Treatise Of A Failed Knight-Chapter 254: Behind The Scenes

It started as a thought.

’What do I need to do to pass my Apotheosis?’

I ruminated on this thought for a long period, exploring everything within the Trial Scenario until I finally found the answer.

To succeed in Apotheosis, I must find a way to perfectly stabilize this bizarre world in the Trial Scenario.

To do so... I must unify it.

Once I understood that, the next question naturally flowed into my head.

’How can I accomplish this?’

At first, I thought Kalakuta was the answer.

I viewed him as the protagonist of this world, and for good reason.

He was charismatic, powerful, ambitious, and he led an independent movement capable of actually changing the world.

I also strongly resonated with his ideals.

I really did.

I still do.

But... I was wrong about him.

Kalakuta would indeed be instrumental in unifying this world, just as I intended, but his ideal of peace wasn’t sustainable.

His fight for equality was dangerous.

He could indeed be the protagonist, but the outcome of his movement would not be desirable in the grand scheme of things.

It would be too... chaotic.

’The foundation for the new, more stable world is the Great Bridgeworks. It is the grand aim I should be working towards. Every other character in this Trial Scenario are mere cogs in the machine. The named characters are the bigger cogs, but they remain cogs nonetheless.’ I had to start thinking like this in order to fully grasp the scope of the Trial Scenario and how to pass.

But this was only the beginning.

If everyone is a cog, then what am I?

As the Leviathan, I am the one who determines what should happen to these cogs and how they should run.

In essence, anyone can be the protagonist or antagonist in this story.

The priority is the ultimate objective.

And how to achieve it.

So... I decided to become a treacherous snake and succumb to the allure of a deep scheme.

—The Dark Guild.

As you would expect, this organization was inspired by the real one in my own reality.

After realizing that such a thing didn’t exist here, it became a no-brainer to be its founder, especially when one considers the associated benefits.

A vast communication network, incredible resource pool, control over people and specific channels... And so on.

It was a perfect organization to exploit.

The last straw that made me fully commit to this idea was the existence of the Black Heart Poison in this world.

As a Leviathan under the Dark Guild, I was given this Potion in vast quantities.

I could even replicate it as well.

Once I found all the ingredients readily available to me in No Man’s Land, it became abundantly clear that this was the way to go.

Thus, I began to execute this idea after our assault on the Central Plains. I made the former Minister of Combat the first official member.

She eventually became the Acting Leader once the organization grew large enough.

I made sure she was trustworthy enough to bear the burden of my plans, and when the three other Great Nations launched their three-pronged attack, I saw it as an opportunity to put her to good use.

Thankfully, the Freedom Fighters accepted my suggestion and I was made to handle the Eastern Sects and Western Alliance on my own.

This gave me a lot of freedom.

Time... to expand.

As for the Former Minister of Combat, now Acting Leader of the Dark Guild, I gave her a special mission.

The mission was to find Geralt, the Minister of Internal Affairs for the fallen Great Northern Tribe. He had somehow escaped during our battle for the Central Plains and I was certain that he would still have the First Prince of the Northern Empire in his custody.

I wasn’t wrong.

After faking her death, the Acting Leader succeeded in finding these two for me.

She subdued them and made the offer I told her to make: to join the Dark Guild.

Geralt would become Central if he cooperated, while the First Prince would become North. These two would become the ’rulers’ of the ideal world I planned to create.

As expected, they accepted my offer.

During this process, I had also captured candidates for West and East from my battle with those two Great Nations.

I made them offers they couldn’t refuse.

For East, I made the three prisoners work together to infiltrate the Eastern Sects, and the same could be said for the Western Alliance prisoners.

These were important people in their respective Great Nations, so having them on my side proved immensely useful.

Then, I began to work on the next phase of my plan.

I had Geralt reach out to the largest Tribe in the Central Plains which had the potential of becoming the next ’Great Northern Tribe’.

He was to give them an offer to become the next overlord of the region.

They were tempted, naturally.

However, the fear of Kalakuta prevented them from wholeheartedly taking the offer.

This was my first roadblock.

And it served as the confirmation of something I had been wrestling with for some time already.

To achieve the ideal world which I desire... Kalakuta would have to die.

I still managed to stabilize this potential overlord Tribe, stalling until I had the chance to fully eliminate Kalakuta.

But I couldn’t kill Kalakuta yet.

For one, I didn’t even know how to achieve this feat. The man is nearly invulnerable and possesses incredible strength.

Plus, he is a very skilled fighter.

Besides that, he was also still instrumental in demolishing the old governmental systems.

Those were not needed in my new world.

Thus, I required the Freedom Fighters, led by Kalakuta, to clear the path for me and the Dark Guild’s agenda.

During this period, I could figure out how to kill him effectively.

In a stroke of luck, the Eastern Sects finally made a decision regarding Kalakuta and brought him over into a trap.

Of course, I knew these things ahead of time due to the Sect Leader mole I planted there.

