Chapter 176 – Escape (3)
As I ran through the forest, I thought to myself.
The hero of Chapter 1—Lochter Felice.
Until his escape from the mines, Tobaron had been in a recovery phase, regaining its strength after suffering losses from the chira hordes.
But—
"Things have progressed this far..."
Lochter’s escape had been the turning point, setting off a chain reaction.
The battle at the Korun River, the Hunter Purge that followed, the burning of Kal’s manor and Wailing Hill—all of these events had led to the situation now unfolding.
"We’ve clashed with the Executioner indirectly multiple tis, haven’t we?"
There had been monts where I was a step away from death, and gambles that could have gone terribly wrong.
"And yet, we’ve won every ti."
It felt like luck had been on our side.
We had even seized the initiative, drawing in forces that would serve as the foundation for an anti-Kal alliance.
Now, all that remained was to escape the mines safely.
"If we can just survive this crisis, nothing could be better."
With Beneta still intact, we could form an alliance and launch a decisive campaign against Kal.
It was unfortunate that we couldn’t prevent Etor’s fall, but we had already destroyed the Executioner’s key strategic points.
One of them was Wailing Hill, a massive burial ground filled with corpses used for dark magic rituals.
With the hill burned and the hidden stronghold destroyed, the shamans’ nest would be crippled for a while.
"Now, all that’s left is the mine."
The gold mine was Kal’s financial lifeline and his only passage for dealing with outside factions.
If we destroyed it, it would be a devastating blow—severing his limbs, so to speak.
Not even a regressor could recover from that easily.
"We need to destroy it and get out—but of course, things aren’t that simple."
I sighed, adjusting the heavy bag slung over my shoulder.
The Clown Daggers the overseer had given .
If our evacuation had gone smoothly, I would have used them to collapse the entire mine.
But the delay in evacuation had complicated everything.
Now, we had to buy ti against the pursuers.
"A narrow field of view at night, a mountain filled with natural cover..."
The mine was deep in the mountains, surrounded by steep cliffs and dense forests, with only a few cleared roads for access.
If they had a carriage, they had to take this path.
Karl had also been moving along this main road rather than cutting through the woods.
That ant we were bound to run into the enemy soon.
After descending for so ti, I scanned the area, trying to sense any movent.
It felt like we had been descending for a while.
I turned to Karl.
"Where are they now?"
"They should be about halfway down by now."
"Halfway? Faster than expected."
"It’s because we ambushed them. They’re being cautious about our forces."
"Cautious?"
I thought for a mont, then nodded.
"Kal must have realized that we didn’t suffer any losses."
"How the hell would he know? That explosion erased everything. Or… wait—did Lyon wake up?"
"It’s more likely Arcane. He’s a damn good fortune-teller."
If Arcane had checked the Dead Gods’ Hosts, he would have realized that none of our hosts had died.
Unlike us, their side had suffered a major loss—Lyon.
Not knowing our exact condition, they had no choice but to tread carefully.
"Then why don’t we just ask the Little Witch about Lyon’s condition? Isn’t she supposed to be gifted too?"
"We haven’t had a chance to ask her."
Lily had been asleep ever since I woke up.
I’d have to ask her later.
Just then, one of our companions pointed ahead.
"Master, enemies ahead."
We stopped mid-slope and peered down.
In the distance—
Through the trees and along the descending road, moving lights flickered.
Torches.
A large group carrying torches was ascending the road.
"Kinda weird, isn’t it?"
"What do you an?"
"They’re fully exposing their position."
"It’s actually the safest approach. Sticking together like that makes it harder for us to launch an attack."
"They’re fast. If we leave them alone, they’ll reach the mine before the evacuation is complete."
It was definitely the most troubleso way they could advance.
"Let’s start here."
I chose a flat section of the path as our battleground and pointed toward the towering trees.
"You wanna cut those down? That’ll take forever."
"Not with these."
I pulled a blood-red dagger from my bag.
Karl blinked at it, then looked at his own dagger.
"...Wait, with that?"
"Sothing similar, but different."
These were Clown Daggers.
BOOOOM—!!!
A thunderous explosion shattered the silence of the dark forest.
CRAAACK—
One by one, massive trees collapsed, blocking the road.
Amid the falling dust and debris, I saw the torch-wielding troops halt in place.
Karl fanned away the rising dust with his hand, peering down the road.
I could sense unease in him.
"Isn’t this way too obvious?"
"I wanted to see how they’d react."
"What if they just charge straight in?"
"That would be difficult for them."
The tangle of fallen trees completely blocked the road.
Normally, no one would even consider trying to push through.
But this was Kal we were dealing with.
To him, this was probably nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
"They can break through this easily."
"But they’ll have to stop the carriage for a while."
"You got a bad feeling about this?"
"Not yet."
Even with that massive explosion, there was no imdiate reaction from them.
Despite our small numbers, we had managed to take down Lyon.
Kal knew he was the target.
So, of course, he wouldn’t split his forces.
Sticking together and advancing quickly was the best option for him.
