Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Reward Acquisition (3)
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The entrance to Meurso Mountain.
Captain Hundred, the outpost commander there, was grinding his teeth so hard they nearly drew blood.
It had started the evening before last—enemies swarming beyond the wooden barricade.
Yeti.
They were massive snowmen covered head to toe in thick fur hides.
The Yeti led their lesser kin, the Sasquatch, in repeated invasions toward the mountain's base.
Such organized aggression was unprecedented, yet the knights of House Meursault—Captain Hundred and his men—had been holding off the beasts' assaults admirably.
...Until just before this all-out assault.
"I-it's no use now! There are too many of them!"
At the urgent report from his subordinate of over ten years, Captain Hundred steeled himself for death.
"Abandon the barricade! From here on, it's all-out war!"
At Hundred's command, the soldiers grabbed their spears, swords, and axes.
Now it would be a desperate slaughter, lives be damned.
Hundred kept rallying his men.
"If we break, those things will flood straight to the village! Hold them back, whatever it takes!"
He fought at the forefront, swinging his greatsword against the monsters.
But.
Ku-woong!
When a towering Yeti five meters tall lumbered right up to him, even the valiant Hundred couldn't help flinching.
[Kraaaaargh!]
The Yeti's roar froze the soldiers around them.
"Shut your trap, you monster!"
Mana surged into Hundred's sword tip.
A faint aura blade formed and shot toward the Yeti.
Splat—
But it left only a shallow scratch on the Yeti's thick fur pelt. Hundred's sword shattered in two.
[Uuooooh!]
Enraged by the wound, the Yeti swung its fist.
Crack—bam!
Hundred's armor exploded into shards from that single blow.
Kraka-boom!
Hundred crashed through the barricade and tumbled out.
Soldiers rushed to support him, but his armor was gone—and so were the bones in his limbs, all shattered.
"Damn it..."
Bloody Captain Hundred watched the Yeti approach.
The beast sneered mockingly at the humans before it, huffing out hot breaths nonstop.
"......"
"......"
"......"
The soldiers' faces hardened as they sensed their end.
Yet not one turned to flee.
Had there been such a man, he never could have served here this long.
"Heh heh heh—looks like it's hopeless."
Captain Hundred spoke to his men.
"Sorry, lads! It's my weakness that's brought us to this! You've suffered serving a fool of a commander all this time!"
His men bellowed back with gusto.
"Hah! Who served who?!"
"You've been the one putting up with us incompetents, Captain!"
"Damn it all—I'm single, so dying here's no regret for me! It's you family men I'm worried for!"
The soldiers of House Meursault held their pride to the last breath.
Hundred raised his blood-soaked face.
Dark night sky, swirling snowflakes, and the Yeti's head.
'Damn it... If only I'd been a bit stronger... just a little more power, I could've saved these men at least...'
It burned like tears, but inevitability was inevitability.
Captain Hundred and his men accepted death in that moment.
...If not for the Yeti's head exploding like fireworks right before their eyes.
"?"
Captain Hundred and the soldiers stared blankly.
But regardless.
Plip-plop— plip-plop— plip-plop—
The shower of blood poured down hot and silent, offering no answers to their confusion.
"W-what the hell?"
One soldier stammered in bewilderment.
That was the beginning.
[Kik?]
[Kek—]
[Kyaaaagh!]
Screams erupted from the monsters in the rear.
Blood trails arced through empty air, and Yeti and Sasquatch alike fell in droves.
Severed limbs flew skyward; eyeballs, entrails, tongues, bone shards scattered everywhere.
And amid it all, keen-eyed Captain Hundred spotted something crucial.
"Th-there's someone over there!"
Whirling white blizzard.
Beyond it, a faint shadow darted through the monsters.
Snow, snowfield, shadow—all white, hard to make out.
Snap-crack!
But another Yeti head cleanly severed? That stood out clear as day.
Right then.
"What are you lot standing around for? No cover fire?"
The pale shadow halted in the snowfield's midst and called out.
Realizing it was human speech, Captain Hundred snapped to.
"Th-this isn't the time to gawk! Attack! All-out assault!"
The once-mysterious white shadow was a human after all.
That alone skyrocketed the soldiers' morale.
"Don't just stand there. Keep moving."
The white shadow's voice was colder than the north wind, yet for some reason, it warmed the soldiers' hearts.
Splatter—slash!
Every time his voice rang out.
...Boom! ...Boom! ...Boom! ...Boom! ...Boom! ...Boom! ...Boom! ...Boom! ...Booom!
Monsters clambering over the barricade had their necks lopped off in a cascade, crimson fountains erupting.
"More thrilling than the fireworks festival at the village square when I was three!"
"Seeing those damn Yeti and Sasquatch bastards get butchered clears out all my frustration!"
"We're saved! We're gonna live! Everyone's gonna live!"
The soldiers finished off the flailing, limbless monsters with pikes and crossbows.
Meanwhile, the white shadow rampaged through the hellscape beyond the barricade like it owned the place.
...Flash! Crack—slash!
