Chapter 105

I rushed to the battlefield where the barbarian tribe was being suppressed the moment I began to properly manage hostility.

Even though Asulin opposed me because she was worried about my injuries and wanted to prevent me from returning to the battlefield, our minor friction was resolved thanks to Elshymer’s assurance that he wouldn’t leave me alone when we were deployed to the front.

In truth, even if the Bright Wing Knights participated in the battle with their overwhelming individual skills, I had planned to secretly join the fight despite Asulin’s staunch opposition because defeating the barbarians required experience.

With Asulin’s permission to go to the battlefield, I felt no hesitation and confidently joined the suppression effort, recalling Asulin’s earnest request for me not to get hurt while inflating her cheeks as I set out to assess the situation.

Seeing the accumulated fatigue on Asulin’s face, I realized how important it was to observe the soldiers directly to make accurate assessments. After diligently observing them, it became clear that while they successfully defended Frostmoor Fortress for ten days, the fortress’s troops showed evident signs of exhaustion due to the continuous onslaught of the barbarian tribes.

Even the highest-ranking defender, Asulin, couldn’t hide the faint traces of fatigue on her face, and the plight of the low-ranking soldiers and knights would be even more dire. Their exhaustion stemmed primarily from the barbarians’ relentless attacks, deploying large forces in waves.

However, it wasn’t just the physical fatigue that these soldiers faced; the mental strain of having to kill countless humans, including barbarians who, despite their cruelty, were still human, added to their burden. The black-winged knights and their commander, my older brother, who had fought countless battles against both demons and humans, knew this well.

My task was clear: I needed to alleviate the psychological resistance of the garrison troops who had to face the barbarians.

Swiftly—!

The precision of my slashes with Failord only intensified the eerie sounds filling the icy wilderness, repeatedly depicting my merciless strikes. One could question whether simply cutting down the barbarians like reaping crops could diminish the psychological resistance of the defensive troops.

“Ah!! It’s the Crimson Feather Knight! Why are you here?”

“Am I seeing wrong? Why is that damned knight here?”

“The knight who strikes down several of his kin with each swing can only be the Crimson Feather Knight. I couldn’t have mistaken it.”

“Damn it. This is bad. Could the son of the one the Great Chieftain brought not end this?”

“What?! He really came?”

“Damn. I tried to avoid looking at them, but they chased after me.”

“Don’t approach that one! More corpses to eat than to harvest!”

As these words slipped from the lips of some of the subdued barbarians, it helped increase the number of those avoiding contact with me.

The Crimson Feather Knight… the memory of hacking through them madly at the eastern border of the Zakarat Mountain Range now flowed naturally from their mouths, suggesting I had become quite famous among them.

But now isn’t the time for this.

“Die!”

“I’m going to kill the Crimson Feather Knight and eat him!”

Despite the warnings of experienced barbarians, a few young hotheads approached fearlessly. I needed to show them what happens when they approach someone they shouldn’t.

Though there’s a downside to paying with one’s life, it might be a better choice to swiftly eliminate those who charge recklessly.

Swish!

I lightly swung Failord, collecting their lives in an instant. They didn’t even realize they had been struck before they drew their last breath.

Spilling hot blood onto the cold, white snow, I instilled an inevitable fear of death into them. Indeed, instilling fear in them with my own strength was a daunting task.

“These ones dying like this won’t even be worth eating.”

“They only think about eating, so they don’t realize they could be eaten themselves. Well, at least they don’t eat the ones they kill themselves, like us.”

“Look, don’t approach them. We can’t handle them!”

Even the barbarians who somewhat knew of my reputation mocked the fallen young barbarians while desperately trying to stop the younger ones from approaching.

The young barbarians, seeing their comrades turned to corpses, instead rushed towards other knights or soldiers.

“We need to grow by eating more corpses!”

“Let’s kill the ones we can!”

Their cries filled with the desire to devour their victims.

Though their cunning to target weaker opponents is one thing, the barbarians openly declaring they would eat their killed enemies was quite disheartening.

Anyone could tell from their words that these barbarians invading Frostmoor Fortress practiced cannibalism. They consumed the corpses of the enemy soldiers and knights they killed on the battlefield.

