Chapter 52: Saviors and saboteurs

The Imperial Central Trade Route.

Once, it was a place called the heart of the continent’s commerce, where countless carriages came and went, and many people gathered.

However, due to the invasion of the Demon Lord’s army.

Most of the roads and buildings were destroyed, and it had long since lost its function.

Therefore, it had to be restored as a top priority for the reconstruction of the empire.

The person in charge of this location was none other than Duke Lionel Barenhoff.

A man who rarely showed his emotions.

“Tsk…”

He couldn’t help but click his tongue and frown now.

Just like the agricultural region managed by Logan and Anastasia, the workforce here had also failed to gather as planned.

“Even after mobilizing my family’s manpower to the fullest, it’s far from enough…”

He had expected it to some extent.

That those filthy nobles from the opposing faction would engage in sabotage.

Therefore, he had done his best to prevent them from inciting the populace with false information.

However, he hadn’t expected them to pour out that much wealth to interfere with the recruitment of labor.

“Just how much have these bastards embezzled… As a fellow noble, I am truly ashamed.”

Even Lionel, who didn’t usually utter pretentious words like noblesse oblige and never served or devoted himself to the common people.

Couldn’t help but curse the noble faction.

This was going too far.

He was an extremely pragmatic man.

That’s why after Anastasia entrusted him with state affairs, he had weighed his options and briefly pondered his choice.

He didn’t want to cooperate with corrupt nobles like Kardo.

But considering the incompetence Valerius had shown, he didn’t want to easily side with the imperial family either.

However, unlike her weak father, his daughter had a firm conviction.

Besides.

‘My so… No, I haven’t even properly mentioned it to him yet, so calling him that is a bit premature. Ahem…!’

Anyway.

A trustworthy young man was assisting her, so he had chosen her.

And now, seeing them squandering wealth to deceive the people, he couldn’t help but feel he had made the right choice.

As Lionel was lost in such thoughts.

“B-Bandits!!!”

“Aaargh! It’s an attack!!!”

Terrible screams echoed from the site.

“Ha…! They’ve crossed the line, and then some.”

Lionel let out a dry laugh.

A band of bandits, suddenly, at this time.

At this place.

It was utter nonsense.

Mere bandits.

How could they dare harbor thoughts of attacking the Barenhoff territory?

This was a blatant ploy by his enemies.

Shing!

Lionel drew the longsword from his waist and shouted.

“All of you, fight back!”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

With him, the Barenhoff knights began to suppress the bandits.

“Capture them alive if possible! Don’t kill them! There must be someone behind this!”

Lionel expertly swung his sword, cutting down the bandits one by one.

It had been a long time since he retired from the front lines, but his sword, tempered over long years, was extremely sharp and precise.

The blades of rabble like bandits could never touch his body.

However, Lionel did not let his guard down for a moment.

No matter how foolish his enemies were, they would never think they could disrupt the reconstruction project with such riffraff.

‘Hiring bandits just to temporarily disrupt the work is not cost-effective at all!’

No matter how much money they had to burn, they wouldn’t use resources so inefficiently.

Just then.

What he had been wary of happened.

!!!

Clang!

Suddenly, a sharp dagger flew in from his blind spot.

If it hadn’t been for his seasoned skill, he would have surely been grievously wounded.

“You bastard!!!”

Lionel roared and swung his sword at the one who had made the treacherous attack.

However, the man did not engage him at all and immediately retreated.

“Halt!!!”

Lionel fiercely swung his aura-clad sword and chased after him, but due to the interference of other bandits, he eventually lost him.

Afterward, the bandits were all dealt with in a flash.

The Barenhoff knights, following Lionel’s orders to keep them alive as much as possible, were able to capture a large number of them.

“Interrogate them separately! There must be someone behind this!”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

“And I’m worried if the other sites are okay. Send men to check!”

Lionel ordered his adjutant to check on the safety of the other reconstruction sites.

There was no way his enemies would have attacked only one place.

Knights and soldiers had been stationed at each location just in case, but…

‘If there are more assassins like the one who targeted me, it’s very dangerous!’

That attack was so deadly that he too could have lost his life if he had been careless.

If others were hit with such a surprise attack, many would surely be unable to cope and would fall.

And.

Just as Lionel feared…

Great damage was being reported from the various locations where the reconstruction projects were simultaneously underway.

---

“No!!! My Lord Baron, please, wake up!!!”

An adjutant cried out a desperate plea, cradling his lord.

On the first day of the full-scale implementation of the reconstruction project.

He, who had pledged to devote himself to reviving the empire alongside his lord, was now in despair.

An unexpected, sudden attack had occurred.

However, there was no way mere bandits could stand against the brave knights and soldiers of the barony.

So he thought they could easily clean them up and get back to work…

Stab!

“Keoheok!!!”

Suddenly, a hidden blade from an enemy who appeared out of nowhere pierced his lord’s heart.

“Ah…! Ah…! It can’t be! My Lord, you can’t close your eyes here!”

The adjutant wailed, desperately trying to staunch his lord’s wound.

However.

His lord’s eyes had already lost their light, signaling that his life was fading.

