Why is Lion’s Castle so quiet?
Jae-Hyeok’s expression was grim as he walked through the empty streets.
The silence reminded Jae-Hyeok of his estate. A wave of loneliness overcame him, making him miss his mother and worry about his father. The more he thought about them, the more his hatred for his siblings soared.
Jae-Hyeok rubbed his face to wipe away his scowl and then quickened his steps
He couldn’t wait to see some familiar faces; unlike his family members, his comrades stayed by his side when he needed them, and just being with them gave him peace of mind. He guessed this was what it meant to be friends.
As a token of gratitude, let’s push them a bit harder starting from today.
Do-Jin, Da-Hee, and Hae-Rin... They all had one thing in common. Jae-Hyeok could tell they were all in a position where they could never stop trying.
Of course, Jae-Hyeok didn’t know their personal history. Although the three of them didn’t seem to mind talking about it, Jae-Hyeok refused to listen and would leave whenever they were about to say something personal. He was afraid that once he learned their past, he would have to share his story as well. And that... was horrifying. Jae-Hyeok’s personal life was just as miserable as the rest of the Kang family in these last eight years. Talking about it would only dredge up feelings of self-loathing and despair, not that he had the courage to speak about it in the first place.
It doesn’t matter, even if I don’t know the details, I know enough. They need to get stronger as soon as possible.
Jae-Hyeok vaguely understood his friends’ situations—Hae-Rin, for example: Jae-Hyeok knew that she was in a precarious position within the Guardian Guild. That much was clear from the guild’s shadow warriors following and protecting Jeong Ru-Han instead of Hae-Rin, the guild master’s own daughter.
I thought the master of the Guardian Guild had chosen Jeong Ru-Han as his successor instead of his daughter, but... Recently, Jae-Hyeok had learned that Hae-Rin’s father was actually in pretty critical condition. As soon as he’d learned that, Jae-Hyeok’s first thought was that Jeong Ru-Han’s position in the guild and relationship with Hae-Rin might’ve been orchestrated by Jeong Ru-Han’s father against the guild master’s knowledge. In fact, he was pretty sure of it. Hae-Rin’s condition was very unstable when she was with Jeong Ru-Han. Jae-Hyeok was convinced that Jeong Ru-Han had disciplined and brainwashed her over a long period of time, not just a day or two. Moreover, Jeong Ru-Han must’ve had help. Hae-Rin was a smart girl after all. Without an adult’s knowledge, Jeong Ru-Han alone wouldn’t have been able to pressure and manipulate her to such a degree.
Most likely, the mastermind was Jeong Ru-Han’s father, the sub-master.
The sub-master’s role was to assist and stand in for the guild master’s absence. In other words, the sub-master must have the guild master’s trust. He was in a good position to make a move.
If he is a snake-like human, then he could’ve done all types of tricks behind the scenes. It wouldn’t have been difficult for him to sink his claws into a young Hae-Rin.
The more Jae-Hyeok thought about it, the more he realized that Hae-Rin’s situation was more serious than he’d imagined.
Suddenly, he remembered the words of the old pharmacist.
-I think I know what the illness is, but what chance does a humble health store owner like me have to see the master of the Guardian Guild?The so-called sub-master is really annoying...Aish.
Jae-Hyeok was starting to worry that the gift he and Hae-Rin had gotten for her father might never reach him. Worst-case scenario, the entire Guardian Guild might have fallen into the hands of Jeong Ru-Han’s father...
Thinking of Hae-Rin’s difficulties, Jae-Hyeok vowed to upgrade her to three thunderbolts a day. Only then could she gain the strength she needed faster.
As for Do-Jin... he’s the same.
Do-Jin’s struggles were no less than Hae-Rin’s. From what Jae-Hyeok could tell, he seemed to have lost his parents because of Loren and had been sharpening his blade for revenge ever since.
As Austria’s National Treasure candidate, Loren was like a great mountain. Do-Jin couldn’t relax if he hoped to surpass him and one day claim revenge. Jae-Hyeok could empathize with his motivations the most.
I will definitely help him.
Their experience and motivations were similar, so Jae-Hyeok implicitly wanted to help Do-Jin. He guessed Do-Jin felt the same about him. It seemed like fate that they met.
Just then, Jae-Hyeok’s steps halted. He’d arrived in front of the training ground. But it was different from what he’d expected.
This place is also quiet.
None of his team members were there. Did they go to the shooting range? Jae-Hyeok started walking again.
When he arrived at the shooting range, however, he was once again greeted by an empty club room. Both his team members and the Shooting Club members were nowhere to be seen.
At this point, Jae-Hyeok entertained a bizarre possibility
It can’t be... They went to study? Even Baek Do-Jin? Nobody mentioned anything about studying last night; did they eat something strange this morning?
Jae-Hyeok was speechless. He quickly left the empty shooting range, bursting out of the door and back on the street as if he had been running from ghosts.
No sooner had he left than the sound of loud exhaust and urgent cries filled Jae-Hyeok’s ears.
“Eek! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!!!”
He looked around and saw a dozen arcane bikes racing over.
