Chapter 101:

“Leader, there's no movement.”

“Is he hiding?”

The attack leader temporarily lowered his crossbow and surveyed the old warehouse.

The arrows they had poured in until a moment ago were hideously stuck in the warehouse walls.

“Should we go in?”

A squad member asked cautiously.

There was no visual confirmation of any damage to the enemy.

The Demon who had been shooting arrows from the roof had only retreated; she didn't seem to be injured.

Normally, the standard procedure would be to form a perimeter and slowly close in.

But the attack leader was lost in thought.

‘If we drag this out, reinforcements will come for Brauder.’

Their target was Brauder Stetten.

That playboy who ruined the Duke’s work.

Finding and pursuing him near the Imperial Capital was good, but.

The situation afterward was not positive.

Dragging out the hostage they had hidden until now meant they were moving him to a safer place.

Moreover, the 7th pier was a remote place used only by smugglers.

Simply put, they didn't have much time to gain the upper hand.

“We're going in. There are many places to hide, so be on high alert.”

As soon as the words were finished, human shadows emerged from the darkness.

The opponents were only three Demons, while their side had 15 elite members.

Simply put, it was a fight they couldn't lose, but Demons were unpredictable beings, so they had to be careful.

“As soon as the target is killed, we retreat immediately. We will use any means necessary to kill the target. We will accept losses for a swift resolution.”

This was a task the Duke himself had ordered them to kill for.

Failure was not an option.

The flock of Ravens, in pairs of three, approached the warehouse.

Since they had no time, they didn't even think of concealing their presence.

“Two squads to the roof, the rest search the warehouse.”

The attack leader, who broke down the worn-out warehouse door and entered, quickly checked the surroundings.

There were no traces of anyone having been in the warehouse.

As the leader stepped outside to go to the next warehouse, he felt a sense of unease.

Normally, he should have felt the clamorous movements of his subordinates on the roof.

“What are those bastards doing up there when we're in a hurry?”

A squad member who felt the same thing grumbled and jumped onto the roof.

“Wai….”

Before the leader could stop him, the subordinate who had gone up to the roof fell, clutching his face.

“Report.”

“Ugh… there was no one on the roof.”

The subordinate stammered, holding his nose from which blood was pouring.

An ambush?

No, this area was definitely checked.

There was no one except the three Demons and the target.

Did someone break through the surveillance network at that time?

‘If we're being picked off one by one, this is the worst-case scenario.’

The remaining 12 wouldn't all have been taken down, but since they weren't as thoroughly prepared as usual, it was difficult to deal with an unexpected situation.

He had no choice but to improvise.

“Split up and find the target as quickly as possible.”

“What about the other squad members?”

“Don't worry about them. Just achieve the objective.”

The three scattered in different directions.

The leader quickly racked his brain.

The last time he saw him, it was a Dark Elf who was with Brauder.

Even if the others had entered combat, that one would be guarding Brauder's side.

‘A place a Dark Elf would be.’

Demons were creatures of habit.

They tend to move in the most familiar way.

A Dark Elf would have hidden in a cave-like place.

No matter what, a warehouse was too obvious.

Was there a cave-like place when he checked the surroundings?

A smuggler's burrow.

Although it was a remote place, smugglers couldn't just walk around openly, so they often dug bolt-holes to places out of the police's sight.

He had confirmed three burrows in this area, and given the time, he could only check two, or perhaps one.

The leader sprinted off to investigate the one in the deepest location first.

The sounds of battle could be heard from all over.

They'll buy me some proper time.

With that judgment, the leader picked up his pace and soon arrived in front of the burrow.

Footprints were messily imprinted, but it was hard to tell when they were made, so it was difficult to be certain the enemy was there.

“!”

The leader, who had taken one step into the burrow with a dagger, hurriedly threw his body aside.

A black, bizarre hand slammed down where he had been just a moment ago.

“Oh my. It seems I have somewhat underestimated the skills of the Raven gentlemen.”

A voice mixed with a humming nasal tone was heard from the darkness.

Recognizing whose voice it was, goosebumps rose all over his body.

“If I've given you a compliment, shouldn't you at least offer a word of thanks, even if it's empty flattery?”

A man with closed eyes, smiling slyly, walked out.

“You have a look on your face that says, ‘It’s that bastard Valheit.’ Isn't such a reaction too much for our first meeting?”

What should I do?

Should I retreat now?

No.

The fact that Valheit is guarding this place himself means Brauder is here.

“Seeing this old snake here must make you think Brauder is here too but unfortunately, that's not the case.”

As if he could see right through him, Valheit sneered, twirling his staff.

“You must have come thinking, ‘Since the Dark Elf had him, he must have gone into a burrow’… but that's prejudice, my friend. Prejudice.”

Damn it.

Was it a trap?

It doesn't matter.

To get the target, he had to get past that old snake anyway.

“You don't seem to have any intention of answering, so let's get straight to the point.”

As if tired of teasing, Valheit approached with a light step.

At the same time, a black hand lunged viciously from Valheit's shoulder.

He narrowly dodged the black hand and closed in on Valheit.

He wouldn't be able to take him down, but he had to create an opening to escape.

Valheit smiled faintly and lightly blocked his dagger.

