413

Episode 413 The Door Opened (1)

"Hey, save me!"

At the crossroads leading west, a small group of people gathered, kneeling and praying to someone.

The opponents were thieves.

The chieftain, who had dared to travel uphill despite hearing recent news of unrest in the area, lowered his head with a dead, dark expression.

This place was once under the influence of Margrave Rodrik, the great lord of the West, and is now ruled by the Earl of Fenris, the most powerful man in the North.

As trade was essential, the surrounding lords did not tolerate the thieves swarming in the area. The thieves were only active within small territories.

So, the commander wasn't too worried. He really couldn't have imagined that he would meet the bandits and all his escorts would die.

One of the bandits approached and bowed his head to who appeared to be the leader.

"There's nothing around. It looks like the troops haven't moved yet."

"Okay, let's finish organizing and moving. We need to run away from this area as much as possible and have them chase us."

"All right."

The chieftain looked at them, trembling, and lost in thought.

'What kind of thieves are these… … .'

I've met many thieves in my life, but these were different.

Their attire is typical of that of a thief, but their words and actions do not show the vulgarity and meanness typical of a criminal group. Rather, they give off a military-like atmosphere.

They don't talk useless words. They are moderate in their actions. They move in a natural order.

'Hey, are these deserters gathered here?'

There have also been recent rumors that deserters from the West have turned into bandits.

'But I heard they all surrendered after Fenris captured Rodrik.'

Besides, no matter how I looked at it, the people in front of me right now didn't look like they were being chased.

The leader of the bandits said.

"Kill them all and throw away the bodies. Take the treasure and dispose of it roughly."

"All right."

The bandits drew their weapons and approached. The chieftain became lost in thought and prayed again.

"Please save me! I'll give you everything! Just spare my life!"

No matter how much I begged, the other party didn't say anything. They didn't even accept negotiations. Judging from the conversation I overheard, it didn't seem like they needed any money.

I've never seen such thieves before. I thought they were just crazy.

The thief raised his sword. The people, including the chieftain, screamed and closed their eyes.

Phew!

"Eww!"

The upper echelon, who was kneeling at the very front, screamed at the sound of something being pierced.

But I didn't feel any pain.

"uh?"

I opened my eyes in surprise and looked forward. The thief who was about to swing his sword was thrown backwards with his chest pierced by a spear.

The remaining bandits all formed up in formation with tense expressions and raised their weapons.

Doo doo doo doo doo!

The commander slowly turned around, following the thieves' gaze. A man was riding a black horse and was galloping towards him.

There were thirty thieves. I couldn't understand why they would be scared by just one person.

His eyes, which had been staring intently at the approaching man, began to grow wider.

"What do you mean by speed… … ."

Every time I blinked, the distance between us narrowed. Looking closely, I saw a strange crimson light emanating from the man's body, shimmering and enveloping the horse.

And then the cries of the thieves follow.

"It's the Earl of Fenris!"

"Earl Fenris?"

The one running was Giselle.

Jiselle looked at the thieves in front of her and snickered.

"As expected, they are not ordinary thieves."

The bandits operating in the western vicinity immediately recognized him as he was moving alone.

It is possible to recognize them because Jiselle has been active so much. However, their measured movements are definitely not the behavior that ordinary thieves would display. Even the deserters of Rodrik's army would not be able to do that.

Paaang!

The Black King, who had approached in an instant, jumped over people and arrived in front of the thieves.

chin.

Jiselle dismounted from her horse, drew her sword, and said:

"Don't even think about running away."

"Hit!"

As the bandit leader shouted, all the bandits rushed towards Jiselle. Their eyes looked as if they were prepared for death.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every time Jiselle lightly swung her sword, the heads of the thieves flew off.

However, Jiselle smiled as she watched the enemies charging forward without backing down.

"The knight is stealing?"

Although their level is not high, they are all using mana without exception. This means that they are at least beginner level knights.

Why would these guys commit theft? It was clear that they were sent by the Duke. No matter how low-level they were, the Duke was the only place that would use a knight like this.

