Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Silent Canyon Ambush
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After several months, the White Gate and its surroundings had developed and changed so much that it was hard to recognize them even from afar.
They had demolished the orc outpost reduced to scorched earth by fire and war, beginning construction oriented toward defense and infrastructure.
Word of daily wages from the royal family had drawn laborers packing their belongings to come down, along with merchants looking to sell goods and food to those workers.
A pioneer village had naturally sprung up near the gate, and liberated slaves and refugees had settled there in droves.
Of course, the influx of shantytowns and refugees had brought problems like deteriorating public order for a time, but the dispatched officials' tireless efforts had improved matters considerably.
From here on, the White Gate would serve as a sturdy shield guarding the kingdom's entrance and a vital bridge linking the east and the north.
I prayed to the Mother North watching over us from the heavens for a brilliant future ahead.
Then, tugging the reins, I brought the deer—which had been galloping along—to a halt. It snorted roughly.
Purruk!
Dududududu——!!
Around the vast plain, stalwart White-Horned Deer cavalry were swiftly wheeling about.
They had dispatched troops from the gate to escort us this far.
They now had the unmistakable look of elite soldiers.
After circling the area for a while, the White-Horned Deer cavalry captain bellowed to me in a booming voice.
"This is as far as we go, milord! Keep straight this way, and you'll hit the canyon!"
"Thanks!"
In this disputed region where skirmishes numbering in the dozens broke out daily, this was as far as such a cavalry unit could venture.
The captain saluted me crisply before leading his riders back across the plain to faithfully carry out their duty guarding the gate today.
Dududududu——!
Now it was just the four of us.
I cautiously asked Black Arrow, who was riding pillion behind me in the saddle.
"Uh, you don't normally know how to ride deer?"
"F-Forgot how?"
For this eastern journey, one more had joined us besides Richard and Ronald.
Black Arrow, who had been guarding the coast, had volunteered to accompany the eastern dispatch.
With elf ships appearing less frequently lately and coastal defenses sufficient, it seemed fine.
After some deliberation, the king and prime minister readily approved her going along.
She was the leader of the exiles, recognized as equal in combat prowess to the Gray Wolf.
Having her with us felt more reassuring than gaining a heavenly host.
Time to depart.
Ronald, who had packed the gear, approached me.
"All set, milord."
According to the captain, another two or three hours of riding would get us to the canyon.
With no orcs blocking the border now, entering the east shouldn't be too hard.
"Let's go."
The favorable tailwind felt like a good omen.
I grabbed the packs Ronald had prepared, soothed the snorting deer, and gripped the thick reins.
"Hyah!"
Dakak! Dakak! Dakak!
With a shout, I snapped the reins.
The herd of deer carrying me and my companions swiftly crossed the plain.
Dakak, dakak, dakak.
Purruk!
As expected, it took about three hours from the plain to the canyon entrance.
After a brief rest, we urged our deer toward the canyon mouth without hesitation.
"......It's too quiet."
The canyon was eerily silent.
Even if the trade route to the gate had been cut off, I hadn't expected to see no merchant wagons bound for the north or even refugees.
What on earth had happened? Not a soul, not even an ant or a bird in sight.
The only sound in the deserted canyon was the dismal howl of the wind.
"Tighten the formation."
Thick clouds and sheer cliffs made the canyon dark even in broad daylight.
Scanning the surroundings, I reluctantly lit an oil-soaked torch.
Fwoosh!
Visibility was limited in the gloom.
Pushing faster would be dangerous, so I ordered the formation tightened and took point.
An unseen but palpable unease.
The suspicious draft licking my nape hinted at unknown peril.
Something had gone wrong in the canyon.
Noting the overly tidy roadside, I rested my right hand on my sword hilt.
What felt like an hour passed in just ten minutes as a fierce, cold wind blew in.
Suddenly, a familiar sound grazed my ears.
Kikikik!
Pew!
The twang of bowstrings.
At the same instant, arrows painted black with lye slurry flew from the dense underbrush.
Clang!
I swiftly drew and deflected the incoming arrow, leaping down simultaneously.
But that was just the start—arrows began raining from all sides.
Pew! Thuk!
Kikikik thuk!
Chaeng! Clang!
The fletching was orc-style.
And orcs who ambushed knights like this could only be orc hunters.
That explained the canyon's silence—an orc mercenary band had already pushed this far.
Deflecting all the arrows, I hurled the blazing oil torch into the heart of the brush.
Fwoosh!
But unfortunately, not everyone in our group was an armed knight.
The instant I threw the torch, an arrow whistled past my head.
Pewng!
Kuhk!
Kyaak!
In that fleeting moment as the torch illuminated the brush, Black Arrow's beast-like dynamic vision spotted the enemies.
