Ch.3232. Evernote (6)

Quenore realized something was approaching from the forest. Simultaneously, the world in his vision began to slow down and turn black and white. Crawlers were charging from three directions at once. He could block them by immediately drawing mana and firing auras in all directions, but there was a possibility that patrol members would get caught in the aftermath.

He had two choices left: either lunge toward the hero’s party or block the crawlers attacking from the front.

‘If I throw myself backward, I couldn’t guarantee the safety of the northern knights with me. But if I lunge forward, I’d be abandoning the hero’s party behind me.’

In a split second, dozens of possibilities crossed Quenore’s mind. And in another instant, Quenore caught sight of the hero’s arm extending the Holy Sword. Without time to be surprised, he gripped his sword and swung it toward the approaching crawlers.

Keeeeek-!!

Quenore’s sword split one crawler’s body in half. Ris barely blocked an attacking crawler but was thrown from his horse and rolled on the ground from the impact. Quenore immediately struck down the crawler falling toward Ris’s head.

“-My lord-!”

“Get your posture right, Ris. It’s not over yet.”

Quenore left Ris behind and drove his horse toward the remaining crawlers. Three remained. Quenore drew up his aura. The approaching crawlers seemed to be measuring the distance between them and the aura, hesitant to charge in.

“If you won’t come to me, I’ll have to come to you.”

Quenore’s sword started from above. The crawlers tried to disperse his attack by jumping in different directions. One leaped widely to the side, one high up, and one straight ahead. The crawlers scattered with perfect coordination in an instant. This was why they were more dangerous together than when hunting alone—

“Such lowly creatures using petty tricks.”

But it was useless against Quenore.

Slash.

Quenore’s sword created three trajectories with a single strike. One went for the neck of the crawler jumping to the side, another created an arch that cut through the body of the crawler above, and the twisted blade path fell downward, splitting the crown of the last crawler’s head.

As the sword strike completed, two died instantly where they stood, but one survived, losing only one arm. The crawler contracted its leg muscles as if trying to retreat while bleeding from its arm—

Crack.

Its head was pierced by Quenore’s thrust. He had quickly dispatched the crawlers charging from the front. Since it hadn’t taken long to kill these creatures, the hero’s party should still be holding out. With that thought, Quenore turned his horse around.

“Is the hero’s party holding up well?”

At Quenore’s question, Ris nodded blankly and stretched his hand toward the direction of the battle noise. Quenore turned his gaze to where Ris was pointing and found himself widening his eyes in surprise.

“…It seems they don’t need our help.”

They weren’t just holding up—the hero’s party was driving the crawlers back. The heavy warrior, George, held his shield at the front, drawing the crawlers’ attention and blocking their attacks. Meanwhile, Marianne, the spear warrior, skillfully exploited openings, and the mage, Daphne, finished off weakened crawlers one by one with various spells. Five crawlers were quickly dying one after another.

“…More importantly.”

Quenore raised his head to look at the hero standing at the forefront of the party. The hero, like Quenore, was facing three crawlers at once.

Kiiiing-!!

A sharp, metallic tearing sound. The Holy Sword the hero wielded was shining brilliantly with a light Quenore had never seen before. The hero raised the Holy Sword high and swung it toward the charging crawlers. The crawlers howled, particularly sensitive to the light of the Holy Sword.

Quenore was mesmerized by that light. Though it was broad daylight, the Holy Sword’s light outshone everything around it. That light, different from the knights’ auras, was so sublime and flawless it could put even the summer sun to shame. And the hero wielding it appeared remarkably upright and unwavering.

That light.

Like dawn chasing away darkness at the edge of night, lifting the veil of dusk, the fear of the “boundary line” that had shadowed the minds of those watching the most radiant figure at the front of the formation was gradually fading. And Quenore realized deep in his heart:

Perhaps, with that light in hand, the hero could cross the boundary line and plunge a dagger into the heart of the “giant.”

==

“[Sharpen your senses further.]”

I heard the Holy Sword’s voice. Following her instruction, I circulated my mana more intensely and gritted my teeth. The mana pouring from the Holy Sword with its first stage released, combined with the mana pumping from my pounding heart, moved through my blood vessels, almost overworking my body.

“[My light will frighten those monsters and disturb their minds. Ilroy, don’t try to control your body—move in harmony with it.]”

The crawler was a monster that looked like a cross between a mantis and a grasshopper. Not only was it annoying how it jumped around on those hind legs, but its scythe-like forelegs were fast and sharp.

“[Now, go.]”

My vision wavered. I felt as if time around me was slowing down. I thrust the Holy Sword forward, following the tingling mana flowing from my heart to my fingertips.

Crash.

The body of the crawler charging mindlessly burst apart. My first strike was too wide. Another crawler rushed from my side, and yet another from behind. Perhaps they planned to use one as bait while the other two caught me.

It would be too late to turn around.

Using the momentum from my forward swing, I leaped up from the ground. The sword path must not stop. The Holy Sword cut through the northern soil, continuing its strike. Spinning a full circle in mid-air, I saw the crawlers avoiding my sword strike and charging again.

