The Failure Marquis Is A Genius [EN]: Chapter 92

12. Submergence: The Confronted Scoundrel

Everyone around me was shocked when I said I would enter the Sanctuary alone.

“Didn’t the Vice-Commander hear? How can you enter a place that only High Elves are allowed to enter?”

Should I tell my colleagues about my lineage?

As I was contemplating, Sasha spoke up.

“No. If it’s you, Mister, the forest will allow it.”

“Didn’t you just say only High Elves are allowed?”

“Mister has a good smell. So the forest will welcome you.”

As expected, Sasha, being a shaman, seemed to have sensed the High Elf genes flowing within me.

When Sasha said that, the others seemed to believe it was related to the special power I often used, and they didn’t question it further.

“But Master, entering the Sanctuary alone is clearly dangerous. Who knows what that Elder Richard might be plotting.”

“Sion is right. How about we move to the Sanctuary together for now?”

Considering Aiden’s words made sense, we all moved towards the Sanctuary.

We arrived near the Sanctuary.

Sasha, who had been leading the way, stopped and turned around.

“The Sanctuary starts from here.”

She bent down, picked up a twig, and drew a straight line on the ground.

Curious, Rakan strode over the line.

Then…

Thud!!

“Ugh…”

A transparent barrier in the air blocked Rakan’s entry.

He tried several times, fueled by his stubbornness, and even swung his mana sword, but it was no use.

The intangible barrier could not be cut by the mana sword.

“The forest didn’t allow Mercenary Captain Mister.”

Soon after, Sion, Campbell, and Aiden tried to enter in turn, but they were blocked by the barrier like Rakan.

“It seems you need at least an Aura Blade to break through that barrier.”

Aiden offered a reasonable deduction.

The other colleagues, including Sion, nodded in agreement.

Now it was my turn.

I took a deep breath and stepped over the line.

Whoosh.

There was no resistance.

The forest accurately sensed the High Elf blood flowing in my body and allowed me to pass.

The group watching this was astonished, their eyes wide with shock as I passed so easily.

“As expected of Master.”

“How did you get through?”

“Indeed, our lord is an extraordinary person.”

And there was another being besides Sasha who could cross the Sanctuary.

“Kyuu!!”

The baby dragon Coco, flying in the air with a cute cry, landed on my shoulder as if it didn’t need the forest’s permission.

As expected of a dragon.

Even though it wasn’t a High Elf, the status of a dragon seemed to be equal to or higher than that of a High Elf, so it passed easily.

“Then I’ll be off. Please wait here.”

“Master, be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

I reassured Sion and was about to enter the Sanctuary when I heard Sasha’s voice from behind.

“Mister!”

She came trotting over.

Being a High Elf, there was no resistance from the forest.

She came right up to me and stared at me intently.

Then, out of nowhere, she stood on tiptoe and kissed me on the cheek.

Smack!

“Be sure to win and come back alive.”

Was this her way of cheering me on?

She showed her white teeth and gave me a thumbs up.

“Don’t worry. I’ll finish quickly and come back.”

I gently stroked Sasha’s silver hair as her eyes welled up, then turned and headed towards the Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary was on the mountaintop.

Using Haste, I floated smoothly upwards, my feet half off the ground.

“Coco, come into the gourd.”

“Kyuu?”

“Just in case, stay inside for now.”

“Kyu!”

Anticipating that the battle with the Elder would be imminent, I called Coco into the subspace [a pocket dimension or personal storage space].

Finally, I arrived at the mountaintop.

The floor of the Sanctuary was paved with moss-covered stone.

There was a stone structure on the stone floor.

A semi-circular capstone and several stone pillars supporting it resembled a dolmen [a prehistoric monument consisting of a large flat stone laid on upright ones] from the Stone Age.

In the very center, a silver pond shimmered, emitting a dazzling light, which was probably the Water of Life that had caused this incident.

Elder Richard stood upright in front of the Sanctuary.

The wind was blowing like crazy on the mountaintop.

My hair and his white beard kept fluttering.

