Chapter 85 : The Trading Post

The sight of the gates opening in succession from the royal palace to outside the inner castle was a spectacle, but.

Muno couldn't help but hesitate for a moment.

'Shouldn't I be scouring the royal palace first?'

If those evil cultists had infiltrated, the royal palace would surely be the most dangerous place.

But the king's actions made it seem as if there were no problems in the royal palace, telling them to find the bastards outside.

However.

"We will obey the command!"

"As His Majesty wills."

Hee-hee-hee-heeng.

The Blood Knight and the nameless Holy Knight mounted their horses and began to gallop away.

Thududududu.

- Do not underestimate the royal family and the temple who have fought against magicians for hundreds of years.

The moment Count Enoch Trian's words also came to mind, I had no choice but to let go of my lingering thoughts.

'It's true, I couldn't find any demonic energy in the Great Hall either.'

There must already be some sort of countermeasure in place within the imperial palace.

Therefore.

"Are you not going?"

"I'm going."

Muno had no choice but to run out of the imperial palace after the two knights.

However.

Papababak.

"Does the Black Knight not have a horse?"

"Still, that's an incredible speed......"

"Why......?"

Damn it.

It was a bit embarrassing to be running on my own two feet.

Even worse.

Dudududu.

"Shall we slow down a bit, Black Knight?"

"......Please."

Even the Steel Knights following me for the 'evaluation' were on horseback.

* * *

- If those cult bastards have any brains, they wouldn't have planted spies in the civilian areas.

- Outside the imperial palace, the outer castle guards, the trading post, or the various guild offices would be the most likely candidates. The location is.......

Referring to what Karina had told me yesterday.

'The closest place is......'

Muno first headed towards the guild offices.

"Move, move!!"

Papababak.

While pushing my way through the crowd.

Flash.

I saw a rather large hemispherical light flash not too far away.

'Ugh!'

My eyes naturally squinted at the flashbang that suddenly came from the front.

Seeing that the people walking around were completely fine, I knew from experience what that light was.

'Holy power......'

And it was large enough to cover the alley where the guild offices were gathered.

It was obvious what that meant.

'Tch, I guess everyone thinks the same way.'

At that moment, I had no choice but to change direction.

Come to think of it, it seemed the Blood Knight had also moved in a similar direction to the Holy Knight.

- However, if the bastards are in a situation where they can gather information from the royal palace, they wouldn't have left their true elites.

- They probably just scattered some bait to find out what kind of method can undo the 'Veil' developed by the royal family or the temple.

'There's no way strong bastards like that witch would be in a place like that.'

I trusted the abilities of the temple and the royal family.

That's why the moment I saw the hemispherical light, I immediately changed direction.

"Sir Muno!?"

And soon.

Thud.

He kicked off the ground and jumped, landing on the roof of a building.

As a result.

Crack.

He paused for a moment as he saw a part of the roof under his feet break.

"......Sir Muno, what are you doing right now!?"

"I trust you'll compensate for this on your own!"

Leaving only irresponsible words to the knights following him, he began to run towards the trading post, jumping from roof to roof.

'Since I can't even ride a horse, it's more comfortable to go this way.'

Thump, crack.

- You've already proven your abilities several times, young master.

So even if you don't achieve great results in tomorrow's evaluation, you won't be disadvantaged. But.......

- His Majesty is also famous for his generosity.

If you win the competition, perhaps.......

'No loss if I lose, and a sweet reward if I win.'

Then all I have to do is my best without any pressure.

"Hup!"

Thud.

The moment he jumped with all his might, another part of an innocent building's roof was destroyed, and his body flew over ten meters towards the opposite street.

Of course, that was still far from enough to reach the roof of the mansion across the wide square.

'The chain has been revealed as much as it can be anyway.'

Chrrrrk.

The chain that shot out from his hand flew dozens of meters and wrapped around a sturdy-looking tall chimney ahead.

Creak.

And.

His body used the recoil from the moment the chain snapped back to leap across that long distance in an instant.

Whoooosh.

'This is thrilling. Is this what Spider-Man feels like?'

Of course, Spider-Man's web doesn't crack chimneys.

Thud.

Rumble.

"Ugh!"

And he doesn't collapse the roof when he lands either.

"Aack!"

"Excuse me! Bill the Steel Knightly Order!!"

Dropping through the roof into a three-story house, Muno left only irresponsible words to a middle-aged man in his underwear screaming, and jumped up again.

He had caused a little (?) civilian damage.

- Sir Muno!!

- This is......!

Seeing the distance between him and the pursuing Steel Knightly Order widen, it seemed he was definitely gaining speed.

Muno temporarily cast aside his conscience and began to run towards the trading post, stepping on, no, destroying the roofs without hesitation.

And after that, after creating three more roof destructions and dozens of cases of partial damage.

'Found it!'

The institution that supervises the market and transactions within the capital, Ironheart.

A massive seven-story building, the trading post, came into view.

Of course.

Thud.

The moment he landed on the roof, unlike before, he was immediately tackled.

"Who are you!?"

"This place has permission from the Imperial Palace......!"

Three knights who were smoking on the roof hastily drew their weapons.

"I'm investigating under the orders of His Majesty the King. Do not interfere!"

The knights couldn't help but flinch at Muno's single remark.

"Your proof is......?"

"Over there, ask the Steel Knightly Order following me."

Turning their gazes in the direction of Muno's gesture.

Far in the distance.

- Sir Muno!!

- Your speed......!

