119 episodes
A rancid smell stung his nostrils.
It was the smell of decaying human corpses.
It smelled so bad that it had to be left outside for a few days.
However, in the swamps of the south, the body was rotting badly, only a few dozen minutes after it was discovered.
“Crazy.”
“Looking at the undamaged corpse, it was not done by beasts or monsters. It is human work.”
There were mercenaries around the decaying corpse.
They scoured the body for any clues.
But it wasn’t easy.
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Vice-Captain!”
Immediately after receiving the report from his subordinate, Jackson came here in one step.
He observed the body closely, as if he would not miss a single clue.
“There was no sign of assassination.”
“What do you mean?”
Among the children of the noble family, the impatient one asked hastily, as if absurd.
“Do you know who the author is? It is the deficit of the Belmaa family, famous for their swords! So are you just trying to say that he died in vain to beasts and monsters?”
Jackson frowned.
He was blatantly ignoring the words of the mercenaries, saying they would not believe them.
“This is the enemy camp.”
The rank occupied by the expedition was higher than Jackson.
It was a fact that even the sons of noble families were well aware of.
It is for this reason that they have followed Kofun and Gobun until now.
But the excited aristocrats had no time to care about such things.
“You think I’m afraid of a dark follower?”
“We are concerned about losing the tactical advantage of the expedition.”
“Ha, after all, you’re just a mercenary baboon. You’re just afraid of that!”
Trying to respond calmly seemed to incite anger.
Seeing the nobles running wild on the road, the mercenaries also exuded a vicious energy.
The expedition that had been maintaining close tension was being divided.
Jackson clicked his tongue.
‘This is very difficult.’
That was then.
“Who is the one who speaks arrogant words to his superiors in the expedition?”
The white wolf, Robert, appeared with a sullen look.
His life suddenly overwhelmed the surroundings.
“… … !”
The nobles who insulted the mercenaries kept their mouths shut.
He pouted his mouth as if he had more to say, but it was in front of the white wolf.
No matter how noble he was, he could not be reckless.
“Do I look so funny?”
Robert stared at the nobleman’s son.
Due to the overwhelming amount of livelihood, the sons of noble families were choking.
“It’s not that… … .”
“I will not tolerate actions that may cause division in the midst of enemy lines. If something like this happens again in the future, I will deal with it myself.”
When Robert released the cover, the nobleman shut his mouth and backed off.
There was a strong sign of being patient.
However, he did not seem to have the courage to fight the white wolf, one of the five swords on the continent.
“What is the condition of the body?”
Robert, who had lightly arranged the division of the expedition, asked Jackson.
“No sword marks were found. Clean.”
“Except for the sword marks?”
“There is no trace of the nape of the neck to be considered choking.”
“What is the estimated time of death?”
“Given the rotting condition of the corpse, it is at most two hours. Isn’t this all about the southern swamps?”
“Right.”
Robert was deep in thought.
In just two hours, the expeditionary crew died without even a mouse or a bird.
This was a very serious matter.
Especially since it happened in the enemy’s territory, no matter how vigilant or suspicious it was, it wasn’t enough.
‘It’s not a matter of taking it lightly.’
That was when Robert and Jackson were pensive.
Eyes were shining in the dark.
It was Ethan.
He was among the expeditionary forces surrounding the corpse.
‘ruler. What are you going to do now?’
Ethan’s eyes were on Easton.
He was not even interested in the son of a noble family, who had been killed without even a mouse or a bird.
It was natural.
Because it was none other than Ethan who killed the son of the noble family.
Assassination was very simple.
‘In a place like this, poison is clean.’
Even if it was revealed that the cause of death was poison, the culprit would not have been caught.
There were poisonous insects and reptiles scattered all over the swamp.
How can we distinguish them in a place where precise identification cannot be done?
Aiming at that, Ethan used the knowledge of his previous life to clean up the children of the noble family.
‘You must not think that no one knows you exist.’
Ethan looked at Easton and smiled.
Easton’s face was pale.
It was only natural that the dead expedition was a member of a dark follower like himself.
It was also an unknown death.
It was strange not to panic.
‘Isn’t it too exquisite to be dismissed as a coincidence?’
Ethan was looking into Easton’s heart.
Ethan, who was the henchman of the Demon King, had a disagreement with conspiracies and schemes.
Easton’s mind was clearly visible to Ethan.
He must have been confident that no one would know who he was.
Unfortunately, his colleague died.
He died exquisitely when he was about to start acting.
So there was no choice but to be suspicious.
The possibility that their identities may have been revealed.
“Would you like me to go?”
That was then.
Among the twins standing next to Ethan, Chloe muttered with a sad face.
“Even if we do, it will be of no use.”
“However… … .”
“People who know these things better than anyone else do not understand the truth. We better stay still. If you go out for nothing, you will provoke them.”
Ethan nodded and pointed to the sons of the noble family.
Chloe nodded at him.
Charlotte seemed to be convinced by the fact that she didn’t say anything.
The conflict had barely subsided.
If I added the possibility that it could become a seed of rebellion for nothing, it could have spread to the worst.
