The forest scenery vanished in an instant.
The bizarre phenomenon brought everyone to a standstill.
“W-What is this…?”
“What suddenly…?”
Not only Hans and the Gale Mercenary团 [Group] members, but also…
“W-What…?”
…even Roswell, who had been fighting them, stopped moving and stared at the scene before her.
The overwhelming phenomenon of the forest scenery itself being cut away and disappearing.
It contained a certain eeriness that was impossible to explain in words.
“Kkeuaak, kkeueueuk…! You son of a bitch…!!”
Soon, a scream mixed with curses was heard.
Within the scenery that had been cut away and disappeared.
Nathan was gasping for breath.
His whole body was covered in dust, as if he had been rolling on the ground.
His staggering body and the blood spreading around his mouth suggested some internal injuries.
But he didn’t seem to be seriously hurt.
However, it wasn’t to the point where he could be called unscathed.
After all, the power that created this overwhelming scene.
How could he be unscathed in the face of this power?
It was fortunate that it ended at that level.
Perhaps because of that.
Roswell’s gaze naturally turned to one side.
None other than the person who created this scene and made Nathan like that.
Thud.
Soon, someone stepped forward, cutting through the darkness.
A man slowly revealing himself, starting from his legs.
“Sian…?”
It was none other than Sian.
Sian continued to walk.
And he stopped only when he reached Amelia, a woman sitting on the floor and trembling.
Amelia looked up at Sian with trembling eyes.
She seemed unable to understand the situation.
Sian silently checked Amelia’s condition.
She didn’t seem to be seriously hurt.
However, perhaps because of Nathan’s rough handling.
Amelia’s fair cheeks and neck were flushed red.
Her skin was as flushed as Amelia’s long, flowing red hair.
Some parts were bruised purple.
“Are you okay?”
When Sian asked, Amelia finally came to her senses.
And she slowly nodded her head, answering.
“I, I’m… okay…! Grayson is more important…!”
Amelia looked at one corner with worried eyes.
Sian turned his head, following Amelia’s gaze.
There.
There, Grayson was lying bleeding.
To be exact, Grayson was lying still, not showing any movement.
Sian felt his heart drop for a moment.
But thankfully.
“Kkeueueueuk…! Haeueuk…!”
A shallow groan was coming from Grayson.
A faint groan that couldn’t be heard unless one listened carefully was leaking out.
Sian quickened his pace and approached Grayson.
“Kkeueueuk…! Haeueuk…!”
Grayson’s condition, seen up close, was quite serious.
A face that had turned pale white.
Blood was constantly seeping from his long, cut side.
One side of his face was crushed, as if he had been hit by something.
But the thread of life had not yet been severed.
His injuries were severe, but not to the point where they couldn’t be treated.
Sian hurriedly took out healing potions and elixirs from his inventory.
A special medicine made by Ellie, a healer from Ruben, a specialty of Ruben.
And a special potion made by Jerry, a researcher and alchemist from Ruben, made with the blood of the monster Troll.
They couldn’t revive the dead.
But they were the best healing items that could keep them from dying.
Sian used the healing medicine without sparing it.
He also poured potions on Grayson without holding back.
Perhaps because of that.
Grayson’s breathing gradually stabilized.
The blood that was constantly seeping out also subsided.
“I’m, I’m sorry… Lord. Cough…!!”
And Grayson’s words were heard.
Sian was finally able to feel relieved at Grayson’s words.
But it wasn’t time to let his guard down yet.
His condition had improved, but it was only at the level of first aid.
It would have been different if it was Ruben, but this was not the place.
No, even if it was Ruben, he had to receive proper treatment.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself to speak, just rest.”
With those words, Sian slowly got up from his seat.
And he raised his eyes and looked around.
Wigo and Bonita with surprised eyes.
Maxim and Toma, who didn’t understand what was going on.
Even Hans, who had a complex look of relief and worry.
Around them, countless people were sprawled on the floor.
Those who appeared to be soldiers of the Aven family.
Sian could roughly guess the situation.
That’s why Roswell was looking at this side with strange eyes.
Sian could also guess why Roswell was here.
Sian stopped his gaze on Roswell and slowly opened his mouth.
“What are you doing here, sister?”
“That’s what I want to ask you.”
Roswell retorted at Sian’s words.
That’s because Sian shouldn’t be here.
He had to be looking for the ridiculous Soren in the Count’s castle.
Or he had to be caught in the Count’s castle prison.
But Sian was clearly visible before her eyes.
And the overwhelming sight that unfolded.
“This bastard…! Cough…!”
Finally, Nathan’s curse was heard.
