Chapter 367

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

Leeha: Did you find anything?

Fernand: I have investigated the place where Faust was found, it is close to where Igor was. But...... How come the direction they went the same?

Nara: What?

Fernand: I need to check more first, this might be a blessing in disguise. The last traces of Faust and Igor, where both of their mana moved were almost the same. Oh- I can’t make the assumption that Bluebeard would be there, but I’ll tell you once I finish examining and comparing Crowley’s traces with their current location.

Since the traces left in Gaza City were old, it was impossible for Fernand to investigate in detail.

However, the traces were found in the places where the battle literally ‘just’ took place, and the results exceeded Leeha’s expectations.

‘What..? They have scattered and hidden until now, but they are now grouped up in one place? No, I have to wait until the investigation on Crowley is over to find out......’

Why?

If they are going to group up, shouldn’t they have grouped up sooner?

Why have they scattered before and grouped up now?

‘Thanks to Alexander and Bailephus, the number of chimeras was cut in half, still, as long as there are undead, it will be difficult to stick together.’

That was probably why they were scattered in the first place. In order to leave their traces to a minimum.

However, if they group up now, there would be several reasons for that.

‘Are they feeling a sense of crisis...? No, that alone doesn’t make sense. As long as they sensed that we were chasing them, they would know that it would be easier to catch them if they grouped together.’

Only animals like rats would group together when frightened.

People on the level of Faust, Igor, and Crowley couldn’t have planned such a strategy.

Most importantly, even if only one person was ‘marked’, wouldn’t all of them be in danger?

In reality, there was no need to gather in Middle Earth, where there was a means of long-distance communication like ‘whisper’.

‘If so...... are they confident that they could deal with us?’

Leeha shook his head. That, too, was unlikely.

Igor and Czar made Lee Jiwon retreat, and Crowley also made Ram Hwajeong retreat, but it was because of the situation.

What if Lee Jiwon and Ram Hwajeong switched opponents?

What if Alexander and Bailephus were added? The result could be reversed at any time.

‘There’s no way those guys don’t know that. Then it means that they have another person to deal with us...... is it safe to assume that it’s because Bluebeard is there?’

That was the first possibility. They were currently with Bluebeard. Then, no matter who appeared, such as Alexander or Bailephus, they had the confidence to deal with them. However, Leeha did not think so.

‘Wouldn’t it have been better if they had brought Bluebeard? At the time when the three teams were fighting individually, it would have been easy for Bluebeard to kill them one by one. Why were they gathering......‘?’ It was weird.

Reflecting on their movements so far was by no means a rational thing to do. Leeha felt a certain sense of incongruity in their movements.

‘They are obviously at odds with the ‘hidden hand’. If they had an information network all over the continent, they would be able to tell Faust all kinds of hideouts that no one else knows.’

Nevertheless, they had gathered. In one place.

‘If only I could confirm one thing...’

Fernand: I finished checking Crowley’s previous location! It’s the same! Faust, Igor, and Crowley are moving toward the same place!

It was then that Fernand’s whisper came.

“Everyone!”

While Leeha organized his thoughts, the people immersed in their own thoughts raised their heads.

“Would you like to listen to me?”

“Tsk, we’re going to do what you just suggested anyway. You’re just saying that to make it look like you’re persuading us...’

Kidd snorted and answered.

“Huh?! Y-You should still listen to it, Kidd! What are you talking about? It’s embarrassing.”

“Ha Leeha, that means your thoughts are just as useful. Please tell us.”

Perhaps, if there was someone who believes in Leeha more than Ram Hwajeong, it would be Kidd.

The playful attitude made the atmosphere soften a little.

Leeha began to share his speculation with the Demon King’s army subjugation team, which was directly assigned a mission by the pope.

“......They might not have Bluebeard. And the ‘hidden hand’ might have let go of them.”

Leeha bullets of reasoning hit close to the correct answer.

What remained was to shoot the last shot hit the target.

“Oh! You’re here already?”

“Yes. There’s no reason to delay if we know that Bluebeard isn’t around. Any traces?”

Fernand glanced for a moment at the sight of the crowd that appeared near him.

However, as soon as Leeha’s question was finished, he immediately opened his mouth naturally.

“It’s continuing. They’re an hour away from here, and above all, it’s constantly appearing from the place where the traces were first found.”

“What does that mean?”

“They are moving on foot! Taking advantage of the darkness, secretly heading toward Fibiel! They are moving along the ridge where there are no players or NPCs! However, it’s not like there aren’t any living beings in the vicinity, so I’m sure they will run into monsters, and now I’m looking at the monsters they have dealt with to see what-”

“Okay. Okay.”

Leeha nodded his head interrupting Fernand. Then pulled the bolt of Black Bass.

“Fernand-ssi, please move quickly. You can be a little less careful. What matters now is speed.”

Leeha was certain.

In such an urgent situation, there was no way they would choose to ‘walk’ when they were being chased by Alexander and the other top 10 rankers.

What did their walking mean?

Does that mean traversing areas where monsters spawn?

“Yes? If we do that and get caught by them-”

“No. They won’t notice us. Now that it has been confirmed that the ‘hidden hand’ is no longer their eyes, we don’t have to hold back.”

It meant that the ‘hidden hand’ who was their informant and provided them hideouts was no longer with them.

It was only after hearing Leeha’s explanation that Fernand fully understood.

“Okay, please try to keep up!”

He was only slow because he moved forward while being careful that other users might be around.

The Demon King’s army subjugation team walked through the dark forest according to Fernand’s pace, at a speed where Ram Hwajeong almost had to run.

10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes.

The more nervous a person was the more they talked, but no one opened their mouths.

“Fernand-ssi, how far are they?”

“They are 30 minutes away from us. With our pace, we should be able to catch up to them in about 20 minutes.”

“Okay. Then-”

“It’s fine to follow, but are you planning on attacking them yourself?”

It was Alexander who asked the question and Leeha nodded.

“We will have to catch up first and then see how the situation goes...... for now, that is the plan.”

“They are humans who received the power of the Demon King. I wonder if that bastard, the Fragment of the Demon King, is testing them?”

“Test?”

“Ha Leeha, you said that Bluebeard is not with them, but Bluebeard might be near them like lions trying to raise their cubs to become strong.”

“Ah...”

Leeha understood Alexander’s concern.

Regardless of whether or not this was the case, Alexander’s assumption was quite consistent with Bluebeard’s ‘personality’.

It was evident from the hardened faces of the three people while listening to Alexander.

Leeha, Kidd, and Luger.

Didn’t the three of them already go through something like that?

‘It was like that with Crolang.’

Bluebeard didn’t get up from his seat until the moment his subordinate, Crolang, died. Perhaps it was because the three musketeers had killed Croland before he could do anything.

If there was a little delay, it was possible that Bluebeard would have taken some action to save Crolang.

‘It was only Crolang at that time, but this time, it’s the Demon King’s army. If even one guy is alive and Bluebeard comes out- no, in any case, we have to fight Bluebeard anyway.’

That was the original plan. After wiping out all of Demon King’s army, join forces to kill Bluebeard.

However, it was not easy to deal with the Demon King’s army.

But it wasn’t that other possibilities for Bluebeard were completely out of hand, so their feelings suddenly became complicated.

‘What should I do if he suddenly appears during the fight?’

It was not a situation where they could be relieved that Bluebeard was not around right now.

(To be continued...)