The Canyon Battle (1)
The Canyon Battle (1)
Central Fortress, Northern Mountains.
On the walls of the ironclad fortress the Tsar Empire prided itself on, a middle-aged knight stood.
Unlike usual, the knight, clad in full plate armor, was gazing toward the mountain range stretching eastward.
No—he wasn't looking at the mountain range, but at the sky above it.
Over the rocky peaks, beneath a clear sky, a thin plume of smoke rose in the far distance, barely visible even to the knight's keen eyes.
The knight spoke as he watched the smoke.
"The monsters will probably arrive sometime tomorrow, right?"
"Tomorrow at the earliest, and the day after at the latest, it seems."
The man in the officer's uniform beside him answered.
"And the preparations?"
"The fortress knights have completed their maintenance, and the officers and soldiers are ready for battle. The rangers have already entered the mountains and valleys, prepared to lure the monsters in."
"Well done. Considering how suddenly this happened, you've prepared well."
"We barely managed to make it in time."
At the officer's words, the knight furrowed his brow.
"Lately, the problem is that information arrives too late. There used to be times when it came so quickly that it left us bewildered, but now it's all completely ambiguous."
"It seems the rumors that they have a prophet or someone capable of seeing the future aren't true."
"That may be the case—or it might be true, but they just can't make use of it right now."
They looked back toward the mountain range, where the smoke was rising.
Looking at the rocky mountains beneath the smoke and the dense forest beyond, the knight spoke again.
"The Northern Mountain Range... I still don't like calling it that."
"It's a name handed down from the Old Empire, so it can't be helped. Since our empire succeeded the Old Empire, we can't simply change the name."
At the officer's words, the knight shook his head.
"I'm not arguing about north or south. I'm asking why we don't just call it the Monster Mountain Range. What other use does it have besides serving as a path for monsters?"
"Though the southern kingdoms call it a breakwater that keeps the Empire from invading."
The knight scoffed, mocking the southern kingdoms.
"Breakwater, my foot. The monsters are smashing everything to pieces instead of us."
"That's thanks to the efforts of the intelligence department and others."
"That's exactly what I don't like. People should fight one another, but instead, they're pulling strings behind the scenes like this."
The officer had a different opinion, but he did not contradict his commander's words.
"Well then, shall we start getting ready as well?"
"Are you planning to send out the knights?"
"We have to drive the bastards entering the canyon downward. It would be troublesome if any of them slipped away, so we should go ahead and prepare."
"Once you set out, I'll contact the rangers."
"You said Soroka Fortress is a complete mess, right?"
"Because the Carlos Kingdom is in shambles. They'll probably have trouble even venturing into the canyon while trying to defend the fortress."
"I clashed with the Count in the canyon a few times... What a shame."
Viscount Rolf, commander of the Tsar Empire's central army knight order and the fortress commander, lamented that he wouldn't be able to fight his old rival.
His adjutant Kopcha, who handled the soldiers and practical military affairs, could not understand his commander's disappointment at all.
Still, he was thoroughly accustomed to dealing with physical ability awakeners whose heads were filled with nothing but fighting.
He simply nodded without replying, and Viscount Rolf was perfectly satisfied with that.
Just then, another plume of smoke rose in the western sky, where the other smoke had been rising.
It was a beacon fire lit from a closer location.
The monsters had reached the next beacon tower.
"Good. Tomorrow really is the day. I'll leave the rear to you."
After confirming when the beacon had been lit, the knight turned and headed down from the wall.
"Understood. I'll take responsibility for the rear."
The adjutant replied as he followed behind him.
"It's a real shame. If you'd awakened as a physical enhancement type, you would have been the next commander of our knight order."
"I prefer being an officer. Being a knight doesn't suit my personality."
"No, I'm telling you, that's only because you've never tried being a knight."
The two descended from the wall. Their conversation grew fainter and fainter until it could no longer be heard.
