Chapter 456
Chapter 456: Found the Enemies (2)
What Ereness saw was a small forest near the Lord’s Castle. Perhaps not long ago, trees had been cut down and new saplings planted, as there were quite a few young trees.
In that forest, figures clad in black robes blended in with the surrounding energy, making it hard for the naked eye to discern them.
However, being a part of nature, they could not escape Ereness’ gaze.
Among the assassins, one with a bandaged face stood out particularly. Ereness held her breath as she recognized them.
Black energy surged out with every breath that person took.
Through her connection with nature, Ereness could even detect that energy.
‘This is the energy of the Salvation Society! Could this person be Melkir?’
Melkir frowned as he scanned the area. As an assassin, he was exceptionally sensitive to his surroundings.
— I can feel something unpleasant.
— Master, what should we do now?
— How many have died?
— Three have died.
— Hmm, it took longer than expected. I didn’t think the inspections would be this rigorous.
It was difficult to sneak from the South to the North. Even moving through rough terrains to avoid people’s eyes wasn’t easy.
Due to the war, patrols from various regions had intensified.
Ultimately, the assassins of the Black Moon had to fight several times after being discovered.
Though each member’s level was high and the leader, Melkir, was superhuman, some damage was inevitable.
Suddenly, Melkir chuckled as his body shuddered with excitement.
— At this point, we can assume that news has already reached Count Penris and Marquis Perdium. We need to make a move before they arrive.
— You mean we won’t wait? Our goal is to lure Count Penris, isn’t it?
— There’s no need to wait foolishly. If Count Penris is moving, our objective is already achieved. If he’s not, we should kill his family and set an example. Right?
— So then…
— Yes, it’s our last break. We’ll move once night falls deeper.
— Understood.
For Melkir, it was as good as having already succeeded in the operation. On the way here, he had revealed his skills several times due to the inspections. Hearing this news, Count Penris would have no choice but to act.
Now, the only thing left was to determine how deep of a despair to plunge him into.
— It’s time to enjoy ourselves until he arrives. I’m really looking forward to it.
As Melkir laughed, the moon was beginning to be obscured by dark clouds.
Bang!
Ereness opened her eyes. A green light flashed through her eyes.
“Cough!”
Ereness, who had just coughed up blood again, looked at a tiny crow waiting in front of her.
Dark had almost exhausted his magic over the days of waiting, shrinking down to a mere shadow of himself.
“I found the enemies.”
“W-what should I convey?”
Dark asked very politely.
The self-proclaimed Spirit King, Dark, was quite nervous.
As Ereness communicated with nature, she felt the immense energy of the ‘real’ spirits. The term ‘Spirit King’ seemed far more fitting for the elf before her than for himself.
And that energy assured him that it could inflict significant damage on his body. Hence, he naturally became more courteous.
Ereness, with a pale face, replied.
“Where is Count Penris?”
“E-er… He just entered the territory.”
“The assassins are in the forest southeast of the Lord’s Castle, a place abundant with young trees. They plan to move when the night deepens. Relay the message quickly.”
“Y-yes! I’ll convey it right away!”
Dark immediately used his clone already sent to Perdium to deliver the news. Upon hearing the message, Zvalter shot up from his seat.
“Gather the troops! I will personally hunt these scoundrels down!”
Beside him, Homern, Albert, and Randolf stopped him.
“Hey! Why should the lord go first? Just because you’ve gotten a bit stronger, does that mean you’re itching for action? How come you’re starting to resemble your son more and more? Sons should resemble their fathers!”
“No matter how much stronger you’ve become, didn’t you say that a superhuman is mixed among the assassins?!”
“Brother, just let me go! You stay calm!”
If the lord dies, it’s game over. With mention of a possible superhuman, they couldn’t let him go.
Due to everyone’s vehement opposition, Zvalter could only lick his lips and sit back down.
“Ah, I finally reached the top tier level.”