Even though I came alone, Elder Richard didn’t seem very surprised.

It was as if he had already expected it.

“Did you know I was coming?”

“Of course. Didn’t you use Druid abilities?”

As expected, the Elder had figured out that I was a Druid. He looked down at me intently and muttered briefly.

“Dirty mongrel. Half human, half High Elf blood is mixed in you.”

“You know that only Half-Elves can become Druids.”

“Of course.”

“How did you know my mother was a High Elf?”

Elder Richard knew the truth.

First, that I was a Half-Elf.

Second, that my mother was a High Elf.

That’s why he was waiting for me in the Sanctuary.

If Henon’s biological mother had been a regular Elf instead of a High Elf, I wouldn’t have been able to enter the Sanctuary even if I was a Druid.

I wondered what made him so sure.

His subsequent answer resolved my curiosity.

“It’s obvious. Looking at your age, you seem to be around twenty years old, and there’s only one Elf who was kicked out of the forest around that time.”

“Could it be…”

“Yes. I kicked Hena out.”

This was the first time I had heard this story.

My only encounter with Hena, Henon’s biological mother, was a brief moment at the oak tree, so there wasn’t much information.

In particular, I had never heard of what happened before she married Marquis Lloyd and gave birth to Henon.

But now that I see it, it seemed certain that Hena had been banished from the Elven forest by Elder Richard.

“Those shamans are all annoying. I kicked one out, and she had a child and sent him to take revenge. I sold another one to the slave market, and she struggled to come back and disrupt the baptism.”

“That’s how much those around you are trying to stop you. Anyway, the reasons to kill you are only increasing in many ways.”

Now it was time to fight.

I drew the Heavenly Demon Sword and aimed it at Elder Richard.

At the same time, I was sizing up my opponent.

On the surface, there wasn’t much to him.

The Elder was old and had a bulging belly, making him look far removed from combat.

“Richard, you must have seen me fight during the baptism? I don’t understand what you’re relying on.”

“Hehehe, don’t try to understand me with your short-sighted thinking, you mongrel.”

The Elder took out a golden branch from his bosom, went to the pond containing the Water of Life, and suddenly began to gulp down the spring water.

After gulping for a while, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as if satisfied after drinking about a liter.

“You look like a carp. If the trump card you were relying on was the Water of Life, I’m a little disappointed.”

“Hehehe… Feel free to underestimate me. The Spring of Life contains infinite possibilities and absolute strength.”

“I’d like to experience that strength for myself.”

[Wind Control]

[Haste]

Receiving the power of the wind, I rushed forward in an instant.

To be honest, I was taking this fight lightly.

Let’s recall the opponents I’ve fought recently.

Niflheim of Jealousy, one of the Seven Apostles of the Twilight Church.

The intermediate demon Dantaleon.

Milo of Greed, one of the Seven Apostles of the Twilight Church.

Compared to these three, the Elven Elder had no particular power and no reputation.

I don’t know what he’s going to do with the Spring of Life, but in the end, it would be over if I just cut off his head with my Heavenly Demon Sword.

If it weren’t for the sharp stone awls flying towards my side.

“Damn.”

I hurriedly twisted my body and deflected the Stone Lance with the blade.

The impact sent me flying sideways, and I rolled several times on the ground before getting up.

I was so surprised that I couldn’t speak.

As if expecting my reaction, Elder Richard wore a triumphant smile.

“Hahaha!! Did you think only you could be a Druid? As long as I have a mystical branch, I can also be a Druid!”

“Only Half-Elves can become Druids.”

“That’s usually the case. But I drank the Spring of Life, so it’s definitely possible.”

Did the Spring of Life have such a function?

It seems to have the effect of greatly increasing the ability to communicate with nature.

Anyway, it’s a novel and strange experience to be attacked by the same Druid skill that I, who used to use Druid skills every time, used.

But nothing will change.

I just need to get rid of him.

“I enjoyed the show.”

“Keep being careless like that. That’s what I want. Bind!!”

Tree trunks rose from the ground, trying to bind me.