She loosed three arrows at once, slaying three orc hunters hiding in the nearest tree with godlike precision.
"Knight Order! Charge!"
With Black Arrow providing cover fire, no archer could target our blind spots.
Buoyed, I let out a mighty roar and charged the orcs holding the canyon.
Whoosh!
Kang!
A startled orc whipped out his sword, slashing down at my head.
But I easily parried and sliced through his sword and body in a flash.
"Hraaah!"
"Die!"
My companions weren't idle either.
Richard vented his rage with wild swings, while Ronald steadily carved through foes.
Underestimate them for their small stature, and you'd regret it.
Having soaked up the strengths of Northern Swordsmanship and my teachings like sponges, those two had long reached a high realm.
Puk, krunch!
Smiling with satisfaction, I busily dispatched the remaining orcs.
Soon the area was littered with their butchered corpses and pools of blood.
The fired-up Richard asked me,
"Captain, pursue?"
"Black Arrow's already on it. Wipe the blood off and calm down first—your anger's over the top."
"......Sorry."
A few had fled, their will broken.
But with Black Arrow in pursuit, catching them was only a matter of time.
I wiped the blood from my blade and patted Richard, who was still buzzing with excitement.
Channeling anger into strength was good, but excess in anything spelled trouble.
"Let's move."
Confirming no enemies remained, we headed toward where Black Arrow had dashed off.
Sounds of arrows thudding accompanied the reveal of a campsite nestled against the cliff.
They'd been using it as a base to hunt every human passing through.
Finally understanding the canyon's state, I sheathed my sword with a frown.
"Mmph!"
Black Arrow, having cleaned up the camp, presented a captured orc and a foul-smelling flag.
"It was hanging in their camp."
"Seen it before?"
Ronald brought a torch to inspect the flag, pointing to a crest unlike any orc tribe's.
"Redskins. This bunch is probably one of their affiliates."
"Affiliates? Mercs like them?"
"Orc mercenary band rooted in the far-eastern mines. They're so massive even the second prince can't touch them."
"......And someone paid to hire trash like that? You've really hit rock bottom."
Black Arrow's sharp rebuke.
Yet Ronald, even as the royal family took the hit, offered no rebuttal—just bowed his head.
It was an embarrassing history, but undeniable fact.
Mmph!
Slash!
"Kraaak! Damn monkey bastards! I'll rip your guts out and——!"
Kwak!
Talks too much for a captive.
I smashed the raving orc's head with my scabbard, then kicked his bleeding gut.
Guts, huh?
Frowning, I stomped the writhing orc and took the torch Richard handed over.
"Where are the rest?"
"Y-You son of a——!"
"Yeah, won't talk."
Sizzle!
Kwaaaaaak!
I hadn't expected him to from the start. I seared the wound with the torch.
He screamed hideously, voiding every orifice.
Unfortunately, the cauterized wound stanched the bleeding.
With a blank face, I kicked him aside and asked again about the other mercs' location.
"Where?"
"S-South......! South of the canyon!"
Sizzle!
Kwaaaaaak!
No way he'd spit truth easily.
I methodically seared the wound, waiting for truth to spill.
Half a day in this state, and he'd beg for mercy.
Personally demonstrating northern ways, I let him know we had time.
"Captain!"
But then Ronald, scouting the camp and canyon, urgently called me.
His twisted face bore a rare flush of relief.
"Survivors!"
"Ah......!"
Why would hunters take prisoners?
Startled, I kicked the screaming orc aside and ran to Ronald.
"S-Spare us!"
"Kkhk, hk!"
Near the camp, a deep-dug pit prison reeked amid the clamor.
Dozens were crammed in filth, barely alive.
Slash!
"Grab on!"
"Gods, thank you!"
Like rain in drought.
Learning easterners had survived, Richard hastily sliced the bars and reached in.
Ignoring the slime and sewage, he pulled out the weeping people one by one, giving them clean water.
We rescued thirty-one in all.
Escaping that hopeless hell, the easterners embraced, tears flowing.
Wasn't this the goal?
Richard, who would save many more, steadied his mind and body with a sigh of relief.
"S-Sword Saint?"
"Hm?"
But amid the confusion, someone called me from the crowd.
In this unexpected place, someone recognized my face.
I turned to see an eastern man leaping up.
With disbelief and a trembling voice, he asked,
"Could His Majesty the Knight King have sent you? Please, tell me yes."
"Who are you? You know me?"
The haggard man, tears and snot streaming, approached.
He dropped to bony knees and showed me a hood.
It bore the Eastern Crows' symbol—I remembered it from their camp.
Captured trying to flee east; predictable, perhaps.
"Something happened."
"Kkhwk, hk......!"
He prostrated at my feet.
His desperate plea for mercy spoke volumes of the east's plight.