Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: 19. No Brother Compares to the Elder (1)
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The meeting the next day kicked off with questions about the Warlord.
"Is there really such a thing as the king of the orcs? Isn't it just a particularly vicious and cunning orc? Has anyone actually seen it?"
The leadership of Winter Castle all turned to look at me in unison. Even the commander who had posed the question followed their gazes my way.
"There's a massive pillar-like thing out there. It flew in from the mountains."
When I'd plunged my sword into the heart of that orc noble, the Warlord had hurled a spear as a warning, and it was still kept in the castle's open courtyard.
"That's the spear it uses."
The 2nd Prince and the reinforcements' leaders all rushed out of the meeting hall en masse. When they returned after a short while, their faces were grim.
They looked shocked after seeing what was less a spear and more a steel pillar—the Warlord's warning shot.
"The distance from the mountains to the castle is no joke, and you're telling me a mere orc threw that?"
"Even a ballista might struggle with something like that."
They voiced their disbelief.
"A single monster operating siege weapons. A single monster hurling a spear like something from a ballista all the way from the mountains to here."
I turned the question back on them.
"Which do you want to believe?"
A monster of unprecedented power. A monster legion wielding siege engines.
Whichever turned out to be true, it was more than enough proof that the orcs of the mountains were nothing like ordinary monsters.
The reinforcements' commanders seemed to grasp my point and fell silent.
"If you won't believe it, then head back home. What we need are reinforcements to fight alongside us, not an interrogation squad yapping in our ears."
My harsh words cast a pall over the meeting hall.
"We weren't trying to doubt you. It was just such an astonishing story, we wanted to verify it. Our apologies."
One of the reinforcements' commanders stood and bowed.
I recognized the man.
I couldn't say why he was dressed like a mercenary, but if my memory served, he was definitely a knight of the Iron Lion Knight Order.
Erhim Kiringer, was it?
Even after he sat back down, no one spoke for a long while.
"Short break."
My uncle rose from his seat.
"We'll pick up the rest in an hour."
Winter Castle's leaders filed out after my uncle. The remaining reinforcements' commanders stood as well.
I started to leave the hall myself when the 2nd Prince grabbed me.
"Brother."
I planted my butt back in the chair. The 2nd Prince sat across from me.
"What exactly is this king of the orcs?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like—the king who united the splintered orc tribes into a kingdom."
The 2nd Prince frowned at my answer.
"A filthy savage beast, brutally strong too."
I added that even Quad Chain knights would struggle against the monster, but it didn't seem to sink in.
Just as I'd expected.
They'd only believe me after hearing the Warlord's roar and facing a Knight Slayer themselves. Until then, even Winter Castle's own people hadn't bought my story.
Why would it be any different for outsiders?
I'd never assumed they'd accept the Warlord's existence and the orc kingdom right away.
Nor did I think they'd deny it forever.
They'd learn the truth soon enough.
Once they brushed up against even a fraction of that colossal presence, they'd have no choice but to believe. They'd realize the world held inexplicable mysteries, and one lurked deep in those mountains.
And that day wasn't far off.
"Hm."
The 2nd Prince's face hardened as he asked me more.
What was a Knight Slayer? How had the battle gone so far? He was dredging up topics already covered in the meeting, clearly verifying for himself.
I exercised maximum patience and explained everything that had happened.
Once I'd finished, the 2nd Prince lapsed into thought.
"I heard you were the first to notice the orcs' changes and the king's existence."
He finally spoke.
How had I known? Where had I learned about the Warlord when no one else did?
"I've always been into old tales."
I brushed it off vaguely, and he nodded.
He seemed to buy it completely.
Which made perfect sense.
The whole kingdom knew how the wastrel prince had stolen the founding king's treasured sword, rampaged around, and ended up stabbing himself with it. Right after, rumors spread that I'd successfully forged a Mana Heart, turning me into the fool obsessed to madness with the founding king's legends.
Knowing a bit about ancient lore wasn't strange at all.
"Must've read some ancient texts."
The 2nd Prince jumped to his own conclusions, his eyes deepening.
He looked like he was pondering something profound.
"Understood."
He dipped his head politely and stood.
I followed him out of the hall. Outside, my uncle was waiting for me.
"You keep doing this on purpose?"
"Doing what?"
I called him out directly, but he played innocent.
I knew damn well he was steering the meeting's focus my way every time, and now he was feigning ignorance? It was almost comical.
"You're up to no good again."
I pressed, and my uncle chuckled heartily.
"Thanks to your 'no good,' those Ballerhard folks now know just how crucial you are here."
He added that since I knew the most about the orc king and the Warlord, it was only right I lead the meeting.
It wasn't a bad point.
But I knew that wasn't the whole story.
My uncle's moves were too blatant.
