"To put it bluntly, we're screwed. Those damned monsters suddenly went crazy and ran wild."
Lord Fractal, the commander of the Ropes Knights, had a rather harsh mouth.
As soon as his mouth opened, Priest Scarlett hurriedly covered the saint's ears. When the strict-looking priestess glared, the knight with a pale face coughed awkwardly.
"Ahem, I'm sorry for this. I've only been living in the mountains, so, ah!"
"Is it enough to worry you so much? What on earth did I do in front of your majesty…?"
"I-I'm sorry!"
Sir Helga, who was watching the saint's expression without knowing what to do, pinched the thigh of the superior I was holding tightly. It was quite casual. They must be very close.
"I, I'm fine!"
"I'm sorry, I'm an embarrassing boss. I'll apologize on your behalf."
"Hey! I'm sick, I'm sick! Are you my wife? Why is this woman acting like this, especially today?"
"Please, shut your mouth..."
As a farce unfolded, a gentle smile appeared on everyone's faces as they watched. Thanks to this, the gloomy atmosphere became much lighter.
However, apart from that, Fractal Kyung's condition was not very good. His momentum, which seemed to be of a high level, was sloppy to the point that it was impossible to hide, and his mana flow was also unstable.
He needed treatment and rest right away. If he was like that, his subordinates would probably barely be able to survive. It was definitely like that from a quick glance a little while ago.
Cardinal Malleus, who was watching his pale complexion closely, said as he generated divine power from both hands.
—Saaaa
"First, tell them to gather the wounded in one place. I can explain the situation slowly."
"Ah. Thank you, Your Eminence the Cardinal. Why are there so many famous people in this reinforcement force? If it's to this extent, I don't have to worry. Oh… I feel alive…"
Strictly speaking, we didn't come as reinforcements, but I guess there's no need to correct that.
It's the first time we've met today, but Sir Fractal and the Knights of Ropes are also comrades who are loyal to the Empire. There was absolutely no reason not to help them in their difficult situation.
I gave orders to my subordinates.
"Century Captains. Take some of your troops and help with the recovery of the wounded."
"Yes!"
At that, Sir Fractal, whose complexion was finally starting to return, smiled bitterly and expressed his gratitude.
"Thank you. You are indeed a great person, worthy of your reputation. Even in these mountains, I can hear the name of the winner of the Knights' Competition. It is nice to meet you, Lord Wolfgang."
"It is nice to meet you too. It seems like you fought a pretty tough battle. How serious is the situation?"
When he, who was very tired, reached out his trembling hand to shake my hand, I carefully shook his hand and asked about the situation.
"Whew, I thought the attack had calmed down. The monsters are running wild again. Two hundred companies were completely annihilated. There are dozens of missing people. I was able to recover my subordinates as best I could and return, but... the damage is too great."
"...."
When I heard the specific damage, I couldn't say anything and could only swallow my sigh.
That was because the damage was so great that I couldn't say anything. The Knights of Ropes were practically in a state of destruction where they could no longer carry out independent operations.
In reality, the number of subordinates who returned with him was less than a hundred, and most of them were seriously injured and could not even move on their own.
However, the injured were able to regain their peace surprisingly quickly, because the saint's majesty was truly amazing.
—Paaaaat!
"God, please give your warm hands to the wounded."
As Ophelia clasped her hands together toward the injured and recited a prayer, a tidal wave of pure and dense divine power swept over them, far surpassing even Cardinal Malleus.
As the wave of divine power swept over the injured, crippled limbs grew back, and the eyes of the knight who had been blinded by the monster's claws opened.
"…My, this is truly amazing."
"Is that the saint? Indeed, the daughter of the gods…"
It was a miracle reminiscent of the descent of an angel.
A severed limb could be restored in a few days if several priests rushed in, but it was impossible to regenerate it as rapidly as a troll.
Opening the eyes of a blind person was closer to impossible than possible.
However, the saint who actually performed such a miracle was not that difficult, as if only a drop of sweat was shedding from her forehead.
I thought I understood why people praised the saint so much.
"Heh, heh… I'm a little tired…"
"Oh, my God… Thank you! Thank you, saint!"
"Ahaha, what! It's something that should be done."
