Chapter 149: The Walking Fortress
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149: The Walking Fortress
“S-Shift Leader! I think something is approaching!”
The gatekeepers immediately entered Level 1 alert status. They drew their Magitech Rifles and took cover behind the barricades.
A moment later, the source of the tremors emerged from the dense forest.
At first glance, it looked like a massive boulder—a boulder that was moving.
But the illusion lasted only a second. As it drew closer, the guards realized it wasn't a golem, but a suit of armor.
No—could something like that even be called armor?
Its weight was so immense that every step sent violent vibrations through the ground. It felt as if a golem from the deepest subterranean reaches had wandered up to the surface.
The figure drew closer and closer.
Standing about two meters tall, the man felt as imposing as a great mountain. As he neared, the Shift Leader forced himself to speak, desperate to fulfill his duty.
“H-Ha... Halt...”
The man couldn't even get the short command out properly. Once the figure was close enough, it stopped of its own accord and lowered its shield to the ground.
Thump!
With a deep, heavy resonance, the man ceased his movement. A gatekeeper approached cautiously, his voice trembling. “W-Who are you?”
His tone was instinctively polite, born from a primal sense of mortal danger.
In response, the armored man silently unfolded a piece of crumpled paper. Though the document was tattered, the seal stamped upon it clearly belonged to Count Consilus.
“This document certifies that as a knight who contributed to the recent Monster Subjugation War, he is granted an audience with Regent Ferda Valdrova... Huh?”
The gatekeepers looked at each other in confusion after reading the document.
“That can’t be right... Is there some mistake?”
“The Armored Knight who was supposed to arrive is already inside, isn't he?”
“Yeah, he said he’d arrive around noon, and he did...”
The guards looked troubled. They couldn't very well turn him away when he possessed a valid certificate.
“Y-You may pass.”
As the Shift Leader returned the document, the armored man lifted his shield and resumed his march. His incredibly heavy footsteps headed straight toward Hestia Village.
* * *
Meanwhile, Erica was delighted that the Armored Knight, Valdrova, had accepted her proposal.
I thought this would take much more time to settle, but I can't believe it worked out like this.
Erica clenched her fists to suppress the slight tremble of achievement and expressed her gratitude.
“Ahem! Thank you truly. If the day comes when the Serdes Continent is saved, it will surely be thanks to your assistance, Sir Knight.”
Sensing the positive atmosphere, Erica tried to push her luck with another question.
“I promise to guarantee your anonymity, but could you perhaps tell me a little bit about your identity?”
Shake, shake, shake.
“I see. That’s a shame... but it can’t be helped.”
A defining trait of Iorga Spawns was their inability to leave a mystery unsolved. Harboring a silent vow to eventually uncover his identity, she brought the conversation to a close.
She deactivated the isolation magic.
“Then tomorrow, please stop by the Adventurer Guild first, rather than the Labor Union. We need to coordinate our efforts. Since I know you aren't working simply for the money, we’ll need to align our schedules.”
Nod.
With things settled, Valdrova and Erica stepped outside.
Hanson, who she expected to be waiting by the door, was instead standing in the lobby of the Labor Union, looking flustered. He was staring at a 'statue' standing before the entrance.
Hanson was speaking to the statue.
“Excuse me, this isn't the Adventurer Guild; it’s the Labor Union. This isn't really the place for you to be, sir...”
But it wasn't a statue.
It was a man clad in heavy armor so thick it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a walking fortress. The armor and shield were rippled, as if they had been melted and reforged countless times. They looked so heavy that even taking a single step seemed like a feat of godlike strength.
Yet, the very fact that he could move proved he possessed a strength so immense that no one would dare stand in his way.
Erica, finding the sight suffocating just to look at, tilted her head slightly and whispered to Valdrova.
“Is he an acquaintance?”
Shake, shake.
If Valdrova had acquaintances, they would only be dragons, and there were no dragons who would wander around in armor like that. Even in human form, they would maintain their own appearance rather than wrapping themselves up so tightly.
The helmet of the knight, who had been standing still as a statue, shifted. Valdrova felt a heavy gaze from behind the visor.
He was looking at her.
“Is it... you?”
A deep resonance broke the silence.
“The shameless thief who steals the credit of others.”
It happened in an instant. To Valdrova, whose combat instincts were sharper than anyone's, the precursor to his movement was clear: he was about to bring his club down on her head.
The thick, solid club swung with bone-shattering force.
“What are you doing...!”
Erica reacted swiftly. She attempted to bind his arm with magic to stop the strike.
