391

Episode 391 Things turned out easy. (1)

Jiselle tilted her head as she looked down at Raviere's head that had fallen to the ground.

"What is this guy? All of a sudden."

I activated it to level 3 to kill him as quickly as possible, but Ravière would have had the strength left to fight back a few times.

But then he was attacked as if he had lost his will to fight in an instant. There was no way someone as skilled as Jiselle would not notice that.

"Did you want to leave a will?"

Jiselle hesitated for a moment and then shook her head. If there was one thing she had definitely learned from fighting from her past life until now, it was that there was no need to listen to the words of an enemy who was cornered.

There have been more than one or two instances where I almost lost my head because I listened to others for no reason.

And now there was something more important than pondering a question to which I had no answer.

As the battle ended, the knights came running and shouted.

"Whoa! I caught him!"

"I said that it's best when we all fight together!"

"I knew you could win!"

The knights laughed heartily. They believed that they would win this time as well, since there was no one the lord could not defeat.

Kaor, his body badly damaged from being hit here and there, sat down. He shouted, panting so hard that his drool was dripping down his face.

"That kid is really bad at fighting! Hey, did you all see that?"

"… … ."

The knights said nothing. They had no idea what to say to someone who looked quite sick and had the audacity to say something like that.

Belinda sighed and sank to the floor. She could hardly stand now.

"Phew, he's not easy to deal with even though he has no skills at all."

It may seem like an easy win, but it wasn't. The power contained in each attack was considerable.

If it had hit me right, I could have really died.

That's why Jiselle also tried her best to avoid the attacks.

If someone with that kind of power had properly learned combat techniques, he would never have been able to win so easily.

"Is it because we fought last time? How did you know he would use that technique?"

In particular, the technique that Raviere used at the end was formidable. If Vanessa hadn't gathered and concentrated her magical power in advance, it would have been difficult to block it with just the three of them.

"Hey, the master has so many things to hide… … If I ask, he'll probably just give me an excuse."

Belinda grumbled slightly.

As she had guessed, Giselle was sure that Raviere would use that technique if he was cornered, since he had suffered quite a bit because of it in his past life.

That's why I had Vanessa prepare defensive magic in advance.

Now that the village chief and Raviere have been dealt with, there is no one left to stop Giselle and her group.

"Break it all down and see if anything looks suspicious."

At Giselle's command, the knights completely destroyed the village and dug up to the ground to begin their investigation.

The soldiers who had been shocked by the battle also followed the knights and started searching.

And Jiselle, who went down to the basement of the village chief's house, frowned.

"It wasn't made in a short period of time."

As Dark had said, blood was flowing from the huge magic circle. An unbearable stench was rising from the corpses surrounding it.

The knights who followed were also terrified at the sight.

"Ugh! What the heck!"

"These crazy guys… …. What were they doing here?"

"Wow!"

It was such a cruel and disgusting sight that even they, who had seen many things that were quite disgusting, felt like vomiting.

"Check to see if there is anyone alive."

At Giselle's words, the knights destroyed the surrounding devices and took the people out.

They shook their heads after investigating thoroughly.

"They are all dead."

"It doesn't seem like he's been dead for long."

"It looks like they drained his blood while he was still alive."

Jiselle clicked her tongue at the knights' words. It was filled with thousands of bones. It was impossible to even guess how many years they had been doing this.

And the energy emanating from this huge magic circle was similar to the energy I had felt in my previous life.

'That's for sure. I opened a crack with this magic circle.'

The crack looked like a split in space. It was emitting bright light, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Many people tried to enter, but were unable to. Only otherworldly monsters poured out from the cracks.

The energy leaking out of that split space was similar to the energy emitted by this magic circle.

"Vanessa, can you interpret the magic circle?"

At Giselle's words, Vanessa shook her head with a firm expression. She was already analyzing the magic circle.

"I don't know exactly. There are traces of magic that sucks in the surrounding energy, like coordinate magic and mana concentration, but… … It's a different method from existing magic. It seems to be a method that was developed independently."

"Hmm, I guess so."

In her previous life, even a wizard more brilliant than Vanessa had failed to discover the nature of the rift. It was not surprising that she could not figure it out.