Another massive Yeti bisected by the white shadow's blade.
Sasquatch wrapped in tough muscle, Yeti with jaws that could swallow a man whole—all crumbled before the shadow like rotten logs.
Execution. Massacre. Butchery.
The snowfield soon soaked red with monster blood.
Snow melted to sticky crimson pools.
Squelch— squelch— squelch—
The white shadow walked across them.
The soldiers tensed, welcoming him.
"Wh-who might you be, sir?"
They gaped at the figure before them.
Expecting a seasoned warrior, they found a delicate boy barely into his mid-teens.
Shirtless in this freezing winter, monster blood frozen in jagged spikes across his body.
Then, propped up by his men, Captain Hundred's eyes widened.
Long ago, stationed at Meursault Castle, he'd glimpsed that face a few times.
The boy rarely showed it, but that beautiful face, white hair, ruby-red eyes—unmistakable.
"C-could it be Young Master Federback!?"
The bloody blizzard finally settled.
Federback shook the hand axe he'd picked up in the abandoned mine, flinging off the gore.
'Nothing beats this hand axe for smashing low-grade monster skulls.'
Surveying the area: fourteen Yeti, forty-five Sasquatch corpses.
'While the Ice Dragon Adara rampaged mad, the stray beasts fled here.'
Perfect workout on the way back.
Then, Sancho, who'd followed, collapsed gasping.
"Young Master, the leather sack with the egg is about to tear. Let's snag a pouch here. And I won't ask for a cart—just a sled..."
"......"
"I-it's not me who's suffering, it's this egg..."
Tsking at Sancho's whining, Federback turned.
"Outpost captain."
"Yes, sir! Young Master! What do you need?!"
Captain Hundred's booming voice came from behind.
Bandaged head to toe, he gazed at Federback with sparkling eyes.
All the other soldiers too.
Federback spoke in his usual flat tone.
"Can you spare one... no, two horses? Heading back to the mansion."
"Of course! I'll fetch two swift, brave steeds!"
"And some preserved rations if you have them."
"Dried fruits and jerky! I'll pack 'em full! Anything else?!"
"No."
"Right away, sir!"
Federback eyed Hundred's crisp salute.
A remote outpost with poor supplies.
A knight rotting away for years on loyalty alone to a declining House Meursault.
In his flat tone, Federback asked,
"You've held out well with that crude barricade. Supplies seem spotty too."
"All thanks to the men's discipline and skill!"
Captain Hundred credited his subordinates.
They chimed in eagerly.
"It's the commander's competence! Without Hundred's tactics and leadership, we'd have fallen ages ago."
Superior and men deflected praise.
Federback nodded.
"Your training's solid, vigilance top-notch. Assuming supplies ramp up gradually, any direct requests before then?"
"Hmm..."
Hundred hesitated at Federback's words.
Soldiers whispered nearby.
"Come on, Captain, speak up!"
"You've earned the right!"
"We won't, but you have to!"
Finally, Hundred squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
"Truth is, it's not just me—most soldiers here feel the same! We've been somewhat underserved on promotions! No, a bit overlooked! Or rather, there's a nagging shortfall that's hardly trivial..."
His bold shout trailed to a mumble.
Federback got the gist.
These knights and soldiers outshone others at different outposts, yet held lower ranks.
Loyalty alone sustained them.
As Federback scanned around, Hundred blurted, eyes shut,
"I've served here eight years, still just captain! If you add me and my men's names to the promotion list back at the mansion, we'll train to pass for sure..."
"Understood. Major Hundred."
"...!"
Hundred's—now Major Hundred's—eyes bulged at Federback's words.
Federback continued flatly,
"All knights and soldiers here are promoted two ranks effective immediately."
"...! ...! ...!"
The soldiers' jaws dropped.
Federback thought,
'The new mining town's expansion will demand more hands anyway. Fresh recruits need veteran trainers.'
Not whimsy—this was strategic foresight.
Fitting reward for duty-bound talents too.
"Pay and seniority perks will adjust accordingly. Once I'm back, supplies and new personnel will flood in. Major Hundred?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Prepare to train the incoming masses. Oh, outpost rebuild will expand the site tenfold—pick barricade spots ahead."
"Absolutelyyy!"
Tears welling, Major Hundred and all shouted till their throats burned.
A small avalanche tumbled from a distant peak at the roar.
Days later, Federback reached Meursault Mansion.
Sancho fainted from sheer emotion upon arrival.
Federback dumped him at the infirmary and headed inside.
Patriarch Soleil and Eldest Daughter Cardina awaited.
Unexpectedly, Rorschach stood beside them—wearing mismatched shoes: left black, right white.
Soleil welcomed Federback with a warm smile.
"My son, you've worked hard."
"Just got back."
No more words needed, Federback figured.
But Soleil's follow-up shifted his mind a touch.
"Just having you return alive brings tears to this father's eyes. Who cares if the expedition failed? It was doomed from the start—those prisoners couldn't succeed. It's fine, truly. I'm beyond grateful you're safe; I don't know what to do with myself."