Thanks to the saint, the treatment of the injured was completed much faster than expected, and the meeting that had been interrupted naturally resumed.
And the information about the leader of the men left the deepest impression on me during the meeting was none other than the information about them.
"Still, considering that some of the troops succeeded in retreating, does that mean the situation has calmed down to some extent?"
"Well… I guess I should say it's calmed down. As a non-human, my pride is greatly hurt, but I think their leader let us go on purpose."
"He let us go on purpose. So does that mean their leader is a high-risk monster with intelligence beyond humans?"
"… I don't know because it's the first time I've seen it, but it was an incredibly cunning and powerful entity. On top of that, it constantly regenerated, so all it could do was run away. On top of that, its appearance was so hideous… It was so creepy, like a demon crawling out of hell."
Fractal, who leaned on his subordinate's shoulder to rest his tired body, lowered his head and barely managed to finish his speech. There was a deep sense of despair in his voice.
It would be too harsh to make him relive the shock of defeat any further.
Thinking that way, I decided to wrap up the meeting here.
"Hmm… There were no signs of pursuit?"
"That's right. The guy who had been persistently following me stopped chasing me at some point. I'm not sure, but I think I naturally left his territory as I retreated."
"You've worked hard. Then the possibility of him chasing me all the way here is slim. You look very tired, so I think it would be best to rest now. You and your subordinates. We'll take care of the guard."
"Haha. Thank you, thank you very much..."
That's how the meeting ended with checking for any possibility of tracking.
Even though it was already quite late, everyone had to disperse to do their own work.
And so the night deepened in the mountains.
It was well past midnight.
The accommodations I was given were the most modest single rooms of the Imperial Commander's standard. It had been a long time since I stayed in a place like this.
It was more nostalgic than uncomfortable.
I sat at the head of the bed and briefly sank into thought, rubbing my chin.
I can't emphasize this enough, but knights are individuals with superhuman physical abilities, and are close to human-shaped combat weapons. The Knights are the ones who gather together to form an army.
The Knight Commander is the leader of these superhumans, and the overwhelming majority of them are strong people who have sharpened their swords in their hearts and created a state of mind.
So, any knight commander could easily slaughter an ogre on his own. In my opinion, Fractal's skills were not that lacking.
'What on earth is that monster doing?'
He annihilated the knights in a group, and made the knight commander, who was called the superhuman of superhumans, suffer from such helplessness.
In that case, the level of danger must be comparable to that of a dragon species.
Based on the circumstances, it was highly likely that the monster was being used by the Eclipse guys. What on earth are they plotting?
"Huh…"
I sighed deeply. There was a mysterious missing person in a nearby village, and the unit I was supposed to join had suffered a serious blow and retreated.
The weight of the mission was already so different from what I had initially expected. Somehow, it felt like things were getting bigger.
I didn't feel that tired, but I was about to lie down for a moment to raise my physical condition to the max in preparation for any threat that might come at any time.
—Knock knock
I heard a knock on the door from outside. I opened it wondering who it was, and it was Agnes.
"What's going on at this hour?"
"T-that. I was lying down to sleep when I heard an embarrassing sound from the next room…"
She had just washed her hair, and her wet, sky-blue hair was tied tightly, and she strode into my room with a flushed face and a twisted body.
I was quite flustered, but I let her into the room for now.
"What a strange sound. Isn't your room right next to mine? The room next to it is..."
"T-that. Ahhhhhh..."
And then, right then.
My sensitive hearing could hear the passionate conversation between a man and a woman that couldn't be hidden by a few wooden boards.
—Huh... Helga, you! What the hell are you doing...!
—Choo-up... Hoo, idiot captain. Are you still pretending not to know? You've set it up like this...'
—Well, there are guests here now! They'll all hear. Let's do this later, later... Huh?
—Shut up. You almost died today. If you don't plan on making me grow old like a virgin ghost, then shut up. Huhhhh...!
Oh my.
It seemed like history was being made in the room next door. It seems that the commander and vice-commander of the other side were closer than I thought.
Well, it's not that hard to understand. In times of crisis, the desire to reproduce the species boils over.
"Ahem. Commander, this. We can't lose, right...?"
But, Agnes' gaze looking at me was somehow unusual.
...Could it be?
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