Chapter 60
Generally, when a commander was put in danger because of monsters, it was usually one of two cases.
The first was when so many monsters attacked that the garrison forces at the gate couldn’t possibly handle them.
The second was when a monster so strong attacked that no amount of manpower could deal with it.
Since not only Irene but even the Crimson Cot had been wiped out, whatever accident had happened, it must have been a major one.
‘The problem is, I have no idea how or what exactly went wrong.’
-If you don’t know, shouldn’t you just prepare for not knowing?
‘That’s true. For now, this is the best option.’
First, I decided to increase the number of troops being dispatched.
Originally, only about thirty of the Crimson Cot and Irene were scheduled to head to the Northern Gate.
But since the situation had changed, I would have to send soldiers as well.
“Since it’s a defensive battle, we’ll need to add archers too. Commander will be Irene. Over there, Horn Assault should be deployed. And perhaps one unit of Rabbit Tribe Rangers along with about a hundred Lion Tribe reserve warriors?”
Currently, the garrison forces stationed at the fortress consisted of a few dozen soldiers and twenty Rangers.
Adding thirty of the Crimson Cot to that ant the force was not lacking for holding the gate for a while.
After all, it wasn’t yet the season when the Winter Invasion was supposed to begin.
But an unexpected rush of monsters in large numbers could still co crashing in.
So, I added forty of Horn Assault, who would shine when facing swarms of weaker monsters, and prepared a hundred Lion Tribe reserve warriors to rotate with the domain’s soldiers in holding the gate.
‘And I’ll join as well, to be ready for when a powerful monster suddenly appears.’
Without Leisha, I was the strongest power in the territory.
Whether a Master was present or not made a big difference when facing strong monsters, so the safest option was for to accompany the fortress forces.
It was regrettable that Leisha, the greatest power of the domain, was absent. But delivering the Mana Communicator to the Lion Tribe was sothing only she could do, and it was absolutely necessary.
If a massive army invaded our territory during the winter, the only ones who could co to our aid were the Lion Tribe.
‘And besides, it’s about ti I graduated. I can’t keep relying on Leisha for everything.’
With the forces to be dispatched to the fortress decided, I turned my thoughts to other matters.
What bothered was that, despite the fortress having direct communication with the Lord’s Castle, Irene had still found herself in danger.
“So, I’ve left the Lion Tribe warriors and Limond at the castle, but I should tell them to stay alert for now, just in case.”
Only ten Lion Tribe warriors had departed with Leisha and gone to Rotsy.
The remaining Lion Tribe warriors and Limond stayed at the castle.
On top of that, the Johnson Territory’s knight orders remained intact at the castle, so they could handle most problems on their own.
‘Of course, in this case, it feels like the problem is outside rather than inside the castle.’
But no matter what problem arose, it wouldn’t be more critical than Irene being put in danger.
This was a matter tied to the survival of the domain itself.
If sothing happened, they would contact , and I could respond according to the situation.
‘That’s why I left so many forces behind in the first place.’
With away from the domain, Butler Harold would manage things.
Lately, he had been rather free and poking into strange matters, so giving him official work to handle might actually be for the best.
‘And Butler Harold would surely welco it.’
-As if! That old male was far more invested in his master’s mating than in the estate!
No way.
I trusted in Butler Harold’s love for the territory without doubt.
The news that reinforcents would be dispatched to the fortress quickly reached Irene.
“Hmm, so Lord Iron will be joining us too? And Horn Assault as well as Lion Tribe reserve warriors. Isn’t it too early to mobilize that much?”
“That’s right. It’s only November. And there are no special signs either.”
“Then why?”
“The troops from Haken don’t yet know what Johnson’s winter is like. This is a good chance for them to slowly get accustod to it.”
“So, not only the Crimson Cot needs experience, is that it?”
“Well, sothing like that. Even if I go along, the commander is still Sir Irene. I want that part to be clear.”
If I joined after assigning her the command, it might give the impression I didn’t trust her, so I had to be careful.
She, too, had wondered why I was tagging along, but after hearing my explanation, she seed to accept it without much misunderstanding.
