Seven horses thundered southwest, breaking free from Gatensha’s borders.
At the front, Jared and Laurent rode alongside Yuri, guiding their mounts. A little behind, Jose led Simon and Guineas.
Cory, now adept at riding even the large horses, alternated between sitting and standing in the saddle, working to strengthen his thigh muscles.
“They did give us good horses, after all.”
“Seems they still have some conscience left.”
After Yuri’s duel with Zair in Gatensha, where he had turned his back with style, he belatedly threatened Zair to hand over the horses. Surprisingly, Zair complied without much fuss.
When Yuri offered to pay, Zair even gave a half-price discount.
From behind, Jose’s voice broke through.
“Did everyone see how the prince handled that?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s all become knights as fine as the prince. Ha ha ha ha!”
“Yes!”
Watching Jose manage Simon and Guineas, it was clear he was no longer just a Bursen man—he’d become a true Briol knight.
Yuri called out to him.
“Jose.”
“Yes!”
“Once we deal with Gert, we’ll stop by Bursen.”
“Sounds good!”
Bursen lay right next to Adelbine.
In his past life, Jose had fought Gert because the two countries shared a border.
Thanks to Jose killing Gert, Bursen was able to expand its territory into what was once old Adelbine.
“Finally, I get to experience the full Bursen course everyone’s been talking about.”
“J-just trust me and come along!”
Even Jose, who rarely used the Bursen dialect, couldn’t help but puff out his chest and change his tone when mentioning the full course. The pride of a true Bursen native shone through.
“Ohhh…”
“Indeed, Bursen…”
Simon and Guineas, inspired by Jose, already had eager looks in their eyes.
Yuri added a word to temper their excitement.
“That is, of course, if we all come back alive. Our opponent is Gert, one of the Ten Strong. A monster who’s lost all humanity. Are you confident we’ll all return safely?”
The mood dropped.
Wherever Yuri went, victory followed. Nothing ever went wrong.
So they had forgotten for a moment.
Yuri Briol was not invincible—he was just a young knight barely of age.
And a far greater monster lurked in Adelbine.
Jose burst out laughing.
“As expected of the prince. Simon, Guineas, you’d better be on your toes, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hmm…”
“But still, nothing too serious should happen.”
Jose patted his chest.
“I, Jose Aratur, will help the prince of Briol completely defeat Gert.”
“Ohhh…”
“Having settled right next to Bursen, it’s been a constant nuisance. Now, we’ll kill this troublesome enemy and strengthen the friendship between our two countries. And beyond that…”
Jose smiled.
“Maybe we can set something right.”
Though he seemed simple at first glance, Jose was anything but.
He suspected Yuri was searching for something. And that quest was tied to the horrific form of Okua seen on the plains, and the series of events that had unfolded in the empire.
The third prince of Briol was hunting a far greater foe.
As a knight who carried the sea of Bursen in his heart, Jose could not help but join this honorable journey.
“Thanks for trusting me and following along.”
“Not at all. I’ve been through enough with the prince to know you’re someone worth following.”
“Now that it’s come to this, shall we make a name for ourselves in Briol?”
“Sorry, but a Bursen man doesn’t know the meaning of betrayal.”
“It’s not betrayal—it’s strategic defection.”
“Ha ha ha ha…”
The six were excellent knights, and Cory was a magician trained by Hernando. Not yet exceptional, but skilled enough to control his own body.
Riding swiftly, Yuri’s group crossed the border in no time.
They left the empire behind, passing through small villages scattered along the edges of various countries.
Before long, their destination drew near.
“We’ll stop there.”
“Yes.”
They reached the last village before entering Adelbine.
Sordelbine—a place named after the old capital of Adelbine.
Founded by refugees from Adelbine, the village’s name was a tribute to their lost homeland.
Though now part of a small country called Chrono, its ties were loose, making it more like an independent city-state.
As a quiet rural village with few visitors, the townsfolk’s eyes followed Yuri’s group as they entered.
A vague sense of suspicion hung in the air.
With every movement, the villagers kept staring, making the back of Yuri’s neck tingle.
“Is there somewhere we can stay?”
Jared stepped forward to ask. A villager rolled his eyes before answering.
“There’s a small inn in the center of town.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, you seem to be knights. May I ask what brings you here…?”
Jared glanced at Yuri, who answered instead.
“Just passing through on some business nearby.”
“I see.”
They didn’t mention coming to kill Gert, instead brushing it off vaguely.
“Please rest well. Sordelbine is a peaceful place.”
“Thank you.”
Yuri’s group led their horses to the inn.
It wasn’t large, but had enough rooms for all seven.
There were exactly seven rooms, so Yuri booked one for each of them.
The owner, who seemed to have been hosting guests for some time, struggled with the keys for a while before finally opening a door. Dust billowed out.
He forced a smile and gestured.
“Ha ha, please come in. A little airing out will help. I’ll call the stablemaster to feed and groom your horses—that should ease their fatigue.”
“Thank you. Here’s some extra for you.”
“Oh my, thank you.”
After settling their belongings, Yuri gathered the six in his room.
“This place feels off.”
