The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 283 Mercenary Owen (11) - The Culprit Appears 【Ah! A corrupted water spirit has suddenly appeared!】 【Water spirit uses hydro pump!】 【But the water spirit's attack missed!】 【Owen uses basic thrust!】 【A critical hit!】 【The effect doesn't seem very effective...】 【The corrupted water spirit has fainted!】 【Ah! A corrupted earth spirit has suddenly sppeared!】 【Earth spirit uses earthquake!】 【Owen is floating high in the air, so the attack didn't reach him!】 【Owen uses basic downward strike!】 【A critical hit!】 【The effect was tremendous!】 【The corrupted earth spirit has fainted!】 【Ah! A corrupted fire spirit has suddenly appeared!】 【Owen threw his water bottle!】 【The corrupted fire spirit became dispirited!】 【The fire spirit was too dispirited to use any techniques!】 【Owen's turn doesn't end!】 【Owen threw Ophelia's water bottle!】 【The corrupted fire spirit became dispirited!】 【Angry Ophelia's attack power greatly increased!!】 【Owen's turn doesn't end!】 【Owen threw the water spirit he had captured!】 【The corrupted fire spirit was horrified!】 【The corrupted fire spirit has fainted!】 【Ah! Owen who was just passing by has suddenly appeared!】 【The corrupted wind spirit was startled!】 【The corrupted wind spirit attempted to flee!】 【But one cannot escape from Owen who was just passing by!】 【The corrupted wind spirit's vision went dark!】 【The corrupted wind spirit had half of its hidden magic stones stolen!】 *** Thud. Ophelia collapsed face-down onto the bed in their lodgings. "Ughhhhh...." Groaning sounds escaped from her mouth involuntarily, and every part of her body throbbed as if screaming. The etiquette she had learned for over a decade nagged at her to wash up and change clothes quickly, but her body's screams were much louder than that. The basics of capture have always been running on two feet. Owen had upheld the words he himself had spoken far too well. Walk and fight and walk and fight and walk and fight... A forced march that would make even a tough drill instructor be surprised and double-check their training schedule. The Land of Silence, as if to show why it wasn't the Land of 'Forests', presented a wide variety of natural environments and a corresponding spirit appearance rate, but in front of Owen, they were nothing more than cannon fodder not even worth the space they occupied. The problem was Ophelia's stamina, who had to keep up with all of that. "I'm really going to die...." Of course, it wasn't like Ophelia participated in combat or anything. She did minor support like standing somewhere briefly or throwing items Owen requested, but if you calculated her combat contribution as a percentage, it wouldn't even reach 1%. But no matter how small something is, it becomes big when accumulated. Above all, the act of moving itself becomes an ordeal when it exceeds a certain standard. The horses that started foaming at the mouth while traveling with her would gladly serve as witnesses. "What if my legs get thick from all this...." "If you're that worried about it, should I give you a massage?" "Eek!?" Ophelia sprang up with a scream and looked around inside the tent. Fortunately, there was no one inside the tent, but instead a human shadow flickered near the entrance. There was no need to wonder who it was, so Ophelia shrieked loudly. "What do you think this place is to come here so carelessly!?" "Well, then what am I supposed to do? It's not like there's a doorbell or anything." Grinding her teeth at the mercenary's voice that sounded like he had done nothing wrong, Ophelia asked back. "What's the matter?" "I heard groaning sounds and came because I was worried." "I'm fine so there's no need to worry... Wait a minute. You could hear sounds from inside the tent all the way over there!?" When Ophelia's eyes widened at this serious matter involving her pride and privacy as a young woman, a leisurely voice came from outside the tent. Ophelia could easily picture Owen shrugging his shoulders and grinning. "Since this place is so dangerous, it can't be helped. I can detect physical enemies approaching in advance, but if problems arise internally due to poor condition or something, I have no choice but to keep my ears open, right? I hope you can understand this loyal heart of a mercenary thinking about his employer's safety." "Understanding my foot! Close your ears right now!!" "It's fine, it's fine. If I heard those kinds of sounds in the middle of the night, I would have naturally covered my ears, but all I've heard so far was sleep talk like 'Lady Kuella blah blah blah.'" "Die!!" Ophelia took action. It wasn't a figure of speech—she really kicked off from the bed and launched a dropkick at the shadow beyond the tent. Her all-out attack was naturally evaded, and the mercenary casually caught Ophelia's body as she was about to fall to the ground. "Seeing how energetic you are, it seems you don't need a massage. Well, you're a bit too thin to worry about leg thickness. No, hmm. Your chest is reasonably developed though?" "Shut up! Pervert! Worst! Lowlife! Sexual harassment bearded man!!" "For my level, I'm considered A-grade among mercenaries for being sincere and gentlemanly, but you don't appreciate this." "Saying such things with that grinning face, you have zero credibility!?" Owen chuckled as he set her down, and Ophelia considered kicking his shin hard before quickly realizing it would only hurt her toes and fumed instead. "So, do you need that leg massage or not?" "The moment you lay a finger on me, I'll grab and tear off your third leg. Even if it's impossible now, I'll definitely do it later." "Good, with that kind of spirit, you won't get scammed by mercenary guys in the future." At Owen's suggestion that since things had come to this they might as well discuss the next plan, Ophelia agreed while puffing her cheeks slightly. After getting all worked up anyway, it seemed like it would take some time for sleepiness to return. On the wide stone desk obtained by beating up the earth spirit, Owen spread out a map. Originally only a rough topographical map of this area was marked there, but now it was filled with additional content the two had inscribed through their repeated explorations. "For now, the work of removing the curse stakes is going smoothly. The spirits are gradually regaining their senses too—whereas before they would just attack blindly, now they've started choosing options like fleeing