159 episodes
Conrad was scouting near the Haup estate.
Soldiers were all over the Haup estate.
Also, checkpoints were set up all over the road.
The boundaries were very tight.
“I’ll have to figure out when the boundaries loosen later.”
Conrad skillfully grasped the level of vigilance.
‘At this level, it seems difficult for us to carry out the operation.’
The guards appeared to be well-organized and well-trained.
While I was watching from here, something happened in another place, and the skill of going straight there for support was flawless.
‘It’s a pain in the ass.’
Shortly after reconnaissance, Conrad climbed the mountain again.
When I got back to my camp, my colleagues were getting ready for bed.
“Are you ready for bed already?”
“To be able to work diligently tomorrow, I need to rest.”
They had consumed a lot of stamina while coming here.
Because it wasn’t just a safe route.
Ethan and the Knights chose a safe route that would not be detected by the enemy, even if it took more time.
I rode a horse all the way to the middle, but when I consumed the most stamina it was on the way to this place.
It was because he had to come to the vicinity of Haup’s estate, avoiding the eyes of all sentries and scouts.
Conrad gasped at his colleagues who were only preparing their bed.
“The selfish children. Aren’t you supposed to be used to things like this? You have to take care of the priest first.”
Then his colleagues laughed at Conrad.
“What are you going to take care of? Can’t you see there?”
Seeing where his colleagues were pointing, Ethan was skillfully digging the ground and making a dragonfly out of leaves.
“… … ?!”
Leaving behind the startled Konrad, the comrades clicked their tongues.
“The priest is doing well on his own, so please stop trembling.”
The surprise did not end there.
Ethan even ate the bland preserves well.
‘Ordinary people must have had a hard time starting with food, no, starting from bed, it’s strange.’
The more I looked at Ethan, the less he looked like a priest.
‘It’s like beating people without hesitation. Which priest in the world would learn kwonsik?’
Then I heard Christopher and Ethan talking.
“Why are you taking such a risk?”
“I’m the type of person who can’t live on what I receive. Whether it be grace or the enemy, we must return it.”
Conrad gave a low admiration at those words.
‘Should I give it back?’
It was evident that Ethan could not forgive the loss of so many lives in the Haup.
‘Justice is established. Indeed, a priest is a priest.’
Conrad cleared the previous question.
Now I knew.
Ethan, who behaves unpriestly, is rather the most priestly.
It was the same as long as he resolved the curse of the beast.
Even though there was an easy way to kill them, didn’t you bother to break their curses?
Ethan’s reckless actions were all to protect the people he had put in the fence.
‘That’s why you asked to come directly to the Haup this time! Priest, I’m sorry for doubting you.’
Conrad apologized to Ethan inwardly.
Promising to yield one of my share of preservation food tomorrow morning.
* * *
Three men in hoodies were heading to the Haup with a horse-drawn cart.
The boundaries within the rebel territory, Haup, were very strict.
However, Ethan chose to move separately from the knights.
Before leaving, Ethan asked the other knights.
– The rebel soldiers are scattered around, so you have to conduct guerrilla warfare appropriately. I have other work to do, so I’m going to the harp.
At first, the knights, of course, objected.
– I know that the priest’s skills are outstanding. But it’s too reckless to go into the enemy territory alone!
Ethan looked at the knights with determined eyes.
– Green death and the curse of the beast. The shoots that gave rise to these must be cut off.
The knights were overwhelmed by the momentum Ethan exuded in an instant.
It was not an energy that a single priest could possess.
The knights, who were at a loss for words for a moment, came up with a compromise.
– Then do this. Take Christopher and Dylan with you. This is also what we concede as much as possible.
It was a decision made hastily because we could not argue in front of the Haup estate.
Ethan accepted the compromise, and the other knights were scattered throughout the Haup estate.
It was for reconnaissance and guerrilla warfare.
Soon after the search was over, a fierce guerrilla war was about to unfold.
Knowing this, Ethan hurried his steps.
Christopher and Dylan, who followed, were also nervous.
“Will this really work?”
Behind them was a cart pulled by horses.
What was loaded on the cart was a carcass of an animal.
A swarm of flies, drawn by the smell of a corpse, rushed to the cart from time to time.
“You think you’ll be able to get into the Haup by just pointing this cart, without identification?”
Christopher and Dylan were dubious faces.
“It will work.”
“Anyway, this is… … .”
“In order to cause such a powerful curse as the green death and the curse of the beast, it must be sacrificed. Those offerings will come and go dozens of times a day, so do you think you’ll check them all?”
Ethan had a reason for being so sure.
This Plaguecaster was far inferior to Kha’Zix.
It was at the level of simply mimicking Kha’Zix’s plague technique.
Even a guy like Kha’Zix needed a large number of sacrifices during the Anti-Magic War.
Ethan, the demon king’s henchman, suffered the most at the time because of the sacrifice Kha’Zix used.
Day by day, as animal carcasses were used, special attention had to be paid to hygiene inside the castle.
