Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Pruning (6)
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As they left the dilapidated chapel and walked down the quiet corridor,
Lian could feel two prickling gazes boring into the back of his head.
"You didn't need to follow me all the way..."
"Protecting the Lord is our duty."
Some of the knights had taken a liking to Lian after the incident with Manuel.
But these were men handpicked by Leon himself.
Their faces were hard to make out under their helmets, but the odds of them being friendly toward him were slim.
At least they weren't suddenly drawing their swords and charging at him.
"Lord! Over there...!"
As they stepped outside,
the silhouettes of tree zombies crawling up the walls flickered in the faint moonlight.
And their heads all turned toward Leon in unison.
"Lian. Where do you plan to lure those things?"
"The secret garden should work best. It's surrounded by sheer cliffs on all sides, and even if they somehow get in, the passage is narrow—they won't be able to swarm all at once."
"Sound reasoning."
"But we'll have to break through them once to get there."
The entrance to the secret garden was in a wall tower on the inner keep, so some direct confrontation was inevitable.
Soon, as they approached the walls,
the horde of tree zombies heading toward the chapel suddenly changed direction and followed.
It was like watching a forest tide rolling in slowly.
"Damn it! The vermin are swarming...!"
"We'll clear the path!"
The knights advanced, torches in one hand and battle axes in the other, swinging as they went.
They seemed to have learned a thing or two from the previous incident.
"By the way, Lian. The Delico Matron is already withered away, but in this situation, isn't there a risk she could become dangerous?"
"No. There isn't."
"You're certain? What's your basis?"
"Instinct."
The most reliable evidence of all, but Leon shot him a distrustful glare.
"I hope this isn't a trap."
We'll see about that once I see what you do.
Lian answered with silence and quietly blew on his fingertips.
Then he rubbed them along the blade, igniting the fiery energy.
Crunch—crackle—
The tree zombies were now right upon them.
Having mutated and had time to grow, their branches were far denser than during Manuel's incident.
Meaning they kept growing over time.
If even one escaped and was left alone, it would surely cause even greater chaos before long.
Lian swung his glowing red sword beside the two knights blocking and clearing the path.
Meanwhile, Leon just followed without lifting a finger.
He'd called him out on it, but nothing changed.
"Leon! Keep radiating that charm of yours and draw as many as you can!"
"Lian. Your tone's been awfully casual lately."
"Shall I start calling you 'princess' from now on, then?"
Shing—
Leon's face twisted at the mockery as he drew his sword.
"You'll pay for your insolence one day."
Kwack!
He thrust precisely into the neck of an approaching tree zombie.
A perfect strike that severed the cervical vertebrae despite being a forward stab.
He was a warrior who'd honed his blade his entire life, after all.
"See? You could do it if you tried, but you're just sitting back and letting things escalate."
"Didn't your swordmaster teach you to keep your mouth shut in battle?"
"Maybe not?"
Fortunately, the number of tree zombies that had scaled the inner walls was still minimal.
Four of them had no trouble breaking through to their destination.
"Ugh...! They're starting to surround us!"
"Means we're luring them well. It's a good thing!"
As they reached the wall tower—their goal—the surroundings were already thick with shadowy trees, like stepping into a forest.
Crunch—crackle—
But unlike a real forest, these shadows crept closer.
Hesitate even a moment, and they'd be pinned down, unable to move.
"We're not here to fight them right now—focus on clearing the path!"
"Got it!"
"Damn! The blade's starting to...!"
"Leon! No more jabs—just fall back for a bit!"
Somehow, the four made it safely to the secret passage.
"Lian. Answer me clearly. This isn't a trap, right?"
"Ah! Quit suspecting and open it already!"
"Fine."
He hurriedly opened the secret door, entered, and quickly operated the mechanism to seal it shut.
Soon, only the sound of branches scraping the wall came from beyond.
Fortunately, the tree zombies lacked the intelligence to work the secret door's mechanism.
"Lord. The chapel earlier... Are there places like this scattered throughout the castle?"
"Yes. But even I don't know all of them exactly."
"Then how does this Lian fellow...?"
"I'm curious too."
Now in a safe spot,
the prickling gazes turned back on Lian.
The situation had been too urgent earlier, but now,
the fact that some citizens could access secret passages into the castle was out.
Which meant a mountain of problems to solve even after this crisis ended.
"Don't loiter here—let's head deeper in."
"...Right."
But lecturing Lian could wait until they survived.
"The sun's rising!"
A bluish light filtered through the crevices in the sea-facing cliffs.
Sunlight gradually seeped into the barren, withered garden.
