“Gasp! Gasp!”
Breathing heavily, Isaac stared at the Transcendental Tribe member impaled on the spear. The figure stood tall, almost like a tombstone in itself.
‘Thank goodness.’
Though too breathless to speak, Isaac felt genuine relief. He believed that if they could just reach Uldiran Caldias, he would surely be able to kill the Transcendental Tribe member.
No matter how powerful the Transcendental Tribe was, someone like Uldiran could handle it.
‘He wasn’t that impressive among the Transcendental Tribe.’
Objectively speaking, the Transcendental Tribe member wasn’t particularly strong compared to others Isaac knew.
“Are you alright?!”
“We’ll save you right now!”
The tightly sealed gate opened, and soldiers rushed in. Isaac pointed in the direction he had flown from and shouted.
“Take care of the wounded first! Hurry!”
Starting with Jonathan.
Silbern, her aide Anna, the nobles, and their guards—many had fallen victim to the Transcendental Tribe.
Isaac himself was only slightly injured from the fall.
Right now, others were more important than himself.
Following Isaac’s orders, the soldiers hurriedly ran toward the foothills.
“Are you alright?”
Uldiran approached Isaac, who was sitting down trying to catch his breath. Isaac tried to stand up quickly, but Uldiran’s hand gently pressed his shoulder, urging him to rest.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Hmm, what about that beast?”
Even Uldiran seemed to be seeing it for the first time. Isaac looked at the corpse bitterly and replied.
“It’s a Transcendental Tribe member… similar to humans but more like beasts.”
At Isaac’s words, Uldiran crossed his arms and examined the corpse thoughtfully.
“Hmm, you seem to know quite a bit about them.”
“I’ll explain later.”
Isaac slowly stood up. The moment he saw the man lying on the stretcher, he wanted to run over immediately.
Seeing his earnest expression, Uldiran chuckled and nodded.
“Don’t worry, go ahead. It’s only natural to be concerned about your comrades.”
“Thank you.”
Leaving Uldiran behind, Isaac hurried over to Jonathan.
“Jonathan! Are you okay?!”
Jonathan, lying on the stretcher, gave a thumbs-up and smiled faintly.
“I’m a knight of Helmunth, after all.”
“Ha, haha… right, that’s a relief.”
Being a knight of Helmunth wasn’t exactly comforting for Isaac, but at least Jonathan was alive.
“What on earth happened?”
The Transcendental Tribe Isaac knew would never spare a human. Their hatred for humans felt almost instinctual, like a primal desire.
Jonathan scratched his cheek awkwardly while lying down.
“Honestly, I don’t know either. After sending you off, the beast’s sword was at my throat.”
Jonathan tilted his head slightly, showing a bloody wound near his Adam’s apple.
“But then it just stared at me and left.”
“It left?”
“Yes, it called me a ‘filthy creature’ and just walked away.”
“Filthy creature?”
Isaac tilted his head in confusion at Jonathan’s words. The Transcendental Tribe had a chance to kill a human and just let it go?
‘What’s going on?’
This didn’t make sense within Isaac’s understanding.
“Isaac! I’m fine! Don’t worry about me!”
“Ugh, just stay still for a bit.”
“You need to get checked by a medic first.”
Jonathan was carried away on the stretcher.
Isaac couldn’t relax even seeing Jonathan unharmed. Questions piled up, one after another, as he got lost in thought.
Suddenly, someone hugged him tightly from behind.
“Isaac!”
“Silbern?”
Isaac turned his head in surprise. Silbern was holding him tightly, relieved.
“I’m so glad! I thought something terrible had happened to you!”
“Well, it’s…”
Isaac awkwardly glanced behind him.
He could feel Uldiran Caldias staring daggers at them.
‘If this keeps up, I might end up like that Transcendental Tribe member—impaled on a spear.’
He tried to gently push Silbern away, but…
“Ugh.”
Isaac, weaker in strength, couldn’t free himself from her grip. As he pondered how to get her to let go…
“Ahem, Silbern.”
Uldiran Caldias finally approached, clearing his throat to call his daughter.
“Ah, s-sorry!”
Realizing what she had done, Silbern quickly let go, embarrassed.
“……”
Uldiran’s gaze turned to Isaac. He seemed to have something to say but…
“Uh-hum.”
Isaac scratched the back of his neck, subtly showing the ring on his left ring finger.
This seemed to slightly soften Uldiran’s glare.
“Where is Holstein’s artifact?”
Returning to business, Uldiran asked. Silbern stood at attention and reported.
