Ch.91Chapter 91. Must Catch (3)

“What a catch, what a catch!”

I’ve secured seven of them.

That was the number of Landgar’s henchmen who were knocked unconscious after taking a hit from me.

It was a good choice not to hastily capture the person who appeared in front of Greenie, but to calmly follow them instead.

Thanks to that, I was able to discover their hideout.

“But is this all?”

Grrrr-

Greenie naturally approached me, thinking I was talking to him.

I was about to pat Greenie’s head but stopped myself.

‘I should pretend I have nothing to do with the undead.’

Woong-

Instead, I sent Greenie back to where he was originally.

From the perspective of whoever might be secretly watching from behind, it would look like Greenie suddenly disappeared.

Just as I was following these guys, there was someone else secretly following me.

Just to be safe, I teleported into the air to check who it was, but they weren’t part of Landgar’s group.

Most likely an Academy student.

Anyway, this was the Academy, and they didn’t look particularly strong.

I don’t know why they happened to be here at this timing, but I couldn’t help it.

I wanted to get rid of the female student, but I left her alone.

I might lose track of Greenie if I paid too much attention to her, and honestly, nothing would change if she witnessed this alone.

It would probably just add to the many rumors already circulating in the Academy.

Something like “there were more villains hiding inside the Training Forest.”

Slip-

The female student who secretly followed me was lying flat on the ground, still looking in my direction.

By now, she should have gone back since the situation seemed over.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter, right?’

After briefly considering what to do with that student, I decided to just leave her be.

First, I needed to enter the hideout and eliminate the remaining henchmen.

Woong-

When I touched the tree where they had suddenly appeared from, I felt a subtle vibration.

This wasn’t the usual flow of mana.

It was a feeling too familiar to me.

The unique sensation when space opens up.

‘Oh, what’s this?’

Woong-

And soon my view changed.

Just a moment ago I was in the middle of the forest, but after feeling like I passed through space, I found myself indoors.

“Is this the hideout?”

“Huh?”

I was just muttering to myself, but there was a response from inside.

A sturdy-looking door inside opened, and someone came out.

A man wearing a white robe, just like the ones I’d seen before.

I knew immediately.

This guy was the boss among the remaining henchmen.

“So it’s you?”

“Who are you?!”

Crackle-

Just as I expected.

Unlike those guys from earlier, his reaction was faster, and the mana he summoned was different.

The man was drawing up a large amount of mana at once, preparing to attack.

Grin-

Though he couldn’t see it, I smiled at him and moved my body.

I should test if this guy will also collapse with one hit.

**

“Wow.”

Erika couldn’t help but admire the wide-open scenery before her eyes.

Clear weather, blue sky, bright sunshine, and a vast ocean stretching out.

It had been a long time since she’d seen such a view.

“The west really is the best. Right?”

“…Yes, it is.”

“Put some soul into your answer.”

“…”

Erika shot a reproachful look at Jacqueline, the owner of the soulless response.

Jacqueline.

The captain of the Black Shadow Corps’ 2nd Division and considered the strongest in the Black Shadow Corps in terms of instantaneous combat power.

Like Erika, Jacqueline was one of the people who had been with Ryuyeong since the early days of the Black Shadow Corps.

“It’s nice.”

“…Fine. Whatever.”

“Any information?”

“No special new information yet. I deployed informants as soon as we arrived, but it will take at least half a day.”

“Hmm.”

Erika inwardly sighed as she looked at Jacqueline, who gave short, stiff answers with that pretty voice of hers.

She didn’t know why she kept getting paired with people like this lately.

Last time she had to work closely with Yuria throughout the mission, and now it was Jacqueline.

She would rather be alone.

“So let’s take a break, okay? The scenery is nice, and we have time. I’ll treat you to a meal. I managed to squeeze some money out of the commander recently.”

“No, I’m fine.”

Erika paid no attention to Jacqueline’s outright rejection of her offer.

Erika and Jacqueline had known each other for several years now.

She was used to this kind of response from Jacqueline.

“Come on. I’ll be bored alone. Let’s go.”

Erika said this while forcibly grabbing Jacqueline’s arm and pulling her along.

Jacqueline, who was about 10cm shorter than her, followed without resistance.

‘She’s usually so docile and girlish.’

“It’s been a really long time since we worked together, hasn’t it?”

“…I guess so.”

Erika persistently continued the conversation despite Jacqueline’s reluctant tone.

There was one reason why the two of them had come to the western continent together.

