One-Eye saw the corpse slung over Zhe Zilin’s shoulder but did not act rashly.
“Why are you bringing a corpse? Who is this person?”
Scar had sharp eyes. Even in the dark, he immediately recognized Leon.
“Isn’t this the eldest son of the King of the North from earlier today?”
One-Eye was always cautious. He speculated, “You went out just now to kill the eldest son of the King of the North, right? Then you want us to take the corpse and leave together so you can pin the blame on us, and finally find a place to kill us and silence us.”
Scar jumped up in shock. Instead of pointing at Zhe Zilin and cursing, he actually praised him. “What a scheme! One-Eye, this Leibang kid is much smarter than you.”
One-Eye shot him a sideways glance and kicked the newly risen Scar back to the ground.
“I told you not to call him Leibang kid!”
“One-Eye, you just can’t stand hearing the truth!”
Scar got up and was about to fight One-Eye.
Zhe Zilin let out a low shout, cutting them off.
“Stay here and wait to die, or escape with me. Choose!”
The atmosphere fell into silence for a moment. One-Eye and Scar exchanged glances.
Scar said, “One-Eye, this Leibang kid alone can’t kill all of us.”
One-Eye nodded and only said three words. “How do we escape?”
Zhe Zilin threw Leon’s corpse to Scar. He quickly led a horse over from the front courtyard and had Scar place the body on the horse’s back.
Then he used a long rope to bind the half-orcs’ hands, making them look like they were restrained, and had them follow behind him.
He activated the Disguise skill and turned into Leon. Only a few dozen seconds remained — enough to get out of the castle gate.
Leading the horse and the half-orcs, he swaggered up to the five guards at the gate.
“Where is Airigo?”
Zhe Zilin scanned the guards and saw that Airigo was not among them. He asked the question anyway.
“My lord, the knight does not stand night watch.”
One of the guards answered.
Zhe Zilin nodded and gave the five half-orcs a meaningful look.
He gripped the hilt of his sword and suddenly pointed at the ground. “There’s blood here!”
The guards lowered their heads to look. At that moment, the half-orcs moved in unison. They drew the swords from the guards’ waists and slit their throats.
The guard closest to Zhe Zilin had just lifted his head when Dragon Slayer swept through the air and cleanly severed it.
Blood sprayed everywhere. The headless corpse collapsed heavily to the ground.
Scar looked shocked. “One slash to behead? So clean. Even half-orcs can’t do that.”
He swallowed and looked at Zhe Zilin with newfound respect.
“Go to the stables and get horses. Quickly!”
The half-orcs mounted their horses and followed Zhe Zilin as they charged toward the city gate at high speed.
The guards had died silently. The soldiers stationed near the castle were still sound asleep.
Six horses galloped through the dark streets. Ignoring the drowsy soldiers at the city gate, they quietly opened the gate and escaped from North City.
Only after rushing into the forest did Zhe Zilin finally let go of the tension in his heart and let out a long breath.
To prevent the city guards from seeing his back, he rode for several more miles before finally reining in his horse.
Now that Leon was dead, Ailia still had to pray for three days. She would not be framed, nor would she meet Osha ahead of schedule.
By pinning Leon’s death on the half-orcs and letting them go, he could also hide his identity as Leibang Ed.
Although some accidents had occurred — Lady Snow died and Osha had appeared out of nowhere — so far, everything had been resolved smoothly.
Zhe Zilin dismounted and threw Leon’s corpse onto the ground. He said to the half-orcs, “The city guards haven’t discovered that the gate is open yet. I have to hurry back immediately.”
One-Eye cautiously gripped the longsword he had taken from the guards and asked, “You’re not going to kill us to silence us?”
“I can’t win.”
Zhe Zilin could fight one against two, but he could not fight one against five. He was not strong enough yet.
One-Eye probed further. “If you don’t kill us, aren’t you afraid we’ll reveal your identity?”
Zhe Zilin mounted his horse and smiled. “First, you won’t have the chance. Second, if you keep the secret, I’ll let you go. That was our deal.”
