Chapter 352
Krang thought it was a strange, almost unreal experience.
‘So this is what it feels like to be guarded by a knight.’
A peace he had never known while wandering the continent settled over him.
Even though the number of assassination attempts far exceeded anything he had experienced before.
The attack by the disguised merchants had been stopped before it even began, but that was only the start.
Afterward, they entered the city of Midpool.
“Thank you! Thank you!”
The landowner’s son burst into tears, overjoyed.
Despite the pain from his mangled ankle, he looked ready to bow his head to the dirt in gratitude—though he didn’t actually do it. That was simply how happy he was.
He had escaped death and followed the group nervously afterward. His reaction was only natural.
“Even if that guy had been an assassin, no one would’ve been fooled.”
Krang’s guard said this as he watched the young man.
“I agree.”
Krang nodded quietly.
If they had harmed or ignored the landowner’s son, the assassination guild would have used it as proof to frame them for murder.
Therefore, the young man was most likely uninvolved.
Still, no one let their guard down.
The boy was kept at the center of the group—close enough to watch him, far enough from Krang. Encrid treated his wound while also thoroughly checking his belongings. The young man barely noticed. His ankle was nearly torn off. He was in too much pain to think clearly.
No ordinary person could stay calm with such an injury.
If they were weak, they would cry and beg; even if they were strong, enduring such pain for the first time in their life would break their composure.
Encrid’s group understood this as they escorted him into Midpool.
Midpool’s walls were an odd sight—layers of differently colored stones from repeated repairs over the years. Cities in Naurilia often imitated the capital’s walls, and the capital’s walls were truly magnificent.
Demon beasts and monsters roamed the continent freely, so even bandits couldn’t roam in small groups. There were no private homes or small villages; only large cities could survive. With that need, construction technology flourished, and Midpool’s walls reflected that development.
Even now, laborers were fitting new stones together, expanding the walls further.
“Thank you so much!”
This was a city built around farmland. Its lord was traditionally a landowner—the Marquess of Fertile Land, who held the most farmland in the kingdom.
There was a moment of polite commotion as the landowner showed gratitude and invited them inside.
Then—
“What if you’re inviting the very people who trapped your son and are putting on an act?”
Encrid’s one sentence made the landowner step back.
A man of his status was no fool. With that single remark, he realized these were people who wouldn’t accept his favor.
Encrid’s words had struck the truth, and the landowner tacitly accepted it.
“I will repay this debt in the future.”
He withdrew.
He would hunt down the group who had targeted his son—or those connected to them. If needed, he would borrow the Marquess’s strength.
It wasn’t Encrid’s concern.
The group later rented a room at an inn—where poisoned food was served.
“It’s poison.”
Jaxson recognized it immediately. Another assassination attempt failed.
After that, a dagger flew from an alley. It, too, was poisoned. Encrid caught it with a gloved hand and threw it back—twice as fast.
“Gasp.”
The attacker’s death cry echoed from the darkness.
“Why bother attacking if they can’t even dodge their own daggers?”
Rem grumbled, clearly annoyed at the attackers swarming from every direction.
They struck whenever the streets grew less crowded.
Rem rested a modular short spear on his shoulder, arm hooked over it.
The posture looked lazy—but wasn’t.
A poisoned dart came at him; without changing posture, he leaned slightly to one side and knocked it away with the end of the spear’s handle.
Assassins hid and struck like rats. Rem had no intention of chasing them one by one.
And for good reason.
They targeted the entire group—Krang included—but it was meaningless. Completely ineffective.
Occasionally, vagrants attacked as well.
With no private homes on the continent, most people lived in cities. Every large city had vagrants—and some were violent.
It didn’t matter.
Thud, smack, wham.
Ragna stepped forward and calmly put them down with fists and feet.
“Monster!”
A vagrant screamed and ran. No one chased him.
“They probably paid a few Krong to do it. Same with the poisoning.”
Jaxson guessed correctly—the inn’s waitress had poisoned the food. Encrid didn’t interrogate her. Jaxson advised against it.
“It’s common. They tell them it’s medicine. Something harmless.”
Krang listened. This was a method he had never heard before.
He remembered almost dying from poison once. He didn’t even know when he had been poisoned.
No suspects. That was why the method Jaxson described struck him.
“They pretend to be a family member of one of us and say they’re secretly following us. Then they tell some innocent person to add ‘medicine’ to the food. Works surprisingly well.”
If the victim stole the powder and ate it themselves?
The guild wouldn’t care.
They always used poison that took effect a day later.
But the inn’s staff had been honest—they sprinkled it only on the food.
The waitress kept sneaking glances, clearly worried.
Encrid’s group drew attention by not hiding their faces. Assassins lurking nearby felt their pride wounded.
As a result—
“Above.”
Jaxson warned.
On the way to another restaurant, an ambusher dropped from above.
