Three days later, the reserves packed up their gear and prepared to return to the Sword Prison.
When he reached the gathering point, Tyr saw that many of them were pale from hunger, their steps unsteady.
“I feel like these three days of relaxation didn't relax them at all,” Tyr muttered to himself.
Seeing their vacant, lifeless eyes, he couldn't help but complain.
On the way back, Instructor Ed suddenly received a transmission.
He retrieved a palm-sized purple crystal ball from his storage bracelet and infused his magic power into it.
“My lord, we are the City Defense Knight Order of Valenhill.”
“Is something the matter?”
Ed was slightly surprised that the city's City Defense Knight Order had actually sent him a transmission.
As the capital of the Grand Duchy of Callis, Valenhill's City Defense Knight Order was technically a force directly under the Grand Duke.
However, to be frank, the City Defense Knight Order, which was responsible for public security, did not hold a very high status among the various knight orders.
Generally, only knights who failed the selection for the Callis Knight Order would choose to join the City Defense Knight Order.
Meanwhile, the Sword Prison was an institution dedicated to training the next generation of candidates for House Callis, so there shouldn't have been any overlap between the two.
“My lord, we are currently pursuing a band of thieves who have fled into the Dragonfall Mountain Range.”
The only reason the City Defense Knight Order had contacted Ed this time was due to the unique nature of the Dragonfall Mountain Range.
As the training ground for the next generation of Grand Duke Callis, this place was, in a sense, a restricted area.
“What is their strength?”
“There are over a dozen fugitives, and the strongest among them is only at the First Circle.”
“First Circle?”
Ed was taken aback. Although the City Defense Knight Order wasn't highly regarded, Valenhill was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Callis. The minimum requirement to join even the City Defense Knight Order was the Fourth Circle.
A knight order where even the weakest was at the Fourth Circle couldn't capture a band of thieves whose strongest was only at the First Circle?
“My lord, they have a spatial item in their possession that allows them to perform short-distance spatial leaps.”
Ed hadn't originally intended to bother. After all, the Dragonfall Mountain Range was full of magical beasts.
A bunch of First Circle weaklings wouldn't be able to reach the depths of the Dragonfall Mountain Range even if they managed to get inside.
The magical beasts in the outer perimeter of the Dragonfall Mountain Range would be more than enough to give them a hard time. If they were unlucky enough to run into a Rank Two magical beast, they would be sent straight to the afterlife.
But now that he heard they had a spatial tool in their hands, things were different.
It was indeed possible for them to get in using that spatial tool. In that case...
Ed turned to look at the reserves behind him.
If they were only at the First Circle, they would be the perfect targets for these little guys to practice on.
“Fine, leave them to me. You can head back now.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Meanwhile, on the outer perimeter of the Dragonfall Mountain Range, a middle-aged knight respectfully cut off the transmission.
“Deputy Commander, who was that? Why were you so respectful? Is there some incredible figure inside the Dragonfall Mountain Range?”
Beside the middle-aged knight, a brown-haired youth leaned in and asked.
Thwack!
“Ouch!”
Just as the youth finished speaking, he was smacked hard on the back of his head.
“Don't ask about things you shouldn't know,” the deputy commander barked, glaring at him. “Mind your place. Knowing things beyond your station will only bring you harm.”
“I was just curious, hehe.”
Despite being smacked, the young knight still grinned cheekily. As the most talented recruit in the recent batch of the City Defense Knight Order, he had the confidence to back up his attitude.
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
On the other side, after putting away the communication crystal, Ed turned around.
“Next, I have a new mission for you all.”
As soon as Ed said this, the faces of the reserves—some of whom were already pale as ghosts from hunger—stiffened in shock.
Along the path leading to the depths of the Dragonfall Mountain Range...
“Boss, are we going too deep?” a one-eyed thief among the running gang asked. “I heard there are tons of magical beasts in here. We won't end up dying, will we?”
“What do you know? It's precisely because there are magical beasts here that the City Defense Knight Order won't dare to conduct a large-scale search. That's how we buy ourselves more time.”
“Once my spatial teleportation magic tool is fully charged, we can use a spatial leap to leave the Dragonfall Mountain Range. By then, those knights will be too busy dealing with the magical beasts to chase us.”
The rough-faced thief leader, who had a scar on his left cheek, turned back and glared at his subordinate.
“But Boss, we teleported straight in. We don't even know which way leads out right now.”
“The deeper we go, the higher the chances of running into high-level magical beasts. If we encounter one before your magic tool is charged, we're dead anyway.”
One of the leaner thieves pointed out. This was the Dragonfall Mountain Range, after all. Running around aimlessly like this wasn't a long-term solution.
Magical beasts could indeed slow down the City Defense Knight Order, but they could also easily do the knights' job for them.
The only difference was that with the City Defense Knight Order's strength, they could still put up a fight against Fourth or Fifth Circle magical beasts. For a gang like them, running into a Second Circle magical beast would cost several lives, and a Third Circle magical beast would wipe them out entirely.
Hearing his subordinate's words, the thief leader realized the gravity of the situation. The group quickly came to a halt.
“Find some high ground to hide.”
Hiding on higher ground would allow them to keep an eye on their surroundings. If they spotted the City Defense Knight Order catching up, they could flee immediately.
A moment later, the thieves found a patch of high ground sheltered by surrounding trees.
Once they stopped, several thieves lowered the cloth sacks from their shoulders and opened them.
Heaps of gold coins, gems, and various gold and silver utensils were revealed.
“Haha! As expected of a Baron. They're so much richer than those commoners.”
Looking at the piles of treasure on the ground, the thief leader's grin stretched from ear to ear.
Just a while ago, they had ransacked a Baron's treasury and stolen all the valuables inside.
“I told you! If we're going to steal, we steal from the nobles. How much coin do those commoners even have in their pockets?”
The thief leader grabbed a handful of gems and gold coins, bringing them to his nose to sniff. A look of pure bliss washed over his face, as if they possessed some intoxicating scent.
“But stealing from nobles carries a massive risk,” the one-eyed thief said. “Usually, when we rob commoners, even if they catch us, we can just kill the owners and be done with it. But now, we're constantly being hunted by the nobility.”
As he recalled the knights of the City Defense Knight Order who had charged at them not long ago—each of them radiating terrifying fluctuations of magic power—his legs were still shaking.
Rate on N.U.