A moment later, the gates beneath the wall opened, and the imperial knights, led by their commander, spurred their horses and rode out.
"We're driving them, not killing them! Anyone who wastes his strength trying to kill them for no reason will answer to me! Understood?!"
"Yes, sir!"
At the commander's shout, the knights bellowed in unison.
The knight order rode swiftly through the narrow valley between the rocky mountains—the dry canyon.
Just as the adjutant and the commander had expected, the knight order encountered no knights from the southern fortress as they traversed the canyon.
Riding at the front, Viscount Rolf grunted as he looked at the empty canyon.
A few years ago, they would have seen at least a scouting soldier or a mercenary, but, as his adjutant had said, the Carlos Kingdom's army seemed to be struggling even to defend Soroka Fortress.
That evening.
The knight order split into three groups, each taking up a position in the canyon.
To the north, in the center, and to the south, near the Carlos Kingdom.
Though the canyon was steep, there were places where it was easy to descend from the rocky mountains.
Those places naturally became pathways for the monsters, and the Tsar Empire and Carlos Kingdom armies used to fight over control of those passages.
But that was a story from a few years ago.
"We'll set up camp here. Select the knights for guard duty, and contact the rangers to check on the other camps."
"Understood."
Viscount Rolf smacked his lips as he looked at the senior knight, who gave only dry responses.
If only his adjutant had come along, there would have been some fun in teasing him.
He was looking forward to the upcoming battle, but it was a shame to be surrounded by nothing but boring subordinates.
The Viscount also regretted that he would be fighting only monsters.
If only a Monster King had crossed over, he could have fought with his life on the line...
If they were just weak monsters, the battle might turn into a boring hunt, like herding sheep.
Did the gods know of his disappointment?
That night, the Viscount shuddered at the cold sweat running down the back of his neck.
In the middle of the night, after the sun had set and the moon had gone down.
The central division of the knight order, to which Viscount Rolf belonged, was jolted fully awake by the absurd news.
"What do you mean? The apprentice knights on guard duty have disappeared?"
At the words of the apprentice knight who came running, the Viscount could not help but roar.
"We went to relieve them of guard duty, but none of them were there. We tried the password and sent other signals, but got no response."
"Which direction was the missing guard unit stationed?"
"To the south."
"The apprentice knights aren't at the eastern post, either!"
He had wondered why two people had come together, but they were apprentice knights assigned to different locations.
Not just one place—the guard units in two of the four directions had vanished?
"It's an emergency! Everyone, wake up!"
Though everyone seemed to have already woken at his ominous tone, the Viscount raised his voice even higher.
If it had been only one, things might have been different, but if guard units in two locations had vanished, it meant they were under attack.
He had assigned the apprentice knights to guard duty so the main force could rest, yet this had happened.
"I was too complacent because of the rumors that the Kingdom bastards were ruined."
The Viscount gave an order to the senior knight, who had rushed out of his tent.
"Summon the rangers immediately! Those ranger bastards should be able to find out what's going on."
Although they had become rangers because they couldn't handle mana properly, their movements through these mountains and forests were superior to those of the knights.
"Understood."
The senior knight pulled a small whistle from his breast and blew hard.
Tweet...
A sharp sound rang from the whistle, then soon rose beyond the range of human hearing.
High-frequency sound waves spread in all directions.
It was a sound that animals and ordinary people could not hear, but those who had touched mana could.
The rangers should have heard it too, but no response came.
Viscount Rolf's face hardened like stone.
"Have the monsters already descended upon us?"
There were all kinds of monsters within the sealing boundary. Many of them launched night raids like this.
But it was not yet time for them to arrive.
Judging by the beacons and the rangers' reports, they shouldn't arrive until tomorrow afternoon.
And yet, this had happened.
Was it an enemy raid? Or had an unknown monster attacked?
Various possibilities flashed through his mind, but the Viscount first rallied the knight order.
"Gear up and take a headcount. And send messengers to the other divisions. Tell them what's happened here and check whether anything has happened there!"
