Chapter 48
After easily cutting down the five guards.
Seron, who had been silently staring at his sword, finally sheathed it.
“Pass.”
Even though he was affected by the sword, it didn’t seem like he was completely unable to control it. At least for short periods, he appeared usable.
Soon after, as Seron surveyed the scene in front of him, his body shuddered slightly. It was clear he wasn’t feeling great about it.
Well.
Considering his usual timid nature, that was understandable.
“…Phew.”
“Come here.”
“Yes.”
Leonhardt, who had finished dealing with the knights, also approached me.
Perhaps because of the sudden commotion, the attention of the top-tier gladiators turned toward us.
Judging by their faces, all three seemed to be in their twenties.
Not too old.
As I looked at them, I made it clear, as I had said earlier upstairs, that I intended to rescue them.
Two of the gladiators bore red brands.
When I released the two from their cells, they gave me a curious look.
“…You seem to be someone important. Why are you helping us…?”
“I think I’ll need you when we leave. You’re good fighters, aren’t you? If you want to get out of here, grab some weapons.”
I gestured toward the corpses as I spoke, and the two gladiators immediately began arming themselves.
As expected of top-tier gladiators.
Their talents and traits were highly combat-oriented. If a swordmaster like Seron had a talent score of 95 out of 100, these top-tier gladiators would likely score around 60.
In other words, they were decent assets.
Once we escaped, Viscount Remington would have quite a headache dealing with them.
After bringing the two up to the third underground floor, I gathered all the gladiators in one place.
Twelve senior gladiators and two top-tier ones.
Looking at them, I began to speak.
“We’re going to escape from here now. My escort knight will lead the way and clear the path, and you’ll fight alongside him. That’s why I had you arm yourselves. Anyone have a problem with that?”
“…”
No one raised their hands, so I continued.
“As we head upstairs, kill every guard we encounter. Then, we’ll release the gladiators below you. This will spread out any pursuit after we escape. However, anyone with a black brand will be put to rest here. There’s no need to release dangerous criminals. Understood?”
The gladiators nodded, and I added one final statement.
“Once we make it to the city, you’re on your own. I can’t afford to look after you. If you don’t want to escape, you can stay here. But no one wants that, right?”
At my words, a few senior gladiators flinched before cautiously speaking.
“Uh… we talked among ourselves while you were gone. Would you consider taking us as your subordinates? Like Seron?”
“Subordinates?”
“Yes. You seem like a noble… We have no families, no places to return to. Even those who aren’t slaves are in similar situations. If you take us in, we’ll pledge our loyalty.”
“All of you made this decision?”
“…Yes.”
“Step forward for a moment.”
The senior gladiators stepped forward.
“About 40 to 50 points each,” I thought.
Not as talented as Erciel, Leonhardt, or Seron for direct subordinates, but.
If I trained them as an independent unit, they could still be useful.
Then, even the top-tier gladiators stepped forward.
“Could we also join?”
“Are your circumstances similar?”
“…Yes. Neither of us has a place or family to return to.”
With Seron already as my subordinate, there were now thirteen gladiators expressing their desire to serve under me.
“That’s tricky.”
Taking them with me directly wasn’t an option.
The recommended capacity for the magic carriage was four people.
Exceeding that would slow it down, making it harder to shake off pursuit from the Viscount.
If I wanted to take them, I’d have to find a regular carriage for the journey.
That wasn’t ideal either.
If I slowed down the magic carriage for their sake and got caught, it would be a massive hassle.
Viscount Remington.
Even though he was a corrupt noble, it didn’t mean his private forces were small.
A viscount’s power in the Empire wasn’t weak.
While I, as the heir to a marquisate, might dismiss him, the truth was his strength wasn’t negligible.
If we were tracked properly, even Leonhardt and I would be in danger.
There’s a reason people talk about the “violence of numbers.”
“A simple test should do.”
Looking at the gladiators, I spoke.
“I can’t take you with me now. If we’re pursued, it’ll be hard to shake them off with you in tow. However.”
I took out gold coins and handed one to each of the gladiators.
“If you can make your way to the Seltarion Marquisate, that changes things.”
“The Seltarion… Marquisate?”
“It’s not far from here, so don’t worry. It’s about a ten-day walk. If you come, you won’t be turned away. If you’re interested, find your way there and tell them Kyle Seltarion sent you.”
I had given them enough travel funds, so they wouldn’t starve.
“Everyone understands?”
“…Yes.”
“Make sure you shake off any pursuit. Let’s head up.”
With that, we began clearing the second and first underground floors, freeing the gladiators as we went.
Some guards attempted to escape and report the situation, but my magic and Leonhardt’s sword quickly stopped them.
Letting even one person escape would make our getaway much harder.
Stopping them wasn’t difficult.
The further up we went, the weaker the guards became.
While there had been intermediate knights on the third and fourth floors, the first and second floors were guarded only by junior Expert knights.
Using the two remaining spells stored in my staff—Earth Wall and Ice Fog.
Even though they were 2-circle spells, the mixed activation formula gave them immense power.
The icy fog slowed their movements, and the towering walls of earth blocked the exits.
As a result, no one escaped from the underground.
With no survivors, it would take time for the Viscount to learn what happened here.
In total, I rescued about two hundred gladiators.
To the intermediate-level ones, I handed out gold coins and told them to find their way to me if they were interested.
