30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?!-Chapter 208: The Knights’ Night Out (2)

Ihan was a knight with a diverse set of experiences.

Among them, the most unusual by far was—

—Assassin.

...A background that would make most people recoil in shock.

A knight with a history as an assassin was both rare and difficult to believe.

That being said, Ihan had no hidden past that made him tremble in fear of being exposed.

It wasn’t something he particularly tried to conceal.

He wasn’t going around announcing, "I used to be an assassin!" everywhere, but most of his close acquaintances were aware.

There was another reason he had no qualms about revealing it.

—It’s not like I ever killed anyone. Why wouldn’t I be confident?

He had been trained as an assassin, yes.

But before he could truly begin his “career,” his organization collapsed, and he found himself unexpectedly free.

As a result, he was an assassin who had learned all the techniques but had never actually taken a life.

Afterward, he followed the mercenary path, then became a kingdom soldier, gradually discarding most of his assassination skills.

However, even so—

—I never discarded my knowledge.

Assassination techniques weren’t just about combat.

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If anything, his organization had placed even greater emphasis on infiltration, surveillance, topography, and various espionage skills.

Thinking back, Black Moon must have wanted him to perform not only as a combatant but also as a ranger.

At the time, it had seemed like they were teaching him all sorts of unnecessary things, but now—

"Ah, found it."

There was a reason people said, ‘Anything you learn will be useful someday.’

5 hours and 45 minutes.

That was how long it had taken him to locate an entrance into the Grand Temple.

Well... if you could call it an entrance—

“Damn, that’s one hell of a river.”

—A river that looked like it would drown him the moment he stepped into it.

***

Information about the Grand Temple was strictly controlled.

What did that mean?

Simply put, there was almost no publicly available information about it.

It wasn’t even marked on any map.

...That might sound absurd, but there was a reason for it.

The Grand Temple was home to sacred relics, the tombs and memorials of the kingdom’s greatest heroes, and an archive containing over a hundred thousand books.

In other words, it was a cultural treasure trove of immense historical value.

If the capital were ever breached during war, the Grand Temple had an obligation to preserve everything within it.

That was why its location wasn’t marked on maps.

Even high-ranking nobles couldn’t obtain a complete map of the kingdom—only the Supreme Commander of the military or the King himself had access.

However—

"I can’t get you a map either, but I can tell you what the Grand Temple is like."

Ihan had a connection to someone close to the very top of the kingdom—a princess.

Thanks to her, he had memorized classified information about the temple.

"From the outside, the Grand Temple looks like a massive religious structure, but in reality, it’s an impregnable fortress. A holy barrier surrounds it 24/7, extending not just underground but even up into the clouds."

For a knight of Ihan’s caliber, breaking through such a barrier wouldn’t be difficult.

But doing so would be like screaming to the world, ‘I’m breaking into the temple!’

It was the stupidest approach possible.

"Furthermore, the temple is carved into a mountain, making it a natural stronghold. To outsiders, it looks modest and sacred, but in reality, it’s a military fortress."

And that wasn’t all.

"The temple has vast farmland and a rich water supply inside. Even if enemy forces breach Pendragon and target the Grand Temple, it can sustain itself for a year without outside help."

A fortress blessed by divine power and natural defenses.

It made sense why the temple stored so many relics.

However—

"...A rich water supply? Do they have underground wells, or is there a flowing river?"

"There’s a river."

"Hoooh..."

"Stop right there. That’s not a wise idea."

"...I didn’t even say anything yet."

"You were thinking about infiltrating through the river, weren’t you?"

"...I told you not to read my mind."

—Nothing was truly perfect.

And so, now—

“Damn, I nearly had a heart attack just scouting this river... What’s with all this security?”

In just five hours, Ihan had been reduced to a haggard mess.

All he had done was try to scout an entry point by the river, but the sheer number of guards stationed along its perimeter was staggering.

Even now—

—Bark! Bark!

—Grrrrr!

Despite it being the dead of night, hundreds of soldiers were standing in tight defensive formations, while packs of war dogs howled viciously.

Had he not dug tunnels intermittently to advance, he would have been caught long ago.

"This much security... just to guard a temple? This isn’t a temple—it’s the goddamn Pentagon."

