Chapter 442: Even if you breathe quietly (1)
Translator: miraclerifle
Editor: Borderline Masochist
Brown hair fluttered in the wind. A country farmhouse on the outskirts of the Dubori territory. It was near the desert, but plants still grew decently here.
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
However, there were also barren areas that people didn’t touch.
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
A strand of wind was passing through one of those areas. The owner of the fluttering brown hair reached his hand to lower his ivory-colored hood. It covered his brown hair.
- Human! The mana disturbance is getting worse the closer we get!
Cale bit down on his lips.
“Cale-nim.”
Choi Han who had light beige-colored hair was running with him.
“We are increasing our speed.”
Swoooooooosh-
The Sound of the Wind coming out of Cale's hand surrounded Cale and Choi Han whose hairs were dyed with magic, as well as the invisible Raon and increased their speed.
- Human! I see the central small city over there!
Cale looked toward the small city with the Lord’s castle. It was the location with the entrance to the Land of Death.
- The mana disturbance is getting worse the closer we get to it!
That meant that that was where the White Star or whatever the White Star did was located.
‘That’s also where that illusionist or whatever is as well.’
He was holding onto the golden top's whip, but had not heard anything yet. Cale was rational but slightly rushed as he headed down the mountain and toward the Dubori territory.
Swoooooooosh-
That sense of urgency raised the speed of the wind surrounding the two humans and one Dragon.
‘Now about 600 meters.’
They were about 600 meters away from the wall surrounding the small city. They would soon be able to jump over the wall.
"We will jump over the wall as effectively as possible.”
Cale gave the order to Raon and Choi Han before starting to observe the soldiers on top of the wall.
‘The citizens on our way here, as well as the soldiers over there, they all seem fine.’
They were too relaxed to be acting and the soldiers seemed to be their usual relaxed and lethargic selves who wanted to slack off if possible. There was no sense of urgency nor anxiety coming from them.
‘And surprisingly...’
Cale's gaze headed far to the West.
‘We can't see the fire as soon as we entered the boundaries of the territory.’
The fire surrounding the Land of Death was not visible anymore.
‘Is all of this just an illusion?’
The Illusionist.
He didn't know who the Illusionist was, but if this was all the work of the Illusionist, then that person was extremely strong. Cale was getting a headache because of this new enemy but continued to press forward.
‘Now about 500 meters!’
They would soon arrive at the central location of this incident.
“Ugh!”
It was at that moment. Cale stopped moving.
“...Raon?”
He heard a child’s groan in the air. Cale's eyes urgently moved toward the empty air. He saw a spot that was warping.
Crackle, crackle.
A spot in the air was warping similar to the ripples created by a rock that had landed in a lake and Raon’s body appeared and disappeared back and forth.
“What's wrong?”
Cale became anxious seeing Raon like this while Choi Han reached out and hugged Raon before they quickly moved to a blind spot where the soldiers on the walls would not be able to see them.
Cale was following behind Choi Han when Choi Han reached one hand toward him.
“Hey, why are your hands shaking?”
Choi Han’s hand in front of him was shaking.
“One moment please.”
Choi Han asked Cale for a moment before laying Raon down on a soft patch of grass.
Crackle, crackle.
Raon’s body was still glitching, making Choi Han gently speak to Raon.
“Remove your invisibility magic.”
“I, I don't want to! The great and mighty Raon Miru cannot lose!”
He was stuttering a bit, but Raon sounded better than Cale expected. Raon curled his body and channeled more black mana.
Pat.
Someone placed their hand on Raon's back.
“Raon, cancel the spell.”
“...Fine. Human.”
Cale’s hand and his stern voice made Raon grumble as he canceled the spell. The crackling noise disappeared and Raon appeared in front of them while pouting. Cale noticed that Raon’s front paws were still shaking.
“Is it because of the mana disturbance?”
Cale asked about Raon’s condition and Choi Han responded.
“Please look at my hand.”
Choi Han’s hand was still shaking.
“I mainly use aura, but I am able to feel a decent amount of mana after reaching this stage. Cale-nim, you and the civilians who don’t use mana or aura might not notice anything right now, but...”
Squeeze.
Choi Han clenched and then unclenched his fists. The shaking instantly disappeared.
