It’s not yet past midnight.
Despite the grueling training and work environment, the nobles, who had fallen asleep early due to exhaustion, began to wake up and head to the training grounds one by one.
Waiting for them was Silbern Caldias.
Her dark expression wasn’t just because of the late hour—she was genuinely grim as she watched them. Her stiff demeanor seemed to warn of the hardships ahead.
Among the nobles, who were hastily roused and dragged outside, Jonathan, with sleepy eyes, hurriedly approached Isaac.
“Sir Isaac, what’s all this commotion about?”
“I don’t know. But it’s clear something big has happened.”
“It’s a bit scary to have this kind of disturbance at the frontlines.”
As a cold wind blew, the disheveled nobles shivered and fell silent.
Thanks to the snow leopard fur hat and gloves gifted by Silbern and Anna, Isaac was relatively warm.
Once silence fell, Silbern finally spoke.
“Everyone, at around 23:20—about 15 minutes ago—an outsider arrived at the wall.”
A situation that had occurred just 15 minutes ago.
“He introduced himself as a merchant from Holstein, but upon investigation, he turned out to be a grave robber.”
Holstein was a kingdom particularly renowned for its advanced magic.
Grave robbers were infamous there, as they frequently used modern magic to plunder the tombs of past royalty and nobles.
“This scoundrel had robbed the royal tombs of Holstein and even came to our kingdom to trade.”
A few nobles let out sighs.
They immediately realized that this could easily escalate into a diplomatic issue.
“Since we’ve caught the grave robber, shouldn’t we just return the stolen goods?”
One of the nobles raised their hand and asked.
Interrupting the commander during a briefing was unheard of, but considering they were still rookies, Silbern chose not to reprimand them and answered instead.
“The important thing is, these guys disturbed a demon beast colony while coming to the Malidan Wall.”
The rest was predictable.
The other grave robbers were all devoured by the demon beasts, and the treasures were lost.
The enraged demon beasts are now rampaging and attacking the Malidan Wall.
“As a special unit, we must retrieve the stolen goods taken by the grave robbers. Fortunately, it’s not too far, but… the problem is the demon beast colony.”
From afar, shouts and tremors could be heard.
It was clear that a fierce battle was raging at the Malidan Wall.
“Avoid combat if possible. If it’s unavoidable, keep it to a minimum and then return. We move out immediately.”
Following Silbern’s orders, the nobles began to move in formation.
Their escorts, who had followed the nobles, wore expressions full of complaints but had no choice but to comply.
Jonathan, still guarding Isaac, asked with a clueless expression.
“Sir Isaac, why do we have to retrieve the stolen goods?”
“Because we could be framed diplomatically. Do you think Holstein would just accept that grave robbers were attacked by demon beasts and lost everything?”
“Uh… but isn’t that the truth?”
“Even if it’s the truth, accepting it is another matter. To put it bluntly, what if they suspect that the grave robbers were actually hired by us, and the demon beast attack was staged to steal the goods from our kingdom?”
“But that’s not true, is it?”
“No, it’s not. But it’s possible for Holstein to use this as a diplomatic leverage. Especially since those guys came to our kingdom to trade.”
Then, the ones with the wealth to buy the stolen goods from the Holstein royal tombs would naturally be the targets of the investigation.
The investigation would inevitably focus on high-ranking nobles.
A high-ranking noble coveting the treasures of the Holstein royal tombs?
This could escalate into a diplomatic issue, or even worse, a war.
“Ah.”
Jonathan finally seemed to understand and nodded.
“This is also part of the border lord’s duties. The border lord steps in to resolve things before they blow up.”
Uldiran Caldias was probably on the Malidan Wall right now, swinging his spear with all his might.
As they slipped out through the gate where the demon beasts weren’t swarming, Jonathan, still puzzled, asked Isaac another question.
“But why are we sending the dispatched nobles outside? Isn’t this a dangerous mission?”
“Fighting demon beasts on the wall is even more dangerous.”
*Crash!*
As if to punctuate Isaac’s words, the sound of something breaking echoed from the wall.
The startled nobles turned their heads or crouched down.
Jonathan also turned his head, but Isaac continued speaking.
“That’s why you’re here. Most of the dispatched nobles are promising individuals here to gain combat experience, but the escorts are different.”
“Ah!”
“Right? Caldias wants to use the escorts, not the nobles. But technically, their duty is to protect the nobles who are here under Caldias’ orders.”
By sending the nobles out, they could utilize the skilled escorts as combatants.
After all, the defense of the wall was the specialty of the soldiers stationed at Malidan.
“Profound.”
Isaac knew Jonathan wasn’t the sharpest in this regard, but it was worse than he thought.
