Trap of Trap (1)

Clovis Castle was built on a low hill in the center of the territory.

The castle itself wasn’t big enough for hundreds of troops to stay.

Thus, Hollien, her servants, and 20 guardian knights stayed in the castle while the rest of the Allendia army was stationed at the Sungha village.

They weren’t that far away. It was close enough to rally to the castle if something happened.

There was no way the Holy Punishers would use a normal civilian village as a battlefield, but it was common sense to prepare for such an occurrence anyway.

Viscount Clovis, who greeted the Fairy Queen, had indeed prepared the best service.

The most colorful room was given to Hollien, and the knights were treated without neglect.

“I apologize for serving you in such a shabby place, my Queen.”

“I used to go camping as often as Hunters in the past. This is satisfactory enough.”

After an elegant dinner, they all headed to bed.

Leslie made her bed and greeted her.

“Goodnight, my Queen.”

“Yeah, you should get some rest, too.”

Two guardian knights stood guard in front of Hollien’s room.

Even a little carelessness was unacceptable for them.

The evening wore on.

A servant of the viscount approached the queen’s room with a pile of luggage.

The knights held him back with frowned faces.

“What’s going on?”

“Uh, I’m moving stuff to the warehouse.”

“Get on with it, then.”

With keen eyes, the knights gave way.

Even though their opponent was a petty servant, they never let their guard down.

Ryu Han-bin clicked his tongue as he passed through the opposite hallway.

‘It’ll cause too much of a commotion to kill those knights.’

Unlike Aliens, they didn’t know their opponent’s level.

They were always on their guard under the pretense that ‘a suspicious intruder might come in the disguise of a servant.’

Of course, no matter how nervous the opponent was, Ryu Han-bin could easily defeat them.

However, unless they showed their back, if he suddenly made a suspicious move, they would instinctively step down, and it might take some time to follow and kill them.

If he took that much time, Hollien would definitely notice something was up.

‘It’s not going to work on Latnains.’

Han-bin had a good time assassinating Aliens.

Naturally, he also sought a chance to assassinate Hollien.

However, the opportunity never came.

In the first place, he couldn’t find any openings to be alone with Hollien.

A big muscular servant being left alone with the queen of a country?

Regardless of level, it would be no different from asking to get killed.

‘But I can’t sneak in and kill her silently while she’s sleeping.’

The reason why Aliens had been so easily killed was that they could see Han-bin’s level.

It worked well because he assassinated them right after letting their guard down due to his level. However, if he took the opportunity to barge in while she’s asleep, she would have reacted and fought back immediately.

‘Yeah, let’s not do what I’m not told to do.’

He didn’t have to do anything reckless. He just had to move according to the plan.

Ryu Han-bin entered the warehouse as scheduled.

After taking off his jacket, he began to spread copper-colored drugs all over his body.

From there, the Valtara warrior, Felard Bean, would take over.

* * *

Hollien, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly opened her eyes.

‘Oh, my God?’

A strange sensation touched her nerves.

She immediately concentrated her senses and used her feelings.

And soon, she figured out the situation.

Battle was taking place throughout Clovis Castle.

‘Are they the ones…?’

For a moment, she was left dumbfounded.

Under the circumstances, if anyone had invaded, it would have to be the Holy Punishers…

‘Those crazy guys are going to fight here?’

Was the Goddess’s incarnation about to go out crazily?

Even if she was an incarnation trapped in a human body, she was still a goddess.

‘This isn’t like Kybriel…’

Frustrated, Hollien came down from her bed.

Either way, she felt a battle was commencing.

If so, then she had to get dressed immediately. She couldn’t just walk around in her pajamas.

Instead of the queen’s usual dress, she wore a jacket and pants to maximize her movement.

She then opened a small jewel box next to the bed. It was imbued with space magic that threw out what’s stored in it upon opening.

What it gave the queen was an elegant coat with a metallic blue color.

“Wear.”

When she spoke, the coat was put on by itself.

After arming herself, Hollien left the room immediately.

The guardian knights standing on the border looked at her embarrassingly and asked a question.

“What’s wrong, your Highness?”

“What woke you up?”

She clicked her tongue at their reaction.

‘You guys haven’t figured out what’s going on yet.’

They looked like they weren’t even aware of what was happening around them.

Well, since it was Hollien, it was only natural that she sensed it. Their level was too low to notice it.

Gesturing to them, she took the lead.

“Follow me. It’s an enemy raid.”

* * *

When Hollien came out to the front yard of the castle, it was already over.

“Uh…”

“Ugh…”

The guardian knights groaned and were scattered everywhere. Behind them stood two men.

One was a blond young man with a silver coat, and the other was a giant Valtara swordsman whose entire muscular upper body was left naked.

“Hmm, you couldn’t even fight properly.”

