[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 135
Hiss!
Gurab, who now looked almost like a basilisk after absorbing the Hydra's power and growing in size, flicked his tongue and made threatening noises.
"A-a monster!"
"Uwaaaak!"
The people on the main road were startled and ran away.
Hiss! Hiss!
As Gurab sprayed Hydra's poison here and there, acrid smoke rose from the grass and trees.
The disguised paladins, surprised by Gurab's appearance, raised their shields and formed a defensive formation.
The Hounds were bewildered upon seeing this.
'Who are those guys?'
It was then.
Clank! Clank!
Undead made of monster bones appeared.
At the same time, the Demi Lich appeared and shouted in a gloomy voice,
"I am a subordinate of the 'Harbinger of Blood and Madness'! Take down those followers of the light!"
The Demi Lich suddenly gave orders to the disguised Hounds.
The Hounds were bewildered by the lich suddenly giving them orders. Startled, the Hounds drew their weapons.
The paladins were equally surprised.
'Who are those guys?'
The paladins, recognizing them as enemies with the monsters, immediately charged with their shields raised.
"Chaaaaa!"
Crash!
The undead monsters, struck by the paladins' shields, shattered and flew away.
Just then, a figure in black armor emerged from among the monsters and attacked the paladins.
Clang!
The paladins, attacked, completely recognized the Hounds as enemies.
"Heretics! The heretics summoned monsters.!"
The paladins, blinded by their faith, interpreted the situation to their liking.
With crazed looks in their eyes, the paladins charged towards the Hounds with their shields raised.
The Hounds also had no choice but to fight back with their weapons drawn when the paladins attacked.
Once the chaotic battle began, the reason for the fight didn't matter.
They only focused on defeating the enemies in front of them.
Zeke, watching the whole situation from behind the bushes while hidden with stealth, grinned.
'Well done, Dragon Tooth Soldier No. 1, 2, and 3.'
Zeke had secretly hidden Dragon Tooth Soldiers among the Hounds and made them attack the paladins to instigate a fight.
As Zeke planned, the paladins and Hounds were fighting each other, misunderstanding each other's identities.
'It would be great if they destroyed each other like this.'
It was then.
Beep!
A loud whistle was heard from behind.
As soon as the whistle was heard, the Hounds who were fighting immediately turned around and started to retreat.
The paladins tenaciously chased the Hounds, but they couldn't catch up to those specialized in pursuit.
Zeke had Gurab and Richmond lure the paladins as far away from the main road as possible.
Then, he retreated and chased after the fleeing Hounds.
He had to cut off their connection before the Hounds spread their net so that Arina and her party would have a chance to escape.
Swoosh!
Zeke, chasing the Hounds while hidden with stealth, found them stopping in front of a cabin in the forest.
Then, a knight disguised as a mercenary came out of the cabin.
'He seems to be a Blue Knight level. Is he the field commander?'
The Imperial knight shouted at the Hounds,
"You idiots! I told you to capture the Lubern bloodline, why did you clash with the paladins?!"
The Hounds felt wronged because the situation happened so suddenly, but there was nothing they could do.
In the military, the superiors' words were law.
The knight gritted his teeth and shouted,
"Damn it! You can't even do a proper surveillance mission! If Corps Commander Daria finds out, she'll cut off my head!"
The name Daria caught Zeke's attention.
'Daria... Is he talking about Daria Calvi, the Horseman Knight?'
Daria Calvi, the Sagittarius Knight, was the most skilled among the female knights of the Empire.
She mainly used a bow instead of a sword, and it was said that she could accurately hit an ant on a wall with an arrow from several kilometers away.
'If Daria Calvi is here, it'll be troublesome.'
Morgan Bupon, the Serpentarius Knight, wasn't really a strong knight, but more of a brilliant strategist.
However, Daria was known as the closest to a Black Knight among the Empire's Red Knights, possessing exceptional skills.
Zeke couldn't help but feel burdened.
