How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 242 - East (2)

We flew at the highest altitude possible to avoid people’s gazes. We didn’t head straight for the east.

The density of devil worshippers decreases as you go south. This was thanks to me quickly revealing their identity and the empire’s effective containment.

So we flew south for a while before making a U-turn towards the east. It was a bit of a detour, but we prioritized secrecy over time.

They would naturally be anticipating our journey to the east. There’s a difference between expecting and knowing.

In reality, the empire is focusing its efforts on blocking the northeastern route, so their attention would be drawn there.

We intended to make them think I was there through that possibility.

‘All we need is a disguise.’

Tomorrow, Erendil and the other Sword Masters were also planning to head north. Though Rudehrn was in the north, he couldn’t stop the devil alone.

And among that group would be a knight disguised as me. It was a kind of deception.

We were pretending to make the enemies think we would first finish off the devil in the north rather than going east. Well, that was the actual plan.

After blocking the northeast, it was a sufficient force with Erendil and the Sword Masters moving. However, I would be investigating the east in the meantime.

‘We might even kill two birds with one stone.’

If they were summoned through an incomplete summoning as I predicted, it means they’re weaker than Sword Masters.

Information would be shared, so while more than two might be impossible, we might be able to handle one if we do it right.

Even if it wasn’t an incomplete summoning, if we just locate their position, I could contact Erendil and raid like last time.

Personally, I think there’s a high probability my hypothesis is correct. A newly descended devil having the strength of one Sword Master, there was no reason for them to hide in the east.

Anyway, I need to move quickly too. Speed is important. Whether incomplete or not, it’s not good to give them time.

On the way to the east, there wasn’t much to do on the carriage, so I re-learned the common sense and accents of the east.

“That’s not it. Try again. Ru-eu, there should be a slight ‘eu’ sound at the end.”

“Ru-eu. Like this?”

“That’s right.”

I had taken a crash course from Rina when heading to the east before, but quite some time had passed.

Moreover, I needed to eliminate any chance of being suspected due to accent and pronunciation in the east, which was their territory.

We landed on the massive Trafal Mountain Range that vertically bisects the continent. It was the place we had crossed when going to the east last time.

“You said we’re going to Portlak, right?”

I nodded at Terka’s words.

“Yes.”

The last intelligence we heard before leaving Chenarus was that three groups had scattered to the east. They tried to track their movements, but that was the limit.

The agents in the east were quite capable and needed to be conserved, and as they tracked, reinforcements arrived, heightening security, so they had to stop the pursuit.

We judged that they must be connected to the kingdoms in the east. The reinforcements’ attire suggested they were elite troops.

We couldn’t track their subsequent movements, but it was clear they had scattered to the kingdoms.

In the game, devil worshippers also dominated the eastern kingdoms. They exploited the worship of Lu Nanna, the moon god, and the night in the east. Arachne was similar.

Anyway, since they had scattered and disappeared, it meant we had to investigate the eastern kingdoms.

There were many suspicious places. In fact, I thought most of the east had already fallen or was in the process of falling.

‘The most certain place is Portlak.’

Northern part of the east. The closest kingdom to where the devil descended, and we had detected them heading in that direction.

We timed our arrival at the mountain range for the morning, so we moved immediately. We used wing suits.

That was also why we landed on the mountain range. Wing suits are less noticeable than dragons.

“Rina.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s switch now.”

As we headed east, I brought the Branch of the Blue Star that I had obtained after dealing with Arachne in the past.

It’s a staff used by mages, but it also conceals a sword comparable to a legendary blade.

I hadn’t used it until now. When I first got it, I thought about using it for disguise, but there was no need.

When I met Orhen, I considered giving it as a gift, but Orhen didn’t really have anything to do in combat anymore, so I just kept it.

‘Well, if there was really no use for it, I was going to give it to the Archmage as a gift.’

It would have been suitable for the Archmage who protects the imperial family. It was natural to increase the strength of allies when a full-scale war breaks out.

However, the full-scale war hadn’t started yet, and this time it seemed I could use it effectively.

They know me as a Sword Master. Even if I disguise myself, when moving alone, pretending to be a mage would reduce the chances of suspicion.

I deliberately dressed like a mage. Of course, Moonlight is more comfortable, but the Branch of the Blue Star is also at the level of a legendary sword, so it didn’t matter.

And if I really needed to fight properly, I could use Moonlight then. I handed Moonlight to Rina and received the Branch of the Blue Star.

As this was planned in advance, I had a separate scabbard made for Moonlight. It wasn’t a time-consuming task, being a simple scabbard.

***

After heading north for a while, we left the mountain range. We used wing suits as much as possible to maintain speed.

As we officially entered the east, we stopped flying. The risk of getting caught was too high.

We headed to a nearby city and moved by renting a carriage. We had brought gold coins used in the east from the imperial palace, so there wasn’t much of a problem.

Moreover, with Rina being from the east and Terka having spent quite a long time there, it was enough to pose as mercenaries.

