Chapter 209
Chapter: 209
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 209
>Chapter Title: Lycanslope Lord (3)
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>Dull courage is a blind spear that pierces allies.
Wise courage is a lantern that leads allies.
Behold! The meaningless struggles of that black demonkin.
A hail of arrows cannot halt his charge.
The spear tips of the branches cannot even touch his armor.
At last, the young warrior raises his shining sword high...
"The tree monster shot arrows at him? Why are the arrows trying to stop the warrior?"
At the child's question, *ding*, Loran fumbled on his lyre and sighed.
"It was in the song earlier, right? Of course, the ones who shot the arrows were the Wolf Knight Order. But..."
"Mom! This guy's a liar! He says the Wolf Knight Order shot arrows at our side's warrior!"
The only listener, a snot-nosed kid, jumped up from his seat and ran to the woman. She was the tavern owner who had allowed Loran to perform.
She clicked her tongue softly at the dejected bard.
"I like getting free songs and all, but if you keep striking out like this every time, you gonna be okay?"
"Exactly. I heard the people here really welcome bards."
"Well, given the times, there aren't even folks drinking in the evenings these days."
The Sigismund territory was in turmoil. Rumors of a massive beast migration southward were spreading, and the guard captain was carefully selecting combatants to form units.
The territory folk were busy barricading their doors at sundown, so in this atmosphere, no one had the leisure to listen to a bard's songs.
It wasn't solely because Loran's singing was poor that he'd been coming up empty lately.
"So, who's this amazing warrior in the song anyway?"
The woman asked, stroking the head of the child clinging to her skirt.
"Didn't I tell you earlier? It's His Imperial Highness the Prince of the Empire."
"Then when does that prince meet the blue-eyed girl?"
"...Pardon?"
"Isn't that what you're singing? 'The Wandering Prince and the Blue-Eyed Maiden'?"
"No..."
They are His Holiness the current Holy Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress. And the protagonist of this tale isn't them, but their fourth child...
Loran, who had been mulling over the explanation in his head, soon let out a sigh.
Was a detailed explanation even necessary? No matter how much he praised the great hero's qualities, to these people, Prince Mores was still just an unknown failure of a prince.
"Come on, sing us a prince's love song already. Back in the day, songs about dashing heroes made my heart race, but now that I'm older, these embarrassingly sweet love stories hit just right."
"But my love songs still lack that dramatic flair. On my honor as a bard, I can't perform something so lacking..."
"I'll buy you a drink in return for a good song."
Free booze trumped art and soul alike.
Loran sang "The Wandering Prince and the Blue-Eyed Maiden" in front of her, followed by "The Genius Swordsman and the Haughty Blonde Duchess," and finally his latest composition, "The Genius Wandering Swordsman and the Maiden of the Moon."
The golden crocus blooms and withers, while the owl hoots mournfully through the night.
*Ding-a-ling.*
As the melancholy melody ended, the woman clapped with a satisfied face.
*Pat-pat-pat.*
Even clichéd songs, being proven clichés, always found an audience somewhere.
"Maiden of the Moon, huh? Been a while since I heard a good one. Reminds me of the old 'Princess of Lycanslope' song I used to hear a lot. That princess couldn't forget her dead knight and waited for him her whole life, they say."
It was a fine love song too, the woman reminisced fondly.
At that, Loran widened his eyes and asked back.
"Lycanslope? Isn't that just a beast?"
A love story between a beast princess and a human? Such a scary tale?
But the woman clicked her tongue at Loran's horrified reaction.
"Outsiders really don't know, do they? According to the old tales passed down here, Lycanslope weren't originally those crazed beasts."
"...Not beasts?"
"Yeah. Those dimwits wandering the demon realm now? They're the inferior ones who lost their minds and turned fully feral. The real Lycanslope were said to resemble humans a great deal. Noble otherkin who steadily visited this land since the era of the Three Ancient Dragons. That princess who fell for a human knight? They say she was an elegant, beautiful woman with almond-colored eyes."
"That's a story I've never heard."
Otherkin similar to humans—even Loran, a bard who'd traveled the continent hearing countless tales, was hearing it for the first time.
The woman chuckled and slapped his back hard.
