Arvell and Zenos continued to lead the group to the tunnel, however, they faced a considerably greater resistance this time.
Even so, Arvell was still at peace.
After all, he wasn't running for his life this time.
Compared to before, this was more of a scenic venture for him.
Zen was in a similar state of mind.
To them, this current trip was a walk in the park.
Rupert and the other knights however didn't share their sentiments.
This was far more taxing on them since they had to babysit the two 1st circle mages in their group.
Since they were in such a large group, monsters were able to spot them quite easily.
Normally this wouldn't be a concern to the group, however, these monsters would instinctively attack the weakest members in their group, hoping for an easy pick.
Naturally, this was Zenos and Arvell.
While the two of them got a free pass, the knights had to constantly protect them.
However, being knights of a ducal house, they gritted their teeth and bore it.
They had finally gotten their young master back, so once they returned home they could finally get a break for at least a little while.
While they hadn't been able to gather any real data on the rank 6 beast, their main priority immediately became protecting their young master.
However, they also couldn't just let Elantryan citizens get sold off as slaves.
Even more so when their young master himself ordered them to save the girls.
"Just a bit more everyone! We are almost there!" Zen shouted.
The tunnel entrance was in full view now.
Earlier this entrance had been covered with bushes and shrubbery. (f)reewe(b)novel
However, due to the actions of the rank 4 beast, all of the nearby vegetation was ripped to shreds, exposing the hidden tunnel.
Rupert and the other knights walked up to the entrance with their mouths agape.
"Forgive my words young master, but are you sure that this tunnel allows for safe travel through the mountain range?" Rupert looked at Zenos.
Zenos nodded his head.
"I have traversed through this tunnel twice, so I can assure you that this tunnel is exactly as I said."
Rupert was still in doubt, but he couldn't question the young master.
"To think something like this was hidden from us all along…"
"If this tunnel was used in the war, we might have been able to take over Vispia."
Uriel looked over at Rupert.
"Sir, what should we do?"
Rupert put his hand to his chin and thought for a bit.
"We should simply report this to the duke. Taking any actions without consulting the lord might adversely affect any plans he might have."
Uriel nodded.
Rupert turned to look at the group and raised his hand, and the knights instantly fell silent. freeweb novel.co m
"We are going to investigate this tunnel and rescue the captured women. However, bringing our young master and his sworn brother into a place filled with slave traders might endanger their lives." Rupert announced, "Thus I'm going to have Uriel, Annie, and Jack watch over them. I want you three to protect them with your lives."
"Yes, sir!" The three saluted.
"Everyone else, come follow me."
"Yes, sir!"
As the group went into the tunnel, Arvell and Zenos found rocks to sit on and immediately collapsed onto them.
They had been running non-stop for several hours.
The level of exhaustion the two had was enough for most people to pass out.
The man named Jack and the woman named Annie sat down and joined them as well.
Only Uriel stood resolutely, while carefully surveying their surroundings without rest.
Seeing this, Jack decided to call out to him.
"Vice-captain Uriel! Why not just sit down? It's not like they would be able to get the jump on us anyways. We would be able to sense them when they get close enough."
Annie nodded.
"Vice-captain, you are far too tense! You need to take a breather too. Even Captain Rupert seems exhausted, so you're probably not in any better condition," Annie agreed.
Uriel shook his head.
"We finally got the young master back, there is no way I can let anything happen to him while he is under my protection. Even if it is not that effective, I need to still stay vigilant."
Jack and Annie sighed.
Uriel did have a point about them needing to be extra careful about protecting the young master, but why create extra work for yourself?
Lykos saw this and gave Uriel a pitiful smile.
'Men like him mostly end up overworked and underpaid.'
Arvell nodded.
'Working hard smartly is much more efficient than working hard blindly.'
While hard work was a good thing, doing it blindly would get you nowhere quickly.
Having a clear-cut direction for your efforts was more rewarding in general.
While they were waiting patiently, Arvell suddenly got an idea.
He turned to the three knights and used his status skill.