Scar’s eyes lit up. He did not hold back his praise. “This is what a true knight is like. I’m starting to like this Leibang kid.”
Zhe Zilin urged his horse forward, gripping the reins tightly as he prepared to return to the city.
Rustling sounds and dense footsteps came from within the forest.
Zhe Zilin looked around. Wobbling figures appeared from all directions in the forest and had already surrounded them.
“One-Eye, a lot of people are coming!”
Scar sniffed the air and raised his longsword in panic.
The half-orcs had sensitive noses. They knew the number of newcomers and stood back-to-back, as if facing a great enemy.
“There’s a rotten smell. They don’t seem like humans.”
Only when a mutilated male corpse with empty eyes crawled close did Zhe Zilin’s mind recall an extremely despairing memory from the past.
“Corpse Slaves!?”
So many Corpse Slaves gathered here — he knew what this meant.
Zhe Zilin dismounted and stood together with the half-orcs.
“The Ice Demon is nearby!”
“What!?”
Scar was the first to cry out. His throat trembled with inexplicable excitement.
“We’re done for. It’s the Ice Demon. We’re finished.”
“But… this is so thrilling! This feeling is amazing!”
One-Eye’s gaze constantly shifted as he searched in the darkness, trying to psych himself up. “What’s there to be afraid of? We’ve even seen dragons in the Eastern Plains. Why would we be afraid of an Ice Demon?!”
Why would the Ice Demon appear here? Could it be that he had discovered Ailia entering North City and had been waiting nearby the entire time?
Zhe Zilin had witnessed the terror of the Ice Demon before. Those crimson eyes had left a deep impression on him.
Did he have to reload again? He had worked hard all night for nothing.
Zhe Zilin was unwilling to accept it. Each reload could only be used once. At the very least, he had to fight and carve out a path back to the city.
Just as he raised Dragon Slayer and prepared to charge into the horde of corpses, a pair of crimson eyes appeared in the forest, standing out strikingly in the darkness.
The Ice Demon rode through the Corpse Slaves on horseback and stopped in front of Zhe Zilin. His gaze fell upon Leon’s corpse, and he let out a contemptuous laugh.
He held a long spear made of pure ice. Without warning, he thrust it into Leon’s heart. The spearhead was stained with heart blood.
The Ice Demon brought the blood to his mouth and licked it like fine wine, revealing a satisfied expression.
“Not bad. Pure Gareth bloodline.”
The Ice Demon licked the heart blood clean before finally shifting his attention to Zhe Zilin.
“Are you Gareth Leon?”
Zhe Zilin frowned. He did not understand why the Ice Demon clearly knew Leon but did not know what he looked like.
Doubts flooded his mind one after another, but he remained silent.
The Ice Demon did not care that his question went unanswered. He continued speaking on his own. “Once we break the seal, you must follow us south. Go back and have your soldiers prepare. In thirty days, the Ice Demon army will descend upon the world once more!”
Zhe Zilin’s mind was still in chaos. He only nodded silently.
The Ice Demon continued giving orders. “The witch is the final hidden danger. After you become the King of the North, kill her.”
Zhe Zilin’s brows furrowed. A trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes as he lowered his voice. “I can’t kill the witch. She’s very powerful.”
“Yesterday, a princess arrived from the Royal Capital. She is the spokesperson of some god. Let her kill the witch.”
Osha? A spokesperson of a god. No wonder she could die together with Ailia.
But how did the Ice Demon know all this?
Zhe Zilin remained silent, lost in thought.
The Ice Demon snorted coldly, his tone brooking no refusal. “I’ll only give you half a month. If you can’t kill the witch, once my clan awakens, we will slaughter everything within three thousand miles of the North.”
With that, he turned his horse and prepared to leave.
Scar leaned closer and whispered, “Leibang, why did he call you Leon?”
“This corpse…”
Before he could finish, Zhe Zilin covered Scar’s mouth. His heart instantly leaped into his throat.
The Ice Demon, who had been about to leave, suddenly stopped. His head rotated 180 degrees in a terrifying manner as he looked back.