Chapter 42: Setting the Trap II

After nearly sixteen hours in the air, I finally arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As soon as I stepped off the aircraft, I saw Diablo waiting for me beside a black SUV.

He gave a respectful bow before walking over.

“My Lord. I’ve prepared a list of the people who are most suitable for the plan. Their names, the names of their villages, their families, daily routines, and every detail we’ve been able to gather is inside.”

He handed me a thick folder.

“Good work.”

I accepted the file and began flipping through it.

Every page contained detailed information about a different village leader.

Their influence, family members, occupations, even the layouts of their homes had been carefully documented.

Diablo had been thorough, just as always.

After reading through several pages, I looked up at him.

“Klaue and his men are heavily armed. If we’re going to make this look like a genuine local uprising, we’ll need at least three thousand people.”

Diablo nodded.

“For that, my Lord, one village won’t be enough. We’ll need to involve several.”

“So you’ve already selected the villages?”

Diablo shook his head.

“Not yet, my Lord. There are several villages that would give us the numbers we need. However, I believed it would be better to finalize our choice after you arrived. Once you decided which route to use and where you wanted to confront Klaue, I could select the villages that would make the uprising appear as natural as possible.”

I nodded.

“Good.”

Diablo continued.

“There is one more matter, my Lord. You instructed me to ensure no one noticed the targets were missing. So If we abducted the village leaders before the operation, their disappearances could raise suspicion.”

He paused for a moment.

“I believe the safer option is to enter each leader’s home after midnight and place them under your curse while they sleep. That way, they never have to leave their homes, greatly reducing the risk of anyone discovering our actions.”

I thought about it for a few seconds before nodding.

“…You’re right. That’s the better option.”

There was no need to create unnecessary risks by moving people around when I could simply curse them inside their own homes.

“What time do we begin?”

“Shortly after midnight, my Lord. Once we reach the villages, I recommend leaving the vehicles behind and continuing on foot. The sound of engines or headlights in the middle of the night could alert the locals.”

“Alright. We’ll do it your way.”

With the plan settled, we started walking toward the waiting SUV.

As we got in, another thought crossed my mind.

“So how was your first mining operation?”

For the first time since I’d known him, Diablo’s expression showed a trace of disappointment.

“…I’m disappointed that I couldn’t produce the results you wanted, my Lord.”

I smiled faintly.

“It’s alright. Life doesn’t always go according to plan. Sometimes things fail, and when they do, all we can do is adapt and improvise.”

Diablo lowered his head.

“I understand, my Lord.”

The SUV pulled away from the airport, carrying us toward the villages where the first step of my plan would begin.

There were still at least seven hours before we gave the revolutionaries a chance to change their fate.

As I thought about it, we had already reached our temporary base.

It was nothing more than a large military tent hidden near an abandoned mining area.

It wasn’t luxurious by any means, but it wasn’t shabby either.

It was exactly what I’d expect for a hideout.

“My Lord,” Diablo said as he noticed me looking around.

“Forgive me for this, but we couldn’t risk booking a hotel. Too many cameras and too many people.”

I simply shrugged.

“I don’t care.”

All I wanted was that Vibranium.

Once I got my hands on it, I could finally purchase a few upgrades.

Compared to that, sleeping in a tent for one night meant nothing.

“I’m going to take a nap,” I said as I walked toward the cot inside.

“Wake me when it’s time to move.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

After I lay down, Diablo stepped outside the tent and silently took up a guard position beside the entrance.

The exhaustion from the long flight caught up with me almost instantly.

The moment I closed my eyes, the nightmare returned.

I found myself standing in the middle of a city reduced to rubble.

Buildings that had once scraped the sky were now nothing but shattered concrete.

Fires burned everywhere, and thick black smoke covered the sky.

The streets were littered with destroyed vehicles and countless bodies.

Some wore military uniforms.

Others wore costumes I recognized all too well.

Captain America’s shield lay split in half.

Mjolnir rested on the ground, cracked down the middle.

Even Iron Man’s armour had been torn apart as if it were nothing more than scrap metal.

A metallic footstep echoed through the silence.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

I didn’t need to turn around.

I already knew who it was.

Ultron.

Dozens of drones marched behind him, filling the ruined streets like an endless army.

His glowing red eyes locked onto me before slowly shifting toward someone lying a short distance away.

Diablo.

He was kneeling on one knee, his suit torn apart, one arm completely missing.

Even then, he was trying to stand.

“My… Lord…”

Before I could move, Ultron casually raised one hand.

A crimson beam pierced Diablo’s chest.

His body froze before collapsing onto the broken pavement.

“No!” I tried to run toward him, but my legs refused to move.

It was as if the ground itself had trapped me.

Ultron continued walking until he stood only a few metres away.

“You were too slow.” His emotionless voice echoed across the destroyed city.

“You believed there was still time.” Red energy gathered in his palm.

“But time has run out.”

The beam shot toward me.

I bolted upright, gasping for air.

My entire body was drenched in cold sweat as my heart pounded violently against my chest.

For several seconds, I instinctively searched every corner of the tent, expecting to see silver metal and glowing red eyes staring back at me.

There was nothing.

Only silence.

Hearing the movement inside, Diablo immediately pulled back the tent flap and stepped in.

“My Lord,” he asked calmly, “do you require anything?”

I shook my head.

“Nothing.”

After taking a moment to calm my breathing, I looked at Diablo.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Hardly an hour, my Lord.”

I let out a quiet sigh.

After another nightmare like that, I had no intention of going back to sleep.

“Bring me a map of the area,” I said.

“Mark Klaue’s current location as well.”

“At once, my Lord.”

A few moments later, Diablo returned with a detailed map spread across a portable table.

Klaue’s base, the nearby roads, villages, and abandoned mining routes had all been marked in advance.

I studied it in silence, tracing the roads with my finger while trying to picture how everything would unfold.

A few minutes passed before something caught my attention.

“We’ve been looking at this the wrong way,” I muttered.

Diablo looked at me but remained silent.

“We’ve been planning to ambush Klaue while he’s moving.” My finger tapped the mark showing his base.

“Why? That gives him room to escape, and we’d have to deal with every variable along the way.”

I looked up at Diablo.

“Instead of waiting for him… why don’t we storm his base?”