The knights instinctively took a step back at the sight of the grotesque, writhing creatures. It wasn’t out of fear. It was a primal revulsion, an aversion that they couldn’t explain. They repeated Ghislain’s earlier words to themselves. “Mu-mutants? What are those?” “Whatever they are, I can’t stand the sight of them.” Ghislain casually pointed his sword toward the creatures and explained. “There’s a strange energy spreading in this area. Those things have been affected by it. They’re not particularly strong, so you shouldn’t have trouble dealing with them.” With that reassurance, the knights focused their senses and indeed felt a faint, ominous energy permeating the surroundings. It was an eerie and unsettling aura, as if it sought to seep into their very bodies. Even just breathing caused the energy to naturally flow into them. Alarmed, the knights exclaimed: “What is this energy?” “You wouldn’t even notice it if you weren’t paying attention!” “Damn it, I feel like I’ve already inhaled a few breaths of it!” As the knights began to panic, Ghislain clicked his tongue and continued. “That small amount won’t affect you. It’s nothing to worry about. Just head to an area devoid of the energy, spend some time there, or practice your mana techniques. It’ll dissipate on its own. It’s dangerous for regular people, but for those who handle mana, it’s not much of a threat.” “How do you know all this, my lord?” “I know everything.” “Ah... right...” The knights could only nod. Ghislain always acted like this, and while his omniscient tone was often annoying, he usually turned out to be right. “Anyway, there’s no need for you to be scared of those things. Get to it.” Mutants were faster and stronger than ordinary people, but at best, they were equivalent to trained soldiers. While their numbers could pose a threat, they were no match for the knights here. Vanessa spoke up, her voice trembling slightly. “I-I’ll get rid of them.” The disgusting creatures would be best dealt with quickly. She began gathering her mana, intending to leave nothing behind, not even their corpses. But Ghislain stopped her and turned to the knights, grinning. “You’re going to see these things a lot in the future. You’d better get used to them.” In other words, he was ordering them to handle it themselves. With expressions of distaste, Kaor and the knights drew their weapons and charged forward. Squish, squelch. The mutants let out bizarre sounds, extending their tentacle-like limbs toward the knights. Gordon cleaved through one of the limbs aimed at him and shouted: “Holy crap! These things are disgusting! Their blood is green!” The sensation running through his fingertips was utterly unpleasant. Even the grotesque beasts from the Forest of Beasts couldn’t compare to these creatures in sheer revulsion. Then another problem surfaced. Sizzle! “What the—?! What is this stuff?!” The knights recoiled as the mutants’ blood splattered into the air and landed on them. Each knight wore a cape over their armor, and wherever the green blood touched the fabric, it emitted a sharp, acrid smell and began to burn through it. Ghislain observed this and casually remarked: “Their blood is acidic and toxic. It’ll hurt if it touches you.” “You could’ve told us that earlier!” “In a real fight, no one’s going to explain everything beforehand. You need to be cautious because you’ll encounter all kinds of enemies in the future.” “Damn it!” Ghislain only withheld such information when the knights could handle learning it firsthand. Of course, this often meant enduring a great deal of pain. Crunch, crunch, crunch! The mutants, equivalent to ordinary soldiers, were soon defeated, their grotesque heads smashed apart. Their numbers were too few to pose a real threat, and the knights quickly dispatched them all. Sizzle... The mutants’ blood seeped into the ground, releasing a pungent odor. Lucas muttered as he observed the scene. “This is going to be tough for regular soldiers to deal with.” While the creatures weren’t particularly strong, their toxic blood was a problem. Even the knights weren’t overly threatened, but for those without mana, even inhaling the fumes could cause breathing difficulties. Prolonged exposure to the stench would undoubtedly lead to severe poisoning. After dealing with all the mutants, Ghislain led the knights toward an old man’s house. The elder was already standing outside, aware that his village had been attacked. Ghislain addressed him bluntly. “Are you the one in charge here?” “Yes, I’m the village chief.” “Must’ve been exhausting pretending to live a normal life. Lavier’s inside, isn’t he?” “...” The elder clenched his teeth. As expected, they had been found out. One of the church’s most critical operations was about to fall apart. The elder’s eyes scanned the area. He noticed the crest on the knights’ armor and the banners carried by the soldiers surrounding the village. Even in this remote village, he recognized the insignia of the famous noble family. “You’re the Count of Fenris, aren’t you?” “That’s right.” “I