Jae-Hyeok took two steps to the side as the speeding bikes brushed past him. If he were an ordinary student, he would have been seriously injured just then. The riders also seemed to realize this, as they quickly stopped their bikes and looked back apologetically.
“It’s good you’re safe.” These riders were Guards. Embroidered on their uniforms was the image of a hawk clutching a flashlight and a telescope in its talons.
“If you can only worry after the fact, perhaps try driving safely in the first place,” Jae-Hyeok said sharply. Naturally, he was upset. This was the sidewalk right in front of the shooting range; it was usually used by his teammates and the Shooting Club members. An arcane bike could easily exceed 500 kilometers per hour; this wasn’t the place to drive recklessly.
“I’m sorry. We are in a hurry, so it couldn’t be helped.”
The attitude of the guard who’d offered the apology turned harsh. He didn’t like the student’s attitude of daring to ask questions.
Had they been wearing the uniform of an attack team or a search team, the student wouldn’t have dared to show such an attitude. Clearly, he was doubting his qualification because he was from the guards, which only made him more irritated.
Jae-Hyeok tilted his head. “What’s so urgent? Did something happen again?”
Recently, there had been a lot of incidents at Lion’s Castle; guests from outside were in danger of being assassinated, and covert beastmen had infiltrated and destroyed the Student Council building.
The news was noisy every day. Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals’ young master almost dying at the hands of a suspected Lion’s Castle insider; the infamous villain Mudal from ten years ago, appearing and attacking students in the Student Council—the stories were so shocking that people’s attention showed no signs of waning. But as the stories grew bigger, it was the Guards who found themselves in the greatest crisis. After all, it was their responsibility to guard the inside of the gate and patrol the danger zones. So there was a widespread theory that the incidents were caused by the Guards’ negligence in their duties.
“So what if something came up? Is that our responsibility? Huh?”
Having been criticized often lately, the Guards were sensitive to Jae-Hyeok’s seemingly casual question.
“You students keep forgetting this because you are playing in school, but Lion’s Castle is a gate! It isn’t strange if an incident happens at any time! In any case, you don’t know anything about the world! Tsk tsk.”
Why are these guys going crazy all of a sudden? Jae-Hyeok blinked in confusion.
“Hey, why aren’t you guys hurrying?” A new person arrived and stopped his bike. He was familiar to Jae-Hyeok: Guard Captain Byeon Cheon-Ju. Jae-Hyeok had met him right after finishing the Leech King raid.
“The Kang family... .”
Byeon Cheon-Ju also recognized Jae-Hyeok. But his expression looked like he’d seen filth. Byeon Cheon-Ju clicked his tongue and looked away from Jae-Hyeok.
“Stop wasting time. There are as many as five barriers that have suddenly appeared. We need to reach each site as quickly as possible.”
“The safety of the students is our top priority! Remember this. If you act half-heartedly, you might have to retire from being a player!”
Barriers?Students in danger?Something must’ve happened again. Jae-Hyeok decided to chase after the Guards, so he turned to grab an arcane bike from the Shooting Club, only to be interrupted by a voice.
“The young master was right. He said you would definitely be along this road.”
The one speaking was a woman wearing a baseball hat and a deep hood. Only the lower part of her face was visible, but her fair skin and speech suggested she was a foreigner.
Byeon Cheon-Ju immediately drew his weapon.
The Guards might be at the bottom of the armed forces, but they were part of the armed forces nonetheless. And as a captain, Byeon Cheon-Ju’s level wasn’t low. Even so, Byeon Cheon-Ju felt an unusual energy from this mysterious woman. He stayed vigilant.
The woman replied, “That’s something you have to try and figure out yourself.”
“Crazy woman, you’ve got some courage to act alone.”
Byeon Cheon-Ju clicked his tongue and gave the signal.
The snipers among the guards, who had been quietly preparing, activated their long-range Skills. There was an enormous explosion, and the woman’s head snapped back, her white baseball cap flying into the air alongside a spray of blood.
“Hmph, too arrogant... ”
Byeon Cheon-Ju began, but his words were cut short when he saw more and more blood spraying into the sky. The sheer amount didn’t make sense, and it spread like a mist.
Byeon Cheon-Ju quickly used a defensive Skill.
From the red-colored sky, threads of mana shot down and bombarded the Guards.
They screamed and cursed. Excluding Byeon Cheon-Ju, most of the guards were caught off guard by the attack and were injured.
In the chaos, the woman, Roxanne, retrieved her baseball cap and said softly, “You managed to avoid fatal injuries. Not bad, but it’s useless.”
As a knight of the Baus family, Roxanne was a veteran who’d gone through countless battles. She hadn’t once let down her guard against this group of guards. After all, this was Lion’s Castle. The Bause family had faced many of its greatest trials on these lands—well, eighty percent of the trials they’d faced had involved the Yaksha, but still...
There are so many hidden pieces here, I have to stay alert... Huh? Roxanne was nonchalantly blocking the attacks of over ten guards when she suddenly stiffened.
She’d spotted a black-haired boy standing far behind the group of guards.
Something about his face was strikingly familiar.
Roxanne started trembling. Byeon Cheon-Ju and the other guards looked at each other in confusion.