Chapter 22. The Ambush

“Y-Your Highness. I’m so scared.”

Bethel, running in front of me, whined. He was using his sword, widened into a shield.

Kwak! Kwa-gwak!

The sound of arrows striking was starkly audible. Bethel let out a ‘Heek!’ and his body trembled violently.

“Stop being a coward and push forward!”

“Your Highness! What if I really die at this rate……”

“You won’t die if you just do as I say!”

Though I couldn’t be sure if he had bad luck.

“I-I believe only in Your Highness!”

Yes, believe. I do not betray those who believe in me. Though there have been times when those I believed in betrayed me.

“Ugh!”

An arrow grazed Bethel’s shoulder. Even amidst the fierce downpour, the red drops of blood were distinct.

“Your Highness!”

Bethel looked at me with resentful eyes.

“Do it properly. Properly. I said you wouldn’t die, I didn’t say you wouldn’t get hurt!”

“No, to say that now……”

“Shut up! You want to die?”

If he made a fuss over a small injury, he could really die. So he had to keep his wits about him.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwak!

The number of arrows increased. Bethel, who had been trudging forward, stopped in his tracks. Bethel’s sword repeatedly lost its form in parts and was then restored.

‘One of the arrows is imbued with mana.’

There was a Mana Circle user among them. Seeing as no magic was enchanted on it, it seemed they hadn't taken the oath yet.

“Aren’t there too many enemies?”

“There aren’t many.”

“There are more of them than us.”

“There are only about four or five of them, what’s with the whining. Are you going to keep talking so weakly?”

“No……”

“Seems you haven't rolled around enough in your time, have you?”

Bethel’s words trailed off. With a stiffened face, he let out a rough breath. His brow was also heavily furrowed. Was it that hard for him?

“One step forward if you don’t want to die.”

“One step forward!”

He took a large step forward. I pressed down on Bethel’s shoulder, demanding a lower stance. And I put a finger to my lips, signaling him to be quiet.

‘Where are they?’

I opened my Mana Heart and circulated mana throughout my entire body. All my senses sharpened. I opened my ears. Amidst the fierce sound of the rain, the sound of their footsteps rang out clearly. They were getting closer.

“It’s only two of them. We can surround and catch them.”

It was the voice of the one who appeared to be the leader. It seemed they were planning to surround us and then shower us with arrows.

I placed my hand on Bethel’s shoulder.

“Focus. This is where it really begins.”

“Yes.”

The look in Bethel’s eyes changed. His breathing grew heated. He seemed to have instinctively sensed the danger.

I composed my breath and gripped my sword. The clustered footsteps spread out. It was a trained movement. Two to the left, two in front, and one to the right.

‘The strongest one is on the right.’

I could feel the aura of mana from the one running to the right. That guy was the owner of the Mana Circle.

“Raise the earth and push forward to the left. Don’t spare your mana. If you see an enemy, don’t hesitate and kill them. Otherwise, you’ll be the one to die.”

Bethel, having received the order, nodded his head.

“Good. Move.”

With the signal, Bethel ran forward.

Piiing!

An arrow flew from the right. I swiftly swung my sword and cut off the arrow’s fletching.

“What!”

It was the voice of the one who shot the arrow. Hearing it overlap with the sound of the rain, there was quite a distance. It seemed he had sensed Bethel’s mana and shot the arrow.

I had to move quickly. I needed to get rid of the two in front before the leader arrived. It was best to avoid the misfortune of facing three at once.

“Be careful!”

The guy shouted, as if he had read my movements. Arrows poured in from the front. Arrows also flew in from behind. I circulated mana to expand the domain of my senses. The urgency of the guys was transmitted through the arrows. I twisted my body. Using the rotational force, I parted the path the arrows were coming from. The flow of air became tangled. The arrows lost their way and scattered to the ground, to the sky, to random spaces.

“Sh-shoot again. Quickly. Quickly!”

The two in front were flustered. They urged each other on and prepared for the next attack. For that, I was grateful. Since they had told me their exact location.

“So you were hiding here.”

The two guys, wearing black raincoats, were fumbling with their bows while hiding behind a tree. When our eyes met, they dropped their bows and drew their swords. They were accurately gauging the range. They were trained men. The thought that ‘perhaps it was just bandits after treasure?’ vanished in an instant.

“Who’s the leader?”

Naturally, there was no answer to my question. They just fumbled with their swords. In that case, there was only one thing I could do. Make it so they had no choice but to talk.

