In the meantime…
Camilla was moving with the trained soldiers.
Dark Tribe Goblins were rampaging in the territory.
Holding her sword,
She and the soldiers formed their formation.
But then…
"Did they change direction?"
The Dark Tribe Goblins moved elsewhere.
As if they had set a target,
They were selectively killing people.
"What…? Monsters that don't kill the elderly and children…?"
Thud-!
An elderly man was struck by a goblin's club.
At that moment,
Crunch!
The goblin that killed the old man had its head crushed.
'When did a blood tiger appear?'
The Blood Tiger's eyes glistened.
"Grr!"
"Screech…"
The Dark Tribe Goblins flinched.
They were wary of the Blood Tiger.
"I don't understand what's happening."
While Camilla was confused by the unexpected situation, screams were heard from somewhere else.
"Help meee!"
"Everyone, follow me."
"Yes!"
Camilla moved toward the direction of the screams.
Suddenly, she remembered a person.
'Should I inform that person too?'
The hammering sound from the forge didn't stop even in this absolute chaos.
To be hammering so leisurely in the forge.
She couldn't understand it.
Was it sheer concentration?
Or was it fear?
'Since we were told not to disturb him no matter what, let's not worry about it.'
She decided to forget about Mikhail in the forge.
Then she ran towards where the screams were coming from.
A middle-aged woman was lying on the ground.
"Stop!"
Camilla charged forward.
"Again?"
The Dark Tribe Goblin looking down at the middle-aged woman simply passed by.
"They're definitely being selective."
The intelligence of these mutant monsters was impressive.
They could freely communicate with humans.
But with their brains invaded by dark corrupted energy, they tended to massacre humans on sight.
That was supposed to be the case…
Yet here they were, ignoring the human prey right in front of them.
It was beyond comprehension.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
The middle-aged woman had fainted from shock.
"Take her to the western territory."
"Yes!"
Camilla continued moving with the other soldiers.
'This is really strange. They're not killing women and children.'
On her way to the central district of the territory, she had witnessed several puzzling scenes.
The mutant monsters only destroyed buildings in specific areas.
Women and children were left alone.
'I need to keep following them.'
She increased her running speed.
Just like the first scenes she saw, the mutant monsters didn't kill people.
Well… that was a fallacy, sometimes they did.
"No! I don't want to die. I haven't even spent all my money yet!"
They only targeted and killed those who seemed to be corrupt residents of the territory.
They deserved to die.
These were people who had turned their backs on Rehinar despite receiving its benefits.
In a way, it was satisfying.
"The Blood Tiger is leading the Dark Tribe Goblins somewhere."
The direction was towards the family estate.
It was to the east of the territory.
"Why are they heading towards the estate? Are they not on our side?"
The moment she entered the eastern territory,
The mutant monsters were cautious as they moved.
They no longer touched any buildings.
In fact, they were careful not to break anything as they ran.
In the meantime, the family estate grew closer.
In the distance, she saw a crowd of people.
"There are residents here!"
Camilla grew anxious.
If the mutant monsters attacked all those residents at once, it would be a disaster.
She had to prevent that.
She focused water mana into her legs.
She was about to leap forward by strongly pushing off the ground when…
Crack!
The sound of the ground splitting came from ahead.
* * *
"Ugh…"
"Please, spare us!"
"What if that monster charges at us!"
"Please, let us cross this line!"
The corrupt residents pleaded with Kane.
Viscount Matsu, who was watching from behind, subtly pushed a nearby resident.
Thwack!
Part of the person's shoulder crossed the line.
"Aaagh!"
Matsu's face hardened.
He watched as the man's arm was severed.
'Is this man insane? If Duke Carl saw this, he would be furious.'
It was an action that went against Duke Carl's principles.
'When Duke Carl comes out, he'll surely reprimand this man.'
Viscount Matsu waited for Duke Carl.
With the territory in danger, there was no way he wouldn't come out.
Duke Carl was a man who had sacrificed everything for the residents.
Matsu was confident he would do so again to save the residents.
"That rat still doesn't understand the situation."
He spoke while looking at Matsu hiding among the residents.
He was someone unworthy of being kept alive.
"Kill them all."
At Kane's command, the Dark Tribe Goblins attacked the residents.
"Screech!"
"Hehehe!"
Crunch.
The sound of flesh and bone separating could be heard.
It was the sound of goblins dismembering humans.
The residents panicked at that moment.
They forgot about the line and started running towards the inner part of the estate.
But they didn't get far before being surrounded by the Dark Tribe Goblins.