Of course, the thieves didn't think they would be used as a discarded card. Their job was just to run around and attract attention. They thought that was easy.

The man who disguised himself as the leader of a bandit gang realized that his thinking was wrong only after confronting Jisel directly.

'I saw it in person and it was better than the rumors!'

The confidence that one could easily escape from this place, which was already Earl Fenris's territory, was nothing but an illusion.

Even though I stood guard and looked around, I didn't see Earl Fenris coming.

This meant that they had the ability to monitor a much wider area than themselves, or that they could approach faster than the junior knights realized.

Kwaaaaang!

The bandits who had rushed at Giselle were all killed in an instant. The leader, realizing that they could not handle Giselle, immediately took out his sword and cut off his own head.

Kuung!

When even the leader fell, there was no thief left standing.

Jiselle wiped the blood off her sword and looked at the fallen leader.

"hmm."

Although they were weak, they had a fairly strong discipline. Judging from the way they decisively took their own lives for fear of being caught, tortured, and forced to confess.

'I feel more confident because of that.'

Where else would someone use knights with proven skills and loyalty as a gang of thieves?

It was clear that the Duke was up to something else here.

"Oh my, thank you!"

The chieftain ran up to Jisel, who was lost in thought, and knelt down again. The others did the same.

They thought he was dead, but now that he's alive, they can't help but be moved.

Jiselle looked at the top and asked.

"This is the Earl of Fenris. Did they have anything special to say?"

"As expected, it was Count Fenris! Ah, you weren't like ordinary thieves."

"What does that mean?"

"It seemed like he had some kind of purpose. He didn't negotiate and he didn't seem interested in money. And… … he said that I should run away within the area and be chased. So I thought he was a deserter… … ."

The upper class was very talkative. I don't know if it was because they were so happy to be alive that they wanted to help, or if they were just naturally talkative.

Jiselle nodded as she listened to the words of the superior.

"It turns out I was right to try to turn my gaze away."

If knights of that level decide to run away, it would be difficult for a punitive force to catch them.

And there is not just one group like that, there are many.

It's not like they're all knights, but it's obvious that they're made up of people with considerable skills.

The Duke and the Salvation Church created a fake group of thieves to divert the attention and troops of each lord.

'That was appropriate. They're not stupid after all.'

The royalist faction also knows that the information given by Jiselle is not all there is to the cracks. This is because they have accidentally discovered cracks that were not included in the information in other kingdoms.

So the search continued throughout the kingdom. But suddenly, bandits were running wild everywhere, so the troops were dispersed and the search was inevitably delayed.

'If the search hadn't been conducted, the Duke wouldn't have done something so eye-catching. That's for sure. There are still many cracks remaining.'

As Giselle frowned at the unpleasant conclusion, the knights' shouts could be heard from afar.

"My lord!"

The knights arrived only after Giselle had killed all the thieves on her own. Giselle clicked her tongue as she looked at them.

"It's still slow."

'No, my lord said it was quick.'

The knights pouted. How could the knights keep up with the mad horse called the Black King who was charging forward with mana? To be honest, it was unfair.

Jiselle said, looking at the merchants.

"Don't worry, I will send troops to subdue all the thieves."

"Thank you! But what will you do, Count? If you go to a nearby city, I will serve you with utmost care."

There was a strong sense of intention to go together. I was worried that we might run into thieves again.

"I have some business to attend to. I'll send a few knights with you, so don't worry and go."

"Oh my, thank you!"

The commander, who had lost all of his escorts, repeatedly bowed his head and expressed his gratitude.

Jisel roughly estimated the skill of the thieves they had just faced and assigned ten knights to them.

"After escorting the merchant, go to Linderstein and wait. Then tell Count Selverk to prepare an expeditionary force."

Currently, the West is ruled by the Earl of Selverk, but the actual work is done by officials from Fenris.

All the vassals who had followed Marquis Rodrik swore new allegiance to Giselle. Since even the non-vassal lords were keeping an eye on Giselle, he had no difficulty in managing the west.

"All right!"

Under the protection of the knights, the upper class and the people of the upper class left with peace of mind.