Bind is the first skill you get after becoming a Druid. My pride as a Druid doesn’t allow me to be caught by this. Moreover, the Bind level was low, so it wasn’t a sturdy tree root, but a tree trunk with insufficient durability.

I jumped and easily avoided it.

Then I rushed in again.

“Stone Shield!!”

A barricade made of stone rose up, blocking the path.

That’s not going to work.

An emerald light line was drawn on the wide stele, and it was immediately split in half, cutting it in two.

I went forward without hesitation.

The stone awls that had targeted me earlier came at my vitals again, but I easily shattered them by swinging the Heavenly Demon Sword.

“Eek!!”

As things didn’t go as planned, Richard’s face turned red, and he showed off a new skill.

“Summon Wood Golem!!”

“How cute.”

The first golem I summoned after being promoted to an intermediate Druid was exactly like that.

It has no strength and looks very weak.

I immediately cut off its arms and legs, knocked it down, and reached Elder Richard.

“You…”

“Goodbye.”

Thud!

I stabbed him in the heart with my sword.

Blood flowed from his mouth.

With his last breath, he muttered.

“Ah… why… I… the Elven race…”

Richard dropped his head.

It was the end of the Elven Elder Richard.

I pulled the Heavenly Demon Sword from his chest.

After shaking off the blood, I sheathed it and turned around.

As expected, he was an easy opponent.

“It’s unsettling.”

His last words bothered me.

It was as if he didn’t want to, but was being manipulated by someone.

But the end of the dictators are all similar, so I brushed it off.

Rather, the war was long.

I wanted to go back to the Marquis’s castle and soak in warm water.

As I was loosening my stiff shoulders and trying to go down the mountain,

-Hey kid! Be careful!

The Heavenly Demon warned in a more urgent voice than ever.

My instincts told me to roll on the floor, but I realized it was the wrong decision.

The attack was coming from the floor.

Thwack!!

[Wind Control]

[Instant Step]

I kicked off the air and flew into the sky in an instant.

If the judgment was even a second late, it would have been instant death.

When I looked down from the sky, the ground was all turned upside down, and thick tree roots, like octopus legs, were wriggling and lurking.

The roots had sharp thorns all over them, and I would have been seriously injured just by touching them.

-It’s not over yet.

The sky is not safe either.

The tree roots originating from the ground flew towards the sky like Jack and the Beanstalk.

The target was clearly me.

“Damn it!!”

I cursed and moved up, down, left, and right in the air. The tree roots, tightening like tentacles, relentlessly targeted me.

I cut off all the roots that attacked from blind spots with the Heavenly Demon Sword. The tree roots were so tough that it was difficult to cut them even with the mana sword activated. Now that I see it, there was a faint mana in the tree roots as well.

“What the hell?”

Even I can’t use this outrageous level of Bind skill. After avoiding the tree roots for a while, I took advantage of the lull in the offensive and landed on the floor.

Elder Richard, who had collapsed in the Spring of Life, was already standing up again. The sight of the old man with a gaping hole in his heart was very grotesque.

“Undead?”

[Hehehe…]

A strange sound echoes even though he didn’t open his mouth.

The hole in his body, pierced by the Heavenly Demon Sword, was gradually covered with tree roots and soon disappeared.

It was clearly a different being from Elder Richard.

“Who are you?”

[Amazing. Very amazing.]

I asked a question, but he mutters to himself.

[It’s really amazing. To be able to use the wind so freely at that level already. And you’ve honed your sword to a considerable level. It would have been much easier if I had wielded a sword when I fought that guy.]

A chill runs down my spine.

I think I know who that guy is.

And at this moment, there was another being who shared the same feeling as me.

-No doubt. The way he talks is exactly like that guy.

The Heavenly Demon acknowledged it, so it’s clear.

I spoke my guess out loud.

“Are you perhaps Merlin?”

[You know me. Nice to meet you. Descendant.]

That’s right.

The being facing me was not Elder Richard.

The true identity was the first legendary Druid who appeared a thousand years ago.

It was Merlin.