Hyde Sets Out to Subdue Heresy! (3)

Two days had passed since the departure.

Just one more day, and the forest where the Crescent Moon Sisterhood's headquarters was located would come into view.Loras, chewing on castor beans, said,"Lord Oscar, it's been a while since we've had a battle. How about we warm up a bit? I know there's a small bandit group in a cave nearby. Let's catch them.""Good idea. We, the Holy Knights, are the sword and shield that protect the peace of Durgien. It would be good to eliminate the bandits beforehand."Soon, a group of soldiers raided the cave where the bandits were said to be hiding."Waaaaah!!!"There were thirty bandits.Even though we had a much larger number, better equipment, and training, a surprisingly one-sided slaughter unfolded."Loras, you killed five, so I'm one ahead of you!""What are you talking about, Tristan? I just split six. Or was it seven? No, maybe six. Ah, I don't know!""What are you babbling about? You seem to be in bad shape lately. Why don't you go back now? Your arms are shaking!"The knights in plate armor, especially, were like tanks rampaging through the infantry. Every time their swords flashed, the sight of people spraying blood was surreal.Among them, Loras' skill was outstanding.Despite wearing heavy plate armor, Loras' arms were as light as feathers, and every time they moved, people's heads rolled on the ground."This is so boring, it's not even a warm-up. Cough."As Loras wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand, the young squire Paulo exclaimed, "Sir Loras, you're so cool!"Even though the bandits and heretics in this world had no human rights, to think that killing people like that was cool…However, Loras' skill was better than I had expected.I thought he was a bronze plaque knight, but at this level, wasn't he a silver plaque knight?It would be better to revise the details of the plan a little more.Just then.A soldier, riding his horse in a hurry and waving a blue cross flag, came to Oscar."Lord Oscar! Urgent report! The vanguard dispatched by the Church clashed with the Crescent Moon Sisterhood at their headquarters about five hours ago!""The vanguard? Who's the leader?""The leader is said to be the bronze plaque knight, Galatea!""Oh, that Dame Galatea?"Galatea.At that name, a few of my rare memories in this world surfaced in my mind.She was a kind and decent woman.Good enough to be my second wife.As I was thinking that, the messenger shouted urgently."It's not certain, but there's information that Dame Galatea has been captured by the Sisterhood. The Crescent Moon Sisterhood is holding her hostage and demanding the retreat of this subjugation force."Loras frowned at those words."Galatea is a strong woman. For someone like her to be captured by the Crescent Moon Sisterhood? I don't understand. Is there some mistake? Cough.""Well, according to the survivor, there's a new face among the Crescent Moon Sisterhood. There's a rumor that she calls herself Wrath, the Ire."Wrath.It was one of the Seven Deadly Sins designated by the Church.The soldiers were agitated by the story of a criminal who called himself by that name."Wrath, the Ire?""I've never heard of that name before. It's the name of one of the Seven Deadly Sins.""A new Deadly Sins!?""Shit, if it's true, shouldn't we retreat?""Damn it, it's been bad luck ever since that brat Paulo or whatever started talking about the Deadly Sins."The agitation among the soldiers grew stronger.Some were even trembling as if someone had poured cold water on them.While Loras, Oscar, and Tristan remained silent, the one-eyed but seasoned knight, Baldwin, spoke calmly and composedly."Young Master, let's retreat. If the information is true, we have no chance of winning."Oscar's silence continued.Then, the young squire Paulo shouted in a flustered voice."Galatea is a famous knight! If she's been taken prisoner by the heretics, we should go and rescue her! It's also a chance to make a name for ourselves by executing a Deadly Sins!"Of course, Paulo's words only echoed emptily above the heads of the forty men.Oscar, who had been deep in thought, finally seemed to have made up his mind and said,"We retreat. Well, we've dealt with the bandit group stationed in the cave, so we've done enough to justify our departure. No one will say anything about this. Sir Loras' condition doesn't seem good either."Oscar's opinion was wise.That's why it was a shame.It would have been nice if they had charged towards the heretics' headquarters like dogs and gotten themselves all killed."We, we can't do that! What about the hostage? The Holy Knights are the sword of the people! To retreat while a prisoner is being held! We were dispatched to hunt heretics, not bandits!"Squire Paulo shouted as if he still hadn't grasped the situation.This situation, where everyone was turning their horses around, was obviously not good for me either.I had a reason to head to the Crescent Moon Sisterhood.To save Dihon.Was it my turn to step up now?"Lord Oscar, Sir Loras, and the knights. Let's keep going. I also have a connection with Galatea. I might be able to help you rescue her.""Hyde, how can you help when you've never even held a sword?"Loras' question was natural.And I had anticipated that someone as foolish as Loras would ask this.Actually, I was hoping he would ask.Swish-.I raised a finger."I don't know where the Crescent Moon Sisterhood's headquarters is, but I know a secret passage that leads in and out. I heard it from the Traitor Nomad and the Wicked Woman Nicola.""A secret passage?"Oscar reacted.As his expression changed dramatically, I didn't miss the opportunity and said,"Do you know that it was me who threw the Bluebeard couple and the Traitor Nomad into the Inquisition? When I saw through their identities early on, I also heard about the secrets they held."A secret passage.It was common for cultists to create emergency secret passages in their headquarters.The Crescent Moon Sisterhood was no exception.It was a lie that I had heard about it from Nomad and the Bluebeard couple, but it was absolutely true that I knew its location.I had escaped through that secret passage when I was captured by the Crescent Moon Sisterhood and was about to be castrated.I was eventually caught again, but it was a passage that no one else used."If we use