'I didn't know the Empire valued the Lubern bloodline enough to involve a Corps Commander level.'
Zeke suddenly recalled Arina's words that all the powerful people on the continent wanted to possess the Lubern bloodline that could perform miracles.
It was no wonder the Empire's emperor, obsessed with immortality, was tempted.
Zeke drew his sword and put on a mask.
'I need to divert their attention as much as possible.'
Zeke ordered Richmond to lead the monster army and lure the paladins towards the Hounds.
If the two groups weren't allied, he needed to make them clash as much as possible to disrupt the situation.
Groan!
Gurab's roar was heard from afar.
The Imperial knights and Hounds became tense and drew their weapons.
"Damn it, a sudden horde of monsters."
The Imperial knight signaled the surrounding Hounds to join the main force.
Zeke stealthily followed them, guiding Richmond and Gurab.
The Hounds, entering the mountains, gathered in front of a cave where a camp was set up.
'There's not a single place without these guys' camps.'
Zeke relayed the location of the cave to Richmond and Gurab.
And he tried to watch the situation while remaining hidden.
But suddenly, a black lightning bolt struck the place where Zeke was.
Crash!
Zeke hurriedly rolled his body to avoid the lightning.
'What?'
Zeke couldn't help but be flustered, as the magic accurately struck him even though he was in stealth.
Then, something crossed Zeke's mind.
'That Abyss mage in the Zoin temple also detected my location.'
He didn't know the principle, but it seemed there was a detection technique among Abyss's magic that could penetrate stealth.
Zeke used Dragon Eye to examine the surroundings.
Then, a mage in a black robe appeared from inside the cave.
"You idiots! It's over there!"
The mage once again accurately pointed to where Zeke was.
Knights and Hounds rushed towards the spot the mage pointed to with his staff.
Whoosh!
Zeke deactivated his stealth and lured the Hounds and knights towards the forest.
While doing so, he took out daggers from his pocket and threw them at the Hounds.
Whoosh!
The daggers lodged themselves in the Hounds' legs and arms.
The knights deflected the daggers with their swords and charged towards Zeke.
Clang!
The Imperial knight's sword and Zeke's sword clashed.
"Haaaap!"
The Imperial knight unleashed an aura blade and pushed Zeke back.
'That's not enough.'
Zeke used the Water Barrier to withstand the knight's pushing attack and counterattacked.
Crash!
A powerful sword strike hit the knight's armor.
"Cough!"
The knight's armor was completely dented and almost shattered from the direct hit.
The Imperial knights, sensing that Zeke's skills were extraordinary, adjusted their stances.
Zeke unleashed the Wind Barrier against them.
Whoosh!
A powerful wind blew from Zeke's sword. He then unleashed a Storm Sword towards the knights.
Slash!
A giant storm engulfed the knights, throwing them into the forest.
Whoosh!
Zeke swung his sword at the knights who lost their balance.
Clang!
Although some knights managed to raise their swords and counterattack even within the storm, most of them were struck by Zeke's sword and fell.
"Cough!"
After the storm subsided, more than half of the Imperial forces were gone.
The Imperial knight gritted his teeth and pointed his sword at Zeke.
He felt a determination that didn't fear even death.
Zeke wondered as he looked at the Imperial knight,
'Why are those guys so loyal to that Mad Emperor?'
He couldn't understand why the Imperial knights were so desperately trying to carry out the orders of the emperor, who was disrupting all the dungeons on the continent in his pursuit of immortality.
Despite Zeke's question, aura blades surged from the knights' swords.
"Haaaat!"
The Imperial knights charged towards Zeke all at once.
Crash!
Zeke's sword, imbued with the will of Destruction, clashed with the knights' swords.
"Cough!"
The knight who received the will of Destruction head-on vomited blood and collapsed.
'I need to escape from here and lure those guys further away.'
Just as Zeke, seeing the knights faltering from the huge clash, was about to retreat,
Crash!
Black lightning struck the spot where Zeke had been standing again.
