Chapter 149: A Common Enemy, An Enemy Within (6)

"Whoever they were, they'd clearly figured out all our routes. It's best to find a completely new path."

I nodded. There was no telling how wide the encirclement was, or how many enemies could be hiding in the deep canyon behind us. A frontal breakthrough would have been reckless. I carefully turned around to retreat from the canyon.

Shhh-shhh!

Fwoosh!

Fireworks sizzled against the cold, dreary sky, glowing red before vanishing. At the same time, in the distance, people who had been holding their breath began to reveal themselves one by one. At the front, nine people in various outfits charged straight at us with great speed.

Damn it.

"They're targeting us, no question about it. I'm sorry. It's my fault. I should've noticed sooner...!"

Of course, it wasn't her fault. It was I who had led us at full speed into the surrounded zone.

"Don't make such ridiculous jokes," I said casually, but inside, I was burning with anxiety.

The scenario's completion and the absorption of the marquis could be ruined right in front of me.

Fwoosh!

They're too fast.

The nine humans were sprinting down the narrow path at near horse-riding speed.

Are they really human?

I raised my sword.

Vwoooom!

The charging enemies hesitated slightly upon seeing my Sword Energy. But they were unfazed and kept rushing forward.

If they can move at that speed...

They wouldn't be the only ones. It was going to be a difficult fight. Maybe, it would be impossible to save even just Rena.

Could this be another failure...?

The nine in the lead stopped near us.

Grrrrrr...

A thick, dark, magical energy surged from all of them. One even growled like a beast.

A bald man with sunken eyes stepped forward and said, "It's already too late to turn back..."

A lion tattoo gleamed on his shining bald head. Now, it was easy to recognize. That was clearly the mark of followers of the Demon King Purson.

Why are these bastards always moving in packs?

Preparing to swing my sword at any moment, I asked them, "You serve Purson, don't you?"

It was a bold guess, but one I could make because I had seen the mark in a past life. Surprisingly, they didn't seem shocked at all.

The bald man at the front muttered in a low voice, "Look at him acting like he uncovered some grand secret..."

A man covered head-to-toe in long hair growled menacingly. "You smashed all of the King's altars—and you wonder who else would be after you?"

"Altars... I smashed...?" I was caught off guard.

"Don't bother pretending. You left the Crow's Seal at every altar. We thought it was a trap, but it wasn't."

Crow's Seal? What are they talking about?

Everything was confusing. But they didn't give me much time to think it over.

"We thought we'd severed all traces of Malphas."

Malphas?

This time, a long-haired man standing on a rock glared sharply at me and spoke. He wore a hooded robe and had deep brown skin.

"Not much to say. I don't know why you went around wreaking havoc so brazenly, but this is where you die."

"..."

My mind raced. The pieces began to connect. Isaac was the High Priest of Malphas. And the three places we visited on the way—all of them were dungeons Isaac had recommended.

The Torture Labyrinth.

The Withered Ant Nest.

The Sinister Scorpion Den.

Just like how the spider den had an abandoned temple of Baal beneath it... What if all those places were actually altars of Purson? Looking back, Isaac always subtly pushed me to overuse magic whenever I entered a dungeon. I had wondered if I'd ever be able to use magic again in the next life, so I'd cast too many spells, even in situations where my sword alone would have sufficed.

I'd fallen into his psychological game. But there was one more thing bothering me. Could magic alone really leave behind traces of Malphas? Isaac had forced me to carve Lurium circuits into myself twice. Those circuits had to be the problem. They must've left traces that led the Purson followers right to me.

You bastard...!

I internally shouted at Isaac.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"

Keep quiet. You're making me anxious.

"

Even though this situation was clearly his doing, Isaac's tone was odd. Whatever he was thinking, he seemed almost pleased. Was he acting?

I couldn't make sense of it. But there wasn't time to think.

Rena whispered, "Master! We need to retreat!"

Boom!

But the man covered in hair stomped the ground and blocked our escape.

"Did you really think you could flee from here?"

Swish.

The dark-haired man on the rock removed his robe. His crimson eyes shimmered slightly against his dark brown skin, and his long, pointed ears were unmistakable.

"An elf...?"

He was a Dark Elf—a rare species believed to be extinct.

"You're with Purson too...?"

Of course, the Dark Elf didn't answer kindly.

"

Hmph.

You've had your fun long enough. Three centuries of debt... I’ll collect it all, starting now."

Whiiish!

He aimed the bow in his hand at me. A faint crimson aura swirled around the small bow.

"First, I'll strip you of that arrogant helmet."

Fwish!

The arrow flew like a flash of light.

Clang!

Right before it could pierce my neck, I deflected it with my sword. The blade, imbued with aura, deflected it cleanly. Nevertheless, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly, as it could’ve easily pierced through four layers of steel armor. If I’d used a regular sword, it’d have shattered instantly.

Fwish! Fwish!

More follow-up shots came without pause.

I swung my sword again and shouted, "Wait!"

The bald man with the lion tattoo chuckled mockingly. "What? Trying to say your last words?"

Of course not. Well, maybe if I were alone. However, Rena and Acorn were here too. I wasn't going to die in vain.

"Pathetic. Even if I were Malphas' servant shouldn't the Demon Kings be uniting their power instead of biting each other in the shadows? You're still being ruled by humans, yet you're more concerned with tearing one another apart. How do you expect to win?"

