Chapter 341
Chapter 341: Let’s Just Start Right Now. (2)
Puk!
“Cough!”
Puk!
“Gak!”
Puk!
“Uwaah!”
With every swing of Ghislaine’s hand, soldiers flew in all directions. In this place without knights, no one could stand against him.
“What, what the hell! Why is such a monster here!”
The soldiers dared not charge at him and retreated. It was clear that he was not someone they could confront.
Such a figure should have been monitored by knights with mana restraints.
“This guy is definitely a revolutionary!”
“He must have intentionally gotten captured here!”
“An executive! A member of the Revolutionary Group has come!”
At first, they thought he was just a drunken lunatic or a lackey of the revolutionaries. But seeing his strength, he looked more like an executive sent to topple the city.
The Revolutionary Group was notorious for its cruelty across the continent. If they succeeded in their revolution, not only the nobles living in the castle but also the soldiers following them would be wiped out.
The soldiers hesitated, fearing they might meet the same fate.
With the soldiers misinterpreting the situation, Ghislaine decided to keep up his act.
“It’s a revolution! Down with this filthy world!”
As Ghislaine shouted that, the soldiers panicked and tossed their weapons aside.
“Uwaaaah! Run away!”
“We can never win!”
“Hurry and call the knights!”
Ghislaine let the fleeing soldiers go. He picked up a sword that had fallen to the ground and sliced through all the prison bars.
“If you all want to run away, follow me. Got it?”
The people trapped inside just stared blankly at Ghislaine.
“What are you doing? I said follow me!”
Only then did they snap out of it. If they were trapped in the dungeon, chances were they would die here.
It didn’t matter if they were guilty or innocent. Many were unjustly imprisoned and simply forgotten, rotting away in the dungeon.
Martin’s administrative skills were so bad that calling it disastrous would be a compliment.
“Yes, yes! We’ll follow you!”
As soon as Ghislaine moved, the people immediately followed behind him.
Among them were likely innocent people and actual criminals. But since he couldn’t differentiate them right away, Ghislaine let everyone out for now.
Galbarik, who had escaped from the dungeon, asked, “Lord! What are we going to do now? Are we going to save those people too?”
“We need to get to the tunnel quickly. We have to bring the knights. The rest can come along as we go,” Ghislaine replied.
Ghislaine and the people headed straight for the tunnel.
The surroundings were already in chaos. It made sense, considering the people that had filled the prison had escaped.
Shouting echoed everywhere as soldiers moved about. It seemed the ones stationed on the outskirts were also mobilizing.
A few soldiers were guarding the tunnel too. Since it was unclear where the dwarves had come from, they were only keeping a wooden board over the tunnel, not sealing it off.
“Prisoners have escaped!”
With shouts echoing everywhere, the soldiers guarding the tunnel became increasingly tense, weapons at the ready.
They noticed Ghislaine and his group approaching and shouted, “Prisoners are coming this way!”
Swish!
“Cough!”
Ghislaine swiftly dealt with the soldiers. Although it was chaos, soldiers were not immediately rushing in, but more troops would soon gather.
The dwarves quickly entered the tunnel and manipulated the blocked door.
Click! Click! Click!
The door operated like a puzzle, requiring wooden pieces to fit together to open. Although it was made to prepare for being caught, its main intention was to block enemies and break down the tunnel.
“Lord!”
As the door opened, the waiting knights rushed in.
“We need to rescue the hostages before the city guard arrives. Let’s go quickly.”
Leading around twenty knights, Ghislaine went back out of the tunnel. The dwarves closed the door and prepared their weapons.
All the people entered safely inside the door. Among them were surely some wicked ones, but acting recklessly would get them axed by the dwarves, so they wouldn’t dare move carelessly.
The dwarves were excellent warriors too.
Outside, chaos reigned due to the freed people.
“They went toward the tunnel!”
“Kill anyone who resists!”
“Hurry and capture them!”
The soldiers poured in with a furious momentum. Some knights nearby had also joined the fray.
Ghislaine shook off the blood from his sword and asked, “Did everyone bring the armor?”
The knights smiled as they pushed their robes to the side, revealing they were all wearing the armor they had hidden outside the city.
“Well then, let’s go.”
Zing—!
Speed was essential for this operation. The knights activated their armor’s power from the start.
Boom!
Ghislaine moved, his eyes shining red. The leading soldiers, charging toward the tunnel, screamed as they flew backward.
Boom! Boom!
With the knights following, dozens of soldiers’ heads rolled in an instant.
Among the enemies were a few knights mixed in, but they couldn’t stop Ghislaine’s group.
