Chapter 986: While Stargazing Late at Night

Crackle, crackle.

Amid the sound of the campfire burning, there came the gulp of someone swallowing.

The atmosphere had eased, but no one there was the sort to suddenly bring up personal stories or possess the spirit of a minstrel and liven the mood with amusing tales.

They simply drank, ate, looked at the fire, and sat in quiet. Perhaps it was fortunate enough that hostility and wariness had softened.

Awoooo.

The howl of a wolf from far away filled the silence.

Eating quietly was not uncomfortable, but after hearing the wolf howl, Riley opened his mouth. It was not exactly an excuse, but it sounded as though he was explaining why they had not dealt with even the wolves.

“This area is white wolf pack territory, so there are no monsters or demonic beasts here.”

So polite.

Enkrid was fairly sure that when they had fought in Zaun before, Riley had spoken more casually and comfortably.

Since Enkrid had a rough guess at Riley’s thoughts, he did not nitpick the way he spoke.

Rem and Jaxon paid it little attention, and Temares had said a few things about others being beautiful, but had been quiet afterward.

Sometimes, when their eyes met, he simply smiled. To Enkrid, it looked like a sly grin. But it was the kind of smile that would quickly charm most women.

Dragonkin were exceptional in many ways, especially in appearance.

An inhuman air, yet paired with a friendly smile.

Wasn’t this rather like a fairy approaching gently, wiping something from the corner of his mouth if anything got on it, and taking care of his food, drink, and sleeping place?

Most fairies used a lack of emotion as a weapon, so that would not usually happen, but as just explained, unusual fairies did exist. One was right beside him.

“You have something on your mouth.”

Shinar said, brushing the corner of his mouth with her hand.

“Sleep in that tent. It is cozy and pleasant.”

A fairy living within the mountain range could sense the subtle flow of vital energy and knew which places had good energy. She had chosen the tent set up in the best spot.

“It seems there was no room for me to intervene.”

Seriana said when she saw it.

“You state the obvious.”

Esther answered.

“I’m not jealous.”

Valmung added a comment too, but contrary to his words, his expression looked very jealous. Two beauties, the Black Flower and the Golden Witch, were together with him. Leaving aside their personalities, if one looked only at appearance, it felt as though they should not be allowed near one man.

“You’re kind of annoying.”

That was why he added that. No matter what Valmung said, Enkrid, Shinar, and Esther paid him no attention.

“You are beautiful too. It is fine.”

Only Temares comforted him like that.

“Are all dragonkin perverts?”

Valmung asked back with a face full of doubt. The dragonkin did not answer.

He merely smiled for the sake of the foolish human.

After Shinar returned, Esther gradually returned to her usual demeanor. In other words, there would be no thunderbolt from a clear sky. She had grown even quieter than before, and that was because she was organizing what she had gained while dealing with Astrail’s master and other mages.

As a few words passed back and forth like that, the atmosphere eased into something even more languid than before.

“We cleared out all the monsters and demonic beasts, but the white wolves that live in this area are similar to guardian spirits, so they must not be killed carelessly. Naturally, they do not attack easily either.”

It sounded like superstition, but the reason was more practical than that.

The Pen-Hanil Range was too vast. Even a knight could step in wrong, lose the way, wander for a lifetime, and die. Because it was that vast, there were many packs of monsters and demonic beasts living in different places.

It did not give off the dense and gloomy atmosphere of the Demon-lands, but perhaps it had an ecosystem of its own.

The white wolf pack was the old master of this area, and because of their presence, small monsters and demonic beasts did not appear nearby.

But if one thought of it that way, were monsters only struggling to survive as well?

Had those who had entered the ecosystem become beings that were simply living?

Enkrid did not sink into the thought that suddenly came to him. There were plenty of people who could worry about such questions in his place.

It was not that he would swing his sword without thought, but there was no need to give himself over to headaches he did not have to carry.

“They say five of them can bring down an ogre, don’t they?”

Valmung knew the story too, so he joined in. The legend of the white wolves was a living legend. A shared topic always made for good conversation.

“I’ve seen one take on a troll alone.”

Lynox took up those words. The two looked as if they were on bad terms, but in reality, it was not so bad that they would bite their tongues fighting. Zaun had stepped forward to block Enkrid’s path, but the Empire had always shown goodwill toward the Zaun family.