“It’s been retrieved and is currently under Anna’s guard. However, she’s also injured and should join us soon.”
“Good, I’ll go myself.”
The fact that Uldiran himself was taking action surprised Silbern.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
His deep voice carried a hint of bitterness. Frowning, he shared his thoughts on the current situation.
“The so-called Transcendental Tribe is concerning, but the number of beasts is even more alarming.”
Indeed.
Even Silbern thought the number of beasts near the barrier was unusually high.
“That is—.”
“Silbern, prepare the letter immediately.”
After a whopping 23 years.
“It’s a Great Horde.”
* * *
Helmunth Mansion.
“Ughhh!”
A man’s wail echoed through the halls.
A scream so early in the morning that one might mistake it for a rooster’s crow.
The owner of the scream was the third son, Alois Helmunth.
Lately, he had been sparring every morning.
And with none other than the eldest daughter, Riana Helmunth.
*Whoosh!*
Riana sheathed her greatsword, ‘Ragnabel,’ and let out a sigh.
“Get into position, Alois.”
Riana, who usually seemed as gentle as a gem to Alois, now had eyes that seemed to be tinged with blood.
“Big sis! We’ve been sparring every day! I’m really going to die!”
Spending time with Riana was nice, but this was too much.
Every day, he felt like his body was being shattered.
But Riana showed no mercy.
“I’ve been sparring with you every day, but you haven’t improved at all.”
“Well, that’s—.”
From her perspective, it must seem that way.
Alois swallowed his words.
Technically, Alois had improved.
But from Riana’s level, it was barely noticeable.
“Pick up your sword.”
Riana’s unyielding demeanor only made her seem more serious.
‘Bringing up the remarriage topic… was a mistake.’
Alois was paying the price for his careless remarks about Isaac and the remarriage topic under the lilacs.
And there was another person.
In the Helmunth Mansion, it wasn’t just Riana and Alois who were troubled because of Isaac.
There was also the second daughter, Sharen Helmunth.
At 17, she was the youngest in the Helmunth family, aside from the 15-year-old youngest son, Edel Helmunth.
Right now, she was lying on her bed, kicking her blanket in frustration.
“Ahhh! Where is it?!”
To describe her, she was a tomboy and a bit of a wild child.
If she weren’t a Helmunth, she’d just be a mischievous country girl.
But being a Helmunth made her a bit more extreme.
And she became most extreme when snacks were involved.
“Seriously! Where is it?!”
There was a particular candy she really loved.
But lately, Sharen hadn’t been able to get her hands on it.
“Where on earth did Isaac get it from?!”
Because Isaac, whom she treated like an errand boy, had been sent to the frontlines of the Malidan Wall.
As a result, Sharen couldn’t eat the candy Isaac used to bring.
She had searched all the nearby bakeries, but couldn’t find it.
While Sharen was brooding over this.
Her personal maid, Kelsey, rushed into her room.
“Miss! The family head has summoned everyone!”
“Father?!”
With the Sword Festival still a month and a half away, it was unusual for the family head to call everyone together.
Something else must have happened.
The direct members of the Helmunth family were called to the family head’s office.
The eldest son, Loengreen.
The eldest daughter, Riana.
The second son, Armin.
The third son, Alois.
The second daughter, Sharen.
And the youngest, Edel.
It had been a while since they had all gathered outside of breakfast, so the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Aranel, with a troubled expression, spoke.
“A messenger has arrived from the Malidan Wall.”
Instantly, everyone’s eyes darted toward Riana.
Isaac had been sent to the Malidan Wall in their place.
Had news of his death arrived?
That seemed the most likely.
Riana clenched her fists, trying to calm her pounding heart.
“The demon horde at the Malidan Wall has been confirmed as a Great Horde.”
The tension shifted in a different direction.
A Great Horde, appearing for the first time in 23 years.
Then, the reason for the messenger’s arrival was clear.
“They’re requesting reinforcements.”
The request from Caldias, delivered through the kingdom, was blunt.
When it was just a demon horde, it was fine to send promising candidates for real combat experience.
But now that it was confirmed as a Great Horde.
They needed to send real combat power.
“Sigh.”
Aranel was also regretful that this had happened so close to the Sword Festival, a major family event.
But with the confirmation of a Great Horde, they couldn’t make decisions solely for the Helmunth family.
“We need to send reinforcements to Malidan. Who will volunteer?”
So Aranel asked.
“I’ll go.”
“Father! Send me!”
The two women in the room.
Riana and Sharen answered simultaneously.
