Chapter 108

“Urgent report!! Word has arrived that soldiers from the Kingdom of Esten have attacked the eastern border garrison!!”

“... What?! So those bastards finally did it!”

The soldier’s unexpected arrival at dawn threw the royal castle into an uproar.

“Your Majesty, everything is ready.”

Upon receiving the soldier’s report, Forton III of the Kingdom of Tekan had hastily summoned his ministers.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

The ministers seated around the conference room’s round table rose as one at the sight of King Forton.

“You must all have heard the report that arrived this morning. It seems fighting is underway in the east, and the situation appears unfavorable.”

The king spoke as he hurried into his seat.

“Please do not trouble yourself unduly. Small skirmishes within the Antarian Federation are hardly unusual.”

Chancellor Neburan, however, remained composed.

“But the messenger carried a white flag. Surely you know what that color means.”

“Drot, commander of the eastern border garrison, is a suspicious man, Your Majesty. That suspicion serves him well in keeping watch for enemies, but it sometimes leads him to mistake even a minor skirmish for something far greater.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“For now, as a precaution, I believe we should detach a small contingent from the capital defense force and send it to the border.”

The chancellor answered without hesitation.

“Three hundred riders should be quite sufficient.”

“Hmm...”

“The Red Knights are here in the capital, so you need not worry.”

The king nodded at Neburan’s words.

“What do the other ministers think?”

“We are of the same mind, Your Majesty.”

The ministers voiced their agreement in unison.

“It happens all the time...”

“Please do not worry, Your Majesty.”

In contrast to their initial urgency, the chancellor’s relaxed manner had the ministers exchanging glances as they answered.

“Very well. Then, as you suggest, I shall deploy three hundred men from the defense force.”

'That’s right. What a small-minded lot... This kingdom would grind to a halt without me.'

With even the king following his lead, the chancellor’s conceit knew no bounds.

BANG!!!

It happened then.

The conference room door suddenly burst open, and a soldier rushed in, gasping for breath.

“You insolent...! How dare you enter His Majesty’s presence...!”

“Urgent report!!”

Just as the chancellor began shouting at him, the soldier announced,

“The eastern border garrison... has been wiped out.”

“... What?!”

The chancellor stared blankly at the soldier.

“W-what are you saying?! The border has fallen?!”

“I do not know the details. Red signal fires went up at the border, and troops in black armor are reportedly advancing toward the royal castle!”

This was no everyday occurrence.

HIC!

The shocking report gave the chancellor an uncontrollable fit of hiccups.

'Th-the border has fallen? Then what about the capital? Aren’t we finished here too?'

“R-run...”

For all his earlier contempt for the other ministers, the moment he heard of the enemy, his first thought was of escape.

“Black armor? The knights of Esten wear blue armor. Are you reporting something you saw incorrectly?!”

The king shoved Neburan aside and shouted at the soldier.

“No, Your Majesty. We clearly identified the kingdom’s flag among their ranks. They were unquestionably from Esten.”

“Then are you telling me they have established a new knightly order?!”

“At present... we have no way of knowing...”

BANG!!

The king slammed his hand on the table.

“Is anyone out there?! Go and summon Aswell at once!!!”

“Your servant Aswell is here.”

The timing was impeccable.

Before Forton III had even finished shouting, Aswell came down the corridor and walked into the conference room.

“Oh...! Sword Emperor! Have you heard the news? They report that the eastern border has fallen!”

Woojin frowned slightly as Forton hurried over at the sight of Aswell.

'That’s the king?'

He looked like a child whining for attention.

Woojin felt he understood why a small kingdom like this could never become anything more.

'Now that I see this, Fenrir hardly seems to be the real issue...'

He was beginning to have a great deal to say, but he knew it was not his place to intervene and kept his mouth shut.

“I shall lead a force to the eastern border.”

“Yes. I am counting on you!”

At the king’s command, Aswell cupped his fist in his other hand and bowed.

DING!

[The Kingdom of Tekan and the Kingdom of Esten are currently at war.]

[Would you like to participate in the war?]

As Aswell straightened, a notification sounded for Woojin.

'Participate in the war...'

With his [Mad Demon] title, this might be the perfect opportunity to level up.

'But I don’t want to fight for an incompetent king like that...'

“Would you help me as well?”

DING!

Another notification sounded.

[You have discovered a quest.]

[Quest Name: War with Esten]

▶ Rank: B

▶ Help Aswell defeat the soldiers of the Kingdom of Esten who have invaded across the border.

Reward: A noble title in the Kingdom of Esten

“Hmm...”

'This is the first quest I’ve wanted even less after seeing the reward.'

Woojin gave an awkward smile.

'I can always turn down the reward.'

It would be a shame to ruin the rapport he had worked so hard to build with Aswell.

“All right.”

[You have accepted the quest.]

“Then let us prepare at once.”

* * *

According to Aswell, wars between small kingdoms were not the large-scale battles one might imagine. Even a border garrison numbered only around five hundred to a thousand men.

'The neighboring countries have so few troops that the Sword Emperor’s presence alone sustains Tekan’s strength.'

It was remarkable that someone like Aswell Balan existed in such a small kingdom.

“Pick up the pace. We will soon reach the Great Forest.”

“Yes, sir!!!”

