Chapter 25: Iron Mine Recapture Operation (3)
Leading an army of ten thousand and arriving at the mountain, Kyle was t by the appearance of the Ragnar Knight Order.
“Good work.”
“No, sir. We are glad to have been able to do sothing for Ragnar, Grand General.”
The knights had been unable to wash properly, their hair clumped together, and blood was caked thickly onto their leather armor, giving off a foul stench.
Though they appeared in a miserable state, the light in their eyes as they looked at Kyle was very much alive.
It was proof of how fiercely they had fought and how much effort they had poured in.
As the greetings with Kyle ca to an end, Aron stepped forward in front of Akun and asked,
“Commander, could you inform us of the monsters’ current situation?”
“It has been confird that the monsters are clustered into four sectors.”
Just as Akun said, the monsters had not rged back into one and were instead divided into four factions.
The Orc faction, the Goblin faction, gnoll and wolf-type monsters, and large monsters.
They had been classified into these four branches, according to Akun’s assessnt.
Listening closely to his explanation, Aron lowered his head with a faint smile.
“Thanks to the commander’s judgnt, it seems the subjugation operation has beco much smoother. You’ve worked hard.”
“Thank you for recognizing the efforts of the Ragnar Knight Order.”
Through the knights’ efforts, one of the necessary conditions to finish the subjugation swiftly had been secured.
Kyle, who had been quietly listening, approached Aron and asked,
“How do you plan to move?”
“At present, the largest forces are expected to be the Orks and Goblins. Rather than dealing with them sequentially, we should finish them off simultaneously.”
“So we split the troops into two groups.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Kyle nodded and swiftly issued orders to those around him.
“Seros, lead five thousand troops and deal with the Orc faction. And Commander Akun, I’ll allocate you five thousand as well, so focus on dealing with the Goblin faction.”
Although Kyle had declared that he would take the lead and fight, he had no intention of leading troops into battle to subjugate monsters.
He intended to go even deeper inside.
“I will move separately.”
Handling the monsters settled on the mountain was not particularly worrying.
However, there was a prerequisite that had to be addressed in order to stably reclaim the iron mine after the monster subjugation ended.
For that condition, Kyle planned to first et the Orks.
‘The pact is not yet over. I need to find out what they are thinking by settling at the entrance of the mountain range in order to prepare.’
Reading Kyle’s gaze, Aron lightly bit his lip.
“My lord, how about taking at least a commander with you?”
“Seros is our greatest strength. If Seros and I move together, we won’t be able to deal with unforeseen variables.”
“But……”
“Do I look like soone who would fall that easily?”
At Kyle’s firm and sharp gaze, Aron also stopped trying to dissuade him.
Whenever Kyle revealed such eyes, even Aron could not stop him.
Turning his back, Kyle spoke in a low voice to Aron, who had his lips tightly shut.
“Aron, you oversee the overall subjugation operation. Make sure there are as few casualties as possible.”
“……Understood, my lord.”
Leaving the Special Operations Unit behind, Kyle moved alone.
As Kyle’s figure vanished in an instant, Aron let out a deep sigh, but Seros patted his shoulder.
“He is our lord. You know that excessive worry is nothing more than groundless fear, don’t you?”
“……Understood. I will focus solely on the subjugation. For now, Commander, please lead the five thousand troops. I will move together with Commander Akun.”
“Understood.”
With the Ragnar Knight Order and Acacia present, there was little need to worry excessively about Aron’s safety.
Still, just in case, Seros assigned all remaining mbers of the Special Operations Unit to Aron.
Thus, while the subjugation operation proceeded imdiately upon their arrival at the mountain.
Kyle, having slipped out alone from the camp, ran toward the entrance of the Monster Mountain Range.
‘Should I notify them before I arrive.’
Kyle fully unleashed the presence he had ticulously restrained until now, enough to blanket the entire mountain range.
It was a warning to et him head-on rather than hiding.
Before long, Kyle arrived at the place where Seros had encountered the Orc group.
“Are you the Ork Tribe?”
Though they resembled normal orcs, they were a race that could not be compared to them.
And before Kyle stood the one called their king, the Lord.
“Descendant of Ragnar’s blood. Welco to this place.”
“……What are you plotting? The pact has not yet been broken. An Ork Tribe would not be unaware of that.”
The greatest reason the Ragnar Family had settled in the barren north was precisely because of the pacts forged with the kings of each race.
To confirm that those pacts were being upheld, the Ragnar Family had lived while taking on the role of overseers.
Though he knew what Kyle’s words implied, the Ork Tribe did not change his expression and brought up a different matter.
“I wonder if you received my greeting properly.”
“……Are you saying that driving the monsters at the mountain entrance outward was rely a greeting?”
“That is correct. It was an action taken because I wished to et you, descendant of Ragnar. If it was an excessive greeting, I apologize.”
At the Orc’s slight bow, Kyle narrowed his eyes.
The Ork Tribe recorded in the Ragnar Family’s historical records was known to possess an exceptionally strong pride.
