Chapter 45 - A Harsh Winter Began (2)

"I grant rest to all soldiers except the existing guard force. You may go down the wall. However, maintain a minimum level of armament."

Even at my maternal uncle's words, none of the soldiers immediately went down the wall. They remained motionless, their eyes fixed on the Wolf Riders in the distance.

"Tsk."

My maternal uncle clicked his tongue and ordered the command staff beside him to withdraw the soldiers. The commanders ran along the wall, kicking the soldiers' behinds and dragging them by the scruffs of their necks.

"Why aren't you asking?"

As I stared intently at them, my maternal uncle asked me.

"Asking what?"

"Why I didn't save them."

Wasn't it possible for a Quad Chain knight to save the Rangers, or at the very least, couldn't they have been saved if the castle's knights were sent out? Aren't you curious?

"It's obviously a trap, so why bring it up now."

My maternal uncle did not deny it.

The movement speed of Wolf Riders is as fast as cavalry. In the first place, it made no sense for the Rangers to have made it back alive from the mountain range to the vicinity of the castle. Unless they were let go on purpose, that is.

"That is correct. Their intention was likely to devour any troops that came outside the castle, and if the opportunity arose, to charge straight through the castle gate."

Vincent, who had appeared at some point, approached and elaborated on my words.

"If the gate is open, they rush in, and if they see an opening, they bite. Common sense does not apply to them, and they don't care if a few units are annihilated. A war of attrition is exactly what they want."

Vincent's face was dark. He seemed to feel a heavy sense of responsibility for failing to save his unit members. But despite that, his resolve was firm.

"Winter has only just begun; we cannot act rashly."

This is why fighting monsters is exhausting. Their battles differed from those of humans starting right from the objective.

For monsters, a siege was no different from this.

Killing more enemies, and eating their fill. That was simply it.

Even if the food was too hot and burned their hands, or they cut their own hands with clumsy knife skills, it was a feast they could not turn away from.

That must be what Winter Castle looks like to them.

"Furthermore, while a snowfield may seem at first glance to have nowhere to hide, there is actually far more that remains unseen."

Vincent's expression grew serious.

"We cannot rule out the possibility that Orcs might be hiding behind that mountain ridge..."

"Wolf Riders are approaching!"

Before Vincent could even finish his sentence, someone shouted.

Pressing close to the wall and looking down beyond it, the Wolf Riders who had trampled the Rangers were charging toward the castle.

The corpses of the Rangers caught in the wolves' jaws dangled pitifully.

The Wolf Riders stopped. They were just outside the range of arrows.

THUD.

The wolves spat out the corpses of the Rangers like half-chewed food.

"Huh? Huh?"

The soldiers atop the wall shouted upon seeing the corpses.

"They're alive!"

Some of the Rangers they thought were corpses were alive. The soldiers murmured as they saw the bloodied Rangers crawling on the ground.

I let their murmurs go in one ear and out the other as I looked down below the castle.

I saw the Wolf Riders who had dropped the Rangers onto the ground. They did not move an inch. It looked as if they were waiting for something.

After waiting for a moment, I found out what they were waiting for.

Another group of Wolf Riders appeared. Their wolves were also each holding something in their mouths.

They were the Rangers of Winter Castle who had gone out on a scouting mission.

THUD.

The wolves threw the Rangers onto the ground. Though they were covered in blood and their bodies were torn to rags, they were definitely still breathing.

Like that, several more groups of Wolf Riders appeared. And every time they appeared, the number of Rangers cast aside on the snowfield increased.

Thirty-six corpses, and twenty-two living Rangers.

"This winter truly isn't like usual."

My maternal uncle's voice was dreadfully heavy.

"Pulling uncharacteristic tricks."

Vincent's voice was also just as heavy as his father's. It was the same for the soldiers.

Their feelings were almost palpable.

If the survivors died, would they be considered killed in action, or would they be considered abandoned by their allies? And how would the soldiers take this incident?

A dilemma.

Trying to save them made the depletion of troops inevitable, and leaving them be caused the soldiers to waver. As soldiers of Winter Castle who had been through all sorts of hardships, they would understand the command's decision.