Jiselle looked at them and let out a light sigh.

'Whatever you've been doing, you must have made considerable progress.'

It's been several days since I heard the rumor that bandits are on the loose. Considering the time it takes for rumors to spread and information to be gathered, a lot of time has already passed.

'I can't help it.'

Even though he has information about his past life, Jiselle is not a god. That is why he has always modified his plans according to the situation.

The Duke and the Salvation Army are each thinking and moving forward in their own way. I can't know all of that and stop it in advance.

In the end, you should prepare as much as you can, but you should also build up your strength to be able to destroy whatever your opponent does.

"Let's go to the Barondom of Pinros first."

It was the area most likely to have a crack. Going there and searching was the best course of action for now.

The soldiers at the border checkpoint of the Baronial Domain of Pinlos were surprised when Jiselle appeared.

"Phe, why has Count Fenris come here?"

Even the person in charge, the driver, was trembling.

Everyone could not help but be terrified, having seen even Marquis Rodrik destroyed in Fenris.

To begin with, Baron Pinros was a lord who had been in the duke's faction but had withdrawn. And recently, the duke's faction's biggest enemy was not the prince's faction, but Fenris.

It was only natural that he would lose his mind when he saw that Earl Fenris showed up with nearly 200 knights.

Jiselle snickered at the sight of the trembling soldiers.

"I just came to look around the estate."

"… … ."

The knight kept his mouth shut, not knowing what to say.

If it were before, I would have shouted at him and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?" When I was in the Duke's faction, I actually did that. Because I was carrying the Duke's family on my back.

But now it is nothing more than a barony. Originally, it was not a pro-prince faction, so there was no one to take its side.

In this situation, when the most powerful noble of the royalist faction asked to see the territory, there was no way to stop him.

"That, that, that… … . I will report to the lord quickly… … ."

"No, why bother doing that? Just think like a traveler, like a traveler. Got it?"

"Ah, no. How could it be… … ."

How could you just let the lord who brought the knights in think of them as travelers and let them in? Where did you know what kind of trouble they would cause?

"Just think of it as a trip. I'm really busy right now."

There was something ominous about the atmosphere. The knight said with his eyes tightly shut.

"Welcome to the land of Finros, Count. Enjoy your trip."

Jiselle, who had passed the checkpoint openly and forcibly, headed to the destination via the fastest route. The destination was a small city.

The cracks that the royalist faction had found were not only in small towns like the one where Raviere had been hiding. Some cracks were in cities.

In a city with many people and buildings, it was quite difficult to find cracks, and a lot of troops were needed to search them.

Now the Duke has openly released bandits to disperse his forces.

When Jiselle arrived in the city, something similar happened at the border checkpoint.

"All, contact the mayor immediately… … ."

"No, that's fine. Let's do that later. I'm busy right now."

"Then, what business do you have… … ."

"I have something to take care of. I'll go in for a bit."

As soon as they entered the city, Giselle spoke to the knights.

"Everyone, raise your mana to the max and search the surrounding area. You know the energy you felt last time?"

The knights nodded. In the village where they had captured Raviere, they clearly sensed a secretive and disgusting atmosphere.

It is an energy that cannot be known unless you concentrate and pay attention. You have to release as much mana as possible to reduce interference from other energy.

"Okay, I'll take responsibility, so search every single spot."

"All right!"

The knights moved roughly. The city guards could only watch.

Jiselle tapped the guards on the shoulder and said.

"It's okay, it'll be okay."

Of course, none of the soldiers believed that.

As soon as I got here, I unleashed all the knights into the city. I felt like I was going to get hit hard.

Jiselle ignored the guards and moved while also releasing a lot of mana.

As I was searching the area so thoroughly, Lucas came running towards me and shouted loudly.

"I found it! I found it!"

"Did you find it?"

"Yes! I broke my arm in a fight in that town back then! I'm really sure of it. It was exactly the same energy I felt back then! But there was something strange about the people around them!"

"You think it's strange?"

"Yes, I think you should go and see for yourself!"

"Okay, let's go."

Jiselle smiled. As expected, a crack was prepared here.