The sun set, and as if the sky was acting in consideration of the pitiful allied forces, it hid its moon and even the stars. Like the pursuit team, it looked gloomy and dreary. The pursuit team cut nearby trees into sticks, sharpened their edges, and stuck them sparsely into the ground. Besides these, the only visible structures were a couple of tents. They were emergency items that several high-ranking commanders and important figures carried in their magic boxes. These tents and some food were the last of their supplies.
Even a magic box had a capacity, and it was especially insufficient to hold all the army’s goods. Furthermore, a magic box was also a rare artifact that didn’t have abundant space. Thus, the number of goods they had right now was severely lacking in comparison to the number of people they had. The few tents they had were naturally assigned to the higher-ups, and the rest of the knights didn’t even have a blanket to lay on. They curled up on the cold ground to relieve their tired bodies. There were only bushes around them that they could use, but they failed to gather enough of them.
It was a new environment for the knights since they had enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle up until now. Yet, when their heads hit the floor, they fell into a deep sleep. Perhaps it was an escape from their recent crushing defeat or their preparation for another upcoming battle, but whichever one it was, this sleep was a luxury that the pursuit team couldn’t afford. On the other hand, some couldn’t fall asleep.
‘What do I do?’ Glen sat on the ground and incessantly murmured to himself. “What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?”
If others heard what Glen was saying, they would have thought that he had gone mad. However, Glen was too panicked to consider how others might think of him.
‘I can’t let him be.’ Of course, Glen was thinking about Zich. The image of Zich smiling snidely at him appeared clearly in his head. At times, Zich seemed to really be standing in front of him, making Glen almost pull out his sword. Yet, he knew he couldn’t afford to even dawdle in these delusions.
‘How much does he know? And how!’ Zich could’ve just accurately guessed that he tried to make Lubella, Elena, and Lara his companions. Glen didn’t know how high the possibility of that was, but Zich could’ve connected the dots between the situation and environment somehow. Yet, mentioning Brave and Moore was a completely different matter.
‘How!’ Glen clutched his hair tightly and thought of all sorts of possibilities and searched through his memories from all his past timelines. Only one thought came to his mind, but Glen didn’t want to acknowledge this one at all costs. He couldn’t accept it. He was able to live through so many timelines thanks to this one reason and that had to be solely his. It had been only his, at least until now. Now, everything was crumbling.
Glen repeatedly tried all sorts of ways to deny this thought, but eventually, he had to admit that this chilling, utterly frightening explanation was the most realistic one.
‘Did he really….’ Glen gulped. It filled him with fear to even organize this phrase in his head that his forehead broke out in cold sweat.
‘Does that guy really know information from before the regression?’ Glen was sure that even if a faithful believer realized the absence of their god, a loyal subordinate learned of their master’s betrayal, or a filial son found out his parents were his enemy, they wouldn’t feel the despair and fear he was feeling at the moment.
‘How else would that guy have known that information?’ As if he was walking on a shaky, paper-thin stone bridge, Glen stepped forward in his thoughts, moving one foot at a time.
‘Did somebody tell him? Or…’ Sweat covered Glen’s entire face and rolled down to his jaws and dropped to the floor.
‘Did that guy, Zich, regress?’ Glen shuddered like mad, and the shock of that thought seemed to almost cause him a heart attack. How many times did he regress to catch up with Zich? In the end, he couldn’t beat him one-on-one, so he had to form a party to defeat him. And how long did it take him to corrupt Zich? There were countless attempts to make Zich into the perfect demon lord. Zich was someone who made Glen use all sorts of tricks, methods, and the divine power of regression to control as he wished. That Zich had regressed?
‘How many times did he regress? How did he regress? What’s happening!’ All these thoughts circled inside Glen’s mind without finding a clear answer. Yet, Glen couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.
‘Zich! I have to capture Zich!’ As usual, the best method was to take information from the person in question and act fast as possible. Who knew what a fearsome being like Zich who had regressed could do? It would clearly not be in his favor.
‘The problem right now is that damn coward.’ Glen gritted his teeth while looking at the pursuit team’s captain.
‘I have to head to the Pinne Estate’s capital city!’ If they stalled any longer, they risked losing sight of Zich. Since the pursuit team was routinely surveying the area with scouts, they knew their enemy was still inside the forest. However, there was no guarantee that the detachment would continue to stay there. They could even return to the Steelwall Estate and reunite with the main army.
‘I have to capture them here!’ If the detachment joined Steelwall’s main army again, the difficulty of catching Zich would increase even more. Glen knew that his forces’ fighting abilities were lower than Zich’s at the present.
