[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 98
The hound bitten by Gurab soon breathed its last.
Zeke wondered why the Empire's hounds were roaming around this area.
'It's possible they're chasing Karus, but there could also be ancient ruins here.'
The mad emperor of the Rom Empire was scouring the entire continent for any ancient ruins he could find.
Zeke wasn't sure if Consul Julius had the authority to command the hounds, but if they were indeed pursuing Zeke's group, crossing the border would become even more difficult.
Soon, Boris and Simon woke up and were startled to see the hound's corpse.
"Simon, are there any ancient ruins near here?"
Simon nodded at his words.
"Yes. There are quite a few hidden dungeons near the border."
Zeke was somewhat relieved by Simon's answer.
But he couldn't let his guard down.
The hounds were also knights of the Empire.
There was no telling when they might be fully mobilized to cast a dragnet.
'It's best to get out of here as soon as possible.'
Zeke woke Karus up and immediately moved towards the tunnel.
The tunnel Simon mentioned, which could be used to cross the border, was an old smuggling route.
When Ishtar hadn't issued the expulsion order, the cartel used to send all of their Soma through here.
Back then, it wasn't the Syndicate, but outlaws who acted as guides for the route.
Simon knew about this tunnel because he had helped transport the cartel's drugs through here when he was an outlaw.
"We're almost there."
A small village made of earthen walls could be seen beyond the wasteland.
Zeke entered the village, cautiously observing his surroundings.
Simon went deeper into the village, saying he would meet with a broker.
Zeke and his party entered a restaurant that Simon had guided them to.
Karus, sitting at the table, slumped over and said,
"Ugh. I'd like to eat something warm, not just dry rations."
He was tired of eating only dry food while crossing the wasteland.
Soon, the food they ordered arrived, just as Karus had wished.
Although the spices were strong, the food was edible.
Karus, throwing aside his imperial dignity, devoured the food voraciously.
'He's a hundred times better than those nobles who fuss about their food.'
Zeke thought it was fortunate that Karus was an easygoing royal.
After finishing their meal and resting for a while, Zeke felt an unsettling atmosphere forming around them.
'This isn't good.'
As he expected, a group of men entered the restaurant.
Judging from the shape of their swords, they seemed to be from the Central Continent.
'They're hounds.'
It seemed the hounds, who had been searching for ruins in the area, had entered the village to find a meal.
Zeke gestured to Boris and Karus to cover their faces and look away.
Just as they were about to quietly get up from their seats,
"Hey, you."
Suddenly, someone called out to Zeke.
Glancing back, he saw that it wasn't the hounds who had just entered, but one of the outlaws sitting in the restaurant, approaching Zeke.
"I haven't seen your face before. Where are you from?"
Zeke, with his face covered, spoke to the outlaw in the Southern dialect.
"I'm from the Syndicate. And where do you belong?"
At the mention of the Syndicate, the outlaw flinched for a moment.
Then he grinned and approached Zeke again.
"These days, everyone claims to be from the Syndicate. You little punk. Did you think I'd be scared by that?"
He was clearly just a thug who preyed on travelers entering the village.
Zeke was more concerned about the hounds sitting at the inner table.
"I don't want to cause a scene. What do you want?"
The outlaw, with a confident expression, said,
"Show me everything you have. I'll see how much you offer and think about what the boss will do."
Zeke nodded as if he had no choice.
"Alright. Most of my belongings are on my horse. Let's go there."
The outlaw happily followed Zeke to the stable.
Zeke threw one of the bags hanging on his horse to the outlaw.
"Ooh. This is quite heavy. Let's see what's insi..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Zeke struck the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious.
He led the horse towards where Karus and Boris had already exited.
But the hounds, who had been eating quietly, were now approaching Zeke.
"Hey. You, wait a minute."
Zeke pondered the hound's words for a moment, then approached him with his face still covered.
"What can I do for you?"
"I heard you were from the Syndicate earlier. What brings smugglers all the way out here?"
