The foreign sensation haunting him was a sense of unease. Of course, it was unlikely that an ordinary soldier or a knight could detect his presence, adorned in an artifact camouflage suit and employing ghost-like stealth. Even to himself, his movements seemed a tad less refined compared to the ghosts he had encountered in the royal castle. Yet, despite taking all that into account, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of sloppiness that assailed him. If pressed to describe what was odd, he would struggle to pinpoint anything specific—it was nothing more than a vague premonition. “The garrison strength is the same as reported…” From shadow to shadow, leaping over the inner walls of the Kongwang Fortress, even after another review, there was nothing amiss with the garrison’s movements. “Why do I feel this unease?” An odd certainty gnawed at him that he shouldn’t ignore this sensation. Ultimately, Victor paused in the shadow inside the wall, carefully mulling over everything he had seen while sneaking around. He knew that the nights of the southern regions, with summer approaching, were short, but it seemed crucial to ascertain the nature of this uneasy feeling before proceeding. “…The calibre of the garrison knights is lower than expected.” He hadn’t noticed immediately because he had moved past too swiftly. He hadn’t scrutinized them closely, nor had he the time to do so. Perhaps it was just misjudgment, but Victor was certain. Although his senses were not as acute as his liege’s, he had reached a level where, even without sight, he could distinguish individuals by their force alone. It was his refined senses that informed him. “Below average knights, not even force-awakeners. Men of squire-level training wearing knightly armor.” The knights responsible for the night watch should have been average knights, with deputy commanders of intermediate knightly rank overseeing them, but this level was severely lacking. It was implausible for the Tahiti Duchy to have such abysmally low standards for selecting knights. For centuries since the mass exodus of the predecessor races, humans had proliferated terrifyingly, and what used to be a feat only the strongest knights could achieve, now any force-user capable of becoming a knight had attained long ago. And now they were bestowing knighthood on those only fit to be squires? Such negligence could lead the populace to question the very strength of the duchy, potentially precipitating its downfall, especially since it was already considered weak. That left only one possibility. “Have the real knights been dispatched elsewhere? Why?” During his near ten-day stay in Tihi-nan, he had heard no rumors of any significant incidents in the duchy. Meaning the disappearance of their upper-tier knights, the force-wielders, had gone unnoticed. However, his time for contemplation was brief. “If the garrison is weakened, all the better for me.” He had no concern for the duchy’s affairs. When inspiration struck, he acted, a pattern he’d adopted from the most influential figure in his recent years. His movements became bolder and swifter. In front of the Kongwang Fortress of the Tahiti Duchy, more than 700 years old and steeped in history. A crowd spilled out in front of the main palace in the unusually vast inner fortress, an empire would envy for its size. The flurry of activity did not match the late hour, and amongst the group of around ten people, one was bloodied, being half-dragged, half-supported by two others. “Damnit. What in the world is causing this commotion in the dead of night?” “I’ve heard wizards can be strange, but those guys are too much. Poor Dick…” “Shush. Keep quiet. What if we’re overheard…” “So what if we are? Dick is…” “That’s just going to get you the same result as Dick.” “This isn’t the time to be…” “Dick! Hold on! We’re going to get you to a priest soon, just hang in there a bit longer!” A pause in their bickering as they heard the injured man’s groan gave the intruder who had slipped over their heads through the ceiling the chance to move more easily deeper into the inner fortress. Even as he moved swiftly, the intruder cocked his head slightly, overhearing their exchange. Even in a duchy, there was a duchy. The Tahiti Duchy had its magic tower, too. However, the tower was known to be small, and due to strained relations with the royal family in recent times, magicians seldom visited the fortress. Yet, at this moment, wizards… “The standard garrison combined with wizards now.” Victor stored that bit of intel in his head and cautiously slipped through an open window into the main palace. Victor winced as a faint sensation brushed his body. Regel, the sensation