Chapter 389
Chapter 389: This is an Opportunity. (3)
The knights took a step back upon seeing the grotesque, wriggling creatures.
It wasn’t out of fear. It was an instinctive sense of repulsion they couldn’t shake off.
They echoed Ghislaine’s words.
“Mutants? What are those?”
“Anything would be better than looking at this.”
Ghislaine waved her sword and informed them.
“Weird energies are spreading here. These creatures have been affected. They aren’t that strong, so it shouldn’t be difficult to deal with them.”
As the knights focused their minds, they indeed felt the subtle energy permeating the area.
It was an ominous and unpleasant aura. The energy seemed to be trying to invade their bodies little by little.
Even breathing seemed to let the aura seep in naturally. The knights shouted in panic.
“What the hell! What is this energy?”
“If you don’t concentrate, you won’t know!”
“Damn it, I feel like I’ve already swallowed a few mouthfuls.”
As the knights made a fuss, Ghislaine clicked her tongue and continued.
“That much won’t affect you, so there’s no need to worry. If you go to a place without energy and do some Mana Circulation or wait it out, it will disappear on its own. It’s only dangerous for ordinary people; for those who handle mana, it’s not a major threat for a short time.”
“How do you know that, Lord?”
“I know everything.”
“Oh, uh….”
The knights simply nodded along. They had no rebuttals since this was the usual way. Though it sounded a bit arrogant, the lord indeed knew everything.
“Anyway, it’s nothing to be scared of for you.”
Mutants were faster and stronger than ordinary folks. But even so, they were only about the level of trained soldiers.
If there were many, they could be threatening, but not for the knights present.
Vanessa spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“I-I’ll get rid of them.”
It’s better to eliminate the grotesque ones quickly. Trying to not leave even a corpse behind, she began gathering her magic.
But Ghislaine stopped her and smiled at the knights.
“You’re going to see them often from now on, so you all need to get used to it, right?”
In other words, she meant to act immediately. Kaor and the knights ran out, looking uncomfortable while wielding their weapons.
Sshhhhhhh…
The mutants also made strange sounds as they extended their tentacle legs toward the knights.
Gordon shouted while cutting off a leg coming his way.
“Damn! This is disgusting! Their blood is green too!”
The sensation felt at his fingertips was extremely unpleasant. In terms of grossness, Palor and Grex seen in the Forest of Monsters didn’t even compare.
And there was another problem.
Szzz!
“Uh? What?!”
Knights, splattered by the mutants’ blood in the air, stepped back in horror.
They were all draped in cloaks over their armor. The spots stained by the mutants’ green blood emitted a nauseating smell as they started to burn.
Seeing this, Ghislaine said,
“That creature’s blood is acidic poison. It will sting if it touches you.”
“Then you should have told us beforehand!”
“Who informs everyone while fighting? Just be careful because all sorts of creatures are going to show up in the future.”
“Ah!”
Ghislaine didn’t inform them because the knights would still have to withstand the impacts to learn from the experience. Though, most of the time, it came with considerable pain.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The mutant creatures quickly fell as their heads(?) split open. Since the numbers were relatively small, the knights didn’t take too long to finish them off.
Szzz…
The mutants’ blood sank into the ground, releasing a pungent odor.
Lucas murmured while witnessing this.
“Ugh… This is going to be really hard for regular soldiers, isn’t it?”
Their combat power was weak, but that poison was a problem. It wasn’t too dangerous for the knights, but those without mana would struggle just from the smell.
If they inhaled that odor for too long, they would surely fall into a serious state of poisoning.
Having finished off the mutants, Ghislaine led the knights toward the Old Man’s House.
The old man was already outside, aware that the village had been attacked.
Ghislaine asked him,
“Are you the one in charge?”
“Yeah, I’m the village chief of this town.”
“You’ve had a hard time pretending to be ordinary. Raviere should be inside, right?”
“……”
The old man clenched his teeth. Indeed, he had a tail. One of the most important tasks of the cult was about to be ruined.
The old man looked around. The emblem on the knights’ chests, the distant soldiers surrounding the village with their flags.
It was a noble crest well-known enough for even an old man in a rural village to recognize.
“Are you Count Penris?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you were in opposition to the Duke Faction, yet you tracked me all the way here… I should have gotten rid of you long ago.”
“It’s already too late, isn’t it?”
