Chapter 108
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Savior of the Bell Sound (1)
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Crunch!
A locust fell.
Its body stretched to seventy centimeters long.
Uninsect-like in its massive bulk, it was charred black like coal.
Naturally, the locust showed no movement whatsoever.
It was already dead, beyond any resistance.
Even before the slow rake of a weary, yawning farmer.
“Yawn.”
Crunch, crunch-crunch!
Each rake snagged three or four locusts.
All of them charred like coal, swept this way and that.
Cleared away, gathered up.
Piled into mountains.
“Whew, this is insane.”
Sir Bayern, the senior knight of the barony urging on the cleanup efforts, grimaced in disgust. He’d felt it yesterday when the locust swarm attacked, but the sheer number was truly revolting.
‘At least there were hardly any casualties. That’s a relief.’
Sir Bayern suddenly recalled yesterday morning.
It had been just an ordinary morning.
He’d woken at his usual time.
Washed his face and hurried to morning training.
The eerie roar from the eastern sky came right after he stepped out of the house.
‘I’d never seen anything like it.’
The locust swarm that blackened the skies over the Eastern Mountains.
It blotted out the sun, the clouds, the once-blue sky entirely.
The surroundings had darkened as if night had fallen.
Even now, thinking back sent chills down his spine.
‘It felt like the end of the world.’
He’d been flustered.
No, truthfully, he’d been terrified.
He’d wanted to drop everything and run home.
Barricade himself in the deepest part of the warehouse and hide.
But who was he?
The senior knight of Frontera Barony.
Though his swordsmanship lagged far behind Haviel Asrahan, the low-rank knight, he bore the responsibility of commanding the territory’s Engineering Corps and guards.
Especially in a disaster like yesterday, he believed that even more so.
So he’d run.
Toward the Baron’s Family mansion instead of hiding at home.
There, he planned to assemble the Engineering Corps and guards and mount a counterattack.
But it hadn’t been easy.
‘I barely made it two hundred meters before the swarm surrounded me.’
Dozens of locusts charged him.
He swung his sword frantically amid them.
It was the worst bloodbath he’d ever endured.
His strength ebbed away.
His sword grew heavy.
His legs slowed.
He thought that was the end.
That he’d die pointlessly in the bugs’ midst, failing to protect anyone or fulfill his duty.
But then, an unexpected resonant tone struck his ears.
‘It was Lord Lloyd.’
Sir Bayern looked up.
He gazed at the man atop the riverbank of the reclaimed land, overseeing the locust corpse cleanup.
The eldest son of his liege lord, Lloyd Frontera.
‘If it weren’t for him, I’d have died yesterday.’
No doubt about it.
It would’ve happened for sure.
If that resonant tone hadn’t rung out at that moment.
If Young Master Lloyd hadn’t made the sound with the pot lid.
If the swarm hadn’t been drawn to it like moths to a flame.
He’d have been torn apart and eaten alive by the locusts.
‘And I wasn’t the only one.’
Countless others in the territory had been the same.
Nearly all the residents.
The farmers gathering locust corpses over there on the reclaimed land.
The Engineering Corps members with exhausted faces after a full day of cleanup.
And each of their families.
Without Lloyd, they all would’ve met death.
Sir Bayern was certain of that one fact.
But then.
“I think that’s enough for today.”
A sudden voice from beside him.
Sir Bayern startled at the sound.
He turned.
“What? You wanna keep going?”
“……”
Lloyd, who’d been atop the riverbank moments ago, was now speaking right beside him.
He must’ve approached while Bayern was lost in thought.
Sir Bayern cleared his throat.
“If Lord Lloyd wishes to extend the work, I’d be glad to.”
“Keep going? Sun’s setting.”
“I merely follow orders faithfully.”
“Yeah? Alright then. How about we pull an all-nighter till tomorrow morning? Might as well push hard and wrap it up quick while we’re at it.”
“Understood.”
He nodded.
Turned to summon the senior Engineering Corps soldiers.
But he didn’t call his men.
Lloyd spoke first, swiftly.
“Whoa, whoa. You’re not seriously gonna do it, are you? All-nighter?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You think I ordered it?”
“Yes.”
“……You don’t just dive into all-nighters blindly.”
“Then shall I cancel the all-nighter order?”
“Of course.”
“Understood.”
“……”
Hoo. This earnest, stubbornly rigid knight.
Lloyd let out a wry internal chuckle.
‘Sir Bayern’s always been like this.’
In the novel *Iron-Blooded Knight*, one of the only two knights who didn’t betray the crumbling Baron’s Family.
