Yuri, Laurent, and Jared found a suitable spot and built a sturdy shelter.
“This should do.”
The three of them crawled inside. It was cramped, but there was no other choice.
Yuri sealed the entrance with branches and natural materials from around them.
“Listen carefully from now on.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to teach you a secret technique.”
Yuri planned to pass on the Eastern martial art he had learned from Moyongchan to the other two.
“It’s a secret skill that makes a living person appear like a corpse—slowing the heartbeat, lowering body temperature, and eliminating any sign of life so you can hide without being detected.”
“Is there really such a martial art?”
“There is. It’s called the Turtle Breath Technique.”
“Wow…”
It wasn’t too difficult, so Laurent and Jared quickly caught on.
“When you use the Turtle Breath Technique, you lose consciousness, but your presence disappears, and you can control how long you stay asleep.”
Yuri placed his hands on their chests.
Following his lead, Laurent and Jared manipulated their mana. Their metabolism gradually slowed, just as the technique required.
Yuri controlled their timing.
The effect was immediate.
“I’m sleepy.”
“Go ahead and sleep.”
“Sweet dreams.”
“Yeah.”
And so, Laurent and Jared slipped into the Turtle Breath Technique.
Yuri lay down beside them.
Occasionally, imperial knights patrolled outside, but the three in their suspended state were unaware of anything happening around them—and the knights couldn’t detect their life signs.
Time passed.
When night fell, Yuri opened his eyes.
“…”
Alone, he scanned the surroundings but sensed nothing.
The imperial knights had already moved on.
Closing his eyes briefly to steady himself, Yuri slowly emerged from the shelter.
The moon shone brightly overhead.
Looking up the mountain, he saw flickering lights moving here and there.
The encirclement had passed.
“Lucky.”
He muttered under his breath and took a deep breath.
The cold night air washed through his lungs.
“Phew…”
He lifted Guilty.
The sword’s black blade, bathed in moonlight, shimmered softly.
“Thanks again.”
Quietly, Yuri closed his eyes and used his Soul Cleansing Slash to restore himself.
His body, which had been asleep under the Turtle Breath Technique, awakened, and the mana flow, tangled by his mind, returned to normal.
Even the fine hairs on his skin seemed alive.
He could almost grasp the subtle currents of air passing over him.
He expanded his senses further.
He could faintly sense the enemies’ status. The imperial knights were forming a siege line toward the mountain summit.
Unaware of the legendary Turtle Breath Technique, they hadn’t realized they’d already passed their target.
There were two options.
Either lose them and descend the mountain.
Or bite them in the neck.
Yuri drew his sword. The Soul Cleansing Slash swirled inside him as if it had a will of its own—intense and fierce.
He paused, lost in thought.
The ogres had attacked Liberta, and Sibylla, now queen, had struck Bursen.
Unexpected events had unfolded one after another, rendering his preparations useless. Briol was left to face the empire alone.
Memories from his past life overlapped.
The burning royal palace, the merciless deaths of countless people.
The empire’s black army slaughtered like emotionless robots.
If he didn’t stop them now, the same tragedy would repeat.
Killing the imperial soldiers was, in essence, saving the lives of the people of Briol.
Having made his decision, Yuri began moving under cover of darkness.
He felt sorry for Laurent and Jared, but they would wake when the sun rose.
Until then, it was his time alone.
He approached the nearest enemy.
A faint conversation drifted through the night.
“Why are they so obsessed over just three people?”
“How many have already died?”
“They must have let their guard down.”
“Do you think a moment’s carelessness could wipe out several squads?”
“So you’re saying that’s all skill? That Briol has fighters like that?”
“There’s no noble in Briol who can’t wield a sword. Maybe there’s a skilled one we don’t know about.”
“Briol, huh…”
They were knights guarding the rear of the encirclement. As usual, four of them sat among the bushes, chewing on jerky and chatting.
Yuri admired the empire’s system.
