162 episodes
It was a dark night.
Torches were burning from all sides of Nord Mountain, and the shouts of the soldiers could be heard.
“Damn guys! Kill them all!”
The dark blue sword and spear flashed in the moonlight.
Soldiers with torches were moving in unison.
The attack on the gold mine had begun.
“Great!”
The armed men were desperate to stop the raiders.
However, it was not an attack that could not be stopped by the soldiers who were not even the elite soldiers.
It was natural.
This is because the assailants were knights who trained their martial arts throughout their lives.
Konrad, who had slashed the rebel soldiers, exhaled harshly.
“Huh, the army has increased compared to before.”
Conrad looked at the rebels with eyes full of life.
The rebels were more numerous than expected.
Compared to the first raid, there were far more rebels stationed there.
“Should I withdraw soon?”
Conrad tried to grasp the situation of the war.
After all, the purpose was to harass Haup’s gold mines with sporadic and persistent minority attacks.
Therefore, there was no need to cling to victory in battle unnecessarily.
“Retreat!”
Conrad gave strength to the boat and shouted loudly.
At that word, the knights all at once stopped the battle and retreated in no time.
The defensive forces in the gold mine did quite a bit of damage.
There was no need to insist on fighting.
Sasak!
Conrad and the knights blew the new model.
He was trying to hide in the darkness of the mountains.
“Chase! Not to be missed!”
The commander with the torch shouted out his throat.
But the command was not easily carried out by the soldiers.
Chase the knights?
Even with low-level troops drawn from the village?
The knights were wearing heavy armor, but thanks to mana, they had tireless stamina.
That is why he was able to run at full speed even in the mountains without hesitation.
Suddenly, the distance between ordinary soldiers and knights widened.
“I’ll be around here! Search thoroughly.”
The commander ordered the soldiers.
However, contrary to the commander’s wishes, the knights were already leaving the place.
Cleverly, the knights fled, erasing their traces or leaving them in the wrong place.
That was when the distance widened.
bang!
A small explosion occurred.
It happened at a rebel post.
“what?”
The knights retreating with Conrad looked back.
Flames rose from the rebel’s post, and screams were heard.
“It seems that something happened at the rebel post.”
A knight with a lower rank than Conrad reported.
Conrad, who listened to the report quietly, frowned.
“It’s strange. There would be no other force to attack the gold mines except us.”
“Shall we get closer and check the situation?”
“not. Even if you approach the rebel post anyway, the information you can find out is limited. You don’t have to risk your life.”
Then Konrad’s gaze turned to the forest.
Suddenly, I felt something.
As they parted through the bushes, three signs were rapidly approaching the place where the knights were.
“Get ready for battle.”
Conrad murmured lowly as he drew his sword.
The other knights also prepared for battle.
If the enemy was able to achieve this speed, there was no point in escaping.
But that was meaningless.
“what? I thought you’d welcome me, did you not like me at all?”
Ethan appeared with a playful smile.
Behind them were Christopher and Dylan.
“under.”
Conrad, relaxed, greeted Ethan with a smirk.
* * *
Nord Gold Mine.
It has been famous for its abundant gold veins for hundreds of years, and the gold collected here is also of high purity.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the reason why Miles’ rebels have been gaining momentum so far is because Haup is one of the cities the rebels have based on.
However, the Nord Gold Mine also had a huge weakness.
Historically, gold of good quality was always and steadily mined, so there was no way to avoid war.
“How did you find us?”
Conrad asked Ethan.
“I lifted your curse. I thought that traces of divine power would remain on my body.”
“Huh. Can priests do that?”
Conrad asked Ethan in disbelief.
“Because it was my first time doing it. The other priests probably won’t.”
“In a nutshell, it’s possible only for our saint candidate, Priest Ethan.”
“You can see that.”
Conrad smiled sadly.
I couldn’t help but be surprised by Ethan, who casually performed unrealistic miracles.
How much trouble did they have to hide in the Nord Mountain?
Still, Ethan easily tracked them down.
So I couldn’t help but be disappointed.
Ethan added as if he had read Konrad’s mind.
“I only vaguely understood that it was in this area. I couldn’t figure out the exact location. So I waited for you to get things done.”
“Whew. If so, you are lucky.”
“what?”
“I worked hard to erase the traces, but if I found them easily, wouldn’t it be useless? Besides, I don’t even allow my pride.”
Ethan shook his head.
‘To be obsessed with strange things.’
But it was an idea Ethan did because he didn’t know too much about the knights.
Originally, knights received various educations from an early age.
Most of that education was about war.
In other words, it was safe to say that the knights were experts who had been educated from a young age about war.
The pride of such knights was not known to the wizard Ethan.
“By the way, was the explosion caused by the priest?”
“Because there is a lot of gunpowder in the mine.”
“You’re awful for a priest.”
Ethan shrugged.
“The rebels are with the Dark Followers, aren’t they? There is no need for me to take care of them.”
“Fortunately, the. Unlike other priests, you are cool.”
Conrad was relieved.
He was well aware that Ethan was different from the general pars priests.
However, there was a prejudice against the priests in the corner of his heart.
Even Konrad, knowingly and unknowingly, had put Ethan into such a prejudice.
“For now, let’s go to the shelter we have prepared for you.”