“[Counter them.]”

The Holy Sword’s advice was simple, and I faithfully followed it. With my back against a tree, the crawlers’ angles of attack were limited. One swung its foreleg widely. I slightly tilted my head to avoid the attack, then kicked the crawler that had lunged at me toward the other one.

Kieek-!!

The crawler dodged its flying comrade and swung its foreleg at me again. A clever strike, timed for when I wasn’t ready to swing my sword. I raised the blade to block the crawler’s attack. Then, the Holy Sword’s light literally burned the crawler’s foreleg.

Kiiiiiik-!

The crawler writhed in unexpected pain. Not missing the opportunity, I shook it off and readjusted my grip on the Holy Sword.

Thud-!

When the two monsters collided and faltered, I instinctively dropped the raised blade of the Holy Sword. The auspicious energy emanating from the released Holy Sword targeted the two crawlers like lightning.

Bang-!!!

The released Holy Sword’s strike not only shredded the crawlers but half-disintegrated them,

Crack-!!

And its aftermath split even the giant fir tree above them vertically. The falling branches and leaves of the fir tree covered the crawlers’ corpses.

“Done.”

I exhaled in relief and returned the Holy Sword to its original form. Fighting with the first stage activated was no longer so difficult. When I turned around, I found the patrol members, including Duke Quenore, and our party watching me as if viewing a movie. Their gazes were somehow burdensome. Come to think of it, this was the first time my party had seen me fight with the Holy Sword released.

“…Sorry for the late cleanup.”

I awkwardly kicked at the scattered crawler corpses and returned to my horse. It lowered its head with a snort as I approached. I stroked its head and mounted again. But the patrol showed no sign of moving, continuing to stare at me.

“Shall we depart? If we stay here any longer, we might be attacked again.”

Unable to bear it any longer, I turned my head away embarrassedly and urged them on. As I turned my horse first, I suddenly found myself leading everyone. I slowed my horse to allow Duke Quenore to take the lead again. The Duke approached beside me. He stared at me for quite some time, seemingly choosing his words carefully.

“So that’s the power of you and the Holy Sword.”

To his hard-won question, I shrugged my shoulders. Duke Quenore nodded repeatedly, letting out a hearty laugh.

“Indeed. A hero isn’t called a hero for nothing. I think I’ve been mistaken all this time. Perhaps being cooped up in the north has narrowed my view of the world.”

“I didn’t defeat the monsters as splendidly as you did, Duke.”

“Possessing strength and possessing something special are different things, hero. It was a miscalculation, but a happy one.”

The Duke wore a bitter smile.

“I’ll make sure to include the hero’s party in the regular patrol from now on. If you continue to perform as you did today, Evernode’s soldiers will become your most fervent supporters as if they had always been.”

I felt embarrassed. Well, I had hoped they would stop being hostile, but there was no need for them to become fervent supporters.

“Looks like I’ll be busy from now on.”

“We must make good use of resources that come to help, mustn’t we?”

“Just hours ago, weren’t you saying you’d reconsider my dispatch to the royal palace?”

Duke Quenore burst into hearty laughter.

“No. I said I would do so only if you failed to meet my standards. If you took my words to heart, I apologize. It was a slip of the tongue.”

As the Duke spoke teasingly, I frowned.

“…I’m not that petty. Of course I know it was to quell the soldiers’ discontent. You were playing the villain, weren’t you?”

“It wasn’t such a great pretense to be called a villain. It was more like taking out my spite on you all under the pretext of the soldiers. Childish, I suppose.”

The Duke spoke self-deprecatingly. Looking at him, I opened my mouth with a deliberately solemn tone.

“Since we came to fight together at Evernode, it’s only natural to prove our qualifications.”

At my words, Duke Quenore raised his eyebrows. Then, changing his expression to a fierce smile that matched his blue eyes, he extended his hand to me.

“Then it seems you’ve just shown us those qualifications sufficiently.”

I took Duke Quenore’s outstretched hand. Very tough and strong. I felt the sturdiness like the roots of an ancient tree in the Duke’s grip. I thought it was the firmness of those who had been rooted in this land since long ago.

“Welcome to Evernode, Hero Ilroy.”

Well, I guess I passed the first test for staying in the north. I smiled back and shook hands with the Duke, deliberately ignoring George who was sending envious glances from behind.

==

That night after the first patrol ended.

The afternoon sunlight, hardly deserving to be called night, was seeping through the blackout curtains. I had requested a quiet place for training from Duke Quenore, and he gladly lent me a cleaned-up warehouse outside the annex.

And standing in that tidy warehouse, I was probably making the most crumpled expression since my possession. The Holy Sword admonished me in a stern voice.

“[There are things you must do even if you dislike them, Ilroy.]”

I’ve heard that somewhere before.

“I know.”

I nodded with a deep sigh. In my hand was a solemn wooden box. After hesitating several times while looking down at it, I finally exhaled briefly and opened the lid.

“…Alright.”

Inside the box, a crown of thorns was waiting for me, modestly placed on a carpet.