Nathan gritted his teeth and got up from his seat.
He roughly spat out the lump of blood that was pushing up to his throat onto the floor.
A body that was in tatters.
But it wasn’t to the point of being fatal.
It was a surprise attack that caught him off guard.
And it was an absurd power.
But Nathan reacted enough.
And he responded enough.
“You son of a bitch…!”
But Nathan couldn’t bear the rising anger.
It wasn’t anger at the cowardly surprise attack.
It was anger at himself, Nathan, who had been overwhelmed.
Nathan felt Sian’s momentum suddenly strike his whole body.
And the moment he felt it was really fleeting.
But Nathan was momentarily overwhelmed.
He didn’t want to admit it, but in that fleeting moment, Nathan felt the emotion of ‘fear’.
That fact, that situation.
“You bastard…!
Nathan was so angry.
Nathan got up and expressed his anger towards Sian.
Roswell quietly stared at Sian with strange eyes.
Sian slowly turned his head, receiving the gazes of the two different people.
As if he didn’t care about the two of them at all.
Sian slowly opened his mouth towards Hans.
“Hans, Grayson is badly hurt. I’ve given him first aid, but… he needs to get treatment.”
And Grayson couldn’t move his body right now.
So someone had to take Grayson.
He could leave it to Amelia, but…
It was impossible to carry the injured Grayson down this rough mountain road.
It wasn’t easy for a woman to carry an injured man on her back.
Above all, he didn’t know what would happen in Amsberk.
Now that Sian had turned the Count’s castle upside down.
The soldiers of the Aven family had to be regarded as enemies.
So someone with at least minimal force had to take Grayson.
Perhaps he realized Sian’s thoughts.
“I… I’ll go.”
Wigo immediately answered.
Wigo frowned slightly and said.
“I’m also… not in good condition. It would be a hindrance to my colleagues if I stayed here. I’ll take Grayson down.”
As he said, Wigo’s condition didn’t look good.
As if he didn’t get the title of Mercenary King for nothing.
He was just enduring and holding on somehow.
Wigo also seemed to need treatment right away.
Sian nodded slightly.
He wouldn’t have to worry if it was Wigo.
Sian turned his gaze again and said to Hans.
“Hans, you chase after Soren who escaped with his colleagues. The situation has become like this, but… you still have to move.”
Things were twisted and twisted, but it wasn’t impossible to turn back.
If he chased after him now, he could be tracked enough.
Hans knew that, but.
“But…”
Hans couldn’t answer easily.
That’s because.
“Have you lost your mind? Or are you pretending not to see it?”
Roswell and Nathan.
“Do you think we’ll just let that happen?”
Those two wouldn’t let that happen.
Of course, Sian knew that fact.
He knew it better than anyone else.
“Go quickly.”
Nevertheless, Sian’s will was firm.
In the end, Hans nodded his head at Sian’s will.
Then, turning to his comrades, he said,
“Wigo, take Grayson down immediately. The rest of you, follow me and track down Soren who escaped.”
Soon, Hans began walking in the direction Soren had fled.
“Is he stupid, or just foolish?”
Roswell’s voice rang out at that moment.
Simultaneously, Roswell’s figure vanished.
“Well, seems like both.”
And soon, he reappeared in front of Hans.
A speed that was neither visible to the eye nor detectable by the senses.
Whoosh!
Roswell’s sword filled Hans’s vision.
It was too fast for Hans to react.
At that moment.
Swoosh!
Darkness surged forth in front of Hans.
Clang!
Immediately, crimson flames erupted from within the coalesced darkness.
And through the receding darkness, Sian’s figure became visible.
“… !”
For a moment, Roswell’s eyes widened.
“When did he…?”
Because he hadn’t perceived it.
The distance between where Sian had been just moments ago and where he was now was considerable.
Yet now, Sian was blocking his sword.
Roswell hadn’t been able to perceive Sian’s movements at all.
“What are you doing, Hans! Go now!”
Sian shouted at Hans, as if roaring.
At Sian’s cry, Hans quickened his pace again.
And Roswell watched him go.
It seemed he was trying to hold him back.
Frankly, Roswell didn’t even find it amusing.
Sian trying to hold him back?
What nonsense.
More than anything, he wasn’t alone.
“Nathan!”
“I know without you telling me!”
With Roswell’s shout, Nathan moved.
No, even before Roswell spoke, Nathan was already moving.
Roswell smirked and refocused his gaze.
And.
“…?”
Roswell’s expression momentarily blanked.
Because of what he was seeing now.
“He’s… gone?”
Sian’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
The Sian who had been clashing swords with him just moments ago had disappeared.
