Chapter 114: Silence

In an empty clearing, two women could be seen, facing each other.

Rianna Helmont and the Grandmaster.

This is another situation I never imagined.

Isaac didn’t know if it was Rianna from his previous life, but the current Rianna would definitely struggle against the Grandmaster.

At the same time though, he was curious to see how the current her could hold up against the Grandmaster.

At that moment, a pair of siblings approached, trailing from behind him.

Sharen and Lohengrin.

“Is Isaac finally up for grabs? Aww, I’m still not strong enough to join… Silverna isn’t here either, though…”

Sharen muttered while Lohengrin watched with interested eyes.

“Dammit. They should’ve called me too if they’re going to duel…!”

Lohengrin had witnessed the Grandmaster’s skills firsthand at Blackthorn.

That was why he looked both jealous and expectant to see her about to duel with Rianna.

He wasn’t the only one who felt that way though, Isaac shared the same sentiment as him.

“No need to go all out. We still need to reserve our strength for tomorrow.”

“I know.”

The Grandmaster’s hand rested on her odachi, while Rianna assumed a stance with her red greatsword, preparing to counter whatever attack would be thrown at her.

Clang!

Suddenly, the odachi’s long blade was drawn in an instant, whipping against the greatsword.

Rianna’s body tilted backward, pushed away by the force.

Her expression showed her surprise at the unexpected force.

“Keep your guard up. Don’t Helmont have good eyes? Keep up with me.”

What followed was a sword dance between the two women.

The flurry of sword strikes unleashed by these beautiful women was enough to captivate their surroundings.

Before long, people gathered.

When everyone’s eyes, including Isaac’s, were focused on the sword dance of the two women, who put in all of their concentration on each other…

“Hmm.”

A low hum echoed from Isaac’s side. It was Eisenwolf, who, at one point, had stood beside him. Perhaps due to him wearing his casual attire, Isaac failed to notice him until he made a sound.

With his hands behind his back, while watching the duel, Eisenwolf called out to Isaac.

“Your contribution today was incredibly significant.”

“I only did what needed to be done.”

“Put your modesty aside. Your words implied that none of us did what we needed to do.”

Knowing that it was just a formal pleasantry, Isaac didn’t refute and just nodded along.

“Have you heard about the current situation?”

“Yes. I heard that you’re considering a retreat.”

“Mm. Our ignorance and foolishness are greater than we thought.”

After saying that, Eisenwolf turned his head slightly and asked Isaac.

“I heard you’ve been fighting the Transcendent Race since the Great Colony?”

“…By chance, yes.”

“You also dealt with them at the Sword Dance Festival, Blackthorn, and dispatched Arandel who had fallen to their sorcery…”

Eisenwolf held a complicated look in his eyes. Today’s surprise attack hadn’t just awakened the Blue Stream Society’s members.

It also left a stronger impression on him than expected.

“Hmm…”

He seemed to have something to say, but he hesitated, as if unsure how to say it.

Finally, he patted Isaac’s back with a ‘Thump’.

“Peace may seem the most natural thing, but we must remember that it stands on the sacrifices of the soldiers. This is something that I always told my grandson…”

As he said that, a self-deprecating smile crossed his face.

“And yet, it seems that I too, have been taking the peace you’ve protected for granted.”

“Lord Eisenwolf…”

A surge of emotion filled Isaac’s chest.

To him, the fight against the Transcendent Race wasn’t just about not repeating the desperate world he had seen.

The world no one else remembered.

As the sole bearer of those memories, he believed it was a burden he had to carry.

Naturally, he didn’t think he deserved any gratitude.

Of course, Eisenwolf knew nothing about his previous life.

But, his simple thanks filled Isaac’s heart with a sense of achievement and subtle elation he had never felt before.

“Now, I’d like to formally seek your advice. To reclaim the North, it seems inevitable that we’re going to clash with the Transcendent Race.”

“By advice, you mean…?”

“I have received plenty of suggestions to retreat. It might seem cowardly at a first glance, but I find it reasonable. After all, we don’t know when or what kind of enemy might suddenly drop into our main camp.”

“…”

“What do you think?”

“I believe we shouldn’t retreat.”

He calmly stated his opinion.

Eisenwolf neither reprimanded nor showed surprise; he simply listened.

“The situation is dire, that’s a given. It would be dangerous if more than one creature like the one from before suddenly fell in the middle of our unit, or if they fell behind our lines mid-battle. We might just suffer irreversible damage.”

But…

“Thanks to the surprise attack, we’ve found a clue. If they are able to twist space in this way, that explains the sudden disappearance of the Malidean Wall.”

“The Malidean Wall was transported somewhere?”

“That’s right.”

We cannot retreat from here no matter what.

Turning back isn’t an option.

In his previous life…

The Malidean Wall had held out for a whole month without any support.

And then they fell.

I can’t let that happen again.

Isaac clenched his fist.

“The soldiers of the Malidean Wall are still fighting somewhere.”

“…”

“Waiting for us.”

He knew it was dangerous.

And that if the main force was swept up in this, it’d be a devastating blow to the kingdom.

“We have to go and save them.”

But, he couldn’t just let those who dedicated their lives to protect the kingdom to meet the same end again.

Malidean Wall.

Inside a tavern where only cold air spreaded, without sunlight seeping in.

