Ch.9797. Green Monsters in the Blizzard (3)

The power of an Expert Knight.

If asked how strong they are, the people here would roughly answer like this.

Some would call them nearly perfect swordsmen who possess the martial qualifications to enter the Royal Guard.

Others would call them monsters who can replace more than ten sword users and easily substitute for fifty or more ordinary soldiers.

And proving those rumors circulating in the secular world, Siabel was slashing through orcs magnificently, weaving through their ranks with ease.

Swoosh!!

Slash!!!

The orcs’ howls filled the snowfield. But their powerful cries that shook heaven and earth didn’t pierce the sky; instead, they gradually but surely diminished.

Thud!

They fell to their knees with a single strike.

Slash!

With two flashes, they collapsed after a brief death cry.

“Haah…”

Siabel, who had just slaughtered more than five orcs in an instant, sighed.

“No matter how many I kill, there seems to be no end.”

Where did so many come from? And what happened in the west that made Diolia miss such a large migration, allowing them to enter the north?

Facing this situation that didn’t seem easy to resolve, Siabel unleashed an even more ferocious aura and willingly threw herself at those dark green monsters.

And I was secretly admiring Siabel’s combat.

‘She seems much more skilled than a year ago.’

One year ago from now. Siabel Sianella, whom I saw when Sione first headed to the training ground at midday.

Back then, unlike now, she showed quite a few signs of inexperience.

During her sparring with Diolia. The Expert’s Aura Blade that she couldn’t handle skillfully.

I could slightly notice her uneven distribution of power.

‘Now, well. I have nothing to say.’

Just a year later. I could see that she was freely wielding the power of the level she had reached.

As the mastery of the Aura Blade requires a large amount of Mana.

Siabel usually gathered only a small amount of Mana in her sword, then infused the Expert-level power into the blade only at the moment the slash touched the skin.

Yes, how did Diolia evaluate Siabel back then… surely…

-The speed at which she infuses the Aura Blade into her sword was disappointingly slow.

I think she said something like that.

Even if she hadn’t made as much progress as my master, Siabel was also steadily moving forward, overcoming her weaknesses.

‘Sione…’

She must have dreamed of becoming a brave knight like Siabel in the past.

Wondering how Sione would react to seeing a level she could never reach, I glanced at my master.

Sione noticed my gaze and smiled slightly.

“…That’s my sister.”

Of course.

Where else would you find a woman with such platinum hair besides Ainel and Siabel?

“My sister, whom I’m proud of no matter where I go. I’m so glad my sister became a wonderful knight instead of me.”

There wasn’t a trace of jealousy in Sione’s eyes regarding her sister’s talent.

Just admiration and aspiration. That was all.

“Don’t you think so?”

Sensing her pure emotion, I nodded slightly.

“Yes, but—”

What I turned to see was an excited orc charging at us from the side, outside Siabel’s field of vision.

“I think we should stop admiring and prepare for battle now.”

They say watching a fight is as fun as watching a fire. That’s exactly right.

While we were captivated by Siabel’s excellent martial prowess and watching only her, those big monster bastards were desperately rushing toward us, trying to play with us somehow.

What made my head throb even more was…

“…Their numbers are beyond imagination.”

“Indeed they are.”

Despite Siabel cutting down numerous orcs up ahead, the number of orcs could hardly be described as few.

An Expert Knight would be comparable to a skilled B-rank Hunter on Earth who could aim for A-rank, and depending on their proficiency within the Expert realm, they could even aim for mid-level A-rank.

I had been inwardly reassured that Siabel could handle orcs like these, but…

‘The numbers are ridiculous.’

There seemed to be limits to what one person could do. She was occasionally letting through orcs that were either out of her sight or too far away.

From then on, it was the beginning of a fierce melee.

“SCREECH!!”

The battle began with the cry of the first orc that got past Siabel, the human weapon.

Three soldiers took the vanguard, while Sione, Flora, and the priest took the rear.

At first, it went quite well. The vanguard appropriately exploited the psychology of the excited beasts and continued their attacks.

Those of us in the rear—myself, Sione, and Flora—firmly planted arrows to wear down the creatures’ vitality.

The priest also showed no hesitation in gathering Divine Power whenever a dangerous situation seemed likely to arise.

But this didn’t last long.

First, one orc found its way past Siabel to us. Then two. Then three.

