chapter 85
85 – Trap
Jerbuck. That buck pop.
The man’s feet stopped abruptly as he moved toward the imperial mansion where the lights were off.
“Pause for a moment.”
As soon as the man raised his hand, those who followed him immediately stopped.
“The place we are going to now is the imperial residence. Just because the lights are off, the guards won’t be serious, so be careful.”
At the man’s words, those behind him silently nodded.
“And if possible, don’t kill anyone. Turning the imperial family into an enemy will disrupt all our plans. Did you understand?”
“Okay.”
The place they are currently heading to is the mansion of the imperial family.
It was a dangerous place where, if you made a single mistake, everyone present here could die instantly.
Perhaps the only place comparable to the imperial guard is the Grace Shrine.
‘No, the mansion of the marquess would not be easy.’
For a moment, he thought of the Grace Temple and a mansion of a marquis who did not bow down to the imperial family.
There are only one archmage on the continent and two sword experts, one of only a handful in the imperial family.
I don’t know how such talented people can be among ordinary marquises.
The man, lost in thought for a moment, shook his thoughts and began to move his feet.
“Sure. Depart.”
As the man moved at a rapid pace again, the others also quickly followed him.
The speed was unbelievably fast for a wizard, and even at dawn without a sound, not even the slightest sound of footsteps could be heard in their movements.
As they moved at high speed through the wind, they began to see the imperial mansion in their eyes.
I hadn’t arrived yet, but I could feel the size of the largest imperial mansion I’d ever seen, even though it was far away.
“Stop.”
And those who arrived right in front of the mansion stopped for a moment before storming into it.
The man looked at the guards standing at the front gate to see if he could see well even in the dark.
“The number is four. They seem to be careless, but they are the imperial guards. Spare no magic and deal with it quickly.”
“Yes.”
As soon as the man finished speaking, the people behind him rushed toward the guards at high speed.
The four of them jumped towards the guards, probably intending to deal with them one by one, and reached right in front of them.
“Who, who are you!”
“Reveal your identity!”
The yawning guards standing guard at night drew their swords as soon as they noticed the men speeding towards them.
“How dare you come in knowing where this place is.”
There is no mercy for those who trespass into the imperial residence without permission.
They were just guards at the main gate because they couldn’t become knights, but their skills were superior to those of ordinary knights.
He swung his sword at their necks without hesitation at those who wore black robes to protect his mission.
Suwoong.
However, the confident guard’s sword cut through the intruder’s throat, not the intruder’s neck.
“What, what… ….”
The guard looked at the one who dodged his attack with a look of disbelief.
Obviously seeing the black magic rising from his hand, he judged it to be a wizard and immediately thrust out his sword.
However, he had no choice but to panic as he lightly avoided his attacks with quick movements uncharacteristic of a wizard.
“Die!”
The man twisted the sword that had cut through the air and swung it fiercely at the intruder’s shoulder.
“Cool!”
Then, dark red blood spurted out of his mouth along with painful screams.
The sword in my hand started to tremble and then clang. Falls to the floor
Before the guard fell helplessly to the ground, he saw a guy using mysterious magical powers behind him and his comrades lying around him.
Puffed up.
After defeating the guards in a short time, other parties appeared immediately behind them.
Looking at the fallen guards, the man opened his mouth.
“I wouldn’t have killed him.”
“I only fainted lightly. You won’t be able to wake up for three days or so.”
Are his answers satisfactory?
The man nodded and moved his feet past his mansion’s garden to his front door.
Tak.
And then the man who stopped his feet for a moment didn’t open the door, but put his hand on the wall and raised his mana.
Anyone seeing it for the first time could not understand what the man was doing, but his group knew what it meant.
Has it been enough time to empty a cup of tea?
The man opened his closed eyes and pulled the doorknob without hesitation.
“The location of the basement was identified. Please follow me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the man quickly moved his body into the mansion.
Then, his party moved quickly after him.
As befits an imperial residence, the corridor they were running through was very wide. It felt like I was just sprinting through a market of just the right size.
And since it was a spacious mansion, there were also many people who stood guard even late in the morning.
“There are two people ahead. To deal with it.”
“Yes!”
At the words of the man, two of those who followed him immediately sped up and rushed towards the guards.
“What kind of guy is that!”
“It’s an intruder!”