Even as they passed through the gate, Jonathan still looked uneasy.
“We’re the victims here, yet we’re the ones suffering.”
“Hmm?”
“Isn’t that right? We’re just sitting here, and suddenly it’s grave robbers, stolen goods, diplomacy… It feels like we’re bending over backward for Holstein.”
Jonathan pouted and stuck out his lips.
“If they’re trying to frame us unfairly, shouldn’t our kingdom respond firmly?”
Looking at him, Isaac smirked and asked.
“How old are you this year?”
“Twenty-two!”
“Right, Jonathan.”
“Even though I’ve only lived about two years longer than you, there’s one thing I know.”
“……”
“If bowing your head a little or going through a bit of trouble can prevent a war, then it’s worth it.”
Jonathan slightly furrowed his brow.
As a knight, he understood the desire to wield a sword in battle.
“Surprisingly, wars often break out over trivial diplomatic issues. We need to extinguish those sparks before they ignite.”
“Hmm, I don’t really get it.”
Despite enduring countless hardships, the reason he stayed in Helmunth might be due to some kind of admiration or heroism.
Isaac patted his shoulder and sincerely advised him.
“You’ll see the reality here. The peace of the kingdom is built on their dedication and hard work.”
“Is that so?”
“Keeping the peace doesn’t always mean drawing your sword, Jonathan.”
“……That doesn’t sound like something Helmunth would say.”
“That’s probably why Helmunth and I don’t get along.”
Isaac didn’t say anything more, and Jonathan silently followed.
He seemed to have some complaints, but that didn’t mean he neglected his duty of guarding Isaac.
Before they knew it, they had stepped outside the wall.
The sound of crunching snow and the moonlight were the only things illuminating their path, allowing them to move stealthily.
‘Clearly, Silbern has good night vision.’
Following her, they reached the site of the accident without any fights.
A cart, not a carriage, was half-destroyed.
It seemed they had planned to bypass the Malidan Wall and go through the mountains.
Since a horse-drawn carriage couldn’t cross the mountains, they must have used a rural-style cart pulled by people to get this far.
“They went through a lot of trouble to get here.”
“Wow, what a mess.”
“Look at the bloodstains.”
The scattered snow was stained with blood, but there were no bodies in sight.
The beasts must have eaten them all.
It was clear that this was more of a feeding frenzy than a battle.
A case, presumably containing valuables, was sitting on the broken cart.
And then.
Someone standing in front of it.
“Shh.”
Silbern, who was leading the way, swallowed hard and tensed up.
She gripped her spear and asked cautiously.
“Who are you?”
The man, realizing the spear was pointed at him, slowly turned his head.
“Ah.”
Under the dense trees, his silhouette, hidden from the moonlight, became visible.
A body about 2 meters tall.
Broad shoulders and a thick vest.
A thick coat of white fur covering his entire body.
He walked on two legs, but his face resembled a tiger’s, with a swishing tail and menacing teeth, clearly not human.
And finally, the massive greatsword on his back.
“A beast?”
“What is that thing?”
“It doesn’t look like a yeti. Is that a tiger in human form?”
Confused voices came from the nobles.
Silbern, who lived in the north, might know what it was, so everyone looked at her.
“……”
She bit her lip, gripping her spear with both hands and taking a stance.
Instinctively, she knew that if she let her guard down for even a moment, the creature would pounce.
Among them.
The only one who knew what it was.
Was Isaac.
‘Transcendental Tribe!’
The monsters that brought humanity to ruin.
Intelligent beasts filled with nothing but hatred for humans.
He thought they wouldn’t appear for a while yet.
‘Were they already active in the north?’
If so, were they involved in this incident with the valuables?
Whatever the case.
This was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
‘This isn’t an ordinary one. Silbern can’t handle this as she is now.’
Even with the nobles’ guards, victory wasn’t guaranteed.
That’s just how the Transcendental Tribe was.
The Transcendental Tribe’s blue eyes scanned the nobles and let out a low growl.
“Unlucky.”
He held no mercy, no room for negotiation, no chance for dialogue.
With a heavy step, he charged forward, swinging his greatsword.
KAAANG!
“Ugh!”
Silbern, who took the brunt of the attack, was forced to one knee by the overwhelming strength.
“Miss!”
Anna, who was assisting her, urgently thrust her spear.
But the creature didn’t even flinch at the spear piercing its side.
The thick hide simply caused the spear to slide off.
CRACK!
With a punch, Anna’s spear shattered in half.
Then, as if swatting a bug, he swung the back of his hand, sending Anna flying and tumbling across the snow.
“Pathetic humans.”
His blue eyes turned back to the nobles.
“I’ll slaughter you all.”
With a growling warning, the hunt began.
