Chapter 250 - The Land of Knights (1)

Hansen was a fresh-faced rookie who had only just become a full-fledged Ranger.

But he was also famous enough that there was no one in Winter Castle who did not know his name.

It was not because he was especially capable, nor because he had accomplished anything remarkable.

It was simply because of one thing he had said.

"If I become a Ranger, I plan to kick Yorden's ass!"

When the recruiting officer asked why he wanted to enlist, he had followed the exact advice of some soldier(?) he had met in the East.

In his innocence, he had not even imagined what kind of enormous consequences those words would bring.

"What? Kick Yorden's ass?"

"Tie him upside down and give it a thorough kicking for three days and nights!"

He had even gone on to say things nobody had asked him about, shouting it all with great bravado.

He learned the truth immediately afterward.

The nameless man he had met in the East was not an ordinary soldier but a Ballorhard Ranger; the Ballorhard Rangers were among the kingdom's finest elite troops; and Yorden, whose name he had slandered after assuming he must be the Ballorhard Rangers' archenemy, was actually the name of Winter Castle's longest-serving Ranger.

And he learned that the words he had foolishly spouted had been a magical incantation that summoned a brutal season of howling, frigid winds.

By the time Hansen realized all that, a harsh winter had already descended upon his life.

"Do you think you've come anywhere near Company Commander Yorden's ass with that?"

The instructor treated him with extraordinary special attention.

"No matter what anyone says, Company Commander Yorden is Winter Castle's longest-serving Ranger! At this rate, you wouldn't be able to kick his ass even after a hundred years! You'd better approach this with at least the determination of someone intending to touch an Ogre's ass!"

Throughout the brutal training, the instructor did not leave his side for even an instant.

"Are you the promising rascal who said he would kick Company Commander Yorden's bare ass?"

"They said there hadn't been anyone useful lately, but at last someone worthwhile has come along. I'll personally look after you. What does that mean? It means I'll personally work you into shape until you become useful."

Even Rangers who had heard the rumor came to the training ground and volunteered to act as instructors, though no one had asked them to.

Thanks to them, Hansen soon acquired the basic qualities of a Ranger and was appointed a full-fledged Ranger with unprecedented speed.

"Congratulations. You've finally come one step closer to your dream of stripping Company Commander Yorden naked, hanging him upside down, and relentlessly kicking nothing but his ass for three days and nights."

By then, Hansen was so worn down that, as the rumor grew with time, he could not even think of correcting it.

The fact that he could escape the hellish three months of intensive training was his only consolation.

He was mistaken.

The real hell began then.

As a full-fledged Ranger, he climbed Winter Castle's northern wall for the first time.

Just enduring the wind and cold, far more vicious than anything below the wall, was enough to make him feel as though he were dying. And of all times, monsters descended just as winter began.

The monsters, numbering only a few dozen at first, quickly grew to several hundred.

"Fire!"

Hansen fired his crossbow at the advancing monsters.

At first, that was enough.

A little over a hundred monsters died beneath the rain of bolts before they could even reach the wall.

But as time passed, the situation changed.

The monsters' numbers gradually increased until there were hundreds of them. Among them were creatures, including Ogres and Trolls, that the Rangers' crossbows alone could not handle.

When Hansen saw the monsters finally reach the foot of the wall and pound on the gate, he was utterly terrified.

"Why aren't you firing that dwarven artillery or whatever it is called? Isn't this exactly what it's for?"

"Do you have any idea how much one artillery shell costs? Fire something that precious at those things?"

As he shouted in fear that the gate might break at any moment, a veteran Ranger beside him answered indifferently.

"Don't make such a fuss. It won't break. And there are plenty of ways to deal with those things without artillery."

No sooner had the Ranger finished speaking than a thunderous roar erupted.

Hansen turned toward the sound and froze. Ogres and Trolls engulfed in flames were screaming and rampaging.

"Looks like the mages from the White Night Tower took the initiative this time. The Lancers are going to be pretty annoyed."

As he stared blankly at the sight, Hansen heard the veteran Ranger chuckle.

Only then did he realize that Black Lancers in black iron armor had mounted their horses and were waiting to sortie.

"Keep your head in the game. We have to deal with the monsters the mages don't finish off."

When the large monsters who had served as battering rams were struck down by magic and rendered useless, smaller monsters began crawling up the wall.

He fired bolts until his fingers bled.

Days like that continued throughout the winter.

Some days the mages took the field; on others, the Black Lancers intercepted the larger monsters.

