Chapter 211: The Knights’ Nightly Activities (5)

Have you ever touched a beehive without knowing it when you were young?

If you had, then you would know just how ferocious and vicious those bees that usually were so docile when left untouched was when they got angry,

Ding-! Ding-!

The bells of the Great Temple rang repeatedly, ringing the alarm that notified the existence of intruders. Hearing that, all the priests and nuns ran through the main hall in unison.

“Heretics! Find the heretics!”

“Inquisitors and templars, move immediately! Contact the monks quickly!”

“The monks? I don’t think they’re gonna move…”

“Tell them that the temple is in danger!”

The intense crackling sound echoed through the main hall. Everyone there could hear it as the priests, who usually never got angry, gritted their teeth.

Recently, the atmosphere in the Great Temple was already tense, yet some fools dared to infiltrate the place?

This wasn’t something that could be overlooked. Hence why they decided to call in even the monks who never usually interfered in the temple’s affairs.

Countless people gathered with torches in hands, all showing their anger like they were angry Spartan soldiers.

Seeing this sight…

“Those guys are scarier than even the Demonic Humans…”

“Angry priests are terrifying…”

“They’re gonna burn us to death if we get caught.”

Even the fearless Champion of the North couldn’t help but cower in fear when he saw those angry priests.

This all happened under the moonlit night.

“…Why the hell did you two rush in like madmen and make things worse?!”

Lee Han scolded the other two as they stood in a narrow emergency passage he had barely found. He wouldn’t normally blame others for their mistakes, but considering that these two ruined all his effort to infiltrate the Great Temple and made him stuck in the worst possible situation with them, it was only natural that he acted like this.

“This guy was the one who’s loitering like an idiot. What did you expect me to do?”

“That was because I felt a strong killing intent from him! I figured I’d let him vent his anger, you know? Like a casual greeting between two men!”

The fact that Maximus didn’t seem the least apologetic was what pissed Lee Han the most, though.

Ah, I want to fucking cut this guy off.

That was when Lee Han understood why violence was still rampant even in modern civilized societies. It was because fuckers like these guys existed.

Maybe I should beat these guys up and offer them to the priests.

Hopefully, they’ll show me a little mercy if I were to do that.

For a moment there, he seriously considered doing it. But then, as if the two had read his mind, they opened their mouths one after another.

“Calm down. If you try to fight me for no reason, you’ll be the only one who’d suffer, Thug.”

“I had never turned away from a fight. But for now, I guess I’ll have to, haha!”

“…The fact that you guys are using your brains only after causing this whole mess is what pisses me off the most you fucks!”

It was obvious that these guys were the people that the priests were chasing before he met the Half-Demonic Humans. And yet, even though they had already been discovered by the priests, they only started to use their brains…

“You always runs your mouth as if you’re smart, how the fuck did you get caught so quickly?”

“…That guy already pisses me off enough, don’t you start.”

“Are you angry? It’s bad to get mad so easily at your age! Be careful, lest it becomes a disease!”

“…”

Hearing that, Lee Han somehow became able to read the spearman’s mind.

He looks like he wants to kill that guy…

Of course, Lee Han knew exactly how he felt. As expected, the reason the spear bastard was discovered definitely had something to do with the big guy. If that was the case, it was clear that he wanted nothing more than to impale the big guy’s head with his spear right now.

I know how he feels.

From their first meeting to the incident in the Tunnel. Having experienced Maximus’ attitude through a series of events, Lee Han felt a little pity for the spear bastard after guessing what he had gone through.

He even felt slight kinship to the spear bastard since he had once gone through the same kind of suffering. It was the first time in his life that he ever felt this way.

“…You shoulda left him back there.”

“…Damn it.”

He patted the spear bastard on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. Meanwhile, the guy just frowned and grabbed the back of his own neck.

The poor guy was experiencing how it felt to have an anger issue.

“…”

Silence filled the space for a moment. It wasn’t that they agreed to be quiet, but rather they had nothing to talk about.

Then again, what kind of talk could they make to each other?

They couldn’t even ask the basic question, ‘What are you doing here?’.

…Ridiculous.

The fact that all three of them were hiding so quietly was already enough evidence that none of them had a legal reason for sneaking into the Great Temple. So, rather than creating an uneasy atmosphere between them, it was best for them to remain silent, wait for the outside to quiet down a bit, and then part ways when the timing was right.

However…

“…You’ve gotten stronger.”

“?”

“If it weren’t for this situation, I’d like to have a serious fight with you.”

“…I will decline. Especially if it’s against you.”

“Huh? Have you forgotten the fierce battle we had that day? Didn’t we both have fun?”

“…You crazy fuck.”

Unfortunately, one of them was a shameless bastard.

Hearing Maximus mentioning the fierce battle they had in the Tunnel, a headache struck Lee Han.

When he recalled the memories of that day, a thought naturally came to his mind.

I was a fool…

Indeed. While he had fought fiercely against the guy, in the end, that was easily ‘the most idiotic thing he had ever done’.

All things considered, he had done something like that smack-dab in the middle of the enemy territory.

Even gnolls wouldn’t do something so foolish. Yet, the fact that he—someone who should know better than a gnoll—-did something like that, kept him awake at night.

A dark history.

That was the only appropriate way to address it.

At that moment…

“A fierce battle?”

“…”

The guy who should never know about his dark history the most joined the conversation.

As far as he knew, the guy was quick-witted and had a good head on top of his shoulders. On top of that-

“Ha, it looks like you did something fun in the Tunnel.”

…He knew a lot.