“That bastard is alone… Keo-heok!”

The throat of the guy who had moved rashly, trusting only in numbers, was slit. Bright red blood gurgled out from his neck. The guy clutched his neck and choked. A struggle to live somehow. A futile act, though.

I looked down at the remaining guy. I could read the anxiousness in his eyes. I pointed my sword at him. I stared at the guy with indifferent eyes. A little time passed. The guy’s hand twitched. He seemed to be mistaken about something.

“Answer.”

Pik!

Just as I demanded an answer, an arrow grazed my cheek. The guy in front of me collapsed helplessly. The arrow, having pierced his neck, was quivering.

“The leader has appeared.”

With him radiating killing intent from behind me, there was no way I wouldn't know.

“A young one, but you’re no ordinary kid.”

The eyes of the leader, cloaked in a raincoat, glinted. The guy was aiming his bow at me.

“Think you can hit me?”

“……”

The leader dropped his bow and drew a dagger. It seemed he was not just reading the emitted mana, but also grasping the form of movement.

‘This is going to be tiring.’

I thought he would be careless because I was young, but it seemed not. I would have to pay some attention.

Kaang!

The guy’s dagger came in, aiming for my neck. He was quite nimble. I thought I was out of his range, but he erased that distance in an instant and stood in a threatening position.

“You blocked it?”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised.

“Why? Did you think you would hit?”

“Insolent brat!”

The guy who had retracted his dagger stepped back. From the way he spoke and the atmosphere he exuded, it seemed he would attack repeatedly, but he didn't. He wasn't the type to fight using emotions as a driving force. He was the type to read the moves and find an advantageous point.

“Your Highness! I’ve taken care of them all as you ordered.”

Bethel, whose appearance was a mess as if he had just had a brawl in the mud, appeared.

“They’ve all been taken down? Such useless bastards when they were alive.”

The leader clicked his tongue. Then he glanced over me, Bethel, and his fallen subordinate.

The atmosphere was strange. Was he thinking of running away?

“Bethel! Bind him!”

Bethel stabbed the ground with his sword. Tree roots shot up from the ground and entangled the guy’s feet.

“What do you think you can do with mere trees.”

The guy sneered. And he plunged his dagger into the tree roots.

Bethel’s eyes widened, and he gripped his sword with both hands. Feeling the danger in the leader’s action…….

“Mere trees! Do you know how hard I worked to cultivate this power! Have you ever rolled around since dawn? Have you ever rolled around like a dog with a rock tied to your body?

Huh?”

No, I was wrong.

But to be screaming his head off in a fit of rage… was it really that hard for him?

“A guy who hasn't even mastered the basics.”

A green light sparkled from the guy’s sword. An unpleasant sensation pricked my skin. The mana breathing inside his body spread from the dagger to the ground. Could it be…….

“Bethel, fall back!”

“Pardon?”

Bethel, who had raised his sword and was charging at the leader, was greatly flustered. He forcibly stopped his action. But he couldn’t completely control his forward momentum.

Peok!

He slammed his face into the ground.

Pak! Pa-ba-bak!

Three arrows landed in front of Bethel’s face. If he hadn’t stopped, they would have lodged in his face, neck, and chest.

“Apupupu. Eu-hi-hik!”

Bethel, belatedly confirming the arrows, was startled.

“How! How did you know? Just what the hell are you?”

The leader glared at me. It was absurd. I was the one who wanted to ask.

“How did you become a necromancer?”

The guy had revived his dead comrades through necromancy. The arrows that just flew were also shot by the dead.

“No, that’s not it. There’s something I should ask before that. Where did you learn about the God of Darkness?”

“……!”

The leader’s narrow eyes grew as large as marbles. He looked like he wanted to demand how I knew of the existence of Tenebris, the God of Darkness. But I wanted to demand answers more. Because I had personally erased the existence of Tenebris.

-This is of no help to the world at all. We must stop it immediately. Even if it means erasing all the data. It must be made to disappear from everyone’s memory.

Those were Alfred’s words, who had insisted on spreading the knowledge so everyone would know.

The God of Darkness, the Cursed God, the God who feeds on death. These were the words that described Tenebris.

Tenebris did not accept oaths. That was why there were no temples honoring Tenebris. It was an unreachable god. Of course, there was a way to meet Tenebris. After personally killing the one you loved most, you had to take out their heart with both hands, place it on the symbol of Tenebris, and burn it with mana. By doing so, you could enter the world of Tenebris.