The memory of trembling at Kha’Zix was still vivid, because a real epidemic could spread if it was done wrong.
Not to mention the plague magicians of this generation.
Christopher and Dylan couldn’t respond properly to Ethan’s words.
Because he was ignorant of curses and magic.
Ethan added.
“Inside information suggests that the Rebels are with the Dark Followers, but not externally. By the way, are you going to tell the soldiers who are checking the reason why the dead animal carcasses come and go in the city so that strange rumors circulate? The soldiers probably have no idea.”
“Ahh. If that’s the case, I understand.”
Christopher then understood.
Dylan nodded and asked the question later.
“Then are you going to enter that place proudly?”
All of a sudden, Ethan’s party was in front of Haup Castle.
Ethan chuckled.
“It’s not.”
“yes? Isn’t that different from what you just said?”
The two looked like they couldn’t understand English.
“Follow me at once.”
Ethan put his hood on more and murmured gloomily.
* * *
Ethan and the two knights entered the forest.
Christopher and Dylan were bewildered.
“Hey, Priest Ethan? Can I just come in like this?”
“We don’t know the geography of the forest at all.”
It was a big deal to meet even a rebel soldier who was getting lost in the forest and was checking in.
But Ethan moved forward as if he had ever lived in this forest.
“I’ll take care of everything, so if you meet suspicious people, don’t say anything.”
“Yes, yes. All right.”
Meanwhile, Ethan looked at the trees with his eyes.
‘It’s hidden quite deep.’
There was a mark on the tree that only those with magical powers could see.
Ethan followed the sign and moved forward.
To him with jet-black eyes, the markings could not be seen clearly, so it looked like it was shining.
‘Okay. Before entering, I thought it would be difficult to find the location, but with this, I’ll find it quickly.’
Lately, he has been using his jet-black eyes everywhere.
The sign that Ethan followed was a kind of device to guide them to the gathering place of the Dark Followers.
I asked if he was curious about Dylan, who was quietly following him.
“Priest, what will happen if we keep going like this?”
“What is coming?”
Ethan glanced at the marker and opened his mouth.
“The Dark Followers will come.”
“yes?”
“They will be piling up bloody corpses on the carts to make sacrifices. So I told you to keep your mouth shut.”
“Oh, I see.”
As soon as the conversation was over, a strange sight appeared before their eyes.
About twenty people were gathered in the open space of the forest.
Each with a cart full of animal carcasses.
The scene was eerie.
“Are you the last?”
The oldest of the men spoke to Ethan.
“Today, more carts came than I expected.”
The old man’s eyes were sharp as if he was trying to shake Ethan.
Christopher and Dylan kept their mouths shut, preparing for the unexpected.
“You haven’t been here often these days. So, I prepared as much as possible for today’s coming.”
“Cluck. Right. Because of that damned priest, I started to roam the town, whether a knight or a priest.”
The old man clicked his tongue in disapproval.
After a cure for the green death was discovered, the fleeing priests returned and began to swarm all over Miles.
So there were some guys who had a hard time preparing the body.
The old man presumed that the one who came this time was also like that.
“So rant, let’s see how much we’ve brought.”
The old man approached Ethan’s cart and saw that it was lying under an old rug.
The old man’s hazy eyes counted the number of dead animals.
“Hey, I’ve brought quite a bit of this. It must have been quite difficult.”
“There is no need to call it hardship.”
“Young man is very ambitious.”
The old man giggled, revealing his yellow teeth.
He soon organized his crew and headed for the castle.
People in dark clothes entered one after another, but the soldiers at the checkpoint did not impose any sanctions.
Because the face of the old man at the forefront was already familiar to the soldiers.
The moment they passed the checkpoint, Christopher and Dylan could barely relax.
The two exchanged glances at each other.
‘I thought I would take ten years.’
‘Me too.’
It was past the most dangerous moment.
Ethan and his party continued to drive their carts to the inner city of Haup Castle.
Christopher and Dylan’s eyes lit up as they entered the introspection with ease.
“You are so wonderful. How did you come up with this number?”
“We didn’t even get this kind of intelligence.”
It was their first experience like this.
However, Ethan, who was the henchman of the Demon King, could see through the dark follower’s head.
Even the Plaguecaster would not have expected this up to this point.
Because it was an operation that could be boldly executed only by accurately knowing the weaknesses of ancient magic and the gaps that it created.
“quietly. It’s not over yet.”
Ethan warned them both.
This was not the time to loosen the tension.
How long has it been since you entered introspection?
The procession of chariots of the Dark Followers continued to the Inner Cave.
Ethan and his party, who were walking along the long snake-like passage of the cave, soon frowned.
Dylan looked at Christopher.
‘What does this smell like?’
‘ね! It’s so bad that I think my nose is going to be paralyzed.’
Even Christopher covered his nose and looked at Ethan as if for an answer.
When the two knights were suffering from the bad smell, Ethan laughed.
‘Finally found it.’