Chapter 190: Death of the Traitor

"It seems everyone here knows very well what's going to happen tonight. Alright then, I'll cut the crap and get straight to it," Leon pulled out a handgun from his lower back, disengaged the safety, cocked the hammer, and gripped it tightly in his hand.

Rebecca glanced at the gun in Leon's hand, a flash of surprise crossing her delicate face, but it quickly disappeared without showing any further reaction.

"Actually, I already know who the mole was that framed me back then," As soon as he said this, the three of them merely let out heavy sighs, none of them showing any signs of panic.

They all knew Leon's style very well. This guy never fought a battle he wasn't confident in.

If he said he knew who the mole was, then he definitely knew.

(But Rebecca felt that the captain was just putting on a show. If you ask her, since he already knew who the mole was, he should've just shot them right away~)

Leon lowered his head, playing with the gun in his hand, and spoke in a leisurely tone,

"What a pity. After three years, our squad finally reunites, and it has to be like this."

"I never would have thought that the one who betrayed me… would be you."

Leon slowly raised his gun, pointing the cold barrel at the person beside him.

Martin.

Rebecca's eyes widened, her blue pupils reflecting the pitch-black, compact handgun. She swallowed hard, "Captain… are you sure it's Martin?"

Before Leon could answer, Victor spoke from the side,

"Martin, you're surprisingly calm. Don't you want to explain yourself?"

By now, cold sweat was pouring down Martin's face. His so-called 'calmness' was actually just him being so overwhelmed that he had no idea what to say or do.

The moment Leon pointed the gun at him, it felt as if the part of his brain responsible for thinking had been completely shattered.

In that instant, all his senses went numb, and he could only hear the furious pounding of his heart.

Lub-Dub! Lub-Dub! Lub-Dub!

After a long pause, Martin finally managed to open his mouth with great effort, "Captain, I—"

BANG!

A gunshot rang out. The bullet hit Martin squarely in the chest.

The thin young man, his face full of shock and terror, collapsed to the ground.

"Martin!"

Rebecca cried out, quickly rushing over to crouch beside him, "Martin! Martin!!"

Clatter—

After the gunshot, Leon immediately tossed the cold weapon onto the dining table.

He braced himself against the table's edge, bent over, and gasped heavily for air.

Victor glanced at the gun on the table, then walked over to Leon, placing a light hand on his shoulder, "You don't need to blame yourself, Captain… To be honest, I was also surprised that Martin was the mole… But in the end, he made the wrong choice. You shouldn't carry this burden."

Leon's lips were pale. He forced himself to stay upright and looked at Rebecca, "Take care of the body. There's a swamp not far from here, a round trip will only take ten minutes. Dump it there, and no one will ever find it."

After a brief moment of sorrow, Rebecca accepted reality, lifted Martin's corpse, and carried him outside.

Victor was about to raise his head and watch them leave, but suddenly, Leon placed an arm around his shoulders.

Victor quickly averted his gaze and instead focused on supporting Leon against the table.

The room fell into complete silence. Only Leon's heavy breathing and the faint sound of a body dragging across the floor could be heard.

"Are you feeling better, Leon?"

Leon didn't respond. He closed his eyes, clutched his chest, and silently adjusted his breathing.

Seeing this, Victor lowered his gaze and looked at the handgun on the dining table.

This was his last chance.

The former vice-captain of the Dragon Slayer Army slowly reached out, grasped the compact and powerful handgun, and then—

Pressed the barrel against Leon's temple.

Leon felt the hard, icy touch of the gun and slowly opened his eyes, "So it was you…?"

"A ten-minute round trip, more than enough time for me to kill you and get out of here, Casmodeous."

Victor's voice was cold, "Tomorrow's headlines will read: 'Former Dragon Slayer Army Vice-Captain Executes Imperial Traitor Leon Casmodeous.' But unfortunately, he failed to rescue a certain minister's youngest son from your hands. What do you think of this story?"

Leon let out a cold chuckle, "You never used to have a sense of humor."

"People change, Casmodeous. You shouldn't have come back. Did killing Constantine make you think you could challenge the Empire?"

"So the Empire and the dragons… really are working together?"

Victor cocked the hammer of the gun and rested his finger on the trigger.

"Leon, all these years, you've always beaten me. But in today's game, you've lost completely. You've failed, Leon. You've been defeated by someone you've always considered beneath you. Do you regret it now?"

"Regret?", Leon smirked, "I swear, Victor, after you pull that trigger… you'll be the one who regrets it."

"Hah! Even at death's door, you're still so stubborn. Well then… let's see exactly how you'll make me regret this!"

The killing intent in Victor's eyes could no longer be restrained.

He pulled the trigger hard, ready to hear that beautiful, blood-splattering sound.

Click—

A crisp mechanical sound echoed through the room.

But there was no flash of fire.

Victor's heart skipped a beat. He panicked and pulled the trigger several more times in succession.

But the gun didn't fire.

Before he could process what was happening, Leon's iron fist came crashing into his face.

Victor immediately felt his world spin. He was thrown onto his back.

A sharp pain spread from his nose, and the scent of blood filled his nostrils. Lying on the ground, he stared at the cold, indifferent man before him.

"You… How…?"

