Chapter 49
Chapter 49
The southwestern border territory of the Britain Ducal House.
That place, bordering the Harald Mountain Range—so teeming with monsters that it was called the Cradle of the Primordial Age—was considered one of the fiercest battlegrounds even within the Britain Ducal House.
However, since raids usually began in winter, when food ran scarce, the warm spring season like now allowed for a relatively peaceful life.
They farmed to stockpile food in preparation for the coming winter and filled in gaps in the castle walls to reinforce their defenses.
Each person did their best in their assigned role, and all of that together formed Britain.
But this year was different.
Starting some time ago, monsters had begun to intrude.
Though it wasn’t a full-scale offensive and occurred only intermittently, it was clearly an abnormal situation.
“Hmm…….”
Elain Pendragon Britain, the second young lady of the Britain Ducal House, frowned as she read the report brought back by the reconnaissance unit.
The monster attacks that had begun a week ago had already occurred three times just today alone.
“Father hasn’t returned yet.”
“Yes. We’ve sent someone, so there should be a reply within three days at the latest.”
‘Tch, of all times, when both Father and Sister are gone.’
Under Arthur Pendragon Britain, the Grand Duke of the Britain Ducal House, there were two daughters a year apart in age.
The eldest, Elysia, was currently enrolled at the Academy, and with her first semester finished, she was scheduled to return to Britain in a few days.
With Arthur himself away to meet the Sword Saint, the highest authority in Britain at present was the second young lady—Elain herself.
As such, she had to present a solution to the current crisis.
If she were the daughter of an ordinary noble family, she might have been at a loss, but the Pendragon family trained in martial arts regardless of gender and fostered a strong sense of conviction.
Moreover, she possessed a keen awareness of her pride as a member of the Pendragon lineage and as part of the family that ruled Britain, and she was not the type to shove her responsibilities onto others.
Thus, she organized a reconnaissance unit composed of knights and stepped forward herself, declaring that she would enter the mountain range directly to find the cause.
Normally, voices of concern would have arisen about someone so young traversing such a harsh battlefield, but except in special circumstances, the orders of the Pendragon family were absolute.
At last, the reconnaissance unit entered the Harald Mountain Range.
Since the area was vast, the investigation period was set at three days.
They scoured the mountains, cutting down any monsters they encountered, and devoted themselves to uncovering the cause of the anomaly.
And on the third day, Elain bit her lip at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
“Fall back! Protect the young lady and retreat!”
They were just about to enter the true depths of the Harald Mountain Range, discussing their next course of action.
Based on their investigation so far, the conclusion was that something had happened deeper inside, driving the monsters outward.
Opinions were split on whether to return to the castle, assemble proper forces, and then reinvestigate, or to press on as they were.
Elain had grown a little greedy.
Since they had already come this far, she judged that they should go a bit further—and in the end, it led to this disaster.
The reconnaissance unit numbered fifteen in total, equivalent to a full squad.
All were skilled enough to use aura, capable of cutting down ordinary monsters in the blink of an eye, but what appeared before them was no ordinary monster.
Kuwaaaaaa—!
With a roar that shook the earth, a violent tremor swept in all directions.
One of the apex predators of the mountain range, a Giant Ogre, unleashed its murderous intent toward them.
“Damn it!”
A Giant Ogre was a monster that required at least double-digit numbers of Sword Experts to hunt.
Among the fifteen, only five were Sword Experts.
Since they had no intention of entering the deep interior, they thought that would be sufficient—but it was a gross miscalculation.
Kueeek.
The monsters were not limited to the Giant Ogre.
As if it had built its own subordinate forces, trolls, orcs, and various other tribes emerged together.
The monsters, salivating at the sight of humans they hadn’t seen in a long time, charged without regard for their own lives, and even Britain’s elite knights could not help but be overwhelmed by that momentum.
“Ha!”
Percival, a knight of the Pendragon family, fiercely swept his long spear, pushing back the beasts.
He was a mid-level Sword Expert, one of the most skilled among the knights.
Even so, it was not enough to stop the Giant Ogre.
The aura-infused spear tore into its hide, but only penetrated about a hand’s breadth before bouncing off.
‘A mistake. We underestimated the mountain range.’
Never in his dreams had he imagined encountering a top-tier monster like a Giant Ogre here, without even entering the deep interior.
The knights were fighting valiantly, but if they were pinned down like this, the outcome was obvious.
‘If it comes to that.’
The bloodline of Pendragon itself was the pride of the Britain Ducal House.
Even if everyone present were to die, she had to live.
“Don’t think such strange thoughts!”
Elain, who had just cut down an orc, shouted fiercely as if she had sensed something from the knights’ gazes fixed on her.
Percival gave a bitter smile in response.
When had that reckless, unruly princess grown so much? And because of that, his resolve only hardened.
“…….”
