Chapter 147: Geographical Change

Before the sun had even risen,

The forest at the western end of the Mineta royal capital grew noisy.

The tall trees deep in the mountains shook wildly, even though no wind was blowing.

Tatadadadak! Tatadadadak!

Kyaaaaaaa!

Between the trees, an enormous horde of orcs and goblins charged forward.

Behind them were ogres and trolls, each larger than the orcs themselves.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground trembled under their massive weight.

“Wake up! Wake up!”

Lights flickered to life in the darkness.

It was the holy knights and priests under the Bachenan Holy Kingdom, who had been camping outside the royal capital.

Sensing a wave of oppressive energy, they hastily rose and turned their gazes toward the forest.

The holy knights even donned the armor they had packed separately in sacks—

because whatever was approaching from beyond the forest did not feel ordinary.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems monsters are swarming this way.”

“Why? The red moon isn’t rising tonight…”

The red moon—the omen said to appear when Blanias, the god of the moon and silence, was enraged.

During that time, monsters would go mad and display far greater strength than usual.

But tonight, the moon hanging in the sky was not red—it gleamed silver.

“It seems best to take refuge inside the royal capital. Quickly! Gather only the essentials!”

At the command, the holy knights moved swiftly.

Meanwhile, High Priestess Marianne waited anxiously, her expression tense.

Their belongings were organized in no time.

Soon after, Larsen and Marianne led their people in a hurry toward the gates of the Mineta royal capital.

Larsen pounded hard on the thick castle gate.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Monsters are approaching! Open the gate, quickly!”

“…What is it now?”

A sleepy soldier poked his head out from atop the wall.

Larsen frowned deeply and shouted,

“Didn’t you hear me? Monsters are coming this way!”

“Monsters?”

The soldier’s half-closed eyes twisted in irritation, as if he doubted what he heard.

Perhaps he couldn’t feel the rumble coming from the western forest, for his expression turned more displeased.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“I said monsters! They’ll be here any minute now!”

“What nonsense—”

Dududududududu…

In moments, the monsters had crossed the last ridge of the mountain.

A gray cloud of dust rose beyond the silver-lit ridgeline.

When the soldier confirmed it through his spyglass, his face turned deathly pale.

“T-Those are—!”

“Open the gate, now!”

“Monsters! The monsters are coming!”

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Startled, the soldier dashed to the side and frantically rang the bell.

The alarm echoed along every wall of the royal capital.

Lights flickered to life rapidly along the ramparts and within the once-quiet capital.

“Open up! Are you trying to get us killed?!”

There was little time left before the monsters that had crossed the ridge reached the gate.

As they drew nearer, the trees of the forest shook violently.

“They don’t seem to intend to open it.”

“Sir Larsen, we can’t possibly hold off that many monsters, can we?”

“We can handle some… but I can’t promise for how long.”

There were only five holy knights, including Larsen himself.

If the priests provided support from behind with healing, they could endure several times longer than usual—

but they didn’t know how many monsters were coming.

Even for a high-ranking Swordmaster, this would be difficult to guarantee.

“What if we retreat from here instead?”

At one knight’s suggestion, Marianne shook her head firmly.

“No. We can’t abandon those inside.”

“This is the Mineta Kingdom. We ourselves are in danger right now!”

“As a priestess of the goddess of the Sun and Blessings, Zigasis, I cannot forsake those in peril.”

“But—”

“Enough. The High Priestess is right.”

Larsen stepped forward, drawing his sword.

The white blade gleamed with might as he leveled it forward.

“All units—ready weapons! Priests, cover our rear!”

“Don’t worry. Once we start fighting, they won’t stay idle either.”

The battle would unfold right in front of the castle gate.

Naturally, the Mineta royal capital wouldn’t stand by and do nothing.

“We’ll just have to hold out until reinforcements come from within.”

“We’ll assist as much as we can.”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Kyaaaa!

The roar of the monsters grew closer.

The holy knights formed a line around Larsen.

Behind each knight stood a priest.

At the very end, Marianne stood with her back against the gate.

She clasped her hands together and prayed.

“O goddess of the Sun and Blessings, Zigasis, who embraces all the earth…”

Moments later, radiant light burst forth from Marianne.

The blessing of the High Priestess.

The light flowed into the priests and holy knights, enveloping their bodies.

“Everyone, be ready… they’re almost here!”

Flapflapflap! Kyaaak! Kyaaaak!

Flocks of birds shot up into the air, blocking the moonlight.

An overwhelming number of monsters closed in.

Larsen tightened his grip on his sword.

“Come on…!”

He was about to unleash an aura blade to strike down the leading monsters—

But suddenly, a surge of bright blue light erupted and halted his movements.

Chwaaaaaak! Kwaaang!

The flash streaked across the treetops in a long, piercing line.

Kyaaaaaaaah―! Kaaak! Kaaak!

The monsters that had been charging toward the Mineta royal capital suddenly changed direction and rushed toward the source of the light.

“W-What in the world…!”

“It seems someone else is fighting up ahead.”

That flash they had just seen—it was an aura, the power used by Swordmasters.

The other holy knights could recognize it immediately.

“If others are fighting, we should help them as well.”

