Chapter 25-2
Of course, Sion already knew their identities.
The reason why they were willing to take the risk and kill Hanette was born out of a sense of duty and revenge.
No one could have predicted that the family that had been annihilated long ago would resurface now.
‘Originally, they were supposed to come out a little later… since it hasn’t started yet, should I view it differently?’
Even in the early and middle parts of the story, the protagonist never had to confront them.
During the time the protagonist was wandering in the frontier regions, they were scattered and active in different places.
It wasn’t until the later part of the story, when the protagonist spent a longer time in the capital city, that they naturally came into conflict with them.
‘…It’s bothering me a bit. Should I take care of it beforehand?’
It was the first time since coming to this world that Sion had felt animosity.
If he had stayed quiet until the protagonist took action, Sion would have remained a bystander.
But since they had targeted Hanette even before the story had started, Sion was boiling with anger.
‘They should stay within certain boundaries. Should I leak the information now?’
If Sion leaked the information, it could reduce their influence to some extent.
However, this could also affect the original plot and could cause problems for the protagonist’s actions.
Of course, their base wouldn’t be completely destroyed, but Sion couldn’t help but be wary of even the slightest variable.
‘Even if the protagonist takes care of it, only his reputation grow slightly. Even If I take action, there won’t be any problems…’
After the protagonist kills their leader, the attention of the nobles and aristocrats is drawn to them.
However, there is not much noticeable change, and neither the heroine nor their comrades are replaced.
The only remaining results are the fact that the protagonist is special and that some noble ladies show favor.
‘Maybe I should think a little more…‘
“Sion-Nim! They’re coming!”
The Captain Guard shouted and blocked the sion’s path.
Magic and arrows no longer flew, but masked individuals rushed in, scattered.
Perhaps they were conscious of swordsmanship and magic absorption, trying to minimize damage.
“Excuse me for a moment, Sister.”
“W-what are you doing right now…”
Sion quickly grabbed Hanette’s hand.
Hanette was momentarily taken aback but couldn’t shake it off.
Beuase, she had to calm down the changes that had occurred inside her body suddenly.
‘Why is my mana acting up like this…’
Hanette couldn’t control the mana surging inside her body.
The mana spread out in an instant and reached her right hand.
Eventually, the mana was released vigorously, completely erasing its traces.
‘She has a lot of mana. I’ve already filled up.’
Sion let go of Hanette’s hand and drew in the mana within his body once again.
All the mana was instantly engraved on the Exceed Rain and emitted a purple light.
“Open the path!”
At Sion’s shout, the escort knights were startled and bowed their heads.
Sion swung the Exceed Rain with all his might, drawing a horizontal line.
Then, a long purple line slashed through and cut down all the trees around it.
“Crack!”
“Ugh!”
The purple sword energy swept through the enemies.
Although the number of enemies killed was fewer than before, they no longer approached.
Instead, they just tried to dodge the sword energy and catch their breath.
“I warn you for the last time! If you attack again, I will chase you to the end. I can sweep you all away by myself!”
Sion raised his sword and shouted loudly at the enemies.
At the same time, the escort knights surrounded Sion and prepared to face the enemies.
However, the enemies did not move and did not even reveal themselves.
‘Hanette is impressive.’
In order to deal with the enemies, Sion had no choice but to absorb Hanette’s mana.
Hanette’s mana was overflowing, and the amount exceeded what was expected.
Without Hanette, it would have been impossible to acquire such a large amount of magic in such a short time.
‘That’s why I can waste magic and not get tired…’
“Sion-Nim, it seems to have quieted down a bit.”
“The attack has also stopped. They’re either assessing the situation or running away.”
“Could they attack us by sneaking around?”
“It’s not impossible, but it takes too much time. After going through all that trouble, would they want to fight us?”
“You’re right, but we can’t let our guard down.”
“Even if it’s because of me, they won’t attack recklessly. Let’s keep watching for a bit longer, and then let’s head back to Kelidos. We can’t go to the capital by road in this situation.”
“Understood.”
Meanwhile, Hanette looked down at her left hand and cautiously clenched it, then opened it.
She couldn’t understand what had happened.
Why did her mana suddenly run wild on its own?
‘..Could it be that someone took my mana? How?’
***
In the eastern region of the Alain Kingdom, there was an unnamed plain.
Masked individuals were hurrying towards somewhere.
He had made the judgment that they couldn’t succeed in their mission, so he was retreating quickly.
Several of his subordinates had already died, but he couldn’t just leave the remaining members to be slaughtered for one reason.
“I messed up. The information was wrong…”
The man leading the group was the overall person in charge of the mission.
He had checked the information related to the mission in advance and didn’t let his guard down until they arrived at the location.
If Adelaira, the Duke, had been involved, he would have naturally stationed knights to protect her daughter, and he and his subordinates could have been in danger depending on the situation.
‘I never received any information that Sion Laird is such an exceptional swordsman.’
He had continuously collected information and constantly verified it to determine its accuracy.
Even if the information had been incorrect, they could have dealt with the situation flexibly depending on the circumstances.
But this mission was exceptional, and that one piece of information had led to a disastrous result.
‘Sion Laird was said to be an aristocrat who didn’t have any talent, but how could he…?’
The man couldn’t help but be amazed at what he had witnessed Sion Laird do.
The Dark Purple sword swept through fiercely, and no one could withstand its power.
Arrows infused with magic and mana were swept away, and all that was left in the wake of the sword were pieces of corpses.
‘He’s a scary guy. Did he already master the sword?’
Using the sword was not simply a matter of channeling mana into it.
One had to maintain that state while tracing a trajectory and expelling the fluctuating mana in a stabilized manner to barely realize the attack.
In other words, it required talent and experience that corresponded to his level, as both maintaining and altering mana needed to occur simultaneously.
However, Sion Laird had managed to create perfect swordsmanship even though he was not yet in his thirties.
‘I made a big mistake. Sion Laird will surely try to kill us. If Duke Adelaira and Marquis Laird are backing him up…’