Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 111

By quickening their pace, they were able to reach their destination earlier than planned.Since they had used the excuse of visiting a temple as an excuse for this unexpected unofficial overseas trip, they should have at least pretended to see the lord’s face as soon as they arrived and then look around the territory and border area.

But such a procedure was omitted due to Arendt’s strong argument.

“You all seem to have a lot of free time, don’t you?”

“…”

In the end, the first place they headed to was the mountain where the explosion occurred.

The police chief, who was leisurely enjoying the countryside, suddenly spit out his drink when a group of imperial knights barged in.

“…?!”

Boom!

He suddenly got up and the chair crashed to the floor, but the chief of police didn’t seem to notice it.

“Ah, I am Captain Luke Meyer of the Constabulary! It is an honor to meet Lord Henry Lou Lancelot and Knight Commander Laius de Winfried…”

“Okay.”

But the first one to speak was a young, fresh-faced apprentice knight. Arendt, who pushed Laius’ shoulder and suddenly leapt forward, asked plaintively.

“That place where the explosion happened a while ago. Where is it?”

“…”

The police captain’s mouth dropped open and stared blankly at Arendt, Laius, and Henry in turn… but Laius, who had become quite accustomed to this situation, pushed Arendt away again and stepped forward himself.

“It’s an urgent matter. Please guide us.”

After roughly throwing their luggage in the police station, the group began to follow the police chief.

“But, it really doesn’t seem like much… Even if the Commander of the Imperial Knights doesn’t personally check, the situation has already been resolved.”

“There are good reasons for that.”

The police chief, who had been speaking while observing the situation, trailed off at Laius’ firm words and focused on walking again.

The terrain was so rough that it was difficult to lead a horse.

The mountain, made of rocks and boulders, continued to be a barren landscape with only blades of grass growing here and there, twisted trees, and rolling rocks.

“You two shouldn’t go any further and should just turn back…”

“Hey, I came all the way here so I can’t miss this great view.”

Henry joked at Richt’s suggestion. Arcus, who was walking silently, also seemed to have no intention of turning back.

“It could be dangerous.”

“It’s okay. I can at least protect myself. Even though I look like this, I have actual combat experience, you know?”

“If you die, you die.”

Richt and Henry both shut their mouths at the same time at the sudden voice.

Arendt was walking briskly up the mountain, looking straight ahead.

“If you die here, who will be blamed for it? Could it be us?”

“I guess so. Even though we were together, we can’t avoid the responsibility for not being able to protect them.”

“If we announce that those two people died at the hands of the evil cult, wouldn’t we be able to issue a more extensive warning?”

“Of course it would be possible, but wouldn’t we first be stripped of our knighthood?”

“Arthur, you shut up too.”

Richt growled as he listened to Arendt and Arthur’s back-and-forth conversation.

Even in moments like this, there was no tension at all.

Henry let out an awkward laugh.

While they were having a useless conversation, the group arrived in front of a cave whose entrance had collapsed. There must have been a fairly large explosion, as the ground had been dug up and nearby rocks had broken off and rolled down, creating a mess all around.

“This is it… as you can see, there’s nothing special here. The inside is just a small cave. Before it became like this, it was probably used by wild animals to hibernate, so no one touched it.”

“Thank you. You may now return.”

“Yes?”

“Go back. We’ll go back on our own.”

At Laius’ command, the chief of police bowed his head as if he had no choice, gave his final goodbyes, turned around, and began to descend the mountain.

When he was far enough away, Laius drew his sword himself.

“Step back.”

“You shouldn’t let what’s inside fly away, so do it in moderation.”

“I get it.”

Laius nodded as Arendt intervened.

After making sure that the group had gained enough distance, Laius activated the Shadow of the Strong.

Kwaaaaang!

The group unconsciously covered their ears at the noise that shook the mountain.

Dust rose up and boulders of broken rocks flew in all directions.

After a while, they raised their heads and were greeted by a cave entrance that was coolly exposed as if it had never been blocked.

Henry and Arcus’ mouths dropped open. But Arthur, as if he had expected it, burst out in admiration.

“Did you just blow away the powder?”

“If we just cut it down like that, there might be additional collapse. The young lords are outside…”

“I will go with you.”

This time as well, Henry’s will did not break.

As Laius gave him a complicated look, Henry smiled playfully.

“The Lord has ordered me not to ruin the dignity of the Duke’s family. I will also play a part in subduing the evil cult.”

“If that is what you wish, then I understand.”

In the end, even Laius gave up.

The cave was as narrow as the chief of police had first said. Even without going in, the end was already visible from the entrance.

“It really doesn’t look like much?”

“No, I feel the magic.”

Laius answered stiffly to Henry’s curious question. Arendt and Arthur had already entered the cave and were searching here and there.

“Captain, I found it. It’s the magic stone.”

A moment later, Arthur shouted from the deepest part of the cave.

When he took out the magic stone cleverly hidden between the rocks and broke it, the narrow cave disappeared like a mirage, revealing a path leading deeper.

The real entrance was covered by illusion magic.

“Well done.”

After giving a brief compliment, Laius strode forward and was the first to enter the cave.

