Chapter 130

The rocky mountain is collapsing.

The massive boulder, which had stood firm in its place for over a thousand years, trembled as it let out a thunderous roar, shaking violently.

The shattered and falling chunks of rock poured down like a meteor shower, slamming into the forest.

Dust rose like smoke, and trees, their trunks snapped, screamed as they fell sideways.

“My… my god…!”

“Elpinel, have mercy…!”

The soldiers guarding the forest watched in horror and shock as the landslide engulfed the forest.

It was a scene as if a dragon from legends had gone berserk.

Some fell to the ground, unable to withstand the shaking earth. Others stood with their mouths agape, speechless.

Some soldiers knelt, praying to the gods.

Witnessing such a natural disaster, their minds went blank, and the safety of the knights dispatched there didn’t even cross their thoughts.

The horses tied at the edge of the camp went wild, kicking at the fences with their hooves.

If they hadn’t been tied tightly with ropes, they would have bolted long ago.

Just like the deer sprinting out of the forest.

A few unlucky deer bowed their heads humbly, trembling in fear.

You’d be hard-pressed to find animals more polite than these.

Their heads, now flattened against the ground, would never rise again.

—

Inside the forest, where disaster had struck.

Three shadows dashed through the yellow mist like an angry wind.

Two of the trails were chaotic and messy.

If seen from above, they would look like scribbles drawn by a child.

They sharply changed direction to avoid falling rocks and slid under the tilted tree trunks.

Jumping over obstacles embedded in the ground, Freide and Damien desperately ran.

Meanwhile, the other trail was a clean, straight line.

That is, my trail.

When rocks fell overhead, I sped up to pass them.

When tree trunks blocked the way, I smashed through them.

I kicked away all the obstacles on the ground.

“Kyaaaah!”

Milia, who I was carrying on my back, occasionally screamed.

The high-pitched screams near my ears were painful, but I couldn’t hand her over to the others.

I was the fastest, and they seemed busy enough just keeping themselves together.

“You! When we get out of here! I’m definitely sending you to the infirmary—gasp!—the infirmary, got it?!”

Freide shouted, her voice echoing through the forest.

Her mouth didn’t seem too busy. She almost tripped while talking.

“You’ll even cover my medical bills—? As expected of a senior! I’ll definitely take you up on that!”

“Gyaaaaaah!!”

Freide let out a beast-like roar.

If I tease her any more, a saw might come flying my way.

I closed my mouth and ran diligently.

“How much further?! I’m running out of breath…!”

Damien, who seemed to be reaching his limit, shouted with a desperate expression.

Sweat poured down his forehead, and his eyes, distorted with urgency, shook like waves.

“Stop talking and run! Just a little further!”

Hearing my reply, Damien gritted his teeth and kept moving.

It was a blessing that his greatsword was shattered.

Already weighed down by his armor, carrying that hunk of metal would have exhausted him long ago.

—

After about twenty minutes of running, we finally reached the camp.

It took some time since we had to zigzag through the paths.

I also ran alongside Damien and Freide, worried they might collapse.

Fortunately, the effects of the collapse didn’t seem to reach the camp.

“Haa… haa… I thought I was going to die here…!”

“Me too….”

The two collapsed upon reaching the camp, breathing heavily.

They didn’t even seem to notice the soldiers around them staring in shock.

Milia, who I had been carrying, also seemed mentally exhausted, hanging limply on my back.

Everyone’s gone crazy. Who’s going to report the results now?

…Guess it’s just me. Well, I’ll have to do it then.

Carefully setting Milia down on a log, I approached the soldiers.

“M-monsters! Monsters came out of the dungeon!”

A few panicked soldiers pointed their weapons at me.

The trembling tips of their spears aimed at me. It wasn’t threatening, just laughable.

“What are you idiots doing?! Look at the armor! It’s the knights who came for the subjugation mission!”

The more experienced soldiers stopped them.

At least there were some sane ones left to talk to.

“Empire Knights from Remnant Academy, Freide and three others. We’ve completed the subjugation mission at Karmaine Dungeon and are returning. Are you in charge here? The other three are exhausted, so we’d like to request some follow-up measures.”