It was ridiculous.

Even the royal palace wasn’t this heavily fortified.

At the same time, it was impressive.

Ihan had lost most of his assassin’s skills, but he was still armed with a wide range of other techniques.

With Air-Walking, tunneling, and Shadow Step, he could move like a bird or a mole as needed.

Yet, even that wasn’t enough.

The temple’s guards shot arrows at birds in flight and stabbed their spears into the ground, as if expecting enemies to emerge from below.

For a moment, Ihan even wondered if they might start burning the forest down.

But, of course, they wouldn’t.

"Well, the Light’s doctrine does say it governs life."

The temple wouldn’t recklessly destroy nature.

...Though for a religion that claimed to govern life, they sure treated human lives like trash.

Regardless!

Ihan had used every skill, every bit of knowledge, and every ounce of experience to reach the temple’s reservoir.

There were still guards stationed nearby, but—

"I am a turtle... a turtle...."

Ihan moved with extreme stealth, reducing his presence to near nonexistence.

Turtles were slow, but their heartbeats were also remarkably slow.

"Slower, slower... even slower."

Just six beats per minute.

Considering the average human heart rate was 60 to 100 beats per minute, this should have been impossible.

Yet, like a turtle’s slow heartbeats, Ihan suppressed his bodily functions to an inhuman degree.

And—

"It’s working... it’s really working!"

By applying turtle-like respiration, movement, and heartbeat regulation, Ihan achieved an extraordinary effect.

His control over his muscles and internal organs made this possible.

Hoo...

Haa...

──Huff...

Saaaaah...

—[Turtle Breath Technique].

A technique commonly used in the martial world for playing dead, but Ihan had repurposed it for espionage.

A complete suppression of presence.

He blended seamlessly into the darkness, invisible to the human eye.

Despite passing right next to five soldiers, none of them noticed him.

"Clear."

"No movement."

"It’s quiet."

"What about the hounds?"

"No reaction at all!"

Not a single one of them realized that Ihan was right beside them.

It was as if they regarded him as an inanimate object.

No invisibility cloak.

No advanced stealth technology.

Simply manipulating presence and perception.

Even the war dogs should have been able to sniff him out, but—

—Whine?

—???

The effects of the herbs and medicinal extracts he had applied worked flawlessly.

Fwip!

Of course, while he could avoid people and animals, he couldn’t predict stray arrows and spears.

Thunk...

"Arrow?"

"Huh? Was there a rock over there?"

But with Iron Body, he had nothing to fear.

And so—

Sliiiiide.

Without hesitation, Ihan slipped into the freezing river.

Shhh...

"What was that?"

"A fish?"

"Stay back. There are giant crocodiles and venomous snakes in that water."

"Wait, really?"

"They were released on purpose—to prevent intruders."

"Who the hell would be crazy enough to swim in there? The divine barrier makes the currents rage like a storm."

"Yeah, no sane person would—"

...Should I go back and punch them before leaving?

Unwittingly labeled a madman and a fool, Ihan suppressed his urge to break his stealth and continued sinking deeper.

***

KWAANG!

A deafening explosion echoed.

A spear-shaped lance and an axe blade larger than a standard battle axe clashed, sending out a shockwave that seemed to rip through the air.

The speed, precision, and destructive force were beyond what even most high-ranking knights could react to.

It was an impeccable display of skill in all three aspects, and yet—

“Let’s end the games here, Raging Wolf. If we get too serious, what’s the point of sneaking in?”

A game.

The fact that such a fierce clash was nothing more than a greeting between the two was terrifying in itself.

However—

“You were the one who revealed your presence first, Black Lion!!”

...The real problem was that this game wasn’t exactly mutually agreed upon.

“In the North, this is how we say hello!”

“Enough with the bullshit!!”

As if anyone in the North actually considered this a greeting!

This bastard was more of a brute than an actual barbarian!

The masked intruders recognized each other immediately despite their disguises, and the spear-wielding one gritted his teeth.

And for good reason—

—Intruders!!

—They’re underground! The enemy is in the underground chamber!!

The whole point of sneaking in was about to be completely wasted—

—All because of this damn brute.