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“We’ve managed to get here according to plan.”

Sillan, also looking up, replied in kind.

“The problem starts from here.”

From this point on, it was the main territory of Chatan Castle.

The level of vigilance from this point was on a different scale. Not only were there powerful magical barriers and various magical tools installed to counter Aura Users, but Sir Klat, the famous Aura User and the captain of the Royal Knights of the Chatan Principality, also resided here.

Russ grimaced as he spoke.

“No matter how skilled we are, my brother and I, it’s impossible to penetrate this place without using Aura.”

Russ and Sillan both turned to look at Repenhardt. The operational briefing they had received ended at this point. They had been told that once they reached here, Repenhardt would handle the rest.

Repenhardt smiled slightly as he met their curious gazes.

“I have no intention of penetrating it. All I want is chaos.”

Repenhardt pulled out three fist-sized statues from his bosom. He held them comfortably in his hands, smiling.

“No matter how strong the barrier or the Aura User’s senses are, there’s no way to stop someone from throwing a stone, is there?”

Aiming beyond the castle walls, Repenhardt threw the statue.

Whoosh!

With the sound of cutting through the wind, the statue easily soared over the high castle wall. For Gym Unbreakable’s formidable physique, this kind of throw was effortless.

“It flies well.”

Smirking, Repenhardt threw the remaining two statues. Likewise, they cut through the wind and disappeared over the wall into the darkness beyond.

Sillan’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

“What exactly are those?”

Repenhardt didn’t need to answer. The answer came soon enough, not from him, but from the grand garden of the royal palace beyond the wall.

Boom!

A loud explosion was followed by a thunderous roar.

“Krarrararar!”

Both Russ and Sillan immediately understood. They had heard that roar many times in dungeons and couldn’t mistake it.

It was the roar of an enraged demon.

* * *

The Chatan Royal Palace, which had been enveloped in silence, was thrown into chaos.

In the vast, beautifully arranged royal palace garden, a terrifying roar erupted.

“Krararar!”

The source of the roar was Sepiatan, a great demon with the body of a giant and the upper body of a black lion. Swinging a massive blade to the left and right, Sepiatan roared in anger, spewing flames. A river of fire cut across the garden, creating a thick wall of smoke.

For the royal guards who had been deep in slumber, it was like a bolt from the blue.

“What’s happening?”

“A demon!”

Even the most well-trained soldiers couldn’t help but be flustered by such a sudden event. The commanders hurriedly tried to direct their troops, but even they hadn’t properly equipped themselves.

Moreover, it wasn’t just a metaphor—literal bolts of lightning were falling from the sky.

Boom!

Near the garden where Sepiatan appeared, another demon was causing havoc. Zetael, a demon of the otherworld in the form of a giant blue lizard, was enjoying the spectacle of destruction, scattering thunderbolts everywhere.

“Raaaargh!”

Boom!

With each roar, thunder rumbled. Each time, blue lightning streaked across the sky, striking various parts of the royal palace.

Amidst the flashes of lightning, a red-bodied demon with bat-like wings, the Fiend, wielded a great sword and attacked people. Each swing of the sword sent a spray of red blood into the air.

“Ha ha ha ha!”

Laughing as if in delight, the three demons ravaged the Chatan Palace to their hearts’ content.

These demons of the otherworld had once suffered the humiliation of being sealed within small statues. Having been trapped for so long, they had long lost their intelligence and reason as high-ranking demons. Only their rage against the living fueled their actions. They mercilessly wielded their powers of destruction, targeting every human in sight.

“Aaaah!”

“Save us!”

The screams of palace servants filled the air as they fled, mingling with the desperate cries of the soldiers. Flames rose, and the ground shook.

Finally, the knights of Chatan Palace, led by Sir Klat, appeared fully armed and gazed at the three demons with horror.

“Where did these demons come from?!”

Sir Klat drew his sword, his brow furrowed in disbelief.

Summoning demons required at least a 7th-circle high-ranking mage. To summon such major demons, one would need to be an archmage.

‘And there are three of them?’

Moreover, if a magic circle capable of summoning demons had been formed within this highly protected area, an alarm should have gone off.

‘How on earth did they manage it?’

In any case, he couldn’t stand idly by. Sir Klat raised his sword into the air.

Whoooom!

A dazzling red aura tore through the darkness of the night.

Sir Klat lunged forward.

“Begone! You impudent demon!”

The residual light of the aura streaked across the night sky. Sir Klat’s entire body closed the distance as he charged directly at the red-bodied demon, the Fiend.

The Fiend, slashing its sword left and right, turned its head as if sensing the imminent danger.

“Kraaah!”

The fiend let out a roar. The demon’s greatsword, engulfed in flames, extended long towards Klat.

Klat reached out into the air and sent a shockwave. He condensed his aura and released it, emitting a ripple.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the flames engulfing the greatsword were blown away. Simultaneously, Klat twisted his body in the air from the recoil of the shockwave. The demon’s greatsword missed Klat and swerved into the air.

In an instant, Klat readjusted his grip on his sword and unleashed a secret technique.

“Blood Rain!”

Dozens of slashes extended towards the fiend’s entire body. Just as the name suggested, red aura turned into a downpour and struck fiercely. The coarse red skin was torn apart, and blue blood, proving it was a demon, splattered.

“Argh!”

The fiend, feeling the pain, retreated frantically. The other two demons, seemingly surprised by the fiend’s scream, briefly halted their slaughter and turned to look at Klat. Taking advantage of the temporary lull, Klat shouted.

“Royal Guards! Form up! The 1st Battalion will evacuate the royalty, the 2nd Battalion will lead the soldiers! The 3rd Battalion, follow me!”

