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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
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Cron, who was in charge of the overall command here, had tried to report several times, but every time he did, Raymond was so focused on honing his sword skills that he couldn’t be disturbed.
“I am Felton, a royal knight. I was sent by His Majesty, the Emperor.”
“His Majesty, the Emperor?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Raymond had expected that due to diplomatic issues, even if they couldn’t mobilize a large army, at least renowned royal knights would be sent. However, this happened much sooner than expected. Raymond thought it would take at
least another week, but the fact that the royal knightss moved so quickly suggested that something must have happened in the imperial palace or the north.
“What’s going on?”
Felton looked up, his face pale under the bright sun.
“I was about to report this to Lord Cron, but… it seems my guess was right. There’s been an incident in the north.”
“Tell me”
“Lord Crayer, the Marquess, has gone missing while patrolling the Black Mountains”
The lords of the Marquessate of Crayer had always protected the Black Mountains as a duty and honor. Recently, with the Fifth Prince missing and frequent skirmishes in the Black Mountains, Lord Crayer led a large patrol and disappeared in the process.
‘Has the operation of the Ghost Unit started already?’
He bit his lip slightly.
‘It must be a joint operation between the Ghost Unit of the Free Isiria Kingdom and the assassins of the Kingdom of
Edryger. Their goal is to provoke a border incident.’
In the Tri-Nation Allliance, they planned to test the military power of the Philios Empire by using the Free Isiria
Kingdom as a front line.
To do this, they needed to lure the Philios Empire’s army into the Black Mountains.
Therefore, they kidnapped and killed Lord Crayer, a renowned knight family in the north, to provoke them.
The Black Mountains were still a land of monsters, so even if they deliberately mutilated the body, they could
blame it on the monsters. It was a weak excuse, but there would be no evidence.
‘I didn’t expect it to start this soon…’
Because Raymond had repelled the mountain mercenaries of the Free Isiria Kingdom with the Fifth Prince’s banner,
the Ghost Unit moved faster than planned.
Naturally, their target was now Raymond, but since he was holed up in a temporary base, they stuck to their
original plan and kidnapped Lord Crayer.
“Let’s meet with Lord Cron first.”
“Yes, Your Highness”
Felton nodded in agreement with Raymond’s decision.
“Gestain!”
“Yes, my lord!”
“We’ll have to end today’s sword training here.”
“Understood.”
Raymond removed his leather armor and put on the cloak Alex had brought, along with a mantle. The clothes underneath were still covered in dust, but they were hidden by the mantle.
As Raymond hung his wooden sword on the rack, Felton became curious.
Seeing the Fifth Prince, known as a mid-level magician, training in swordsmanship was intriguing. Felton almost couldn’t resist asking questions about it, even in such a serious situation.
“Let’s go.”
Raymond said, leading the way. Felton followed him, and they soon reached the command tent guarded by soldiers.
“Ah, Your Highness!”
The officer in charge of the guard was startled by Raymond’s sudden appearance and performed a salute. Raymond nodded slightly in greeting.
“Weren’t you in training?”
“I have a guest. Is Lord Cron inside?”
“Yes! I’ll inform him.”
The door opened, and a slightly tired-looking Cron emerged. He wasn’t surprised by the arrival of the royal knights, thanks to prior notice.
However, when he heard the news about Lord Crayer, he stumbled so much that Raymond had to support him.
“We have received an imperial order to withdraw His Highness and Lord Cron to the border immediately”
“T-Then what about this base…?”
Although Marquess Crayer had been abducted, Cron couldn’t afford to ignore the defense of the base. Fortunately, Felton had a solution.
“The special unit I brought will secure this temporary base, so Lord Cron, you should retreat to the border with
His Highness.”
In the end, Raymond had to retreat to the border with Cron that day.
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“My lord, please hold on just a bit longer!”
The voice of his subordinate knight roused the fading consciousness of Marquess Crayer.
He let out a cry-like breath and lifted his head. With the knight’s support, he looked around frantically.
Just moments ago, the enemies that had filled the mountains were nowhere to be seen.
“T-the enemies…?”
“The brave knights of the Crayer family and the territorial army have driven them away!”
“Thank goodness…”
Marquess Crayer replied in a weak voice. To escape the siege, twenty brave knights of the Crayer family had lost their lives.
For now, it seemed best not to inform the lord, Marquess Crayer, of this fact. He was already half-dead from the relentless enemy assault.
“Just hold on a bit longer! We’ll reach our base in about two days!”
The knight tried to find hope, but it was difficult. The number of people protecting them was too small to
withstand the Black Mountain filled with monsters.
There were fifteen soldiers, seven knights, and one mid-level magician—nothing more. If they were in good
condition, it might be manageable, but they were all exhausted from fleeing for a week.
‘Please…,’
The knight prayed fervently for an encounter with the patrol of the Philios Empire, but his wish was not granted.
“Kuh, kuh!”
A black arrow pierced the mid-level magician’s chest, serving as a signal.
The knights quickly gathered around Marquess Crayer, and the soldiers raised their weapons.
“For the Philios Empire!”
“Long live the Crayer family!”
They shouted to boost their morale, but it was short-lived. Their eyes soon filled with despair.
“Aaah!”
“Gah, kuh!”
Each time the dark shadow overwhelmed their formation, soldiers fell, bleeding. It took only five seconds for fifteen soldiers to lose their lives.
