Chapter 633

It was an unbearably hot day.

The sky was cloudless, and the scorching heat had dried up even the grass of the grasslands, turning it into a season of drought. The sunlight pouring down was so intense it felt suffocating.

It wasn’t a good day for battle. Not for us, nor for the enemy.

“Warriors of Ai-shan, drench the earth with the blood of the westerners!”

“Long live Or-han Khan! Long live Ai-shan Gi-or!”

Mounted warriors, chanting my name, unleashed a rain of arrows toward the Imperial raiding party.

A battle with the Imperial Army. It was routine. The Empire beyond the barrier feared the power of the grasslands, and whenever they found the chance, they organized subjugation forces to cross the barrier and attack.

Their only miscalculation was that this time, I had come personally. The strongest paladin of Ai-shan.

“Tear the westerners apart! In the name of Ai-shan!”

Twenty-three years had passed since I lost all my kin and swore revenge.

Once a mere fourteen-year-old boy, I had now united three tribes to form the united tribe of Ai-shan, becoming the strongest force in the grasslands.

“Gwaaaah!”

An Imperial soldier, trying to block arrows with a flimsy shield, fell with a scream. Knights, clad in full armor despite the heat, were toyed with by our warriors’ horsemanship and eventually thrown from their horses.

Spears and swords crossed, each aiming for the other’s life, scattering blood across the grasslands.

“Ces bâtards, sont différents de d’habitude…!”

(These bastards, they’re different from usual…!)

Their morale and strength were on a completely different level from the ragtag forces they had been subjugating. The Imperials, shouting in confusion, fell as corpses.

“Se battre jusqu’au bout!”

(Fight to the end!)

“Pour Le Randebourg! Pour L’empire!”

(For Landenburg! For the Empire!)

Even after falling from their horses, the knights resisted to the end, relying on their full armor to withstand the rain of arrows. But one by one, they fell under the relentless assault of our warriors.

It was a crushing victory.

As it always was when I took to the field myself.

The only unusual thing this time was…

“Toi. Êtes-vous le commandant!”

(You. You’re the commander!)

A knight with a sharp voice, perhaps trying to create a path for retreat, charged at me with desperate determination.

Wielding a strange, blue-glowing longsword. Whether it was a legendary blade or not, the warriors who tried to stop him were cut down, their weapons and armor torn apart, leaving them sprawled in pools of blood.

“Haaaaah!”

Finally, the knight thrust his sword at me. I twisted my body to the side, dodging the tip of his blade, and grabbed his right arm like a claw, lifting him up. He was lighter than I expected.

“Kuh…!”

“Your courage is commendable… but recklessly foolish.”

The sword he wielded was a magnificent blade, and his thrust was sharp… but his skill was still below that of a paladin. He couldn’t even scratch me, let alone defeat me.

I swung his arm like a whip and slammed his body into the ground.

– Kwaaang!

“Keuh…!”

The knight, who had hit the ground with his back, let out a single groan and collapsed. His steel helmet, dislodged by the impact, rolled across the dirt.

“…A woman, huh.”

I frowned slightly and looked at the knight’s face, now unconscious.

Brilliant golden hair. Long eyelashes. A sharp nose and soft pink lips. Though covered in sweat and dirt, her beauty was still striking enough to draw a quiet admiration.

I stared at her face for a moment before turning away.

I was briefly intrigued by her pretty appearance, but she was someone I would never meet again.

No, she wasn’t even a person anymore. A captured woman would only become a slave.

—

After annihilating the Imperial subjugation force, I awarded the woman to the warrior who had contributed the most. Gisaka. A young warrior who had reached the level of a paladin through this battle.

“Thank you, Khan!”

He seemed pleased with the beauty of the slave he had been given, but for some reason, his joy irked me. I couldn’t tell why.

Perhaps it was the weather.

After fighting in such unbearable heat, steam was practically rising from my body.

I picked up the blue-glowing longsword that had fallen to the ground as spoils of war and led the warriors back to Ordos. The massive tent city beyond the Barun River. The land that would one day become the capital of Ai-shan.

—

I heard news of the woman again five days later.

—

“Escaped slave?”

“Yes. Do you remember the western woman awarded to Paladin Gisaka? She killed Gisaka and fled. The warriors are currently pursuing her.”

“…Gisaka is dead?”

I tilted my head at the report from Glar, my captain of the guard, who was prostrating before me.

“That woman. Her martial skills were decent… but not enough to kill a paladin.”

“From what I heard, she broke her chains with a hidden dagger and cut down Gisaka, who was unarmed and unarmored. It’s impossible without the strength of a paladin.”

“Hmm…”

Did she reach the level of a paladin in just five days?

It was quite an interesting story. Warriors with that level of talent were rare even within Ai-shan, and among women, it was practically unheard of.

“Perfect to relieve my boredom.”

I donned my armor and picked up the Crescent Moon Blade and the blue longsword hanging in the corner of the barracks.

