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Chapter 297 - Appetizer (3)

Although they were simply burning a piece of flesh, it let out an unusually foul smell, which all of them felt.

After Arthus’ mark was reduced to ashes, they had the Saint use her healing powers to heal their wounds.

The good news was that Arthus’ vile marks were gone. They put their armor back on, and Valhald bowed and apologized on their behalf.

“I apologize, Commander. We have shown an ugly side of ourselves in front of everyone.”

“No worries. In fact, your gesture should serve as an example for everyone here. I respect your resolve.”

“Thank you.”

With that apology, the situation wrapped up.

“Well, now we have a place to go since Arthus has invited us to Lizark Hill,” said Henry.

“Lizark Hill is on the western edge of the continent... What is he up to, asking us to travel all the way there without using Teleportation?” Lore inquired.

“If I’m right, Arthus is just enjoying this situation for what it is. He might’ve spent the past month setting up a special performance for his own amusement, which would likely be his last one,” answered Henry.

“What a twisted habit he has.”

“Anyway, for now, we’re going to have to play his game whether we like it or not. If we don’t listen to him, we won’t be able to ensure the safety of those left here when we’re gone.”

It was a simple but clever plan.

Arthus knew better than anyone else that although Henry wanted revenge, he wouldn’t sacrifice innocent lives in order to achieve it. That was why he held the lives of everyone else hostage.

“But... Why Lizark Hill, out of all places?” asked Stan.

Lizark Hill was located in the northwest outskirts of the continent, and it was the farthest away from Monsieur, which was in the southeast outskirts.

Henry thought to himself, ‘There’s nothing special about Lizark Hill as far as I know. Nevertheless, I’m sure Arthus urged us to come there just so we can entertain him.’

At least that was what Henry suspected. After all, to Arthus, he was nothing more than a special toy to keep him amused.

“It’s probably just his twisted mentality. To him, our suffering is nothing more than mere entertainment, and the longer the distance, the more he gets to anticipate it, right?”

“If that’s true, he truly does have one sick hobby.”

“Anyway, like I said, we’re going to go along with his little game, and then we\'ll plunge a knife into his throat. So let’s depart for Lizark Hill right away.”

“Yes, sir!”

Everyone answered Henry’s command, including the Seven Sages.

They prepared to leave immediately, nobody hesitating. The Union had already prepared for every possibility the day before, and this just happened to be one of them.

Still, things were not too bad so far. The worst-case scenario for Henry would’ve been for Arthus to immediately attack the Union after he had appeared.

‘Who knows, it might be better to indulge him for now and destroy him slowly.’

There were many things Henry hadn’t checked yet. For example, he hadn’t yet tested the power of the divine rings Herabola had given him.

The Union quickly finished the preparations for the long journey.

The expedition team deliberately didn’t include any ordinary soldiers because this wasn’t a war between humans; this was more like a punitive army that would judge and punish otherworldly beings like the Demon King.

Therefore, the unique structure of this expedition was much better suited for this war rather than a normal army. Of course, that didn\'t mean that all the members of the Union were included in the expedition.

Even though Arthus had said that he wouldn\'t attack Monsieur if Henry followed his instructions, he couldn’t really be trusted to keep his word.

Thus, Henry left Monsieur with the Chowan Tribe, otherwise called the Black Army, Hagler, Masila, the eleven vice school heads, and lastly Viram and Shahatra’s army.

Henry would’ve also liked to leave a few of the highest-ranking knights here as well, but they all stubbornly refused.

The expedition team was now composed of Henry, the Seven Sages, the holy warriors and the Saint of the Holy City, Henry’s bodyguards, Herarion, and Hoosler.

This was the strongest expedition team on the continent, composed of a handful of elites.

“Let’s get going now.”

Since the Union had been fully prepared for the war ever since midnight, there was not much more to prepare. Given that only a part of the Union would go on this expedition, everyone simply had to get on a war horse, and they would be all set.

Of course, since the Saint and the wizards were not familiar with horsemanship, they rode in a special carriage. Linky Black, the head of the movement school, otherwise known as a speed maniac, had built this special carriage with his mana.

“Open the gates!”

With everything ready, the gates of Monsieur’s castle were opened.

At the gates, all of Monsieur’s craftsmen and noblemen were gathered to give their blessings to the departing expedition team.

“Please return safely!” exclaimed Vulcanus in a shaky voice.

“Don’t worry too much,” Henry reassured him. “We’ll put an end to this and return victorious.”

It was unlike Vulcanus to be so faint-hearted, but it was probably just because he was worried.

After assuaging his worries, Henry lightly kicked Jade, his favorite horse, into a trot.

