---

The incident that transpired in the Forest of the Legion following Damian’s killing of Walter was nearing its conclusion, but that didn’t mean the problems had been entirely resolved.

Monsters that had undergone body modifications attacked a man sprinting atop the trees from all directions.

This man was chasing one of the culprits behind the chaos occurring in the forest. Gwen skillfully avoided the monsters’ assaults with agile movements and swung his sword, cutting down the monsters that charged at him one by one. His strikes, while he ran on the branches, were unhindered and precise.

Some of the monsters met their death with a single blow, but those that couldn’t were unable to continue chasing Gwen, falling to the ground as if their tendons had snapped.

Normally, he would have ensured their demise by pursuing them to the ground, but currently, it sufficed to incapacitate them to prevent harm to innocent civilians. The life of the mage controlling these monsters was the priority, not the lives of the monsters themselves.

Having chased for over ten minutes and reduced their numbers, Gwen noted that the monsters rushing towards him had dwindled to half compared to the initial count.

The last monsters he had cut down had been the final ones ensnared by his presence.

Now there remained only one. The mage suspected to be controlling them was still at large.

With nothing left to obstruct him, the distance to the primary culprit, once difficult to close, was now short enough to spot visually. When he spotted the figure draped in a black robe to conceal his face, Gwen instantly recognized it as the person he had been pursuing.

It was not a baseless conviction.

The mage was blatantly showcasing his presence, as if advertising his location. His aura pointed directly to the man before him.

Upon confirming the mage’s location, Gwen swiftly drew a flying dagger from his waist and hurled it at him.

The dagger, shimmering with deep green energy, flew through the air like the wind, striking precisely in front of the mage’s head. The mage, who had been dodging agilely from tree to tree, had no choice but to halt as a dagger sailed towards him, subsequently plummeting to the ground due to the force of the gale emanating from it.

As the mage fell, the shadow of Gwen’s sword loomed over his head. The sound of the blade slicing through the air was chilling enough that it sent shivers down the mage’s spine.

With a wind-like motion, the sword swung down towards the mage’s head.

However, despite its daring descent, the sword ultimately failed to cleave the mage.

The blade, sharp enough to slice through ancient trees, was obstructed by a translucent barrier whose origin was unknown, halting its advance. Regardless, the mage’s body fell to the ground, and Gwen, channeling his strength, drove the mage down, shattering the barrier.

A resounding bang! echoed throughout the forest.

The cloud of dust raised by the impact momentarily obscured both figures. Yet, that was fleeting; the dust quickly cleared, revealing two men facing each other.

Despite being pinned to the ground by Gwen’s sword, the mage, covered in dirt, somehow stood on his own two feet rather than remaining stuck in the earth.

Despite making such a show of his presence, the mage appeared momentarily flustered upon encountering Gwen, his eyes betraying a momentary surprise. However, Gwen could still see a smirk curling at the corners of his lips.

“Seems I was fishing for a dragon, but ended up with a mere wyvern. Well… that’s fine. As the Captain of the Knights of Kraus, you may pass the test to be a companion in the afterlife.”

“Oh, how that guy only has a big mouth. Monster Magician William Cromwell.”

“Knowing my name is a relief; it saves me from the hassle of introductions.”

Gwen surveyed his surroundings again with his spiritual sense.

Due to the heavy magical presence in the Runfroud Mountain Range, the area he could observe wasn’t vast, but at least his senses did not deceive him. Just like before, the only auras felt in this location were those of Gwen and the monster magician, William.

William, as his name suggested, utilized the monsters he controlled as a source of power. However, Gwen pondered why William, who knew the weaknesses of those monsters better than anyone, would resort to such treachery.

Gwen acknowledged having slain numerous monsters to reach William but didn’t consider that the totality represented his full capacity. The opponent was a Cardinal of Heretics, officially declared as a primary enemy by the Imperial Family. It could merely be posturing, but it was prudent to assume he had hidden cards.

Gwen steadied his mind, glancing at the dagger lodged between him and William, handed to him by Damian earlier. The red gem embedded in the dagger glimmered brightly, even without light.

*

While Gwen, with a clear advantage, maintained his composure, William, on the other hand, wore a confident expression, as though he was fully aware of Gwen’s thoughts. Although he was aware today marked the end of his life, his primary concern had nothing to do with his own existence.

“The bait was effective.”

Ironically, it was Gwen’s presence that brought a smile to William’s face.

William had moved all monsters that could be manipulated according to Gwen’s thoughts to another location. The enemy was not confined to the forest; the monster army he could call upon was already advancing towards the Camp of the Legion.

The success of the invasion was irrelevant. He knew it wouldn’t succeed.

A black dragon stood defiantly at the camp, with renowned martial families from the south defending their positions. Even a single black dragon could be claimed as tens of thousands, and with formidable generals and troops present, the odds were practically nonexistent.

Yet, the only reason he deployed his forces there was a singular objective: to keep their gazes drawn inward rather than towards the forest. That was William’s desire.

Of course, these forces would inevitably have to venture into the forest in pursuit of the true culprit, but at the moment of intrusion, eyes would be focused solely on the monsters.

This held true even for the Sword Master, who claimed to have a power that reached the heavens. More importantly, as the lord of the south, he couldn’t abandon his position until the situation stabilized.

While William believed that it wouldn’t take long for the elimination of the monsters, he had reasons to buy time at all costs.

For William, there were two variables he had to contend with.