Ghislaine smirked with a face full of ridicule.
The reason she could spoil the plans of both the Duke Faction and the Salvation Society was thanks to the information from her previous life. Since the enemy didn’t know she had reincarnated, they had no reason to bother with her in the first place.
The old man glared at Ghislaine and said,
“God shall punish your arrogance.”
Grrrrrrrr!
The old man’s body suddenly began to grow larger. He had learned the Mana Circulation Method and was becoming a Holy Knight.
“Gwaaaah!”
The old man let out a hideous scream with shining red eyes. Yet, the knights looked on in fascination.
“Oh wow, so that’s the monster.”
“I’ve never seen someone transform this closely before.”
“This is my first time seeing it at all, and he really becomes super strong out of nowhere. He seems similar to us?”
He was just a monster spoken of in rumors. Some people had seen him from a distance when Ghislaine fought Harold, but most couldn’t focus on anything due to the chaotic fights with Desmond’s Army.
Even those who had seen him before found it a different experience to witness it right in front of them, feeling like they were seeing a celebrity.
The lack of tension seemed to leave even the transformed old man a bit confused.
“Gwaah!”
The half-mad old man charged at Ghislaine. At the same time, the knights blocked his path, brandishing their weapons.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“What is happening?!”
The knights who had thrust their swords were startled. Unlike the mutants, the swords didn’t sink into the old man’s body.
“Gwaah!”
The old man screamed as he swatted away the swords around him. Then he kicked the belly of a knight who was taken by surprise.
Whoosh!
“Gah!”
The knight kicked by the blow flew backward. The armor over the struck area crumpled like a dented can.
The tremendous power forced everyone to unconsciously step back.
“Dammit! Get out of the way!”
The self-proclaimed ‘genius of spear techniques’ and known as the ‘lonely whiner’ Lucas rushed in, stabbing his spear into the old man’s stomach.
A full-on attack infused with mana.
Thud!
“Eh?”
It went in, but not very deep. Lucas looked up at the giant old man’s face.
“This is insane…”
Whoosh!
“Gah!”
Barely lifting his arm to block before taking a hit to the face, Lucas was flung backward.
He rolled and shouted,
“Ahhh! I think my arm is broken!”
Lucas’s arm was indeed bent in a way that it shouldn’t be. This time it wasn’t an exaggeration.
“What kind of power is this…?”
The knights retreated again at the absurd strength. Their attacks weren’t working, and on top of that, he was wielding tremendous brute force.
If that old man had picked up a weapon, several knights might have already been dead.
It was said that those called Holy Knights grew stronger the higher their original realm of existence before transformation.
At that level, he was likely comparable to at least a mid-level knight or a low-level upper knight. Additionally, unlike other monsters, he seemed to retain a degree of reason.
Ghislaine looked at the old man and sneered.
“He didn’t become the chief of this village for nothing.”
He had the strength to oversee this place.
While acknowledging that the opponent was somewhat strong, Ghislaine was completely displeased with the knights’ reactions.
These were opponents they could have easily handled without completing the Mana Circulation Method using the Dragon Heart shards, yet they were overwhelmed by the intimidating presence.
Since their attacks weren’t landing, everyone was flustered and missed their chance.
As Kaor bristled and tried to step forward, Ghislaine stopped him.
“Pull yourself together. You have to get used to fighting those kinds of monsters too.”
At her words, discipline immediately returned to the bodies of the knights. If they continued to look foolish, they would have to return to hellish training.
The glint of intense bloodlust began to bloom in their eyes.
“Gwaah!”
The old man seemed displeased with their expressions and attacked around him even more fiercely.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Concentrated knights didn’t just take the hits like before. Amidst the jolting impacts, they raised their swords to block the old man’s attacks.
And using that opening, other knights attempted to strike back.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The blades still seemed to be bludgeoning rather than slicing properly. However, the knights remained composed, quickly swapping places and continuing to attack.
They had trained excessively for techniques to fight strong opponents.
Thudthudthudthud!
The knights, now relaxed, poured out their mana and hammered the old man’s body.
“Gwaah!”
The now-monster old man swung his fists wildly. Though a few knights were hit and tossed aside, it was no issue.
With no less than 200 knights taking turns to attack, the old man began to get pushed back.
“Let’s use axes!”
Someone shouted, and the knights dropped their swords, pulling hand axes from their belts.
