Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 174: The Madman and the Clown

“I’m freezing to death.”Arthur, who was walking in front, grumbled briefly.

As soon as the voice mixed with irritation and laughter echoed inside the cave, a cold, but all the more hateful response came back.

“That’s a lack of mental strength.”

“You lack manners.”

“Both of you keep your mouths shut.”

Richt, who had stopped the two people from arguing, ran a hand through his still damp hair.

Arthur’s words about being cold weren’t just a joke, there was even ice on the tips of his hair.

The nights in the mountains were cold. What’s more, this was the cave where the temperature was the lowest in the mountain range, and the season was now approaching winter. If he hadn’t been a trained knight, it wouldn’t have been strange if he had collapsed from hypothermia long ago.

He was secretly worried about his juniors’ physical condition…

“Oh no. You’re already at an age where your bones are starting to ache.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a junior?”

“That’s the symbol of youth.”

The two guys, who didn’t even listen to what their senior said, were arguing again.

“I told you to keep your mouths shut.”

Richt fired again and touched his forehead.

“Ha…”

Arendt was originally this kind of guy, but lately Arthur had been getting more and more like that. What should he do about him?

As he glanced at Arendt, the apprentice knight noticed his gaze like a ghost and said something rudely.

“Why have you been looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.”

At that answer, Richt gently put away his last remaining worries.

Yeah, he should worry about those who need to be worried about.

The group was now heading deeper into the cave, in the opposite direction from where the wind was blowing.

Arendt’s guess was based on the enemy’s tendency to lay multiple layers of traps, which suggested that they would be hiding in places out of human reach.

And Richt felt that his guess was correct.

As the path became narrower and narrower, the interior of the cave began to take on an increasingly artificial atmosphere.

Arthur seemed to have the same thought and stopped arguing with Arendt.

“This path seems to have been made on purpose. No matter how you look at it, it’s not a tunnel… It looks like someone artificially widened the path.”

“I think so too. But it doesn’t seem to have been processed recently.”

Traces of moss and wear marks all over the walls clearly showed the passage of time.

“There must have been an original owner of this place. It was later that the uninvited guests came and took over the empty house.”

Arendt, who had been quietly listening to his seniors’ conversation, suddenly interrupted. Only then were the two able to regain their senses.

This was part of the ‘Dragon Lair’, the place where dragons lived.

It was creepy to think about it again, but Arendt just continued speaking calmly.

“I think they took over the empty lair and set up a laboratory.”

“…By any chance. Is there a possibility that there will be a dragon where we are going?”

“If it was a real dragon, we would have all died long ago.”

Arendt grumbled as he dismissed Arthur’s carefully worded remark.

“I told you before. The main body might not be worth much.”

“But the level of the barrier seemed far beyond the realm of humans.”

“It would be faster to see it with your own eyes than to just talk about it.”

Instead of answering Richt’s question, Arendt pointed straight ahead.

Before they knew it, they had reached a place where the road ahead was blocked by a pile of rocks.

At first glance, it seemed like a dead end, but they knew from past experience that it wasn’t.

“Have a nice trip.”

“Ugh, damn.”

Arthur drew his sword, swearing as the apprentice knight nodded arrogantly.

Kaang!

The moment he struck the wall, a sharp, clanging sound echoed throughout the cave.

And after a while.

An old door appeared where the magic had been lifted.

This was the passage leading back to the shabby stage.

“Hey, there’s a guard dog here and there?”

Arthur, who had been concentrating beyond the door, burst into laughter.

The time had come to make another big splash.

Naturally, Richt and Arendt’s hands also reached for their swords.

“It’s perfect for a first appearance.”

The voice of the apprentice knight with a strange smile brushed past their ears.

If up until now was just a prologue, now was the moment when the real story finally began.

It was the perfect material for a brilliant one-act play.

After exchanging glances, they both left their positions without saying a word and kicked open the worn-out door.

Kwaaang!

A commotion broke out in the previously quiet cave once again.

Jin, who had been watching the situation, screamed in shock.

“Hey, are they crazy?”

Clearly, all the traps were activated smoothly.

The multiple layers of barriers and the monsters placed in advance were all according to plan.

It was impossible to survive here unless you were crazy.

But those crazy guys not only broke through all the barriers, they also destroyed the traps of conversion and were advancing towards her.

Of course, her works were scattered all over the small kingdom, but it seemed unlikely that they would be able to stop those mad knights now.

Eventually, Jin had no choice but to throw herself on the sofa, pulling out her hair.

“No, how could this be so easy…! It took Roger three days to conquer it!”

After struggling for a while, she suddenly came to her senses and straightened up.

“Ahhh, wait. This isn’t the time.”

First of all, she had to jump out here.

It was a shame to leave the test subjects behind, but they could just be recreated.

