Chapter 387
Chapter 387 This is an Opportunity. (1)
Marquis Roderick, upon hearing the news from the capital, began to dream of new ambitions. However, the instigator of that situation had no time to ponder such political issues.
The Priest of the Salvation Society, Raviere, only managed to catch his breath after reaching a desolate area away from the capital.
“Phew… I can’t believe I’d go through such agony.”
It was of no concern that all the organizations attempting to incite a rebellion during the civil war had been uncovered. That wasn’t his mission.
But it was a problem that some plans had been ruined because of that Count Penris. His identity had been exposed, and he lost all the Holy Knights he was researching.
“Count Penris… Because of that bastard…”
His own existence and that of the Holy Knights made the Salvation Society known to the world. Of all times, even members who appeared to be from the Juana Sect were there.
“How on earth do they know my identity and the sect’s?”
He had not finished preparing yet and had already revealed all his strength. This was indisputable evidence.
As Raviere moved forward, he couldn’t sort through the chaos in his mind.
“If they knew about us, why have they been silent until now?”
He was certain they knew his name and the sect’s name perfectly well. Yet, Count Penris had not shown even a hint that he suspected anything.
No matter how much he pondered, it was maddening.
At that moment, the pain he felt in his arm disrupted the train of thought that seemed to spiral endlessly.
“Ugh… What injury is this…?”
Raviere gritted his teeth and looked down at his wounded arm. It appeared to have healed on the outside, but internally, the energy was still surging. Even the slightest exertion would cause the wound to reopen.
He needed to calmly control his energy, but for now, that was impossible. He had to find a safe place, not knowing when or where a pursuer might appear.
“Is it impossible to go directly to the south?”
The south, where the Duke Faction resides, was the safest, but it was far away. For now, he had to treat his injury and recover his strength.
Choosing only deserted paths for days, Raviere soon made his decision on his destination.
“I must head to the Baronial Territory of Elbermal.”
It was the closest territory of a Crown Prince faction noble. Though it was a Crown Prince faction territory, there was also a hiding spot for the Duke faction in the Baronial Territory of Elbermal, so he could stay hidden there for a while.
As he cautiously moved along the mountain path, he suddenly stopped and looked around.
“They’re already onto me and chasing…”
The flow of the wind was strange. Not even an insect chirped. The heavy air seemed to press in around him.
Crash!
As Raviere drew on his strength, the Black Energy began to envelop his body once more.
At the same time, figures clad in thick robes and masks appeared from all directions.
Thin physiques with sharp gazes. There were about ten of them, exuding an aura akin to razor-sharp daggers.
Raviere looked at them and gave a sneer.
“Are they elves?”
There were several groups pursuing him. Among them was a faction made up of elves. It seemed that those nearest had followed him here.
Among those surrounding Raviere, a person who seemed to be the leader pushed back their hood and spoke.
“By the energy, it must be the Salvation Society. We will capture you alive. Come quietly.”
“How arrogant of you, filthy slaves.”
At those words, the elf frowned. Leaving their compatriots to live as slaves hurt them too. But they had an even more important mission.
“I won’t waste words. Just tell me where your base and the others are.”
Raviere shrugged and laughed.
“Do I look like an ordinary priest?”
“What?”
“If you want to capture me, you should have sent someone stronger than you.”
Crash!
The Black Energy surged more vigorously around Raviere’s body.
There was no need to show the form of a demon like when he fought Ghislaine, a master-level mage.
The elves stiffened at the sight of the power Raviere emitted.
“A Bishop level. Everyone, be careful.”
As the leader issued the warning, the elves summoned various spirits to attack Raviere.
Boom!
The forces clashed intensely. All the elves were mid-tier spirit mages, and there were many of them. But Raviere could display a power comparable to that of a 7-circle mage without unleashing all his strength.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In a place devoid of others, yet again, a conflict between the two powers ignited once more.
Neither Raviere nor the elves could imagine that they were being watched by someone.
— Master! That guy is fighting again! Fight!
The Dark Magic that Ghislaine attached to Raviere began relaying live reports of the situation.
Though Ghislaine had returned to the territory after receiving the Dragon Heart, he continued to receive updates on Raviere’s movements intermittently.
Upon hearing that Raviere was fighting, curiosity sparked in him.
