Chapter 161
Near the border region.
"It is an honor to be alongside the Saintess. I am... I'm not sure if you'll remember, but I am Bain, who became a Master this time."
"I know. You were to be granted number 13."
"Yes. Sir Quillrod fell in battle, so I received number 12 instead. It is a tragic thing, but I accept it as fate and am grateful for it."
Spear of the Empire.
One who became that could safely be said to have wealth and honor follow simultaneously.
The smaller the number, the greater the Empire's support that came with it.
For example, Bain, who became number 12 this time, was granted a fiefdom from the Empire.
In addition, he was granted a spear of the Phantom rank.
The original spear Quillrod used had either vanished or its fate was unknown.
"But will it be alright? I am a bit worried."
"About what, Sir Bain?"
"My lack of ability is a given, but the opponent is none other than a demon. Furthermore, we don't even know what relationship it has with the dragon......"
Dragon and Demon.
The main players of the Dragon-Demon War joining hands now? Honestly, it made no sense.
However, such circumstances could not be overlooked either. In truth, at the very last moment, those bastards had joined hands.
A dragon and a demon appearing in the Empire.
Seeing this, some of the Empire's elders clamored that they were keeping them in check.
The Empire had grown large.
And the prevailing opinion was that they, as potential enemies of humanity, could not ignore the Empire's power.
Of course, that was nonsense.
"That won't happen. The grudge between dragons and demons runs deeper than we think."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. So don't worry about anything else and just focus on catching the demon. Sir Bain."
The Saintess patted Bain's shoulder.
Bain, moved by that, repeatedly bowed his head.
Though he clearly looked older than the Saintess, he flushed like a boy who had never experienced love.
"More than that, Sir Bain."
"Yes, Saintess."
*Frrrr.*
The Saintess and Bain, riding horses and strolling down the road, faced each other.
"Could you tell me about the Master you met at the Tower?"
"Ah, so you've heard as well, Saintess."
"Yes. It's quite an interesting part."
Black hair, grey eyes.
An uncommon appearance.
Yet he was a pilgrim who used a sword.
'Come to think of it, I heard Luteon headed to the Tower as well, but there's been no news.'
He was probably Callius.
"From what I investigated on my own, one with black hair and grey eyes is a characteristic of the Jervan family of the Carpe Kingdom. He was likely a swordsman of Jervan."
"And the sword he possessed?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure if it was the sword's power, but he used a large number of knights emanating a grey aura to beat down the Floor Master. That气势 was like commanding a thousand armies and ten thousand horses, so I was a bit surprised."
"A bit?"
"Yes. A bit."
The Saintess nodded, guessing that it was probably the Iron Monarch.
"So he freed Titeo."
"Pardon?"
"Never mind. I think I roughly understand the reason the demon appeared."
Callius von Jervan.
The heretic born of Jervan, treated as a swordsmanship noble family. A rogue with terrible swordsmanship and a corresponding trash personality.
The shame of the nobility, kicked out of the Order and called a prodigal for his womanizing. Yet a man whose outward appearance possessed beauty that would put any noble to shame.
That was the world's evaluation.
'Was. But Luteon said so.'
That the rogue had become strange.
"......No, probably not."
"What do you mean?"
"It's nothing. What about number 11 and 10?"
"You mean Sir Bünneren and Sir Jollet. I heard they will be waiting at the Empire's border."
Three Spears of the Empire.
And one Saintess.
The Emperor deemed these four sufficient and sent them.
And......
"Why are you bringing me and oppa? It's not like we'll be of any help anyway."
The Prince and Princess were together.
"That you won't be of help, I know better than anyone."
"Then why!"
"It is His Majesty the Emperor's command to bring you along for the aftermath."
The Emperor's arrangement to have them witness the demon.
"Tch."
But it seemed the Princess wasn't satisfied with just watching.
"Haha, sister. Calm down a bit. Isn't it a chance to see the demon that appeared after a thousand years be destroyed? It's a shame we can't take part, but just seeing the demon is an opportunity worth a thousand gold."
The Prince and Princess.
Looking at the carriage the two rode in, the Saintess advanced along the road and gazed at the border that had drawn near before she knew it.
Many knights and the Spears of the Empire were already waiting there.
One thousand elite knights.