She hurriedly searched through the messy desk and found a magic stone with a teleportation spell engraved on it and activated it. However, the magic stone only made a few tick, tick, sounds before completely losing its light.

Jin, who had been blankly staring for a moment, became thoughtful.

“What, what is it? Why is it like this?!”

It was meant to be connected to the outside so it could be used in an emergency at any time, but there was no response at all.

Could it be that the magic on the way out was destroyed?

No, that couldn’t be. Since it wasn’t ordinary magic, no matter how much they flew and crawled, it wouldn’t be easily destroyed.

“Ahhhh, this is driving me crazy!”

Jin, who had been causing a commotion by grabbing her hair again, suddenly stopped moving.

A moment of silence fell on the dirty laboratory, which had been cluttered with all sorts of things after a long time of cleaning.

And after a while.

Jin slowly lowered both hands. Unlike the flustered voice just now, a calm voice came out of her mouth.

“Why would we run away? Now that it’s come to this, we need to avenge Crow.”

“As if she had never been flustered, the girl’s face changed to a neutral expression, almost like a different person, before a big smile on her lips formed.”

“That’s right, I had that one. I’ve never taken it out before. Great! I’ll have to try it out this time!”

Jin, who was in a good mood right away, jumped down from the sofa as if her search for an escape device in a panic was a lie.

There were a few, very few accidents, but there was still a chance.

Because she had a true ‘miracle soldier’ ​​created with the power of the god Chernion.

Dduk, dduk.

Suddenly the floor shook with a strange noise.

Llewellyn and his party, who had been moving forward, suddenly stopped in their tracks.

“What?”

“I felt it from below.”

As Ken looked around in confusion, Warren calmly answered. There seemed to be a brief silence, but then a distant thud echoed through the hallway.

“Is it the enemy?”

“They may be enemies, but…”

Warren frowned and listened to the sound for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“They seem like nice guys.”

“Is it Arendt?”

Llewellyn smiled brightly. It seemed that a fierce battle was taking place below.

Roderick, who had been nervous, let out a short sigh of relief and spoke to the man on his back.

“Sir, are we there yet?”

“Yes, we’re almost there. Just a little further and we’ll reach the place where the people are trapped.”

“Okay. We should stick to our jobs. Let’s go!”

Llewellyn nodded cheerfully at the man’s stammering words and urged the group on again.

“Over there! It’s the hallway over there!”

As they ran along the passage, they soon heard the man shouting and started to run faster.

As expected, when they turned the next corner, a hallway lined with doors appeared.

“Warren, are they there?”

“I’m sure. The boy’s scent is strong here too.”

Warren nodded as Llewellyn asked briefly.

Six doors lined up, three facing each other on each wall of the hallway.

“Are all the people inside?”

“It seems so. I can sense their presence. And the boy’s older brother is in the second room on the right wall.”

Llewellyn nodded to Ken as he listened to Warren’s answer.

Ken, who quickly realized the meaning, approached the door where the boy’s older brother was. Roderick also put the man he was carrying down so that he could lean against the wall and followed Ken’s actions.

Llewellyn naturally stepped back, and Warren stood in front to protect him.

After making sure everyone was prepared, Roderick gently grabbed the doorknob.

Ssuk.

Contrary to expectations that it would be locked, the doorknob turned smoothly.

“Uh?”

Ken and Roderick’s eyes widened at the unexpected situation.

The inside of the room was clearly visible through the door that opened silently.

“Uh…?”

The boy who was sitting comfortably on the sofa looked at them with a surprised face.

Llewellyn and his party were also at a loss for words.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary space. The lights that were on here and there brightly illuminated the room, and there was furniture like a desk and a sofa, as well as a few books that looked like the boy was reading.

“Who are you guys?”

With the boy asking that question so casually added to the mix, it felt like they were intruders.

But the unidentified creature leaning against the boy’s arms like a puppy made them realize once again where they were.

“…Warren, is that the kid?”

“It’s certain.”

When Llewellyn asked with only his lips moving, Warren answered with a stern face.

Meanwhile, the boy who had come closer to them asked again curiously.

“Who are you guys?”

“Ah. So, we…”

Only then did Llewellyn come to his senses, but the boy struck first.

“Are you by any chance one of Lady Jin’s guests?”

“What?”

“I heard that she often has guests coming from outside, but this is the first time I’ve actually met you. Should I lead you to Lady Jin? There are a lot of mischievous people here, so it’ll be hard for you to go by yourself.”

The boy began to chatter brightly, as if he had met a welcome person. It was said he was about 17 years old, but perhaps because of his lively speech, he seemed much younger.

The group had a gut feeling.

This boy’s mental state was not normal.

A dog with exposed ribs came staggering towards them on six bizarrely twisted legs, and began growling and emitting a putrid smell.

A boy as innocent as a child and his dog ghoul who guarded him.

Llewellyn felt slightly dizzy from the dissonance.