Even though the wind was howling, if I were to openly use spirit magic at such close range, not only would I be discovered, but at least my companions would notice something suspicious, so I had been holding back my magic.

‘This is a disaster, really.’

At this point.

There was no other choice.

A chaotic battle. The formation had long since collapsed, and at this rate, everyone in the party would be picked off one by one by the orcs’ fists.

I had no intention of just watching as the snow-covered ground was soiled not with orc blood, but with the brains and blood of our allies.

Bang!

“Good! Hit it in the knee!”

I quickly grabbed Sione’s hand just as she shot an arrow.

“R-Ray?”

“From now on, I’m going to move quickly and deal with the orcs. So, Sione.”

Shing.

I drew my sword.

Then, keeping my eyes on the orc charging toward me, I hurriedly continued without pause.

“Don’t let go and stick close to me.”

This level of informal speech should be fine. The situation is urgent, and we’re like brother and sister.

I sighed deeply as Sione nodded vigorously at my words.

When we return to the estate, I’ll need to get a substantial reward from Siabel, not just a small one.

…A month’s vacation would be nice.

* * *

Woooong!!

A woman with distinctive ash-gray hair gazed absently out the window.

The weather outside could hardly be called pleasant.

A gray world without a ray of sunlight. And a raging snowstorm on top of that.

It was perfect weather to freeze to death if one were to sleep outdoors.

The woman who had been staring blankly outside muttered softly.

“…Damn woman, if she was going to summon me, she should have done it in fresh spring or summer.”

The mage sitting across from her raised the corner of her mouth in amusement at the woman’s voice.

“It can’t be helped, can it? In winter, our northern gales come down to the south. A little snowstorm is to be expected.”

“Haah.”

The woman sighed softly at the mage’s words.

After relieving her frustration by pressing firmly on her brow, she spoke again.

“The Count’s estate is right ahead, but we can’t afford to be stuck here. Can the carriage go any further?”

“Of course. Would a carriage pulled by our Marquisate’s horses stop at such a weak snowstorm? This is just everyday weather. And if the horses get tired…”

The mage who said this raised her hand with her palm facing upward.

Whoosh!

A small flame appeared above her hand.

“We can just pull it with magic.”

With those words, the woman waved her hand, and the small flame disappeared.

At the mage’s words, the woman’s consistently sullen expression finally relaxed.

“…That’s a relief.”

Her natural expression.

With her coldly flowing atmosphere and an impression so emotionless it felt frigid, she simply continued to look out the window quietly.

The mage, too, maintained silence unless the woman spoke first.

No particular conversation passed between them.

Woooong! Rattle, rattle.

Once again, only the sound of the wind and the carriage shaking in the strong gusts remained inside.

Despite the harsh weather, the carriage moved forward slowly but steadily.

As the mage had said, the northern horses lived year-round in the bitter cold of severe winters; such snowstorms were everyday occurrences for them and could slow their movement but not stop it.

How much time had passed like that?

Clunk!

Suddenly the carriage stopped, and soon someone approached from outside.

The ash-gray haired woman asked the visitor to her carriage:

“The carriage has stopped. Is there a problem?”

“Well… it’s unusually noisy up ahead, so I sent a scout to check and came to inform you.”

At those words, the woman nodded, and the unhindered explanation continued.

“Though the snowstorm obscured a detailed view, the scout confirmed that a group of orcs and a woman are engaged in battle up ahead along the road.”

“Oh? One woman, you say. Could you explain in more detail?”

“The woman appears to be a knight who has reached the realm of Sword Expert. Her hair was stained red with blood, but otherwise, it was as beautiful as snow, according to the report.”

“…Well.”

At those words, the woman raised the corner of her mouth.

“It seems Siabel has personally come out to welcome her only friend.”

Aria rose from her chair.

At the same time, the mage, being of lower rank, also stood up from across her.

“Since we have to pass through this route to enter the County anyway, prepare adequate forces to support the knight and exterminate the orcs.”

“Yes!”

Aria picked up two spears in both hands from her carriage and stepped out.

Unlike the carriage interior, which was warm due to magical effects, the outside was cold.

Feeling her skin rapidly cooling from the temperature difference, she raised the corner of her mouth sardonically.

“Damn woman, I’ll make sure you owe me a good debt this time.”

After saying that, Aria muttered with a sullen expression again.

“Ugh… What? She called me a woman who just wastes time beating up bears?”

Aria Allenar was a woman with surprisingly deep grudges.