Chapter 44

The prelude to the war, which began at dawn, started with trampling on the Orcs, heralded by the clarion call of a unicorn horn.

Their green blood dripping from enemy blades soaked the earth in all directions, and axes flying blindly through the air rang out with the soldiers’ mortal dirge.

Red blood and green blood blended together, covering the earth.

Death, and slaughter.

Only the twinkling stars in the pristine sky overhead, and the sun that was rising over the mountain ridges, told of time’s passing, while the war below continued as if timeless and eternal.

‘Is this enough?’

Callius thought this was it.

Callius and the Knights had made a major detour, deciding to gradually distance themselves from the battlefield.

Their purpose was to cut off the food supply of the Orcs in front of them.

“Follow me!”

The Knights gathered around Callius, who shouted as he raised his sword high, and wielded it against his foes again and again.

Unfortunately, there were also people among them who were hit with an axe and spewed out blood, but it couldn’t be helped.

“We must go now!!

“Master Callius!”

Allen screamed at Callius, who had been waiting for the Knights to follow. Their group was becoming surrounded while waiting for the latecomers.

“Tch.”

Can’t be helped –

“Let’s go!”

“Uooooooooo!!”

“Cut a way open!!”

Half a day passed like that while they moved around like that, avoiding most of the dangers along the way with the help of [Tricolour Eye].

And by the time when the risen dawn was becoming twilight –

The landscape surrounding Callius had changed.

The frozen white plain, a symbol of the northern winter, had changed into a lush forest.

Callius had moved north from Jevarsch and reached the nameless forest.

“Were those guys the last of our pursuers?”

“It seems so, but we shouldn’t relax our vigilance yet, Master Callius.”

It was Allen. He had become more cautious after losing an eye.

The corpses of Orcs were piled up nearby Callius and the Knights.

These were the ones who had obsessively pursued the Knights while they escaped from the battlefield.

There were no casualties on the way, and they had settled the matter by repetitive hit-and-run tactics against the pursuers.

“Why say obvious things… Master, wipe the blood off with this!”

“Yeah.”

Feeling that his role was being usurped, Bruns tried to disparage Allen, while the rest of the Knights stood vigilant.

Emily was taking care of the Knights and assigning them roles.

“Did you erase all the footprints on your way? Erase all traces as much as possible.”

“Yes!”

Of course, Emily and the Knights had matured by going through several battles.

Even if no one said anything, they would still find something to do on their own, so he could get some rest.

Callius had been hoping to get some secret quests from the Carcasses of the moderately strong Orcs who had appeared so far.

He checked to see if there were any.

‘There’s nothing.’

To be fair, there actually were a few, but they were all quests to kill Knights of the North, so there was nothing that he could use.

Since their corpses had already been turned into Carcass Swords, he tried to get some rewards by handing them out to other Knights and destroying the Carcasses later. But there were no rewards, because he hadn’t used them as a sword.

Looked like the soul guidance ceremony was only possible after using the Carcass as a sword personally.

「Callius von Jervain」

「Occupation」 – Pilgrim

「Spirit」 – Level 3

「Divine Power」 – 5302/6251

「Talent」 – [Bard’s Blessing]

「Characteristics」 – [Verse of Grace] [Nobility’s Duty] [Scapegrace of the Count Family] [Death Verse Composition] [Prodigal Son of the Order] [Gluttony] [Tricolour Eye]

[Ability]

Strength – 76 (30)

Agility – 55 (30)

Skill – 13

Health – 47 (30)

Faith – 63

As his spirit strength rose to level 3, his overall physical abilities also soared.

‘My strength has improved quite a bit.’

When he grabbed a nearby stone and put some pressure, it was crushed into powder in an instant.

Perhaps now, Callius might even be able to compete with Zornik’s supernal might, but that man had already turned into a dagger.

“Master Callius. I’ve erased all the traces.”

It was time.

“We’ll go north. I know the location, so we’ll move slowly, erasing our traces as we go.”

“Yes!”

It’d been four days since they started moving like that, erasing the traces of their passing as they went.

The Knights of Callius had finally identified one of the Orcs’ supply routes, and had been waiting two days in an ambush.

