Chapter 39: It is also vivid in front of the Prince

He knows the topography of this area in detail.

For Ren, who had explored every inch of the area, it was easy to think of a place that might be the hideout of the bandits with a few pieces of information.

The location of the victims, earth magic, a perfect place to hide, Ren had an idea of the location of those who escaped the imperial capital in secret and disappeared until today.

There is a nest of monsters that used to inhabit this area. It’s in the mountains, in a place called the Great Hole of the Forest Worms, an ant’s nest-like terrain.

(A hidden map that can only be entered by using earth magic…. It’s the only place they can go.)

Ren rode Io like wind toward the conclusion he had reached in light of various factors.

Io was even stronger and faster than when he took her from Jerukku. Io, a horse with the blood of a monster, led Ren to the small mountain where he wanted to go in the blink of an eye.

Ren dismounted from Io at a corner of the mountain where there were a few remaining snowflakes.

Facing a nearly perpendicular mountain, Ren placed his hand on the stone and earth. By using earth magic here, the legendary era of the Seven Heroes was able to bring about changes in the terrain. An entrance to the Forest Worm, created in every direction in the mountains, would appear.

Forest Worms are similar to the Earth Worms of the eastern forests of Clausel, but they nest in these mountains. They are slightly stronger than the earthworms, but they don’t live in this area now because the population has been wiped out.

The nests that were supposed to be here were only remnants of the past.

So, the question is how Ren, who cannot use earth magic, can bring about changes to the terrain.

“Oh.”

Fortunately, there were traces of what appeared to be the use of earth magic by the bandits.

The terrain was beautifully disguised to blend in with nature, but when he touched it, its surface was soft unlike the surfaces of other places. The gravel fell down gently.

Thanks to that, he didn’t have to resort to forceful techniques using the Iron Magic Sword or the Magic Sword of the Great Tree..

Ren pulled out the iron magic sword and flashed it vertically toward the surface of the mountain. This wasn’t a forceful technique, but in Ren’s mind it wasn’t worth it because this flash made a round-shaped hole in the surface of the mountain.

“What about you, Io?”

“Hihin.”

It wasn’t safe to leave her outside.

So, as Io neighs as if to say she will follow him, Ren stepped into the forest worm’s nest with the reins pulled.

It was huge inside, and ten adults could have walked side by side.

The torches lined up at equal intervals were lit.

“I knew it was here.”

There was no sign of a treasure chest or anything like that, even though he remembered that there had been one. Instead, he found a number of traces that someone had been living there.

Io yawns in a bored manner.

“Sleepy?”

“…… bruuh.”

Apparently, she is sleepy or bored. I’m going to brush and let her rest when we get back to Elendil.

Ren looks around while talking with Io. This burrow, dug by forest worms, is wide and smooth, as if its surface had been polished. There is a simple staircase, made of logs fixed in place, leading vertically, horizontally, and diagonally through the somewhat awkward circular space.

As he was advancing down the staircase, a cold wind blew against his neck.

He also heard someone behind him pull out a sword to block the cold wind.

Before all of them could close in, Ren saw the one who was in his blind spot. The person he wasn’t expecting was a man in dirty robes.

“You —-!”

Then Ren held up the magic sword of the great tree without mercy.

The magic sword of the great tree was thrust into the man.

“Kaaa…!”

Ren had nothing to say.

Just the fact that the man suddenly appeared, Ren reacted instantly and he was easily knocked unconscious.

“I knew it. They’re a bandit gang.”

Muttering this, Ren next saw another group of men trying to close in behind him.

These men were the swordsmen of the Arne Verde Trading Company, with whom Ren had exchanged words with on the plain.

They were all stunned, blinking repeatedly at the strength Ren had just demonstrated.

“You’ve been following me all the way from the plains, were you worried after all?”

“Did you notice?”

“Yes. The presence was harmless, so I just left it alone.”

After saying that, Ren went inside.

“If you come with me, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Ah… I understand…. But…”

The knights of the Kingsguard, who called themselves the swordsmen of the Arne Verde Trading Company, actually looked at each other.

Four of them were trailing Ren, and one of the three took a magic lock from his pocket and fitted it into the bandit’s hand.

Next, he made sure that he was completely immobilized, leaving two of them to follow Ren.

The two remaining men are said to watch their backs.

“I have one question.”

The Kingsguard knight who had followed Ren said.

“What is it?”

“How did you find this place?”

“I’m an adventurer, so I’ve studied the topography of this area in detail. I remembered that there was something strange about this area, and I came here to look for it in light of the information I had just heard.”

The Kingsguard knights even seemed to be probing Ren’s identity.

Ren knows that. If he were in the opposite position, it wouldn’t be surprising to consider the possibility that the person was a fellow bandit.

So Ren says a few words to reassure them.

“If you inquire at the guild, you can find out as much as you want about my background.”

When he told them this, the Kingsguard knights fell silent and said nothing.

Within a dozen minutes, Ren, walking in the lead, stepped into an open area.

Here, too, a number of torches were lined up at equal intervals along the wall, and the area was illuminated by a light that swayed eerily in the wind coming from somewhere.

A dozen shadows attacked Ren.

Bandits were popping out from everywhere, ready to attack Ren in every direction.

“Io, stay away.”

Ren, however, let go of Io’s reins and moved away from her.

The knights of the Kingsguard, who had been ordered by Radius, drew their swords, but were unable to move their legs, immersed in a sensation they had never experienced before. Or they were convinced that they didn’t need to move.

