Chapter 105

“Multiple enemy troops confirmed in the front.”

Rick and Nira, leading the Argenta forces, mercilessly routed the Alors troops. Most of the Alors troops, divided into eight groups, had already been disintegrated.

‘What the hell are those b*st*rds!’

‘They are Argenta troops!’

Perhaps the rumor had spread among the Alors troops as soon as they started attacking two of the eight groups. The commanders guarding five of the remaining six groups had vanished as if they had evaporated on the spot.

They were all distant relatives of Duke Alors and loyal subjects who followed him.

“It seems everyone else has fled.”

“The remaining troops are all gathered in one place.”

Rick and the intelligence officer exchanged information. The next moment, Rick smiled, twisting his lips.

“Then, the other commanders might be there too.”

“According to the interrogation during the suppression, they also seemed unaware of the commanders’ whereabouts.”

If they had gathered their troops to respond, the commanders would naturally have known about it.

Rick narrowed his eyes.

Neigh!

However, he soon stopped worrying and urged his horse forward. The key to this raid was to move quickly, to quickly eliminate those whose water powers had weakened with the change of Alors’ head.

Besides, on their side…

“….”

Nira, who had been running silently with a serious expression since earlier, was there. Rick rode his fast horse and approached him.

“We are approaching the battlefield, but you seem troubled.”

Nira looked at the man approaching with a smile as bright as sunshine. Unlike others who got nervous as they got closer to the battlefield, he was full of bright smiles.

“Are you worried about something?”

It was a skill to have a conversation while riding a running horse. Ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to open their mouths, saying that they might bite their tongues, though he was different. And the same goes for Nira.

“…A little.”

Nira replied with a serious face.

“….?”

Rick tilted his head.

It was nothing complicated by his standards. Alors had lost a lot of power as they had expected, and they were naturally caught off guard, thinking they would overwhelm Argenta. On the other hand, on their side…

Swoosh!

Nira, who had received the water ability directly from the new head of Alors, was here.

Rick recalled the water vortex that had swept across the battlefield just moments ago. It was a threatening and admirable power, so much so that it was thrilling even to think of facing it as an ally. He was an overwhelming force in Alors, where water was everywhere.

He was becoming the strongest force, just as the Madam had intended.

“It’s to announce the birth of a new head.”

“If he were this strong, they would think about how strong I am who gave him the power.”

It was also because he knew the ways and geography of Alors well, but Nira was here because of Krua’s words. The main reason was to let the people of Alors territory know how powerful the new head was. In other words, Krua’s reputation depended on how strongly he wielded his abilities.

However.

Nira had not been confident even though he had been stirring up the battlefield.

‘It’s Argenta!’

The people of Alors who saw the flames of Argenta did not think of him as Alors.

It was because only those in high positions among the assassins could recognize his face, and Nira was heavy-hearted because of that.

“Don’t get hurt.”

His master said, but was he doing this job well?

“What are you so worried about?”

Rick opened his hand.

He didn’t even hold the reins properly while riding a running horse, as if he didn’t even consider the possibility that he would fall.

And he was capable of doing so.

“Didn’t the Madam entrust you with the task because she trusted you?”

At those words, Nira nodded.

“That’s the problem.”

Nira’s worried face met Rick’s expression of incomprehension.

“Why is that a problem?”

“What if I don’t perform well? Wouldn’t that tarnish the master’s honor?”

Nira was suffering from a heavy responsibility.

Besides, there were no high-ranking assassins in the places they had attacked so far. They would probably be all gathered in the remaining one. And even though they might be weaker in water control than him now, they were not opponents to be underestimated.

He knew that because he was an assassin of Alors.

“If I fail to handle this properly.”

Nira looked back at Rick, thinking of the aftermath. He had lived almost his entire life thinking of Argenta as his enemy. However, Argenta, which he had seen with his master, was also a place where people lived, and it was even more humane than Alors.

In addition, they had accepted his master, who had the ability of Alors, as a complete insider and served her sincerely.

That’s why he could say it.

“If I make a mistake, please make sure to complete my mission. At least so that the master will have no problem ruling Alors.”

Nira said in a determined voice.

At those loyal words, Rick’s expression turned strange.

“What are you talking about?”

He really couldn’t understand. No, if the master entrusted him with a big job because she believed in his ability, wouldn’t it be enough to just do the job? Did he think his master made the wrong choice?

“Don’t tell me you think the master made the wrong judgment by entrusting this place to you, Nira?”

“That’s not it, but―”

Rick cut off his words curtly.

“Do you think the master would send you as a pawn?”

At that, Nira immediately shook his head.

“Don’t say you’re risking your life.”

Wasn’t that what the master said?

“She entrusted you with this task because she believes you will handle it easily and return.”

Rick said with a matter-of-fact face.

“Are you trying to prove the Madam’s judgment wrong?”

He tilted his head as if to say it was absurd.

“That…”

Nira frowned.

The Madam’s judgment could never be wrong in the first place.

It meant that if something went wrong, it was the fault of the underling. It was a strange thought for Nira, who had always been taught to doubt his master. But wasn’t it the master’s character, not his ability, that his father had told him to doubt?

Just as he was feeling confused, Rick hammered in the nail.

