Chapter 175
A powerful force surged from the boy's body.
Rumble!
At the same time, Zeke felt a rough force that seemed to tear his body apart.
'Is this a bloodline ability?'
It felt completely different from Dario's or Bisco's power.
The system didn't detect this force as a curse either, so it seemed there were various types of bloodline abilities.
Zeke, enduring the unprecedented power the boy unleashed, took a step forward.
Then he pointed his sword at the boy.
Zeke activated the field of gravity.
Rumble!
Strong gravity acted on the spot where the boy stood.
Crack!
The ground around the boy was crushed by the immense pressure, but the boy remained unharmed, extending his hand and shouting,
"Ha! Is that all you've got?! Try harder, monster!"
An even stronger force surged from the boy's body.
Pushing back the gravity Zeke had summoned, the boy gradually approached.
The boy reached out towards Zeke.
"Crush!"
Crash!
Zeke felt as if his body was being grabbed and violently crushed from all directions.
Fortunately, wearing Teia's Hercyon, Zeke was able to withstand the boy's power without being affected.
'To exhibit such power with a bloodline ability...'
He could sense the true strength of the Nostra clan.
Seeing Zeke withstand his power, the boy frowned.
Then he slowly started to clench his fists.
Crack!
Zeke felt intense pressure around his body.
It felt as if a giant was tightly gripping him with both hands and applying force.
Rumble!
Thanks to Teia's Hercyon and the Dragon Scale Armor skill, Zeke was once again able to withstand the intense pressure.
However, the boy, seemingly confident in his power, was smirking at Zeke.
'Let's crush his expectations.'
Zeke activated the Dragon Claw skill towards the boy.
Shhhk!
Three claw marks were carved into the boy's body.
"Ugh!"
Caught off guard, the boy suffered a long wound from his chest to his side.
The boy clutched the wound, blood dripping from it, and stepped back.
"This bastard dares..."
As if he couldn't believe he was injured, the boy glared at Zeke while retreating.
Then, his eyes suddenly turned red.
Crackle!
The surrounding stones slowly rose into the air. Due to the force waves, the stones began to rotate violently in place.
The boy pointed his finger at Zeke.
"Die!"
Hundreds of stones floating in the air spun and flew towards Zeke.
Tatatatatatata!
The stones flew towards Zeke relentlessly.
A cloud of dust billowed up where Zeke stood due to the continuous impacts.
"Ha... Ha..."
Perhaps due to overexertion, the boy landed on the ground, gasping for breath.
A huge crater was deeply carved where Zeke had been standing, as if a meteorite had fallen.
The boy smirked at the sight.
"You're just a monster. How dare you challenge me, Sir Sion?"
Sion straightened his back and looked around.
"I've destroyed everything again. I'll get scolded again. Oh, whatever."
He slowly floated into the air.
Then he extended his hand towards the farmhouse where Zeke and his group were hiding.
As the boy flipped his palm, the farmhouse completely crumpled and began to collapse.
"They must all be dead by now."
Sion soared back into the air and flew away somewhere.
A while after the boy disappeared, the ground shook.
Zeke, having returned to his original form, looked around, brushed off the dirt, and got up.
He tilted his head, looking at the collapsed farmhouse.
"The cleanup is too sloppy for someone with his skills."
A professional would have gone in to check the bodies of the enemies or hostages and erased all traces.
However, the boy named Sion simply collapsed the farmhouse without doing any of that and returned, assuming everyone was dead.
Zeke guessed that he was a secret weapon within the Nostra clan, mobilized only for special tasks.
'Since other members usually take care of the cleanup, he probably doesn't feel the need to be thorough.'
In that case, other members of the Nostra clan could soon arrive.
Zeke ignited pure flames and burned down the destroyed safe house.
Whoosh!
After burning all traces of Zeke's group and Dario, he summoned Bucephalus and headed towards the bunker where Boris was hiding.
***
'Phew.'
Boris, hiding in the bunker prepared in the mountain, sharpened his senses and checked if any enemies were approaching.
He could sense some soldiers moving around on the mountain, but they seemed to have missed the bunker and went elsewhere.
That's when it happened.
'Someone is approaching.'
Boris tensed up and gestured to Bisco.
Bisco held a dagger and grabbed Dario.
If they couldn't escape, they had to kill Dario and commit suicide themselves.
It was better to end their own lives than to be captured by the enemies and tortured.
As the two were tense, a signal indicating a comrade was heard.
Boris confirmed it was Zeke through the periscope installed inside the bunker.
He finally relaxed and opened the door.
"Boss."
Zeke entered the bunker and patted Boris on the shoulder.
"Good work, Boris."
He had been wandering around for two days, misleading the pursuers and leaving traces.
The pursuers, following the traces Zeke left, had changed direction towards the eastern region.
Zeke sat down, ate some water and dried meat, and caught his breath.
After a brief rest, he looked at Dario tied up in the corner.
"How is Dario?"
"He's in good health. He was making a fuss after realizing we were rescued, but he's been quiet since yesterday."
Zeke got up and went towards Dario.
Dario flinched and trembled as Zeke approached.
Zeke removed the gag from Dario's mouth and said,
"The Nostra clan sent an interesting guy. There was a guy who looked to be in his early teens, wearing a suit with shorts, and using a bloodline ability that could manipulate objects. He called himself Sion. Who is he?"
Dario's eyes darted around.
As Zeke raised his hand, Dario was terrified and said,
"I-I'll talk!"
"Who is that kid?"
