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“Have those guys resumed their activities again? How long has it been since the Imperial Family declared a holy war…”

“That’s something we can’t be sure about. When have we ever seen these guys operate systematically? Still, it doesn’t seem like a few of them simply decided to target the Crown Prince and Princess without some sort of plan… By the way, Damian, why did this guy leave this for the Sir? Was he that worried about him?”

“Please correct that to ‘having that much trust.’ Unlike the Gaju or the young master overflowing with inner strength, I am just an ordinary person.”

Gwen, who was recovering William’s body, replied with a bitter expression to Arthur’s sarcastic words.

Currently, in Arthur’s hand was a dagger embedded with a red jewel.

That dagger, entrusted to Gwen by Damian, was a family heirloom passed down to the lesser house of the Kraus family, and just like the family’s history, it was an extraordinary item.

And rightly so, as the identity of the red gem embedded in the dagger was a piece of the Dragon Heart from the dragon slain by the first head of the Kraus family.

Being akin to a perpetual engine, the Dragon Heart held the ability to assist in recovering the owner’s inner strength. Additionally, it was thanks to that dagger that Arthur was able to rush directly to Gwen’s location.

Because of these abilities, like the Gaju’s ring, it was treated as a holy item only suitable for the heir of the family, so Damian letting someone else temporarily hold onto it is why Arthur reacted that way.

“Such pettiness.”

However, Gwen wasn’t unaware of the deeper meaning behind it.

Though Arthur was ranting about the holy item, she knew he wouldn’t be upset just because someone touched the dagger. After all, the sword Gwen was currently wielding was also one gifted to her by Arthur, and though it didn’t have the Dragon Heart embedded, it was one of the famed swords crafted from dragon bones.

For Arthur to give her a sword made from dragon bones indicated the strong bond of trust between them, yet the reason Arthur was teasing Gwen was simply because he didn’t like seeing the dagger he had given to Damian now in her hands.

To put it simply, it was like giving a carefully chosen birthday gift to a son only to see it in the hands of the son’s close uncle the very next day. In other words, it was just a sulk.

Arthur laughed at Gwen’s response.

“A commoner’s son is the head of the Dragon Knights Order? Hah! It seems all the common folks in this world must be dead!”

“I was merely speaking in comparison to the two of you. Please don’t misinterpret that.”

“More importantly, it’s great that the Gaju is strong. You can just throw him anywhere and he’ll come back alive, so there’s no need to worry, right?”

“Gwen, doesn’t that sound like something a commander should not say to the head of the family?”

Gwen was quite similar to Arthur.

Like attracts like, as it spoke volumes that Arthur held the position of the commander of the Knights Order, a near-lifetime position, in the Kraus family where he was the head.

As they continued their playful banter, they began to gather the surroundings. Most of their dialogue was akin to friendly teasing, but that didn’t mean they overlooked the task at hand.

Gwen and Arthur peeled off William’s robe and began to search through his belongings one by one. Given William’s position as a Cardinal within the order, there might be new information discovered that had never been known before.

Unfortunately, contrary to their hopes, William’s belongings contained only a small pouch with some money and a small golden statue that appeared to be an object of faith.

No orders received from above or items that seemed to be clues were visible. Gwen packed the items she found from William’s body into a leather pouch and covered the corpse with his robe.

“It’s a bit too light for a Cardinal’s pocket.”

“There shouldn’t have been a need for money while hiding in the forest. Still, it’s a shame there doesn’t seem to be a single item that could serve as a clue. I suspect they might have burned everything before executing their plans.”

“Tsk- What a pity. The only thing we got was this guy’s head. After all, as a Cardinal, he was relatively well-known, so if we send his head to the Imperial Palace, it might slightly hinder their operations.”

“Oh, speaking of which, it seemed William was quite surprised when he met with the Gaju. Was something going on?”

“This guy was a monster sorcerer, right? I don’t know how many monsters were in the forest, but he likely sent an army close to his own strength to invade the camp. It seems he was trying to bind my feet so I couldn’t enter the forest. Naturally, he would be surprised when I showed up here.”

“…Could it be that you left the cleansing of the monsters to another family and rushed right here?”

“Of course not. I defeated the monsters that were invading the camp on my way here. This guy put in quite a lot of effort to prepare. There were even monsters that are hard to find unless you enter the heart of the forest. If that kid hadn’t been there…”

Arthur trailed off as if he suddenly remembered something, then he flashed a mischievous smile he often wore and patted Gwen on the shoulder.

“No. Never mind. I think it’s better to see it in person than to talk about it.”

“What do you mean…?”

“There’s something. If you see it for real, you’ll be stunned. I used to think there was no genius like our son in this world.”

But that wasn’t quite accurate.

*

“Ugh… Oh no… Damn!!! They’re really stubborn in chasing me!!!”

Robin looked back at the group of monsters chasing after him with a contorted face.

The monster, resembling a wolf but significantly larger, with glowing yellow eyes, was hot on Robin’s heels. The image of the massive wolf showing its sharp teeth and drooling was a nightmare incarnate.

As the distance between them narrowed, one of the monsters leaped towards Robin. While it didn’t quite have the distance to hit him, it was definitely close enough to sink its teeth into his heel.

“Get away!!”

But Robin, who had been vigilant about his rear, jumped into the air right as the monster lunged. He executed a quick spin and kicked at the monster’s snout.

