Chapter 30
"If you don't want to die, get lost."
Kalias, having drawn his sword, evacuated the residents with sharp eyes.
"Sir Kalias. The residents on this side have all been evacuated too!"
"We are also all heading to Jaibarsh..."
"We have completed it too!"
Having evacuated the residents of the village near the border, Kalias looked at the horizon.
They had already passed several villages, and the orcs were occupying or setting fire to the villages, approaching the heart of the north.
Jaibarsh.
Also known as Zervan Castle, step by step.
The greenskins were slowly approaching.
'Should I have killed a few more in the forest.'
There were more orcs than expected.
Moreover, once out of the forest, they were at a numerical disadvantage, making it impossible to attack recklessly.
He considered occupying the village first to wage a street battle, but stopped.
The knights' stamina was not infinite.
Furthermore, a street battle fought between buildings would be more advantageous for the orcs than the knights.
'I'm still only at B-rank, it's troublesome if it's already like this.'
He didn't expect an S+ rank reward, but it should at least be A+ rank.
If the reward turned out to be a sword, or something related to swords, he could overcome the upcoming crisis much more easily with just a one-rank difference.
Originally, survival in a crisis is decided by something as small as a falling leaf.
It was still too early to be satisfied here.
It was a quest that would not come again.
"Sir Kalias! We need to evacuate quickly too."
"Hurry, Lord Kalias."
It was Allen and Aaron.
Allen, with his youthful face, thought of him as a knight and called him 'Sir', while Aaron, seeing his hair and eyes, thought he was a noble of Zervan and called him 'Lord'.
After looking at the two and pondering for a moment, he soon stopped. It didn't really matter how they addressed him.
Finding a way was the priority.
Saving the knights was now over.
Since they left the forest, unless they properly clashed with the orcs, it would be difficult to save anyone for a while.
'Even if it's for the quest, I need to reduce their numbers even a little before reaching Jaibarsh. That way, the key figures won't die.'
It wasn't explicitly stated, but the more potential key Named figures of the north died in this quest, the lower the reward rank would drop.
'The orcs will try to destroy the castle.'
A siege defense was inevitable.
On that battlefield, life and death hung in the balance, determined in a fleeting moment.
So now.
'I must kill even a few more of them.'
Their numbers still only slightly exceeded a hundred.
At this level, it was still worth a try.
If they joined the orcs marching slowly from the rear, their numbers would exceed a thousand. So he had to kill even a few, but...
Kalias looked at the state of the knights waiting for him.
The knights holding nicked swords and tattered, worn-out armor had repeated running and fighting for the past few days without getting proper sleep.
Thanks to that, most of them were in terrible condition.
Moreover, they had sustained large and small injuries, making it even more miserable.
"What are you doing. Scoundrel! I told you we have to go quickly."
"Shut up."
Even with overflowing energy, it was questionable if they could succeed due to lack of numbers, and their condition was also not good.
Yet he still needed to kill some orcs... Was there no way?
"My lord! Have some water here! The water is very cold and delicious!"
Water?
Where did he get water from all of a sudden.
"Is there a well here?"
"Yes! It's right over there."
Looking at the large well situated in the middle of the village, he suddenly saw the holy mark engraved on the back of his hand.
He smirked.
Right, he had this.
"Well done, Brans."
"Yes, yes?!"
Brans, receiving praise from Kalias for the first time in his life, froze with a dumbfounded expression.
Whether he did or not, Kalias immediately took out some pouch from the holy mark and poured it into the well.
* * *
Click, click.
In a forest near Jaibarsh.
There, Killavan, who was biting his nails, anxiously waited for someone.
"Brother. Are you here?"
"Luteon!"
Grabbing the collar of the man who appeared, Killavan glared at him with bloodshot eyes as if to kill him.
"Why didn't you tell me there would be such a massive orc army!"
"Please calm down, Brother Killavan. Why are you shouting about what the problem is."
"How is it not a problem! The northern border! The pillar of Karpe is being violated by those savages!"
The always smiling and relaxed Killavan was nowhere to be found.
He looked like a gambler who had squandered his entire fortune at a gambling house.
The man called Luteon easily shook off Killavan's two hands.
The strength in his two hands effortlessly pushed down Killavan's tenacious grip, trained for a long time.
"Brother. Everything is going according to our calculations. Only by doing this can you inherit the complete legacy of the north, right? Only then can we also be rewarded for our efforts so far."
"...Are you sure."
"Yes. A dragon in a nest that cannot fly is merely prey, isn't it."
A wounded dragon in a nest is just a wild beast.
"The current lord of Zervan."
Elberton von Zervan.
"To catch him, you must be prepared for this level of bleeding. Crasion supports Brother Killavan. How can you achieve the great deed if you get excited over this. Regain your composure."
"...Right. I got excited. Coming all the way here was also all thanks to Crasion, but I forgot for a moment."
"Yes, yes. Of course you must. Now, the summit is right before our eyes. By sacrificing the green filth of the north, a new lord of Zervan will be born. For now, let us quietly wait for the right time. Those greenskins will take care of everything."