"Of course. If such stories spread, the priests wouldn't stand for it. No scripture mentions it, so they foam at the mouth calling it demon trickery. Can't risk the Inquisition over some old yarn, right?"
"You're right."
As Loran nodded, the woman leaned in and whispered like she was sharing a grand secret.
"You sang me three fine songs, so I'll tell you this in return. You get it? Rumor has it the descendants of those Lycanslope are still alive and well somewhere on the continent. The real Lycanslope, who command wolves as kin."
"...Wolves?"
"Yeah. True Lycanslope wield wolves like limbs, freely."
* * *
Woof-woof!
The wolf pup bared its teeth and barked toward the north—not the northwest snowfield they were heading to, but the direction of the glacier canyon.
It was clearly an alert stance, so Seongjin focused his senses toward where Max was facing.
But aside from the intensifying snowfall, he sensed no particular presence.
"You know what's over there, Max?"
As he stroked its head, Max lolled its tongue and wagged its tail.
As if saying, *You know? You know?*, leaving Seongjin with an uneasy feeling.
"Your Highness."
Then Orden approached Seongjin.
He wore light armor for mobility, two swords at his waist, and several javelins on his back. Standard gear for beast hunting, apparently.
"From here to the snowfield, the ice walls grow thicker. Horses can't pass, so we'll proceed on foot from now on."
As he said, a massive ice wall loomed ahead, its narrow gap barely allowing two people abreast. The 400-strong force was bottlenecking severely as they passed through one by one.
They'd crossed several piled ice walls and stockades on the way here, but from now on, they'd face the truly formidable ones built for great beast defense.
"It's a frozen wasteland even wagons can't traverse properly. So the ice wall bases are desperately short on supplies. It's no place fit for Your Highness. Please reconsider once more."
Orden had already tried dissuading Seongjin from the battlefield multiple times.
Of course, Orden knew better than anyone that Prince Mores, contrary to rumors, possessed remarkable skill. Still, could he safely leave him on the demon realm frontlines?
The prince was noble blood of the Holy Imperial Family, Amelia's beloved little brother.
If anything happened to him...
*Amel will never look at me again!*
Just imagining it made Orden's heart crumble.
But Seongjin, who had stared blankly at him for a moment, shook his head.
"I'm not expecting luxurious treatment different from the rest inside the base."
"But Your Highness, you needn't risk danger yourself. We appreciate your wish to share the territory's hardship, but consider our position—we can't take you to a hazardous zone. You can still return to the territory easily now."
Sure. He understood Orden's position.
Orden probably didn't see Seongjin's group as meaningful reinforcements.
Seongjin's current company was just four resident knights including Sir Masin and two holy knights.
True, Sir Masin and Lady Maria were rare high-grade knights, but they were greenhouse knights from the capital with no beast-hunting experience. As overall force, not that significant.
"But, young lord. I have to stick to the front for a while."
Because Logan's Lilyum detachment would come here to pick him up.
The Lilyum detachment would be meaningful firepower. They'd faced every sea beast on the continent, including those from the demon realm.
Above all, their Logan was the reincarnation of Ortona’s Last Sword, General Gael Bertrand himself. The youngest sword master ever!
"...The Lilyum detachment?"
Surprised by the unexpected news, as Orden faltered, Seongjin grinned confidently.
"Yeah. I invited them along before heading here. It's a direct summons from the prince, and the margrave's already at the front. So even if the detachment comes now, the margrave can't complain, right?"
The margrave had previously been deeply uncomfortable with Logan's stay and driven him from the territory.
But if they came to escort the prince at the front for his safety, could Sigismund margrave dare block them?
While here, he'd hunt some beasts, threaten the margrave to stop blocking herb sales, help the folk and boost reputation—what's not to like.
Hearing the explanation, Orden finally seemed convinced.
"Understood, Your Highness. Then from now on, you must never leave the safe zone. If it seems dangerous, evacuate first."
"Got it. I'll be careful."
Seongjin had no intention of rushing ahead needlessly.
He just wanted to sit quietly in the safe base and watch the Lycanslope versus Wolf Knight Order battle.
