Chapter 66 - Better to Give Willingly Than Be Beaten and Robbed

After the battle, Shan’s army entered Zerkan and first stripped the surrendered enemy of all their weapons and armor. The knights and heavily armed soldiers were taken prisoner, while those who were no longer fighters were dismissed.

Then the plundering of the city began in earnest. Had they accepted the initial offer of surrender, the army would have taken only strategic supplies, as promised. But they had fought and lost, and now it was time to claim the victor’s rights. Without an example here, other cities would surely decide it was safe to hold out a little before losing.

“Not that! It’s a family heirloom...”

“Dear, just let them have it. Staying alive comes first.”

The woman who had rushed out barefoot and seized the jewelry box a soldier was carrying away retreated into her house in tears at her husband’s urging. Thanks to orders issued beforehand, there was no arson or indiscriminate slaughter, though some who resisted too fiercely lost their lives.

The loot was stacked neatly onto the carts brought into the city. It did not take long for the homes of wealthy merchants, artisans, officials, and other prosperous residents to be reduced to a shambles.

The lord’s mansion and its annexes within the citadel provided the grand finale. A noble was still a noble, however provincial. A considerable haul of valuables emerged, from ordinary gold and silver treasures to a low-grade holy relic or a magical device or two, along with antiques of distinguished provenance. They also obtained the magic stones they had come for: besides the two installed in the outer and inner gates, they found another five kept as spares.

While those assigned to plundering scraped up everything they could, several soldiers clicked their tongues as they cleared the bodies scattered through the citadel.

“So you’re saying just three men killed all these people and captured the lord’s family?”

“After climbing down that insanely high cliff with their bare hands.”

“He really isn’t human.”

“I couldn’t do it even if they promised me a whole kingdom for succeeding.”

Word had spread of the operation, which had been kept secret to prevent leaks, and the soldiers finally understood why the battle had ended after they had done nothing but shout pointlessly. Even to their uneducated minds, it was not merely absurd—it was downright unfair. Climb down a cliff where one misstep meant being crushed to death, slaughter dozens of enemies, and end the battle by abducting the lord’s family?

To compare it to chess, the nobles’ pastime, it was as though everyone else moved in straight lines or diagonals while he alone moved ten squares forward, turned sideways, and took the king. Calling something like that war was almost laughable.

“This will spread Sir Shan’s fame even further.”

“The Rock Climber, the Night Raider. More titles to call him by.”

“The Night Raider sounds rather dishonorable...”

While several knights chatted, Shan sat in a chair off to one side of the citadel, resting his weary body. Beside him, Roden wiped the blood from his armor.

“Well done, Sir Shan.”

“Our losses?”

“Not a single casualty, of course. I’ll report any further losses during the plundering.”

“Good. See to the mercenaries and Count Palatine Tenon as well.”

A chaplain was tending Ravana and the other wounded mercenaries, along with the rescued head of the Society and Ravana’s daughter Kiri, in a reasonably well-kept annex. They had selected capable priests from Pales, so barring complications, their patients should soon recover.

Roden acknowledged the order, then glanced at the soldiers murmuring nearby and whispered, “Anyway, I thought you could pull it off, but you managed it far more cleanly than I ever imagined. A feat like this could earn you a noble title.”

“It’s that impressive?”

“Of course. What other crazy knight in the world captures a city of over ten thousand people single-handedly?”

“Biko and Tavera helped. Everyone outside played their part too.”

“Squires tagging along is taken for granted when a knight does something like this. And people would laugh if you called shouting outside a contribution.”

His solitary cockatrice hunt had left only evidence behind, and he had slain the ogre horde lord alongside an army of thousands. Winning a jousting tournament was impressive, but someone did that every year. Infiltrating a city alone, slaughtering dozens of enemies, and emerging with the lord’s family, however, was an achievement straight out of myth. Moreover, residents, hundreds of soldiers, and knights had all witnessed it clearly.

It would remain a legend in this region—perhaps throughout Pendia—for years to come. Even among knights who earned noble titles through their deeds, feats of this magnitude were so rare as to be virtually unheard of.

