Episode 883
Episode 883
But even in the midst of such fear, none of the adventurers stopped or turned back.
Those who would retreat out of fear would never have become adventurers in the first place.
They were the kind who overcame fear with desire and conquered terror with greed.
Moreover, having worked under Antagondals for so long, their greed was anything but weak.
"Death Knights! Scrolls!"
As the Death Knights and Bone Wyverns appeared in the sky above the forest, the adventurers of the Shadows of Kangla immediately sprang into action.
Not just Invisibility Magic, but spells that erased their presence and even ones that caused confusion if someone looked their way.
"Done?"
"Wait a moment. Death Knights can easily see through veils."
Even after the patrolling Death Knight disappeared, the adventurers cautiously held their ground.
The moment they were about to move again, another group of Death Knights appeared from a different direction.
"......"
"Are these damn Death Knights forming an entire legion in this territory?"
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that encountering a Death Knight in an ordinary ruin or dungeon was enough bad luck to last a year.
But here in Einrogard's territory, Death Knights appeared every few minutes, patrolling relentlessly. To the adventurers, it felt as if an icy blade had been pressed against their spines, sending chills down their backs.
"...Alright. Let's move. Lantern Bearer, have you confirmed the location?"
"Just a moment..."
The adventurer called the Lantern Bearer pulled out a long brass telescope and carefully checked their position.
They had already crossed the infamous barriers of Einrogard and entered the territory, but they still had a long way to go.
This territory was as vast as a small region, and if they weren't careful, they could easily get lost and stumble into a deadly place.
Crack!
In an instant, the lens of the brass telescope shattered, and the Lantern Bearer collapsed forward.
The adventurers were horrified but didn't even have time to scream. The Archer quickly checked the Lantern Bearer's pulse.
"...He's gone. His soul's been absorbed."
"Damn it... These cursed wizards. What kind of trap did they set?"
"Probably misaligned the telescope. Should've been looking at the mountain range, but it seems he saw the mage's tower instead."
The adventurer called the Artificer calmly assessed the situation.
As the most experienced among them in magic and artifacts, he could guess what had happened.
Mages always set up defensive spells to protect the treasures stored in their workshops or towers.
It was clear that the wizards of Einrogard had done the same.
It was hard to believe that merely observing from a distance—not even approaching—could result in soul absorption, but...
"Impossible. No matter how infamous Einrogard is, it's not some lost labyrinth in the middle of nowhere. Would they really place such a lethal spell within their own territory? Outsiders still roam here."
"Perfectly possible. Lord Antagondals infiltrated, didn't he? It's no surprise they'd be on high alert."
"Ugh...!"
In truth, it wasn't Antagondals but the Crazy Doppelganger that had heightened the territory's defenses, but the adventurers didn't know that.
"Leave the Lantern Bearer. We need to move quickly. If his soul was absorbed, our position might've been exposed."
"But we haven't confirmed the destination yet..."
"No choice. We'll have to improvise."
The Swordsman opened a silver casing and pulled out a compass. The needle spun before settling on a direction.
This artifact had a fifty-fifty chance of pointing toward their destination—less reliable than the Lantern Bearer's telescope—but in this situation, they had no other option.
"Let's go!"
The adventurers sprinted without pause. The fear that Death Knights might swarm them from all directions if they hesitated even for a second drove them forward.
How long had they been walking?
The Swordsman thought to himself, 'This is strange. There are no pursuers in sight.' Since the Candlemaker had his soul absorbed, there should have been pursuers coming to retrieve his body.
But whether he looked at the sky or beyond the forest, there was nothing but silence—no sign of pursuers at all.
It was almost as if they wouldn't bother causing a commotion just to catch one stray outsider who happened to wander in.
That very silence unnerved the Swordsman.
"The mountain range!"
As the adventurers emerged from the dark forest, massive peaks loomed before them, and they let out sighs of relief.
They had arrived at the mountain range within the territory—their original destination, not the mages' towers.
The location mentioned in the intel where Antagondals was staying.
Given how remote and barren this place was, they could finally catch their breath. Now, all they had to do was search the mountains to find Antagondals...
Whoosh!
"Do you think we can find the intruders in the mountain range? What if they've already gone deeper inside?"
"Of course they could have. But the inner parts of these mountains are tough even for Einrogard students. The intruders won't last long without coming back down a few times. We'll catch them then."
Einrogard mages were murmuring ominously as they set up magical traps all around.
Deadly traps that would activate the moment an outsider—someone not an Einrogard student—stepped on them.
But that wasn't all.
"Tsk tsk. Those lazy bums. Do they think apples will just fall from the tree if they wait around?"
"Hormasi, you're right. We should be more proactive in tracking them down. If they took better care of their mounts, they wouldn't be useless now."
—Grrrr...
Some mages were dragging along a three-headed Cerberus, its breath reeking of sulfur, as they searched for traces.
"Anpagon. Isn't this device too expensive?"
"It's a fair price. Observing from above is much better than running around on foot. If there are intruders from outside, we'll catch them immediately."
"Wardanaz, you're making quite the unusual request. I'll help since I owe you, but... Why are you so intent on catching these outside thieves?"