The man called Luteon soothed Killavan and subtly turned his head.
As he nodded faintly, those hiding their appearance with hoods and masks behind him straightened their backs.
In their hands, a bluish spearhead briefly appeared then disappeared.
* * *
'Will they arrive around tomorrow.'
Kalias, who had taken refuge in the back mountain near the village to avoid the orc army's march, inhaled the chilly dawn air.
Thanks to the Cloak of Twilight, he didn't feel the cold, but after fighting and running for days, his whole body was sticky with sweat.
"I want to wash up."
But there was no time for that.
-Number of Orcs Slain: 52
-Number of Demonic Beasts Slain: 61
-Number of People Rescued: 41
Kalias's ash-gray eyes calmed down. Beside him, a knight approached.
"What on earth... I heard there hasn't been such a thing for nearly a hundred years..."
He was a knight belonging to Zervan.
It wasn't unprecedented, but it was the first time so many orcs had pushed in indiscriminately.
Originally, fights between Zervan and the orcs had occasionally occurred before.
However, the battles fought across the White Forest did not end easily, and their war continued even now.
"It is merely the product of timing and scheme."
"...What do you mean by that."
"I mean it was just time."
What was meant to happen, happened.
The wheel of Fatalite inherently carries such a tale.
'Orcs and Zervan.'
The White Forest and demonic beasts at the center.
The endlessly turning wheel.
And the faction trying to exploit that wheel to extend their reach over the demonic beasts.
'We must have been played by their tricks.'
The place that would be most delighted if Zervan fell. Where could that be.
"The Empire."
The so-called fanatics worshiping the God of the Spear, who call themselves the sole Holy Empire.
He didn't know well how they coaxed the orcs.
But it wouldn't be easy.
'I can't let Karpe fall.'
The village was already full of orcs.
It was around noon when the group of knights Kalias rescued escaped the village.
Now it was already dawn.
They occupied the village to rest, and would start again when morning came.
At their speed, they would knock on the castle gates in three days, and if that happened, a siege defense would unfold over the castle.
After that, even more orc forces would arrive and lay waste to everything.
Therefore, before that, Kalias had to reduce their numbers even a little.
Swish.
As Kalias stood up and strapped Lucen and Roas to his waist, the other resting knights awkwardly shifted.
It was because they seemed to know why he, who had saved them, was moving.
Because of that, some stood up, some hesitated whether to stand, and some remained seated, sending anxious glances.
Their number was forty-four.
When originally over three hundred had entered the White Forest.
Only this many remained.
Everywhere, people wrapped in bandages on their heads, shoulders, and legs.
Their eyes drifted aimlessly and trembled with anxiety.
The hands holding their swords were full of hesitation.
They fought in the forest, fought again getting out of the forest, and even before hiding here, they came while hitting their legs that trembled with fear and wouldn't move.
Less than half a day had passed since then, and they reacted like this because he was trying to move again.
They needed rest, they needed sanctuary.
Kalias stared blankly at the sky.
The sky was exceedingly dark.
It was always the darkest before the sun rises.
He placed his hand on the sword hilt.
"They will head to Jaibarsh."
The castle of Zervan, representing the north.
That place was the orcs' final destination.
"And soon they will break the castle gates and eventually kill everyone in the castle to make the north theirs."
It was a long-cherished desire.
Becoming the ruler of the north.
Reclaiming their original land.
They carried such a destiny.
"But I will not let them."
The hands of the knights gripping their swords filled with strength.
He was speaking plainly, but a certain power was carried in his tone.
Resolve and confidence.
And the arrogance unique to nobles.
Those elements harmonized to exude the presence called Kalias.
"The enemy numbers over a hundred, but we are barely forty."
Yet, despite that.
"I will go to them."
He had to reduce their numbers even a little.
Only then would the reward increase.
An opportunity that wouldn't come again.
He couldn't end it at just B+.
"It's reckless..."
A young knight bit his lip hard and spoke. His voice lacked strength, and his head and gaze were looking down at the ground.
He was trembling.
'I think he was called Allen.'
He was the guy who loudly followed Kalias and was full of spirit just in the forest.
But right now, he was trembling with fear. He was terrified.
Was this his first large-scale battle?
He had similar blonde hair to Leone and looked around the same age, so he caught his eye for no reason.
"It is not reckless. Their numbers do not end there. Even if they are a hundred now, they will continue to swell as days pass."
A hundred now.
In the end, it becomes thousands.
It was not such a simple quest that ended overnight.
'As such, the level of the reward also increases exponentially.'
It was still fine.
Before the army of thousands rushed in.
Right now. The time when the blind orcs were depleting the village's food supply was the opportunity.
The time was before the sun rose, the deepest and darkest dawn.
The move was already made.
"There is a reason I deliberately evacuated the residents and left the village's food as it was."
"What reason is that...?"
Kalias had purchased many things in Trista.
And among them, he had a record of purchasing something quite useful even in war.
Because the ingredients of holy water were mostly ingredients of deadly poison.