What?
I tilted my head at the rough sensation of cloth being draped over my face. This wasn’t so surprise celebration—why the sudden hood?
A hollow laugh escaped at the completely unexpected turn of events.
Then—
Thwack!
Searing pain exploded across the back of my neck. Enough force to drop any ordinary knight instantly. Soone had struck with the edge of their hand, delivering what should have been a knockout blow.
Abduction?
I analyzed the situation while the dull ache spread through my skull. Honestly, this wasn’t nearly enough to render unconscious. I wasn’t so re Aura Adept—I had reached mid-level Expert level. It would take at least a Master-level strike to put down for good.
However...
“Urgh!”
I groaned and collapsed to the ground in a convincing display.
Getting up imdiately to identify my attackers was tempting, but since they’d bothered with the hood, they clearly intended to transport elsewhere. Soone had obviously orchestrated this entire operation.
In situations like these, it was usually best to play along and feign unconsciousness—better for catching the entire network in one sweep than dealing with individual pawns.
Once I hit the ground and remained still, my captors began muttering among themselves, exactly as I’d expected.
“This bastard isn’t even twitching? Is he really an Aura Expert?”
“Course not. The Elder just got spooked for nothing. You lose your edge once you’re out of active service.”
“True enough.”
So one of the Elders had ordered this. Interesting. If it had been the High Elder behind this operation, he would have warned these n to guard every word. So not that particular fox, then.
But which Elder?
I catalogued potential suspects while they hoisted up and began carrying sowhere.
Thud.
“Ugh, he’s heavy! Why does this bastard weigh so much?”
“Must eat well.”
The soldiers dumped unceremoniously onto what felt like a wagon bed and continued their casual chatter. I spread my aura carefully to sense my surroundings, confirming I was indeed on so kind of cargo transport.
They were planning to move to a secondary location.
I maintained my unconscious act while listening to their conversation. The wagon lurched into motion, wheels creaking as we rolled forward. The soldiers settled in beside , resuming their discussion.
* * *
“Hey, what do you think they’re planning to do with this guy?” Knight Rotten muttered, staring down at Louis’s still form.
They’d been ordered to bring him in, so they were following orders, but if this man survived the night, they’d all be dead by morning. After all, you couldn’t exactly kidnap a noble and expect to live if he managed to escape.
The mont this bastard got free, wouldn’t he hunt them all down?
“Shit, if this guy doesn’t die tonight, we’re all screwed.”
As Rotten voiced his growing concern, his companion chuckled and shrugged.
“Well, we can always kill him ourselves, can’t we?”
“Damn it, if I’d known it would co to this, I should’ve just stayed a regular guard.” At least then he wouldn’t have to risk his neck on jobs like this—could’ve lived a relatively peaceful life.
Rotten grumbled irritably at his circumstances.
His companion snorted and leaned back against the wagon’s side. “I doubt that would’ve made much difference. Orders are orders, whether you’re a guard or a knight. Chain of command doesn’t change.”
“True enough. Still, it’s a waste. If I’d known he was this much of a weakling, I might’ve tried my luck earlier.”
“With what?”
“What do you think? Lady Lea, of course.” Rotten’s grin turned predatory as he continued.
“I an, this bastard killed our senior officer just for bothering his n. I kept my mouth shut because I was scared shitless of him. But looking at him now, wasn’t that all an act?”
“Probably. Most likely his subordinates did all the real work and he just took credit.”
“That’s what pisses off. Can’t believe I was intimidated by so scheming fraud.”
To think he’d been cowering before soone who’d collapse from a single neck chop. What a disgrace to his family na.
Thunk.
Rotten’s fist connected with Louis Berg’s jaw.
“Ow!”
His knuckles stung for so reason, but that was probably just from hitting bone at an awkward angle.
Rotten clicked his tongue and flexed his fingers while his companion laughed.
“Ha, you idiot.”
“Shut up.”
“So what’s all this got to do with Lady Lea anyway?”
“What do you think? I want to try sothing with her too. Damn... if I’d known she’d turn out that beautiful, I would’ve closed my eyes and proposed marriage years ago.”
“You’re completely insane. Just go to sleep. You’ll lose your head talking like that if anyone else hears you.” His companion shook his head in disgust.
Rotten frowned at the other knight’s reaction. Wasn’t losing his head already a foregone conclusion once you kidnapped a noble? Yet the man spoke as if he were being overly cautious.
To Rotten’s ears, it sounded like condescension—like soone like you doesn’t deserve a Duke’s daughter.
Perhaps that’s why he raised his voice, trying to sound casual despite his growing irritation.
“Hey, did I say sothing so terrible? Just wanting to bed her once isn’t such a cri. Maybe when we get back from this job, I’ll slip into her chambers one night and—wait. Why is that cloth lying there empty?”
Mid-sentence, Rotten stared blankly at the space where Louis had been lying. Or rather, at the hood that now sat crumpled and abandoned on the wagon bed.
Rotten blinked rapidly, trying to process what he was seeing.
Crack!
Iron fingers closed around the back of his neck, and Rotten groaned as his vision swam.
“You... what...?”
Looking sideways, he saw his companion already unconscious and slumped against the wagon’s side. When had that happened? He hadn’t seen or heard anything.
Damn it! When did he wake up?
From the crushing grip on his throat, it had to be Louis Berg—that bastard—who’d sohow gotten behind him.
He must have regained consciousness when Rotten struck his jaw.
Rotten forced out a thin breath and spoke quickly. “L-look, just let go, all right? I’ll tell you everything you want to know!”