I approached the soldier who seemed to be the highest-ranking.

He had a blue epaulette on his left shoulder and a sword at his waist.

The soldier, momentarily startled, saluted with precision.

“Honor to the knight! I’m Squad Leader Max. Please let us know your requests, and we’ll take care of them right away!”

Max? Sounds like a name that could start a labor revolution.

If he had grown a beard, he would have had to be arrested.

“Yeah. I need to report the results and head back to the capital, so could you prepare a week’s worth of food and a healer for our carriage?”

“Yes!”

Max nodded and gave various instructions to the other soldiers.

I leaned against the still-vibrating fence, smoking a cigarette, and watched the rocky mountain shaking itself off.

From a distance, it was quite a sight. Though in the middle of it, it was a disaster.

“Um, Sir Knight. If it’s alright, may I ask a few questions?”

Max cautiously approached.

“Questions? If you’re curious, go ahead and ask.”

“Thank you. Then, my first question is, did you exterminate all the monsters in the dungeon?”

Hmm. Maybe they’re still alive?

If they had just died, that would have been the best outcome… but since they’re undead, probably not.

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re buried somewhere down there?”

I pointed at the still-trembling mountain with my cigarette.

Seeing how violently it collapsed, maybe the inside was completely flattened?

That would be nice.

Max looked at the mountain with a horrified expression.

“Did you really do that, Sir Knight? My god, I thought a dragon had appeared.”

“You’ve got quite the imagination. Dragons all died out long ago.”

Yeah. Dragons are just legends; there aren’t any left in this world.

For now.

“I was taught that too… but the Dragonkin of Jin say that dragons are just in a long slumber.”

“That’s just their faith. Anyway, we didn’t cause the landslide.”

It’s not a lie.

‘We’ didn’t do it, I did.

I didn’t want to reveal the whole truth.

It would be awkward if the Ka`har were accused of intentionally destroying the ruins.

Everyone would be curious about what we saw inside to go that far.

That would be troublesome. We went out of our way to destroy it.

“Then how did it happen…?”

“Well… let’s just say it was the aftermath of battle. The fight with the monsters was pretty intense. We were destroying parts of the dungeon, and it ended up like that. So we had to get out fast.”

“…Were the monsters that strong?”

Sweat dripped from Max’s forehead.

Understandable. If such monsters had escaped the dungeon, the first to be slaughtered would have been them.

“Yeah. The dungeon was so thick with dark energy it was hard to breathe, and master-level monsters kept popping out. They probably didn’t make it out alive, but just in case, I plan to request this area be declared off-limits.”

“Master-level…!”

Max’s eyes widened as he muttered in shock.

The soldiers brought a healer, so my short conversation with Max ended there.

A young man. A plain priest wearing the holy symbol of Shaulite.

Seeing my injuries, he rushed over and began casting healing miracles.

“How is it? Will I recover soon?”

“Yes. Fortunately, there’s almost no dark energy corrosion, which is rare for injuries from monster battles. Did you drink holy water like it was water?”

The priest nodded. Good to hear.

So, wounds corroded by dark energy are hard to heal?

Then the disabled people and scarred individuals I occasionally see must be from such cases.

In a world where healing magic seems closer to the future than the present, I wondered why there were still disabled people.

“Not exactly, probably thanks to anti-magic resistance.”

“Ah, you’ve been blessed with anti-magic grace! That’s amazing! …But why does your expression…?”

The last mutter was in a very small voice.

Even I could barely hear it.

What’s wrong with my face, buddy?

Even if blessed by the gods, one can still look intimidating.

In the eyes of other races, even the great Emperor Carolus you all praise must have looked terrifying.

—

While the priest who healed my wounds tended to the other three, the soldiers returned with the carriage.

The horses were quite agitated, so it must have been a struggle.

But finally, we can head back.

I boarded the carriage with the group.

Damien, who lost his weapon, was temporarily supplied with a soldier’s greatsword.

A simple steel greatsword, and since it’s for soldiers, it wasn’t very large… but better than nothing.