Dario hesitated before speaking.
"S-Six."
"Six?"
Dario nodded.
"He's one of the six special bloodline ability users created by the clan."
"There are six of them?"
"Y-yes."
Zeke rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.
That Sion guy's ability was at least comparable to a Red Knight's power.
Having five more like him meant the Nostra clan possessed power on par with a nation.
'And the Cheongal Palace knights as well.'
For a Mafia, they had roots all over the continent and were committing all sorts of crimes.
Zeke said to Dario,
"That Sion guy destroyed the entire safe house and left. It seems like the higher-ups ordered him to eliminate you."
"Th-that can't be..."
Dario looked up at Zeke with disbelief.
Zeke shook his head nonchalantly.
"It's no use looking at me like that. I'm telling the truth."
Zeke, as an enemy, had tortured Dario until he was near death, but after the interrogation, he kept him alive and healthy using Healing Potions. Yet, the clan had mobilized a special ability user to kill him.
Zeke asked Dario,
"Why would they use a special ability user to kill you? Do you know some critical information about the organization?"
Dario, with an uncharacteristically wounded expression, gritted his teeth and said,
"I can't say."
Zeke understood the implication of Dario's words.
'There must be some kind of restriction in place.'
The members of Narak also had restrictions on revealing information.
That was why there was a limit to how much information he could extract even when he captured Narak mages.
Zeke said to Dario,
"To think they would even place a restriction. You must know the identity of the boss."
Dario's face turned pale at Zeke's words.
From that reaction alone, Zeke knew his assumption was correct.
'They placed a restriction even on the clan boss to hide his identity? What kind of person is this boss?'
He seemed to be an obsessively thorough individual.
Zeke got up and approached Boris.
"We'll move when the sun sets. I've prepared a boat by the river beyond the mountain."
"Understood, boss."
Then Zeke whispered to Boris,
"It seems information keeps leaking. Be careful, as we don't know when and where the enemies might appear."
Boris nodded at Zeke's words.
He was also suspicious of that. Even if the Siemens' information network was fast, it was impossible for the knights to arrive so quickly at the safe house where Dario was hiding.
It was almost certain that there was a traitor among them.
As soon as it got dark, Zeke led them over the mountain towards the river.
The pursuers had already moved eastward, so there were no enemies in sight on the mountain.
They had to cross the mountain and reach the river before sunrise.
"Huff... Huff..."
Bisco was out of breath, his heart pounding as he followed Zeke and Boris, who were alternately carrying Dario up the mountain.
'They're monsters.'
Bisco was prepared to do anything to survive, but he never imagined he would be in this situation.
He gritted his teeth and followed behind Zeke and Boris.
***
"I see the boat."
Zeke enhanced his eyesight in the forest and confirmed the location of the boat.
As he was about to head down towards the boat, Zeke raised his hand and signaled to stop.
He had detected strange movements within the boat.
"What's wrong, boss?"
Zeke frowned.
"It seems the Imperials have found and occupied the boat."
They had planned to take the boat upstream to Mycenae, but the Imperial Knights were already waiting in ambush.
Even if they retook the boat and went upstream, it was clear that the Imperial Army would be waiting further ahead, blocking the waterway.
Boris asked Zeke,
"What are your orders?"
"We change plans."
Zeke quickly organized his thoughts and drew his sword.
"Boris, you take Dario and go to Mycenae as planned. Bisco, you come with me and seize the boat. I'll take the boat upstream and lure them away."
Boris nodded at Zeke's words.
"Understood, boss."
Boris immediately took Dario and climbed back up the mountain.
If they crossed the mountain and obtained horses from a nearby village, they could reach Mycenae within two days. It seemed the pursuers were divided, with one group chasing eastward and another waiting by the boat. If they could lure away the ones at the boat, Boris and Dario should be able to reach Mycenae without problems.
Zeke gestured to Bisco.
"Bisco, we'll throw them into confusion. Prepare some blood."
"Understood, boss!"
The two descended towards the bottom of the mountain with stealthy movements.
***
As Zeke had predicted, it was the Imperial Army occupying the boat.
The Imperial garrison, dispatched from the surrounding area at Siemens' request for support, was hiding and waiting inside the boat.
One of the knights yawned loudly and grumbled in boredom.
Then he spoke to his comrade next to him.
"But is it really the vampires' doing?"
"They said a Lich kidnapped that tycoon. Who else besides vampires can control monsters like Liches?"
"Damn it, why are we even involved in this Mafia feud... Damn it."
The grumbling knight got up from his spot.
His comrade looked at him and said,
"Hey, where are you going? Didn't you hear we're supposed to stay put?"
"I'm going to take a piss. Piss. I can't even squeeze anything out if I have to use the chamber pot."
"Don't blame me if the squad leader scolds you."
"Whatever. They all went back east anyway, so what."
The knight climbed onto the deck and stood there, aiming his stream towards the river.
"Ah, that's refreshing. Huh? What's with this fog? Was it like this before?"
The knight finished relieving himself and adjusted his pants.
But the fog had gotten thicker than before.
"Huh? What's this?"
The knight rubbed his eyes and looked ahead.
Just then, he saw something in the fog.
Creak!
A dilapidated ship slowly approached. A worn-out flag was hanging on the ship.
The knight checked the flag and was shocked beyond belief.
A flag with a skull drawn on it.
The ship was filled with numerous skeletons and monstrous creatures.
The knight, terrified by the sight, stumbled back and shouted,
"A-a ghost ship! A ghost ship has appeared!"