45. Slum Patrol (1)

Night fell.

The mission I received from the Reserve Squad Headquarters was a night patrol.

Even cadets belonging to the Golden Wing receive this mission from time to time, but Lucia seemed puzzled by the location I had chosen for the mission.

“I heard that Count Yulian-nim has the authority of a Golden Wing squad leader. So, I don’t think you needed to choose such a remote area?”

Lucia’s question was understandable.

The squad leader authority that only excellent cadets of the Golden Wing can possess. I acquired that authority through the last power evaluation.

Except for the mandatory dispatch missions designated by the Reserve Squad Headquarters, the squad leader of the Reserve Squad could freely choose missions and squad members with that authority.

So, if a cadet wanted to improve their performance, they would target the subjugation of higher-ranked magical beasts.

Or, if a cadet wanted to build connections with high-ranking nobles or the wealthy of the Imperial Capital in advance, they would usually take on patrol missions in affluent neighborhoods.

‘But I chose the slums of Nerond Ward.’

I briefly looked around at the scenery. It was a very dark night because there was no moon today.

However, I am a swordsman who has mastered Mana. So, I could distinguish the outlines to some extent even in this place, which was no different from pitch black.

This was literally a slum. The closest to the old Imperial Capital in the Imperial Capital. The Nerond Ward in the east. Not far from the entertainment district.

However, it was completely different from the entertainment district, where the lights never go out all night. A place with no lights. For those who have to live a hard life tomorrow, the night is the only time for rest.

Lucia and I had been patrolling the alleys of this slum for several hours.

A smelly but quiet place. I answered Lucia in a low voice.

“As a Golden Wing squad leader, I shouldn’t be picky about missions. There’s no need to avoid the slums, is there? No, rather, these blind spots are where Pantheon cadets like us should patrol instead of the Imperial Guard. Even for the sake of the Imperial Capital’s citizens.”

Perhaps it was an unexpected remark, but Lucia’s pink eyes widened again.

Lucia, who is not good at hiding her emotions, often expressed her thoughts with her eyes like that.

“I, I see. Usually, even Silver Wing cadets avoid the slums… I was just wondering. But even so… you could have drafted a Golden Wing cadet with your authority as squad leader. I was surprised that you chose me, who lacks skill.”

“No. I know your skills well. Haven’t we been sparring continuously during this semester? And we properly crossed swords even in the underground arena.”

“No. My skills are far inferior compared to Count-nim…”

Lucia lowered her head and replied to my calm words.

As she said, it’s not a place where cadets can have fun. It’s dirty, smelly, and even if magical beasts appear, they are close to low-ranked 잡 [jap] magical beasts.

If it’s a magical beast that creates a sudden gate and forms a Dungeon, then it’s usually at least a 3rd Form.

‘But the magical beasts that appear near large cities are usually 4th or 5th Form.’

In other words, they’re no different from ordinary monsters. They’re not very good for cadets to gain experience. It goes without saying for me, who can already hunt 3rd Form magical beasts alone.

So, it’s a place that only Reserve Squad members with low Bronze-level ranks or cadets with strong volunteer spirit would come to.

‘But this mission is different.’

Because it’s a main quest when playing as Lucia. Something will happen in this slum today.

As she said, I could have drafted cadets belonging to the Golden Wing if I wanted to. But it means nothing to me if it’s not Lucia.

‘Of course, Lucia’s skills are better than most Golden Wing members right now.’

Lucia, who was looking around for a moment, continued to speak.

“When I read the mission request, it said that monster attacks have been frequent in this slum recently. Even though it’s the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. It’s strange because the monsters around the Imperial Capital are periodically subjugated… Is it a magical beast after all?”

“Probably. The grace of the Holy Obelisk doesn’t reach even these slums. A sudden gate must have opened. That’s why Pantheon cadets like us have to patrol more.”

The center of the Imperial Capital and the area where the nobles live have Holy Obelisks installed to suppress 마혼력 [mahonryeok].