“Fighting? Who is he fighting?”
“Is it a pursuit team sent by Marquis Branford?”
Marquis Branford immediately formed a pursuit team upon hearing Ghislaine’s words. However, they had already lost track of Raviere.
— No! It’s elves! They look like spirit mages!
“Elves? Spirits?”
— Yes, it’s elves! But seeing the spirits in person, they don’t seem like my friends. It feels quite different.
Dark showed more interest in the spirits before his eyes than in the current situation. Ghislaine nodded and muttered to himself.
“Elves… I can guess which side.”
— What? You know?
“Yeah, I know someone.”
— A person you knew in your previous life? All the elves in the territory were a bit on the slow side, right?
“Well, sort of.”
In his previous life, there were a few individuals who had a terrible relationship with the Salvation Society. They were so busy that they couldn’t understand why they were being so high-strung over a cult.
But now it seemed they had been at each other’s throats for a long time.
“Are they stuck because the restrictions aren’t lifted yet? That’s unfortunate. If they had acted directly, Raviere would have become a bloody mess.”
Ghislaine laughed, recalling the elf called the Guardian of the World Tree. She possessed truly overwhelming power. The fact that the Salvation Society relied on her current restrictions was something they should be grateful for.
If she had taken action, Raviere wouldn’t have been able to flee easily.
“How’s the battle going?”
— Watching the fight is so much fun!
“…I said to report the situation.”
— They’re no match at all. The spirits can’t even penetrate his energy.
— Ah, two have already died.
— Five have died.
— Wow, one of them is fighting pretty well though?
— …They’re all dead. This guy is really strong. Even with injuries and one arm gone, this is his level. It looks like the master knows how to fight well.
Thanks to Dark’s enthusiastic updates, Ghislaine could picture the rough situation in his mind.
“The elves will find it difficult to operate, so it won’t be easy.”
If it were another priest, the elves would easily capture them. But Raviere was a powerful figure sitting in a fairly high position within the sect.
To catch him, stronger individuals would need to move significantly more, but avoiding human eyes while doing so would be difficult.
After all, when humans see elves, they would surge forward to slave them.
“What is he doing?”
— He’s moving again.
“How long do you think he can hold out?”
— I don’t know. He can’t properly heal himself right now, so he’s holding back, but it won’t be easy to stay out long.
“Hmm… We must catch even a small clue. At the very least, a hideout.”
— His energy is decreasing. The distance is widening. I can feel that the connection in consciousness is progressively slowing down.
Dark’s real consciousness was within Ghislaine. Since he had sent part of his awareness out, the connection would naturally weaken as his strength diminished.
“Hold out as long as you can.”
— Understood.
At least he was glad to know that the Duke faction and the Salvation Society had already been allies since this time. They could prepare for both the Salvation Society and the Age of Turmoil simultaneously.
Unbeknownst to him, while Ghislaine was monitoring through Dark, Raviere, who had killed the elves, moved his tired body once more.
“Phew… I never thought it would come to this…”
He had to quickly get to a hideout, treat his injuries, and recover. The elves would have a hard time moving openly, so it wouldn’t be easy for them to track him down any further.
But he couldn’t let his guard down. Now that his identity was revealed, the nobles from the Crown Prince faction wouldn’t stay quiet either.
Raviere moved as cautiously as he could, leaving as little trace as possible. The longer it took him to move, the more unavoidable it became.
No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t keep fighting in his injured state.
“I’m almost there.”
Wearing the robe he took from the elves, Raviere entered the Baronial Castle of Elbermal stealthily.
There was also a group that planned to create unrest during the civil war here. He could hide there for a while.
However, when Raviere reached the secret organization of the Duke faction that was disguised as a merchant group, he was taken aback.
“What in the…?”
It looked like a major battle had occurred; the building was nearly halfway destroyed. Debris was strewn everywhere, and blood decorated the surroundings.
There were no commoners around, only knights and soldiers.
“How… How could this happen…?”
Raviere couldn’t get a grip. Unless there were traitors, this didn’t make sense.
How could every hideout he visited be in ruins?
The knights didn’t let Raviere stew in confusion. One knight looked at him and said,
“What’s that? What are you doing here? Seems suspicious. Bring him in.”