"

Bwahahahahaha

!"

All nine of them burst into loud laughter.

"Master... I think we really need to run now..."

The encirclement was tightening from afar.

One by one, the enemies added their words.

"You're shameless."

"Is this a joke?"

"Well, if you're Isaac's disciple, I suppose that makes sense."

"Your kind enslaved our ancestors when you were in power, and now you say that?"

"That's enough nonsense! Die!"

Fwoosh!

The three charged at me all at once. The right arm of the one with the mane swelled enormously. He tried to rip off my head with his grotesque swollen hand. I dodged past his fist and swung my greatsword toward them.

[Skill: Frost Storm Lv. 1 activated.]

The spell had already been preloaded. Regardless of whether this was a Malphas-inscribed situation, there was no way I could afford

not

to use magic now.

Fwooooosh!

The cold energy gathered at the tip of my sword expanded forward in a wide arc.

Riiip!

A red-haired woman with a short bob tore a scroll while holding a small wand.

Fzzzzzt! Boom!

Twin jets of flame erupted from her wand and collided with the froststorm. The clash between frost and flame created a powerful gust, lifting dirt into a pale cloud all around us.

Is she a mage?

I'd seen her type on battlefields before. They didn't fight with an Arcane Heart, but a material-based caster that relies on prepared scrolls and ingredients. She wasn't comparable to the Wizards of Azure, who cast from their fingertips, but she still ruled the battlefield with terror over regular soldiers.

Ssshhh...

The froststorm, weakened by the fire, lost its lethal edge and merely swept across the area.

"Bit chilly," the bald man said with a shrug.

"...!"

There were nine of them at this level.

I had to survive.

I couldn't die here. I gripped my sword with both hands and made a firm resolve. I would get to the Imperial Capital and make Rena the T&T branch head.

Raising my sword, I stared at the hundreds of enemies charging from all directions. I would break through. I thought facing them in the narrow canyon would be better than being surrounded by open ground.

Clang!

Rena deflected the combined strike of two men on the left with her cutting rapier.

"Out of all you cowards rushing in together, not one of you's worth a damn. Begone!"

[Skill: Acid Lv. 5 activated.]

[Skill: Blazing Flare Lv. 2 activated.]

Ssssss!

Fwoosh!

I swung my greatsword wide, scattering bluish acid and flames toward the four enemies in front.

BOOM!

The bald man pulled out a massive white shield to block and was forced far back. But the shield, seemingly made to counter magic, neither exploded nor dented completely.

He's the tank,

I figured.

That shield reminded me of the Hero’s servant, who’d killed the succubus. I couldn’t lose my composure here—Rena and Acorn's lives depended on me. Rather than going after him, I turned my blade on the Dark Elf, who aimed his bow at Rena. Another enemy stepped in with curved twin blades to block the attack.

BOOM!

The resulting small explosion sent the enemy with curved twin blades flying backward, leaving his clothes half-scorched.

"Catch me if you can!"

Using that slight opening, I once again swung my greatsword toward the enemies attacking Rena.

Vwooom!

We were outnumbered. Nevertheless, they were each at least two tiers below me. I remembered being in a similar situation. I had been surrounded by T&T's Inner Circle: the Empire's Third Branch Head, the deer Aezar, the werewolf Valdorf of the Broken Fang, and the slime who ran the orphanage. Compared to them, these enemies were significantly weaker.

We can escape!

Not sparing a thought for defense, I violently swung my greatsword to carve a path.

[Skill: Sprint Lv. 5 activated.]

[Skill: Cleave Lv. 1 activated.]

I accelerated and slashed toward the enemies ahead.

Clang!

I felt four different weapons fly out of the way at once.

I'm breaking through!

I grabbed Rena and bolted forward. We sprinted for several hundred meters. I thought we would actually make it out alive.

Fwoooooosh!

A giant fireball flew across the sky toward us.

Another mage?

I swung my sword vertically to slash at the fireball the size of a human head.

BOOM!

As soon as my energy-covered blade sliced through it, it exploded violently, pushing me slightly backward.

Whoosh!

The fire quickly spread to the grass surrounding the canyon. The heat was intense enough to scorch my armor, but my health barely took a hit thanks to my Fire Resistance. Still, it was enough to bring us to a halt.

"There they are."

The mage behind a tree took another potion and prepared to rip a new scroll.

Pew-pew-pew!

Rena rapidly fired her wrist-mounted crossbow at the mage. As the mage staggered, I rushed forward, pivoted, and swung my sword in a wide arc.

Slice!

I cleaved a massive tree in half, but the mage survived, thanks to a large man who grabbed him from behind and moved him to safety.

Swoosh.

From the surrounding bushes, black-clad figures—faces hidden except for their eyes—rose like professional assassins, surrounding us.

Where the hell did these guys come from?

There were twenty of them, outnumbering us more than two to one. They gave off an aura no less intimidating than those I had just fought. Then, a low voice called down from the treetops.

"This is just the beginning, Isaac’s Heir."

You goddamn bastard...

I muttered a curse at Isaac—but of course, that didn't help the situation. And Isaac, for once, remained tensely silent.

KABOOM!

The voice from the three was followed by the hurling of five bombs all at once.