They could see a procession of Orcs, laden with supplies.

“Are they holding hostages?”

At the tail end of the procession, figures with familiar faces tied to a rope were being dragged.

Callius immediately ordered –

“Attack.”

It didn’t matter whoever was caught.

Anyway, the purpose was to steal the supplies.

Or to destroy them.

“Kill them all.”

“Yes!”

The Orc who shouted first in surprise got Zornic in the head for his trouble.

The dagger flew out of Callius’s grip, fast as lightning, and pierced precisely in the middle of the Orc’s forehead.

‘Not bad.’

His throwing skill had improved considerably in accuracy. As if every throw was being corrected automatically.

It wasn’t a necessary talent for somebody with Callius’ state, but there was nothing bad about having it.

“Attack! Kill them all!!”

“Damn Orcs!”

The Knights rushed forward like a flash of light and swung their swords.

Allen, the blond-haired boy with a shortsword and a small shield in his hands.

Aaron, wielding a greatsword that matched his size.

Bruns, with flowing motions of his dagger.

And finally, a beautiful longsword.

Emily beheading the Orcs with Lucen as if she was flying through the air.

And after her –

Chwaaaak! Callius, cleanly slashing apart the rushing Orcs as he stepped through the battlefield with noble dignity.

“Oh, was it you lot?”

Seeing the faces of the hostages crouching down as the Orcs fell around them, Callius spoke to a woman in the middle.

Her name was Orphin.

A long time ago –

She had been a Knight who had escorted Callius.

“Արագ քայլիր!” 「Walk faster!」

Pak!

With a voice like metal being scratched, he kicked the woman’s waist as if telling her to walk quickly.

She fell down helplessly. However, her hands and feet that had been tied to the cart kept dragging her across the ground.

The sound of chuckling and laughter swept through the Orcs.

The eyes of hostages like herself looked at her with pity.

Reluctantly, she got up again and kept trailing after the procession.

Her name was Orphin.

Jervain’s Knight, who had been waiting in the forest as per Callavan’s orders.

It was Orphin de Liofen.

“Orphin, are you alright?”

“Fine.”

Accompanying her were the twin children of Callavan, who had been taken hostage along with her, as well as several Knights who were half-dead.

“Haa….”

Her sigh mixed with the chilly morning air and turned white.

It was just bad luck.

To have met a procession of Orcs carrying supplies by chance.

To help the North somehow, they tried to slow their progress even the slightest bit, but they got caught in the end.

The battle ensued quickly and ended quickly.

A complete defeat.

The reality was that they were being dragged around as hostages.

Perhaps the reason they were being carried was to use them as playthings, or to provoke a response from the enemy on the battlefield.

Either way, they wouldn’t die an easy death.

‘Even if I say that, Master Rivan and Mistress Rinney…’

It was a mark of shame on her Knighthood.

The guilt of not having been able to protect them weighed heavily on her shoulders.

That was then –

“Անակնկալ գրոհ է!!” 「Surprise attack!!」

The line of Orcs became jumbled.

They pulled out their axes at once and started fighting.

Several Knights arrived, cutting down the Orcs.

They did not bear the mark of Jervain. However, the Knights dealt with the Orcs skilfully and defeated them one by one.

Among them, a young girl with short black hair was weaving through the enemies and wielding her sword. And behind them, the elegant face of a man with a heavy and serious demeanour caught her eye.

Jervain’s maniac, who was said to have the most handsome face among all the nobles of the Kingdom.

Callius von Jervain.

It was him.

“It was you, is it? Orphin.”

“Ah… Master Callius.”

“Master Callius!!”

“…”

Orphin was weeping, Rinney welcomed Callius, but Rivan remained silent as if depressed.

Chwaaak.

After cutting off their handcuffs and shackles with a single stroke of his sword, Callius continued working with the Knights and annihilated the Orcs.

Orphin continued to stare at his back with tears in her eyes.

Previously, it was a back she had guarded, but now she was being guarded by that back in turn.

She felt an indescribable emotion swirling within her.

As a Knight –

As a Knight serving Jervain, she felt shame and gratitude warring within her.

‘You have changed remarkably.’

Now, he was no longer the idiot she had known his as.

