Chapter 389: This Is an Opportunity (3)
The knights stepped back at the sight of the grotesquely writhing creatures.
It wasn’t out of fear. Rather, an inexplicable sense of revulsion welled up within them.
They recalled Ghislain’s earlier words.
“Mu-mutants? What’s that?”
“Whatever they are, I don’t even want to look at them.”
Ghislain pointed with his sword, explaining casually.
“There’s a strange aura spreading in this area. These creatures are affected by it. They’re not particularly strong, so dealing with them shouldn’t be difficult.”
Upon hearing this, the knights focused their senses and indeed felt the faint aura lingering around them.
It was ominous and unpleasant. Worse, it was gradually trying to seep into their bodies.
Even by simply breathing, the aura naturally entered their systems. Alarmed, the knights shouted in distress.
“What is this aura?”
“It’s subtle enough that you wouldn’t notice unless you concentrate!”
“Damn it, I feel like I’ve already inhaled a few mouthfuls of it!”
As the knights began to panic, Ghislain clicked his tongue and continued.
“That much won’t affect you, so don’t worry. Just go somewhere without the aura, practice your mana techniques, or wait it out it’ll dissipate on its own. It’s dangerous for ordinary people, but for those who handle mana, it’s not much of a threat, even temporarily.”
“How do you know all this, my lord?”
“I know everything.”
“Ah, yes…”
The knights could only nod. It was always like this with Ghislain. His claim to know everything could be grating, but he truly did seem to know it all.
“Anyway, it’s nothing serious for you knights, so there’s no need to be afraid.”
The mutants were faster and stronger than ordinary humans. However, they were only about as capable as trained soldiers at best.
If there were many of them, they could be threatening, but the knights here were more than enough to handle them.
Vanessa spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“I-I’ll clean them up.”
Getting rid of something disgusting as quickly as possible seemed like the best course of action. She began gathering her mana, intending to obliterate the creatures without leaving a trace.
But Ghislain stopped her and turned to the knights with a grin.
“You’ll be seeing these things more often in the future, so you’d better get used to them.”
In other words, he was telling them to deal with it themselves. Kaor and the knights, with reluctant expressions, gripped their weapons and charged forward.
Squish, squish, squish…
The mutants let out grotesque sounds, extending their tentacle-like limbs toward the knights.
Gordon, slashing at an oncoming appendage, yelled in disgust.
“Holy ! This is gross! Their blood’s green!”
The sensation at his fingertips was utterly repugnant. In terms of sheer unpleasantness, these mutants far surpassed Pallor and Grex from the Forest of Beasts.
But there was another problem.
Ssssss…
“Huh? What’s this?!”
The knights recoiled in horror as the mutants’ blood splattered in midair and landed on them.
They all wore cloaks over their armor. Wherever the mutants’ green blood touched, the fabric emitted an acrid smell and began to burn.
Watching this, Ghislain spoke nonchalantly.
“Their blood is acidic poison. It’ll hurt if it gets on you.”
“You should’ve warned us beforehand!”
“Who tells you everything in a real battle? Get used to being cautious there are all kinds of enemies out there.”
“Ugh!”
Ghislain refrained from giving warnings only when he was confident the knights could learn through experience and still manage the consequences. Granted, it often came with considerable pain.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The mutants, who were no more than average soldiers in strength, quickly fell as their heads or what passed for them were split apart. With their relatively small numbers, it didn’t take long for the knights to eliminate them all.
Ssssss…
The mutants’ blood seeped into the ground, releasing an acrid stench.
Lucas muttered as he watched.
“Ugh… This would be a nightmare for regular soldiers.”
Though weak in combat strength, their poisonous blood posed a real problem. It wasn’t a major threat to the knights, but for those without mana, even inhaling the fumes could lead to breathing difficulties.
Prolonged exposure would undoubtedly result in severe poisoning.
Once all the mutants had been dealt with, Ghislain led the knights toward an old man’s house.
The old man, already aware of the attack on the village, stood waiting outside his home.
Ghislain addressed him.
“Are you the one in charge?”
“Yes, I am the chief of this village.”
“You’ve done well hiding in plain sight. Lavierre is inside, isn’t he?”
“….”
The old man clenched his teeth. As expected, they had been tailed. One of the church’s most critical operations had been compromised.
The old man glanced around. He saw the emblem engraved on the knights’ armor and the banners carried by the soldiers surrounding the village in the distance.
Even a villager from this remote area could recognize the insignia of such a famous noble family.
“You’re the Count of Fenris, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“I thought you were merely opposing the ducal family, but to think you’d track us all the way here… I should’ve dealt with you sooner.”
