Noah, Tiu, and Kuina took the train and headed to their destination.
I had to go in for a while from the station in the nearby city, but luckily the guide was attached from the middle.
“hello. I am the cauliflower of the 4th Knights of Lichtenauer who was in charge of the guide.”
“… … Cauliflower, that vegetable?”
To Noah’s self-talk, she replied as if she was used to it.
“You can call me Collie by name and last name by Flowerney Collie.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“are you okay. It’s like everyone you meet.”
Waiting for them at the station was a female knight with a great name and lively personality.
“I heard that the young master is coming with me, but who is this guy?”
“Ah, don’t mind me, I’m just a spectator.”
At Kuina’s words, Colli looked at him as if he was okay, and Noah nodded.
Kuina hid on the spot as if she was going to disappear without being bothered at all.
Collie was startled by the sight.
“What, what now? Did it just disappear right in front of your eyes?”
“Quina-san’s stealth skills are amazing.”
It might be unknown if he was hiding from the beginning, but disappearing right in front of his eyes was like a magician disappearing on the spot without using a blackout.
It is basic to deceive your sixth sense.
Even if it becomes transparent, the flow of aura is created because the air is pushed out in the process of moving.
In order to disappear like Kuina, she had to control everything caused by her movements.
“Hey. Shall we talk as we go? I have a wagon ready.”
* * *
Damn dag dag dag dag!
Noah listened to the cheerful sound of the horses’ hooves and watched Collie drive the wagon.
Collie’s horse magic was a method of transmitting auras to horses, strengthening them like rigid combat.
Reinforcement through aura ultimately depends on the basic performance of the body.
Knights run better than horses, but horses that are enhanced in this way run better than knights.
If you simply look at the movement, strengthening the horse is more beneficial than running directly.
‘It strengthens external objects like sword technique, but it strengthens living things like rigid body art. It’s a skill that requires a lot of skill. Can you use an aura like this?’
“If you continue like this for about two hours, you will arrive at the village.”
Collie was proficient in driving the wagon and talking to him on mountain roads.
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask. In particular, Thiu seems to have been curious about a lot of things since before.”
From noble mtl dot com.
“Did you say that the name of the person you are going to see is Mr. Macbain? What kind of person is he?”
“Mr. Macbain was a knight who was engrossed in subjugating demons after the Great War. I first met him on a mission.”
Even if Lichtenauer entered the gate externally, he had to do the minimum work as long as he had a territory he owned.
It was only a few years ago that Emperor Luang Hui declared that he had subdued all the monsters in the interior.
Until then, it meant that monsters were roaming all over the country.
“As a rookie at the time, I learned a lot from him. It was through him that I heard the name ‘Wen’.”
“What did he say about the family?”
“The Punishers.”
“yes?”
“Don’t do anything bad enough to get them visiting. Only a few survived to face them.”
“What is that… … .”
“I don’t know either. You said nothing more than that. When I heard that story, I just thought the name Wen was a pseudonym.”
Immediately after the Great War, the empire collapsed in security, and knights who were not formally recognized were scattered.
Most of them were knights in name only, but in fact they were close to vigilantes.
However, the vigilantes who united to oppose the criminals actually had the strength of the Knights Templar.
“Among the vigilantes, those who went beyond simple community protection and actively fought against criminals. I wondered if that was the name they used to avoid retaliation. But I didn’t know it was a family that actually existed.”
“… … .”
At Collie’s words, Tiu was lost in thought.
As far as Tiu knew, the name Wen was definitely a family name.
‘But it was only my mother who said that.’
Collie’s guess sounded quite plausible to her.
I had never seen anyone in my life who knew that name, despite the fact that my mother emphasized the name Wen.
If it was an official article, the record should have remained.
However, even in Nightray, there was no record of a certain family.
‘What if it wasn’t an official article?’
What if it was just using the name of the Knights Templar, but in reality it was a completely different organization?
Then I could explain quite a lot.
“In the end, you have to meet to know.”
It was Noah’s voice that woke Tiu from his thoughts.
“In the end, it’s all speculation, and you didn’t explain it clearly, right? Then you can go and ask.”
“I guess so. Even if the person in charge of the family visits you personally, he won’t say anything.”
In fact, the letter said that he would talk to me whenever he came.
“Then the question is, how do we get out of here?”
“yes?”
At Noah’s words, Tiu and Collie noticed something was strange.
There is no sound.
While passing through the mountain road, all I hear is the sound of carriage wheels. I couldn’t hear the chirping of birds or insects, not even the rustling of leaves in the wind.
“It’s true. It keeps going around the same place.”
“Uh, since when?”
“well. It seems like it’s been a while, but if the method deceives the senses, there’s a possibility that the actual time was also manipulated.”
“Could it be the organization’s trap?”
As soon as Collie grasped the situation, she drew her sword, but in Noah’s eyes, they weren’t immediately in danger.
“calm down. If you were going to attack, you would have done it long ago. This tactic is nothing more and nothing less than a hunting tactic that keeps you wandering and exhausting.”
It was as Noah said.
If they were going to attack, it was better to do so before they realized they were trapped.
“If it’s a hunting strategy, did the village set it up? Like countermeasures against witchcraft or something like that.”
It was only a few years ago that Emperor Guanghui declared that all demonic beasts in the interior had been subdued.
