Things weren’t going well.
As the night deepened, the stench of blood that stung his nose also grew stronger.
Struggling to maintain his grip on the sword, Knight Wigens squinted his eyes.
The flowing sweat dampened his hair.
The heavy armor protecting his body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
He was so tired he felt like he could pass out at any mont, but he had to move sohow.
That’s when Wigens gritted his teeth and took a step forward.
A comrade’s scream erupted from nearby.
“Ugh! You little monster, die!”
“Kurururuk…”
A corpse, oozing sticky mucus, ca rushing at him, dragging its cut body along.
The sll of rotten flesh and blood, the half-crying screams of panicked knights and soldiers, and the sound of clashing weapons seed like a dream.
But there was no ti to lose focus.
Wigens cut down the ghoul that was approaching him with a large slash.
Crunch!
The ghoul, its body completely torn in two, wriggled on the floor like a bug.
It was a terrible sight.
Before he was dug up from the grave, he must have been soone’s family and friend.
Thinking about it made him feel even more miserable.
“This is the work of the evil cult…”
The conflict that began in the Caerleon Empire gradually grew in scale and began to spread its reach to these small, remote territories.
It was certainly fortunate that the civilians living nearby were able to be evacuated without major damage.
But now the lives of the knights guarding this place could no longer be guaranteed.
Their sturdy armor seed to protect them, but it was nothing more than a burden to those exhausted from continuous fighting.
Feeling as if his heart would break at any mont, he unconsciously put a prayer into his mouth.
“May Luce, the light and justice, protect us.”
“…”
Hearing his small voice, the weary people around him also seed to stop.
Soone gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.
“…They are the filthy followers of the evil god.”
“Even if it ans dying… I won’t just walk away.”
Light began to return to the eyes of those who were on the verge of losing their minds.
This wasn’t just a fight.
It was like a crusade, sacrificing one’s life for God.
To be scared by a monster of this size would be no different from tarnishing the honor of God Luce.
Wigens also took up his sword.
Enemies, neither alive nor dead, were still advancing one after another.
However, those whose morale had risen did not retreat even a single step
“You dirty monsters!”
Wigens scread and swung his sword wildly.
At that ti.
Crunch.
His comrade was cut down with his armor intact right in front of his eyes.
The hot blood that poured out splattered on his face.
As the knight, who had lost his life, fell down unsightly, the ground’s heavy rumbling was felt.
A giant who appeared to be five tis the size of an average human suddenly appeared.
Blood that had not yet cooled was dripping from the huge sword that had just cut down a knight.
Wigens was left frozen in place.
‘Where did that thing co from?’
There was no ti to even think about that.
The giant was already within reach.
Even if he lifted his sword and defended himself now, it didn’t seem like he would be able to overco the strength of that giant.
“Shit…!”
In the end, Wigens chose to close his eyes tightly.
Even if he lost his life like this, he had no regrets, because he was able to serve Luce until the end.
If it ant dying to preserve that glory, he would gladly accept it.
“Grr!”
The giant opened his large mouth and roared.
The bastard’s black sword was already flying towards Wigens’ body, ready to split him in two.
From the knight’s mouth flowed a prayer that would be the last in his life.
“Luce’s grace…”
“To hell with grace.”
At that mont, a voice full of irritation interrupted his devout prayer.
Unseasonable cold made Wigens open his eyes without even realizing it.
The first thing that ca into view were pieces of ice scattered like diamonds.
At the mont when he felt as if a pure white storm was blocking his vision, a young man with a slender build suddenly appeared in front of him.
His silver hair, which fully embraced the rising moonlight, sparkled white.
“…”
He felt as if he was possessed by sothing.
A strong cold wind swept through.
The sword wrapped in cold air and the giant’s weapon clashed head-on.
Kwaaang!
Instead of holding his ground, the young man smoothly deflected the attack to the side.
Then, taking advantage of the enemy’s loss of balance, he spun around and cut off its head with a single stroke.
As the giant’s neck snapped off, he landed softly.
It was a graceful movent without any unnecessary parts.
Watching him slowly stand up, Wigens found himself lost in thought.
“…”
But it didn’t end there.
The monster, montarily staggering with its head severed, soon forced itself to stand and raised its sword.
It looked like the young man would be torn to pieces at any mont.
Wigens suddenly ca to his senses and scread.
“Look behind you, look behind you!”
But at that mont.
The giant froze stiffly, and was soon completely consud by the pure white frost.
The giant block of ice tilted over, fell down, and shattered into pieces upon hitting the ground.
“…”
“Behind?”
The silver-haired young man, bringing with him a chill, asked in a sarcastic tone.
Wigens gaped in surprise at the indifferent expression on the delicate face.
Arendt glanced at Wigens and then turned his gaze towards the knight who had just lost his life.
Just as a hint of displeasure flashed across his golden eyes, an irritated nag ca from behind him.
“Hey, there’s no ti to joke around!”
Only then did Wigens discover another young man who had been hidden by the giant.
The silver-haired young man clicked his tongue and looked away from the corpse.
“Tsk, be quiet. I got it.”
“And save your magic! How many tis do I have to tell you to take care of yourself?”
“How many tis do I have to tell you to move faster if you’re upset? Why are you complaining to when you’re the one who’s late?”