He wanted to witness firsthand the beast experts Sisle had raved about. And see how the labyrinth boss mob differed from the demon realm's Lycanslope.
But at Seongjin's innocent reply, Orden looked deeply suspicious.
"Is this for real this time? You've said you'd be careful before, but I've never seen you actually follow through."
Oh, Orden's got some nerve!
This simple brute had figured out too much in too short a time?
It was nearing sunset by the time Seongjin's group finally passed the ice wall.
"I'd heard, but seeing it up close, what an impressive sight."
Sir Masin, shoulders hunched like a turtle, craned his neck in awe. The entrance was so narrow, the tall knight could barely stand straight.
The wall was so thick, even passing through the tunnel-like entrance took considerable time.
"This is the first ice wall. The narrowest, connecting cliffs. It fans out in second and third layers, so the third at the snowfield edge reaches 40 meters high and nearly 300 meters long."
"Such enormity!"
Bruno the captain exclaimed at Orden's explanation.
How could a single territory build such colossal structures.
It was possible only because the demon realm border was perennially frozen harsh climate.
Pack dirt, stone, and snow firmly, pour boiling water over. Hours later, it freezes rock-hard. Then stack more stone and snow, pour water.
Repeating yields tall ice structures with minimal manpower in days.
"Whoa!"
"Wow!"
Emerging from the tunnel, Seongjin's group marveled again at the outer ice wall.
Inside, it was a convenient bumpy slope; outside, a sheer ice rampart with less than 5 degrees incline.
"The weight it bears is heavier than expected, so we couldn't make it fully vertical like normal castles. Cracks form immediately. But layering gradually from the base maintains near-vertical from outside."
As Seongjin's group gaped in awe, Orden subtly beamed with pride. A faint smile ghosted his stern face as he detailed the structure.
Right then.
Grrrr!
Suddenly Max bared teeth at the air and crouched low.
"Max?"
Puzzled, Seongjin sensed the ominous presence almost simultaneously.
*...Strong!*
Far beyond Sir Masin.
A presence rivaling the continent's top knight, Baltazar, charging at them like wind.
"Who goes thereeeee!"
The distant shout closed in instantly.
*Whoosh!*
Someone leaped from the ice cliff, crashing down—*boom!—*before the group.
The massive impact shook the ground, dislodging icy fragments from the wall.
"...Grandfather!?"
Stunned, Orden cried out, but in a flash, the old man was at Seongjin's nose. Blue sword already drawn in one hand, battle-ready.
His frost-white hair aside, the robust elder could pass for a youth. He glared fiercely at Seongjin and bellowed gruffly.
"Who the hell are you? What kind of bastard hides such murderous aura and pretends to be a novice aura user?"
"...What?"
The group froze at the rude words toward imperial blood.
"Grandfather, hold! You mustn't be rude! He is...!"
Orden paled, grabbing him, but the elder ignored and swung a fist at him. Lightning-fast.
*Thwack!*
"Urk!"
Orden reeled back, tumbling. The elder ground his teeth at Seongjin.
"What the hell have you done to my grandson!"
"Wait, you just hit him yourself, old timer."
Captain Bruno muttered aside, but the elder ignored, his piercing eyes blazing blue at Seongjin.
"Answer! You deviant! Tricking my grandson, sneaking into our territory—what's your game!"
What kind of reckless old coot charges in like this?
Seongjin replied with a dumbfounded look.
"I am a prince of the Holy Empire. Who the hell are you, old man?"
"What? Prince? No way!"
The elder trembled, then jabbed wildly at Seongjin.
"Lies! Impossible! Without a lifetime on battlefields, how could you have such savage aura! Are you a demon? Yes! A demon in human skin!"
*Sharp eye, gramps.*
As Seongjin stared blankly, suddenly Masin—*shing*—drew sword and shielded him.
"Look here! Mind your tongue, Sir Vincent! There's a limit to respect for the empire's famed knight!"
Masin growled menacingly at the elder.
*Clang, clang!*
Bruno and the knights drew in unison behind him.
"Huh?"
Only then did the old man seem slightly flustered. The imperial guard knights and holy knights all defended Seongjin.
"Hmm."
Seongjin smirked subtly at him.
Good. Another bargaining chip against the margrave secured.