Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: One Strike to Wipe Them All (2)
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“Thank you, Workshop Head.”
“We’re the ones who should be grateful. You bought it from us at such a good price.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t offer more than Orleng did.”
“No, no. We were in a bind since Orleng was suddenly murdered.”
“I heard he scammed a few deals, eating up money through fraudulent contracts, and made enemies everywhere.”
“Is that so? Good thing we never contracted with him.”
After the workshop head left, Kerold looked around thoroughly.
The forging workshop, built on a hill, had the best location among the workshops in the area. It was large in scale, and the building itself was sturdy.
“Very nice. Don’t you think?”
As he spoke into the air, a low voice responded.
“Yeah, it was worth the effort.”
He was an assassin from the Dialogue Church, specialized in stealth techniques.
He was the one who had ambushed Orleng and brutally massacred his entire family.
“Now we’ve finally got our hands on what the bishop wanted.”
“Yeah, I was worried about the budget shortage.”
“It’s all because of Sion Aleyas.”
Sion Aleyas.
Kerold frowned at the name.
“That bastard stirred up all of Hermel, cutting off all the funds coming in from everywhere.”
“The purification priest infiltrating Galuan’s side got killed too, throwing our plans into disarray.”
“Yeah, so... we’ll proceed with a new purification centered here.”
Purification.
The act of cleansing this world, defiled by false teachings.
“Then I’ll take out Sion Aleyas as planned.”
“You sure? The purification priest sent to Galuan seems to have fallen to him too.”
“No problem.”
The assassin’s voice grew fainter.
“While I handle Sion Aleyas, you gather the followers here as planned.”
“Got it.”
Kerold nodded.
“Get ready to turn all of Hermel into a sea of flames.”
* * *
‘To lose the initiative to Sion...’
Sena let out a small sigh as she sipped her tea at the knight garrison.
‘Father won’t let me off if he finds out.’
Her father, Serxes, had ordered her to firmly bring Sion under control upon arriving in the Hermel region.
‘Since it’s come to this, I tried to assert dominance over Sion... but I ended up on the losing side.’
She put on an air of arrogance in front of others, but Sena’s true nature was rather timid.
Serxes hoped Sena would develop a personality as bold as his own, but it wasn’t easy.
‘Hate to admit it, but among our generation, Sion is the best.’
Sena had already been overwhelmed by Sion three years ago at the clan meeting.
That image lingered, making it hard for her to act strong against him.
“Lady Sena, Grade 1 Knight, is the tea not to your liking?”
“S-Sorry. I should have gotten the finest tea...”
“N-No, it’s fine.”
Hearing the worried voices of Lieselotte and Edwin, Sena hurriedly shook her head.
She had been invited to have tea together, but her expression had been too dark.
“It’s just... this incident has me on edge.”
“Well, it was a truly gruesome event.”
“It must be the Dialogue Church bastards who did it.”
“...Do you two think Sion’s theory is right?”
Sion seemed convinced this incident was the Dialogue Church’s doing.
His reasoning was that they eliminated Orleng to seize some contract or business.
“I don’t know much about this stuff, but Sion’s guesses always hit the mark.”
“Yes, Sir Sion is truly amazing!”
“......”
Realizing the two placed absolute trust in Sion, Sena bit her lip.
This time, Sena had brought five knights from the Assault Knight Brigade. She was nominally in command, but hadn’t earned their trust.
‘They’re only treating me like a leader because of Grandfather and Father.’
Sena felt a sense of self-loathing.
She always felt this way whenever she got involved with Sion.
“We’ve got news.”
“Ah, Sir Sion!”
At that moment, Sion entered through the garrison door.
“Lishuri found out. Someone snatched the forging workshop Orleng was trying to acquire, and fast.”
“Then...!”
“They say he’s a businessman investing everywhere, but it smells fishy. Let’s go check it out.”
“Yes!”
Edwin and Lieselotte immediately stood and began preparing.
“Sister, will you come along too?”
“Y-Yes, of course. I’ll gather the other knights.”
Sena downed the remaining tea in one gulp and hurriedly stood.
* * *
While Sena went to fetch the Assault Knights waiting at another lodging, I moved ahead with Edwin and Lieselotte.
“If it really is the Dialogue Church, why would they target a forging workshop?”
“Edwin, do you not know what a forging workshop is?”
“Huh?”
“To put it simply, it’s the modern version of a blacksmith. Normal workshops produce tools and farming implements, but if you want, it can be converted into a weapons production factory.”
“Ah...!”
Edwin raised his voice upon hearing Lieselotte’s explanation.
“So they’re securing the workshop to produce weapons? Right in the middle of Hermel?”
“That’s not the whole story.”
“Huh?”
Edwin and Lieselotte both looked at me as I chimed in.
“If they just needed weapons, it’d be easier to buy them with money. You don’t buy a kitchen knife factory just because you need a kitchen knife.”
“They might need weapons continuously?”
“Possible. But there’s no reason to do it here specifically. They could produce them beyond the Winter Mountains.”
“Then... what is it?”
“Well, we’ll know once we check the site, but my guess is...”
Right then.
An ominous sensation pricked my skin.
