What Erenes saw was a small forest near Perdium Castle. It seemed to have been recently reforested, as there were many young trees.
In that forest, figures in black robes were hiding, blending in with the surrounding energy. They would have been nearly impossible to spot with the naked eye.
But as they, too, were a part of nature, they couldn't escape Erenes's sight.
Among the assassins, one figure stood out—a man with bandages wrapped around his face. The sight of him made Erenes catch her breath.
Every time he breathed, black energy emanated from him.
Through her connection with nature, Erenes could sense that energy as well.
'This is the energy of the Salvation Church! Could this man be Melkir?'
Melkir glanced around, frowning. As an assassin, his senses were exceptionally sharp.
— I sense something unpleasant.
— Leader, what should we do now?
— How many have we lost?
— Three have died.
— I see. This is taking too long. Who would have thought the inspections would be so thorough?
Sneaking from the south to the north without being discovered was difficult. Even traveling through rough terrain to avoid people's eyes hadn't been enough.
Due to the war, patrols had been heavily reinforced everywhere.
The Black Moon assassins had been caught several times, forcing them to fight.
While the group's individual members were skilled and their leader, Melkir, was a superhuman, they hadn't escaped unscathed.
Melkir suddenly shook with laughter and spoke.
— By now, Count Fenris and Marquis Perdium must have heard of us. We should act before they arrive.
— You mean without waiting? But wasn't our goal to lure Count Fenris?
— There's no need to wait foolishly. If Count Fenris has already moved, our goal is achieved. If he hasn't, we'll kill his family to set an example. Don't you agree?
— Then…
— Yes, take this as your last rest. Once the night deepens, we'll move.
— Understood.
For Melkir, the mission was already a success. Their repeated encounters with inspections had exposed their skills. Upon hearing this news, Count Fenris would have no choice but to act.
Now all that remained was to see how deeply they could plunge him into despair.
— Until he arrives, we'll have some fun. I'm looking forward to it.
As Melkir chuckled, the moon began to disappear behind dark clouds.
Flash!
Erenes opened her eyes. A green light flickered within her gaze.
Cough!
Erenes coughed up blood again and looked at the tiny crow that had been waiting in front of her.
Dark, having waited for several days, had shrunk considerably as its mana dissipated.
"I've found the enemies."
"What… what should I relay?" Dark asked very politely.
The self-proclaimed Spirit King, Dark, was unusually tense.
While Erenes had been communicating with nature, he had sensed the overwhelming energy of the "real" spirits. The title "Spirit King" seemed far better suited to the elf before him.
He even felt that the energy could deal a significant blow to his true form, which made him naturally deferential.
Erenes, her face pale, answered, "Where is Count Fenris?"
"Uh… he's just entering the territory."
"The assassins are waiting in the forest southeast of Perdium Castle. It's a place with many young trees. They plan to move when the night deepens. Tell him to go immediately."
"Y-yes! I'll relay it right away!"
Dark promptly relayed the message to one of his clones already stationed in Perdium. Upon hearing the news, Zwalter leaped to his feet.
"Gather the troops! I'll personally hunt those bastards down!"
Homerne, Albert, and Randolph immediately moved to stop him.
"Good grief! Why must you be the first to go, my lord? Are you itching for a fight just because you've gotten a bit stronger? You're becoming more like your son every day! It's supposed to be the son taking after the father!"
"No matter how much stronger you've become, haven't they said there might be a superhuman among the assassins?"
"Big Brother, I'll go! Just stay put, alright?"
If the lord were to die, it would be over. The possibility of facing a superhuman made it unthinkable to let him go.
Faced with their fierce opposition, Zwalter reluctantly sat back down.
'I've finally reached the beginning stage of the high-level…'
Though he hadn't yet become a superhuman, he wasn't weak enough to be easily killed. Thanks to Ghislain, Randolph had reached a similar level, and Zwalter felt confident they could handle it together. It was frustrating to stay behind.
"Alright, let's go!" Randolph shouted energetically, leading knights and soldiers in full force.
As the troops departed, the knights shot glares at Skovan. Yet another incident had occurred in Perdium, and they silently blamed him.
Skovan, however, was truly innocent.
"Why does this keep happening to our territory… and why is this my fault?!"
He had done nothing, yet he was increasingly being bullied by the knights. Retirement seemed more appealing by the day. Recently, there had even been talk of transferring him to the Northern Army.
Skovan made up his mind. There's a saying that physical hardship is better than mental anguish. He decided it would be better to stick close to the young lord and endure whatever came.
'Yes, once this is over, I'll request a transfer to the Northern Army. And I'll take Ricardo with me.'
Ricardo, the source of many rumors, was completely oblivious to Skovan's thoughts as he stood nearby, yawning.
Thud, thud, thud!
The Perdium knights and troops departed. Randolph turned to his lieutenant.
"Where exactly is this forest?"
"It's the one the Young Lord cleared for lumber a few years ago."
"Ah, the one we just replanted and were restoring."
Concerned about the possibility of a superhuman among the assassins, they mobilized 2,000 soldiers and 100 knights. The forest would inevitably be reduced to ashes.
The Perdium forces arrived at the forest in no time. After a brief consideration, Randolph gave an order to his lieutenant.
"Look, they say there's a really strong guy in there, so let's save the direct fight for later. Just burn it all."
"Burn it… burn it all?"
"Yes, burn it to the ground. Fighting inside gives them the advantage. The trees would just get destroyed in the battle anyway, right?"
Even this simple tactical adjustment showed how much Randolph had grown.
And with the territory now flourishing, losing a single forest wasn't a big deal. Randolph felt quite pleased with his decision.
"This is the kind of thing you can do when you're a rich estate."