If there had been only one or two, he could have silently killed and passed through easily. But with four together, he wasn’t confident he could assassinate them without causing a commotion.
Especially on such a quiet night, it was even harder.
Yuri hid in the bushes and waited.
His eyes, sharpened by the Soul Cleansing Slash, could clearly see the enemies’ forms in the darkness, even with only faint moonlight.
A hunter needs patience.
Soon, an opportunity came.
“Where are you going?”
“Going to relieve myself.”
“Don’t go far.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Don’t go uphill. Fight down here.”
“Got it.”
One of them got up.
Humming a tune, he moved away from the others.
Yuri was puzzled by how long he took.
“Damn, my pee isn’t coming out well lately…”
It turned out the knight had a urinary problem. Embarrassed, he had come down farther than usual.
“Ugh…”
The sound of liquid dripping came intermittently.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Because the sound kept stopping and starting, Yuri had to move slowly in sync with it.
A sigh filled with worry drifted through the air.
“Phew…”
Yuri crept up behind the knight.
“Pathetic…”
That was the man’s last word.
Yuri cut his throat.
Swish.
The mana-infused blade sliced smoothly through flesh and bone.
Thud.
Blood spilled onto the ground from the severed wound.
“Too bad. Hope you get it done properly next time.”
Yuri picked up the knight’s helmet and put it on. Since he had looted enemy armor earlier that day, there was no need to take their clothes.
He stood silently by the corpse.
Time to exercise patience again.
“…”
Just as he expected, things unfolded.
A companion came down looking for the fallen knight.
“Hey, Jack. Still fighting?”
“Hey, your condition still bad? I told you to see the medic I recommended. He’s really good. Don’t be so embarrassed.”
Yuri heard the voice from behind him, keeping his distance.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? We’ve been through thick and thin since our hometown. Remember? You were so eager to become a knight back then. Compared to that, a little trouble peeing isn’t shameful, right?”
“…”
“Hey, hey. You’re not crying, are you?”
The knight approached.
They seemed close friends.
They probably had many stories between them.
Yuri couldn’t say his life had been any harder than theirs.
But a hunter doesn’t discriminate the innocence of its prey.
“Jack. You bastard…”
Yuri spun around and slashed.
With the same smile still on his face, the knight’s head and neck separated.
The two friends who had come up from their hometown to become imperial knights lay side by side, their heads severed like luggage on the ground.
Yuri kicked their scattered heads together.
He moved carefully.
He had to finish this before the others noticed.
The remaining two knights were chatting among themselves.
One had taken off his helmet; the other still wore his properly.
“Hey. Isn’t that uncomfortable? You can take it off.”
“No.”
“It’s fine. This is the time to rest. You won’t get another chance unless the captain’s away.”
“…”
“Not taking it off?”
“Well…”
“Take it off.”
“Yes, I will.”
Yuri chuckled.
He drew a bow from his back and pulled the string.
“Look, the knights are just people too. No need to be so stiff. Back in our day, the seniors used to give us a hard time, but nowadays, it’s different. Just do your job well, got it?”
He aimed at the senior knight who was still talking.
It seemed better to deal with the less experienced one afterward.
The senior knight, half-lying down, spoke.
“Our captain? He’s a tough one. Once he bites, he doesn’t let go. That’s why we’re suffering now. Make sure you show your best. If you mess up, he’ll give you hell, but if you do well, he treats you right. He’s got a strong personality, you could say…”
“Understood.”
“And, um…”
Yuri released the bowstring.
At the same moment, he sprang forward.
So fast that the knight’s throat was pierced just as Yuri plunged his sword into the junior knight.
“Ugh…”
“Ahhh…”
One collapsed, frothing at the mouth; the other trembled, offering his neck to Yuri.
Yuri pressed the blade closer.
Blood dripped from his throat.
“Make a sound and you’re dead.”
“Y-Yes…”
A trembling voice. The will to live was clear.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“Uh…”
His eyes flickered.