"P-Please, spare us…"
Despite the residents' pleas, Kane just watched.
He did nothing.
Lase was shocked by this.
"Master, we must stop the mutant monsters!"
"Just that the monsters for cleaning up the trash."
"What an absurd thing to say!"
When Lase tried to draw his weapon against the mutant monsters,
"I told you not to fucking interfere."
Kane's violet eyes flashed.
There was a terrifying murderous intent in them.
His skill level was at 4th class, but his murderous intent was on par with an 8th class.
It was a murderous intent born on the battlefield.
Even though Lase was one of the Guardian Knights, he couldn't easily overcome Kane's murderous intentions.
However, Lase was a knight who carried Duke Carl's pride.
Even if they were corrupt, they were still residents of the territory.
The mutant monsters were slaughtering the residents, and he couldn't just stand by and watch.
"I apologize. I'll accept the punishment for disobeying orders after saving the residents."
"My goodwill towards you as a member of the Guardian Knights ends now."
Kane's figure seemed to sink into the ground.
He reappeared behind Lase.
He had only knocked out Sara because she was his sister.
But Lase was a member of the Guardian Knights.
That meant he was a retainer of Rehinar.
A retainer had defied the acting head's orders.
"If you defy my will again, it won't end like this."
He grabbed Lase by the back of the neck and threw him.
Lase was flung backward, crashing into a wall.
The impact caused the wall to crack like a spider web.
"Ugh."
Lase was a Beginner-Tier 4th Class knight.
Crashing into a wall wouldn't be enough to bring him down.
As he struggled to get up, Kane was already in front of him.
"You're tough, but…"
Kane's fist struck Lase's abdomen.
"Gah!"
Seeing Kane attacking one of his own men made the goblin chieftain shudder.
They say there are Bat-shit Crazy humans, and Kane seemed to be one of them.
Thud!
Kane stabbed his sword into the ground next to Lase's face.
"This is the only fucking time you defy my orders."
He withdrew his murderous gaze and returned to his place.
As he returned, the Dark Tribe Goblins continued their massacre of the residents, not wanting to give Kane any reason to criticize them.
"Ugh!"
Watching monsters eat humans was a revolting sight.
"I told you to kill them, not savor them."
The goblin savoring a human flinched.
[Growl! Do you want to die? He said not to savor them. Maybe I'll eat you myself.] The Blood Tiger's growled.
Kane's silent pressure.
The Dark Tribe Goblins focused on killing the corrupt residents.
About ten minutes passed.
"Ugh… Ah…"
Even Viscount Matsu, who held out until the end, took his last breath.
The smell of blood was overwhelming.
Having consumed so much human blood, the mutant monsters were becoming more frenzied.
They were now stronger, less affected by the Blood Seal.
Perhaps that was why the goblin chieftain openly showed hostility towards Kane.
"That too was within my expectations."
Kane muttered, spreading his wounded palm wide.
"Blood flame."
[Blood Bond (3 Runes) has been manifested.]
[Skill Blood Dance(S)- 3rd Move 'Blood Flame' activated.]
The blood spilled by the mutant monsters ignited.
Purple flames flickered.
The blood-soaked ground turned into fire, engulfing the Dark Tribe Goblins.
"Your usefulness has ended. It's time for you to die."
* * *
Cedric sat beside Duke Carl.
He was studying a book he had brought from the family library.
At the same time, he kept an eye on Duke Carl's condition.
"Did I bring the wrong book?"
He had brought dozens of books from the family library every day.
He had read hundreds over the past few days.
But they all contained familiar content.
"I haven't found anything special in any of these books. What did the young master discover here?"
Cedric didn't doubt Kane.
He firmly believed that Kane had obtained the Hatzfeld's spear technique from the family library.
"It might be that I'm not perceptive enough to find the hidden meaning in these books, so I should keep reading."
He didn't stop his research.
Even as a High-Tier 7th class, he always wanted to improve.
New knowledge brought him joy.
He was deeply engrossed in a book when suddenly…
Thud!
Cedric closed the book.
"A rat has snuck in."
He murmured in a low voice filled with anger.
But Cedric didn't express his anger outright.
This was his master's room.
His master was in a comatose state, but he could still sense his surroundings.
He couldn't reveal his murderous intent in front of his master.
He suppressed his emotions as much as possible.
"Hatzfeld, is it?"
Cedric stood up.
He quietly took the spear that was leaning against the wall.
Without a word, he walked toward the window.
"His Excellency is resting, so don't even think about making any noise."
The man clinging to the wall froze.
After warning him, Cedric jumped out the window.