Chapter 65: Chapter 65

“Eek!”

“W-Who is it!?”

“Spare me!”

At Shan’s command, the two squires immediately dashed into the mansion, flinging open room doors one by one to check the people inside.

Surprised in the middle of a sound sleep as armed boys suddenly burst in, the servants screamed in fright.

A few among them tried to resist by grabbing candlesticks or pokers, but the two boys cut down those who did so, just as commanded.

The tapestries hanging in the corridor and the carpets covering the floor greedily swallowed up blood.

Meanwhile, the outside grew noisy as well.

Soldiers sleeping throughout the inner castle woke up one by one upon hearing the noise.

Since the enemy army was surrounding the outside of the castle, most of them had prepared to fight at a moment’s notice, so their movements were swift.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone said it’s the enemy, but did I hear wrong……? W-What!”

Those who approached holding torches gasped in horror at the corpses sprawled in front of the lord’s mansion, and the single knight standing blankly beside them.

A boy knight wearing armor that was somewhat ill-fitting for his body.

Just looking at those two eyes glowing green was enough to know his identity.

“D-Don’t tell me, a night raid……”

“Where on earth did he come from?”

Just by the screams and shouted echoing from deep inside the mansion, it was clear that the lord was in danger, yet none dared to attack.

With a knight wielding a magic sword standing firmly at the entrance, it was obvious that whoever attacked first would surely die.

Just then, along with the clanking of armor, a knight appeared and roared at Shan.

“You filthy Altoan who knows no honor, you’ve finally revealed your vulgar nature! Sneaking in under the cover of night like a coward!”

“Doesn’t cowardice refer to kidnapping a young daughter and making threats to work her mother like a servant?”

“How dare you speak such nonsense…… Everyone, attack!”

Temporarily rendered speechless by Shan’s retort, the knight growled, gave the command while pointing his sword, and charged forward.

Though he was an unnamed country knight, he was still a knight.

Befitting someone who had spent his life honing combat skills, his power and speed were beyond comparison to ordinary soldiers.

Shan stood firm at the main gate and parried the opponent’s strike.

As Guardian of the East clashed with the opponent’s sword a few times, he could keenly feel that his body had changed a lot.

‘It only grew a little taller and heavier, but the feeling is completely different.’

As his legs grew longer, his stride widened, improving his mobility, and as his arms grew longer, the range from which he could attack and defend expanded.

His stronger and heavier body allowed him to deliver impacts to the opponent and hold his ground firmly even without the aid of Fighting Spirit.

Of course, this was something he had felt while sparring a few times with Roden and others, but the feeling conveyed during a life-or-death real battle was quite different.

Only in this moment, when all his senses were sharply honed, could he inspect himself more fully.

“Now is the time!”

“Help the knight!”

Mistakenly believing that a proper match was taking place as Shan matched strength moderately, the surrounding soldiers rushed forward eagerly.

At this, Shan dodged a spear flying toward his face, took a step forward, and swung his sword diagonally.

The magic symbols engraved on Guardian of the East glowed, and the opposing knight’s body was sliced diagonally into two pieces.

It was the result of a harmony between overwhelming armament and Fighting Spirit.

“Urgh!”

“The k-knight is……”

As the knight who acted as the sheepdog to the flock fell severed in two without even letting out a scream, the soldiers’ faces turned pale.

What unfolded afterward was a one-sided slaughter by a wolf leaping into a flock of sheep.

Just as he had done at the eastern gate of Hasra in the past, Shan wove among the soldiers, swinging his sword madly to butcher the enemy.

There was no need to stay on high alert or concentrate to avoid attacks flying from all directions as he had back then.

For even if it was not enchanted, what he wore was top-grade plate armor granted to royal knights.

‘Phew……’

It had been the same before, but whenever he fought (especially when he saw human blood) he felt as if something was boiling up inside him.

Suppressing the surging thrill, Shan took incoming arrows on his back and shoulders, and once again cut the enemies down.

Among them were a few who had thoughtfully brought steel nets to throw, but unlike ordinary knights who would get caught and tumble around in excitement, Shan raised his Fighting Spirit to slice through them or leaped to dodge.

He killed the bastards who threw nets as an example, splitting them into two pieces from head to groin.

“W-We can’t win……”

“Run!”

Fear spread in an instant.

