Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Count of Shedil was the descendant of a historic order of knights that had pioneered the Demonic Realm since hundreds of years ago, back when the Arman Empire was still strong and the Hasra family was merely a grand duke of the east.

The magic sword he had handed over had also spent centuries of the pioneering era alongside the Count’s family.

Among the artifacts excavated from the Demonic Realm, there were several magic tools stronger than this one, but the history accumulated over centuries alongside the family made this sword a special item far beyond its actual performance.

Therefore, Shan naturally took this as a loan rather than a permanent gift.

After all, Sir Gowell had only borrowed the sword from the Count whenever he needed it as well.

Seeing how the Count had turned stern before when Shan had slyly suggested giving him the sword as a reward for a duel, it went without saying how deeply he cherished this weapon.

“I will use it carefully and return it to you.”

When Shan bowed politely and expressed his gratitude, the Count let out a heavy sigh and spoke.

“Forget it. If you succeed in severing the ogre’s head, that sword is entirely yours. Use it for a long, long time until you’re senile even after I’m dead, and pass it down to your son when you have one.”

“Pardon? But… this is your family’s treasure.”

When Shan showed a puzzled look at the unexpected words, the Count gazed toward the far west.

Located there was the capital city of Hasra.

“Have you by any chance met my fool of a son?”

“Yes, briefly during the departure ceremony before…”

Unlike his father, who had made a name for himself as a knight in his youth, Count of Shedil’s son had consistently lived as a bureaucrat in the capital.

The young noble Shan had caught a glimpse of during the departure banquet was slender in build with somewhat sensitive eyes, unlike his father.

Since they had no special connection and the man hadn’t pretended to know him, Shan hadn’t bothered to approach and converse with him.

“I didn’t want him to be called an ignorant countryside noble, so I sent him to the capital at a young age to observe and learn a lot. But at some point, his letters became infrequent, and when I told him it was time to come receive the fief, he made all sorts of excuses to avoid coming down. He simply didn’t want to leave the glamorous, safe capital and rot in a backwater like this.”

Certainly, compared to Hasra, the environment of Shedil City here was poor in many ways.

As evident from the current situation, being adjacent to the Demonic Realm meant suffering such disasters once every few decades or centuries.

Indeed, not just the Count’s son, but several other territorial nobles sent proxies to their lands merely to collect taxes, using that wealth to stay in capital mansions and indulge in luxury.

“Since he’s still young, I could understand that much. But it’s a different story when his own territory is in danger and he’s too terrified to even show his face. He could have easily come along with the subjugation force, yet he only sent a single letter rambling excuses… This sword is far too good for a coward like that.”

Looking at the Count’s somber expression, Shan vaguely realized why he was trying to give the sword to him outright.

Right now, Count of Shedil was in a state of half self-despair.

The territory he had cultivated all his life was halfway devastated, and the son he had sent to study in the capital from a young age to receive a good education and build connections lacked even the nerve to come and protect the family’s land.

With things having come to this, he had tossed aside the damned magic sword, telling Shan to take it as long as he could slay the ogre.

Guessing by appearance, this too was likely one of his ways of expressing resentment toward his son.

Shan hesitated for a moment, then strapped the received sword to his waist and nodded.

“I will definitely slay it.”

“Please do so. My life is already half a failure. Even that is assuming I can repel that monster and defend the fief; if I can’t, it will be a complete failure.”

In truth, the invasion of the ogre horde lord was closer to a natural disaster than Count of Shedil’s incompetence, yet he seemed to feel deep self-reproach over the territory’s downfall during his generation.

Shan, who was about to offer words of comfort, soon bit his tongue and silently nodded.

He had an intuition that no words spoken now would bring comfort to this old man.

*

After parting with Count of Shedil, Shan left the Count’s castle in the drizzling rain alongside Lug and headed toward the private residences.

Roden and the Altoan mercenaries hired by him were staying at an inn inside the city.

Considering that most soldiers were lodging in the empty houses of those who had died or fled, it was quite a luxurious arrangement.

As he opened the door and entered the inn, the old innkeeper who recognized him brightened up and bowed deeply.

Having been a place where Shan had stayed back when he was active as an explorer, the innkeeper had recognized him.

“Oh! Sir Shan! The others are inside. Shall I bring you some cloth to wipe off the water?”

“Thank you.”

