Chapter 313
Chapter 313
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 66 – Night with the Knights and the Campfire (3)
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That day, miracles occurred in all 630 households residing in Wales.
"So, how've you been?"
"You think I'd be fine without you?"
"...Sorry. I came back too late."
"Yeah, way too late."
"......"
"But you did come back."
"...Sorry."
"Enough with the apologies already..."
"......"
"You haven't eaten, right? I ended up making a ton of your favorite trout sandwiches today."
"Huh?"
"You love them the most, hehe."
"...Yeah. I do."
One knight set down his sword and returned to his home as the head of the household.
"I'm back."
"You are, huh?"
"...Yeah."
"Good, as long as you're healthy. That's all that matters..."
"...Sorry it took so long."
"I said it's fine."
Soldiers reunited with their families in tears.
"Honestly, I thought you'd forgotten me and married some other guy by now."
"Wanted to, but I've got loyalty, you know."
"...Yeah, you do."
"What're you waiting for? Hug me or something. If not, I'll do it."
"...Can't have that."
Lovers who had been separated for so long embraced tightly, confirming their feelings and refusing to let go.
The 630 young men thus safely returned to their hometowns and met their families. That day, the territory was filled with sounds of weeping and laughter.
A vacation granted after five years—no, after decades.
Regardless of rank or age, the soldiers laughed and chatted through the night into the dawn, unable to sleep.
They wanted to savor this dreamlike respite and the warmth of their families just a little longer.
They were happy.
......
"Why are you the only elder here? Why not go on leave with the others?"
"At my age, leave doesn't feel like leave anymore. It's more comfortable just sticking to work."
"Does that mean a soldier gives up his vacation? And one after decades?"
The veteran knight's choice was incomprehensible.
They had tried to handle all the cleanup out of consideration, yet he refused and stayed behind.
In truth, it was as if a soldier had rejected his reward leave and volunteered for extra duty.
No one would fail to be baffled by such behavior.
"Heh, don't make a fuss. Even so, Modred needs at least one person in charge, and I'm a pretty decent pick, aren't I?"
Former head of the Modred family, current Knight Commander, and by all accounts a big shot in the capital back in his day.
Those were the words that described him. Far from "pretty decent," he held overwhelming authority and influence even over the current border lord. It was a perfectly valid reason for him to stay.
"Don't you miss your granddaughter?"
"I do. But I don't want to neglect my duties either. Besides, my son and grandsons will take good care of her without me."
"That's not what I meant..."
"More importantly, where on earth did you get that teleportation scroll? The mana to move hundreds at once— even dozens of mages pouring mana in for hundreds of days might barely manage it."
Ganok changed the subject as if pivoting.
He had never seen a scroll with such immense power.
It wasn't just idle chit-chat. As far as Ganok knew, teleportation—spatial magic—was classified as high-tier even among advanced spells.
Moving just one or two people was impressive enough, yet it had teleported over 600.
Calling it an artifact-level treasure wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"...That impressive?"
"It was yours, and you didn't know its value?"
"......"
"Why the long face? You feeling unwell?"
"No, it's just... the affection feels heavy."
"Hm?"
"You know how it is, sigh..."
"??"
Lee Han somehow looked headache-inducing, and Ganok blinked in confusion.
The man who hadn't flinched before a high demon was now breaking a cold sweat.
Rumble...
Modred's annex trembled ominously.
The space itself showed signs of collapse.
"Only natural. After all that rampaging."
This annex was merely a space where spacetime had been warped by the great evil spirit's power.
With the spirit—the source of the distortion—gone, it was inevitable that the space would revert to normal.
Not only that, but even normally, it would take a few days to fully restore. This battle, however, had been exceptionally fierce.
It would crumble the moment the distortion repaired.
...Of course, not immediately.
It would hold for about four days even after starting to collapse.
In other words...
"Grab the important byproducts first!"
"Prioritize the troll's fresh blood! This amount could cover three years of knight order expenses!"
"Don't forget the tendons, claws, and magic stones from the higher monsters!"
"...Isn't that just 'take everything'?"
It was farming time.
Human greed knew no bounds. Even in a space that could collapse anytime, they secured their gains. No one criticized them for it.
Knights weren't immune to greed, and after giving their all in battle, lacking rewards would sap motivation.
On the contrary...
"Good thing we can at least give them this much."
Ganok said Modred needed none of it—let them take as much as they wanted.
Since the byproducts came from Wales land, Modred had first dibs, but they weren't so heartless as to demand it. In fact, he was relieved they could compensate the knights this way.
However, while some looted byproducts, others...
"Hm, so that pervert—no, the vampire brat is dead?"
"Cutting off his head didn't take long. No matter how strong, he couldn't beat us."
...were compiling reports.
Veil Tristan, who had blocked the vampire while Lee Han fought, reported the external battle's outcome.
However.
"...But it felt off."
"?"
"We definitely slaughtered the vampire and all the ghouls. But it felt too easy."
"The body? You checked it, right?"
"Yeah, we recovered it. It was the real body, not a clone. ...Still felt wrong somehow."
"......"
"So when heading to the annex, I left 50 repairmen outside. Just in case."
"Good call."
Lee Han wasn't particularly surprised the vampire was dead.
No matter how legendary the monster, it couldn't overcome the Crimson Hawk Knights.
Especially those who had mastered Sky Walking—they now rivaled bombers that could turn the ground to rubble.
Even Lee Han might hesitate to face a hundred of them alone now.
So the vampire's death wasn't strange.
"...But yeah, it did go down too easily?"
He couldn't help tilting his head.
The vampire's death felt too anticlimactic.
'That guy just died like that?'
As far as Lee Han knew, No. 2 was tenacious.
Back then, unaware he was a vampire, Lee Han had seen him as a pervert with weird powers, but everyone acknowledged his tenacity and survival skills.
Yet such a persistent guy died so pathetically? It nagged at him.
'Didn't run and fought to the end? No, that's not the guy I know. He doesn't fight fair.'
When the odds turned, he'd bolt without hesitation, using any dirty trick.
That inconsistency felt off, uncharacteristic.
As the suspicion grew,
"Did you check the vampire's blood?"
"?"
"Wasn't it black, or rotten?"
"...Come to think of it, the blood smelled oddly foul..."
"As I thought..."
"??"
Rak interjected mid-conversation.
His already sharp eyes narrowed, his bloodshot glare radiating intense pressure laced with killing intent.
The Heavenly Killer Star, officially certified by his spear.
Fearsome aura. Fortunately, no one here was weak enough to cower...
"Urk!"
"Sir Aren, you alright?"
"...Get me some water."
...Well, almost no one. One faltered, but the rest were fine and just stared at Rak.
"......"
Perhaps sensing the meaning in those gazes.
"Half a year ago, when the Ghost King was summoned."
He revealed a piece of hidden info.
"Galahad chased the suspicious duo who summoned it and nearly captured them."
"Nearly?"
"...They died during capture."
"Isn't that just failure?"
"Galahad doesn't make mistakes! It was just..."
"?"
"...Their souls vanished right after capture."
"??"
Heads tilted at the sudden exorcism talk, and Rak frowned.
"I know it sounds insane, but it's true. They have a 'body-discarding technique.' They 'escape' by abandoning their bodies."
"......"
"Proof of the soul's escape is the rotting blood. It corrupts instantly, reeking horribly."
"......"
"...What're those looks?"
"The eyes you give a guy making excuses for his failure."
"......"
Clank.
Rak raised his spear, and Lee Han activated Divine Arrow Flight.