As for the lower and lowest-tier ones, I simply released them from their cells.
They seemed completely useless.
‘Once they escape, they can figure out how to live on their own.’
Letting them loose was the only option.
After making up my mind, I surveyed the first underground floor.
From the fourth to the first underground floor, all the gladiators had been dealt with.
‘Just one more floor up, and we’ll reach the spectator seats.’
Although the matches in the arena were over, a significant number of spectators were likely still around.
This place offered more than just fights for entertainment.
There would also be guards, so we needed to escape quickly before word got out.
I cast Haste on Seron, Erciel, Leonhardt, and myself, then turned to the gladiators.
“Let’s go.”
At my command, a group of more than two hundred surged upward.
“Gasp!”
“What… what is this?!”
“The gladiators have escaped!”
The blood-covered gladiators pouring out caused the nobles near the spectator seats to scream.
“S-stop them! Don’t let a single one escape!”
The guards outside the arena scrambled to respond in panic.
Chaos erupted.
Leonhardt, who reached the exit at lightning speed, swiftly took out the nearby guards.
Thanks to the magic enhancing our physical abilities, my group was the first to exit.
Once we emerged outside the rundown tavern, I turned to Leonhardt.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes.”
From now, Leonhardt would block the only exit for ten minutes.
This was to delay the spread of news.
In those ten minutes, the only ones capable of escaping through the back alleys were the gladiators with red brands.
Clang!
Clang!
Argh!
Screams echoed from the staircase below.
It seemed the ones trailing behind us had begun to clash in the narrow corridors.
‘Well… they won’t be getting out anytime soon.’
That worked out well for me.
Time to board the magic carriage.
Heading toward the magic recharge station located within the outer walls of Prinus.
Thanks to the magic, our running speed was incredible.
Once we arrived, my group reclaimed the magic carriage we had entrusted earlier.
Retrieving the carriage was easy.
The news hadn’t spread yet, so no one could stop us.
After boarding the carriage, we met up with Leonhardt at the prearranged midpoint.
The magic carriage began rapidly heading out of the city.
It didn’t take long to reach the city gates.
The situation outside appeared normal, suggesting the news still hadn’t spread.
Just in case, I quietly cast a spell.
Through the carriage window, I addressed the knight standing at the gate.
“Can we leave?”
I handed over my identification token, and the knight bowed deeply.
“Of course.”
“Good. Keep up the good work.”
Moments later, the magic carriage exited the city gates smoothly. I estimated that a pursuit team would catch on in about thirty minutes.
By then, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Magic carriages were far faster than horses.
[Destination: Trastan Territory.]
And so, the magic carriage raced toward my base.
***
***
Viscount Remington.
Sitting in his office, he smiled in satisfaction.
‘Kyle Seltarion.’
A troublesome noble who, according to rumors, had been confined to an annex for his misbehavior. It had been quite some time since he last visited this city.
As the son of the illustrious Seltarion Marquisate, whenever Kyle visited, the money he spent was astronomical.
It had been disappointing when he stopped visiting.
‘That wretched brat has returned.’
As he recalled Kyle’s earlier appearance, the Viscount’s greedy eyes glinted.
‘As expected, all those stories were nonsense.’
People said he had completely changed?
That was impossible.
The Kyle who drank himself silly here was no different from before.
He must have been pretending to be reformed to escape confinement.
“Heh.”
Kyle’s jingling pouch of coins.
It must have been filled to the brim with platinum coins.
With illegal gambling, drugs, and thrilling fights at the underground arena, Kyle’s pouch would surely be empty by the next day.
‘Kalron will squeeze every last drop out of him.’
Kalron.
One of the Viscount’s subordinates, responsible for managing the illegal arena. Known for his keen sense of money, Kalron would have undoubtedly recognized the sweet aroma of wealth emanating from Kyle.
As the Viscount indulged in his fantasies of exploiting the returning VVIP fool, a knight rushed into his office.
“What’s the matter?”
“Almost all the gladiators from the arena have escaped!”
“What… did you say? There were knights and soldiers guarding them. How could they have escaped?”
“Well… they’re all dead.”
“…Dead?”
“Yes. Judging by the corpses, a highly skilled knight seems to have slaughtered them. There were also traces of powerful magic.”
“…Magic?”
“That’s correct.”
At that moment.
The Viscount’s thoughts turned to a particular individual.
Kyle Seltarion, the noble who had once boasted about becoming a first-circle mage.
If it were his escort knight, all the guards could indeed have been taken down.
Leonhardt.
A knight renowned in the Seltarion Marquisate as a senior Expert-level knight. Among the senior ranks, he was recognized as one of the best.
As the Viscount entertained the possibility, he shook his head.
‘No. That’s impossible.’
If it had been a first-circle mage, the knight wouldn’t have described the magic as “powerful.”
Traces of powerful magic.
A first-circle mage couldn’t have left such traces.
The knight continued.
“Additionally… Kalron’s body was also found.”
Crack!
With the chief manager, guards, and gladiators all gone, an entire operation had been wiped out.
‘Damn it…’
The Viscount’s face turned crimson as he erupted in anger.
“…Find them! Whoever they are, find them! I’ll kill them! Start by tracking down the escaped gladiators! They must have seen the culprits!”
As the magic carriage leisurely left the city.
The knights within the castle began their pursuit in earnest.
—
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