At the resolute command of Sir Klat, the wavering knights and soldiers stabilized. Despite the chaos, they began to move according to orders.

* * *

Repenhardt’s group observed the situation in the garden while hiding atop the castle wall. Sillan, looking at the rampaging demons, muttered.

“Heavens… Where did they get those?”

Even Sillan had heard rumors that some ancient artifacts contained sealed demons from another world. However, they were incredibly rare, so rare that even a professional dungeon explorer might only see one once in a lifetime.

“Where do you think? How many dungeons have we raided?”

“Ah, true…”

Sillan immediately understood. On reflection, the number of dungeons they had raided together with Repenhardt easily numbered in the dozens. It was even more than what a dozen professional dungeon explorers could raid in their lifetime. Considering how recklessly they raided, it would be strange if they hadn’t found one.

“It was too dangerous and uncontrollable to sell, so we’re making good use of it.”

Muttering softly, Repenhardt continued to watch the situation.

At first, the Royal Knights were being overwhelmed, but after Sir Klat joined the fray, they quickly reorganized their ranks and steadily blocked the demons.

‘Phew, Sir Klat’s reputation is not in vain after all.’

Repenhardt sighed in relief.

Though the carnage was his doing, unnecessary sacrifices were not what he desired. All he wanted was to keep them confined to the palace for a while.

In that sense, Sir Klat was more than living up to Repenhardt’s expectations.

‘As expected, the only true knight of Chatan.’

There was a saying that no proper knight goes to the Duchy of Chatan. This implied that the knights of Chatan were a mess.

Instead of prioritizing knightly pride or honor, they prioritized practicality and sought better demon swords or armor rather than honing their own skills. This prejudice was widespread, but it was 100% true. Given the nature of the citizens of the Duchy of Chatan, could the knights be any different?

But Sir Klat was different.

He knew knightly honor and pride, and without relying on magical tools, he reached the realm of an Aura User through pure skill. He was living proof that even in a decaying country, great individuals could emerge.

Because he rejected magical tools, he could not join the magical knight order, the Zeppelin Knights, and instead became the captain of the Chatan Knight Order. Nonetheless, Sir Klat was acknowledged by everyone as the strongest knight in the duchy.

Thanks to Sir Klat’s command, the Chatan knights were calmly dealing with the demons. Of course, the power of the three demons was not negligible, and the battle showed no signs of ending easily.

A long battle, exactly as Repenhardt had hoped.

‘Good, this should keep them busy for a while.’

The fiend fighting the Chatan knights trembled with rage and unleashed all its magical power.

“Krara!”

The unleashed power turned into a massive pillar of flame, dyeing the sky above the Chatan palace red. It was a pillar of flame so grand that anyone awake in the city of Zeppelin could not miss it.

Repenhardt signaled to Russ and Sillan with a glance.

“The signal flare is up. Let’s move quickly.”

Russ chuckled softly.

“What a fancy signal flare.”

Jumping down from the castle wall, Repenhardt smiled faintly.

“It’s good. No one would think something that grand is a signal flare.”

* * *

Slaves were undoubtedly valuable assets.

Nevertheless, they were also the most avoided targets of theft by bandits or robbers.

Unlike gold or jewels, they were not compact, had legs to run away, making transportation and storage much more troublesome. Even if they were successfully stolen and sold for a fair price, they could immediately disclose their captors’ information.

For instance, they might say, ‘I was originally a slave at such-and-such place, and those people stole me.’

If one were to take the risk of theft, there were far more convenient targets available, so no one would think of stealing slaves from a slave auction house.

As a result, the security measures at ‘Ordlan,’ an orc-specific slave auction house located in the western district of Zeppelin, were exceedingly simple.

Or rather, the security at Ordlan was actually very tight. The vault and the quarters of the owner’s family were well-guarded.

However, the auction house owner of Ordlan did not invest in security personnel for the accommodation where the orc slaves were kept. The idea that agricultural orcs, not ferocious orc gladiators, would dare to escape was unimaginable.

Thus, Dinohd, a young man in his twenties in charge of security for the orc slave accommodation, did not sense any danger until the door to the accommodation opened in front of him.

“Huh?”

The wooden door, which had been securely locked with a thick padlock, slid open, and several orc slaves poked their heads out. Clicking his tongue, Dinohd gestured.

“Damn, is the lock broken? You guys! Go back in and sleep, why are you peeking outside? Is there something to see?”

Thinking about it, there was indeed something to see. The sky over Zeppelin city, which should have been shrouded in darkness, was faintly lit by a glow.

‘That’s near the palace… What’s going on?’

Lost in his thoughts, Dinohd did not notice the orcs approaching him instead of going back inside. Watching the orcs sneak closer, Dinohd frowned.

“Oh, you dumb brutes. Can’t you understand what I’m saying? I’m letting this slide because it’s me, but if someone else sees, you’re in big trouble! Get back inside, now!”

Waving his hands, Dinohd signaled the slaves to go back inside. Suddenly, he sensed something off.

‘Wait a minute.’

The lead orc slave was grinning. Not only was he smiling, but he also nonchalantly opened his mouth.

“This guy’s got a kind heart.”

Another orc behind him nodded.

“He’s a good friend. Very kind-hearted.”

Though the conversation was in Orcish and Dinohd couldn’t understand it, it was clearly not the behavior of slaves. Only then did Dinohd feel alarmed and grip his spear tighter.

“Huh? Wh-what’s going on?”

In that instant, Dinohd felt something cover his vision and lost consciousness. It was the thick fist of the lead orc.

Whack!