Ch.60Chapter 60: Subjugation Festival (4)

#

It didn’t take long for our excited mood to subside as we continued walking through the fortress city, which embodied the culmination of the Empire’s engineering knowledge.

There were several reasons for this, but to name a few obvious ones:

Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!

The ground-shaking sound that presumably came from numerous people stomping with both feet.

-Hut! Hut! Hut!

The loud, majestic chanting emanating from many voices, as powerful as the ground-shaking thuds.

It was probably these sounds from well-trained knights and soldiers that made us realize where we had actually set foot.

The noise continued unabated in our ears.

And it was growing louder.

This was likely intentional—giving newcomers to the fortress a taste of the atmosphere here.

‘Still the same, I see.’

Having experienced this in a previous timeline, I accepted these battle cries without much agitation.

“……”

But the expressions of the others, except for Siz, were gradually changing.

The calm faces that had been sharing various impressions upon entering the fortress city now showed signs of tension.

Seeing this, I almost let a bitter smile form on my lips, but I quickly suppressed it.

‘Welcome to the North!!’

Anticipating the words that would soon reach our ears, I quickly shifted my gaze from my companions and focused straight ahead.

I needed to look at the person whose presence could diminish even the powerful aura emanating from the well-trained knights and soldiers.

#

The unceasing battle cries finally stopped when the lady who had been guiding us at the front raised her right hand to her head and said:

“That should be enough.”

Or more precisely, they stopped when:

“Silence!”

A large knight, having received the signal and words from the lady, uttered this brief but powerful command.

Unlike his earlier boisterous voice, this weighty command demonstrated the level of mastery he had achieved as a knight and warrior.

The moment this short order was heard, the footsteps and battle cries that had been reverberating throughout the fortress city instantly ceased.

The fact that they stopped their movements precisely upon hearing just a command, without even seeing the one who gave it, made it easy to gauge the level of training of the soldiers and knights in the fortress.

-….

It was quiet.

So quiet that not even the sound of the wind could be heard.

The silence that had replaced the earlier commotion felt truly heavy.

But before that thought could continue:

Snap

The knight in front of us raised his hand in a salute to the lady as the noise subsided and spoke:

“Vice-Captain. You must be tired from your long journey.”

His rigid expression, which had been visible even from a distance when we first met, softened as he spoke.

“Not at all. Thanks to the spatial transfer spell, I traveled comfortably. If anything, you must have had a hard time being responsible for the fortress defense while I was away.”

The lady returned his salute, then lowered her hand, prompting him to do the same, and conversed with him calmly.

In her demeanor, there was a respect for someone clearly older than her, while simultaneously displaying the skillfulness of someone who knew her position as a clear superior in rank.

This mutual respect slightly deviated from the Imperial Knights’ tradition where rank prioritized innate status, and some might find it awkward.

‘I suppose that’s what it takes to be the Vice-Captain of the Imperial Knights.’

Knowing this man’s background, I found the lady’s ability to maintain her superior position while showing respect for his career through honorifics quite impressive.

What was I like in the previous timeline?

At 21, three years after leaving the cradle and diving into mercenary work due to feelings of inferiority.

When I visited this fortress as a mercenary, seeing this man made me realize how weak I was.

I became aware that I found it burdensome to properly face this natural powerhouse who emitted battle spirit like a haze not fully contained within his body.

‘Hehehe….’

Suddenly recalling that time, I couldn’t help but inwardly smile bitterly, though I couldn’t express it outwardly.

Now, thanks to my experience from the previous timeline and having reached a much deeper and stronger level than back then, I wasn’t intimidated by him.

But even so, I didn’t think for a moment that I had reached a level where I could take this man lightly.

The knight who had been exchanging pleasantries with the lady clenched his right fist after hearing her compliment.

Thump thump

Lightly tapping his heart with it, he said:

“Hahaha. This old man’s only job is to be a watchdog, and if I can’t even do that properly, I should retire.”

His voice, mixing his characteristic bluntness with a cheerfulness that didn’t match his size, showed a light-hearted demeanor as he joked with the lady.

