Turning

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Chapter 288

"That's exactly what the Commander did."

"Huh?"

"The Commander also did it that way."

Kanna, repeating herself once more, soon explained what Kishiar had done.

"As soon as someone as tall as Kishiar stepped forward, they became incredibly tense. Even the Second Prince of Nelarn seemed worried about a potential conflict, and he attempted to take off the cloak he used to hide his face, to explain himself. It was then that someone misunderstood the movement and attacked by mistake..."

"Who?"

Upon hearing the question from Yuder, calm in tone but certainly not in intent, Kanna blinked.

"Ah... It was someone who can control sand. They were clumsy in controlling their powers and were abandoned by their family. But don't worry. Neither of them were hurt."

Only after hearing this, did his momentarily chilled brain return to its normal state.

"That's fortunate."

According to Kanna, Kishiar blocked the attack aimed at him and Ejain in a blink of an eye. As the fine but sharp sand particles lost their momentum and spilled onto the ground, everyone in the village felt a crushing sense of pressure. Even a child crying in the distance instantly ceased their wailing, such was the impressive force. Even Kanna, who had been observing Kishiar for a long time within their group, couldn't fully comprehend what he had done.

With eyes meeting the frozen gazes of those who had collapsed from the pressure, he gave Ejain a slow nod. The Prince, having received the signal to withdraw, hesitated before slowly backing away. Then, a low voice emerged from within Kishiar's cloak.

"I apologize for employing such crude methods, but we're running out of time to uphold our promise. Will you all stay seated and listen to what I have to say?..."

His language was far too elegant for the situation. Ordinary people couldn't fully comprehend the immense power he had unleashed, but the Awakeners were different. They instinctively understood that this overwhelming force was just a small part of what Kishiar possessed, and that no one here could defeat him.

Will you listen to me? While it seemed like in the form of a request, it was nothing short of a soft command.

In the silence that made it seem like the entire village had disappeared, Kishiar briefly explained that they had no connection to the Lord of Tainu.

"We are aiding the Western Mage Union, and the Knights stationed outside the village are our comrades. Our relationship with the distinguished foreign guests here was formed by chance. We are merely helping them return home safely after crossing the treacherous Great Sarain Forest. Some traitors showed up and complicated things, but we'd appreciate it if you knew that we are the ones who want to leave this place as soon as possible."

The Awakeners in the village had silently understood that the subordinates of Prince Ejain and the injured who arrived at dawn were not from the Empire. Everyone knew about the complex border situation with foreign lands in the Great Sarain Forest, and the name of the Western Mage Union had a potent effect.

Although the mages of the Western Mage Union didn't know about the village, the Awakeners, who had been evading them and establishing their base, knew better than anyone about the poor relationship between the mages and the Lord of Tainu. They had been the hidden neighbors who had been observing up close how much trouble the mages had to endure to handle the monsters appearing in the Great Sarain Forest, in place of the Lord of Tainu.

As the year unfolded, rumors had spread that the mages, unable to hold back any longer, had finally erupted in a grand fight against the lord of Tainu. If someone had called upon others with powers to aid them from another place, the logical conclusion was clear.

"So, you were... mercenaries."

No one responded to the words spat out by someone. The Awakeners believed this silence to be an affirmation. The atmosphere rapidly deflated as they surmised that Kishiar and the Cavalry were mercenary Awakeners, hired by the Western Mage Union and noblemen from other countries.

Watching the scene, Kanna breathed a deep sigh of relief inwardly.

'Impressive...'

The few words Kishiar uttered seemed quite simple, but they were in fact brimming with insight into the hidden thoughts of the Awakeners living in this village. They didn't dislike the mages of the Western Mage Union, who were their enemy's enemy, and sympathized with other Awakeners who possessed the same powers. They regained their calm swiftly, realizing that they, who had lived ordinary lives until they awakened, had no affiliation with the group they were currently with.

"So... you're saying you'll leave the village as soon as we hand over the wounded who came in this morning?"

"That's correct."

"You should have said so from the start."

Kishiar provided proof of his claim right there in front of the Awakeners. The group roaming around with menacing swords near the village turned out to be the Peletta Knights. Worried about encountering assassins, the Knights had quickened their pace into the Great Sarain Forest, lost Jenn in a battle against a peculiar monster, and were in pursuit.

Nathan Zuckerman and the Peletta Knights, who unexpectedly ran into their lord in an unexpected place, were surprised, but quickly reassured the village's Awakeners, matching Kishiar's pace and playing along with his words. Information exchanged rapidly among them while the Awakeners left the space, having agreed to hand Jenn back over to Kishiar.

"Oh, Nathan. I didn't expect you to be caught off guard enough to lose that traitor."

"I'm ashamed to admit it, but we were slowed down by constant monster attacks as soon as we entered the Great Sarain Forest. The traitor managed to escape in the confusion of the battle, and one of our company got injured trying to stop him."

Even for a Swordmaster like Nathan Zuckerman, it wasn't easy to deal with peculiar monsters while rescuing many people. The worry that Kishiar's group might get hurt by assassins chasing Ejain also contributed significantly to the Knights' anxiety.

As Nathan Zuckerman sighed in relief after seeing his unharmed lord, Ejain and his subordinates came across another subordinate, Melbon, who was injured while trying to stop the fleeing Jenn. Upon meeting his lord after the discovery that he was a spy sent from Nelarn's greatest enemy, Durban, Melbon remained silent for a while.

"Melbon... why did you stop Jenn instead of running away with him?"

"Didn't the Prince say he would decide Jenn's fate once he returned to Nelarn? Although I am a criminal, I didn't want him to witness Jenn, who has no shame, attempting to defy his final command. I failed, but still..."

Kanna was one of the few who read the sincerity in Melbon's confession of his loyalty to Prince Ejain. The prince looked at his former subordinate, lying severely wounded, with a complex expression and sighed. Melbon, guessing the meaning behind that sigh, lowered his head in a barely audible voice.

"I heard... you've awakened. You've gained power, so now no one can harm you, Your Highness. Forget about me. And... congratulations."

"Indeed. You too... try not to die before we reach Nelarn."

Melbon's eyes widened at those words. The underlings of Ejain, who had been wearing gloomy expressions behind him, also displayed similar surprised expressions. In the short span of time, Kanna could sense a significant change in Prince Ejain's heart. It wasn't information she could discern through her powers.

Then, the Awakeners brought in the injured man who had been lying down. There were clear signs of a struggle, as if he had anticipated a bleak future. As expected, it was Jenn who had fled, and Prince Ejain showed no more merciful reluctance to the man who had betrayed him twice.

"Now, it's just a matter of us and them each going our separate ways."

"Yes. If we want to return before tomorrow passes, we'll have to be quite busy."

When Kanna, feeling a bit complicated but light-hearted, spoke to Kishiar, he gave a matter-of-fact response.

"But why before tomorrow? It seems like it would be very difficult to return to the Western Mage Union's base by then."

Suddenly curious, Kanna asked only to meet the piercing red gaze beneath the brim of his cloak. She wondered if she had asked a question she shouldn't have. Fortunately, the returned voice did not seem to show any displeasure at her question.

"I promised I would return by then."

"A promise... Ah, you mentioned that earlier. But with whom?"

Kishiar did not respond as swiftly as before to that question. A breeze blew through, causing the cloth that covered his face to flutter. His lips beneath his revealed nose seemed to form a slightly different smile than before, but as soon as she opened her eyes, the sight vanished like a mirage.

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