Vincent had been handling most of Winter Castle's affairs, and my uncle had dumped the reinforcements from the capital almost entirely on me. He was acting like he was ready to step down.
When I pointed that out, my uncle replied softly.
"I thought there was no further to go, but now I see a path. It sparked some ambition."
His tone was gentle yet resolute.
"I'll fight the Warlord not as a commander, but as a knight."
He joked that after a lifetime guarding the north, he deserved to spend his twilight years as Knight Bail.
"Big talk from the guy who couldn't even take down a Knight Slayer solo. The Warlord, my ass."
My uncle just smiled faintly at my jab.
"What? That grin. Like you let it go on purpose."
"Thanks to you. Finding the path. Realizing what to do in my later years."
Instead of answering, my uncle said something off-topic.
Vincent still had rough edges, but it was a relief I was here, he said.
"What's with this sudden gratitude?"
I scratched my arm awkwardly at the unexpected thanks when I felt eyes on me from somewhere.
Why hasn't that guy left yet?
At the far end of the corridor connected to the meeting hall, the 2nd Prince was watching us.
"Your brother's awfully interested in you."
My uncle patted my shoulder and vanished around the corner.
The meeting proceeded smoothly after that. Whether the 2nd Prince had reined them in beforehand, the commanders from the capital raised no more objections.
They did gripe about troop deployments, though.
"Splitting legions like this kills their cohesion."
"I trust the capital's soldiers are elite, but they lack real combat experience against monsters. I can't think of a better arrangement."
Vincent countered Erhim Kiringer's point.
He'd phrased it diplomatically, but the gist was they couldn't hand an entire wall section to green troops untested against monsters.
"But that makes our march here pointless."
The meeting teetered toward argument again.
I sighed inwardly.
Winter Castle's leaders were undeniably competent. If they weren't, the kingdom would've been overrun by monsters long ago.
But they had a flaw.
They weren't used to fighting alongside others. And they weren't political.
They hadn't even considered the capital folks' concerns about diluted legion command.
All they cared about was the most efficient way to fight the orcs.
"When you first face monsters..."
So I stepped in.
"Their eyes freeze your limbs, their stench makes you dizzy. On open plains, you're dead. On the walls, they punch right through. No exceptions."
Erhim Kiringer started to respond to my assertion, but the 2nd Prince beat him to it.
"We'll do it that way."
The 2nd Prince accepted our proposal straightforwardly.
A fine attitude.
Once battle started, command hierarchies would vanish from their minds anyway. No point bickering now.
"However."
The 2nd Prince added his own input.
"Split one legion as suggested to support Winter Castle's troops on the walls, but keep the other intact as reserves. We need some forces for contingencies, right?"
The walls were narrow enough that even the dispersed legion would rotate in shifts anyway.
Not a bad idea.
A capital commander might've groveled about His Highness's wisdom and brilliant judgment.
But Winter Castle didn't do flattery.
"Very well."
Vincent replied flatly. The capital commanders looked awkward at the dry response.
"That concludes today's meeting."
My uncle declared it over.
They hadn't even discussed follow-up battles or the orc main force, leaving the 2nd Prince and others flustered.
"Shouldn't we talk about what comes after?"
"We'll cover that once the battle's done."
My uncle was firm.
It was his way of saying discussing grand strategy with greenhorns who'd barely seen an orc was pointless.
The capital group's faces hardened, but no one voiced displeasure. They just showed steely resolve to prove themselves in battle.
Some looked eager for that moment to come soon.
And their wish was granted.
As the meeting wrapped and the reinforcements bustled reorganizing their troops, the horn blared.
Rooooooo!
I shot to my feet from where I'd been squatting, watching the capital's soldiers.
The 2nd Prince glanced my way.
"Enemy raid."
I murmured, and his handsome face stiffened.
I flashed a grin and climbed the wall stairs. The 2nd Prince and reinforcements' commanders followed.
"Shouldn't we hurry?"
The 2nd Prince asked, impatient with my leisurely pace.
"Save your strength for later."
This time, Erhim Kiringer spoke up.
"It's too quiet."
Aside from the long horn blasts, nothing seemed amiss in Winter Castle, and it puzzled him.
By the time we reached the wall top, gasps and groans rose behind me.
"It's not quiet."
Hundreds of rangers lined the battlements, gripping crossbows and bows, glaring out at the snowfields. They were in perfect battle readiness. Winter Castle's leaders from the meeting were there too.
"They were waiting."
No sooner had I spoken than shouts erupted along the wall.
"Rangers! Nock!"
"Draw!"
Snap.
Hundreds moved as one.
Grrrrraaaaaah!
Far off, dark green invaders charged with roars.
"This... is the real Winter Castle."
My heart began to pound.