“As long as the head commands it, there is nothing impossible! We must make it possible! We are the ones who make it so!”

The head’s orders must be carried out! Isn’t that what we are supposed to do? Nira couldn’t refute the words that were shouted out so confidently.

Wasn’t that right?

“Is, is that so?”

“Of course!”

At Rick’s words, spoken as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Nira rebuked himself. Was he really doubting my master’s judgment? His master would only give him trials that he could endure!

“Indeed, that’s right…!”

He made a new determination.

As Rick continued his passionate speech, Nira’s face changed moment by moment, and soon a bright light turned on.

Faithful belief and confidence filled him to the brim.

“… Let’s advance quickly!”

His eyes sparkled.

Rick smiled.

Unlike when they had swept through the past seven places, Nira’s sparkling eyes were now directed forward.

* * *

The moment Argenta fell under the attack of the Alors, the Alors territory itself was not in good shape either.

“Ack!”

“D*mn it! Ugh!”

Chaos erupted throughout Alors.

With the Duke and elite troops gone, the land was left with nothing but screams and pandemonium. Unlike Argenta, which had prepared sufficiently against the monsters emerging from the endless sea, Alors had only maintained defenses’ sufficient to prevent an attack on its troops.’

As a result, disaster was spreading near the ‘endless forest’ of Alors.

Krrrrrr!

The monsters that Alors’s troops were supposed to have stopped burst forth with a monstrous roar.

“Stop them!”

An emergency was declared in the Alors village as the monsters spilled out, reaching even slightly beyond the forest.

Clang!

However, it was impossible for them to properly stop the monsters with their flimsy wooden spears and weapons.

“Hold on! The knights will be here!”

The villagers shouted, as they always did. As long as they could somehow buy time, Alors’s troops would arrive and sweep away the monsters. They would then grumble and collect a ‘thank you’ fee from the village, but for the villagers, it was enough that their lives were saved.

As they clung to hope…

“They’re not coming…”

A child muttered. The child was watching the adults fighting the monsters, building walls with all sorts of debris.

“What are you talking about?”

An adult who was busy running around said.

“My brother said he was going far away.”

The adult froze at those words.

“What, what did you say?”

Normally, no one would take the child’s words seriously. But this child’s brother was a knight of Alors. It was said that this was the reason why troops arrived quickly in this village, unlike in other neglected villages.

“My brother… said that most of the knights were going to Argenta.”

“This is crazy. We have to run away.”

The child’s brother, who had said that, left home as if he was being dragged away by other knights who had appeared at dawn.

“Hia, if the monsters come, run away. Don’t wait!”

He left those words behind. However, the child, Hia, couldn’t easily leave because he thought his brother would come back.

“They went to Argenta? What kind of crazy talk is that!”

“Hey, I’ve heard similar things, too!”

Someone passing by said at that moment. When two people told the same story, anxiety spread throughout the village. And it reached those who were blocking the monsters at the village entrance.

“What, what… Ugh!”

Taking advantage of the gap, a monster dug into the man. The flimsy weapon he was holding broke.

Thud!

The man hit by the monster flew far away and crashed.

“Gaaah!”

As soon as the village entrance was breached, it was only a matter of time before the village descended into chaos.

“Run away!”

‘Run away without waiting.’

If he ran away, where would he meet his brother? Hia couldn’t leave without even deciding where they would meet again.

Just then.

“Fire, fire!”

Hia’s head shot up at the villager’s cry. If, on top of everything else, the village started to catch fire, there was no way he could stay any longer.

However.

Whoosh!

The fierce fire only burned the leaf monsters that were about to engulf the villagers. The moment Hia’s eyes widened—

Kyaa!

—A black shadow loomed over his head. It was a monster that had survived the fire. The moment Hia closed his eyes tightly.

Thud!

Hia felt his body sway. The wet sensation reaching his waist was definitely water. But the water, as if it were a soft cloth, led Hia to someone.

He was led to someone on a horse.

“Are you okay?”

Hia opened his eyes wide, looking at the person who had saved him.

“I heard the knights weren’t coming….”

Nira, who met the child’s eyes, shook his head.

“Not knights. Assassins.”

“A-Assassins!”

It would have been scary if they were enemies, but the Alors assassins, who were not enemies, were welcome troops for the villagers.

“But you’re not following someone you know, are you?”

Nira reached out his hand.

Swoosh.

The water flowing out enveloped the villagers from the monsters, and above it, a hot fire engulfed the monsters.

!!!

The monsters burned to death without even being able to scream.

“Fire…”

“It’s Argenta! It’s an invasion by Argenta!”

The villagers seemed to have lost their minds. Regardless, Rick, who was grinning, waved his hand. A large fire, like a wave, headed towards the villagers.

“Ugh… huh?”

Yet, his fire only covered the monsters.

Rick and the executioners brushed past the surprised villagers. Nira also spoke after dropping the child in a safe place.

“The head of Alors has changed.”

It wasn’t just Hia who heard his words. Nira spoke to the village elders who were surrounding the child.

“Kellius Alors, who abandoned you, is no longer alive. This power.”

Then, he spread his hands. The clean water extinguished the surrounding fire and cleared away the remains of the monsters.

“It belongs to head Krua Alors.”

Krua Alors.

The people who heard that name widened their eyes.

—