But a drop in morale was unavoidable. And when soldiers' morale drops, their limbs naturally become sluggish, and the tips of their swords grow dull.

That was by no means a good thing for Winter Castle.

"It's too fast. Even factoring in variables, it's unprecedented for Orcs to strike so swiftly in a blitz."

"The previous battle was like that, and so are the Wolf Riders. It is full of strange things."

My maternal uncle brought up the previous battle in the mountain range.

At those words, I ended up thinking of that damn Elder High Elf.

Sigrun. Did that damn elf pull the strings this time too?

But that wasn't it.

A roar that was fundamentally different from human vocalization, sounding as if a beast were rumbling its throat, pierced my ears.

I looked down below the castle. An Orc riding the most massive wolf among the Wolf Riders was glaring up at the wall and shouting. "Your Excellency the Commander. Please make a decision!"

The officers of the command staff said to my maternal uncle. They said it looked like the Orcs were about to hold an execution, and that if they wanted to save them, now was their only chance.

"No, they're not."

I directly refuted their opinions.

They aren't about to hold something like an execution right now. I said in front of them.

"What does that..."

"Your Excellency the Commander! We don't have time for this! If we wait any longer, we won't be able to save them even if we try!"

A quick-tempered knight raised his sword and made a fuss, looking as if he would jump down the wall at any moment.

My maternal uncle raised his hand. The commanders who had been making a racket shut their mouths and stood at attention. Having silenced the commotion like that, my maternal uncle asked me.

"Then what does it look like they are trying to do in your eyes?"

Instead of answering, I looked down below the wall.

In the hands of the exceptionally massive Orc was a blood-red banner, though I didn't know where he had pulled it out from. However, the crest on that banner was all too familiar to me. The Orc shouted.

To humans, it was a screech no different from the roar of a fierce beast, but not to me.

Let's fight. We will fight honorably and reclaim the Legion's name.

The language of ancient Orcs, which had faded even from my memories by now, flowed from that hideous snout.

"Kwooooaarrr!"

I watched the Orc going berserk while waving the banner. The conversation I had with Sigrun came to mind.

["Deep within the mountain range is something Your Highness needs."]

["A very ancient being slumbers inside that mountain range."]

["If you were to use him as lyrics, I guarantee it would make a truly wonderful poem."]

What she had mentioned, that something I needed—I felt like I knew what it was now.

For the great king!

Because that noisy Orc had already said the answer several times.

* * *

"So you're saying the Orcs have taken hostages and are proposing a duel right now?"

When I nodded, my maternal uncle let out a sigh.

An Orc talking about honor and proposing a duel is strange, and a human who can understand such an Orc's language is even stranger. He had never seen or heard of such a thing in the world. My maternal uncle's expression was saying exactly that.

Though there were differences in degree, the others were all making similar faces.

Not even a single person asked where I had learned the Orc language. They simply didn't believe my words at all.

I had no intention of wasting my breath trying to convince them. Because I knew of a better way.

"Krak! Krarak! Kraksh!"

I clung to the wall and shouted toward the Orcs. A harsh language that sounded like grinding metal flowed from my mouth.

The Orcs were startled and jumped up. The very same Wolf Rider who appeared to be the leader among them pointed at me and shouted.

Roughly translated, it meant this:

『What, how can a human speak our race's language.』

A common-sense reaction for an Orc. I ignored him and shouted back.

『We will accept the duel, so everyone except the participants in the duel must step back two hundred paces and dismount your wolves.』

At my words, the leader Orc clamored noisily.

Do you have the blood of our race? We will accept you if you join our pack.

Words that lacked substance and were completely useless continued for quite a while.

『I'm not a half-blood! I have no intention of going over there! Anyway, what are you going to do!』

I yelled angrily.

Only then did the leader Orc begin to ponder. For an Orc, he was a guy who thought unnecessarily much.

『We will do so!』

The leader Orc said after opening his mouth a long while later. He even made a threat, saying he wouldn't let it slide if anyone sullied the honorable duel.

What an idiot. If we broke the promise, it would be after we had already returned to the castle with the Rangers, so what could they even do then.

"What on earth are you doing..."