[Status Information]
Name: Jack Ilso
Species: Human
Age: 22 years old
HP: 130
STA: 60
DEF: 45
SPD: 40
PHYS ATK: 54
MAGIC CIRCLE: 3rd CIRCLE 8TH STAGE
MP: 343
Titles: Knight of the Silvercolt Knight Order
Magic Attributes: Enhancement, Earth
Skills: Silvercolt Axe Techniques (B-), Hand-To-Hand Combat (B)
[Status Information]
Name: Annie Russell
Species: Human
Age: 23 years old
HP: 105
STA: 50
DEF: 42
SPD: 49
PHYS ATK: 43
MAGIC CIRCLE: 3rd CIRCLE 5TH STAGE
MP: 370
Titles: Knight of the Silvercolt Knight Order
Magic Attributes: Water, Ice
Skills: Silvercolt Swordsmanship (B-), Hand-To-Hand Combat (B)
[Status Information]
Name: Uriel Kaiser
Species: Human
Age: 20 years old
HP: 100
STA: 57
DEF: 40
SPD: 50
PHYS ATK: 48
MAGIC CIRCLE: 4TH CIRCLE 6TH STAGE
MP: 485
Titles: Vice-Captain of the Silvercolt Knight Order
Magic Attributes: Wind, Lightning
Skills: Silvercolt Swordsmanship (B), Hand-To-Hand Combat (B-), Thunderstorm Archery (A), Hawk Eyes (A)
As Arvell read through the newly presented information, he paused at Uriel's information.
While it didn't surprise him that his basic stats were higher than theirs, this was because of his Nether body.
While he might be able to fight them in a fight with no magic involved, the instant they use their magic on him, he might as well consider it his defeat.
However, Uriel's information managed to catch his eye.
'He's a 4th circle mage? How was he allowed to come to the mountain range?'
Arvell looked at Uriel inquisitively.
Had Elantrya developed a way to bring 4th circle mages across the border?
Or was something wrong with the rank 6 beast?
Considering their current situation, the latter was more probable.
Arvell stood up and approached Uriel.
Uriel also paused what he was doing and looked at the approaching Arvell curiously.
"Vice-captain Uriel was it?"
"Yes sir, that was indeed my name."
Since he was now a sworn brother of his young master, Uriel needed to treat Arvell appropriately as well.
"I was wondering… The power you showed when you killed the beast… That is almost impossible to be done by a 3rd circle mage. Are you perhaps a 4th circle mage?"
Uriel's eyes widen before he nodded his head.
"Yes sir, it's as you deduced. I am indeed a 4th circle mage. A few of the others are as well."
"How did you all manage to enter the mountain range? That should be impossible right?"
Uriel nodded his head once more.
"Yes, that is indeed the case most of the time. However, something is terribly wrong this time. We presume that something might have happened to the rank 6 beast. Even if we stepped onto its territory, it didn't try to contest us. It's almost as if it's hiding."
'Hiding? Why would a rank 6 beast do that? This is quite confusing,' Arvell wondered.
'I'm quite perplexed as well,' Lykos agreed.
"We were supposed to wait near the base of the mountain range, and only kill any beast that left the mountain range. However, our 3rd circle mages were overwhelmed by a tide of beasts the instant they stepped foot on the range." Uriel continued.
"We faced a similar situation ourselves. Luckily we managed to lose them in the tunnel."
Zenos stood up and joined their conversation.
"The two of you faced a similar situation and lived… This is a miracle," Annie chimed in.
"We had a tough time with it. If it wasn't for the vice-captain and the others stepping foot onto the range to help us, we would have died right then and there," Jack lamented.
"We stepped foot onto the range to help them, but we felt no pressure from the rank 6 beast to leave. After experimenting for a bit, we decided to travel as a group and investigate the cause of the beast's abnormal behaviour. However, instead of finding that, we ended up finding the young master and his sworn brother."
Uriel had a pleasant smile on his face.
He was genuinely happy that his Lord's family could finally be reunited again.
However, Arvell was too preoccupied with Uriel's words to notice.
'Why would the beast be so agitated that something as territorial as it would let invaders onto its land. What could have happened?'
Lykos sighed and put his hand on Arvell's shoulders.
'There's no point in worrying about it. Even if you knew you can't do much with your current strength. Focus more on protecting yourself and less on factors you can't change.'
Arvell nodded his head.
While this did impact him significantly, Lykos was right.
Meaninglessly worrying about things that he couldn't control was just a waste of his time.
While the group was talking, Rupert's men finally emerged back out of the tunnel.
They were stained in blood while escorting a group of crying girls out of the tunnel.
Seeing this, Uriel started towards the group, while beckoning for Arvell and the others to follow him.
"They finished the job, so let's get moving."
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at (f)re𝒆we(b)novel.com Only