Once a dozen men fell, the soldiers, having lost their will to fight, stepped backward before turning their backs and running away.

Seeing this, Shan sheathed his sword and lightly caught his breath.

Although he had rested a little, he was quite fatigued, perhaps because he had descended a high cliff while carrying two people.

He could also feel that his grip strength was considerably spent.

Had he received even a Blessing of Vitality, he would have recovered quickly, but borrowing a priest’s power in a battle between humans was a major taboo, so it could not be helped.

Just then, a voice shouting, “Found them!” echoed from inside the noisy mansion.

Before long, the two squires dragged out several men and women using the rope they had used to tie themselves at the cliff.

“Kyaaaah! Let go, I said let go!”

“You scoundrels! Who do you think I am!”

“Sob, sob.”

“Brother…… don’t cry……”

A man and woman in their early to mid-forties, and two boys in their mid and early teens respectively.

Vico, who had dragged out a total of four people, reported to Shan with a confident expression.

“We have secured Viscount Jerkan, the Viscountess, and all the heirs!”

“Well done.”

Seeing this, bringing the two squires along despite the physical fatigue was definitely worth it.

If Shan had descended alone, he would have undoubtedly missed one or two people while running around here and there.

No, had he been distracted by fighting, he might not have caught the nobles fleeing after swapping clothes with the servants altogether.

Briefly after reporting energetically, the two squires came out through the main entrance and gasped, seeing the corpses of over a dozen soldiers and the knight scattered nearby.

Just looking at Shan, whose sword and armor were stained crimson, it was obvious who was responsible.

Viscount Jerkan and his wife, who had been screaming and resisting, also froze in terror upon seeing this scene.

“D-Don’t tell me, all of this?”

“For now, they’ve all fled, but they might soon call the forces from the outer castle to join them. Let’s move quickly. Viscount Jerkan?”

Shan spoke as he looked at the fat man dragged out in sleepwear, Viscount Jerkan.

As the blood-soaked knight strided closer, the Viscount gasped in terror.

“W-What!”

“Where did you lock up Ravana’s daughter?”

“Ravana…… You mean that mercenary bitch? Why should I tell you… AAAAAAH!”

Perhaps finding it offensive that a mere knight spoke down to him even if he was an enemy, Viscount Jerkan held out in a blunt tone until Shan grabbed and snapped one of his fingers, causing him to scream.

Grabbing the second finger, Shan gave a low warning.

“Speak quickly. We don’t have time.”

“I-I am a titled noble entitled to participate in the Royal High Council of Pendia! The right not to be tortured… ACK! The dungeon! It’s the dungeon! Just go over that way!”

“Good, fortunately I didn’t need to break a third one. Let’s go. Know that if you lead us somewhere strange, I’ll kill you and ask your son.”

“Ugh……”

Shan commanded the two squires to drag along the Viscount, who was whimpering in pain, and his family, then moved ahead.

*

The prison in the form of a small shack was located less than a minute or two away from the lord’s villa.

The soldier who should originally have been guarding the dungeon was nowhere to be seen, whether he had died in the previous fight or fled.

Entering the basement that reeked of a foul odor via the stairs, Shan saw several people trapped individually inside iron bars.

There were two guys who looked like hardened criminals judging by their fierce expressions, an old man with a thick white beard, and an Altoan girl in her early teens with the ears and tail of an unknown animal.

The interior, which had been pitch-black as not even moonlight could enter, lit up brightly with the light of the magic lamp device Shan was holding.

“Heeek……”

The prisoners in the dungeon gasped in terror and backed away upon seeing Shan suddenly burst in.

It was only natural, considering that screams were heard outside before a knight in bloodied armor entered.

Shan ignored the others and approached the iron bars where the girl was imprisoned.

Her age was probably early teens, and her long red hair was dry and unkempt, likely because it hadn’t been cared for well.

“You’re Ravana’s daughter, right?”

Instead of answering right away, the girl kept her mouth tightly shut and looked at Shan with an observant gaze.

She looked as if she were contemplating whether answering now would benefit her or not.

Since that alone served as an answer, Shan immediately swung his sword and sliced through the iron bars.

As the sturdy bars were sliced smoothly like cheese, the girl widened her eyes in surprise and stuck close to the wall to avoid Shan.

“Let’s get out. I came to return you to your mother.”