Sian had vanished in the brief moment he had looked away.
And Roswell hadn’t even realized that Sian had disappeared.
“I missed his movement again…?”
Me?
Just as he was thinking that.
Clang!
A dull roar erupted from one side.
“That bastard, when did he…?”
And Nathan’s scream followed.
Clang! Clang!
Clang!
At the same time, the sound of metal clashing against metal rang out in succession.
Eerie sparks flew in all directions, briefly illuminating the darkness.
The faces of Sian and Nathan were faintly visible.
Thwack!
Immediately, a sound like something being struck rang out, and a figure soared into the air.
Thud!
The figure that had flown into the air crashed roughly next to Roswell.
“Kuhak!”
And a scream mixed with a groan erupted.
It was none other than Nathan’s voice.
“…”
Roswell couldn’t believe the situation.
His mind was blank.
“To cross swords with you two like this…”
Sian’s voice reached him through the daze.
“It reminds me of old times.”
Roswell still couldn’t believe this situation.
#
His mind blank.
Roswell stared blankly at Sian.
Sian was looking at him, his jet-black sword hanging down.
A jet-black sword darker than the darkness in the forest.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt a grotesque sense of foreboding from it.
“Cough…!”
At that moment, Nathan’s pain erupted from beside him.
Thick blood poured from Nathan’s mouth.
There was a clear footprint on Nathan’s abdomen, as if he had been kicked there.
His mind was still blank.
But only for a moment.
“Haha.”
Roswell let out a light laugh.
He had no choice but to admit it at this point.
That this Sian was not the Sian in Roswell’s memory.
That the fact that he had fought Kai wasn’t a complete lie.
Roswell had no choice but to admit it.
He didn’t know how it was possible.
He admitted it, but he still couldn’t believe it.
But it didn’t matter.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
That was all.
Even if he was different from the Sian of the past, the fact remained the same.
Sian was blocking his path.
The fact that this was just a foolish bravado hadn’t changed.
Roswell slowly looked around.
The scenery of the mountain was filled with deep silence.
Soren and the Aven family soldiers had already fled.
Hans and the Gale Mercenaries had disappeared in pursuit.
There was nothing here now.
Only Sian, Roswell, and Nathan.
“It’s so deserted here. No one would know if someone died.”
And only the dead bodies would be left behind.
“I wonder if anyone would even know if we died in these mountains.”
Roswell grinned.
And Sian also acknowledged it.
This wasn’t the Count’s estate, but a deserted mountain.
The status of a Count wouldn’t provide any protection.
Sian had walked out of the Count’s estate on his own two feet.
From that moment on, the name of Count was nothing more than a facade.
And Roswell and Nathan were in front of him.
Could he do it?
Doubt naturally arose in Sian’s mind.
He had somehow suppressed Nathan, but he hadn’t inflicted a fatal wound.
He had only placed some restrictions on his movements.
He hadn’t gained anything more than that.
So, to be honest… it was difficult.
He couldn’t face both of them, let alone one.
It was beyond Sian’s current capabilities.
He had a high probability of not winning.
But… he had to do it.
He had to stop them both here.
In the first place, they wouldn’t let him go easily.
If he couldn’t stop them, it would all be over.
He had to stop them here in order to catch Soren.
Sian was the only one who could do it.
‘If only I could use Muriel’s Blessing…’
Arnaise’s special buff, , which could amplify Sian’s physical abilities or amplify the physical abilities of his allies.
But that was impossible.
Mobile Lord was under maintenance right now.
He couldn’t use .
He hadn’t been able to use during his clash with Kai for the same reason.
A situation similar to the clash with Kai.
But unlike then, Kendrick and Leah weren’t here to help Sian now.
Neither were Ruben’s soldiers and knights.
Sian had to stop them with his own power.
Sian gripped the SSS-grade sword tightly.
Perhaps it was because of the blow he had struck Nathan earlier.
The cracks engraved on the SSS-grade had deepened slightly.
The SSS-grade sword had reached its limit.
But there was no choice.
He could only hope it would hold out now.
Sian raised his momentum and looked ahead.
Roswell was looking at Sian with a small smile.
Nathan, who had already straightened his posture, was glaring at Sian with murderous intent.
Their eyes met.
The momentum between them collided.
The momentum collided, and a confrontation ensued.
And within the confrontation that seemed to last forever.
The smile disappeared from Roswell’s face in an instant.
His eyes sank coldly.
He’s coming.
At the same time as that thought, Roswell’s figure disappeared from his sight.
Boom!
A delusion that the space was shaking.
The impact that burst with a bang momentarily shook his vision.
But Sian’s sword had already been thrust forward.