Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Hardworking Pay-to-Win Knight
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I led the territory's people north, always north, marching for five straight days.
After Hamrom's death, the pursuit had finally ceased, and thanks to the endless supply of wild boar legs, our food stores were plentiful. The territory folk were in decent shape.
No, they were actually improving.
"The territory folk are putting on some color in their faces. I can feel their stamina improving bit by bit."
"They're eating better and sleeping better than they did back in the territory."
The territory folk rose only after the sun had fully crested the horizon, enjoyed a hearty breakfast, and marched north for four hours. Unlike the grueling pace of the past few days, even the children could keep up without issue.
At noon, they had another lavish meal.
We fetched water from known sources ahead of time to boil meat stew, gathered edible greens and fruits nearby, so meals took at least two hours.
After eating, another four hours of marching.
By then, evening had arrived. Another hearty dinner, then preparations for sleep. They fashioned coats and blankets from the abundant hides and wore them.
And after five days of this...
The ragged refugees who had looked like defeated soldiers began to transform.
Color returned to the faces of the territory folk marching north, and their well-fed, active bodies gained strength.
That wasn't all.
Before long, every one of the thousand territory folk was clad in leather coats made from wild boar hides. The hides dropped in Revenge came pre-tanned, making it simple work.
To the largest, sturdiest men among the territory folk and soldiers, we gave leather shields (common) and bone longswords (common). To the lesser men, bone longswords and bone daggers (common). Even the women, elderly, and children carried at least a bone dagger.
"Could you be from the Bronze Sword Barony, by any chance?"
"That's right. One Bronze Sword Baron here."
"As expected. It's an honor to meet you, my lord."
Upon entering Mokseong Village—a settlement ringed by a wooden palisade—with my two knights, the village chief bowed deeply and asked, his demeanor tense.
"But why are you leading an army north?"
"An army?"
I instinctively glanced back at the chief's words. A thousand territory folk in brown coats filled my view.
"Ah, I suppose it does look that way."
With their unified formations and uniforms, they resembled an army to anyone watching. True, unlike a proper army, they included women, elderly, and children mixed in the center, so it wasn't immediately obvious.
"You all seem completely unaware of the state of the continent."
The chief's face hardened at my words. He bowed low and said,
"If you share your wisdom, we will repay you to the best of our ability."
His attitude was polite, yet far from servile. I was quietly impressed.
'I'd heard stories, but he's no ordinary man. Makes sense—he's running a village this size on the frontier.'
In this medieval land, 'accurate information' was worth its weight in gold. People paid fortunes for a single word or bought meals for dubious rumors.
I told him,
"But you've at least seen the messages floating in the sky, right?"
"Of course, my lord. It said something about Altean obtaining Heavy Weapon X in the Golgor Plains. Hard to make sense of it, though."
His words helped me piece things together.
'So that's the level of info villages and territories away from leylines get.'
Not every territory or city sat on a leyline, even if all leylines hosted them.
Leylines were spaced 100 kilometers apart.
Beyond the frontiers, territories dotted the gaps between leylines, and cities lay far from them aplenty.
There were even square nations formed by four purged leylines free of beasts.
"Was that the only announcement you saw here? No sightings of unusual monsters?"
"Our eastern and western patrols reported a pack of wolves heading north."
"The displaced ones, then."
"As I thought... that's it?"
On frontiers like the Killians Mountains, every village sat on a spirit vein. Not as potent as leylines, but spirit veins still deterred beasts.
"Let me explain briefly."
I outlined the situation for the chief and villagers.
Dungeons had spawned on leylines, unleashing hordes—hundreds of thousands—of monsters that overwhelmed the beasts within.
This had likely happened across [all] leylines on the continent, with monsters growing stronger toward the center.
"We had to abandon our territory and flee too. Countless nations will fall, maybe even the Empire. This frontier's no exception... but with preparation, the village can hold."
"No way..."
"Anyway, care to trade while we're at it?"
