The Grand Duke’s Gambit
The next day, the command barracks of the Northern Frontline were again filled with a meeting. The air was heavy, thick with the tension left over from the chaos of last night.
Todd, a soldier of Karon Hartvalt’s, had stood before the watching eyes of both humans and orcs. He exposed the message Karon had sent him and drove a blade straight through his own throat.
“I am truly sorry. I failed to manage my subordinates properly.”
Karon spoke first, offering a public apology. Yet even as he did so, he immediately insisted the matter had nothing to do with him.
“Todd had not been right in the head since his sister’s death.” His voice remained perfectly calm, carrying not the slightest tremor. “After I offered him my consolation, he twisted it into some grotesque delusion and ran off on his own. It’s truly pitiful, but… I did not manage my subordinates well enough to prevent the army from being disrupted. I am deeply ashamed.”
His words sounded like genuine remorse. But the handwriting on the intercepted message was unmistakably not Karon’s. With only that evidence, it was impossible to pin the crime directly on him.
“…Mm.”
Yet the suspicion that had once taken root would not fade so easily. Todd’s final scream, uttered with his very life, was far too heavy to dismiss as the ravings of a mad soldier. Especially the gazes of the veteran knights—already poisoned by the heir issue—had grown even more hostile toward Karon.
Karon maintained a quiet smile even amid those hostile eyes.
Damn you, Todd.
Inside, his teeth were grinding. A loser had detonated his final weapon in the most bizarre direction imaginable. What had he eaten wrong? Why had he suddenly accepted the reality he had been ignoring and done something so pointless?
But it was not over yet.
Anyway, there’s no evidence.
Karon kept his expression serene. The failure had made the stakes higher, but that was all. What mattered now was the duel that would follow.
The format of the duel had already been agreed upon and coordinated with the orcs. Volkrik had proposed it, and the Orc Great Warrior had accepted. It would be a five-on-five chariot battle.
The rules were simple: each side would field five warriors. One would step forward, fight, and the victor would remain to face the next opponent. Death, unconsciousness, or surrender meant defeat. The fight would continue until one side had all five warriors fallen.
“As you all know, the duel rules have been decided. I will now name the participants.”
What remained was only the task of choosing the human side’s warriors.
“I will go.”
Volkrik spoke first. The faces of the staff officers hardened at the commander taking the field himself.
“Commander…?”
“Mm…”
It was dangerous for the supreme commander to personally enter the duel. Yet there was no room to refuse. The opponent was the Orc Great Warrior. Removing Volkrik—the strongest force on the Northern Front—would drastically cut their odds of victory.
“While I am in the duel, all command will fall to Deputy Commander Erant.”
The fortress’s defense would be left entirely to Erant. Volkrik’s words left no room for objection; the plan had already been prepared in advance.
“I will go as well.”
Graham Berk spoke in a voice slightly lower than usual.
“I originally came here to watch the Grand Duke, but… I can’t just turn my back now.”
Graham’s decision met with open approval from most of the people in the barracks.
“Oh! Sir Graham!”
“It’s truly fortunate that Sir Graham is here!”
One of the three legendary swords of the late Duke Valgrim. His reputation had been earned not merely from his lord’s favor but from his peerless martial prowess.
Among Valgrim’s subordinates, he was among the three strongest swordsmen in the North. He was not the type suited to command like Volkrik, but his pure combat ability was on par with—or even surpassed—Volkrik’s.
“Hah hah, how fortunate. I never thought I’d be holding a sword again before you all.”
Though he was older, the veteran knights present felt a wave of relief simply because Graham was here. Ten years ago they had marched into war together; Graham had been their respected superior then.
“I will go as well.”
Karon declared with resolute determination.
“As the blood of the Hartvalt family, I cannot step back from such a duel. Most of all, last night’s unfortunate incident has already cast suspicion upon my name. I wish to prove the family’s honor here and now.”
His words were perfectly plausible. A few veteran knights’ eyes cooled sharply.
Is he trying to raise his reputation with this opportunity?
But his skill is unproven.
Yet they could not deny it outright. At eighteen, a genius standing before the Sword Master rank. Karon Hartvalt entering the duel was also a necessity for the human side’s strength.
“I will go as well.”
Kyle raised his hand.
“The Grand Duke will be participating?”
Volkrik’s gaze shifted to Kyle.
Kyle nodded.
“Yes. I intended to enter from the beginning.”
Kyle’s physical prowess had only just reached the level of Mid-level Knight. Compared to Karon, who already stood at the very edge of High-level Knight, it was still far below. Yet something inexplicable radiated from him.
“Then the final seat will be the most important.”
Choosing the final participant proved no easy matter. One veteran knight suggested he would be the safest choice. In terms of real combat experience, the statement was not wrong. But Kyle spoke first.