So, I invaded the Eastern Sects in secret using Tracing, and made sure to participate in the Vermillion Trap Array.

In fact, the missing Sect Leader, Zheng Yue’s body double back then... was actually me.

I used this opportunity to then infiltrate the Trap Array, since I had full knowledge of it already. I manipulated the Trap Array alongside Zheng Yue, using it to give backlash to the other operators and influencing the battlefield.

I probed for Kalakuta’s weakness.

I killed his allies.

I isolated him.

I also helped him in his fight against the Sect Leaders, using the Array to weaken them instead of Kalakuta.

All of this was to ensure Kalakuta’s victory, but also to wound him.

I learned a lot from this experience.

Once it was over, I created an opening in the formation and made an escape alongside Zheng Yue.

The Freedom Fighters officially won, but this was all part of my machinations.

A similar thing took place in the Western Alliance. Although peace was won by the Freedom Fighters without bloodshed there, I was well aware of how deep the corruption really went.

So, I enacted a plan to poison all the elites during their celebratory party and eliminate as many as I could afford to kill, while keeping the rest enslaved to my whims.

This provided me with more manpower and resources, causing the influence of the Dark Guild to expand.

In fact, I wanted to use the same tactic on that hesitant Tribe in the Central Plains.

But the Central Plains warriors are far more stubborn than the Western Alliance cowards. I could never make them bend to my will by merely poisoning their leaders

I finally had the Eastern Sects and Western Alliance where I wanted them.

How?

With the Western Alliance, I controlled the most influential people. I also had the heirs of the Nine Great Corporations under my control.

They would serve as West.

As for the Eastern Sects, I eliminated all the other Sect Leaders, leaving only Zheng Yue as the Sect Leader alive. I also spared the Young Master Tian Yu and the jade beauty Ning Bing.

They would be the three new forces of the Eastern Sects—East.

While all of this preparation was underway, I had the Dark Guild reach out to some people in the Southern Kingdom and eventually succeeded in drawing in the Second Prince who wanted the throne.

Due to his insecurities and absence of accomplishments, he was likely not to succeed the throne.

Thus, our offer became very alluring to him.

He became South.

I made him influence political affairs and fed him information regarding what I learned about Kalakuta from the Vermillion Trap Array.

He returned to the Southern Kingdom with this knowledge, allowing them to formulate Potions and Spells that could affect his nearly impervious skin.

This would weaken him greatly.

He would bleed.

Finally!

Once all these preparations were complete, I essentially had all the reach required in each Continent and Great Nation.

I also had plenty of resources.

Since Kalakuta trusted me deeply and I was always busy with Magivores or the Great Bridgeworks, he never suspected me of any trachery—even when I used Tracing to go to various places and enact my schemes.

Slowly, it has been accumulating.

Now, I am confident.

Once Kalakuta dies and the Great Bridgeworks are completed, the Dark Guild will be able to begin its official reign.

We already rule the world from the shadows anyway.

Zheng Yue is the only surviving Sect Leader in the Eastern Sects, making him the strongest person there.

The Nine Great Corporations are the most powerful in the Western Alliance.

The First Prince possesses the legitimacy to lead the Northern Empire and still has the Imperial Seal, which can access many secret vaults and treasuries.

The strongest Tribe in the Central Plains is under our subtle control and only needs Kalakuta out of the picture to be strategically managed by Geralt.

With the death of the King and the rest of the Royal Family, the prince who took our side will have no one to contest with him for the position of King.

All of these people are under the Dark Guild.

They are all under me.

I control this world from the shadows.

Now, I only need to eliminate Kalakuta and the final threat to my absolute reign will be extinguished.

’What I seek in this new world isn’t an idealistic paradise, but a realistic world that operates on practicality and pragmatism.’

A very predictable world.

A peaceful world.

All the Great Nations led by a government under the same umbrella of the Dark Guild.

They all have the Black Heart Poison with no idea how to make the antidote, which means they will forever be subject to my orders.

And what are those orders?

A common understanding among all Great Nations. Trading with the Great Bridgeworks. Non interference with one another unless during special occasions. Supervision of other Great Nations and periodic meetings among leaders.

These are all to ensure a perfect mix of Checks and Balances.

Imagine it.

None of these Great Nations fighting, and each of them getting the support of one another in the management of their territory.

They will have no need for greed.

All of them are in the same team, and while they have absolute power in their territories, they are still subject to the Black Heart Poison.

All of them will comply.

They won’t be free.

This world will be caged.

But... It’s good.

For the sake of security and the establishment of a stable reality that can be protected.

This is inevitable.

I am deeply sorry, Kalakuta.

True equality is a dream.

It does not exist.

Rather than take the risk and blindly believe in Freedom like you and everyone else, I would rather wake up and take a more realistic approach to this world.

It is the only way I can preserve my life.

And succeed Apotheosis.

[A/N: What a betrayal! Did you all suspect anything, or did this come off as a shock?]