I brought the territory folk into the village. With a thousand people, I'd half-expected the chief to refuse and bar the gates, but he didn't. They finally slept under roofs again.
"This much meat and hides? You sure it's okay to be so generous? We're only giving twenty wagons, a few carriages, daily necessities, and spices."
"Worth it, so take it. And these too."
I nodded back, and the soldiers behind set down prepped items. The chief's face stiffened at the sight.
"Weapons... you're giving us weapons?"
"Yeah. Three hundred each."
Mere common-grade, but the sharpness and durability of bone longswords and daggers weren't bad, so his surprise was understandable. Especially on a savage continent like Ardenia, where arms were priceless.
"The whole continent's plunging into chaos. You'll need strength to survive."
I cleared out my inventory's gear, boar haunches, hides, and more in the village.
In exchange, we got daily goods, timber, carriages, horses, mules, and such.
We even had plenty of gold from monsters.
"I'm giving you gold, but heads up—its value's about to crash."
"Because nations are collapsing?"
"That's part, but the real issue is monsters dropping gold."
The chief tilted his head, not grasping it.
"Monsters carrying money?"
"Close, but not quite. You'll see soon enough."
As we wrapped up, Hundred Silver Sword—commanding the soldiers—approached with a report.
"We have enough carriages, but not horses."
"Ah, no issue there. Steelstone."
"Yes, my lord."
"Pull."
"......?"
"......?"
"......?"
I pointed to a mountain of laden carriages, and everyone around stared like I'd spouted nonsense.
I'd unintentionally become a hook collector, but there was reason.
"They should be tempered enough by now. Pull."
"Now that you mention it... yeah, possible. Understood, my lord."
"No, Sir Steelstone, what are you saying? Those carriages need two horses each."
Hundred looked baffled.
And well after leaving the village...
His baffled expression hardened into shock.
Rumble rumble.
The carriage moved. Faster than the territory folk's march.
Steelstone showed no fatigue after hours. Natural, really.
[Imperial Knight (Hero)]
Strength +80, Agility +40, Vitality +80, Health +160, Mana +40
[Damage Taken Reduced by 50%]
[Indomitable]
Already well-trained with 41 Strength points, Steelstone now had 131 with class bonuses and 10 free points—not comparable to mere two-horsepower. Simple math said over four-man power, but stats transcended realms every 100 points.
And that was just the start.
He'd dumped most level-up free stats into Vitality, which also got +80 class bonus.
Plus, Steelstone was an Aura user.
The sole practitioner of the Muscle-Tendon Changing and Marrow-Cleansing Scripture I'd memorized.
Common in Earth's libraries and MyTube, but in this medieval land, a supreme art worth wars.
Had he started at ten, not adulthood, he'd surpass me.
"No... what is this."
Hundred groaned at Steelstone pulling the carriage, still fresh after hours.
Impossible.
"Unbelievable. No training lets you sustain Aura that long..."
"Steelstone's not using Aura. Pure physical prowess."
"That's even more absurd. Beyond human limits."
Human bodies had caps. Even perfect diet, regimen, and training hit walls.
Limits of the human species.
'Only mana breaks them.'
Mana alone.
Mana enabled wrinkle-skinned elders to shatter mountains with a punch, warp space unprepared, nap in nukes, fly through voids.
Claiming superhuman feats without mana?
Fraud or trickery, all would cry.
'But methods exist.'
Living on 34th Earth, knowing great Game Masters and rare divine beings, I knew forces beyond mana.
'Authorities and Blessings.'
Heard of them, but knew no paths. I'd craved them to surpass my limits, but never touched one.
Yet, like ordering delivery sans warp knowledge or channel-surfing sans TV mechanics, if usable, use it.
"Hundred, you know the world's changing drastically."
"...Yes."
"And you know better than most? Silver Sword family gets emergency intel from headquarters."
At my calm words, Hundred's confused face turned to stone.