Though not a weapon typically used by knights, everyone was accustomed to various types of equipment thanks to Ghislaine’s training.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The axes of the knights, infused with mana, stabbed countless times into the old man’s body.
“Gwaah!”
The monster’s solid defense ultimately depended on mana. Even if he felt no pain, his mana had to constantly deplete to protect his body.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The brawl between knights and the monster continued with no sign of stopping. The knights gritted their teeth and exploded with mana, causing the old man’s injuries to multiply.
“Now the weapons are actually landing!”
“Just a bit more, keep at it!”
“Kill him!”
Like the monster they fought, the knights also became tainted by madness.
These were individuals who had lived rugged lives from the start. As they double down on the fight, their stubbornness began to emerge.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Aside from those who had fallen back, over a hundred were attacking the same person.
The old man’s body quickly depleted mana and gradually became like a rag.
“We’re almost finished!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Gwaah!”
No matter how strong the old man was, it was really impossible to face off against 200 knights alone.
With his mana almost fully exhausted, every swing of the axe began to split him apart.
“Hey, hey! Get out of the way!”
Gordon charged at the old man, muscles bulging like a monster. He was the strongest among the knights of Penris when it came to raw strength.
Pressing in close, Gordon viciously grabbed the old man’s face and swung his axe down at his neck.
Crack!
“Grrr!”
The old man raised his arms to grab Gordon, but the other knights held onto his limbs to restrain him. The old man, already drained of strength, could hardly move.
Seizing the opportunity, Gordon relentlessly hacked at the old man’s neck.
“Die! Die! Just die already!”
Gordon too was sweating, drawing upon everything he had left.
He was truly a tough monster. Even accounting for being significantly stronger than regular monsters, he was exhausting to face.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Grrrr…”
Ultimately, the old man’s head was severed from his body by Gordon’s axe. Only then did the knights slump down to the ground, gasping for breath.
“Wow, that was really tough.”
“What if creatures like that rampaged across the battlefield by the hundreds?”
“Well, they’d just all die, right?”
To fight alone against 200 knights and hold out for so long; just the thought was terrifying.
When it came to sheer strength, he was on par with the greatest swordsman of the region. If there were hundreds like him, the battlefield would truly be devastated.
Of course, monsters of that caliber weren’t common. But that creature alone didn’t mean there wouldn’t be more.
As the knights grumbled, Ghislaine chuckled and stepped forward.
“Good job. But why are you so frightened? If all of you became as strong as him, there would be no problem.”
“……”
The knights couldn’t find words to respond and averted their gazes.
If all the knights of Penris, numbering around 400, possessed the same strength as that monster, then indeed, there wouldn’t be a problem.
But getting to that point would mean hellish training awaited them.
Leaving the resting knights behind, Ghislaine strode confidently toward the Old Man’s House.
It was a much larger house than the others. As Ghislaine approached, she spoke.
“Come out if you’ve finished your sightseeing.”
Creeeeak…
The one who emerged was Raviere, who had been hiding and recovering.
He glared at Ghislaine with a chilly demeanor and asked,
“How on earth did you find your way here?”
“You led me here, didn’t you?”
“There was no tracking.”
“That’s your thought.”
“……”
He had fought with elves and other territorial soldiers. Thus, he had been extra cautious.
With his own skills, he could feel the surrounding energies well enough. Before entering the village, he confirmed multiple times that there were no pursuers.
Yet, he simply couldn’t believe that Count Penris had tracked him down so easily.
“Who are you?”
There was no need to ask how she followed him; a more fundamental question needed to be asked.
For Raviere, the very existence of Ghislaine was incomprehensible.
Ghislaine smirked.
“You don’t need to know. Your role ends here. Thanks to you, I’ve learned something good.”
Raviere twisted his smile.
“No matter what you’ve learned, the result won’t change. Our grand design has already been prepared in full.”
“No, it’s going to change a lot now.”
Yes, it would surely differ from her previous life. At the very least, she could close half of the rift.
As Raviere looked at Ghislaine’s confident face, he gathered his power.
“No choice then. I will kill you here with all my strength.”
The numbers were too overwhelming for him to face alone. But there was no way to abandon this place. He had to use his life to kill Count Penris and protect the grand design somehow.
Grrrrrrrr!
Just as Raviere gathered his strength, he felt a presence behind him.
Screech!