At his words, Jose and Laurent nodded, while the others looked puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“Did you see how the villagers were on edge?”
“Well, outsiders don’t come often…”
“But we’re obviously knights.”
“Yes.”
“As long as we don’t cause trouble, shouldn’t the villagers welcome knights? Most of them are probably here to hunt Gert.”
“Maybe they’re just worried about us…”
“Hmm, I don’t think so.”
Yuri stood and brushed his fingertips over the table by the window. A layer of white dust clung to it.
“This inn isn’t doing well.”
“Yes.”
“The owner’s wearing fine clothes.”
“Maybe he’s just rich?”
“Look.”
Yuri nodded toward the window. Jared stepped closer and looked out.
“Doesn’t everyone seem relaxed? For a village stuck out in the middle of nowhere?”
He was right.
Though the buildings looked old, the people passing by seemed at ease.
Some rode white-maned horses; occasionally, a carriage rolled past.
Yuri raised his hand, pointing.
“There’s even a red-light district.”
“The stablemaster’s here too.”
“Oh, right.”
“This village is strange. It’s odd they have so much money, and odd that no one really knows about it…”
Jared tilted his head.
“Maybe there’s a gold mine or something.”
“I hope so.”
Yuri said.
“Well, it’s none of our business. We just need to deal with Gert. But…”
His gaze shifted.
There was a man dressed in flashy clothes, strolling with a courtesan. The villagers paid him no mind, as if it were an everyday sight.
“Feels like trouble’s brewing.”
Night fell.
Yuri sat on his bed, writing a letter to Elaine. Since they had joined hands, Elaine had succeeded in every deal and was now working to open a trade route to the East.
From here on, it was beyond Yuri’s knowledge, so Elaine’s sharp business sense was needed to make decisions.
He was in the middle of writing about Moyongchan to introduce him to her.
Suddenly, his pen stopped.
A faint presence stirred outside.
Most wouldn’t have noticed, but Yuri’s keen senses detected a group moving through Sordelbine.
He could have ignored it, but something about it piqued his interest.
Maybe he’d uncover the secret of this suspicious village.
Armed only with his sword, Yuri opened the window and slipped down, melting into the shadows as he followed the sounds.
What he saw was strange.
Several villagers gathered, holding torches and talking among themselves. They carried farming tools.
Then they began walking toward the outskirts of the village.
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
They weren’t heading the way Yuri’s group had come.
They were moving toward Adelbine.
He looked around. Nothing else stirred. Only this group moved through the night in Sordelbine.
He followed quietly.
They crossed the village fence without hesitation, as if this was routine, and headed toward Adelbine.
A small voice whispered.
“Don’t go too far. Just dig nearby today.”
“Why? Today’s a good day.”
“Just a feeling. Outsiders came…”
“Why are those knights making such a fuss here?”
“They’re just passing through.”
“Don’t tell me they came because of that?”
“No way. They looked harmless. Even so, no need to worry.”
The villagers chatted as they naturally entered the old territory of Adelbine.
Yuri was surprised.
Once inside Adelbine, Gert—the Death Knight—would appear and attack the living.
This wasn’t just a rumor—it was an undeniable fact.
It had already been confirmed multiple times by the investigation team.
“Keep quiet. This is the operation now. Don’t say a word.”
The man leading the group said this, then covered his mouth with a cloth. The others followed suit, pulling out their own cloths and wrapping them around their mouths.
They moved silently, muffling their footsteps.
The moon was bright enough that they didn’t need to hold their torches high to see the path ahead.
Yuri quietly followed the restless shadows wandering through the old territory of Adelvain.
The group pressed on until they reached a ruined village.
Every broken house was overgrown with vines, and trees had burst through the roofs, their branches stretching high.
They searched the ground with their torches, as if looking for something.
Yuri expanded her senses, alert for any sign of a presence like Gert approaching.
But there was nothing.
Only ruins.
Then, suddenly, the villagers began moving busily. Yuri hid behind a building and followed them cautiously.
The villagers gathered in the center of the ruins.
They stood around the remains of the dead.
From the way the bones were scattered, it was easy to tell how they had died.
Their spines were snapped in two.
Without a word, they exchanged glances, then covered their ears with cloth. One by one, they quietly began clearing the bones away with the farming tools they had brought.
Then they started digging up the spot where the body had been.
Yuri had no idea what was happening.
They had come to the ruins of Adelvain, where Death Knights could appear at any moment, and now they were covering their ears and mouths, digging up the ground where a corpse lay.
Had everyone gone mad in the dead of night?
Curious, Yuri leaned forward a little more.
Suddenly, the villagers exchanged looks again and stepped back together. The man leading the group stepped forward alone and swung his pickaxe in a wide arc.
That was the moment—
Kyaaaaaaaaah!
A blood-curdling scream shattered the night, rattling Yuri’s mind.
Mana twisted inside her, and she collapsed to the ground.
Her head spun.
Her sense of balance was gone.
Her body wouldn’t obey her. She had to get up, but she couldn’t.
She spat out blood-tinged saliva.
Even in this chaos of senses, she could clearly feel the massive energy approaching from afar.
Without realizing it, she cursed under her breath.
She had to run.
Gert was coming.