For such a being to bow his head and offer an apology to him was suspicious.
“What wind blew you all the way out here?”
“I did not break the pact. We did not leave the mountain range.”
“You’re playing petty word gas. So for what reason did you call
all the way here?”
“If we asked you for help outright, you would start with suspicion, wouldn’t you?”
At those unexpected words, doubt surfaced on Kyle’s face.
One of the Seven Lords who ruled the Monster Mountain Range.
It was beyond imagination that from the mouth of a Lord who not only possessed the martial might of a Master but also ruled the Ork Tribe, he would hear a request for help.
‘Could it be that a conflict broke out among the Lords?’
No matter how much he thought about it, that was the only possibility he could foresee.
“Were you pushed out by the other Lords?”
When Kyle asked bluntly, the Ork Tribe let out a hollow laugh.
He did not deny it.
Just as Kyle had expected, the Ork Tribe had been pushed back by the other Lords and had lost their foothold within the mountain range.
Only after the Ork Tribe wiped the smile from his lips did he speak.
“I will not deny it.”
At the revelation that clashes had occurred among the Lords after a long period of calm, Kyle’s face twisted.
In the anti, the Ork Tribe presented Kyle with a proposal.
“If you help the Ork Tribe, I will give you compensation.”
“How do you want
to help the Orks?”
“……Allow us to leave the mountain range.”
“Impossible.”
“……If not that, then provide us with food.”
“If I provide you with land to live on and food, what can the Ork Tribe give to Ragnar?”
At Kyle’s question, the Lord’s eyes glead.
The reason they wanted to leave the mountain range was to secure land and food for the Ork Tribe.
If Ragnar resolved the tribe’s problems, he was willing to cooperate with Kyle as much as possible.
“If there is sothing you want, say it. I will cooperate to the fullest.”
“We need the land at the entrance of the mountain range.”
Kyle spoke without a mont’s hesitation.
A place that had once been Ragnar’s territory before being taken—the area where the iron mine was located—had to be reclaid no matter what.
“Then what about our land?”
“I will provide it. Is there a place you desire?”
“……We wish to establish our settlent at the entrance of the mountain range.”
Hearing the Ork Tribe’s words, Kyle slowly closed his eyes.
He felt he needed to think further about what the right decision was, but allowing the Ork Tribe to leave the mountain range was absolutely unacceptable.
If even one Lord were to erge into the world, he could not even begin to grasp how much chaos it would cause.
After a long period of deliberation, Kyle finally opened his tightly shut mouth.
“If you do not interfere with the areas Ragnar requires, I will support the Ork Tribe in establishing their settlent here.”
“By the area you desire, do you an the iron mine region?”
“That’s right. Ragnar must stand upright for us to secure food to support the Orks. If you think that is difficult, then negotiations are impossible.”
Kyle and the Ork Tribe looked at each other.
What each wanted was clear, and the Ork Tribe wished to conclude this through dialogue and negotiation rather than conflict.
“……Very well. The Ork Tribe will protect the iron mine region.”
***
The splendid royal palace of the Daon Kingdom.
A brown-haired man sat upon the throne, letting out a languid yawn.
At that mont, the doors to the Great Hall were flung wide open, and a man wearing a servant’s uniform rushed in urgently.
“Your Majesty!”
“Chief Chamberlain, what is all this fuss about?”
“Your Majesty, a letter from a spy sent from the Ragnar Territory has arrived.”
The king’s eyes, which had lost all interest, suddenly filled with vitality.
At the ntion of the Ragnar Territory, the king sprang to his feet and strode toward the Chief Chamberlain, extending his hand.
“Here it is.”
Bowing deeply, the Chief Chamberlain handed the letter he was holding to the king.
Unable to contain himself, the king roughly tore the letter open.
[Kyle Ragnar has returned.]
At the extrely short, single-line sentence, the king’s expression twisted beyond asure.
“…….”
“What is the matter?”
“That bastard who deserves to be beaten to death has returned…… Has he finally co back?”
Casting aside all decorum, the king began to laugh like a madman.
The place he had tried so hard to trample underfoot.
A territory that brazenly held a position equal to the royal family.
A family with the foolish and impure ideology of seeing itself not as subjects of the kingdom, but as partners.
He hated everything about it.
The king hurled the letter away and shouted at the Chief Chamberlain.
“Send a royal decree to the Ragnar Territory! Summon Kyle Ragnar to the royal castle imdiately!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Include a threat that I will not leave the northern territories untouched. Then he will co crawling to , kneeling and bowing his head.”
The king wore a satisfied expression, as if imagining Kyle kneeling and bowing before him.
Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly walked toward the throne.
‘Kyle Ragnar…… Do you know how long I have waited for your return? I don’t know where you’ve been rolling around for fifteen years, but I claid the throne to crush you beneath my heel.’
Crunch!
The Great Hall, now empty after the Chief Chamberlain’s departure, was filled with the sound of the king grinding his teeth.
“Kyle, you will eventually beg
for your life.”
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