The soldiers answered, their faces taut with tension.

These were men of the capital defense force, not the Red Knights he usually commanded.

'Every one of them is trembling, even with the Sword Emperor here.'

Looking at their faces, Woojin felt that the Kingdom of Tekan’s standard of training was even worse than he had imagined.

'The Red Knights weren’t like this...'

He wondered whether Aswell Balan might make a better king.

'Well, it’s not my place to get involved...'

It felt as though the Sword Emperor was carrying this powerless little kingdom on his shoulders alone.

“Halt!!”

Aswell raised his hand, and the defense troops stopped as one.

Just as the report had said, black smoke was billowing from the wall where the border garrison had been stationed.

“It seems the fighting is over... All of you wait here. I will inspect the wall.”

“Wait a moment.”

Woojin stopped Aswell as he was about to urge his horse forward.

“The captain should not be scouting in person. Please leave that to your subordinates.”

“But...”

'He must not trust them.'

“I’ll go.”

Woojin spoke first, as though he understood Aswell’s thoughts.

“... I leave it to you.”

Woojin nodded, dismounted, and ran quietly toward the wall.

* * *

“Come on, come on! Hurry up!!”

A voice came from below the wall.

Concealing himself among the rubble, Woojin slowly looked toward its source.

THUD!! THUD!!!

Below the wall stood several robed figures and soldiers in black armor, each bringing a weapon down on the fallen bodies.

'Is that the black armor they reported at the castle?'

But their behavior was bizarre.

They were chopping up the corpses and stuffing the pieces into sacks.

“Urgh...”

Woojin involuntarily gagged at the sight, too horrific to put into words.

'What the hell are they doing?'

Whatever else they might be, judging by their actions, they certainly did not seem to be ordinary soldiers.

What kingdom’s soldiers chopped corpses into pieces and packed them into sacks?

[HISS... HISS...]

Then he heard it.

A strange breathing noise, like metal scraping, came from the soldiers in black armor.

CREAK... CREAK...

Even their gait was strange.

'I don’t think... they’re human.'

Their helmets prevented him from getting a proper look, but everything about them was suspicious.

Especially the smell.

Despite all the corpses littering the battlefield, there was no scent of blood at all.

Instead, only a sweet fragrance lingered, as though someone had lit a scented candle.

“Let’s go.”

At the robed figures’ words, the black-armored soldiers picked up their sacks in unison and began following them.

The robed figures carried lamps in their hands. Pure white smoke drifted from them.

'... Is that where the smell is coming from?'

Once they had all left, Woojin cautiously approached the spot beneath the wall where they had been collecting the bodies.

“Master.”

Setsuna called to him.

“What is it?”

“That’s the smell of malfran leaves.”

“What are those?”

“They aren’t used these days... They’re hypnotic leaves that beast tamers used long ago. They would burn the leaves and make the beasts inhale the smoke until they became addicted.”

“Then you’re saying those people were controlling the soldiers with hypnotic leaves?”

“Yes. But the leaves don’t work on humans.”

That meant the soldiers were not human, just as Woojin had suspected.

“And only alchemists know how to refine malfran leaves.”

'Alchemists...'

Aswell had mentioned that large numbers of alchemists had come to the Kingdom of Esten.

'Then were those the people he meant?'

For now, Woojin turned to report to Aswell.

“Not bad, Setsuna.”

“Hehe. I wasn’t just lazing around while you were at the training grounds, Master.”

She rolled up her sleeves and grinned.

Apparently, while Woojin was away, she had roamed House Balan’s library and storerooms, gobbling up every bit of experience she could find.

“Just one more level, and I’ll be level twenty.”

That meant she would be able to learn a new skill.

Woojin was looking forward to seeing what it would be.

“Well? What did you find?”

“The enemy has withdrawn. Only a few remained by the wall, and they struck me as alchemists.”

“... Alchemists?”

“Yes. I considered dealing with them, but I only observed in case the commotion brought enemy troops back.”

“You did well.”

“The alchemists seemed to be controlling the black-armored soldiers, but I don’t think those soldiers were human.”

Aswell frowned slightly.

“They seemed to be controlling them with leaves used to tame monsters... though I couldn’t be certain.”

“Monsters... That may explain why the border garrison fell.”

“What shall we do? If you want to pursue them, we can still catch up.”

“I have a fair idea where they are headed.”

Beyond the border lay only the Great Forest.

“You said they chopped up the corpses and took them away? We must discover what on earth they intend to do.”

He also knew that the alchemists had a building near the Great Forest.

“Listen, all of you!!”

Aswell shouted to the soldiers.

“Do not be afraid. You are with me.”

“Waaaaah!!!”

“Waaaah!!!”

At those few words, the defense troops burst into cheers as one.

He truly was the Sword Emperor.

He had lifted their morale in an instant.

“To the Great Forest!!”

“...”

Yet something was strange.

Woojin alone could not shake his unease.

[“It had already fallen by the time I was born...”]

For some reason, Irurin’s words kept circling through his mind.

The other world was fifty years ahead of the present.

And Irurin was nineteen.

That left thirty-one years.

At some point during that span, the Kingdom of Tekan must have fallen.

'Surely that wasn’t today.'

NEIGH!!

Woojin pulled on his horse’s reins and followed after them.