The wizards recognized him immediately and tried to counterattack in a different way, but Zeke's response was faster.
Zeke vanished and reappeared right in front of them.
As his sword flashed, the wizards' heads fell in an instant.
Zeke read the information through the shadows of the surviving wizards and uncovered their identities.
"As expected, they're from the Empire."
In the end, all the wizards managing the magic circle fell to Zeke's sword, and the already unstable magic circle, without any follow-up measures, went completely out of control.
Pajijijijik!
With the magic circle no longer functioning, the surrounding fog began to dissipate entirely.
The orks on watch suddenly panicked.
"What, what is this?"
At that moment, something charged toward the orks.
"Kraaaah!"
Seeing the barbarians rushing in with battle cries, the orks grabbed their axes.
"Bl-block them!"
But it was no use. The clubs wielded by the barbarians sent the unprepared orks flying in one blow.
Kwaduduk!
The orks crumpled in their armor under the barbarians' swinging clubs and punches.
By the time Zeke returned after fully stabilizing the magic circle, none of the orks around remained unscathed.
He absorbed some of the fallen orks to recover his strength.
Soon the fog cleared completely, and the knight order waiting on the warships safely landed at the port.
"Eliminate every last one of the remaining ones."
At Decker's command, the Black Sword Knight Order set out to hunt the orks.
Thanks to their experience fighting numerous monsters and magical beasts in the ghetto region, the Black Sword Knight Order clashed with the orks skillfully and brought them down.
In just one day, the Black Sword Knight Order recaptured the port of the Holy Kingdom.
*
Once the situation was sorted, Shadia returned after organizing the port and investigating traces of the remaining enemies under Zeke's orders.
Shadia reported to Zeke upon her return.
"Boss, there were no survivors. Most seem to have been transported away, and the ones left behind appear to have been sacrificed to the orks."
Orks had a habit of killing enemies and devouring their flesh.
They believed that consuming the blood, flesh, and hearts of foes would allow them to grow into stronger warriors.
had discovered a place where the bones of humans devoured by the orks
were gathered.
Zeke relayed this situation to the knight order.
"If we leave them be, sacrifices like this will continue to happen here."
Learning of the orks' atrocities, the Black Sword Knight Order and White Silver Knight Order were overcome with rage.
To secure the port, Zeke used a communicator to request additional reinforcements from Kali's side, and Kali decided to dispatch more troops through Helen.
After ending the communication, Zeke said to Decker.
"Leave this place to the White Silver Knight Order. The Black Sword Knight Order will head straight to the Principality of Vadoka."
Following Zeke's decision, the White Silver Knight Order stayed to guard the port while the Black Sword Knight Order quickly prepared and raced along the highway connected to Vadoka.
During several days of marching, the knight order had to fight a few battles.
Not only did monsters and magical beasts block the paths, but ork legions sometimes ambushed them as well.
But they could not stop the Black Sword Knight Order.
After racing along the highway for days, the Black Sword Knight Order reached the road leading into Vadoka.
Zeke surveyed the path and said to Decker.
"We'll split up here for a bit."
"My lord, please take care."
Zeke nodded lightly, then led his horse Bucephalus, accompanied only by Boris and Shadia, toward the monastery where Barker hid.
The old monastery designated as Barker's location lay in the mountains of a remote area slightly away from the Principality of Vadoka.
It was an ideal hiding spot, sparsely populated and rarely visited.
Zeke, Boris, and Shadia climbed the mountain and infiltrated the area around the old monastery.
Before entering, Zeke set up a temporary camp in a nearby cave.
They planned to recover their stamina there before infiltrating the monastery.
After settling in the cave, Zeke sent ghost troopers to scout the surroundings while distributing food from his inventory to Boris and Shadia.
But Shadia seemed a bit off.
She looked like she had something to say to Zeke.
"Shadia, if you have something to say, speak."
At Zeke's words, Shadia hesitated before opening her mouth.
"Boss, as you may remember, the contract period with Salmak is about to expire soon." Zeke nodded at Shadia's words.
"Has time passed that quickly already?"
Seeing Zeke show no particular reaction, Shadia looked slightly anxious as she asked him.
"I wanted to ask if you plan to extend the contract."
"Extending the contract..."
At Shadia's words, Zeke looked up at her and said.
"Do you need more time to kill me as the Old Man of the Mountain ordered?"
flinched in surprise at Zeke's words, her body trembling once.
Zeke emitted no killing intent or pressure, yet cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
In this situation, Boris beside her calmly tore into his bread.
Shadia realized that Zeke had long ago seen through her secret orders.
She looked at Zeke and said.
"...Did you bring me on this mission to deal with me?" Zeke chuckled at her words.
"Why would I bother killing you myself when I've paid a high price to hire you?" From Zeke and Boris's reactions, it did not seem like they intended to kill her.
She calmed her mind and said to Zeke.
"You knew the Old Man of the Mountain's intentions, so why did you keep me by your side?"
Zeke replied.
"I told you. We have a contract, and I've only used your abilities according to it. It was a profitable contract for me because you turned out more capable than expected, Shadia."
At Zeke's words, Shadia slowly opened her mouth.
"Do you want something from me?"
Zeke clicked his tongue at her words.
"It's not me—it's you who must want something." Hearing his words, Shadia looked confused.
