Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Bulging Muscles
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The triumphal return unfolded with the precision of a single military operation.
Heralds arrived first, briefing the welcoming crowds on the proclamations to shout.
“Victory!”
“We annihilated the enemy!”
“Annihilated them when we were so hopelessly outnumbered!”
“Long live Viscount Luke Heyend!”
Petals scattered through the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A procession of Gigants and wagons piled high with spoils followed.
Flowers launched from the walls caught the wind and drifted down onto the Gigants and trucks.
A festival erupted, with corks popping on long-hoarded wine and beer.
As if desperate to erase the horrific battle from just days ago, everyone screamed themselves hoarse.
Yes. Because they screamed like that,
Because everyone forced themselves into a frenzy,
The ugly truth—that of the 68 Gigants and 270 golems that had marched out, only 27 Gigants and 21 golems had returned fully intact—could be swept under the rug.
‘Viscount Luke Heyend’s strategy truly is extraordinary.’
Overcoming that massive disparity in forces to claim victory would’ve been astonishing enough, but wiping out the enemy entirely?
The sight of them returning with 83 enemy machines reduced to scrap and loaded as trophies was utterly overwhelming.
But we had paid a steep price of our own.
Kang Geohan grasped that fact inside the command headquarters.
“Ugh…… sob……”
“You fucking bastard…… if you’re gonna die…… fuck……”
“Haaa…… got any booze? Bring booze!”
His ears, sharpened by the growth of his demon core, were assaulted by the riders’ sobs and shouts without mercy.
They had worn proud, jubilant expressions outside to greet the triumphant army, but the moment they entered the headquarters, their true feelings poured out.
It was inevitable.
Losing 41 out of 68 meant our side had taken losses bordering on annihilation too.
Kang Geohan walked the corridor, swirling with grief and fervor, toward Viscount Luke Heyend’s office.
“Come in.”
Spotting him by his footsteps alone, Viscount Luke Heyend called Kang Geohan inside before he could even knock.
“Messy, isn’t it?”
Viscount Luke Heyend gave a wry smile.
Kang Geohan could only bow his head.
“I figured as much, so I summoned you. We’ve lost far too many. Out there. In here.”
Viscount Luke Heyend gazed out the window.
“It’s cause for proper mourning, but a knight’s duty is to behold the faces of those we saved over those we lost. Look. At this city. At the people eating and drinking. That’s what you protected.”
The view outside was a riot of noise. Just as Viscount Luke Heyend intended, a festival raged on—people gorged, guzzled, vomited, wept, and laughed, venting their sorrow and stress.
“So we owe them proper rewards. Hand them out when grief runs deepest. That’s my creed. Dwell only on failures and sacrifices, and there’s no end to it. Make them reflect on their triumphs instead. And for that, the rewards must be generous.”
He flashed a playful grin. Yet Kang Geohan could see the sorrow clinging to the corners of his eyes.
A subtle smile crossed Kang Geohan’s face in return, his eyes reflecting a polished grief much like Viscount Luke Heyend’s.
“A fine expression. Most knightly.”
Viscount Luke Heyend smiled brightly once, then briskly flipped through the reports on his desk.
“Everyone’s singing your praises. Soldiers and knights go without saying, but the merchant guilds and workshops too. Every report flooding in gushes about your exploits.”
“……I was just lucky, but it seems they’ve viewed it kindly.”
“No. Accolades like these don’t spring from mere luck. Even that slimy Rikein Gold heaped praise on you—that seals it as undeniable merit.”
“If you see it that way, I’m honored.”
“That’s not all. Holding the fortress was thanks to your proposal in the first place. We nearly had nowhere to return victorious. Gigant maintenance and rest are essential…… we could’ve been finished right there.”
“I count that as fortunate too.”
“So,”
Viscount Luke Heyend neatly gathered the reports he’d been reviewing and continued.
“I’ve approved three combat Blood Golems as your reward.”
“Golems…… you mean?”
“Exactly. Unlike the kingdom’s Gigants, these are yours outright. Powerful minions obeying your commands in battle. No small boon. If my memory’s right, this is the first time a White Knight—let alone a Silver—has owned golems.”
Goosebumps prickled Kang Geohan’s arms.
Just recently, he’d watched the deploying golems and thought how he wanted to command some of his own someday.
And now, three of them?
It felt like his goal had leaped a step closer.
“Combat golems fetch a high price. It’d cost as much to build 30 as it would one Gigant. Roughly…… 70,000 silver apiece?”
70,000 silver! In Earth terms, 7 billion. And three of them?
“They’re valuable assets, so treat them well. I expect greater feats ahead. Oh, and a bonus reward of 10,000 silver.”
“Thank you!”
10,000 silver was a hefty sum—enough to eye a Gigant upgrade if the chance arose.
True to his word about banishing grief with rewards, Viscount Luke Heyend was lavish indeed.
Kang Geohan felt his mouth corners tugging upward unbidden.
Watching with evident pleasure, Viscount Luke Heyend’s expression suddenly turned grave.
“And…… you were right once more.”
“Pardon?”