Fortunately, it seemed they hadn't been discovered.
Zeke slowly fabricated a story.
"The road to the Central Continent was suddenly blocked, so we came here to detour through the desert and go up north."
One of the hounds looked at Zeke suspiciously, then approached Karus, who had a different aura than the other two.
"You, take off your robe."
The hound reached out to remove Karus's robe.
It was then.
Thud!
Zeke took out a dagger and threw it at the hound's hand.
And he immediately drew his Woonchul sword and beheaded the hound in front of him.
Slice!
The hounds were momentarily stunned as their comrade was killed in an instant.
"Get them!"
Boris, who was next to him, drew his sword and stabbed the shouting hound from behind.
Zeke threw a dagger at the hound trying to escape.
Three hounds died in the blink of an eye in the restaurant.
Boris approached Zeke.
"Boss, it's only a matter of time before we're discovered."
"Let's abandon the horses and go to where Simon is. We need to get through the tunnel quickly."
Zeke took Karus and ran to where Simon was.
But just then, other outlaws started chasing Zeke's group.
"A hundred thousand gold is getting away!"
It seemed the bounty hunters had barged in here as well.
Zeke used the flashbang skill towards the pursuing outlaws.
Flash!
"Kyaaaak!"
The outlaws exposed to the flashbang rolled around on the market floor.
Just as they were about to cross the market and head towards the tavern Simon had mentioned,
"Boss!"
Simon ran towards Zeke.
"What happened?"
"The bounty hunters are already chasing us. The hounds caught our scent too. Can we enter the tunnel right now?"
"We can enter, but there's no guide."
"I can find the way, so let's hurry."
Zeke followed Simon and ran towards the tunnel.
Since the village had originally been built around this tunnel, the entrance to the tunnel was closer than expected.
The entrance was inside an old well.
A guard stood watch in front of it.
When Simon showed the token he had received from the broker, the guard nodded and told them to enter the well.
They entered the well one by one, starting with Simon.
Whoosh!
Looking down, they saw a narrow tunnel leading down from the bottom of the well.
It was so shabby that it was hard to believe that just a few years ago, drugs from the South had been transported through this tunnel to the Central Continent.
Zeke turned on the map and examined the tunnel route.
"I'll take the lead. Simon, protect Karus from the rear."
Thanks to the map, Zeke could navigate the complicated tunnel without getting lost.
Soon, the narrow path ended, and a fairly wide passage appeared.
Simon said to Zeke,
"Boss, if we go straight this way, we can cross the border."
Zeke's party walked along the long tunnel path.
It was unbelievable how people could have built such a long tunnel.
After walking for a while,
There was a loud noise from behind.
"They're over there!"
Apparently, there was more than one entrance to the tunnel.
Outlaws with weapons drawn were chasing Zeke's group.
Simon, observing them, said to Zeke,
"The man in front is called the Yellow Wind Messenger, a fairly renowned outlaw."
"Simon, protect Karus. Boris, follow me!"
Zeke immediately drew his Bahamut sword and charged forward.
Wheeik!
He had to deal with the outlaws using only swordsmanship, as using powerful skills risked collapsing the tunnel.
Zeke swung his sword.
Thwack!
The Yellow Wind Messenger, struck by Zeke's sword, flew back and crashed into the wall.
Boris also wielded his sword against the outlaws, taking on several at once.
Zeke shouted to Boris,
"Boris! Cover your ears and step back!"
At Zeke's words, Boris rolled back.
Simultaneously, Zeke used the skill Discord.
Jiiiiiiiiing!
A strange sound resonated around Zeke, and the outlaws, in agony, retreated.
Discord disrupted their balance.
"M-Magic?"
Although it was a skill Zeke used, from their perspective, it seemed like magic.
Zeke's sword swept through the bewildered outlaws.
"Keuhuk!"
Even the renowned Yellow Wind Messenger was no match for Zeke, being far weaker from the start, and the rest were mere small fries.