Their level was low, and fewer than five knights were in their ranks.
“Uwaaaah! Who are these guys!”
As the soldiers at the front fell in droves, the remaining ones just screamed.
These were individuals who lacked experience in real combat. It was no surprise since Martin had inflated their numbers with money and power without any real plans to train elite forces.
In fact, the soldiers themselves hadn’t even intended to participate in proper training. In the West, no one stood a chance against the House of Marquis Roderick. Therefore, the soldiers could only become complacent.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the soldiers lunged at Ghislaine and the Knights of Penris, they were sent flying one after another. Those who opted not to charge were simply injured as they passed through.
Ghislaine and the knights quickly arrived at their targeted building.
[Emerald Corridor]
A building constructed for noble guests to stay and enjoy feasts. But in reality, it was used to imprison the families of the Drake Mercenary Group.
Occasionally, noble guests would use it too, but they were unaware the hostages were trapped in the same building.
“Here it is, let’s go in.”
The knights didn’t question how Ghislaine knew. If the lord said so, then that was it.
They dispatched the guards and entered, greeted only by a dark space.
With no guests and no feast taking place, the building felt utterly empty.
‘Is this the right place?’
The knights climbing the stairs behind Ghislaine expressed their doubts, seeing no one around.
But they quickly realized that was what made it even stranger.
‘No one being here doesn’t make sense.’
No matter how empty a building was, it was still a grand structure. There couldn’t possibly be no servants managing the place.
That meant…
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Doors opened all around, and soldiers burst out. Unlike the ones outside, they exuded the poise and momentum of elite troops.
Some were distinctly different from the standard soldiers in both weaponry and attire.
Surprised, the knights couldn’t hide their confusion at the mismatch of uniforms.
Those strolling about like that were usually bandits, thieves, or…
“Mercenaries?”
The knights appeared slightly startled. They unmistakably resembled mercenaries.
Knowing some of them were ex-mercenary knights made it easier to identify.
Ghislaine looked around at the enemies and spoke.
“They’re the traitors from the Drake Mercenary Group.”
“Those guys?”
“Yeah, they’ve been uncleanly profiting from Martin’s money for a long time. That’s why they’re guarding this place.”
“So many traitors? Doesn’t Dominic know about this?”
“It’s easy enough to deceive each other. They take turns watching when there’s nothing going on. But… why do I feel like there are quite a few gathered today?”
As Ghislaine spoke with a smile, a rough-looking mercenary stepped forward.
“Who are you? How do you know all this? You definitely have a face I’ve never seen before!”
“And you are?”
“I’m Hampton, the deputy of the Drake Mercenary Group. I’ll ask once more: who are you?”
“The new master of the Drake Mercenary Group.”
“What?”
“I’ll be taking over the mercenary group now.”
“Ha, are you crazy? Did you really order Dominic to summon the mercenaries?”
“Yeah. Why are you all still here? If the leader called for you, wouldn’t you head over right away? Is it because you’re traitors that you refuse to listen?”
At that, Hampton chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders.
“What on earth are you thinking? You weren’t planning to storm this place, were you? You gathered your entire force and only sent this few here? Are you baiting us?”
Hampton seemed to misunderstand the situation. He thought Dominic would aim for this place as his last desperate move, gathering the traitors.
If Dominic summoned all the mercenaries, nearly three thousand troops would assemble. Even if the city guards were gathered and fought around the mansion, victory wouldn’t come easily.
Creating internal discord was difficult since Dominic suddenly gathered forces.
After all, Dominic was the one who initially built the mercenary group, gaining immense support from the mercenaries, making it hard to create discord.
Thus, he brought only the traitors and those who followed him to use as hostages.
Ghislaine quickly grasped the situation and nodded.
“Well, this works out. You’ve mistakenly gathered here. I can take out the trash all at once.”
“Don’t get cocky. As long as we hold the hostages, there’s nothing you can do. You really think you can break through with just this many?”
Including the mercenaries, there were over two hundred individuals guarding the place. Although the soldiers didn’t even make up half of that, with all the traitors gathered, it was a number that couldn’t be ignored.
There was no way they could stop just twenty-some intruders.
Hampton swung a massive iron mace, shouting, “Kill them all!”
Before the words left his mouth, the mace flew straight at Ghislaine.
Swish.
Bam!
“Uh?”
But the mace only smashed into the innocent floor. Ghislaine had disappeared in an instant.
“Grrr…”
Hampton, about to turn his head in confusion, suddenly fell, spewing blood from his mouth.
The blood that gushed from his cleanly beheaded neck instantly stained the floor red.