To investigate the recent war between the Laurellai Kingdom and the Flora Kingdom.

To be more precise, rather than investigating the war itself, they were seeking clues about the black magic that had caused it.

The war between Laurellai and Flora was progressing much faster than expected.

The two countries, traditional rivals in the west, had similar national power.

Their military strength was also similar, so whenever territorial disputes or battles occurred, the fight between the two countries would be prolonged.

But this time was different.

Starting from the first battle, the Flora Kingdom had been winning consecutively.

And everyone in the world now knew that black magic was at the center of it.

The Flora Kingdom was making excellent use of creatures created with black magic.

These were completely different from undead.

At least there was accumulated data on undead throughout the Arcaria Continent, but not for these creatures.

So far, the Flora Kingdom had used three types of black magic creatures in the war.

The division-type creature known as the “Black Sheep.”

The bird-shaped flying creature called the “Crow.”

And the massive golem-type creature surrounded by black mana called the “Black Golem.”

Upon hearing that the Flora Kingdom was openly using black magic, countries around the world had been sending reinforcements to the Laurellai Kingdom, but it was still not enough.

The Laurellai Kingdom was struggling against the merciless destructive power of these creatures about which they had no information.

After just three battles, the Laurellai Kingdom had suffered near-annihilation and had retreated along the entire front line.

“It’s chaotic here.”

“Well, there’s a war going on next door, right? And black magic is at the center of it.”

Erika and Jacqueline sat in a restaurant overlooking the sea and ordered food.

The restaurant was bustling and chaotic, as Jacqueline had said.

There wouldn’t be any tourists coming to the west at this time, so almost everyone in the restaurant was a local.

Even without trying to eavesdrop, they could tell how anxious everyone was just from the conversations they overheard.

The Flora Kingdom is advancing further.

Conscription for the war will soon begin in our country too.

The allied forces sent from various countries were attacked by the Flora Kingdom while en route, and so on.

“We should head to the Flora Kingdom then.”

“Right?”

“But why did we come here first?”

Erika flinched at Jacqueline’s sharp question.

The usual Jacqueline wouldn’t have even thought to ask such a thing.

‘She’s sharp today.’

“Because our informant is here. It’s better to go with some information rather than blindly rushing in, right?”

“I see.”

‘Phew.’

Erika breathed a sigh of relief as Jacqueline’s gaze returned to her teacup.

Of course, it was true that they had stopped here to gather as much information as possible, as Erika had said.

But that wasn’t the only purpose.

When thinking of the western continent, the first thing that came to mind was the vast ocean.

Before starting their official mission, Erika wanted to enjoy a brief moment of leisure in this city, looking at the sea.

She had been working too hard lately because of the Academy incident.

She hadn’t expected Jacqueline, who usually seemed dull to the point of appearing stupid, to ask “why did we come here?”

Just as Erika thought she had handled it well, the food arrived.

Seafood dishes near the ocean.

Perfect.

“Mmm. This looks so delicious.”

“Enjoy your meal.”

Erika salivated at the sight of the appetizingly prepared shrimp and crab.

When you’re on a business trip, you should at least enjoy the local flavors, right?

“Have you heard the news, my friend?”

“What news? There’s been so much lately.”

“They say undead have appeared in the Crescen Empire too!”

“Ah, that’s old news.”

Familiar words reached Erika’s ears from the two elderly men conversing at the table behind them.

Undead and the Crescen Empire.

‘Ugh, just thinking about that makes me annoyed.’

The sight of Yuria freezing thousands of undead with a single spell.

It was a scene that made Erika feel the difference in talent after a long time.

“Haha, you’re the slow one! They say more undead have appeared! And this time it’s a flying horse undead!”

“Is there such a thing in this world?”

‘Hmm?’

Erika tilted her head and focused more on the conversation between the two elderly men behind her.

“Absolutely! There’s even clear video evidence! And listen to this.”

“What?”

“They say that undead came from the Crescen Academy!”

‘What?’

As Erika listened more, something began to dawn on her.

A flying horse undead.

Crescen Academy.

“Wasn’t the previous incident also at the Academy?!”

“That’s right! But this time, someone prevented the incident before it happened…”

“The Academy professors?”

“No, no. This is the surprising part. They say the Black Shadow Corps protected the Academy! And the commander himself took action.”

“Keck, cough-!”

Erika spat out the shrimp she was chewing at the completely unexpected words.

“Ah.”

The shrimp that flew out of Erika’s mouth stuck right onto Jacqueline’s cheek.