Chapter 29
"Damn it, damn it!!"
Clang!! Boom-!
"You son of a bitch! Give it a rest! I have no intention of fighting you, shit!"
"Kachpangiz!"
"What the hell are you babbling about, you bastard!"
The giant knight Aron, swinging his massive greatsword, felt like he was going to die.
He had already nearly died picking a fight with the wrong person after getting duped by some crazy old man and even losing his armor, but to then wrestle with demonic beasts upon entering the forest, only to suddenly suffer an orc raid on top of that!
"Die! Die! Just die, fucker!"
Smash! Smash! Smash!
The greatsword and the axe clashed without pause.
However, the state of the battle was completely different from how it looked.
Unlike the orc, who was carefully blocking Aron's attacks, he was extremely anxious due to the presence of demonic beasts and other orcs that could pounce on him at any moment.
Perhaps because of that.
Swoosh!
"Arghhhh!"
He lost his grip on his greatsword, and the creature's fearsome axe slashed across his chest.
The wound was shallow, but Aron foresaw his own death.
Losing one's sword in a life-or-death duel was practically synonymous with death.
That green monster wouldn't wait for him to pick his sword back up.
‘Damn it...!’
Aron squeezed his eyes shut and fell to the ground in an unsightly heap.
However, for some reason, the axe didn't embed itself in his body.
Wondering what was going on, he opened his eyes.
Gurgle.
The sound of bloody foam reached his ears.
Startled, he opened his eyes to see a gruesome, jagged sword piercing through the orc's heart.
Thud. Behind the fallen orc, pitch-black hair and ash-gray eyes reflected Aron's figure.
"Hm? You're..."
"The enemy of my armor!!"
He was a Zerbahn.
It was that Zerbahn he had seen at the tavern.
"Enemy?"
"Ah, to see such a savior of my life! Thank you! Thank you!! Savior!!"
As he hastily bowed his head, the cold gaze was already directed elsewhere.
Wondering where he was rushing off to so urgently, Aron saw him stabbing and killing the orcs fighting other knights from behind.
No, was he saving the knights?
Aron tilted his head in confusion, but it wasn't something to ponder deeply.
Because right now, the fact that he was alive was what mattered.
"Branth! This man is injured here!"
"Yes sir! Branth is on his way!"
"Hmm? You... haven't I seen you somewhere?"
Aron quickly lowered his head.
"I'm not sure... urgh, it hurts too much."
"My apologies. I will stop the bleeding for you."
Fortunately, Branth didn't seem to remember the face of the man who had punched him in the face.
Aron considered himself lucky and asked about the Zerbahn man who was ambushing the orcs.
"What is that man's name?"
"That man is a noble among nobles, a man among men, and the one who inherited the direct bloodline of Zerbahn, but was not satisfied with that and became a pilgrim, the Iron-Blooded Sword Demon, yet even holds warmth in his heart..."
"No, I'm asking for his name!"
"If you must know, he is Callias von Zerbahn!"
Callias von Zerbahn!
"I am Emily von Zerbahn. Your wound is shallow, so pick up your sword again. And fight alongside that scoundrel. You were saved, so even if you die, you must not let him die."
"..."
"If it weren't for Callias, you'd be dead! You were clearly going to die!"
"That may be true, but..."
"That scoundrel is saving them and killing orcs without even thinking of his own life! You're even bigger than him! Live up to your size!"
Aron had no choice but to drag his aching body and chase after the man with the red cloak fluttering behind him.
A smile spread across Emily's lips as she watched that sight.
The number of knights following Callias was gradually increasing.
When he first charged at the orcs, she really thought he was a madman, but he was easily killing the orcs fighting the knights and saving their lives.
It must be hard for him too.
Even though he didn't know when or where a horde of orcs might appear to kill him, he was still saving the knights.
"Thank goodness."
She didn't even know herself what was so fortunate, but that was how she felt.
"Nia."
"Yes, My Lady."
"Callias will be alright, right?"
There are knights by his side.
There isn't a single one of them who isn't injured, yet they still follow Callias, dragging their wounded bodies along.
Most of them are mere rabble, but the fact that they managed to hold out even a little against the orcs' axes was proof that they were somewhat useful.
"He will be fine. There are many words around that belittle him, but he is still a person of Zerbahn. And..."
The handmaid named Nia looked at Emily with bitter eyes.
"He is the My Lady's..."
"Enough. A scoundrel is just a scoundrel. The only reason I'm worried is because we can only survive if he doesn't get hurt. That's all there is to it."