Vanessa spoke cautiously to Giselle.

"It's clear that they're accumulating power from the life force of the people and the mana around them, so why don't we take the time to analyze it in reverse?"

"No, destroy it now."

"This?"

"Yes. The longer you leave it alone, the more negative influence it will have on those around it. Even if you put up a barrier, it won't stop it. It's a shame, but there's nothing you can do."

As Vanessa said, it was a different method from existing magic, so even if a magical barrier was created, the energy of the cracks could not be stopped.

When the crack opens, the surrounding area is gradually eroded by the energy, so humanity had no choice but to lose much land.

And to close a crack that has once opened, enormous damage must be suffered. How many people have sacrificed in past lives to close this one crack?

I had to destroy this magic circle while it was still emitting energy.

Jiselle looked around at Vanessa and the knights and said.

"A stronger energy than before will try to penetrate your body. If you continue to receive that energy, you will become a mutant."

All people who lived near the rift in their previous lives became mutants.

Right now, only the townspeople have mutated since the rift isn't fully open, but once the rift opens, the area will become much larger.

The knights nodded as well. Certainly, as they got closer to the magic circle, more energy was entering their bodies than when they were in the village.

And the fact that if you continue to receive this energy, you will become a mutant was also quite uncomfortable. I wanted to immediately break the magic circle like Kloffoy's head.

Jiselle pulled out her Aura Blade and cut through the magic circle.

Kwaaaaang!

The magic circle that was emitting an ominous aura seemed to scream. It didn't actually make a sound, but everyone felt it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Knowing the horror of the crack, Giselle literally turned the floor into dust, leaving no trace of the magic circle behind.

He stopped his actions only after he confirmed several times that he could no longer feel the escaping energy.

"Call the soldiers and show them this sight, then collect the corpses and bones."

The commanders and soldiers that Giselle had drafted from the royal army were shocked by the sight of the underground. Some of them even sat down in their seats.

The commander of the 3rd Corps looked at Giselle with trembling eyes. He had fought in the previous war with Desmond and was acquainted with Giselle.

"Your Majesty, Count… … . What is this?"

"It's what the Salvation Church does. I don't know the exact reason, but they're trying to do something by using people as sacrifices."

Jiselle didn't even mention the existence of the crack. There was no evidence anyway. People only had to be shown what they could clearly see.

The commander of the 3rd Corps cursed without realizing it.

"These crazy guys… … . What the hell are they doing?"

The name Salvation Church is widely known these days as a public enemy and cult in the kingdom. Although it became famous because of monsters, ordinary people did not think much of it even when they heard rumors.

Anyway, it didn't affect their daily lives and they thought it was just an excuse for nobles to fight among themselves.

But if the Salvation Church is killing people indiscriminately and conducting experiments like this, then it's a different story.

"W, this kidnapping must have been going on for a very long time."

"Yes, it's not something that can be done in a short period of time."

It might have been one thing to kidnap a few vagrants or poor people, but kidnapping thousands of people from this small village was no easy task.

If even a few dozen people had disappeared from the surrounding area, it would have been obvious that there would have been chaos. But the fact that it has been quiet until now means that they have been kidnapping people little by little for a very long time.

"First, organize everything properly and report back. I'll tell Marquis Branford separately. There are a few more places I've found out about."

"Is there another place like this?"

"It looks like they've built quite a few of these facilities all over the continent. We need to find them all and destroy them."

"How did you know?"

"The dead ones are all lit."

It was actually a lie, but they had no way of verifying whether what Jiselle said was true. He continued in a quiet voice.

"Anyway, since it's a serious situation, you should definitely spread the word. People should be alert. Right?"

"Yes, yes. I understand. It will be harder to hide it since there are many soldiers who saw it together anyway."

The rumor must spread like wildfire, so that the enemies of the Salvation Church will increase and the nobles will cooperate with you.

While the soldiers cleaned up the area, Giselle was left alone with her thoughts.

'Once we know the general location, we can close a lot of the cracks in advance.'

Even though it's not as accurate as it is now, I remember the general location. If you search around, you'll definitely find it.

'If I had known this would happen, I would have investigated it in more detail.'