In the midst of battle, the knights looked at one another and nodded.
They seemed to share the same thought, each ready to sacrifice themselves to open a path.
“Haap—!”
Percival thought that if he delayed any longer, there would be no turning back.
Thus, he violently unleashed the aura he had been conserving, and in the brief opening it created, he grabbed Elain around the waist.
“Let go! I said let go!”
She beat on Percival’s back, tears streaming down her face, but his expression did not waver as he calmly planted his feet into the ground.
Kuooooo—!
But the heavens did not leave them be.
From the very direction they were about to flee, another Giant Ogre newly emerged.
And as countless monsters followed behind it, Percival’s body went rigid.
“…My lady, you are our pride. Whether you roll in the dirt or are smeared with filth, no matter how unsightly you become, you must survive.”
“Percival…….”
Percival steeled himself to burn his life away and carve a path.
It was the life of a knight who had honed himself for thirty-five years and could still reach even greater heights.
He prayed desperately to the heavens, wishing that with the flame he ignited, he could open a road for her to escape.
His feet dug deep into the earth, filled with the will not to retreat.
His hands gripping the spear turned white, showing his resolve to slaughter monsters until his head fell, and his wide-open eyes blazed with a cold light to ignite the final flame of his life.
‘Ah…….’
Elain scattered tears as she clenched her teeth and turned her body away.
It was her decision, her mistake.
She thought that with the knights, she could stroll through the mountain range.
But that was an absurd arrogance.
She would never forget today.
If she returned alive, she vowed to train for ten years and sharpen a blade of vengeance for those who died for her.
And to their desperate hearts, the heavens responded.
Srrk.
A light slicing sound rang out across the center of the battlefield.
It was more brisk than anyone’s sword strike.
Keooo?
All eyes turned to the newly appeared Giant Ogre.
When the attention of both humans and monsters alike focused on it—
Jeojeok—
The Giant Ogre was split cleanly in two from the crown of its head and collapsed to the ground.
“…Ah.”
And behind it, though far smaller compared to the Giant Ogre, a man appeared—one whose overwhelming presence dominated everyone there.
“Finally.”
How long had it been since I last saw a human instead of a monster? My chest swelled, and a sigh escaped me.
What the hell was with this damn mountain range—why were there so many monsters? Every single minute and second had been an unbroken chain of battles.
At least in the Sword Saint’s territory, they guaranteed the bare minimum of food, clothing, and shelter, but the monsters here showed absolutely no mercy.
I had deliberately climbed a tall tree to catch a light nap, but when I woke at the feeling of presences around me, monkey-like monsters were baring their teeth at me from all sides.
In the end, I hadn’t slept a wink during the week since I fell here.
I still had a few days’ worth of rations left thanks to careful rationing, but the stress from not sleeping was driving me insane.
If only I had coffee…….
This was the perfect environment to become monster food the moment you let your guard down.
Just how many monsters had I cut down? On the third day, when I passed five hundred, I stopped counting.
Only after killing everything around me could I rest, and even then, it was constantly interrupted by more monsters drawn in by the smell of blood.
No matter how much I walked, no matter how much I ran, the endless layers of mountains never ended.
I was seriously considering just setting everything on fire and burning it all down when I heard the sound of fighting from somewhere.
My irritation was already at its limit, and I was about to slaughter everything in sight when I saw people—people I was truly glad to see.
They seemed fairly skilled, but there were just too many monsters.
How could I let people I’d just met fall? I cut down the Giant Ogre blocking the path with a single strike, then dealt with all the smaller monsters scattered around.
At my sudden intrusion, their expressions brightened, and they helped me finish off the remaining monsters.
And when not a single one remained, someone who appeared to be their leader approached and bowed his head to me.
“We are a search party of the Pendragon family, under the Britain Ducal House. If it wouldn’t be rude, may we know your name and origin?”
Pendragon of Britain.
At that familiar name, I let out a sigh.
At least I hadn’t fallen into some completely random backwater.
I thought they looked skilled—knights of the Pendragon family, after all.
Perhaps because I had saved them, they were polite, but there was clear wariness in one corner of their eyes.
A good attitude.
Anyone wandering these mountains unarmed couldn’t be in their right mind.
“My name is…….”
I was about to call myself Ostia.
That teleportation had failed due to some side effect, and I’d ended up stranded in the wilderness.
If they knew I was a friend of Elysia, the young lady of Britain, I’d probably receive quite the treatment.
But my mind was too strained for that, and everything up to now had been too damn awful.
“Leios von Ribera.”
“…Pardon?”
Snap.
When I flicked my finger, the artifact that had altered my hair color deactivated, and my brilliant golden hair was revealed under the sunlight.
The knights’ jaws slowly dropped.
“That’s enough repayment, so shut up and guide me to the castle. Quickly.”
Unless you wanted to see the executioner demon sleeping inside me awaken.