Chapter 79: The False Border Guard

It took about two days to reach the border of Silvaren.

Thanks to the travel pass given by the Duke of Malta, they were able to take the main road, and with strong northern horses, the journey was swift.

"Not bad. I thought you'd tire out and ask for a rest on the way."

In front of the Silvaren border.

Retina lightly dismounted and spoke to Rohan.

"I may not be gifted in martial arts, but I’ve made time for endurance training."

"Ho, so thorough? Did you predict you'd have to ride like this one day? Or was there, perhaps, such a time in the 'very, very distant past'?"

Retina grinned playfully.

"His Highness didn't know the first thing about horseback riding. And in all the time I’ve served, I’ve never once seen him on a horse."

At Martin's remark, Rohan shrugged his shoulders.

"I haven’t ridden much, but it’s not like I’ve never done it at all."

"Puhat, true enough! Right, right."

"I have no idea what you’re all talking about..."

Shakan, clueless to the undertones of their conversation, just blinked in confusion.

"By the way. It feels good to be back in my homeland after so long."

Shakan stretched with a broad smile.

"Haah, this air. I missed it."

"And yet, you left home just because you couldn't get married?"

"Well, that's, ahem."

As Retina shot him a sharp glare, Shakan cleared his throat and avoided her gaze.

"Rohan."

Retina turned to look at Rohan.

"From here, we’ll have to leave the horses. The moment we cross that boundary, it’s Silvaren territory, and there are rough terrains up ahead that can't be crossed on horseback."

"I know."

Rohan was already removing all the baggage from his horse’s saddle.

"Well, well."

Retina let out a faint laugh and turned her head.

And then—

"What’s that?"

Retina’s eyes narrowed as she gazed into the forest at the Silvaren border.

"Sis, something’s coming."

Shakan perked up his ears.

The Elpyrians, with their keen senses, were first to notice approaching visitors.

"Who goes there?"

Retina shouted towards the forest.

"I don't see anything."

"I can't see them, but I sense faint presences as well."

At Rohan’s words, Martin subtly rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.

For a moment, there was only the wind rustling through the lush forest.

Then, voices rang out from within, and several figures appeared.

They wore wooden breastplates carved with intricate patterns, and large bows were slung across their backs.

"You are…"

Retina’s eyes widened slightly.

"Ah, the Border Guard!"

Shakan, recognizing them, snapped his fingers.

"No need to worry. Those are the guards who protect the Silvaren border."

With a silly smile, he tried to reassure Rohan.

"I see. Thanks for the concern…"

Rohan, in fact, hadn’t been all that worried.

"Stop right there."

The one who appeared to be the captain of the guards stepped forward.

"What brings you here? You haven’t even crossed into the outskirts yet."

In response to Retina's question, the guard captain answered immediately.

"We’ve been waiting for you."

He was tall, with a thin face, and wore a serene smile.

"You were waiting for us?"

"Yes. The World Tree foresaw your arrival."

"The World Tree foretold our coming…?"

Retina tilted her head in puzzlement.

"Lord Nas is waiting for you. Please, come with us."

The guard captain began walking toward Rohan.

"Especially this one. We were ordered to safely escort the Crown Prince of the Schubert Empire."

"Me?"

Even if they had been invited, such special treatment was unexpected.

'This feels different from how I remember.'

Rohan blinked, uneasy.

The man called Nas, king of the Prana Confederation and ruler of Silvaren, was not, in his memory, someone who behaved this way.

---



He had once invited the kings of various nations, yet made them share rooms with ordinary Elpyrians, serving only their usual fare.

He was not the type to treat foreign royalty with special courtesy.

---

At that moment, Retina strode forward.

"So Lord Nas said as much."

"Yes, that’s correct."

"Thank you for coming all this way."

"Think nothing of it…"

Swish!

At the same time, the guard captain’s head went flying.

"You should know when to stop lying. Lord Nas told you to escort a human?"

"...!"

Rohan's eyes flew open in shock, and Martin instinctively drew his sword.

Retina, who had neatly decapitated the guard captain, grinned.

"It was strange that the guard would come down this far."

She flicked her dagger and turned her head.

At the end of her gaze stood the rest of the border guard.

"Those are not the real guards."

"Not the guards? Then what on earth…"

Rohan trailed off.

Because, incredibly, something black was sprouting from the neck of the now-headless guard captain.

"What is that…!"

"Your Highness, step back!"

Martin immediately blocked Rohan with Sunfire in hand.

"Damn, what is this? Even I can’t tell."

Retina twirled her dagger and readied herself.

"Sis! T-these guys are weird!"

Belatedly examining the guards, Shakan shouted and readied his bow.

[Haah, did we get found out this quickly.]

With a creaking sound, a strange voice echoed from the guard captain’s severed head.

