Chapter 169: Vacation (8)

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“Territory? Sir Luden, what about the territory?”

“Huff, huff…”

Luden, a knight of the Leipzig Family who had reached the three brothers’ location, clutched his chest as he caught his breath.

“The territory is under attack by a horde of magical beasts. The Lord sent me, worried for the young masters’ safety.”

“So the soldiers are coming too.”

“I brought only a small number in haste. You must return quickly.”

“Hmph.”

Carius looked around with a troubled expression.

A horde of magical beasts attacking the territory meant the aftermath would reach here as well.

‘No, the aftermath has already arrived.’

The sudden assault they had just faced must have been related to it.

“Sir Luden.”

“It’s not safe. Thankfully, it was discovered early, so there’s no significant damage to the territory yet, but soon the released beasts will scatter in all directions.”

In other words, this place was no exception either.

For them to attack the territory, the horde must number in the hundreds—perhaps even thousands.

With that kind of scale, it wouldn’t be surprising for a small village to be wiped out in under an hour.

“Young master, you must return with me. It is a strict order from the head of the Leipzig Family.”

Luden stood firm as he faced Carius without backing down an inch.

Even if Carius was hailed as a genius and possessed remarkable skills, he could not guarantee his survival if he were to be swept away by hundreds or thousands of magical beasts.

One would need to at least reach the level of a Sword Master to be able to slaughter such numbers.

“……”

But Carius couldn’t move recklessly.

If he left this place, the village would inevitably turn into a hellscape.

“Brother.”

Darius gripped Carius’ shoulder.

“It would be best to go back first and bring reinforcements. Father wouldn’t refuse that.”

“But in the meantime…”

“If you’re that worried, then just split the troops—Brother returns while we stay and defend this place. What do you think, Sir Luden?”

“……”

Luden looked troubled, but Darius didn’t stop talking.

“After all, the most important person is our brother Carius, the heir. Carl and I will stay here, rally the people from the nearby villages, and prepare for a siege. Until you return with the troops.”

This wasn’t the only village outside the territory.

Even nearby, there were several other villages of similar scale.

“……”

After staring at Carius for a moment, Luden slowly nodded.

“If that is the young masters’ decision.”

“Alright, then Brother, go and bring the troops quickly. Carl and I will handle things here.”

“…Darius.”

Carius clenched his fists tightly.

To think he, the eldest, was standing here feeling so helpless.

Though disappointed in his own powerlessness, he couldn’t help but feel grateful to Darius for offering such a clear solution.

“Will you be alright?”

“Don’t worry. If it comes to it, I’m strong enough to take care of myself. Carl is the same.”

“But you should hurry. It seems there really is someone controlling the magical beasts.”

“I see. I’ll report that to Father as well.”

Carius nodded.

Seeing that the discussion had reached its conclusion, Luden issued commands to the subordinates who had arrived later.

“Squad One, follow me. The remaining four squads will stay and assist the young masters in preparing for the beast attack.”

Time was of the essence.

Luden returned to the Leipzig territory with Carius, while Darius took command of the remaining forces and began giving orders.

“The village patrol will focus on building barricades around the perimeter. Soldiers will assist the patrol and scout the area. Squad leaders.”

“Yes.”

There were forty people left in the village.

And there were four squad leaders.

“You all know how to ride, right? From now, each of you will travel to neighboring villages and act as messengers. Tell them to rally here.”

Even among the soldiers, those who held the rank of squad leader were skilled enough to handle themselves.

They should be able to escape even if they encountered magical beasts.

Soon, the four squad leaders rode off out of the village.

“Are you really going alone?”

Meanwhile, Darius furrowed his brow as he looked at Carl, who was mounted and preparing to leave the village like the others.

Darius himself had to remain in the village to oversee the patrol and soldiers.

If magical beasts attacked while Carius was gone, someone needed to command.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve got this with me.”

Carl lightly tapped the Heavenly Thunder Sword hanging at his side.

Though still concerned, the furrow between Darius’ brows only deepened, but he eventually sighed and nodded.

“Right, even if I try to stop you, you won’t listen anyway.”

“I’m just going to scout the surrounding area. Don’t worry.”

“Alright. Your safety comes first. If it gets dangerous, use that. I’ll come find you.”

“Understood.”

He was referring to the emergency signal flare.

Since it was nighttime, the flare would be clearly visible when launched.

Carl nodded in response and galloped off on his horse.

“…Whoa there.”

But not long after leaving the village, he halted his horse and dismounted, whispering softly.

“Stay somewhere safe until I return.”

Snort.

The horse snorted lightly, as if it understood.

Carl chuckled, gently patted the horse’s muzzle, then kicked off the ground lightly.

Shhhhh.

In a forest like this, running on foot was far faster than riding a horse.

Especially since his destination lay deep within the densely wooded Forest of Nore.

