78 – Assault (6)

As Damian killed Balter, the incident in the forest of Legion was coming to an end, but the problem was not completely resolved yet.

Demonic spirits whose bodies have been remodeled rush at the man running up the tree from all sides.

A man who is chasing one of the culprits of the incident in the forest. Gwen easily avoided the monsters’ attacks with clever movements, and then swung her sword and cut down the monsters that attacked her one by one. There is no blockage in the sword attack running on top of the tree and it is accurate.

Some were cut to death by the sword, but others fell under the tree without being able to pursue Gwen any longer, probably because their tendons were cut.

If it was him normally, he would definitely finish it by going down to the ground, but now it was enough just to neutralize the person so that he could not get through. The important thing is the life of the magician who manipulates these things, not the life of the monster.

The number of monsters running toward Gwen had reduced by half compared to the beginning, as if the reduction in the number of monsters while chasing them for more than ten minutes had worked.

The ones he just cut down were the last monsters he fell for.

Now there is only one thing left. Only the sorcerer presumed to have manipulated them remained.

Since there was nothing to stand in his way anymore, the distance from the original culprit, which had not been reduced so far, was close enough that he could be identified with the naked eye. When she saw the one wearing a black robe to cover her face, Gwen immediately knew it was the one she was after.

It was not an unfounded conviction.

The guy didn’t hide his presence as if he were advertising where he was and kept revealing it. His senses were pointing at the man in front of him.

After confirming the magician’s location, Gwen immediately took out a veil from her waist and threw it at him.

The rain sword, filled with a dark green aura, flew as fast as the wind and landed right in front of the magician’s head. The guy who continued to climb the tree had no choice but to stop at the sudden rain that flew in front of his head, and soon fell to the ground due to the wind blowing from the rain in front of him.

The shadow of the sword casts over the head of the falling magician pushed by the wind pressure. The sound of the wind mixed with the frightening cries of the sword made chills run down the magician’s spine.

A sword like a gale struck the magician’s head.

However, the bravely drawn sword was unable to split the magician’s head in the end.

The sword was sharp enough to cut down an old tree at once, but it was blocked by a semi-transparent membrane that I don’t know when it was made, so I couldn’t move forward any more. However, even though the sword was blocked, the shape of the sorcerer’s body falling to the ground did not change, so Gwen gave strength as it was and lowered the sorcerer to the ground with a shield.

Quaang-! And the sound of the ground rumbling spreads throughout the forest.

The dust created by the impact temporarily covered the two of them. It was only for a moment, but the dust was quickly lifted by the wind pressure that exploded around the two.

In a place where the dust cleared, two men were facing each other.

The sorcerer, who was supposed to be stuck in the ground under Gwen’s sword, stood in front of Gwen with his own two feet, not in the ground, wearing a robe full of dirt.

The sorcerer’s eyes, facing Gwen, seemed to be taken aback for a moment, but Gwen could see that the corners of her mouth were pointing upward.

Shaking off the dirt from his robe, he smiled slightly as he looked at Gwen holding up her sword.

“This, I tried to catch a dragon, but somehow a flying dragon got caught. Well… that’s good. As long as Krause’s Knight Commander is enough, I can say that he’s a passing grade as a comrade in the underworld.”

“A guy who doesn’t look like a star lives on his lips. The magician William Cromwell.”

“It’s nice that you know my name, so you don’t have to bother saying your full name.”

Gwen looked around with her senses again.

Due to the nature of the Rune Proud Mountains, which are densely enchanted, the area he could see with his senses was not very wide, but at least his senses did not tell lies. As in the beginning, the only presence felt in this place was Gwen and the magician in front of her, William.

As the name implies, a magician uses the monsters he controls as his power. But why did William, who knew that weakness better than anyone else, do this?

Gwen knew that she had killed quite a few monsters before reaching William, but she didn’t think it was his strength. The opponent is a pagan cardinal who has been declared the main enemy by the imperial family. It could be a simple bluff, but it would be the right choice to judge that there might be a hidden number.

Gwen calmed herself as she looked at the dagger that Damian had handed to him, which had been lodged between herself and William due to the previous engagement.

The red jewel embedded in the dagger was shining alone even though it did not receive light.

***

When Gwen, who had the upper hand in this way, did not miss the string of tension, William, on the other hand, was full of composure on his face as if he knew everything Gwen was thinking. He knew that his life would end today, but the important thing to him was not his own life.

‘Incentives are success.’

Ironically, it was none other than Gwen’s presence that brought a smile to William’s face.

William was in a situation where all the monsters that Gwen could handle were taken out. The enemy wasn’t only in the forest, so the monster corps, which could be said to be his strength, had already started advancing towards the Legion’s camp.

Success or failure of the invasion is not important. He, too, knew that the invasion would not succeed.

A black dragon stood firm in the camp, and prominent southern shamans were guarding their positions with their troops. Even with just one black dragon, it could be said that it was universal, but there were also great generals and soldiers, so it was as if there was no chance of winning.

Even so, it was for a single purpose that the power was put there. To keep them from directing their gaze into the woods. That was what William wanted.

Of course, in order to chase the culprit of the incident, they will eventually have no choice but to head inside the forest, but at the moment they are invaded, they will have no choice but to pay attention to the monsters.

It is the same even for a sword master who is said to have one’s own mighty power reaching the sky. Above all, he was the leader of the South, so he couldn’t leave easily until the situation stabilized.