Although he hadn’t reached superhuman status, he wasn’t at the brink of death either. Thanks to Ghislaine, Randolf had also reached a similar level, so he thought it would be enough to handle it, but it was indeed disappointing.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Randolf shouted energetically as he set out with a host of knights and troops.
The knights glared at Skoban as they made their advance. After all, something bad had happened in Perdium again.
Skoban felt truly unjust.
“Why does such trouble keep befalling the territory…? No, why is this my fault?!”
He had remained still while enduring the harassment within the knight order. He wanted to retire quickly. Rumors had started about transferring him to the Northern Army recently.
Skoban made a resolution. There’s a saying that it’s better for the body to be distressed than the heart. In that case, it would rather be better to roll around next to the Grand Duke.
“Yes, once this is over, I must go to the Northern Army. That brat Ricardo must come with me.”
The source of the rumors, Ricardo, was completely unaware of Skoban’s true feelings and was instead yawning beside him.
Dududududu!
The knights and troops of Perdium set off. Randolf asked his deputy next to him.
“What’s the exact location?”
“It’s the forest that the Grand Duke raided for timber a few years ago.”
“Oh, that was just being cleared and freshly replanted.”
With the mention of a possible superhuman, 2,000 soldiers and 100 knights were mobilized. The forest would be utterly devastated during the battle.
The Perdium Army quickly arrived at the forest. After a moment’s consideration, Randolf spoke to his deputy.
“Hey, they said there’s a ridiculously strong guy there, so let’s hold off on confronting them for now. Just burn it down!”
“B-burn it down?”
“Yeah, just burn it all. If we fight there, it’ll be disadvantageous for us. Plus, the trees will get smashed up in the fight anyway.”
Just by refraining from mindless charges as before, he could consider himself one step above.
And now that the territory was affluent, burning down a forest was no big deal. Randolf was greatly satisfied with his decision.
“So this is what rich territories can do, huh?”
All the soldiers drew back their fire arrows. This was something they could never have dreamt of doing before, and their expressions were flushed with excitement.
“Wow, I never thought the day would come when I’d set our own forest on fire.”
“This is something only the Grand Duke would do.”
“Rich territories are truly wonderful.”
“Fire!”
Paaah!
With Randolf’s shout, an enormous volley of fire arrows launched towards the forest.
Flames rapidly consumed the surrounding area, engulfing it as it began to spread. It was a sight that would surely shock Ereness and the elves.
“What are you doing! Keep shooting! Don’t stop until those bastards pop out!”
The fire arrows flew continuously. After all, arrows are plentiful in Perdium.
The assassins resting at the entrance of the forest leaped to their feet. Being highly trained, they were neither panicked nor flustered.
They merely waited for Melkir’s command, keeping their eyes on him.
“How did they find us?”
Melkir couldn’t understand the situation at all. They had pinpointed their location accurately.
How could anyone find them in this vast territory?
“Could there be an exceptional mage among them?”
Upon his subordinate’s question, Melkir shook his head.
“A mage’s sight cannot detect our concealment. They can only see far, not reveal hidden figures.”
These individuals were relaxing, blending with their surroundings even in this environment. To avoid being detected by surveillance magic.
If someone could find a superhuman’s concealment with just sight alone, they wouldn’t be an ordinary mage. But there was no way such a person could be in Perdium.
“It seems there was another means. No wonder the forest felt a bit unsettling… There’s nothing we can do.”
“What should we do?”
“Scatter and infiltrate the Lord’s Castle by any means possible. If you can kill Marquis Perdium or his daughter, do so.”
“Understood.”
They were the best assassination squad of the Duke Faction. Though only about 30 in number, they were confident.
“Go. I will follow shortly.”
As soon as the command was given, the bodies of the assassins wavered and dispersed in all directions.
They were the bait. If successful, great. If not, no loss.
Melkir intended to create chaos and take advantage of the opportunity to sneak in.
Paaah!
From the burning forest, several shadowy figures emerged. Randolf spotted them and shouted.