Many soldiers were gathered within.

Among them was Uldiran Cardias, a man whose closeness to his soldiers was almost excessive considering his position as a margrave.

Then again, in an emergency like this, titles and ranks were reduced to mere formalities.

Everyone here were soldiers and warriors, no more, no less.

“How’s our food supplies?”

“As long as we’re being frugal with it, we might have enough for five more days—No, not ‘being frugal’ we have to almost starve ourselves…”

The supply officer answered apologetically.

“What about our weapons?”

“I can repair them. I’ve scavenged usable equipment from our comrades.”

Hearing the blacksmith, Antonio’s words, everyone let out a bitter sigh.

No matter how short they were on weapons, having to use the belongings of comrades who had fought fiercely and died was painful.

Normally, they’d refuse this no matter what, but the situation didn’t allow them to.

Following Antonio’s report, the dispatched mage, Vivian, reported grimly.

“The magic cast on the Malidean Wall will last two days at most. This place lacks mana, the wall can’t maintain itself.”

The reason why they could hold out for now was thanks to the cold emitted by the Malidean Wall’s climate-altering magic.

But, after the mana was depleted in two days, it was obvious the creatures would launch another attack.

‘Can we hold out if that were to happen?’

‘Can we defend this place?’

As these questions spread through everyone’s minds…

“We have to hold out. Until the very end.”

Silverna Cardias interrupted with a shout.

“Help has arrived. The kingdom has sent reinforcements to find us. That’s why, we just need to hold out for a bit longer…!”

Though everyone looked puzzled at Silverna’s words, Uldiran followed up.

“Indeed. The Primordial we captured today mentioned Baron Logan.”

“…!”

“S-Sir Isaac?”

“Is it true?”

The soldiers’ eyes wavered.

No one in Malidean didn’t know Isaac.

After all, he had made such a strong impression during their battle against the Great Colony.

“The kingdom has sent reinforcements to save us, so don’t lose heart, Guardians of Malidean! We will never retreat, even if it’s for a single step!”

Cheers erupted in the tavern.

They all shared their lukewarm beer—only for a single sip—to boost their morale.

In the midst of this, Uldiran stepped outside.

He headed to the dungeon where prisoners were held.

In this place, filled with darkness because they couldn’t even afford lighting the torches, only labored breathing echoed through the space.

This place was where Black Dog—tightly bound with chains, unable to move even slightly—was placed.

It drooled profusely, glaring at Uldiran who had come to see it.

“A Primordial… Certainly, your spirit is extraordinary. A normal human with those wounds would have died already.”

Hearing those calm words, Black Dog snorted.

“Uldiran Cardias. Do you truly think you can escape our wrath…?”

“I don’t understand why you’re angry? Talk to me. If you just shout at me, I won’t know what’s going on.”

Uldiran responded slyly, with feigned composure.

The sound of chains rattling echoed in response.

Black Dog strained the chains to its limit, struggling in its anger.

“Grr! I’ll bite you to death!”

“Tell me.”

Without any change in expression, Uldiran calmly continued.

“When I went out on a reconnaissance, I found traces of a village. There, I found many things that differed from the kingdom’s custom, from the building, to the people’s lifestyle.”

“…”

“At first, I thought we had just been transported to some isolated space.”

But that wasn’t it.

Indeed, this place wasn’t a space created independently to isolate the wall.

“Is this the land where you live?”

A land of dust, devoid of light, teeming with bizarre Demonic Beasts, barren, where not even a single blade of grass could properly grow.

“Hehe… Are you enjoying your stay in our homeland?”

Out there, various hypotheses about the suddenly appearing Transcendent Race were being proposed.

But, the first person to reach the truth wasn’t those researchers, but this man, Uldiran Cardias.

“So that’s it.”

Before he came here, he already had his suspicions.

He just came here for a confirmation.

Black Dog knew this too. It figured it’d be meaningless to hide the truth, so it decided to reveal it.

“We, the Transcendents…”

It didn’t stop there, it continued with an unpleasant mockery in his voice.

“Thought that without Arandel Helmont, we could easily wipe the humans out.”

“Hm? I agree that my friend is outstanding—”

“The likes of you weren’t even in our consideration.”

Uldiran’s mouth promptly closed.

Perhaps pleased by his reaction…

Black Dog continued with a sneer on its voice.

“Arandel’s rival? The only man who could match him? Ridiculous. You know it too.”

Compared to Arandel Helmont, you are…

“Far inferior.”

“…”

“If Arandel were here, he would have marched outside the wall.”

“…”

“He would have completely wiped us out. A man who could handle five Primordials alone had enough strength to do so.”

Even his illness wouldn’t slow him down.

A snickering laugh echoed as the hunting dog persistently gnawed at the psychological wound it inflicted on Uldiran.

“Guarding this small wall in such a remote place suits you well. Because this is as far as you can go.”

“…”

Then, the place was enveloped in silence.

A silence that was soon broken by a third party.

“Father! They’re trying to breach the wall again! They’re dragging some bizarre structures from outside!”

At Silverna’s urgent call, Uldiran nodded calmly and turned his body.

“I’ll be right there.”

Amidst the echoing footsteps…

“In the end, you can’t say anything to me.”

Black Dog’s mockery echoed, as if chasing after Uldiran’s footsteps.