But as an extra unlike the protagonist Haviel, he didn’t have much screen time.
‘Just mentions describing him as earnest and loyal. That was it.’
But those two traits were enough.
Loyalty that never betrayed his lord, the baron.
Diligence in seeing every task through to the end.
To leverage those strengths, Lloyd had put him in charge of the Engineering Corps from the early ondol room business days.
And Sir Bayern had faithfully completed every project since.
‘But if there’s one flaw... hmm, excessive seriousness, maybe.’
Unlike Haviel, who rebelled just enough to make teasing fun, he lacked that spark.
Lloyd smacked his lips at the bone-broth-like regret blooming inside him and said,
“You’ve worked hard today. That pile won’t vanish in a day or two anyway. Sun’s dipping low, so wrap up and dismiss.”
“Understood.”
Sir Bayern signaled the senior soldiers.
The Engineering Corps cheered as they stowed their tools.
Exhaustion from clearing locust corpses all day, no doubt.
Yet even so, they didn’t scatter right away.
Before hurrying back to barracks, they approached.
Drew up in orderly ranks.
And bellowed toward him.
“Thank you, Lord Lloyd!”
“……Haha? What’s this?”
A pack of burly men suddenly shouting thanks caught him off guard.
But seeing their eyes, he felt a glimpse of their sincerity.
“You think I saved you all yesterday or something?”
“Yes, exactly!”
“Whoa, whoa. Enough. I was just fighting hard for my own retirement.”
“……”
“So if you wanna thank me, go ahead. But next time, skip the roaring cheers and bring a fat pouch of gold coins instead. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
Their earnestness embarrassed him a bit.
He’d picked prickly words on purpose.
Yet they bellowed “Got it!” and dispersed all the same.
‘Did I go too overboard yesterday?’
From Marez Reclaimed Land to the Baron’s Family mansion.
Walking alone through the red sunset, he couldn’t stop the wry smiles bubbling up. Recalling what he’d done here yesterday made it worse.
Suddenly, yesterday’s desperate moment flashed back.
The final instant, luring the swarm into his prepped extermination zone.
♣
“Jump sideways!”
Buzzzzzz—!
The deafening wingbeats of the locusts charging right behind.
A chilling sound that chilled the marrow just hearing it.
He bellowed amid it.
Haviel reacted instantly to the shout.
Carried on the guy’s back, they whooshed sideways together.
Tumbled into the irrigation ditch.
He thrust out a hand at once.
Pressed down on Haviel’s head.
Slapped the pot lid over them.
Buzzzzzz—!
The eerie wingbeats crashing from above.
Too many to count. The noise mashed into a blur, like static from a TV channel showing only gray snow.
But the volume was like a hundred concert speakers cranked to max.
Heart pounding thump-thump.
Pulse racing mad.
‘Bangul, now!’
He screamed inwardly.
Bangul’s response came that instant.
“Bangul!”
Kwaaaaaang—!
A blast shaking heaven and earth.
Explosion engulfing the locust swarm.
Whoosh-crack!
Volcanic Eruption skill detonated.
Dreadful shockwave assault.
Heatwave at a thousand degrees erupted.
Magma fragments stormed at four hundred kph.
Swept everything in range.
Radiant heat roasted the entire space within dozens of meters.
Only two survived unscathed.
“Down lower! Lower!”
Lloyd yelled.
They hunkered deeper into the ditch.
Most incoming radiant heat blocked by the pot lid.
The rest absorbed, expelled via Asrahan Heart Method.
They endured the volcanic storm.
Then rose.
“Now! Hit it!”
Ta-dah!
Both sprang up.
Lloyd raised the pot lid.
Haviel lifted his sword.
Dengggg—!
Sword struck lid.
A low, clear resonant tone spread from the destruction site.
Via ground, superheated air, it propagated fast.
Stimulated, tempted, drew in the swarm staggering from the sudden blast.
Buzzzzzzz!
The hesitating swarm surged greedily again.
“Perfect! Again!”
Dengggg—!
Tone shook the air once more.
Hundreds of thousands of wings quivered with greed, swarming.
They hunkered deep in the ditch.
Volcanic eruption burst anew.
“Bangul!”
Kwaaaaaang—!
Thousand degrees, trillions of glass shards, four-hundred-kph heat blast.
Dreadful radiant heat and shockwave ravaged dozens of meters ahead.
Second blast charred over ten thousand locusts.
Bangul prepped the third shot instantly.
“Bangul! Fast one!”
Maw gaped wide.
Waiting Podong dug furiously.
Earth flung skyward poured straight into Bangul’s mouth.
Swallowed. Digested.
