Chapter 592

After finishing the meeting, I devoted myself to training with Hersela while waiting for the group, who had left the capital to hunt monsters, to return.

Handing over control of my body to Hersela, I manifested the Power of Feats to amplify my physical abilities. Thanks to consistent training, the duration of this state had gradually increased, but even so, I couldn’t confidently say it was enough to defeat Or-han.

The duration of the Power of Feats manifestation had increased to about 20 seconds, but the enhancement efficiency still fell short compared to when I directly controlled my body and used my own strength. Moreover, Durandal didn’t fully manifest its Authority when Hersela was in control.

Above all, this method wasn’t sustainable for long periods. Hersela could only maintain control of the body as long as her Life Force Technique held out. Each time she used techniques that consumed a lot of Life Force, the duration of the personality shift shortened.

While Hersela’s control significantly improved her ability to utilize Life Force, I still couldn’t be sure if it would be enough to win.

“This is still too ambiguous…”

It wasn’t a matter of skill or mastery, but purely a problem of duration. In other words, the total amount of power was insufficient.

Unlike Hersela, who had accumulated Life Force through repeated slaughter, I had avoided accumulating Life Force by only fighting those tainted by evil or demons.

[If you just killed a thousand people, it would be enough… but I know you’d oppose that fiercely.]

Hersela also complained about the lack of power, but she didn’t go on a rampage to accumulate Life Force against my will.

Well, even if she did, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Sacrificing everything I had built up just to accumulate Life Force from a thousand people would have been a loss for her too. If she did something like that, even our allies would turn against us. Hersela understood that much.

—

Three days later, I gathered the group who had returned to the capital after dealing with the monsters and explained the situation in the east and about Nidhogg.

“Ja-han and Nigel will naturally come with me to the east, and I’ll also take Leonor. Leonor, how’s the state of the Rose Cross Knight Order? Do you think they’ll be helpful?”

“Hmm. Their overall skill level surpasses the average Imperial Knight, but… given their numbers, they can at best tie down one Master.”

The Rose Cross Knight Order consisted of forty-five members. I had left everything from recruitment to operations to Leonor, but it seemed difficult to recruit new members, possibly because the order was entirely composed of female knights.

Her standards might also be a bit high.

Given that she confidently claimed forty-five knights could tie down one Master, their individual skill levels were likely somewhere between the now-defunct Imperial 1st Knight Order and the Royal Guard.

If their numbers were just five times larger, they could have been called an elite knight order that wouldn’t lose to anyone. But with only forty, they were insignificant in large-scale wars, though they might be useful for monster subjugation.

“How about as cavalry?”

Leonor shook her head as if to say it was hopeless.

“We trained as you advised, but reaching Ka`har levels is impossible. In close combat, we can improve our skills to manage, but in cavalry battles, physical ability plays a huge role.”

Unless they fought on foot, attempting a cavalry charge would just get them pushed back immediately.

As she said, it was unavoidable. In cavalry clashes, horsemanship and physical ability determined superiority, not refined swordsmanship. At the same level, female knights would inevitably be at a disadvantage due to weight and muscle strength.

“By the way, I’ve already sent them to Marquis Median’s territory. Until now, the Imperial Knight Order has been protecting the territory, but that was just Leopold’s goodwill, and they’ll soon have to leave for the east. Your territory should be protected by your knights. That’s only natural, right?”

…Thinking about it, that’s true.

It was an undeniable truth. Marquis Median’s territory, granted as a reward for contributions to the empire. I had been too busy to visit, and operations were left to a proxy, so I had half-forgotten about it.

So, the knights Leopold sent had been responsible for the territory’s defense until now. I should be grateful.

“That’s… a fair point. Well done.”

“I know you’re busy, but it’s your territory, so show some interest. We’re living off the profits from there, after all. Both you and us.”

As Leonor advised, Marquis Median’s territory was my core source of income.

I also had a territory in the north gifted by Duke Pailoon, and the rewards from monster subjugation weren’t small, but they weren’t enough to cover the expenses of the Rose Cross Knight Order and Épée de Ciel.

If money really ran short, I could cut salaries, but even if they were friends, I couldn’t exploit Master-level combatants with low pay. The closer the relationship, the better you had to treat them.

—

“Under Leopold’s orders, you’ll assist in exploring the underground waterways. Digging and searching is the magicians’ job, but since Peirus has been there, there might be traps or enemies hiding.”

Peirus’s specialty is Soul Extraction Technique. He uses the souls of the dead to cast magic or reanimate corpses to serve him. He might have planted a few of those to hinder the search.

Still, according to Ferne, who faced him directly, he’s only slightly stronger than her now, so he’s weaker than in the original story.