Shan accepted the innkeeper’s kindness, received a bundle of cloth, and handed half of it to Lug.

Before parting for their respective rooms, Lug clenched his fist tightly and spoke.

“Then I will see you tomorrow, Sir Shan. Good fortune in battle!”

“Good fortune.”

As knights, they had decided to share the largest and most expensive room with their squires.

Back when he worked as an explorer, he had deemed it too luxurious to use, never imagining in those days that he would end up using it after becoming a knight.

Opening the room door, he saw Roden, who had been organizing the luggage in advance so Shan could rest.

“You’re back? You’re late. How was the meeting?”

“The usual. They said we’re marching out to fight tomorrow right away. Once the rain stops.”

Shan took off his helmet, then wiped and shook out his hair, which had grown damp from the rain on his way back, using the cloth.

When Shan roughly recounted what had transpired at the strategic meeting, Roden wiped the inside of Shan’s helmet and let out a wry smile.

“So it turned out like that after all. Anyone could see the food situation was dire… Ah, speaking of which, I met Mr. Zerpo briefly earlier.”

“Huh? Why is Mr. Zerpo here?”

Zerpo was the mage of Green Eyes, the exploration party the two had formed in the past.

Why was a man who had earned enough money to retire suddenly in Shedil City?

“Since mages need monster materials for their research, it seems he came to the big city of Shedil to buy supplies and got trapped. The mercenaries who escorted him here fled amongst themselves.”

“He really had terrible luck.”

“It’s rather fortunate. We don’t even have news about what happened to the city where Mr. Zerpo’s faction is located.”

“Ah.”

This too must have heavily contributed to the gloomy atmosphere enveloping Shedil City.

Because a significant number of this city’s citizens would have relatives in neighboring cities or villages.

Fortunately, Priest Vent, who had been with them, and his monastery were highly likely to still be safe.

That place was located about a three-day walk west of Shedil City, belonging to a region that was still safe from the monsters’ invasion.

Of course, since it was somewhat distant from their marching route, they hadn’t been able to visit directly.

“That’s why starting tomorrow, we have to slay that ogre bastard somehow. Whether for revenge or for people to go on living in the future… By the way, what’s that sword? I haven’t seen it before.”

“Ah, this? Here.”

“Ugh.”

Shan drew the sword at his waist about halfway to show the puzzled Roden.

Having flinched and stiffened at the blade suddenly revealed before his eyes, Roden realized the sword’s identity and opened his mouth wide.

“…It’s a magic sword? A pretty good one at that. Don’t tell me you stole it or took it after a duel with someone?”

“I received it from Count of Shedil.”

Upon hearing about Sir Gowell’s death and how Shan had inherited his will through the sword, Roden’s face turned serious.

“I see, Sir Gowell…”

“I kept the sword since he gave it to me, but could it be a problem?”

“Since Sir Lug was also there as a witness, it should be fine. Though you’ll have to take good care of it.”

Unlike A Thousand Shapes, Count of Shedil’s magic sword was a precious treasure, but only to the extent of something a renowned knight might possess one of.

Of course, as mentioned, he would have to endure flies targeting it buzzing around here and there.

Roden ran his slightly trembling hand over the engraved letters on the sword.

“Count of Shedil… If it’s a magic sword of the Kurt family, is it perhaps ‘Guardian of the East’?”

“Yeah. I heard that’s its name.”

The magic sword, Guardian of the East, contained a small amount of True Iron, one of the three major metals.

A legendary metal known to be nearly impossible to damage by physical means unless through a special method.

Thanks to that, this sword boasted a durability ranking among the top tier of all existing magic swords.

On top of that, the spell cast on the sword added force to slashing and thrusting, making it a perfect tool for slaying strong, powerful monsters.

“One weapon of True Silver and one of True Iron; now you just need to collect one of True Gold.”

“True Gold isn’t very good when used as a weapon.”

“Well, that depends on how you use it. Anyway, it’s a relief. I was feeling anxious with just one spear.”

The magic tool created by Cheryn, ‘Heartbreaker’, was certainly an excellent spear, but given the nature of a spear as a weapon, relying on it entirely was rather reassuringly insufficient.

No matter how enhanced by magic it was, since the shaft was made of wood, there was a high risk of it snapping when clashing against giant monsters.

In such a situation, having gained a sturdy sword to rely on was truly reassuring beyond measure.

