Le Roi du Mal (King of Evil)

A colorful set of characters, mostly ruined French aristocrats, bohemian idlers and ladies of the night, are obsessing about finding the mythical ​“treasure of the Khmers”. Expect a lot of true-to-form jury deliberations, gothic atmosphere galore, hyper-realistic jail scenes, imbroglio mixing adultery amongst the rich and famous, underworld ​‘bandit’ misdeeds and even homicides.

In volume I and II of this meandering, noir-decadent story, Exupere, a scientist who would end up tortured by the Wolves, had managed to decipher a Khmer inscription: ​“TROISIÈME ORIENT… YACKSA COLOSSE… NAGA DOIGT DE PRÉA PUT… DEUX LIS… DOIGT DU ROI… OMBRE CROISÉE, LA EST LE TRÉSOR DES KHMERS A ANGKOR WAT”. [“THIRD ORIENT.. YACKSA GIANT… NAGA FINGER OF PREA PUT… TWO LILIES… FINGER OF THE KING… CROSSED SHADOW, THERE IS THE TREASURE OF THE KHMERS AT ANGKOR WAT”]. On-site, and after sudying a third fragment engraved on a looted statue, he would grasp the hidden message indicating the place where the treasure had been buried: ​“Au troisième pavillon oriental auprès de la statue d’un Yachsa (géant) colossal, appuyé sur des nagas (serpents), le doigt étendu de Préa Put [Buddha, in Khmer] se croise avec l’ombré du doigt du Roi Lépreux: à l’intersection des ombres, là se trouve le trésor des Khmers, à Angkor Wat.”[At the third eastern pavilion near the statue of a colossal Yachsa (giant), leaning on nagas (snakes), the extended finger of Prea Put [Buddha, in Khmer] crosses with the shadow of the finger of the Leper King: at the intersection of shadows, there is the treasure of the Khmers, in Angkor Wat.] (p 325 – 326)

Thus, the hoodlums are pointed to a ​“treasure of science, knowledge and riches” buried in ​‘Ang Kor wat’. But a squad of righteous French and Cambodian volunteers had boarded the clipper L’Esperance (Expectation), barely survived its wreck, were rescued to Saigon and then ​“immediately set for Angkor.” With the support of French colonial troops, they confront the wolves amongst the ruins, helped by Khmer locals set to challenge the ​‘sacrilege’. The treasure will remain untouched, and the wolves are defeated.