What this man wanted was information about who was behind the kidnapping, nothing else. After promising to cooperate, Rotten could find an opening to slip away and strike from behind. That would let him subdue him again.
Just wait till your hand’s off . Rotten glared while carefully concealing his true intentions.
Then the voice he’d been waiting for ca from directly behind his ear. “You talk far too much. How irritating.”
“What—?”
CRASH!
Before Rotten could finish his confused response, trendous force slamd his body against the wagon’s side wall. The sudden impact startled the driver into reining in the horses.
Whoosh—!
The coachman and horses collapsed unconscious under the wave of killing intent that Louis Berg released into the night air.
What the hell!
Rotten writhed in agony and shock. Had this bastard just used Crushing Presence to knock everyone out simultaneously? Everyone except him?
Rotten’s pupils dilated as he forgot even the iron grip crushing his windpipe. This level of aura control was incomparably superior to his own abilities.
“Spare !”
As Rotten desperately began begging for his life—
Crack!
Louis Berg forced Rotten’s mouth open and gripped his jaw firmly. “You have plenty of teeth. You won’t miss a few.”
Crunch.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
Rotten’s screams turned to muffled agony as his teeth were wrenched out by the roots. But with his throat held fast, the sounds barely escaped into the night air.
Only silence filled the wagon.
“Don’t struggle. It makes extraction more difficult.”
Rotten stared up at Louis Berg, whose voice carried no inflection whatsoever. The man’s expression seed drained of all human emotion—except for rage.
Cold, thodical rage was all that remained.
* * *
Cough!
“Pwease... spah ...”
The knight looked up at through streaming tears. Or rather, he was begging for his life through what remained of his mouth.
Around the knight lay more than a dozen teeth, extracted by the roots. Fragnts of flesh and blood were scattered across the wagon bed in ssy streaks.
The scene resembled a torturer’s workshop. Anyone witnessing this display would recoil in revulsion at the grotesque tableau.
I studied the knight and released a long, asured breath.
“There. Now I’m finally beginning to calm down.”
I’d planned to remain quiet until we reached whatever prepared location they had in mind. But this fool had to bring up Lea and ruin my patience entirely.
What? Sleep with her? And what else had he been planning to say?
I suppressed another surge of fury and slowly pressed my boot down on his kneecap.
Squish.
Crunch-crack-crack.
“AAAAAAHHHHH!”
The joint shattered with a wet, grinding sound that harmonized perfectly with the knight’s screams. Good lung capacity—still able to produce that volu despite everything.
I lifted my foot and crouched down beside the sobbing man. Gripping his head and tilting it up, I asked calmly, “Who gave the order for this?”
“Huuuuuhhhh...” The knight said nothing coherent, only wept and gasped.
How tedious.
Crack-crack-crack.
“AAAAAHHHHHHH!”
I bent his fingers backward until they snapped and asked again. “Answer . I asked who ordered this kidnapping.”
“Ith the Elder! Ith the Elder!”
The knight seed to suffer a complete ntal break, shaking his head violently while screaming.
I released his skull and stood up. Then I withdrew my handkerchief, thodically wiped the blood from my hands, and ran my fingers through my hair with a sigh.
“An Elder... First Elder? Or Seventh Elder?”
Whoever had orchestrated this, they were definitely one of the Council mbers. Probably one of those positioning themselves to claim the High Elder’s seat.
I released an irritated breath and glanced at the other unconscious knight.
Originally, I’d planned to eliminate them all here and dispose of the evidence, but it seed I needed to revise my approach.
First Elder or Seventh Elder—either way, this ambush had taken place outside the family compound. Outside the estate was indeed the perfect location to eliminate those who harbored hostility toward .
The problem was determining how to reach whoever had sent these n...
I sighed and looked up at the night sky. A full moon illuminated our surroundings, revealing grassland and scattered trees stretching in all directions.
This appeared to be one of the roads leading toward the Demonic Realm.
“Where exactly are we?”
I asked the maid knight hopefully, but he only continued weeping without offering any coherent response.
Clicking my tongue in frustration, I delivered a sharp slap to the other knight’s cheek.
Slap!
The trendous shock snapped his eyes open as he stared at in confusion.
“What—what’s happening?”
The knight imdiately looked around, trying to assess his situation. His gaze fell on his collapsed companion, taking in the blood and scattered teeth.
In that instant, the knight threw both hands up defensively and yelled, “Please spare my life!”
From his expression, he genuinely intended to surrender completely.
I’d decide whether to kill him later—for now, I sat cross-legged in front of him and spoke matter-of-factly. “I’ll spare you if you guide to wherever your Elder is waiting.”
“Of course I’ll guide you! Absolutely!” The knight nodded so vigorously I was concerned he might injure himself.
I gestured toward the driver’s seat and released my grip on his collar. “Go wake the coachman, then.”
“Yes sir!” The knight answered with enthusiasm and imdiately scrambled to the front of the wagon to rouse the unconscious driver.
I watched the knight and coachman briefly, then turned my attention back to the only remaining problem.
The maid knight still lay weeping on the blood-stained wagon bed.
I approached him slowly.
“P-pwease don’t...”
The knight tried crawling backward along the wooden planks, but soon encountered the wagon’s rear wall.
I looked down at him and spoke conversationally. “Most sins start with a careless tongue. You should be more careful.”
“Yeth! Yeth!”
The knight seed to think I was offering him rcy and kept nodding frantically.
How foolishly optimistic.
Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!
I twisted his neck a full one hundred eighty degrees and tossed the corpse over the wagon’s side.
“Assuming you get a next life, of course,” I muttered.
I watched the body recede into the darkness as our wagon continued its lurching journey through the night.
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