“……Is that true?”

“Yeah. Look, I’m an Altoan too.”

Although the magic lamp device illuminated the surroundings, thanks to it being somewhat dim, Shan’s eyes were glowing softly.

Noticing this, the girl stepped forward a few paces with a much brighter expression.

“Shan Barendil of the Bright Eyes!”

“That’s right. You know me.”

“Mom told me! That you’re the first person among Altoans to become a knight!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

Though he didn’t know the full story, it seemed her mother hadn’t spoken badly of Shan.

Thinking that conversation would become quite easy, Shan brought the girl out and stood her among the squires.

“It might be dangerous, so be protected by these two people. Got it?”

“I got it.”

“She is an important person, so guard her well.”

Just as he was instructing the squires, someone coughed dryly from behind.

It was a sound made by the old man huddled in a corner.

The Altoan girl let out an exclamation as if she had completely forgotten, and spoke to Shan.

“Ah, that’s right! That gentleman has to go with us too!”

“That old man? Do you two know each other by any chance?”

“Yes. He’s a wizard grandfather. Mom often said Princess Cheryn would be happy if we brought him.”

“What?”

Just who was he?

Shan quickly sliced open the bars on the opposite side, stepped in, and checked the old man’s condition.

Was it because he had been trapped in a filthy, cold dungeon at an advanced age?

For some reason, his state of health did not look good at all.

“Elder, are you conscious? Can you speak?”

At Shan’s question, the old man opened his eyes blearily and nodded.

However, contrary to his will, his body did not cooperate, and he merely mouthed words without being able to speak.

Realizing the meaning from the shape of his mouth, Shan reached his hand out behind him.

“Water, quickly!”

At Shan’s shout, Tavera behind him hastily handed over his leather waterskin.

When water was poured into his mouth, the old man drank it with difficulty and finally found his voice.

“I…… am Tenon, Court Count……”

“If it’s Court Count Tenon, don’t tell me?”

Pondering for a moment, feeling like it was a name he had heard somewhere, Shan was shocked when he realized that it was the title held by the president of the Magic Society.

Was this shabby old man in front of his eyes one of Cheryn’s masters and sponsors whom he had only heard about from her?

“Are you Court Count Tenon?”

At Shan’s question, the old man nodded with difficulty.

Since he had never met him separately, he couldn’t be certain if he was the real deal, but at least his appearance matched Cheryn’s description of an elderly man.

“Just how on earth did you end up in a place like this……”

Puzzled only briefly, Shan picked up the dying old man and handed him to Vico behind him.

No matter what he asked, it would have to wait until after restoring his physical condition to a slightly better state.

“Vico, carry this gentleman on your back. Tavera, you take charge of all the hostages. If they try to run away, kill them immediately.”

“Including the Viscount?”

“There are no exceptions.”

If there were two of them, it might be different, but to manage four hostages alone, doing so with a half-hearted mindset of subduing them would be difficult.

At Shan’s command, Tavera gritted his teeth and nodded.

Emerging from the dungeon, they headed straight toward the inner castle gate.

Having captured Viscount Jerkan and his whole party, the war was practically over before it even began.

All that remained was to inform everyone of this fact.

However, as they crossed the inner castle and headed toward the outer wall, they realized that something about the atmosphere was strange.

“What’s this? Why are there sounds of fighting……”

Vico muttered in a bewildered tone.

They had certainly agreed to only feign a siege battle rather than wage a real one until a separate signal was given from this side.

Approaching in confusion, they realized that the battle currently taking place was not a siege.

The fight was occurring inside the castle wall, between conscripts and mercenaries.

“You traitorous bastards!”

“Calling us traitors after blackmailing and working us like dogs, my ass……!”

Thirteen or fourteen mercenaries formed a formation while surrounded by around a hundred conscripts and a small number of armed soldiers.

Despite the massive numerical inferiority, the reason they held out was that nearly half of the conscripts had to keep watch on the army beyond the wall.

And another thing was…

“Ugh, aaah!”

“It’s a monster! A monster!”

The Slaughter Rabbit, Ravana, was demonstrating with her whole body why she was called that.

Every time her massive axe was swung with whip-like flexibility, flesh was crushed and bones splattered.

She paid no heed even when arrows flying from all over struck her body or her head was cracked open by stones and bled.

