Ch.306EP.65 – The Knight Remember and Repay (1)

……I don’t like this.

Crack!

Even though they are worthless and vile, it’s still displeasing to see these evil creatures, born through my grace, vanish so meaninglessly.

Boom!

It’s irritating.

The fact that his loyal servant, a warrior bestowed with the name of a great warrior, is struggling so much.

Whoosh!

It’s hateful. That these insignificant primates dare to defy him.

[N-no… I don’t want this…]

Everything is contemptible and displeasing.

If someone heard this, they might call him a childish brute, but none who dared offer such advice remained alive.

He had crushed them all miserably.

And so Inanna thought.

[…You think you’ve won, don’t you?]

Crunch!

What could be more refreshing than instantly crushing the hope of these primates no different from monkeys?

[Hee, heehee…!]

Just imagining it seemed to cool some of the unpleasantness that hung like a gloomy fog, and Inanna could quickly make a decision.

[You must never be happy. Never…]

A thoroughly twisted being.

Too narrow-minded to be called a god, yet overflowing with too much malice to not be called an evil spirit—its appearance truly embodied the title of Great Archfiend.

…Chillingly so.

*

*

*

‘Who am I? Where am I…?’

The eyes of the Silver-Maned Knight, known by the noble title of White Lion, were utterly vacant.

Literally lost in a daze.

“Lord Aren! More monsters keep climbing up the fortress!”

“Your Highness, Eighth Prince! W-we need reinforcements! We need troops! The west is about to be breached!”

“First Knight Commander! Poison mist! Massive amounts of poison mist are spreading everywhere! What should we do about this!”

…Despite his dazed state, many were seeking him out.

Like baby ducks following their mother, they kept relying on the Silver Lion—though looking at his current state, he hardly deserved to be called a lion, or even a cat—and so the knight was…

Thwack!

“Argh!”

“Snap out of it. What are we supposed to do if you keep spacing out? You need to give orders, Lord Aren.”

“Y-you insolent fool, striking a royal from behind…”

“When you act like a fool, you told me to make you snap back to attention. I’m just following your orders.”

“…That didn’t mean hit me from behind.”

“Anyway, focus and control the situation. Everyone is waiting for mother duck’s orders.”

“…Watch your words, Lord Yord, I’m not a mother duck…”

“Then what should I call you?”

“…Call me a mother cat instead, at least lions are felines…”

“……”

“Eek!”

Aren let out a fiery roar, seemingly frustrated at his own words.

“You hopeless fools! If they’re climbing up, then stop them! Just throw stones or whatever to knock them down!”

“Learn to cooperate! Don’t fight separately from the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders—work together…!”

“Are you carrying healing potions just for decoration?! Don’t panic and use what you have, for goodness’ sake…”

Aren, sounding somewhat desperate, couldn’t hide his dismay.

How pathetic these Royal Knights were behaving, really.

“…Tch.”

But it wasn’t incomprehensible.

If he hadn’t had his experience in the tunnels, he might have panicked and crumbled just like them.

‘The Fear emanating from hundreds of thousands of monsters is certainly enough to make people lose their reason.’

The Fear from a single low-grade monster poses no problem for knights trained in fighting techniques.

But the Fear from mid-grade monsters can momentarily freeze even knights, and the Fear from high-grade monsters begins to strip away human reason.

And here were tens of thousands of high-grade monsters.

In reality, no matter how many ordinary soldiers were present on this battlefield, they wouldn’t be of any help.

It would be fortunate if they didn’t get in the way with their frozen bodies.

At least those trained in fighting techniques could pull their weight, and the Silver Lion knights were each doing the work of at least two people, so they were holding their own reasonably well.

Defending the fortress, repairing it, and helping Modred’s forces—weren’t they?

In other words…

‘Excellent roles as supply troops and soldiers.’

It was a sad state of affairs.

Why were knights acting as mere soldiers…

‘No, no. This too is an important role right now.’

Aren quickly hid his sadness.

Yes, they weren’t inadequate.

The very fact that they weren’t paralyzed by the Fear of 600,000 monsters and could still help in battle meant they were fulfilling their roles sufficiently.

So simply…

‘Those ones are just abnormal.’

BOOM!!!

Once again, the thunderous sound of collision.

Dust spread like a giant donut-shaped cloud, filling a radius of 3km.

Does that sound believable?

‘That such shock waves are created simply by knights colliding with monsters…’

It was nothing short of extraordinary.

No, it was questionable whether those were even human knights rather than something else entirely.

‘Is the difference really this great?’

Aren’t the Silver Lion and Black Iron Lion just lions of different colors?

Yet the white ones were in this sorry state, while the black ones…

‘Are they really fighting against an army of 600,000 over there?’

BOOM!

“…How are those even knight orders? They’re just monsters.”

“But they’re on our side now. It’s quite reassuring.”

“…Aren’t you frustrated?”

“Frustrated? Why? I have confidence in my own abilities, and that’s enough.”

Slash!

“……”

“Lord Aren, be careful too. You’re the commander, aren’t you?”

“Hmm….”

Aren almost laughed again as he watched Yord’s sword slice through a serpent-like monster that had suddenly emerged from underground.