‘Igzard!’
[7 o’clock direction!]
Reflexively, I drew my sword and swung at the air.
I barely blocked a dagger flying from the 7 o’clock direction.
“Ah...!”
“Sir Sion!”
“Edwin, Lieselotte. Hide using the nearby buildings.”
After giving the order, I kicked off the ground and leaped.
[Sorry. I thought it was one of the Assault Knights and didn’t warn you sooner.]
‘It’s fine. What kind of guy is it?’
[He has 4-star mana. Seems to be cloaked in stealth technique.]
An assassin using stealth had appeared.
Even so, the reason I sensed him before Igzard...
‘It’s an assassin trained the same way as me.’
[Come to think of it, you were an assassin from the Dialogue Church too.]
‘Yeah, trained at Archbishop Sapphirus’s training camp.’
Archbishop Sapphirus.
The superior of Bishop Olean, who was behind the child abduction case last time.
[So, is Archbishop Sapphirus targeting Hermel?]
‘Can’t say. His assassins are scattered across the entire continent.’
In any case, if it’s an assassin trained the same way as me, he’ll be easy to handle.
There’s no way he’s better than me.
“Ugh...!”
Clang!
As I charged into the air and swung my sword, the space rippled, briefly revealing the assassin.
My attack had disrupted his stealth.
[Not like the priest last time using stealth magic.]
‘Right. If anything, it’s a variant of body reinforcement technique.’
The assassin was a small-framed man holding daggers in both hands.
He tried to widen the distance again with stealth, but when my attack hit once more, he gave up and released it.
“Sion Aleyas, you bastard...”
“What rank are you?”
“Huh?”
“Assassin rank. What grade?”
The assassin blinked at my question.
“...Why should I tell you?”
“Grade 2?”
“......”
The assassin shut his mouth at my point.
“Grade 2 it is. Must’ve been tough.”
Grade 2 might sound unimpressive, but fewer than one in a hundred reach it.
“Die.”
Deeming further talk pointless, the assassin fell silent and began moving.
He neither got too far nor too close, attacking from an optimal distance.
As I deflected the flying daggers, Igzard’s leisurely voice echoed in my head.
[Not bad skill.]
‘Yeah.’
A Grade 2 assassin could kill even a 5-star knight with a proper ambush exploiting a gap.
Of course, in a frontal clash, they’d lose to 3-star or 4-star knights... but this one seemed capable of beating Sena.
“Impressive for a Grade 2.”
“...!”
Boom!
I unleashed sword aura, knocking away the daggers he held.
That broke his stance, and I thrust my sword in swiftly.
“Gah!”
One strike was enough.
The assassin collapsed with a fatal wound.
“How... like this...”
“You should’ve at least brought a Special Grade 2.”
Confirming the assassin’s breath stop, I sheathed my sword.
[What grade were you back then?]
‘Special Grade 1.’
It goes Special Grade 1, Special Grade 2, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3.
I was picked for the execution squad and rose because I was the best assassin at the time.
[Anyway, this confirms the incident is Dialogue Church-related.]
‘Yeah, no need to check further.’
I’d planned to scout first, but it seems unnecessary.
‘No need to wait for Sena and the Assault Knights either. Let’s storm in right away.’
Decision made, I called Edwin and Lieselotte.
* * *
“Everyone’s gathered.”
Kerold smiled in the dim workshop.
Before his eyes were the ‘infiltration faction’ priests operating in the Hermel region.
Adding the followers they brought, there were over a hundred.
“I didn’t know there were so many comrades hiding in the Hermel region. The future of our Dialogue Church looks bright.”
Normally, Dialogue Church priests don’t share information with each other.
They just follow orders from above.
But when commanded to move together like now, they face each other and cooperate.
“You’ve all been informed, but the execution date is ten days from now.”
“Ten days...”
“Yes, that day, Hermel will be engulfed in flames.”
Hearing Kerold, some priests showed excited expressions.
Infiltration faction purification priests mostly loved arson. They believed the flames of purification were the most effective way to erase the world’s filth.
But what Kerold spoke of now wasn’t ordinary arson.
“By the way, Purification Priest Kerold.”
“What?”
“What about the holy knight who took down Purification Priest Yust... Sion Aleyas?”
Murmurs rose at the mention of Sion Aleyas.
The Sion Aleyas who suddenly appeared and turned Hermel upside down was a figure of terror even to Dialogue Church priests.
“No need to worry. The bishop dispatched a Grade 2 assassin this time.”
“Ooh, a Grade 2 assassin!”
“A Grade 2 assassin...!”
“The assassin has already moved. By tomorrow morning, that holy knight’s head will be on display in the central square.”
Hearing Kerold, everyone looked relieved.
“So, gentlemen, there’s nothing to worry about!”
“Ooh...!”
“For the next ten days! Prepare for the great undertaking here in this secured workshop! Of course, no information must leak out!”
Kerold clenched his fist and shouted.
“From now on, you will all assume the identities of new workers at this workshop! Even if the Holy Spirit Church or administration comes sniffing around late, they won’t suspect a thing...”
It was then.
Knock knock. A sound came from someone rapping on the workshop’s main gate.