Shan nodded at Roden’s words, unbuckled the sword to place it by his bedside, and sat in front of the fireplace.

First, he would have to thoroughly dry his clothes and body to avoid catching a cold and prepare for tomorrow’s battle.

*

The next morning, the sky was bright and clear as the clouds that had scattered rain all night blew away.

As scheduled, the subjugation force gathered to the northeast of the castle where the monster army had disappeared the day before.

Count of Shedil also gathered his forces as he had said the previous day and raised his banner in the subjugation force.

His army was set to provide greater assistance in scouting due to their familiarity with the surrounding terrain, in addition to direct combat.

“Is that person over there Sir Shan?”

“That’s right. The Great Warrior of Green Eyes. The Cockatrice Hunter.”

“He’s really young… As expected of someone destined to become a legend.”

“The fact that he’s the first Altoan knight says it all.”

The majority of those whispering while looking at Shan like this were explorers.

Seeing a few familiar faces among them, Shan lightly waved his hand toward them.

The sight of them bickering among themselves over Sir Shan having acknowledged them was quite cute, in contrast to their all-around rugged appearances.

After spending a short while chuckling like that, once everyone had gathered, Count Kram, who possessed the most powerful army in the subjugation force, issued the marching order on behalf of the leaders.

“If we follow their tracks, we will encounter them before long! Let’s go!”

Just as he said, the monster army had left behind very clear traces of their movement.

It was because footprints were left on the ground that had turned muddy from the previous day’s rain.

In particular, the footprints of large monsters like trolls and owlbears, along with the ogre’s footprints and the marks its two fists had left on the ground, were far too clear to miss.

“Damn it, the road is a mess.”

“It’s damp…”

However, the muddy path created this way also became a considerable obstacle to the advance of the subjugation force.

Sensing Arwin’s annoyance at the squelching sensation of mud getting into her hooves, Shan stroked the horse’s neck.

“Now, now, bear with it a little. We have to save our strength if we’re going to fight a round soon.”

Even though she shouldn’t be able to feel the touch through her horse armor, she calmed down as if recognizing his hand.

Perhaps simply hearing Shan’s voice had helped.

Advancing with difficulty along the path muddy from the rain, the subjugation force surprisingly discovered their target in merely a couple of hours.

“The ogre bastard is up ahead!”

“Unlike yesterday, there aren’t many monsters around it!”

“It’s continuing to flee toward the northeast!”

According to the scouts’ reports, by the ogre’s side were only three or four large monsters and around forty to fifty miscellaneous monsters.

Had it lost control because it had fled intimidated by the human army?

Either way, they had to encounter it first to fight or do anything else.

Realizing they had drawn close to the target, the lords immediately ordered preparations for battle.

“We rely on you, Priest.”

“Since this is a battle to uphold the Goddess’s will and protect humanity, we must naturally obey her divine will. Do not worry.”

At the polite request, the priests accompanying the subjugation force bestowed blessings upon the knights and soldiers.

To the soldiers, the courage not to yield to large monsters; to the knights who could overcome with their own Fighting Spirit, the vitality not to grow weary.

“It is done, brother.”

“Thank you.”

Shan too received the blessing of vitality alongside Arwin from a priest of the New Faith believers.

As power surged throughout their bodies, combative smiles appeared on the knights’ faces.

“All right, let’s go!”

Having gained courage and strength, those who marched rapidly encountered the monster legion led by the ogre before long.

Entering the mouth of a valley about thirty meters wide, the monster army’s scale had clearly shrunk miserably compared to what was seen the day before.

“It’s the ogre!”

“It’s ridiculously huge…”

Approaching closely, every member of the subjugation force without exception shuddered anew at the actual sight of the ogre facing them.

Unlike looking down from a wall or a hill, facing it directly at eye level gave an immense pressure from a giant standing over four meters tall.

As the ogre watching the approaching humans opened its mouth wide, sharp and crooked teeth were revealed.

The roar surging from within carried a heavy resonance reminiscent of a wind instrument, seeming to rise from deep inside unlike other monsters.

[────────────────]

Perhaps because it was a noise beyond human hearing range, the monster’s roar felt like vibration rather than sound.

Hundreds of soldiers who had failed to receive the blessing of courage due to a shortage of priests had their legs give out and collapsed on the spot.

“Oh dear…”

To think it was a roar of this magnitude when there was still a considerable distance left.

