## Chapter 256 – Counterattack (7)
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Sir Parlocchino, or the man known as the Gallant Parlocchino.
Sometimes called “The Mediator,” he was known as the leader of a mid-sized cartel called the Parlocchino Cartel.
“I apologize for the late greeting. I am Parlocchino.
Though I am but a humble man, I lead a group of gallant comrades who share my ideals.”
What made the Parlocchino Cartel famous was that they did not engage in cartel activities for their own profit.
‘I heard he wasn’t a completely rotten guy…’
While most cartels were formed as interest groups, they were so detached from such things that they had no interest in production or monetary activities.
It wasn’t like they engaged in petty extortion like collecting protection money either.
Rather, they were more like a vigilante group that led the way in preventing illegal or harmful activities within their territory.
The residents within that territory were grateful to Parlocchino and voluntarily offered him various goods or money, which helped maintain the facade of a cartel.
Of course, most of these offerings, unless they were essential necessities, were almost always turned away by his subordinates.
“You don’t need to glance over there so much.
I’m the one talking right now.”
Parlocchino chuckled and gave a good-natured smile at Vivian’s gaze towards the group behind him.
This revealed another characteristic.
They were an exceptional cartel composed of a small elite force.
Unlike most cartels that focused on numbers and used manpower as their strength, his cartel was famous for rarely accepting new members.
Only one type of person could join his cartel.
In Parlocchino’s words, only those called “Gallants.”
Those who were virtuous, loved justice, and had the ideology of walking the path of righteousness.
If the mind is righteous, the body will also be righteous, and such people are bound to be strong, so those who are not cannot walk the same path as him.
A small vigilante group, in the truest sense of the word.
That was the code of conduct stemming from the beliefs of the cartel’s leader, Parlocchino.
The gender ratio was surprisingly dismal, close to 8 to 1, but there were women, so the group of a dozen or so was co-ed.
Rumor had it that the women weren’t combatants, but seeing them here, that might not be entirely true.
In any case, those who seemed like a small number to be the entire cartel’s force were, in fact, the total strength of the Parlocchino Cartel.
Despite their size, they had angered the Deckard Cartel, the most prominent cartel in the royal capital, harassed them for months while evading them, and ultimately, the lack of progress in capturing them led to the matter fizzling out.
Therefore, the fact that they were classified as a mid-sized cartel with only that many members meant that they were highly skilled individuals.
Considering that Vivian had destroyed three small cartels and brought over thirty people, including Ranie and additional captive females for a diversion, the members of that group must be even stronger.
“I’m also called… The Mediator…
But my role is closer to retribution.
You have disrupted the balance.
I cannot overlook such actions, which is why I have come here.”
“Disrupted the balance? On what grounds do you say that?
Rather, the people here have been liberated from the cartels.
I didn’t just fight and win against those things to expand my territory.”
“If there are those who have been liberated, there will also be those who covet them.
Then, someone will shed blood in the next fight due to someone filled with desire.
The imbalance brought about by disrupting a peaceful situation is like that.”
It was a peculiar logic, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Vivian slightly raised the corner of her lips and retorted at his words, which seemed to refer to peace in a dictionary sense rather than peace in a rational sense.
“That’s sophistry. Is it balanced to be dominated by someone and groan in pain?
Then shouldn’t the famous Parlocchino Cartel have stepped in at that time?”
“The previous situation was the best balance for the time being.
Without numerous cartels existing…
Without the unilateral domination of a small number either.
As you know, we are a minority.
It is inevitable that there are places beyond our reach, and we cannot care for every place.
How about seeing the world with a broader perspective, Slaughtering Succubus?”
“I don’t know about that…
But I think that nickname is a little annoying.
It’s not like I wanted to be like that.”
“A title you unintentionally acquired…?
Haha!! Well, that might be true.”
He twisted his spear slightly, pulling it out from between Vivian and Deborah, and burst into hearty laughter.
Then, he retrieved his spear, pointing its tip towards Vivian.
“To summarize, you ambushed three cartels and murdered their leaders.
From now on, there will be bloody infighting among the cartel’s subordinates for the leader’s position.
Or other mid-sized cartels will clash over the vacant houses.
Now is the time to pay the price for disrupting that peace and balance…”
“Stop, Parlocchino.”
But Vivian’s eyes narrowed at the sight of another sword pointing towards Parlocchino.
“Investigator Deborah. I know that is your job.
But I, too, must do my job.
