Chapter 102 - 35: [Exile and Exile]

Chapter 102: Chapter 35: [Exile and Exile]

He spread his arms, displaying his armor-clad body and his Nether Copper Sword Shield as symbols of combat prowess to earn their trust.

"Really?" The young woman with bandages wrapped around the side of her face looked excited. She wanted to say something, but was stopped by the young man next to her, who raised a hand to block her.

"You heard wrong," he answered cautiously.

"Is that so?" Samael replied. "That’s truly a pity. Ever since I became an adventurer, I’ve been searching for powerful and brutal Demon Race opponents to duel, to practice my knightly etiquette of saving the weak, but I can never find any."

"Wait a minute... you... do you only desire powerful members of the Demon Race as your opponents?" the young man in the leather hat asked hesitantly.

"Yes, powerful and brutal members of the Demon Race are my true enemies. Those Demon Race Exiles I occasionally run into in the Barren Land look so pitiful to me. If I had the ability, I’d even want to help them," Samael sighed.

The young woman with the bandaged face tugged at the leather-hatted young man’s sheepskin vest.

"You are truly a benevolent Knight," the young man replied cautiously. "But... I wonder how strong you are?"

"Both my companion and I possess strength equivalent to a Seventh-level Adventurer," Samael answered gently. "While we may not be considered very strong, we excel in tactical planning and calculation."

The two young people dressed as traveling merchants exchanged a glance.

"It’s... it’s like this, Sir Knight," the young woman with the bandaged face whispered. "Our merchant caravan has been taken over by a high-level member of the Demon Race named Musa-Salamander and his subordinates. We can’t defeat him... and for personal reasons, we don’t dare seek help from the Empire’s garrison."

"He kidnapped our old caravan leader," the young man in the leather hat said. "He coerced us into hiding him and his subordinates in a secret compartment inside our large cargo wagon, sneaking them into the Empire’s territory."

"Where is he now?" Samael asked in a low voice, looking around simultaneously to ensure the figure Talia had described wasn’t lurking in the surrounding crowd.

"Our wagon camp is in the distant suburbs outside the town," the young woman replied. "There is an Imperial Foundry near the town. He was afraid of alerting the garrison at the Foundry, fearing there might be... something he called Blood Sword Guards."

"Their numbers? Status?"

"Musa seems to have an injury under his ribs, but it’s almost healed. Additionally, he brought five Demonization subordinates: one Buried Sand Winged Dragon, two Sand Dune Battle Scorpions, and two Red Shell Beetle Guards. They all bear varying degrees of injuries."

"Injured? Do they have any vehicles?"

"No, they are on foot."

"Alright... thank you very much." Samael nodded, memorizing their lineup and evaluating the odds. "One last question—what is your attitude toward Rondolan?"

"Wh-what?" The young man in the leather hat stepped back vigilantly, suddenly coming to his senses.

"Are you connected to the Rondolan Mountain Demon Country?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"I have a friend from Rondolan," Samael replied.

"The King of Rondolan has been kind to us," the young woman answered. "We lived in Northern Rondolan for a long time. He allowed us to reside in the Inner Ring. The snowy plains there are beautiful, and the residents of the Underground City are hospitable and eager to share. They are not like other members of the Demon Race, who act like beasts and determine power and status by strength. Your friend must also be a very good person, just as noble, humble, and polite as you."

"Thank you. Then I can rest assured." He nodded his helmet and reached out to beckon toward the shadows in the corner of the wall.

"Are you kidding... are you sure this will work?" Talia, wearing her helmet, emerged from the shadows. She leaned close to Samael and asked in a low voice.

"You’ve been anxious the entire journey because of the hunter, Musa, and that Compass," Samael replied softly. "If we take care of him and the Compass, you’ll be able to relax a bit."

"No, no, no... it won’t work. How could we possibly succeed? It’s useless. We can’t defeat him. In the Barren Land, I could barely manage to escape by relying on the Magical Beast horde. But now, in the Empire’s territory, we have no Magical Beast subordinates! Nor do we have Undead Warriors!" Talia took a half-step back, but Samael grabbed her wrist.

Samael rested the forehead of his helmet against the top of Talia’s helmet and spoke in a low voice. "Musa is injured, and he only has five Demonization subordinates left, all of whom are also wounded. The Empire’s border garrison severely diminished their strength. This is a good opportunity. If we wait for him to recover, we won’t have this chance again.

"We can run away at any time, but not now. We must face this, meet the difficulties head-on at the right moment, break through this predicament, set out to change all of this, and create a new life.

"Get ready. We need a plan—and I will come up with a suitable one, just like I have every time before.

"Trust me."