Shatter!
But she failed. Erica’s intent was crushed along with the chains of binding she had cast.
“What...?!”
Erica’s spell was a 5th Circle binding magic, powerful enough to restrain even an Ogre.
That man had shattered it like glass.
She had gauged his power from the moment she saw that heavy armor, but even that seemed like an underestimation. That strength was now descending toward Valdrova’s head.
BOOM!!
A shockwave erupted.
“Kyaak!”
“Uwaah!”
People in the vicinity were knocked off their feet, and dust rained down from the ceiling. Had the attack landed cleanly, there wouldn't have been enough left of the target to identify.
However, that didn't happen.
The club didn't reach the floor; it stopped just above the Armored Knight’s head. Just as he had swung the club with one hand, the Armored Knight had caught the end of it with a single hand.
“Hmm...”
The man let out a heavy breath.
“So, despite being a thief, you actually have some skill?”
Valdrova looked around while still holding the club. People had fallen, and the building had shaken violently.
The building... almost collapsed.
Emotion surged within her.
The building I built...
It was the first time she had felt such rage since the Godwin incident. Just as that emotion was about to radiate from Valdrova’s heart—
“What is this commotion in another's territory?”
The voice of a young man rang out. It carried a weight that was hard to believe coming from someone not even twenty years old.
Upon hearing that voice, Valdrova’s anger evaporated like steam. The voice that intervened belonged to someone she knew very well.
Mr. Ferda...!
It was her incredibly dashing fiancé.
* * *
Before the incident occurred, Ferda had received a report from Isabella.
— News has reached me that while the Armored Knight is already inside, another Armored Knight has entered.
Wondering what she meant, he asked for clarification.
— One is the Armored Knight who has been working here, and the one who arrived later is a man carrying a certificate from Count Consilus.
“Is that so?”
The first was the Armored Knight he already knew, and the one who arrived later was undoubtedly Alberdo, known as the Walking Fortress.
If it had ended there, he would have just dismissed it as a misunderstanding. Isabella wouldn't have bothered reporting it.
But what followed was the problem.
— That man was heading toward the Labor Union, not Valdrova Castle.
“Does he intend to do manual labor as well?”
He wondered if this guy was another eccentric like the first Armored Knight.
— It doesn't seem that way. It appears he harbors a grudge against the Armored Knight who arrived first.
“A grudge?”
— There is speculation that he is resentful because people welcomed the laboring Armored Knight, assuming he was the one expected to arrive today.
Isabella’s words made sense. The laboring eccentric was unique to that Armored Knight, and if the newcomer was heading to a completely unrelated location, her guess was likely correct.
— I reported this in anticipation of trouble and intend to head to the scene.
“I’ll go as well.”
Two men of monstrous strength were gathering in one place. Curious about what might happen, Ferda decided to see it for himself.
And when he arrived, something incredible was already unfolding.
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave erupted from the Labor Union. Tables, chairs, and even people in the area were blown back.
Impressive.
Ferda had naturally assumed the Armored Knight would be pushed back. While the Armored Knight possessed great strength, compared to Alberdo’s reputation, he thought it would be like a pup challenging a tiger.
But the scene before his eyes was different. The fact that the Armored Knight had blocked the attack with one hand proved he was no pushover.
Because their two forces were clashing, a shockwave had been generated, shaking the building. He was inwardly curious to see who would be stronger in a serious fight.
But he couldn't let that happen. This wasn't a battlefield; it was Hestia Village. He couldn't stand by and watch a building collapse.
“What do you think you’re doing in another's territory?”
As Ferda appeared, the murderous atmosphere dissipated. Ferda stood between the two knights and turned toward Alberdo. He looked big from a distance, but up close, he was even more massive.
Alberdo handed his certificate to Ferda.
“Giving you a certificate to come here wasn't a license to run wild, was it?”
“I was merely trying to catch a thief who covets what belongs to another.”
Ferda was slightly surprised by this.
He can speak.
Alberdo, the Walking Fortress. He had never heard of the man speaking, so he had assumed he was mute. But that wasn't the case. He simply didn't speak because he felt no need to.
Even that fellow opened his mouth, yet the knight behind him remained as silent as ever.
“That likely wasn't the intention.”
Ferda had no choice but to defend the other on his behalf.
“He has taken a Vow of Silence, and caught up in the atmosphere, there was probably no chance to explain. The 'stealing of credit' was merely a misunderstanding on the part of the people. Isn't that right?”
Ferda glanced at the Armored Knight. She nodded her head vigorously.
