Chapter 245 : Chapter 245
Chapter 245
A smell of blood came from Deballo Debius.
Whether he was on a battlefield or not, the metallic scent of blood always followed him.
Even Deballo himself didn't know when it had started.
He had been drenched in blood for such a long time that now, even without any visible bloodstains, a faint metallic smell seeped out from beneath his skin.
His hair was especially a problem.
Deballo's hair was full and strong, unbecoming of an old man over eighty.
It merged with his beard, looking just like a lion's mane.
Even though he had white hair, his hair had a reddish tint.
The smell of blood was particularly strong from there.
The reason for the reddish tint was clear.
Drenched in blood, wiped it off, drenched in it, wiped it off again, hundreds, thousands of times….
Before he knew it, blood of unknown owners had seeped deep into the roots of his hair, causing his lion-like hair to take on a red hue.
The accumulated, lingering scent had become like a ghost, and like his own body odor, always following Deballo.
Deballo Debius, being so thick-skinned, didn't care about such things.
However, it couldn't be helped that fear settled in the eyes of those who looked at him.
“Take your time, Teteos.”
……Yes, my lord.
At Deballo's words, the servant bowed his head deeply.
His name was Teteos.
Deballo had kept this servant for nearly thirty years.
And yet, he still trembled and was frightened, which was frustrating.
He wanted to say something.
But if he said one word, the servant would surely become even more terrified.
He snorted once and held his tongue.
Teteos, Deballo's servant, joined forces with other servants to lift a giant metal plate.
It was one piece of Deballo Debius's armor.
Its thickness was tremendous.
Patterns were engraved on it, but it didn't look like a modern item.
It looked to be at least a thousand years old, and indeed it was.
“…My lord, your shoulder for a moment.”
“Alright. Move it carefully. Don't get hurt like last time.”
Deballo spoke as if spitting the words out.
Teteos fitted the shoulder armor onto the Grand General's massive frame.
Even one pauldron was too heavy for him to lift alone.
The servant, sweating profusely, secured the shoulder armor to Deballo's body.
“By the way, is your back, which you hurt last time, alright now?”
“Yes, my lord. You even sent me the Golden Medicine….”
“It's nothing that special.”
The old general looked down at the servant he had spent a long time with.
“Take care of your health. If you're not around, who will put my armor on me?”
“My son is learning diligently.”
“Isn't he only thirteen?”
“He is strong, my lord.”
“No, no. If he gets used to using his strength when he's too young, he won't grow tall. Put him to work in 5 years.”
Teteos chuckled.
“His Highness Secundus tore a lion's maw at nine, but look, isn't he robust like that?”
“You call that talking. Secundus is my bloodline, isn't he? If he had used less strength when he was young, he would have been two heads taller than he is now.”
“…Oh, that might really be true.”
“What do you mean, really true. He's plenty big enough now.”
Deballo laughed heartily.
The servant smiled brightly as he lifted the back armor.
Even though it was so heavy that it barely moved with two other servants helping, a smile emerged.
Deballo looked at the servant's smile and asked.
“Teteos, you truly are a peculiar fellow.”
“…Why is that, my lord?”
“Haven't you been looking at me for thirty years and are still frightened?”
“A mere servant like me is bound to be frightened in front of the Empire's greatest spirit.”
“And yet you still make jokes while being so frightened, so it's bound to be peculiar.”
“That is because I know that you are a good person, my lord.”
“Me? A good person?”
Deballo Debius's eyes shot up.
His round eyes were like a wild beast's.
“-Ha! Ha, ha, ha-!!!”
It was so thunderous that one might wonder what kind of laugh it was.
A few soldiers who were busy tending to their weapons trembled, dropping what they held, and nearby horses had fits.
Teteos felt an instinctive fear, like a person who had met a lion.
His knees grew weak and he wanted to collapse, but he forced a smile.
“…Please stop. If you laugh like that, my lord, the soldiers get scared.”
“My goodness. I can't even laugh.”
Deballo stopped laughing and rolled his eyes.
No one dared to meet his gaze.
“And they call themselves soldiers of the Cordis Legions. I want to say the military is a mess these days… hmm, but that would be spitting in my own face.”
“Because you are the head of the military, my lord.”
“That's right, Teteos.”
“And it is not that they are weak, but that you are too strong, my lord.”
“It wasn't like this 53 years ago.”
“It was like that back then.”
Deballo, recalling old memories, raised his head.
“Ah, come to think of it, Teteos, weren't you from the West?”
“Yes, my lord. But I have no memories of it. Although I am over sixty, I was only in the West until I was seven at most.”
“Over sixty? You?”
“Did you not take me in yourself, when I became a refugee who lost my parents 53 years ago?”
“Ah. Right. Hmm. Yes. That's right.”
Deballo nodded his head.
“There was this kid who looked so pitiful, so I brought him back with me.”
“That was me.”
“Your name is different from now….”
“It was Titio back then. The Imperial-style version of that name was Teteos.”
“Didn't I change it for you?”
“You did. I would have been very sad if you had forgotten this too.”
“That was a close one!”
At the sound of the hearty laugh, Teteos moved his hands.
Deballo's armor was almost completely put on.
“Let's hear that old name for the first time in a while. What was your name back then?”
“Titio.”
The eyes of the servant, who was over sixty, sank deep.
He fumbled through his faint memories.
An unavoidable sorrow also seeped out.
“Titio de Verchello, that was my name….”
“Verchello. Right, right. They were a famous family on the Bururade Peninsula, weren't they? Or not?”
