Chapter 291
Chapter 291
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 63 – A Knight's Valor Knows No Recklessness (1)
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The first to detect that 'change' were none other than the trout leaping up the waterfall.
Flutter flutter!
The trout spasmed collectively as if convulsing, fainting in a group.
It was a sudden blackout, and they quickly regained consciousness, but soon the trout thrashed desperately to climb the waterfall somehow.
They weren't even salmon, so what was this sudden behavior? However, this bizarre phenomenon wasn't limited to creatures living in the water.
Plop plop!
Birds flapped their wings frantically and took flight, while deer and wild boars from the forest, and even packs of wolves and jackals, hurried away.
Even with deer, pigs, rabbits, and foxes right beside the wolves, the wolves didn't spare them a glance.
As if there wasn't even time to hunt right now.
The sight of carnivores, wolf packs no less, suppressing their very instincts and fleeing at full speed was utterly alien.
It was an ominous phenomenon, like ants fleeing before an earthquake, a desperate struggle driven by the instincts of living creatures.
Rumble!
Suddenly, massive thunderclouds formed in the sky, with booming thunder echoing within them.
It was as if the heavens themselves were angry, and even people who hadn't noticed the animals' strange behavior began to pale as they looked up at the sky.
Though humans might lag behind animals in wild instincts, they still possessed them.
"What is it?"
What's about to happen?
...
Something ominous was brewing.
The day before, the self-proclaimed maid elder had said that the seal on the Great Evil Spirit would break soon.
One reason Lee Han had somewhat urgently pressed and prodded the Modred family was that there was no leeway to search around for the Great Evil Spirit's location.
With less than two days left until the seal broke, when would they have time to scout?
...However, the Modred family, who knew this fact better than anyone, didn't seem panicked.
Not so much that they had leeway, but rather they seemed to think there was still plenty of time left.
Tak.
"It's called the [Gem Sandglass]."
"...An artifact?"
"Indeed. We procured it, bracing for our finances to wobble."
"......"
"Do you see anything unusual?"
"The powder falling... it seems a bit off somehow?"
"Correct."
The large sandglass, where gem dust served in place of sand, had a complex structure.
It was spiral-shaped, so the gem dust probably took at least a minute longer to fall than in a regular sandglass.
Yet right now, that gem dust hadn't fallen even after five minutes had passed.
He wondered if it was broken, but spotting the dust moving faintly, Lee Han judged it wasn't malfunctioning.
And sure enough.
"The magic this Gem Sandglass holds is one: it precisely tells the time at a designated location. It calculates all 24 hours of the day without a single error."
"...But at this pace, it won't finish even after three days, let alone 24 hours?"
"Then this is correct."
"Huh?"
"You said exactly five years had passed outside since we hid ourselves here, right?"
"Yes."
"Then this sandglass is accurate."
"......"
"As expected of its price. It was telling the exact time."
"No way...?"
It took a moment to grasp those words, but Lee Han soon understood their meaning.
And furthermore,
"Does time flow slowly in this space?"
"Not slowly flowing so much as all jumbled up. Or rather, we can't even tell if time flows here at all."
"......"
"Did you know? During these five years here, our family and the soldiers haven't aged a day since five years ago. Not even a bit."
"......"
"A servant, a scholar from the Academy, said it's due to the complex interactions of various force flows in this annex causing spatial distortion. In other words, this place is like a prison of time."
"How long have you endured here?"
"I don't know. We've long forgotten such things."
"Ha..."
Lee Han now understood why the soldiers and others had seemed subtly depressed when he first met them.
Trapped in a space where even the flow of time was unknowable, relying solely on a sandglass to track it—they were fortunate it only resulted in depression.
Anyone else would have gone mad with insanity.
'That's why the knights are at that level, and why their advanced weaponry is so developed.'
How could their weapons surpass the royal military's, and their knights and troops be uniformly superior? Now he knew the reason.
They might not have spent just five years here, but perhaps double that—or more.
Some might call it a blessing or fortune, but Lee Han saw it as a 'curse' as well.
...In his military days, one of the most common gripes was 'The Ministry of Defense's clock runs slow,' but here time truly flowed slowly.
Not two years of service, but decades.
Without even vacations, leisure, or cultural outings.
'...Terrifying. Depression would hit dozens of times over.'
