I slowed down on my progress to think about the actions of the empire. I wanted to focus on myself, but I couldn’t simply ignore it completely. I also had to find the people ahead of me before they realized that I was following them, so I had to be cautious. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for that to happen.

“It looks like we are behind schedule and the commander isn’t liking that.”

“It can’t be helped. We didn’t know the land well, and it isn’t our fault that we had to deal with a town filled with ogres. Those bastards are truly hard to kill.”

“We are already winning this, but they want us to win in just a few weeks… the higher-ups are unreasonable as ever since they never do the fighting themselves.”

“You should know that the higher ups this time around are at the top of the empire, right? If word of these reaches their ears, you will be done for.”

As expected, they had young voices, so they were basically fresh knights and mages. I was able to reach them without being noticed. While they were saying a lot of useful things, I couldn’t wait for them to reveal everything since their reinforcements could arrive pretty soon.

Killing them without being noticed would be easy, but that annoying feeling was still bothering me… I couldn’t become a cold blood killer. I let out a sigh since they would die anyway if I knock them down and then leave them alone unconscious in the middle of the labyrinth.

While I was thinking about that, I saw them killing a scorpion and then getting their tail and carapace. My guess was right… Regardless, I quickly came up with a diversion. I fired an explosive arrow nearby and when they turned around to check it, I passed above them while using camouflage and using the claws of my gloves to move into the ceiling.

‘I am truly becoming a ninja, huh?’

That was quite satisfying, so a smile formed on my face when I left them behind. Still, that forced me to get the bodies of the scorpions and store them in my magic bags to dismantle them later.

Solving problems like that was quite satisfying… Direct confrontations only lead to more direct confrontations. Punching can be satisfying too, but outsmarting the enemies is a lot more convenient.

Regardless, now that I was done with the closest problem, my thoughts returned. I was trying to avoid unnecessary fights, but I had no idea how long I would be in the labyrinth. Perhaps a week or two based on the difficulty, no more than that, since I wasn’t expecting a demonic tier labyrinth.

Still, the question was: how much the land would change while I was busy with my own problems? There was a chance that a large army would be waiting for me outside as well. That was the kind of thought that was pretty convincing in making me join the dark side.

‘Well, I cross that bridge when the time comes… it isn’t like I am not prepared for it when the time comes either, after all.’

I already had the tools and weapons that would make fighting people very easy. I just had to put them to good use. I didn’t have to like the idea of using such tools, but I disliked even more the idea of dying unfairly, so I just had to pick the lesser of two evils.

Since I was in a hurry, despite finding some dead ends, I still reached the fourth floor in no time. I wanted to discard the idea of making a map of the labyrinth, but I would need one to return as fast as possible eventually, so I decided to write it down as I walked for a bit. I soon regretted the idea…

‘Hm? Footsteps… Already?’

Perhaps I should have used the Shadow Step amulet… even if its durability had dropped a lot. I could hear hurried steps approaching and it was clear their goal was for me. I had two options: hide or fight. I had confidence in my stealth skills… I could even use them to get rid of those guys. It was probably the best idea since I would gain time against any other pursuing party. However, the idea came with some risks as well.

‘This will clearly turn me into an enemy who they will hunt down with eagerness… but at this point in time, it can’t be helped. I guess I will do that… make things harder for me.’

I let out a sigh and just turned around… after doing some preparations, I took some steps back and soon I was able to see a party of knights and mages. This one was a bit different from the previous one… it was clear that they were veterans based on their parameters. They immediately drew their weapons and stopped when they found me.

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“How can I help you?”

The three knights stepped forward to shield the mages, and they had large shields with them too… The mages raised their wands to use their magic at a moment’s notice. Perhaps I should stop giving someone a fair chance to attack me and just assume that everyone is an asshole. Even one of my brothers tried to impale me earlier, after all.

“Are you Regulus Dawnshield?”

I wanted to sigh… it looked like they had some magic implements that let them sent messages insanely fast to long distances. It wasn’t like I wasn’t aware of the possibility, but it was still vexing.

“If I had my mask, I would call me Darth Regulus, but Regulus is fine. What about it?”

“We have the orders to apprehend you. Please surrender without forcing us to use our hand.”

“We aren’t in the empire, so your orders have no weight here. Nor do I have the desire to follow the commands of the empire. So, can you guys please pretend that you didn’t find me here?”

“Drop your weapon and surrender immediately. If you don’t do that, we can’t guarantee that you will leave this place without some heavy injuries.”

“I will say the same thing to you all. Turn around and leave. Try to attack me. I won’t show you any mercy. What is more important, your orders or your lives?”

The guards began to charge in the next moment… I let out a sigh and then used Power Shot. The first arrow was stopped by one of the shields, but at least the impact slowed down the target and left a mark on it.

I used Arcane Arrow and then several explosions where fire spread around pushed the knights away… but in the next moment, two ice spears flew to my head.

‘I guess they are no longer acting and their true colors are finally being shown.’

I used Rapid Fire and then made the ice spears break in the air. The mages opened their eyes wide at my power and reaction speed. They only had time to do that… because when the knights stepped forward, several magic traps were activated and then pierced their legs. Thanks to my magic power and the level of the skill, the traps pierced through their armor.

When they flinched and lowered their shields, two arrows flew toward the heads of the mages. They summoned ice walls to defend themselves, but the arrows pierced through them and then their heads.

You received 1455 experience points.

You received 1455 experience points.

The annoying feeling was back… I ignored it since the Knights soon recovered from the attacks and then swung their swords. I saw energy beings flying toward my head, torso, and legs.

I moved to the side and forward with Shadow Step, but soon the enemies used the same skill again. I wasn’t certain that I could destroy those attacks with my arrows, so I used Shadow Step again to the other side of the corridor and then fired an arrow that exploded and filled the entire area with smoke thanks to a magic smoke bomb scroll attached to it.

The enemies assumed a defensive stance when they heard a weird sound and got ready to receive attacks from all directions, but they didn’t expect from above. I was there thanks to my grappling crossbow. The arrows pierced their helmets and then their heads.

You received 2222 experience points.

You received 2222 experience points.

You received 2222 experience points.

I sighed in relief… but only a bad taste was left in my mouth. I managed to make arrows using the Decay Bolts using them inside the arrows and it looks like they are even good at elemental shields like that. That was surprisingly good to know, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel good about the situation.

Still, I couldn’t mop around about it either… I checked their bodies and only found basic gear with basic enchantments, but the wands of the mages was quite good.

Frost Wand (Uncommon)

Enchantment Slots: Ice Affinity (Apprentice): increases power of ice attacks by twenty points.

Durability: 10/10

It wasn’t a type of enchantment that I had learned so far, but it was a fine addition to the list. I used Essence Extraction on what I could and then decided to hide the bodies in my magic bag… it was possible, but it made me feel pretty weird carrying corpses with me. Still, it was better than leaving them behind and announcing what I had done…

‘No going back now… they said that they wanted to bring me back unscathed, but they attacked to kill every single time. I shouldn’t expect anything less from the others and their superiors.’

The chances of me becoming a third party in this war were null. I couldn’t compare myself with armies… still, given what happened, I shouldn’t expect anything less aside from confrontations with them from now on.

That made me wonder once they know of this, if those two will still come to fight me again… Killing them was something that I wanted to do even less than join in this war. However, they might force my hand…

Once that happens, I will be sure that even Rayner will begin to hunt me down and I will have a bounty on my head in the empire. That was annoying, but I could always use the excuse that I wasn’t the first to attack to kill first…