“At the very least, whoever becomes this city’s next lord will always order a watch on the cliff behind the citadel. They won’t want the same thing happening to them. Actually, they might move the citadel altogether.”

“I don’t understand why they built it that way to begin with. Fear alone would have kept me from putting a city so close to a cliff.”

That was because Zerkan had originally been built to mine the iron beneath that rock face. Building right against the cliff had also saved considerable materials and labor on the walls. Rather than launch into a lengthy explanation, Roden simply gave a wry smile and let it pass.

After all, this boy, his friend, truly had accomplished something no one else could. His failure to understand why others could not do what he could was a minor flaw worth overlooking.

* * *

After spending the night in the lord’s mansion, Shan heard that Ravana had awakened and headed to the annex to see her. Inside the building, left bare by the plundering, he found the rabbit-eared woman lying in bed wrapped in bandages, her daughter seated beside her.

Seeing Shan and Roden enter, Kiri sprang up and immediately prostrated herself.

“Please forgive my mother!”

“Kiri...”

“It’s my fault she attacked you, Sir Shan! If seeing me hadn’t upset her—”

“Enough.”

Shan cut off the girl’s frantic plea, lifted her up, and set her in a chair. Then he sat in the chair opposite and addressed Ravana, who groaned in pain as she tried to rise.

“I’ve heard the gist of it. You took berserker’s elixir?”

“Yes. Losing my reason is no excuse for treating our benefactor so poorly.”

Ravana, the Slaughter Rabbit, bowed her head politely in apology. Unlike the night before, when she had rampaged with her eyes rolling back, she looked despondent and cowed, her drooping rabbit ears lending her a pitiful air.

Shan had heard some of the details from her companions the previous night. Apparently, while they were facing the army outside the walls, soldiers had come running from the citadel, begging for help because some devil of a knight had broken in and was slaughtering them. Ravana’s face had hardened as she demanded to know what had happened to her daughter, and their answer had been...

[“I don’t know! That monster bastard probably killed everyone! Damn it, just come help us! The men outside aren’t the problem now!”]

She was already being forced to play guard dog because her daughter had been kidnapped. Once the kidnappers spoke to her like that, she had no reason left to defend the place. Ravana insisted on entering the citadel at once to check on her daughter, clashed with the knight commanding the wall guards, and fighting broke out between the two forces. To overcome their overwhelming numerical disadvantage, she had used berserker’s elixir.

“Berserker’s elixir... It was more effective than I’d heard.”

It had been astonishing to see her moving without the slightest loss of physical ability despite serious wounds from attacks coming from every direction. Even when attacking Shan, she had repeatedly poured enough spirit into her blows to leave her on the verge of collapse, yet remained perfectly functional.

“Yes. Fortunately, it suits my constitution, so I benefit greatly and suffer relatively few side effects. In fact, I still had some control over myself then...”

But seeing her daughter, filthy from confinement in that cold, dark dungeon, and the face of the lord responsible had made her snap. She had not come to her senses again until she awoke here.

“For now, I won’t hold the attack against you. I understand perfectly well that you didn’t mean to do it.”

Mother and daughter both sighed in relief. Roden cleared his throat lightly to draw their attention.

“First, there are a few things I’d like to ask. How did you come to travel with Count Palatine Tenon?”

“Count Palatine... Tenon?”

Unexpectedly, Ravana seemed not even to recognize the name. Kiri quickly spoke up beside her.

“He means the old mage!”

“He said he was someone important in the Magic Society. I suppose he wasn’t lying...”

Muttering under her breath, Ravana explained how she had met Count Palatine Tenon.

On her way back from the war in Libert, she had happened to strike up a friendship with him in a tavern in a small western city. While her company had been drinking and talking together, he had casually joined their table and started a conversation.

“He did say he was fairly well respected in the Magic Society. He told us we’d receive a handsome reward if we brought him to Princess Sherin.”

After he demonstrated a few simple spells, Ravana had agreed to let him accompany them without much thought. They were already on their way to seek Sherin’s protection, so their interests aligned. He seemed a little mad, and his age and frailty made him a troublesome traveling companion, but he often played with Kiri along the way, which made him useful enough.