Her two eyes, which had rolled back white, burst with bloodshot veins and turned crimson, revealing that her reason was no longer intact.

Unlike the other mercenaries who barely held out by forming a formation, she single-handedly charged into the enemy ranks and recklessly slaughtered them.

Even the two knights mixed among the soldiers could barely do more than defend and evade when facing her.

The evaluation that she was a skilled warrior surpassing ordinary knights was no empty reputation.

At that level, even if she was inferior to Shan, even royal knights would be on guard.

“□□□□■■■!”

As Ravana let out a roar closer to a monster than a human and chopped three bodies into pieces at once, the conscripts fled backward in terror.

Watching this, Shan called out loudly.

“Everyone, surrender! Viscount Jerkan has been captured!”

Because it was so tumultuous, his voice did not immediately reach those present.

However, as not only Shan but also the two squires behind him joined in shouting, before long, those nearby came to see Viscount Jerkan and his family bound in ropes.

“The lord has been captured!?”

“Should we rescue him?”

“How?”

With Tavera holding a blade to the lord’s neck, no one dared to rush forward.

Besides, wasn’t that Shan Barendil standing right beside them unharmed?

The enemy army was clearly intact outside, while internal strife broke out inside and even the lord was captured.

Sensing defeat, the soldiers stealthily set down their weapons.

“D-Did we survive?”

“Damn it, my butt hurts…… Did I get hit by an arrow?”

“That’s not an arrow.”

“Please stop fucking around.”

As the battle gradually reached a lull, the mercenaries who had gathered in a circle holding shields loosened up while cracking jokes among themselves.

Just then, the growling Ravana’s gaze turned toward Viscount Jerkan and the girl behind him.

“Mom!”

“Ki, ri……”

Calling her daughter’s name, she let out a thunderous roar, lifted her axe, and charged forward.

As the soldiers in front parted left and right as if collapsing to open a path, the terrified Viscount tried to flee but tripped over the rope and tumbled onto the ground.

“H-Help me!”

The moment the axe was falling above his head along with his urgent scream, a longsword cut in between them, throwing off sparks.

Her attack thwarted, Ravana stared with wide, bloodshot eyes at Shan, who stood blocking her.

“You!”

Along with a wrathful mutter, her axe was swung once more.

However, Shan stood calmly and parried it.

An ordinary longsword would have been crushed in an instant by the monstrous strength and Fighting Spirit loaded into the giant axe, but Guardian of the East was solid enough to withstand it, and Shan’s skill was precise enough to smoothly deflect the impact.

‘As expected, she knows how to wield Fighting Spirit too.’

Then again, no matter how superior one’s physical abilities and skills were, without Fighting Spirit, there was a limit to what one could achieve as a warrior.

Wasn’t that why even Shan had found it so difficult to hunt trolls in the past?

Of course, even back then, if he had only possessed Guardian of the East, he would have easily slain a troll.

‘That aside, no matter how I look at it, this isn’t a normal level of strength…… Did she use some kind of drug?’

Shan was also quite strong compared to his build, but even so, it wasn’t to that extent.

Moreover, seeing how she appeared half-crazed, she might have used a Berserker’s Elixir, which he had only heard about in rumors.

He hadn’t shown interest in it because it depended heavily on one’s constitution and shortened one’s lifespan, but its efficacy seemed far more powerful than expected.

While the two clashed their weapons, no one nearby dared to even dream of interfering.

It was because they were overwhelmed by Ravana, who displayed strength and ferocity closer to a giant monster than a human, and Shan, who received her offensive without a change in his expression.

After exchanging dozens of blows in an instant like that, Shan shifted his center of gravity forward, intending to subdue his opponent.

If possible, he had tried to let her tire herself out and stop on her own, but by the looked of it, she seemed poised to go wild for a long while yet.

Since he was truly fatigued by now, he wanted to quickly subdue her and take a rest.

Yet surprisingly, the moment Shan switched to an offensive stance, for some reason, the wildly thrashing Ravana shuddered all over and took a step back.

It was an appearance that did not fit her at all from moments ago, evoking a frightened rabbit.

As Shan took a large stride toward her, the rabbit ears that had stood stiffly drooped limply to the back.

“Whimper……”

Everyone stared with dumbfounded expressions at the sight of Ravana, who suddenly threw away her axe and curled up her body.