Supplying them with goods and sending people when trouble arose had not been done for nothing, one could say.

In other words, the two sides were on fairly good terms. Even though the Empire’s power was overwhelmingly greater, the fact that such a relationship had formed meant the emperor was likely not an iron ruler who would subdue everything by force.

Hadn’t Seriana said there were many kinds of iron rulers?

Well, always siding with Enkrid might have been unpleasant, but none of the Imperial figures cared about that.

Since they had reached out with titles like Shield Duke and so on because they wanted something as well, and since Zaun benefited the Empire simply by existing, perhaps maintaining the status quo was enough.

“Are there people who live with the wolf pack?”

Enkrid cut off his thoughts and asked. It was a story that interested him too. Minstrels spread many absurd tales, and among them were several that felt strangely coherent.

One of those was the story of a man who lived with the white wolves.

Wasn’t he said to live as a member of the wolf pack under their protection? Some said he was a beastman, and some said he was a human raised by wolves who had nursed him from childhood, but nothing was known for certain.

“Who knows? I’ve never seen him myself.”

Grida said while turning the lamb skewered on a branch. She said she did not know, but her tone was full of belief. She had not seen him, but she believed.

Fat sizzled from the meat skewered on the branch and dripped to the ground.

The savory smell seemed strong enough to draw in any ordinary demonic beast or monster, but as said earlier, this was white wolf territory, so no demonic beasts approached.

Hoo-hoo.

In the distance, the sound of an owl mixed with the cries of insects. It was a jumble of noise made because not only monsters and demonic beasts, but many kinds of living things existed together in balance.

“Done.”

Grida said, taking out a pocketknife and slicing the meat. Chunks of meat dripping with juice fell onto the copper bowls each person held.

Seeing that even simple eating utensils had been prepared inside the tents, one could only call them impressive.

“This feels less like camping and more like we came out to watch the stars.”

The place they had settled in was open to the sky. Just as Rem said, the stars shone overhead as though they might spill down.

But of course, they had not come to watch the stars.

And the person who had called them here had not called them to look at stars either.

Jaxon reacted fastest. The instant he rose from his seat, his body shot out as if launched, and he stood beside Crang.

His response was so quick that an afterimage remained along the path he took.

Next, Enkrid and Rem moved at the same time.

Each drew axe and sword as they sprang out. Their destination was the darkness formed by bushes and trees, where the firelight and starlight did not reach.

Slice!

Just before entering the pitch-black area, Enkrid swung his sword. His engraved weapon cut down the bushes and branches blocking the way in a shower.

To someone who did not know, it would have looked as if the darkness itself had been cut.

Jaxon had grown up and lived as an assassin, and in the end had completed his craft, becoming the master of Geor’s Dagger, the greatest assassin guild on the continent.

What was more, none of the previous masters had ever been better at this work than Jaxon.

‘An outstanding assassin becomes the finest guardian.’

Though, in reverse, an outstanding guardian would not necessarily become a fine assassin.

In that sense, Kraiss’s choice in leaving the king’s protection to Jaxon was clear and excellent.

While Enkrid cut the trees, Jaxon snatched two thin blades that flew silently through the air.

‘Poison.’

It was the kind that could intoxicate someone from smell alone. One could say it had been designed so that even blocking it would make the target suffer.

Jaxon always stopped breathing and stayed on guard when catching thrown weapons, so he was not poisoned. Even if it had actually entered through his respiratory system, poison of this level would not have affected him.

Besides, he wore thin gloves wrapped in deerhide on his hands, so naturally, it had not touched his skin either.

He let the two thin blades fall to the ground and looked ahead. His reddish-brown eyes pierced the darkness.

His Will responded, drawing everything around him into his field of sensation. Even if he could not see, he saw; even if he could not hear, he heard.

Even if the enemy hid their presence and perfectly concealed the body with assimilation, detecting them was no difficulty. Jaxon’s field perception had also doubled from before. He had not spent time with Enkrid for nothing.

He did not think he had reached Uske’s level, nor did he think he needed to, but the vessel of his Will itself had clearly expanded.

His hands hung loose, and the focus of his eyes fixed on one point in the darkness.

The being who became that target—the assassin hidden in the dark—felt doubt. It was just before attempting a second attack. He had painted interference spells over his brow and face, so why did it feel like their eyes had met? Huh? Where did he go?