“He is very important to Princess Sherin, so we’ll protect him from now on. Naturally, I’ll report that you brought him this far.”

“Thank you.”

Despite her respectful bow, suspicion lingered in Ravana’s eyes. She wondered whether Shan would quietly bury their contribution and claim the credit. In more than twenty years as a mercenary, she had seen knights do exactly that dozens of times. It had happened in Libert’s civil war only a few months ago, too...

“And this is just a question, but would you consider becoming Princess Sherin’s knight?”

“... Pardon?”

“I’d like to recommend you to her. Bringing Count Palatine Tenon this far is achievement enough, and having seen your skill myself, there’s no need to discuss that.”

Knowing how hungry Sherin was for capable warriors, Shan made the offer without hesitation. He had confirmed Ravana’s ability firsthand in their fight the previous night, leaving no room for doubt. As for the taboo against knighting Altoans, that line had already been crossed long ago when Shan received his knighthood.

Looking bewildered, Ravana replied, “Well, I would be honored if you recommended me.”

Becoming a knight had long been her dream. Indeed, she had joined Libert’s civil war precisely to distinguish herself and catch the nobles’ attention.

Hearing that reminded Shan that he had once had a similar choice. If he had headed for Libert after completing his training instead of setting off for the Demonlands, might he have met her sooner?

“Thank you so much, Sir Shan.”

Ravana accepted Shan’s offer and agreed to enter Sherin’s service. With the fourteen seasoned mercenaries who followed her joining as well, Sherin’s faction had taken a substantial step forward.

* * *

After another day, with the plundering and cleanup largely complete, Shan led his army out of Zerkan. The viscount’s family was transported in a prisoner cart fitted with iron bars. They could likely be used later to negotiate a ransom with their relatives or their liege, Conrad.

After only a day’s rest, Ravana had recovered enough to walk unaided. Given the severity of her injuries, that should have been impossible. Her hardiness was hardly that of an ordinary person.

‘Perhaps I should suggest she let the princess examine her later.’

Sherin would probably be delighted to have another interesting specimen.

Meanwhile, Ravana’s daughter Kiri had become the darling of the Altoan mercenaries. Whenever the cute girl with fox ears and a tail ran about doing errands, everyone smiled fondly. In an army packed with sweaty men, something like that could be a welcome source of cheer.

Of course, a few harbored less proper thoughts, but whenever they did, Ravana’s eyes flashed sharply from behind them, her enormous axe resting on her shoulder, and none dared show it.

Two more days passed before Count Palatine Tenon, head of the Magic Society, finally regained consciousness. All this time, he had been riding in a carriage requisitioned from Viscount Zerkan’s mansion under a chaplain’s care. Perhaps thanks to the steady healing miracles and the water and thin gruel fed to him, the old man looked surprisingly vigorous even just after waking.

“Grandpa!”

“Oh, my little darling... Move aside a moment. You’re too heavy for this old grandpa.”

Still hazy as consciousness returned, Count Palatine Tenon patted Kiri’s back as she hugged him and struggled upright. After filling his stomach with water, porridge, and melted cheese, he heard an explanation of their situation and thanked Shan.

“I am Orum Sagat, Count Palatine Tenon and head of the Magic Society. You have my deepest thanks! You have saved a true intellect of our age, a beacon of civilization.”

It was a rather unusual way to express gratitude. Orum, the Society’s head, was unlike anyone Shan had ever met. To put it kindly, perhaps he loved himself a little too much.

At every turn, he called himself one of the greatest geniuses of the age—he said Sherin was the reason he was not the greatest—a beacon of civilization, a giant of humanity, and so forth. Though he never said so outright, he seemed to consider everyone who was not a mage an idiot. Yet despite that, he cherished Kiri like his own granddaughter.

“Is Her Highness well?”

“Yes. Though she says she needs someone like you.”

“Naturally. Of course she does. Only a select few geniuses such as myself can understand her.”