Other mages were floating magical devices in the air, attempting to survey the surroundings...
The sheer number of mages combing through the mountain range like they were hunting mice left the adventurers frozen in place.
No matter how experienced these adventurers were, and even if their opponents were just young, green mages, the overwhelming numerical difference made any thought of resistance impossible.
And this was the mages' territory, after all.
"Our location must have been exposed when that soul was absorbed earlier. No doubt about it."
"Ugh...!"
The adventurers let out deep, pained groans.
They never imagined that, completely unrelated to any traps, some student would be handing out requests like this.
* * *
After stationing the Giants as guards, receiving some praise from the Crazy Doppelganger, and giving the Hamster a quick pet (though the Hamster tried to bite him), Lee Han returned to the school and made a request to his seniors.
"Senior. I've been handling my own exams, submitting study materials to the club, and helping out with club duties—could you do me just one favor?"
"Pfft, Wardanaz! Any one of those reasons alone would've been enough to get your request granted!"
"There are intruders in the school—could you maybe unleash the club members to catch them?"
"It's not that hard, but... why?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you the one doing this?"
Falkrius tilted his head in confusion.
Intruders sneaking into Einrogard was a constant occurrence.
And catching them was the job of the Skeleton Principal, his minions, or the professors.
It wasn't something a second-year student—who had midterms in a few days—should be worrying about.
"Well... you see..."
Lee Han hesitated, struggling to explain that he had scammed a magic criminal and mocked the Hamster's condition.
Then Falkrius nodded as if he understood.
"Pfft. I think I get it even without you saying anything."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's because you're the Headmaster's disciple, right? The Headmaster is really going too far. Making you do something like that."
"...That's not it!"
As Falkrius made a strange misunderstanding, Lee Han immediately began to explain.
Though it was a bit doubtful whether his persuasion worked, Falkrius at least promised to ask the juniors close to the club to search the surroundings.
Lee Han hadn't just asked Falkrius for help.
"Senior Hormasi. I'm currently taking care of the baby basilisk, the unicorn, the griffin, and His Highness Jowurin. Could you perhaps help me out a bit?"
"...Y-you're not asking me to stake my family's name as a guarantee or something, are you?"
Carnella was shocked.
What kind of request could possibly start with such an introduction?
"No. There are intruders..."
"Why is a junior like you handling that?"
"...Well, you see..."
"Ah. Got it. I think I understand without you saying anything."
"You're not thinking it's because I'm the Headmaster's disciple, are you?"
"That's exactly it? Huh? How did you read my mind?"
"......"
The requests continued after that.
Various club seniors.
And the seniors from Lee Han's school faction (which was practically most of them).
They all readily nodded at the rare request from their junior.
Diret, who had promised to patrol with the Black Magic faction juniors, suddenly grew curious and asked.
"But, junior."
"I told you, it's not because I'm the Headmaster's disciple!"
"...Ah, no. What are you talking about?"
Diret was flustered.
He hadn't particularly thought that Lee Han searching for intruders was related to the Skeleton Principal.
If anything, it was more likely related to the Crazy Doppelganger.
"...You're right, Senior. Senior Diret is the best senior in Einrogard!"
Lee Han exclaimed with slight emotion. Hearing that, Diret actually felt a bit embarrassed.
"R-really? There are probably many better seniors than me."
"Who exactly? Name just one person..."
Pretending not to hear his junior's words, Diret returned to the main point.
"What I wanted to ask was about the Enchantment Magic faction seniors."
"Ah. I haven't asked them yet."
"Why... Actually, I don't even need to ask to know."
Diret could guess why his junior hadn't asked without needing to inquire.
Unlike other magic factions, the Enchantment Magic faction didn't pay much attention to what juniors did, so there was no need to ask.
"There's a way."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Just say the intruders have expensive reagents or artifacts."
"Huh? I don't know what the intruders have, though."
"Yeah. I don't either. But it doesn't matter."
"......"
Lee Han was taken aback by the blatant suggestion to lie.
Was this really Senior Diret and not Senior Yukveltire in disguise?
Sensing his junior's gaze, Diret hurriedly began to explain. If he left it at this, he might lose his title as the best senior in Einrogard.
"No! I don't usually lie like this. But it's okay with the Enchantment Magic faction kids! ...It sounds weird, but it's true!"
As he spoke, Diret felt himself sinking deeper into a quagmire.
The more he talked, the stranger it sounded.
But Lee Han was, as expected, an outstanding junior. He immediately understood Diret's meaning.
"I see. I understand. Since the Enchantment Magic faction seniors never reward me no matter how hard I work for the faction, lying to them is a form of self-defense, right?"
"Well... that's true... but how did you figure that out from what I just said?"
"Thank you, Senior Diret. I'll do that. You truly are the best senior in Einrogard!"
"Ah, it's nothing. No big deal."
Though he pretended to wave it off nonchalantly, the senior's wings of pride fluttered behind him. Watching this, Lee Han thought to himself that he should gift him a cup engraved with "Best Senior in Einrogard" by the end of the year.