[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 131
Clank!
The Rose Society members surrounded Zeke and his party, aiming repeating crossbows at them.
Zeke asked the woman in a calm voice,
"Do you intend to start a war with the Syndicate?"
The tattooed woman stood up and said,
"Even if the Syndicate is doing well, you're saying they have knights like you? Bullshit. You reek of proper knight training. Cut the crap."
The crossbows were loaded as the woman raised her hand.
Felix and Liam had tense expressions as they watched the gang members.
Zeke said to Felix and Liam,
"Close your eyes."
As soon as the two closed their eyes, Zeke used the Flashbang skill.
The tattooed woman quickly turned her head to avoid the flashbang.
At the same time, the woman shouted to her subordinates,
"Shoot! Kill them!"
Whoosh!
The gang members shot arrows at Zeke and his party, even though they couldn't see.
Zeke drew his transformed Bahamut and deflected the arrows.
Clang!
Then, he charged straight towards the woman who seemed to be the leader.
The woman had already drawn a mace and was swinging it at Zeke's sword.
Clang!
Zeke's sword and the woman's mace clashed, sparks flying.
He felt a heavy impact that didn't match the woman's physique.
'Is it magic?'
The tattooed woman regained her stance and swung the mace at Zeke.
Whoosh!
It wasn't a random swing, but a trained movement.
Zeke realized that the movement was similar to paladin swordsmanship.
'It seems they are the Rose Society.'
He dodged the mace and looked for an opening.
Since they weren't enemies, he had to subdue her without killing her.
Zeke created some distance and then took out a dagger from his pocket and threw it at the woman.
Clang!
The dagger hit the mace and bounced off.
It seemed that not only aura but also a strength enhancement magic was cast on the mace itself.
'Such skill is wasted in the underworld.'
She was even more skilled than the paladins of the Holy Kingdom.
As Zeke easily dodged and parried her attacks, the woman gripped the mace and adjusted her stance.
"...These bastards. Who the hell are they?"
Zeke lowered his sword and said,
"I told you, we're not enemies."
"Bullshit. That guy behind you is openly using paladin swordsmanship, and you're saying you're not enemies? Cut the crap!"
Zeke clicked his tongue as he saw Felix diligently using paladin swordsmanship.
He hadn't expected such a chaotic battle before they could even talk, so things got complicated.
Whoosh!
The tattooed woman raised her mace and warned with a different expression than before,
"You guys will never get out of here alive."
Woooong!
The mace vibrated.
At the same time, a strong light emanated from it.
'What's that?'
It was a familiar light to Zeke.
It seemed to be a skill similar to the ones he acquired from Lubern artifacts.
As the light from the mace seeped into the woman's body, the aura she exuded completely changed.
Whoosh!
Not only her strength but also her speed seemed to have increased several times.
"Haaaat!"
The woman swung the mace down towards Zeke's head.
Crash!
Zeke dodged with the Phantom Step, and the mace struck the warehouse floor.
Crack!
The solid stone floor was completely shattered, and the impact even reached the surrounding walls, creating cracks.
'That's intense.'
It was definitely similar to paladin swordsmanship, but the power was worlds apart.
Zeke activated the Barrier and clashed with the mace.
Crash!
As the sword and mace collided, an explosive sound resonated.
When Zeke countered her attack, the woman stepped back with a surprised expression.
"How can you withstand my attack?"
Zeke pressed forward and swung his sword.
Whoosh!
The sword became heavier with each swing.
Crack!
Even the woman, who had been blocking Zeke's attacks, gradually felt her body straining.
'Damn it.'
Zeke and his party were much stronger than she expected.
She looked for a chance to retreat.
A moment later, she swung her mace at a box full of leather.
Crash!
The box at the very bottom shattered, and the stacked boxes collapsed, scattering the leather inside.
The woman shouted to her gang members,
"Scatter!"
As if used to such situations, the gang members left their fallen comrades and scattered in all directions.
The leader-like woman also tried to escape.
Just then, a hand reached out from the pile of leather.
Grab!
Zeke's arm wrapped around her neck.
"Ugh!"
Zeke said,
"Hey, calm down. I have no intention of harming your organization. Things have gotten complicated, but look at this."
Zeke grabbed the Orichalcum sword he was carrying on his back and quickly used the Light's Barrier skill.
Woooong!
An aura of light spread around Zeke's body.
The light seeped into Liam, Felix, and even the Rose Society members.
The unconscious gang members woke up, and their exhausted stamina recovered.
As the woman's resistance subsided, he released his arm and let her go.
"Crazy, this is unbelievable."
She had an incredulous expression as she looked at the Light's Barrier Zeke had cast.
Then, she held up her mace and shouted,
"H-how can you use light magic?!"
"I came to find the descendants of Lubern."
The tattooed woman's expression hardened noticeably at the mention of Lubern.
Zeke calmly tried to start a conversation.
"The guy who used paladin swordsmanship earlier is named Felix Valencia. He's the grandson of Fab Valencia, the Arch Paladin who was defrocked 50 years ago after rescuing the Lubern bloodline."
The woman had a surprised expression at Zeke's words.
Then, she frowned and said,
"How can I believe that?"
Zeke showed the Orichalcum sword he was holding and said,
"This is the sword that Golin Yober forged from the Orichalcum hammer that Fab Valencia had. The Holy Kingdom strictly prohibits the outflow of Orichalcum. There wouldn't have been such a large amount of Orichalcum leaving the Holy Kingdom since Fab Valencia."
The woman thought Zeke's words made sense.