And Hansen had to grapple day and night with the monsters they failed to deal with.

He fought and fought simply to stay alive.

"Tired? Endure it. If you die here, it would defeat the purpose of having specially placed you in such a prime spot."

The veteran Rangers beside him kept saying things that made his stomach turn, but he barely heard them.

By the time he had fought on in a daze, winter had passed.

The period so difficult it made him want to die had finally ended.

"Haah. I survived this one too."

"Don't make such a fuss over something this minor. In our day—"

He was so delighted that winter had ended without his even realizing it, and thanked heaven repeatedly for being alive, when the veteran Rangers doused him with cold water.

"The walls may be packed with people now, but in the old days we were always short on troops. We couldn't even rotate shifts and had to eat and sleep atop the walls."

"There weren't any Dwarves, either, and no artillery."

"We couldn't even dream of support from mages."

"Still, the monsters that dropped sharply last year have increased a little again this year."

"Even so, it's nothing compared to before."

"That is true."

The veteran Rangers held Hansen there and talked at length about the countless wars Winter Castle had fought over the years.

The war with the Warlord was fairly well known throughout the kingdom, while the battle with the dead and the war with the Overlord were stories he was hearing for the first time.

They were quite astonishing and exciting tales, but that was all they were.

Like all the young people in the world, Hansen dismissed them as old men's war stories.

After all, he had not experienced them himself, so they did not feel particularly real.

"Compared to our time, today's war is child's play."

He even began to resent the veteran Rangers for calling the winter he had barely survived with all his strength nothing at all.

It was unpleasant to feel that his own life-and-death struggle was being belittled.

Until very recently, he would never have shown such feelings.

But grappling with monsters had soured Hansen's temper, and he pursed his lips and complained about the veteran Rangers' bragging.

He had suffered enough to want to die, too.

The veteran Rangers snorted when they saw him.

"This cheeky little brat is complaining from a full belly."

"What do you mean, a full belly? I fought for my life without even having time to fill it."

"That's exactly what we mean by complaining from a full belly."

"What in the world—"

Hansen, who had boldly raised his chin and pursed his lips, suddenly stiffened.

"Back then, there was no fighting for one's life, no gritting one's teeth and enduring until one wanted to die."

The veteran Rangers' eyes were more chilling than ever.

"Back then, we died before we had the time to do any of that."

Those few words were unbearably heavy.

Hansen did not dare open his mouth to argue.

"Well, enough depressing talk!"

One of the veteran Rangers clapped his hands and spoke with forced cheer. The others, too, began chattering noisily as though they had completely forgotten the conversation moments before.

Only Hansen could not join them. He kept his mouth shut and watched their faces.

"But why did we come to see this guy again?"

"I feel like we came because we had something to say."

After talking for quite a while, the veteran Rangers tilted their heads.

"Ah! Right! Hansen, you! The Acting Lord wants to see you!"

Then they beamed brightly, as though they had only just remembered.

"The Acting Lord?"

"Yeah. He said it was urgent, so hurry over."

"When did he ask for me?"

"Earlier this morning."

Hansen lifted his head.

The sun had already passed its zenith and was well on its way down.

"For crying out loud! How can you only tell me now?!"

Unlike the slack Rangers, who seemed to have their screws loose except when battle broke out, the Acting Lord was a rather strict man.

If things went badly, Hansen might end up being blamed for the lunatic Rangers' mistakes.

"Where do I go?!"

"At this hour, he's probably in his office."

At the Rangers' carefree answer, Hansen clenched his teeth and ran.

"N-Northern Wall, 9th Company, 3rd Platoon! Ranger Hansen reporting as summoned!"

He reached the office door and shouted without even having time to catch his breath. From inside came a weighty voice utterly unlike those frivolous Rangers.

"Enter."

Hansen flung open the door.

A middle-aged, one-eyed man sitting at the desk directly opposite the office entrance welcomed him with a somewhat stern expression.

"You're late."

Just as Hansen was about to open his mouth to make an excuse, the Acting Lord, Quern Liechtheim, spoke first.

"I heard that before becoming a Ranger, you traveled throughout the kingdom carrying a pack. Have I heard correctly?"

"Not throughout the entire kingdom. I wandered around the East and Central region for about four years."

"You've never been to the West or South at all?"

"I've been there, but not enough to say I traveled all over them."

The Acting Lord smiled with satisfaction.

"Perfect."

It was a smile Hansen could not understand, and the words meant nothing to him.

But the one-eyed knight did not seem inclined to explain.

