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◈ The Genius Knight of a Fallen Race ◈

Chapter 48: The Will Conveyed Through the Sword

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An ogre's most striking features were its massive frame and its two arms, so long and thick they looked deformed.

Even standing still, its hands reached the ground, and each fist was nearly as large as its head.

It would not be wrong to say it had two maces attached to its arms, one on each side.

As if to prove those arms were not merely for show, the ogre roared at the subjugation force watching from the hill and slammed both hands into the ground.

The boom reached them from more than several hundred meters away.

A few nearby monsters were even knocked off their feet by the impact, an almost surreal sight.

“Whoa...”

“What kind of absurd strength is that?”

“As expected of an ogre.”

When people spoke of the strongest monster, they usually named dragons. Yet when asked which monster was physically strongest, ogres were often among those mentioned.

They had no exceptional regeneration, no fire-breathing ability, or other supernatural magical powers. Yet they were counted among the most powerful monsters through nothing but overwhelming physical strength.

An elderly knight, well past fifty and already at an age when they should have long since retired, clicked their tongue as they watched.

“It looks far bigger and stronger than the one I saw before... Is that because it is a pack lord?”

Forty years earlier, the knight had taken part in an ogre subjugation as a teenage squire and had been brought here as an advisor.

Many were intimidated at the claim that it was far stronger than an ordinary ogre. A few, though, became excited.

Naturally, they were wandering knights who had joined in hopes of winning the honor of slaying an ogre. Those too fainthearted to face danger would never have abused their bodies to the brink of death to awaken Spirit.

“Much larger and stronger than an ordinary ogre... We could call it the king of ogres!”

“Slaying such a creature would be all the more honorable.”

“If you permit it, I will take the lead!”

They had already begun giving it names as though the hunt were over. They were counting their trophies before the hunt had even begun.

Standing a few steps away, Shan recalled the ogre’s overwhelming display of strength.

‘It really can’t be compared to that cockatrice.’

He knew an ogre ranked only somewhat higher as a monster, yet this one radiated enough strength and presence to crush several cockatrices without trouble.

Several large monsters stood around it as well, including trolls, owlbears, and werewolves.

Beside the ogre, they all looked like children. Yet each one was a monster capable of tearing apart dozens of ordinary people with ease.

There was no need to mention the more than several hundred gnolls, banshees, and ghouls scattered around them.

‘Can we really win with this force...?’

More than sixty knights and roughly two thousand soldiers should have been enough against even a massive group of monsters, but watching the ogre made Shan less certain.

They could hunt it easily enough if everyone followed orders properly. The problem was that this did not look like a situation where that would happen.

As Shan considered that, the monsters unexpectedly broke their encirclement and began retreating first.

Being caught between the city and the subjugation force must have concerned them.

One lord glanced around before raising a question.

“What if we pursue them?”

“Hmm. The weather is poor for that.”

The answer came from Count Kram, the noble who had brought the largest force among the subjugation army.

Count Kram had brought six family knights, along with as many as 150 private soldiers and mercenaries. Though the count held no official authority to command, everyone treated Count Kram as something close to a commander and respected the count’s words.

As Count Kram said, a light autumn rain was falling from the sky.

Cold winds whipping around their soaked bodies would quickly steal away their body heat, likely leading to rapid exhaustion.

Even clothed, human bodies were far more vulnerable to environmental changes than monsters.

Having lived for generations in Pendia, the land of monsters, they had learned that fact through experience.

By the time the subjugation force hesitated and failed to make a quick decision, the monsters had completely moved away from the city.

Watching them go, Shan muttered to himself.

“This won’t be easy...”

“What won’t? The ogre?”

Roden asked quietly beside him.

“Yeah. It’s strong, but it also seems smart. Like the troll we hunted before.”

The man-eating troll Shan had hunted in Ovilos had possessed remarkable intelligence, making the hunt far more difficult than one against an ordinary troll.

Even if this ogre was not quite that clever, if it was a creature that did not simply rely on instinct but thought deeply before making decisions, hunting it would surely be difficult.

Especially with no real command structure like this.

* * *

By the time the monster army had retreated far enough that it was no longer visible around the castle, the subjugation force entered Sedil City at a leisurely pace.

The city’s residents cheered loudly from atop the walls, warmly welcoming the subjugation force that had driven back the monster army, though they had not actually fought.

