Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: End of the Grudge (2)
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The next day, in the morning.
Martin arrived at the Remek Forest on the northern outskirts of Amelzen City with Sien and Adel.
Unlike usual, however, they hadn't come via spatial translocation.
The spatial barrier over the city was affecting the surrounding area, making it impossible to use the technique at all.
On top of that, they had to move stealthily to avoid detection by the Gustin family.
The problem was that their ordeal was far from over.
The group pressed on for another thirty minutes before finally stopping in a wide clearing.
“Doesn't this feel too open for a place with a secret passage?”
“There is one. It's just hidden.”
When Sien looked puzzled, Martin answered leisurely.
Then he opened a sub-space.
Thud.
The space split open, and three shovels dropped to the ground.
“What we're going to do now is dig up this ground. The entrance is hidden underneath.”
“...Couldn't you detect it with spatial sensing, Young Master?”
“I'd love to, but not this time. The passage itself has magic circles set up, so my innate ability can't pick it up.”
“What about reverse detection exploiting that?”
“This is a path tied to a family's fate. Don't you think they'd go all out to avoid any detection, no matter the means? The Bittenfeld family's secret passage surely...”
“I'll do it! That's all, right!”
“No need to force yourself. If you don't want to, you can just head back.”
“Ha. Now I get why everyone says 'annoying' whenever they talk about you, Young Master.”
Adel stared at Martin with a weary expression.
Sien patted her shoulder with a playful smile.
“Don't stress so much. I told you on the way, didn't I? It's easier if you just give up.”
“That doesn't sound like something you should say, Sien.”
“It's still more familiar to me than to you.”
Sien kept up her cheeky tone.
Adel just shook her head at the sight.
It was nice having a new friend, but she found herself reining Sien in more often than before.
‘It's the path I chose, though.’
In the end, Adel let out a sigh.
Even so, she gripped a shovel.
Sien picked one up too, but didn't start digging right away.
She still had a question for Martin.
“I don't mind the work itself. But digging up this whole open space by hand—wouldn't it be better with more people, Martin? Even if we can't bring a lot because of the passage.”
“Say what you will, but it's still a family's secret passage. The fewer people who know about it, the better, since who knows how it might come in handy later. That's why I only brought ones I trust.”
“Trust...”
Adel murmured blankly.
She never imagined hearing those words here—words she'd never heard from her own blood family.
Watching her, Sien grinned again.
“I get that you're touched, but don't fall for it. He's just saying that to work us.”
“Don't twist someone's sincere words, Sien.”
“That's rich.”
Stab.
Sien mocked Martin and thrust her shovel into the ground.
She began digging at a furious pace.
Not to be outdone, Adel and Martin joined in, but no matter how fast they went, they couldn't keep up with Sien.
Boom boom boom!
She wasn't just digging—she was churning up the earth around her.
Martin glanced at the spectacle with a smile.
‘That's why there's no need to bring anyone else.’
Wasn't there someone who could handle the work of several people on her own?
It was reassuring just to watch.
In fact, it took less than a few minutes for large and small pits to form all around.
And that effort didn't go to waste.
Clang!
It was a different sound from before.
The clash of metal on metal.
“This is...”
Sien quickly cleared the dirt around it, then shouted triumphantly moments later.
“Found it!”
“You're amazing!”
Martin beamed.
He gazed at the pit before Sien—more precisely, the iron staircase and magic circle beneath it.
Night had fallen, but his eyes pierced straight to its end.
“The Gustin estate lies at the other end... Since it's an escape route, there shouldn't be any traps, right, Young Master?”
“Yeah. And since it's a path known only to the lord and his heir, no one should be guarding it.”
“Phew. Guess we can relax until we reach the destination.”
“It's our last break, basically.”
Martin replied to Adel, steeling himself once more.
The time to kill that bastard—not even worth swallowing whole—was drawing near.
On another note, he was truly curious.
‘What kind of face will you make, Kallain?'
He hoped the guy would drop the knightly pretense and show his filthy true colors.
“Sien, can you pull out some small magic stone lanterns?”
“Sure.”
Sien rummaged in her bag, and soon the pit lit up brightly.
Martin led the way down the stairs, with the two women following.
Below stretched an alloy passage, long enough that its end wasn't visible.
But the group marched on without a care.
They focused on tuning their bodies to peak condition.
How many hours passed like that?
Martin's eyes flashed intensely.
At the passage's end loomed a door the size of a grown man.
“We're finally here, Young Master. How do we attack? It's night—should we go for a sneak attack?”
“That wouldn't be bad, but... since we're here, I kinda want to go all out.”
“Sounds fun.”
