Chapter 59
Episode 59
With eerie howls, dozens of wolves with long black horns sprouting from their foreheads burst from the forest, charging toward the center of the knight formation.
These monsters were far faster and at least half again as large as ordinary wolves.
Though classified as mid-to-low-tier monsters, encountering them in packs elevated their threat level beyond that designation.
"Horned Wolves! Form up!"
The knights' response differed from how they had handled the goblins.
The knights targeted by the Horned Wolves instantly grouped in threes, standing back-to-back to face the charging beasts.
"Kiiieek!"
"Keeeng!"
"Kyyaaoo!"
Even Horned Wolves posed little threat against multiple knights.
As several fell in quick succession, the largest among them let out a commanding howl, and the pack abruptly veered past the knights, charging straight toward the rear lines.
Unlike the goblins, these creatures showed no fear of the thousand-strong human force—but the soldiers, too, stood their ground.
"Crossbow cavalry, deploy!"
"Sir!"
"Fire!"
Despite their tension, the soldiers obeyed orders flawlessly.
But this time, the volley of bolts failed to fulfill their purpose.
"Awoooooo!"
As the lead wolf howled, the incoming rain of arrows visibly slowed.
None veered completely off course, but the weakened shots failed to pierce the Horned Wolves' thick hides, dropping uselessly to the ground.
And in that brief moment between volleys—
The beasts had already closed the distance to the soldiers' front line.
"Spearmen, form ranks!"
"Form up!"
"Don't let a single one through!"
Faces pale with fear and tension flushed red at Logan's roar.
"Hyah!"
Led by Viktor at the forefront, the waiting spearmen swung their blades and lances in unison.
Behind them, a pair of crimson eyes intently observed the soldiers' movements.
"Uwaaah!"
"Kyyaa!"
Cries—whether screams or battle shouts—mingled with the clash of steel.
Just as Viktor's front line collided with the alpha Horned Wolf—
The rest of the pack leaped over them, plunging into the soldiers' formation.
The Horned Wolves numbered only twenty-one.
But the three hundred soldiers struggled to effectively counter the beasts now tearing through their ranks.
"Argh!"
Crunch.
One soldier, struck by a black horn, dropped his sword in panic—only for the Horned Wolf's fangs to sink deep into his leg.
Even as his comrade screamed and fell, most of the surrounding soldiers froze, paralyzed with fear.
But a few reacted differently.
"Die, monster!"
Thwack!
Crack!
A soldier's spear, still lacking strength, failed to fully pierce the Horned Wolf's hide, striking like a blunt club instead.
Yet the impact was enough to stagger the beast that had just critically wounded one of their own.
Seeing this, the frozen soldiers found their courage, swinging their weapons again despite their pallid faces.
Similar scenes played out across the battlefield.
Logan moved only among those groups where no such brave soldiers existed—where every man had been completely cowed by the monsters' ferocity—cutting down Horned Wolves as he went.
Sschkkt!
"Kiiiee..."
Thud.
"You. You. You—everyone else, fall back!"
Logan's bloodthirsty aura drove back the monsters' killing intent and loosened the soldiers' locked limbs.
His brow furrowed slightly as he moved to rescue more endangered soldiers.
Even as he did, he meticulously noted the skirmishes created by the few Horned Wolves that broke through—and how the soldiers responded within them.
Truthfully, Logan didn't need to exert himself.
The difference between the soldiers he'd marked earlier and the rest was starkly apparent.
'They really do fight well.'
Trey, with his monstrous eyesight, also possessed reflexes to match—dodging attacks a split second before they landed.
Adam, with his preternatural hearing, evaded strikes coming from behind with agile grace.
Beyond them, those who had begun accumulating even a sliver of force showed markedly better combat skills than their peers.
Despite their still-lacking abilities, they were producing results.
Most had ranked within the top hundred in the sensory tests.
A few veterans outside this selection also displayed such talent, but more striking were those among the lower-ranked sensory test passers who stood out.
After closely observing their combat for a time, Logan identified a common thread.
'It's not stamina—sensory selection is definitely the right approach, but...'
That much aligned with the Empire's soldier recruitment standards.
But by focusing on those faintly absorbing force, Logan noticed something more.
'That's... not strictly about eyesight or hearing.'
The ability to evade attacks from blind spots or instinctively counter—
While more common among those with keen senses, even some lower-ranked soldiers displayed it.
'Heightened tactile sense? Or should I call it instinct? Huh...'
With too small a sample size, he couldn't be certain.
But the fact that those he'd sensed potential in were proving their worth was enough to file away for now.
That confirmation alone made this battle worthwhile.
Before the soldiers' formation could collapse further, Logan barked an order.
"Master Clayton!"
The Fifth-Circle mage, who'd been preparing his spell since the Horned Wolves' charge, responded immediately.
"...Answer, power of earth. Stone Edge!"
BOOM!
Jagged stone pillars erupted precisely where the Horned Wolves stood, instantly killing nearly half the pack and grievously wounding most of the rest.
Even the alpha, which had completely avoided the spell—
"Uwaaah!"
Thunk.
"Kyyaaoo..."
—met its end as Viktor's sword, swung into the perfect opening, pierced its eye.
Huff... Huff...
Though the skirmish had been brief, the danger was real—Viktor's armor bore deep, claw-shaped indentations in several places.
Gasping for air, Viktor wrenched his bloodied sword free from the monster's corpse and flashed a rare, bright smile.
To the surrounding soldiers, the sight was chilling enough to raise goosebumps.
Sizzle.