The handmaid looked at Emily, who was desperately turning a blind eye, with sorrowful eyes.
* * *
‘I saved that bastard for nothing.’
He was the guy who interrupted his meal at the inn. A knight bastard who acted tough relying only on his size and strength.
If he had known it was him, he wouldn't have saved him.
Callias clicked his tongue.
-Orcs Killed: 12
-Demonic Beasts Killed: 27
-People Saved: 15
However, the quest was progressing smoothly. The final question mark would be determined by saving the knights from the orc attack in the White Forest.
Therefore, Callias targeted the orcs that were fighting desperately against the knights.
It was a somewhat cowardly method, but by ambushing them from behind, he could easily kill the orcs and also join up with the saved knights to increase his survivability.
To raise the grade of the reward, saving someone earned more points than killing orcs.
Moreover, even if the saved knights hunted orcs and demonic beasts, it was measured as if he had done it himself, so it was more efficient to move quickly before they died.
Chaak-!
Leaving behind the orc that fell while spurting blood, Callias turned his back and shouted at the fallen knight.
"Stop sprawling on the ground and pick up your sword."
"Y-yes, sir! Urgh, I shall!"
Time was running out.
As he gradually escaped the forest, saving the knights was not as easy as he thought.
He only had one body, but there were many he had to save and many he had to kill.
Even ten bodies wouldn't be enough.
‘If only I could use Qi Sword Control.’
If nothing else, it would have been much easier if he could at least use the Qi-Animated Sword Technique, which was a step below Qi Sword Control.
What good was having multiple swords?
It's not like he had sheaths for them, and carrying multiple swords dangling from his waist would only get harder and harder.
‘It would be so much easier if I could use Qi Sword Control to float swords in the air, or if I had an artifact or holy relic that could hold multiple swords at once.’
He would only acquire more and more swords.
Depending on the unique abilities of the swords, the number of swords he needed would vary.
When he played the game, he possessed over twelve swords alone.
Even then, to carry multiple swords, he needed related artifacts or holy relics.
Or a Trait was necessary.
However, he didn't have the relevant Trait, and most of them were martial arts of an absurdly high realm to learn directly.
Artifacts and holy relics weren't easy to obtain either, so for now, he had no choice but to make do with the inconvenience.
But if the number of swords continued to increase later on, he couldn't stay like this forever.
‘I have no choice for now.’
Swish-!
After slashing down yet another orc, Callias shouted at the knights who were catching their breath in a daze.
"If it's too much for you alone, face them with two or three. If your skills are lacking, make up for it with numbers! Your skills are at the level of pebbles on the side of the road, but even a pebble becomes a weapon when thrown!"
"Understoooood! Uwaaaah!"
"Die, you monsters!"
The guys here weren't proper knights either, so if they faced an orc warrior head-on, they would lose a hundred times out of a hundred.
Most of them were wandering knights who had come wanting to become knights of Zerbahn, the symbol of the North.
They might have their own experience and swordsmanship, but they were still unrefined swords.
"Damn, maybe it's because I'm so frantic, but the Scoundrel Trait keeps popping out."
Slash-!
‘Still, it's gradually getting easier.’
As the number of knights began to increase, it was getting easier and easier.
No matter how many orc warriors there were, as long as the knights engaged them and Callias struck their vital points when their guard was down, he could kill them without much effort.
-Orcs Killed: 32
-Demonic Beasts Killed: 54
-People Saved: 21
After frantically taking down the enemies for a while, the reward had risen to B-rank.
After striking down one more orc, Callias saw a young knight panting heavily.
If it were three years ago, he would have been panting like that too.
‘And the fact that he was here now, cutting down orcs, was all...’
It was proof that he hadn't wasted the past three years.
"Pilgrim! This side is almost cleared up!"
Callias looked at the nameless knight who had come to report to him.
‘Why is he reporting that to me?’
As he looked at him as if to say "so what?", the knight had an "oops!" moment and introduced himself.
"I am Allen!"
"I didn't ask for your name."
"I apologize!"
The battle was roughly coming to an end.
After saving a few scattered knights and grouping up, the situation had become easier.
But he couldn't let his guard down.
The enemies were still swarming in the forest.
He had to secure a retreat route to slowly get out of the forest and make the best of the situation.
"Tend to the wounded and get out of the forest. If there are orcs, kill them; if there are demonic beasts, kill them too. If there are knights still breathing, check on them and bring them along."
