Quiet Resolve Before the Storm
After the Wolf Mercenary Corps arrived at the encampment where the Margrave’s army was stationed, they roughly settled themselves outside the camp and took their rest.
Summoned as the mercenary captain, Lillian went to a tent inside the encampment where a middle-aged commander of some visible rank within the unit waited, and there she answered a series of questions.
What was the enemy’s strength? Had she seen Munratel fall? If so, how had it been taken?
They had already received reports from the scouts sent to Munratel, of course, but they were cross-checking just in case.
When she reported the same details as the spies who had returned alive, the commander nodded and prepared to end the questioning.
“There is one more important matter.”
“An important matter? What is it?”
“For certain reasons I became separated from my party in the greenskin territory, and on the way back to Munratel…”
Lillian informed him of the existence of the aberrant orcs—rational beings who wielded powerful sorcery.
If we are to take revenge on the Saryeong Kingdom, Margrave Akina cannot afford more losses than necessary.
The First and Second Princes were still locked in civil war, but rumor had it that the Second Prince was gradually seizing the upper hand.
It did not matter who claimed the throne; once the scars of civil war healed, they would inevitably cast greedy eyes on the territory of Luciarkenel Kingdom, which possessed the Black Soil.
War between the Halrot Kingdom and the Saryeong Kingdom was only a matter of course.
But if the aberrant orcs inflicted heavy casualties on Margrave Akina’s elite forces here, the chances of successful revenge would plummet.
“Aberrant orcs… We had our suspicions, but this confirms it.”
Even on Margrave Akina’s side, the bizarre siege engines the greenskins had displayed had already raised questions about the presence of something other.
“We are the advance party sent by the Count. Our mission is to secure supplies and hire mercenaries. An official bearing the contract will visit you shortly—take note.”
The commander delivered the one-sided notice, then waved his hand in a clear signal to leave.
It looked rude and arrogant, yet for all that, the man had spoken with as much goodwill and kindness as he could muster.
Among all the nobles Lillian had met so far, he ranked easily in the top one percent for courtesy.
That was partly because she had freely volunteered information she had not even been asked for and had lowered her head of her own accord; it was also because life under the Margrave had roughened him enough that he regarded commoners with a relative degree of goodwill.
How many times do I have to relearn that nobles are bastards?
When she had still lived as a princess, she had taken such behavior for granted.
Now that she was a mere mercenary and suffered it firsthand, any lingering fondness for the nobility had shattered to pieces.
In any case, Lillian returned to the mercenary corps resting outside the camp and gathered every man.
“The forces of Margrave Karayden have moved out to suppress the greenskin army. These men are the advance party, tasked with securing supplies and hiring mercenaries.”
She explained the situation to her subordinates.
“Then a mercenary contract will come our way as well.”
“If we fight under Margrave Akina, victory is already decided!”
“Is Margrave Akina really that good?”
“Of course! She’s an outstanding commander and an Origin-level powerhouse!”
To the mercenaries from the Western Continent, being hired by Margrave Akina—the perfect trinity of martial prowess, brilliant command, and Origin-rank strength—was a golden opportunity to make a fortune.
Especially since, as a margrave, she understood the value of mercenaries and never treated them as meat shields the way other noble commanders did.
An Origin-rank powerhouse… How strong are the true powerhouses of this world…?
New strong opponents, and new techniques he might steal and learn from them—he found himself looking forward to it…
Looking forward to it?
Kaisent discovered that he was actually anticipating the chance to learn new techniques.
At first he had struggled desperately to grow stronger simply to find Dang Seol-yeong and survive this brutal world. Somewhere along the way, however, a pleasant thrill had begun to mix in.
Just as he was flustered by the fact that he was taking joy in learning techniques meant to kill others, Fredrick lightly rapped him on the head.
“Hwah? F-Fredrick?”
“No need to tense up. With Margrave Akina, no matter how strong those aberrant orcs are, victory is certain.”
Fredrick assumed Kaisent’s stiffness came from fear of the aberrant orcs and from facing a large-scale war for the first time, and offered comfort accordingly.
“Those aberrant orcs used strange weapons, but so do we. Well, you’ve never seen a proper ‘regular army’ of our world, so it’s only natural you’d be nervous.”
“A regular army…?”
“Everyone listen up! Kaisent has never seen a regular army of our world, so if anyone spoils the fun by explaining ahead of time, I’ll personally chew them out!”
“Ah, right. Kaisent doesn’t know what regular army gear looks like, does he?”
“This’ll be fun. I wonder what face he’ll make when he sees our weapons.”
“Honestly, with all these worlds mixed together it’s a real mish—”
“Somebody shut that bastard up!”