“They’re out! Block them!”
The Perdium army had already firmly blocked the entrance to the forest. The knights were the first to charge out.
Kang!
As expected of the Duke’s best assassination squad, each of them was at least of mid-level knight standard, enhanced with assassination techniques.
Whoosh.
Just as the weapons of the knights and assassins were about to clash, the bodies of the assassins blurred again and moved. They hadn’t intended to fight here from the start.
“Catch them!”
Knights excel in frontal combat. It was impossible for them to catch assassins who openly tried to retreat.
The assassins unleashed all their skills, slipping through the gaps among the soldiers.
Slash! Slash!
“Ughhh!”
“Here!”
“Attack quickly!”
With the assassins slipping through like ghosts, it was almost impossible for the average soldiers to halt them. All they could do was obstruct with their bodies.
As the soldiers struggled to hold them back, Randolf and the knights joined the fray.
“Step aside!”
Boom!
Blue mana rippled from all directions. The assassins were desperately trying to escape while the knights were determined to capture them.
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
While fighting valiantly to clear his name, Skoban ultimately suffered a wound to his side.
Perhaps the assassins’ weapons were coated with poison, as his head spun and the wound swelled painfully.
“Damn it! This is so frustrating!”
Boom!
Skoban swung his sword with all his might. An assassin caught by three knights had their head lopped off.
His skills had significantly improved compared to before.
“Cough!”
Skoban collapsed, coughing up blood, as nearby soldiers assisted him, pulling him back.
“What the… Why are you saving me? Weren’t you all praying for my death every day?”
As Skoban pouted with watery eyes, it was clear he was feeling plenty sullen.
The soldiers responded with awkward smiles.
“Oh come on, why would we do that? Of course, we need to save you.”
“Exactly, we’re all on the same side here, right?”
“How could we just watch the Guard Commander die?”
Upon hearing such heartfelt words, Skoban began to sob slightly. It looked as if he hadn’t been entirely abandoned after all. He decided to postpone going to the Northern Army a bit longer.
Seeing Skoban touched, the soldiers exchanged knowing glances.
“If he dies here, this land will be cursed forever, I heard.”
“I suppose if we’re going to die, it should be somewhere else.”
“We can’t let Perdium fall into trouble again.”
Unbeknownst to Skoban, it was a relief that he didn’t know of the rumors circulating among the soldiers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle heated up even more. Since they were dealing with assassins, it was exceedingly tough for the Perdium army to catch them.
On the other hand, the assassins couldn’t easily advance with so many opponents against them.
In the end, they decided to utilize their last resort.
Tsu tsu tsu…
The forms of the assassins became clear. They were releasing the technique to blend in with their surroundings, utilizing mana to distort vision.
Now, they began to fight openly, much like knights.
Boom! Boom!
They had even trained for such scenarios. Some sacrificed themselves to create openings for others.
Despite being assassins, their level was above average, and they held their ground superbly even surrounded by numerous knights and soldiers.
Taking advantage of the chaos, a small number of assassins concealed themselves and made their escape.
Randolf, who was fighting at the forefront, noticed this.
“Damn it! Chase them down! They’re heading for the castle!”
Approximately ten managed to slip away amid the uproar. The castle had numerous hiding spots for assassins, making capturing them a headache.
The escaping assassins returned to the shadows. Although the knights mounted their horses to give chase, it was hard to spot anything in the dark of night.
All the remaining assassins were dead. The knights and soldiers rushed back onto their horses, eager to pursue those who had escaped.
“Hehehe… Maybe it’s time to make a move.”
Melkir, hiding at the forest’s entrance and watching, wore a cruel grin.
The bait had done a splendid job. All the forces near the forest had chased after the decoys.
His figure became faint as he moved forward. Now it was time to dash towards the Lord’s Castle and assassinate the key figures.
Just as he was about to leave the forest.
Boom!
A spear came flying and lodged itself right where he stood.