The two n fought fiercely and then charged back into the battlefield.
Another man, cutting down ghouls not far away, let out a groan.
“Both of you, move if you have ti to argue!”
Wigens followed them, his eyes blank.
Instead of heavy, hard armor, they wore uniforms optimized for quick, agile movents.
Even in this bloody battlefield, it was proof that these people were so strong that their armor actually beca a hindrance.
“The Imperial Knights…”
Soone’s muttering pierced his ears.
The dark blue uniform was the symbol of the Imperial Knights.
The reason the uniform of the first knight to appear was lighter than that of the other two was probably because he was an apprentice knight.
As soon as they appeared, they started arguing and started slaughtering ghouls as if they were one body.
Even though only three people joined, the situation turned around in an instant.
As he watched the enemies being swept away without even being able to properly resist, the strength in his hand that was forcibly holding onto his sword disappeared.
His legs were shaking and his whole body was aching.
“Ah…”
A few pathetic words ca out of his mouth that recited a solemn prayer.
“I lived…”
He had just lost his comrade, but he felt relieved that he had sohow managed to live.
Wigens felt so disgusted with himself that he almost cried.
“Thank you, thank you so much!”
Count loy repeatedly bowed his head as if he were about to strike it to the ground.
“Thank you for coming! The damage has been greatly reduced! Thank you so much! I don’t know how I can repay this favor…”
“We were just doing what was expected.”
Richt answered firmly, lifting him up.
“I am Richt von Chrysantha of the Third Imperial Knights of the Caerleon Empire. Behind is Sir Arthur Norbert and the apprentice knight, Sir Arendt von Eckhart. His Highness the Crown Prince issued the support order, and Captain Laius de Winfried has assigned us here.”
“I am deeply moved by the rcy bestowed upon by His Highness the Crown Prince…!”
The Count looked ready to burst into tears at any mont.
It would have been stranger if it hadn’t been so.
He was happily living each day in a peaceful territory on the outskirts, when he was suddenly attacked by a horde of monsters.
Richt continued speaking calmly.
“Thanks to the quick action of prioritizing the evacuation of civilians, we were able to minimize the damage. However, one knight and three soldiers under the lord’s command were killed in action. I express my condolences. It seems that Captain Wigens is not in a state to report, so I am delivering this on his behalf.”
“…”
Count loy’s face distorted.
But instead of exploding with emotion, he held back his feelings with a brief silence.
“…I see. You’ve had a hard ti. You must be tired after coming a long way and heading straight to the battlefield. I’ve prepared breakfast and a room for you to rest. The butler will show you around.”
“Thank you for your concern, my lord.”
Richt nodded.
The ghouls that had recently appeared had the characteristic of being active at night and hardly moved during the day.
Now was the perfect ti to take a break.
Arendt, who had been listening quietly from behind, suddenly intervened.
“Are you going to et the bereaved families?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Of course. We should also check on the injured…”
The Count nodded at the sudden question.
“Then, please make so ti in the afternoon. There are things we need to discuss.”
“Of course I will. Then I will see you all later.”
The Count bowed his head once more and left with hurried steps.
He seed anxious to imdiately check on the injured soldiers.
Arthur looked at the back of the old count as he walked away in pity.
“He is a good lord.”
Even when the Imperial Knights visited, the way he looked after his subordinates showed how much he cared for his people.
“I see. That’s fortunate.”
As he clapped his hands together, Richt glanced at Arendt.
Arendt t his eyes and frowned.
“What?”
“If the lord wasn’t like that, we would have had to see you ss around and overturn the lord’s life.”
“It’s just for fun, just for fun. Besides, the seniors didn’t really stop either.”
Arthur glared at Arendt with a disapproving look as he shrugged.
“Are you the kind of person who will stop just because soone tells you to?”
“Be honest with yourself. I know you thought it was kind of funny back then, too.”
“When did I!”
As the two naturally began to argue, Richt sighed and shook his head.
‘How long has it been since we left the palace?’
It had been at least several weeks.
The knights jumped in and went around to deal with the sporadic ghoul incidents.
It seed like they were starting to get tired, but those two young guys were still full of energy.
It was getting tireso to listen to them, and Richt snapped annoyedly.
“It’s noisy, so both of you shut up. Anyway, if this place is a bust, we need to clean up and leave as quickly as possible.”
“Yeah, but looking at those guys earlier, I don’t think they were mistaken.”
Arthur nodded.
The ghouls they just defeated were noticeably stronger than those that appeared in other territories.
Moreover, most of them were not unfamiliar shapes, because they looked similar to the guys they encountered when they raided Jiklin’s lab that day.
“I wish it could be solved as easily as you say.”
Arendt grumbled irritably and put his hands in his pockets.
“Tsk, but has there ever been anything comfortable in my life?”
“A greenhorn young kid shouldn’t be saying sothing like that.”
“You’re the senior who knows better than anyone how vast the world is, so of course, you would say that.”
Richt’s fist began to tremble.
“…How long are you going to keep doing that for?”
Arendt shrugged.
“Until I get sick of it.”
To be exact, it was until Richt’s reaction beca boring, but it seed like that wouldn’t happen for a while.
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