Crunchhh—
A few tree zombies that had finally crawled up the cliffs halted and stretched toward the sun.
Just as Lian predicted, they took root and began photosynthesizing.
"They really stopped...?"
"Whew... What a hellish night."
"Too early to celebrate. We've only caught our breath."
They'd burn all the lured ones,
and scour the old town for any stragglers, eliminating every last one.
No mistakes allowed.
"Congratulations, Lian. You'll be a hero after this."
Clap clap clap—
Leon, leaning against the cliff for a brief rest, rose slowly, applauding.
"Didn't you hear me? It's not over yet."
"No. Your role ends here."
A chillingly cold tone.
Leon drew his sword and pointed it at Lian.
"Oh, come on. So this is how it goes?"
A backstab at this timing.
All he could do was laugh at the clichéd villainy.
But in a way, it was inevitable.
Once the crisis ended, Lian—knowing the full truth—would be a major obstacle.
"Last night was chaos. Any one of us could've died without it being strange."
"Funny coincidence. I thought the same."
"For old times' sake, I'll tell Isabel you were a hero to the end."
Lian backed away slowly.
Leon's swordsmanship earlier had been genuine.
Head-on, he had no confidence in winning—especially with two knights joining in. His odds plummeted.
"No, knights. You see this and feel nothing? What about your knightly oaths?"
"Our oath is loyalty to the Lord alone."
"How touchingly noble."
Lian sighed deeply and smacked his forehead.
Chivalry was just a fantasy after all.
Now they looked like nothing more than thugs in armor.
"Planning to keep backing up? That's a dead-end cliff."
Lian glanced back and peered down.
A dizzying height.
Survivable if he jumped?
Eyeballing it, about 30 meters.
Several times higher than an Olympic diving board.
And even with a perfect entry, rough waves could smash him against the rocks.
Still, not impossible.
"Never read wuxia novels? Figures. No such thing here."
"What?"
Entry angle.
Wave timing.
One miscalculation meant death.
And all estimates were by eye.
But it was fine.
His calculations never failed.
"Don't be foolish. At least leave a body for the matron."
"Bullshit. Like that matters when I'm about to die?"
Not a local gesture, but Lian flipped them the bird.
Then boldly leaned backward.
"Such recklessness...!"
Leon and his knights rushed to the cliff where Lian had jumped.
But below, only foam swept away by the waves.
"Shall we go down too?"
"No. The coast here is all sheer cliffs. Unless he's a fish, he'll drown from exhaustion midway."
The castle wasn't built here for nothing.
Leon clicked his tongue at Lian's folly, then smirked in triumph.
Now the crisis was perfectly contained.
The escaped court mage wouldn't return, and Lian—the only other who knew the truth—was dead.
Pin it all on those two, and no loose ends.
"But Lord... Is he really the culprit behind this?"
"Does it matter?"
"No, sir."
"Hurry back. We need to move fast to clean up those abominations."
Kwach! Crack!
Leon struck the necks of the now nearly tree-like monsters with his suddenly idle sword.
They twitched their upper bodies in resistance occasionally, but they were far easier than at night.
"They really aren't moving a muscle. Makes the way back a breather."
"Who has the waterwheel key for the gates?"
"Simon the adjutant has it."
"I see. Should've told him to open them at dawn."
"He'll assess and handle it properly."
After roughly dealing with the tree zombies that had crawled into the secret garden,
Leon and the knights headed back through the secret passage to the castle.
Having to break through the horde again felt uneasy.
But with the only exit at the wall tower, no choice.
Couldn't exactly buddy up with Lian?
"Dark. Torch."
"Yes. I'll take point."
One knight led the way through the passage.
No breaches here; it was empty.
Grind—
"Gah...!"
As they opened the secret door to exit,
the lead knight froze.
Intimidated by the horde still occupying the landing.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. We can just hack off branches as we go."
The knight extended the torch, clearing a path.
Crunchhh—
The fire-hating tree zombies recoiled momentarily.
"Hm? Just now..."
A monster that should've stayed put backed away?
As the knight doubted his eyes,
Pfsh!
"Gaaahhh!"
A thick branch speared his eye.
The tree zombies were still moving actively!
"How...? We confirmed they weren't...!"
"L-Lord! Back inside quick...! Graaah!"
Leon tried to retreat into the secret door, but too late.
The tree zombies had seized the stairs, fully surrounding them.
He didn't know how, but one thing was clear.
"Y-You...! Fooled us, Liiaaan!!"
The dying knight's torch tumbled down the stairs.
In the pitch-black space untouched by sunlight,
silence descended swiftly.