While cannibalism due to extreme survival conditions might be understandable, albeit rare, the barbarians’ practice of consuming the flesh of warriors to absorb their power through ritualistic means was entirely different.

When I first learned about this, I was furious and intended to slaughter only the shamans who promoted such practices.

The barbarians’ talk of cannibalism had spread, causing unrest and anger among the defenders. Until then, despite the overwhelming skill of the defenders, the corpses never fell into the hands of the barbarians. Only now did they realize the barbarians were cannibals.

The defenders’ expressions hardened with contempt, colder than the winter wind that seemed to despise cannibals.

This atmosphere needed fuel. If not, I would have to step up.

“Those trash again! Talking about eating people.”

Bam!

“Argh!!!”

Fortunately, Elshymer, enraged by hearing the barbarians speak of cannibalism, swung his greatsword like a branch, sending several barbarians flying, thus reducing my burden.

Thanks to my past experiences serving with the Black Wing Knights, where I narrowly escaped being killed by the barbarians only to be saved by you, I understood their true nature.

“They’re not eating to survive but to absorb power through rituals. Don’t let any of them live!”

Elshymer, violently pushing back the barbarians, recalled the past with a suppressed rage, unable to contain his hatred.

His declaration resonated with the genuine agony of the victims.

“We can’t give the fortress to cannibals!”

“It’s time to repay the humiliation of turning the mountains into a playground for demons last year!”

The senior soldiers of the fortress echoed this sentiment.

“Form a line! Let’s show them what it feels like to become meat!”

The Bright Wing Knights, fueled by fury against the barbarians’ relentless assaults, formed a three-man formation and charged towards the barbarians.

The defenders were determined not to let these cannibals enter the fortress, and with knights capable of taking down nearly a hundred barbarians, the barbarians were in for a tough fight.

Indeed, under my strikes, the barbarians hesitated but didn’t fully retreat, only to lose ground under the organized assault of the defenders.

Facing opponents who mirrored their own fierce rage rather than cold calculation was not something the barbarians often encountered, making their panic unsurprising.

“Don’t panic! At times like this, we must push forward with overwhelming numbers…”

Before he could finish, the barbarians were overwhelmed by the Bright Wing Knights’ combined attack, collapsing their command structure.

“Enough! Retreat! We need to regroup to cross this mountain range! Maintain order or be devoured by beasts!”

Only then did the barbarians, who had relentlessly attacked, start retreating under the leadership of their chieftain.

The sight of the barbarians, who had never faltered in their relentless assault, retreating was surreal, but it was clear they had given up.

“…They retreated?”

As the soldiers on the fortress walls noticed the absence of the barbarians, their murmurs signaled the realization of victory.

The defenders finally felt a sense of achievement, their voices echoing across the cold, rugged Zakarat Mountain Range, providing a momentary triumph over the persistent threat.

Though the barbarians’ main force remained formidable, the morale was contagious. Seeing their comrades flee, the barbarians were surely shocked and their spirits wavered.

“Your cheers are too quiet! Shout louder!”

Seizing this opportunity, I aimed to boost the spirits of the defenders at Frostmoor Fortress.

My commanding shout, amplified by hostility, had the desired effect.

Aaaah!!!

The triumphant shouts of the victorious defenders reverberated, momentarily filling the harsh, cold landscape with a sense of accomplishment.

—

Upon returning to the fortress, the first to greet me was Asulin.

Expecting her to smile and praise me for my success, I was surprised to see her cheeks puffed up as usual.

“Why are your cheeks so puffy? I returned unharmed. Why are you looking at me like this?”

Only then did I realize the strict conditions Asulin had set for my return.

“No matter what, these marks are inevitable in battle. I’ll let it slide this time, but…”

Her stern gaze left no room for compromise.

“You are not going to the battlefield. You will stay by my side and assist me.”

She turned away abruptly, leaving me speechless.

To break the barbarians’ momentum, we needed to continue for a few more days, but Asulin’s interference posed a problem.

I immediately thought of ways to appease her, but found myself shaking my head in frustration.

“You should immediately embrace the Duke and apologize sweetly.”

“Quiet.”

Elshymer’s sharp comment made me consider that perhaps this was the best course of action.

…It’s worth a try.

With that, I moved deeper into the fortress as dusk fell, heading to the office where Asulin resided.