Ten captain-level knights. Three Spears of the Empire.
The Saintess of Lactus and the Prince and Princess.
All of this was the force to face the demon that had invaded the Empire.
"Do we really need this many?"
"While we're at it, I'm also going to dispose of the bastard dog that was thrown out. His Majesty gave me his word on that. Right? Saintess."
"Yes."
Passing through the border beyond the lined-up knights, the Saintess's gaze turned north.
Aubblefix.
A mountainous region the Empire had not been able to conquer until now due to its rugged terrain and rocky formations.
Hunt the wild dogs hiding there and ultimately dispose of the demon.
That was the Imperial Emperor's command.
"It would be best to get off now."
"Hm? Why?"
"From here on we must go on foot. Only by climbing the mountain and scaling the cliffs can we head to where they are."
Steeply carved cliffs.
The mountains that formed them.
Bizarrely towering stone pillars glimpsed intermittently through the mist.
A strange terrain as if a giant had driven them into the ground.
They couldn't take a carriage there.
As the Saintess and the Spears of the Empire dismounted, the Princess and Prince also got off the carriage.
"From now on we will move quickly. I will not wait for you."
Tap, tap tap!
"Hup!"
The Saintess with her pink hair tied tightly back began to climb the cliff rapidly.
With movements like lightning, climbing the cliff towering high into the sky without even using her hands once, all the waiting knights and Spears of the Empire were astonished.
"Then we shall as well."
Soon the 11th, Bünneren, and the 10th Spear, Jollet, followed behind the Saintess.
And the rest.
"I will attend to Her Highness the Princess and His Highness the Prince from now on."
Along with the thousand knights and the captains leading them, the 12th Spear, Bain, chose a slightly roundabout path, taking the Princess and Prince with him. They couldn't all climb the cliffs, after all.
"No need! I'll follow the Saintess too!"
The Princess suddenly dashed out and began climbing the cliff.
Using both hands and feet to climb, then realizing it wasn't working, she started driving her spear into the cliff to climb.
At that, everyone looked at the Prince and Bain with tearful faces.
"We'll go the roundabout way."
At the Prince's laughing words, relief appeared on the knights' faces.
* * *
Huuung—!
There were people crawling along the cliffs amidst wind as sharp as blades.
People moving along a tiny cliff path sticking out about a handspan.
"Damn it! Isn't she trying to kill us all?"
"Endure it, Philo. Saintess Junis wouldn't have a reason to kill us on purpose."
Though he said that, Aldu was also anxious.
If they misplaced a foot even slightly, they would have no choice but to fall and die from an immense height.
He was grinding his teeth and following, watching Callius, Serena, and the others silently going ahead.
It had already been several days since they started climbing the cliff, so their limbs were trembling dreadfully—it was a killing feeling.
"You said we're going to the Fairy's Tomb, but I don't know why we keep going higher and higher. Hey, black-hair. How much further do we have to go?"
"We're almost there."
"I heard those same words before. After you said that, we had to climb the cliff for two more hours."
Even to Obarna's question full of complaints, Callius remained unperturbed.
That was because.
"I never told you to climb."
Those he told to climb were only Aldu and Serena. And Philo.
He never told Obarna to climb.
"It's my free will."
"I don't know what you want me to do about that."
"What I'm saying is, come down and climb the cliff too! I know why you told them to climb the cliff. It's for training, right?"
Currently, Callius was not climbing the cliff like them.
There was no reason to climb in the first place.
He possessed Leteti's ring that allowed him to fly through the sky.
There was no reason to climb.
And one more thing.
Flutter—!
Having turned the dead dragon's egg into a grey knight, he had one more means of transportation.
Iron Dragon—Beati.
With the dragon Beati whose entire body was wrapped in iron plating, there was absolutely no reason to climb.
He could just fly on Beati, so there was no need to deliberately suffer.
Of course, that only applied to Callius.
There were two reasons Callius told them to climb this cliff cut like a sword.
"First, this is the only path heading to the Tomb."
First, it was a cliff they absolutely had to pass through to get to the Fairy's Tomb.
Wall of Lamentation.
Saintess Junis had said that the Fairy's Tomb existed in a location that could only be approached by climbing up the cliff.
As Callius knew, the Fairy's Tomb was different from ordinary human graves.
The highest place in the sky.
