Chapter 76 - Those who Covet the Blood of a Royal (2)
Chapter 76 - Those who Covet the Blood of a Royal (2)
Seigar spoke after he read the report.
“We don't have much experience in fighting on mountainous terrain... This is going to be troublesome.”
“It will be. It seems we will be relying on the prince more so than usual.”
“Hmm. I'll catch the orcs and the monsters. How come these orcs are so strong? Count Baldan invited knight Jilbaret. He is a swordsman that is quite well-known in the west. If this report is true, he was defeated without give the orcs much of a fight.”
“These orcs are much stronger than the usual ones.... It isn't as if this is unprecedented.”
“Are you talking about Daken?”
About 30 years ago, there was an orc hero named Daken, who raised a great army of monsters called the Great Dark Alliance. This occurred at the Balan Forest where the the Western Border guards were stationed.
This particular orc was much stronger than the regular orcs, and it was as smart as a human. It had charisma, and it was able to organize the monsters. At various times in the past, powerful mutated orcs had appeared, but Daken had been at a different level. Moreover, its power was so strong that many knights of that time had died by its hands.
Pulmun spoke.
“Yes.”
“Hmmm. Have you perhaps seen Daken yourself?”
“When the Western Border guards had been wiped out in the past, the throne had dispatched a punitive force, and I had been a part of that force.”
“What kind of orc was it?”
“It was incredibly large. It was two heads taller than other orcs, and it wore a mishmash of thick armors. It swung an enormous sword, which was large as the one prince uses. Most people died before they could get close to the orc. The bastard was like a walking tornado.”
“Interesting. I never knew such an orc existed...”
“An orc's body is fundamentally stronger than a human's body. Occasionally, an orc that is much stronger than other orcs is born. However, Daken was a being that had exceeded that classification. Anyways, we need to be cautious.”
“All right.”
Seigar nodded his head.
4
When Seigar and his direct subordinates arrived at the County of Baldan, they received a fervent reception from the people.
“Wahhhhhhh!”
“Seigar! Seigar! Seigar!”
“The noble Dragon Demon Prince's sword will light our way!”
Count Baldan and the residents of his domain had been besieged by constant violence. In such a situation, the Dragon Demon Prince of the rising fame had come to save them. Men and women of all ages yelled out Seigar's name.
“It seems the situation was much worse than we predicted.”
“They were barely able to harvest their crops for the winter, and their stores were plundered. Moreover, a town was burnt to the ground. The women and children were kidnapped....”
Pulmun clicked his tongue at Seigar's words. Pulmun had thought this was a minor problem with bandits. However, the County had taken such a large damage that their survivability was being threatened.
Seigar rested for the night, and he climbed up the mountain the next day. The Count scraped together more soldiers from his Domain, and they were sent with Seigar and his forces.
Seigar mused when he saw the treacherous terrain of the mountain.
“Those bastards are hiding in such a treacherous location? How are they able to conduct their raid? Wouldn’t they have to traverse this terrain every time they want to reach the Count's domain?”
A troop of over hundred wouldn't be able to fight on this terrain. He now understood why Count Baldan hadn’t been successful in his subjugation. However, it was almost unbelievable to think that the bandits would traverse this terrain every time they wanted to plunder a village.
“Maybe they have a secret route?”
“Even if there is such a route, it is unlikely that the residents wouldn't know about it…….”
“I guess this means we won't know anything until we run across them? Since we don't know what might happen, please be vigilant of our surrounding. I'll scout ahead.”
“What? That is a bit...”
“Regular soldiers won't be able to do a proper reconnaissance. I'll be throwing sacrificial lambs to our enemies. Isn't that right?”
“Then shouldn't we send out the knights?”
“I trust in the competence of my knights, but this is the front yard of our enemies. Moreover, I learned how to deal with such situations from my teacher.”
Seigar had gone through a massive amount of training as he had been instructed by the Dragon Sword Duke Kairen Tarantos. On occasion, he was required to hunt wild animals and monsters on a frigid mountain during winter. These prior experiences would allow Seigar to make needed tactical decisions during the reconnaissance.
He would lead from the front if needed. He was conservative with how he used his men. He didn't want to send them into a place where there was a high possibility of them being slaughtered.
“Then I'll be going with you..”
“Don't over do it. If you go alongside me, the command structure would be disturbed. I'll take young knights instead of your old bones.”
“I still can hold my own against the young ones.”
“However, the young ones can't replace your experienced self. This is why I'm asking you to stay behind.”
After Seigar joked around with Pulmun, he picked out three mercenaries he had elevated to knighthood. Two of the three were veterans of many skirmishes, and they moved as they were ordered.
Seigar was cognizant of his surrounding as he moved nimbly. The knights were astonished.
“The prince was trained in reconnaissance?”
Everyone knew Seigar's martial arts was exceptional. He had overwhelming martial power, yet he didn't discriminate others based on their station in life. He judged a person by their ability, and he always looked at others with a fair gaze. He was a young man, yet he boldly fought in the front lines. He put his life on the line with his men, and his actions brought out loyalty from others.
Still, it was surprising to see such an ability from a person of his station, and power.
“Just a little bit. I wasn't trained as a scout, but I was trained to be a hunter. If you see me making rookie mistakes, please point it out to me.”
“It seems we should be the one learning from you.”
“Even if you try to flatter me, I won't easily raise your annual salary.”