As a result, it can prevent the formation of sudden gates by magical beasts. But this place was in the blind spot of that grace.

‘And this place is definitely marked by that guy from the Assassination Squad for experimentation.’

At that time, Lucia said in a low voice.

“… Count-nim is a mysterious person.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not common for a high-ranking noble and Golden Wing squad leader like Count-nim to come to this slum for volunteer patrol… It’s a completely different image from the young masters of high-ranking nobles that I think of…”

I was taken aback for a moment. Lucia was mistaken about me.

I spoke plausibly a moment ago. But the reason I came here was not for such a noble purpose.

Still, it’s not a bad thing if Lucia thinks well of me.

She continued to speak.

“And the fact that you took me to the underground arena… and that you treat me kindly. All of that is completely different from the rumors I heard about Count-nim last year… No. Rather, your current appearance is probably your true self. Rumors tend to be exaggerated.”

A deep night with no moon. A mission with only two people. Perhaps that’s why Lucia’s voice was moist. It was strangely sentimental.

Lucia kept fiddling with the butterfly hairpin I gave her. A magical tool for disguise. But right now, it wasn’t infused with Mana, so her hair was still pink.

Besides, this place is a slum. A scenery similar to the place where Lucia was born and raised. So, she must be feeling even more so.

But a sound broke that sentiment in an instant.

Kyaaaaaak-

Like the scream of a beast. A terrible scream echoed everywhere. At the same time, the screams of people were also heard.

“Count-nim!”

“I know. Hurry over there!”

The two ran out of the alley quickly.

---

Discomfort instinctively pierced my entire body. A different sensation from ordinary monsters. It was a magical beast.

‘With this much 마혼력 [mahonryeok]. It’s not a high-ranked magical beast.’

The place where the screams came from was not far away. I knew where the incident would happen. So, I was patrolling in that area.

“I feel 마혼력 [mahonryeok]. It may not be a high-ranking magical beast. But it will be very dangerous for the people in this slum!”

However, it wasn’t close enough to the magical beast to say it was right next to it.

Besides, this is not a Dungeon. Seeing her immediately capture the 마혼력 [mahonryeok] coming from beyond the atmosphere.

Lucia’s talent was also amazing.

“It’s probably about a 4th Form magical beast. But the number of them doesn’t seem small. Perhaps multiple sudden gates have opened. There are at least five magical beasts that have appeared over there.”

But Lucia was startled to see me, who was beyond sensitive and even capturing the exact number. And soon, she realized the meaning of my words and her expression hardened.

“We need to hurry. If there are that many magical beasts. The number of monsters that were summoned together will be much more… At this rate, this place will become a scene of slaughter.”

I nodded. Both of us quickly moved with Mana wrapped around our bodies.

Lucia’s running speed when she was determined was very fast. I was almost chasing after her.

Kwajijijijijik-

Finally, we arrived at the scene. A place where wooden houses, no different from shacks, were narrowly packed together, as befitting a slum.

Magical beasts and monsters were rampaging, destroying all the shabby houses. And goblins were massacring the residents who ran out in surprise.

“Sa… Save me!”

“Run away!! It’s a monster!”

Even if only armed goblins appear, ordinary people could not handle them.

Kieeeek-

The goblin was playing with the residents while making unpleasant noises. Dozens of residents were surrounded.

“We need to call the Imperial Guard or the military police quickly! Everyone will die!”

“Damn it. Would those heavy-assed bastards come to this sewer? Damn it. Then even the priests of the church…”

“It’ll be faster for us to run to the church! If you want to live, grab a wooden bat! We have to break through the goblin’s encirclement somehow!”

“Ugh!! My arm… Aaaaaak!”

Some men took out shabby weapons from their homes and tried to fight. But there was no way they could win. Lucia and I jumped into that scene of panic.

A sword with blue Mana formed a line in the air. The goblin group that was attacking the residents.