Hollien pointed her fingers at the fallen knights.

Paaaaaaa!

The light of a spiritual art covered the knights and healed their injuries, causing their breathing to return to normal.

But they didn’t stand up right away.

The knights’ level was so low that they didn’t regain consciousness right away, even after they were healed.

Well, it didn’t matter.

Even if they were fine, they weren’t strong enough to fight the ones that invaded them.

Leon Hart, the blond young man, and Ryu Han-bin, the Valtara swordsman, slowly walked toward Hollien.

Hollien smiled as she looked at the Gigant held by Han-bin.

“You must be the Valtara warrior who succeeded Baotolt?”

There was no way she couldn’t recognize an old friend’s favorite sword.

“That’s strange. The Sword King wasn’t the type to raise a successor.”

Mumbling, Hollien turned her Guideline on, and what she saw surprised her.

“A… Level 6 swordsman?”

Ryu Han-bin’s expression suddenly hardened.

‘What? Did she just discover my level?’

The Transcendental wasn’t an Earthling.

Then how?

Han-bin and Leon Hart looked at each other, their eyes crossing.

That was quite important information.

Hollien observed Ryu Han-bin with interest as she continued talking.

“The Valtaras don’t have the same ability as you… Are you an Alien?”

She taunted him, seizing an opportunity.

It was the reason why she intentionally revealed her level-reading ability.

However, the response was ambiguous.

‘I can’t tell from the look on your face.’

Ryu Han-bin just continued staring at Hollien with a stiff face.

He got used to such doubt.

Maintaining a poker face wasn’t difficult for him anymore.

Taking a step forward, Leon Hart shouted, making a declaration.

“It’s time to be punished, sinners of heaven!”

Hollien looked back at Leon Hart, replying with a playful greeting.

“Long time no see, Leon Hart. Hasn’t it been six years?”

Since they were both Spiritists, although they weren’t close enough, they were acquaintances.

Looking at Leon Hart, she continued.

“I think you’ve leveled up a lot compared to then.”

That much was certain.

The current Transcendental could recognize other people’s levels like Aliens.

She didn’t even seem to hide the fact.

“Maybe you’ve already acquired the power of Aliens?”

“Think of it as you please. I don’t think I need to answer you, though, right?”

Hollien asked back with a shrug.

“By the way, was it you who killed all my Aliens?”

Leon Hart answered pridefully.

“Think of it as you please. I don’t think I need to answer you, though, right?”

“That’s right.”

Covering her mouth, she laughed out loud.

She wasn’t nervous at all with the enemy in front of her.

She kept showing curiosity.

“Before I subdue you two, let me ask one more question.”

Hollien looked around the Sungha village.

The night sky was dimly red.

That was enough for her to know that there was a fire in the village.

There was a street war going on.

“You guys did it, didn’t you?”

Leon Hart replied in a cold voice.

“Your soldiers will not escape the punishment of the Goddess.”

“That’s not how a priest should speak…”

She smiled and kept gathering more information.

“Isn’t that punishment too much? The people in this town are innocent. Wasn’t it one of the Goddess’s teachings that you shouldn’t sacrifice small things for big ones?”

Leon Hart also smiled.

“You don’t need to worry, Fairy Queen. The blood of the innocent will not flow tonight.”

* * *

Sporadic battles continued throughout the Sungha village.

Heavily armed Templars of the six Churches advanced through the alleyways.

“In the name of the Goddess!”

“Banish all the sinners!”

Knights and soldiers of the Allendia army stuck back in formation.

“For the Queen!”

“Punish these crazy fanatics!”

Spears, knives, swords, and shields clashed against each other, splattering blood across the dark roads.

Powerful Magic Swordsmen and Mages surrounded both sides.

The battle was fought not only with physical weapons but and fights.

Houses were burning, causing black smoke to rise to the skies.

The fighting that ensued was destroying the entire vicinity.

If such a large-scale battle took place in the middle of the village, it wouldn’t be strange for civilian damage to be severe.

But at that moment, not a single innocent life had been lost.

There were no civilians to be harmed in the first place.

Lord Bartas, a knight and commander of the Allendia Army, was in a state of shame.

‘All the people who were thought to be villagers were members of the Holy Punishers!’

The Holy Punishers’ army was already hiding in the Sungha village right from the beginning.

They had been making themselves scarce within the houses next to or in front of the abodes where the Allendia Army was stationed. They then attacked all at once, launching a surprise attack.

So, what about the hundreds of original occupants of the village?

They had all been evacuated early.

‘Not one or two, but hundreds of troops, and hundreds of civilians, secretly switched places?’

If such a large-scale movement took place in his territory, even the most incompetent lord would recognize it.

At that moment, it became clear.

Swinging his sword, Lord Bartas shouted.

“Viscount Clovis! You traitor!”