Chapter 65
Erich and his group came to a halt at a location about half a day's journey from the fortress.
Ordinarily, they would have ignored whatever it was and kept moving, but there were traces here that were simply impossible to overlook.
"... Once again, we see Barbarians lined up, their blood drained."
Even Barnes, who was usually considered unfeeling, grimaced.
Watching a human's body shrivel up and gasp for its last breaths was not something anyone in their right mind could easily endure.
This time, Barnes and Frederick silently ended their suffering.
—Shing.
Frederick, as if dissatisfied, rubbed his blood-stained sword in the snow to clean it. His movements were tinged with irritation.
"If you're going to kill them, kill them. If you're going to let them live, then let them live. This damned thing!"
Erich also didn't reply, but he agreed with Frederick. Just who and for what reason would do such a thing?
Erich bent down and closely observed the traces of the massacre. Judging by the dried state of the blood and the footprints, he could make an educated guess.
'... It's a bit different from the direction we need to go.'
The traces led off to a side path veering right. The road to the 6th Fortress, which was where Erich needed to go, continued straight ahead.
Should he head straight to the 6th Fortress from here? Or postpone his mission for a bit and follow the suspicious traces?
The deliberation didn't last long. The reason Erich had come here was to investigate the threat of the dead. Everything else was secondary.
Moreover, from Erich's perspective, the sight of human blood being collected and taken away as if right before his eyes... was exactly the kind of thing only the dead would do.
In that case, the priority was clear.
"Frederick, Barnes. From here, we will follow these traces."
Frederick smirked. Seemed he was very pleased with Erich's suggestion. Even Barnes, usually a stickler for rules, didn't voice any major objection.
Of course, the expressions of the supply convoy members grew even more fearful. The convoy leader, as if he had much to say, pursed his lips.
"... We've still got a long way to go, is there really a need to bother with that...?"
But the supply leader quickly clamped his mouth shut. That was because Frederick was approaching him.
"I'm really feeling insubordinate right now. Why is that? Maybe because it's cold?"
"N-no, I said nothing."
Watching the supply leader mumble, Erich let out a chuckle. True fear comes from rumors.
In that sense, Frederick's reputation among his subordinates was downright monstrous. No one could surpass Frederick in such matters.
He might have intended it as a joke, but it didn't seem like the other party heard it that way at all. ... Maybe because it wasn't a joke?
In any case, Erich's group pursued the culprits, following the trail of corpses.
Whoever they were, it seemed from the looks on both Frederick and Barnes' faces that they were itching for payback.
And finally, Erich found a Barbarian who looked the least dead.
'... He's not in a condition to speak, though.'
This place looked even more horrific than before. As if whatever could be taken had been taken, dying Barbarians were piled up in heaps, evoking a sense of disgust. Erich reached down and touched the blood.
"It's cold but hasn't dried yet."
"... We could catch up to them in a hurry, couldn't we?"
Frederick held his sword, breathing heavily. But Erich shook his head.
"If we rush ahead, what happens to the supply convoy? No matter how roundabout the route, we can't neglect our original mission."
"Then I'll go alone."
"Wait. You're always so hasty... I know where they're headed."
–Pat pat.
Erich dusted off his hands and turned his gaze to Barnes, who was standing idly.
'What is he looking at?'
Barnes was lost in thought, holding something he'd found among the Barbarians. And as a shadow fell across his face, it was clear he had realized something important.
"Barnes, did you find anything?"
"...."
But Barnes didn't reply.
"Barnes!"
"... Yes?"
A beat late in responding. Erich's eyes narrowed. Barnes usually didn't react like that. Which meant he knew something.
"What are you holding?"
"... I'm not entirely sure myself."
Erich approached Barnes. There was no way he'd react so strongly to an unfamiliar object. And then, Erich's eyes faltered.
An inverted triangle with an eye drawn in the center. Surrounding it, sharp thorns encircled the symbol.
What lay in Barnes' hand was a kind of pendant. Erich knew its identity more acutely than anyone.
It was the mark of the dead. Proof that a traitor among the living was worshipping the god of the dead.
'... Already?'
Normally, these wouldn't appear until after the dead had overwhelmed the fortresses and traitors had begun emerging in the north. Erich's eyes lit faintly, realizing something.
But another question came to mind. Why had Barnes frozen at the sight of this pendant? Erich's doubts only deepened.
Of course, the appearance of these individuals so early wasn't entirely a bad thing. Erich could draw other inferences from this situation.
'The dead didn't appear out of nowhere. From Orca-roid to Morris Village, they'd been plotting this early on.'
And catching on to their scheme at this stage meant that Erich could introduce an element of unpredictability into the coming calamity.
Most importantly, the 6th Fortress was the first to be transformed by the dead and spearheaded the invasion of the Great Wall.
If heresy had taken root here long ago, it became clear how the 6th Fortress—which had held out for so long—had collapsed all at once. With a thread of reasoning established, Erich's eyes flashed.
"Are you two not going to tell me anything? Suddenly scared and refusing to chase after them..."
Frederick sounded vaguely disgruntled. But contrary to Frederick's thoughts, Erich wasn't refusing to pursue the culprits.
