The Black Market Chapter 86 - Good News and Bad News

"Bring his head to me!" The leading demi human spoke in their native language with a chilly voice. His subordinates nodded their heads before they disappeared from the room.

He walked towards the dead demi human and glanced at the slightly messy room. 'The room was only slightly messy, signifying that there was not even much of a fight. ' He then glanced back at his dead subordinate with a detached expression behind his mask. 'This guy died with only one attack and he did not even feel the presence of the assassin. Is there really such a strong assassin here in this world? And what kind of group can train this kind of man?' He glanced outside the window and saw the smoke outside which had not yet ceased. 

Zero felt several presence following behind him and there were even some who were at the peak stage of Emperor-Class level. 'Shit! How come the Marchand Family is colluding with this alien group?!' His back was covered in cold sweat as he sped up with all his strength, but with the extra weight he was carrying, his speed was still much slower than normal. He would have been able to escape from all those demi humans if not for carrying Lhun Marchand.

"Doov!"

"Doov!"

"Doov!"

An energy bullet grazed his right arm, but Zero did not even flinch. He hoisted Lhun Marchand's unconscious body on his left shoulder and pulled out several chip-like objects inside his pocket. He tweaked with them for a bit before embedding them on some trees.

"Boooom!"

"Booooom!"

"Boooom!"

Several loud explosions resounded behind Zero as he sped up his escape. After the bombs detonated, he heaved a sigh of relief after sensing that no one was tailing him now.

'Marchand Family, you have betrayed humanity, but for what reasons?' Zero's silhouette vanished from the scene and the demi humans were not able to track him anymore. They all went back to the Marchand Family estate with solemn expression which were hidden behind their masks.

"Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!"

Cale looked confused about the sudden call, but he then smiled after seeing that it was Zero. 'He must have accomplished the mission already. As expected of Gallantos' top mercenary.'

"Zero, how was it?" He spoke with slight smile on his face.

"My lord, I have two news for you, one bad news and one good news. Which would you like to hear first?" Zero asked with a panting voice. 

Cale's smile vanished and a solemn look recplaced it. "Start with the good news first."

Zero cleared his throat before he spoke. "The good news is that I have already captured Lhun Marchand and I am already on my way towards the plane. As for the bad news, the Marchand Family is colluding with the demi humans." Zero's voice was grave as he spoke. 

"What?!" Cale was surprised after learning Marchand Family's collusion with their enemies. 'How could a strong family such as the Marchand Family collude with those demi humans?!'

"My lord, there are many demi humans inside their estate. I have killed about five of them, so it must have brought severe impacts on their plans. The Marchand Family is not simple my lord, I feel that there is more than just betrayal in play here." Zero added his conjectures after his 'visit' in the Marchand Family estate.

'They might be wary of humanity now after this event. It is both a bad thing and a good thing for us as well. With their current wariness, they will not do anything too extreme for quite some time and we will have more time to prepare. The bad thing is that they might report this to their superiors and the demi humans will send their stronger fighters here. They might even bring the S-Class robots earlier than what had happened in my past life.' Cale thought of several scenarios that may happen following this event, but nevertheless, he was glad to learn about this news much earlier. 

But the long-term exchange with the Marchand Family was not a good option now. If he gave them his guns, they might grow too powerful and it would be much harder for them to defeat the Marchand Family. And Zero was right, there might be more than just betrayal in play here.

"Return home for now Zero and stay here in the tower. Your identity must not be known, so for now, you will be an instructor here inside the tower. You will take Kenji's place and I will have him continue locating the remaining people you haven't found." Cale was worried that the demi humans might learn about Zero's identity, so making him as an instructor for the time being was the best choice. 

"As you wish my lord." Zero was a bit disappointed, but he understood his lordship's concerns. He also did not want Cale's plans to be jeopardized because of him, so he just accepted being a temporary instructor inside the tower.

"Good job on capturing Lhun Marchand and thank you for the news Zero. Goodbye for now." Cale kept his phone with an expression full of solemness.

"Just where did those demi humans came from? And what are their purpose here in our world?" Cale muttered in a quiet voice. The question had bugged him for many years already. Even after fighting for more than a decade with the demi humans, they still haven't learned the reason why they were invading the world. And why would their numbers be low for such a strong race? If the demi humans had sent more than several millions, Earth would not last for even five years.

"Just what is in our world that you guys covet so much?" 

Marchand Family estate.

"General, we were not able to track the man. He had several Energy Bombs with him and three more of our men died." A demi human reported nervously. His voice was a bit stiff as he spoke to their general and he did not even dare glance at his eyes.

The general was silent for a few seconds before he spoke in a cold voice. "Burn their bodies."

He glanced at the outside scenery again and a mocking smile was hidden behind his mask.

'It's not yet time to reveal ourselves to all of humanity. No one would believe that man anyway even if he reported seeing aliens here. And with the Marchand Family's deterrence, no one would dare inspect this place. We just have to lay low for now.' 

Chapter end