“This place looks like a space that was created intentionally by humans.”

Arthur’s voice boomed as he spoke. As he had said, there were traces of the cave being expanded by carving out the rock everywhere.

How far inside did they walk?

Laius, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped walking.

“I smell blood.”

At those words, the others also stopped.

The cave was now nearing its end.

The knights, who were quiet for a while and concentrating their senses, drew their swords all at once.

“Captain?”

“Get ready. It’s coming.”

At Laius’ firm words, Henry and Arcus also reflexively drew their swords.

Thud. Thud.

An ominous noise began to be heard from somewhere.

The source of the irregular sound was beyond the cave wall. It sounded like something was rushing towards them and slamming into the walls.

Arendt opened his mouth.

“Brother, Lord Henry.”

“Yes, yes?”

“This is advice given from a human to a human.”

Grip.

Strength entered the hand holding the sword hilt.

“Turn around and run away right now.”

“Arendt, what are you saying now…”

Almost simultaneously with that grim declaration.

Kwaaang!

The walls on both sides collapsed as if something exploded, and unidentified monsters began to pour out.

“Keeeeeek!”

“Gyaaaah!”

Their screams filled the wide cave.

Henry, who had been blankly staring, opened his mouth.

“Monster…?”

No, it looked different from them.

It was a creature he had never seen before. More than that… was it okay to call that a creature?

The pale skin still had the marks of a blistered wound. The eyes, which were completely white, showed no sign of intelligence, and the body, which moved slowly, had a hideous appearance, like a combination of all kinds of beasts.

“Ah, run away if you don’t want to get eaten by a corpse!”

Only after Arendt’s nervous shouting did the two come to their senses.

After assessing the situation, Arcus grabbed Henry by the back of his collar and began to drag him outside.

The monsters, or ghouls, who sensed the presence, turned their heads in a strange direction toward the knights.

“Crazy, what are they?”

“They’re ghouls made from corpses. This is what they were trying to make Count Stadler make.”

Arendt never expected them to pop up here. With Vincent dead, he figured there would be no need to see these monsters.

“Do you know their weaknesses?”

“You have to blow their heads and hearts out. They are not alive, they are being controlled by magic.”

Arendt calmly gave an answer to Laius’ question.

“The magic power is concentrated in the head and heart.”

There was no time for a long conversation. The ghouls began to charge at the knights, baring their teeth.

Laius, who jumped up and attacked the ghoul who was charging straight at him, cut it in two with a single swing of his sword, and then killed the ghouls that were advancing without stopping, one by one.

There was no need to move twice when aiming for the head and heart. Those who touched Laius’s sword had their limbs torn off helplessly, spraying black, rotten blood.

Even so, there were so many that he couldn’t handle them all by himself, but Laius didn’t come alone.

Arthur’s sword slammed into the head of a ghoul that was trying to run out of the cave, past Laius.

Arthur mercilessly drew his sword and stabbed the ghoul’s heart cleanly, then kicked the ghoul’s corpse away, then bared his teeth and cut off the head of another one who was rushing at him.

“These guys, they’re not that strong!”

“Don’t let your guard down, Arthur. There’s a lot of them!”

Stepping back, Richt shouted.

Looking at the momentum of the guys rushing in, there seemed to be at least hundreds of them.

Richt and Arendt also continued to cut them down, but there was no sign of their numbers decreasing.

The cave was instantly filled with the pungent scent of blood.

The knights’ faces and clothes were soaked with rotten blood.

“Ah, damn it. This won’t work. Senior Arthur, Senior Richt. Get out of the way!”

“What?”

Arendt began to force his way forward, wedging between the two men.

Arthur was already busy, so he got annoyed when his junior did something strange.

“What are you going to do?”

“Please protect me!”

Arendt, who was standing next to Laius, drew out his magic power.

Just by that, Laius, who had figured out his subordinate’s intentions, took a step forward and swung his sword sharply.

The ghouls that were touched by the strong sword energy exploded away all at once, creating an empty space in front of Arendt. Arendt did not miss the gap and drew out his magic power even more.

The ghouls were forced back into the empty space.

Their target was, of course, Arendt, who was at the forefront.

Just before the claws and teeth of those who coveted the flesh of living humans could reach them, a cold chill filled the cave.

Crackle.

Pure white frost settled around the spot where Arendt’s feet had touched.

And then, a moment later, a sword with a cold chill instead of black energy cut through the frozen air.

Saaak.

It was a sight akin to if time had stopped.

All those who tried to bite Arendt’s neck froze while standing. The ghouls behind them also had their feet frozen, and their movements were sealed for a moment.

It was Laius’ turn next.

Laius, who had drawn upon the power of the Shadow of the Strong with all his might, infused his sword with his sword energy and took a step forward towards the enemies filling the space in front of him.

Kwaaaaang!

The cave shook with a noise like something exploding.

As if they were fallen leaves being swept away by a broom, the ghouls that were touched by Laius’ slash had their bodies torn apart and burst open all at once.

Thud, thud.

Half-frozen black blood poured down like snow, and icy skin flew in all directions.

There was nothing moving anymore.

Arthur, who had been blankly watching the scene, licked his lips.

“…Monsters.”