“It’s already too late, isn’t it?”
Ghislain’s face was full of mockery.
The reason he had been able to thwart the plans of the ducal family and the Salvation Church was thanks to the knowledge from his previous life. Since they had no idea that he had regressed, the enemy had no reason to pay him any attention in the first place.
The old man glared at Ghislain and spoke.
“God will punish you for your arrogance.”
Gwoooooh!
The old man’s body suddenly began to grow larger. He, too, had mastered the mana cultivation technique used by the Crusaders.
“Graaagh!”
The old man let out a shriek, his eyes glowing red. But instead of fear, the knights looked on with fascination.
“Oh, so that’s one of those monsters.”
“This is my first time seeing one transform up close.”
“Yeah, same here. Whoa, they really do get stronger all of a sudden. Kind of reminds me of us, huh?”
It was the infamous monster everyone had heard of. Some had caught glimpses of it from a distance during Ghislain’s fight with Harold, but most had been too preoccupied battling Desmond’s forces to see it properly.
Even those who had seen it before couldn’t help but marvel now that it was right in front of them. Their reaction was more akin to awe at a celebrity than fear.
The old man, now transformed into a monster, looked somewhat bewildered at their lack of tension.
“Graaaaagh!”
Half-mad, the old man charged at Ghislain. At the same time, the knights stepped forward, swinging their weapons.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“What the?!”
The knights gasped as their swords failed to penetrate the old man’s body. Unlike the mutants, his flesh was too tough for their blades.
“Graaaaagh!”
The old man roared, knocking away the swords around him with his fists and kicking one startled knight in the stomach.
Thud!
“Urgh!”
The knight flew backward from the kick. The armor over his abdomen caved in where the blow had landed.
The sheer, overwhelming strength caused everyone to take an unconscious step back.
“Damn it! Move aside!”
Lucas, self-proclaimed “Genius of Spearmanship” and widely considered the “Master of Overreaction,” rushed forward, driving his spear into the old man’s abdomen.
He poured as much mana as he could muster into the attack.
Squelch!
“Oh?”
The spear pierced through, but it didn’t go very deep. Lucas looked up at the giant face of the transformed old man.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…”
Thwack!
“Gah!”
Before he could dodge, the old man struck Lucas, sending him flying. Though he managed to block the attack with his arm, he tumbled across the ground, crying out.
“Ack! My arm’s broken!”
This time, Lucas wasn’t exaggerating. His arm was bent at an unnatural angle.
“What kind of strength is this…?”
Faced with such incredible power, the knights instinctively retreated. Their attacks weren’t effective, and the old man wielded terrifying strength.
If he had been armed with a weapon, several of them might already be dead.
It was said that these monsters, called Crusaders, grew stronger depending on the original skill level of their base form.
Judging by his current strength, the old man must have been at least as skilled as a mid-to-high-level knight before transforming.
Unlike other monsters, he seemed to retain a degree of rationality as well.
Ghislain smirked as he watched the old man.
“No wonder he was left in charge of this village.”
It made sense that someone of his caliber had been entrusted with the responsibility.
While Ghislain acknowledged the old man’s strength, he was displeased with the knights’ reaction.
They should have been able to handle this opponent without issue, even without completing the mana cultivation using the Dragon Heart Shard.
Instead, they were losing their momentum due to panic, missing their chance to strike effectively.
Kaor, snorting in frustration, was about to step forward when Ghislain stopped him.
“Pull yourselves together. You need to get used to fighting opponents like him.”
Ghislain’s words snapped the knights to attention. They knew that showing any more incompetence would earn them brutal training sessions once they returned.
A steely resolve appeared in their eyes as they steadied themselves.
“Graaaaagh!”
The old man, disliking their renewed confidence, lashed out even more viciously.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
This time, the knights didn’t falter. Despite the heavy impacts, they held their ground and blocked his attacks.
Using the openings created by the blockers, other knights moved in to strike.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Their swords still felt like blunt instruments against his tough flesh, but the knights remained calm, seamlessly rotating out to maintain pressure.
They had trained relentlessly in these group tactics for dealing with powerful enemies.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
With their mana unleashed at full force, the knights relentlessly hammered the old man.
“Graaaagh!”
The monster flailed wildly, its fists striking with terrifying speed and power. A few knights were sent flying, but the rest pressed on undeterred.
With nearly 200 knights taking turns to attack, the old man began to falter and retreat.
“Bring the axe!”
As someone shouted the order, the knights lowered their swords and retrieved small hand axes from their belts.