A guard who quickly grasped the situation draws his sword. Then he lowered his stance and drew an arc towards the intruder who was lunging at him.
However, those wearing black robes did not slow down as if they were afraid of swords.
No, rather, I increased my speed and got into the guard’s arms before the blade touched my body, and struck the guard’s stomach with a hand that was emanating black magic.
“Keah!”
With a single blow, the guard collapsed from his seat as if he were sleeping, and the other guard next to him also fell unconscious.
“Keep the fallen guys out of sight.”
Leaving them in the corner where the light doesn’t come in quickly at the man’s words, those who left them immediately moved behind the man.
“Who are you!”
“Reveal your identity!”
After that, they encountered several guards, but their skills were not enough to stop the men and those wearing black robes.
While running for such a long time, the man’s feet came to a sudden stop.
It looked like a restaurant, judging from the many large tables and chairs.
Even in the situation where he had to quickly deal with the imprisoned elf and get out of his mansion, the man looked around with calm eyes.
And soon, the man whose gaze stopped at the plain wall across from him slowly moved his feet there.
Arriving at the blocked wall, the man put his magic-powered hand against the wall.
Then the door that had been hidden by magic began to appear, and the stairs leading down to the basement caught my eye.
And the fragrant smell of the elf wafting in the air tickled the man’s nose.
‘I’m sure the elves are down here.’
The scent of the elf he felt after kidnapping it dozens of times convinced the man that there was an elf down here.
But.
“That’s strange.”
“Why is that?”
“It seems that the imperial family’s guards are weaker than expected.”
Even when the elves raided the habitat, the security was not so lax. On the contrary, even when they broke into the mansion of a nobleman of a lower rank than the imperial family, the party was never unscathed.
The intuition of a man who had survived many deaths was shouting that he should not go down underground.
But he has already invaded this far and can’t go back.
The man, lost in thought for a moment, slowly opened his eyes.
And then he opened his mouth to his companions.
“Don’t be vigilant until the very end. I will go underground.”
“Yes.”
You cannot refill spilled water.
Quickly kidnap the elf and get out of the mansion before the other guards catch you.
The man’s eyes became more serious than ever.
Then he began to descend without hesitation through the blinding basement.
‘The basement is much deeper than I thought.’
It’s so dark that you can’t see the floor, and you can’t see the end of the stairs.
I wonder if all of this is a trap in the man’s head at the moment. I thought.
But.
The man couldn’t stop his feet because of the elf’s smell that got thicker as he went down.
Took.
Finally, the endless stairs came to an end and a flat floor appeared. And in the dark underground, I saw a small light.
And there, the man’s ears heard the sound of a small person’s breathing.
The man looked at his companions in silence.
Nodding.
The man said nothing, but his companions nodded as if they understood.
After checking the reaction of his party, the man turned his head again and moved his feet more carefully than before to see the light.
After a while, in a place where there was a small light on the ceiling, the man confirmed that two elves were sleeping in chains.
‘There are fewer of them than I thought.’
I heard from the man at the bar that there were quite a few elves imprisoned, but the number was smaller than I thought.
Still, the elves are gradually disappearing, and even the two elves were precious to them, who had only a few days left to break the seal.
The man slowly walked towards the sleeping elf.
He then stretched out his hand toward the shackles that held them together, and black magic bloomed over his hand.
Dude. Pop.
Then the hard steel, which seemed to never break, began to melt rapidly.
After confirming that the shackles were melting, the man began to loosen the shackles that were holding the elf at high speed.
Tuduk. Pop.
And the man who dismantled all the shackles turned his head.
“Take care of the elves.”
“Yes.”
At the man’s words, the party behind him moved their feet quickly.
And the man also turned his head towards the elf to get the elf and get out of the mansion right away.
“…… !”
However, the man who tried to take care of the elf froze in an instant.
It was because the elf, who had closed his eyes as if he were dead, was looking at him with fully open eyes.
But the fact that the elf was awake wasn’t the only reason he was surprised.
He has dealt with elves dozens of times.
However, no one has ever looked at him with low, cold eyes in such a situation.
‘This guy is dangerous!’
The man quickly raised his black magic power to stun the elf.
But rather than casting his magic, a cold voice resounded from the mouth of the elf whose shackles had all been released.
“Kneel.”
At his word, the imperial mansion shook slightly.