There were about 15 of them, which was not a small number. But I quickly took care of them.

One of them was a magical beast goblin that was stronger than ordinary monsters. But I beheaded it in one strike.

“W… What happened?”

“I don’t know! Suddenly all the monsters died…”

The residents checked the situation belatedly. They held up torches and examined the goblin’s corpse.

And two people with swords. They found me and Lucia.

“T… The Imperial Guard has come! We’re all saved!”

They were wearing robes, but armor could be seen inside. Both of them were holding Imperial swords. So, it was natural for ordinary residents to think of them as Imperial Guards of the Imperial Capital.

“Thank you! Knight-nim!”

“We’re all saved! Goblins are nothing to the knights of the Imperial Guard!”

Lucia corrected those words.

“We are not the Imperial Guard. To be exact, we are the Reserve Squad of the Imperial Guard…”

“Reserve Squad? What is that?”

“You stupid bastard! Reserve Squad means Pantheon cadets!”

Then the residents made even more surprised expressions. They may not know much about swordsmanship. But they just saw the two of us instantly defeating the goblin group.

“Pantheon? Are they different from the cadets who came on patrol last time? Those cadets clearly struggled even with goblins…”

If it’s a normal cadet, they would absolutely avoid even patrolling. If they come to this slum, it means they are the lowest-ranked cadets who can’t take on other missions. It wasn’t wrong.

‘They said that if there are not enough squad members to patrol, first-year students sometimes come instead.’

So, it wasn’t strange that some residents were puzzled. They must have felt the difference in skill.

“Well, there’s no way proper people would come to a place like this…”

“Are we in a position to pick and choose people! And you just saw their skills. They are completely different from those strangers who came last time! Everyone stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and thank them first!”

A middle-aged man said to the residents. Then the residents bowed and expressed their gratitude to me and Lucia all at once.

“Thank you for saving us, Nari!”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

Anyway, it wasn’t the time to be leisurely. I said to the middle-aged man, who seemed easy to talk to.

“It’s not time to receive thanks yet. Judging by your appearance, this is not the first time you’ve been attacked. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes? That’s right, Nari. Monster appearances have been frequent near this place recently… But this is the first time so many monsters have appeared at once!”

That was right. The seal of the Chaotic Gate located in the old Imperial Capital was being released. As a result, the frequency of magical beasts appearing around the Imperial Capital has increased significantly.

‘Those places without the Holy Obelisk would fully feel it.’

However, today was different. If the previous appearances of magical beasts were natural disasters. This attack was clearly an accident intentionally caused by someone.

“I just caught one magical beast. So, we need to quickly deal with four more. Count-nim!”

As Lucia said. I just dealt with one, so there were four left in the vicinity. And that magical beast was only the first wave that would appear tonight.

‘That woman must be inducing sudden gates right now.’

The Bairea Mercenary Corps. One member of the Assassination Squad. A witch who would later be called Rhene of the Fragments is currently hiding in this slum.

She is currently at the end of the Assassination Squad. But she is a villain who will become quite troublesome in the second part of Demon King Slayer. And a troublesome person who is intertwined with Lucia and makes her life more miserable.

‘I need to eliminate that seed in advance.’

That’s why I chose this mission. I instructed the middle-aged man.

“If you’ve been attacked before, you’ll know. Hiding in your house like this will only lead to slaughter. There’s a place for the residents to evacuate. Isn’t there a church or something nearby?”

“Yes! That’s right. There is a church run by the Loia Order here…”

“We need to evacuate the residents to that place. If it’s a place with holy priests of the combat order, it will be safer than a shack. Lucia! Help this man evacuate the residents. I’ll go deal with the magical beasts.”

Lucia nodded.

“But it’s dangerous for Count-nim alone…”

“You know my skills better than anyone else. Join me when the evacuation of the residents is complete.”

With those words, I hurried towards the next magical beast.

And the place where Rhene would be hiding. I was thinking busily in my head.