The startled lords of the subjugation force smiled upon seeing that the ogre only let out a single roar and did not pounce.

Considering that immunity to a monster’s roar built up easily, the creature had wasted one of its important weapons.

As time passed, the collapsed soldiers raised themselves up one by one.

“Good. In the end, it’s just a monster! The path is narrow, so the vanguard will charge first! Both wings will support from behind…”

“Y-Your Excellency Count! Look behind us!”

Turning around, Count Kram realized that monsters were pouring out from behind the eastern hill they had passed just a moment ago.

Banshees, werewolves, gnolls…

The monsters that appeared from behind blocked the path favorable for retreat with nimble strides.

That was not all.

Monsters active near water (ranging from water ghosts to kelpies and lizardmen) crawled out in swarms from the western marshland, while harpies poured down from above the valley backed by the ogre.

Adding up all their numbers, it was almost identical to the size of the army that had encircled Shedil City the previous day.

‘We’ve been encircled…’

Looking around while mounted on Arwin, Shan instinctively sensed that the monster had deliberately drawn them in and cornered them into a battlefield of its choosing.

The roar earlier was likely a signal calling out the monsters hidden behind the hills.

The faces of the encircled subjugation force members were filled with confusion, rendering the blessing of courage useless.

Because in the first place, the blessing of courage gave resistance against a monster’s roars or mental attacks, rather than helping one overcome fear felt naturally.

“W-What do we do?”

“There are monsters in every direction!”

“Calm down! The ogre, we only need to slay the ogre!”

“We must fall back and reorganize our ranks first! The layout is terrible!”

While the subjugation force members bickered chaotically, the monsters’ siege line tightened in an instant.

At that, the vanguard unit began charging directly toward the ogre, following someone’s judgment.

It was likely calculated that as long as they killed the horde lord, the monster force composed of mixed species would collapse.

Shan pondered for a moment whether to join them, then quickly gave up on the idea.

Aside from political issues arising from breaking pre-arranged formations, it was difficult to utilize numerical advantage because the ogre was positioned at the narrow canyon entrance.

In this situation, it was better to do what could be done instead.

If the vanguard fought the ogre and the right wing fought the rear force, the left wing had to face the monsters coming out of the marshland.

Quickly finishing his calculations, Shan tapped Lug beside him to draw his attention.

“Let’s move. At this rate, we won’t even have distance to charge.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Roden! Form a defensive formation amongst ourselves and hold out!”

“Understood!”

At Shan’s command, Roden stepped inside the defensive formation formed by thirty Altoan mercenaries, as agreed upon beforehand.

Even if he could somehow endure weapons held by allies, it was difficult for him to perform at full capacity since many monsters in the enemy army also wielded weapons.

Thus, Roden’s duty in battle was to command the mercenaries under him as a mounted commander.

Having issued the command, Shan broke out of the formation alongside Lug, riding their horses and charging into enemy lines.

“Good grief…”

“Follow Sir Shan!”

The knights deployed alongside him on the left wing only then assessed the situation and rode their horses following behind Shan.

As he had intentionally kept Arwin from going all out, twelve knights gathered in an instant, forming a wedge formation.

Pressing down firmly on his helmet with his empty left hand, Shan shouted.

“Charge toward the pack of water ghosts ahead!”

“Charge!”

Shan, at the front of the line, felt a bizarre bond form between himself and the surrounding knights centered around him.

A feeling as if they had all become a single long, sharp spear…

He understood why knights were said to offer their spears to their lords, and why they were likened to spears.

[Kkiiiiaaaakk!]

Along with the desperate shriek of a water ghost, a loud boom echoed as the knights slammed into the monsters.

Loaded with Fighting Spirit to push back the enemy, the knightly lance charge instantly turned nearly fifty water ghosts into bloody paste and repelled an equal number in all directions.

While the monsters faltered at that ferocious momentum, Shan looked at several knights whose lances had broken or who showed clear signs of exhaustion and shouted.

“Those who need rest, fall to the rear!”

Compared to any other troop type, knights possessed explosive power, but lacked stamina for sustained combat.

Hence, they needed to rest in the safe zone created by the infantry unit, exchange broken lances, and switch to unwearied reserve warhorses.

Of course, this was not a story that applied to Shan.

Because the spear Cheryn had made for him was far too sturdy to snap from a single charge, and Arwin had only just warmed up.

