An ominous silence settled over them.
For the past five years, they had turned a blind eye to the Prince’s actions, and now—just like that?
It was an unexpected turn of events.
Perhaps the recent release of the mind control over the 150 Bold villagers who had nearly been sacrificed had something to do with it.
“They let him struggle freely until now, but as soon as he crosses a line, they respond immediately? What ridiculous demons.”
“I get their feelings, but from their perspective, it’s like the fly that bit the finger of the giant who could crush it at any time.”
“Hah, they’re completely underestimating us. Zion, we should hurry. Now that they’re looking down on us even slightly, it’s better to strike hard and fast and bring them down.”
Zion agreed with that opinion.
Yet he could not just pass by the village within his reach.
“Your Highness, you must decide quickly. The village atmosphere is unstable. A search party might soon be formed to find you.”
At the intelligence officer’s blunt words, the Prince unconsciously clenched his teeth.
His tightly clenched fist trembled uncontrollably.
Zion sensed the turmoil within him.
Before Zion could offer any words of comfort, the Prince spoke to him in a voice hoarse as if coughing up blood.
“Zion, I entrust… the people to you.”
How much inner conflict must have gone into admitting his own helplessness and uttering those words?
Trying to fathom that would surely be pointless.
Yet Zion nodded confidently as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
“Leave them to me, Your Highness.”
***
The course of action was decided.
Zion and Yuria would infiltrate the village, while the Prince, Soares, and the others would hide in an inconspicuous location.
The reason for just the two infiltrators was efficiency.
The artifact Zion had created operated by installing four structures in designated spots and remotely activating them by pressing a switch.
If all four carried one and infiltrated, the Prince’s protection would be too weak, and three people would be no better than two in terms of timing.
Zion and the one who could match his pace was the most effective team.
Soares and Yuria were candidates, but Yuria volunteered.
[I thought he’d be sulking and blaming himself, but that Prince actually has some brains.]
And all of this had come from the Prince’s own mind.
‘He’s intelligent and decisive. But right now, the situation… isn’t good.’
Their opponent was a demon who could kill humans as lightly as flies.
On top of that, they wielded terrifying mind control abilities that held sway over the entire Empire with its nearly three million population.
It was amazing the Prince had managed to remain uncaptured while acting as a rebel for five years.
Thanks partly to Nadja’s protection, but the fact that he had hundreds of troops under his command, including numerous nobles, and had remained stable until now was solely due to the Prince’s power.
[The true nature and skill of a person show in extreme situations. Wait, Zion, keep it slow or we’ll get caught.]
Zion hastily slowed his pace and carefully turned to avoid the danger.
Neither Zion nor the two Awakened were particularly skilled in stealth, but their advice from a higher vantage point guided Zion safely.
[This spot should be fine. Now we just need to wait while our Yuria installs the remaining two.]
On the roof, Zion, having installed the second artifact, breathed a small sigh of relief.
If Yuria failed, it would all be for nothing, but no one among the three worried about that.
Over the past week, Yuria, under the new tutelage of Soares, had grown at an astonishing rate as if the stagnant days before were a lie.
Excited by Yuria’s extraordinary talent, Soares had tested various espionage techniques, all of which Yuria absorbed like a sponge.
Moving stealthily on purpose, Yuria occasionally disappeared even from Zion’s notice.
[By the way, what a mess this village is.]
Frey, who was watching the surroundings in place of Zion during a brief rest, muttered unconsciously.
He realized his mistake right after, but words once spoken could not be taken back.
Zion’s expression darkened.
For a village of around a thousand, it was chaotic everywhere.
It was not lively but disturbed.
Shouts of rage, screams, and cries echoed from every corner.
A married woman exposing herself seductively in the middle of the street; a child laughing innocently as blood splattered from stones thrown at anyone; a girl flirting with the child to tempt him; her father lurking in an alley waiting to assault the girl; and an old man snatching a purse and running away.
Not a single normal person in sight—everything was a mess, as if madness had overtaken them.
Was Nadja’s influence growing stronger as they approached Jedo?
Or was Nadja, sensing the Prince’s proximity through some means, setting an example?
No one was dead or seriously injured yet, but that was only a matter of time.
‘Yuria, hurry…’ Zion closed his eyes and whispered internally, overwhelmed by the sight.
He desperately wanted to rush out and stop the people, but his head told him such actions would be useless.
Every second stretched agonizingly long.
“Zion.”
“…!”
A faint sound approached from the roof just as the hushed voice called.
It was Yuria.
When Zion looked up and met her eyes, she nodded slightly.
Without hesitation, Zion pressed the artifact’s activation switch.
In that moment, Zion was overwhelmed by a chilling sensation as if someone far away was watching him.
“The sky…?”
Yuria, sensing the faint turbulence of MP with her still untrained senses, looked up.