By now, they had collected enough thrown daggers to open a shop.
Rem, Encrid, and Ragna all moved at once.
Their weapons cut through the air.
The elf assassin falling from above was sliced into six pieces.
Blood rained down. Flesh landed on the ground.
If this had happened in the main street, city guards would have rushed over immediately.
“Ghk.”
His last words vanished into the dirt.
Several more ambushes followed—but they all collapsed before they even began.
Just as Krang’s guard had said.
Even Krang could see it clearly.
“Just a moment.”
When Jaxson disappeared briefly, the attacks dwindled drastically.
By then Encrid had found a restaurant.
“They say the roasted chicken here is excellent.”
“Huh?”
Krang blinked. Was this the time to look for good food?
“Don’t you like chicken?” Encrid asked.
Of course he did.
But it had been a long time since he’d eaten proper food. Lately he had eaten only to survive, not to enjoy.
Still, he entered the restaurant.
“Be careful,” his guard said—but didn’t stop him.
Krang ate until he loosened his belt for the first time in ages.
The place only sold roasted chicken, but the method was exceptional.
A whole chicken skewered on a long spit, roasted slowly over a wood fire for half a day.
“This method has been passed down since my grandfather. It’s my pride.”
The owner beamed. The chicken melted in his mouth. Seasoned lightly—salt, pepper, spices—the crispy skin was richer than any noble’s meal.
Krang devoured it.
“Have you been starving? You’re eating well.”
The owner offered a fruit drink he had made. Sweet, sour, refreshing.
In dense cities, cooking developed more than anything else. Ingredients were plentiful. Agriculture thrived around Midpool, and livestock were raised inside the walls.
Chickens were abundant.
Naturally, there were restaurants like this.
“Let’s kidnap the cook.”
Rem praised the dish. The cook nearly fainted.
“What? This place is funded by the landowner! Don’t even think about it!”
Encrid calmed him, saying it was a joke.
At some point, Jaxson returned, tearing into a chicken leg.
“Hey, stray cat, sneaking off again?”
“You’re just slow.”
They bantered endlessly.
The wild horse outside crunched chicken bones.
“That’s not a Demon beast, is it?” a freckled employee asked fearfully.
“It doesn’t bite,” Encrid said, though the boy refused to go near it.
Who would approach a horse chewing bones?
“Let’s drink,” Rem suggested.
“Let’s drink and take some with us,” Encrid agreed.
The group looked sloppy and undisciplined as they ate—but not a single one let down their guard.
Krang felt peace watching it all.
He tore chicken apart and drank cherry wine—a unique flavor. Had he been alone, he would have suspected poison.
There was none.
“Owner, can I buy a few bottles?”
Encrid bought wine, and they returned to the inn full and satisfied.
“Sleep well.”
After brief goodnights, they washed up, brushed their teeth, and rinsed with salt water.
The cotton-stuffed bed felt luxurious.
To sleep on a bed that wasn’t scratchy or hard—what luxury could surpass this?
“I can’t believe it,” the guard murmured. Krang agreed.
They slept through the night.
Strangely, there were no more ambushes.
‘Because that red-haired friend disappeared earlier.’
Krang understood clearly.
The attacks vanished after Jaxson disappeared.
What had he done?
Krang was curious—but wouldn’t ask. Jaxson wasn’t the type to answer.
The next day they left Midpool. But the assassins’ persistence continued.
“You can’t pass here!”
A so-called champion from some arena blocked their path.
“I will.”
Dunbakel strode forward and smashed his face with a knee.
She knocked aside his spear with her scimitar, jumped forward, and struck. Clean and decisive.
The champion dropped, unconscious.
“What kind of arena raises chicks like that?”
She glared at the gathered men. They scattered immediately.
The sky was clear, as though the storm had never existed.
The group rode at a measured speed, preserving the horses’ stamina—the most efficient way to travel.
Then an arrow flew toward Krang.
Encrid caught it.
Thwack, shudder.
Krang stared at the trembling arrow shaft. He wasn’t surprised. It was blocked.
Encrid held the arrow and looked into the distance.
“This seems to be the real thing.”
The end of clumsy tricks. The enemy’s last resort: long-range sniping.
A real archer this time—not an amateur.
Krang didn’t see the archer, but Encrid saw a mounted shooter loosing an arrow from afar and riding away.
Could they catch him on horseback?
Unlikely.
Their only option was to deflect the incoming arrows.
A mounted archer was far more troublesome than the previous assassins—but still not a threat.
Not to Krang.
Not with Encrid beside him.
That was why Krang felt peace.
The distant archer wasn’t frightening.
Moreover—
Hee-ing.
The wild horse neighed and approached Encrid.
“You want to go catch him?”
Encrid asked.
Judging by his tone, it seemed they weren’t about to let the archer escape.
(T/N : This is the dream team. Its like getting a premium security services lol)