Hand axes weren’t typically the weapon of choice for knights, but since they had trained under Ghislain, they tended to carry a wide variety of equipment without discrimination.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The knights infused their mana into the axes and relentlessly hacked at the old man’s body.
“Graaaagh!”
Even the hardened defenses of the monster were ultimately rooted in mana. While it might not feel pain, it couldn’t avoid continuously depleting its mana to protect its body.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The brutal exchange between the knights and the monster showed no sign of stopping. As the knights gritted their teeth and poured their mana into their attacks, wounds gradually began to appear on the old man’s body.
“The weapons are finally starting to work!”
“Keep at it! Just a bit more!”
“Kill it!”
Just like the old man, who had lost his reason and transformed into a monster, the knights too succumbed to a sort of battle frenzy.
These were men who had lived rough lives to begin with. Once fully immersed in combat, their tenacious, dogged determination emerged in full force.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Even with some of their comrades knocked aside, over a hundred knights were still assaulting a single opponent.
The old man’s mana reserves quickly dwindled, and his body began to look like a ragged mess.
“We’re almost there!”
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
“Graaaagh!”
No matter how strong the old man was, it was impossible for him to withstand the relentless assault of 200 knights.
As his mana was nearly depleted, each axe strike began to split his body apart.
“Hey, move aside!”
Gordon stepped forward, his muscles bulging grotesquely like a monster himself. Among the Fenris knights, Gordon’s strength was unparalleled.
Charging in close, he grabbed the old man’s face with a savage grip and swung his axe down on the monster’s neck.
Crack!
“Grkkk!”
The old man raised an arm to grab Gordon, but other knights held his limbs down, preventing him from moving effectively. Already drained of his strength, the old man couldn’t muster enough resistance.
Gordon didn’t waste the opportunity and kept swinging his axe at the old man’s neck.
“Die! Die already, you stubborn bastard!”
Sweating profusely, Gordon gave it everything he had.
The monster was absurdly resilient. Even considering that it was stronger than most other monsters, it was an exhausting and grueling opponent.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
“Grrr…ghh…”
Finally, with one last swing of Gordon’s axe, the old man’s head was severed from his body. Only then did the knights slump to the ground, panting heavily.
“Wow, that thing was tough.”
“What if hundreds of those things rampage across the battlefield?”
“What do you mean ‘what if’? Everyone’s going to die, obviously.”
The thought of facing such monsters en masse sent chills down their spines.
In terms of sheer strength, the old man was comparable to the greatest swordsman of an entire region. If hundreds like him appeared, it would undoubtedly turn any battlefield into a living hell.
Of course, monsters this powerful were unlikely to be common. But there was no guarantee that he was the only one.
As the knights muttered their complaints, Ghislain chuckled and stepped forward.
“Good work. But what are you so scared of? If all of you become as strong as that monster, there won’t be a problem, will there?”
“…”
The knights averted their eyes, unable to respond.
If all 400 members of the Fenris Knights achieved such monstrous strength, they really would be unstoppable.
But they knew what awaited them on that path: grueling, hellish training.
Leaving the resting knights behind, Ghislain strode toward the old man’s house.
It was a much larger house compared to the others. Standing before it, Ghislain called out.
“If you’ve seen enough, come out.”
Creak…
The door opened, revealing Lavierre, who had been hiding and recuperating inside.
With a cold expression, he glared at Ghislain and asked,
“How… how did you even find this place?”
“You led me here, didn’t you?”
“There was no pursuit.”
“That’s what you think.”
“…”
Lavierre had fought elves and soldiers from other territories on his way here. He had been extremely cautious, ensuring there were no pursuers by carefully sensing the area multiple times before entering the village.
Yet, here the Count of Fenris stood, having tracked him down. He couldn’t believe it.
“Who are you?”
Asking how Ghislain had followed him no longer seemed necessary. What mattered now was understanding the fundamental nature of this man.
Lavierre couldn’t comprehend Ghislain as a person at all.
Ghislain smirked.
“You don’t need to know. Your role ends here. Thanks to you, I’ve learned something valuable.”
Lavierre let out a twisted smile of his own.
“Whatever you’ve learned, it doesn’t change the outcome. Our grand plan is already complete.”
“No, things are about to change. A lot.”
Yes, it would change. This time, things would be different. At the very least, he could close half of the rifts himself.
Looking at Ghislain’s confident expression, Lavierre drew on his strength.
“I have no choice. I’ll kill you here, even if it costs me everything.”
Lavierre knew he was outnumbered, but fleeing was not an option. Even at the cost of his life, he had to kill the Count of Fenris to protect the grand plan.
Gwooooooh!
As Lavierre gathered his power, he suddenly froze. He sensed someone behind him.
Skkk!