My Reflector Is Invincible

15. It’s Better to Make Mistakes

“Ugh… Please… spare…”

James’s face was swollen.

It was the result of being ganged up on by his own soldiers.

Haken laughed at the sight.

“Serves you right.”

Thwack!

He spat and stomped on him like the other soldiers.

It was a natural consequence for betraying his comrades.

“Even the street rats in the back alleys don’t live like you.”

He hadn’t forgotten how he almost died because of this guy.

If Joo-yeon hadn’t stopped him, he would have killed him right away.

“Go easy on him. He can’t die yet.”

“Yes, I’ll beat him up just enough.”

Other soldiers gathered around Hayeon.

They were soldiers who had been addicted to .

They all had a ferocious murderous aura.

“Can we join in?”

“Just don’t kill him.”

“Yes, sir.”

The soldiers bowed to Joo-yeon and replied.

Their attitude towards him was very polite.

Of course. He had saved them from dying as Paladins, so it was only natural.

However, the way they looked at the traitor James was different.

“You didn’t just betray our Lord, but also us, your comrades.”

“How could you sell out your comrades for a few bucks? What’s wrong with you?”

Their murderous aura was flaring.

“Cough… cough…”

Of course, most of the soldiers weren’t in good condition.

It was because they were still suffering from the aftereffects of the poison. Their bodies were covered in blue bruises because their physical limitations had been forcibly lifted.

Even so, they were more than capable of taking care of the guy who had betrayed his comrades.

“Get him!”

Bam! Bam!

While the soldiers were taking care of James,

Aiden approached.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“The soldiers were clearly targeting us, but how did you suddenly make them go after that traitor?”

“Oh. That?”

At the critical moment, the possessed soldiers changed their target.

The reason was simple.

It was because of the light of that Joo-yeon emitted from his body.

You’re asking how he used Reflection when it would kill the soldiers?

He didn’t reflect the soldiers’ attacks.

To be exact, he reflected the spell that had been cast on him.

‘Originally, is a forbidden drug combined with a spell.’

It was almost like a curse.

If you fed the drug combined with the spell to your enemy, you could designate the target with a spell tool and make them chase after them.

A spell that made them see you as their hated enemy.

That was exactly what Joo-yeon had aimed for.

It reflects the target of the hex directed at him.

The soldiers moved to smash the flute, a hex tool, instead of Joo-in and Aiden.

That’s how they dealt with the knight who had betrayed them along with James.

Now, there was only one thing left to do.

For a moment, Joo-in stepped between Haken and the soldiers.

“I have something to ask.”

The soldiers stepped back immediately.

However, they were ready to strike James at any moment.

Joo-in leaned towards James.

“Why did you do it?”

“I, it wasn’t me. It’s a misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding? You had the flute, the hex tool, hanging around your neck.”

There was also the testimony of the prisoners.

Everything pointed to James being the traitor.

“Isn’t it too pathetic to make excuses now?”

“……”

James was lost for words.

He never thought that Joo-in would not only break the hex but also notice the hex tool.

There was no way to make excuses anymore.

He bowed his head to the ground and begged for mercy.

“P-please spare my life.”

“Well? Is there any reason I should do that?”

“I just did what I was told to do. The person who ordered me to do it was….”

“I know. Count Sanderson, is that it?”

“……!?”

James’ pupils shook.

His opponent, no, Joo-in knew everything.

His own death was naturally drawn in his mind.

Then, Joo-in’s voice was heard.

“Do you want to live? Then, I might be able to spare you?”

“Are you, for real?”

James exclaimed urgently.

At that sight, a commotion arose among the soldiers.

“No! This bastard betrayed us all!”

“Have you forgotten that we almost died because of him? We almost hurt our lord with our own hands!”

The soldiers turned to Aiden anxiously.

“My lord! Please don’t spare this bastard!”

The knights agreed with the soldiers.

“We think the same. If we spare the traitor, it will tarnish our lord’s honor.”

“Those who betray once tend to do it again. We must punish the traitor with death to prevent the same thing from happening again.”

Everyone was telling him to kill James.

Aiden hesitated for a moment before approaching Joo-yeon.

“Are you really going to let him live?”

His expression suggested that it shouldn’t be the case.

Joo-yeon shrugged.

“I’m the one who caught him, so what I do with him is my business, isn’t it?”

“Well… I thought you were going to kill him.”

“So now you’ve come to change your mind? Do whatever you want with him.”

Joo-yeon’s eyes were cold.

Aiden waved his hands in a fluster.

“No, no. A promise is a promise. I was just wondering if there was a chance.”

He was saying not to misunderstand.

Joo-yeon was taken aback.

‘These nobles, really.’

They would never do anything that could potentially damage their reputation.

Fortunately, Joo-yeon had built up enough credibility.

If he hadn’t anticipated and dealt with the situation this time, he would have been executed on the spot without question.

Of course, he didn’t care what the soldiers or knights had to say.

‘That’s because there’s something more important than that.’

It was the means of communication that James had with Count Sanderson.

‘It seems to change every time.’

Like the Major, he could have given him a modified communication crystal.

However, unlike the Major, who had been a knight, James was just a soldier. In that case, he would normally use a regular messenger or a communication device.

So Joo-yeon asked with sharp eyes,

“How have you been communicating with Count Sanderson so far? Tell me the method, and I’ll let you go.”