"Understood!"
The knight order moved swiftly. With the help of the apprentice knights and squires, they donned their armor, packed up the tents, and formed up.
In the meantime, two knights dashed off to the south and north. They were messengers bound for the other divisions.
Though they had to run on foot because of the night, it wasn't much different from riding on horseback.
Fortunately, no one else had disappeared. Since there were no further casualties, the Viscount felt slightly relieved.
But it was still too early to relax.
Of the two knights who had set out as messengers, one did not return.
It was the knight who had gone to find the northern division.
And the knight who had gone to the southern division returned with even more shocking news.
"The division has been wiped out! Not a single knight survived!"
Hearing the messenger's words, the Viscount stared north, toward the direction the other messenger had gone.
He wanted to rush over immediately, but it was pitch-black night.
Even though the knights could see their surroundings in monochrome in such dim light, they could not escape the risk of an ambush while on the move.
Grind.
The Viscount gnashed his teeth.
"We'll wait here until morning. Once the sun rises, whatever it is, I'll tear it to shreds, so everyone, hold your ground!"
The Viscount and his knight order resolved to crush whatever appeared before them, whether it was a Monster King or an inherited ability user from some kingdom.
While the Viscount was gnashing his teeth, I had been swinging my sword for quite some time.
"Ugh!"
As I swung my greatsword, a knight collapsed.
It was a dark night.
Because of the sudden ambush, the knights had not even put on their armor properly.
Even if they had been wearing armor, it wouldn't have stopped them from being cut down, but it would have been harder to sweep them away so easily.
After hearing the Count's account, I asked to act independently.
I had requested permission to scout the canyon before the monsters arrived.
The Count was puzzled by the idea of an escort knight acting independently, but once the Princess gave her permission, he granted my request.
And so, the day before the monsters were due to arrive, I was able to inspect this canyon.
I kept swinging my sword, and before I knew it, only a few knights were left alive.
The remaining knights gathered in one place, raising their swords toward me.
"Who do you belong to? How dare you attack the knights of the Empire!"
The knight in the center shouted at me. He seemed to be the senior knight, judging by the fact that his mana was stronger than the others'.
Without replying, I tapped my helmet with my other hand.
The whole reason I wore plain plate armor without a crest was to hide my identity, so there was no way I would answer such an obvious question.
"He is a strong opponent! Everyone, attack together!"
"Yes!"
The knights' conversation left me speechless.
Hadn't they been attacking me together up until now?
They hadn't been fighting in formation, admittedly, but several of them had eagerly lunged at me together.
And yet they said that.
But when I looked into the eyes of the senior knight who had spoken, I understood what he meant.
He was signaling with his eyes to a knight who looked quick on his feet.
He probably intended to report what was happening here to the other camps.
It didn't really matter, since they would have found out anyway, but I had no intention of letting him do as he pleased.
I raised my greatsword and dashed forward.
They spread out in a semicircle as if to surround me. The knights channeled their mana and pointed their swords at me.
Just as I was one step away from entering their range, I stopped.
Then I swung my greatsword vigorously through the empty air.
Whoosh.
The knights looked bewildered. But their expressions instantly turned to sheer horror.
Slash.
The knights' bodies were sliced in half.
"What in the world...?"
The senior knight uttered his final question as he collapsed to the ground.
Swish.
Meanwhile, one knight turned and fled, but a dagger flew through the air and embedded itself in his neck.
Seeing the knights fall, I sheathed my sword.
There was no way they could have seen sword aura in the dark of night, when it was already hard to see during the day.
Now, only one camp remained.
Only the camp I had skipped, because I had spotted quite a few strong knights there, was left.
If I cleared that camp, I would be halfway to my destination.
After using mana to confirm that no living knights remained, I called out to my companion, who had come with me.
"Let's go."
When I said that, the air shimmered, and a person emerged.
Glan, the Count's son and my junior, stared at me, his face pale with terror.