‘It’s really no time to spare any means!’ Glen made up his mind. Soon, a secretive signal that no one on the pursuit team could recognize shot up quietly.
* * *
The pursuit team was ready to leave. During their few days of rest, the soldiers consoled the shock of their defeat and were able to reunite with their scattered comrades. If they waited a little bit more, more of their allies could rejoin, but they were running out of time.
For whatever reason, Steelwall’s detachment didn’t move from the forest. It was fortunate for the pursuit team, but they couldn’t drag out the time any further. They didn’t know when their enemies would begin moving, but most of all, their lack of food was a serious problem. The knights fell asleep hoping that today would be the last day they would have to roughly sleep on the ground without a tent or even a mat. If they at least reached the Pinne Estate’s capital, their current beggar lifestyle would finally be over.
However, the captain was still wide-awake, and a light shone through his tent. A person slowly approached his tent.
A knight guarding the captain’s tent asked, “What’s the matter, Sir Zenard?”
Glen answered, “I’ve come here to see the captain.”
The knight glanced at his fellow guard after hearing Glen’s reply. Glen Zenard really was an outstanding figure, but while guarding and staying close to the captain, they all witnessed his rude and reckless actions. Their captain would never welcome Zenard’s visit. However, it was also their job to announce Glen Zenard’s presence.
“Captain! Sir Zenard has come to see you!”
“…” As expected, the captain seemed to be displeased to hear this as he was silent for a while. Then, he finally said, “I’m busy right now, so bring him in later.”
It was a clear rejection. It wasn’t something he should say to a Karuwiman Honorary Knight and a key figure in the allied forces. However, the knights also fully understood the captain’s perspective.
One knight politely but firmly said, “Sir, the captain is busy. I apologize, but please come back later.”
Glen quietly looked at the two knights, but they didn’t back down either and met his gaze.
Then Glen said, “…I really have to see him…”
“I’m sorry, but I’m under orders. No one is allowed to enter.”
“I guess it can’t be helped.” The two knights were relieved. It was quite stressful to have a conflict with Glen. He was widely known as the strongest fighter in the allied forces. Both knights thought he would withdraw now.
“It’s easy to deal with these two anyway.”
The two knights instinctively reached for their swords. They were skilled enough to be part of the pursuit team made of elite soldiers and were also in charge of guarding the captain. So, their bodies moved before their heads could fully process what was happening. However, that was all they could do. They were not the strongest, or even close to being all-powerful in this world. Before they knew it, what looked like two shadows reached out their arms toward the knights. Did they come from the ground? Or had they been here all along? It was impossible to tell where the shadows had come from.
The two knights’ bodies were drained of energy. However, this whole process happened without a sound. Those wearing black robes caught the falling bodies before they could hit the ground. When the two obstacles were gone, Glen roughly opened the entrance of the tent and went inside.
“…I’m sure I said I was busy.” The captain visibly frowned when he saw Glen.
“You don’t seem particularly busy to me.”
“Not everything you see on the outside is true.” In fact, the captain had so much work to do that he was still awake even after most of the pursuit team had gone to sleep. Of course, he wasn’t so busy that he couldn’t spare a bit of time to meet one person, but he hadn’t technically lied. The captain thought Glen had ignored the guards and forced himself in since no one would be able to physically stop Glen. He was by far the strongest in the allied forces. On the other hand, if that were the case, it would be natural for the guards to quickly follow him in with pale complexions, but there were no signs of anyone coming in from the outside. The captain sensed the two knights’ presence still outside the tent’s entrance.
He thought that this was a bit strange, but he first decided to ask why Glen had come to see him. “So, what’s the matter?”
Glen walked slowly towards the captain. “I heard that we are heading to the capital tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“We need to chase after them and catch the Steelwall’s detachment.”
“Are you talking about that again?” The captain sighed and turned his head. “I can’t allow it. We’re going to head towards the Pinne Estate’s capital.”
“I don’t need your permission.”
The captain stared at Glen and finally examined his face. It was chilling. Even if they weren’t on good terms, this wasn’t an expression one showed to an ally. The captain quickly raised his head as he sensed danger.
“What are you…!”
“Regardless of what you decide, this force will attack the detachment.” Glen’s body moved, and his hands gripped the captain’s neck in a flash. The captain resisted with all he had, but he was unable to free himself from Glen’s grip or even make a sound. The captain looked down at Glen with shock, and he saw a robed figure standing behind Glen. This was the last sight the captain saw before he lost consciousness.