was too slight for a typical person to notice, but he understood precisely what it foretold. There was only one direction the sensation pointed. “Boundary magic… Damnit!” An extensive barrier of magic enveloping the entire palace was an undertaking far from simple. Although casting such magic wasn’t inherently difficult, the scope was a different story altogether. To sustain the barrier over the whole palace, which spanned at least several thousand square feet, would require considerable resources, especially mana crystals. Additionally, it had to permit passage to regular inhabitants while detecting outsiders, and the royal fortress played host to hundreds, if not thousands, regularly changing staff. As a result, even the Grangpia castle in MacLaine had abandoned such a strategy due to the necessary manpower and exorbitant crystal consumption. And for a mere duchy to employ it? “Plus, if I hadn’t entered, I wouldn’t have felt the magic’s veil because it’s so discreet.” It was an occasion that turned his perception of the Duchy’s magical prowess upside-down, but the pressing issue at hand was something else. Victor was not so foolish as to press on after realizing he had triggered the magic, acknowledging that he was caught. But as he was about to step outside the bedroom, hesitated, perceiving no changes. “Nothing’s different?” It was too silent around him. If the boundary magic were genuinely activated, there should be some response. Knights and soldiers should be on the move, and chaos should reign in the fortress. Yet, even as he squinted and pricked up his ears, no movement was detected. This made Victor waver. Had he been complete ignorant of the boundary magic, he would have retreated, but the clash between the information he had coerced out of his younger sibling regarding tracking and alert magic, and his knowledge of the Tahiti Duchy deepened the conflict in his mind. “It’s difficult to operate boundary magic of this scale with the financial and personnel resources of the duchy. Keeping such covert magic active doesn’t make sense.” The first ruler of the Tahiti Duchy was a mighty 6th-class master wizard. Not one that specialized in the typical elemental circles, but a rare class magic user from the wizard school. Therefore, when the duchy was founded, it had been said that the fortress had been equipped with powerful magical systems, almost on par with the imperial family. “What if the magic itself wasn’t covert but rather weakened magic circles left lingering?” Once he framed it as a hypothesis, it started to feel more like a reality. And there was still the mission. If he were to retreat now, would he be able to discern the true nature of this magic, especially after having already sent Grik back? Would he have another opportunity? ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel※fire.net “It’s impossible. I can’t turn back now.” “I volunteered for this mission alone to push against the limits and embrace the risks.” He had even worried that the mission might be too easy due to the existence of the stealth suit. Even if it indeed was a real boundary spell… “I’ll breach it head-on.” Though a reckless conclusion, Victor’s determination reignited. In the next instant, he vanished into the depths of the castle as if melding with the shadows. Re-entering the castle, Victor’s movement was initially cautious. But as he approached the core, the garrison’s force appeared unchanged from the intel, easing his tension. As opposed to the knights at the wall, the true knights patrolled the interior in regular paths, presenting little difficulty for him to remain undetected. Thanks to this, Victor reached the bedroom of the Duke in just under half an hour. “The Duke’s quarters, my next target is a mere ten minutes away…” Donati Pello, having established the new Duke Leon Tahiti in his position, had become a favored retainer, so much so that Leon had arranged for his constant presence in the palace. More precisely, Donati had situated his own room far from any windows, deep within the palace, and always under the watchful eyes of the trustworthy Donati Pello. Within the ‘Eye of the Flame’ circle, they joked that had it not been for the duchy’s extreme aversion to homosexuality, Leon might have given Donati a room right next to his. Despite his audacious public policies, his measures revealed stark timidity; nevertheless, Victor appreciated how this cautious stance made his mission much more straightforward. “I must kill both the Duke and Donati Pello instantaneously before one becomes aware enough to flee.” Reaffirming the plan, Victor steadied his breath, hiding in the shadows of the corridor, awaiting the instant that