—

The pursuit was harsh. Pouring rain and moonless darkness. The worst conditions for chasing a fugitive.

The torches went out as soon as they were lit, and even the dogs couldn’t catch the escaped slave’s scent.

Whether the heavens were helping her or she had been waiting for this opportunity, it was a headache either way.

“I have an idea.”

Hatan came up with a plan. He suggested using the Empire-born slaves, especially the younger ones and female slaves, to lure the woman out.

If she didn’t show herself, he threatened to tear the slaves to pieces.

“Do you think such a shallow trick will work? Even if she shows herself, she can’t save the slaves.”

“It will work. Western warriors… what do they call them, Chevaliers? They can’t turn a blind eye to the lives of the weak. Even if it means their own death.”

It wasn’t a warrior’s way… but there was no reason to oppose it.

And indeed, it went as Hatan said.

—

“Haah… haah…!”

In the midst of the endless downpour, I finally reunited with the woman.

The bodies of warriors and hunting dogs littered the area, and the slaves Hatan had brought were trembling behind her.

“Back then, I saw you. Dog. Son.”

She held a broken sword and wore Gisaka’s ill-fitting armor, breathing heavily as she glared at me. Her golden hair, soaked by the rain, shimmered faintly in the darkness.

“Ka`har, leader.”

Perhaps it was her clumsy Eastern language. Or perhaps the cool rain. For some reason, I felt a bit amused.

“That’s right. Or-han of Ai-shan Gi-or, the Khan who will one day conquer and rule all the Ka`har of the Great Plains. What’s your name?”

“……?”

The woman furrowed her brows and tilted her head, seemingly not understanding.

“Name. Your name.”

I pointed at her and emphasized the word “name.” Finally understanding, she nodded slightly and muttered a single word.

“…Ai-mel-ra. Ai-mel-ra de Median.”

So that was her name. I didn’t know its meaning, but it had a soft sound, unlike a warrior’s name. Unlike the sharp aura she exuded.

– Goooooo

The quality of her aura was different now. The unique aura of those who had awakened their own feats, as if their soul was directly manifesting it.

Though she had only reached this level a few days ago, the aura she exuded surpassed that of most paladins.

It was truly satisfying.

With that level of talent, perhaps…

“Take it.”

I threw the blue longsword I had brought to the woman named Ai-mel-ra.

Thinking it was an attack, she swung her broken sword to deflect it, but upon realizing it was her own sword, she dropped the broken blade and caught it.

“…What?”

She seemed unable to imagine that she would get her stolen sword back, and her eyes filled with doubt.

Eyes as clear as an autumn lake. A rare color in the grasslands.

“Take that weapon and face me again. If you defeat me, I’ll send you and those slaves back beyond the barrier.”

Speaking as if teaching a child, I gestured as I spoke. She seemed to understand and nodded with a stern expression.

“…I don’t know your intentions. But I understand.”

The blue longsword pointed at me vibrated softly and gleamed sharply. I pulled the Crescent Moon Blade over my shoulder and smirked.

“One question. If I lose. What happens to them?”

Even with her own life on the line, she was still worried about mere slaves. I let out a hollow laugh and answered.

“Well… that’s up to you.”

I charged at her, kicking off the wet ground. Swinging the Crescent Moon Blade in a diagonal arc.

The fierce clash drowned out the sound of the rain.

—

Twenty minutes later.

“…It’s over.”

I pressed the twisted blade of the Crescent Moon Blade against Ai-mel-ra, who was kneeling with her sword planted in the ground. Her armor was torn to shreds, and her exposed skin was marked with red bloodlines.

Just like me.

For someone who had just reached the level of a paladin, she was astonishingly strong. Though she couldn’t match my physical abilities, blessed by divine blood, her swordsmanship was enough to deflect my attacks and counter, leaving me wounded.

It was a satisfying fight.

“Kuuuh…! Not yet, not yet…!”

Kneeling, Ai-mel-ra gritted her teeth and struggled to rise. Her fighting spirit was impressive. Despite injuries that would have made anyone else pass out, she still wanted to fight.

“I’m not done yet…!”

Her blue eyes, filled with frustration, anxiety, and regret, were fixed on the slaves trembling behind her.

I turned my head to look at the slaves, then looked back down at her.

Her obsession with the lives of slaves was something I disliked, but in this situation, I was grateful for that weakness.

“Do you want to save them?”

Thanks to that, it seemed I could achieve my goal more easily.

“Then become mine. I’ll raise you as my concubine.”

I planted the broken Crescent Moon Blade into the ground and grinned, baring my fangs.

“…What?!”

Ai-mel-ra’s face twisted in a strange expression. It was quite amusing.

“I like your talent. A talent unprecedented for a warrior. It would be a waste to end it here.”

It was a whim.

A woman’s body, not yet thirty, with the talent to hold her own against me for dozens of exchanges. I coveted that talent.

If my blood mixed with that talent, perhaps a child stronger than me would be born.

Unlike Targien or Sahallyeon, who were not born with the “wolf’s blood.”