Episode. 34 Holy Nation (3)
A battle took place in Rio Castle.
A greater number of monsters than ever before were tightly packed in front of the castle.
A great battle lasting four days.
Not a few soldiers died and many knights were wounded.
Nonetheless, we won.
Not a single monster had stepped into Rio Castle.
“Wow!”
Soldiers lined up on top of the walls shouted.
Even though they were exhausted from the arduous battle, their spirit was never compromised.
I looked at the castle wall and turned my head.
A field of red and black corpses, as always, the assault force, including myself, stood in the middle.
Among them, Abalt stood out.
A knight of Helga who is on one knee and is breathing heavily.
“You are the protagonist of the day.”
He patted Abalt on the shoulder and congratulated him for his hard work.
In response, Abalt just let out a rough breath and nodded.
Judging by the pale complexion, it seemed that he had no strength to reply.
Not surprisingly, he demonstrated the power of a coachman for the first time today.
A blow followed by a roar, and dozens of monsters died, so even if Abalt killed monsters in this battle, there would be hundreds of them.
Shall we say that it has the power of a top-notch magic tool that is rare in the Southern Continent?
“I am… … .”
Suddenly, Abalt opened his mouth.
A look of determination came to his tired face.
Soon he stood up.
“I will not be swayed by this power. I will use it only when absolutely necessary.”
thump thump!
There was no lie in the conviction that he spit out while pounding his breastplate.
“Waaa-!”
Soldiers and knights again shouted at Abalt, the protagonist of this battle.
Helga’s knights in particular raised their voices.
I stood still and looked at them.
everything was happy
Abalt, who has finally made up his mind, and his colleagues who shout as if to encourage him.
◈ ◈ ◈
Rio Castle quickly rectified the battlefield. In the first place, the corpses of the monsters were swallowed up by the garden, so it didn’t take long.
After that, we went through several meetings and sent messengers to nearby territories.
The territories located around the fortress were supposed to respond to an emergency call-up order, so the messenger would not return in despair.
It was the time when I was looking at the backs of the messengers who were going farther away.
“Chwiik! I want to go to Titan too!”
Rapture came to me and worked hard.
It’s been this way ever since our last conversation.
“Because not yet.”
“If you have to go anyway, wouldn’t it be better to hurry?”
He sighed at Rapture’s impatient voice.
Whenever I say thank you for making a battlefield like this, I’m anxious because I can’t leave now.
“Wait a little longer. Go when reinforcements arrive.”
I looked up at the sky and said.
Rapture is a valuable power.
If he leaves the battlefield right now, the undead soldier will die, and the invulnerable knight will be injured.
“Go when reinforcements come. Chwiik, look at it, but I will change my words again later!”
“Huh, what am I saying?”
“I’m not going to hold me until the reinforcements adapt to the battlefield. It’s almost obvious.”
Rapture gave a heartache.
“Okay… … The King’s Path awaits me, and I can’t leave my weaklings behind. Chwik!”
“Can go. Only when reinforcements arrive.”
I said to this orc who is not like an orc.
In fact, the reinforcements I am talking about and the reinforcements Rapture thinks are very different.
It’s not just the northern territories where you can send reinforcements to Rio Castle.
Sup-
He took a deep breath.
The fresh grassy smell of the garden filled the lungs.
It’s only a momentary peace, but soon the stench of monsters will reappear here.
“For the time being, don’t think about anything else and prepare for battle. Because the frequency of raids has increased recently.”
“Oops. I see.”
The Plague Castle was already showing signs of regurgitating third-generation monsters.
It was growing much faster than expected.
◈ ◈ ◈
“It’s been a while.”
Ludwig looked at the young man in front of him.
The second son, Zeke Battenberg, returned after a long-term mission of nearly two years.
The corners of Ludwig’s mouth went up as he saw his son.
Zeke, who had already reached the level of a sword master five years ago, had deepened his momentum.
It must have been a great achievement in this long-term mission.
“How are you so far?”
Zeke lowered his head with a grave face.
Sharp eyes and tight lips.
Ludwig realized that Zeke and Richard were very similar.
The two shared their feelings about meeting after a long time.
Even so, the spirit of the two men implicitly surpassed each other’s rank.
“You have become even stronger.”
A fight that lasted a long time.
In the end, Zeke saved his energy with a tired expression.
It was something he did every time he returned from a mission.
For Zeke, Ludwig was something he wanted to overcome without fail.
“It’s still a long way from inheriting the family line.”
Ludwig’s comments hurt his pride.
Zeke, who slightly frowned, opened his mouth.
“It seems like a lot happened while I was gone.”
It seems that the 3rd Knights removed Battenberg’s coat of arms as a group one day.
Did the ugly younger siblings abandon the family name?
He was very surprised when he heard that Richard, the youngest among them, was also mentioned as the next successor along with himself.
Zeke looked at Ludwig with eyes demanding an explanation.
“You must have heard of the situation in Baren, which was called the shield of the Northern Continent.”
“You mean the place where Richard and Moritz left with the knights?”
Seeing Ludwig silently nodding his head, Zeke was certain that he was firmly there no matter what.