Third load chambered.
“Ready!”
Denggg!
Resonant tone rang.
Swarm gathered fiercely.
Fired command.
“Now!”
Kwaaaaaang—!
Fire, eat dirt, ring pot, gather, fire again.
Merciless gears of a perfect extermination storm.
Hamang joined, setting the trap.
“Hamang, now!”
“Hamang!”
Gulp-gulp, whoosh!
Waiting Hamang dove into the river beyond the bank.
Sucked water. Max capacity.
Head up.
Sprayed.
High into the sky.
As wide as possible.
Over a hundred thousand liters rained down like a deluge.
Doused the swarm fleeing the blasts. Wet their wings. They plummeted.
Lloyd sprang up.
Haviel drew sword.
Heavy footfalls thundered from the west.
“Here! Don’t forget our spears and blades!”
Thudududu……!
Five hundred riders in pristine white armor and barding appeared.
The King’s promised direct troops, the White Lancers, had finally arrived.
They charged like a tidal wave.
Lances gleaming pure white ahead.
Swept the grounded swarm.
Trampled underhoof, pierced by lance, formation pierced the swarm’s rear.
Behind them, Lloyd and Haviel’s shovel and sword flashed.
Thwack!
Lloyd’s triple Blasting.
Haviel’s precise chain Blasting.
Destructive mana storm swept the remnants.
Fear pheromones spread like plague through the swarm.
They spread wet wings.
Kicked off to flee.
Welcoming them, Bangul’s volcanic eruption aimed skyward like precision artillery.
“Bangul!”
Kwaaaaaang—!
Fierce volcanic blast heatwind painted the territory skies in mushroom-cloud fireworks.
♣
‘……A spectacle of a day, that was.’
Yesterday’s tense, peril-packed moments.
An extermination op that would’ve moved ×soko staff to storm tears and standing ovations.
‘Glad it worked.’
The plan he’d devised.
The reckless gambit to execute it.
Everything clicked perfectly, saving everyone.
The territory snatched from crisis.
He shelved the thoughts and kept walking.
By the time the sunset vanished beyond the western horizon, he reached the Baron’s Family mansion.
The mansion mangled, gnawed everywhere by locusts.
Like ripped jeans shredded on purpose by a cranky fashion designer.
“Still, it didn’t collapse. That’s lucky. If you’d been even a bit later yesterday, Young Master, this place wouldn’t have a scrap left.”
He’d been staring up at the mansion when a bright voice chimed in.
A maid awaited at the front gate.
Mid-teens, maybe.
Freckles her charm.
The one who usually served the Baroness...
“Emily?”
“Yes, Young Master. Madam sent me to bring you to the dining hall when you arrived.”
“Oh, alright.”
What made this maid so chipper?
Was guiding him that fun?
She beamed nonstop while leading.
Made it awkward.
‘Never get used to this treatment.’
Back in Korea, nowhere welcomed him.
Not since his parents died, truly.
But here, different.
Everywhere, “Young Master, Young Master.”
Owe their lives to him, he saved the territory, eyes of respect and thanks.
Like this girl glancing back with smiles while leading.
“Um, actually, Young Master?”
“Hm?”
“I started embroidering today.”
“Embroidering? What kind?”
“Cross-stitch.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Planning something awesome.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. Your super cool look. The coolest I’ve ever seen.”
“Hmm, how cool we talking?”
“You braving danger for everyone yesterday.”
“……Kuhk.”
Nearly choked.
But oblivious to his plight, maid Emily chattered on ahead.
“Yesterday was really scary.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. Thought I’d die. Right here, top of the stairs.”
“Here?”
“Yes. Surrounded. By the locusts.”
“Fainted on the spot, huh.”
“But then you appeared, Young Master.”
“……Hungry. Let’s hurry.”
Mortified to death.
Lloyd quickened pace.
Passed Emily, headed for the dining hall first.
But then.
“So, Young Master.”
Emily’s voice tugged his sleeve from behind.
Before he could reply, she bowed deeply.
“Thank you.”
“……”
“You saved me. Thank you. My brother, grandma, everyone. You’re our lifesaver, Young Master.”
“Yeah.”
“Yes. Please enjoy dinner.”
“Will do. Thanks.”
No defense against such frank sincerity.
Emily finished, fled red-faced with pattering steps.
Lloyd couldn’t help a wry smile at her back.
That instant.
Ding-dong.
[You displayed heroic courage and resolve, risking your life for the residents of Frontera Barony and Rionero Racona Viscounty alike.]
[Thus, the residents of both territories, deeply moved, send you their praise.]
[A new praise for you has been generated.]