Unless it’s Peirus himself, the undead he creates should be manageable by Damien, Milia, Freide, Ophelia, and a sober Ferne.

Except for one case.

“The possibility is slim, but… the Dragon’s Remains might be alive and moving. If that happens, collapse the underground and evacuate.”

It’s a worst-case scenario with a one-in-a-million chance, but it can’t be ignored. There’s a big difference between facing an unstoppable disaster knowingly or unknowingly.

At the very least, everyone needed to know that a dragon might emerge.

“If a dragon is really hiding there, burying it won’t kill it, right?”

Ferne, unusually sober, tilted her head. True. If Nidhogg revived, burying it under rubble wouldn’t work. In the original story, it burst out from underground.

“It’s about buying time. Time for you, Lacey, Leopold, and the capital’s residents to escape.”

If Nidhogg really was alive, the best course was to save as many lives as possible before it emerged and went on a rampage. It’s hard to expect the remaining forces in the capital to defeat Nidhogg.

Not everyone could be saved, but it’s better than the entire capital being wiped out.

I had also discussed this with Leopold. In case Nidhogg revived, if any suspicious signs were detected, the investigation was to be paused immediately, and evacuation prioritized.

“Evacuation… that’s troublesome. Of all places, why would such a thing be under the capital?”

Ophelia tapped the ash off her magical cigarette, biting her lip as if troubled.

For Ophelia, who had hidden Claire in her basement, having to take her out of the capital was undoubtedly a burden.

Claire couldn’t even move properly on her own, and if it were discovered she was alive, the knight orders and paladins would swarm to burn her at the stake.

“Use my carriage. In such a situation, no one will waste time inspecting the inside of a carriage.”

I subtly gestured to Hersh sitting in the corner of the parlor, whispering to Ophelia.

If we hid her in a glass case and disguised her as cargo, she wouldn’t be discovered. In normal times, maybe, but in an emergency, no one would have the time to inspect every carriage.

—

After briefing everyone gathered at the mansion on their tasks for the time being, I set off for the east with Ja-han, Nigel, Leonor, and Rana. This wasn’t a typical journey but a full-speed mobilization.

Our horses, not us.

– Thud thud thud thud thud!

The sound of hooves roared like a storm. A speed like a whirlwind. Bloody foam dripped from the bits. It was a gallop that disregarded not just stamina but life itself.

“Hmm…”

Ja-han glanced at Nigel’s warhorse running beside him with a dissatisfied look. Bloodshot eyes and frothing blood. It looked like it would drop dead any moment.

And it actually would.

Thanks to the stimulant Ophelia made, it could run without rest, but the drug burned through its remaining lifespan in just a few days.

On the other hand, Ja-han’s warhorse was relatively stable despite running at the same speed. It was due to the technique of infusing the horse with the Paladin’s Feats to enhance its physical abilities.

I had already understood the principle from Hersela’s explanations and had fully mastered it while traveling around for monster subjugation.

Since Ja-han himself bore most of the burden on the horse, there was no need for stimulants.

Leonor was riding a Cascador with Rana.

She couldn’t use Ja-han’s technique, but since Cascadors were a type of summoned beast, they didn’t need to eat or sleep, so there was no problem.

Me? I was…

“…No matter how I look at it, I can’t get used to this. Is it really okay for a person to be like this?”

Leonor glanced at me and let out a disbelieving laugh. Ja-han and Nigel just marveled, saying it was typical of Princess Ha-shal-leur.

“I can hear you.”

Responding to Leonor’s joke, I kicked off the ground. The ground beneath my feet shattered into fragments, scattering behind me.

That’s right. I was just running on my own two feet!

At first, I planned to ride a unicorn with Rana, and Leonor would ride another warhorse like Nigel…

But then I realized there was no need for that. My top speed surpassed that of most fine horses.

The only problem was that, being human, I couldn’t maintain top speed all day. But I solved that problem with what I consider a genius idea.

“Squeak! Squeak!”

The monster in my left hand let out a shrill cry, squirming.

With its limbs severed by Durandal, only its head and torso remained, so resistance was futile. I had even sliced off its teeth, so there was no risk of being bitten.

I tightened my grip slightly, cutting off its breath as I continued running. I felt a continuous flow of stamina from Durandal in my right hand.

That’s right. This was the solution I had discovered. Instead of killing weak monsters, I captured them and used them as tools to continuously activate Durandal’s Authority.

As I tested it, sure enough, while I couldn’t use Spatial Severance, the near-infinite stamina supply worked as I had expected.

Thanks to this, I could maintain a speed surpassing that of fine horses without tiring, running endlessly!

It wasn’t enough to run for days on end due to the consumption of the Power of Feats, but the same applied to the other horses, so it wasn’t a problem.