Chapter 185: The Unseen Protector
"There are other forces involved." His eyes instinctively scanned the surroundings before he continued.
"And they’re backing Hero Luke from the shadows."
A trace of fear flashed across his face.
The brown-haired man frowned.
"Why?" His confusion was obvious.
Luke, who was listening from above, subconsciously nodded as well.
"Yeah..."
"Why?" He quietly muttered.
"What made you think that?" Almost immediately.
The black-haired man answered.
"I recently heard some news." He swallowed unconsciously before speaking.
"One of the Hidden Hand’s assassination branches."
He paused.
"was wiped out."
The brown-haired man’s pupils contracted.
"Wiped out?"
The black-haired man nodded heavily.
"Completely."
"Silently."
"In the dead of night."
His voice became increasingly solemn.
"Everyone inside was killed."
A cold breeze swept through the forest.
Even Luke narrowed his eyes.
"The strangest part. There wasn’t a single trace left behind."
"No witnesses."
"No clues."
"No signs of battle."
"No evidence whatsoever pointing toward the killer."
As he spoke his face gradually turned pale.
Because he knew exactly what kind of place that had been.
"I gave commissions to that assassination branch several times before."
"It wasn’t some small hideout."
"It was one of their large operational bases."
"The people stationed there weren’t weak."
"They couldn’t have been eliminated without making even the slightest commotion."
"Yet they were."
Silence descended between the two men. Even the brown-haired man’s breathing became heavier.
After thinking for a while. He hesitantly spoke.
"Maybe."
"It was the Holy Church."
"They’ve been hunting the Hidden Hand recently."
"Besides."
"Who else could accomplish something like that?"
His reasoning sounded perfectly logical.
However.
The black-haired man immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Killing silently." The black-haired man slowly shook his head. "isn’t their style."
The sentence was simple.
Yet both the brown-haired man—
And Luke hiding above—
Were equally stunned.
"So." The brown-haired man swallowed.
"It really wasn’t the Church?"
The black-haired man nodded with absolute certainty.
"I’m willing to bet my life on it."
"The Templar Knights don’t hide in the darkness."
"They bring judgment beneath the sunlight."
"They want fear to spread."
"They want everyone to know. that the Holy Church carried out the execution."
He folded his arms.
"But whoever destroyed that Hidden Hand base. wanted the exact opposite."
A chill ran down the brown-haired man’s spine.
Meanwhile.
Luke also became thoughtful.
"Who is helping me?" He quietly muttered to himself.
His mind immediately began recalling every person he knew.
Aurielle? Impossible.
She had been with him.
Osric? No. He lacked that kind of strength.
Margaret?
No chance.
The Arcane Sky Tower?
It couldn’t move by itself.
Soon.
The conversation below finally came to an end.
The two Silver Knights packed away their telescope artifact before preparing to leave.
Luke’s smile gradually faded. His eyes slowly turned cold.
"So there are this many rats inside my territory already."
His quiet voice carried a trace of killing intent.
If he hadn’t happened to be here today.
If he hadn’t overheard their conversation.
He would’ve remained completely unaware that spies had already infiltrated Blackstone.
That realization alone was enough to make his expression darken.
Luke slowly looked toward the distant Blackstone Territory.
"I can’t watch every corner." He muttered with slight frustration.
No matter how powerful he became. It was impossible for one person to guard an entire territory twenty-four hours a day.
Especially one whose trade routes stretched for nearly a thousand kilometers.
Completely sealing every information leak was far easier said than done.
"Looks like."
"I’ll have to build a proper intelligence network as well."
A new thought quietly formed in his mind.
After all.
The best way to deal with rats wasn’t merely killing the ones you found.
It was discovering the nest they came from.
---
Even though entering Blackstone Highlands through the main trade road was almost impossible without being noticed.
After all.
The entire region was naturally protected by the Stormhowl Mountains.
Their lower slopes were blanketed by dense ancient forests.
Those forests weren’t ordinary. They housed thousands of magical beasts.
Ferocious monsters. Poisonous creatures.
And predators capable of hunting entire caravans.
For ordinary people crossing those woods was practically suicide.
However for Bronze Knights and especially Silver Knights. The danger was far less severe.
As long as they avoided venturing too deep. Or climbing toward the mountain peaks and central regions.
They could still move through the forest without much difficulty.
Luke narrowed his eyes. The real problem lay elsewhere.
Blackstone only controlled the first one hundred kilometers of the thousand-kilometer trade route.
Beyond that. The forests continued uninterrupted.
Large stretches of unmanaged woodland still existed.
From there experienced scouts could quietly approach the territory.
Although the steep terrain forced them to observe from lower elevations.Making the images unclear...
They could still gather plenty of information.
"The previous natural defenses."
"They’re effective against Bronze Knights."
He paused briefly. "And somewhat effective against Silver Knights."
"But." His expression gradually became solemn.
"For Golden Knights Blackstone’s natural barriers are almost meaningless."
Golden Knights were monsters. They weren’t bound by ordinary terrain.
A single leap allowed them to cross cliffs. One sword strike could split enormous boulders.
At higher levels they could even shatter mountains themselves.
Luke silently looked toward the distant mountain range.
His eyes flickered thoughtfully.
"This is one of Blackstone’s greatest weaknesses." Which he had being heavily relied on the natural geography of the territory.
Luke wanted to develop Blackstone. He wanted merchants from every kingdom to trade here.
He wanted adventurers to settle here. He wanted craftsmen, scholars, mages, and talented people to flock toward his territory.
But that prosperity came with a price.
The more famous Blackstone became. The more enemies it would attract.
Especially those already standing at the Golden Knight Realm.
Such people could simply arrive at his doorstep whenever they wished.
That thought didn’t sit well with Luke.
Next moment his eyes slowly narrowed. "At least the Watchtowers will keep these sneaky rats away for a while."
He quietly muttered.
"Until..."
"I find the perfect cure for them."
A faint cold smile appeared beneath his helmet.