“Haa! Haa!”
“They’re running away!”
On the wall.
Even though they had once again repelled a horde of demonic beasts, the soldiers let out sighs closer to complaints rather than relief or joy.
It had been over a month since the area was confirmed to be a large demonic nest.
Even the soldiers of the Malidan Wall were gradually wearing down, both physically and mentally, from the daily onslaught of demonic beasts.
Lately, the attacks had even become more frequent, sometimes happening twice a day.
It had become a battle against fatigue even before the fight with the demonic beasts.
“…This can’t go on.”
Silbern, the leader of Reconnaissance Unit 5, muttered while leaning on her spear.
She too seemed to have her own thoughts about the increasingly frequent attacks.
“…”
Among the exhausted soldiers, Riana Helmunth stood tall and proud.
Her red hair fluttered in the wind blowing over the wall.
Her calm gaze, fixed on the demonic beasts beyond the wall without a trace of fatigue, made one understand why the Helmunth name was so revered.
Slowly, Riana turned her head.
Among the other soldiers, a man with black hair tied in a ponytail sat down, exhausted, chatting with his comrades.
Though far away, every word of their conversation reached her ears.
“I almost died this time.”
“Thank you, Isaac. If you hadn’t pushed me earlier, I would’ve been hit by that rock and knocked out with a concussion.”
“Don’t mention it. You saved me last time, didn’t you?”
“Did I?”
“Wasn’t it you? I’ve had so many close calls, my memory’s a bit hazy.”
Though they laughed and joked with the soldiers, the content of their conversation wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
Even Isaac had two broken swords by his side.
It meant the situation had been dangerous enough to break two swords.
Is it really okay to stay like this?
As her worries deepened.
Boom! Crash!
“Whoa, what was that?”
“Lightning? Was that lightning?”
“I thought it was a demonic beast.”
Beyond the mountain range.
Riana’s eyes widened as she saw the lightning strike in the clear sky.
“This is dangerous.”
Inside the strategy tent.
The captain of the 1st Company of the Malidan Wall pleaded with Uldiran Caldias, who sat at the head of the table.
“We’re being worn down bit by bit. The number of wounded is increasing, and morale within the wall is at an all-time low.”
Every day, they swing their spears and kill demonic beasts. Yesterday, they laughed and joked with their comrades, only to see them crushed by flying rocks today.
The weight of the frontlines pressed down on them more heavily than ever.
“There’s no sign of the demonic horde decreasing. Given that demonic beasts from other regions have been spotted recently, it seems they’re gathering from far and wide.”
“Hmm.”
The border lord, stroking his beard, seemed to share similar thoughts as he studied the map.
“As the commander, please make a decision.”
As the captain finished his report, another captain across the table raised his hand to speak.
“Your Excellency, the purpose of the Malidan Wall is defense. Though the number of wounded is increasing, the number of demonic beasts we’ve slain is beyond count.”
“Is it wise to abandon our advantageous position and venture out to exterminate them? The risks are too great. Moreover, the identity of the demonic commander remains unknown. It’s premature to move outside.”
Each captain’s argument had its own merits.
Both had led soldiers on the wall, so while their opinions clashed, they respected each other.
“Hmm.”
Uldiran naturally fell into deep thought.
Should they continue this endless war of attrition?
Or should they take advantage of the reduced numbers and strike out beyond the wall to push back the demonic horde?
Silbern’s lips itched to speak, but she was only the leader of Reconnaissance Unit 5 here.
Knowing it wasn’t her place to speak out of turn, she bit her lip and fidgeted.
“What is Lady Riana’s opinion?”
Uldiran turned to Riana, who was present as a representative of the dispatched nobility.
Riana, who hadn’t expected to be asked, slowly looked at Uldiran.
“Just now—”
Uldiran Caldias was that kind of man.
She internally noted this as she spoke her mind.
“After the demonic beasts retreated, I sensed a faint trace of magical energy from the lightning strikes.”
“Hmm?”
“…”
A subtle murmur spread through the tent.
No one else had noticed it, after all.
Under normal circumstances, they would have dismissed it as nonsense.
But this was Helmunth.
They couldn’t be sure.
This was troublesome.
It wasn’t just the weight of the Helmunth name that made it difficult. It was because they knew too well about the Helmunth’s abilities.
If Helmunth said it, it probably wasn’t nonsense.
But it was hard to make a judgment based on just one person’s word.
“I believe it might be the work of the demonic commander behind this large-scale gathering.”
Of course, Riana ignored the reactions around her and calmly stated her thoughts.
“Can we find it if we go there?”
“I can’t guarantee it… but I believe it’s worth investigating.”
Clang!
The clear sound of a sword echoed from the corner of the training ground.
A spot that had become Isaac’s usual place.
As the sword he held shot straight out, Sharen’s greatsword moved in the same trajectory to counter.
But Isaac, like a rabbit, leaped into the air and spun once.
Sharen’s greatsword passed through the space where he had been.
As he landed, he swung his sword again, aiming for Sharen’s neck.
“Ho, Crimson Flame Slash!”
Before Sharen’s desperate shout, a crimson wave erupted from her greatsword.
As it spread wide and reached Isaac, his body, still in mid-air, was flung far away without landing.
“Isaac! Oh no! Isaac!”
Jonathan, who had been watching the spar, rushed over in a panic.
Isaac rolled across the training ground.
When he finally stopped, he jerked his head up and shouted.