They conversed in low whispers as they scouted their surrounding. Periodically, they used a communication magic tool to send back reports as the main force advanced. They advanced very carefully.
It happened at that moment.
“You are still young, yet you are very cautious.”
He heard a voice that shouldn't be present in such a place. He heard a voice of a young woman.
Seigar raised his head in surprise. A young woman was sitting atop a steep cliff. She kept her knees together as she looked down at him.
‘I'm in danger.’
Seigar's instinct was give a very strong warning.
It was almost surreal, since the young woman looked very out of place here.
Was she of similar age as Arrieta? She had blonde hair, and her eyes were the color of amethyst. Her skin was white as snow. She was a very beautiful young woman. She had on an expressionless face that didn't reveal any emotions. She had a doll-like beauty.
Her features didn’t suit the rough terrains of the mountain, but her clothes made the dissonance even more pronounced. She wore a black dress with red trims.
Seigar asked her a question.
“Who are you?”
“I'm a magician sent to retrieve you. The conditions needed for me to reveal my name hasn't been fulfilled.”
“You are going to take me?”
“I'm merely following orders.”
Wahhhhhhhh!
Suddenly, yells erupted from his rear. Seigar was taken aback.
“What's going on?”
A report that sounded like a scream came through the magic communication tool.
-Prince! The enemies suddenly appeared!
“What? That can't be!”
-They climbed up the ridge of the mountain, and we were ambushed without any warning! Koohk! I don't know how this could have happened!
“Sir Pulmun! I'll immediately…….”
-Chee-jeek! Chee-jee-jee-jeek!
The magical communication suddenly broke up. The young woman spoke to the alarmed Seigar.
“I wanted to observe good manners, so I allowed you to send a brief communication. ”
“…….”
Seigar trembled.
There hadn't been any signs of the girl using magic. It wasn't just that she hadn’t recited any spells or performed any hand seals.
‘I didn't feel any magical reverberation. How can this be?’
Seigar's magic detection ability was much more sensitive than others. However, he hadn't felt a single ounce of magic coming from the young woman. Yet she was able to easily terminate the communication magic.
The young woman walked off the cliff as if she was walking on a flat surface. Moreover, a blue pillar of light appeared in front of her.
Wooooooooooooooo!
At the same time, an oppressive magical wave was swept over him. Seigar was shocked.
‘No way! Her magical energy exceeds amount possessed by teacher?’
From the young woman... No, to be precise, the oppressive magical wave that made him want to scream was being formed in front of her. This was....
‘Dragon Demon Magic!’
It wasn't magical energy. It was Dragon Demon magic! It was a tool that emitted Dragon Demon magic. Moreover, it was emitting an amount that far outstripped Kairen. It made his heart leap into his mouth. He had thought Kairen and his friends were the only ones able to create Dragon Weapons that possessed Dragon Demon Magic!
The young woman mumbled to herself as if she was letting out a sigh.
“Dragon Magic Device Vitan's Glass.”
From the light, the young woman pulled out a long staff.
The staff looked as if it was carved out of ice. It was colorless, and the light distorted as it penetrated through the staff. There was something that looked like a large chalice attached at head of the staff. Some of the light that passed through the staff flowed upwards. It was a mysterious sight where it looked as if water was flowing upwards.
“Kooohk!”
For a brief moment, Seigar gawked at it, but he came to his senses. His hand moved towards the enormous sword strapped to his back. The magically spelled sheathe pushed the sword out. Seigar grasped the sword, and he got into his stance.
It was an unnatural sight. Seigar was a 15 year old young man, so his stature was small. He was only 160 cm tall. However, the weapon in his hand was a very large two handed sword, which didn't suit him. The entire length of the sword almost matched Seigar's height, and normal people wouldn't be able to lift this weapon.
However, Seigar's physical prowess was much superior to a human, so he swung it easily.
“I call the name of the Light! Become a Dragon that tears away the evil Darkness!”
As he shouted out his spell, Dragon Demon magic exploded forth from him. The powerful light exited from the tip of his sword, and it shot towards the young woman in an erratic path.
Kwah-kwah-kwah-kwahk-kwahng!
The cliff exploded, and the mountain shook. Seigar let out a shout.
“You guys rejoin the main force! I'll…….”
Seigar flinched from surprise in mid-sentence.
They were gone.
The three knights that had been by his side only a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.
‘Am I in a dream right now?’
Did she deceive his senses as she got rid of the knights next to him? Was such a thing possible in reality? He wondered if she used a magic that deceived his mind. Her voice was heard in Seigar's ears.
“How unfortunate.”
“What?”
The young woman was fine as she walked through the explosion.
It seemed she hadn't even paused in her walk. It was as if Seigar's attack wasn’t even a hindrance. She had stepped off the cliff, and now she landed on top of a level surface.
“The blood of the Great One is flowing within you. However, you are denied power, because you lack knowledge.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I'll give you an answer at a later time.”
She ignored the confused Seigar's question. She grabbed the hem of her skirt with one hand, and she elegantly gave a greeting.
“It seems the conditions required to tell you my name has been met. My name is Laura.”
She spoke as she raised her strange staff called the 'Vitan's Glass'. It was letting out Dragon Demon magic.
“I am the inheritor of the great name of Aunsauras. I welcome you to the Vitan's Maze. Let us test if you are able to defeat me. You will have to find the exit before your power bottoms out.”
Her surrounding rippled, and Seigar's reality started to distort like a nightmare.