Chapter 57
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: We'll Take Over the Fortress
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Brad was a kingdom facing the Drauven Federation across a lake as vast as the sea.
To invade Brad directly, Drauven would need warships.
However, maintaining dozens of large vessels just for operations on the lake would be a waste.
So the solution they found was to invade via Fiore territory.
Drauven, which had maintained close ties with the Fiore Kingdom, crossed Fiore lands to enter northern Brad, pacified the area, and then constructed a garrison.
"It was a strategy to turn Brad into one of the bases for invading Hellite."
The force numbered just over 20,000, but it was composed entirely of elites. And since Brad was such a small nation, Drauven's annexation of Brad seemed only a matter of time.
Yuderg climbed to a high vantage point and surveyed the ruins with an impassive expression.
"It's clear. This emblem, this scale—it's definitely that army. It's even more wretched up close. They said it was attacked by a disaster, though the reason is unknown."
"Then the army stationed here must have fought the disaster and fallen in the process."
At Erakins's words, Yuderg shook his head.
"They were wiped out without even laying a hand on it. What stopped the disaster was..."
Yuderg glanced at me.
Ah, he's talking about me.
At that moment, Requiya puffed out his chest proudly.
"It was Hellite's greatest Holy Knight who did it. This army incurred the disaster's wrath and was annihilated overnight. Even their enemies pitied them, but the greatest Holy Knight stood against the disaster. Ahem."
I'll stay quiet.
It wasn't me who did it, but it was Luke, so it's true enough.
Requiya's words aren't a lie either.
He didn't mention my name.
Yuderg already thinks of me as Luke Seid anyway.
Anyway, if I open my mouth now, I might have to lie or cause confusion.
That aside, just how much of a brute was Luke?
'To single-handedly subdue a monster that annihilated 20,000 troops...'
Ugh, my head's spinning.
I felt dizzy, but at the same time, a sense of relief washed over me.
The dizziness came from knowing I still wasn't even as strong as the grime under Luke's nails, while the relief stemmed from realizing I could stick around in Luke's body for a good long while.
At the very least, until I grew as strong as Luke in his final moments, I could keep living in this body, right?
Watching Luke grow proportionally stronger as he fought beasts in the darkness made it a reasonable guess.
If not, oh well.
'I need to get stronger very slowly.'
Silver Star: Over-acceleration is not good!
'Trying to get ahead by five minutes and ending up fifty years early.'
The closer we got to the ruins, the more the terrain opened into flat plains.
Our long, snake-like marching formation shifted into one that seemed to encircle something. We truly looked like a band of wasteland beggars.
They gathered in small groups, scattered to search the ruins, rummaging through everything, but found no useful items or signs of human life.
"It's spotless. You could believe this was an ancient ruin."
Fred let out a sigh and asked worriedly,
"You're planning to wake a monster like that?"
"It's necessary."
I nodded.
'I need to get stronger slowly. But I also have to survive, and get revenge for Requiya and Fred. For that, I need beings to fight alongside me. The gap with Requiya and Fred is widening every day—they're at a level where it's embarrassing to fight together anymore.'
Silver Star: Proxy Knight!
'Well, something like that.'
Of course, I knew what Fred was worried about.
"Don't worry. The disaster won't attack my companions."
"How can you be sure?"
"I sense it too."
Fred and Yuderg looked skeptical, while the other bandits who'd overheard us began muttering among themselves.
"Should've stayed at the cabin?"
"We gonna burn to death or get crushed following the boss?"
"Shh. He'll hear you."
I felt the need to share some details.
No point letting anxiety spread.
"I'm the one who put it to sleep. Only I can wake it. So what would be the price of waking it?"
"A contract, you mean."
I met Fred's eyes and nodded.
"I'll skip the details."
To be precise, it wouldn't be a contract with me, but with the Insight Ability.
The disaster had no choice but to submit to Silver Star to escape the world outside. Just like the other abilities I'd absorbed.
Even Luke hadn't known the disaster's exact origins.
But it had left me with that impression.
The disaster itself was akin to a single ability, and it had opened its heart before the Insight Ability.
Luke had read its anguish, tears of blood streaming, through the Insight Ability.
That's why he'd sealed it instead of killing it.
"Erakins, how large was the fortress you helped build?"
"Massive. Larger and sturdier than any castle I've seen. Sealed with holy power, so no one could trespass. That's what I heard."
"The terrain?"
"Right in the middle of the northern Brad plains—the highest hill in the area."
I had a rough idea now.
Scanning with Blue Eye, I spotted a plain emerging where the forest ended, reachable at full speed in a day.
The fortress wasn't visible yet, but that meant it was at the center of that plain.
Such a place would be perfect for these bandit scum to settle.
A sudden plan formed, and I couldn't help but smile.
"We'll take over the fortress."
Yuderg's clear eyes, already pale, wavered.
"I heard Holy Knights on pilgrimage visit periodically. Would they allow it? From what I know, you're currently..."
He was about to say "Fallen Holy Knight" or something.
I grinned.
"If they try to stop me, they're the heretics."
