Betrayal Knight's Joyful Faith

Chapter 171

The moment he took a step forward, breaking through the enemy’s encirclement at the very front, Arendt sensed again that the air had changed.“…!”

As he stopped abruptly and leapt to the side, a longsword suddenly appeared from nowhere and cut through the air.

Crunch!

The monster that had just thrust its huge sword into the spot where he had been standing slowly raised its head.

‘Golem?’

Its giant-like physique and human-like appearance was similar to the golem Vincent had before.

However, the strong rotten smell and the faint feeling of its breath proved that it was not a golem.

“Ssssssss…”

Black poison flowed out from between its open mouth.

Looking at it, he could guess who the person created it was.

It must be the researcher they recruited instead of Count Stadler, who completely turned to the imperial side.

If that was the case, then this monster must also be a modified human being who was still alive.

At that moment, the monster raised its huge sword above its head and swung it straight at Arendt.

The moment when he kicked the ground and narrowly avoided being hit.

Kwaaang!

The sword struck the ground, sending shards of rock flying in all directions.

“Wow, damn.”

It was a power that if hit with it, would not leave a bone intact.

While he looked away for a moment, the enemy came rushing at him again, howling loudly.

Just as Arendt was about to respond by tightly gripping his sword, Warren suddenly appeared from behind and dug his claw into the giant’s shoulder.

“Keeeeek!”

An indescribable scream burst from the giant’s throat.

Warren tore off a handful of blackened flesh and kicked the monster’s upper body away, and while it was staggering, Richt took advantage of the opportunity to cleanly cut off its head.

“Ugh… Ugh… Ugh… .”

The huge body lost its balance and staggered, but it did not lose its breath. The monster, who somehow managed to maintain its balance with its thick legs, was about to attack again when a cold sword pierced its heart.

“…!”

The huge body was instantly covered in ice along with cold air.

Arendt’s sword mercilessly pulled out, and this time the giant’s body, which had been killed for good, fell to the ground, smashed into pieces.

“Ha…”

Taking a short, deep breath, Arendt stepped onto the remains of the giant and straightened his posture.

When he came to his senses, the entire group had completely escaped the encirclement. The monsters that looked like wild beasts only looked at them from a distance and did not approach any further.

“Save your energy, you punk. If you keep going wild like that now, what are you going to do later?”

“It’s none of your business. Senior, please take care of it… Tsk.”

Arendt, who had been listening to Arthur’s nagging, clicked his tongue briefly when he realized that one of the magic stones embedded in his sword was losing its light.

It was the result of forcibly drawing out magical power to clear the way.

Although he didn’t feel like it, it seemed necessary to exercise self-restraint as he said.

“Are there any injured?”

“I don’t think so.”

Warren glanced at Llewellyn in response to Richt’s question and answered calmly. They too were somewhat tired, but no one was seriously injured.

Roderick, who was shaking off the black blood that was stuck to his sword and clothes, made a tired face.

“Are those the ghouls I’ve only heard about? They’re a bit different from the ghouls I know.”

“Did the evil cult make this? They really have terrible tastes.”

Ken then grumbled in disgust as well.

“By the way, Sir Arendt, were you a wizard? Or do you have something similar to our captain?”

“I was the one who gave that to your captain.”

“As expected. The way he uses it so skillfully is quite different from our captain.”

“I’m sorry for being so clumsy. But anyway…”

Llewellyn, who had been glaring at Roderick, frowned and looked around.

“Did we fall into the barrier again?”

“I guess so. The air is subtly different.”

Warren also looked around and chimed in. The lake and cabin that were visible in the distance were getting closer, but the sense of incongruity in the space itself did not go away.

Richt, who was staring intently at the remaining house sites here and there, blurted out.

“The direction of the moonlight is strange.”

That was the true nature of the feeling of discomfort.

A night when the moon was brightly shining.

The shadows of the place where they had stood remained just off the edge of the steps, but the shadows near the cabin seemed to extend to the east.

“There are a few more.”

Arthur opened his mouth. Warren was already staring blankly at the moonlit shadows with calm eyes.

“Let’s just go through and deal with the guys blocking our way. We don’t know what else might pop up in front of us.”

“It’s easier said than done. I saw it earlier; even though they are big, they are pretty fast.”

Arthur clicked his tongue, but responded to Arendt’s words and picked up his sword again.

He pretended not to notice, but from the moment he saw the giant ghouls, his heart started to get more and more anxious. Those were probably made from living humans.

The longer it took, the more dangerous it would be for the civilians who had been captured.

The direction has already been set.

As the giant ghoul hiding in the shadows gritted its teeth and tried to move, Warren was the first to jump forward.

As if on cue, Arendt and the knights followed suit, kicking the ground.

“Kwaaaaang!”

Warren grabbed the giant’s shoulder and pierced his heart with his thick claws.

Crunch!

Just as the giant was about to let out a terrible scream with a bloody sound, Richt rushed in and cut off its head.

Kuung, leaving the falling giant behind, they dashed towards the space where the moonlight was distorted. Llewellyn activated his artifact towards the giant that was rushing towards them with a roar from the left.