“I suggest Leina take the final seat.”
“Leina?”
The gazes in the barracks turned toward Leina standing beside Kyle.
Leina Garyen. Once the genius lady-in-waiting of the Golden Lion Brigade.
“Hm. I can feel it.”
Looking at her, the veteran knights judged her quite favorably. The pressure Leina carried while standing behind Kyle was quiet yet razor-sharp. Her current rank had reached High-level Knight. She had crossed the Mid-level Knight barrier and entered the elite ranks.
It was as if a dam that had been blocking everything had finally burst.
“Grand Duke.”
One of the staff officers said with concern, “No matter how excellent Leina is, stepping over the heads of veteran knights… Can you be certain you are ready?”
“Certain?”
Kyle answered firmly.
“I can guarantee Leina’s skill. Above all, she will never retreat in a life-or-death struggle. On the contrary, she will step one step further and shatter the wall.”
It was a guarantee that she could grow even stronger while still fighting.
Volkrik stared at Leina for a moment, then gave a short nod.
“Very well. The final seat will be Leina.”
Thus the five human warriors were chosen: Volkrik Iron-Side, Graham Berk, Kyle Hartvalt, Karon Hartvalt, and… Leina Garyen.
Leina felt a surge of joy upon learning she had been selected. At the same time, gratitude filled her as she looked at her lord Kyle. The trust he had shown her— she would repay it with everything she had.
I will never disappoint you.
***
The five representatives of the human side descended the northern wall. They could not open the gates. With an orc army pressing right in front of them, it would have been madness to walk out through the gates.
“Commander, please win.”
“The commander will win, right?”
Countless soldiers on the wall gazed down with tense faces. The knights themselves showed unmistakable nervousness.
Whoosh— A blizzard howled across the frozen wasteland. The five stood on the snow-covered ground between the wall and the orc camp. On the opposite side, more than twenty thousand orcs stood arrayed like a black wave.
Soon the orc camp divided as well. Five warriors walked out from their side—each one larger and thicker with muscle than any ordinary orc, the kind that could only have been forged through relentless training.
And at the center: thump. Thump. Thump.
The Orc Great Warrior advanced. The overwhelming pressure he emitted twisted the flow of the surrounding blizzard itself.
The Orc Great Warrior’s gaze swept over the five human warriors. Then he spoke in the common tongue.
“Warriors of humanity!”
The Orc Great Warrior grinned.
“On our side, I will go first.”
His rough common tongue echoed through the blizzard. The wall erupted in commotion. Normally, the captain would fight last, letting his subordinates tire the enemy first, then deliver a crushing victory with overwhelming strength. Many soldiers had assumed the Orc Great Warrior would appear last.
Yet Kyle showed no surprise.
That was to be expected.
It was not a strategic choice. It was purely political. The Orc Great Warrior had supposedly fled from the orcs he was supposed to protect with overwhelming force. So he needed to prove to them that he was not weak.
“Who will go first on the human side?!”
The Orc Great Warrior asked.
A brief silence fell.
Then Graham stepped forward one pace.
“I will go first.”
The old knight’s hand tightened around the sword’s hilt. If the strongest on the other side stepped out, then the strongest on this side must as well.
Just as Graham was about to draw his sword, Kyle’s voice cut through.
“Hold, Sir Graham.”
Before Graham could even turn his head, Kyle had already passed him and walked forward. Footprints appeared on the snow. Slowly, he drew his sword.
Kyle stopped in front of the Orc Great Warrior and stared up at him with green eyes.
“In this duel, I, Kyle Hartvalt, will step forward!”
Kyle’s voice, carrying aura, reached even the wall above.
He had publicly declared he would be the first to go.
“What? The Grand Duke?”
“The family said he was a scoundrel… but he seems to actually enjoy fighting.”
“Still, the Orc Great Warrior isn’t weak enough for the Grand Duke to face, right?”
“If something happens, the whole place will burn down…”
On the wall, soldiers began murmuring.
Meanwhile, Karon’s blue eyes sank into stillness. His expression remained outwardly calm. But in truth, managing his face had become difficult.
The bastard dug his own grave.
Joy surged inside Karon’s chest. To the point that the corners of his mouth were rising uncontrollably. It was fortunate he faced the wall; otherwise his expression would have been visible above and his act as the worried younger brother would have failed.
He walked straight into his own slaughterhouse on his own feet. That arrogance will be the death of him!
He imagined that arrogant scoundrel thrusting his own neck into the center of a slaughterhouse. No matter how strange Kyle’s power was, he would never be able to defeat the Orc Great Warrior.
Go on, Kyle.
Karon smiled inwardly.
Die quickly.