Zeke personally beheaded the Yellow Wind Messenger, and Boris finished off the remaining outlaws.
Sheathing his sword, Zeke said,
"Boris, let's hurry."
Zeke's party quickly moved further into the tunnel.
However, the outlaws continued to attack them relentlessly.
Chwaak!
Zeke's sword cut through the outlaws, clearing a path.
The tunnel floor was soaked with the blood of the outlaws.
Boris, who had been swinging his sword continuously, seemed quite exhausted, but Zeke, thanks to his infinite stamina, could continue to fight them off.
'It would have been a disaster if I didn't have infinite stamina.'
Zeke handed out health potions to his companions and continued towards the tunnel exit.
And when they finally reached the tunnel exit,
Zeke felt an ominous presence.
'This is... magical energy.'
As expected, magic flew in from outside the exit.
Jijijik!
Kwakwakwakwang!
Lightning and fireballs rained down on Zeke's group.
"Get down!"
Zeke shielded Karus and activated Dragon Scale Armor.
When the explosions ended, he got up and said to Simon,
"Protect Karus. I'll go out and take care of the mages."
Zeke, equipped with his armor, dashed out of the tunnel.
"He's out! Attack!"
As soon as Zeke emerged, the mages began to bombard him with attacks.
Perhaps because there were all sorts of people among the outlaws, battle mages were also a common sight.
Fireballs, lightning, and energy bolts poured down, just like before.
But the shield activated, automatically defending against the magic.
Woooong!
As soon as the shield's effect ended, Zeke ran towards the mages with his sword.
Then, he stretched out his hand and used the Magic Reflection skill.
As the mana field distorted, the mages were inevitably flustered as their magic casting was disrupted.
"W-What's happening?"
Zeke immediately swung his sword and defeated the mages.
After quickly finishing them off and looking around, he saw the outlaws, who had been waiting behind the mages, were bewildered.
"Those bastards! They said they were mages from Delfoa, but it was all a lie!"
The battle mages Zeke had killed seemed to be deserters from the Delfoa magic battalion.
He took his sword and swept away all the outlaws who had been waiting.
"Whew."
Even though he had infinite stamina, Zeke had his limits.
He, too, was starting to feel fatigue. He hadn't been able to properly utilize Gluttony because they had been moving quickly, so he couldn't resolve his mental exhaustion.
'It would be even more dangerous if I suddenly lose consciousness.'
Zeke signaled his party to come out.
Boris brought the horses that the outlaws had been riding.
Simon said to Zeke,
"Boss, if we ride for about two days, there's a village we can stop by before entering the Forest of the Forgotten, near Ishtar's territory."
"It would be better to go there, reorganize, and then enter the Duchy of Troy along the outskirts of the forest."
"That would be preferable to entering the desert region."
"Alright. Let's change the route."
It was a more roundabout way, but with even Salmak targeting Karus, entering their home ground, the desert region, was practically suicidal.
Just as Zeke's party was about to leave the border area on horseback,
They felt something fiercely chasing them from behind.
Zeke used Dragon Eye to enhance his vision and examine the pursuers.
A curse word immediately escaped his lips.
"Damn it, the Empire's hounds are on our tail."
It seemed they had been caught because of the three he killed at the restaurant.
Zeke's party spurred their horses faster.
However, the horses they had taken from the outlaws were no match for the Empire's military horses.
Soon, the hounds caught up to Zeke's group.
Whoosh!
One of the hounds fired a crossbow.
Zeke, who was at the rear, swung his sword and deflected the arrow.
He shouted towards Simon,
"Keep going! Once we get closer to Ishtar's territory, those hounds won't be able to follow us!"
Zeke fell slightly behind the others and threw daggers at the pursuing hounds.
Piting!
The hound's speed gradually decreased due to the obstruction of the daggers infused with Gold power.
But then, another cloud of dust rose from the side.
Another group of outlaws was approaching them from behind.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]