A strong blast of air flew out and blew off a huge head, and Ken then rushed in and cut off a large part of the enemy’s chest.

Arendt jumped up with a strong kick to the ground, decapitating the enemy swinging his sword in front of him, then landed lightly and ran forward.

It was Arthur’s job to completely cut off the windpipe of the one who was starting to freeze.

‘The destination is not far away now.’

Arendt, who shot out like an arrow, swung his sword with force toward the place where the moonlight was shining.

The sword was blocked in the empty air, and a clear, ear-piercing crashing sound erupted.

After a while, the barrier walls began to weaken and spiderweb-like cracks began to form.

As Arendt stepped back, Richt flew in to take his place and struck the cracked spot with force.

Kwaaaaang!

A sound like thunder shook the air, and then, zzzzzz, the crack in the transparent void grew larger and soon shattered into pieces with a loud crash.

And in the next moment, before they could even react, a bright light suddenly burst out and enveloped the group.

When Richt, who had closed his eyes tightly due to the sudden sensation of the ground beneath his feet collapsing, checked ahead again, the scenery before his eyes had completely changed.

“…!”

He must have been near a lake in the mountains, but now he was standing in an unidentifiable hallway covered with thick carpet.

He felt the stuffy air that was typical of a room that had been closed for a long time. Arthur, standing next to him, muttered in a dazed tone.

“What? Where are we?”

Richt opened his mouth for a long time and then barely managed to speak.

“Teleportation magic…?”

Even leaving aside whether teleportation was possible or not, there was no other way to explain the current phenomenon.

Just a moment ago, they had seen a night sky filled with moonlight and scattered ruins, but now what they were facing was a corridor filled with an eerie silence.

“What about the others?”

“Uh?”

The two people who had been standing there dumbfounded suddenly came to their senses at Arendt’s voice that suddenly popped out.

There were only three knights standing in the hallway.

Neither Warren nor Llewellyn were in sight. They looked around hurriedly, but nothing had changed.

The surroundings were completely quiet, with no sign of life present.

That meant that Llewellyn and his party were not within their reach.

Richt let out a sigh at the rapidly changing situation.

“…This is really happening.”

Arendt also had no idea what was going on. He looked down the dark hallway with a look of discomfort on his face.

“The moment we passed through the barrier, weren’t we pulled here by some kind of force?”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to say it’s a ‘welcome’?”

It was just as Arthur said.

Teleportation, or instantaneous movement, was a magic that had long since disappeared during the Great War… and it was known that humans could never cast it due to the limitations of their race.

Not only was it impossible to create a barrier that would catch not only knights but also werewolves, but only someone far beyond the realm of humanity could teleport that many people at once.

Now, placed in the palm of such a strong enemy, they were no different from insects caught in a spider’s web.

“Let’s go first. If we meet the owner of this space, we can find out anything.”

Arendt looked around again and spoke plainly.

“It seems like they want to cause more trouble, and we need to find the others as well.”

“You…”

How do you stay calm in a situation like this?

Arthur, who was about to snap like that, soon shut his mouth tightly.

It was because he noticed that Arendt’s eyes, staring into the darkness that had gathered in the hallway, had grown cold.

But that was only for a moment.

Whatever was going on in his mind, the damn apprentice knight clicked his tongue and started walking forward, sauntering down the dark hallway.

For the other two, there was no other choice.

They had no choice but to follow him down the hallway with his usual leisurely gait.

Warren, whose ears had been pricked up in the darkness, let out a deep sigh.

“This is difficult.”

No matter how much he looked around, he couldn’t feel any sign of the three knights.

Besides, he couldn’t even tell where he was right now. He was deep in the mountains just a moment ago, and then suddenly he fell into the middle of an empty hallway.

“Still, it’s fortunate that I didn’t fall alone…”

“That’s true.”

Ken nodded at Llewellyn’s words.

“What kind of magic is this? I’ve never heard of such a trap.”

“It would be much easier to investigate an old, worn-out tomb.”

“It was just last year that I almost got crushed to death by a pile of rocks.”

When Roderick grumbled, Ken responded, deliberately making a nonsensical remark to relieve tension.

Llewellyn, smiling bitterly, urged the group on.

“Don’t just stay still, let’s get moving. It’ll be useless to just sit here and die.”

It seemed like the first priority would be to find the scattered people and join them. Everyone nodded silently at the leader’s words and began to walk.

“You see everything in life. There is no tale of bravery like this one.”

“It would be an honor for an explorer, if only I could return alive.”

Warren glared at the giggling Ken with a disapproving look.

“Don’t say such nonsense. If you die in a place like this, it’s not even a laughing matter.”

“Who would call you a wolf? You’re annoyingly stiff.”

“You guys are just too thoughtless.”

The sound of Roderick and Warren bickering dispersed into the thick darkness of the hallway.

And after a while.

In the place where they disappeared, a figure appeared.

“…”

He quietly stared in the direction the explorers had left, and soon after, he disappeared again, seemingly melting into the shadows.

Where everyone had left, only an ominous silence remained.