One was the connections with the monsters that, for reasons unknown, were not recovering.

He could issue simple commands, but it was impossible to control them as meticulously as before. Normally, he would have been able to stretch his “net” and mobilize any wild monsters nearby, but maintaining connections with these ones alone demanded substantial effort.

However, this issue wasn’t the main concern.

What William wanted was not victory. All that mattered was inciting a war between the monsters and the southern forces. Nevertheless, the time lost when he commanded versus when he didn’t was something he regretted. From his perspective, he needed to buy time by any means necessary.

The second issue was that a noteworthy figure within the southern elite, the head of the Black Dragon Knight Order, was pursuing him.

This second problem could upend his plans from the root, enabling William to smile as he observed Gwen attacking him.

Even though he hadn’t concealed the fact that he was being pursued, William couldn’t be certain that Gwen would actually chase him. If Gwen were to meet the princess and the prince, everything William had prepared thus far would amount to nothing.

“But now that it’s settled. The wyvern is here, and there’s no protector for the princess and prince.”

All variables had been eliminated.

Except for Gwen, no one in the forest could confront Walter. His prowess was assured; if nothing unusual occurred, he would certainly fulfill his mission.

This realization made William forget that Gwen was aiming his weapon at him. The difference between William, who had sent his main forces to the camp with intentions of mutual destruction, and Gwen’s resolve was not something that could easily overturn such dispositions.

“Just a big mouth without substance, I see.”

“Hahaha!! You foolish man. Go on, ramble as you please…”

But he laughed.

After all, he was already a discarded pawn; having successfully completed his plans, he wouldn’t mind handing over his life immediately.

“What a laughably frivolous sound that is.”

Before he could even process that voice, William raised his head to look up at the sky. There stood a man, evidently the source of the voice, blocking the sun.

The man, poised to look down at the earth from beyond the realm, bore a gaze akin to that of a dragon observing mere mortals.

No, that man was undoubtedly a dragon.

William recognized the identity of this man. After all, during his planning, he had envisioned the black dragon countless times, and he was a clear reference to the individual before him. It must be said that the phrase “words become reality” aptly described the current situation. What had been stated flippantly in front of Gwen had now manifested into truth.

“No, how on earth…!!”

“Hmm? Where’s that cheerful laughter from earlier? Now you look like a scared dog trembling in fear.”

Are you scared?

His words, trivial for a lord governing a region, served as definitive proof of his identity: Arthur Kraus.

William’s expression contorted at Arthur’s words. He wasn’t offended by Arthur; rather, his mind was consumed by the sole question of why the very figure meant to be secured at the front lines had appeared before him, leading to a state of near disbelief.

As Arthur extended his hand, a dagger that had been lodged in the ground was drawn toward him.

As the dagger found its place in his hand, the red gem embedded within shone brighter than ever before.

“The family heirloom is rolling in the dirt… sigh, I shouldn’t have entrusted it.”

“…I’m sorry, my lord.”

“I wasn’t speaking to you, so there’s no need to worry. That was directed at the one I entrusted it to. I specifically asked them not to let it out of their hands…”

Tsk—

The sound of a tongue clicking softly echoed through the quiet forest. The two men, as if forgetting their purpose, casually conversed with William positioned in their midst.

Arthur’s words and actions seemed entirely disconnected from those of a person who had just emerged from battle. His attire was pristine, devoid of blood, casting suspicion that he had just dashed into the forest clean and fresh.

Yet, William dismissed such thoughts. If Arthur didn’t fight, he would lose faith among the southern families. Kraus’s rule in the south stemmed as much from their undeniable power as it did from their role as the guardians of the south, and Arthur could not ignore that.

Caught in an unprecedented situation, William clutched his fraying sanity and stared at Arthur.

Regardless of the circumstances, the time for the black dragon to enter the forest seemed far too premature. While he didn’t doubt Walter’s skills, if he had yet to deal with the prince and princess, the likelihood of his plans collapsing rose significantly.

‘I must buy time no matter what.’

William acted swiftly.

No sooner had he made a resolution than he concentrated all his magical power in one place. As a monster magician who controlled monsters in battalions, the magical energy within him was anything but ordinary. Combined with the divine energy granted to him as a cardinal, the pressure emanating from him began to shake the forest.

Did the situation change? Gwen, who had been persistently ignoring William while conversing with Arthur, finally turned his head towards him.

“It is already too late! You fool!!”

William’s body, focused with concentrated magical power, resembled a bomb on the verge of detonation.

His body, infused with all he had, was capable of obliterating the surrounding area with even the slightest provocation. No matter how much of a transcendent being he was, he was not invulnerable. While he might not face death, being this close meant he was confident he could inflict significant harm.

Should anyone recklessly swing their sword, they would become entangled in the impending explosion. They were aware of this, yet William felt confident that they couldn’t ignore him either, fully expecting that he would successfully trigger the detonation device set before him.

“It’s been noisy with all this talking since earlier.”

However, as with many matters, life would not follow expectations; he was confronted with an unexpectedly displeased Arthur.

He looked at William with a scowl, genuinely irritated by the commotion.

With the dagger in hand, Arthur merely made a casual swipe in the air.

To an extent, William, filled with pressure, uncomprehendingly observed Arthur’s actions. While he had indeed drawn his weapon, he simply made an empty gesture in the air, and William could not fathom such behavior.

Not until his field of vision split in two did the realization hit him.

 

---