Seven horses galloped southwest, leaving Gatensha behind.
At the front rode Yuri, leading the group, with Jared and Laurent at his side. A bit behind them, Jose guided Simon and Guinness.
Cory, who had now grown adept at riding large horses, kept rising and sitting on the saddle repeatedly, working hard to strengthen his thigh muscles.
"They still gave us good horses though."
"Guess they had a sliver of conscience left."
After dueling Zaire in Gatensha and walking away with a dramatic turn of his back, Yuri had returned to demand the horses, threatening them.
Surprisingly, Zaire handed them over without much protest.
When Yuri offered to pay, he even gave them at half the price.
Suddenly, a voice from behind broke through.
"Did you all see what the Prince did?"
"Yes!"
"Let's all strive to become knights as great as him. Hahahaha!"
"Yes!"
Watching Jose manage Simon and Guinness like that, he didn't seem like a man of Bursen anymore, but rather a full-fledged knight of Briol.
Yuri called out to him.
"Jose."
"Yes!"
"Once we take care of Gert, we'll stop by Bursen."
"Sounds great!"
Bursen was right next to Adelvine.
In his past life, Jose had fought Gert because the two countries shared a border.
Thanks to him killing Gert, Bursen had been able to expand its territory into what was once Adelvine.
"I'll finally get to experience the full-course of the famed Bursen."
"Hah, just leave it to me and come along!"
Even Jose, who usually didn't speak in the Bursen dialect, found his tone changing and shoulders straightening when he mentioned the full-course. It was a display of native pride.
"Oooh…"
"So that's Bursen…"
Simon and Guinness, clearly moved by Jose, had eyes filled with eager anticipation.
To keep them from getting too excited, Yuri added a warning.
"That, of course, only happens if we make it back alive. Our opponent is Gert, one of the Ten Strong. He's a monster who's already lost his humanity. Can any of you say with confidence that we'll all return unharmed?"
The mood instantly dropped.
Victory had always followed Yuri wherever he went. Things never went wrong.
That's why they had forgotten, even if just for a moment—
Yuri of Briol was not invincible. He was just a knight who had barely come of age.
And something even more monstrous was lurking in Adelvine.
Jose let out a laugh.
"That's our Prince. Simon, Guinness. You two better stay sharp, got it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Mmm…"
"Still, I don't think anything serious will happen."
Jose patted his chest.
"I, Jose Aratur, will assist the Prince of Briol in utterly wiping out Gert."
"Ooooh…"
"Having him right next to Bursen has always been a thorn in our side anyway. This is perfect. We'll eliminate a troublesome enemy, strengthen the friendship between our two countries, and perhaps even…"
Jose smiled.
"…set something right."
He might appear simple on the surface, but he wasn't.
Jose had a hunch that Yuri was searching for something. And that it was related to the horrific sight of Okua on the plains and the string of incidents unfolding in the Empire.
The Third Prince of Briol was pursuing something far greater.
As a knight who carried the sea of Bursen in his heart, he could not help but join this honorable journey.
"Thanks for following me."
"No need to thank me. I've spent enough time with you to know—you're someone worth following."
"So, how about taking up a post in Briol?"
"Sorry. A man of Bursen doesn't know how to betray."
"It's not betrayal—it's a strategic transfer."
"Hahahaha…"
Six of them were outstanding knights, and Cory had been trained by Ernando himself. While he wasn't highly skilled yet, he could control his own body well enough.
With their horses, Yuri's group quickly crossed the border.
They left the Empire behind, passing through small villages tucked on the fringes of various nations.
Before long, their destination drew near.
"We'll stay there."
"Yes."
They arrived at the last village before entering Adelvine.
It was called Sordelvine, bearing the same name as the former capital of Adelvine.
Founded by refugees from Adelvine, the village was named in remembrance of their vanished homeland.
Though it currently belonged to a small nation called Chrono, the ties were loose, and it functioned more like an independent city-state.
Being a quiet countryside village, the moment Yuri's group entered, the townspeople's eyes were fixed on them.
There was an unspoken tension in their gazes.
Every time they moved, villagers continued to stare, making the back of their heads itch with discomfort.
"Is there a place we could stay for the night?"
Jared stepped forward and asked. One of the villagers rolled his eyes and answered.
"There's a small inn if you head into the center of the village."
"Thank you."
"Uh, you all look like knights… may I ask what brings you here…?"
Jared looked toward Yuri. Yuri answered in his place.
"We had business nearby. Just stopping by."
"Ah, I see."
He didn't mention they were here to kill Gert, brushing it off.
"Please rest well while you're here. Sordelvine is a peaceful place."
"We will."
Yuri's group led their horses to the inn.
It wasn't large, but it was just big enough to accommodate all seven of them.
There were exactly seven rooms, so Yuri got one for each of them.
It had clearly been a while since the inn had received guests; the owner fumbled for a long time with the keys before finally managing to open the rooms. Dust billowed out from within.
The owner forced a smile and gestured.
"Ha-ha, please go in. It'll feel better once it airs out. I'll call the stable hand. Feed the horses, brush their coats—they'll recover quickly."
"Thanks. Here. Keep the change."
"Oh my, thank you!"
Once everyone had unpacked, Yuri gathered the six into his room.
"This place is suspicious."
As he said that, Jose and Laurent nodded, while the others tilted their heads.
"What is?"
"Did you see how the villagers were wary of us?"
