TL: xLordFifth


    ED:


    Leeha: Did you find anything?


    Fernand: I have investigated the ce where Faust was found, it is close to where Igor was. But…… Howe the direction they went the same?


    Nara: What?


    Fernand: I need to check more first, this might be a blessing in disguise. Thest 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 andparing 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 ces where the battle literally ‘just’ took ce, and the results exceeded Leeha’s expectations.


    ‘What..? They have scattered and hidden until now, but they are now grouped up in one ce? 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 ce. 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 nned 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-distancemunication 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 informationwork 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 ce.


    ‘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 ce!


    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 yful attitude made the atmosphere soften a little.


    Leeha began to share his spection 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 thest shot hit the target.


    * * *


    Rustle rustle.


    Wearing his wide-brimmed hat tightly pressed down, Fernand made his way through the thick grass in the darkness.


    He was an adventurer who knew not only the geography of the area but also the presence or absence of monsters just by looking around, but it was a ce that even he had to be careful.


    ‘The three of them had definitely gathered around here…’


    After reporting his findings to Leeha, he received a new order to investigate the area.


    It was decided that it would be better to ask Fernand to investigate this location instead of following those people who were good at fighting because it might backfire.


    ‘I don’t feel any mana around here. In terms of the mana radius of where the three groups moved, this area was clearly the intersection point…..’


    Not even Fernand knew everything.


    He only knew that the mana found in the trace was currently ‘near’ at some point,


    so he had to investigate it anew based on various data.


    ‘This ce can’t even be called a hideout. The terrain around this area and the monsters that were revealed appeared in the early stages of Middle Earth. I won’t be here long. I will definitely move again. I have to find the ce where they gathered before the trace disappears- ah!’


    Fernand, who had been looking around through the magnifying ss, finally saw a trace.


    It was somewhere dark blue footprints were scattered.


    When the magnifying ss was removed, there was not even a trace of the floor, but as soon as he put the magnifying ss again, the blue footprints were revealed.


    ‘Found it! If it’s this color- they haven’t left for more than an hour! They moved as soon as the sun had set! Where to? Who?’


    Already aware that no one was around, Fernand was in no hurry. This is because there might be an NPC that was not affected by his trace-finding skills.


    He was always at his own pace when talking to someone, but he was the ‘pioneering king’ in name and reality.


    In less than 20 minutes of starting his investigation, Fernand had everything figured out.


    Fernand: Ha Leeha-ssi! I found a trace! Faust, Crowley, Igor, Czar, undead, and even chimera! All of their traces are here!


    Leeha: R-really? Anything else? Is there anything else?!


    Fernand: It’s as Leeha-ssi said!


    As Leeha talked to the subjugation team members, he also spoke to Fernand.


    But until just now, it was only all just spection. The final work to confirm the conjecture as fact remained.


    Leeha: As I said……?


    Gulp, listening to Fernand’s excited voice, Leeha was convinced.


    Fernand: He is not here! Bluebeard’s mana trace could not be found anywhere here! I will tell you again, it is a fact that Bluebeard is not currently with the Demon King’s army! Those bastards are currently moving to Fibiel, about an hour away from where I am now! All the Demon King’s army is going there!


    “As expected!”


    Bang-!


    When Leeha hit the table in front of him with the palm of his hand, the gathered people were startled.


    “What do you mean? Do you admit that you look stupid?”


    “Ay, don’t blow the candle out when someone is happy, Luger. That’s not it!”


    Leeha took a magazine out of his bag and inserted it into the ck Bass. Combined with the clicking sound of the magazine, Leeha’s eyes contained power.


    “I got a call from Fernand-ssi. Bluebeard is not with them.”


    “Then the chance is-”


    “Yes. It is only for now. Bailephus-nim! Can you move us all to Fernand-ssi’s location?”


    “Of course.”


    In that short time when Bailephus nodded, Alexander, Lee Jiwon, Ram Hwajeong, Lee Jiwon, and Kidd all finished preparing for the battle by maintaining their weapons.


    Leeha was finally able to put his mind at ease as he watched the experts’ stable movements.


    “Oh- I’m sorry I was so angry earlier. But you know I did that because I was afraid things would go wrong, right? A-anyway, that incident turned out to be a blessing in the end, so- I’m a bit embarrassed about this now.”


    “……It’s okay, oppa. I. Sorry.”


    Ram Hwajeong slowly walked closer to Leeha and whispered softly.


    “I will definitely kill him this time.”


    Finally, Leeha gave an order to the gold dragon.


    “Please move everyone. Let’s go catch those bastards.”


    “Got it.”


    Shuuuk-!


    On the 3rd floor of the Holy Grill – Gaza City branch that was under construction, all members of the Demon King’s Army subjugation team disappeared.


    “Oh! You’re here already?”


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


    Fernand nced 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 ce 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 yers 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 ck 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 exnation 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 ording 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 nning 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 n.”


    “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 be 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 Crng.’


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


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


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


    That was the original n. 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 werepletely out of hand, so their feelings suddenly becameplicated.


    ‘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…)