Rather, it was an appearance of a Knight he had once longed for. Orphin looked at Callius with longing eyes glistening with tears.

“Grab the sword.”

A sword was thrown at her, a Carcass made from an Orc nearby.

Orphin was moved by the sight of Callius handing the sword to her.

She bit her lower lips hard enough to bleed. Quietly, with both hands, she received the sword.

It was definitely a poignant scene.

The hesitations in her heart were gone.

Orphin made up her mind.

She licked her lips as if intending to say something, but it wasn’t a good time for that.

Kwaaaang!

“Kkkahak!”

A sound that resembled an explosion resounded among the mass of Knight at one side.

Immediately, a tingling sensation ran all over her body.

Thump, thump.

Only the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard, stepping on the Orc corpses, in the ensuing relative silence.

“Ca-, Master Callius!!”

The one who finally showed up was none other than a being with green skin and red hair.

A Warrior with high honour among the Orcs.

A Warrior among Warriors.

It was a being the Orcs called a Great Warrior.

“Great Warrior…”

An Orc Warrior who already emitted an aura causing the skin to tingle.

He had a more ferocious atmosphere than those they had seen before.

“Ah….”

It’s a Great Warrior!

Orphin, who had just been thinking they had managed to survive, fell again into the abyss of despair.

“He’s different, isn’t he?”

“Yes! He’s different from the one we saw last time! He’s smaller and thinner!”

It was Rinney who interrupted Callius, who’d been talking to himself.

“… You saw him?”

“I saw you from a distance last time! I have pretty good eyes!”

Rinney pointed to her own eyes and grinned.

Callius glared at Rinney with expressionless eyes and muttered to himself.

“It’s the ‘grace’ brought forth by God’s blessing.”

“Yes! That’s right!”

A blessing from the God Valtherus, which was said to be given only to the nobles and royal families who had been present during the founding myth of the Kingdom.

This seemed to be a blessing like that.

Through the generations, God’s grace manifests itself intermittently in the bloodline.

‘The Jervain have their eyes.’

God-given gray eyes.

Of course, Callius did not possess such a grace.

“It’s a pity that it’s not Kel’tuk, but there’s no better opponent here for a swordfight.”

“Callius! He’s probably pretty confident in his speed!”

Ignoring Rinney’s cry, Callius walked forward and drew the Predator Sword.

The Axe God of Orcs, Kun-Ta.

He performed a miracle different from the other Gods on his chosen Warriors.

Most of the axes they carried were weapons belonging to a system of strengthening.

The moment you hold it, your body is strengthened supernally in some manner.

Maybe in the shoulders or maybe in the legs, but most of the Orcs’ miracles were generally like that.

So maybe this guy –

‘The unique ability must be related to agility.’

In contrast, Kel’tuk had been about pure force.

The difference in body size and trained muscles seemed to have been noticed by Rinney, who was blessed with God’s grace.

This battle was going to be pretty different.

But Callius more than welcomed it.

Since then, he had gone through a series of breath-taking battles, but no new opponent had appeared who could make his heart race so much.

Callius’ lips twitched.

“Come.”

Kung. The sound of hitting the ground rang clearly.

However, the Great Warrior who invaded his surroundings was fast as a thunderbolt.

Kaaaaaang!!

The axe and the Predator Sword – Loas collided so fast they were invisible to the naked eye.

The sparks that spread were so bright that they lit up the darkened twilight sky.

Kwaaang! Kaang! Kigigigik!

The air itself trembled intensely in the aftershock.

At that thunderous roar, Rivan and Rinny covered their ears with both hands.

But the children’s gray eyes did not blink for a moment.

Because it seemed that if they blinked even for just a single moment, they would lose sight of the Great Warrior and Callius, locked in battle, forever.

“Rivan. Look carefully. If that man hadn’t used a fork against your sword, you wouldn’t be here now.”

Suddenly Emily, who was perched behind Rivan and ahead of Rinney –

She looked proudly at Callius, fighting fiercely, and spoke.

“One day, you’ll be proud of it. That you’d ever faced him with a sword.”

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.

Chapters 45-46 are available for members in Ko-fi.

Project Page Support Us on Ko-fi