The Villain has Perished

Holding the feverish baby Griffin in my hands, I rode the hound and rushed back to the Griffin.

Now I was convinced the Griffin wasn't insane, it had been a misunderstanding on my part. The monster had left the forest and gone to human settlements to search for medicine to save its child.

Since humans have the policy to attack monsters on first sighting, the villages that Griffin visited must have attacked first, leaving the Griffin with no choice but to retaliate.

'The Griffin will surely end the conflict between the monster tribes. For that, I need to make sure Jae-sung doesn't kill it.'

My gaze shifted to the baby griffin in my hands. If I could save this child, then it might be possible to have a friendly connection with the Griffin. That way even if Griffin doesn't want to end the conflict between the monster tribes, it would listen to me as the savior of its child.

'Shop'

A blue screen with various items appeared. I hurriedly searched for the item that could help me in this situation.

[Mana Overload Rectifier Pill] Intermediate Common - 100,000 Coins

⟪Would you like to purchase Mana Overload Rectifier Pill from the Shop?⟫

⟪Yes/No⟫

⟪Balance - 18,938 Coins⟫

Clicking my tongue, I closed the interface. A hundred thousand Coins for an Intermediate Common Grade was too high of a price. Not to mention that my pockets were empty after the last shopping spree.

Nevertheless, I wasn't discouraged. Those Holy Knights that came with Jae-sung and the chimpanzee must have the mana overload pill on them. I could steal from them, if push comes to shove.

'That reminds me, it was surprising that out of the three Holy Knights that came, two are Grandmaster rank.'

I hadn't been able to see the face of the Holy Knights behind the helmets. The number of baby tarantula summoner cards on Varnish, the sword instructor, was only 5. So, I had to use them sparingly.

Out of the 5 times I monitored the group of Holy Knights and Jae-sung, the Holy Knights didn't remove their helmets once.

But I still identified them at one glance, thanks to the distinct sword that the leading Holy knight carried. It was Dainsleif, the personal sword of the Commander of the Holy Knight Order in the novel.

As for the 2nd knight, in the novel, a knight always followed Baratos, the Holy Knight Commander. He was Klein.

Klein was a special character because he was hiding his true power as an ascended rank knight. He infiltrated the Holy Order as a spy on the orders of his true master, the First Imperial Prince, who was the first villain in the novel.

I didn't know the identity of the last knight that came with the Baratos, the Holy Knight Commander, and Klein. There was a high possibility that the third knight was just an extra.

As those thoughts popped into my mind, I reached the periphery of the fire that was engulfing the forest.

My brows furrowed as I had to take a slight detour due to the massive forest fire.

A few minutes passed. But I didn't find the breaking point of the flames.

'This… it's a wall of fire. I'll need to take a longer detour and go around the fire to reach the Griffin and Jae-sung. But how did such a large fire start?'

I couldn't hear the noises of battle because of the special property of the forest. It made me anxious as I couldn't tell if the battle had already ended or not.

Shiing—!

Suddenly, a blinding light covered the surroundings. The brightness stung my eyes and forced me to shut them close.

Was it an instinct or luck? Immediately after losing my vision, I used <Mana Sense>.

With the sixth sense of <Mana Sense> I felt a sharp object heading for my neck at alarming speed. I moved without hesitation and swung my sword while wrapping my arms in thick mana coating.

My muscles bulged and generated tremendous power in a short burst. Like a cannon fired, my sword moved blindingly fast.

Clang!

Yet, the force of the clash wasn't something I could handle. It forced me back, throwing me away from the hound wolf.

I crashed into a tree and felt searing pain coursing through my body. My limbs felt as if they were on fire while my back was numb.

My vision returned but before that, I sensed my summons – the hound wolf and 10 Jet Dragonflies – die.

'Why is he here?'

The perpetrator, the one who ambushed me, continued to walk toward me calmly.

He was adorning a golden armor that covered every inch of his body. Every time he took a step, his feet slightly sunk into the ground due to the heaviness of his armor.

Nonetheless, his movements were smooth and without a hint of struggle as if the armor was made of feathers.

My nerves tensed like metal. The Holy Knight Commander, Baratos, should've been on the opposite side of the wall of fire, with Jae-sung and others.

Yet he was here. Not to mention, the sudden ambush as if he had been anticipating my arrival.

The Holy Knight Commander swung his Greatsword, Dainsleif.

A shroud of death loomed into the surroundings. Ignoring the pain, I used Body Strengthening and jumped out of the way.

Crash!

A bright flash appeared. The tree that had been supporting me moments ago was uprooted, leaving behind a small stump.

"Huff…Huff…"

I stood while using the Gylothyn as support.

Baratos opened his mouth while pointing his sword to the ground, "Who are you?"

I kept my mouth shut and thought of ways to escape. The Gylothyn was invisible and the robe was hiding my appearance with its ability. Baratos had no way to recognize me and I had no intention of revealing myself either.

'Clashing with Baratos in a straight fight is a no-go. I must escape.' My thoughts raced.

Baratos, the Holy Knight Commander, was officially the second strongest man on the continent. He was publicly recognized as second only to Duke Lionel.

Fighting against someone of his combat ability was too high of a hurdle and a steep jump in difficulty for me.

Either way, I had no time to waste on Baratos. The Griffin might be killed any moment now.

While I was thinking of a way out of this predicament, I felt Baratos staring at the baby Griffin. "I see. It's just as the young baron said. You are the one pulling strings behind the scene. It appears that the overlord of the forest is already under your control and you have kidnapped its child."

'Young Baron, he is referring to Jae-sung with his official title.' I tightened my grip on my sword.

Baratos took a stance, "What are you planning?"

An overbearing pressure suddenly smashed into the surroundings.

The ground beneath Baratos feet shattered and he dashed at me. My five senses warned me of imminent danger.

'Release!'

Three treants and five hound wolves materialized out of the cards.

Baratos moved with frightening agility. He deflected the claws of hound wolves with ease, and cut the vines that attacked him from behind without looking.

He moved like a sun that forces others to bow before itself. He didn't bother to dodge, with each step he took down one summon. His sword moved at a speed invisible to naked eyes, killing the summons before I could even react.

The Holy Knight Commander took his last and the 9th step.

Only 5 seconds passed since Baratos took his first step. He was now standing at an arm's distance from me and all the 8 summons were dead.