That means that it was a world where it was not strange even if a monster came out of the back mountain before.
It was also common for camps to be installed around villages as countermeasures against demons.
“You didn’t bother to remove the jinbeop that was installed before?”
“I don’t think so.”
Noah answered confidently.
“If it was a countermeasure against the monsters, it would have to be spread in a direction that prevents them from coming from outside, but this is the opposite.”
“the opposite?”
“okay. It’s a way to isolate the inside from the outside.”
Jinbeop was a technique that used natural auras to create specific effects.
Like creating a reservoir and irrigating a rice field, inducing a flow in the aura that exists in nature causes various effects.
“It’s like digging a waterway, so to speak. Because of this, you can roughly guess its purpose by looking at the direction and shape of the waterway.”
In addition, despite the situation like this, Kuina is quiet.
It meant that only they were trapped inside, except for Kuina, who was moving separately nearby.
‘It’s highly likely that the trap was aimed at us from the beginning.’
“It takes a long time for professional truth experts to interpret the true law… … Does the Nightray teach you about Jinbeop?”
“It is not. Thanks to Grandpa.”
Even in Night Ray, which taught everything, only basic concepts were taught.
“Because it is too difficult to teach properly. It’s like teaching them first aid but not asking them to memorize the scientific names of bacteria.”
Depending on the person who opened it, the state of nature, the effect, the period, etc.
However, it was Vincent who taught Noah the truth.
The reason why he was chosen as the national teacher among the numerous Master Knights was because his knowledge encompassed numerous fields of study.
“There is an artificial axis for manipulating the flow of aura in Jinbeop. Depending on whether this axis is inside or outside of Jinbeop, its use is different.”
The shaft was like a door hinge or handle.
If the axis is outside the true law, it cannot be opened from the inside.
Conversely, if the axis is inside the base, it cannot be opened from the outside.
The difference is whether to prevent an invasion from the outside or isolate the enemy from the inside.
“The axis is not visible from our point of view on the inside. That means that this is a strategy for confinement.”
There was no reason for this if it was a countermeasure against witchcraft.
Even if someone gets trapped by mistake, they won’t be able to escape unless someone comes and opens it up.
Rather, it didn’t matter if the shaft was inside if it was to block the demon. Because the witch beast didn’t have the intelligence to destroy the axis.
That’s not what it means, it’s a strategy to trap people from the start.
“Have you already figured out how to escape, Bocchan?”
Noah nodded his head.
It was natural for Collie to be surprised.
‘Because I’m better at interpreting the truth than my grandfather.’
Noah’s natural talent was not limited to swordsmanship.
Anything dealing with auras was Noah’s domain.
“If it’s a strategy to kill time, you’d better escape as quickly as possible.”
“I will help. How can I do it?”
“Prepare for shock.”
“yes?”
world collapse.
Kiyiing!
In the collapse of space, there is no room for the dazzle of the senses.
It was the fastest way to escape by blowing up the axis that should be outside at once.
‘With this structure, there is only one location where the axis could be located.’
“Cheonwon.”
A line of light that erases everything.
An extreme stab pierced the sky.
Blasphemy!
Cracks begin to appear in the sky from the hole through which Cheonwon passed.
The sky collapsed.
“Eh, what is this… … .”
A power that far exceeded the standard of a normal student.
Fifteen of the current generation are already stronger than most regular knights.
“You don’t have to hang out there if you’re trying to kill time.”
“Oh oh? Did you come out sooner than expected?”
“Mr. Kuina was also outside.”
“It doesn’t look like the dangerous kind, so I’ve been watching how you come out.”
Even Noah, who was accustomed to the method, only sensed the activation after entering the powerful method.
Of course, it was not difficult to come out because the effect was concentrated on not being noticed, but it would have been dangerous enough if additional elements were added.
‘Even if only the effect of disturbing the sense of time was added, most people would have died of starvation after moving for dozens of hours without knowing that they were trapped in a tactic.’
In that sense, this jinbeop was a high level but incomplete jinbeop.
‘This means that the opponent is also in a hurry.’
“Any help please.”
“It’s not even dangerous, so why? It is more important to me to watch your actions and growth.”
Quina’s eyes were filled with desire for exploration.
‘If you think about it, it was like that when we first met.’
When Kuina came to the Black Moon Dormitory, she was watching Noah closely.
Up until now, I had thought that because of Regina’s interest in Noah, Kuina was curious as well, but now that I see it, it seems that’s not all.
‘Are you saying I’m not someone who just follows Regina-sama’s orders?’
There was no need to worry, since Regina couldn’t have put someone dangerous on Noah, but it seemed that the relationship was no ordinary master-servant relationship.
“In the first place, if you are now, there is nothing dangerous as long as you are not being stabbed, right?”
“Did you notice?”
“Since I went to Sanctum Keep, even if I’m hiding, you’re measuring the distance. Even if you don’t want to know, you can’t know.”
These words surprised Tiu and Collie even more.
“You said Noah was sensing Kuina-sensei’s hiding?”
Among the students, it was said that no one could detect the stealth.
Even Veronica’s magic eye can be avoided as long as it doesn’t go inside the field of view.
“I guess that means… … .”
“Why are you like that? Is there something wrong with you, Bocchan?”
“problem? no. If that’s true, that’s not a problem.”
That fact meant only one thing.
“You mean you got your mind?”