Ren, holding the magic sword of the great tree in his hand, moves slowly. He mutters to himself in front of the approaching bandits.

“I’m glad.”

It is not clear what emotion is hidden in those words.

But the knights of the Kingsguard will soon understand it.

“…..”

“guaaaah……”

“…..!?”

One by one, the approaching bandits are effortlessly mowed down by Ren’s hands.

The wary earth magic user was in the rear guard, and just as that person was about to exercise his magic, Ren finally stepped forward.

Rushing like the wind towards the magic-user, Ren in an instant had closed the distance between them.

“—- eh?”

As soon as he let out a pathetic sound, he exercised earth magic.

Ren’s power seemed to mock it.

Vines of nature magic appeared out of nowhere and bound the legs of the opposing man. The flustered man waves his staff in his hand, causing the earth to rise even higher in an attempt to resist Ren.

But the man’s magic never reached Ren.

Ren was faster, sending the impact of his sword through the man’s body. The magic that should have been exercised lost its power and just became irregularly raised ground.

All of this was done with remarkable speed.

“Can you help me carry him?”

The Kingsguard knights saw that Ren was relieved.

‘I’m Glad’ he said this probably calmed by the fact that the bandits were a force he could deal with without difficulty.

They exchanged the following words while capturing the bandit.

“The opponents should have been a group of talented people, but what is this…?”

“……It is clear that he over there is a more powerful man.”

“Yes….. he went for the neck. How could he take him alive without killing him?”

Their voices didn’t reach Ren’s ears.

Two or three of the four Kingsguard discussed.

Ren likewise carried the bandits out of the forest worm nest.

There were several regular knights, not Kingsguard knights, who had been there on foot. They had brought wagons to transport the bandits to the foot of this mountain. It seemed that the Kingsguard knight, who had been traveling separately, had summoned them.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The sight of the bandits, all of them unconscious, being carried away was bizarre.

They are supposed to head for the plain where Radius’ tent is located, and from there they are to continue on the road to Elendil.

Radius, having heard all the reports, rushed out of his tent.

There he found all the bandit members who had been transported and Ren, who had returned without a scratch.

Stunned, Radius was about to hear from the Kingsguard knight, when a moment later, he heard the following words.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

One of the bandits, who should have been in the wagons and bound so tightly that they couldn’t move at all, let out an ear-splitting scream and jumped out of the wagon.

His eyes were bloodshot and his skin had turned reddish-black.

Wearing black magic on his arms, he raised the sword he had taken from the knight and aimed it at Radius, who was ahead of him.

“Wh —-?”

Radius was astonished, but still opened his mouth to give instructions to the Kingsguard knight,…..

In front of him, Ren, who was still riding Io and asking about the situation, pulled out an iron magic sword on horseback and held it up in the air.

(I wonder if it’s related to the demon cult after all.)

The power of the Demon King, which was given to the cult members, is out of control.

I could imagine that the Demon Lords, who were the masterminds behind this, had arranged for him to run amok like that when the time came.

The Kingsguard knights were closing in to protect Ren.

They were the Kingsguard, after all. They quickly formed a formation and set up a defense system that could absolutely protect Ren as well as Radius.

In terms of ability, no matter how much they went out of control, the kingsguard was a few steps ahead of him.

Still, the bandit members who were considered pawns to be discarded loomed.

Ren on horseback said in a cold but heartbroken voice, “I don’t feel sorry for you,” with a depressed look on his face. In his heart, he praised his own judgment, saying that he was right to be concerned after all.

The iron sword was raised, and his hand gripped it. The Kingsguard knight, who was standing there to protect him, turned his head. The knight behind him felt a strong pressure that he couldn’t ignore.

Then he saw the sword being swung down.

The pressure of the sword passed right beside the knight of the Kingsguard.

When he turned his head in the direction from which the sword pressure had passed, he saw that the bandit who had been used as a pawn had collapsed. He still seemed to be breathing, but there was no sign of him getting up.

It was nothing, just sword pressure.

The wave of magic power that resides at the root of the pressure is from a special school.

Radius gasped when he saw it.

“…… what a surprise!”

Since Ren didn’t turn around, Radius couldn’t see his face. But he could tell from Ren’s build, voice, and mood that his age wasn’t that different from his own.

Ren pulled on Io’s reins without hesitation to everyone else’s amazement.

“I’m going back to Elendil first. There is someone I need to report this to, so if you need anything else, please contact the guild.”

The boy who had just shown his clear power walked away.

A speechless Radius somehow regained his senses and ordered the Kingsguard knights to re-capture the man who had been knocked down by Ren. The Kingsguard knights were about to move on their own just before the order was given, but you could still see the agitation on their faces.

“Your Highness.”

One of the Kingsguard knights spoke to Radius.

“I’m sure of it. He’s a hard swordsman.”

“……Yes, I think so, too.”

Radius’ voice seeped into the wind that caressed the plain.

After that, no one showed any sign of unusual behavior. All of them were knocked out by Ren and didn’t even wake up.

Perhaps it was because the man who had just been taken out was the leader of the group.

The man Ren defeated was the one who was the user of earth magic.

Like the duo who appeared in the Baldor Mountains, he wasn’t strong enough to withstand the power brought by the Demon Lords.

But he could run amok and become a discarded pawn.

In other words, maybe that’s what it was all about.

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