Yet, even as he referred to himself as a watchdog, showing humility, I knew—and surely everyone participating in this subjugation would agree—

Well, maybe not Siz?

Anyway, unless one had reached a similar level of mastery, who wouldn’t think this way about a powerful warrior whose uncontained battle spirit naturally emanated with every small movement?

“Hehe… You haven’t changed. You could refer to yourself in a more dignified way.”

Only someone like the lady, who was conversing with this knight in front of us, wouldn’t.

While he was a member of the Imperial Knights, coveted by all knighted imperial knights, many might be perplexed by his self-reference as a mere watchdog.

But among those who knew this knight well, it would be difficult to define him with any term other than “watchdog.”

‘Actually, that description isn’t wrong.’

The expression might be a bit cheap, but there’s no term that gives as accurate a feeling when defining this knight who stands at the boundary between middle and old age.

Some, alluding to his appearance, call him not a watchdog but the “Noble Black Wolf.”

At the same time, they openly express their respect by calling him a one-man army who stops the southward advance of monsters at the frontline.

But this man, who is both a knight and a hero, doesn’t welcome grand titles.

As titles accumulate, fame rises, and with it comes position and heavy responsibility, making one’s life more precious.

To preserve that life, one must be cautious.

And naturally, this makes it difficult to fulfill a knight’s fundamental duty of going to battlefields teeming with monsters to protect people from them.

Many respected him, calling him a shining hero who, despite being most noble, doesn’t hesitate to go to the lowest places.

‘I was one of them.’

An object of admiration whom I found difficult to approach but still respected.

In terms of pure skill, he’s one of the Empire’s finest sword masters, worthy of the position of Captain of the Imperial Knights.

Yet, he’s an oddball who always declines the captaincy, preferring to fight at the frontlines.

The name of this knight, more noble than anyone else, is…

“Oh, where are my manners? Sir Nighthart, these are the personnel who will experience the northern territory in this subjugation.”

Nighthart.

Full name: Nighthart Parsifal.

That’s this knight’s name.

#

After the lady finished her brief introduction of the subjugation participants,

Sir Nighthart’s movements became busy.

“Ahem!”

First, he cleared his throat with a light cough.

“Welcome to the North!”

He then addressed us with a resonant voice.

“I am Nighthart Parsifal. Just a ghost who couldn’t die and buried his bones in the North.”

Introducing himself as if he were nothing special, he slowly walked towards us.

‘That was quick.’

I had thought that since it was the first day, we’d just be shown our lodgings and end the day’s schedule normally.

But seeing Sir Nighthart approaching us with a strangely smirking expression, it seemed that wouldn’t be the case.

I guessed he might suggest we take a look outside the fortress right away, to feel the northern atmosphere after our march.

As if to confirm my guess:

“You must have had a hard journey in this cold season.”

Nighthart spoke again after his self-introduction.

Many might interpret this as a casual greeting, but it’s an expression he often uses before getting to the main point.

“You might think it’s too much on the first day, but this is also part of tradition. Those I call will follow me for a patrol outside the fortress, so please prepare.”

As expected.

After clarifying his intention to immediately deploy us, the Cradle’s students including myself, into actual combat on the first day, Nighthart:

“Hmm…”

Let out a light hum and began to observe us closely.

He didn’t use the boisterous voice heard from above when we first entered the fortress, nor the weighty voice filled with commanding presence that had controlled the numerous Imperial Knights and soldiers stationed at the fortress.

His dark eyes, reminiscent of the pitch-black night sky like his appearance, were particularly sparkling.

Not just observing the subjugation personnel, but as if trying to identify talents who would become the foundation for protecting the Empire and its citizens.

“Let’s see…”

As he hummed and carefully observed us with sparkling eyes, I wondered what this legendary knight was thinking and evaluating.

Especially, I was very curious about what he thought of me.

-Hmm… For someone with such a mess of a vessel, you show signs of having worked hard.

What would come from the mouth that had given that ambiguous evaluation—praise or lament—when looking at me in the previous timeline?