The mercenaries buzzed with anticipation over Kaisent’s reaction.
Only a short while ago they had been stunned by the grotesque weapons of the aberrant orcs that had taken Munratel in an instant, yet the mere mention of Akina’s name had completely reversed the mood.
Fredrick comforted Kaisent while simultaneously lifting the atmosphere, then ordered them to rest.
“Mingming. Come here.”
With a rare moment of free time, Kaisent called the crow he had tamed.
The bird that had been perched on the carriage roof flapped its wings and landed neatly on the back of his outstretched hand.
He tore off a leftover scrap of bread and held it out; the crow snatched it, tilted its head back, and swallowed it in one gulp.
“Caw— caw—”
“Thirsty? Wait a second.”
Sensing the crow’s thirst through the taming bond, he pulled out his waterskin, poured a little into his cupped palm, and watched as the bird stuck out its tongue and lapped the water up.
Once he had filled the tamed crow’s belly, Kaisent stroked its head and back, communing with his pet.
Having lost Mingming—his friend since birth—he had named the tamed crow after her and treated it with the same affection, trying to fill the emptiness.
Though tamed, the crow’s mind was not completely dominated, thanks to its master’s gentle nature.
“Mingming. Lately I’m so scared of how I’m changing.”
“Caw?”
“Two months ago I couldn’t even imagine fighting someone to the death. Now I catch myself getting excited at the thought of learning powerful techniques that can kill…”
“Caw…”
“Big Sister once told me Father said I was the only one who could threaten his position. That means I have talent enough to make even Father tense.”
“Caw.”
“Am I going back to the ‘original’ me? And if I do return completely to that original self… what happens to the me I am right now?”
Of course a crow with the intelligence of a six- or seven-year-old child could never answer such a philosophical question.
Yet simply pouring out the worries he could not speak to anyone else onto the pet that shared his bond loosened the knot in his heart a little.
“Even so, I can’t stop here. I have to find Seol-yeong Noona, and I have to take revenge on that bastard who tore us apart and killed Mingming…”
“Caw! Caw! Caw!”
“Ah—sorry, Mingming.”
The moment he thought of the man who had attacked them, killing intent had leaked out without his noticing. He quickly soothed the frightened crow.
“Sorry for making you listen to boring talk. Go play freely. Just be careful not to fly into that camp over there—they might shoot you.”
“Caw~”
Crow Mingming gave a long cry, then beat its wings and soared high into the sky, carefully avoiding the Margrave’s encampment as warned.
If the path of finding Seol-yeong Noona and taking revenge ends up turning me back into the original me, I’ll just have to accept it. I could abandon everything and live a life far from fighting, but I feel like I’d lose something precious I can never get back.
If he gave up searching for Seol-yeong and abandoned revenge, he would forever lose something so precious he could not even put it into words.
Even if it meant becoming the “original” him, he would never allow himself to lose that.
Having steeled his resolve, Kaisent wandered the area for a while, chatting with the mercenaries and passing the time.
“Make way!”
“Where is the captain of this mercenary corps?!”
A short while later a knight leading a squad of soldiers shouted toward the mercenaries and began searching for their leader.
“I am Wolf, captain of the Wolf Mercenary Corps.”
“The employment contract.”
The knight unfurled a paper bearing the seal of House Karayden and held it out to Wolf.
Lillian accepted the contract and began reading it carefully. The knight, clearly displeased, barked at her.
“Hey! Margrave Akina herself affixed that seal—what are you scrutinizing so hard?!”
“My apologies. Our provisions are not plentiful, so I at least wish to confirm the duration.”
“Tsk! Ignorant mercenaries, the lot of you. Keeping ample food on hand is basic common sense.”
Damn old fogey.
Having negotiated with high-handed knights like this many times, Lillian cursed him inwardly while offering the excuse that usually worked, and speed-read the contract.
Even if the excuse was accepted, staring too long would only bring more shouting about whether she distrusted them.
Fortunately the contract showed no signs of foul play, so she signed it and they were formally hired by the Margrave’s forces.
No matter how important it was that the Margrave’s troops remain as intact as possible, she had no desire to be openly fleeced.
“Ah, and that forest over there is our unit’s hunting ground. If you wander in and get attacked because someone mistakes you for game, there will be no compensation—bear that in mind.”
With that final warning the knight returned to the encampment.
“Tch. Always the same ‘ignorant mercenaries’ line.”
“How come the repertoire of these fogey knights never changes?”
“No, honestly this one was a classic old-school fogey, wasn’t he? Even his speech had that strong old-fashioned flavor.”
“Puhahahaha!”
Once the knight was completely out of sight, the mercenaries tore into him behind his back and turned him into a joke.