If this wasn't hell, what was?
If their families weren't held hostage, desertion wouldn't have been surprising long ago.
"That's why I'm even more grateful to you. Thanks to the outside news you brought, the soldiers are brimming with vitality again. It's been a while since they felt this spirited."
Thus,
"We must pay the price."
Whoosh.
"Take it. With that, you can reach that pest, the Great Evil Spirit."
"...No change?"
Lee Han snatched the sandglass, furrowing his brow.
It was far too valuable just for passing a few letters.
But Cain Margrave shook his head.
"If anything, we're short on funds. That's all we can give."
"Is it okay to give this away? Don't you need it to know the time?"
"No matter now. As you said, the Great Evil Spirit's seal breaks soon anyway, and once it does, no artifact, no matter how precious, will be of use."
"You sure?"
It was a question laden with meaning.
They must desperately want to defeat the Great Evil Spirit themselves—yet entrust him with the essential item to confront it?
"No choice. We can't leave our posts right now. If the troops pull back, the monsters will swarm to the surface in an instant."
"...Then what was your original plan for the Great Evil Spirit?"
"Father and a few knights were planning an expedition."
"Isn't that elder abuse?"
"It was Father's wish. How could I stop him?"
He gave a wry smile.
It hinted at the many arguments already had over that expedition.
And the victor had been the old knight.
"They say parents always win over children, but here, children don't win over parents."
"The sorrow of the weak."
But now the situation had changed.
A man who anticipated battling the Great Evil Spirit more than anyone—and who might even be stronger than the old knight—was here.
A knight not merely strong, but bearing great pride!
Thus,
"Though we've known each other less than half a day, it's strange. Despite such a short time, I feel I can trust you."
"I don't at all."
"Haha."
"Well, I'll be indebted then."
"Leaving already?"
"I'm the type who arrives 30 minutes early for appointments."
"Punctual."
"......"
"...Good luck."
"You too."
That was the end of the conversation.
It might be the last time they saw each other, yet their exchange was exceedingly dry.
Perhaps due to their dry personalities, or maybe they were just peculiar.
One clear thing was the trust between them.
Though less than half a day had passed since meeting, men valued how much sincerity they showed each other over time spent together.
In that sense, they were at least comrades, if not quite friends.
Thus, despite differing status and age, they appeared like old acquaintances.
And so they...
Bam!
"M-My lord! Forgive my rude entrance! Th-The thing is...!"
"......Calm down. What is it?"
"An urgent report from the scouting party! In three hours, a monster wave is expected!"
"...What?"
Cain Margrave's face hardened rapidly.
Less than half a day had passed since today's wave ended.
Another monster wave already?
Even if the Great Evil Spirit was summoning monsters, they'd killed so many—it shouldn't respawn this quickly.
Thus, his disbelief was natural, but...
"A-Also..."
The report wasn't over.
"-Small monsters: 120,000; medium: 60,000; large monsters: 20,000 confirmed, totaling 200,000 monsters summoned, as verified..."
"......"
Even the reporter trailed off, unable to feel the reality of his own words, and Cain's face lost all trace of leisure.
200,000.
It was no exaggeration to call it a grand army, equivalent to a nation's full mobilization.
The Modred warriors feared not even 10,000 monsters, but before this unreal number of 200,000, they were utterly stunned.
But...
"......F-Furthermore, the scouts report they confirmed an entity leading the 200,000 monsters..."
"...No way?"
"Yes, it's that one."
Grind!
For the first time, the soldier gnashed his teeth, revealing fury.
Impertinent as it was, even he couldn't contain his intense hatred for that existence.
"-The pest, the [Great Evil Spirit], has emerged from its seal, my lord."
"......"
...For a moment, Cain Margrave wore an indescribable expression.
Like flailing in a sudden massive wave, but he wasn't a weak lord to show frailty before his subordinate; he was an actor who remained steadfast in any crisis.
Thus, he barely hid his emotions, but couldn't help clenching his fist against the turmoil within.
Then, suddenly.
"Good thing. No need to go far."
Startle!
Cain Margrave's head whipped toward the voice, and there he saw it.
"Saves me the trouble if it comes on its own."
"......Ha."
It was a mutter laced not with tension, but audacity, and Cain unwittingly let out a hollow laugh.
...
For it was a mutter that dispelled even his own tension.