I Became a Righteous Knight in a Game

Chapter 98

The situation is not good.

Though they didn't know for sure, something unusual was happening.

Dirk and the other trainees already had a gut feeling.

The instructor had only been knocked out for acting foolishly.

The judgment Dirk had shown during training had never been wrong, and behind him was the reliable backing of Knight Reinhardt.

“I’ll cooperate.”

“Me too.”

“I don’t know what’s what, but same here. Let’s just do it.”

The trainees gathered their will.

Dirk was already their tacit leader.

“I’ll take the lead.”

Sreung.

Dirk drew the longsword he had been supplied with. It was one and a half times larger than the other trainees’ weapons.

“The goal isn’t to fight! Focus on saving our comrades!”

Dirk ran out in the lead, and the trainees followed.

The distance closed in an instant.

Perhaps thanks to the training they had received so far, they were able to run at full speed even though they had just finished a march.

And.

“This is damn it. It’s real.”

“Shannon! Wilson!”

“What on earth is going on!”

Groans leaked out from the trainees following behind.

Only now could they see it too.

A comrade being carried, covered in blood, and another comrade covered in that blood.

“Shannon! Damn it. Someone take Wilson! Shannon needs support too!”

Dirk took the lead and directed the situation.

He entrusted the exhausted trainee to a comrade and assessed the situation.

Looking at his comrade’s pale face, Dirk pressed.

“What happened? What’s chasing you? Huh?”

“It’s a monster, Dirk. A monster wolf.”

“A monster? A wolf? What are you talking about. A wolf that’s like a monster?”

“Damn it, I’m telling you it’s a real monster wolf! A monster that just looks like a wolf was chasing us! It bit Tommy, crushed Karon with its forepaw, and….”

Trainee Shannon’s voice was filled with fear.

He was clearly replaying the scene he had just witnessed in his head. At this rate, it wouldn't be strange if he fainted, foaming at the mouth.

“That’s enough. Go and rest for now. We’ll take care of the rest.”

A monster wolf.

After sending the blood-covered Shannon to the rear, Dirk frowned.

‘A mere wolf hunted knight trainees? And crushed them with its forepaw?’

It didn’t make sense.

Even if a pack of wolves attacked, the trainees here were capable of fighting them off.

Although they hadn't become full-fledged knights yet, the training they had undergone so far was to become such knights.

‘They were either hallucinating, or….’

It was too early to be sure.

Dirk ran to the other comrades and saved them too.

He supported them, gave them water, and asked what had happened.

The answers were all similar.

‘A monster wolf.’

They were all referring to the same being.

It looked like a wolf.

But it was huge, ferocious, and its hide was so tough that even a sword couldn’t cut it, they said.

“Everyone wait here.”

Dirk stopped at a suitable spot.

He had saved everyone he could, and there were no more people to be found.

‘How many are missing?’

Probably no one else would come after this.

When the training started, there were nearly thirty trainees, but now there were only about twenty gathered here.

‘I guess about ten of them died. No, they might still be alive, but….’

His intuition was telling him.

That all the comrades who hadn't reached this place yet were dead.

That they had been torn apart by that monster wolf or whatever it was.

How much time had passed like that?

“This is crazy.”

Something was caught in Dirk’s superhuman vision.

His comrades’ testimonies were accurate.

Something that could only be described as a monster wolf was looking up at the sky and letting out a howl.

***

Ethan’s claim of hiring the best coachman in Serigel was true.

The carriage carrying Reinhardt had arrived at its destination in what felt like an instant.

The midpoint between Serigel and Lockfort.

In front of the training ground built on a particularly desolate piece of land, the coachman stopped the carriage.

“…We’ve arrived.”

The coachman’s voice was heavy.

It was because he had sensed that something was wrong.

Dal-kak.

Then the carriage door opened, and Ethan Taton and Reinhardt got out.

“How could this be….”

Ethan muttered in a hollow voice.

In front of him was a completely destroyed training ground.

The buildings, which had been built quite neatly, were all collapsed, and not a single one of the trainees who had been bustling around until recently could be seen.

The training ground had been attacked.

The ‘ten knights’ Ethan had trusted had clearly been defeated by an unknown enemy.

“…Sir Reinhardt.”

“Yes.”

“It’s not possible that everyone who was here died, is it?”

“They must have evacuated.”

“Yes, they must have. After all, there were ten knights. I should contact the nearby cities. If they evacuated, they would have gone to a city.”

Ethan was trying his best to maintain his composure. But his unconcealed bewilderment was showing.

In fact, Reinhardt was just as bewildered.

‘Just how strong was the thing that appeared?’

He said there were as many as ten knights stationed here.

With ten knights, they should have been able to handle even a pack of Grade 2 demonic beasts.

‘It was at least a Grade 3 demonic beast. Those things have already appeared? And in the eastern part of the Empire?’

He had heard that the first place demonic beasts appeared was the Palma Mountains in the far west of the Empire.

So this meant that those things had practically crossed the continent.

Otherwise, there was no way they could have reached this eastern edge.

“Wait a moment.”

With hurried hands, Ethan searched through the rubble of the buildings.

He found a document buried under a pile of stones and read it, turning the pages one by one with trembling hands.