He merely waved a hand and told Hansen to leave.

Hansen learned what it meant the very next day.

"Ranger Hansen. Effective immediately, you are no longer assigned to 3rd Platoon, 9th Company, Northern Wall. You are assigned to the detachment heading for the Central region. It will be a long journey to the Central region, so prepare yourself thoroughly."

"I'm being transferred?"

"It seems the lord requested additional troops. But the problem is that when the lord left last time, everyone who knew the roads followed him. Apart from the company and platoon leaders who cannot leave their posts, the only ones left are Northerners who have never once set foot outside the North."

"A guide, then."

The knight nodded.

Though bewildered, Hansen cheered inwardly.

He was overjoyed at the chance to leave cold, desolate Winter Castle. If it meant escaping the talkative veteran Rangers, he would not have refused a role more difficult than a guide.

"When do I need to be ready?"

The knight told him the detachment was scheduled to leave the castle in a week.

Hansen immediately prepared to leave the castle.

"We even specially placed you in a prime spot. Huh? We looked after you so you wouldn't die. Don't look so happy about it."

Perhaps irritated by his inability to hide his excitement and his constant humming, the veteran Rangers glared at him and growled.

"That's a grave, not a prime spot. I never asked for it."

He answered them without the slightest sign of shrinking back.

With faces that showed they genuinely could not understand his complaint, the Rangers muttered things like, "Strange. Everyone's dying to get posted to the northern wall."

Hansen knew they were not lying.

Just as they said, the soldiers of this insane fortress were desperate to stand at the most dangerous post. It was a bizarre way of thinking he could not understand at all.

By then, he no longer cared.

In any case, he was finally saying goodbye to this hellish castle.

He had heard that the lord's forces had been stationed in the Central region for half a year already. If things went well, he believed he could settle there, too.

Then he might even meet again the Knight of Steel he had seen back then. Hansen flared his nostrils and grinned foolishly.

The Rangers saw his face and spun a finger beside their heads.

At last, the day of departure arrived, and he left Winter Castle among the knights of the detachment bound for the Central region.

"Somehow, I think that fellow's going to catch His Highness's eye."

"My battlefield-forged instincts say so, too. That fellow's future won't be any different from Yorden's."

The cryptic conversation of the veteran Rangers, who had followed them all the way outside the gate to whisper among themselves, made Hansen uneasy for some reason. But the discomfort vanished like a lie the instant he saw the scenery south of the fortress, utterly different in kind from the bleak landscape he had looked at from the wall every day.

Hansen guided the detachment while humming.

Just before they crossed the bridge linking the Raintes River and the Central region, the Northern knights joined them.

The Winter Castle detachment led them straight across the bridge.

After advancing for another three days, they finally reached a gateway city belonging to Branbrut County.

The city's citizens enthusiastically welcomed the Northern troops.

From the words he caught amid the cheers, Hansen learned that the citizens who had escaped danger in the Warlord's rampage thanks to Northern reinforcements still had not forgotten their gratitude.

"Long live the Ballorhard Rangers!"

The citizens shouted the name of the Ballorhard Rangers more loudly than that of any knightly order.

Hansen felt a very strange emotion.

He could not define it precisely, but it felt rather good.

As the detachment entered the city amid the warm welcome and Hansen walked along the main street with them, he suddenly stopped.

A huge poster pasted to a wall beside the avenue caught his eye.

『To all who have accumulated mana in their hearts: Do not hesitate. Come to me.』

If not for the dazzling golden emblem boldly drawn beneath it, Hansen would never have stopped for such a gaudy, childish slogan.

The emblem of a roaring golden lion.

Amazingly, the slogan, which looked like something a third-rate mercenary group might use, was part of a royal proclamation.

And not merely an ordinary royal proclamation—

『If you are a knight, I shall appoint you as a knight of the newly established Royal Direct Knights, the Blood Lion Knights, and put you to important use. If you are not a knight, I shall examine your aptitude and open a path for you to become one. —Adrian Leonberk』

It was a proclamation issued in his own name by Crown Prince Adrian Leonberk, the Lion of the North whom the Royal House of Leonberk took pride in.

Hansen could not know why Adrian Leonberk had issued such a proclamation at this particular moment.

He reached only one conclusion from the voices around him.

"I hear the news has spread beyond the kingdom, too."

"They say the holders of Mana Hearts, who used to be treated like has-beens, are gathering in staggering numbers."

The Crown Prince's proclamation had set the entire world abuzz.