Of course, with his skills, it wouldn’t take long to subdue the monsters, but he had a reason to buy time even by doing this.

There were two things that could be called variables for William who had this purpose.

One is the connection with monsters that, for some reason, does not recover easily.

It was possible to give fragmentary instructions, but it was impossible to control each detail as before. Normally, it would have been possible to widen the ‘net’ and mobilize even the wild monsters around, but now it was a board that had to use great effort just to maintain a connection with them.

However, this issue is not going mainstream.

Because William didn’t want victory. All it takes is for a war to break out between the monsters and the Confederate Army somehow. However, the wasted time when he was conducting and when he was not was a waste. As for him, he needed to buy a little more time.

The second is that the leader of the Black Dragon Knights, one of the greatest powers in the South following the Black Dragon, is following him.

It was this second problem that could shake his plans to the core, so William could smile at Gwen as he attacked him.

He didn’t hide his existence to chase him, but William couldn’t be sure if he would really chase him, so if he did meet the princess and the prince, everything William had prepared so far would be in vain.

‘But now it’s done. The flying dragon flew here and now the princess and the prince have no guardians.’

All variables are cleared.

Except for Gwen, no one in the forest can stand up to Walter right now. His skill is certain, so if nothing else happens, he will be able to complete the mission.

At that fact, William laughed, forgetting that Gwen was pointing a sword at him. Although they attacked with the intention of destroying each other, the difference between William and Gwen now, who had sent the main force to the camp, was not shallow enough to overturn with just one such resolution.

“As expected, he was a guy who lived only with his mouth but no substance.”

“hahahaha!! Foolish bastard. Yes. Talk as you please…”

But he laughed.

The life he threw away anyway, the plan was successful, so it didn’t matter if he gave up his head right now.

“It’s so frivolous to hear his laughter.”

Until I hear this voice.

Hearing the voice from above, William raised his head and looked up at the sky. There, a man who seemed to be the owner of the previous voice stood with his back to the sun.

The eyes of a man who covered the sun and looked down at the ground from another world were like a dragon looking at small things from the sky.

No, that man must be a dragon.

William knew the man’s identity. That would be the case, since the black dragon, who had made dozens of hundreds while making this plan, was referring to that man. Does the saying that words become seeds refer to the current situation? What had been bluffed earlier in the confrontation with Gwen had actually come true.

“No, how the heck now…!!”

“Hmm? Where did the cool smile from earlier go and why are you trembling like a frightened bastard?”

Were you scared?

His remarks were vulgar to be called a ruler ruling a province. However, this is conclusive evidence that he is Arthur Krause.

William’s face contorts at the sound of that voice. Arthur’s words did not offend him. Now, his head was full of questions about why the person who should have been chained to the wire had appeared before his eyes, and this was close to astonishment.

Arthur reached out and a dagger stuck in the ground was sucked into his hand.

As the dagger was in his hand, the red jewel embedded in it shone brighter than ever.

“The family’s sacred object is rolling on the ground… Eh, I left it to you for nothing.”

“…I’m sorry. Head of household.”

“I didn’t tell the Lord, so you don’t have to worry about it. I’m talking to the guy who entrusted this to me. I told you never to take it off your body…”

tsk-

The sound of tongue clicking quietly echoes through the forest. The two chatted leisurely, with William at the center, as if they had forgotten their purpose.

Arthur’s words and actions never made me think of him as someone who had just fought a battle. It was so suspicious that the clothes and armor on which it was wearing were clean and not stained with blood, and that it had run straight into the forest.

But William denied that idea. If he doesn’t fight, he loses the trust of the Southerners. The reason Krause can reign in the south is because he is the most powerful, but at the same time, being the protector of the south is the greatest, so Arthur couldn’t ignore it.

William looked at Arthur, holding on to his mind, which seemed to be about to break at any moment.

No matter how things went, it was too early for the black dragon to enter the forest. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in Balter’s ability, but if he hadn’t dealt with the prince and princess yet, there was a high possibility that the plan would collapse.

‘I have to drag the time somehow.’

William acted quickly.

As soon as he made a decision, he concentrated his magical energy in one place. As befits a magician who controls monsters in legion units, the magical power he possesses is unusual. In addition, as he poured in the divinity he had been given as a cardinal, the forest began to shake with just the momentum that leaked out.

Did you know that things are changing? Arthur, who continued to ignore and chat with Gwen, finally turned his head to William.

“It’s already too late! Stupid!!”

William’s body, which had concentrated mana, became like an instant bomb.

His body, which he poured his all into, became equipped with enough explosive power to blow up the whole area with the slightest touch. No matter how transcendent I am, I am not invincible. Even if he didn’t know death, William was confident that he would do a lot of damage if he was this close.

If you swing the sword recklessly, you will be caught in an explosion. They might know that too, but because of his personality, he couldn’t leave himself alone, so William was sure that he had a detonator in front of him that would surely succeed.

“I’ve been talking to people since before, but it’s too loud.”

However, just as things in the world do not go according to one’s will, he had to face Arthur, who was very different from what he thought. He stared at William, frowning like someone who was really annoyed by the noise he made.

Arthur lightly drew a line in the air with the dagger in his hand.

William, who had been threatening him with energy at his natural behavior, watched Arthur’s actions with a bewildered face. As expected, he raised his sword, but William couldn’t understand his behavior of throwing it in the air without pulling out the sword.

Until the moment his vision splits in half.