-What kind of god is it that only appears after one kills their parents, their spouse, their children? And the power gained by summoning such a thing and selling one's soul is something that desecrates the dead. What more is there to see? We must erase it immediately.

I had actively accepted Alfred’s argument. I had bound everything related to Tenebris as taboo. I thought I had erased it quite thoroughly. But it seemed I hadn’t.

“Who did you kill to summon him? Did Tenebris clap and say it was a delicious soul?”

At the subsequent question, the guy’s face distorted excessively. I wanted to plant my fist in that face. And I wanted to make him confess how he came to know of Tenebris.

“How on earth do you know? What is your identity? How does a young one like you know that?”

“I asked the question. You should answer.”

“……”

“Sigh, closing your mouth again. Really, not a single one of them ever answers promptly.

They only talk after being beaten to a pulp.”

I wasn’t going to kill him. Instead, I would beat him until he wished he were dead. To the point where he couldn’t help but talk. I had far too many questions to ask this bastard.

“Right, it doesn’t matter how you found out. Because anyone who knows must disappear.”

“Ha! Says who?”

“Shut up!”

The leader drew his dagger. The corpses revived by necromancy rushed toward me and Bethel.

I ground my teeth. Because someone who wasn't even a proper villain was acting like one.

Because he was brazenly bringing out and flaunting something I had forbidden.

“Bethel!”

Bethel, who had grasped the situation, squeezed out his remaining mana. The trees shook and blocked the revived corpses.

“Your Highness! I can’t… anymore.”

“Just hold on a little longer!”

“It’s too hard to hold on… Y-Your Highness? Where are you going?”

“Run!”

“Pardon?”

“A tactical retreat! You too, if you think you can’t make it, just run in the opposite direction!

We’ll really die if we fight them.”

“No, Your Highness? No! No! Hey!”

Bethel’s voice echoed thunderously. I could keenly feel him seething with betrayal. I could also feel the corpses moving chaotically. They seemed to be at a loss since Bethel and I had split up. Even so, it was obvious they would chase me.

‘Will this be enough?’

I went deep into the forest and hid myself. I withdrew the mana flowing in my body and locked my Mana Heart. I blew away the remaining mana with my breath. Now, they wouldn't be able to feel mana from me.

It was a technique that was unimaginable with a Mana Circle. Because a Mana Circle had to continuously circulate mana. It was an unavoidable part of it, as long as the heart was beating.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve used this.’

There was no reason to use it in a duel, but in a battle like this, it was very useful. During my mercenary days, I often used it to ambush the enemy. It was an unparalleled technique, especially for ending a war quickly by striking the enemy commander. Of course, it was only possible because it was me.

“Where did he suddenly disappear to?”

The necromancer appeared faster than expected.

I held my breath. I gripped my sword and waited for the necromancer to get closer. I had to stab his heart in one go. Not too deep, either. It had to be shallow, just enough to break his Mana Circle. Because if he died, I wouldn’t be able to ask anything.

“He’s a mana user, how can this be? Did he suddenly die or something?”

He seemed surprised that the traces of mana had disappeared. Since there were no Mana Heart users in this era, it was plausible.

“Damn it! To lose a rat-like bastard!”

Was he feeling wronged? Then I would make it so he didn't feel wronged, so just come five steps closer.

“If I had killed these bastards earlier and used them, I wouldn’t have lost him. Utterly useless bastards while they were alive.”

He was looking around and getting angry. But his footsteps were very cautious.

“Right! The carriage behind! He must have run away there!”

No! I didn’t go there! I’m here! Don’t run in the opposite direction! Dammit!

The necromancer changed direction. The revived corpses surrounded the necromancer like bodyguards. It seemed he judged that a search was unnecessary and was preparing for a possible ambush.

‘You should have kept using them as a search party! I could have popped out on the way!’

Of course, there was no way I would, but.

Still!

This was a headache. There was a distance between me and the necromancer. On top of that, the corpses were blocking the way. Even if I charged accurately, it would be difficult to break through the corpses, shatter the defense he created, and burst his Mana Heart. Unless I could use even a small Saga I had built in my past life…….

‘A small story? Would that even work?’

A very faint story built not as Maximilian Leonhardt, but as Maximilian Caesar. The story of one who endured death and created a Mana Heart, who began to walk the path of revenge.

If I could turn the story of having crossed swords with someone stronger than myself and obtained victory into power.

‘I think I’ll be sick in bed for a few days. Can my body handle it?’

I didn't know. Let’s just try it.