"I told you, I already knew who the mole was. You should've admitted it the moment I said that. Maybe I would've spared you."

Of course, that was a lie.

Leon would never spare him. He only said that to make the mole regret things even more before dying.

Leon walked toward Victor at a leisurely pace and stepped on his leg.

The sharp pain immobilized Victor. He glared at Leon and gritted his teeth, "When… did you start suspecting me?"

"When? If I had to pinpoint it… about three years ago."

Leon crouched down, looking into Victor's weathered face.

"You see, the only people who knew the strike team positions were me… and you."

Three years ago, in the Silver Dragon Battle, after Leon was framed, all the strike teams' positions were exposed.

The only ones who knew the positions of each squad were the army's supreme commander, Leon, and his deputy, Victor.

"Of course, this alone is not enough to determine that you were the one who framed me back then," Leon slowly squatted down, looking at Victor's weathered face.

"So three years later, I returned to the Empire and began my plan."

"You might have thought that since I had just returned, I was unfamiliar with everything, so you subconsciously treated me as a piece on the chessboard."

"Two days ago, when we met for the first time, you deliberately guided me to think and choose according to your intentions."

"You intentionally or unintentionally brought up Martin giving his stepmother a gift. Then, when the banquet started, you deliberately steered the conversation toward her hairpin."

"You said it was made of mammoth ivory and, after enchantment, could be used as a weapon with strong penetration. Heh... Doesn't that sound a lot like the weapon that stabbed me in the back all those years ago?"

"If Rebecca hadn't told me at the beginning that Martin had a terrible relationship with his stepmother, I might not have gone to the banquet early to talk to Martin after leaving your bar. If that had been the case, your attempt to frame him might have succeeded."

"But unfortunately, I am not a piece on the chessboard, Victor. I am the one moving the pieces."

Victor's heartbeat quickened, his breathing grew heavier, and the overwhelming shock left him stammering.

"No... Impossible... Impossible!"

Leon smiled faintly and continued, "Nothing is impossible. Oh, right, your guitar pick was also a key clue exposing your identity as a traitor."

"You were right, ivory is highly malleable. It can be made into a hairpin or into a pick to wear on your chest."

"I don't know if you thought I wouldn't recognize it, but tell me, how could someone so poor that they can only afford a worn-out guitar have the money to buy an ivory pick?"

"Apart from burning, the best way to destroy evidence is to turn it into something entirely new."

After a slight pause, Leon added, "But considering what you just said about 'defeated opponents,' I have another reasonable assumption. You kept the weapon that nearly killed me as a trophy, didn't you?"

Victor's pupils contracted violently, and he roared, "Leon! Don't think that just because you defeated me, you've won against the entire Empire. The Empire will avenge me!!!"

Leon shook his head, "Victor, being second place forever isn't your biggest mistake. Becoming the Empire's lapdog and standing against me, that's your biggest mistake."

"If you hadn't been in such a hurry this time, I might not have uncovered your identity so quickly. And the reason you were so anxious was... because the Empire was pressuring you. Am I right?"

For the sake of eliminating Leon, the Empire even sent Constantine. That alone proved how badly they wanted him dead.

But Leon had turned their impatience against them, making Victor believe he was falling into his trap when, in reality, every step Leon took was to lure out an even bigger fish.

In the past, General Leon never played mind games in battle. He'd just charge in headfirst, after all, not many dragons could withstand his mana blasts.

So why was he now so skilled at psychological warfare?

Come on, you think Leon spent two years as a captive for nothing? He learned quite a lot from that dragoness.

Victor fell silent for a moment before bursting into a manic laugh, "Yes... yes... you're right, Leon. But what about Martin? To lure me out, you used Martin as bait. When his father finds out his son is dead, and it just so happens that you've returned to the Empire, guess what he'll think?"

Leon let out a disdainful snort, "Victor, is this really your final attempt to make me fail?"

"...What...?"

"As former comrades who fought side by side, you should know that Rebecca has a habit of assembling guns, right?"

Leon picked up the handgun from earlier and spun it in front of Victor's face.

"She takes it apart, puts it back together, over and over again. She can play with it all night. And to make it more fun, she usually adds a single bullet. And that bullet... is a practice blank."

"A blank...?"

"Yes, a blank that can't kill."

Leon slowly stood up. At that moment, Rebecca entered from outside, supporting the supposedly "dead" Martin.

Martin clutched his chest, his expression grim, "Captain... blanks may not kill, but they hurt like hell... I think I broke at least two ribs."

"Man up. Look at Victor, his nose is crooked, and he didn't even scream," Leon spoke with righteous conviction.

Rebecca helped Martin sit by the table, then, with a cold expression, walked behind Leon, pulled another handgun from her waist, and handed it to him.

Leon chambered the round and aimed it at Victor's forehead.

"About the Empire, do you have anything else you'd like to share?"

Death loomed before him. The scent of gunpowder filled his nostrils, and the last shred of Victor's composure snapped, "Don't kill me, Leon... Don't kill me! I was wrong—I know I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! I shouldn't have served the Empire... Please, forgive me! Please, Leon!"

Looks like there was nothing more to get out of him.

"Victor, you don't regret what you did, you only regret that you're about to die."

BANG—

A single gunshot.

Silence.

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