Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Annihilation
Scrape!
One of the two guards standing watch had his neck severed. He died without ever realizing when or how it happened.
The guard right next to him was just as oblivious.
Only after blood sprayed and his comrade’s head fell to the ground did he realize there was an intruder.
‘No, this isn’t right.’
The ones Karon had encountered before were never this weak.
Each had an overwhelming killing intent and an aura powerful enough to easily sweep away mercenary groups in the pitch-black night.
The guard widened his eyes and brought his hand to his mouth, preparing to whistle.
It was a brief moment, but Karon pondered. Should he kill them before they alerted others or wait until later?
If he killed them now, it would be a hassle to hunt down each one as they slept. However, if he waited, the risks would only increase.
Piiing—
But at that moment, a whistle sounded from an unexpected direction.
“Intruder!”
A shout echoed from the opposite side. It seemed Shong had been discovered.
Or maybe he had pretended to be caught on purpose.
Pee—
The instant the guard whistled, Karon swiftly sliced through his wrist and neck in one motion.
“Over there!”
A commotion was growing louder from the opposite side of the campsite.
This was actually good.
If he could draw attention from the other side, he wouldn’t have to hunt down each sleeping guard individually.
He could simply take out the ones that emerged from the back.
Having dealt with the two guards, Karon quickly slipped into the rear of the campsite.
In the tightly clustered tents, he saw the intruders hastily coming out, armed. They were still somewhat prepared.
“Uh? Who are you?”
Chwaack!
Karon approached like a ghost, swinging his sword diagonally without hesitation. Before the man could even draw his weapon, a red line appeared across his face.
Karon didn’t stop there; he turned his sword backward and plunged it deep into the tent.
Thud!
Chwaack—
“Gah….”
As he pulled out his sword, blood gushed out, soaking the tent, and one man collapsed outside.
In the blink of an eye, Karon had dispatched two and swiftly darted toward another tent.
Karon moved with uncanny stealth.
Blood began to fountain from various tents.
***
While his subordinates were falling one after another, their leader, Kaldon, was completely flustered.
Having been deep in sleep, he hurriedly donned his clothes and grabbed his axe the moment he heard the whistle followed by the shout of “Intruder!”
His muscular frame was clearly visible.
Upon stepping outside, he saw his men searching the woods with torches, but there was no sign of the intruder.
‘Something feels off.’
There had definitely been an intruder. His shadow had clearly been illuminated by the torch, and he had heard footsteps rustling in the bushes.
Yet, the intruder was nowhere to be found.
Nor was it one of the Krugers living in the forest. If it had been a Kruger, they would have appeared in a group by now.
“Could it be…”
Suddenly realizing something, he quickly returned to his tent.
It was about twice the size of the surrounding tents and contained precious treasures.
Flap!
“Hmm?”
Upon entering, he found a stranger in a faded cloak standing blankly, holding a small, worn-out jewelry box.
The intruder, with black hair in a ponytail, looked disgruntled as if waiting, and extended the empty jewelry box while speaking.
“Where’s the orb that was here?”
“What, what?”
Kaldon stared at the intruder in disbelief.
He then glanced at the treasures piled beside the tent. He hadn’t touched them at all.
The young man, appearing to be in his early twenties, had picked the most important item—the jewelry box containing the orb—out of all those treasures.
That meant he was no ordinary person.
‘Could he be an orb user? No, that can’t be.’
If he were an orb user, he wouldn’t have made such a commotion sneaking in.
That meant someone else must be backing him.
“I’ll ask one last time. Where’s the orb that was here?”
“Hmph. Whoever you are, it seems you’ve gathered all the information already. But what now? The orb’s owner has already left.”
As Kaldon spoke with a grim expression, the intruder immediately shot back, as if he had anticipated this.
“Where did he go?”
At that moment, Kaldon’s pupils slightly shook, and his face hardened.
The intruder, not missing Kaldon’s expression, threw the jewelry box aside and began to lament, touching his forehead.
“Ah! Damn it! Why did I miss this? I mean, lowly fellows like this wouldn’t use the orb. I didn’t consider the possibility of another outsider.”
Then he suddenly started to pace, continuing to mutter to himself. His demeanor was quite carefree.
“No, we could just go together. Such a hasty personality. Ah! Did you know someone was coming…?”
Kaldon, whose face had turned to one of disbelief at the intruder’s complete disregard for him, felt a vein pop on his forehead.
Irritation was gradually rising as he gripped his axe more firmly, ready to strike at any moment.
But first, he needed to find out where the other was sent from.
“Who are you… What’s your identity? Who sent you?”
“Hmm, hmm! That’s not what’s important right now.”
The intruder snorted, shaking his head. Then, with a meaningful smile, he raised his index finger.
“We need to think about how you can survive.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?!”
Kaldon’s voice rose. As his hand with the axe began to lift, the intruder decided to share the facts without provoking him further.
It seemed that the situation outside had already come to an end.
“I’ll stay quiet, so if you’re curious, call your subordinates. If they’re alive, they should come in,” the intruder said.
“What the… you crazy bastard!”
