The Academy's Barbarian-Chapter 292
62page. arrangement (6)
11.
Where the darkness of the night falls first.
Muak said it was the southern front. Hearing this, Ulan's party closed their mouths as if they were momentarily speechless..
some time after that.
The party, who belatedly grasped the situation, each frowned and muttered:.
“wait, that means…….”
“It sounds like you have to go back the way you came.?”
Sven crumpled his face..
It's because I secretly crossed the southern front and came all the way here without being noticed by anyone, and I got angry when I told them to go back there..
Then, Laurea opened her mouth..
“that's fine.”
It's not a matter of going back the way you came.
Above all, as this is related to the eighth hero's trial, and furthermore, to the abyss, as long as the destination is clear, you can go anywhere..
“However, the problem is that the southern front will soon turn into a battlefield. and…….”
Silent, she looked away..
The destination of the amber eyes is the fundamental reason why the Empire declared war on the Desert Cult..
It was Pertisia..
If her existence were discovered in this situation, the situation would become very complicated. So Laurea voiced her concerns..
Meanwhile, she wasn't the only one who showed concern. Muak, who had been silently listening to the party's conversation, nodded and added to her words..
“I agree with the statement that the southern front is dangerous. It's the fact that the imperial army is advancing soon, but there's a blood-crazed demon there.”
“You're a bloody devil?”
“……istan el deorg.”
Muak gritted his teeth.
Soon after, he clenched his fists with his eyes blazing like fire..
“He is a mad monster who wields a sword first with anyone related to the Church, regardless of gender or age, and is a slayer officially designated by the Church..”
At Istan's name that suddenly came out, the party looked at Ibella with their mouths closed without anyone saying anything first..
On the other hand, receiving everyone's attention, she had a subtle expression. As if I never thought I would hear the name of Istan in a place like this..
“If you get entangled with him, even you will get tired. So I understand your reaction like that..”
“…….”
Strictly speaking, it's already been entangled..
In the first place, it was Istan el Deorg who helped Ulan's party cross the southern front and come to the desert..
‘If it turns out that Count Deorg is looking after us, even later…….’
That would be more of a headache.
Perhaps there was a possibility of not receiving Muak's cooperation. The proof is the reaction of Muak, who speaks out in anger as he explains Istan..
‘……I can never get caught.’
Noah's eyes lit up seriously..
Meanwhile, Muak, who had been spitting out gossip about Istan for a while, suddenly changed the topic..
“But don't worry too much.”
“yes?”
“where the darkness of the night falls.”
Muak, who had finished answering the unknown question, opened the map. It was a map of the northern part of the desert, including the southern front..
“Earlier, I said the southern front, but strictly speaking, I didn't mean the front itself, but a specific area around it..”
When he had finished speaking, he stretched out his finger and pointed a little way down the southern front..
Seeing this, Noah opened his eyes wide..
“this is…….”
About half a span away on the map.
As a rule of thumb, it's an ambiguous location about half a day's walk from the front line..
A place dangerous enough to become a battlefield in nine out of ten cases when a battle takes place. On the other hand, when Noah and Laurea saw the map, their eyes twinkled..
“Uhm, I'd be fine here.”
“Iknow, right. I don't think I'll be caught if I get back quickly before the empire advances..”
Before stepping into the desert.
istan said:.
It is said that the imperial army will advance into the desert only after the arrival of one of the Five Swords, the Beast Sword of the North..
‘And for the sword to arrive…….’
Looking at the distance, it's about a week left.
It was the third day since Ulan and the others entered the desert, so the Imperial Army would not be able to advance until the next four days..
When opinions came together like that.
Ulan jumped out of his seat and got up..
“Then you'd better move right away.”
“what? The night was so late?”
“It's better to hurry even if you're a little tired than to get caught up in trouble.”
I wasn't wrong.
Ibela thought deeply and nodded her head as if she understood. Then, Muak, who was watching this, spoke willingly..
“If you need to hurry, I'll show you a shortcut.”
“hmm? is there a shortcut?”
“yes follow us.”
Muak nodded at the questioning Ulan and turned around as if asking him to follow him..
Accordingly, Ulan and his party headed north in pursuit of Muak. Eventually, the campsite where everyone disappeared was quickly covered with darkness..
As if there was no one from the beginning.
12.
Meanwhile around that time.
When news of the collapse of the Tower of Xarthum spread, the Desert Church was literally upset..
“……I beg your pardon?”
leader of the desert church.
Arena Rudric's eyebrows quivered..
She asked again and again to make sure she hadn't misunderstood what she had just been told..
“Say it again. what now…….”
“That, that's why the fourth tower excavated is said to have collapsed..”
The elder, who had come to report, trembled and replied as if he was under pressure from the arena's momentum. At this, Arena gently wrinkled her forehead..
“Why is the tower that was fine…….”
Does it suddenly collapse?
I had such a question, but the fact that the tower collapsed itself was not particularly important..
There's something else that's really important.
Arena asked directly..
“What happened to the sealed box??”
“that is…….”
The elder who evades his words again.
Did he even feel an ominous feeling? Arena presses her with her eyes raised, and the elder answers with a half-resigned sigh..
“It is said that Mu, Muak Rudrick stole the sealed chest and escaped..”
“……!?”
Arena's expression hardened in an instant..