“Why? You think you’ll die anyway if you talk?”
“…”
“Either die now or get a chance to run.”
“Ugh…”
“I don’t want to kill you either.”
Yuri withdrew his sword. The knight’s eyes widened.
“Where is Elpeso? What did the main force report? What orders have been given? Just those three things. Then you can live.”
As he spoke, Yuri drove Guilty into the senior knight’s convulsing head.
The skull shattered, and he died instantly.
Seeing that, the junior knight spoke up.
“I-I’ll tell you.”
Though the information wasn’t detailed, Yuri could roughly grasp the situation.
He had gathered enough intelligence.
Yuri nodded.
“Put your hands behind your head and lie face down. When I leave, run down the mountain. Got it?”
“Yes.”
He obediently lay face down on the ground, hands neatly clasped behind his back.
Yuri’s blade plunged into the back of his head.
The junior knight probably didn’t even realize he was dead.
It was the greatest mercy Yuri could offer.
His eyes glazed over into darkness once more.
There was no way such a lucky streak—four falling one after another—would happen again.
Now that the decision to fight had been made, they had to accept the risk of revealing their positions.
Fortunately, thanks to the recently fallen junior knight, Yuri was able to roughly gauge the enemy’s formation.
She began moving laterally.
Starting from the rear, she planned to take them out methodically.
A faint sound echoed through the dark forest.
Knight Light of the 9th Order, who was keeping watch uphill, turned around.
Though faint, it was unmistakably a scream.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“Hear what?”
“Sounds like a scream…”
“Probably just caught some rat from Briole trying to run off.”
But the other three knights showed little interest.
Being the least experienced among them, Light simply nodded.
Their squad of four mixed senior and junior knights, but in the Empire, the hierarchy between seniors and juniors was strict.
Stepping out of line would only earn a reprimand from a senior.
So Light decided to stay quiet.
“Don’t cause trouble.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Still, is it worth all this fuss just to catch a few rats…”
He wanted to remind them that those ‘rats’ had killed their comrades and fled, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud.
“They’re just some country bumpkins from Briole.”
Perhaps because of the Empire’s prestige, senior knights tended to underestimate their enemies.
But Light, having grown up hearing legendary tales of Fiore Briole, never took Briole lightly.
Wasn’t the champion of the last tournament a knight from Briole?
This was bound to be a tough fight.
Suddenly, Light turned his head.
The sound came again.
“That just now…”
This time, he wasn’t the only one who heard it. Another senior knight also looked in the same direction.
“Could something be happening?”
“No way.”
The other two knights shook their heads.
“That’s the rear.”
“Yes.”
“The rats ran uphill. That’s why we surrounded the mountain. No escape routes.”
“I see.”
“Maybe those guys at the back got spooked by some wild animals.”
Light felt a growing unease.
Something was definitely going on, yet these two senior knights showed no sign of alertness.
Even the one who seemed somewhat reasonable just scratched the back of his head.
Light stood up.
“I’m going to check it out.”
“What?”
“Just in case.”
“Hmm…”
One of the seniors behind him chuckled.
“Well, if you’re scared, go ahead. False alarms are experience too.”
“Yeah, go on.”
“Be quick about it.”
Permission granted.
“I’ll just look around nearby.”
Normally, all four were supposed to move together, but the seniors Light was with weren’t exactly sticklers for discipline.
He set off alone to scout the area.
In the darkness, it felt like something could jump out at any moment.
Though the moon was bright, the thick canopy let only faint light through.
After surveying the surroundings, Light decided to return. There was no sign of anything unusual. Maybe the seniors were right—he was just worrying over nothing.
“Phew…”
Light headed back to his original position.
But then—
“…”
Something was wrong.
The three senior knights lay sprawled on the ground.
As Light opened his mouth—
“Shh.”
A low voice whispered in his ear.
His body froze.
“Quiet.”
The cold steel of a blade pressed against his throat.
“If you want to live, do exactly as I say.”
It was the enemy.