"Look over there, Frederick. See where those signs of someone pushing through the thicket lead."
"That's..."
Frederick frowned and looked in the direction Erich indicated. Then, he seemed to understand why Erich told them not to pursue.
The place the suspicious individuals were heading toward was, in fact—
A road leading right back to the 6th Fortress.
***
"Do they not feed these people or what...?"
After arriving at the fortress.
The supply convoy members who had followed Erich all stared in amazement at the fortress's Watch guards.
As soon as the supplies arrived, instead of checking them, the guards swarmed like it was a marketplace.
'They look almost like defeated soldiers.'
Erich surveyed the state of the troops one by one. Missing weapon parts and tattered armor came into view.
And on top of that...
'None of these men have their hands and feet intact.'
With haggard faces, they tore into the piled-up food. Discipline was nowhere to be seen.
But then—
"Company, fall in!"
"Fall in!"
At someone's shout, they quickly snapped to attention as if it had been prearranged. Walking out of the ranks was a man with an unkempt beard.
Erich called out to him.
"Are you the fortress commander, Richter?"
"... Thought this was the regular supply delivery, but I see it's not. Why are you looking for the commander?"
The man slowly approached, sat on the wagon, and opened a water flask to drink.
"Not the commander? Then you must be a subordinate of mine."
The man's eyes flicked to the badge pinned to Erich's chest. Then,
"You're a centurion? That's a high post. My apologies. We're all a bunch of uneducated fools here."
"... Hmm."
My apologies, huh? Erich curled his lips up.
While it was somewhat expected for a remote fortress to be insular, even taking that into account, the man's attitude was rather arrogant.
'It's like, "So what are you going to do about it...", that kind of stance.'
He had expected about this much. The fortress was beyond the Watch's reach. Of course they'd act brash.
But then, something surprising happened.
"Show some respect, you son of a bitch."
"Woah..."
Before anyone realized, Frederick had, while ranting about manners, drawn his sword and held it to the man's neck. Yet to Erich, this whole situation seemed quite absurd.
'... Show some respect? You're one to talk.'
Still, there was no point in blaming the guy for making a flashy move. Erich didn't particularly intervene.
"Calm down, everyone. I'm Gustav, the senior guard here."
"He's Erich, direct centurion under the Black Citadel."
"... Erich, you said?"
Upon hearing the name 'Erich' while staring at Frederick's sword, Gustav's eyes widened in surprise.
"Is there a problem?"
"Not really a problem. Then... you're that rumored 'Erich'?"
"Rumor?"
Gustav smirked and, even with a sword at his throat, replied nonchalantly.
"Even in a remote place like this, we hear what there is to hear. Haven't you heard that saying, 'A horse with legs runs a thousand li?'"
"Isn't it 'A horse without legs?'"
"Like I said, I'm uneducated. Anyway, it's an honor to meet the hero of the north. I bet my money that you weren't dead."
As he finished, disappointed expressions appeared on some fortress soldiers' faces. They apparently had a wager on whether Erich had survived.
"You must have heard I died. Looks like you nearly lost your money."
"There's no way a monster who charges hundreds of barbarians alone would die so easily. Some even thought you might not be a real person up here. If you were just a legend created as a hero of the Watch, resurrection wouldn't be so strange either. The commander's been known to do stranger things."
"Well, that's..."
Erich stared at Gustav appraisingly. For just a squad leader at a fortress, the man had sharp insight. But soon, Gustav grinned as if he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Keh, surprised? Actually, it wasn't my idea. I just copied what our commander said. Like I said, I'm not the type to think for myself. Unlearned, you know."
"So, it was the fortress commander's opinion. That explains the sharp remarks for your face."
"Well, no need to put it so bluntly. Anyway, I still haven't gotten an answer to my earlier question—why are you looking for the fortress commander?"
"Hm, so here at the 6th Fortress, the senior guard is above a centurion? Should I have to report to you why I've come here?"
Erich deliberately displayed his displeasure to pressure Gustav. But, of course, it wasn't that he was actually annoyed—it was that he wanted to see their reaction.
His judgment wasn't wrong. As soon as Erich finished, every eye among the assembled soldiers fixed sharply upon him.
"No need to be so prickly. I have to report who's come to see the commander, don't I?"
"That so? But it seems to me that's not the only reason, is it?"
"Then what do you think it is?"
Erich met each sharp gaze directed at him, one by one. Even though they had just seen what he could do, they looked ready to attack at any moment.
'This is certainly strange.'
The atmosphere between the Watch and its fortresses is, naturally, different. A fortress is a strategic unit set up outside the Great Wall, maintaining its own independence.
But the way these people talked made it seem as if Richter was their lord.
'It's odd.'
More than odd—it was suspicious.
Just a moment ago, the discipline broken by a single word from Gustav returned instantly.
And this squad leader asked direct, substantive questions rather than mere formalities.
Erich's lips slowly curled into a smile.
Between this Richter character and the unusually defensive attitude of the others, Erich's curiosity about the nature of this damned suspicious fortress only grew.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Traitors???
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】