Over twenty of the guards slowly moved to surround the group.

"What are you?"

Martin demanded, and the captain burst into laughter.

A black vine sprouted from his neck, grabbed his head, and reattached it.

"They’re not living beings."

Rohan clenched his teeth.

At that moment—

Thud!

The ground trembled and split.

From beneath their feet, black vines erupted and coiled around Rohan.

"Ugh!"

"Your Highness!"

Martin sprang into action.

"Just endure it for a moment, Your Highness!"

He slashed at the vines.

But the severed vines regenerated, instantly repairing themselves.

"Rohan!"

Retina moved to help him.

[No you don’t.]

The guard captain blocked her path.

Creak, crackle!

The bodies of the remaining Elpyrian guards began to grotesquely deform.

Black streaks appeared under their eyes and spread across their bodies.

"Insane, what is this!"

Shakan fired an arrow with a look of horror.

Swiish!

More shocking, even a direct hit to the forehead only made the enemy stagger for a moment before it advanced again.

[Kraaaah!]

The Elpyrian at the front screamed, flinging back his head.

From his mouth, black fluid poured instead of blood.

"Ugh! Sis, they’re spewing something! And they won’t die!"

"Handle it yourself! I’m busy too!"

While Shakan tried to block the guards, Retina was also in chaos.

'What’s with this regeneration speed?'

She clenched her teeth.

Whoosh! Swoosh!

She prided herself on speed attacks, but only if her attacks worked.

Slash, slash, slash!

Even if she sliced through them swiftly, their bizarre bodies were instantly covered in black matter.

Beyond the guard captain, she could see Rohan still trapped.

"Rohan, hang in there! I’ll be right over!"

Retina’s crimson eyes flashed.

"You bastard. What have you done to our kin?"

Her grip tightened around her dagger.

Meanwhile.

Rohan, tightly bound by the thick vines, forced his mouth open.

"Martin! Awaken Sunfire!"

The pressure of the vines was so great his eyes felt like popping and his whole body was about to be crushed.

"Your Highness, no! You could get hurt!"

"It’s fine, hurry! Their goal is obviously me! I can’t be captured!"

At his master's command, Martin had no choice but to brace his sword.

He hadn’t dared to use aura, worried it might harm Rohan.

"Understood."

Martin finally roused his aura.

Fwoosh!

Sunfire began to blaze in his hand.

"I’ll be as careful as possible."

He swung his sword with amplified aura.

"Ha!"

Slash!

With burning heat, the black vine was cut through.

This time, the severed vine shriveled as if burnt.

"It works!"

"Good, Martin!"

Swish, slash, hiss!

Martin skillfully severed the remaining vines, and Rohan finally broke free.

"I’m fine. Go help Shakan!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Seeing Rohan safe, Martin dashed to where Shakan was fighting.

"What is this?"

Rohan examined the scorched black vine on the ground.

At first glance, it looked like a real vine, but its texture was sticky and it squirmed.

Lifting his head, he saw everyone locked in desperate battle.

Fwoosh, blaze!

But fighting endlessly regenerating Elpyrians was no easy task.

At least, there was one silver lining.

"Fire! These things are weak against fire!"

He had discovered their weakness from earlier.

"Fire?"

Retina nodded with a curious look.

"Ha!"

In this battle, Martin’s performance shone.

Or rather, Sunfire’s did.

Splatter!

Wherever Sunfire struck, the vines fell away like sludge.

"Well, I may not have fire—"

Retina grinned as she cut the guard captain to pieces.

"—but at least I can slice them up so they can’t recover."

Slash, slash, slash!

In an instant, the captain’s body was diced into countless fragments.

Meanwhile, Rohan took flint from Martin’s bag and made a torch.

"I’ll handle the remains!"

"Good."

While Retina ran toward the guards fighting Martin and Shakan, Rohan used the torch to gather the black fragments and burn them.

[Grrr…]

The captain’s fragments made grotesque noises, then stopped regenerating in the fire.

"Whew, it’s over."

Most of the remaining guards were finished off by Martin.

"Good work, everyone. Is anyone hurt?"

"I’m fine. This was nothing."

Retina let out a huff and sheathed her sword.

"I’m fine too, Your Highness. Their regeneration was the problem, but their skills were nothing special."

Martin replied with a calm face.

But Shakan looked appalled.

"Ugh, disgusting. What the heck are these things, sis? They're not our kin, are they?"

"Exactly. What are they?"

Retina’s cold eyes turned toward the border forest.

"These bizarre, unknown beings."

Whooooosh…!

A strong wind suddenly swept through the forest.

Leaves shuddered and even the branches bent in the gale.

"That is…"

Everyone held their breath for a moment.

With the fierce wind, something began to walk quietly toward them from the forest.

It was the figures of black vines—easily numbering in the hundreds.