Just as he was despairing.

“Would you please step aside for a moment?”

The voice of a sacred and benevolent woman was heard.

At this.

“Y-You are…!”

The adjutant’s despair-ridden face couldn’t help but brighten.

Because.

“It’s not too late yet. Don’t give up.”

The Saintess, Sera, who was said to perform miracles and revive even the dead, had appeared.

As she slowly extended her hand.

Light returned to his lord’s eyes, which had been clouded with darkness.

Then, he slowly closed his eyes as if resting peacefully.

At that sight.

“My Lord!?”

The adjutant was momentarily panicked, but he was relieved to see his lord’s chest rising and falling regularly.

“Ah… ah… Thank you so much…”

He briefly wondered why the Saintess had suddenly appeared at this location, but such things were not important.

Thanks to the Saintess, his lord could be saved.

Not only that.

The priests who came with her healed the people injured in the bandit attack.

“Ah… ah… Thank you, Saintess-nim!”

“And the priests… thank you… thank you so much…!”

The people at the site couldn’t help but bow their heads and express their gratitude.

---

Because there were so many reconstruction sites in the empire, nobles leading their knights couldn’t be present at all of them.

Therefore, at sites where only regular soldiers were stationed.

They were thrown into great confusion by the sudden bandit attacks.

In that moment of desperation.

The Hero appeared like a savior, leading the Church’s Holy Knights.

“Save the people!”

Lian shouted, raising his sword of light high.

The sword in his hand.

Didn’t shine as brilliantly as the holy sword he had wielded in the past.

But to the people trembling in fear from the sudden attack by unknown assailants, it must have seemed brighter than anything else.

“It’s the Hero-nim!”

“We’re saved! We’re saved!”

The laborers, who were on the verge of losing their lives to the bandits’ blades, cheered at the Hero’s appearance.

And as if to answer their cheers.

Lian and the Holy Knights bravely swung their swords and drove the bandits away.

At this, the bandits began to flee without putting up any resistance.

“Don’t pursue them! Tending to the people is the priority!”

Lian and the Holy Knights.

Not a single one of them gave chase.

And.

Not a single bandit fell bleeding at the site.

It was a truly bizarre phenomenon, but no one suspected or questioned it.

The people here, whose throats had been at knifepoint just moments before, couldn’t afford such thoughts.

The people just cheered and thanked Lian and the Holy Knights.

“Long live the Hero-nim!”

“Thank you, Hero-nim!!”

---

It was the same at other locations.

In places that couldn’t properly handle the sudden bandit attacks, Holy Knights and priests appeared to protect and heal them.

And.

The Church wasn’t the only one performing such acts.

“What are you all doing! Save the people at once!!!”

The First Prince Narcissus also led his knights and defeated the bandits.

No, it would be more accurate to say he made them retreat.

And the new force that had joined them this time.

The Magic Tower also dispatched its mages to lend their strength.

“Kukuk… Iren, you foolish old man… It would have been better if you had just done as I said…”

The Director of the Magic Tower Academy.

No, Teron, who was now both the Master of the Magic Tower and the Academy Director, muttered with a sly smile.

“As expected, my choice was not wrong…!”

Unlike that hypocritical old man, he had been properly siding with the right people for a long time.

The Lindemarck ducal family and the Church.

He had been in close and constant contact with both, waiting for the right time.

As a result.

The Crown Princess had moved faster than expected, causing a slight hitch.

But everything was proceeding according to plan.

As proof.

“Thank you, Mage-nims!”

“We thought you were people who just cooped yourselves up in the Magic Tower… Ah… thank you so much…!”

Weren’t the foolish commoners just praising them, knowing nothing?

Eventually, the Crown Princess would fall, and the empire would be divided among the Church, the ducal family, and the Magic Tower.

“No, no… divide… Kukuk…”

Teron shook his head and smiled greedily.

In the past.

He would have been grateful just to receive the leftover crumbs after the ducal family and the Church had divided the tastiest parts.

“But now the tables have completely turned.”

‘Share?’

‘Don’t make me laugh.’

“When a peerless mage is with us, what nonsense is that! Kuhahaha!!”

Teron burst into maniacal laughter as he watched Irene freezing and burning the bandits in the distance.

“H-Hey, wait a minute, this is different from what we agreed… Aaargh!!!”

Shshshshk!!!

Because they were supposed to be used as pawns for a while.

Those who were supposed to just be threatened and then allowed to retreat.

Not only did Irene freeze them all as she pleased.

“S-Save me!!! Gyaaaah!!!”

Fwoosh!!!

She burned them to a crisp.

But Teron wasn’t bothered in the slightest.

Because he could find such vermin whenever he wanted.

“Incredible…! Truly incredible…! Who would dare say it’s an exaggeration! To such an overwhelmingly powerful Archmage!!”

No matter where you looked in history.

There would never be an Archmage as powerful as her.

Therefore.

Teron was certain that his choice was absolutely not wrong.

Furthermore, he harbored an even greater ambition.

“With her, the Magic Tower will be reborn as a new Magical Nation!!!”