Mr. Ferda...
Valdrova was overjoyed that he had taken her side, even though she wasn't in her original form. Although she was currently larger because of the armor, his back looked incredibly broad and dependable.
Would that fool really do something like that on purpose?
Looking at how he had been put to work at the Labor Union, it was clear. He had probably stood there thinking he had to do something without knowing any better. Ferda simply thought the Armored Knight was a foolishly affectionate and honest fellow. It was surely a misunderstanding rather than an attempt to steal someone else's glory.
“Hmm...”
Alberdo let out a heavy breath. He seemed to be considering it, but his club was still pointed at his opponent.
“Even a person doesn't know their own heart; how can you know his?”
“I agree with that sentiment.”
A consistent heart is a difficult thing to maintain, which is why people admire it. A person's heart can change as easily as flipping a palm.
“Still, since you’ve clarified to everyone here that it was a misunderstanding, why don't we end this here? You've already caused enough trouble with your reckless use of force.”
Ferda spoke with gravity. This was Valdrova’s territory, and he could not tolerate it being threatened. He made the proposal with the intent to fight if the man crossed the line any further.
“Understood.”
Alberdo withdrew obediently. He hadn't come to cause trouble in the first place; his target was Ferda. It was a relief he wasn't needlessly bellicose.
“Follow me.”
The incident was settled as Ferda led him away. Alberdo rested his club on his shoulder. On the end of that club, five finger marks were clearly imprinted.
* * *
Ferda conducted the conversation at the City Hall, the largest building in Hestia Village. Since it was used for town affairs and often hosted many people, it had a reception room suitable for the discussion.
The reason he didn't go to the castle was simple.
Because of Ruri.
It was a rule that knights had to wash upon entering. To do that, they had to strip, but Alberdo never removed his armor. Even if he didn't smell particularly bad, it was impossible for Ruri, who held a grudge against knights, to show any flexibility toward him.
So, he held the meeting at the City Hall from the start. Alberdo didn't seem to mind.
“So, what kind of reward do you want?”
Ferda asked him, following the contents of the certificate.
“I don't need any.”
It was as expected. He hadn't been drawn by simple greed; he had come to see Ferda.
“Then what is your purpose for coming here?”
“Do you know of the White Demon?”
The characteristic of the Demon Race was dark skin. However, among them, there was one with uniquely white skin. Gokma was such a person.
“I know of him.”
“I met him.”
It wasn't surprising. For a wandering knight who struck down everything that disturbed the world, demons would be his top priority. It was only natural they would cross paths.
Is he planning to cooperate with us to eliminate him?
If that were the case, it was good news for Ferda.
“He spoke to me.”
“What did he say?”
“That he had found a candidate for the new Demon King.”
The Demon King. Although the Black Dragon Godwin was the root of all the current trouble, the Demon King was a figure that could never be underestimated. The 12 Heroes had struggled to kill him, and in the end, the Hero had only succeeded by sacrificing his own life.
If that was what he said, Alberdo should have gone looking for this 'Demon King' character. But Ferda could easily deduce why he had come here instead.
“Are you saying that candidate is me?”
“Yes.”
“And you believe the words of a demon?”
He was asking, in a roundabout way, if the man was an idiot.
“No, I do not believe him.”
He wasn't an idiot.
“However, I saw no reason to simply ignore those words.”
But he wasn't so reckless as to ignore a warning either. Ferda leaned back in his chair.
“And if you check and find that I truly am someone capable of becoming the Demon King?”
“Everything for the sake of the Serdes Continent.”
It meant he would kill him.
“What is a Demon King to you?”
“An idiot who wants to turn this continent into a void.”
“And you think I could become such an idiot?”
“Anyone can become such an idiot. To create a void through loss and emptiness, and then fill that void with twisted emotions. That is what a Demon King is.”
Ferda understood those words. After his mother died, all his affection had vanished, and he had eventually been driven out. Just like his future self before he returned to this time. Back then, he had been no different from a Demon King.
“So I ask you. Are you certain you will not become a Demon King?”
Ferda thought about it. For Valdrova’s sake, he would do anything.
“No.”
So, he didn't trust himself either. That 'do anything' mindset could easily become corrupted and eventually warp his original intentions. That was the nature of humans, and Ferda was human.
“Then, let me make you a proposal.”
Ferda extended a hand toward him.
“There is a territory nearby that has been left abandoned.”
It was the territory of the executed Thesalos Wolcher. The time had finally come for that land to find a new master.
“How about you keep an eye on me from there?”