'That damn mage.'
The mage in the black robe appeared with black smoke.
He pointed his staff at Zeke and said,
"Where did you come from?"
Zeke, without answering, pointed his sword at the mage.
'This is good timing. I'll lure those guys away from here.'
Zeke stepped back and used the Mace of Light on the mage.
Crash!
A giant light fell towards the mage like a thunderbolt.
Sizzle!
Black smoke rose from the black hemisphere covering the mage's body.
"Damn Lubern magic. Catch him! He's a Lubern descendant!"
As Zeke expected, the mage recognized the light magic.
Zeke turned and fled deeper into the forest.
Beep!
Whistles echoed from all directions.
It was a signal for the Hounds to spread their net and gradually tighten the encirclement.
'Richmond, what happened to the paladins?'
'Ugh... Master. These guys are too persistent. Gurab and I are going to die at this rate.'
Hearing that, Zeke had Richmond and Gurab go deeper into the Hounds' net.
He planned to trap the paladins within the net.
Meanwhile, the mage, floating in the air, chased after Zeke and shouted,
"Catch him! We must catch him!"
Zeke lured the mage away, keeping a moderate distance.
It was a stepping stone to catch the Abyss mage.
Groan!
At some point, Gurab's roar was heard from afar.
Zeke, realizing that the paladins had entered deep into the net's range, unsummoned Gurab and Richmond.
Then, he stopped running and turned towards the mage.
The mage, gliding through the air, raised his staff and swung it towards Zeke.
"I'll paralyze you alive!"
Crackle!
Dozens of black energy balls flew towards Zeke.
At that moment, Zeke took out the Orichalcum sword he had stored in his inventory.
Woooong!
And he immediately used the Light's Punishment skill.
Crackle!
Light-like electricity flowed through Zeke's sword.
'Oh?'
Zeke deflected the energy balls the mage shot with the Orichalcum sword imbued with Light's Punishment.
Fizzle!
The energy balls, cut by the Orichalcum sword, turned to ash and scattered.
Seeing this, the mage stopped in mid-air in surprise.
"N-no way! Cutting magic with a sword!"
Zeke cut down all the energy balls flying towards him.
Then, he jumped into the air and swung his sword at the mage.
Tsssss!
However, only black smoke remained where the mage had been.
Zeke landed on the ground and examined the surroundings with Dragon Eye.
Then, he launched the Dragon's Claw towards where he sensed a suspicious presence.
Slash!
He felt something being caught by the Dragon's Claw.
"Ugh!"
The smoke gathered, and the mage appeared.
Black blood dripped from his chest.
"T-the wound isn't healing... How..."
It wasn't the first time he had used Dragon's Claw, but it was the first time he had seen such an effect, either being completely blocked or instantly killed. It seemed that wounds inflicted by Draconian skills couldn't be healed.
'I didn't know Draconian skills had such an effect.'
The Purification Blade and light skills eradicated malice, but Draconian skills seemed to inflict fatal wounds on them in a different way.
Crackle!
Zeke slowly approached the mage with the white sword imbued with Light's Punishment.
The mage, while stopping the bleeding, pointed his staff at Zeke with one hand.
Zeke said to the mage,
"Which demon are you a subordinate of?"
The mage flinched at his words.
Then, he let out a groan like a scream.
"It's you. The one who ruined the Alencia project. I can't believe the Lubern bastards were involved."
As expected, this mage also seemed to be a member of Abyss.
Zeke pointed his sword and said,
"It's useless if you're chasing us for miracles. Tell that Mad Emperor to give up such delusions."
The mage spat out a mouthful of blood and laughed ominously.
"You'll never escape from here."
Then, the mage suddenly took out a dagger and slit his own throat.
Zeke was surprised by the mage's sudden suicide.
'Damn it, I need to capture him alive and get information.'
Zeke gritted his teeth as he looked at the mage's body, bleeding and collapsing.
It was then.
Ssssss!
Black smoke began to rise from the mage's body.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]