“Damn it…!”
Someone cursed. In an instant, the magician and soldiers were annihilated, leaving only Marquess Crayer and a few knights by his side.
The enemy was clearly just one person. The knight’s intuition told him so.
But that one person was the worst opponent. And the knights’ instincts screamed—it was a monster.
“High Assassins…” Someone mentioned the identity of the pursuer. High Assassins referred to the ruthless and skilled assassins from the Night Kingdom of Edryger.
The shadow of death had come to the Black Mountains.
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They had retreated to the border, not because they had given up, but to avoid disobeying the imperial order. It was a step back to prepare for two steps forward.
The order only mentioned leaving the Black Mountain, with no instruction to wait at the border. Raymond took advantage of this.
Marquess Crayer was a renowned noble family in the north, having protected the Philios Empire from the Tri-Nation Kingdom Alliance and the monsters of the Black Mountain for years.
However, due to the current state of the continent, launching a large-scale search operation was impractical.
Deploying two or three search parties, though, would not be difficult. The problem was who would lead them.
“My lord, someone from the Border Army Headquarters has arrived.”
Raymond was in the middle of sword training in the solitary training hall. He turned his head toward the sound and saw Gestain standing there. Gestain bowed slightly and reported.
“From the Border Army Headquarters?”
“Yes, they request your attendance at the commanders’ meeting.” Raymond had expected this, but it came sooner than anticipated. The kidnapping of Marquess Crayer was mentioned in the setting, but the details in the novel itself were brief. As Raymond, he only knew the general flow and not the specifics.
First, he would attend the commanders’ meeting to assess the situation and act accordingly.
Since he knew the tactics of the Ghost Unit, and the author had already set up the ending for Marquess Crayer, rescuing him seemed feasible.
“Let’s go now.”
Raymond said, finishing his change and heading to the headquarters with a small elite guard.
Inside the headquarters, high-ranking commanders from the border military were already seated. Among them was Cron,
the pale-faced son of a brave knight family.
Although he was young, barely into his twenties, he was already burdened with the weight of inheriting a great family.
“His Highness, the Fifth Prince, has arrived.”
A member of the elite guards, speaking on Gestain’s behalf, announced Raymon’s arrival in a calm voice. The assembled officers began to rise from their seats.
“No need to rise. Let’s proceed.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Given the urgent situation, unnecessary formalities were omitted. Raymond took his seat, and the commanders reported with strong voices.
“We will report the current situation.”
A staff officer from the headquarters attached a military map of the Black Mountain to the wall and secured it with a dagger. Red and blue pins were placed here and there.
“The red pins indicate combat zones, and the blue pins mark our temporary bases.”
The number of temporary bases was smaller than expected. As noted in the author’s setting, the Philios Empire was at a disadvantage in the Black Mountain.
“After Marquess Crayer went missing, we formed three additional search parties and sent them into the Black Mountains, but they found nothing.”
Raymond couldn’t help but subtly shake his head at the report. If the elite Ghost Unit of the Free Iseria Kingdom had been involved, it would be impossible for ordinary search party soldiers to find any traces.
At least, support from the Central Intelligence Agency would be needed, but they were always busy countering the plots of the Haifel Empire and the Tri-Nation Alliance.
“Why not inform the Mountain Duke and request support?”
Someone proposed the idea. It was utter nonsense.
Mountain Duke, Rivers Belfian, was a shield protecting the empire from the Haifel Empire and the monster forest. He did not have a good relationship with Marquess Crayer, who was responsible for the Black Mountains.
Would he send support to help Marquess Crayer during this tense time with the Haifel Empire?
The answer was no.
Raymond looked toward the voice to identify who had made the suggestion. There was a young commander in a neat uniform, likely a second or youngest son of a noble family, newly assigned to the border.
Glancing around, Raymon saw that others shared his sentiment. They, too, found the suggestion absurd.
“There will be no support. This is a problem for the northeast border army to solve.”
Raymon spoke in a composed voice, bringing the discussion back on track.
The young officer who had mentioned the Mountain Duke looked deflated. The others nodded in agreement.
“Does Your Highness have a plan?”
The young noble commander asked, trying to manage his expression.
It could be perceived as mocking.
Actually, the imperial army commander, Cassias, who was sitting next to him, seemed about to rise, but Raymond
gestured for him to stay seated.
“What if I do?”
Raymond replied without hesitation. The young commander was taken aback, and the attention of the others focused on
him.
Once known as a troublemaker, Raymond, the Fifth Prince, had saved the emperor at a banquet and led soldiers to
escape through the “Path of the Forgotten.”
The commanders held onto faint hope.
Do you believe the Fifth Prince has a plan?
Is the rumor true?
What alternative will he propose?
These thoughts were not spoken aloud but were evident in their gazes.
Mixed reactions and emotions filled their eyes, centered around the former troublemaker, Fifth Prince Raymond.
“You all know that I escaped from the Path of the Forgotten, correct?”
Raymond asked. The commanders nodded in unison.
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“Yes, we have received the reports.”
Some did not believe the stories about the Path of the Forgotten, but the consistent reports from knights and soldiers made it impossible to doubt.
“I saw corpses wearing the garments of ghosts.”
Raymond declared, shocking the room.
They knew the “ghosts” he spoke of did not refer to the dead.