A translucent blue barrier spread outward from the four installed artifacts, enveloping the entire village.
The madness swirling in the village slowly began to subside.
“Did… it succeed?” Yuria asked cautiously.
Zion nodded, but his expression was grim.
The feeling of being watched vanished so quickly it seemed like an illusion, yet instead his sense of smell detected a new danger.
“The scent of monsters…”
“Monsters? What are you talking about, Byah?!” Yuria questioned in confusion.
Zion quickly carried her on his back and hurried toward the outskirts of the village with a frozen expression.
Yuria’s cute screams did not reach his ears.
The monster scent that had become barely noticeable had suddenly exploded in intensity.
Zion recalled the time he faced hundreds of monsters to dismantle a summoning circle in the forests outside Kornika.
The smell now was far thicker than back then.
Monsters were closing in on the village from all directions without any specific focus.
“Your Highness! Soares!”
Zion sprinted with all his might, almost shattering the ground as he reached the rendezvous point.
The Prince, hidden in a hastily prepared shelter, appeared first.
Seeing Zion’s expression, the Prince’s face hardened seriously.
“Zion, you… you didn’t fail, did you?”
Zion shook his head.
The Prince’s eyes narrowed in doubt.
“The monsters are swarming. I can’t even guess how many or how many different types.”
The Prince paled.
“I will stop the monsters. You all should evacuate to the village.”
***
To the Prince, Zion’s declaration of taking on at least hundreds, maybe over a thousand monsters sounded like a suicide note.
Yet Zion accepted no objections or questions.
Dragging the Prince forcibly, Zion quickly explained upon arriving at the village.
“It was a trap from the start. Hiding the monsters, showing the villagers’ frenzy deliberately. Even if it had been another village, the same thing would have happened the moment the mind control was lifted.”
With that single sentence, the Prince understood much—possibly even hidden truths Zion had not guessed.
Perhaps the last five years were a script written by Nadja to plunge him into the most terrible, desperate despair.
If so… everything had probably been prepared since the day he barely escaped the palace.
Or maybe even earlier, since the moment he was born.
“It’s alright, Your Highness. We can protect the village.”
Zion’s words lacked any sense of reality.
Even Yuria, who traveled with him and prided herself on knowing his strength best, felt uneasy.
Could one person really defend a village of over a thousand against an attack by over a thousand monsters?
Perhaps with tens or hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but just one human?
“Apocalypse. Deus Machina!”
Zion answered their doubts.
Two pillars of light shot up to pierce the sky, then dispersed as Frey and Arcs appeared.
Frey looked as if he’d been burdened with a nuisance chore, while Arcs, now able to assist Zion physically for the first time, was full of enthusiasm.
“Let’s see. A total of 1,148. They’re spreading out to surround the village. These headless creatures trying to be smart? Perfect. It’s been a while since I could just blow off some steam.”
“Zion, see this? It’s an artifact that shows the monsters’ locations, movements, and strength in real time. Hehe, I made it myself, isn’t that awesome? Right?”
The two’s casual attitude, devoid of any sense of crisis, secretly put Zion’s mind at ease.
If they acted so nonchalantly, it meant this was really no big deal.
Then Zion had no reason to worry.
“We have eleven to watch out for. Three Lieutenant Grade 3s… no, they’re probably First Grade High-level monsters. Zion, you probably won’t be caught off guard by high-level monsters now, but don’t let your guard down.”
“The MP pattern comparison results are in. Among the eleven high-level monsters, four are Cyclops, five are Gremlins, and the remaining two are Overlord Orcs.”
“Overlord Orcs? The disgusting ones have mixed in.”
“Ahahaha, Orcs are especially hated by many monsters.”
“Understood. Then Uncle will take the eastern and northern halves, Arcs will take the western and northern halves, and I’ll cover the south.”
They quickly shared information and set positions.
Their task was simple: intercept the monsters as far away from the village as possible and let not a single one through.
“W-wait, Zion! Me too! This time, I’ll fight alongside you!”
Yuria, the first to recover her senses, quickly interjected.
Zion hesitated briefly but couldn’t afford to waste time.
More forces were always better.
Yuria was unlikely to fall into danger easily, and if by some chance she needed to, escaping the battlefield wouldn’t be hard.
“All right. Then Yuria will join me in covering the south.”
“Really?! Great!”
Yuria practically leapt for joy.
Around then, the Prince, Soares, and the rest regained their composure.
They didn’t fully understand the situation yet.
But the Prince instinctively knew they had to trust Zion now.
The exact plan, the odds of success, who these two mysterious allies were—those questions could wait.
“We’ll be back soon, Your Highness. Soares, and everyone else, please take care of His Highness until then.”
With a casual farewell as if stepping out for a short walk, the four Awakened scattered in all directions.
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