White breath drifted from their mouths in the rain and cold.

As he entered, Shan saw deep cracks running throughout the city walls.

Large round marks remained in several places. They seemed to have been left by the ogre’s fists.

Perhaps that was why the Magic stones reinforcing the city gates and walls appeared drained, their colors duller than usual.

The people cheering for the subjugation force did not look well either.

The city no longer had the lively atmosphere Shan had seen when he first came, filled with Demon Realm explorers who had come here to chase their dreams.

There were even quite a few bodies in the streets, people who appeared to have starved to death.

As they followed the main road toward the inner castle, Count Sedil, the old bear, came out with soldiers in tow.

The arrogant attitude Count Sedil had once shown Shan and Roden was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he greeted the nobles with a broad smile.

“Oh, welcome! You must have had a difficult journey!”

“It has been a while, Count Sedil.”

“It has. I cannot say I am glad to see you under these circumstances, but let us go inside first. You will catch cold in this autumn rain.”

The strategy meeting and banquet held after they entered the inner castle laid bare just how poor Sedil City’s condition was.

The bread had been baked from flour that had sat too long, leaving it with a strong stale smell. The dishes made from salted meat tasted sour.

The vegetables were shriveled and covered in mold.

A few nobles who had eaten nothing but fine food their whole lives grimaced and would not even touch the meal.

Shan also set aside only the food that seemed excessively spoiled, worried it would make him sick.

Count Sedil looked embarrassed as the nobles and knights reacted.

“I apologize for the meager fare. Food is scarce throughout the city.”

Cities relied on food produced in the surrounding villages.

Sedil territory, located near the Demon Realm where monsters often roamed, had even less farmland than most.

The monsters had devastated nearby villages and then encircled the city. It was only natural that matters had become this bad.

If this was the food Count Sedil served guests, it was a wonder riots had not already broken out.

“A prolonged battle will be difficult.”

“Is there nowhere nearby to bring food from?”

“I heard Count Paless is coming to provide support.”

“Food wagons from the capital are also supposed to arrive soon.”

“So we must provide for ourselves until support comes from somewhere. That won’t be easy.”

A force of two thousand men, with no especially large food supply of its own, had joined a city of thirty thousand people already nearing starvation.

They had to settle this quickly.

“First, how much fighting strength remains in the city?”

“Excluding those needed to maintain order, we have three knights, fifty soldiers including guards, and around fifty explorers we can use. If we conscript young men, perhaps we could add several hundred more, though they would not become meaningful fighting strength.”

“That is too few for a city this size.”

“Many died or fled in the earlier battles. Still, we cannot use untrained citizens as soldiers.”

Count Sedil answered a baron’s complaint in a defeated tone.

Sedil City had taken the monster invasion head-on, so the initial battles had caused many casualties.

The explorers who had no obligation to protect this place had seized the chance and fled.

Come to think of it, Shan did not see Sir Gowell, his senior under Sir Darkal who had also become a knight through the same teachings.

He hoped Gowell was simply injured and unable to come out.

As that thought crossed Shan’s mind, Count Sedil turned to him.

“Now that I think of it, I have not even congratulated you on becoming a knight. Congratulations, Sir Shan! Your help played a great part in keeping this city intact.”

“My help...?”

Shan looked confused, unable to think of what the count meant. Count Sedil chuckled.

“The Magic stone from the cockatrice you hunted greatly reinforced the city walls. Without it, they would have collapsed long ago.”

“Ah...”

The nobles and knights of the subjugation force looked at Shan with renewed interest.

They seemed to remember something they had forgotten. This fellow had hunted a cockatrice.

“Sir Shan hunted the cockatrice here in Sedil City?”

“I heard it was hunted inside the Demon Realm, though I do not know exactly where.”

Uncomfortable with Shan becoming the center of attention, one Old Faith lord cleared their throat and drew everyone’s attention elsewhere.

“Where do the monsters get their food? Given their size and numbers, they must eat an enormous amount.”

“People. What else would it be?”

Unlike earlier, Count Sedil’s face held no trace of a smile.

The expression was so grim that several people shuddered.

“You can assume nearly every village around here has been wiped out. The monsters deliberately operate supply units. They do not simply kill everyone either. They bring people back alive and butcher them fresh for food.”

“Hah...”

