Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: They Back Me Up No Matter What I Do? (1)
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Late at night on the street.
I was looking down from the rooftop.
Because the impostor and his companions were gathered in front of the house.
"That's fascinating."
Even with us all watching from above, they hadn't noticed a thing.
Astor Closel stretched his shoulders for the first time in ages and spoke.
"Back in my younger days, this sort of thing happened countless times. It's the spells we used then."
No sound came from our movements.
He said even our voices wouldn't reach them.
Sweeping my gaze around, I saw mana enveloping us in a peculiar pattern.
"Normally speaking, scum like that are just chaff."
I agreed completely.
It didn't seem like beating up a few of them would solve the problem.
Soon, their conversation drifted up to us.
"Two kids in the house across the way."
"Hmph."
One of his companions snorted derisively.
And what came out of his mouth next was outrageous.
"A little further in, there's an orphanage."
"Oh-ho..."
"If we start the operation quietly, we can snag quite a few."
Parmon's face hardened at their words.
Even scarier than when we'd first met.
If we left it like this, those guys would vanish without a trace.
The old man spoke in a chilling voice.
"Judging by their handiwork, they've already kidnapped a fair number of kids."
I already knew that much was true.
But we needed to find out where they'd stashed them.
"We should tail those bastards."
Normally, following the old man's lead would be the right call.
There weren't many other ways to find out.
But...
"No need for that."
"...I see."
I stretched out my hand and pointed to one spot.
"Somewhere over there, I think."
Then, as if confirming, I asked,
"Little one, is this the right way?"
- ....
The child's spirit, gauging the direction, nodded.
"Let's go."
"What should we do about those scum?"
"Hmm..."
"I'll warn you ahead of time—I'm pretty pissed off right now."
There was such a thing as karmic retribution.
Retribution would come one way or another.
Besides, there was one more person who was angry besides the old man.
"If we leave them be, they'll come crawling for their punishment on their own."
"...Then I'll leave the guiding to you."
The child's spirit nodded.
If the old man had seen this kid's condition, their heads would already be rolling.
Emaciated from starvation.
Wounds visible all over.
A little longer, and the soul would turn into a ghost.
It already seemed half into vengeful spirit territory.
"We need to resolve this quickly."
We left the scum behind and followed the child's soul to relocate.
But the further we followed the spirit, the stranger the location became.
"This seems to be..."
"Tied up in something big."
Soldiers started becoming visible.
The direction we were heading was clearly off-limits to civilians.
That explained how they snatched kids without getting caught.
"This place is a mess, just like the church."
Children's spirits began gathering nearby.
Already over ten visible to the eye.
Not a small number, even for a soul-guiding ritual.
A sparsely populated area.
A warehouse storing military supplies.
The kids were locked in one of them.
"Can we sneak them out without drawing attention?"
Parmon nodded sharply.
I had a bad feeling watching it, though.
"Don't worry. It's something I did often in my youth. Leave it to Closel and me."
Whoosh.
In this torch-lit place dispelling the darkness.
Soldiers guarding the Harp Kingdom's border were on duty.
"Hey, did you hear? Some fortune teller came by today."
"I already went earlier."
Curiosity lit up the face of the soldier who'd spoken.
It was already the hot topic among the men.
"Said this year's harvest will be good?"
"What's that matter? It'll just get taxed away anyway."
"Ugh..."
As they exchanged words,
Something odd caught the soldier's eye.
Plain clothes, but with an air of refinement.
And a mask covering the face.
The careless way it was worn screamed ill intent to anyone who saw.
"A thief walking in so boldly?"
"Must be crazy."
It happened occasionally.
Thieves would come hoping for a score, but the outcome was always the same.
Execution, or dragged off somewhere.
This time would be no different.
Suddenly, the black-masked figure vanished from sight.
And then came the sound.
Crack—!
"...!!!"
The masked figure had appeared out of nowhere, smacking a soldier's helmet with his palm.
Hit with a bare hand through a helmet, and it made that sound?
"H-Hey!"
The soldier reflexively thrust his spear, feeling like he'd encountered mystical magic.
No matter how much he stabbed, the spear wouldn't connect.
By the tiniest margin each time.
"Thief! Intruder!"
The shouting soldier soon realized something was off.
No reaction from around him.
His comrades should've rushed over after hearing that.
"A-Alar...!"
The soldier dashed to the alarm bell and struck it hard.
But.
"What's wrong with this thing?"
No sound from the bell that should've rung loudly.
He definitely felt it connect with his hand.
Yet the bell stayed silent.
Soon, the black-masked thief addressed him.
"Do you know what this place is for?"
Stumble.
Stumble.
Sensing something wrong, the soldier backed away.
Crack—!
His helmet rang out, and his vision spun like he'd been punched in the face.
Thud—
More masked figures appeared before the fallen soldier.
"No, old man! We're supposed to sneak in—knocking them out gives us away!"
"This is how infiltration works."
"Is brute-forcing the front door infiltration?!"
The one arguing with Parmon was Chris.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Never heard or seen infiltration done head-on.
What if something happened to the kids because of this?
Soon, another masked figure nearby spoke up.
"If they don't spot us, it's infiltration. I did this dozens of times in my youth. Don't worry."
The masked figures strode in casually, and sounds echoed.
Crack—
"Do you know what's inside here?"
"I-Intruder...!"
Crack—
Thud—
"Old man! Why do you keep—!"
Crack—
Even though the sounds were fairly loud, the surroundings stayed quiet.
The magic had completely blocked all noise.
As the masked group's penetration deepened, slightly different sounds began to ring out.
"Do you know what this place is for?"
"I-I'm reporting to superiors ri...!"
Crunch—
The sound of breaking bone.
"Looks like you know what this place is. You're one of them too, then..."
Snap—
Crunch—
"Old man, the more that guy moves, the more people get hurt."
"Got it."
Another bone-cracking sound reverberated.
Crunch crunch.
"My leg...!"
Thud—
The straight path to their target warehouse.
All the soldiers there were knocked out on the ground.
The deeper they infiltrated, the stricter the security.
Even knights appeared sporadically.
But it posed no problem for them.
"Old man! That guy's a total bastard!"
Sudden masked figures.
Fallen soldiers.
The knight who spotted them urgently drew his sword.
Shing—
"How dare you invade this place—do you even know where you are?!"
There was no hesitation in his blade.
A sword laced with sharp aura whipped through like a brushstroke.
Precise, honed swordsmanship.
It would've been a splendid attack if the opponent weren't Parmon, a powerhouse.
Smack—
Subduing the knight took less than a blink.
Thud—
"How exactly is he a bastard?"
"Looks like embezzlement, and murder too."
"Killed commoners?"
"Yes."
Immediately, a gruesome sound rang out.
Crack—
"He'll never hold a sword again."
After a brief commotion, Chris muttered to thin air.
"This the place?"
Chris conversing with empty space.
The talk went on for a while.
Anyone watching would've thought him mad.
"That building over there?"
Eventually, Chris pointed in one direction.
"Says they're underground there."
"Lots of guards."
"Thousands?"
Chris's face turned baffled at the question.
These old men's sense of scale was on another level.
He hadn't even imagined charging in so openly.
"Maybe a hundred at most...?"
"I'll head in first. Follow after a bit."
Closel beside him adjusted his mask.
"Saw a grain warehouse on the other side."
"...?"
"Need a distraction to slip the kids out."
The mask hid his face, but not his smile.
"I'll go set it on fire."