Shan knew Sherin was a genius, but it was remarkable that even someone so full of self-love would not dare place himself above her. After hearing Shan explain how things were going in Pales, the head of the Society clicked his tongue.

“I can imagine. It can’t be helped. Her Highness may be the greatest genius of all, but she is sorely lacking in that area. No, perhaps it’s precisely because she is a genius.”

“What area would that be?”

“Understanding imbeciles. Ordinary people who can only infer four or five things from one, who have to reread a book dozens of times to memorize it. Explaining things at their level happens to be another specialty of mine.”

In Shan’s experience, mages generally enjoyed showing off by talking about what they knew, but Orum truly stood out even among them. Shan privately suspected that this arrogance might be why he had fallen behind instead of reaching Pales with the other mages.

After continuing to boast for some time, Orum glanced out the carriage window and abruptly asked, “So, how long will it take to return to Pales? I don’t mean to complain, but carriage travel makes my whole body ache at my age...”

“It will take a while. We still have other cities to visit.”

Shan’s army had just arrived at Barza, a small city west of Zerkan. As bells rang the alarm, they began preparing for battle and were about to send a messenger as before. To their surprise, however, the gates opened and a messenger emerged carrying a white flag.

“Baron Barza wishes to know whether your terms are the same as those previously offered to Viscount Zerkan.”

The tale of Shan suddenly abducting Zerkan’s lord and capturing the city without so much as a siege had spread so widely that they had surrendered out of sheer anticipatory fear. Thus, without a fight, Shan’s army secured every magic stone installed in the fortifications, along with stockpiled iron ingots and other strategic supplies.

The same pattern continued as they traveled south and visited two more cities. The fear that the Rock Climber, the Night Raider, might come over their walls at any moment proved more powerful than expected.

After a week, the army’s transport capacity was nearing its limit, even though they had requisitioned carts and carriages in every city. Given the purpose of the expedition, talk naturally turned to returning home.

“It’s about time we headed back.”

“We truly can’t carry anything more.”

As the knights decided to return, their faces showed both relief and regret. They were glad not to have needed to risk their lives in battle, but they had also missed the chance to distinguish themselves. Helping pressure the enemy into yielding supplies certainly counted as meritorious service, but it was hardly the same as winning fame in combat.

With a vast quantity of supplies secured, Shan’s army began the slow journey home to Pales. As they followed a familiar trail and Zerkan’s cliff came into distant view, a mounted scout sent to the rear came galloping toward them in haste. He was an Altoan who had been specially taught to ride because of his relatively large eyes.

“Sir Shan! An army is pursuing us from the rear! Roughly a thousand armed infantry! I couldn’t get an exact count of the cavalry, but there are about sixty or seventy!”

Everyone’s expression changed at the scout’s report. If he was right, this was a large force that decidedly outnumbered them.

“Surely Conrad hasn’t already...?”

“He’s fighting Prince Elvin! He shouldn’t have the men to spare for a force that size...!”

“Has Conrad completely defeated Elvin already? Nothing else makes sense!”

In the domains they had visited, each city had possessed only thirty or forty properly armed infantry and three or four knights. They had barely inflated their numbers by levying hundreds of young men. Most of their available troops had been sent south to fight in Conrad’s army.

In other words, even if every nearby domain abandoned its defenses and assembled a combined army, they could never produce numbers like these. Not unless Prince Conrad really had turned his troops north again.

“Their banner?”

Having regained his composure, Roden asked quickly. The messenger’s eyes shifted as he thought for a moment before answering.

“A wing... A blue wing! There was a star above it...”

“I’ve never heard of that coat of arms.”

“Could they not be Conrad’s men?”

While the knights puzzled over the report, Roden thought for a moment, then let out a startled sound. Ravana, who accompanied them on the strength of her reputation despite not yet being a knight, also widened her eyes in apparent recognition. Seeing that he had realized something, everyone turned to Roden, and he immediately explained.

“If I’m right... that is undoubtedly Duke Morayen’s family crest. Though I have no idea why he has suddenly appeared here.”

It was the name of the great noble who had fought a bitter war far to the west, in Shan’s homeland of Libert, to become regent to its young king.