Whatever. I'm the captain.
I knew two Holy Knights.
Luke Seid and Asferan Esperanza.
I'd never spoken to Asferan—only glimpsed him from afar—but his actions in the sanctuary were enough to gauge his character.
Long story short, neither was normal.
'They're both massive idiots, really.'
One abandons his own body for trials, the other threatens to gouge out the eyes of Marcus, captain of the numerically superior Red Dragon Knights.
Battle maniacs, both.
Me? What about me?
"I'm normal. So don't worry."
Compared to Luke or Asferan, I was as gentle as a hamster.
Even after explaining that, Yuderg and even Fred looked uneasy.
The bandits went without saying.
I haven't earned their trust. Silver Star, you trust me, right?
Silver Star: No!
'Ah, I see...'
I couldn't force trust into them.
That'd be cult behavior.
The path of justice is always lonely.
I led the unbelievers onward.
The rear was falling behind—probably just my imagination.
The bandits' breaths and footsteps grew fainter.
I muttered as I picked up the pace.
"Now that we're out of the rough terrain, they've got some leeway? No dangerous monsters or raiders, so they're getting complacent?"
"No way. They're just momentarily shaken in purpose."
Requiya, checking on the hamster as we ran, comforted me.
"Yuderg's motives are unclear, though."
"They're unclear. But it's fine. It's just a temporary companionship anyway."
At the end of this journey, maybe only Silver Star would remain by my side.
The companions like Requiya weren't my accessories or expendables.
Not because they were a hassle, but because they each had their own lives—I already anticipated parting ways.
That's why I wasn't building unnecessary bonds.
'Get close to me, and you die. That's the key point.'
Silver Star: Uw aaaah! Silver Star dies too!
'You wouldn't die even if I did.'
Silver Star: Aha!
After another full day of running, the forest finally ended, revealing the vast northern plains of Brad.
It was a sea of dry reeds rippling in the wind.
Where grass was absent, rye and barley sprouted as if pleading that it had once been farmland.
Had it not been for the occasional large trees casting sparse shadows, one might mistake it for an ochre ocean in its expansiveness.
'That's a wild horse, and that one's a bison?'
The plains were ruled only by beasts idly grazing on reeds. Blue Eye revealed no traps or dangers.
I slowed our pace, treading carefully.
The shift in terrain and soil raised concerns for ankle or knee injuries—not for me, but for the scrawny beggars behind.
"Good sunlight, decently firm ground. Hard to believe a place this livable was abandoned."
"Ten years ago, maybe? Last time I saw it, there was a decent-sized village. Taverns bustling with mercenaries, ronin, and local farmers. Never imagined it'd turn like this."
Fred smacked his lips bitterly.
Requiya said, as if consoling him,
"Time changes not just people, but the face of the land itself."
Fred shook his head.
"War is scarier than time. Leaving the border cities, the continent's reality hits home. Free cities feel safer and more peaceful by comparison."
This place was called Anretus Arron.
'Memorizing place names is seriously tough. Staying only briefly makes it hard to remember.'
Silver Star: It's because they're proper nouns!
'I know that!'
On the border with Fiore Kingdom, conflicts never ceased.
Drauven's invasion on top of that had erased villages and turned farmlands to pasture.
"Before the fortress was built, half of Brad's army died here over ten years, they say."
Requiya showed off his knowledge after a while.
"Drauven's warlust was the true disaster of the Eaar Continent."
Guided by Requiya's words, Yuderg's usually stoic face darkened upon facing reality.
He was mostly expressionless, so changes were hard to spot, but his trembling eyes betrayed his turmoil.
I tossed out a casual remark.
"Feeling guilty or something?"
Yuderg answered with a sigh.
'Some complex emotion hard to put into words, huh. Tch, so this is being human.'
The fortress came into view, so I slowed to a walk.
Yuderg, scanning the plains with a bitter expression, spoke up.
"I can see traces of battle. Soldiers and generals alike had their bones shattered and flesh torn here."
"What are you getting at?"
Fred asked sharply, but Yuderg remained calm.
"I was foolish to think knights were warriors who performed the world's most dangerous and noble deeds."
Fred let out a hollow laugh at Yuderg's sentiment.
"That's war for you. I've never been in a large-scale battle myself, but I've heard plenty at ronin markets. From those who'd fought as soldiers or mercenaries. They can't sleep without booze, haunted by nightmares. To survive, to eat dinner that night, they slaughter without mercy. They drive themselves to the cliff of inhumanity without being ordered. The reward for surviving? Insomnia and madness."
"Unlike knights who see any target labeled enemy—soldier or civilian—as bugs to crush indiscriminately, it's a different choice."
"They were human once too. Harder because they're not soldiers. Sure, scum abound among ronin and mercenaries, but abandoning reason and conscience isn't as easy as it sounds. Anyone who does gets killed by fellow ronin first."
Mainly Fred and Yuderg kept the conversation going as the fortress filled our view.
'Freakin' huge.'
Did they include firefighting facilities?
Oh man, now I'm curious.