It was hidden there.
"Fairy habits are truly something you can never understand, aren't they? Right?"
"But why do we have to suffer like this!"
Flutter, flutter!
Above the Iron Dragon Beati's head were Callius, the Beastman Saintess Junis seated on its body, and her attendant.
Only those three rode Beati.
The rest were all climbing the cliff.
Obarna, Serena, Aldu, Philo.
And below them, most of the knights of the Ashen Legion were also climbing the cliff.
"Aubblefix is a good place for training."
Rugged terrain was a place where training occurred just by going up and down.
Moreover, the cliffs were steep, and a single misstep meant a precipice.
This simultaneously served the role of correcting physical ability and the balance of qi.
And even if that weren't the case, Callius had no choice but to roll them.
[You witness a historical landscape containing one side of the Hidden Giant's War.]
[For one month, all training activities in Aubblefix increase by 2 times.]
Aubblefix.
This place was, simply put, a training ground.
'Of course, only for those below Master.'
It was unfortunate that it didn't apply to Transcendents.
"Maybe I should have trained here too."
He had thought about it.
But the distance was too far, it was dangerous, and the mere one month of time felt too short. Moreover, when he had just set foot in this world, even local mountain bandits threatened Callius's life, so he couldn't even dream of traveling outside Carpe.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do.
'I'll have to settle for training the Ashen Legion.'
Obarna didn't seem to know why he was doing that down there, but anyway, this was an opportunity.
If he could increase their growth even a little in a short period, he had to.
The Ashen Legion's strength was Callius's strength, and his other companions also had to become stronger to be of help to him.
'They are the ones called heroes of the continent.'
Though they were at an unimpressive level right now, their potential was on par with anyone on the continent.
One month.
Callius intended to roll them.
Tap.
Callius, landing on one of the stone pillars, stroked Beati's head and said.
"There might be some who fall, so keep an eye out for them."
-Kaa!
Huuung—! Tap!
Beati flying off again and Vivi, who had already climbed above the cliff, crossed paths.
Beati's eyes emitted killing intent, and Vivi similarly scattered lightning.
"I don't know why they try to fight every time they meet."
The relationship between Vivi and Beati wasn't very good. Whether it was because they were both dragons or something, he still didn't know.
Their relationship was so poor that he had tried making them spar, but no clear winner emerged.
Beati fought using breath and claws based on having wings, the advantage of a dragon, and Vivi countered with its lightning and sword, so the match remained undecided.
It was because he stopped them before they got more overheated, as it seemed like they would injure each other beyond that.
"We'll be going now."
"Yes."
The training would happen on its own, so Callius had to do what he needed to do.
Fairy's Tomb.
The entrance leading into it.
It was a small spring atop a giant stone pillar. A place like a pond formed from a slightly enlarged puddle.
It was quite a beautiful place.
A landscape as if a fairy might appear at any moment rounded Callius's lips.
"Lord Callius. This place is both the entrance and the Fairy's barrier. If you have Lady Lumitera's revelation, you will be able to break it!"
Junis, seemingly excited, couldn't contain her bloodshot eyes and flushed voice.
'Definitely.'
There was a barrier here.
He could feel a fairy power that was difficult to precisely discern with his current level of Callius.
He immediately drew his sword.
Callius glanced at the attendant bowing his head behind the Saintess.
The attendant, receiving that peculiar gaze, pulled his hood further down and lowered his head.
"Why is my attendant... He is a child I brought along out of necessity."
"Not particularly."
Callius gripped his sword as if he had no particular intent, and drew up his energy.
It wasn't to break the Fairy's barrier.
It was a barrier made of fairy power in the first place.
This was to prevent the entry of other species.
There was no need to break it.
'Originally it should be broken, but.'
It was the Fairy's Tomb.
Only fairies could enter.
The reason was as follows.
'Fairies possess fairy power.'
This meant that fairy power was the proof of entry.
Srrrk.
Callius's grey eyes took on a violet hue.
Soon his hand passed through the barrier.
"Ah! W-wait a moment!!"
The moment Junis startled and cried out.
Callius's figure instantly disappeared into the spring.
Junis's face, who had expected to go in together, was dyed with dismay.
"What......!"
But unlike the Saintess Junis.
The attendant's lips curved into a strange arc.