Won’t you please step aside from the back alleys…?”
“You disgusting bastard… Your attitude of presuming to be above the solemn national law is sophistry in itself.
Your and your gang’s unauthorized vigilante activities are strictly illegal and criminal acts.
Didn’t I tell you? I’m going to arrest you too.”
“If you could, it would be an honor to be captured by a beautiful lady.
But since you haven’t been able to catch me until now, it will be difficult for you to catch me in the future.”
“Shut up…!”
Deborah, seemingly furious at Parlocchino’s provocation, thrust at him with a composed swordsmanship, continuously striking down his spear tip and charging into his arms.
Considering the fight against Sistina’s paladin that she had faced before, it was a textbook swordsmanship.
If she could just strike down the spear tip, the spear, with its excessively wide range of motion, would have no choice but to retreat to inflict meaningful damage.
But if he were vulnerable to such a thing, it would mean that Parlocchino had won his leader position by playing Ddakji.
As if to prove that wasn’t the case, Parlocchino was confusing Deborah by moving the spear shaft in a dazzling manner.
He constantly changed the position of his grip on the spear shaft, making it seem sometimes longer and sometimes shorter.
It was an act that required instantaneous judgment and the ability to quickly readjust the spear and apply force again, but Parlocchino was deflecting all of Deborah’s sword strikes without a single mistake.
His spear technique was so close to divine that even Vivian, who was watching it, was momentarily stunned and could only stare at the spearplay.
But Vivian, too, quickly began to rush towards Parlocchino.
“Ugh!! What? I’ll arrest you later, so get out of the way…!!”
In any case, Vivian couldn’t handle Parlocchino and his gang alone, no matter what direction she took.
“Don’t you know that the enemy of my enemy is my friend?
Let’s get rid of that guy first and then talk!!”
That being said, the succubus had already been allowed to escape, but even if they were still here, they wouldn’t be enough to stop them.
As a thorough underdog and a minority in the current situation, there was no solution to this situation for Vivian other than the method she was currently considering.
“Tch…”
Vivian, who had joined Deborah and began to focus on disrupting his spear, was using all her strength to counter the opponent’s spear in order to break through Deborah’s swordsmanship, who was clicking her tongue and matching her movements from the side.
‘For an old spear, how can it be so sturdy…!!’
Vivian was gritting her teeth and swinging her sword at the sight of the old wooden spear shaft, which looked like it would break soon, enduring not only her strength but also her sword strikes.
And as if mocking her, Parlocchino’s spearplay made her take a step back, then quickly jump forward, causing her to make a futile swing, and her chest was slightly grazed as if poked.
Even without Nemea, she would have barely had a mark, let alone been stabbed, and Vivian, whose venom was rising sharply, was accelerating her body even faster.
“You’re… toying with me…?”
Of course, what good is pride in the face of death, but she was going to die anyway.
With the thought of landing a proper blow, she glanced slightly at Deborah, who was engaging him right next to her.
“Go in…!!”
“What…?”
“Two… three…!!”
As Deborah, taken aback by the sudden command, charged forward, Vivian, who had been pretending to deflect the opponent’s spear with her sword, abandoned her sword with a venomous expression and grabbed the spear shaft.
‘You wouldn’t have known this…!!’
Deborah was charging into Parlocchino’s arms, so there was no way he, with his weapon blocked, could deal with Deborah.
The moment the spear shaft was firmly grasped in her hands, a faint smile appeared on Vivian’s lips.
But Vivian’s smile didn’t last long as she felt a sense of unease from the feeling of the spear shaft she was holding.
‘Why… isn’t he pulling, but pushing…’
“Ugh…!!”
Parlocchino’s action of pushing the spear shaft instead of pulling it to take it away from her.
As a result, Vivian’s body, which had momentarily shifted its center of gravity to withstand the pull, was tilting backward.
As she fell backward, the spear shaft she was unconsciously holding tightly had quickly reached the front of her neck.
As she hurriedly twisted her neck to the side to avoid the spear, the spear was vertically embedded into the ground with a loud thud.
Parlocchino, who had been dragged along as if he were defying gravity and stuck to the end of the spear, dodged Deborah’s attack and flew forward with the spear, standing on it as if he were standing on a pole.
From above, about the height of a spear shaft above Vivian, who had ended up lying on the floor in a large “大” shape, Parlocchino was quietly looking down at her.
“You don’t hesitate to throw yourself…
What would you have done if you had died like that?”