Having ordered the retreat of those needing rest, Shan immediately rode his horse forward and plunged into the midst of the monsters whose formation had collapsed.

As if matching strides with other horses until now had been a bother, Arwin ran literally as though flying with a thrilled demeanor.

‘Ah…’

Seeing hundreds of monsters scattered all around, his mind began to boil.

His heart pounded as if it would burst at any moment, pumping blood throughout his body, while all visible colors entangled, leaving only the outlines of objects revealed chillingly clear.

“No, what kind of speed is that!”

“It’s dangerous! Sir Shan!”

The other knights nearby shouted, astonished by a speed incomparable to their own warhorses while appalled by his reckless charge.

No matter how outstanding a knight was, he only had two arms and no eyes in the back of his head; what on earth was he doing?

Yet Shan proved for himself that his actions were not reckless.

“Sssph…”

Inhaling a breath and gripping the spear with both hands, Shan began thrusting madly at every enemy he faced.

Head, eyes, neck, chest…

The targets were always vital spots that could end life; since the spear was excellent, Fighting Spirit only lightly assisted.

From water ghosts as swift as wild beasts, to lizardmen covered in hard scales, to half-spirit kelpies with upper bodies like horses, not a single monster could withstand Shan’s attacks.

As if he had eyes on his crown and the back of his head, he dealt with surprise attacks coming from behind in the process, while accurately impaling and bringing down harpies flying in from the sky without missing a single one.

At the momentum literally grinding through the enemy’s formation, everyone on the left wing widened their eyes.

“What in the world is that…”

“I will join you, Sir Shan!”

At that moment, Lug shouted from behind and blocked Shan’s exposed rear.

Because his lance had broken during the knightly lance charge earlier, he was armed with a long sword, almost resembling a greatsword.

“Urrraaa!”

Though inferior compared to Shan, Lug’s martial prowess was also terrifying.

With his arms already long and his sword being lengthy, he could actually dominate a wider area than Shan who held a spear.

With every slash of his blade, the heads of three water ghosts were severed simultaneously, and a lizardman’s body was split vertically from head to crotch.

Thanks to having his most worrisome rear stably protected, Shan began stirring up the enemy lines even more aggressively.

Thrusting, thrusting, and thrusting again…

Every time he saw the blood and flesh of monsters splattering in all directions, ecstasy surged within him.

An overwhelming sense of omnipotence, as if he had become an absolute ruler or even a god of this battlefield.

Fighting with hundreds and thousands of enemies and allies all around evoked another type of pleasure unattainable in small-scale skirmishes.

Even unlike ordinary knights who became drunk on such excitement, overused their Fighting Spirit, and ended up exhausted, Shan thoroughly regulated his stamina consumption amidst all this.

Just enough for the blessing of vitality to handle.

“Let’s go!”

“Uwoaaaaah!”

While the two knights, big and small, stirred up the enemy ranks like that, the knights who had recovered some strength ripped apart the mending enemy formation once more with a synchronized lance charge.

Even if not to the extent of those two, they too were warriors among warriors who had trained all their lives.

“Everyone shoulder to shoulder! Kol! Abik! Don’t push forward! If you break ranks, everyone dies! Archers! Shoot the harpies flying in from the right!”

It was not only knights who were active on the battlefield.

Roden stood in the center of the defensive formation, shouting at the top of his lungs to encourage the mercenaries.

The role of the infantry was to create a safe area for knights to rest, as well as to block enemies from approaching the subjugation force’s reserve warhorses, supplies, and priests.

With Roden and the Altoan mercenary unit as the core, the infantry of the left wing formed a decently fine formation and held off the monsters.

Fortunately, his legs trembling violently at the blades swung from all directions went unnoticed thanks to him being mounted on a horse.

Right around the time everyone united their strength to clear away all the creatures bursting out from the marshland, a sorrowful shout rang out from behind.

“Retreat! Everyone, retreat!”

Turning their heads to wonder why suddenly when they were winning, the soldiers of the left wing realized the speaker was a certain lord who had stood in the vanguard.

Having lost one arm, he screamed out as if crying in grief.

“The vanguard unit has been wiped out! That thing is a monster!”

As if answering his scream, the ogre roared thunderously and raised its two huge fists, like flails, high into the sky.

Beneath those fists covered in a mound of blood and flesh, the remains of knights and warhorses, crushed beyond recognition, lay strewn all around.