Crack—

The spot where his foot landed caved in like it had been hit by a blunt object. The sound of flesh tearing was accompanied by the sight of the monster’s shattered teeth scattering into the air. The impact was so strong that the monster, having been hit by Robin’s foot, lost its balance and tumbled away from the pack.

No matter how skilled an athlete, an ordinary person couldn’t perform such feats. Just moments before, Robin’s actions embodied the essence of a superhuman.

Even though he was being chased by monsters now, Robin was undeniably recognized as one of the finest talents in the strongest knights order in the South. Had he been able to draw his sword, he wouldn’t just be fleeing like this.

Despite still wearing the sword provided by the Knights Order at his waist, Robin had a dazed young boy slung over his back. Normally, the boy would be comfortably transported on a cart, but the monsters had destroyed the cart, leading to this predicament.

Though Robin was a promising newcomer, he lacked the skill to fight using just his legs while carrying the boy. The only way he could handle the advancing monsters was to stomp on them as they approached, ensuring he didn’t trip over his own burden.

“Gah… I’m exhausted… How is it that monsters are more faithful than humans?”

Robin muttered, astonished by the seemingly unending swarm of monsters.

He had managed to shake one monster from the pack, but logically, there should be six left in pursuit. Yet, it felt like the ones chasing him had multiplied as they ran alongside him.

It was already like carrying extra weight as he moved, and with the continual waves of attacks, it was slowly wearing away at his stamina.

Although Robin had already dealt with the ones attacking him several times, those monsters showed no fear; they seemed even more intent on getting revenge.

Every time a monster separated from the pack, the apparent leader kept howling to gather its kin, leading to the absurd rise in the number of pursuers.

Given how desperate the situation was, Robin had little reason to look pleased. His face had paled each time he glanced back, counting the changes in the number of monsters chasing him.

He had thought that showing the difference in power would make them scatter, but instead, it only prompted more of them to join the pursuit. If Robin was backed into a corner, the only glimmer of hope he could cling to was that he wasn’t far from camp.

As he noticed the edge of the forest coming into view, faint sounds of people cheering mixed with different monster cries began to echo around him.

It seemed the camp was not a very safe place given the monster attacks, but for Robin, that was the only lifeline, so he didn’t dwell on minor details.

“Once I get back to camp, I’ll toss this kid aside and wipe out every last one of those monsters. Damn it, tonight’s dinner is definitely going to be wolf soup.”

He figured that as long as he could escape this accursed forest, anything could change from there. As he reached the forest’s edge, the change in circumstances was drastically apparent.

Thud!

“Yeah. Just a bit more… Huh? Wait, why are you guys suddenly turning back?!!”

Suddenly, just as Robin was about to escape the forest, the leader of the pack started retreating.

To see the very monsters that had been chasing him like they wanted to kill him back off in fear left Robin with a confusing mix of joy and disappointment.

“What the hell…?”

For Robin who had been planning a bloody revenge, it was utterly deflating to see his targets retreat.

Just when he thought he could finally repay the grievances from before, the subjects disappeared. However, chasing after them wasn’t a practical option. He quickly regained his sense and began to view the situation objectively.

From the monsters’ perspective, Robin was practically their prime quarry. Every time he took one down, two or three more were eager to join the chase, so for them to abandon him must have meant something significant.

‘Is there something ahead…?’

In the camp was Arthur Kraus, the Sword Master. If the leader of the monsters had sensed his presence, the current situationmight not be that bizarre after all.

But this was just speculation; there might have been a higher tier monster, similar to the one he had seen in the forest, that could be lurking about. Although he didn’t detect any nefarious energy, he didn’t lower his guard and continued towards the end of the forest.

As the trees parted to let the sunlight in, the scenery outside the forest greeted Robin’s eyes.

Just as he had expected, the location where the camp had been set up had turned into a battlefield.

The green grass at the forest entrance was now stained red with blood, and scattered bodies lay around that hadn’t yet been cleared away. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of the visible corpses belonged to monsters rather than people. From the circumstances, it seemed the battle that took place here was heading towards a victory for the Southern forces.

“Ah, come on.”

As Robin was mesmerized by the sight of a battlefield he had never seen before, he snapped back to reality thanks to the tremors beneath his feet.

The battle was clearly a victory for the Southern forces.

However, there were still monsters that had survived the fight, driven by instinct to escape, charging toward the forest.

And they were heading straight for where Robin was standing.

This was quite the bad news for Robin. With so many monsters charging at him, he wouldn’t be able to dodge them without colliding first. He had just struggled against a pack of twenty or so wolf monsters, and there was no way he could survive against a horde coming for him like an angry herd of bulls.

He hadn’t expected the victory of the allied forces to affect him in this way.

In the current situation, the only choice seemed to be to dart back into the forest and find refuge in the trees. Faced with that thought, Robin grimaced and turned to run back. Yet he felt that escaping like this, dodging the monsters’ footfalls, was better than getting trampled to death.

But just at that moment,

Snap—

A finger snap echoed in his ear.

Was there some sort of magical power in that sound? Following it instinctively, Robin turned his neck back. What he saw was the monstrous horde charging toward him turning into a scattering of ash in that fleeting moment.

“Ah, who was that? Oh, it’s Sir Robin, isn’t it?”

Finally recognizing the voice that called for him, Robin snapped back to his senses from the grey world around him.

The owner of the voice walked through the drifting ash. Even though the world was still shrouded in grey, it couldn’t have contrasted more with her pure white appearance.

Now he understood why the wolves of the forest had retreated and why the monsters had fled just moments before.

 

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