“I told you not to use Crimson Flame!”
“Heh, heh, Helmunth never loses!”
Sharen, who had said before the match, [Crimson Flame? Hmph, I wasn’t even planning to use it.], had unleashed it without hesitation when she was in danger.
“Fine. I got the gist of it.”
Isaac stood up, brushing himself off. Sharen, who had hurried over, looked embarrassed and searched for words.
She was about to apologize, but Isaac asked something else.
“How was it?”
“Huh?”
“How was the sword? The Crimson Flame.”
“Until now, wasn’t it somewhat evenly matched?”
“……”
I didn’t want to admit it, but Isaac was right.
In reality, Sharen struggled quite a bit clashing swords with Isaac.
Of course, without the Crimson Descent, Helmunth had lost half its strength.
On the other hand, Isaac, who couldn’t even swing a sword properly, had caught up to half of Sharen’s level in just a month.
“Just be honest. Tell me how you really feel.”
At Isaac’s request, Sharen put a finger to her lips, pondered, and then cautiously spoke.
“It… it was annoying.”
“……”
“I felt bad. It was like Isaac knew exactly how I was going to swing my sword.”
“……”
“From the third exchange onwards. You noticed I deliberately sped up, right?”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“But Isaac, you knew I’d get angry and speed up, and you reacted accordingly, didn’t you?”
It was as expected.
Isaac had guessed that Sharen would try to show her superiority at this point, and he was right.
“I feel bad… I-I was just tired! It’s only been 30 minutes since the barrier defense ended, and then Isaac suddenly wanted to spar—!”
Sharen pouted her lips and made childish excuses, clearly upset that she had been completely figured out.
On the other hand, Isaac was very satisfied.
This made two swords he had broken from Helmunth.
Sparring with Jonathan now felt trivial, and he had reached a point where he could secure a victory against Sharen, who he couldn’t even match before.
‘Of course, if she uses Crimson Descent, it’s a different story.’
He could handle Jonathan’s mediocre Crimson Descent, but the moment Sharen used it, the difficulty skyrocketed.
That’s why Isaac was delving deeper into his concerns about aura.
“……”
“……”
A completely mismatched pair.
Lianna and Silbern were walking towards them.
Neither was looking at the other, but since they were heading in the same direction, they ended up walking together.
“Wow, they really don’t match.”
Muttering this, Sharen reminded Isaac of something he had forgotten to ask earlier.
“Sharen, you didn’t say anything to Silbern about me and Lianna, did you?”
He asked because Jonathan was there, but Sharen flinched and retorted incredulously.
“Am I an idiot?! Why would I say something like that?”
“Really, you didn’t?”
“No! I’m not an idiot!”
“Hey.”
While Isaac and Sharen were bickering, Silbern called out softly to Lianna.
“……”
Lianna didn’t respond, but it wasn’t hard to tell she was listening.
“For this mission, we’re leaving Isaac out.”
At Silbern’s next words, Lianna’s face finally turned towards her.
And then.
“Wise.”
She nodded.
“A beast that wields such lightning would be dangerous for Isaac just by being near it.”
“Right, we’re on the same page.”
They knew he was trying.
They were confident he would become a great swordsman in the future.
But.
“It’s too soon.”
“Agreed.”
The two women judged that it was still too early for him to step onto their battlefield.
“……”
“……”
For the safety of one man.
It was the first time the two had agreed on something.
That evening.
Hastily putting on her robe after Anna suddenly called for her at the forge, Silbern arrived quickly.
The forge didn’t operate in the evening due to noise, so Silbern’s steps were hurried.
“Finally?”
As soon as she arrived, Silbern asked Antonio with a bright smile.
Especially since Isaac’s face, upset about being left out of the mission, was still lingering in her mind.
She thought giving him a sword as a gift would quickly cheer him up.
“You came quickly?”
“Skip the greetings. Is it done? Show me!”
Antonio sighed as he tried to calm the impatient Silbern.
“Ah, it’s almost done. But that’s not why I called you today.”
“What?”
Her shoulders slumped.
Her anticipation turned to disappointment in an instant.
“Then why did you call me?”
“There’s some Frost Silver left. What should we do with it?”
In Antonio’s hand was a finger-sized piece of bluish-green ore.
“I thought you’d just swallow it if there was any left.”
She was surprised the old man was being so honest.
“What can you do with this amount?”
Antonio clicked his tongue in regret.
If there had been more, he probably would have kept it for himself.
“Hmm, with this amount—.”
Silbern rolled the Frost Silver in her hand, pondering.
Then, as if an idea struck her, she flinched and casually asked.
“Ahem. Antonio? C-could you… make something like a ring?”
“……”
“Ah, no! Just! It’d be nice to have as a keepsake!”
“There’s a disciple who used to make accessories… but at best, we could make one ring.”
A disappointing answer.
‘Well, that’s fine. I got carried away. There’s nowhere to wear it right now anyway.’
Telling herself to hold back, Silbern’s mouth was already saying something else.
“What about an earring? Just one side.”
Since she often tied her hair up, her ears were naturally visible.
“That might be possible.”
At Antonio’s indifferent reply, Silbern smiled brightly and handed the Frost Silver back.
“Please. Not too flashy, something more subdued. That would suit me.”
“…Understood.”
Antonio decided to just act like he hadn’t heard or seen anything.
He accepted the request, thinking he’d just hammer away.