Most estates had already received official documents about the attacks on the Duke faction’s hidden organizations through the swiftest messengers. Naturally, the existence of monsters had also been revealed.
The people nearby had all been evacuated, and rumors of danger spread, so Raviere’s subtle approach couldn’t be overlooked.
As the soldiers heard the knight’s command, they approached Raviere.
“Hey, come along.”
Despite the soldier’s words, Raviere remained silent.
“What are you doing? I told you to follow!”
The soldier tried to grab his arm, but only caught an empty sleeve.
Soon, the soldier turned pale and shouted.
“It’s… It’s a one-armed man! He seems to be the one from the official document! It’s the one-armed guy!”
Bang!
The soldier’s head burst open in an instant. The knight who witnessed this blew the whistle.
Wheew!
Simultaneously, all the knights and soldiers nearby moved.
“Grab him!”
“Definitely a beast from the capital!”
“Kill him on sight!”
Raviere erupted with Black Energy once again.
“These bastards…”
Boom!
The Black Energy he projected pierced through the approaching soldiers. It didn’t take long to kill a few knights either.
‘I need to get out of here.’
Soon the entirety of the castle’s soldiers would come rushing in. It wouldn’t be impossible to wipe them all out, but that would only heighten the danger.
‘I can’t afford to exert more strength here.’
He had no idea how many were tracking him. As more powerful knights and soldiers gathered, it would only become more difficult to escape.
On top of that, the elves were also chasing his movements. He had to conserve as much power as possible.
Raviere immediately turned and began to flee again.
Having run away in such an arrogant manner was an experience he had never had before, and it made him feel an overwhelming rage.
“Ughhh! Just how! How do you know everything?!”
There was no doubt. The Crown Prince faction clearly knew their hideout and were launching attacks.
Plus, he had evidently fallen under a bounty.
At this rate, he couldn’t head south. The pathways were surely all blocked.
To break through, someone had to come to help him.
“Count Penris… It must be his doing.”
That bastard, who knew his name and identity, was definitely the one feeding all the information.
“I will kill him. I will definitely kill him.”
Raviere ground his teeth and began moving towards a desolate area. Even if he had to kill someone, he had to survive first.
Once hidden, Raviere fell into deep thought.
“The pathway south has likely been blocked. And nearby hideouts are probably all smashed. Then…”
Regardless of the Duke faction, the Salvation Society had prepared a separate hideout for contingency.
However, he couldn’t recklessly head there. If he were to get caught, it would become troublesome.
Moreover, it wouldn’t help if that location had already been discovered.
As he bit his lip in thought, Raviere suddenly shook his head.
“No, no. That place likely hasn’t been exposed yet. The places the Crown Prince faction is attacking were all prepared by the Duke faction for the civil war.”
Even their hostile forces were unaware of that place’s existence. They didn’t even know what actions they were taking there.
If that place had been uncovered, chaos would have already ensued.
“There’s no choice but to go there…”
He needed a place to rest and recover his strength before heading out again. And there were no suitable hideouts in the vicinity now.
He turned his direction and moved east. Since Count Penris seemingly only knew part of their plans, Raviere proceeded with extreme caution.
Finally, he arrived at a small village on the path to the east. It was a very peaceful place filled with the sounds of people laughing and chatting.
After observing the village from a distance to be sure, Raviere smiled.
“Looks like they don’t even know about this place.”
This was a location that the church had been meticulously guarding for decades, maintaining a secret for so long.
Even Count Penris would find it hard to reach this far.
After surveying his surroundings, Raviere slowly approached the village. As expected, no one seemed to be chasing him.
And Dark relayed that scene back to Ghislaine.
— After running for a while, he entered a small village?
“A village? For someone who’s escaping?”
— Yeah. It’s just a small village, so is he thinking of resting here, or might he kill all the villagers before leaving?
“What village is it?”
As Ghislaine unfolded the map, Dark diligently pointed out the route.
The moment Ghislaine found out the location of that village, his expression stiffened.
“This place…”
It was undoubtedly a place he was familiar with. One of the locations that became extremely famous in his previous life.
A mysterious passage that continuously spewed forth creatures from another realm during the Age of Turmoil.
This was precisely the place known as the “Rift.”