Moments later, shaking with rage, she cried out in a furious voice..
“follow me right now Right Now!”
“so the tracker…….”
“no, that's not enough.”
Although the number of the tracking party has not yet been revealed, Arena shook his head vigorously. she continued, she still with her hard face roared.
“Find it as soon as possible, even if it means mobilizing all the warriors of the Order! Don't even think about coming back until you find him!”
“Yes, yes! All right!”
The elder, intimidated by the sudden momentum, left as if he were running away. Afterwards, left alone with her, Arena niggled her fingernails with her nervous face..
“……Ugh, ugh. no. I can't touch his heart in this situation. How did I, how did I come to this place…….”
An expression of uneasiness.
The dignified appearance he had shown until just now had disappeared, and Arena was restless and wandered around the temple frantically..
how long has it been like that?
Suddenly, footsteps were heard from afar..
“school, teacher!”
The one who came running with a pale face was the elder who had just left after being ordered by Arena..
Meanwhile, at his reappearance, Arena hardened his complexion, as if he never had an anxious expression. Then he shouted in a nervous voice.
“I must have told you not to come back until you found Muak Ludrick.…….”
“Urgent news! Shinsoo has moved!”
“……what?”
At that moment, Arena asked blankly..
It was with a more surprised expression than when I received the news that the tower had collapsed..
It was natural. The deity of the Desert Church, called Rudrick's family, hadn't come out from the depths of the Church's headquarters for a long time..
Even when Arena Rudrick became the new leader with the help of Abyss, Rudrick's followers didn't even show their noses..
That's why the report that the Shinsoo moved was enough to surprise the arena..
“Poetry, why is Shinsoo suddenly……?”
“So far we haven't figured it out yet. However, based on the travel route, the approximate destination was guessed.!”
“where is it?”
“forbidden land. It is the northernmost point and borders the Ruben Empire..”
At the answer that came back, Arena tilted her head even more cryptically. It was because I couldn't understand why Rudrick's people were going there..
“why……?”
Mumbled with incomprehensible questions.
But no one was there to answer her questions. So the temple was filled with an embarrassing silence..
13.
Southern Command of the Ruben Empire.
The front line bordering the desert was crowded with countless people today. It was because of the masters and knights gathered from all over the empire..
However, unlike the crowd, the atmosphere at the front was full of tension, as if walking on thin ice. It was because of the situation that an all-out war might break out soon..
“Eh.”
It wasn't just the wires where the chilly tension flowed. The commander's office was also filled with a rigid atmosphere..
“The trend of the cultists is still there..”
blonde haired man reading a report.
The commander-in-chief of Southern Command, Count Istan el Deorg, clicked his tongue low. Then, looking at the lieutenant waiting in front of him, he spoke to him..
“Are there any special signs?”
“Yes, none reported yet.”
Istan frowned again..
It was because it was unexpected. Just a few days ago, they were ready to advance across the front line, but recently the offensive has suddenly calmed down..
‘Not only that.’
The Demon Beasts that had been infesting the entire desert disappeared all at once, wondering where they had disappeared. Thanks to this, the present desert is filled with quiet desolation..
The only problem was that this sense of desolation was very similar to that of the night before the storm. In the meantime, there was a guess that suddenly came to mind..
‘Maybe it's because of Ulan's party??’
When the infidel attacks subsided.
The time the beasts disappeared coincided with the time Ulan and the others entered the desert..
Of course, it could be a mere coincidence, but for some reason I felt that way..
‘I thought I wanted to accompany you, but…….’
I don't feel good about this.
This is intuition as a soldier and master who has been in the desert for decades. So he wanted to investigate the desert with Ulan's party..
but couldn't.
The position of commander-in-chief was also a reason, but a more fundamental cause was the summons issued by Chartrand..
‘All I can do is wait for information useful for the war situation to come..’
It was around the time when I thought so while looking at the center of the desert. The adjutant, who had been exchanging conversations with someone outside the door, suddenly spoke up..
“Sir, the reconnaissance unit led by Lieutenant Alec Dropin has returned..”
“hmm? If it's Lieutenant Alec's unit…….”
“A unit that lost contact in the desert. According to what I just heard, half of the troops were wiped out in a surprise attack by the cultists..”
Istan's eyebrows twitched at the news that half of the troops had been wiped out..
“But he also came back alive..”
“Yes, but there is a bit of a puzzle.”
“which part?”
“It is reported that the flares used by Lieutenant Alec's reconnaissance unit to call for help are the same as those used by the Crow Brigade..”
“……what?”
Istan's expression hardened..
I deserved it.
Because only Istan can use the Crow Brigade's flares. Istan, on the other hand, never gave Lieutenant Alec a signal flare..
In the first place, if I were to count the recent handing over of signal flares to others, there was only one. And the moment I remembered this far.
‘wait, that means……!’
Istan's eyes flashed once..
It was because I got a sense of how Lieutenant Alec used the Crow Brigade's flares..
“So, I would like to ask if His Excellency ever personally gave a signal flare.…….”
“This way, no, I'll have to go myself.”
“……yes?”
“to guide.”
Istan jumped out of his seat and got up..
Soon after, he patted the adjutant who was staring blankly at him on the shoulder, then turned around..
“I need to see Lieutenant Alec..”
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