I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 44

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (45)

Mount Erangel.

This place was located about three hours away from the village of Gerond by carriage. The coachman’s voice could be heard amid the dead silence.

“We’re here!”

Ethan got out of the carriage.

He said to the coachman.

“Wait here.”

“Understood.”

The merchant led the way.

As they climbed the mountain, he asked a few questions.

“Is the person guarding the printing house a black magician?”

“No. My guess is… a fire-type magician.”

“Fire?”

“…Yes. When the books were in circulation… a figure that looked like a face flowed out from between the burning candles. I used it to contact them several times.”

The merchant hesitated and then revealed the inside information. From the moment he started heading for the printing house with the Grand Duke, it was obvious to everyone that he was in cahoots with him.

The sect.

Those cruel bastards would not leave him alone.

Therefore, it would be better if the Grand Duke destroyed the printing house.

That was why he began to reveal information indiscriminately.

“A wizard.”

It was a term he had heard a lot recently. A group of wizards he had learned about while investigating Helmut.

And the magicians who belonged to the sect.

For some reason, he felt that these two organizations were closely connected.

This was Ethan’s instinct.

His instinct, which had led him to transcendence in his previous life, was rarely wrong.

“Judging from the fact that he appeared in the form of a candle flame.”

He must be at least a fifth-rank magician.

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“His position in the cult must be higher than that black magician.”

He had heard that only one person had been assigned to mine the ore, but the printing house was swarming with cult members.

That meant the printing house was considered a more important place.

Therefore, the person in charge must be of high rank.

After climbing the mountain for about two hours.

A cave could be seen in the distance.

The leader whispered very quietly.

“That’s the place.”

“How big is it inside?”

“It gets wider as you go in. Wait a moment…”

The leader picked up a branch and began to scratch the ground.

It seemed to be a description of the cave’s interior.

Although the drawing was crude, it was not impossible to understand.

“There are machines for printing books here, and this area and this area are where mercenaries patrol. Magicians usually stay here…”

The interior he drew was like a maze of intertwining paths.

‘If I hadn’t listened, I would have gotten lost.

Ethan nodded and asked.

“Is the wizard alone?”

“I’m not sure about that… But one thing I know for sure is that he’s the only wizard I’ve seen so far.”

“I see.”

Ethan immediately pressed the upper arm of the man. He collapsed weakly. Ethan sat him down in a suitable place.

Since he had pressed the blood vessel that controlled the movement of the legs, he would have to stay here for at least half a day.

“Wait here.”

“…Yes.”

His legs were paralyzed and wouldn’t move.

Even if he hadn’t said anything, he had no choice but to wait.

Ethan entered the cave.

“There are no guards at the entrance.”

Just like the abandoned mine he had visited before, there were no alarm spells or other common means of defense.

Ethan laughed hollowly.

Even though it was a relatively important place, the security was a mess?

That meant that no one had invaded the area for at least several years.

“They must have settled deep within the kingdom.”

A duchy that would become his own territory.

Just the thought of such vermin living and breathing in his territory was enough to make him seethe with rage.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. That was the moment he stepped inside.

A voice drifted out from inside the cave. It was a lively voice, as if the speakers were engaged in an entertaining conversation.

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“Hey, Filton! So, how did it go?”

“Hahahaha. What could that old woman do? I just held a knife to her husband’s throat, and he obediently did as I said.”

“You weren’t caught?”

“Who cares if a few of them disappeared? They probably think they were eaten by wild animals. This place definitely has good mana. It’s much easier to kidnap people here than before.”

―Still, be careful. What if the chief priest here finds out?

―He’ll probably cover it up. Last time, Megan caused trouble, and he covered it up too.

―Really?

―Yeah. I heard it from Megan herself. As soon as the chief priest gave the order, the investigation was stopped. In fact, it’s just a minor matter, isn’t it? What good would it do the church to lose a talented person like us?

―That’s true.

Ethan grimaced as he listened to the conversation. It was so disgusting that he couldn’t bear to hear any more.

He walked away quietly.

His gaze naturally met that of the guards. They wore clothes with markings that looked like the face of a dragon.

They were mercenaries.

“…Huh?”

“What are those guys?”

The two mercenaries who appeared to be guards tilted their heads.

There were no names listed on today’s entry list.

That meant they were uninvited guests.

This was the first time he had encountered such a thing since he started working here.

His panic was short-lived.

They drew mana from within their bodies.

Long strands of mana rose from between the swords they held.

“That’s the breathing technique.”

It was the breathing technique that black mages learned.

It seemed a little lower in level, but the basic framework was similar.

“These guys have power similar to that of a 3-star knight.”

A mixed breathing technique combining the breathing techniques of dragons and humans. It was a breathing technique that gave even the ignorant immense power.

One of the mercenaries smiled viciously at Ethan.

There was an alarm button near where the guards were standing.

Pressing it would sound an alarm throughout the entire cave.

However, the mercenaries had no intention of pressing it.

“He’s obviously a knight. Spit! Good. I’ve been wanting to test this power out for a while.”

Mana rose from within his body as if it were burning.

After learning this technique from the cult, his life had changed completely. Mana, which had been the exclusive domain of those who had been trained, such as knights and magicians, had begun to flow within his body.

