomas Morten got straight to the point.

"I want you to... explain. Exactly why you came here, what you aim to do. How exactly do you plan to strike a blow against Saligia? I want to know it all."

"The difficult parts were mostly resolved before I even contacted you. What's left are relatively easy tasks, though they'll require resources. Vast resources. That's why I need your help."

Thomas nodded, urging me to continue.

And so I did.

First, I explained the connection between Saligia and the Old Gundam to him. Learning that the Black Blood, which governs the city and the hierarchy of families within it, was allied with Saligia didn't come as much of a surprise. It was as if he had already expected it.

"My primary goal here is also to bring an end to the Black Blood. As you know, it's not just influential within the Old Gundam. It's the central headquarters that controls illegal underground organizations spread across the entire world."

This was something almost everyone knew. Black Blood wasn't just a thorn in Piarlin's side...it was a thorn in the side of the entire planet. The organization called Black Blood was the king of the underworld and its supreme ruler.

"The moment the Black Blood collapses, the black market across the entire planet, all illegal activities, and consequently the flow of resources and information Saligia derives from these sources will also be cut off."

That was our biggest and most sought-after goal.

"In short, we'll bring Saligia's most trusted ally under our control. And in doing so, we will have all of the things I mentioned for ourselves."

Thomas remained silent for a while. Things I didn't know were swirling around in his head, and he was doing a good job of keeping them to himself. I had no idea what he was thinking.

Though, at this point, what he was thinking wasn't that important.

"All the time I've spent here was, in a way, a preparatory step to infiltrate the Black Blood without drawing too much suspicion. As you know, none of the Black Blood's high-ranking officials are particularly powerful. Just appearing before them once will be enough to stir things up."

To say it would be enough to stir things up would have been an understatement, to be honest.

The elimination of the kings of the underworld was no simple matter. The entire planet's order would be thrown into chaos. After all, the illicit activities taking place underground, however evil they might be, were nonetheless a necessary evil.

"After that, you'll need to take advantage of the chaos."

That is precisely why we needed not only to eliminate them but also to subjugate them.

Rather than completely destroying the order, we needed to bring it under our control.

And the person I wanted to be in charge of that was Thomas Morten, the man I'm talking to right now.

"I have complete confidence in you regarding that. After all, you'll be aware of what's going to happen. You can take the initiative before anyone else and take control of the situation."

Thomas furrowed his brows.

"The leaders of Black Blood may not be particularly powerful, but that doesn't mean they have no guards. Let's say you succeed in what you're aiming for... escaping from there will be impossible."

I shook my head.

"It's actually not. That's exactly what I meant when I said I'd need plenty of resources."

I pulled a tiny projector out of my pocket and placed it between us.

"I need mana."

The projector started up. Dozens, countless holographic screens appeared between us. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"So much of it, more than has ever been concentrated in a single spot on this planet before."

Thomas's eyes darted wildly across the screens between us. Before long, his eyes began to widen gradually. His tightly closed mouth, overcome by shock, opened slightly, but not a single word escaped his lips.

"This will be my escape route. I won't be around for a while, but during this time, I'll trust you to take control of the city's administration. Since everything has been planned and prepared in advance, it won't be a difficult process for you. You'll just need to follow the instructions."

"A- are you… sure this information is accurate…?"

I nodded confidently.

"This information comes from Cevilian's sole seer. Since I'm at war with Saligia, I'm receiving maximum support from my country. Therefore, you can be certain of the information's accuracy."

Well, that's a lie, of course. The information mostly comes from the game I played. But there's no reason for him to doubt the truth of what I'm saying.

"Whether the information… is true or not. That's not my whole concern. "Aiden, do you really think you can survive in a place like that at your current level?"

Oh.

He's doubting my abilities more than the accuracy of the information.

"Of course. I might not look like it, but I'm much stronger than you think. Combat prowess aside, I possess knowledge. And remember, knowledge is the greatest power. I have everything I need... and probably even more."

"…"

Silence fell over the room. But the silence didn't mean Thomas wasn't doing anything. His eyes kept scanning the lines on the screens, as if he wanted to make sure he hadn't misunderstood or missed anything.

As if a single flaw could spell the end of everything.

And he wasn't wrong.

Indeed, a single flaw could cause everything to blow up in our faces, leading to a catastrophe. A real catastrophe, at that.

One that could wipe the Old Gundam off the map entirely.

"I've been working on this plan for months. Day and night, sacrificing my precious sleep and life, I did everything in my power to ensure everything would be perfect. And here I am. Everything has unfolded in the most perfect way possible up until now."

I leaned back, as if I were completely at ease. As if I had not a single doubt.

"That's why I'm relaxed. Think about it as much as you like; you can simulate every detail of my plan in your mind from start to finish. This is the method that will yield the greatest results for us in the shortest time. We can deliver a massive blow to Saligia that they won't even understand. All we need is… for you to trust me and carry out everything I say without missing a single detail."

"…"

He did exactly as I said, he thought.

The minutes ticked by.

Five minutes passed, then twenty.

Thomas Morten examined everything from start to finish without uttering a single word.

Under normal circumstances, the atmosphere might have been tense. After all, the man I'd asked for help was overly hesitant. It seemed like he might refuse to help and throw everything I'd worked on away.

But despite that, I remained calm. I waited in silence. Confident in myself, as if I were certain nothing would go wrong.

Finally, after half an hour had passed…

"Hm..."

The silence was finally broken.

"Well then, Aiden Tenebra…"

Thomas's deep voice echoed through the room.

His eyes weren't on the screens. They were fixed on me, as if piercing right through them. Though he hadn't quite managed to erase the traces of his surprise from his face, compared to half an hour earlier, he was much more…

Resolute.

"I'll help you."

Because he, too, had realized just how great an opportunity this was. If we let it slip through our fingers, we'd never get another chance to deal with Saligia like this.

He understood he had to trust me. This was the only way he could take revenge for what had happened to his sons and daughter—as quickly and effectively as possible. No matter how dangerous it might be.

"Let's start the preparations immediately."

I nodded, having known all along that this would happen.

"Of course. That's exactly what I wanted anyway. To start right away."

Using this man…

It's really too easy.