It was a firm and concise defensive move, but he still couldn't prevent his body from shifting slightly to the right.

It was a far cry from an opening to take Valheit down, but it was enough to attempt an escape.

The leader twisted his body to exploit that opening.

“Keuk?!”

Something cold pierced his back.

A moment of chill passed, and hot blood and burning pain filled its place.

Thwack!

Without a chance to react, a staff came crashing down on the leader's head.

Having completely lost his balance, he rolled pathetically on the ground.

“The attempt was good.”

Valheit laughed, flicking the blood off the end of his staff.

Next to him stood the Dark Elf and a pale-faced Brauder.

“Actually, your prediction was half right and half wrong. It's true that your target is here, but that's because I sent him this way.”

Before the leader could react, the Dark Elf stepped on his stomach.

Pain spread throughout his body, forcing him to clench his teeth.

Seeing this, Valheit chuckled as if amused.

“Now, it's time to choose. Will you spit out the information I want, or will you die.”

The leader, racking his brain for a way to deal with Brauder in front of him, came to the conclusion that achieving the objective was impossible.

“…Karl, shut that bastard's mouth.”

Valheit, noticing his determination, quickly gave the order, but it was too late.

The leader had already bitten down on the poison hidden in his mouth.

The Dark Elf clicked his tongue as he watched the leader die, convulsing repeatedly.

“I should have noticed.”

“Well, what can you do? It's already happened. At least one of those many guys will probably talk.”

Valheit shrugged as if it were no big deal and turned his steps toward the warehouse where the sounds of fighting could still be heard.

Brauder swallowed hard, alternating his gaze between the cooling corpse and the heartless guard.

‘I won't end up like that, will I?’

***

The fight was still ongoing at the warehouse.

Thanks to the count shadow corps who followed me when I joined, the situation was generally in our favor.

Swoosh!

I tilted my head slightly to dodge a flying arrow.

It seemed like it would still take a little more time to finish.

‘That aside, my combat ability has definitely improved.’

It seems the stats I gained from the ‘Loyalty and Reward’ skill last time were helpful.

Should I say my movements have become quicker?

If there used to be a gap between my senses and my reaction, now there wasn't.

‘I wonder how much it affected Ede and Wilhelm.’

“Shouldn't you go help?”

Karl, who was up in a tree observing the situation, asked me.

He didn't seem to like that I was just standing by.

“How is the situation?”

“Noah is running wild, and your men are fighting hard too.”

“That's some very fresh and unimaginable information. How are the Raven guys.”

“They're fighting, but they keep retreating little by little. Looks like they're planning to fall back if things get tough.”

“If it's at that level, I don't think I need to intervene.”

I'm sure you don't.

Karl, who looked at me with such eyes, turned his gaze away again.

If I or Til were to step in, it would be cleaned up quickly, but this was also a test to gauge the skills of the count shadow corps, so I had no intention of helping right away.

“Mr. Brauder.”

“Wh-what?”

“You were so quiet, I thought you ran away.”

“No way! I, uh, I trust you, Count.”

Brauder, hiding behind a large tree, answered with a trembling voice.

“That's a good attitude. Well, even if you had run away, you would have been caught by someone else who was waiting.”

“Wh-who?”

“Someone from the Chartra side.”

“…I'd better stay next to you, Count.”

Brauder said, sighing heavily.

He was probably thinking of Werner Chartra when he said that, but it was actually a different Chartra.

“Count, the remaining Raven flock is scattering and fleeing. Shouldn't we chase them?”

“I've already prepared countermeasures for that direction. Let's join the warehouse side.”

“They've scattered in all directions, so it'll be hard to catch them.”

To Karl's worry, I answered with a smile.

“No matter how they scatter, they won't be able to escape anyway.”

Karl still frowned slightly as if he was anxious, but he didn't say any more and came down.

I dragged Brauder, who kept asking if it was really safe, and moved on.

‘At least one of them will spit out some useful information.’

I headed to the warehouse with the lightest heart possible.

***

Til chased down the scattering Ravens one by one.

Remembering Valheit's request not to kill them as there was something to be gained, she dealt with them just enough to disable their legs.

“Damn it…!”

That one, spitting curses as he fled, was the last one.

Unlike his comrades who were subdued while trying to break through Til somehow, that guy focused all his efforts on escaping.

Judging by his intermittent movements and the deceptive tactics he used to throw off pursuit, he was not unskilled.

His opponent was just bad for him.

As the distance clearly narrowed, Til took out an awl and was about to throw it at the guy running ahead.

But before she could act, the guy fell over first.

It wasn't a normal action.

Someone had snatched the prey first.

The hunter soon revealed himself.

Tsk.

Til unknowingly clicked her tongue upon identifying the opponent.

The opponent also identified Til and smiled faintly.

It was Hugo, her ill-fated connection in the Three Blades.

“I didn't expect to see you in a place like this.”

“What brings the Three Blades here?”

“There was a story that Brauder Stetten was spotted.”

Hugo, who answered nonchalantly, stomped on the Raven who was squirming to escape when he saw an opening.

“Now it's my turn to ask. Why are you here.”

“I'm here to work, why?”

“Is the Count also looking for Brauder? Or….”

Hugo smiled.

“Could it be that the Count kidnapped Brauder Stetten.”

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