The twins were quirky but smart.
So I immediately recognized Ethan’s warning.
“I will go.”
“yes?”
“I have something to check.”
Ethan walked into the woods.
His work is not yet finished.
The Dark Followers who dug into the expedition with Easton were more than expected.
So it took a lot of poison to kill them diligently.
“Now we need to get rid of the flying flies.”
Ethan smiled cruelly.
* * *
the next day.
Inside the expedition, there was a cluttered yet tense tension.
Only five people have died today.
In particular, the sons of noble families were dying.
Fortunately, the cause of death was revealed.
The cause of death was poison.
But since the cause of death was revealed, there was nothing they could do.
There was always death from poison of unknown cause in the southern swamps.
There was no way to avoid the poison just because it was noble.
I had no choice but to avoid insects and reptiles as much as possible.
Ethan, who was looking at the tense appearance of the expedition, murmured.
“Not long left.”
Ethan knew.
The magic that seemed far away at first was getting closer and closer.
‘The hideout of the dark follower is near.’
Ethan put his hand in his bosom and fiddled with the small bottle.
‘It’s useless now, so I’ll have to deal with it.’
Ethan glanced around and gently dropped the small bottle on the floor.
Tuk!
It was a bottle of poison.
Over the past two days, Ethan has been extracting poison from poisonous weeds and venomous insects.
He then collected the extracted poison into a bottle and used it to cut off Easton’s limbs.
The results were satisfactory.
Ethan was able to dispose of every dark follower he knew.
‘All that’s left is that Easton.’
But the poison was already enough.
What is thrown away now is what I was holding as a spare.
That was the moment when Ethan disposed of the extra poison and headed elsewhere.
“uh?!”
A clear, clear voice came from behind.
Ethan looked back as he felt his neck stiffen.
Sure enough, there were twins there.
“Fenrir, go to the priest.”
The twins aboard Fenrir naturally ate the divine water.
Kung!
Fenrir also trudged to Edan without any complaints.
‘Shake. Ominous?’
widely!
The twins hurried down to the floor and picked up a small bottle.
“Priest Ethan, what did you drop!”
“Ah oh… thank you.”
Ethan stretched out his stiff arms and took the bottle.
Chloe and Charlotte continued to giggle and say.
“Then why all of a sudden? Last time, you were only half-talking.”
Ethan wanted to miss it.
‘Are you referring to the time when you encountered a subspecies monster and fought?’
Even if it was a trivial enemy, once he faced it, his envy was bound to boil.
So, it seems that words that are harsher than usual came out.
“Then it was… … .”
“it’s okay! You must have been angry about the subspecies monster back then.”
“Are we right?”
At this time, the twins were happy.
Ethan laughed awkwardly.
“yes. you’re right. You have made a mistake.”
“ah! By the way, what is the disease?”
“… … .”
Ethan said nothing.
At this time, the curiosity of the twins was annoyed.
‘How do I get around?’
I was busy shaking my head, and an unexpected reaction came back.
The twins, who were staring at the bottle, suddenly hardened their faces.
“Then maybe the priest… … ?”
“We’ll do what we haven’t seen.”
They hurriedly turned back.
“for a moment!”
Ethan grabbed Chloe’s shoulder, thinking that he should hold onto it first.
What do you do after you catch it?
Even Ethan didn’t know that.
All I had to do was hold on to the twins and wrap them around anything.
sniff sniff
But out of the blue, Chloe and Charlotte started crying.
‘what? Why are you crying again?’
Ethan frowned and looked down at the twins.
Then the twins opened their mouths wildly while squeezing tears.
“Shut up. Me, we all know.”
“It means that the priest is working hard.”
no. I don’t think you know?
Ethan’s eyes narrowed at the two of them.
‘These guys seem to have noticed that the disease is poisoned, so why are they reacting like this?’
In this case, it was best to keep the word out.
Ethan shut his mouth and waited for the twins to speak.
“You seem to have been looking for something around you while acting separately these days.”
“Is that poison extracted from poison worms or poisonous weeds? That’s why I was trying to make an antidote out of it.”
what?
Ethan was stunned.
“What if you tell us to stay still and move around alone like this?”
“Right. If you do it wrong, even the priest can be misunderstood at times like this.”
“Uh… … .”
Ethan made a strange expression.
It was unexpected, but it definitely worked out.
But, somehow, I felt strange.
The twins clenched their fists and decided.
“Once this has come to pass, we will do our best to help!”
“Say it, Priest!”
Somehow, Ethan became ominous.
* * *
Near a steep cliff in the dense forest, there was a fortress built narrowly.
The expedition was observing the fortress holding its breath from a distance.
“Is that there?”
Among them was Ethan.
‘Isn’t it fair to build a fortress like that on a steep cliff even in a remote country?’
Admiration came naturally, but since the owner of the citadel was a dark follower, nothing but laughter came out.
‘Did you only increase your ability to build a hiding place by hiding like a cockroach for a hundred years?’
That was then.
“I, Priest.”
A mercenary came to Ethan’s side.