As we rode the carriage north, the atmosphere became somewhat gloomy. Terka and Rina felt it too.

“It’s creepy.”

“Is it?”

“The atmosphere is… dreary.”

The villages and cities we encountered had a somehow desolate and empty atmosphere. This tendency intensified as we headed north.

On the surface, people were going about their daily lives, but it was eerie, you could say. The missing person posters plastered all over the cities contributed to this atmosphere.

“Weren’t you in the east until recently?”

“I was in the lower parts then. Not up here.”

“We met in the north, didn’t we?”

“That was after crossing the Trafal Mountain Range and hearing about the devilish dragon, I followed the empire up.”

I think I understood what he meant. Anyway, looking at the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like ordinary people had become devil worshippers. Just looking at the posters showed that.

Well. Even if the royal family had fallen, they wouldn’t have told the people such things. Wouldn’t there naturally be resistance if they said they were going to use them as sacrifices?

‘Unless it’s after the descended devils have found their power.’

On the 6th day after crossing the mountain range, we were able to enter the land of the Portlak kingdom.

It was while we were traversing a forest path in the carriage.

-Argh!

-Help me! Is anyone there?

At the edge of my expanded winds domain, I heard the sound of help. Someone was being attacked.

Could it be devil worshippers?

I explained to my companions and headed there quickly and stealthily. There were many places to hide in the forest.

At the site, we could see a group that had been attacked on the road ahead.

The fight was already over. Those who had been guarding an antique carriage were all corpses.

There weren’t many people. There were five corpses, and three attackers.

From the circumstances, it seemed they had been ambushed by attackers hiding in the trees of the forest.

‘Hmm.’

The attackers dragged a noble lady out of the carriage. I quickly examined the attackers.

They didn’t seem to be devil worshippers. They appeared quite skilled, could it be a conflict between nobles?

“Carlyn.”

Terka called me. He seemed to want to help. He had an impatient look. The noble lady was quite pretty.

I pondered for a moment. This is the land of the Portlak kingdom. There’s a high chance that noble is from Portlak.

I’m not sure who the attackers are, but… if she’s a Portlak noble, couldn’t this opportunity create a connection inside?

Even if that noble lady’s family were devil worshippers, it would be the same.

“Alright.”

I nodded. As soon as I nodded, Terka dashed out like the wind.

It was even faster than me, who was about to move right away. He might have gone mad because of a woman. It was truly an incredible reaction speed.

Hmm, I even thought that maybe this guy became a Sword Master to impress women.

I immediately wrapped our bodies with winds. It was to block even the slightest sound.

Rina and I quickly followed behind Terka.

A silent approach with sound blocked by winds. The attackers didn’t notice Terka. Terka, emerging from the undergrowth, swung his sword.

One fell with a single stroke.

It was the one holding the noble lady. Without losing momentum, he rotated his waist and took down the second one.

“Kyaa!”

“What the-?”

Immediately ducking his upper body and kicking off the ground in a charge, Terka’s sword swept the ground and rose upwards. Tree leaves soared with the sword wind.

Among the leaves fluttering like flower petals, two thrusts occurred like lightning. They accurately targeted the chest and neck.

Terka had dealt with the three in a short moment. It was decent skill. I wasn’t planning to handle it anyway.

When I’m posing as a mage, I planned to be as frugal as possible. I can perform basic magic, but anything beyond that is impossible.

“That’s far enough.”

Standing over the three fallen corpses, Terka spoke in a low voice.

What’s this? Is he an idiot? They can’t hear him after he’s killed them. It was absurd, but he was clearly trying to look cool for the noble lady.

The noble lady looked at Terka with surprised eyes. Perhaps due to the situation and Terka’s good looks, she seemed slightly dazed.

“My lady, are you alright?”

“Ah, ah, yes.”

“I am Terka of the Blue Star Mercenary Group. These are my fellow mercenaries.”

Terka sheathed his sword and greeted with gentlemanly and polite etiquette.

“Thank you for saving me. I’m Mino Leoble.”

“As I thought! You’re the daughter of Count Leoble, the heart of Portlak. I had a feeling it might be you.”

“You know me?”

“How could I not? Miss Mino Leoble’s beauty is known even in the lower east.”

I’ve never researched the Portlak kingdom… but seeing that this guy knows, she must have been famous originally.

“Ah, that…”

Mino blushed. Her face turned red. She seemed to have fallen for Terka, overlapping with the situation and his appearance.

Hmm. The daughter of Count Portlak. Although I don’t really like this guy’s personality, it didn’t seem bad.

“But who are these guys?”

“I don’t know either. Suddenly…”

Perhaps because the attacker had roughly grabbed her, Mino’s shoulder area of the dress was stretched, slightly revealing her shoulder.

And on that part, there was a black line, like a tattoo.

“Ah!”

The woman, who had been distracted by Terka, belatedly turned her head and pulled up her dress.

I narrowed my eyes. I had only seen the end part, but it somehow looked familiar.

Hmm, this…

We might have caught a big fish.