Swordmaster of the Great Wall

Soft sunlight shone down on the shabby barracks.

Though it looked nothing like it on the outside, this was the tent where Commander August was recovering from his injuries.

Not many people knew that the wounded commander was staying in such a poorly made barracks.

If even one of the lords had known, they would have thought it was a downright slight against a fallen commander.

However, among the Watch, August's character was well known.

From the outset, this was the barracks he had used all his life.

Then, in that place where there had been hardly any signs of life for so long, a faint noise was heard.

Commander August, after lying down for so long from his severe injuries, had finally opened his eyes.

And when he did, there was someone by his side. August muttered quietly.

"... How long have I been lying here, Erich?"

"It's been a little over three months."

August's complexion was still ashen.

The wounds on his body were not something that would heal easily.

If he had been treated by the doctors in the imperial capital, such injuries would have vanished in no time...

But this was the Watch. From the start, his wounds had not been something the makeshift quacks could easily patch up.

Erich thought that the only reason August had survived until now was thanks to the superhuman regeneration of a Swordmaster.

August sighed.

"My body still hasn't recovered."

"You'll have to get well quickly so you can reclaim the responsibilities you entrusted to me."

"I trust you handled things well. Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting here by my side. That means you'll continue to do well."

A faint smile appeared on August's lips. Soon after, he began to ask Erich various questions.

Usually, when someone wakes up from such grave injuries, they first ask about their own condition.

But August was no ordinary man.

"... So you've made an alliance with all the barbarians?"

"Yes. They've retreated beyond the valley and are now building a massive barrier wall."

"Why a barrier wall?"

"We've received reports that the dead's army has begun to assemble."

"Hmmm..."

Erich reported to August everything that had happened until now.

He explained how he suppressed the rebellion, killed the lich, went to Haratakan to rescue the shaman forces, and even slew the death lord.

And in the end, he mentioned how he persuaded Ungrim and kept the imperial troops from leaving.

As a result, all those forces had gathered to prepare defenses against the dead.

Alongside them, reinforcements were steadily arriving from the Empire.

The Emperor had even sent his own personal guard, the Imperial Knights. This was a force on a scale that transcended any single territory.

The thing that surprised August most, however, was the fact that the barbarians were originally Watchmen.

"We have wronged them greatly until now."

"It wasn't us who committed those deeds."

"Not correcting what is wrong is still a sin. Don't you agree?"

"Those who are guilty of such sins exist. The responsibility for those sins lies with them."

"... I have failed. No, I must have failed."

August exhaled softly. Erich understood his feelings completely.

'He must have wanted to reform the Watch more than anyone.'

The Watch had become so corrupted because, at some point, it was beyond repair.

Of course, before his regression, Erich, as commander, had fixed all those problems. But was that because Erich was anything special? No, it was not.

August, at some point, had attempted to reform the Watch. And in the outcome before the regression, August had met his end.

Not only him, but all the factions who followed him.

Ironically, however, commander August's struggle in that civil war paved the way for later commanders to reform the Watch easily.

This was because, with the deaths of most acting fortress commanders—including Grant—the power to appoint new ones significantly strengthened the commander's authority.

Though fortress commanders were technically under the commander's command, in practice, each had their own independent military in their respective fortresses.

In imperial terms, each fortress was like a lord's domain. Such people would never willingly give up the power they held.

However, if it was the commander himself who appointed the fortress commander, things changed.

'... This time the scale was different, but the result was similar to before the regression.'

Though August did not die in this civil war, he was gravely wounded.

But as a result, Erich became the commander who suppressed the rebellion, making it impossible for any other fortress commanders to harbor ulterior motives.

It was all thanks to the groundwork that August had laid for him.

But there was something Erich wanted to ask. Why had August tried to make him fortress commander?

That was a question not only for now, but even before the regression.

"... Why did you give me the commander's position? The other fortress commanders surely performed their duties well."

"How are the orders of the commander received now? Is there anyone who disobeys your leadership?"

"No."

"As I thought, commander Erich von Krupp. You suppressed the rebellion and have proven that you could do so again if needed."

"... What use is it to defeat an already weakened rebellion? That's all thanks to you, sir August."

"However, there is another reason I didn't appoint a fortress commander to the post. My next commander must not be a former fortress commander."

"Because the fortresses themselves are the root of corruption?"

"That's right. For most, the words of a fortress commander who has led them for decades carry more weight than the words of the commander. Maybe it's just the stubbornness of an old man."

Erich cracked a faint smile.

Even so, he could see the depth of August's thoughts.

Did August trust that Erich would find a way to change the circumstances?

To fix the age-old corruption of the Watch that neither he nor anyone else had been able to fix. Erich asked again.

"In that case, there must have been other suitable candidates besides me. Like Sir Mikhail. Surely no one could challenge him."

"Mikhail was just a mere member from the start. He's not the kind of man who sees the bigger picture. And you, more than anyone, know that a Swordmaster is not invincible, don't you?"