“They are smarter than most human bandits.”

There was no need to say how much that behavior had damaged the morale of those holding out in Sedil City.

After a few more rounds of discussion, the plan was decided simply.

They would rest in the castle today. Tomorrow, once the rain stopped, they would immediately gather their forces and fight the monster army head-on.

There was far too little food remaining to devise elaborate strategies.

Many within the subjugation force had already run out of food and were borrowing from others or requisitioning supplies from villages they passed.

The problem arose when they began deciding their battle formation.

“I will stand in the center!”

“No, I will! Do you know who killed the man-eating tiger of Mount Bekam?”

“You boast about killing a mere tiger, not even a monster?”

The knights shouted over one another, pressing their foreheads together and growling as they fought to take the lead.

Their hostility was so fierce that they looked ready to draw swords at any moment. The servants nearby trembled.

Shan stood a step back and silently watched their disgraceful display.

Sir Lugh, beside him, bent deeply at the waist and whispered.

“Sir Shan... Is this really all right? At this rate, we will be pushed completely to the outskirts.”

Whether in war or monster hunts, such things often happened when there was no authoritative commander.

The center was obviously where one had the greatest chance of hunting the biggest prey. No one wanted to be stuck at the edges, hunting only lesser monsters.

Perhaps Lugh’s behavior drew attention to them. One Old Faith lord looked at Shan with a sickening smile.

“Ah, right. Sir Shan, could you perhaps take charge of the left wing?”

“Indeed. Your honor has already soared high from hunting that cockatrice. It would be virtuous to yield to others now.”

Other Old Faith lords and knights joined in, trying to restrain Shan.

They had spent the entire march refusing even to speak with him, calling him a vermin-like Alto. Now they put on such nauseating pretenses.

Shan himself had played a major part in why they acted this way.

No matter what reputation he had gained, he was still a small Alto brat who had killed a cockatrice.

Yet surely well-trained Westerner knights could kill an ogre that was only somewhat stronger than a cockatrice.

That vague optimism had taken root in them.

They were anxious Shan might snatch the ogre for himself.

“Hmm? No, that would be...”

“Someone like Sir Shan should not be assigned to the edge rather than the center.”

“The most skilled knight should stand in the most dangerous place.”

Naturally, others objected.

Some were knights acquainted with Shan. Others were lords looking at the situation more objectively.

A knight strong enough to hunt a cockatrice should obviously be placed before the ogre.

If someone of sufficient ability did not confront such a large monster, the casualties it caused would grow exponentially.

There were even some who opposed the idea simply because they disliked whoever stood on the other side.

The meeting hall immediately fell into chaos.

The spectacle of them spraying spit and grabbing each other by the collar over the trivial question of whether Shan should stand in the center or at the edge was so ugly it was almost ridiculous.

After thinking for a moment, Shan drew their attention by knocking against the wall with Spirit.

Bang!

A small hole appeared in the stone wall.

“Uh...”

Shan had gotten the attention he wanted, but he had not intended to bring down the wall. For a moment, he looked flustered.

Then he quickly composed himself.

“You don’t need to fight. As we discussed, I will stand with the left wing.”

“A wise decision, Sir Shan!”

“Unlike those greedy people, you understand how to look to the greater good...”

Shan lazily nodded as he accepted the Old Faith lords’ disgusting praise.

The knights acquainted with him spoke in regret.

“Why would you do that? If you leave the center, our fighting strength will suffer greatly.”

“Is there a reason you do not wish to stand at the front?”

A few even rebuked him with disappointed looks, as though he were a coward.

Shan calmly explained why he had stepped back.

“We have come a long way. We should rest quickly, recover our strength, and fight. I do not want to watch people argue for days over something as minor as my position.”

“Hmm...”

Looking at those still arguing over who would lead the center, no one could laugh off Shan’s claim that they might fight for days as an exaggeration.

Even with Shan’s concession, it took a long while for the battle formation to be finalized.

Lugh, who had traveled with him, was assigned to the left formation as well after being lumped in with Shan.

“Because I was assigned here, you ended up in the left formation too, Sir Lugh.”

“No. I thought Sir Shan must have something in mind... Besides, even if I insisted, it would have been difficult for me to stand in the center.”

Most of those assigned to the center were Old Faith lords and their knights from the west.