The mercenary looked at his colleague, Felton, who was standing next to him.

After learning the breathing technique and sword technique taught by the cult, Felton had killed a three-star knight.

How he had boasted about it in the past!

“My mana is just as strong as his!”

Pelton and he were about equal in sword skills.

He had learned the breathing technique a little later, so there was a slight difference in mana at first, but after a year, the gap had narrowed considerably.

The knight in front of him would be a good test of his skills.

“Hey, Filton.”

“What?”

“I’m going to kill him, so don’t interfere.”

“What are you talking about? You asked me to help you, didn’t you?”

“Do you think I’m going to lose to that punk? With my mana, I can easily defeat him…”

That was the moment.

Ethan’s new form slid toward the mercenary. With his eyes wide open, he frantically swung his sword.

The movement looked like a systematic sword technique. However, the guy swinging the sword was so unskilled that he couldn’t make use of any of the subtleties of the technique.

If the man had been a knight who properly understood the theory, it would have taken some time to finish him off.

Of course, that time would have been only a moment.

Ethan twisted his waist slightly.

He easily dodged the sword slashing diagonally and thrust his broadsword forward.

The man’s upper body was cut in half with a single sword stroke.

Felton was terrified by the fountain of blood that spurted up.

“What… what the hell!”

He didn’t even see how the knight swung his sword.

He ran out, and the moment his comrade swung his sword, his body was cut in two.

This meant that he was a monster that he could never defeat with his own skills.

Felton rushed toward the button in a panic. He was about to press the alarm button when…

Something suddenly flew toward him, piercing his palm and even leaving a dent in the cave wall behind him.

Piltone’s eyes widened.

“…Oh my god!”

What had just pierced his hand was mana.

He immediately realized how terrifying this was because he possessed mana himself.

Even skilled knights couldn’t materialize mana and throw it over long distances. It required powerful mana control.

Just as he was about to scream in pain, a knight approached and grabbed Pelton’s neck.

No sound came out, as if his throat had been clogged.

“You want me to squeeze it, don’t you?”

“…”

Ethan quietly smiled at Pelton.

He clearly remembered the conversation he had just heard.

There must have been someone in the village who had been wronged.

This was a perfect example of what happens when trash that isn’t even prepared gets power beyond their station.

“You’ll pay with your life for touching my subjects.”

Ethan pressed down on the man’s blood vessel and blew mana into it.

The fiery mana dug into the man’s blood vessels.

“…Ugh!”

It felt as if every blood vessel was being roasted over a fire!

It was truly excruciating pain.

Even as he roasted the man’s tiny blood vessels one by one, he did not forget to analyze his body.

By closely examining the creature’s blood vessels, he could understand to some extent how mana flowed and how a collection of mana formed in the heart.

“Interesting.”

A mixed breathing technique combining the techniques of dragons and humans.

“I wonder if I can use this for the Eight Rings.”

Palhwan was a liquid metal spread throughout the body. It was possible to gather it in one spot.

What if he gathered Palhwan in his heart like these guys?

“I could gather energy faster than before.”

He had a rough idea of how it worked. The only thing that bothered him was that the mercenary’s breathing technique was very low-level.

There was only one secret technique, so it was difficult to properly modify the Palhwan.

If he modified it this way, his lifespan would obviously be shortened.

“I wish I could figure out the higher breathing technique.”

He needed to understand the structure in much more detail than he currently did.

If I could do that, I could maintain the existing mana hole while dramatically increasing the speed at which mana was gathered.

As I observed each of them one by one.

The mercenaries, whose insides had completely rotted away, finally breathed their last breaths.

I threw their corpses on the ground.

They were trash that wasn’t even worth burying.

The insects would take care of eating its flesh. Ethan continued to advance inward.

There were guards scattered here and there, but they were all turned into corpses by his sword.

He was moving forward, dispatching more than twenty mercenaries.

Then, he heard a commotion coming from inside.

“I can’t get in touch with them.”

“What… some… guy… tracking…”

“Intruders… gather everyone…”

“They spotted me.”

He had moved from the main gate, killing all the guards along the way.

They hadn’t noticed him.

But why were they reacting like that?

“They must have some kind of communication system.”

Ethan walked forward. Soon, a space similar to a common area appeared. More than twenty people were waiting inside.

Ethan looked at the crossbows in the mercenaries’ hands and smiled grimly.

“Interesting.”

Crossbows are strategic weapons.

That means they are not easily distributed.

And now, mercenaries were carrying them. The cult seemed to be more powerful than he had thought.

At the rear.

A figure clad in a black robe spoke abruptly.

“Who are you?”

Flames danced around his hands.

It was a mage.

“The owner of this place.”

“…What?”

The wizard tilted his head, then flinched.

“No way…!”

Ethan immediately rushed toward them.

“Fire!”

With the wizard’s command, dozens of bolts flew toward Ethan.

For a knight of around 4-star rank, it would be a fairly threatening attack. However, Ethan was not a knight of such mediocre skill.

The moment he swung his sword.

All the bolts in flight melted away.

It was an immense display of firepower.

“……!”

A look of horror spread across the mercenaries’ and the wizard’s faces.