The soldiers prepared their fire arrows. Once, they wouldn't have dreamed of attempting something like this. Now, they were flushed with anticipation.
"Wow, I never thought I'd be setting our forest on fire myself."
"This is the kind of thing the Young Lord used to do."
"Man, rich estates are nice."
"Fire!"
Whoosh!
At Randolph's command, a volley of fire arrows shot into the forest.
Flames quickly consumed the area, spreading rapidly. It was a sight that would have horrified Erenes and the elves.
"What are you waiting for? Keep shooting! Don't stop until they come out!"
The fire arrows continued to rain down. Perdium had no shortage of arrows.
The assassins, resting near the forest's entrance, rose to their feet. As highly trained individuals, they neither panicked nor made a fuss.
They simply looked to Melkir, waiting for his command.
"How did they find us?"
Melkir couldn't understand the situation. They had pinpointed their exact location.
In such a vast territory, how could they have been located so precisely?
"Could it be a grand mage?"
At his subordinate's question, Melkir shook his head.
"A mage's sight can't catch us while we're concealed. They can only see far."
The assassins had blended with their surroundings to avoid detection by surveillance magic.
For someone to pinpoint a superhuman's concealment with such precision—this wasn't the work of an ordinary mage. But such a person couldn't possibly exist in Perdium.
"It seems there was another plan in place. No wonder this forest felt unsettling… Well, it can't be helped."
"What should we do?"
"Scatter and infiltrate the castle however you can. Kill Marquis Perdium and his daughter if possible."
"Understood."
This was the Duchy's elite assassination squad. Though their numbers were only about thirty, they had full confidence in their abilities.
"Go. I'll follow shortly."
At Melkir's command, the assassins' forms grew hazy and dispersed in all directions.
They were bait. If they succeeded, good; if they failed, no big deal.
Melkir planned to use the chaos they caused to slip through the defenses and infiltrate unnoticed.
Whoosh!
From the burning forest, several shadowy figures emerged. Randolph spotted them immediately and shouted.
"They're here! Stop them!"
The Perdium forces had already formed a solid blockade at the forest's entrance. The knights were the first to charge forward.
Clang!
As expected of the Duchy's top assassins, each one was at least at the level of a mid-to-high-level knight, enhanced with assassination techniques.
Whoosh.
Just before their weapons clashed, the assassins' forms grew hazy again and shifted locations. They had no intention of engaging in direct combat here.
"Catch them!"
Knights excelled in head-on combat, but it was difficult for them to chase assassins who openly avoided confrontation.
The assassins used all their techniques to weave through the soldiers' ranks.
Slash! Slash!
"Argh!"
"Here they are!"
"Quick, attack!"
The ghost-like movements of the assassins made it hard for ordinary soldiers to counter them. All the soldiers could do was block their way with their bodies.
While the soldiers were holding the assassins off, Randolph and the knights entered the fray.
"Move aside!"
Boom!
Blue mana flared from every direction. The assassins tried desperately to escape, while the knights worked just as hard to capture them.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
Skovan, who had been fighting valiantly to clear his name, eventually took a hit to his side.
The assassins' weapons were coated with poison. Within moments, Skovan felt dizzy, and the area around his wound swelled.
"Damn it! This is so annoying!"
Slash!
Skovan swung his sword with all his might, decapitating an assassin who had been restrained by three knights.
His skills had improved significantly compared to before.
Cough!
Skovan spat blood as he collapsed. Soldiers nearby quickly helped him to the rear.
"What's this… Why are you helping me? Weren't you all praying for my death every day?"
Tears welled up in his eyes, his lips quivering in a visible display of his hurt feelings.
The soldiers responded with awkward smiles.
"Oh, come on, sir. Of course, we'll help you."
"Yeah, we're all on the same side."
"There's no way we'd let the commander of the forest guard die on our watch."
Moved by their words, Skovan sniffled, realizing he hadn't been completely abandoned. He decided to delay his transfer to the Northern Army for now.
The soldiers, however, exchanged subtle glances.
'If he dies here, this land will be cursed forever.'
'We need to make sure he dies somewhere else and is buried away from here.'
'We can't let Perdium face hardships again.'
Unaware of the rumors among the soldiers, Skovan remained blissfully ignorant of their true motivations.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battle intensified. Facing assassins, the Perdium forces found it difficult to keep track of them.
Meanwhile, the assassins, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, couldn't advance easily either.
Ultimately, they resorted to their last tactic.
Fzzzt…
The assassins' forms became clear as they deactivated their cloaking techniques that blended them with the surroundings.
Now, they began fighting openly, like knights.
Boom! Boom!
They had been trained for such situations. Some sacrificed themselves to create openings for others to escape.
Despite being surrounded by numerous knights and soldiers, these highly skilled assassins held their ground impressively.
Using the chaos, a handful of assassins slipped away and disappeared.
Randolph, who had been leading the charge, spotted this.
"Damn it! Chase them down! They're heading for the castle!"
About ten assassins had taken advantage of the confusion to break through the encirclement. Inside the castle, there would be plenty of places for them to hide, making them much harder to catch.
The escaped assassins melted back into the shadows. While knights mounted their horses to pursue them, the darkness of the night made it difficult to track them visually.
The remaining assassins were all killed. The knights and soldiers quickly mounted up and began chasing the escapees.
"Heh heh heh… Time to make my move."
Melkir, who had been hiding near the edge of the forest, grinned wickedly.
The bait had done its job perfectly. All the forces near the forest had left to chase the decoys.
His body turned hazy as he moved forward. Now, he could swiftly infiltrate the castle and eliminate his key targets.
Just as he was about to leave the forest—
Boom!
A spear flew toward him, embedding itself in the spot where he had just been standing.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]