As black blood dripped from Viktor's blade, scorching the earth, his comrades unconsciously took a step back.
But Logan couldn't help smiling at the sight.
'He's definitely shed his shell. Not much longer now.'
A future Aura User was laying his foundation.
"Well done, Viktor! Monster blood is toxic—wipe it off quickly. Be careful not to let it touch your skin. Keep this up. After we're done, I'll review your swordsmanship again."
At Logan's praise, the soldiers' gazes toward Viktor shifted once more.
Seeing their expressions, Logan shouted:
"I saw every one of you who ran first! Try that again next time and see what happens!"
The murderous intent radiating from him—sharper than any monster's—froze the faces of several men.
Even the cowards who'd fled would fight properly next time, letting him evaluate the troops more accurately.
Logan's gaze swept over his soldiers like a predator eyeing prey.
After that, knights occasionally let monsters slip through.
The southern forest held more low-tier and above monsters than expected.
Yet no major issues arose.
The rare mid-tier or high-mid-tier creatures were handled by knight squad leaders, Heinkel, or Patrick himself.
Most mid-to-low-tier monsters were dealt with at the knight order's level.
"Hyah!"
Schlik!
"Keeek!"
A single slash, packed with power, cleaved a two-meter-tall beastman clean in half.
Anthony, a junior knight, trembled with exhilaration as he slaughtered monsters with sword strikes that would have been impossible mere months prior.
'This is exhilarating.'
The swordsmanship beaten into him by the family head over the past two months wasn't just for cutting wood.
The stress relief, the thrilling feedback—far from exhausting him, it fueled him further.
His comrades felt the same.
"Keep sending mid-to-lows!"
"Mid-tiers are fine too!"
"Hey, that's a bit—"
"Shut up! We can do it!"
"Waaah! Kill them all!"
Schlik!
Thunk!
"Kiiieek!"
The knights' strikes grew sharper with time.
In contrast, the soldiers' battles became increasingly grueling.
"Behind you!"
"Watch out!"
"Ugh!"
"Damn it! Move!"
Goblins and similar kobolds could be handled with crossbow volleys alone.
But the dog-headed gnolls and giant spiders that followed required more.
Eventually, the lumber-carrying golems had to act as barriers, intercepting monsters charging the soldiers.
The fighting lasted half a day.
Even as exhaustion and injuries mounted, Logan clenched his fist, watching the soldiers he'd noted earlier.
'It's confirmed... Superior senses—particularly tactile instinct—aligns with force potential. How should I test for this?'
Though the sample size was still small, a pattern was emerging.
Enough that he was already considering the next recruitment test.
That alone made this a highly rewarding day.
"All work halted! We're camping here tonight!"
Of course...
"Waaah!"
"We survived!"
"I—I had no idea it'd be like this."
"D-damn it. Mom..."
His mood aside, the atmosphere suggested many training dropouts were imminent—a few even among those showing force potential.
'Better to spend time training others than fixing those cowards' attitudes.'
Those who chose flight over fight in relatively safe conditions like these weren't needed anyway.
Even that realization was a gain, drawing a faint smile.
But not everything went smoothly.
Deep in the monster forest—the southern mountain range's entrance—three gnoll tribes had gathered, numbering over a thousand.
"Left unchecked, they would have soon overrun MacLaine Castle. A monster wave of over three thousand mid-to-low-tier creatures... Just imagining it is horrifying. Finding them early was truly fortunate. Your foresight is remarkable, Grand Prince."
"Huh..."
Gnolls—mid-to-low-tier monsters forming packs far larger than Horned Wolves.
For average knights, facing more than two or three at once was challenging.
As Heinkel said, discovering them early was fortunate—but Logan couldn't simply laugh it off.
Minimizing casualties required strategy changes.
Crossbow supplies were increased, knights deployed as skirmishers to lure manageable groups, and soldiers focused fire to whittle them down gradually.
This approach nearly eliminated losses, but fully clearing to the Monster Gorge—the wave's origin—took an unexpectedly long month and a half.
At least there were no major setbacks.
Continuous logging supplied MacLaine Town's construction without pause, accelerating progress.
Moreover, the extended combat let Logan repeatedly reassign infantry roles, refining his initial findings.
'Confirmed. Instinct... or should I call it survival instinct?'
Even some ranked 200th or 500th in sensory tests absorbed trace force.
These individuals shared an exceptionally strong survival instinct.
Men who fought tooth and nail to live through any situation.
'Instinct and survival drive. Maybe even tenacity...'
Though not yet certain, he had a growing sense.
'For now, these soldiers suffice. After the civil war this winter...'
If the civil war yielded expected results, MacLaine could leverage this knowledge for explosive growth.
'We could massively expand our knight forces before the Imperial War.'
A satisfied smile was inevitable.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"Ah, nothing. Now that we have enough lumber, let's complete MacLaine Town. Just a month until spring. We must finish before full-scale cultivation begins. Possible?"
"...Understood."
Hamar's expression suggested he had more to say, but his answer was affirmative.
Even Logan had considered the schedule tight and demanding—the response was unexpected.
"Are you sure it's feasible? I proposed it, but..."
"Well, we have those mages, and worker morale has been high since the dam project. Rations are fully supplied, and with all houses following the same design, efficiency improves daily."
"Don't forget the magic tower in the town center."
"Of course."
Hamar's reliable answers followed his long break.
'Turns out relentless pushing isn't the only way with him.'
It affirmed Logan's realization about managing Hamar.
Thus, MacLaine Town—a pioneering settlement larger than the main castle—gradually took shape as envisioned.