“We annihilated the enemy and roughed up the prisoners for intel. Turns out this isn’t over. Second and third waves are coming.”
Second and third?
If they matched this scale…… there’d be no stopping the next one.
Kang Geohan’s face stiffened.
“This is dire. They severed the rail lines, so reinforcements from the capital will be delayed……”
“Indeed. I dispatched our bravest knights as messengers, but even after they arrive, deliver the news, and reinforcements muster…… it’ll take at least a month.”
A month.
Depending on the enemy’s speed, that was ample time for both second and third invasions to hit.
A wave of vertigo hit Kang Geohan.
‘If…… we lose here, what then?’
His demon core was progressing smoothly, his Gigant upgrading day by day. Now golems too.
He’d built up no small amount in this short span.
But defeat here?
Even surviving by sheer luck, capture by Logot?
‘No……!’
The instant he became a POW, everything he’d amassed would vanish.
It wasn’t mere loss—even if Kang Geohan surrendered, they’d never entrust a precious Gigant to an ex-enemy.
A tidal wave loomed, threatening to reduce it all to froth.
Seeing his grim look, Viscount Luke Heyend soothed him.
“But don’t fret overmuch. I didn’t bring it up to worry you.”
How could he not?
It showed plain on Kang Geohan’s face.
Viscount Luke Heyend chuckled.
“Have we no Count out in the Sea Labyrinth? Once His Excellency returns victorious, we’ll hold somehow. I sent word the fortress’s plight was grave, so he’s likely hastening back as we speak.”
Near-religious conviction lit Viscount Luke Heyend’s features.
“……If I may be so bold, Viscount, are you truly certain His Excellency the Count will triumph?”
Viscount Luke Heyend laughed.
With the gaze one spares a naive child.
“Let me share a tale from long ago.”
Ten years back, the eastern marches fell under the Destructor Marquessate.
They fell afoul of Logot’s schemes at first contact and were wiped out.
The east plunged into chaos.
On the verge of ceding the entire region to Logot, the hero who arrived, quelled the turmoil, and expelled the Logot Kingdom—that was Kali Stehold.
Thus,
Viscount Luke Heyend said.
“Count Kali Stehold. In these eastern lands, that name alone suffices.”
He grinned and unfolded another report.
“That’s enough for today. Time for my next visitor—and rewardee.”
“Yes. Understood. Salute!”
Kang Geohan snapped a crisp salute and exited the office.
His mind churned with tangled thoughts, but before he could sink into them, a voice called out.
“Hey.”
It was Sir Saxon Silver.
He’d evidently been waiting, leaning against the corridor wall outside the office, and raised a hand high.
“Salute!”
“Yeah, yeah. Come on, let’s move. I drew the short straw introducing you to your golems.”
Sir Saxon Silver brushed off the salute halfheartedly and slung an arm over Kang Geohan’s shoulder as they walked.
Golem.
The word alone set his heart—which complex emotions had slowed—pounding anew.
“Blood Golems are solid. Weaker than Iron Golems by a mile, sure, but they grow stronger the more they fight. Actual growing beasts.”
“Golems grow?”
“Yeah. Brewed from the blood and flesh of countless magic beasts, so they eat and bulk up. Limits apply, though. They get bigger and clumsier until they grind to a halt.”
Blood Golems, forged from blood and flesh.
‘They can grow?’
The notion stirred something peculiar in Kang Geohan.
“They’re rare, so don’t waste ’em, rookie. Snagging golems I don’t even have?”
“Ah, sorry.”
“Who’re you apologizing to? Get cocky, punk. No golem for me, but I leveled up this time. Call me Saxon Gold from now on.”
“Ah…… congratulations.”
Unclear if ribbing or sincerity, Kang Geohan just blinked.
Saxon Gold eyed him a moment, then said.
“Hey, if anyone lays a hand on you, tell me.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
“Ah…… yes……?”
“No, I mean……”
Saxon Gold flushed red.
Lays a hand? Who’d hit Kang Geohan?
He’d just meant to praise him but mangled the words.
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Just…… well done. Insane stuff. That axe strike like a thunderbolt.”
“Ah…… yes. Thank you.”
Saxon scratched his cheek.
Fortunately, the golem hangar loomed ahead just then.
He jabbed a finger out at once.
“There ya go. Your golems! Kinda grotesque, but take good care of ’em.”
Kang Geohan looked up.
Five meters tall. Standard gear: anti-Gigant spear and shield.
Muscles bared like a lab specimen.
Thick neck, colossal shoulders.
Gazing at its stripped-bare, crimson, hulking, bulging form, Kang Geohan murmured blankly.
“This…… is my golem……?”
Saxon Gold squinted one eye in embarrassment.
“A little…… ugly, yeah? Look past the looks—they perform.”
But Kang Geohan’s thoughts diverged entirely.
His lips parted as a deep-seated gasp of awe escaped.
“Ah…… magnificent.”
Towering biceps and triceps. Barrel chest. Throbbing, pumped quads.
No skin to hide them—the flawless muscles gleamed in full display.
Such grandeur scaled to five meters……
“Perfect……”
As a former gym trainer, his heart thrilled at the sight.