Chapter 605: Capturing Demons in the Tunnel

Bursting through, Liszt charged straight from the breach in the castle wall to the rear garden, his Mage Eye spell failing to locate Yevich's Water Lily.

However, he noticed several servants hiding something under a patch of grapevines.

His keen senses told him something was amiss, and he immediately rushed over, grabbing one of the servants and barked, "Where is Yevich!" Without waiting for an answer, he kicked away the water barrel the servant had been using, revealing a square hatch of a cellar.

"I, I don't know..."

"Foolish!" Liszt casually tossed the uncooperative servant onto a nearby stone table, where he crashed and then rolled to the ground, unable to get up immediately.

Under normal circumstances, he was unwilling to kill ordinary people outside of knights and mages.

War was a game among nobles, and commoners were often considered part of their wealth. It was morally unacceptable for knights to kill commoners—unless the commoners dared to resist, in which case they would be killed without mercy. Even with moral constraints, some knights still got carried away and massacred civilians.

There would be no real punishment afterward.

For instance, if Liszt were to slaughter all the commoners in Snow梨Castle now, who would dare to speak ill of him? However, he was not a cruel person and harbored a certain degree of sympathy for the common folk.

Whether a knight adhered to morality depended on self-restraint and the code of honor associated with The Glory of Knighthood.

Fortunately, Liszt did not need the servant's answer. He kicked open the cellar hatch and quickly jumped down. He could already deduce that this cellar was clearly an escape route for the castle. Activating his Dragon Aura, he retrieved a crystal lamp and swiftly found the entrance to the tunnel.

With his Dragon Aura protecting him, he was not afraid of any traps in the passage. This world had yet to develop the art of trap-making.

Even if there were traps in the escape tunnel, they would be simple and basic. If there were any magical devices used in the tunnel, they would be easily observed and neutralized by his Mage Eye.

The passage was somewhat narrow.

The crystal lamp's glow provided enough light, so Liszt’s vision remained unobstructed as he swiftly charged through the passage. The path was winding, with many areas filled with puddles, where fresh, wet footprints were clearly visible.

"Not just one person's footprints—they're messy. It must be Yevich and those three Great Magicians!"

Realizing this, he quickened his pursuit.

Just then, a thunderous boom erupted from ahead.

Then came faint voices—cursing, it seemed.

He continued rushing forward.

Soon, at the end of the passage, three faint silhouettes outlined by Magic Aura came into view—none other than the three Great Magicians who had earlier unleashed a combined magic. Their curses were now clearly audible, swiftly revealing the reason to Liszt: Yevich had brought down the gate at the end of the passage.

Which meant...

Yevich had abandoned the three Great Magicians as bait to ensure his own escape.

"Enough talk, Lars! Let’s combine our magic and blast through the ceiling to carve an exit!"

"Silas, cast stone armor on me! Dulac, give me Water Wave Shield protection! I don’t want to be buried alive if the tunnel collapses again!"

"Relax, you won’t die!"

The three Great Magicians, blocked in the tunnel, were frantically working on an escape plan.

Unfortunately, before they could unleash their magic, Liszt had already closed in on them. "Gentlemen, why the hurry to leave? Why not return to Snowpear Fort as my guests?"

"It's you!"

"The knight who shot Yevich away with an arrow!"

"So you've caught up after all, hah."

Liszt's *Magic Eye* fixed on the three Great Magicians as he slowly approached: "Since you already know me, there’s no need for further pleasantries. Turn around and head back to Sherry Castle—we’ll have a proper talk… And you, the mage on the left, stop secretly gathering magic power. Your actions can’t escape my perception."

The exposed Great Magician gave an awkward chuckle and dispersed the magic power gathered in his palm.

For a mage to be cornered by a knight—especially a formidable sky knight—was practically no different from being a lamb awaiting slaughter. The era of mages had long declined. It was said that during the Moon Empire's reign, mages were powerful, dominating the continent and ruling over all. But now, it was the knights who held sway.

At times, Liszt couldn’t help but doubt the legends. It was said that Archmages could battle dragons—though they might lose one-on-one against dragon knights, they were still considered the pinnacle of power in the world.

So why were Great Magicians and ordinary mages so weak?

Though they could unleash devastating spells, their actual combat effectiveness was severely lacking. The constraints of casting speed allowed knights to attack mages with impunity. No matter how powerful a spell was, it meant nothing if it couldn’t hit the knight. Even defensive spells like Water-Wave Shield or Stone-Armor, no matter how sturdy, would eventually be worn down by a knight’s relentless strikes.

Not to mention when knights formed teams, their mana interweaving to shred stray magic power, creating magic-nullifying zones that outright nullified a mage’s ability to cast.

Watching the three Great Magicians trudge dejectedly back through the tunnel, Liszt couldn’t help but muse: *"While compiling *Dragons Battling in the Wilderness*, I read countless arcane tomes and chivalric tales, all mentioning the glory of mages during the Moon Empire era. There were even legends claiming that the empire’s mages built a magic array atop Mount Mulagodin leading straight to the moon."*

If that era truly matched the recorded history, it must have been a radiant civilization.

The mages who forged the Moon Empire surely weren’t as weak as those of today.

*"So what caused the decline of the mage’s era? How do modern mages differ from those of the Moon Empire? And after the empire’s collapse, what allowed knights to rise?"* Sadly, no one had recorded the answers.

Fragmented oral histories had long strayed from the truth.

The enigma endured.

……

Liszt didn’t pursue the Clearwater Sword Saint any further.

Once the passage was sealed, there was practically no hope of catching up. It was a shame—the prize for capturing a sword saint had slipped through his fingers. Still, having three Great Magicians as prisoners would somewhat offset the loss. He was certain they’d pay a hefty ransom for their freedom.

By the time he returned to Sherry Castle, the count had already sent men to secure the fortress, one wall of which had collapsed.

"You didn’t catch Yevich?"

"He fled through the tunnel and collapsed the exit, but he gifted us three guests." Liszt gestured at the three Great Magicians in their magic robes.

Though prisoners, the trio maintained a haughty composure, calmly awaiting sentencing.

Liszt left the sentencing to the count while he prepared to personally ransack Sherry Castle for any valuables Yevich might have left behind.

According to their prearranged agreement—battle honors went to Lee William, while spoils belonged to Liszt.

Thus, all stores in Sherry Castle were his. Captain Marcus had already inventoried the supplies and approached to report upon Liszt’s return: "My lord, aside from the provisions reserved for the knight order, all other stockpiles in the castle have been loaded onto wagons."

"What about the pens?"

"We searched the hatcheries—there are none left. Yevich must have taken them."

Yevich had escaped, and the spirit bugs were gone. Liszt scowled. "I’d love to torch every herb beyond these walls. That bastard was supposed to be a dragon knight aspirant—how’d he flee so fast?!"