‘I can feel demonic energy.’

Around the time Sir Luden had come to find the Leipzig brothers, a strong presence of demonic energy had begun to waft from deep within the forest.

At first, he thought it was the origin of the magical beast horde, but then he sensed a sticky, sinister aura mingled with the demonic energy.

‘This is demonic energy from a black magician.’

Just as mana differed from person to person, so too did demonic energy.

Demons and demonfolk were different, and so were the demon humans who gained power in exchange for their souls.

Black magicians and magical creatures were different again.

Carl, having fought all those types in the past, could distinguish the origin of the demonic energy with relative accuracy.

‘Black magicians have hidden themselves in the Forest of Nore?’

Carl, who had been sprinting deeper into the forest while brushing aside branches, narrowed his eyes.

Border towns or provincial cities like Leipzig were quite sensitive to the appearance of outsiders.

They didn’t mind passersby too much, but if unfamiliar faces began showing up regularly?

If there had been anything suspicious, word would have reached NOX in some form.

‘Especially filthy ones like black magicians, all the more so.’

Those kinds always stood out no matter where they went.

Black magicians were still human—they’d need food and daily supplies.

Yet so far, nothing had reached NOX.

‘I need to investigate.’

Chances were, the cause of all this was in that direction.

Tap.

Near the source of the demonic energy, Carl stopped and put on his NOX mask, skillfully erasing his presence.

He completely blended into the darkness, melted into the night, and walked in, following a wisp of wind without leaving a trace.

‘Demons, demon humans, heretics, and now black magicians.’

Well, compared to the rest, black magicians were more notorious among the public.

Just a few decades ago, black magicians had been rejected across the continent, including in the Holy Nation.

Now they had expanded their influence to the point of establishing the Black Magic Tower at the edge of the continent.

Even so, they still couldn’t act openly.

“……”

Carl came to a halt as he advanced.

At a certain boundary, an invisible barrier designed to detect intruders had been deployed.

‘This is easy.’

Others might try to find a weak point or force their way through the barrier.

But Carl had the Silent Shadow Kill Technique.

In the Central Plains, there were many formations and mechanisms to detect intruders like barriers.

As the Greatest Assassin of the Central Plains, Carl was confident in slipping through even the most fearsome traps unnoticed.

Hummm.

A strange vibration began to wrap around Carl.

Unlike mechanisms, barriers detected intruders through the flow and movements of unnatural mana.

So by neutralizing that irregular flow, one could conceal their very existence.

Step.

Even after stepping inside, the barrier showed no reaction.

Unless it was a physical block, barriers that simply served as warnings were not that difficult to bypass.

Of course, if his presence were detected, he would be showered with traps and curses set by the black magicians.

As Carl went deeper inward, he soon spotted some figures gathered in an open clearing.

“Aush. Deka. Ver…”

A total of seven black magicians were gathered, chanting something over a magic circle drawn in blood.

Carl, observing the spell structure from above a tree, shook his head.

‘It looks like a summoning ritual, but I can’t make out the details.’

He had no expertise in black magic.

That field posed a risk of detection for those sensitive to energy, so he had never touched it.

The process was filthy too, so he never took such people in as subordinates.

Pop!

Suddenly, one of the core black magicians’ heads exploded.

Was it a failed spell, or some kind of phenomenon?

‘The latter, most likely.’

The chanting grew louder.

Another head burst open, and blood soaked the magic circle, staining the ground.

Pop. Pop.

Once only two black magicians remained, Carl sprang into action.

‘I don’t know what they’re trying to summon.’

But it surely wasn’t anything good.

So he planned to intervene directly and disrupt the ritual.

Sshk.

Without hesitation, he appeared behind the nearby black magician and slit his throat with a blade.

Slash!

There was no chance to resist.

The black magician, struck by the trained hand of an assassin, collapsed to the ground and died.

Fwoosh!

At that moment, the demonic energy swirling in the air surged.

As Carl leapt off the ground, black masses fell down and cracked open the earth where he had stood.

Then the remaining black magician, now alone, lowered the hood from his head and looked at Carl with a puzzled expression.

“There wasn’t supposed to be any intruder.”

“Looks like your barrier was worthless.”

“Hmph.”

The black magician appeared to be a young man in his early thirties.

As was typical for magicians, he had pale skin and sunken eyes—even if he wasn’t part of the black magic school.

Rubbing his chin and thinking for a moment, the black magician soon nodded and spoke.

“Alright, I suppose I can use your blood to make up for the shortage. No need to sacrifice my own life.”

“What are you trying to summon?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Grab.

Carl’s eyes widened as hands seized his limbs.

Black hands had suddenly emerged from thin air and were holding him.

“I thank you. I wasn’t ready to die just yet.”

The black magician gave a faint smile and casually twirled his fingers.

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