455

Episode 455: Found the Enemies (1)

Belinda flared up when everyone else looked indifferent.

"What! I just told you about a woman's secret past, and what's her reaction? Why isn't anyone else surprised?"

"… … ."

While the others were briefly wondering what to say, Kaor stepped forward and shouted.

"Who doesn't know that the butler is an assassin! The assassination squad of the estate is also led by the butler! You should tell me in detail what assassination squad you were in and how you know the guy who sent that strange letter!"

"I tried to do it, but I don't like the reaction right now!"

"… … ."

"Anyway, I was in the Assassins, and the guy who sent that note was one of the guys who fought with us. The problem is… … ."

Belinda took a deep breath and continued.

"That guy was definitely killed by our leader. I don't know how he's still alive."

Jiselle questioned that part.

"Captain? A dead guy? Then isn't this just impersonation?"

Belinda spoke calmly, unlike at first, as if her excitement had subsided a little.

"Now that I think about it, that's true. But I also wonder if it was really necessary to impersonate someone. None of the people here right now know who that guy is. So why would they impersonate someone?"

"That's true."

Giselle nodded. There was no point in pretending to be someone who wasn't even famous. Even now, no one except Belinda recognized the mark or the name Melkir.

So what on earth does this mean?

"Are you sure he's really dead?"

"It's clear that the captain killed that bastard and destroyed his mana core. I don't know what happened either."

"Hmm, then where is the captain who killed this guy?"

Giselle was curious about that. She had no information about Melkir or the leader Belinda mentioned. It meant that they were people who were deliberately hiding.

Belinda paused for a moment, then avoided Giselle's eyes and said:

"He passed away a long time ago."

Everyone still looked at her with suspicious eyes. It was quite suspicious that she was not speaking properly.

Jiselle's mind was spinning. A hypothesis suddenly occurred to her.

'Is there a person called the captain? Hey, no way… … .'

Just as he was about to ask, Belinda spoke first, getting angry.

"That's not important right now! What's important is that this guy has reappeared! Even if he's dead and his descendants are impersonating him, this method is exactly the same as what he used! There's no way he would do something like this for nothing, right?"

"Umm… … ."

Jiselle nodded after thinking about it for a moment. No matter how much she thought about it, it didn't seem like a fake plan.

Since it was an operation that the Duke had to make successful, there is a high possibility that he actually sent an assassin.

"Are you one of those lucky survivors or someone who follows suit?"

"Yes! I must definitely see the face of the guy who sent this. If you won't go, I'll go by myself!"

Belinda's eyes were now burning with an unknown hatred.

It was extremely rare for her to breathe life into him like this. It seemed as though she held a considerable grudge against that Melkir.

'Well, I guess we'll find out when we meet in person.'

"If this guy is alive… …. What are his skills?"

Belinda answered Giselle's question with a stern expression.

"He was an assassin who had already reached the rank of master 20 years ago."

People's expressions hardened at those words. If he had become a master 20 years ago, he couldn't even imagine how much stronger he would be now.

But Giselle said it was no big deal.

"Even if you reach the Master rank, it doesn't mean that your skills will definitely improve. Even after you reach the Master rank, there will still be walls blocking your way. There's no need to be afraid before you even try."

Still, the people could not relax. Only Erenes nodded slightly as if agreeing with Giselle's words.

"Besides, if this guy is real, he must have been seriously injured and on the verge of death. There's a high chance that he was continuously recuperating. If he's fake, he must have recently become a superhuman."

Belinda chimed in, saying, "That's right."

"Yes, that could be the case. So let's first confirm whether it's the real him or an imposter."

"Okay. By the way, what is this picture?"

"The black moon. It's their mark."

"Does it make sense?"

"When the assassination target is alive, it becomes a crescent moon, and when the assassination is successful, it becomes a full moon."

"They are such romantic guys."

Jiselle stood up, grinning.

The Duke was doing everything he could to separate himself from the Northern Army. It seemed as if he thought he could be free of them.

In times like this, it's a good idea to have fun playing with them and giving them a treat.

Jiselle gave a new order.

"For the time being, the Northern Army will be commanded by Claude."

At those words, only Erenes was slightly surprised, but no one objected. It was annoying, but Claude had already shown his ability.

Claude lowered his head and kicked the floor with his feet. His mouth was sticking out, as if he really didn't want to do it.

"Belinda and Gillian pick out a few of the knights. Only a small number of people move."

There were a few who opposed that statement. Vanessa was the first to speak out.

"My Lord! I will go with you!"

"No, the Duke's army will definitely attack the Northern Army. Why would they want to throw me off now? That's why we need a wizard."

"There's Lady Erenes!"

"Vanessa must be with us too. That way we can stop the Duke without causing any damage."

At those words, Vanessa had no choice but to back down. It was also important to protect the Northern Army.

"Then let me go and help you! It's me! The man who defeated God! Yo!"

Alfoy shouted, but it didn't work. He just wanted to follow along and not be on the battlefield.

Jiselle, who had just finished preparing, spoke to Erenes.

"I'll leave the Northern Army to you while I'm away. The enemy won't know about you and Tennant's existence, so they'll be very confused. And you won't be able to use such tricks in the future."

If a full-scale war breaks out, each and every one of the superhumans will be left behind. It is obvious that assassinations and such will not be able to influence the overall situation, so there is no way they would turn back the superhumans while suffering great losses.

And Giselle planned to storm the enemy so that they would not even think of such a thing.

Erenes nodded, but there was still a hint of worry on his face.

"Are you okay?"

"what?"

"That… … entrusting command to a guy named Claude. He seems to be good at his job, but he's too shallow, so it's not very appealing. Isn't this an important battle?"