I turned my head at my maternal uncle's words. I saw people looking at me as if I were a madman.

"Do you believe my words a little now?"

I gestured and pointed out the Orcs to them.

The Wolf Riders, except for the five Orcs who would participate in the duel, were backing away. Seeing that sight, my maternal uncle and the commanders opened their eyes so wide they looked like they might tear.

"T-That..."

"No, what on earth is..."

The commanders made a fuss, saying they had spent dozens of winters in Ballorhard, but they had never seen a case like this.

The fact that Orcs were opponents one could communicate with, and the fact that there was a human who spoke the Orcs' language, both seemed hard for them to accept.

Tsk. The whole day will pass at this rate.

Unable to watch any longer, I stepped forward and told them the Orcs' demands.

"Five will participate in the duel, but they must be those who participated in the previous battle in the mountain range. For reference, they said they'll just kill everyone if it takes too long."

When I informed them that the Orcs' patience wasn't that long, only then did my maternal uncle and the commanders begin to select the personnel to go out for the duel.

First, Vincent was selected. The Triple Chain knight who had fought alongside us that day was also selected.

"I will go! I will avenge the Rangers!"

An overly motivated knight was added to the roster.

"I, too, have a grudge against the Orcs..."

"That's enough."

At my words, the knights who had been clamoring noisily and airing their old grudges against the Orcs shut their mouths. I answered those asking why. "Because two spots are already taken."

Me and Arwen. Two spots had been reserved since earlier.

Of course, the knights and Winter Castle's commanders made a fuss saying it was dangerous, but as always, I ignored their opposition.

"Is there anyone besides me who can communicate with the Orcs?"

"Then at least for the one remaining spot."

Looking at the knights who were practically pleading by now, I looked back at Arwen.

"No."

With her looking forward to it like that, how could I pull her out now.

"But where on earth did you learn the language of the Orcs? It's the first time in my life I've ever heard that Orcs are opponents you can talk to."

At my maternal uncle's words, I chuckled and replied.

"Study."

Because if you study for about a few hundred years, you'll be able to understand not only the Orcs' language but also the language of mole crickets.

『Not yet!』

The leader Orc urged from outside the castle.

I replied that we would go down shortly, and when I turned around, my maternal uncle was lost in thought.

"I'm saying this just in case, but toss aside any worries about whether things could have been resolved with words in the past."

As if his inner thoughts had been caught, my maternal uncle's eyes wavered.

"Because this time is a special case."

It was not a lie. Just because they were Orcs didn't mean they were all the same Orcs, and it wasn't as if all of them could be reasoned with. Only the nobles serving the king of their race could speak the ancient language.

That leader Orc was precisely such a case.

It was coincidental.

Just as I stepped out into the world, an elf envoy, who hadn't sought out the kingdom before, visited. A delegation that included an entity as significant as an Elder High Elf, at that.

And in the North, the king of the Orcs appeared. For the first time in 400 years.

Should this be considered a coincidence?

"No way."

There aren't many true coincidences in this world. There are merely many things that look like coincidences. It was especially so when massive entities were making their moves.

"Anyway, let's talk after we return."

Now was not the time to worry and ponder.

It was time to fight.

CREAK, CREAK.

The castle gate opened.

Beyond that pure white snowfield, the Wolf Riders were there.

"Let's go."

I led the knights and stepped forward. Despite being bewildered by the sudden sortie, the soldiers were sending us looks full of expectation.

Basking in that longing, I took a step.

Human longing and willpower are the greatest nourishment for reaching Transcendence.

Even if they belonged to others, for today at least, their longing would become my longing.

"Then I will take the biggest one."

"I will take that one."

Perhaps having roughly scouted their opponents on the way over, Vincent and the knights each designated their targets. The way they looked at me hinted that they wanted me to interpret.

As they requested, I informed the Orcs of their opponents.

The Orcs dismounted from their wolves. The Orcs gripping their swords each stood before their respective opponents.

"Y-Your Highness? I was definitely supposed to face that one..."

Vincent babbled noisily. I ignored his words this time as well.

The leader Orc was standing in front of me.

The strongest one is naturally my share.