Kaldon’s eyebrows twitched. He wanted to take off the intruder’s head right now, but he held back.
Despite having raised his voice, the eerie silence outside troubled him.
By now, his subordinates should have come in, wondering what was happening.
“Hey! Is anyone outside? Is anyone out there?!”
Even with his shout, there was still silence outside, as if no one was there at all.
“What’s going on? Why is no one answering? Is there no response?!”
Unease crept up Kaldon as he swallowed hard. Glancing at the entrance of the tent, he pointed his axe at the intruder and said, “You bastard, just wait there.”
He then glanced between the intruder and the tent, lifting the entrance slightly. What he saw outside left him utterly dumbfounded.
The dawn was slowly brightening.
His subordinates, who had been searching for the intruder, were already lying dead, scattered here and there, while torches lay abandoned on the ground.
The expressions on the corpses were all one of shock, suggesting they had died without even making a sound.
And in the middle of it all stood a boy, drenched in blood, holding one of the dead subordinate’s severed head.
To prevent him from screaming.
Thud!
The boy dropped the body and slowly approached. Each time he passed a fallen torch, an eerie killing intent seemed to emanate from him.
“You, who are you?! What are you?!!”
Kaldon instinctively stepped back, desperately trying to hide his fear as he shouted. But the boy continued to walk forward, his face still impassive.
“Ahhhh! Die!”
Unable to withstand the pressure of the killing intent, Kaldon finally lunged at the boy, gripping his axe tightly.
The boy, still unmoving, effortlessly pivoted as the axe came crashing down toward his head, raising his sword vertically to block it.
Scrape!
With the sound of bone being severed, Kaldon’s arm holding the axe flew into the air.
“Ughhhh!”
Blood gushed from his shoulder where his arm had been severed. In pain, Kaldon screamed, using his other hand to try and staunch the bleeding.
As his strength drained away, he naturally fell to his knees and looked up at the boy, who had now approached close enough for him to see clearly.
But the boy was gone. Only a demon in the form of a boy stood before him.
The eyes looking down at him held no emotion whatsoever. They were eyes that a human could never possess.
“What you’re looking for isn’t here… it’s not here. Please, please spare me. It’s not here… please, spare me…”
Kaldon’s face turned pale as he repeated the same words in a state of panic. Karon leaned forward, murmuring softly.
“Black cloak. Blue hair. Red orb.”
Then, as if a lie, he released a killing intent.
“Ah…”
Finally coming to his senses, Kaldon began to spill everything he knew in a disorganized manner.
“I know! I know who they are! They’re a band of thieves known as the Blue Raven Gang! The man with blue hair is their leader. They’re ruthless, willing to go to any lengths to obtain the devil’s orb! One member of the Blue Raven Gang was traveling with us, and the Desert King killed him! He was incredible.”
“……”
“But just yesterday, he left for Bela. We had no choice but to sell the loot and slaves… right! They said there was an organization we needed to meet in Bela! I swear! I’m not part of their group. I just pretended to be part of the Blue Raven Gang because one of their members told me to… I really didn’t do anything…”
Swish!
A blue beam of light left an afterimage in the air.
Thud!
Kaldon’s head dropped onto his knees before rolling away.
Having finished his business, Karon tossed his sword to the ground. He then took off his outer garment and wiped his bloodied face and hands before discarding it.
“Blue Raven Gang…”
It seemed one of them had lured a rather insignificant band of thieves into trying to steal the orb from the Desert King.
Of course, they would have promised the thieves a share of the loot and slaves.
The thieves, having nothing to lose, probably accepted it without hesitation. But they were unaware.
That there were those who were desperate to capture the Blue Raven Gang.
In the end, they had become bait for their own trap.
Karon slowly looked around.
Shong hadn’t reappeared since they parted earlier, but he didn’t mind.
The thieves were all dead, and the slaves loaded onto the escort wagon were slowly waking up, looking at Karon with curious eyes.
Despite so many deaths, the atmosphere was so calm that some of the slaves hadn’t even woken up yet.
However, Karon wasn’t looking at the captured slaves. His gaze was further away.
‘Strong and numerous.’
In fact, Karon had sensed the presence of energies surrounding him even before he ambushed the thieves’ campsite.
It felt as if they were surrounding the thieves, but Karon wasn’t overly concerned.
The energy didn’t appear murky, and he judged that if he put his mind to it, he could escape easily.
Now, they were slowly tightening their encirclement and drawing closer.
Among them, the most formidable energy approaching was beyond imagination. Karon silently waited for them to appear.
He was curious, and running away would only raise more suspicion.
Karon felt more righteous than anyone else.
If there was a fault, it was that he hadn’t shown mercy.
If killing thieves was a crime, that was all it was.
At that moment, he spotted a black horse approaching confidently from straight ahead.
A middle-aged man, wearing glossy gray armor and mounted on a horse, had ash-gray hair and eyes that matched his armor.
He possessed a rather gentle appearance, yet the energy emanating from him was quite sharp.
“Karon!”
And in front of him was Shong, awkwardly smiling and waving his hand.
Karon already knew.
That he would be captured again.
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