“We’re setting up camp! Move!”
The Wolf Mercenary Corps, which had been lingering near the Margrave’s encampment, shifted a short distance away and began constructing their own camp.
Thanks to several of them having already opened mana holes, the work went far faster than before.
Being so close to an army camp meant relative safety, yet with the aberrant orcs capable of anything, they still erected wooden fences around the perimeter just in case.
“Hey, Kaisent. Give me a hand.”
“Yes.”
Kaisent helped Bex, the cook, hanging ingredients that needed drying and sorting out those whose shelf life was becoming dangerous.
Once the camp was finished, the Wolf Mercenary Corps prepared a generous meal using the meat that was about to spoil.
Men who had been surviving on dried bread and jerky rejoiced at the first hot food they had eaten in ages.
With the meal restoring the atmosphere completely, the Wolf Mercenary Corps rested and enjoyed their final leisure before the large-scale battle.
After some time, other mercenary companies hired in the vicinity began setting up their own camps nearby.
The mercenary world was surprisingly small; Lillian exchanged brief greetings with the other captains and traded information.
As expected, they were companies she had fought alongside before, so they recognized one another and conversation blossomed.
Looks like we’ll have nothing to do for a while.
Until the greenskins attacked first, they would spend their days in this leisurely fashion.
Kaisent felt it would be a waste to squander such free time.
A small forest stood nearby, so he decided to train there and quietly headed toward it.
“Hm? Kaisent, where are you going?”
“I’m going to practice magic in the forest for a bit. People could get hurt if I do it around the camp.”
“That forest? But that knight said it’s the Margrave’s hunting ground.”
“I’ll just train secretly on the outer edge, so don’t worry. If I get caught, I’ll run.”
Seeing how thoroughly he had been dyed in mercenary ways, the surrounding men could not help bursting into laughter.
“Puhah! He’s completely one of us now.”
“Right? When we first met he was so clueless it was cute.”
“Ugh…! Don’t bring up the old days!”
“Don’t get caught, and come back safe.”
“Don’t worry.”
Kaisent glanced warily toward the Margrave’s encampment as he carefully approached the forest.
This far should be fine.
Settling on the boundary between the forest’s interior and exterior, he formed a sword with his mechanical gauntlet.
Wanting to practice magic was not a lie.
He also wanted to practice Kenneth’s swordsmanship on top of that.
Lillian’s heavy-sword style did not suit his build, and the forms and lengths of blades the gauntlet could create were fixed.
A wall grew larger and harder the more inner energy he poured into it, but swords and shields had no such function.
Perhaps because Kenneth had known Kaisent was a coward, he had concentrated everything into a single function.
Honestly, it still feels creepy…
At present he possessed no swordsmanship superior to Kenneth’s.
In a different sense from ‘that man,’ this might become another trauma.
If Lillian had not helped him back then, what would have happened?
Kaisent forcibly shook off the chill that ran down his spine and corrected his stance.
I need to be able to use every weapon I have.
Right now he was content to stay in the rear with bow and magic, yet the more new knowledge he gained and the stronger he became, the more keenly he felt that he still could not defeat “that man.”
At the time that man had been wounded and exhausted.
Even so, Kaisent’s instincts told him that his current self still could not win against the man of that day.
He needed mastery of close, mid, and long range, and he needed to be able to weave magic seamlessly into close combat as well.
Of course he preferred mid- and long-range fighting because he feared close combat, but the enemy would notice that and close in; he could not neglect close-combat methods for the worst-case scenario.
Father said the same thing.
—This applies not only to fighting but to every other field as well.
—If you want to grow strong, do not dig only one path; acquire many kinds of knowledge.
—Only by using a sword do you understand the strengths of a fist, and only by using fists do you learn how to use your legs.
—Coming to know diverse concepts is the shortest road to rapid growth.
Simply put, imagine selling clocks.
A merchant who understands clocks versus one who does not.
Who can sell them more efficiently?
Obviously the one who knows clocks well.
He understands their advantages and disadvantages and can accurately gauge their value.
When Father had lived in his former dimension, he had reached new realms through something called “enlightenment.”
In the end, however, that enlightenment was nothing more than grasping a new “concept” that allowed him to use martial arts more efficiently.
If one learned diverse concepts from the beginning, Father had said, one could grow strong quickly even without waiting for enlightenment.
He had also warned that shallow knowledge and concepts would be of little help, so one must be careful.
First I will accumulate experience and knowledge of swordsmanship.
Not the instinctive use he had shown when fighting Kenneth, but proper knowledge and experience built up and stored.
Having set that goal, Kaisent began to unfold the swordsmanship of Kenneth that lived in his mind.
……
Completely unaware that someone was watching him.