“They were. I heard they fell after the war, but have recently risen again.”
“Looks like you've looked them up?”
“It is true that my heart still goes to them.”
“Good. I will remember the name Verchello.”
Deballo Debius stood up.
He was clad in full-body armor made of steel.
Each and every piece was so heavy that it took two or three grown men, sweating, to move it.
The armor, all together, would weigh more than a decent magi-chariot.
As proof, every time Deballo took a step, the ground, unable to bear the weight, sank and caved in.
The packed-down dirt floor also rumbled with a THUMP, THUMP.
But Deballo showed no sign of difficulty.
He moved his arms and legs this way and that to check if the armor was well-fitted to his body, then hup, he jumped high.
He shot up whoosh three times higher than where other people's heads were and came down, the sound of his landing terrifying.
When he landed with a KABOOM- sound, the soldiers scattered in all directions, thinking a cannon had been fired.
A round hole was gouged in the spot where Deballo had landed.
“Umm. ‘The Steel Nest’ is still sturdy.”
The name of the armor he wore was ‘The Steel Nest’.
It was a treasure that accompanied the history of the Debius family.
Since the Debius family was a thousand years old, this armor was also a thousand years old.
But far from weakening, it had swallowed souls and blood and become even stronger.
But far from weakening, it had swallowed souls and blood and become even stronger.
“Teteos. My old conversational companion. I was just thinking of giving you a gift anyway.”
“That is alright, my lord.”
“No. Regardless of how you feel, I am going to give you a gift.”
The helm of ‘The Steel Nest’ was in the shape of a lion.
Deballo, clad in the armor, looked like a giant steel lion.
It was a form that was heavy yet nimble, and so dreadful that one would hate to encounter it.
Deballo's two eyes, shining from within the helm, were particularly fierce.
“In this war, I will not kill those who belong to Verchello.”
***
“Dad.”
“What is it, Marina?”
“I was wondering what you were packing so much, and in the end, you brought ‘The Steel Nest’?”
“Armor isn't armor unless you wear it. I was just feeling disappointed that I haven't had much use for it lately.”
Deballo spoke as he walked with a THUMP, THUMP.
Clad in ‘The Steel Nest’, he weighed a little more than even a chariot.
It was absolutely impossible for him to ride a horse, so even though he was the Grand General, he had to walk on his own two feet.
But the old man over eighty had such good stamina that Marina, who was on horseback, was instead busy trying to keep up.
“I want to try wearing that.”
“It might be a bit heavy for you.”
“Don't look down on me!”
Marina Debius put her hands on her hips.
It was still behavior unbecoming of a woman over forty.
Outwardly, she looked just like a girl of about seventeen.
“Do you know how hard I've been training lately? Right now, I could probably collapse the Bellos Grand Bridge again!”
“I was speaking based on that time, Marina. This armor would be heavy even for the Seven-Forged General who collapses bridges with her bare hands.”
“Hmph. That's something you won't know until you try it on.”
Marina pouted her lips.
“Please retire quickly so I can try it on, Dad.”
“Telling me to die already?”
“No, I said retire!”
She let out a shrill voice.
Deballo Debius held back a smile at his daughter's antics.
She was acting particularly childish today.
Deballo saw right through the reason.
It must be to give vitality to Secundus, who was following behind them.
She became a mother before he knew it….
Deballo chuckled.
He felt proud of his daughter, who was acting playfully for no reason so that her dispirited son wouldn't have too hard a time.
He had always seen her as just an immature child, but when had she grown up like this, to act as a proper mother?
Deballo turned his head.
“General Secundus.”
“…Yes.”
Secundus Debius let out a groan.
He was a young general who had received the title of a Grand General.
He held a position ranked within the top three of the Imperial military, but to Deballo, he was just cute.
Since his daughter was working hard to lighten her son's mood, he decided to follow suit.
Deballo politely asked Secundus.
“There must be a reason why you haven't been able to break through the West's defenses until now. Speak.”
“…Hmm. There are two main reasons.”
Secundus Debius noticed Deballo's intention to put him at ease.
His pride was somewhat wounded.
He was still the Three-Mi Grand General of Cordis, yet wasn't he being treated completely like a child?
But he knew that in front of Deballo, he was indeed in a position no different from a child, so he saved his words.
“The first one?”
“The extreme terrain.”
Secundus said.
“The path leading out of the Waist Gate is inherently inconvenient for moving soldiers, but the West has used Ancient Weapons and mages to build their fortress.”
“To what extent is it inconvenient?”
“In a siege, it is said that the side attacking the castle needs three times the troops. But this place will require five times the troops.”
“Uhum.”
Deballo Debius gave a slight nod.
“Then, the other one?”
“The White Lord.”
Secundus's eyes sharpened.
“Obro Denoebang is in the enemy camp, Grand General Deballo. When he appears, we have no choice but to retreat.”
“The White Lord, you say…. That name certainly cannot be ignored, General Secundus.”
Secundus continued.
“There is one more swordsman of a similar level to him, but he does not appear on the battlefield often.”
“A swordsman of a similar level to the White Lord?”
“He is someone Mother already knows. The one with jade-colored eyes, Amethus….”
“Is he similar to the White Lord?”
“Hmm. The White Lord is stronger. However, it does not seem like there is that big of a difference between the two.”
“I see. I understand well.”
Deballo took a step forward.
It was a step as heavy as the years he had lived, so the ground rang with a THUMP.
“It shouldn't be a problem.”