“Understood. Let’s go!”

Larsen and the holy knights sprinted toward the site of the battle.

Tatadadadada!

Dozens of orcs burst out, fleeing from the combat zone.

“Be careful! And conserve your strength as much as possible!”

Larsen swung his gleaming white sword, releasing an aura blade that sliced through the torsos and necks of orcs.

The knights behind him clashed with the remaining orcs.

The monsters weren’t just orcs.

Goblins leapt from the underbrush, shooting poisoned needles, forcing the holy knights to raise their swords.

Tting! Ting! Ttiting!

“They’re not just one kind—stay alert!”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’ll move toward the center!”

The monsters were swarming toward the center of the forest, where that blue light had erupted earlier.

As Larsen ran in that direction, he swung his sword the instant he saw the backs of a group of ogres.

Shwaaaak! Chaaang―!

The sword that had been cleaving through ogre flesh struck against another blade.

The ogre split apart, and standing beyond it was a man with red hair, wearing silver-white armor and holding a uniquely shaped single-edged sword.

It was Raion.

Beside him, Patrick, Turklan, and Deborah were fighting as well.

Through them, Larsen could immediately sense their immense combat strength.

Each of them felled the monsters swarming toward them with a single strike.

They were all at least Swordmaster-class—a force even most kingdoms would struggle to have three of.

“…A holy knight?”

Raion murmured when he saw Larsen.

He could tell not only from the man’s armor and bearing, but also through the information that appeared before him.

[Target Information]

Name: Larsen Heights

Age: 48

Occupation: Knight Commander of the Bachenan Holy Kingdom

Life: 999 / 999

Stamina: 2,910 / 3,500

Divine Power: 1,120 / 1,230

Abilities:

Swordsmanship Level 10

Horsemanship Level 10

‘At least an intermediate-level master… But why is the Knight Commander of the Holy Kingdom here?’

They had been traveling toward the Mineta Kingdom to rescue Turklan’s wife.

On the way, they had encountered the monster horde coming from the west and stepped in to block them.

So meeting a knight commander of the Holy Kingdom here was naturally puzzling.

“Master! A Cyclops is coming from the mountain side!”

It was Patrick’s voice.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps resounded as a massive figure, twice the size of an ogre, emerged above the treetops.

The one-eyed giant monster, the Cyclops, held an uprooted tree in its hand.

Kraaaaaah!

Its thunderous roar shook the entire forest.

The air grew tense.

“I don’t know who you are,” Larsen shouted, “but to fight a Cyclops, we’ll have to strike together!”

The creature’s hide was far too thick to be cut easily with aura alone.

Chwaaaak!

Meanwhile, Raion’s blade sliced an ogre clean in half.

Corpses of monsters piled high around him.

“How can anyone have such power…?”

As Larsen muttered, a blue aura slash passed above his head and severed the necks of orcs.

Shuaaaak! Chwaaaak!

“Don’t waste time talking—kill as many monsters as you can. I’ll take the Cyclops.”

“You should conserve your strength—!”

This wasn’t a fight that would end after killing one or two.

Monsters were still pouring out endlessly from all sides.

If he wasted too much energy, exhaustion would mean death.

But Larsen couldn’t finish his sentence.

From Raion’s sword tip, a long beam of blue aura burst forth, cutting through monsters and trees alike in a single stroke.

And it didn’t stop there.

The aura cleaved through the right knee of the approaching Cyclops beyond the falling trees.

Thuuud…!

With a ground-shaking crash, the Cyclops collapsed, clutching its severed leg and howling in pain.

Kraaaah! Aaaaargh!

“So damn noisy. Patrick, Turklan! Don’t let a single monster get past us toward the capital!”

“Yes, Master!”

“Leave it to us!”

The monsters, terrified by Raion’s overwhelming power, began to flee.

The two men quickly chased after them to continue the fight.

‘At this rate, it’ll never end.’

Even after being pushed back so far, the number of monsters stretched beyond the western mountains.

Raion, though he appeared calm before Larsen, felt the same worry.

[Help? Help?]

The voice of Graphios came from within Raion’s armor.

Lowering his head, Raion saw Graphios poke out from the edge of the armor—

and suddenly, a good idea came to mind.

“Can you handle those monsters?”

[Can I eat them? Eat them?]

Raion immediately understood what it meant by eat.

But there was a problem.

“You can’t eat natural energy. Don’t harm it either.”

[Hm? Harm?]

Graphios looked at the piles of monster corpses and broken trees.

They were the aftermath of Raion’s unleashed aura slashes.

[Really?]

“J-Just get it done already!”

[Okay!]

As soon as it finished answering, Graphios slipped out of the armor and returned to its true form.

Its body expanded rapidly, soon filling the sky.

“W-What is that…!”

Larsen, fighting from another direction, was startled and tried to channel aura into his sword.

But Raion grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

“Just focus on keeping the monsters from escaping.”

“But that creature—!”

Graphios spread its two pairs of wings wide and inhaled deeply.

The true majesty of the Divine Beast Graphios revealed itself.

The orcs, goblins, kobolds, and ogres charging toward them were drained of their life force and collapsed to the ground, turning not only lifeless—but into ash.

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