Conrad tried to guide Ethan’s party to the hideout.
Having accomplished the purpose of attacking the rebel post, it was time to go back.
“no. yet.”
But Ethan objected.
The group was bewildered.
Ethan immediately looked into the forest with apathetic eyes.
“There are too many eyes to see to go to the hideout.”
“… … ?!”
The knights also followed Ethan and turned their gaze to the forest.
He was well aware that Ethan’s meaningful words were never in vain.
Ethan smiled and looked quietly into the woods.
‘Did you send only soldiers from the village unit? There’s no way that sneaky bastard could end it with that.’
It was too easy to predict.
It was the successor to the Plague Magician who was active a hundred years ago.
There was no way he could have simply assembled a reinforcement army of village guards.
Since the curse of the beast that had spread in Graytown had been fulfilled, there must have been a desire to make up for it.
greed.
There was no such thing in the current Plague Wizard’s plan.
So Ethan thought that the ambush was hidden.
just as expected?
Sasak!
As they parted through the bushes, an unidentified Inyoung quickly approached Ethan and the others.
* * *
“Isn’t that a lie that a cheeky kid played Central?”
It was the assassin who appeared in the dark forest.
The masked assassin appeared alone in the dark forest, mocking Ethan.
But Ethan’s ears were towards the woods.
He didn’t even listen to the assassin.
‘Assassins are the ones who put their killing skills in everything they say and do.’
Ethan believed that the assassin had a chance to emerge from the dark woods.
That is why he looked into the forest without being vigilant.
‘There must be at least ten.’
And Ethan was right.
There were assassins moving quietly in the dark.
Apparently, Ethan was buying time because he was not in the right position to attack because he found the assassins early.
“It’s too deceitful.”
“What nonsense is our little boy talking about?”
“There were three people on the left, and a little more on the right?”
Ethan laughed at the assassin.
The assassin’s expression hardened at those words.
Because Ethan talked about his men who moved in the dark.
“Haha, I don’t know what the kid is talking about.”
“I’m bad at lying on the subject of an assassin.”
“You guys… … !”
The assassin expressed his blatant death to Ethan.
It was a warning.
Even so, I wanted to pass the time.
Pot!
However, Ethan’s determination and action were quicker.
Ethan’s new model flew.
Ethan, who cut through the air and flew to the assassin, swung his fist.
swish!
“Ugh!”
The assassin barely avoided Ethan’s attack.
However, Ethan’s attack did not end with a single attack.
The center of gravity of the assassin who dangerously evaded the attack was disturbed, and Ethan did not miss the gap.
puck!
Ethan’s attack struck the assassin precisely in the stomach.
“Gagging!”
The assassin hurried back.
Still, he did not take his eyes off Ethan.
The assassin murmured while looking at Ethan with bewildered eyes.
“Hey, you idiot! How can a priest be so ignorant?”
The assassin provoked Ethan.
But Ethan didn’t care.
Rather, he pushed the assassin more violently.
“Do you know?”
Saying so, Ethan kicked the assassin.
The assassin who flew far away rolled on the floor.
Not missing the gap, Ethan kicked the assassin in the head with his foot.
The assassin who had his neck broken was killed.
“If even one assassin escapes from here, information will leak to the enemy.”
Ethan, who had killed the assassin, said looking back.
Conrad was startled by Ethan’s wild fighting style, but he quickly regained his composure.
Haven’t you seen it in the basement?
He slowly decided to understand Ethan.
Conrad murmured lowly.
“Did you hear what Priest Ethan said? Get everything done here.”
months!
With those words, the knights jumped out in all directions.
The main specialty of the assassins was to hide their presence.
Therefore, when hiding from the beginning in the dark forest, it could not be detected.
However, along with Ethan’s words, the secrets of the assassins had been stripped away.
Therefore, the knights accurately pinpointed the location of the assassins and flew a new type.
“They will take care of the rest, so let’s go to the hideout first.”
Conrad said to Ethan.
Ethan glanced back slightly.
It was to judge whether the knights could be trusted.
Conrad noticed it and added.
“Our knights were awarded the title of Steel on the Continent. You don’t have to worry too much.”
Ethan nodded his head.
It was time to head to the hideout.
* * *
“Wow!”
The assassin ran through the dark forest.
The knights were fiercely chasing them from behind.
That is why the assassin didn’t stop and kept moving his legs even when his heart felt like it was going to explode.
‘What happened?’
He couldn’t understand what had just happened.
Who are they?
He was a first-class assassin who proudly survived assassination in Miles, the kingdom of knights.
Among them, the most skilled assassin, Franklin, was also attached.
But Franklin died in vain while buying time.
Even for a little boy who was just a priest.
‘Are you a paladin? If it’s not a paladin, there’s no way this is possible, right?’
The assassin was not convinced and tried to find out why Franklin had died.
But there was no reason.
Franklin’s death was due to his loss to Ethan, as he clearly saw.
There was no other reason.
That was then.
The assassin, who was running away, heard a small sound.
“Because of you, our face has been wrinkled a lot. So, you have to respond.”
months!
It was the first time I heard it, but I knew it.
It was the voice of the knight following him.
And immediately after hearing the knight’s voice, a small bloody solid line appeared on the neck of the assassin.
That was the last memory of the assassin.