The House of Russell, Part 3
Clang— clang— clang—
The bells rang out relentlessly across the Russell Territory. The tolling was so violent it rattled my eardrums, sending my heart into a frantic race. The tension gripping me refused to fade.
Heavy rain poured down as if a hole had been punched in the sky. Through the thick sheets of rain, terrified villagers ran for their lives. The squelch of mud and screams of despair echoed throughout the Russell Territory.
I have to survive.
The same desperate thought was written on every villager's face.
"What in the world..."
A town gripped by terror. The residents of the Russell Territory had experienced this before. For them, the nightmare of the past was repeating itself.
My mind spun. People shoved each other, shouting, while the cries of children erupted from all directions.
This place.
At least in this very moment.
Was no longer the peaceful town I knew.
"We don't have time! Hurry!"
Oliver, running ahead of me, shouted urgently. Oliver, Isaac, and I were sprinting toward the wooden fence that marked the outer boundary of the territory.
I forced myself to focus, shaking off the rising panic.
Mercury, what's the situation?
—Four ogres are currently clashing with your family's knights. There are seventeen casualties so far.
Dammit. How did this happen? It's not even a Total Lunar Eclipse!
—I do not know either...
The moment Albert told us monsters had breached the perimeter, we had rushed out. And the real-time update I just received from Mercury made the situation look far worse than I had feared.
In the distance, the fence made of logs and brambles came into view. There was no way a poor, rural territory would have grand stone walls like the Imperial Palace. This makeshift barrier was only built because of the previous goblin incident.
Have they not breached the village yet?
Fortunately, the fence was still standing. As we drew closer, the battlefield beyond the barrier finally revealed itself.
The knights were locked in combat with four monsters. My jaw dropped.
The monster's level hovered in the air. But even without the system's confirmation, the creature's mere appearance radiated pure menace.
"So that's an ogre..."
Dark green skin, and a massive body easily twice my height. As if possessed by madness, the four ogres swung their clubs down at the soldiers.
Crash! Crash!
With every strike, soldiers were crushed into the ground, spraying blood. Bones shattered, and screams filled the air. The horrific scene unfolding right before my eyes made my entire body freeze.
It was on a completely different level from the monsters I had imagined back on Earth. Their protruding fangs were stained crimson, showing they had already devoured several humans. Yet, they still looked unsatisfied.
Grrr...
The ogres' bloodshot eyes slowly scanned the battlefield, searching for their next prey. Terrified by their ghastly gaze, the soldiers of the Russell Knights began to step back one by one.
—Those eyes...
Yes?
—They are the same as during the Total Lunar Eclipse. Back then, the monsters that invaded the village also had red eyes.
...
—They must be in a state of frenzy. Be careful.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard without realizing it.
Mercury was right. The blood-red eyes and the hot breath puffing from their gaping maws made them look like creatures straight out of the depths of hell.
The crushing pressure made it hard to move my feet. They wanted me to fight those things? That was insane.
"Yeong-sik, stay back. Sir Isaac and I will handle this."
"What?"
"He is right, Young Master. Please protect the villagers from behind."
Noticing my fear, Oliver and Isaac spoke with firm expressions.
What should I do? Should I listen to them?
I hesitated. Honestly, I wanted to run away. Looking at that carnage, any desire to fight evaporated instantly.
"T-Then..."
If I backed out of the fight under the pretext of protecting the villagers, no one would blame me. There was no one to criticize me anyway. Yes, with that excuse, surely...
—You pathetic pig.
Suddenly, someone's words from the past flashed through my mind.
It wasn't just Lee Cheri. It was the way everyone looked at me. Even the words I used to throw at myself.
I stopped mid-sentence.
I was doing it again.
How was this any different from back on Earth?
The familiar helplessness—the belief that I couldn't do it anyway.
It was trying to take over my mind.
...Dammit.
Several months had already passed since I reincarnated here. What had I been working so hard for all this time? I had spent countless hours trying to change, trying to get stronger.
I had to change now.
I wasn't alone here. I had a family, a house I belonged to. And that meant there were people to show my changed self to.
Slap!
I slapped both my cheeks with all my might. The stinging pain immediately cleared my head.
I looked Oliver straight in the eye as he stared at me in surprise.
"I'm fine. I'll fight with you."
"You...!"
"We don't have time for this. Let's go!"
Seeing the determination on my face, Oliver swallowed whatever he was about to say.
With every second counting, there was no time to argue. He let out a short sigh and turned away.
"...Fine. Be careful."
"Well, obviously."
Isaac let out a small chuckle as he watched us. Having trained with me all this time, he probably understood my resolve better than anyone.
"Then let us go."
Now that the decision was made, there was no reason to hesitate. We quickly leaped over the fence and entered the battlefield. The devastation inside was laid bare.
The situation was worse than I thought. Dozens of soldiers lay collapsed on the ground. The relentless rain washed their blood into the mud, staining the earth crimson.
They needed immediate medical attention, but the forces holding the line against the ogres couldn't afford to look away.
Dammit, let's clean up the situation first.
Around twenty soldiers were down—nearly half of the knights. In contrast, the soldiers had only managed to take down a single ogre.
We had to face the remaining four ogres with only twenty men. To put it mildly, the odds were not in our favor.
"Prepare for the attack!"
An ogre swung a club as massive as its own body. The soldiers tried to block it with their shields, but a single swing sent three or four of them flying.