"What I want?"
After being raised under the Old Man of the Mountain and becoming a disciple of Salmak, she had never thought about what she wanted.
She followed orders on missions and killed targets without fail.
For her, achieving personal desires was beyond imagination.
Zeke spoke to Shadia, who wore a strange expression without responding.
"Don't you have anything you want for yourself?"
Even at Zeke's direct question, Shadia could not answer for a long time.
Finally, she spoke.
"...I've never thought about it." Zeke nodded at her words.
"You might not know what you want yet. Boris, what do you want?" Boris replied without hesitation.
"I dreamed of a leisurely life with time off after work."
"Well, then you chose the wrong profession." Boris gave a wry smile at Zeke's words.
Boris was a talented individual who had studied and trained hard to pass the Imperial Guard Knight Order exam for a generous pension and no overtime. But during the exam process, his aptitude scores for intelligence work were too outstanding, leading to his forced recruitment into Room 13.
He was someone who had ended up farther from the life he desired because he was too capable.
Zeke looked at Shadia and said.
"Everyone has something they want. Whether they can achieve it is another matter."
, with a complicated expression, looked at Zeke and said. "May I ask what you want, boss?" Zeke fell silent at Shadia's words.
Boris, who had been eating bread, also looked up at Zeke.
He too was curious about what Zeke desired and what his goals were.
Receiving their gazes, Zeke slowly spoke.
"I wanted to become the strongest on the continent."
Shadia and Boris wore blank expressions at the unexpected answer.
Just hearing "become the strongest on the continent" sounded like a child's dream of becoming a hero or finding treasure island when grown up.
But with Zeke saying it right in front of them, it did not feel like empty words at all.
He looked at Boris and Shadia and continued.
"I've always wondered why I dreamed of becoming the strongest on the continent."
The life Zeke had lived in his previous regression was incomparably more painful than now.
After regressing, he never wanted to repeat that agonizing life.
The pain from his previous life included various sufferings.
Sorrow from losses due to his weakness, guilt over things he could not protect, and more.
The reason he dreamed of becoming the strongest on the continent was to become strong enough to avoid all that pain, to have the freedom not to yield to any danger.
At first, he thought becoming a black knight would achieve that.
But there were many hidden powerhouses on the continent, and Zeke had not yet become the free being he dreamed of.
Zeke looked at Shadia and said.
"Shadia, I wanted to be free. Free from all those things that bind and restrain me." The word "free" struck deep into Shadia's heart.
Zeke continued.
"What bound me most was none other than the name Draker. Something I could not erase even if I wanted to. I thought the only way to escape it was to become strong enough not to be tied down by that name. That's how I set that goal: to become strong enough that even the continent's strongest family, Draker, could not bind me."
Boris and Shadia looked surprised, as if they had glimpsed the true feelings deep within Zeke's hardened shell.
Zeke said to Shadia.
"I asked if I would deal with you. My answer is no. Even if you return to Salmak, I will not harm you. The reason I can do that is because I'm stronger than Salmak. Even if all of Salmak struggles to kill me, they will not be able to—I'm that strong." Shadia knew Zeke's words were no bluff. "Salmak... could never handle Zeke Draker." Shadia looked at Zeke and said.
"...If I find something I want, may I tell you then?"
"Yes. I'll wait."
At Zeke's words, Shadia's body trembled slightly.
She felt the hidden meaning in his words.
If she chose freedom and left Salmak, Zeke would accept her without hesitation.
placed her hand on her heart.
She heard the fierce beating.
She recalled the Godok embedded in her heart, the body-plant poison used by Salmak for control.
If she betrayed the Old Man of the Mountain, the Godok would activate immediately and kill her.
The distrustful Old Man of the Mountain had implanted such Godok in her and all his subordinates.
"Can I dream of a freedom I never imagined?"
Zeke seemed capable of giving her that freedom.
Even if not, Shadia did not want to return to the Old Man of the Mountain.
She was already drawn to Zeke Draker and wanted to watch his path from the side.
"Boss, I..."
As Shadia, who had been pondering, tried to say something to Zeke.
Zeke's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Something's coming."
The ghost troopers he had sent for reconnaissance signaled that they had spotted something suspicious.
Zeke shared the ghost troopers' vision and surveyed the area.
A dozen shadowy figures appeared, heading toward the old monastery.
Pale-skinned, long-haired individuals wearing leather garments out of season rode horses with glowing red eyes.
Zeke immediately recognized their identities.
"Vampires from Red Eye."
Though Barker was a vampire half-breed, Zeke had not expected him to be connected to the vampire gang Red Eye.
Red Eye was an armed group composed of vampires, locked in deep conflict with the Nostra Family over eastern influence.
While the Nostra Family was built on bloodline ability users, Red Eye centered on vampires armed with necromancy.
Zeke recalled Garin, the royal vampire he had killed in the Inverted Tower.
"The blood magic he used was quite troublesome."
The bloodline grimoire he obtained after killing the royal vampire Garin remained intact in Zeke's inventory.
He had given it to Richmond for research, but since it was magic only vampires could learn, he kept it for now without knowing how to use it.
Zeke was certain the Red Eye vampires headed to the monastery.
Zeke stood up.
"They're moving. Prepare."