Unfortunately, the crack that occurred when Jiselle was a rookie mercenary, a crack that occurred very far away, could not be accurately identified because her role was combat, not investigation.

The only good thing is that when he reached a ripe level as a mercenary, he wandered around the continent.

I remember almost all the cracks I fought against back then.

'It was intentional that there were no cracks in the North.'

Strangely enough, there were some areas where no cracks existed at all. One of them was the northern part of the Kingdom of Rutania.

To be exact, there was one on the border going north, but it could be said that there was none within the north.

'Is it because of the forest of demons?'

They must have deliberately avoided this task, as they were also targeting the Demon Forest.

Since no one knew this fact in their previous life, they had no choice but to think that it happened randomly.

If a rift had opened in the North, they would have investigated the place in advance. However, since there was none in the North, they did not even think about investigating it and only worked on preparing for the time of tribulation.

'It went very well.'

I don't know why, but at least I know what the enemies are doing. And I know a lot about the places they're doing their business.

We had prepared a lot in anticipation of the entire crack opening up from the beginning. If we had closed the crack even a little bit before that, we could have turned the situation around to our advantage.

'I guess I have to move quickly.'

Marquis Rodrik would soon move his troops. It was obvious that the Duke would become even more upset since the existence of the crack had been discovered.

We must quickly inform the Marquis of Branford and the other kingdoms of what we have just discovered. If we do so, we will be able to put more pressure on the Salvation Church and the Duke.

"Let's go to the capital."

Jisel left behind only a few soldiers to guard the surrounding area and moved straight to the capital.

Since returning, I can count on one hand the number of times I've been this busy.

The Marquis of Branford asked with a slightly suspicious look when he came back not long after Giselle had returned.

"What's going on this time? It hasn't even been that long since I came back."

"I came because I have something to tell you."

Then the Marquis of Branford spoke with great solemnity and firmness.

"There is no more."

"… … What is it?"

"Didn't you say there weren't any?"

"No, so what are you saying is missing?"

"Don't you think that's too much? Didn't you even give me all the pieces of the Dragon Heart? What else are you trying to take?"

"… … ."

There seems to be some misunderstanding. This time I really didn't come here to receive anything.

"I didn't come here to take anything."

Then the Marquis of Branford looked at Giselle with a very suspicious look.

'I've been ripped off more than once by this guy.'

Although the results were all good, I couldn't help but feel hurt as the victim.

And no matter how much I thought about it, it seemed like there was nothing more lacking in this guy.

At Marquis Branford's reaction, Giselle sighed as if she was frustrated.

"I found out one of the things the Salvation Church is up to. And I brought a witness with me."

"Huh? What?"

Marquis Branford, who realized that he had misunderstood something, finally showed interest. Then, the commander of the royal army that had followed Giselle explained what he had seen.

He explained it so well that the listener could imagine it vividly as if he were there.

The astonished Marquis Branford asked Giselle.

"Is that true? You were kidnapping people and killing them?"

"Yes, it seems like they are up to dirty business as usual. They are using people as sacrifices like warlocks."

"These guys… … ."

"And we also confirmed that the location is not the only one."

Jiselle vaguely told him that she found out through Raviere, just as she had done to the commander of the royal army in the village.

As he continued speaking, the Marquis of Branford's expression became more serious.

"Are you saying that they do that not only in this kingdom but also in other places?"

"Yes."

"It may be that he has given you false information. If not, we will be embarrassed and our words will be powerless."

Then Jiselle smiled and said.

"So, shouldn't we check the nearby area right now? We should strike at the same time as soon as we confirm it. We should also notify the other kingdoms immediately."

The Marquis of Branford nodded. He couldn't confirm the south where the duke's family was, but there were many places to investigate, including the area around the capital, the east, and the west.

And if what Jiselle had learned was true, she had to move first before the Duke and the Salvation Church did anything.

The Marquis of Branford raised his hand and said.

"Butler, prepare to move the royal army immediately."

"All right."

The Marquis of Branford rose from his seat. This time he intended to see for himself.

"Maybe this could be a bigger opportunity."

It was such a big deal that he, who rarely left the capital, decided to move.

And if all this turns out to be true.

The Salvation Church and the Duke of Gong must turn all the kingdoms of the continent into enemies.