And since Horn Assault, who were also from Haken, were coming as well, it all fit together neatly.
“Alright. But if nothing happens, Lord Iron, you’ll just watch and do nothing.”
“Of course. That would be more helpful.”
“Good. Then I’ll make sure to properly show the power of Haken.”
“Fine, I’ll trust you.”
When I promised not to interfere, she seed reassured.
It didn’t feel like there was any special reason.
More likely, she simply wanted to prove that Haken’s troops alone could adapt well to Johnson’s winter.
She was quietly but strongly competitive that way.
At the lead was Irene.
Following her were Celine and the thirty Crimson Cot knights, with Vice-captain Celine commanding them.
If it had been just added to the Crimson Cot, we would have charged straight to the fortress. But since there were archers and infantry with us, the march was sowhat slower.
Thanks to that, I could leisurely talk with Irene along the way.
Even then, she kept glancing at my Ultra, showing her unchanging love for mountain goats.
“Does Sir really like the Three-Horned Mountain Goat that much?”
“Of course. Speaking of which, isn’t there really no way? The Crimson Cot would love to switch to mountain goats soon.”
“The goats in the Forest of Illusions were already all captured. So I can’t say for sure. Even the knights of the domain are using them, so we’ll probably need to keep them here for a while.”
“That’s true. The Crimson Cot has warhorses, after all.”
When I told her it wasn’t easy to find goats anymore, her expression clearly sank. She really was serious.
-It’s almost pitiful. She’s far too earnest about it.
But even I couldn’t conjure goats out of thin air.
Sure, the Three-Horned Mountain Goat was actually more common in the Monster Mountains than in the Forest of Illusions. But winter wasn’t a good season to hunt them.
Even if an expedition for goats was organized, it wouldn’t happen until spring at the earliest.
And I couldn’t declare the creation of such an expedition ahead of ti when I couldn’t even guarantee it would be possible.
Thinking it was better not to drag out the goat talk any longer, I looked around for another topic.
That’s when Celine’s weapon caught my eye.
It was oddly familiar to .
Strange to think that soone in this world would wield such a weapon.
-Isn’t that a Green Dragon Crescent Blade?
‘Exactly. So they have things like that here too.’
Most of the Crimson Cot knights, being specialists in mounted combat, used lances. But wasn’t that one a bit much?
It looked extrely heavy at first glance.
“By the way, Sir Celine’s weapon?”
“Oh, you an the Crescent Blade?”
“Yes. I didn’t expect to see a knight actually using sothing like that.”
“That’s actually an armant from before the Great Cataclysm. Just like my armor.”
“Oh, impressive.”
Celine’s weapon was clearly over two ters long, a Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
It might work reasonably well on horseback, but off the horse it seed like an unwieldy weapon to control.
So, I had thought it would be quite impractical, but it turned out that weapon was actually a relic from before the Great Cataclysm.
“So what’s the special ability of that relic?”
“Adjustnt of length and weight.”
“Oh, is that so? It really does look heavy.”
“That’s right. Its base weight is about 30 kilograms. But apparently, it can be increased up to 300 kilograms. The shaft can also be shortened almost by half.”
“Quite fascinating.”
Its official na was Crescent Blade, ‘Battle Lord.’
A weapon that allowed its wielder to freely adjust the length of the shaft and its weight—it was truly remarkable.
Well, my Unbreakable also carried the indestructible trait and the ‘Summon’ ability, so I supposed both were equally amazing.
‘So, Sir Celine is actually a relic owner, huh.’
Even if the weight could be adjusted, the minimum was still 30 kilograms.
To wield such a weapon freely, her physical ability must be extraordinary.
Her level itself was similar to Rudick, at the highest tier.
But in terms of appearance, the difference was incomparable.
This was nearly like a beauty and the beast situation.
-But isn’t it working out for them?
‘It’s really a mystery. How on earth did soone like Rudick end up with Sir Celine?’
“Sir Celine.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“What exactly do you like about Rudick?”
I was too curious to hold it in any longer.
So I asked outright, and her answer was astonishing.