Sien grinned widely at Martin's words.
Adel, meanwhile, shook her head helplessly.
Humm.
The hilt of the holy sword Kaizen emerged from Martin's sub-space, and he gripped it firmly.
Sien and Adel drew their own swords.
Martin swung first.
Slash!
His sword, laced with a golden aura blade, cleaved the door in one stroke, shattering it.
A beautiful garden greeted them, but Martin bellowed without pause.
“Martin Adalbert commands! Traitor Kallain Gustin—kneel and surrender!”
His booming voice shattered the night's silence.
“Enemies! Enemies in the garden!”
“Don't fall for their trick! Martin Adalbert couldn't possibly be here! Subdue them quickly!”
“What rude bastards. Casually throwing around the Young Master's name.”
“What can you do? Traitors weren't properly educated.”
“Then we'll teach them instead.”
Sien and Adel flanked Martin, chiming in.
“That works.”
Grip.
Martin tightened his hold on the hilt as he replied.
“Check if it's really me or not!”
Slash!
The golden aura blade shot forward as a slash wave, slicing two charging guards in half.
“Arghhh!”
“Aaahhh!”
“Fire! Fire now!”
Bang! Bang bang!
The swarming guards pulled their magic gun triggers in unison, unleashing a hail of bullets at the group.
Sien stepped in front of Martin as if she'd been waiting.
Clang! Claaang!
The bullets ricocheted off with the sound of metal clashing.
“What about me? Why aren't you helping me, Sien?”
“You've got phantomization.”
Adel asked playfully.
Sien answered with a laugh.
They exchanged glances briefly before charging at the guards.
“Glad I brought you two.”
Martin nodded contentedly.
* * *
“What?!”
Whoosh!
Kallain Gustin, acting captain of the reserves, bolted from his office at the sudden report.
His face twisted in shock.
“What do you mean?! How the hell did Martin Adalbert...”
Boom!
A massive explosion swallowed his words.
As a skilled fighter himself, he realized instantly.
That wasn't cannon fire—it was the clash of aura or aura blades.
The enemy had clearly infiltrated the estate.
“The outer walls haven't been breached yet.”
He'd just gotten word.
The Adalbert main force had only just arrived.
With the Gustin family's forces plus the two elders' power, even if the main house threw everything at them, it wouldn't fall that easily.
Which meant Martin had come here via some other route.
“How many enemies?!”
“Three! Sien Egrid and Adel von Bittenfeld are with him! The soldiers are holding them, but it's only a matter of time before they break through!”
“Damn it!”
“This isn't the time to stand around, acting captain. The important thing now is killing that bastard, right?”
As Kallain hesitated, a gruff voice cut in.
He looked down hurriedly.
A man in pitch-black uniform without any insignia strode into the first-floor hall.
Despite calling himself captain, there wasn't a shred of goodwill in how he eyed Kallain.
It grated on him, but Kallain hid his displeasure.
Right now, this man was the only one he could trust.
“Can the Black Night Knights' two squads hunt down Martin Adalbert? Just so you know, Sien Egrid and Adel von Bittenfeld are with him.”
“Three people, no matter how strong. They can't stand against the Black Night Knights, who hunt rampaging subhumans nonstop.”
The Black Night Knights.
The third knight order of the Lois Marquis house—one that shouldn't exist.
They masqueraded as an adventurer party normally, but their reality was far darker.
They roamed the continent, capturing subhumans and selling them into slavery—the worst kind of knights.
And now, Vice Captain Rudolf Buster and twenty members were at the Gustin estate.
As the family's reserves.
‘Rudolf Buster is a sixth-circle mage. The two squad leaders are fifth-circle, and the rest are third or fourth.’
More than a match for Martin's group.
Considering their excellent teamwork, they even held the advantage.
“Just give the order, acting captain. We'll bring back Martin Adalbert's head. I won't even mention to the marquis that you have your own merits.”
“I don't need your misplaced courtesy, Rudolf Buster. Black Night Knights, assemble.”
Swish.
At Kallain's words, twenty men appeared without a sound.
They formed two lines of ten behind Rudolf Buster.
“As acting captain, I order you. Right now, take down Martin Adalbert...”
Boom!
Kallain's words cut off.
The front doors on the first floor had just been blasted apart.
Step step.
Three figures entered the estate, and Kallain ground his teeth at the one in front.
“Long time no see, Kallain. Been well?”
“...Martin Adalbert.”
“We've got a lot to talk about, but first things first. Congratulations. You're done for.”
Martin said it with the widest smile ever.
The Gustin family was a nexus of grudges, but the man before him was the worst of the worst.
This fight would put an end to that long-standing enmity.