Jiselle chuckled.

"Light and heavy are just human tendencies, and are different from abilities. Don't worry and just do what he tells you to do when you fight. Then it'll be fine."

"… … Okay, I see. But… … How are we going to find the assassins?"

"Well, I guess I'll have to wait until they come from Ferdium Castle and think about it."

Erenes frowned slightly and clicked his tongue.

"I'll help you find the assassins a little. We're like 'family,' so I can do that much."

"Hmm? How?"

"I can use the spirits to survey the world. There are some limitations, but I can briefly survey Ferdium. If I can first detect the assassins' locations, the Ferdium army will be able to prepare for them easily."

"That's great. Then please do it."

Although Giselle knew of Erenes's abilities, she shamelessly pretended not to know. In her previous life, she had used her abilities to identify important areas and fought in wars.

Of course, as she said, there are limitations. You cannot see places where there is magical interference or where the spirit energy is weak.

And because it required a lot of concentration and strength, I couldn't watch it for very long.

That's why she went around herself, looking for traces of the Salvation Church, and based on that, she made predictions and checked her surroundings.

Being able to look around for even a moment can be quite helpful in a fight.

"Let's leave Dark's clone behind. Since our consciousnesses are connected, if you speak to him, it will be conveyed immediately. I will also send a clone to Ferdium."

"...okay."

Erenes still seemed a little suspicious of Dark's existence, perhaps because it was similar to abilities she knew about.

But since he didn't say anything and kept it a secret, I had no choice but to keep watching.

"Let's go. Let's make sure we don't do something like this again."

Jiselle headed straight to Ferdium with a few of her entourage and knights.

He didn't forget to send Dark before he left. He needed to hear information about Erenes' exploration, but he also had to tell him to raise the alert level to the highest level until he arrived.

As soon as Giselle set off, Erenes took up residence in a clearing that was as rich in natural energy as possible.

"Protect me."

The elves who followed her stood guard with a sharp aura.

Claude, who suddenly became a commander again, also placed knights and soldiers around her.

'With the lord gone, isn't the chieftain the most powerful man in the Northern Army? I have to serve him well if I want to survive.'

Claude followed Erenes around, laughing. Erenes, who didn't know what was going on, looked very uncomfortable.

Dduk dduk!

Vines rose from the ground and wrapped around Erenes's body. She closed her eyes and turned her head toward the northern sky.

Gooooooooo… … .

Strange phenomena began to occur around her.

The wind blew from all directions. The weeds scattered haphazardly on the ground swayed.

Birds flew in from somewhere and circled around, chirping noisily in the sky. Clouds began to gather above her head, obscuring the light.

The space around Erenes was distorted and rippled, as if unknown energies were rushing towards her.

"Hey, what is this?"

"Is this the true power of the Chieftain?"

"Isn't it similar to when the saint performs a miracle?"

The knights and soldiers around them were all surprised by the astonishing power and took a step back.

The elves of Fenris, who felt the great energy of nature, approached her one by one as if possessed.

Lumina was particularly shocked. She was the first elf to successfully communicate with nature thanks to Giselle.

But now I realized that the nature I had felt was really just a very small fragment.

"iced coffee...."

Everything in the world is whispering. The weeds that no one paid attention to, the wind that only stirred up dust, the ground that we just stood on, even the little bugs that were scurrying around.

Everyone was talking to Erenes, sharing with her what they had seen and felt.

It is about connecting with each other from very far away places and transmitting information to here.

This is true communication with nature.

It was something that only Erenes, who had received the grace of the World Tree, could do.

But that didn't last long. Even Erenes couldn't use this miraculous power at will.

"Coolook!"

Paaaaah!

As Erenes vomited blood, all the energy that had gathered around her disappeared in an instant.

"Chief!"

"Are you okay?"

"Come and bring the chieftain!"

As the elves standing guard came running in terror, Erenes waved his hand.

"It's okay. As expected, it's not easy to use in a place where there is no World Tree."

Near the World Tree, the World Tree would split due to a reaction, but that was not possible here.

Erenes took a deep breath and said.

"Let's take a short break and then try again. Ferdium's castle is still safe."

The others looked astonished at those words. To be able to catch a glimpse of Ferdium Castle from here, even for a moment? That was something that even an 8th circle wizard couldn't do.

It was something I couldn't believe at all, but I couldn't help but believe it when he said he was the legendary elf chieftain.

Only Claude had different thoughts.

'Hmm, that's really great. It could be useful during wartime, but... ... If we keep an eye on what the lord is doing, we could do business secretly without getting caught. I'll have to get close to him and try to seduce him later.'

Erenes, unaware of Claude's ambitions, took a short break and looked around Ferdium again.

It wasn't a one-time thing. I had to scan it over several times, as the assassins might not have arrived yet.

"Coolook!"

Every time, Erenes would vomit blood. The elves who followed her could not stand to see it any longer.

"Enough is enough, Chieftain."

"It is impossible to continue here without the World Tree."

"Why do you want to see all of that place?"

Despite their protests, Erenes shook his head.

"No, you can just watch the area around Yeongju Castle. You're going to come there anyway. You can still do that much. You promised to help, so you're doing it."

The elves could not stop him any longer. The promise of the elven chieftain was that heavy.

And Claude thought again.

'What a faithful elf. It would be nice if everyone in the world were like that, but it's a shame that they aren't. As expected, a promise must be guaranteed by Mother Nature.'

It was a truly shameless idea, especially since he himself took it seriously.

Wendy glanced at Claude. Now she could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression.

After several days of searching the area around the castle, Erenes finally discovered something.

"Found it."