or staying neutral. It'll still take a few more days to finish everything though." "The contracts still won't work though." Ophelia sighed. Communication was perfect. The contract conditions were also met. What remained was affinity with spirits, but the Hydrain Family was one that could proudly claim to be the best of their generation in that field at least. During the Empire's expansion wars, records remained showing that besides the family head who commanded Ancient Spirits, most of the bloodline had also contracted with spirits. Yet the fact that contracts wouldn't work could only mean that the curse stakes embedded throughout this Land of Silence were interfering. "Who do you think the culprit is?" "Well. The problem is there are too many suspects. It could be a dark mage repeatedly conducting dangerous experiments away from others' eyes, or it could be Tachanka Kingdom's plan to use spirit power militarily, or even a demon trying to overturn the world." "In other words, you don't know." "But won't we find out soon enough?" "How?" "Just like how when I loitered near the tent, you sprang up and came running out even though you were rolling around." "When did I roll around!? Did you even see me!?" "Then never mind, why are you having such a fit?" "Grr...!!" Though Ophelia was bursting with frustration, she could at least understand what Owen was saying. The Land of Silence is a wasteland. Not in the dictionary sense of 'land where plants cannot grow,' but in the sense of land left empty and abandoned because people don't approach it. Since people don't approach it in the first place, there's no need to quickly set up guards or anything. No, setting them up would only increase the risk of being discovered. If you just leave an empty warehouse empty, no one would try to look inside, but if you put up a fence around it and try to guard it strictly, everyone would think there's something there. The fact that Owen and Ophelia had been able to stir up this place without encountering anyone other than spirits was probably the same logic. But even such people would have set up at least a minimal alarm system. If they detected that someone was randomly digging up and destroying stakes important to their plan, how would the 'mastermind' who devised the plan react? The dust cloud that had begun to appear in the distance was providing that answer. Seeing what appeared to be a cavalry unit of roughly a hundred men, Ophelia frowned. "Tachanka Kingdom was the correct answer. The second most troublesome opponent." Ophelia didn't ask what the first was then. More urgent was retrieving the magic tent they had spread out. By the time the instant lodging was completely stored in Ophelia's bag. Knights who appeared to be Tachanka Kingdom's regular army simultaneously stopped their horses in front of the two. The man at the head of the cavalry removed his helmet. The middle-aged man who clearly reeked of military bearing revealed subtle emotions upon seeing Ophelia and Owen. A bit of relief that there wouldn't seem to be the large-scale conflict they had expected. The rest was an expression mostly filled with annoyance that so many personnel had to come rushing because of just two people, one of them being a green girl. "From Tachanka Kingdom. Vice Commander of the Black Leopard Knights, Garban." Garban alternately examined Ophelia's splendid attire and Owen's worn spear, then coldly declared. "The mana of an evil dark mage has been detected in this place. Investigation is needed, so cooperate and come along quietly." It was a unilateral notification, neither a question nor a request. Ophelia answered curtly. "We're just researchers trying to investigate spirits. We don't know anything about dark mages or whatever." "That's something we'll find out through investigation. Don't offer pointless resistance." When Garban sent a glance, two knights dismounted and approached carrying ropes. It was the clearest possible indication that they had no intention of engaging in lengthy arguments. Owen looked at Ophelia nonchalantly and asked. "So, what are you going to do? My employer miss?" Ophelia let out a deep sigh. Then looked straight ahead with fierce eyes and said. "I don't care if it's black leopards or black stones, I won't forgive anyone who interferes." "That's good! Originally mercenaries are supposed to fight people!" "These guys─" Before the knights could finish speaking, Owen's spear struck the ground forcefully. Boom! Boom! Boooooom! What principle could this possibly be? The strike was definitely only once, but the shockwave that echoed from the ground was three times. Especially on the third and final one, the entire ground shook violently as if rising up, and massive clouds of sand dust instantly covered the surrounding area. Neighhhh! The horses the knight order was riding all panicked and reared in unison, and while the knights were calming their horses, two shadows broke through the dust clouds and sprinted away. With Garban's shouts to pursue them behind them, Ophelia said. "Aren't we going to subdue them here!?" "Most of their mage ranks seem to be 4 or below, but still, the advantage of proper equipment and cavalry can't be ignored! A frontal confrontation would be problematic!" If Owen were alone it might be different, but with Ophelia present, this was even more the case. Ophelia was clever enough to realize what he hadn't said to the end, so instead of continuing to complain, she asked something else. "Then what's the next plan!" "If we have more workers, shouldn't we shorten the schedule?" Who he meant by 'workers' was obvious just from looking at the cavalry chasing them dustily from behind. A strategy to make the rampaging spirits clash with the knights. Considering that Tachanka Kingdom was the culprit behind this incident, there was a great risk of being caught in a pincer attack between the knights and spirits, but Ophelia had also gradually adapted to Owen's methods by now. This man seemed to only engage in extremely dangerous and gambling-like actions at first glance, but in reality, he didn't start anything beyond what he could handle. So this too must be something he was confident he could sufficiently handle. "Hah, if they were going to come anyway, they could have at least let me sleep first." Instead of words, Ophelia took out Awakening Pills and crunched them down, and at this silent agreement, Owen laughed pleasantly. The nighttime chase began.