thought you were only fighting against the Duke’s faction. I never imagined you’d track us down here... I should’ve eliminated you sooner.” “It’s too late for regrets, don’t you think?” Ghislain’s face twisted into a mocking smile. The reason he had been able to disrupt both the Duke’s faction and the Salvation Order’s plans was due to the information from his past life. Since the enemy didn’t know about his regression, they had no reason to be wary of him. The elder glared at Ghislain and declared: “The gods will punish your arrogance!” Gwooooom! The elder’s body began to expand rapidly. He, too, had mastered the mana technique to become a Crusader. “Kaaargh!” The elder roared, his crimson eyes gleaming, as his transformation began. However, instead of fear, the knights watched with fascination. “Oh wow, that’s the monster?” “This is the first time I’ve seen one transform up close.” “Same here. He really does get stronger all of a sudden. Kind of feels like us, doesn’t it?” The monstrous transformation was legendary, but few had ever seen it happen. While some had witnessed it from a distance during Ghislain’s fight with Harold, most had been too preoccupied with Desmond’s forces to pay attention. Even those who had seen it before couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. Their reactions were so casual that even the transforming elder seemed momentarily flustered. “Kraaaargh!” Half-mad, the elder charged at Ghislain, but the knights quickly stepped forward, weapons at the ready. Clang! Clang! Clang! “What the hell?” The knights were shocked to find their swords barely piercing the elder’s transformed body. “Kraaaah!” The elder let out a feral scream, knocking the swords aside with his fists. One unfortunate knight received a devastating kick to the stomach. Thud! “Ugh!” The kicked knight was sent flying, his armor dented where the blow had landed. Faced with the elder’s overwhelming strength, the knights instinctively stepped back. “Damn it! Move aside!” Lucas, self-proclaimed “spear genius” and nicknamed “the dramatic loner,” darted forward and thrust his spear into the elder’s abdomen. The spear strike, infused with mana, sank into the elder’s flesh. “...Oh?” It pierced, but not deeply. Lucas looked up at the towering elder and muttered: “This is insane...” Thwack! “Argh!” Lucas managed to block the elder’s fist with his arm, but the force still sent him flying. Rolling across the ground, he screamed: “Damn it! My arm’s broken!” This time, it wasn’t an exaggeration. Lucas’s arm was visibly bent. “What kind of strength is this...?” The knights retreated once more, struggling to comprehend the elder’s overwhelming power. Their attacks barely hurt him, and his strength was far beyond anything they’d encountered. Ghislain observed the elder and chuckled. “No wonder you were in charge of this village.” It made sense; only someone with such strength could hold such a position. While Ghislain acknowledged the elder’s power, he was displeased with the knights’ reactions. This opponent wasn’t invincible—if they had kept their composure, they could’ve exploited his weaknesses. Kaor stepped forward, snorting angrily, but Ghislain held him back. “Pull yourselves together. You need to get used to fighting enemies like this.” Ghislain’s words snapped the knights out of their panic. They knew all too well that showing such incompetence would lead to grueling training upon their return. A fierce determination lit up their eyes. “Kraaargh!” The elder, angered by their renewed resolve, lashed out more ferociously. Clang! Clang! Clang! This time, the knights didn’t falter. Though the elder’s attacks battered their bodies, they stood firm, blocking and parrying his blows. Using every opening, they coordinated their attacks seamlessly. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Though their swords still struggled to penetrate deeply, the knights didn’t let up. They rotated positions, attacking in waves. Their relentless training for fighting stronger opponents paid off. Thud! Thud! Thud! As the knights unleashed their mana-infused strikes, the elder began to stumble under the sheer force of their coordinated assault. “Switch to axes!” Someone shouted, and the knights discarded their swords, drawing hand axes from their belts. Though unconventional, they had been trained by Ghislain to wield a variety of weapons. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! The mana-charged axes bit into the elder’s flesh repeatedly. “Kraaaaargh!” The monstrous elder’s seemingly impenetrable defense was ultimately reliant on mana. Even if he felt no pain, his body’s protective mana continued to deplete under the relentless attacks. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! The clash between the knights and the elder stretched on, neither side relenting. The knights gritted their teeth, unleashing their mana in bursts. Slowly but surely, the elder’s body began to show signs of wear—deepening wounds spread across his massive frame. “Now our weapons are really starting to cut through!” “Just a little more—keep going!” “Kill him!” Like the elder, who had lost his sanity in his monstrous transformation, the knights, too, were succumbing to a battle-driven frenzy. These were men hardened by rough lives, and as the fight dragged on, their dogged determination began to surface in full force. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Over a hundred knights continued their assault, even with some of their comrades knocked out of the fight. The elder’s mana reserves rapidly drained, and his once-formidable body was now little more than a battered wreck. “He’s almost finished!” Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! “Graaaagh!” No matter how strong the elder was, it was impossible for him to hold his ground against 200 knights. With his mana nearly exhausted, each swing of an axe or blade cleaved deeper into his flesh. “Move aside! Out of the way!” Gordon, his muscles bulging grotesquely like those of a berserker, barreled toward the elder. Gordon’s raw physical strength was unmatched among the Fenris knights. Closing in, Gordon grabbed the elder’s face with one hand and swung his axe down with the other. Crunch! “Grrrk!” The elder attempted to grab Gordon with his arms, but the other knights held his limbs in place, straining against his dwindling strength. Too weakened to retaliate, the elder could only thrash helplessly. Gordon didn’t waste the opportunity. He swung his axe over and over at the elder’s neck. “Die! Just die already! Stop resisting, damn it!” Sweat poured down Gordon’s face as he put every ounce of strength into his strikes. The elder was relentless, more stubborn than any foe they had encountered. Even accounting for his unique strength, it was an exhausting fight. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! “Grrr...” Finally, Gordon’s axe delivered a decisive blow, severing the elder’s neck. His head tumbled to the ground, and the knights collapsed, panting heavily. “Damn, he was tough.” “What are we supposed to do if there are hundreds of monsters like that on the battlefield?” “If that happens? We’re all dead.” The knights shuddered at the thought. This one elder had held his own against 200 knights for so long. The idea of hundreds of similar creatures was enough to send chills down their spines. In terms of raw strength, the elder rivaled the strongest warriors in a region. If an army of monsters like him were unleashed, the battlefield would be devastated. Of course, monsters of this caliber weren’t common. But still, it was unlikely he was the only one. Ghislain stepped forward with a faint smile, cutting through the knights’ grumbling. “Well done. But why are you so scared? If all of you were as strong as this monster, there wouldn’t be any problem.” “...” The knights averted their gazes, unable to refute him. If all 400 Fenris knights reached the elder’s level of strength, indeed, there would be no problems. But they also knew that such strength would come at the cost of grueling training—training that Ghislain would oversee personally. Leaving the knights to catch their breath, Ghislain strode toward the elder’s house. It was significantly larger than the others, befitting its importance. As he approached, he called out: “You’ve had your fill of hiding. Come out now.” Creak... The door slowly opened, revealing Lavier, who had been recovering in secret. His cold gaze fixed on Ghislain as he stepped forward. “How... how did you find this place?” “You led me here.” “I left no trail.” “That’s what you think.” “...” Lavier had been meticulous. He had fought elves, battled soldiers from rival territories, and taken every precaution to conceal his movements. His skills were sufficient to detect any pursuers, and before entering the village, he had confirmed several times that no one was following him. Yet, despite all his efforts, the Count of Fenris had managed to track him down. It was incomprehensible. “Who are you?” Lavier didn’t bother asking how Ghislain had found him. Instead, he asked a more fundamental question. To Lavier, the very existence of Ghislain was a puzzle. Ghislain smirked. “That’s not something you need to know. Your role ends here. Thanks to you, I’ve learned something useful.” Lavier’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve learned. The outcome won’t change. Our grand plan is already complete.” “No, it’s going to change a lot.” Yes, things would certainly be different this time. At the very least, Ghislain was confident he could close half of the Rifts. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶 Lavier stared at Ghislain’s confident expression and began to gather his power. “I see there’s no other way. I’ll use all my strength to kill you here.” The odds were against him, with too many enemies to face alone. But abandoning the village wasn’t an option. Even if it cost him his life, Lavier was determined to kill the Count of Fenris and protect the grand plan. Gwoooom! As Lavier drew more power, he suddenly froze. He sensed someone behind him. Shhk!