"Well, it's probably because outsiders rarely come through…"
"But we clearly look like knights."
"Yes."
"Unless we were causing trouble, wouldn't most villages be glad to see knights? Nine times out of ten, they'd assume we came to catch Gert."
"Maybe they're just worried about us…"
"Hmm, I don't think that's it."
Yuri rose from his seat and ran a finger along the table by the window. A layer of white dust clung to his fingertip.
"For an inn that barely gets business."
"Yes."
"But the owner was wearing fine clothes."
"Maybe he just has a lot of money?"
"Look."
Yuri jerked his chin. Jared stepped closer and looked outside the window.
"Don't they all seem a bit too relaxed? For a village stuck in the middle of nowhere?"
Just as he said, the buildings in the village looked old, but the people moving about looked comfortable and well-off.
There was even someone riding a white-maned horse, and now and then, a carriage would pass by.
Yuri raised his hand. He pointed to a street where red-light establishments were clustered together. The lights sparkled brilliantly.
"There was even a stable hand."
"Oh, right, there was."
"This village is strange. It's weird that they have money, and it's even weirder that they're not well-known…"
Jared tilted his head.
"Maybe they struck gold or something."
"That'd be nice."
Yuri spoke.
"Well, it's none of our concern. All we need to do is get rid of Gert. But…"
His eyes shifted. There, a man wearing flashy clothes walked by with a courtesan on his arm. People saw him but didn't react, as if it were completely normal.
"Somehow, I get the feeling he's going to get in the way."
***
Night fell.
Yuri sat on his bed, writing a letter to Rein. Ever since he joined hands with her, Rein had succeeded in every deal and was now pushing to open trade routes to the East.
Since Yuri didn't know much beyond this point, it was something Rein, with her exceptional skills as a merchant, had to judge for herself.
So, he was writing to introduce her to Moyong Chan.
Then, his pen suddenly stopped.
A faint presence was felt from outside.
A normal person wouldn't have noticed, but Yuri, whose sensory perception was unusually sharp, could sense a group of people moving about Sordelvine.
He could've ignored it, but Yuri stood up.
He had a hunch something interesting was going on.
Maybe he'd uncover the secret behind this strange village.
Yuri grabbed only his sword, opened the window, and leapt down. Using the darkness as cover, he stepped through the shadows and moved toward where he felt the presence.
There, he saw a strange sight.
Several villagers were gathered, holding torches, whispering among themselves. In their hands were farming tools.
Then they began walking toward the outskirts of the village.
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
It wasn't the direction his group had come from.
They were heading toward Adelvine.
Yuri glanced around. There was nothing else moving. Only those villagers stirred within the nighttime silence of Sordelvine.
He followed them quietly.
They climbed over the village fence without hesitation and moved toward Adelvine like it was routine.
Then he heard faint voices.
"Don't go too far. We're only digging nearby tonight."
"Why? Tonight's a good night, isn't it?"
"Just a feeling. Strangers came…"
"What are those knights doing here anyway?"
"They said they're just passing through."
"They're not here for that, are they?"
"Doubt it. They didn't look like much. Even if they are, there's nothing to worry about."
Chatting casually, the villagers crossed into what was once Adelvine's territory.
Even Yuri was shocked at the sight.
If one enters Adelvine, Gert the Death Knight will appear and attack the living.
This wasn't some baseless rumor, but a proven fact.
It had already been confirmed multiple times by investigation teams.
"Keep your voices down. From here on, we're working. No talking."
The man leading the group said, then wrapped a cloth around his mouth. The others followed, pulling out cloths and covering their mouths as well.
They moved in silence, even their footsteps quiet.
The moon was bright, so there was no need to hold their torches high—the path was clearly visible.
Yuri silently followed the restless shadows wandering through the old territory of Adelvine.
Eventually, the group reached a ruined village.
Each broken house was covered in vines, and trees had burst through rooftops, stretching their branches high.
The villagers walked around, shining their torches on the ground as if searching for something.
Yuri expanded his senses, wary in case something like Gert might approach.
But nothing came.
Only ruins remained.
Then suddenly, the villagers began moving busily. Yuri, hiding behind a building, trailed them.
They gathered in the center of the ruins.
There, they surrounded a corpse's remains.
From the position of the scattered bones, it was easy to see how the person had died.
The spine had been completely snapped.
Without a word, the villagers exchanged glances, then stuffed cloth in their ears. After that, they quietly began removing the bones with their tools.
Next, they started digging into the spot where the corpse had been.
Yuri had no idea what was going on.
They had come into the ruins of Adelvine, where a Death Knight could appear at any moment, and now they were digging up the ground where a body had once lain, with ears and mouths covered.
Were they all mad, doing this in the dead of night?
Curious to see what would happen, Yuri leaned forward a bit more.
Then, the villagers exchanged glances again, stepped back in unison, and the man leading the group stepped forward alone, swinging his pickaxe with full force.
It was at that moment—
KIIIIAAAAAAHHHHHH!
A blood-curdling shriek that rattled the mind.
Yuri's mana twisted violently, and he collapsed to the ground.
His head spun.
His sense of balance was gone.
His body wouldn't respond. He needed to get up, but couldn't.
Yuri spat out blood-mixed saliva.
Even in this moment where all his senses were in chaos, he clearly felt the massive force approaching from afar. He muttered a curse without thinking.
He had to run.
Gert was coming.
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