the secret passage to launch a surprise attack, we might be able to take down the unsuspecting Deadly Sins. Rescue Galatea and strike down the Deadly Sins at the same time─. Isn't that a good idea?""How can we trust your words?"The one-eyed knight, Baldwin, frowned.He was an experienced knight, even though his skills had declined slightly with age, so it seemed difficult to persuade him.I said to him,"I swear on the honor of Psyche, my wife and everything to me. The only oath greater than this for me is an oath in the name of Elohim. But it would be blasphemous to use God's name carelessly in an oath, so please understand."At the mention of Psyche's name, everyone looked at each other.Just as I thought they were starting to come around, Loras sneered."Hyde, I wondered why a softie who's never held a sword had the guts to follow us on this journey, and it turns out you were hiding this secret! You were planning to use the secret passage alone and steal all the credit!"You idiot.Loras, I'm glad you're an idiot.You're saying exactly what I expected.Oscar agreed with Loras' words."So that's how it was. Lord Hyde, I'm disappointed that you've been hiding this information until now. So, what do you all think we should do? Our crisis could become an opportunity."I could see Oscar's eyes gleaming with greed.A chance to rescue the hostage and subdue the Deadly Sins.Honestly, such an opportunity wasn't common.Especially since Oscar would have been severely reprimanded by his father, Archibald, for the marriage issue with Psyche, he would want to regain his honor.He would definitely take this bait, and he did.I opened my mouth to drive the point home."Then let's go with an elite force. This journey must be kept secret so that the information doesn't leak out. No one should know where we're headed."Our future movements were now a complete and utter secret.With this, all the conditions for my plan were in place."We're almost there. The Crescent Moon Sisterhood is based on the site of the old temple of the goddess Diana from the ancient Roman Empire. Heretics who have settled in a place of idol worship─."Oscar Archibald stopped in front of the place called the "Witch's Forest" and looked around.Oscar glanced at Loras, Tristan, and Baldwin.His eyes then turned to me."Lord Hyde, from now on, you, who knows the secret passage, will lead the way. Don't worry. We'll guard your back thoroughly."With three knights present, they wanted me, who had never swung a sword, to lead the way?The minds of petty people are so predictable.These bastards, if things went south, they would probably use me as bait and abandon me.And they would definitely return to Agarphe and deliver the bad news, "Psyche, your husband Hyde is dead!"Psyche would be devastated, and Oscar would rejoice inwardly.Because Psyche was too young to live her whole life as a widow.She was even still a virgin!In other words, if I died, Psyche would surely be bombarded with marriage proposals again."I'll lead the way."But I decided to take the lead.It was better this way.I was getting annoyed with the slow pace of the vanguard.It was best to arrive before nightfall.I walked ahead into the forest with a somewhat familiar gait.Oscar asked from behind me,"Lord Hyde, I knew it was you who captured Bluebeard and the Traitor Nomad. How much do you know about the Crescent Moon Sisterhood?""I know that they're a group of crazy women who worship the moon goddesses. And that the men who are sacrificed to them suffer terribly in various ways."I spoke, carefully controlling the information I revealed.Then, Tristan, the seaweed-haired knight of the Agarphe family, cracked a joke in his greasy voice."I heard they're obsessed with castrating men. If we get caught, will we be castrated too? Loras, take good care of your thing. If you get caught, all the women in Durgien will be sad."As we continued chatting, a stone pipe appeared, spewing sewage and forming a swamp.It was a sewage pipe with a terrible smell, and I said to everyone,"This is the pipe that discharges the sewage from inside the headquarters. This is the secret passage. No one guards this place. Let's go in quickly."A sewage discharge pipe where excrement and urine poured out along with unknown chemicals.As I pointed towards the passage, which was barely large enough for a person to crawl through, everyone's faces crumpled."We have to crawl through this? The smell─Ugh─It's so bad it's going to rot my nose."Oscar, especially, was disgusted.Was it too much for the young master who was born as the son of an archbishop and lived a life of luxury?Of course, I had expected people to be hesitant.I decided to remind everyone of our goal and the benefits once again."That's why it's a secret passage. No one would ever think that someone would enter through here. Or would you rather go through the main gate over there?"The place I pointed to had torches burning densely among the dark bushes.The Crescent Moon Sisterhood's guards were patrolling quite strictly, which was quite intimidating.Just from a glance, there were at least thirty guards visible.There would be more inside, so there would be about a hundred people stationed in the abandoned temple ruins."We sneak in, rescue the hostage, chop off the Deadly Sins's head, and then come back out this way. To achieve an unprecedented feat, we have to do something that no one else has done."Everyone's faces were filled with worry.These frustrating bastards."You can't even endure a little bit of pain. Then let's all go back. I'll go alone."As I was about to enter the sewage pipe, Loras flinched. He grabbed my shoulder and said,"I'll go first. I can't let a softie like you steal the glory of being the first to step into the enemy's lair. We also need someone to quickly clear the area around the secret passage.""Loras, my brother! I'll go with you!"Tristan also stepped forward.No, Tristan, you bastard.You're an Agarphe knight.Isn't your duty to stay until the end and protect me?Well, I didn't expect much from you anyway.The two knights quickly started to enter, and seeing that, Oscar also muttered, "If we can just handle this─," and crawled into the sewage pipe.When even Baldwin started crawling into the pipe after him, I could finally smile."You idiots. Go eat shit."I'll take a different secret passage.