Everyone around looked surprised, glancing around frantically. Ghislaine had somehow slipped through the soldiers.
Those who couldn’t use mana didn’t even notice his movements. They looked at Hampton’s corpse and Ghislaine in disbelief.
“What? H-Hampton was killed in one blow?”
“I-I didn’t even see it.”
“How did he do that? No matter how much of a knight…”
Hampton was at least an entry-level knight who could use mana. That was why he was suited to be the deputy of the mercenary group.
Even if everyone was a knight, they believed they could handle this many without difficulty.
But to cut off Hampton’s neck so easily and then get through these people!
The peaceful citizens living in the western city had never witnessed such skill.
Ghislaine glanced coldly at the knights before speaking.
“Kill them all. I’ll go ahead.”
No matter how well-trained they might be, they were only the mansion’s guard and mercenaries. There would be no challenge for the Knights of Penris.
The knights, receiving Ghislaine’s order, showed their teeth and grinned.
They instantly unleashed mana, breaking through the ranks of soldiers and mercenaries.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Uwaaaah!”
As the knights moved, screams erupted from all directions.
Their appearance resembled wolves lunging into a flock of sheep. The wolves of Penris effortlessly slaughtered the soldiers and mercenaries.
To those experienced in countless battles, the complacent and lethargic individuals were no match.
As the knights massacred the enemies, Ghislaine quickly eliminated the soldiers guarding the upper floors.
Then he began to rescue those trapped inside.
“Everyone out! We need to escape quickly!”
As Ghislaine shouted and opened the door, the trapped people looked astonished.
“It’s someone sent by Dominic! Hurry out!”
Hearing his cry, others cautiously opened their doors. When they saw the dead soldiers, they gasped but quickly grasped the situation and gathered on one side of the hallway.
As all the doors opened, over fifty people gathered. Ghislaine meticulously checked all the remaining rooms and shouted.
“Follow me! We’re getting out of here before the soldiers regroup!”
The people hesitated to move. They understood the situation after seeing the soldiers’ corpses, but the fear that had built up was too immense.
Martin had been such a terrifying presence to them.
Boom!
Seeing those in shock, Ghislaine clicked his tongue and stomped on the ground.
The floor crumbled beneath them, causing people to stumble. Fearful gazes turned towards Ghislaine.
There was no time to convince or soothe each of them. They had to follow. Ghislaine spoke firmly.
“If you don’t move now, I’ll behead you.”
People followed behind Ghislaine with fear. He was an incredible powerhouse who could single-handedly kill soldiers. They understood the hint from the move he had just shown.
Having lived under threats, they were quick to respond to intimidation.
While Ghislaine was gathering people upstairs, the first floor situation was already sorted. Seeing bloody knights and piles of corpses, the people shut their eyes tight.
As the group emerged from the building, soldiers flooded in from all directions. Ghislaine stepped forward first and shouted.
“I’ll clear a path! Protect the people!”
Boom!
As Ghislaine attempted to break through, the soldiers were helplessly crushed. Poorly formed lines and blindly charging soldiers could never hope to stand against him.
Of course, even if Martin’s soldiers had formed a proper line, it wouldn’t have made a difference.
“Uwaah!”
“What the hell is this guy!”
“Block him!”
The soldiers tried to resist, but it was futile.
Slash!
With each swing of Ghislaine’s sword, a soldier’s head flew. Seeing this, some soldiers who were rushing in retreated instead.
Ghislaine swiftly broke through the soldiers, soon reaching the tunnel entrance with the people in tow.
“Quick, get inside!”
Overwhelmed by Ghislaine’s momentum, the people complied and entered the tunnel readily. It was the same whether they died this way or another.
Just as Ghislaine felt a sense of relief that it might be over, a woman looked at him and said, “U-Um, I don’t see the leader’s family.”
“What?”
“I don’t see Dominic’s family!”
Since they were locked up in separate rooms, no one knew what had happened. But Ghislaine quickly grasped the situation.
The enemies were aware that Dominic was gathering his troops. If that was the case, they might have separated Dominic’s family to prepare for the worst.
Other hostages had value, but the leader’s family carried even greater worth.
And if they had been taken separately, they would likely be next to Martin.
Ghislaine bit his lip slightly.
“I thought this would be easy, but things aren’t going my way.”
From the unfortunate capture of Galbarik, everything seemed to spiral out of control. But when had anything been easy?
Ghislaine glanced around. Many more soldiers were gathering than before. It seemed most of the mansion’s knights had also converged toward the tunnel.
Taking a deep breath, Ghislaine turned and said, “Lucas, Gordon, come with me. We’re going to find the missing people.”
The two called jumped in surprise.