Above all, the matter of Fab Valencia was top secret within the Rose Society.
Only then did she lower her guard and signal her subordinates to lower their weapons.
Zeke also told Liam and Felix to lower their weapons.
The woman said to Zeke,
"If that guy is Sir Fab's grandson, who are you? Cut the crap about being from the Syndicate."
Zeke sheathed his sword and opened his mouth to her.
"My name is Zeke Draker."
The woman momentarily held her breath at the mention of Draker.
Not only her, but other gang members also had beads of sweat on their foreheads.
She slowly opened her mouth.
"...Did Thorne make a move?"
Zeke shook his head.
"It has nothing to do with Thorne. I came here for my own personal reasons."
Although the woman seemed to be lowering her guard at Zeke's words, she couldn't help but be tense.
No one could relax in front of a Draker, no matter the situation.
She said to Zeke,
"Damn it, we need to talk in private."
She told her subordinates to clean up the warehouse and guided Zeke and his party to another location.
They left the building and went through several alleys and basements before entering a secret hideout.
Zeke thought that all underground organizations, including the Syndicate, were similar in nature.
The woman, entering the office of the hideout, offered Zeke and his party seats.
Zeke sat facing her, and Liam and Felix sat in the corners, securing escape routes.
The woman chuckled as she saw this.
"Your subordinates have great loyalty."
"It's nothing compared to the Rose Society's loyalty to Lubern. Or should I say, the Rose Knights?"
At Zeke's words, the tattooed woman shook her head in defeat.
"I didn't know Draker had so much information about us. No, wait, it's possible because it's Drake."
"I don't know how much the Black Martial Squad knows about the Rose Society. As I said before, I came here for my own personal reasons."
"What are those personal reasons?"
"I can't tell you that here. I can only tell you that I have something to deliver to the descendants of Lubern."
The woman pondered those words and then glanced at Felix behind her.
"Sir Fab's grandson."
"Still don't believe it?"
"No, I confirmed that when I saw the Orichalcum sword. Hmm."
She nodded soon after.
"Okay. I'll guide you to the headquarters. I need to send someone ahead to let them know, so let's move when I get a reply. My name is Clone. You can call me Sister Clone."
Felix, who was behind her, was surprised at those words.
"S-sister? You're saying you're a nun?"
Clone glared at Felix and said,
"You punk. Want to get holy-smittened by a nun? Is that guy really Sir Fab's grandson? He's so clueless."
Zeke couldn't refute Clone's words and just nodded.
Clone shook her head, opened the lid of a jar on the table, and took out something to eat.
Looking closely, it was dried scorpions.
Sensing his gaze, she offered Zeke a scorpion and asked,
"Want some? It's nutty when you chew it."
Zeke shook his hand and refused.
Clone munched on the scorpion and said,
"How did you do that earlier? The thing with the flashing light."
"You mean the Light's Barrier? There was magic engraved on the sword Sir Fab left behind."
Clone shook her head.
"No, that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking how you used the magic in that sword."
"...Huh? I just used it."
Clone had an even more dumbfounded expression at those words.
Then, she took out her mace.
"Can you use the magic in this too?"
Zeke took the mace Clone handed him and checked its information with Dragon Eye.
—Mace Information—
Description: A holy mace imbued with the power of light, crafted during the Lubern dynasty.
Inherent Ability: Light's Breath
Special Note: Light is absorbed into the body, increasing strength by more than three times.
'As expected, it has strength enhancement magic on it.'
Zeke held the mace and used the Light's Breath skill.
Woooong!
Zeke's body was enveloped in an aura of light.
He swung the mace.
Whoosh!
The sound of cutting through the air was clearly different.
Seeing Zeke casually using the Light's Breath skill, Clone's jaw dropped.
"N-no way. H-how... can you use light magic without d-divine power...?"
Zeke tilted his head at Clone's words.
"Do you need divine power to use this?"
Clone frowned and shouted,
"Of course! Why do you think we're called holy knights? We're holy knights because we use light magic with divine power."
It was a matter of course, but it felt new to Zeke, who was hearing it for the first time.
'Come to think of it, I've been able to use other skills that are similar to magic without actually learning magic.'
With the help of the system, Zeke could freely use skills that were close to magic, including dragon skills and active skills, even though he hadn't learned magic.
It seemed that he could also use light magic, which required divine power, without any restrictions.
Clone stared at Zeke intently and then shook her head.
"No way... That can't be."
"What do you mean?"
She said with an incredulous expression,
"There's only one way to freely use holy magic without divine power."
Clone spat out the scorpion shell and said,
"It's possible if you're a Healer class."
Zeke was momentarily flustered when he unexpectedly heard the term Healer class from Clone's mouth.
Clone noticed Zeke's subtle change.
"Don't tell me you know what a Healer class is? Are you a Healer class?"
Zeke maintained his poker face and said,
"I'm a pure-blood Awakened of Draker. There's no way I'm a Healer class."
Nevertheless, she looked at Zeke with suspicion and said,
"Hmm, but how do you know about Healer class? Most people don't even know the term class."
'She's really suspicious.'
Still, thinking this was an opportunity to get a clue about the Healer class, Zeke racked his brain and tried to make up a story.
"My mother was a Healer class."
This time, Clone was surprised.
"Your mother was a Healer class? Could she be a descendant of Lubern?"
Zeke shook his head. Clone reacted even more strongly to his response.
"You're saying there were Healer classes other than Lubern?"
"Healer class other than Lubern? What do you..."
Just then, the door burst open.
"Sister! We've been discovered by the paladins!"
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]