“Let’s go!”

- Neighhhh!

Jade neighed vigorously as she led the way.

At last, the Union expedition for Lizark Hill had taken the first step in its long journey.

***

- Khu khu khu!

The expedition team was on the move.

As soon as they left Monsieur, Henry summoned Elagon and let him move freely. He did that because he wouldn’t know what dangers lay ahead, so he wanted to keep Elagon, who had keen senses, out there to stay alert and prevent any possible accidents.

Of course, Elagon had been trained, so he knew exactly what he was supposed to do.

The team moved at an incredibly fast pace.

Everyone except for those in the carriage was skilled in horsemanship, and also the entire fleet of warhoses had been empowered by Henry and the Saint to be some of the finest horses on the continent.

In addition, thanks to the acceleration magic of Henry and Linky Black, the speed maniac, the whole expedition team was traveling at an unimaginable speed

“Don’t hesitate to eliminate whatever is in front of you. Our expedition team will only move in a straight line.”

The route to Lizark Hill had already been established. They already had the coordinates to teleport there, so it was going to be a piece of cake for them to get there by foot.

Henry had set a route that would take them from Monsieur to Lizark Kill in the shortest amount of time. He rode in the forefront, leading the entire expedition.

Of course, along the way there would be large lakes, deep rivers, and swamps that no war horse would be able to get across. They might also come across steep cliffs or mountain ranges that would be difficult for the horses to climb.

However, none of that mattered. They would keep going in a straight line.

Henry planned on using his magic to eliminate any obstacles that would prevent the expedition team from moving in a straight line.

‘Blink!’

Flash!

Keeping the expedition team at top speed and magically moving to the right place at the right time whenever an obstacle appeared would be nearly impossible for average wizards. Rather, it would be impossible even for the Seven Sages in the carriage.

But Henry could pull it off. For him, such magic was basically second nature. With a bit of concentration, transporting the entire expedition team with the Blink spell was no harder than snapping his fingers.

Thanks to this, everyone could experience a wondrous journey.

‘He really is the disciple of the Grand Duke. Actually, he might even be better than him!’

Those who had known Henry in his previous life were especially impressed.

The horses continued to gallop.

Normally, traveling from Monsieur to Lizark Hill on a normal warhorse would take nearly a month. However, at their current pace, they would be able to cut it down by at least three times.

“I can see the first village!”

Henry’s route not only had obstacles, but it was also filled with small and rather obscure villages. The most prominent of those was a nobleman\'s fief called Radenmann, which was just taking shape in the horizon.

Radenmann produced some of the best corn on the continent, and sure enough, when Henry and his comrades got close, they could see the vast corn fields ready for harvest.

Clop clop clop!

The loud clatter of the horses shook the corn stalks. The expedition team continued moving forward, trampling the corn that was yellowing at the tip.

But just then...

- Kheeee!

An eerie sound came from within the dense mass of golden corn, grabbing everyone’s attention. The sound was coming from Arthus’ blind believers, who had been transformed by his apostles.

‘Zombie!’

However, Henry didn’t know whether they were blind believers or zombies. Without hesitation, he cast a massive Magic Shield that enveloped the whole team.

- Kheeee!

- Khaaaa!

Surrounded by the invisible Magic Shield, the expedition team maintained its speed, becoming a destructive force that mowed down not only the corn, but also the blind believers who lunged at them.

After a while, when they were halfway through the cornfield...

- Khu khu khu!

Flying at a high speed in the air, Elagon suddenly shot out a beam of ice, blocking the way.

Crackle!

Elagon had fired the ice beam far into the distance, giving everyone enough time to slow down and stop. Thankfully, there was no collision.

Henry quickly tugged on Jade’s reins and turned to Elagon.

“Elagon, what’s wrong?”

- Khu khu khu!

At Henry’s question, Elagon pointed to where he had fired the ice beam, and everyone looked in that direction.

However, they could only see the frozen sweet corn of Radenmann.

“What about it...?”

But just then...

Boom!

Henry was interrupted by a huge explosion up ahead, sending shards of ice flying in all directions.

Ting! Ting!

Of course, everyone was unharmed thanks to Henry’s Magic Shield. However, the explosion had not only blown up Elagon’s ice, but it had also ignited a huge fire across the entire cornfield.

“What the hell?!”

Henry still didn’t sense anything strange, so he couldn’t explain why a huge explosion had just gone off, setting the whole area on fire.

“Wow, that kid’s got some good senses.”

“...!”

Henry and the Union members turned to where the mysterious voice had come from.

The figure stepping out of the flames was none other than Lydkan, the apostle that had destroyed Zipan.