Hagiya, it would not have been common for the lineage of Battenga to lead the knights and leave the family.
There was interest in Zeke’s eyes.
“There was no call for assistance from Baren, but if they collapse, the damage will be more widespread. As soon as you finish preparing, head to Rio Castle.”
In Ludwig’s tone, there seemed to be no concern for his two sons.
It seemed as if he was saying that he was just doing what he had to do as a family ruling over the North Continent.
But Zeke could clearly see what Ludwig was thinking.
“You are still clumsy. I wonder if my ugly brothers and sisters were so unreliable.”
If he was just concerned about Baren, he would have sent the 1st or 2nd Knights immediately.
Sieg knew very well about the man named Ludwig behind the alias of iron blood.
‘I want to see what Moritz and Richard are doing, but I’m worried about leaving them alone.’
So, after much thought, he must have decided to send himself.
Zeke was self-assured.
“I will move as you command.”
Zeke, who caught a glimpse of the family head with a strange face somewhere, prepared to leave immediately.
Having just returned from a long-term mission, there was nothing special to prepare.
Kruck-!
He was about to board his pet.
“Hey! Isn’t that a wyvern? You have tamed it well!”
A groaning voice came from somewhere.
It was Leo, the leader of the 1st Knights.
“Sir Leo?”
“See you soon. hehehe.”
Looking at Leo, who was actually smiling, brought back painful memories to Zeke.
How much effort had I made to attract the man in front of me to my side?
“I heard that you became Richard’s person. Is that true?”
“If I had stood behind him, I wouldn’t be here.”
“I’m glad I was listening. I only thought I had lost my first love while I was away. hahahaha!”
The two men, who had gotten along well from before, exchanged jokes without any hesitation.
Then Leo’s gaze turned to the wyvern.
To be precise, it was a burden carried on the back of a wyvern.
“Are you going straight to Rio Castle?”
“It happened.”
At Leo’s question, Zeke shrugged his shoulders and answered.
“Anyway, the head of the family seems to be worried about my younger siblings. Like ugly guys.”
“Um, I’m worried… … .”
However, Leo’s expression was strange.
“Why is that?”
“I’m not sure you’re sending Master Zeke out of concern for the two children in Rio Castle. Please go carefully. If you’ve been careless… … .”
You may even believe in God-
From noble mtl dot com
… … The words lingered in Leo’s mouth.
◈ ◈ ◈
The Wyvern took flight with a wild roar.
Sitting on top of it, Sieg circled the air and looked down at Battenberg.
A flag fluttering from the top of the main palace.
He stared at it, then immediately turned and started heading south.
All I could think of was Richard and Moritz.
“Hmm.”
I was interested in the black eyes.
I was going crazy wondering what my younger siblings had left the family for and with what beliefs.
In addition, I wanted to see how much Richard, whom the vassals were talking about until their mouths were dry, had really changed.
‘You said you were given swordsmanship by Lord Balak. The youngest boy.’
Could Leo’s morbid curiosity have moved?
Zeke’s hips trembled.
Richard, who was said to have been rapidly advancing as the next successor, was not wary.
Richard had already abandoned the Battenga name, but as an older brother it was natural for him to rejoice at his younger brother’s achievements.
Even if Battenga was a strong-armed fence, proper competition was always welcome for Zeke.
He went down south for a long time like that.
The more it did, the darker the sky rotted.
It was to the point that the Wyvern stumbled with Magi constricting its body.
“Go ahead.”
Zeke spread his momentum and protected the Wyvern from Magi.
Several more days have passed since then.
Sieg looked down at the royal road of Varen spread out below.
The flags fluttering everywhere had a cross pattern.
It wasn’t just the royal road.
On the way to Rio Castle, most of the territories that I passed by had cross-patterned flags that I had never seen before.
I wondered what it was, but the wyvern’s wings did not stop.
Finally, at the end of his field of vision, Rio Castle began to come into view.
“In the dark of the night”
『He will spread the good news through the lamp』
『Soon the dawn will rise』
A song echoed in his ears from the side of the castle.
Kirrruk!
The Wyvern flapped its wings more vigorously.
The exhausted look from the long flight was nowhere to be seen.
『The Darkness Embraces Fear』
“Sheep Have Faith”
『How can I not endure this short night』
“… … .”
Before long, Sieg, who had circled the sky over Rio Castle, was at a loss for words.
Rio Castle is fighting with hideous red monsters.
A song that resonated louder than the explosions of the battlefield was bursting out of the mouths of the legion fighting against the monster.
It was rough like any military song, but on the other hand, it was a very mysterious and reverent tone.
Then I met someone’s eyes in the middle of the battlefield.
A young man entwined with light, wondering if the tone of this song would be like that now if it were formed in a human form.
The young man, who was staring at Zeke, smiled broadly.
And he opened his mouth.
Come on. brother.
obviously said so.
“No matter how you look at it, that guy isn’t Moritz… … .”
Then, is that shining man Richard?
Zeke murmured in dismay.
He said he had changed a lot, never dreaming that he would become a completely different person.