Since Hasra City was located in western Pendia, many who answered the call were from that region. Their voices were the loudest, and their faction was the strongest.

“Can this really work...?”

The old knight’s hollow sigh drifted through the room.

* * *

After the meeting, Count Sedil called Shan over.

Up close, the count’s face, which had already looked old for his age, seemed far older from fatigue and despair.

His hair had completely turned white. It would not have been surprising if someone believed the count was seventy.

“Do you have a moment?”

“Yes, of course.”

“That is good. Let us walk a little. That tall knight must be Sir Lugh, correct?”

“You know me?”

“How could I not? I heard you were the runner-up at the Hasra jousting tournament. Word has spread even here that you had a splendid match with Sir Shan. Are you two acquainted?”

Shan glanced at Lugh, who looked expectant, then nodded.

“Yes. There is an age difference between us, but we are friends.”

“Friends? I have learned much from Sir Shan! He is more outstanding than any warrior I have ever seen!”

Lugh waved both hands in surprise at Shan calling him a friend.

Count Sedil laughed heartily and nodded.

“Yes, a warrior strong enough to defeat a cockatrice alone. I told you before that an Alto could never become a knight, Sir Shan. I never expected it to happen in less than a year... Though it was closer to a princess’s whim.”

“I do not think the advice you gave me then was wrong.”

Shan had only become a knight because of unusual circumstances.

The fact that Serin had lost the lords’ support after knighting him proved Count Sedil’s words had not been exaggerated at all.

Come to think of it, Shan had heard the atmosphere in the capital was poor before he left. Was everything all right there?

As Shan looked west, Count Sedil spoke.

“Sir Gowell passed away some time ago. He gave his life to kill a wyvern that had flown over the wall to attack. It was a knightly death.”

“I see.”

The news that someone Shan knew had died, someone he had crossed swords with and shared memories of training under the same teacher with, left a bitter feeling in Shan’s throat.

They had not been especially close, but the death of someone he knew was still deeply unpleasant.

“May their soul safely reach the goddess.”

“I am sure it will.”

Everyone traced the goddess’s symbol with their hands and mourned Sir Gowell.

After a moment, Count Sedil raised his head and gestured with his chin toward the other lords and knights walking in the distance.

“What do you think?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you think they can hunt the ogre?”

Shan thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“I thought so too. Damn it, I do not know what the capital is thinking. They would not send a lord with proper authority to command... I naturally thought Marquis Abel would come as commander. With that one person’s skill and standing, no one would dare make a sound.”

The disorder in this subjugation force was largely due to the chaos in the capital.

The king could not leave the bed, and neither prince held enough authority to suppress the other nobles and take control.

The count, relatively out of touch with news from the capital, did not seem to know how far its situation had deteriorated.

“Indeed.”

Instead of explaining it all, Shan gave a brief reply.

He only knew through Roden, and he was neither confident he could explain it clearly nor saw any reason to explain the situation to Count Sedil.

“Anyway, if we are right, once those people collapse, someone will need to clean up the mess and slay the ogre.”

Count Sedil spoke quietly before abruptly asking a question.

“Do you have a decent magic sword?”

“Yes. I have one that is reasonably useful.”

“Let me see it.”

Shan immediately drew the longsword at his waist halfway from its sheath.

It was not a magic device Serin had made for him, since there had not been time, but it was still a fine steel sword bought at great cost from the capital’s forge, bearing the highest-grade enchantment magic.

Even this was far better than the sword he had used against the cockatrice.

Yet it clearly did not satisfy Count Sedil.

The old bear clicked his tongue, then abruptly removed the sword at his waist and tossed it to Shan.

“Draw it.”

Shan already knew what it was without drawing it.

He had seen it once before, and the shape of its hilt, guard, and sheath had remained etched into his mind.

Only one thing had changed. A faint bloodstain still remained on the handle, not fully wiped away.

Shing.

When Shan lightly drew the blade halfway, ancient Alto letters engraved along its center glowed softly.

It was the powerful magic sword Count Sedil’s family had kept for generations, the sword Sir Gowell had used during their sparring match.

“Sir Gowell did not let go of that sword until the final moment of life. Gowell drove it into the wyvern’s heart. I hope you will carry on Gowell’s will with it.”

Count Sedil added in a deliberately frivolous tone, apparently trying to lighten the mood, that this did not mean Shan should go die in battle.

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