They saw people searching for him with desperate voices.

But even so, the trading post's knights didn't seem to have forgotten their duty, and two of them blocked Muno's path.

"Wait here until they arrive, Sir."

"Unfortunately. I'm in a hurry......"

"Even so......!"

"It's a magician search operation."

"Y-yes!?"

"If you really don't believe me, follow along.

I'll need witnesses anyway."

Eradicating the servants of the devil, the magicians, was the second most important thing in the Iron Kingdom after a royal decree.

And they even heard that it was being carried out under a royal decree.

"......Understood."

The knights had no choice but to hastily follow Muno down into the building.

"Everyone, freeze!"

"Who......?"

A knight in pitch-black armor who suddenly descended from the roof.

At his appearance, the gazes of the employees bustling inside the trading post gathered in one place.

Since the 7th floor was a place where senior officials gathered, and many of them were nobles, there was no reason to be intimidated by the appearance of a single knight.

But his attire was just too peculiar.

Moreover, the knight in the pitch-black armor's behavior was also unusual.

"That bald guy over there.

And that mustache over there, that woman with glasses, and that fat guy.

There are a lot."

"Hey, to the department head level......!"

The trading post's dispatched knights tried to stop the knight in black armor who was pointing fingers at the employees.

The Black Knight did not wait.

Chrrk.

Four chains that suddenly shot out from the black knight's hands and feet stretched out like lightning towards those he had pointed out.

The faces of those who had been pointed out, which had been contorting, all began to emit an ominous aura.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang.

Fire and lightning, cold and wind.

"Kyaak!"

"Aack!"

The most common types of magic seen on the battlefields with the Empire erupted in daily life, producing screams all around.

But before the magic could fully display its power, the black knight's chains swallowed them up.

Not just the magic, but even the clumsy magicians who used it.

"D-damn it!"

"This can't be......"

They might have tried to struggle, but from Muno's perspective, it was just laughable.

"Just 2-Circles......"

As Karina had said, they were all small fry.

"What in the world is......"

Leaving the dazed trading post knights behind, Muno was lost in thought for a moment.

Should he wait for the Steel Knights, who were the judges, to arrive, or.......

"H-how did you absorb the mana......!"

Chrrk.

"Ugh! Ugh!?"

However, seeing the magicians' flustered and indignant expressions, he made a decision immediately.

"......Annoying."

They were just unpleasant foreign substances that contaminated the world anyway.

Pa-aak.

The chains were one thing, but it would be troublesome if his ability to absorb mana became known yet.

The moment the chains that had gagged them crushed their heads.

"Kyaaaaak!"

"Aack!"

"H-help......"

Innocent bystanders screamed.

It was understandable, as a disaster had suddenly befallen their peaceful daily lives.

However.

Fsssss.

"Everyone be quiet.

These are the servants of the devil."

As the bodies of the dead quickly began to rot and emit a foul smell along with Muno's shout, people hastily covered their mouths and began to back away.

"This is real......?"

"How?"

"Unbelievable......"

As the knights standing behind Muno let out groans.

Chrrrrk.

"Ugh!?"

Without warning, the chains shot out again and wrapped around three of the people in the trading post.

"Aack!"

"Damn it!"

Those caught by the chains began to struggle again.

But because they were caught by surprise, they couldn't even use magic.

"Oh dear......"

"Wait, let's watch."

And yet, the other knights could no longer stop Muno.

He had already proven himself once with results.

"Did you think you weren't caught?"

There were only four chains, after all.

Muno absorbed the unpleasant energy that no longer even tickled his liver and ended the lives of the three magicians.

Fsssss.

As expected, the bodies immediately began to rot.

And only then.

"Sir Muno......!"

"This......!"

The Steel Knights who had been chasing him came running up from the lower floor.

"Now, the bodies will be the evidence.

Then I'll head down......"

Muno didn't wait for an answer and jumped down to the lower floor.

In just 30 minutes, 25 magicians in the seven-story trading post building alone became corpses.

"How could this happen......"

"No way, actually......"

The Steel Knights assigned to escort Muno could only stare blankly at the rotting corpses.

But Muno, on the other hand, had a refreshed expression.

'It feels like I'm cleaning up trash......'

If someone had read his mind at that moment, they would probably have flinched.

No matter if the opponent was a magician, feeling relieved after slaughtering dozens of people in an instant was not normal by any standard.

On top of that.

"They are pests that contaminate the world just by existing.

Throw away any feelings of pity."

The way he added a cold piece of advice to the knights with dazed expressions was the very model of an excellent psychopathic serial killer.

However.

'Now I finally seem to get it.'

Putting aside past grudges, he now truly despised magicians themselves.

'The worst......'

It felt as if my land, my hometown, my family were being contaminated in real time by something dirty.

Would it feel like this if zombies reeking of a rotten stench, like in a movie I saw long ago, invaded my house and tried to bite my family?

Moreover, unlike zombies, magicians were even more malicious in that they deliberately committed evil acts with clear reason.

Now, he could no longer feel that they were the same as people.

He was experiencing firsthand why Spirit Masters hated magicians so much.

"Disgusting things......"

Just the annoyance of the ones he had already killed made him shudder, and a murderous aura naturally spread around him.

"S-sir Muno......?"

Dozens of people froze at the objectless killing intent emanating from a single knight.

In that situation.

Thud.

"Ah, looks like I'm a step too late here too......"

Along with a cool voice.

"Still, I should check."

A red wind blew in.