Having gathered bits and pieces from the conversation between Lee Han and Maximus, the spear bastard laughed.

“So the Tunnel collapsed because of you guys.”

“…It wasn’t my fault, it just happened to collapse.”

“Regardless, you guys were the ones to deliver the finishing blow.”

“…”

“What a mess. Are you two gonna do something like that again here?”

“…Ahem.”

Lee Han had nothing to say at this point.

However…

“Haha, what is there to be ashamed of? We fought fiercely and risked our lives back then! It was a fierce battle that raised the level of our soul! A battle that even the Silver Dragon and the Lion King would admire! Our heroic tale must’ve been enjoyed by the heroes of Avalon! Hahahaha!”

Maximus just showed his confidence and pride, laughing loudly.

I don’t know if I should call him bold or warrior-like…

Regardless, I feel like a normal guy compared to this guy.

As Lee Han thought about that…

“Come to think of it, Mad Wolf, you also had a fierce fight with my friend in the empire, didn’t you? I heard that you two fought against the demonic Magic Tower whose sins had piled up to the heavens? That’s great!”

“!!?”

“Friend? Me and you…?”

This time, the reaction was somewhat off-key.

In contrast to Lee Han, who was trembling at the word ‘friend,’ Lake was bewildered at the fact that Maximus knew of what they had done.

Their battle with the Magic Tower was something that was only known to a select few. The fact that this person knew about it meant…

“…The North’s intelligence is not bad.”

“I only know what I know.”

He had to be more wary towards the North. Lake’s expression hardened at the revelation. Meanwhile, Maximus just shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn’t trying to make him wary.

“Don’t be so wary. I’m just showing my admiration towards you guys. Also, I only know that you guys defeated the Magic Tower, I don’t know the details. My nephew was so tight-lipped about it.”

“I’ll believe you. For now.”

“Haa… You are too paranoid.”

His words could be trusted, since after all, Blackie was one that could keep his mouth shut. Besides, it was well known that the relationship between hin and the archduke was atrociously bad.

Still, even though Lake was aware of the fact, he decided not to lower his guard at all.

Seeing this, Maximus…

“Don’t glare at me too much. I am not saying this to show off the North’s intelligence, but to gain your trust.”

“Trust? Now of all time?”

“When there are only two of us, I raised my guard because I couldn’t be sure that you would not betray me. However, my friend is here now. He’s a strong guy that both you and I won’t be sure if we could win against him.”

“…”

The two knights’ gazes naturally turned to Lee Han who was just scratching his cheek.

This atmosphere…

Why does it feel like I’m being chosen as the leader of the group project?

As such a thought crossed his mind, he had the urge to run away from this place.

…Like they always said, ominous feelings always came true.

“How about we cooperate with each other? Our goals seem similar.”

“Do you even know what I’m going to do?”

“Hmm, aren’t you planning on stealing the holy relic?”

“…”

“With your personality, the holy relic, or rather, Exemption, would feel like a shackle since they are proof that you’re connected to the temple. So, you’re trying to get rid of that. Am I right?”

“Unlike how you look, you are quite sharp…”

“You flatter me.”

“That wasn’t a praise, you fuck.”

As expected, if someone was able to climb into the rank of Commander of Knight Order, they weren’t just strong in combat but also had a certain amount of wit.

…This guy’s problem is that he intentionally refuses to use his head.

He was someone whose brawn was so good that he didn’t need to use his brain. But, every time he did use his brain, he became incredibly unpredictable.

“…It’s great that you figured out my purpose, but you and that guy aren’t after the holy relics, right?”

He proposed a cooperation, but as far as Lee Han was concerned, they all had different goals.

What was the point in cooperating when their purposes were not the same?

To that question…

“It just so happens that we have the same purpose.”

“?”

“Look at this.”

“??”

A silk pouch…?

Lee Han gave Maximus an incredulous look when he saw the guy taking out a silk pouch. But the moment Maximus turned it over…

Rustle-!

A crumpled piece of paper came out, and he could read the writing on the paper.

[If you follow a knight that ‘hated’ and ‘killed the most mages in the world,’ you might achieve your goal.]

…What is this? It seems like it’s referring to a specific person…

“What is this?”

“It’s a plan written by a shaman who is a descendant of a witch. She told me to take these out one by one when I entered the Great Temple. I took the first out when I entered the Great Temple, the second when I was in danger of being caught, and the third one was when I met you. That was what she instructed me to do.”

“…”

“I was wondering what she meant by all this, but now that I met you, everything becomes clear. As expected, the shaman’s plan is always mysterious, haha.”

“…What the fuck?”

The fuck? Is this Zhuge Liang’s three brocade pouch plan?

How the fuck something like that exists in this world?

Lee Han turned to look at the spear bastard, trying to see if he shared the same sentiment.

This guy seems like he’s out of his mind.

“A-Amazing. I always wondered what it was that the North had been hiding. It turned out you have a strategist who learned shamanism by your side! As expected, you guys are dangerous…”

“…”

…He’s not normal either.

Seeing the spear bastard nodding his head, another thought crossed Lee Han’s mind.

I wish they would just disappear…

“Really? That guy came here?”

“If what he said is true, then he’s here.”

“…Woah, that’s surprising. I thought he was dead.”

“He fooled us.”

“Hmm, I miss him. I want to meet him as soon as possible.”

Crack-!

“So I can hear him to pieces with my own hands.”

“That chance will come.”

They let out a bitter smile.

The prey that would soon come into the hole on its own—no. Their cute old comrade.

“How much has that cute guy—Number 8—has grown, I wonder?”

They happily waited for him to come.