While on the topic, I should observe this person too.

I wanted to check the capabilities of this knight from a slightly earlier, slightly younger time than when I first met him in the previous timeline.

Activating my spirit sense to its maximum, though still weak after awakening my special ability, I examined Nighthart.

Since he was busy observing Rufus and Dan beside me, he didn’t seem to notice my gaze.

But compared to Nighthart, who was meticulously examining each member of our group, the time I spent observing him was very brief.

I realized observation was pointless the moment I confirmed the haze-like energy rising around his body.

‘Insane…’

Refined battle spirit, accumulated in a vessel perfected through repeated training, circulates through his heart and throughout his body, with excess naturally flowing outside even when he’s doing nothing.

The fact that I could now clearly perceive this flow of battle spirit, which I couldn’t properly feel in the previous timeline, with both my sight and spirit sense:

It made me realize that my current self was much stronger than just before my first death in the previous timeline.

Feeling slightly satisfied, the corners of my mouth were about to rise when:

“Hmm… Everyone seems fine. It shows that the Vice-Captain took care in bringing you.”

Nighthart said this, letting out a hearty laugh.

“Now then, follow me. Since there aren’t many of you, and none seem too weak to be filtered out, that’s good. Hehehe.”

He intended to deploy all of us here on the patrol mission.

Some might feel uncomfortable, thinking we’re being put to work without rest, but this is Nighthart’s way of showing approval.

It’s a sign of acceptance, recognizing us as comrades who can face the monsters migrating south for the subjugation.

‘He wouldn’t take those who don’t meet his standards, after all.’

Another memory from the previous timeline flashes briefly.

-I acknowledge your enthusiasm, but you seem a bit too weak to navigate this northern region.

That voice, tinged with slight regret, that had excluded me from the mission he was assigned to.

Still, I’ve come a few steps further than back then.

Just as I was about to exhale a satisfied sigh:

Eeeeeeee-!!

A loud alarm signaling an enemy attack sounded throughout the fortress.

-Enemy attack! Enemy attack!

-An army of undead has just descended from the mountains and is heading towards the fortress. I repeat, the undead…

Along with the alarm, the urgent voice of a young man, amplified by magic, was heard throughout the fortress.

Despite the alarm indicating the dangerous situation of monsters invading the Empire’s territory by descending from the Dragon Claw Mountains at every opportunity:

“…Hmm, they came down earlier than I thought.”

Nighthart’s expression showed no particular change.

Only an everyday expression, as if checking what’s for dinner tonight, was on his face.

“Vice-Captain. I suppose I’ll have to postpone taking the kids outside.”

His voice, following his expression, was equally plain.

“It might be good to show these kids a northern battle.”

The lady’s response was the same.

“Change of route. Follow me to the watchtower, not outside the gate.”

Nighthart raised his right hand and pointed to the wall, the highest structure in this fortress.

“I’ll go ahead, so follow at your own pace.”

After casually saying this:

Boom-!!

With a sound that seemed like it would shake heaven and earth, he disappeared from in front of us.

Only a large, clear footprint left at the spot where he had taken a step indicated that he had been here just moments ago.

“How…?”

Towards Dan, who was dumbfounded by Sir Nighthart’s sudden disappearance:

“A leap.”

I answered briefly.

Not accelerating his body using battle spirit for high-speed movement.

Just using his innate physique and body protected by battle spirit to fly to the wall in one bound—there was no more appropriate word than “leap” to express this.

Watching Sir Nighthart’s figure receding in the distance, I moved towards the wall without waiting for anyone to tell me to go.

‘Going to see something good.’

I had to hurry if I wanted to see the spectacle of a seasoned veteran warrior handling the undead army approaching this fortress with just one sword.

If I was late, all the good spots would be taken by the senior knights and soldiers here.

“Come quickly.”

The dazed expressions of those who had been blankly watching Sir Nighthart’s leap finally cleared when they heard me speak as I moved ahead, and they followed me.

Judging by their slow pace, they’re likely to miss out on the good view.