Night fell, and three people emerged from Old Hank's carpenter shop. Old Hank was a carpenter and owned a packhorse of his own. The three mounted up, with Old Hank leading the way as they slowly headed out of the city.
Leo looked up at the moon. It was no longer as bright as it had been during the full moon a few days earlier. The crescent curved like a hook, and Leo suddenly noticed that this world's moon had craters too.
The moon here looked so much like the moon from his previous life that, for a moment, time and space blurred together. Brad asked, "What's wrong?"
Leo shook his head. "Nothing. I just remembered some things from the past. Let's go."
The three headed straight for the western city gate. "Officers seconded to the city defense battalion, Warrant Officer Class I Leo East and Warrant Officer Class II Brad Baker, requesting permission to leave the city at night."
The soldiers guarding the gate were also from the city defense battalion. Hearing that officers attached to their own battalion wanted to leave the city, they quickly opened the gates, and the three riders gradually disappeared into the darkness.
There were many fishing villages south of the city along the coast of the Mist Sea. Old Hank's horse could not move quickly, and their destination was one inconspicuous fishing village by the sea. They did not arrive until they had traveled several kilometers south from the city.
They dismounted well before reaching it and tied up their horses. Using a large boulder to conceal themselves, the three watched the apparently ordinary fishing village from a distance.
Leo asked, "Old Hank, are you sure this is where those foreign criminals gather?"
Old Hank nodded. "I'm sure. Absolutely sure. Sir, let me describe what my son looks like, in case you accidentally hurt him later..."
Leo cut him off. "There's no need. If your son really wandered into a den of criminals by mistake, just as you said, then he won't attack us. He'll survive.
"If he does attack us, then unfortunately, that's that. You don't understand just how angry the Count is. The Count will not let a crime like this go unpunished. Nor would the people who were burned to death or injured during the night of the Blackport City fire allow us to let such a crime go.
"Old Hank, watch our horses and pray for your son. Pray that he doesn't attack us."
Old Hank lowered his head, silently withdrew into the distance, and sat dejectedly beside the three horses. Leo and Brad were both carrying round shields and weapons. Leo had his mace, while Brad carried his cruciform sword.
Leo's helmet, breastplate, and round shield had all been custom-made at the best blacksmith shop in Blackport City. The center of the round shield, the section of the breastplate over his heart, and the helmet were all one centimeter thick.
They were heavy, but the weight gave Leo peace of mind. Armor this thick could even stop a crossbow bolt from a C-Grade Haste Mage, filling Leo with confidence.
Taking advantage of the darkness, the two gradually approached the fishing village. Partway there, Leo stopped at a crevice among the rocks large enough to shelter them and motioned for Brad to hide.
Brad was puzzled, but he waited there with Leo. They remained in the crevice for a long time, a full half hour.
Brad finally whispered, "Leo, what are you waiting for?"
Leo looked back in the direction they had come from. "I'm waiting for Old Hank to make his choice. Nothing has happened so far, which proves he isn't planning to fight us to the bitter end. We don't need to worry about him betraying us."
After that, the two continued creeping toward the fishing village, keeping close to every reef and tree that could provide cover. The village had only seven or eight wooden houses. Several of their roofs had collapsed or were leaning at an angle, as though no one had lived there for a long time.
Perhaps this was an abandoned fishing village. Leo soon knew that Old Hank's information was sound.
Two men were still outside in the middle of the night, leaning against an overturned boat on the beach and keeping watch. Using a hand signal taught at the Military Academy, Leo gestured to Brad: Crawl forward.
The two rapidly closed in on the enemy lookouts. The hemp rope wrapped tightly around Brad's forearm like a bracer loosened and came free. Like a living thing, it slithered forward along the ground through the darkness.
The two sentries failed to notice the shadow on the ground. The hemp rope raised its head like a cobra and suddenly whipped around both men's throats. Their throats were constricted before they could make a sound.
But their legs kicked wildly from the pain of suffocation. If this continued and they struck the overturned boat behind them, the noise would give everything away.
Leo's crouched body exploded off the ground. In three long strides, he was beside them.
The E-Grade Cipher spell, 2x Critical Strike, came down. Two dull cracks sounded from the men's skulls as the mace smashed them apart.
Two bells rang in quick succession inside Leo's Soul Sea. He poured soul power into his Cipher Soul String, raising his Cipher mana to 34 points.
At the same time, a faint wave of dizziness made Leo narrow his eyes. The sound of the Calamity Bell had a considerable effect on his Soul Sea. He shook his head and forced himself to adjust as quickly as possible.
For now, Leo had no intention of strengthening his Haste Soul String. A single Final Entrustment ritual or Intimidation ritual could push his Haste Magic directly into D-Grade anyway, so investing in it now would only be a waste.
Brad crept over beside him. He looked at the red and white matter on Leo's mace, remembered something unpleasant, and felt slightly nauseated. He pointed at Leo's hammer, then at the tide in the distance, gesturing for Leo to go wash it.
Leo was certainly not going to wash his hammer at a time like this. Who had time for that? He simply pressed the mace into the sand and rubbed it around.
Brad gave a slight nod. That was acceptable enough.
Leo lay prone behind the overturned boat and watched the fishing village in the distance. Brad's attention was not on the village. Seeing that there was no immediate danger, he could not resist whispering, "Leo, could you stop always aiming your hammer at people's heads..."
"No." Leo shook his head decisively. "I'm a Cipher Mage. The best weapon for a Cipher Mage is a hammer. If you don't hit the head, a hammer can't kill someone instantly."
Brad sighed, at a loss for words, and the two continued sneaking toward the nearby fishing village.
The enemy's watch was thin in the middle of the night. Apart from the two men they had just killed, there was nothing else in their way. Their target was obvious. Only the largest wooden house showed the faint glow of candlelight.
The two slipped around behind the house. Sure enough, voices were coming from inside. Someone was arguing.
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