The instant he was startled, his body reacted. As trained, he killed his presence and slid his body aside, but as if waiting for it, a dagger dug into his side.

“You crazy bastards!”

At the same time, Valphir Valmung’s shout erupted. He shouted and, at the same time, roared toward the sky.

“Raaaagh!”

It was no different from a beast’s roar, and it carried enough force to make most people’s legs go weak. Just as it was natural for a human who faced a beast of prey to piss themselves or freeze, his roar shook people’s minds. Yet no one actually stopped fighting.

“Sir, ask them not to kill anyone.”

Mol looked after Seriana, and she, having run to Valmung’s side, covered one ear, furrowed her brow, and spoke.

These bastards, seriously.

She seemed to know who the attackers were, and irritation surged in her.

Valmung let out another monstrous shout, this time with more refined intent and meaning carried in it.

“Don’t kill them! I’m asking!”

Who was he saying that to? The attackers? Or the ones stopping them?

Seriana and Valmung understood each other. They directed their message toward the side counterattacking—the madmen who had traveled with them until now.

The ones who had attacked would have come under orders from someone higher than themselves.

No matter what was said, there was no way they would listen.

Jaxon had acted before hearing any of those sounds, but in accordance with Valmung’s wish, he did not kill.

The enemy had used poison, but it was a kind of paralytic poison. It had been meant as a threat, not to kill.

So he merely shaved off a bit of flesh from the man’s side, struck the back of his neck, and knocked him unconscious. The man, his central nervous system shocked, collapsed sideways. Leaving him there, Jaxon turned back to guard the king again, only to find the five Royal Guards surrounding Crang.

They looked ready to block anything that flew in with their own bodies. They had not come wearing thick cloth garments, leather over that, and iron plate armor on top of it for nothing. That uncomfortable and heavy armor was their will to protect their king.

Moreover, the king awakened the power of Paradise Water and shouted.

“Are Imperial greetings usually this noisy?”

Crang’s wits were nothing to dismiss either. It meant he knew the attackers’ identity. It also carried his intent for them to stop their hands, but once again, it was ignored.

However, with that one shout, everyone present felt the force shown by the king named Crang.

A dizzying pressure spread like ripples. A lake rocked from a stone someone had thrown. At the center of that disturbance, the person riding a ferryboat stood straight-backed, uncaring that the water’s surface shook.

It was the sight of the friend Enkrid was rather fond of. Was it not the image of someone who said what he needed to say no matter who threatened him?

Not that Enkrid intended to let a threat like this shake him.

“Hey.”

Enkrid called to the man who appeared before him.

“You can see through assimilation?”

I knew you were there already, you bastard.

The man had not stepped forward, and at his waist hung a curved sword. Enkrid could tell just from his bearing, posture, and force.

He was a knight.

Thinking that, Enkrid raised Today. The tip of the sword pointed slantwise toward the sky in a middle guard.

“I ask your understanding for being unable to give my name, knight of a small country.”

The man said it, and if that was meant as a provocation, it was quite skilled.

“That’s fine, since there’s no need to ask your name.”

What kind of bastard who attacked suddenly in the dead of night brought up names? That was the meaning.

“Will you do it yourself?”

Temares asked from behind Enkrid. At some point, he had moved and stood there. Esther was still seated, while Shinar was already behind the newly appeared man. Both had moved with startling stealth and speed.

“Don’t worry about behind me. I’ll do this alone.”

Instead of answering Temares, Enkrid said it to the opponent who had come without warning.

Valmung had asked them to go easy, hadn’t he?

Then I shouldn’t cut his head off.

Thinking that, he shot out pressure. Sharp, keen, and precise.

He drew a blade. Creating a sword identical to Today, he dropped it from above the man’s head. The blade flew alone, aiming a vertical slash at the opponent’s left shoulder.

The opponent reacted. Unable to receive pressure with pressure, he moved his body sideways.

Enkrid swung Today horizontally toward the spot where he had moved.

It was a sword swung after entering the world of silence. In a soundless world, the blade flew. Just before it reached the opponent’s side, the man drew his sword and blocked.

Enkrid poured heavy force into it as much as he could, but the opponent slanted his blade and let the impact flow away.

The skill was so excellent that Enkrid felt as though he had cut a rotten branch.