“Y-yes? Well… how should I put it…”
“Well?”
“He’s dignified… and cute.”
“…Ah.”
For soone I thought was perfect, Celine turned out to have a rather regrettable eye for people.
To call Rudick ‘cute’ of all things.
It was an incomprehensible combination of words.
And it wasn’t just who thought so.
Irene and the other female knights of the Crimson Cot didn’t seem impressed either.
Yes, that was the normal reaction.
Still, everyone had their own taste, so I had no plans to criticize. It was just another reminder that the world was wide and people varied.
“Oh?”
“It’s snowing.”
“Indeed. Snow. The sky had been gloomy for days, and now it finally delivers.”
Just as we were about to reach the Northern Gate Fortress, snow began to fall from the sky.
It was still a little early for snow, so I didn’t like this.
It would’ve been better if it had co a few days later.
Looking up, it seed the snowfall would continue for so ti. Whether this would be a blessing or a curse, I couldn’t say.
“Since it’s snowing, let’s pick up the pace. We’re almost there.”
“Alright.”
“Urgent report!!”
“Urgent report!!”
“Let’s go!!”
No one liked marching while being pelted with snow.
Naturally, our pace quickened, and we arrived at the Northern Gate Fortress a little earlier than expected.
“So this is the fortress gate. It really does feel like a fortress.”
“This is the front line of Johnson Territory. And yes, it’s truly a fortress.”
The fortress marked the starting point of the massive basin terrain that surrounded Johnson Territory.
Thanks to this, as long as the gate here was held, most of the monsters descending along the mountain paths of the Monster Mountains could be blocked.
Of course, for the sa reason, every winter this place was sward with monsters. But this was still preferable to having ferocious monsters from the Monster Mountains pouring in from all directions.
“Oh, sturdier than I thought.”
“The Golem School builders did good work. Right after repairing the castle walls, they ca here to reinforce this place.”
“I like it.”
“You’ll probably like the inside even more.”
Elder Benetrang and the Golem School builders had thoroughly checked the fortress walls and even prepared the barracks with care.
When Irene was told she would be stationed here, she inspected everything with earnest dedication.
Thanks to that, various Life Magic Circles were inscribed in the barracks and warehouses, and supplies had been stocked well enough to focus on the defense with peace of mind.
If Irene hadn’t brought the builders back to the domain, we would have had to face the winter defense in much poorer conditions.
“Reporting unusual findings.”
“Oh? Go ahead.”
“From sector F-2 to D-1. The area isn’t large, but there was a wildfire.”
“A wildfire?”
“Yes. It wasn’t enough to spread into a blaze, but judging from the smoke patterns, ignition definitely occurred.”
“How strange. And then?”
“With the snow starting to fall, it was quickly extinguished. It’s all resolved now.”
As soon as we arrived at the fortress, a Ranger on patrol approached to report.
A small fire had broken out far away in the mountains.
The Monster Mountains were largely the domain of the Fallen Yggdrasil.
As a plant-type monster, Yggdrasil was extrely sensitive to fire, and natural wildfires rarely occurred.
There was no way a Catastrophe-Class Monster would allow natural fire to spread within its own territory.
So the sudden outbreak of fire was indeed a special matter.
‘Still, with snow falling, it probably won’t an much.’
Now that the snow had started, there was no reason to worry about wildfires.
And since sectors F-2 to D-1 were quite far from here, it wasn’t a place we could investigate directly anyway.
All we could do was simply rember that such an incident had occurred.
“And small monsters have begun frequently descending to the lower slopes.”
“Signs of a wave?”
“Not quite at that level yet, but their numbers have indeed increased.”
“Well, I suppose we arrived at just the right ti. Good work. Go rest now. For the ti being, Sir Irene will be in charge of the fortress defense.”
“Yes, my lord.”
And then, there was the matter of the monsters’ movents.
Their activity was definitely earlier this year compared to usual.
The winters here were dangerous precisely because swarms of Gnolls would begin to move.
For now, it seed defending against monsters would be my lot.
‘But is it really just because of the monsters?’
It would be best to defend here while continuing to keep a close eye on the situation.
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