But still—
"This is too predictable."
Kal Blazer was following my expectations too well.
That was what felt off.
I needed confirmation.
I handed Karl the bag of remaining Clown Daggers.
"If they break through, plant all of these behind the barricade. The mont I signal you—detonate them."
"All of them?"
"Yes."
Karl nodded and, along with two others, moved behind the fallen trees.
anwhile, I summoned the Blood-Drinking Chalice and leaped into the dense forest, moving around the road.
I silently approached the enemy’s formation from the side, keeping hidden among the trees.
Then—
The halted troops began moving again.
At about 100 ters, I could see them clearly under the flickering torchlight.
Just as Karl had reported.
Hundreds of knights in blood-red armor.
Behind them, a luxurious carriage, guarded by a unit of shamans.
A massive difference in strength.
With that tight formation, we had no openings.
I activated Divine Hunter’s ability—Keen Sight.
My gaze locked onto the center of the knights.
A dark-red aura seeped from between them.
An elderly man wielding a massive staff.
Rengua, the Master of the Nest, was among them.
‘Not close enough.’
I needed to get closer to read the divine glyphs around him.
I crept forward—
80 ters.
70 ters.
Suddenly, Rengua turned his head.
I froze, pressing myself against the tree.
He tilted his head, puzzled… then turned back and continued moving.
I let out a slow breath.
‘That’s my limit.’
Still, I had gotten close enough.
[Rengua Field – Descendant of the Blood Oak Shaman (Madness)]
[Madness Control]
[Madness Infection]
[Madness Explosion]
I carefully read through Rengua’s divine abilities.
Madness…?
I had never seen this divine power in the novel before.
But one thing was clear.
I recognized the staff he was holding.
The Blood Oak Staff.
It seed that this ancient relic had been the key to Rengua awakening as a Host of Divinity.
I had heard that Etor had fallen due to an outbreak of madn.
Now, it was clear that Rengua was behind it.
Power inflation is ridiculous.
When I first t him, Rengua was nothing more than a sowhat skilled shaman.
But now, he had the ability to turn an entire territory upside down.
Just like Lyon had overwheld Lochter, this was the terrifying power of a regressor like Kal.
With knowledge from his past life, he could accelerate the growth of his subordinates to absurd levels.
I shifted my gaze from the blood-red knights to the luxurious carriage at the rear.
A strong, unmistakable divine presence.
Thick and overwhelming.
"It’s not just one person."
I couldn’t pinpoint the exact number, but based on the concentrated aura, there were at least two divine hosts inside the carriage.
Most likely Kal and Wiley.
But then—
“…What the hell?”
As the carriage passed closer, I instinctively rubbed my eyes and looked again.
Through Keen Sight, I examined the aura leaking from the carriage.
But the divine glyphs were blurred, as if hidden behind a thick mist.
Like looking through a mosaic.
Sothing was interfering with my abilities.
Should I get closer?
Or—
Creak—
I pulled back my bowstring.
An armor-piercing arrow infused with full power, aid directly at the carriage.
70 ters.
Could I kill Kal?
I calculated the odds—then shook my head and lowered my bow.
Among the shamans escorting the carriage, I spotted several shield-bearers.
I would only get one shot. If it wasn’t a guaranteed kill, it wasn’t worth the risk.
That formation was a hornet’s nest.
If I made a reckless move, it could backfire.
And my first objective was to buy ti.
I watched as the carriage passed, then remained in my position.
I needed to confirm whether any additional forces were following.
I waited in silence.
But no matter how long I stood there, I sensed nothing.
“No reinforcents…?”
I quickly returned to Karl’s position.
As soon as I arrived, he nearly jumped out of his hiding spot, scolding .
“Damn it! You disappeared out of nowhere!”
“I needed to confirm sothing before they arrived.”
“Confirm what?”
“There are no reinforcents. Etor’s 3,000 cavalryn are missing.”
“…Maybe they stayed behind? Etor is a ss right now.”
“What kind of lord keeps another region’s army stationed inside their own castle? Especially a massive force like 3,000 cavalry?”
“…So what are you saying?”
“There’s only one route cavalry can take to get here. And yet, they aren’t coming. That’s when I knew sothing was wrong.”
I turned my gaze toward the forest.
Beyond the fallen trees, knights clad in blood-red armor began erging.
Rengua’s knights.
“The Etor Knights?”
More accurately, Rengua’s puppets—driven mad under his control.
“…Those guys?”
“Yes. If Etor’s actual cavalry were here, people might realize the truth. That’s why Kal left them out. He can’t afford for people to find out that he was the one who destroyed Etor.”
This ant that Kal still hadn’t completely secured control over Etor.
“Then we just need to stop these guys, right?”
“You make it sound easy.”
“…Shit. What’s the plan?”
I raised my bow, staring at the approaching carriage.
Kal was definitely inside.
But sothing felt… off.
I needed to see what was in that carriage.
“For now—”
I drew my bowstring.
“—let’s prod them a bit.”
Even if I couldn’t hit Kal, I could destroy the carriage.
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