‘Dirk… he must be alive.’

Reinhardt was convinced of it.

Because there wasn't a single corpse to be seen in the ruins.

There were hardly any bloodstains either. It meant that a proper battle hadn't taken place.

‘They discovered the approach of the demonic beasts early on, and fortunately, they escaped before it was too late. If not, the place would have been littered with human corpses.’

In that case, it wasn’t at a level to worry about.

As Ethan had said, it was a matter of contacting the surrounding cities and making safe contact.

“Sir Reinhardt.”

Just then, Ethan, who had been reading the document for a while, spoke.

“Yes.”

“Dirk wasn’t here.”

“Pardon?”

“Thirty-one trainees, including Dirk, and one knight who was serving as an instructor, went out for training a few days ago. To a place quite far from the training ground.”

This changes the story. Reinhardt instinctively thought so.

“Is the exact location written down?”

“It is. Let’s leave at once. Seeing the state of the training ground, that place won’t be safe either.”

The carriage began to move again.

Ethan pointed out the exact direction, and the coachman exerted his skills to the fullest.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Only then did Reinhardt begin to feel a sense of crisis.

‘This isn’t going to be a development where Dirk dies, is it? At this timing?’

Dirk was a character who must not die.

It wasn't just because of his innate talent.

He might be upset to hear it himself, but his death would surely cause a huge rift in Irien’s heart.

A magician’s mind is like a delicately crafted piece of glass.

The magic they cast was no different from art itself, but their minds would often collapse from even a small external stimulus.

They were literally fragile.

‘And Irien even has a prior record. In the original work, she joined hands with a demon because her brothers died.’

Once he started worrying, his concerns snowballed.

Reinhardt stuck his head out the window and shouted to the coachman.

“We need to speed up!”

“It’s impossible! If we go any faster, the horses will get tired on the way!”

Reinhardt bit his lip in frustration.

In reality, the carriage was moving at an incredible speed.

He knew.

He knew, but his heart was in such a hurry that he found himself rushing them without realizing it.

“To think they would leave the training ground at a time like this.”

Just then, Ethan muttered with a sorrowful expression.

“But it’ll be okay. You shouldn’t worry too much either. The trainees gathered there are all on the strong side. They are all individuals who would have become knights next month.”

“…Yes.”

“Besides, if the training ground ended up like this, it means the enemy’s main force was concentrated here, doesn’t it? Dirk’s side might actually be safer.”

“That might be so.”

Ethan was right.

Considering the habits of demonic beasts, it was certainly possible.

Those things move towards where there is more prey.

So it was highly likely that after destroying the training ground, they naturally moved towards the city.

‘It’s not such a bad situation. Rather, if Dirk survived the battle, he would have grown a lot too.’

Reinhardt tried his best to think positively and just stared out the window.

It was because the image of Irien, who unknowingly sprayed fire in all directions, kept coming to mind.

For a long time like that.

It was around the time when the road they had been running on for a long time came to an abrupt end.

“We’re almost there! It’s right ahead!”

Reinhardt looked out the window for any signs of people.

He tried to find traces of living humans, but he couldn't see any yet.

And only when the carriage came to a complete stop.

Reinhardt discovered a group of people who looked like a band of defeated soldiers.

‘Quite a lot survived.’

The gazes of the trainees looking at the carriage trembled.

It was an expression of someone who had met a savior in the middle of a vast ocean.

“…That’s a relief.”

Ethan Taton said. He got out of the carriage first and spread out the supplies he had brought on the ground.

Potions for treating injuries, food and water, and even fluffy blankets to rest on were laid out on the dirt floor.

“I-It’s the Commander!”

“Commander!”

“Everyone, over here!”

The trainees swarmed over.

Those who couldn’t move on their own were carried on stretchers.

With a heavy expression, Ethan poured potions on them, gave them water, and laid them down.

Reinhardt stood by his side and observed the faces of the trainees.

‘Where is Dirk?’

Dirk was nowhere to be seen.

There were about twenty surviving trainees.

But if they had survived, Dirk should naturally be among them.

“What happened?”

As if reading his mind, Ethan asked.

A trainee who was in relatively good condition answered.

“A monster wolf appeared. Our comrades who hadn’t finished the march were attacked by it, and we also fought a battle.”

“…A monster wolf?”

“I know it’s hard to believe. But it’s true. A wolf the size of a house attacked us.”

“No, I believe you.”

“Pardon?”

“I believe your words. If it weren't for a situation like that, you guys wouldn't have been pushed back this much.”

Ethan nodded and looked over the injured who had been laid to one side.

Among them was the instructor who had been in charge of the training.

His face was pale, but fortunately, he didn't seem to be dead.

His limbs were also intact.

“What happened to Instructor Erok?”

“…There was a somewhat unfortunate incident.”

“The battle must have been fierce.”

“Well… yes, it was.”

“That’s a relief. What happened to the monster wolf you mentioned? Did you defeat it?”

“About that.”

The trainee’s expression darkened.

Reinhardt perked up his ears and listened to the story.

And he was taken aback.

“I’m sorry, Commander. It went after Dirk. Dirk drew its attention to save us and ran away.”