Erich nodded slowly.

Swordmasters are not invincible.

Even in the histories, swordmasters who could split mountains and part seas had nevertheless been swept away and killed by overwhelming armies.

August continued.

"... Besides, you had external factions supporting you. If you became commander and if a rebellion happened, even the imperial troops stationed here would have had to be wary of confronting you."

Erich had considered that as well. Clearly, August had a plan for the future.

And whether before or after the regression, it seemed to have worked out quite well.

"I see. I hadn't thought of that."

"But even if you set aside all those reasons, that seat had to be yours."

"... Why is that?"

"I cannot tell you. Only that I saw something that should not be seen."

August said this, laughing with his usual rough good humor.

Erich didn't know the reason, but it was clear August had some kind of trust in him.

'... Perhaps there's a reason he can't tell me. Could he know my true identity?'

The thought suddenly crossed Erich's mind.

Even the lich, right before dying, seemed to have glimpsed a bit of Erich's true identity.

Then is there any reason August should not know?

Erich would sometimes think back on August's thoughts. He would try to act or think as he would.

Usually, that gave him good solutions.

Former commander August.

He was a man of gentle smiles who showed kindness to all, but sometimes revealed a terrifying, razor-sharp insight.

Erich did not feel certain that such a man would not have seen through him at all.

"In any case, it looks like we'll have a final confrontation with the dead soon. When that happens, you must reclaim your position as commander."

"No, that's not right. On that battlefield, the one wielding the sword and leading the troops must be you."

"... Excuse me?"

"I am old now. Opening the future is the task of the young, not the old."

"... I'm not confident."

"Because you haven't led a great army before? Do you think I ever have? Ha ha."

Erich forced a wry smile. But he couldn't shake off the bitterness in his mouth.

'... I too have failed before.'

Even though he'd prepared for a battle against the undead and made every possible preparation to meet them, Erich felt a strange tremor.

He thought he must burn and punish them, yet from now on, the deaths of those he commanded would be his to bear alone.

Up until now, everything had gone according to his wishes and preparations.

He had destroyed the schemes of the dead and eliminated any potential for them to grow stronger.

That was the last thought he had before dying.

That, if only he'd had one more chance. That hope had been the origin of it all.

But if after all this preparation, he tasted the bitter fruit of failure again, would he even have the resolve to face the Lord of the Dead after another regression?

Erich was not sure.

August spoke, watching Erich's complicated expression.

"If you go to the vacant lot behind the commander's quarters, you'll find a rather large pile of rocks. Do you know of it?"

"I do. In fact, I even know that some of the members hide their liquor there."

Erich grinned.

He hadn't been there in this life, but before the regression, he used to visit it often.

There was even a bottle of his own hidden among the rocks.

"It's always darkest beneath the lamp. But do you know why that pile exists?"

"... I've never heard the reason."

"Hmmm..."

August sat up.

As he did, fresh blood seeped from the bandages that bound his body.

Erich panicked and tried to hold him down, but August pushed himself up with determination.

"That place is called the 'nuisance'. Commanders always used to share this with their successors."

"... Excuse me?"

Erich had never heard of it before.

All he had heard when he took over the commander's post was that he was to receive it.

Of course, even before the regression, August was on his deathbed when he handed over command, so there had been no time for such explanations.

August continued slowly.

"Throughout the generations, whenever a commander went to think at that clearing, he would place a stone there. I probably put about ten of them myself."

"... Aren't you beating around the bush a little?"

"I'm just telling it as I heard it. My predecessor was Sir Otto. I don't know why it's called that, but do you know what I felt watching it?"

"... I'm not sure?"

"It means every previous commander had their own worries. Whether it was fear, or concern."

"So you're saying I shouldn't worry, since all those commanders had their own troubles?"

"Well, something like that, wouldn't you say?"

August gave a disarmingly good-natured smile.

'... Whatever those previous commanders worried about, I doubt any of it compared to humanity's survival.'

Still, Erich smiled faintly. At least, he felt he understood the point August wanted to make.

"I won't say they're pointless worries. After all, isn't this the Empire's crisis? So tell me how you plan to stop them."

Instead of answering, Erich slowly stood. Then he pulled aside the canvas at the entrance of the barracks.

– Chwarrrrk.

August squinted at the sunlight he hadn't seen in a long time. But even from inside, he could feel something powerful outside.

Countless diverse troops were marching beyond the tent. Their boots shook the earth.

But that was not what caught August's eyes.

"... The Great Wall."

They were building a massive Great Wall. Just as their forebears had done to block the North.

Once again, the Great Wall was being erected to seal the valley connecting the North and the East.

That was Erich's plan. To build a colossal wall here. And withstand the final onslaught.

At this moment, August recalled the future he had seen.

The image of Erich standing before the Great Wall, facing the undying army.

And the Great Wall he'd seen, not in the South, but right here—being built in the North.