When did this guy’s skills improve again…?

‘While I was completing my commander training, this training maniac must have been practicing alone again.’

A subordinate whose skills far exceed the commander’s—how irreverent.

Though grateful for the help, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat ambivalent.

Swoosh!

Lightly flicking blood off his sword before smoothly sheathing it, Yord continued their earlier conversation.

“Besides, there’s no reason to feel frustrated because the Black Iron Lions aren’t the only abnormal ones.”

“What?”

“Look over there. There are three more monsters, aren’t there?”

“……”

In the direction Yord pointed, three knight orders were displaying feats no less impressive—perhaps even more unbelievable—than the Black Iron Lions.

The Blue-Green Unicorn Knights riding navy steeds and dominating the battlefield, and the Ophen family’s swordsmen who, though not officially called knights, were essentially Ophen’s knight order.

And then…

“…Why are they flying over there?”

“Artifacts, or perhaps a technique that allows flight.”

“Such things exist?”

“Hmm, if we asked Senior Ihan, we might get an answer. That technique, no matter how I look at it, seems to have similar roots to Senior Ihan’s Muscle Arts.”

“How would you know that?”

“Isn’t it obvious at a glance?”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Because you’re annoying.”

“Pardon?”

“Damn brat, so impudent…”

“??”

This must be why geniuses are disliked.

Aren frowned, thinking that if the man weren’t so capable, he would have dismissed him right then and there.

His advice was far from comforting—it was infuriating.

Why was the kingdom’s finest knight order(?), the Silver Lions, in such a state while other knight orders were flying around?

It was incomprehensible… no, maddening.

Just then.

“-If we’re comparing, the truly unbelievable ones would be them, I think.”

“Lord Jake?”

“Look over there, Lord Aren. When you see that, even their feats will seem merely average.”

“……”

Jake Farman, who had returned from fierce combat with monsters charging the fortress yet still appeared to have plenty of stamina, pointed to the left as if to console him. Aren’s head turned involuntarily, and he immediately regretted seeing what he saw.

BOOM!

…Monsters were clashing with each other.

BAM!

Their movements were invisible.

Only faint afterimages could be seen, nothing more.

WHOOSH!

Every time there was a glimpse of movement, massive shock waves swept through the surrounding area.

“…God of War.”

He had overheard it from one of Modred’s soldiers.

That what was there was an ancient great warrior with the body of a god.

A higher being potentially more dangerous than the 600,000 monsters there.

In that sense,

BOOM!

…Those fighting as equals with such monsters must be monsters themselves.

“Ahaha! Impressive, he blocked it again! Hyunrang, that one is truly strong.”

“Strong, yes, but not unkillable. So get out of my way. I’d rather fight alone than with you.”

“…Wait, I was here fighting first?”

“What of it?”

“…Hmm, is this how others feel? I should watch my words from now on, ahaha!”

There were two knights displaying power equal to the God of War.

Galahad’s Hyunrang and Lionel’s Black Lion.

These two renowned knights, far from being pushed back by the ancient warrior called the God of War, were surrounding it from both sides and pressing forward.

One with strength, one with technique.

Either way, it wasn’t human.

No, one might doubt whether they were even the same species.

“…Ahem.”

Aren cleared his throat, his face even more drained of color.

Just watching made him dizzy and sick to his stomach.

And then.

“Don’t show me such things, Lord Jake. People should live like people.”

“But they are people too?”

“No, they’re not.”

“…They’re part of the Seven New Knights, just like you, Lord Aren…”

“Damn it! Anyone who mentions that ‘Seven’ thing to me is dead if I catch them!”

How dare they group him with those inhuman beings?!

So unfair.

Aren grumbled while grinding his teeth, but he couldn’t deny that their presence was reassuring.

No, not just those two knights, but the presence of the other knights was also reassuring to the point of being comforting.

This battle…

‘We’ve won.’

In this situation where all enemy forces were being swept away, there was urgency but no sense of crisis.

It was evidence that the outcome had already been decided, and defeat was impossible unless the allied forces suddenly gave up.

That’s how overwhelming their strength was.

“How boring.”

“Lord Aren, weren’t you wallowing in self-doubt just moments ago?”

“That was the past me.”

“…Lord Aren, you’re starting to develop a mental disorder.”

“Enough nonsense. Victory is near, so I should prepare to celebrate, haha!”

“……”

“…Lord Jake? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, it’s just… I remembered what that guy said.”

“That guy?”

“Yes, that guy. Ihan said: ‘Don’t do victory celebrations before the match is over, or you’ll get hit from behind.'”

“What nonsense is that?”

“Nonsense… I wish it were, but somehow that guy’s nonsense tends to…”

Whoosh!

“…be accurate.”

“……”

…Suddenly, a cold wind as chilling as the North Sea blew through.

It was a coldness that made not just the spine shiver but the fingertips tingle, and the knights who had been focused on battle all turned their attention to the source of the cold.

It was undeniably a coldness that stimulated one’s sense of danger and survival instinct.

“Lord Aren…”

“Is, is this my fault?”

“……”

“…I’m sorry.”

…Even as he apologized, Aren somehow felt wronged.