Because that was the only way to raise the reward.
"As expected... Understood!"
"We will follow you, Pilgrim!"
"Just give us the order!"
One of Callias's eyebrows furrowed. The eyes of the knights he had saved were sparkling unnecessarily.
Very burdensomely, at that.
* * *
Orphin and the knights had hurriedly escaped the forest, bringing Rivan and Rini with them.
Even though they had tried to get out quickly, the orc attack had happened without warning, and because of that, two of the five knights were killed, leaving only three to escort the young Zerbahns.
"We must hurry and escape."
"Orcs are the enemies of the North. Why aren't we fighting? Orphin? I can fight too! Even if my sword is broken... with this, I can still reach those dark scum of the North!"
"It is the order of the next Lord of Kilavan."
"Father..."
At the mention of Kilavan's order, Rivan's mouth snapped shut.
Why wouldn't he know?
If one was born a Zerbahn, it was natural to be united by a sense of mission and pride in protecting the North.
Orphin—she did not carry the blood of Zerbahn, but having stood as a knight of the North for a long time, she wanted to run right back into the forest and behead the orcs this very moment.
"It is still too early."
But she was a knight.
A knight before a swordsman.
Right now, following orders came first.
"Brother, what happened to that fork from earlier?"
It was Rini.
Unlike the combative Rivan, Rini had quite an unpredictable side.
They were both children, but Rini wasn't as simple as Rivan.
"Hmph, he stupidly headed deep into the forest, so he's probably dead by the orcs already. Even if he has some skill, he wouldn't be able to escape from the greenskins swarming the White Forest."
"Don't you think he fought well with a fork?"
"...There's no one in this world who fights with a fork."
"But he fought you with a fork, brother? So who knows, maybe he does with orcs too. I'm so curious. I wish I could fight like that with a fork too!"
Rivan's face turned red and blue with embarrassment.
Rini kept chattering away with a way of speaking that made it hard to tell if she was teasing him or not.
Whether she knew it or not, most of it was to mock Rivan.
"Let us rest here for a moment."
It was a small cave situated a little away from the White Forest.
Kilavan had ordered them to wait here with the children, and Orphin had a duty to protect the young Zerbahns here until he arrived.
"Orphin, Orphin! Knights are coming out over there."
"Is that so. I can't quite..."
She couldn't see them.
She could only slightly see the giant trees of the White Forest. They were far enough away that she couldn't see any details.
As expected of the Zerbahn bloodline.
Those ash-gray eyes saw even distant things in detail, like a Clairvoyance skill.
"Indeed. Quite a few knights survived..."
"Ah! It's the fork!"
At the mention of the fork, Orphin's ears perked up.
‘As I thought...’
He was alive.
Well, with that level of skill, he was more than capable of surviving.
No matter how strong the orcs' axes were, his swordsmanship wasn't something that would be taken down so easily.
"No way!"
"No, brother. That red cloak is his. Huh? But that person is with us."
With us.
At those words, Rivan was startled and frowned.
He soon rubbed his eyes as if trying to see more closely, but it seemed he couldn't see that far.
"I can't see it well... Are you sure?!"
"Of course. I can see it, can't I?"
Rivan nodded his head.
Rini's eyes were more special than his.
"Then what... He was a Zerbahn? Who is it? Was he one of our uncles?"
But for someone like that, the fork was too... cruel, wasn't it?
"No, it's a face I've never seen before. Wow... He's handsome. I've never seen a face like that."
"That much?"
"Ah! I know who it is! The Scoundrel!"
"The Scoundrel?"
The Scoundrel of Zerbahn.
Even the young Zerbahns couldn't help but know that famous story.
The worst dullard in the history of the Zerbahn family, which had spanned hundreds of years.
The shame of shames among nobles.
Trash who, despite being expelled from the family, spread his name as the prodigal son of the religious order.
Callias von Zerbahn!
"Then you're saying I was beaten by the biggest dullard in the history of the Zerbahn family!?"
"Looks like it?"
Rivan grabbed his head in anguish, while Rini stared at the distant scenery as if possessed.
"Leading a large group of knights... being chased by orcs. He fights well. The other knights look like fools, but the scoundrel—no. Callias fights really well."
But even so.
"The number of orcs is just too large."
Knights emerging from the pure white forest.
And the dark, green beings chasing them. The number of orcs, looking like a swarm of ants, was too large even in the young girl's eyes.
And soon.
"The border..."
"It's, it's been breached! The border...!!"
The border of the North was dyed in green.