The gap in strength was too wide. There was simply no opening to get close.
"...Wait here."
Just then, Oliver stepped forward. Isaac and I watched him in silence. What was he planning to do?
Then, Oliver raised his right foot high, just as he had shown me once before. And—
BOOM!
As he slammed his foot onto the ground, a deafening roar erupted. The earth shook, and a violent shockwave swept across the battlefield.
"Listen up, everyone!"
Oliver's booming voice made not only the soldiers but even the ogres pause in their tracks.
"I am taking command of the Russell Knights! Split into two groups and handle two ogres each. Form a circle!"
Oliver's orders were decisive. Recognizing him, the soldiers obeyed without a moment's hesitation.
"Sir Isaac, please handle the two on the left with Yeong-sik. I will take the other two."
"Understood."
"...Brother, will you be alright?"
Of course, I was in no position to worry about anyone else. However, the ogres Oliver was about to face looked problematic.
One of the two on the right was clearly a head taller than the others. The soldiers' formation was crumbling under the weight of its club.
"Haha, are you worrying about me? You're the one who needs to be careful."
"...See you in one piece."
Oliver grinned, gave my shoulder a light tap with his fist, and walked off.
"Whew."
I turned my attention back to the enemy. Isaac and I were responsible for the two on the left. Following Oliver's orders, the soldiers surrounded the ogres in a circle.
Because they spread out, we could avoid the disaster of multiple men being blown away by a single strike.
Once again, Oliver's voice echoed from afar.
"Listen up! Ogres have a wide attack range. Once they swing, they'll leave an opening, so aim for that moment!"
"Yes, sir!"
His instructions reached everyone on the battlefield clearly.
"Young Master, I might not be able to help you like last time. Be careful."
"Yes, you too, Master."
In this tense situation where my life was on the line, I took a deep breath and summoned Mercury in my mind.
Mercury, just like we practiced. Show me where it's going to attack.
—Understood.
I hadn't just been slacking off all this time.
After the attack by the mysterious assailants, I had realized something. Mercury, whom I had thought was useless, was actually quite helpful in battle.
Back then, I had saved my life because she warned me of an attack coming from behind. Since then, we had practiced a few times to get in sync.
You could call it a unique ability—Mercury could read the opponent's subtle movements and gaze.
In other words, I could know the enemy's target area in advance.
Beep.
With a mechanical sound, a red-highlighted zone appeared before my eyes. The red zone shifted along with the ogre's line of sight.
Mercury wasn't just telling me; she was visually marking the enemy's attack point.
The more I see this, the more she feels like an AI... Should I call her Jarvis from now on?
—Jarvis? What is that?
Ah, it's nothing. Ignore it.
Grrr...
One of the ogres growled, scanning its surroundings as if selecting its target.
And in an instant, the red-highlighted zone locked onto a single spot. The light began to flash rapidly.
...Dammit!
Of all places, it was right next to me. Isaac's entire body, as he stared blankly at the ogre, was highlighted in red.
Dammit, Master. I should have known when he was worrying about me. The distance between us was barely three meters.
"Master! Dodge!"
"Huh? Young Master, what...?"
Without waiting for his answer, I lunged forward and kicked him out of the way.
BOOM!
It happened in a split second. Isaac tumbled away from my kick, and the moment I pulled my leg back, the ogre's club slammed down right between us.
Crazy bastard, how is it that fast...?
The massive club grazed my nose before embedding itself in the ground. Mud splattered all over me, and a large crater formed in the earth. If I had been a second slower, it would have been my flesh splattering, not mud.
"Y-Young Master? How did you...?"
"Does that matter right now?"
"Ah, r-right. Listen up, everyone! The Young Master has created an opening! Attack!"
Opening my ass. Unlike me, who was frozen in fear, the soldiers charged at the ogre with a collective roar.
Due to the overwhelming height difference, they couldn't target its neck. Most attacks were aimed at its abdomen and legs. However, they were largely ineffective.
Clang! Clang!
Their swords bounced off the creature's tough hide, unable to pierce it. At best, they left minor scratches.
It might have worked if we could slowly wear it down, but the damage we would take in the process was too great.
"You there! Watch out!"
"...Huh?"
A new red zone appeared. Hearing my shout, the soldier glanced between me and the ogre before throwing himself to the side. The ogre's club slammed down right where he had been standing.
BOOM!
A momentary silence fell. Everyone stared at me with the same bewildered expression.
How on earth...?
"There's no time to explain! Just dodge when I tell you to!"
The pattern repeated. Just before the ogre swung its club, I warned the soldiers in the danger zone.
There was a window of about two seconds. The soldiers didn't miss that split second, moving exactly as I directed. Gradually, I began to read the creature's attack patterns.
Warn, then dodge. Thanks to this, the number of casualties stopped rising. But that was it. The soldiers were exhausted. There was a limit to how long they could keep dodging.
Dammit, this isn't working. We have to bring it down somehow.
Is there a way? Some kind of weakness...
No matter how much I racked my brain, nothing came to mind. A weakness? How was I supposed to know the weakness of a monster I was seeing for the first time in my life?
"Dammit!"
Usually, when people reincarnate into another world, they know all about this stuff. Either they read it in a book, or it shows up in their status window. Compared to that, my ability is really...
...Huh? Wait a minute.
Suddenly, I realized I was overlooking a very simple fact.