the last patrol was farthest away. With an almost imperceptible noise, Victor burst through the door, encountering a serrated blade wielding attacker within arm’s reach. A hefty impact sent him reeling back, exposing his figure draped in a black stealth suit. The artifact – which was presumed to be exclusive to those imperial assassins, the ghosts – had lost effectiveness. “This is quite the reception. To have fended that off, rather impressive for an unanticipated assault.” Steadying himself quickly, Victor looked straight ahead to see not Leon Tahiti but another figure entirely, one he hadn’t prepared for. One of the top knights brought into the fold by Donati Pello. A middle-aged man with a square face and a rugged yet fitting beard and carefully groomed brown hair stood out. The distinctive features made it clear who he was. “Don’t tell me you really came all by yourself. Is MacLaine so devoid of talent?” In that statement, Victor realized a great deal. The boundary magic he had previously encountered was indeed boundary magic, and he himself was now the fool caught in the trap. Beside Greg, another top knight, Natman, readied his lance, eyes aglow with anticipation, and a perfect ambush, framed by a dozen more knights. “Information has leaked.” That he was from MacLaine was obvious, but someone had known he would come alone. The only people in the know of this plan were his liege, Dwain, Damian Nadal, and Grik, who had accompanied him this far. All were key figures beyond doubt, so where could the leak have come from? As Victor’s eyes clouded with thought, Greg opened his mouth. “Now, surrender easily. You really don’t want to find out how painful being in the hands of Greg can be.” That third-person reference and the nonsense of it all refocused Victor’s attention. “…And if I surrender? What can you promise in return?” His voice distorted by force applied to his vocal cords, a trick beyond ordinary talent. Greg’s expression crinkled, but he indulged in a response. “Oh? Hmm. First off, as evidence, your life will naturally be spared. And, depending on your cooperation, there might be a chance to rise in status somewhere other than MacLaine.” The man before him seemed to be a bit dim-witted. To think the enemy would spill everything so readily. Regardless of whether his words held truth, they allowed Victor to ascertain their motives. “They’d use me as proof of the assassination attempt.” A terrible slander against his lord and MacLaine. “The worst outcome is capture; if I die, at least I should be outside the Duke’s estate.” This mission was already a failure. All that was left was to squeeze out as much information as possible from this fool. “How did you know I came alone?” He highlighted the word “alone”. There’s a stark difference between knowing of the attempt at assassination and knowing he would be arriving alone. And the response to that was unexpected. “Hmm? Oh, that’s easy. Just magic-check every foreigner who comes into Tahinan. If you look for someone using magic disguise, you find your man.” Tahinan’s daily movement bustled with tens of thousands of people. Checking every individual with magic would suggest they had magical resources comparable to the empire’s. “And you expect me to believe that?” “Well, the lowlifes of Tahinan helped narrow the field. We had a few prospects, but who could have guessed that among those pairs, only one would infiltrate. Had there been no magical mark, we never would have singled out that fellow.” Given the circumstances, his claim sounded plausible. However, despite the forced admission, it was difficult to trust outright. It was starting to feel like he was spinning tales just to confuse him. “Both the boundary magic earlier and now the duchy’s magical forces—they are surpassing expectations. It’s hard to believe.” “Huh? Wait, you realized the boundary magic and still came in? Are you an idiot?” An astonished and incredulous expression crossed Greg’s face. “Believe it or not, it’s up to you.” With a careless shrug and a sneer, his face overflowed with confidence. As Victor oscillated between doubt and decision, he suddenly sprang into action without any warm-up or preliminary movement. In an instant, Victor’s grey force blade swung forward, sending Greg flying, and then struck down Natman. The lancer reacted hastily, but even among peers, there are levels of skill and prowess. Natman, too, was swiftly deflected and sent flying. Just as Victor was about to pounce on the surrounding knights… One wall of the chamber exploded outwards, revealing a group of figures. Draped in black robes, the leader spoke in a rough voice. “Ooh, looks like Donati was later on the list. I’m late.”