“Well…”

James hesitated.

If he told him, he would be killed.

But Joo-yeon’s pressure was relentless.

“You’ll die anyway if you don’t tell me. Then you can either die here or cooperate.”

“Wha-!?”

James was startled.

As Joo-yeon made a move to step back, the soldiers approached as if they had been waiting.

They were even carrying clubs, making it seem like they were about to beat him to death.

He shouted in desperation,

“I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you, so please spare my life!”

Joo-yeon smiled faintly.

* * *

“Th, thank you!”

James ran away with his face swollen.

As promised, it was all said and done.

The soldiers’ faces were filled with discontent.

However, no one questioned it.

‘Didn’t he release the spell… Didn’t he stop the bastard’s trap?’

‘We would have died if it weren’t for him.’

Of course, Aiden had a regretful expression.

“Should we really have let that guy live?”

It meant that he didn’t like it.

It was an expression that he didn’t understand at all, even though he didn’t try to deny it.

Joo-Heon tilted his head.

“I never let him live?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Didn’t you just release him?”

“I released him. I never let him live.”

Aiden tilted his head.

What the hell was the difference?

Soon, the truth came out of Joo-Heon’s mouth.

“Do you think that bastard will live just because he was released here? Wouldn’t it have been better for him to die right away?”

“Who’s going to kill him?”

There was no need to ask.

“Count Sanderson. That bastard is quite vicious.”

He’s not called the [King of Knights] and his family was annihilated for nothing.

The count was just as dirty as he was cunning. Would he let James, who failed his mission, live?

‘There’s no way. He would rather have tortured him a hundred times.’

James will soon regret his betrayal.

So much so that he would think that it would have been better to die by his comrades.

Assassins will be waiting to take care of him.

Aiden seemed to have realized it then.

“Oh right. Those guys were going to take care of the village chief and his wife right after the plan was over.”

Only then did the soldiers understand.

“We don’t have to get our hands dirty?”

“I was disgusted at the thought of killing someone who I used to eat with, but maybe it’s a good thing.”

The soldiers’ expressions brightened noticeably.

Their eyes toward Joo-Heon became more favorable.

It was a rare situation where even the knights were relieved.

However, they were also worried.

Anyway, Count Sanderson is not an easy guy since he planted a spy in the royal family.

Then Aiden asked,

“So why did you ask about the contact method? What’s so important about that?”

“Oh, that? I’m going to use it now.”

“Huh?”

Everyone wondered.

But in fact, it was nothing special.

‘That guy still doesn’t know the situation here.’

What does that mean?

Joo-yeon took out the communication device he had received from James.

Click, click, click, click.

He wrote a message on the parchment paper of the communication device.

He had already heard how to write it.

James had told him everything in the presence of the young soldiers.

[Mission accomplished. All targets deceased.]

Joo-yeon sent the communication device flying.

“Now, that guy won’t be able to predict our movements.”

“……!”

We’ll arrive at the dukedom tomorrow anyway.

In case he tries to make up an excuse not to let us in.

Aiden seemed to understand and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s move.”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers also began to move quickly.

We had to get in before Count Sanderson figured out the lie.

* * *

Inside the tall, black castle.

A man who had received the communication device stood up, striking the table.

“Finally, the successor of the Edmer family is dead!”

The promising successor of the family of the Knight King, who was called the king of the north, was dead.

Although their power had weakened recently, the Sanderson family was still a family that Count Sanderson could not mess with.

For the successor of such a family to die.

“Now, the Edmer family will be in chaos and won’t be able to do anything. Then… Count, you will finally become the true king of the north.”

Even so, those who are praised for their past glory and occupy that position. Would Sanderson, whom even the Pope and Emperor could not move, become like that?

We have already seized the actual supremacy of the north.

The man bowed his head to his master with an expression of joy.

However, Count Sanderson’s expression was indifferent.

“What about that impudent slave?”

“I heard he’s dead.”

“So, he was just a lowly thing with nothing to show for it.”

The man couldn’t understand his master.

He couldn’t understand why he cared more about a mere slave than the successor of the Edmer family.

Count Sanderson said with a firm expression.

“That guy, his eyes were unusual. He was definitely someone who would block my path.”

“But he’s dead. He’s no longer someone for you to worry about, master.”

“That’s how it is.”

Count Sanderson lowered his head for a moment.

‘I felt a chill. Did I catch a cold?’

But it didn’t matter anymore.

His eyes narrowed.

“Now that the successor is dead, there’s no use in the other plans.”

The count was a thorough man.

He had set multiple traps in case the assassination failed.

The man understood his master’s will.

“I will take care of the captain of the guards and the gatekeeper we had recruited.”

“James, was it? What about the assassins who will take care of him?”

“They are already waiting on-site. They will take care of him as soon as he leaves the scene. The assassins have also been given poison.”

Only those who fail their missions are not killed.

He also takes care of subordinates who might hinder his future actions in advance.

That was Count Sanderson.

As the new king of the North, he could not tolerate even a speck of blemish.

Count Sanderson smiled grimly.

The knight king was old, and the next successor of the Edmer family was dead.

“Now that the successor is dead, there will be a great commotion in the Edmer family. I will go there myself and incite chaos in the family.”

“They will come to you on their own even if you stay here.”

“That’s why I need to see the faces of those below me in advance as someone who will become their master.”

Count Sanderson’s gaze changed.