“The mana in the air is extremely chaotic right now. It is to the point that the shaking of the mana can be felt by a swordsman like me.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, captain!”
The ten soldiers quickly headed toward the Lord’s Castle.
Caw. Caw.
The crow on the wall cawed as it watched them before one of the crows that flew away returned and descended into the alley.
In a shaded part of the alley... The crow landed on the crouching person's shoulder.
“Cale-nim.”
A familiar voice instead of a caw came out of the crow's mouth. Cale started to smile and his gaze headed toward the crow on his shoulder.
“I met with Raon-nim.”
“Gashan, it's been a while.”
The Tiger shaman Gashan's crows had flown into the territory and finally reached Cale.
“I heard about the Illusionist.”
A breeze brushed past Cale’s cheek as he was listening to the imposing old man's voice. Cale tightly grabbed the golden top's whip.
“Based on what I saw through the crows, it is indeed an illusion.”
“How do we break the illusion?”
Cale asked as he stood up. Cale and Choi Han made eye contact.
They had heard the soldiers’ discussion just now.
‘There will be a luxurious feast today for the esteemed guests of the Lord-nim!’
Choi Han started to speak.
“Those esteemed guests are probably the people we are looking for.”
They then heard Gashan’s voice. The method to break an illusion.
“First, you must find the Illusionist. Cale-nim, shamans and illusionists use similar methods. We do not use mana.”
Shaman.
The people called the mages of the Eastern continent were different than mages.
Caw, caw.
Cale could see crows slowly descending throughout the Dubori territory. The crow on his shoulder continued to speak.
“Unlike mages, shamans directly use the power of nature. We need a medium to do that.”
Shamans like Gashan used ingredients from nature as mediums to use the powers of nature.
“Usually, we use things like staffs or talismans. Mysterious items from nature are the best.”
"Are you saying that illusionists are the same?”
Hehe.
He could hear Gashan's laughter. Cale couldn't help but imagine the large white-haired old man laughing viciously.
“Cale-nim, please find the Illusionist and that bastard's medium.”
At that moment...
‘Cale, Cale! I saw something weird inside the Lord’s Castle!’
‘Request to check the Lord’s Castle's basement, numerous pits discovered.’
‘Oh, come on! I was about to tell him!’
He heard the Wind Elementals’ voices. Gashan also continued to speak.
“And destroy them once you find them. Both the Illusionist and the medium.”
Caw. Caw.
The whispers of the Elementals continued as the crows cawed.
‘Anyway, there were a ton of rats inside the pits! They seemed to be creating paths under this territory.’
‘Those pits are connected to paths throughout this small city's underground!’
‘The White Star's forces suspected to be inside the Lord’s Castle. Must break in and destroy. Chaos, destruction, speed battle.’
Gashan resumed speaking again. Cale was recording both information at once.
“Ah, that Illusionist probably has an animal he controls like I do. So, please always be aware of your surroundings. You never know where the enemy's ears may be.”
Cale started to speak.
“Choi Han, underground.”
Choi Han’s sword quickly stabbed down.
Slaaash!
The ground they were standing on was overturned.
Squeeeak, squeak.
Choi Han grabbed a rat from the overturned ground. The rat was not injured, but it fainted the moment it made eye contact with Choi Han.
One Wind Elemental continued to speak as that happened.
‘There was a person standing in one of the pits in the Lord’s Castle's basement! He was controlling the rats!’
That should be the Illusionist. Cale started to speak.
“They already found us.”
‘They know about Choi Han and me.’
Cale's stiff gaze headed toward the Lord’s Castle.
At that moment. The basement underneath the Dubori Lord’s Castle that had been used as a prison was a mess with pits all around.
A person at the center of one of the pits opened his eyes and started to speak.
“They found me.”
“Really? It doesn’t matter.”
The White Star touched his mask as he spoke to the Illusionist.
“Either way, only Choi Han and Cale Henituse came into the territory. They don’t even seem to have the young Dragon with them.”
“Yes, sir. It is as we expected. I confirmed Choi Han’s face as well, so it should be easy to cast an illusion on him.”
The White Star looked at the rat that was peeking out of the pit. He thought about Cale and Choi Han as he started to speak.
“They are rats in jars this time.”
The White Star had a satisfied smile on his face as things were going as he wished for the first time in a long while.
Cale was silently smiling at that same moment.